Angelo and Lil

[x-diamondlil.livejournal.com]

Bored, Lil heads to the gym and finds Angelo there. The two discuss recent events and Lil's possible future at the school.



Late in the afternoon, Lil couldn't take another hour of 'Who's my baby's daddy' and 'I was born a man.' Flicking of the television, she changed into her workout clothes and headed to the gym, intending to work some free weights before hitting the machines and lastly the pool but stopped short just inside the doors when she found she wasn't alone. "Oh, sorry. I thought classes were done," Lil apologized to the man she'd met briefly during her stint at Elpis.

"They are", Angelo assured her easily. "I'm just takin' some of my own time - there's room for us both."

Nodding her thanks, the giantess tossed her bag into a corner. "How the kids doing?" she asked, figuring she should inquire after the runts especially after what had happened the week before even if it was just in passing.

"Pretty well, really." He smiled slightly. "They were kind of shaken up after the whole Arcade thing, but everybody came back in one piece. Gotta call it a win."

"It was pretty fucked up," Lil said, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder as she grabbed a set of 25lb dumbbells. "I haven't been able to watch any of those damn reality competition shows since. Glad to hear the kids are taking it okay, though."

"They've been helpin' each other, I think. Plus they've got you an' Jean-Paul... Yvette's the one I'm most worried about. She takes this stuff hard."

"I don't have much contact with them, not like Jean-Paul but we're taking them out for sushi this week." Rolling her head from side to side, she popped her neck a couple of time before starting her bicep curls. "Give them time to talk and trade war stories if they want - or just enjoy a good meal."

"Either one'd probably be pretty good for them", Angelo agreed. "They'll get through it, we'll just keep an eye on them to make sure. So how's the bartendin' goin'?"

"Going well," the blonde said with a smile. "Good tips, hours I enjoy. Much better than pushing paper, no offense."

"None taken." He grinned back. "Office work's not for everybody. Wouldn't have said it was for me, once."

Her smirk grew before she turned her attention back to the weights in her hands. "I've never been cut out for a desk. Give me a bar top any day - or stick me on the door to keep the troublemakers out."

"So what made you try it with us?" he asked curiously. "That bored, or just needin' the money?"

Lil gave him a one-shouldered shrug. "Little bit of both. New place, willing to try new things. Plus I was getting stir crazy and needed the cash, yeah. Lots of motivation but not a lot of patience for filing, unfortunately."

"Yeah, makes sense. Still, no shortage of work tendin' bar in the city, if that's your thing. There's Silver for one - I think I saw you met Mark on the journals?"

The Canadian nodded. "Yup. Heading to the re-opening on Friday. But I think I'm gonna stick it out at Harry's for now. I like the place; not a lot of action but it's not a bad place. Plus, it's close." Though now that she knew the bike in the garage was Logan's, getting to and from places wasn't going to be as much of an issue. If she could find the keys, that was.

It was a shame Angelo couldn't hear her thoughts. He'd gladly have helped her hotwire the bike - but for now, he just nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of the team's bar of choice. Not a bad place, like you said."

"Which is why I'm not taking Mark up on that offer for Silver. Yet. I might get bored in the future, who knows, but I'm settling so I don't wanna upset that." Or Harry. Seeing as it was the 'team bar' things could get weird if she quit to work somewhere else so soon then show up for drinks at the Hideaway. "Heard there's a little bit of a shake up here - you're down a self-defense teacher?"

"Seems like it." He shrugged casually. "Morgan went over to Snow Valley, so she can't be workin' here at the same time. Self-defense rotation changes almost as often as the guidance counsellor, though. We'll get someone else."

"I don't doubt it. I'm not volunteering or anything but there was one of the kids - Inez? - who I ran into couple weeks ago who mentioned she needed a new sparring buddy mentor kinda thingy. Haven't got it cleared with the Professor yet but I meant to talk to you about it, too." Placing the weights back in their holder, she picked up the 30 pounders. "She complained about not being able to take full advantage of classes and training 'cause of her powers and thought maybe I could help her out as a kinda supplement."

"Ah, yeah, the kid with super-strength. Yeah, I can't so much help her with that - I don't have a problem with it if you can, an' I shouldn't think the Professor would either." He smiled.

"Good to know," she replied, nodding again. "I wasn't sure if she'd mentioned it to you or not, or if she was even still interested but I figured I'd ask you anyway. I'll probably send off some emails later this week to confirm any plans or anything." Lil knew how hard it could be to train when you felt you couldn't go at it with all you've got. Logan had helped her; she could do the same for Inez if the kid still wanted it.

"She needs someone invulnerable, really. Same with Yvette, to be honest - most of what I do with her has to be theoretical, 'cause there's only a couple of people in the house she can touch without cuttin' them up. You don't have to teach, but if you could do maybe an hour a week helpin' Inez run through the things I show her..."

Lil nodded. "Sure. And if Yvette needs someone, too, I've got the time; found out I'm Yvette-proof when I helped her prune some rosebushes awhile back." Not that she was eager to increase her contact with the younger inhabitants of the mansion but it would prove her dedication to changing her ways.

"I'll talk to her about it an' let you know", he said with a grin. "I think the others are all okay powers-wise, so it should be just those two. You won't suddenly find yourself with a whole class."

"Two is plenty!" she laughed, holding both weights in one hand to brush back a lock of golden hair that had come loose from her ponytail. "I definitely don't need the whole class."

"You know they're probably already runnin' a book on what you'll end up teachin' for real. We did it when I was a student here."

That made her stop and put the weights down before turning wide but amused eyes on him. "You're shitting me, right? I am never going to be a teacher. Don't got the patience for it."

"Yeah, you just keep tellin' yourself that", he returned, laughing.