xp_logs | Angelo and Domino, Sunday afternoon (Reply)

He stops by the boathouse to check on her. Seriousish conversation ensues.

Amanda had gone back to the brownstone the day before, and he couldn't exactly begrudge her going home, after she'd spent the last week neglecting her work to stay with him. Knowing that didn't much help with the stir-crazy, though, and there was only so much his textbooks and his own work could do to offset it. If he'd been able to go to the gym... but there was no point, when he still couldn't walk without the crutches.

In view of all this, Angelo decided there was only one reasonable option. Go and harass Domino.

Somewhat surprisingly, given that it was a Sunday afternoon, Domino was in the Elpis office, pacing back and forth, limping slightly and mumbling under her breath as she read the file in her hand. "La, la, hate giving presentations, hi, Angelo," she said as he made his way in.

"Hey, Nadia." He made his way further into the room, watching her curiously. "How come you got picked for this one, then?"

"Because I'm female and cute and can look more earnest than Nate, and can talk about past experiences with mutant child soldiers without looking like grim death," was the almost chirpy reply.

"...fair points", he allowed after a moment's thought. "You still want me to go along with you tomorrow?" Instead of Nate was the end to that sentence, left unvoiced because he knew it'd probably end up being 'as well as'.

"Yes, I do. And actually, it's just going to be the two of us," Domino said with a bland smile. "I talked Nate into letting me give it a try without the burden of his looming presence."

"Good goin'", was the impressed response. "How long'd it take you? Or was it one of the things he caves on?"

"I accused him of being masochistic by insisting on coming. He said he wasn't. I told him to prove it by not coming." Domino gave him her best little-girl smile as she collapsed into a chair. "My logic is of the strong - and sit down, before you make me worry standing there wavering on those crutches."

"I'm tryin' to get to where I stop waverin'", he informed her lightly, but obeyed, making his way to a chair near hers and sitting down. As long as he kept moving, he was fairly proficient with the crutches by now.

"Mmm. I don't mock other people's mobility issues anymore, don't worry. Anyway," she said more briskly, "I figured, we could have the meeting, then go find someplace with no stairs to have lunch..."

"Sounds good. It's New York, there must be plenty of places caterin' to the disabled. Or temporarily disabled."

"You sound a bit disgruntled," Domino observed wryly.

He eyed her for a moment with a fleeting, crooked grin, then nodded. "Tryin' to give up smokin' again. An' I can't drive. An' I was talkin' to Juliette the other day about this project... well, you know how the whole thing is."

"I get it, believe me. There were months there when everyone was under the impression that what I needed to focus on was recuperating, and they didn't understand that a steady diet of physiotherapy was driving me insane. As for the nicotine cravings," Domino said with a sunny smile, "just keep soldiering on, okay? So much better for you if you can shake the habit."

"Yeah, I know", he said ruefully. "Just isn't easy. The gum doesn't help as much as it's supposed to, an' I might've caved an' taken one of Professor Farouk's cigars when he offered last week. Least I just have to wait it out."

"Well, here's to hoping that you get over the hump, at some point... I was never really addicted to the damned things, so I can't say I know what you're going through."

"Should be just a matter of time", he said with a slight shrug. "An' hey, it could be worse." He couldn't help a fleeting thought of Alejandra, with that, and reminded himself to call and check up on her.

"And think of it - when you do, you'll finally be able to keep up with the old man on morning runs!'

"Yeah, when I can walk again", he retorted dryly, kicking idly out at the crutches with his good foot.

"He's out, by the way," Domino said idly, propping her legs up on the chair next to hers. It involved a very undignified sideways sprawl, but there was no one here but Angelo to see her. "I convinced him to go do some Christmas shopping."

"...you keep sayin' you 'convinced' him to do things. It's kind of worryin'", he said, mostly joking. "But if he's gone... you know Joel's worried about this child soldier project, don't you?"

"Well, given that better than half our course staff are ex-child soldiers, most of whom are therapy-avoidant, I can't really blame him. But everyone's committed - well, like that wasn't inevitable." Domino sighed. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, too, and the rest of the old Pack. It feels like tackling something we left unfinished."

"Yeah, I'm not sayin' I'm not committed too", Angelo told her quietly. "Not the same thing, where I came from, it wasn't like Mistra at all, but... there's still kids out there on the street in America with knives an' guns. If I can't do anythin' about it here, yet, at least I can help other places."

"We'll get it done. It's worth doing," Domino pointed out, smiling a bit again, finally.

"Hell of a big job, though. Might take a long time." Which didn't mean they wouldn't see it through.