xp_logs | Amanda and Angelo - Catching up (backdated to Wednesday)

Amanda and Angelo talk about the recent anniversary of the bombings, his love life and her lack of one.

Angelo was wearing one of his less eye-gouging shirts, having come straight from the office - they got visitors sometimes, and he'd been toning it down lately. He walked into the pub, glanced around, and made a beeline for Amanda's booth.

"Hey you."

She looked up from the papers she was reading over and smiled. "Hey yourself," she replied, collecting her work together and slipping it back into its folder. "I started without you," she added, nodding at the half-full pint off to the side. "It was that kind of day." It was easy enough to wave to the barman for a second drink for Angelo - by now, she knew what his habits and preferences were.

He glanced over at the barman and nodded confirmation as he sat down and focused fully on her. "Yeah? Anything you're allowed to talk about in public?"

"Mostly trying to work out a way to get Billy to stop summoning shite when he gets a thought stuck in his head," Amanda admitted wryly. "Plus making sure Topaz doesn't go total hermit and wind up turning into Manuel at his worst."

Angelo snorted quietly at that. "At least Billy's is mostly annoying but harmless, the whole snowstorm thing aside. Topaz didn't seem that bad, not a big talker but it makes a nice change, but then I only met her once... and who'd have thought you and I would be the responsible ones? You with your apprentices, me chaperoning a student day trip..."

"And one without any disasters, even," she agreed. "Considering what teenage boys usually think about all the time, 's a miracle we haven't had a re-do of the love potion mess. And Topaz is doing all right now, but the thing with Tandy has me worried - she's got a habit of looking at people as experiments, the same sort of way Manuel did, and with a mutation not that different to Nico's and empathy, 's a bit of a tight rope for her. Still, at least she has someone who made all the mistakes first keeping an eye out." Amanda gave Angelo a crooked grin. "So all that fucking up was worth it, right?"

"Can't teach them to avoid bad mistakes if you never made any yourself", he agreed. "And maybe we can save them a bit of the pain along the way. Now you've said that, I'll keep a quiet eye on Topaz too if you like. She seemed to like Joyita."

"Everyone likes Joyita," Amanda pointed out, chuckling. "Tho', if you're going to keep an eye on Topaz, make sure you give her space. Kid's still not good with up close and personal and I don't want to overwhelm her." She grinned. "'Specially since Kurt's taken an interest and you know how he can get with the hovering sometimes."

"Ah, yeah." He grinned. "He means well, but, well... there's a reason I managed to steal his Blackberry in the medlab that time. I promise I won't go seeking her out or anything."

"It's sweet and yeah, he totally means well, but he can be a bit... whatever if you're not big on the whole happy family thing." She snorted and took another pull at her beer. "But yeah, I'd appreciate an eye out for her, when you're at the mansion - I try to get there as much as I can, but 's hard with the job and all."

He nodded ready agreement to that. "Maybe I'll see if she's interested at all in what we do. Might give her a reason to get out of her room more, without just wandering around aimlessly."

"Couldn't hurt." Amanda rested her chin on her hand and considered him with a slight smile. "So, enjoying being the head honcho of this X-Corps thing?"

"So much." He grinned broadly. "I loved being at Elpis and all, but... I always did kind of want to work in America too. The remit there wouldn't let me, but with X-Corps I get to write the remit."

"Nothing like being the one in charge," Amanda agreed. "Making your own hours, deciding what the dress code is, sending the youngest person out to get the lunches..." She broke into laughter. "Yeah, right. I bet the only time people bring you food is when you've done your workaholic thing again and forgotten to eat."

"Sooraya does it all the time", he admitted a little sheepishly. "And sometimes John or Jean-Phillipe makes me go to the kitchen and get something."

"Some things never change - I remember setting Sooraya and that little red girl onto you at one point to make sure you got fed." She grinned at the memory. "And how are things with you and tall, dark and grumpy?"

"Pretty well." He grinned. "We sort of settled on being official after he made me watch Miss Universe. And didn't warn me what Miss Mexico was wearing."

"I noticed he was around for the whole bombing anniversary," she observed. "'S good you've got someone to take care of you again."

"He does his best", Angelo said with a smile. "We're still sort of on a low profile, I think only three or four people know counting you, but y'know, it's kind of nice it just being our thing. And yeah, the anniversary... can't believe it's been five years."

"Yeah." Amanda sipped meditatively at her beer. "How're the Tel Aviv folks doing? Must have been hard, remembering."

"I think... there's enough distance now so it's still a pretty quiet sad day, but not so sharp, you know?" he answered slowly. "The survivors are all as physically healed as they're getting - you should see how fast Vasily's getting around now, you'd think nothing ever happened - so it's more just about marking the day."

"Hmm." Amanda nodded, thinking of her own memories of the bombing, which were mixed. On the one hand, there was the grief of friends being hurt and almost killed. On the other, it had gotten her to tell Angelo about her then-feelings for him. In the context of him being two relationships down the road from that time, while she was still single, it made for a small hint of melancholy. "I still go to Charlie's grave, you know, every year on the day. Some things you need to remember. 'M glad you lot were all there for each other."

Angelo nodded an acknowledgment. "Wish I could've flown out there, but it snuck up on me and I couldn't really take the time off right now anyway. Maybe next year, and for this year I had Skype. And how are you doing? Haven't caught up for awhile."

"Yay technology." Amanda sipped at her beer again. "As for me, you know. Same old, same old. Been busy with work and the teaching and all."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Now, you know I know deflection when I hear it, especially from you. Not to say you're not busy, I know you are, but... what aren't you saying?"

"Nothing to say," she replied, voice a mix of humour and an edge of something else, maybe bitterness. "I work, I teach, I sometimes do the social thing with mate. That's it."

"Aha." He leaned back in his chair, studying her. "Which leaves one pretty big thing you don't do. Was I rubbing it in?"

Immediately she shook her head. "No, of course you weren't. And I'm glad for you - you deserve to have someone that makes you happy." She reached over and gripped his hand briefly. "But yeah, sometimes it gets lonely. Still, I chose this life - and that means sucking up the fact it's not exactly good for the whole dating thing."

He squeezed her hand before she pulled it back, nodding. "Yeah, not the best if you can't explain where you keep running off to and why you sometimes come back injured. Unless it was somebody in the same world, of course. Not just X-Force, I mean... everyone out of the mansion bar the kids - and I'm not even sure about all of them - knows what to expect from you guys."

"Not to mention some of the things I have to do for the job that aren't exactly good for relationships," she added with a small, wry expression. "Tho', I will say bonking Thor wasn't the worst thing I've ever had to do."

"Depends on the relationship, I'd say", he said deliberately lightly. "But you're right, most probably not so much. I want you to be happy too, you know that."

"And I am, most of the time. Sorry to be all... whatever." Amanda gave him a smile. "You want another beer?"

"Sure", Angelo said with a smile in return, but there was still concern in his eyes. "You can always be whatever with me, you know."

"I know," she replied, holding up her hand to get the waitress' attention. "And right now, I want to ger pleasantly buzzed. You in?"

"Always."