xp_logs | Angelo and Shinobi

Angelo was sitting in his room trying to get some reading done when he heard a knock at the door. He glanced up with a slight frown, having not expected a visitor, and called, "Who is it?"

"Avon calling!" The voice was easily identifiable as Shinobi's, especially after living with him for a couple of months. "Are you decent and up for a visit, Angelo?"

Angelo chuckled slightly. "Shinobi, hey. Yeah, come on in."

Shinobi opened the door enough to step inside, offering a grin in Angelo's direction as he closed it again behind himself. "Hey. Figured I was due to make sure you two weren't just killing one another real quiet-like."

Angelo offered a half-grin. "We've been doin' okay, actually. No killin'."

"That's a relief. Would have hated to have that on my conscience. Besides, Paige and Sarah'd probably kill *me*." Smirking, he made his way towards an unclaimed bed, hopping up onto it before plunking down to sit.

Angelo laughed. "Well, that'd depend on who won", he said lightly.

"You don't honestly believe that, do you?" Shinobi arched an eyebrow, trying not to regard the other with too much exasperation. "You're still on about that?"

Angelo blinked in confusion. "On about what? I was talkin' about Sarah..."

"That's a relief," Shinobi replied sincerely, running a hand back through his hair. "Never you mind, then. No sense making you dwell."

Angelo nodded slowly, still eyeing his former room-mate with some suspicion. "How's things goin' with you two, anyway?" he asked, deliberately changing the subject.

"Really quite well," Shinobi replied with a grin, not minding the shift in subjects at all. Or the suspicious look. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of it."

Angelo responded with a genuine grin, "That's good to hear. You both deserved it."

Shinobi nodded, folding his arms across his lap and leaning against them comfortably. "I certainly think so. Feels like it's been longer than three months."

Angelo nodded. "Time passes real fast, here. It'll be your anniversary before you know it."

"Any excuse to drag her out of here for a night's welcome to sneak up on me anytime." He grinned cheerfully.

Angelo laughed. "Think she's been better about goin' out lately, though, right?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I don't like having the excuses." He smiled lopsidedly. "She likes going out, if we're not going somewhere overly.." He paused, trying to think of the right word. "..pretty."

Angelo grinned. "Yeah, Sarah an' pretty-pretty've never gone together too well."

Shinobi looked vaguely amused by Angelo's use of the girl's catch-phrase, grinning and shrugging his shoulders. "I do seem to be the exception to the rule, yes. Well, and Emma. Don't get much prettier than her." A pause. "In either sense of the word."

Angelo shrugged. "Well, you an' Emma are both tough as hell, too. Guess that must help. Can't see Sarah gettin' on as well with, say, Monet."

"They seemed to get on alright on that clubbing trip, but I was fairly buzzed, so I may have just been hallucinating the friendly banter." He shrugged.

"Well, I wasn't there", Angelo acknowedged. "Maybe they do get on, although I'd never've thought to describe Monet as "friendly"."

"She was buzzed, too. That probably accounted for it." Shinobi grinned. "It was fun, despite LeBeau being an ass, but.. he's pretty much always an ass."

Angelo scowled slightly at the mention of Remy, before forcing it away. "Yeah, I've got that impression."

"Stole my card to pay for the drinks, after saying it was his treat after we got off on the wrong foot." Shinobi snorted, rolling his eyes. "Git."

Angelo laughed a little. "Well, you can't deny the man's got style", he said jokingly.

"Yes I can. Have you *seen* him? There's no style there." Shinobi shuddered, glancing towards the window. "And it wasn't style he had in Limbo. It wasn't even efficiency. It just.. I don't know. But if you see him with a stick and he looks pissed, run the other way as fast as you can."

Angelo nodded, not having personally seen what Shinobi was talking about, but aware of how freaked the older boy was by it. "Noted."

He shook it off quickly enough, looking up again with a wry grin. "In the meantime.. did you take advantage of Pete's chaufer service yesterday?"

Angelo shook his head. "Nah, didn't really feel like it. I'll go next time."

"So long as you don't become a hermit and force me to throw you over my shoulder next time," Shinobi nodded, grinning wryly. "But then, I suppose you're coming to London with us, aren't you? Not a very hermit-like thing to do."

Angelo nodded back. "Yeah, I'm goin'. Mom can't make it cross-country yet, an' it's somethin' to do..."

Shinobi rubbed the back of his head, nodding slightly. "Well, then, we'll be sure to give you the proper tour."

Angelo grinned. "That'd be good. Thanks."

"Bloody big clocks and some proper fish and chips," he replied with a firm nod, grinning cheerfully. "It'll be fun."

Angelo chuckled and replied teasingly, "If you say so."

"Just did, didn' I?" He waggled his eyebrows.

Angelo laughed properly. "Yeah, you did. Okay, it'll be fun."

Shinobi nodded sagely. "That's the spirit. Maybe I'll even let you come with Sarah and I when we go to retrieve my car from home." He trailed off, blinking once and frowning to himself. "...or maybe I'll ask Nathan to retrieve it for me another time. It might be safer."

Angelo frowned at the sudden change in his friend's mood. "Somethin' wrong?"

"The side-effects of what put me in a good mood the other day," Shinobi explained, waving a hand dismissively. "Pissed my father off righteously. Emma figures that he won't make a move on the school, as it'd be suicide, but he may try to lure me back home in lieu of it. So I should probably send someone a bit more capable to get the car, all things considered. Or maybe ask Tessa about it. Hm."

Angelo nodded. "Don't take any risks you don't need to, man. Wouldn't wanna lose you."

"You won't." He shrugged, cracking a faint grin. "Unless the old bastard's figured out a way to keep me from walking through walls - or him - then that'll never happen."

Angelo grinned back, but was still obviously concerned. "Good to hear."

"Anybody ever tell you that you worry too much?" But he was still grinning. "Appreciate the concern, Angelo."

Angelo shrugged, faint shadows visible in his eyes. "Just don't want anythin' to happen to any of you."

Shinobi couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow, regarding the other boy quietly for a moment. "Everything possible is being done to keep anything from happening to us," he says finally. "Short of putting everyone under house arrest in psi-dampening chambers, there's not really anything else that cold be done."

Angelo nodded. "I know. Really. It's just..." He trailed off, lacking the words or the will to explain.

"Never seems like enough?" Shinobi hazarded, tilting his head with a faint smile.

"Somethin' like that", Angelo answered seriously. "'Cause the danger seems to find us whatever we can do."

Shinobi nodded. "The danger finds the mundanes out there no matter what they can do, too. We don't have a monopoly on the lifestyle, no matter how much it feels like it sometimes. A bigger share, perhaps, but not quite a monopoly." He shrugged helplessly. "All we can do is what we're doing. Things'll get better. It'll take time, but they will."

Angelo nodded with a slight shrug. "Hope so", he answered quietly.

"Know so," Shinobi corrected, shaking his head. "...y'know, maybe you should come on the next meet 'n greet Jamie puts on." He held up a hand to stop any protests, smiling wryly. "I know you've had trouble with people from that neck of the world, Angelo, but something like that might be good for you. Hell, I could give you an e-mail address or two, let you talk to some of the people we meet with that way."

Angelo had raised his head quickly, ready to protest, but stopped to hear Shinobi out. "Well... maybe. I guess the kind of people there wouldn't be who me an' Doug an' Marie had trouble with..."

"They might know them, but these are good kids," Shinobi nodded, lowering his hand. "Nice people. I'll put you in touch with one, if you want? She's a nice girl, you'd probably get along. Even if it's just over e-mail."

Angelo nodded with only a trace of reluctance. "E-mail to start with. Okay? Just 'til I'm sure."

"That's more than fair." Shinobi smiled, casting a quick look around. "Got some paper and a pen?"

Angelo shifted on the bed to rummage through his cabinet until he came up with a notebook and pen. "Here."

"Ta." He leant over to take the notebook and pen, briefly scribbling in the corner to make sure there was plenty of ink before jotting down a name and e-mail address. "Her name's Bethany," he says as he writes. "Nice girl, very open-minded. Just mention you're a friend of mine, maybe even why you aren't coming to the actual meetings, and you'll get on just fine." He recapped the pen, leaning over to offer it and the notebook back.

Angelo took them, tearing out the page with the e-mail address and tucking it under a book on the top of the cabinet, before putting them away. "Thanks. I'll mail her soon."

Shinobi nodded, smiling lopsidedly. "I'll refrain from slipping her your address to make sure you do. I trust you. Take your time."

Angelo grinned. "You can if you want, you know. Just in case."

"Do you think I should?" He tilted his head to the side, keeping his smile. "I can if you want me to."

Angelo shrugged. "Maybe you should. You know how it is."

Shinobi nodded thoughtfully. "I'll mail her when I get back to my room, then. I'll let her know to take it easy on you."

Angelo managed a grateful smile. "Thanks", he said simply.

"I live to serve." Shinobi inclined his head, smiling. "Anything to help you regain your bearings."

Angelo nodded. "Yeah. Think I could use some help", he admitted.

"Then you'll get it." Shinobi grinned, straightening up somewhat. "You need anything else, while I'm in such a helpful mood?"

Angelo thought about that. "Hm. Usual things - I never say no to more cigarettes..." he suggested hopefully.

Shinobi couldn't help rolling his eyes, grinning as he fixed the other boy with an exasperated look. "I thought you were supposed to be cutting down?"

Angelo shrugged unrepentantly. "That kinda fell by the wayside awhile back."

"Do you want it to stay by the wayside?"

Another shrug. "For now, I think so. Maybe I'll try an' give up again sometime when things are less crazy."

Shinobi considered this for a moment before he nodded, making a mental note. "More cigarettes it is, then."

Angelo grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "Thanks, man."