xp_logs | Angelo and Nathan (Reply)

Angelo ventures down to the medlab to see Nathan and talk to him about their shared dream. Things go slightly better than last time.

His eyes were still playing tricks on him, Nathan thought grumpily, trying to focus on the words on the screen. Moira had left him the laptop, after extracting a promise that he wasn't going to do anything disturbing with it this time. It had been mildly aggravating, how serious she had been about it, but he wanted a distraction badly enough to swallow his pride. He was approaching the four-hour mark again, and when Madelyn stopped by to dole out the early-evening pills he would be asleep again soon enough, so he might as well enjoy being comparatively clear-headed while he could.

Angelo, a little nervously, ventured back down to the medlab. He had unusually clear memories of his dream from a night or two ago, and, oddly, Nathan had been in it, talking to him about important things. He knocked tentatively on the door and waited for an answer.

Nathan looked up from the screen at the closed door, frowning a little. Charles had been down earlier and had suggested that he refrain from telepathy for a couple of days longer, just to give his concussion a little more time to heal, but it was a little hard to follow that advice when there was someone on the other side of the door and you didn't know who it was. "Come in," he called a bit warily.

Angelo pushed the door open and stuck his head round it, equally warily, clearly ready to bolt at the first sign of Nathan being really pissed off. "Hey..."

Nathan stared at the kid for a moment, then pointed with his good hand at the chair beside the bed. "Sit down."

That really didn't help with the wariness, but Angelo obeyed, walking over to the chair and sitting down.

"No more button," Nathan said a bit balefully, even as he noted Angelo's obvious nervousness. "Understand... you were trying to help, but you shouldn't have done that."

Angelo nodded reluctantly. "No more button if you don't go gettin' yourself all worked up an' doin' yourself more damage", he offered.

"No... I mean seriously, no more button." He raised his hand to show Angelo the lack of an IV and the little bandage with the happy-faces on it that had replaced it. Someone's idea of a bad joke. "And I only... get worked up when people try and jerk me around." He met Angelo's eyes, glaring blearily. "I know now. Amanda told me. But I do...not do blind promises, Angelo. Ever."

"I wasn't tryin' to jerk you around", Angelo answered quietly. "I was tryin' to make sure you wouldn't hurt Amanda more by not lettin' her heal you." He sighed. "It really got to her, you know? When you wouldn't see her 'cause you thought she'd bring Manuel, an' then when you were scared of her..."

"Logic... need a damned logic course in this place.." Nathan raised his good hand to rub at his eyes, then frowned at Angelo. "Yeah, I lost it. But even if it wasn't... something between me and Amanda, and something we've already resolved... you thought it was going to make me settle down and... repent to make me think she did something... stupid and dangerous but dangle the information over my head until I did what you wanted?"

Angelo blinked, then looked down. "Hadn't thought of it like that. It... I don't know. That's not what I meant."

"Something you need to understand about me... if we're going to keep going forward from this," Nathan said, honest warning creeping into his voice. "I've been manipulated... on more levels than you can imagine. In ways I still don't fully understand. You try and push me... trick me... force me into anything and we're going to have... a problem." He stopped, swallowing, and rubbed at his eyes again, noticing that his hand was shaking. The drugs were definitely wearing off. "And for fuck's sake... especially don't do it when I'm drugged to the eyebrows and lying in a h-hospital bed."

Angelo swallowed, not looking up. "I'm sorry", he muttered. "Keep treadin' on people's buttons, don't I. But I never seem to know about them, 'til it's too late."

"Then tread more carefully," Nathan growled, then squeezed his eyes shut, wincing. "So what's up?" he asked, keeping his eyes closed. "You just... decide on this afternoon to bite the bullet and come see me?"

Angelo shrugged, eyeing Nathan with a frown. "'s part of it, yeah. An'... I had a really weird dream the other night."

"About?" Nathan prompted, opening his eyes again and ignoring the sick lurching sensation. Maybe he would take care to follow Charles' advice. Definitely still feeling the concussion...

"Well, it started out like just another nightmare. But then... you showed up."

Nathan raised an eyebrow, waiting for Angelo to go on.

"You changed things", Angelo continued quietly. "The nightmares... they're usually just the way things happened. Not this time. An' then I showed you some stuff an' we talked."

All right then. "Might've been me," Nathan muttered, trying to remember. But so much of the last... hell, almost a week now was just a blur. "I've... done it before. With Amanda, and Betsy... slipped into their dreams."

Angelo blinked, dragging back the memory of the beginning of the dream, and what Nathan had said. "Yeah... I think... you might've said somethin' about that. In the dream. Guess it was you, then."

"I... don't remember, Angelo," Nathan said, peering at him blearily. At least he didn't seem upset about it. Whatever had happened, it couldn't have been bad.

Angelo nodded, having already worked out that part. "You helped", he said quietly. "Stopped it bein' quite so bad, an' brought it back - or made me bring it back - to a good place before I woke up."

"Guess my subconscious gets... a cookie," Nathan said dryly, but let the sarcasm drop as he went on. "I'm glad I wasn't just... a voyeur."

Angelo looked at him seriously. "Far from that", he said, then hesitated. "I think... you said somethin' about lucid dreamin'? That you could maybe teach me when you're better?"

Lucid dreaming? "Sure," Nathan said. "Once I'm awake for more than a couple of hours at a time..."

"Yeah, when you're up to it", Angelo said hastily. "Didn't mean now, not at all."

Nathan sighed a little. "I know you didn't," he said, turning his attention back to the laptop screen. "Hate typing with one hand... " he grumbled.

"Better than not havin' a computer at all", Angelo pointed out, remembering his own several weeks in isolation.

"I don't need... to be reminded to count my blessings," Nathan said a little testily, his jaw clenching as he shifted a little and his damaged shoulder protested. Loudly. "Quite aware that I'm lucky... to be alive."

Angelo glanced at him, suddenly back on edge, wondering if it wasn't time to leave. "That's not what I meant. Sorry I tried to make you feel better", he said, a little testily himself. He didn't like being wary around one of the people on his "real friend" list.

Nathan tried not to grind his teeth. "Look," he said as carefully as he could. "Hurts like hell at the moment... been almost four hours again. So if I snap... that's why."

Angelo winced slightly. "Yeah. I think maybe I better go. 'Til you're feelin' better an' I'm not so tired an' close to the edge, or whatever."

"Talking about letting me out of here tomorrow," Nathan said, managing a tight, slightly strained smile. "Only up to Moira's rooms... but that'd be an improvement." He fell silent for a moment, then told himself sternly to make the effort. "Good luck with the rest of exams..."

Angelo nodded. "Yeah, you take what you can get, right? An'... thanks."