Gabriel and Amanda
Jan. 24th, 2022 11:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsGabriel, still rankled by Amanda's maneuvering, asks her some questions..
"Here." Gabriel appeared, without fanfare or warning, at Amanda's workspace at the Snow Valley office. "I held on to this, but I figured I'd give it back." He gently placed the amulet that she'd given him days earlier onto her desk. "I didn't know if it was valuable or if you needed to enchant it again or whatever, but it's not really a souvenir I need to keep, so."
Amanda looked up at Gabe's face, then down at the amulet and back up to him again. "Um, thanks," she said, hesitantly. "I was thinking I should go round and get these back, but I wasn't sure what sort of reception I might get. After, well, everything," she finished lamely.
Gabriel snorted. "Everything. Yeah." He looked at her for a second, then searched around for somewhere to sit. "About all that..." He dragged a stray chair toward her desk and plopped down. "You want to explain why the fuck you were so secretive about that? You showed up and tried to drag me into a nightmare with no real explanation. Kinda messed up."
Amanda sighed and scrubbed her hands over her face for a moment. But when she dropped them and looked at Gabriel, there was a certain resolve in her face. "Because we didn't know if it was safe, Garrison and me. The Brotherhood, Olivier... we had no idea what kind of resources they had, who they were watching. And the stakes were so high, being able to take them both down and this Sentinel program, we couldn't risk it."
"Yeah, for the months you were hiding." Gabriel didn't break eye contact. "Not the 60 seconds you were convincing me to come with you, dragging me back to a nightmare you couldn't possibly imagine. And then, you know, whether you intended or not, the fact that I was there had to be a thing that helped convince everyone else."
She didn't flinch, but her voice softened. "Would you have come, if I had told you the whole thing?"
“What? Fuck if I know,” he said, his exasperation boiling over. “I didn’t want to go back there. But I’ve been obsessing about how I could have gotten Garrison out for weeks, Amanda!” He crossed his arms. “You saw how much it fucked us up that we left him behind, and you’ve been keeping this shit a secret from us.”
"And that's why I couldn't say more. I needed you there and I needed you then. I didn't have the luxury of explaining things or taking you trauma into account. I hated it, but I did it because it was the only way I could be sure you'd be there without me dragging you." The witch sighed. "Remember what Remy always used to say? 'Personal isn't the same as important.'"
"I didn't really know Remy," he reminded her, trying and failing to mellow the edge that had appeared in his voice. "And you dragged me there anyway."
"You didn't? I forget, you weren't with the Trenchcoats back then. But yeah, it was something he always reminded us of, when things got personal. What we want as people is less important than the job. Than this job." She shrugged and went on, with the ghost of humour. "I could just have grabbed you by the scruff of the neck and 'ported, you know. Like a kitten."
"You kind of did." He cocked an eyebrow. Then he shrugged. "Whatever. You got what you needed. Garrison's back. That... thing is taken care of. I'm sure we'll all sleep better at night," he said flatly.
“Probably not.” She sighed again and picked up the amulet, turning it over in her fingers. “If it’s worth anything, I hated dragging you three along like that. If there’d been any other way, I would have taken it.”
Gabriel didn't smile, but some of the tension he'd been carrying in his face dissipated. "That is worth something," he said, though he was relenting more than anything, since it wasn't much. "At least to me," he added. He wouldn't presume to speak for Jean or Kyle. "The plan worked. That's got to feel good."
"Ask me that in a month when I've caught back up on sleep and magic," she replied wryly, but her shoulders lost some of their hunched look. "It was Gar's plan. I just hope folks can see it being worth the sacrifices he made."
Gabriel reflexively arched an eyebrow as he stood. Garrison was not the only one who made sacrifices in the last few months. But he couldn't make that point without explaining it, and that was not on his agenda. "I guess we'll see," he said, nothing in his tone suggesting whether he agreed or not. "I'm sure if people are unhappy they'll let you both know. If they haven't already."
"They know where my door is," she agreed.
"Here." Gabriel appeared, without fanfare or warning, at Amanda's workspace at the Snow Valley office. "I held on to this, but I figured I'd give it back." He gently placed the amulet that she'd given him days earlier onto her desk. "I didn't know if it was valuable or if you needed to enchant it again or whatever, but it's not really a souvenir I need to keep, so."
Amanda looked up at Gabe's face, then down at the amulet and back up to him again. "Um, thanks," she said, hesitantly. "I was thinking I should go round and get these back, but I wasn't sure what sort of reception I might get. After, well, everything," she finished lamely.
Gabriel snorted. "Everything. Yeah." He looked at her for a second, then searched around for somewhere to sit. "About all that..." He dragged a stray chair toward her desk and plopped down. "You want to explain why the fuck you were so secretive about that? You showed up and tried to drag me into a nightmare with no real explanation. Kinda messed up."
Amanda sighed and scrubbed her hands over her face for a moment. But when she dropped them and looked at Gabriel, there was a certain resolve in her face. "Because we didn't know if it was safe, Garrison and me. The Brotherhood, Olivier... we had no idea what kind of resources they had, who they were watching. And the stakes were so high, being able to take them both down and this Sentinel program, we couldn't risk it."
"Yeah, for the months you were hiding." Gabriel didn't break eye contact. "Not the 60 seconds you were convincing me to come with you, dragging me back to a nightmare you couldn't possibly imagine. And then, you know, whether you intended or not, the fact that I was there had to be a thing that helped convince everyone else."
She didn't flinch, but her voice softened. "Would you have come, if I had told you the whole thing?"
“What? Fuck if I know,” he said, his exasperation boiling over. “I didn’t want to go back there. But I’ve been obsessing about how I could have gotten Garrison out for weeks, Amanda!” He crossed his arms. “You saw how much it fucked us up that we left him behind, and you’ve been keeping this shit a secret from us.”
"And that's why I couldn't say more. I needed you there and I needed you then. I didn't have the luxury of explaining things or taking you trauma into account. I hated it, but I did it because it was the only way I could be sure you'd be there without me dragging you." The witch sighed. "Remember what Remy always used to say? 'Personal isn't the same as important.'"
"I didn't really know Remy," he reminded her, trying and failing to mellow the edge that had appeared in his voice. "And you dragged me there anyway."
"You didn't? I forget, you weren't with the Trenchcoats back then. But yeah, it was something he always reminded us of, when things got personal. What we want as people is less important than the job. Than this job." She shrugged and went on, with the ghost of humour. "I could just have grabbed you by the scruff of the neck and 'ported, you know. Like a kitten."
"You kind of did." He cocked an eyebrow. Then he shrugged. "Whatever. You got what you needed. Garrison's back. That... thing is taken care of. I'm sure we'll all sleep better at night," he said flatly.
“Probably not.” She sighed again and picked up the amulet, turning it over in her fingers. “If it’s worth anything, I hated dragging you three along like that. If there’d been any other way, I would have taken it.”
Gabriel didn't smile, but some of the tension he'd been carrying in his face dissipated. "That is worth something," he said, though he was relenting more than anything, since it wasn't much. "At least to me," he added. He wouldn't presume to speak for Jean or Kyle. "The plan worked. That's got to feel good."
"Ask me that in a month when I've caught back up on sleep and magic," she replied wryly, but her shoulders lost some of their hunched look. "It was Gar's plan. I just hope folks can see it being worth the sacrifices he made."
Gabriel reflexively arched an eyebrow as he stood. Garrison was not the only one who made sacrifices in the last few months. But he couldn't make that point without explaining it, and that was not on his agenda. "I guess we'll see," he said, nothing in his tone suggesting whether he agreed or not. "I'm sure if people are unhappy they'll let you both know. If they haven't already."
"They know where my door is," she agreed.
