xp_logs | Kevin and Nathan, Monday morning

Alone in the office, Nathan and Kevin have one of those multi-layered conversations, both literally and in terms of its content.

One of the things that took some getting used to in the Elpis office was Nathan's tendency to levitate things. Documents, office supplies, even furniture - it could be somewhat disconcerting. Especially when he didn't give any warning, like with the file folder that drifted over Kevin's shoulder and landed with a soft thump on the desk in front of him.

"I need that photocopied and summarized," Nathan said absently, not looking up from his own desk.

Kevin liked to think he was an observant person, but when he was already reading something he wasn't expecting something else to come floating over his shoulder. He especially didn't expect it to literally float. He was so intent on what he was doing that the movement out of the corner of his eye made him jump. His chair ended up a good foot from where it had started by time the folder came to rest on his desk. The teenager glared at Nathan over his shoulder.

"By when and how many copies?" Of course Nathan wasn't even looking as he floated things around the office. On the bright side, he couldn't see the remains of the scowl on Kevin's face either.

"Before you leave," Nathan said idly, scrawling something in the margins of the document he was poring over. "I need it for meetings tomorrow. And don't make that face at me, it only arrived this morning."

"Wasn't makin' a face over that," Kevin clarified. Though once he actually looked at how thick the folder was and how the tiny print on all the pages it contained was he scowled anew. "Didn't say how many copies." Idly he wondered if this was payback for taking off to Havana, land of flying bullets.

"Do a half-dozen. That should do." A snort came from Nathan's direction. "Also, your vacation follies evoke sympathy, not vengefulness on my part. Believe me."

Kevin's hand flailed near his head like he was trying to chase off a fly or a bee perhaps. "Stop that! Ah'm not even thinking that loudly. My thoughts! Mine!" He did turn to scowl at Nathan again. "Invasion o' privacy er something." He turned back to the folder and figured he had to stop what he had been doing so he could start this instead. Half dozen copies...that meant eight because Nathan was probably off. Wasn't doing stuff like copies Juliette's job anyway?

Nathan looked up sharply, grimacing as he realized he'd replied to Kevin's thoughts again. "Sorry," he said, in a subdued voice. "Really. Shouldn't be doing that... um, make it seven, to be safe?" Flushing, he looked back down at his work. He couldn't be trusted to have a conversation, apparently.

That was creepy. It was creepy because it wasn't like there was white noise when Nathan did it or any sort of indication whatsoever. If you couldn't have privacy in your own head where could you have it? Not to mention Kevin thought about sex like ninety percent of the time just like every other guy in existence. Yeah, and his boss? So did not ever need to hear any of those thoughts. At all. "Eight, someone will probably spill coffee on theirs or something."

Nathan did, of course, hear all of it. He stopped, rubbing at the bridge of his nose and trying to pull his shields back into something approaching order. He had well and truly gotten spoiled, these last few years. "Eight," he said somewhat faintly. "Good reasoning there. You did say that aloud, right?"

"Yeah, Ah did. What're you, on like streamin' audio or something? Ah thought you had a switch or a mute button or somethin'?" Maybe it broke. Maybe Kevin should work on that meditation Laurie was trying to help him get a handle on while he was at work. Clear his mind. Concentrate on nothing but work. Or possibly run far, far away when he had thoughts. Any thoughts. Wouldn't that get loud and noisy and hard to sort through if you couldn't tune out other people's thoughts?

Nathan made a helpless gesture with his other hand. "Shields are crappy, sorry. Seriously." He looked up at Kevin, and although his expression was mostly under control, the awareness that he was doing something Highly Socially Unacceptable and discomfort-inducing was there to be read in the slightly miserable look in his gray eyes. He really didn't want to put Kevin off working here, or being around him.

"We could contain that brain of yours by puttin' ya in a big, metal container," Kevin offered with a rather upbeat and perky tone that was reflected in his expression as much as it was his voice. "Really fashionable, too. You'll bring the iron maiden back into style." He was completely kidding, of course. Mostly Kevin just felt bad for Nathan when he saw that look like he knew he was a bad puppy in the man's eyes.

Nathan forced himself to smile. "We may need to take you up on that for the benefit of all," he said, taking a stab at a mock-sepulchral voice. It fell a little flat. "It's strange, you know. I had bad shields for so long, I ought to be used to it. Everyone's thoughts just used to be... white noise. I guess just because my shields are crap doesn't mean that all the work I've done on my active telepathy didn't happen." Sharpened perceptions didn't go away.

"Can ya tell the difference, though? Ah mean, do thoughts and voices actually sound any different?" Yeah, Kevin thought he was likely to be a lot more rude in his thoughts. At least there was one thing to set his words and his thoughts apart? Jesus, and Nathan would realize just how much Kevin didn't really like most people too. Listening to everyone's incessant thinking must suck.

Nathan laughed weakly. "Do you know how many people repeat in their minds the same thing they say aloud? Or go over what they're going to say mentally first, then edit? It's easier when they're upset about something and their thoughts are turbulent - then, you can always tell the difference."

Kevin actually laughed. "So you've got annoying on repeat?" Kevin actually tended to speak before he thought or think without speaking. He didn't think there was much chance of repeat coming from him. Then again, there was all the stuff he really wished he could say but never did. Here was hoping to Nathan not being around whenever one of Jay's friends were cornering Kevin.

"Still. I should not be responding to it." Nathan shifted in his chair, shoulders tensing as he thought of some of the tongue-lashings he'd gotten for doing just that. "Makes people uncomfortable. I remember Jay having at me the one time over it..."

"Course it makes people uncomfortable. It's creepy. Y'know, it's like havin' a little mini-Dayspring in your head actually creeping around like a cartoon all on tip toes and stuff. And he's like throwing around your dirty laundry and poking into the dusty corners and stuff. But, Ah mean, is it really it's creepier if you're just there and listening and pretendin' you're not." Kevin stopped though and tilted his head as he asked, "Recently he had at ya?"

Nathan shook his head. "Long time ago," he said, wishing now that he'd not brought it up. But Kevin had been thinking about Jay, and thinking about telepathy being creepy... and well, he possibly didn't have much of a brain-mouth filter these days. "He feels... felt... maybe still feels, I don't know, similar to you about telepathy."

"With the creepy?" Kevin was pretty sure they weren't the only people who thought it was creepy. He didn't mind necessarily because he was pretty sure no one would be eavesdropping on his thoughts if they had a choice to. "Well, Jay's...emotional 'bout things." Kind of all things but no non-telepaths in the room needed to hear that.

Nathan shrugged. "It's about as unpleasant to be a telepath as to be on the receiving end of uncontrolled telepathy, believe it or not. I still have to work to convince myself that my mutation's not obscene, sometimes. But I have to, because of Rachel."

"Ya know, Ah got stuck on the 'This Royally Sucks' end o' the stick and even Ah wouldn't trade it fer bein' a telepath. No thanks, what people actually say is bad enough. Don't wanna hear the rest o' it, too." Though Kevin was sure if being a telepath was obscene then being Kevin was something akin to the Devil's right-hand man.

"There are some benefits. You understand people a little better, maybe. Sometimes," Nathan amended, with a more natural smile. "Sometimes it doesn't help at all."

"Some people are just always gonna be head cases," Kevin pointed out. He was probably included in that, honestly, but he was pointedly ignoring that addendum even mentally.

"Speaking of which, I noticed you defending Manuel," Nathan said, as it came back to him that he'd been meaning to raise the topic with Kevin for a while now. And a topic change would be so, so good. "The two of you getting to know each other...?"

Great. If he was going to get another lecture about the evils of Manuel Kevin wasn't sure he was going to keep his temper in check. People's grudges weren't his concern. "Yeah, Ah was and yeah we are. Why?" His voice already belied his defensive stance on the situation.

"It's just... good to see, I guess," Nathan said after a moment, surprised by the trace of hostility. Surely what he'd said on the journals had indicated where he stood on the subject. "I was worried about how he'd fit back in here, and some of the initial reactions weren't heartening. Not all that surprising," he said heavily, "but still a bit depressing."

Kevin shrugged. "Everyone 'round here's got feelings and grudges and the all consumin' need to share 'em with everyone. And then to force these onto everyone until they share them. Ah don't really care 'bout their feelings and grudges. Ah just wish they'd shut up so other people could make up their minds on their own. Manuel's a decent guy." Of course, since Forge seemed to be playing ring leader Kevin was sure it wouldn't stop because that guy just lived to make lives miserable because of his feelings it seemed.

Nathan shook his head to try and banish the mental image of Forge he'd just picked up from Kevin. Damn, he really was not used to being this at the mercy of other people's perceptions. "Well," he said distractedly, "you can tune it out. I'm glad you're talking to Manuel, he can use some undemanding conversation."

"Yeah, kinda figured he might." Though Kevin wondered if he didn't partially like Manuel just to spite other people. He was a stubborn guy, why people hadn't figured that out even with his very rare social appearances was unknown to Kevin.

"Beside. Sticking up for the underdog is a good character trait. Next thing you know you'll be wearing black leather and jumping out of airplanes."

"Pleather," Kevin corrected with the barest hint of a smile. "Leather would only result in Kevin: The Naked Avenger!"

He hadn't scoffed at the idea, Nathan noticed, repressing a smile. "Anyway. You have photocopying to do, yes?"

Kevin gave Nathan a salute with a vaguely sarcastic look on his face. "Just call me Juliette. But Ah'm not wearing a skirt."