Angel|Tabitha - An Important Conversation (Backdated)

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In which Tabitha asks Angel an Important Question.


Angel was grinning as she made her way down the stairs, heading for the front door. The last few months of of her life had been entirely dedicated to not drowning her junior year of college (her professors were clearly all sadists), and for the first time since the semester had started she had...well, time. No homework that needed to immediately be done, no textbooks looming over her screaming, "READ ME!"...it was fabulous.

Of course, what Angel was going to do with all this free time, she wasn't quite sure. But getting as far away from her books as possible was a great start.

It was pure luck that had Tabitha coming in from her run as Angel came down the stairs. "Angel! Just the person I wanted to see. You got a few?"

"Hmn?" Angel stopped as she stepped off the last step. "Yeah, sure Ms. Smith. What's up?"

Tabitha leaned against the banister, attempting a bit of charm. "How are you for time these days? Do you feel your life is fulfilled, or do you need a cause?"

"Hmn..." Angel tilted her head for a moment, pressing her lips together in a thoughtful expression - really just trying not to smile or laugh. "Actually, now that you mention it, I have noticed lately that my life appears to be lacking. But for the life of me, I can't figure out what might be missing," she added with an exaggerated sigh. "Why do you ask?"

Silence stretched for a moment as Tabs studied Angel's face. She took a breath and launched into an explanation. "I'm getting a bit long in the tooth to be a proper mentor for the New Mutants. I really believe they would benefit more from someone closer to their age group. I think you'd be a perfect person for the job."

Whatever Angel had been expecting, that certainly wasn't it. "I...what?" She asked after a moment, uncharacteristically stunned into near-silence. "Me? What?" She coughed, clearing her throat before attempting words again. "Me mentor the New Mutants? I'm not saying no," she added quickly, "just...making sure I got this right."

Tabs shrugged one shoulder. "You've done so much with the fire department and stuff. I think you'd be a great, ACTIVE role model for the kids. None of them want to grow up to be librarians," she said.

"I dunno, I think that's a position Hope would flourish in," Angel said with a bit of a laugh, mostly to cover up the fact that she was still trying to wrap her brain around this. Her in a position of power? Well, sort of power. But still. What? "I mean...yeah. I could totally do that. Yeah."

Tabitha waved her hand. "If you want to pass it on to Hope at some point, when she's OLDER, be my guest. But I really think you're the one for the job right now. You have the right mix of youth and experience needed for a mentoring position. Also, it'll look awesome on your resume when you go job hunting."

Angel shoved her hands into her pockets, hm-ing thoughtfully. "Never hurts to help a resume a little bit," she agreed. "Did I say yes yet? Because if I didn't, well - yes. Definitely yes."

The librarian grinned happily. "Excellent. Come by the library some time, and I'll go over the files with you." she said as she headed up the stairs. "Right now, I'm going to get less smelly."

"Yes ma'am." Angel sprang into a salute as Tabitha walked away, returning the grin. "I'll swing around soon. Good luck in your pursuit to get less smelly."