xp_logs | Dom, Nathan, and Manuel, Sunday morning

Backdated to Sunday morning. Manuel heads down to the gym for some fencing, only to find Nathan and Domino already there in the middle of a very impressive workout. He plays audience for a while, then Dom offers him a rematch with knives once Nathan departs. Afterwards, the conversation turns to Amanda, and they don't quite part on the best of terms.

Manuel walked into the gym, looking for a little bit of fencing work to wear himself out. When he got to the gym, though, he stopped dead and took a seat on the floor to watch. Seems Domino was chasing the still-not-quite-fully-recovered Nathan all over the floor, trying desperately to avoid her strikes and make some of his own.

"Slow, old man," Domino said cheerfully, launching a high kick that Nathan barely managed to avoid. "Really, really slow. What the hell have you been doing since you got rid of the cast - sitting around twiddling your thumbs?"

Avoid the folds in the mats, Nathan told himself. It would be entirely too easy for her powers to nudge him right into a nasty trip. "Bite me," he suggested, sounding rather more breathless than she did. He lashed out - at where he thought she'd be, rather than where she was - and managed to connect, even if it was only a glancing blow that she shrugged off immediately.

Manuel smirked, but held his tongue for the moment. Just out of curiousity, he opened his mind towards the sparring pair - to see how they felt in combat when they weren't trying to run him through the wringer.

Domino launched another quick flurry of blows, grinning delightedly when a good half of them connected. Oh, she'd missed this, missed sparring with him. Even if he wasn't in his usual shape, it was still fun.

So damned fast, Nathan thought, unable to help a smile of his own even as she continued to chase him around the mats. She always had been, and she was reveling in it a little more than usual today. He sidestepped, then lashed out, grinning as she stumbled back, her violet eyes glittering with fierce joy.

Manuel couldn't help but grin along. They loved this so, and that was something that he shared in common with them. While he was far from a combat-hardened veteran like the pair he was watching, there was a peace and a satisfaction to be found in fencing, the emotional release that comes from risking all and having succeeded. He projected out a fast pulse of awareness to their emotional states, instead of annoncing himself physically.

"Hey, Manuel!" Domino called out happily, not looking away from Nathan. If she gave him an opening he'd take it, and slow or not, he could still hammer her into the ground like a tent peg if he got his hands on her. She was pleased when Nathan didn't so much as blink, let alone look sideways at Manuel. He might have lost some of his physical edge, but he could still stay focused on a fight.

So much different from fighting with anyone else, Nathan thought, ignoring the audience and actually managing to press Dom a little, driving her back a few steps. Her fighting style was almost totally unpredictable. Came from having picked up such a mishmash of styles from such a young age, he knew.

"Hey." Manuel called back, just sitting back for a once-in-a-lifetime ringside seat at the sparring match of the week. "You need some help, old man?" he taunted at Nathan.

"Not hardly," Nathan shot back, without looking away from Domino. He had her on the retreat, now, but he knew damned well that wasn't going to last. Any time now, something odd was going to happen...

Domino snickered. He didn't see that she was letting him back her towards the rope hanging from the ceiling. Silly, silly man... She waited until just the right moment and then lept, using her momentum to swing herself around in a rather insane acrobatic move and send him flying with one well-placed kick.

Manuel laughed out loud at the spectacle. Only someone with a luck power could have made that insanity work and look _good_ at the same time. "You quite sure?" he called out to the prone mercenary. "I can be plenty distracting when I want to be."

Trying not to grind his teeth, Nathan rolled back to his feet, wavering a little as his bad leg protested loudly. "Quite sure, Manuel," he called back, glowering at Dom as she swung gleefully on the rope, beaming at him. "You going to come down, or do I have to swat you off there?"

"Go right ahead," Domino said. Nathan shook his head, his grin returning, and returned the favor she'd just paid him. She had been ready for it, of course, and landed on her feet... after throwing in a somersault in the air. She winked at Manuel, taking a bow.

Manuel laughed at the display. "BRAVI!" he called out to her, sketching a bow to her from where he sat. He just _knew_ that come Fitness Class Nathan was going to beat the living hell out of him for this, but right now, he couldn't bring himself to care.

Nathan shook his head. "Are we done playing?" he called to Dom, the humor ebbing out of his voice, replaced by a challenge.

Her grin changed, grew fiercer and cold. "Anytime you are, babe," she called back.

"Then let's go."

And this time when they closed with each other, there was no playfulness involved.

Manuel's eyes popped as the emotional mood changed in an _instant_. He couldn't even follow the ebb and flow of strike and block and counterstrike, he could only try to bend his brain around the enormity of it all. He would never, ever be in this range, and he was fairly sure he never wanted to be. Still - it was very pretty to watch.

He was going to lose, Nathan knew. He and Dom generally fought to a draw when they fought for real, but only when they were both at their best. Which he was definitely not. So she had a distinct edge right now, and as the moments wore on he could almost feel the balance shifting between them, even before she started to drive him back again.

Doing well, old man, Domino thought. Better than she'd expected - he had clearly been putting some real effort into getting back into shape. But she had no intention of wearing him down to the point of exhaustion - Moira wouldn't thank her for that - so she looked for an opening, an opportunity to end this.

Manuel climbed to his feet, not wanting to miss a second of this fight. The things these two were doing - the feints, strikes, parries, ripostes, stop-hits, all of them - he only caught one move in three, on average, and they still took his breath away. Nathan and Domino were very, very good at this.

Oh, and now he was giving her an opening. Quite blatantly, too. Domino smiled a bit apologetically, and then kicked out at Nathan's bad leg. It had the effect she'd expected: he went down immediately, a pained curse slipping out. "Look," she said, breathing heavily as she waved at the leg in question. "Until that heals up? Do a little better at protecting it, okay?"

Nathan gritted his teeth, concentrating on breathing for a moment. That had hurt. But her power was well-taken. He nodded wearily, then glowered at the hand she offered. "Not that decrepit," he muttered, hauling himself back to his feet, swaying a little.

Manuel stayed respectfully silent as Nathan fell, and then was aided back to his feet. "Bravo, bravi, both of you!" he exclaimed once they were both standing. "Well done!"

Nathan actually managed a good semblance of a gracious nod in Manuel's direction. "I think I need a shower," he said, turning back to Domino.

She shook her head. "Make that a good long soak," she advised. "Don't want that leg stiffening up on you." She reached up and patted his chest, smiling warmly. "Not bad, old man," she said. "Not bad at all." Nathan grunted in return, but smiled back before he turned and hobbled out of the gym, nodding again at Manuel as he passed. "Well," Domino said with a grin, turning her attention to the younger man. "You liked what you saw?"

"Impressive." he said, leaning against the wall casually. "Very impressive. Far beyond me, I'm afraid."

Domino shrugged, rotating one shoulder carefully. Nathan had landed a number of particularly good hits. She'd need a soak herself, after she was done. "Eh, you don't really need to know hand-to-hand like that," she said easily. "Although Nathan tells me the two of you are doing the occasional training session of your own."

"Don't remind me. I think he is offended by my lack of muscle tone. I've still got quick wrists, after everything that's happened to me, but my endurance is a pale shadow of what it used to be." he said with a shrug. "I suspect he just enjoys seeing me weak."

"Give him a chance," Domino said, detouring to the side of the gym where the practice weaponry was. "He taught me a hell of a lot. Worth putting up with his attitude, trust me." She pulled out two sets of practice knives, grinning at Manuel. "Don't suppose you'd be in the mood for a little bout? I mean, I'd much rather get up close and personal, but as I recall, you prefer knives."

"After that display, I have no intention of ever going hand-to-hand with you. You would tie me into a pretzel and do unspeakable things to my tender anatomy - and not in the good way, as Jubilee would say. Still, I suppose a little knife-work would be nice. Give me some time to stretch?" he asked.

"Sure thing. I could do with a drink myself, I suppose," Domino said amiably, setting the knives on the mats and going over to fetch her water bottle. With Nathan gone, she was acutely aware of Manuel's presence, her skin almost tingling with it. You do make things complicated, she thought wryly, thinking about what Amanda had said. She was supposed to be threatening to castrate him, not wanting to invite him to get as up close and personal as he liked.

Manuel could sense where Domino's feelings were going, and he couldn't help but grin. "Or are you looking for something a little more - horizontal, by way of exercise? You do have that Thing about walls..."

Domino sighed, shaking her head at him. "Downright unfair," she said, mock-mournfully. "Always have that advantage... I don't suppose the gym door even has a lock, does it?"

Manuel looked over at the doors to the Gym. "Afraid not. Knifework it is, then." he said, then started to stretch out his legs and back. His stretching was fairly crude, but his flexibility impressive for someone who six months ago looked like an Auschwitz survivor.

"Probably just as well," Domino said, her voice chipper again. "Since I am heading off to Mongolia and all... if I have too many reminders of all the fun I'm leaving behind, I won't want to be trekking out to the middle of nowhere."

"Mongolia? Home of bitter cold and rancid yak milk? I do not envy you in the slightest." he said, finishing up his stretches.

"Yes, pity me," Domino said, giving him her best wide-eyed woeful look as she set her water bottle down and went over to retrieve the knives. "But it's a debt, and once it's paid, trust me, Mongolia will be on my 'no-go unless seven figures are being offered' list."

Manuel nodded. "Probably wise." He waited patiently for Domino to return with the practice knives. He was so going to get his ass kicked, but he had a plan on how to even the scales somewhat.

Domino eyed him with interest as she brought his knives over. "You have a definite look," she said sweetly. "A plotting look." She took a smooth few steps backwards, falling into a defensive stance. "It's rather attractive."

Manuel took his knife, settled for a classic icepick grip, and settled into his own much-less-refined defensive stance. "Just had an idea that I thought I'd play with. Something to even up the playing field a little."

Domino looked interested, rather than alarmed. "Creativity is good, Manuel," she said approvingly. "Consider me your guinea pig."

"I plan to." he said with a sneer, then accomplished a first for him - projected a crazy patchwork quilt of emotions right at Domino, and lunged forward physically to see if he could score a hit while she was trying to process the psionic input.

Domino was staggered by the empathic assault, and instinct alone made her jerk sideways, barely avoiding Manuel's knife. Reeling, she stumbled backwards to get out of range, shaking her head doggedly. "N-Not bad," she said, struggling for composure.

He kept up with his physical assault, but he was fast reaching the limits of his multitasking - his empathic assault grew flat and predictable, while his knife-strikes were shallow and off-center.

Her head was beginning to clear, and Domino found herself able to respond a little more normally to Manuel's attack. "Quite good," she said, her voice a little more natural as she parried, letting herself get back into a proper rhythm before she went onto the offensive. "Needs a little work, though?"

"I am not very good at blending empathy with physical exertion." he huffed. He let the empathic assault die entirely, and devoted his attentions to an all-out knife attack - taking some risks, but trying desperately to score a telling hit.

"You need to be more frugal with your energy," Domino said, staying on the defensive a while longer, to get a good look at his technique. "Full frontal assaults aren't always what's called for. Someone might sneak under your guard and do this..."

Manuel cursed as Domino's blade slashed across his belly. "Fuck." he swore with real feeling. "I'm having a hard time keeping a shield, attacking, and doing anything physical at the same time. It's hard. I get distracted, and something suffers for it." he said with real disgust.

"Combat multitasking," Domino said with a not-unsympathetic smirk, beginning to press him a little. "Probably the toughest thing, no matter what you're balancing."

Manuel's defenses were not very good - he was vastly better on offense. So he tried to retake the offensive, to press _her_ back rather than being pressed himself. "No lie." he panted.

"You should practice," Domino suggested. "With Nathan? Tell him to vary the hand-to-hand with some knifework. He's not as good as I am, but he's not bad."

"I have little influence there." he panted out, showing signs of running out of gas. His strikes were growing more and more erratic, and he was taking hits that five minutes ago he would have deftly dodged.

"Want me to tell him?" Domino smiled sweetly. "I browbeat him very well."

"If you wouldn't mind." he said, then cursed in Castillian as a clever strike from Domino hit a nerve in his knife-hand, causing his fingers to spasm and for him to drop his blade. "I think that's it for now." he said, his lungs screaming for air. "Too tired."

Domino backed off immediately. "Getting a little weary myself," she admitted, wiping sweat-damp hair out of her eyes.

Manuel panted as he tried to get air into his lungs. He was drenched in sweat, and his legs had a telltale wobble of extreme fatigue. "Still not in ... very ... good shape." he panted.

Domino reached out and took the knives from him, jerking her head at the water bottle. "Go have a drink," she suggested, walking over to replace the knives. "And it's a process, Manuel. So long as you're making progress you're headed in the right direction."

"It's ... getting ... better!" he panted as he wobbled over to the water bottle. Taking a deep draft from it seemed to steady him somewhat. "I hate this." he said to no one in particular.

Domino tsked sympathetically. "Well, at least it doesn't stop the women from fawning over you, does it?" she asked very brightly.

Manuel rolled his eyes at Domino. "Not the point. I hate feeling like this. I find someone to help me get into shape, then they bugger off. I find someone else who can help, and he enjoys watching me squirm when I can't do things he wants me to do. He was talking about a 5km run. I laughed at him, but he's quite serious."

Oh, Nate, Domino thought with an inward sigh. They were definitely going to have to have a talk. "I'll kick his ass about it," she offered. "It's possible to help you get back in shape without trying to force you up to his standard. Sounds like he needs reminding."

"I know that I'm still physically destroyed, but I didn't sign on to be a soldier!" he said around gulps of water, draining Domino's waterbottle dry. "I just want to not embarrass myself and to look good."

"I'll make you a deal," Domino suggested. "I'll intercede for you with the old man..."

Manuel quirked an eyebrow. "And in return?" he asked sharply.

"In return, you take Amanda out somewhere nice, just the two of you, and show her a good time."

"Easily done." he said with a grin. "Although I'll have to find a place that I will tolerate that her notion of dress clothes will tolerate. I should be able to arrange something." he said with a smirk.

"Then we have a bargain," Domino said cheerily. "Excellent." She stretched, wincing a little. "Ow. Nate can hit like a truck when he puts his mind to it."

"He's a telekinetic with gorilla arms. You were expecting to be tickled?" he said with great amusement. "I know precisely how hard he can hit."

Domino shot him an amused look. "I'd offer to let you join me for a soak, but you don't look like you're in any kind of shape to keep up with me today."

Manuel grinned. "I might surprise you with hidden stores of energy. Or I could see if Nathan's stupid trick will work for an empath for an hour or two."

Domino thought about the conversation she'd had with Amanda, and shook her head, still smiling. "Let me take a raincheck," she suggested. "Give me a reason to come back intact from Mongolia and all..."

Manuel quirked an eyebrow at Domino. "Something's wrong." he said flatly.

Domino sighed. "Should have known that wouldn't slip past you." She folded her arms across her chest, studying him thoughtfully. "I'm worried about Amanda," she confessed.

"Why, is there something wrong?" he asked Domino while checking their empathic link for any sign of trauma. "She feels just fine to me."

Domino thought for a long moment about the answer to that. "I understand you two have something of an open relationship," she said finally, "but you also have that link. I'm wondering if Amanda's finding the two a little harder to balance than she thought."

Manuel quirked an eyebrow. "I let her do what she wants with whoever she wants. That should be enough for her." he said, his machismo practically dripping from his pores. "I never say a word when she picks up some on the side, as long as the filthy Mexican isn't one of them."

"And what about you?" Domino inquired lightly, not particularly bothered by the shot at Angelo. They were both young and male, after all. "Is what you do on the side, too?"

"Always." he said with a grin. "I am not looking for a wife. Not for a good long while yet. And if I were, it certainly would not be Amanda. Mierda, what a joke that would be." he said. "No, I choose to play the field for now."

For a moment, Domino was very glad she'd put the knives back. "If it ever becomes necessary for the two of you to have that particular discussion," she said dryly, "I do hope you won't use that particular phrasing."

"It won't ever be necessary." he said with a self-assured smirk. "I like the girl. I feel for her. She's good in bed. But if she wants the link gone, all she has to do is ask. Apparently she's got a thing for la raza, eh?" he said, slipping into a creditable imitation of Angelo's rough Los Angeles Mexican accent. "Seriously - while she is good for me right now, she would be a spectacular disaster as Mrs de la Rocha. She hasn't the faintest idea how to behave, how to act, or how to look. She knows it, I know it."

Domino raised an eyebrow. It was wrong to be amused by this, she told herself, but then, it was either be amused or do something dire. "I'm going to go soak," she said pleasantly. "Alone. You, dear, can fuck yourself at your leisure."

Manuel looked confused. "What?" he asked as she retreated. "It's _true_! Wait - don't tell me you think I owe Amanda a good life in the upper classes because I'm sleeping with her!" he called out after her. "Stupid woman." he said after she was (hopefully) out of earshot.