Julian & Manuel: Bargaining

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Julian tries to connect to his father and fails, then gets a pep talk from Manuel.


"Can I just-" Julian started to ask before the receptionist cut him off again. This was the only phone number that his family had kept and he was getting blocked off from talking to the one person he needed right now more than anyone else by who he remembered to be an overly attractive woman in her early-thirties- or as he was calling her now, 'That receptionist bitch.' For the past two days he'd been trying every number he could think of, but found them all to be changed. It didn't take a genius to realize that it took time to change a dozen or so phone numbers and that meant one thing: they had been planning to disinherit him even before he bought the car.

"For fuck sake, just let me talk to my father!" he screamed into the phone, nearly knocking over the cold glass of cocoa he'd made earlier. Her only response was an ambivalent click as the line went dead. "Son of a-" Julian swore.

"Julian," came Manuel's cool tone as he walked further into the kitchen, tugging on his sleeve. "I would prefer if you reserved that language where young ears cannot hear," he said, nodding to Valentia who skipped in after him, carting crayons and a piece of paper. Though he heard enough to understand the frustration racked under the youth's flare of anger, he had little patience for language these days and blamed Carmilla's tongue for such distaste.

Hanging up the phone, Julian sighed and shook his head, "Sorry, Manuel." Walking to the cupboard he pulled out a new mug and filled it with the still hot cocoa from the stove. "It's just a...messed up...situation," he wondered if the mansion's resident empath had heard about his misfortune. Handing the mug to Valentia, Julian smiled and gave her a wink. Turning back to Manny, "Would you like one too?"

"No thank you, however I believe you have the attention of a certain young lady--" he nodded to his sister. "--who is very pleased to have one of your legendary hot cocoa. Just add milk, she is too young to have it steaming hot," he said, pulling the cocoa briefly away from her to have Julian add to it.

Valentia's features set and Manuel raised his finger to shush her, translated into Castilian what Julian was doing and convey in english that she should pay attention better. Only once his sister was set up did he turn his attention back on the young distressed man.

"Handling your parents is never an easy task," he said as he went to the fridge to pull out yesterday's roast. "My father and I were always at odds."

Giving the now cooler cup back to the young lady, "Yeah, but did your family disinherit you when you turned eighteen?"

"My father disinheritated me when I manifested. I was on the street before he had me arrested and put into an asylum. Therefore, I believe we are on a similar level, strange as that may be and I am also from money," Manuel said without contempted. He'd come to terms with his demons long ago, although now and again, the asylum demons hung over his head at an uncomfortable level.

Julian flushed slightly, of course other people were in his position and some were worse off. "Sorry, I didn't know." Julian sighed and leaned on the counter, taking a sip of his cold cocoa. "I know if I can talk to them, I can get them to change their minds. Did your family ever, um, take you back?"

"In my family, if they are to take you back, you must do things their way and not always is it the right way," he explained evenly, busy preparing to heat the roast on a plate. "It is similiar to an arranged marriage. You know the rules, the way to act and yet at night when you climb in bed, you know your throat will be slit if you did not entertain with conduct that was fitting to their standards."

Julian didn't quite follow, "Um...okay."

He hoped that his family would change their minds, if only there was something he could do in order to win their favor again. "Wait," a thought struck the teenager, "I thought you had old money. Where did you make your fortune?"

"I made my fortune on the back of negoiations," he replied simply. "Diplomacy has a way of filling the pockets, if you know who to talk to. It is always about who you know."

Julian ran through the limited list of contacts who would probably still take his calls and for a brief moment considered trying to use them as an intermediary to his father. Then he realized that without leverage, they'd have no reason to deal with him. "Well...darn," the young teek restrained his language for Valentia, who was happily enjoying her cocoa and coloring. "I've got nothing then, no contacts, no money," he sat down at the table a short distance away. "I'm completely and utterly, um, well, you know."

"If you want things to change," he started, thoughtfully selective with his words. "You must drop the sulking and assume you have everything even when you do not. You have your health and believe it or not, your powers behind you. Those in themselves are advantages that others do not have."

A myriad of solutions involving his powers came to mind, but none of them struck Julian as 'legal.' "Okay, so I'm healthy, young, handsome and I can move mountains with my mind," it didn't sound so bad when said aloud.

"Better, except you are wise to keep your talents close to your chest, lest someone have the idea of exploiting them through other means." He put the roast into the microwave and powered it on, turning to face Julian. "Why is your father not talking to you?"

"He says it's because of the car I bought, or said in a letter at least. Basically, once my family found out I was a mutant, my little brother became the golden child and I was their black sheep. I had to keep it a secret and once I told everyone I got sent here. Apparently the popular rumor back home is that I'm in military school." Julian pulled the tattered letter from his back pocket and tossed it onto the counter. "Thing is, they changed all their numbers before I'd even paid for the car. They've been planning to do this since I left, I bet."

The letter was picked up and unfolded to read. The fact that Julian was carrying around was a symbol in itself of how deeply this gouged his easy going nature. "Or before," he supplied. It took Manuel very little time to read it and the beeping of the microwave caused him to fold it and replace on the counter. "And now that you have come to that conclusion, what is it you plan to do? Call until you are out of breath? Save up money, go down there and convince them otherwise?" he asked as he pulled out the roast.

Julian's brow furrowed, "I don't know- I guess something like that." In truth he didn't really have a plan for the long term. "Right now I'm just trying to get them to correct their mistake, but they won't take my calls as their receptionist is rather insistent that Mister Keller only has one son," he imitated.

"In this day and age, most people have the fortune to be kicked out at twenty five or thirty years old. You have the unfortunate circumstance of being thrown out earlier." He set the roast down with Utensils, telling Valentia to eat and put aside her stuff before he fetched her a glass of milk. "Instead of trying to change their minds, be content that you own a car at your age and consider getting a job that would pay for insurance. In other words, stop looking at the bigger picture for the moment and focus on what needs to be done in order to maintain yourself." He didn't think he needed to look at this anymore than he was, so close to his own ordeals that it was like watching a rerun.

With a half-scoff, half-chuckle, Julian downed the rest of his cocoa. "They didn't take my car away, and the insurance is paid up through May- so I guess I have some time to find a job. Any suggestions on where to look?" His previous conversation with Inez about working at a burger joint was looking more and more like a reality.

"Depends on your standards. You have a generous roof over your head, stomach full and arrogance to rival a peacock," he mused. "What are your qualifications?"

"I was brought up to take over a multi-billion dollar corporation, not sure what that qualifies me for. I understand several languages- even if I can't speak them worth a damn. I can move large heavy objects with my mind..." he shrugged, "and I make a mean cup of cocoa. That's really it."

"You can work a computer, you are driven if not a bit flaky at times and quite the outgoing individual. That in itself is well though your organization skills? Drive to move up in a company? I believe I have already seen enough of your honesty through Angel to know what you are like there."

"Okay, so I have that going for me too," Julian sighed and shook his head. "I'm still not sure what that qualifies me for." Lost in thought for a moment, Julian was finally shaken out of it when he realized both Manuel and Valentia were staring at him. "Sorry, I'm just trying to wrap my head around this."

"Ask me next week and I will help you with your resume. It is not a good time to look for a full-time job however, part-time jobs are plentiful this time of the year."