xp_logs | Nathan, Angelo, and Domino, Saturday night (Reply)

The three of them unwind a little at Harry's after Dom's kidnapping experience.

"Sucky week," Domino proclaimed, lifting her beer as in salute before she downed a long swallow. "In fact, can it be New Year's yet? I'm eager to see the end of 2007."

Nathan nearly choked on his beer. "I'll drink to that," he grumbled under his breath, then eyed Angelo. "How about you?"

His crutches were propped on the table next to him, his injured leg stretched out as far as he could, and he'd barely touched his drink so far. "Yeah, I think I could live with 2007 bein' over now."

Nathan was on his fourth. It wasn't nearly enough to get him drunk, of course, but there was a quite pleasant buzz already starting. Occasionally it was nice for a telepath to be fuzzy-headed. "2008 had damned well better involve fewer things blowing up, or I quit."

"That I'd like to see," Domino taunted lightly. She was in a rather perverse mood, and had been since returned from her kidnapping experience. At least she wasn't hissing and spitting anymore, Nathan reflected, determined to be optimistic.

"Depends what he means he quits", Angelo pointed out. "Though 's true I can't quite see him quittin' any of it..."

"I could find something to quit," Nathan said idly, reaching out and taking a handful of pretzels. Palm-up, he levitated them into an intricate little dance, invisible to the rest of the bar due to the fact that they were in one of the booths. "I'm sure I could. I like this whole pacing-myself thing..."

Domino burst out laughing.

"Hey now", Angelo said, picking up a crutch and mock-aiming to prod her in the shoulder with it. "If he can't pace himself, what's that say about me?"

Domino fended off the crutch, still snickering. "You're still young and flexible. You can unlearn bad habits. He's a hopeless cause-"

"Am not."

"Are too. You were always like this, just about different stuff back in the old days."

Angelo still wasn't picking up his drink, but he grinned crookedly at the two of them. "'The old days', she says. You're not that much older than me."

Domino stuck her tongue out at him. "Not much older, no, but much wiser." She divided a significant look between him and Nathan. "I think that's a female thing, though."

Nathan snorted at her. "Let's not start that. I know the patriarchally-minded kidnappers offended you on principle..."

"See, them I could happily see hit by a bus. They're 'that' kind of men. You two are the other kind of men. The ones that are like big dumb cute... Labrador retrievers. You're affectionate, and pretty useful at times, but occasionally you make a mess on the floor."

"My Labrador does not make messes anywhere she's not supposed to."

Nathan tried to keep a straight face as he took another sip of his beer. The two of them were entirely too entertaining, really. "Oh, I got the meeting rescheduled for Monday. I had to lie through my teeth."

"Hah, I bet. You can't quite say 'reschedule on account of kidnapping', can you?" Domino winked at Angelo. "I bought a new business suit. After the meeting I'm going to head over to Snow Valley and show it off to Pete."

Angelo shot a quick glance at Nathan and decided a little revenge was in order. "Better be careful. Wouldn't want it gettin' torn if it's new."

Domino just gave him a lofty look. Nathan chuckled under his breath. "I don't know that you'll be in the mood for anything fun afterwards anyway," he pointed out to her. "Last time we talked to these folks, it didn't go well."

"...which folks are those?" Okay, so maybe that had come out a little too elaborately casual, but maybe Nathan was fuzzy-headed enough not to notice.

"Idiots from the Innocenti Centre," Nathan said, his lip curling on the name of UNICEF's research centre in Florence. "Apparently we're bad, bad people for wanting to look at mutants separately from other child soldiers, so they're stalling on sharing their information."

"They do know what our reason for existin' is, don't they?" Angelo said dryly. "But you'd've tried explainin' it that way already, so I figure yeah."

"I'm good at talking people around," Domino said. "Grim and Loom-y over there tends to go for intimidation, which works against him."

"Works for him sometimes", Angelo said almost cheerfully. "But probably not with these people, you're right. Want me to come too?"

"If you're feeling up to it, sure," Nathan said. Both of them were more diplomatic than he was. "Joel's heading off to Kazakhstan tomorrow, or I'd have asked him along too. He promised to make a couple of calls if we don't make headway."

"I figure I can probably deal", he said, less lightly than he'd intended. "Get me out of the house, too."

Domino gave him a knowing look. "Getting a little stir-crazy? Wow, do I sympathize... I hated not being mobile for all those months." She made a face. "Even if Theo was perfectly happy to wheel me around like his favorite new toy."

"You're just lucky he wasn't carryin' you. Never been more glad the only guy in the mansion big enough t' carry me as easily as Theo could really would never ever do it."

Nathan's expression was shading downwards towards glum again. "Why do we work in humanitarian relief and still wind up having to be carried or wheeled places?" he muttered.

"Because we work in mutant humanitarian relief, an' we go dangerous places. An' yeah, Dom, stir crazy's not the half of it."

Domino's smile was more reflective than usual. "To 2008," she said, raising her glass again. "May we enjoy ourselves even as we're being run off our feet." Nathan made a face at her, and she raised an eyebrow. "Well, we will be, at this rate, Mr. Delusions of Grandeur."

"Sure have enjoyed most of it so far", Angelo said, that crooked grin returning, and he finally picked up his glass to touch against hers. "2008."

Nathan snorted again, but raised his as well.