Angelo and Sooraya (backdated)

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Sooraya brings Angelo lunch... Angelo tells Sooraya about the blast from the future that arrived...



Sooraya expertly balanced the tray on one hand as she pushed open the door to what was gonna be Angelo's new office. "Angelo, I brought us some lunch." She put down the tray on a side table, happy to be rid of the heavy load of lentil soup, pita bread and some fresh vegetable sticks with cream cheese. Finally she turned back to the desk and got a good look at the man she considered her big brother. "Angelo, is everything okay?"

Somewhere along the way, he thought ruefully, he'd lost the ability to hide anything from his closest friends. He shrugged slightly. "I don't actually know. Sort of, I guess?"

The Afghan woman frowned at him as she pulled over a chair and sat down at the side where Angelo was sitting. "What do you mean? What is going on?"

He looked at her for a long moment, then got up and closed the door. "...okay. This is gonna be hard to explain, but let's give it a shot. You saw Scott's post about a new student called Rachel?"

"Mr. Summers post? Yes, I saw it." Seeing it had caused a huge pang of grief, as if she caught as glimpse of a future that never was going to be after what happened on Genosha. "I thought it a very strange coincidence."

"It's not a coincidence", Angelo said bluntly, reaching for the framed photo on his desk and holding it as if to comfort himself. "That Rachel is Rachel, but from another place."

"What?" Sooraya's eyes widened in confusion. "I don't understand... That is Rachel? How?"

"Do you remember when Angel's future alternate-world husband fell through the ceiling? Seems to be something like that."

"Angel did tell me about it..." Sooraya remembered her friends shock quite well. "So this Rachel is from another dimension?!?!? How is that possible?"

"She came on purpose", he said carefully. "Her world's in a lot of trouble, she needs the X-Men."

Sooraya nodded, a strange mix of grief, but also elation surging through her. Still not quite sure what to make from it though, she reached out and rested her hand on Angelo's: "How are you doing with this?"

"I'm not sure."  He looked up at her. "She's going to go away again."

"I am guessing she has to go back to her own dimension if possible? And as soon as possible?" Sooraya said slowly. Should she take this chance and see what Rachel might have become? Or would it be best just to keep her distance, possibly limiting the grief she felt welling up inside her at the idea.

"And she doesn't want Nate and Moira to know she was ever here. Which makes sense, you know, it'd only hurt them more and they're not gonna be here to accidentally run into her, but... it's not gonna be easy keeping that from him.  Not sure I could at all if I'm in accidental reading distance."

"No... it's not... I think I probably could not do that either..." Sooraya was quiet for a few moments. "I understand why she wants to keep it quiet... but do you think that is really possible? Would it not be more painful to find out later accidentally, then being told now? Even if the bonds between the school and Nathan and Dr. Moira are looser, they are absolutely not gone..."

"I really don't know", Angelo said unhappily. "What I'm thinking is, maybe after she's gone.  That way it's a done deal and... and they can't try to make her stay.  I'd want to, in their place."

"You are right... We cannot tell them now..." She had to agree with Angelo there. "I don't think I could hide this forever from them... I don't even want to hide this forever..." Sooraya said fiercely, but then let out a deep sigh and bowed her head. "Though I will try if I have too..."

He nodded.  "Not forever.  It doesn't sound like she'll be around all that long, she's pretty keen to get home and fix things if she can."

Sooraya gave a small nod at that. "Have you seen her? Or spoken to her?"

He suddenly looked a little shifty. "Yes. I... might have taken her out and bought her tequila."

"You took her out and bought her tequila?" Sooraya repeated his words in disbelief. "Seriously?" She stared at him for a few moments. "Why would you take her out and buy her tequila? Is she even twenty-one?"

"Sssh!"  He waved his hands at her frantically. "Keep your voice down, and no she's not, but she's hardly a kid. I know places they don't ask and it seemed like she could use it... but it turns out drink and this Rachel aren't friends."

"Alright..." Sooraya quickly lowered voice and tilted her head. "Did something bad happen?" She asked, concerned.

"No, no", he assured her hastily.  "She just got drunk enough to notice after, like, three tequila pops.  She did warn me, but I didn't think she meant she was that bad with it. We drank, we talked, I poured us into a cab and she fell asleep on my couch."

"That does not sound too bad? Though I still can't imagine how strange it must be..." Her voice died of and she tried to picture herself meeting Rachel, but could not quite manage it. The shock was still too sharp.

"Amen to that", Angelo said fervently, then sobered. "She's... pretty broken, Sooraya.  Her world, Apocalypse is winning. She's seen a lot of people die."

Another thing that was hard picture. Little Rachel had always been so full of life and joy. "I can't even begin to imagine what that is like. Then... even with what happened last May... we don't have it so bad here." She had to snort. "Talk about putting things into perspective..."

"Something worth hanging onto", he agreed.  "Even if she might not like us using her for inspiration."

"Maybe not... And I can understand why. But still..." Sooraya said, lost in thought. But quickly she blinked a few times and focused on the here-and-now. "Angelo..." Her voice trailed of a little. "Are you going to be okay with this?"

"She's not staying", he said quietly.  "So I don't really have to be. If she was here for good... I guess I would be eventually."

Sooraya once more covered his hand with hers. "Even if she is not staying, it opens up something that is still healing. That is what I meant with being okay."

"Hadn't even started", he admitted wryly.  "And yeah, I... don't know. Maybe."

After some hesitation Sooraya ventured carefully: "Will you promise me something?"

"Name it", Angelo said with no hesitation in turn.

"Will you promise to talk with someone if you need to? Not just friends, but someone who can really help?" She lowered her eyes a little. "I made a mistake when I didn't... I don't want people to hurt themselves like I did."

"...ah."  He smiled slightly.  "I've got Jack Leary on speed-dial. I promise."

"Thank you." She gave him a small smile. "I know I am probably a bit of a worrywart..."

"After Genosha, everybody's got a right to be worried about any given other person", Angelo said with a shrug.  "Might be the only thing they can do."

"Totally true. Though... I believe little sisters have the right to worry whenever they want about their big brothers. Even if their lives were only sunbeams and rainbows." Sooraya pushed the whole thing about Rachel away for a bit so she could contemplate it later and tried to lighten the mood just a little. "Just like they have the right to chase after big brothers with food so they don't forget to eat."

"You're never gonna stop doing that, are you."  He leaned back in his chair and grinned.  "You'll be fifty and married and still feeding me."

"Well... I'd hope you would have learn to feed yourself by then. And otherwise your nieces and nephews will have a good practice subject for their cooking skills. Though if you haven't learned by now... you are definitely a hard case..."

"I just get caught up in things", he admitted.  "I eat, I even cook, just... maybe not as often as I should."

Sooraya gave him a smile. "I know and I enjoy doing it. I hate cooking for one person. And even though I know there is almost always a willing victim somewhere around, I enjoy cooking for other someone specific."

"Fair enough.  So it works for us both, then, for now."

"It does." Sooraya quickly pushed back her chair and went to get the tray. "I think maybe we should eat before this gets totally cold? It's just lentil soup with bread and some vegetable sticks though..."

"Good enough for me", he said, pulling the bowl towards him.  "Food doesn't have to be fancy to be worth eating."