Bobby/Angelo

[x-coldhands.livejournal.com]

Bobby goes to meet with an old friend. During their chat, the full story of Ronnie is revealed and Bobby answers questions about his return.


As he shimmied up the stairs of the mansion, it was still odd that he was suddenly back in the school that he had spent 8 years growing up at. Bobby Drake still found his eyes roaming around, still trying to take in all the little details that had faded in time. The grains in the wood, the smells of food from the kitchen, and the creek in one of the steps that he was sure that he would give a hard time to Kyle about later. But as he began walking down the hallway, passing the rooms that had once been occupied by his friends, and which now where mostly inhabited by strangers, he was happy that this trip was giving him a sense of normality that he had been seeking for. Pulling up short he knocked on the door of his former friend, a smile growing from ear to ear.

"Comin'!" Angelo called through the door, almost drowned out by a burst of barking. "Hush, perra loca." The door opened just far enough for him to look out without the dog escaping. "Bobby!"

"Hey!" his smile beaming, Bobby bent down to ruffle the scruff of the dog first before standing up and wrapping his arms around Angelo. "It's been far, far too long."


Angelo had no hesitation in hugging him back, as Joyita wriggled out into the corridor and started to prance around their legs. "Really has, man. Come on in."

"Don't mind if I do." As Bobby swaggered into the suit, he still couldn't help but gawk at everything around him. Although it hadn't seemed like such a long time since he left, being back at the school, everything seemed to be impacting him pretty hard. Especially how much he had missed even the small things. "So what's been going on at the madhouse?"


"Where do I even start?" Angelo said wryly, hauling the labrador back into the suite with him and closing the door. "Like you said... it's been a long time."


Bobby let himself fall back against one of the walls, giving Angelo space to wrangle the dog. "Well I see that the school hasn't blown up, so I guess that's a good start right?" He flashed a quick smile before continuing. "But why don't you just start with telling me how you've been doing?"


"I'm pretty good." He shot a smile back as he straightened up. "Elpis moved out into the city, so I'm commutin' for now. Still enjoyin' the work."


"No kidding, their up to the big time." The smile on Bobby's face didn't fade at all. "Sorry about the weirdness. It's just still so surreal to be back here, ya know?"


"It must be." He wandered over to the couch and sat down, gesturing to the armchair. "What brings you back, anyway? Thought you were all settled at the Keep."


"Well I was, until I got a little visit from Ronnie." Bobby let himself fall back into the armchair, amazed at how familiar and yet different Angelo's suite felt since his leave. "You remember my brother right? Good old mutant hating, calling the cops on his brother, wanting to end our kind Ronnie?"


"Remember you talkin' about him, yeah." His smile took on a wary edge. "He didn't... do somethin', did he?"


"In a sense, yes." Drake tilted his head to the side. "Did you ever hear the expression 'that which you hate the most may become you'?"


Angelo blinked at him for a long moment, taking in the meaning of the words. "...your brother's a mutant? Bet he loved that."


"Not just a mutant. A shapeshifter. And one that's stuck in a different form." Bobby pointed quickly at his own chest. "I can't say I blame him for picking someone this handsome..."


"He got stuck as you?" A moment of thought and he was collapsed on the couch in a fit of laughter. "So he showed up at the castle like that?"


"Yeah, apparently he used my old driver's license at home at a few dollars for bribe money, and he got a passport. When he showed up at the Keep, I thought it was Mystique. Almost froze him to the pavement right there." Bobby shivered for a second, remembering his time being held by the Brotherhood. "Anyway, I looked it up, and apparently it's some guild of guilt trigger. Because of everything he's done to me, his body is stuck in my form." Leaning back Bobby shrugged for a second. "I just think it's creepy."


"I was gonna ask how you stopped Terry screamin' him into the next county, but..." He eyed his friend for a moment. "How'd you know it's really him? I mean, before you brought him here."


"Apparently he had heard about the whole me and shifters situation. As soon as I opened the door, he had his hands up, screaming random facts about us growing up." A coy smile showed the dimples on the side of Bobby's face. "Call me shallow, but seeing him like that did make me feel a little bit better about all the crap he's put me through over the years."


Angelo snorted. "Yeah, I bet it did. Nothin' quite like bein' the one they have to come to for help."


"I don't think the fact slipped his mind either. Especially when I had to bring him in to see the Professor." He squinted for a second. "I still think the FOH believe that he's like some kind of telepathic boogieman or something. Maybe that's what they tell all the new recruits. That a bald man in a wheelchair is hiding under their beds."


"Wheelchair an' all", he agreed, deadpan. "I'm glad the kid got away from the FOH in one piece, at least."


"And I'm just happy to be back here." His eyes began to dart around the room again, trying to fill all his senses. "When I was a teenager, all I could think about was getting out of this place, and now that I've inherited a castle, all I wanted was to come back."


Angelo was watching him study the room, amused. "Hell of a thing to leave behind, though. You stayin' long?"


"I'm here as long as I can help the Professor and Terry doesn't get too lonely in Ireland. It seems too quiet around here." His lips curled back to show his full set of teeth. "But I'm sure with us back together it won't be dead around the mansion for long right?"


"Hell, no. I've been lookin' into movin' out, but you know I'd be back here all the time." He grinned. "You know how no one ever stays away."


"The mansion, after leaving here, no place else will ever feel quite like home." Bobby made sure his eyes met that of his friend. "It truly is good to be home."