Angelo and Warren, Sunday afternoon
Nov. 6th, 2011 01:49 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsAngelo drags Warren out for lunch and they talk about a number of things.
Unlikely as it might seem, sleepy little Salem Center did have quite a number of restaurants available. Angelo had managed to find a Mexican place he considered acceptable, and dragged Warren away from the mansion for lunch.
"Change of surroundings", he announced as they entered. "It's good for you."
"Hey, there are plenty of different places to hang out in at the mansion," Warren replied, slightly indignantly. "I don't think I've eaten here before." He glanced around at the place as they entered.
"The mansion is still the mansion. This is new." He grinned. "I found it last month. I've been keeping it to myself."
"That's incredibly sneaky of you." Warren smiled back. "I take it it must be half decent if you're coming back."
"I'm saving it to share with certain people when I think the occasion deserves it. Like getting you in a better mood", he said shamelessly. "It's really good. And the cook's actually Mexican, only been here a year or so."
"I'm not in a bad mood," Warren protested. He'd just been... quiet since Vanessa had woken up. He wasn't entirely sure how to feel at this point - hey, she was awake, and while she had a very long way to go, at least she was awake. But they were also on a break of some kind, and he didn't entirely know what to do about that.
"You're not upset", Angelo allowed. "But you're not gonna stand there and tell me you're happy either."
"Not exactly." He shrugged. It was a hard thing to explain. Or at least, he didn't know how to do it without sounding like a selfish git.
"So, Mexican food. It's clinically proven to raise your mood."
"If you say so." Warren couldn't help but grin a little at that claim.
"I do", he insisted, grinning back, then turning as a waiter appeared to find them a table. "Thanks."
Once they were seated and were flicking through menus, Warren spoke - almost casually, as if he was commenting on the menu. "I think Vanessa and I broke up."
Angelo looked up from his own menu, blinking, and said carefully, "...you think?"
Warren's gaze didn't leave the menu. "She doesn't think she can be anything more than a friend to anyone at the moment. Or she's not sure she can even be that."
"Well, she's been through a hell of a lot", Angelo said quietly. "That kind of thing... rearranges you, until you get it settled in your own head again."
"I know. And I didn't expect things to go back to normal straight away. Or that things would be the same." He finally put down the menu, staring out into space. "I'm just not sure if..." He trailed off, not entirely sure what to say.
"If they ever will?" Angelo guessed. "They might not, but I guess you know that."
"Yeah." Warren smiled a little sadly. "Now I guess I just have to be there for her. As best I can."
"Even if she can't be your friend", Angelo told him, "you can still be hers. Any way that makes sense."
"I'm trying." His lips quirked into a slightly wider smile. "Which, at the moment, seems to mean playing take-out delivery man." Vanessa needed to eat, and neither of them where at all talented in the kitchen. Thus, take out.
"Feeding her's a start", Angelo said, amusement creeping into his voice. "And if you get sick of take-out, just let me know. One phone call and I can get you as much home-cooked food as you can handle. Maybe even your own personal chef, if she's not busy."
Warren smiled at that. "I'll see how she goes. Home cooked food probably isn't a bad idea, to be honest. Not that the take-out is bad, necessarily, but..." He shrugged. "There is something about home cooked meals."
"And my mother does love to cook. And look after people." He grinned. "She likes a project."
"She does. And I think Vanessa needs that at the moment." Warren paused. "Being looked after, I mean. Not treated as a project."
"Oh yeah." He nodded. "I mean, you've met Mom. She'd adopt the whole world if she could."
"She would, wouldn't she?" Warren smiled. "How is she doing? It's been awhile since I've had the chance to see her."
"She's good!" Angelo said cheerfully. "Not so much trouble with the graffiti, between Amanda and Vanessa when it first started. And I've been keeping an eye out, too."
"That's good to hear." Warren's smile turned a little sad again - between this conversation and the one he'd had awhile back with Adrienne, it made him miss his mother more than he thought. "And she's keeping herself busy?"
"She always does. She's got quite a group going in the city - parents of mutants that want to be supportive but need some help, mostly. And I think she's started campaigning at the hospitals to get plans in place for common mutant health problems."
"That's not a bad campaign," Warren mused. "Has she talked to Jean or Hank? I'm sure they'd be interested in helping out with something like that."
"Not as far as I know", he said consideringly. "But I might point Hank at her. Maybe Jean if she's up for being distracted."
Warren nodded. "Oh hey - not to change the subject completely, but you somehow just reminded me. The results for the bar exam came through, and I passed with flying colors." Warren grinned.
"Oh hey, well done!" Angelo said, pleased. "Told you you would. So now it's practice time, huh?"
"Yep. I'm going to give Jennifer a call - she's a friend of mine from law school, she's working at Legal Aid here. She helped me out with a case I worked on when I was helping out XFI, and I think she'd be up for a change of scene."
"Makes sense. Especially since you'd be doing a lot of the same kind of work, just with more mutants."
"Exactly. And hey, I can start real estate shopping again. How exciting." He'd started looking at places a few months back, before getting distracted by Vanessa and her disappearance.
Angelo pulled a face. "Yeah, glad I won't be in on that part. You're only looking in District X, right?"
Warren laughed. "But that's the fun part!" He nodded. "Pretty much. That's where the people are that I want to help, and if I'm going to be buying real estate, I want it to be in that area."
"Better to be right in the community", Angelo agreed. "So they know we're serious about it."
"And it's easier for them to access. Manhattan's not a big place, but going to a lawyer that is around the corner is easier than going downtown."
"And a lot of the more visible ones might not be happy leaving the District, even just into the city proper, so it's just another way to help them out."
Warren nodded. "Hopefully some of the less visible ones will still be happy about coming to see us - between you, me and Jennifer, I'm not sure we could get any more visibly mutant."
"What's Jennifer's thing?" he asked curiously. "And maybe if you had Kurt working for you, but he's... not a lawyer."
"Tall, green and basically an Amazon." Warren grinned. "She is not someone I would want to piss off at any point in time."
Angelo raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, I can see how you wouldn't. Sounds like she'll be a pretty good person to have on the team."
"Yeah, she's great." Warren paused. "And not just because she's scary. She's just - good. Really good. She was one of the best in our class. She's wasted at Legal Aid." He frowned with his last comment, clearly annoyed by the whole situation.
"Well, if she feels the same way, you'll be rescuing her from it, won't you?" Angelo pointed out, just as their food arrived.
"Her knight in a sharp suit," he agreed with a nod. "She is pretty unhappy there, so it shouldn't be too hard to steal her away."
And all thoughts of Jennifer and the practice fled from Warren's head, as there was food to eat.
Unlikely as it might seem, sleepy little Salem Center did have quite a number of restaurants available. Angelo had managed to find a Mexican place he considered acceptable, and dragged Warren away from the mansion for lunch.
"Change of surroundings", he announced as they entered. "It's good for you."
"Hey, there are plenty of different places to hang out in at the mansion," Warren replied, slightly indignantly. "I don't think I've eaten here before." He glanced around at the place as they entered.
"The mansion is still the mansion. This is new." He grinned. "I found it last month. I've been keeping it to myself."
"That's incredibly sneaky of you." Warren smiled back. "I take it it must be half decent if you're coming back."
"I'm saving it to share with certain people when I think the occasion deserves it. Like getting you in a better mood", he said shamelessly. "It's really good. And the cook's actually Mexican, only been here a year or so."
"I'm not in a bad mood," Warren protested. He'd just been... quiet since Vanessa had woken up. He wasn't entirely sure how to feel at this point - hey, she was awake, and while she had a very long way to go, at least she was awake. But they were also on a break of some kind, and he didn't entirely know what to do about that.
"You're not upset", Angelo allowed. "But you're not gonna stand there and tell me you're happy either."
"Not exactly." He shrugged. It was a hard thing to explain. Or at least, he didn't know how to do it without sounding like a selfish git.
"So, Mexican food. It's clinically proven to raise your mood."
"If you say so." Warren couldn't help but grin a little at that claim.
"I do", he insisted, grinning back, then turning as a waiter appeared to find them a table. "Thanks."
Once they were seated and were flicking through menus, Warren spoke - almost casually, as if he was commenting on the menu. "I think Vanessa and I broke up."
Angelo looked up from his own menu, blinking, and said carefully, "...you think?"
Warren's gaze didn't leave the menu. "She doesn't think she can be anything more than a friend to anyone at the moment. Or she's not sure she can even be that."
"Well, she's been through a hell of a lot", Angelo said quietly. "That kind of thing... rearranges you, until you get it settled in your own head again."
"I know. And I didn't expect things to go back to normal straight away. Or that things would be the same." He finally put down the menu, staring out into space. "I'm just not sure if..." He trailed off, not entirely sure what to say.
"If they ever will?" Angelo guessed. "They might not, but I guess you know that."
"Yeah." Warren smiled a little sadly. "Now I guess I just have to be there for her. As best I can."
"Even if she can't be your friend", Angelo told him, "you can still be hers. Any way that makes sense."
"I'm trying." His lips quirked into a slightly wider smile. "Which, at the moment, seems to mean playing take-out delivery man." Vanessa needed to eat, and neither of them where at all talented in the kitchen. Thus, take out.
"Feeding her's a start", Angelo said, amusement creeping into his voice. "And if you get sick of take-out, just let me know. One phone call and I can get you as much home-cooked food as you can handle. Maybe even your own personal chef, if she's not busy."
Warren smiled at that. "I'll see how she goes. Home cooked food probably isn't a bad idea, to be honest. Not that the take-out is bad, necessarily, but..." He shrugged. "There is something about home cooked meals."
"And my mother does love to cook. And look after people." He grinned. "She likes a project."
"She does. And I think Vanessa needs that at the moment." Warren paused. "Being looked after, I mean. Not treated as a project."
"Oh yeah." He nodded. "I mean, you've met Mom. She'd adopt the whole world if she could."
"She would, wouldn't she?" Warren smiled. "How is she doing? It's been awhile since I've had the chance to see her."
"She's good!" Angelo said cheerfully. "Not so much trouble with the graffiti, between Amanda and Vanessa when it first started. And I've been keeping an eye out, too."
"That's good to hear." Warren's smile turned a little sad again - between this conversation and the one he'd had awhile back with Adrienne, it made him miss his mother more than he thought. "And she's keeping herself busy?"
"She always does. She's got quite a group going in the city - parents of mutants that want to be supportive but need some help, mostly. And I think she's started campaigning at the hospitals to get plans in place for common mutant health problems."
"That's not a bad campaign," Warren mused. "Has she talked to Jean or Hank? I'm sure they'd be interested in helping out with something like that."
"Not as far as I know", he said consideringly. "But I might point Hank at her. Maybe Jean if she's up for being distracted."
Warren nodded. "Oh hey - not to change the subject completely, but you somehow just reminded me. The results for the bar exam came through, and I passed with flying colors." Warren grinned.
"Oh hey, well done!" Angelo said, pleased. "Told you you would. So now it's practice time, huh?"
"Yep. I'm going to give Jennifer a call - she's a friend of mine from law school, she's working at Legal Aid here. She helped me out with a case I worked on when I was helping out XFI, and I think she'd be up for a change of scene."
"Makes sense. Especially since you'd be doing a lot of the same kind of work, just with more mutants."
"Exactly. And hey, I can start real estate shopping again. How exciting." He'd started looking at places a few months back, before getting distracted by Vanessa and her disappearance.
Angelo pulled a face. "Yeah, glad I won't be in on that part. You're only looking in District X, right?"
Warren laughed. "But that's the fun part!" He nodded. "Pretty much. That's where the people are that I want to help, and if I'm going to be buying real estate, I want it to be in that area."
"Better to be right in the community", Angelo agreed. "So they know we're serious about it."
"And it's easier for them to access. Manhattan's not a big place, but going to a lawyer that is around the corner is easier than going downtown."
"And a lot of the more visible ones might not be happy leaving the District, even just into the city proper, so it's just another way to help them out."
Warren nodded. "Hopefully some of the less visible ones will still be happy about coming to see us - between you, me and Jennifer, I'm not sure we could get any more visibly mutant."
"What's Jennifer's thing?" he asked curiously. "And maybe if you had Kurt working for you, but he's... not a lawyer."
"Tall, green and basically an Amazon." Warren grinned. "She is not someone I would want to piss off at any point in time."
Angelo raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, I can see how you wouldn't. Sounds like she'll be a pretty good person to have on the team."
"Yeah, she's great." Warren paused. "And not just because she's scary. She's just - good. Really good. She was one of the best in our class. She's wasted at Legal Aid." He frowned with his last comment, clearly annoyed by the whole situation.
"Well, if she feels the same way, you'll be rescuing her from it, won't you?" Angelo pointed out, just as their food arrived.
"Her knight in a sharp suit," he agreed with a nod. "She is pretty unhappy there, so it shouldn't be too hard to steal her away."
And all thoughts of Jennifer and the practice fled from Warren's head, as there was food to eat.
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Date: 2011-11-06 09:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-06 09:02 pm (UTC)I don't know if it's actually clinically proven or not (and I'm doing math homework, and not psych homework, so I'm not diving into research papers for the game... today) but it does make a sort of sense.