xp_logs | Backdated: Saturday feb 28th, Valentia, Manuel & Amanda (Reply)

Amanda takes Valentia off Manuel's hands for an afternoon. After waking, he goes to find them and instead, ends up giving dance instructions

Finding them wasn't hard, he simply had to seek out his sister's signature and follow her trail. It was keeping the smile off his face to a dancing little girl, coaxing Amanda off her seat and to dance with her. At first, he thought not to interrupt and stood by the sunroom doorway, patiently waiting to be seen. Once it was discovered that he was there, Valentia went over to him and dragged him into the room, trying to get him to dance.

"~I did not think I could manage a dance with the condition of my leg,~" he admitted to Amanda. Only to Amanda and no one else.

"~See, I'd believe that if I hadn't seen you at Silver a few weeks ago,~" she replied with a smile. "Go on. She can't step on your toes any more than I used to and she's not wearing Docs. I'll cut in if you need a break."

"Mm yes," Manuel agreed reluctantly. "Several glasses of bad scotch contributed to that night. Inhibitions tend to waltz out the door when you begin to lose count of your consumption." He took Valentia's hand and stood in place, twirling her. "They had a cane with a brace that haphazardly holds onto your arm - I do not know what they are called - it was recommended I walk with one, but they are far less dignified than what I currently have."

He stepped forward, forcing his sister to step back and taking the lead, even though she didn't even know what a lead was to begin with. "~Watch me, not your feet and you will stumble less~" he told her, loosening his grip so she could accommodate to his steps.

"And it's all about the dignity." Amanda perched on the arm of a chair to watch the dance, smiling a little. "Reminds me of Nate's wedding, teaching Meg to dance." Her smile grew a little wistful and she changed the topic a bit. "You know, when you relax, you're a pretty good teacher. After all, you taught me to waltz."

"When I relax," he added, mindful of her wording.

"As I recall, you were very difficult to teach, clunking around my feet and crushing my toes in the process," he added drily but there was a sense of pride there, teaching his sister how to dance.

"Well, I was into punk. All that moshing and pogoing and stomping on people on purpose," she pointed out with a laugh. "Let's get another opinion. ~So, chiquita, is your big brother a good teacher?~" she asked in Spanish.

Valentia nodded her head and expressed a polite 'thank you for asking' in sign language. At least her skills had moved up some, he observed casually. As an afterthought, the little girl took his hand and led him to Amanda, urging them to dance together, but it was more of a subtle gesture for them to be together.

Manuel raised his brow at her, knowing she was thinking something similar and he took her hand, his own slipping around her waist to guide her to him. "Let us hope your skills have improved and my lessons have not gone completely to waste."

She stuck her tongue out at him as she laid her own hand lightly on his shoulder. "I'll have you know dancing's an important spy skill. All those formal parties we crash," she teased. It was strange how quickly she fell back into step with him, like the intervening years had never happened. 'Sorry, chiquita,' she thought at Valentia, knowing the little girl couldn't read her thoughts, but hoping she would see the emotions that accompanied the thought. 'Not going to happen again, not in this lifetime.'

"You are always tense around me. Drop your shoulders," he instructed. "If you are to be a convincing spy, you must dance with your enemy as well as you can dance with your ex lover," he grinned, sensing her wary emotions. He ignored his sister's hopeful expression.

"See, dancing with my enemy's easier. They piss me off, I can just kill them and be done with it," she replied in the same vein, but she did as he said and dropped her shoulders and meeting his eyes as he'd been trying to teach Valentia. "Still, I'm mostly Research Girl. Which is probably for the best."

"Is dancing with me not easy?" he asked innocently, turning them and smiled at his sister. He pressed his cane down into the ground to pivot them the other way, though his hip was becoming increasingly aggravated from the physical work out.

"The dancing's easy. It's the rest of it that's complicated." She could feel the tenseness of his posture through a slight shaking of the hand on her waist, a slight decrease in the fluidity of his movement. "And that's it for me - any more of this and we'll be back at toe crushing stage," she said, stopping and dropping him a curtsey. "Thank you for the dance, Senor."

"You're welcome Senorita." Though it was he who was thankful. She was reliable to read him enough to know how difficult it was for him to dance with her without his cane firmly in place like he did at Silver. "We should retire though. Has she eaten yet?"

"Not yet. Dinner's on me tonight, remember? Adventures in pizza?" She turned to scoop up the small girl into her arms, spinning around with her. "~Hungry, chiquita? You want pizza?~"

"Oh yes, how could I forgot?" For once, someone else was paying.

Valentia nodded her head. Manuel thought to point out that Amanda should let her walk as opposed to being carried, but he allowed it to slide.