Amara and Angelo | Friday

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Backdated due to my fail. Amara and Angelo talk about her and John.

Amara was not really the sort of person to brood. Dwelling on things didn't help at all, she just did what she could to put it from her mind and move on.

But this was different. What were you supposed to do when you missed someone who wasn't even going to be gone two weeks? Amara didn't know, and so could currently be found at her desk at Elpis, staring blankly into the distance and tapping her pen on the files in front of her. She wasn't getting any work done at all, and she hadn't yet managed to stir herself from her brooding to start getting something done.

Angelo had been surreptitiously watching her from his own desk for the last twenty minutes, since he'd noticed her distraction, and had finally decided Something Ought to be Done. After a brief disappearance, he wandered over bearing cups of coffee and set one down on her desk. "Hey, Amara."

"...hi!" Amara started, her gaze flicking from Angelo to the file in front of her to her computer before realizing that there probably wasn't any way to hide the fact that she'd completely blanked out.

"What's up?"

"I was just goin' to ask you that", he said easily. "You looked like you were miles away. Everythin' all right?"

"Yes yes," she replied unconvincingly, her gaze dropping to her work again. "Just having trouble concentrating today." Amara wasn't really sure she wanted to admit it was because she was thinking about Angelo's best friend. That could be... awkward. Possibly.

"Can I help?" he offered genuinely. "Talk Nate into givin' you a day off, sit here an' listen... whatever?"

"Oh no, it's nothing, like. Serious." She blushed a little, finally noticing the coffee he'd brought her. "Really. It's okay. How are you?"

"Not so bad." He grinned. "Enjoyin' the chance to get the apartment clean an' not have John destroy it ten minutes later."

At the mention of John, Amara's attempt at playing it cool crumbled again, and she started tapping her nails against the coffee mug. "It must be pretty quiet without him around."

"Really is", he agreed, glancing down at her hand. "Always feels weird the first day or so, an' Joyita misses the early mornin' exercise."

"Early morning exercise?" Amara sounded surprised and confused by the comment. These two concepts were not ones she associated with John.

"He goes for a run at 6am", Angelo told her in a theatrically low voice. "Then he goes back to bed so I have to turf him out. Keeps up the image."

"How on earth does he get up at 6am?" Amara knew how late he worked a lot of the time, and she knew she struggled to keep those hours when she was up early to fit her own run in before work or classes. "Or is that why he ends up napping at work?"

"You know, it probably is", he said thoughtfully. "He does that, he gets another couple of hours' sleep, then he comes here an' works until midnight. Seems to work for him somehow."

"He's crazy," she said with a shake of her head and a smile. There was no condemnation in her voice, just more than a little affection.

Angelo gave her a sideways glance and a grin. "He is, but I wouldn't have him any other way. Sounds like you wouldn't either."

Amara blushed at that, glancing down at her desk. "Is it that obvious?" Amara wasn't entirely used to this whole... whatever it was. Liking someone.

"Little bit", he said kindly. "But if it makes you feel better, he was bein' just as obvious. Everyone approves, by the way."

She just blushed even more at that, fiddling with the coffee cup. "I miss him," she blurted out, finally admitting the cause of her distraction. "Which is silly, right? It's not like he's going to be gone for long."

"It's not silly", he promised her. "You've only just got things started with him, an' here he's gone off to Africa. He's still got his phone, though, you know."

"I know," she said, chewing on her lower lip. "I've had a couple of messages from him." Which made missing him even more ridiculous. "... do you think I should call him?" They'd talked a bit on the phone before he'd left, but Amara wasn't entirely sure about the protocol about international phone calls after a fair amount of hanging out and two dates. Or what the time difference was.

"I bet he'd like to hear from you", Angelo said encouragingly. "Time difference's easy enough to look up, an' he probably misses you too."

Amara blushed again, quickly taking a sip of the coffee as she thought about it. "Maybe I will then." It would be nice to hear his voice. Even if it was only briefly.

Angelo grinned. "Go for it. An' tell him if he screws up, I'll kick his ass for you."

"Oh no," she said with a smile. "He's been very sweet. And a gentleman." Amara may be back to having a silly smile on her face. "I think I'm more likely to screw things up if either of us do."

"What, just 'cause it's all new to you?" He shook his head. "I wouldn't worry about that."

"No?" She asked with raised eyebrows. "The first time someone tried to kiss me, we ended up in a raging argument and I ended up giving Manuel second degree burns."

"Well, Manuel was... Manuel", he said with a crooked grin. "Seriously, though, different person, different situation. And I'm not actually sure John can be burned, if you're worried about that."

"It wasn't Manuel that tried to kiss me," Amara clarified. "He was trying to help me." Amara was aware that Manuel had a history, and while she understood that people disliked him, he'd done a lot to help her get her powers under control. She actually missed him a little, even though he'd been gone for so long now. "But that's not really the point. I think we're both just as likely to make mistakes, so while I do appreciate you looking out for me, if he does make any mistakes, I'll work it out with him myself."

Angelo nodded at that, accepting the point. "Fair enough. You're both my friends, you know? Just want you both happy."

"I know," she said with a smile. "And current moodiness aside, I am. And I think he is too." Or at least she hoped he was, but the indications all pointed to him being so.

"Good." He smiled back. "Now, finish your coffee an' maybe I'll tell you some more things about John that he wouldn't."

Amara grinned at the prospect. "I suppose I should do some work too, at some stage." But listening to stories about John seemed far more appealing.