xp_logs | Angelo and Amara; Angelo and Warren

Angelo and Amara spend time together at his apartment. Neither of them is anything like okay.

Amara was on the floor in front of the couch. Angelo paused for a fleeting moment on his way to sit down, eyeing her, then stepped carefully over her and sat down silently with his feet next to her head.

Amara couldn't entirely remember when she'd lain down on the floor like this - nor why. But she was staring at the ceiling, rarely blinking. It was hard to tell if she was actually conscious, despite her eyes being open, since they were blank and she was only lightly breathing. It didn't seem like she even noticed Angelo moving over her, except once he was settled, she moved up off the floor, moving so she was lying almost exactly the same way, except on the couch with her head in Angelo's lap.

His hand moved to rub over the stubble on her head, acknowledging her presence, though he didn't say anything. There didn't seem to be a lot to say in that quiet moment.

"Don't," she said sharply, jerking away from his hand. She hated the reminder that her hair was gone, that all she was left with was this faint stubble and a body that was skin and bones.

The hand lifted away without comment except, after a moment, "I'm sorry."

She pulled herself up into a seated position - though balled might be a better description, Amara pulling her knees up tight against her chest and holding onto them for dear life. She didn't know how Angelo could bear to touch her, let alone be anywhere near her. Putting aside everything that had happened, she looked so awful. So unlike herself. She couldn't bear it.

His left arm stretched out across the back of the couch, not touching her shoulders but close enough that it could easily just drop down to wrap around them, as Angelo gave her a quick sidelong glance.

Amara could feel, if not see, Angelo's attention on her, and she steadily ignored him. She didn't want to talk. Or. Whatever he was looking at her for.

The arm dropped to rest lightly on her bony shoulders. He didn't try to talk to her, not being particularly keen on the idea himself at the moment.

She didn't move for a long while, but eventually relaxed enough to shift to lean her head lightly against his shoulder. She didn't say anything, nor did she move out of her ball, nor she did do anything to encourage either of them to do anything other than to continue to sit here in silence. She went back to her blank staring, trying to force back her memories of Genosha as she did.

Later, after Amara has retreated back to John's room, Warren comes over and manages to get Angelo to talk a bit.

Post-Genosha, Warren had a lot of catching up to do. Most of it was to do with work, and Jennifer had given him an earful about how long he'd been gone for. She'd hired someone to help them in his absence, a lawyer with a brilliant mind for legal research, but his mutation made it impossible for him to speak in court. So he worked for Walters and Worthington now, and Warren had to admit that he was a very useful addition to the office.

Or well, at least he assumed so. Jennifer was annoyed enough that Warren was stuck catching up on all of his files without the assistance of their new employee, claiming she needed him to help her keep up with all the work he'd left with her. Which had kept him busy.

But now he was taking some time out from work to do something other kinds of catching up - with friends, not clients. He was at the door of the Espinosa-Allerdyce apartment, knocking on the door.

The door opened to show Angelo, who showed no sign of surprise at seeing his friend, just standing aside to let him in. "Warren. Hey."

"Angelo." Warren moved through the open door, pausing to take a close look at Angelo. "You look like shit." Which was, probably, a rather blunt thing to say, but he didn't honestly think walking on egg shells was a good idea.

"Nice to see you too", was the utterly emotionless response. "At least I got the cuts and bruises fixed."

"I'm sure your girlfriend is ever so grateful for it." Warren paused for a moment, looking Angelo over a second time. And then followed with something incredibly uncharacteristic of him, stepping in close and enfolding the younger man in a hug.

The response was... odd, in that there wasn't much of one. Angelo didn't make any attempt to pull away, but neither did he really reciprocate. He did, just slightly, lean.

"Hey," Warren said jokingly, though there was a note of concern in his voice. He drew back far enough to look at Angelo without letting him go, studying him carefully.

"My hugs are pretty rare, you know. And known for their restorative powers. Kind of like unicorns."

That got the faintest of smiles and he turned more fully into the taller man's arms. "Might 's well test out those powers, then."

"Trust me, I'm a lawyer," Warren grinned, pulling Angelo in for a tight hug. Warren's ridiculous upper body strength lent itself to good hugs, and Warren wasn't about to let go in a hurry.

He sighed and let himself go limp into the hug. Very, very quietly, "They killed my baby sister, War."

"I know," Warren murmured, not letting go. "But they've paid dearly for that." The Genoshans had paid dearly for messing with their community - many with lives, others with the loss of their power and influence. Genosha would never be the same again, all because they sought to control mutants. Mutants who were more than willing and able to fight back.

Angelo nodded. "Feel kind of bad we had to kill so many Magistrates. But it's on Moreau's hands."

"I'm not usually one to say 'they deserve it', but... they were part of a system that oppressed and abused mutants. I don't like it anymore than you do, that we had to go to such extremes, but sometimes there is no other choice."

"I can't get that girl out of my head, either", he confessed, voice empty. "Mutate 17, I don't even know her real name. I know they were going to un-mutate her and send her home, but what happens to her after that?"

"Hopefully, she'll get the support she needs, and she'll be able to rebuild her life. Start again." Warren pulled back from the hug, looking down at Angelo with a serious expression on his face. "Which is all we can do as well. Mourn those we've lost, cherish those we haven't, and support those who need us. And keep doing what we're doing, working and fighting for mutants."

"I'm going to", Angelo said, and for the first time something crept into his voice - pure fierceness. "I'm going to work as hard as it
takes not to be the guy who can be disappeared without the world noticing ever again."