xp_logs | Angelo and Nathan

They have a chance encounter in the library and talk about Angelo's plans to get a job, and his visit to Nathan's dream the previous night.

Angelo frowned over the computer, clicking down the situations vacant page. He was after some kind of unskilled casual job, just part-time or for the weekends, and was possibly looking in the wrong place, because he wasn't finding many.

He needed to do some photocopying before Mandarin class - he had found a better grammar exercise to use for the concept that had been driving the kids nuts - so Nathan headed directly to the library after finishing with Manuel. When he saw Angelo seated at one of the computers, scowled, he froze for a moment. The dim, fragmentary images from the dream the night before flickered through his mind and his jaw clenched. It took a fair amount of self-control to walk in Angelo's direction, but he couldn't just... pretend it hadn't happened, or ignore him. "Hey," he said, softly and uncertainly.

Angelo glanced round, with a smile of greeting, tempered by concern at what he heard in Nathan's voice, and a feeling that he knew why it was there. "Hey."

"Job-hunting?" Nathan asked hesitantly, lowering himself into the chair next to Angelo's. "Any luck?" He focused on the screen instead of Angelo's face, part of him hoping the young man wouldn't bring up the dream. He'd have to talk about it if he did, but...

Angelo shrugged. "Not so far. Think maybe I need to try another site..." So saying, he exited the one he was on and went looking for another, hoping it'd be better. He, too, chose not to mention the dream, at least for now.

"What sort of thing are you looking for?"

"Weekend work, or part-time maybe. Just unskilled stuff - store work, that kind of thing."

Nathan mustered a smile. "No clearer idea than that? You need to go looking for something that grabs you." He paused, thinking about it for a minute. "Do you want to work with people? Kids? Animals? Quietly, by yourself?"

"If I had an image inducer, with people. Or... maybe Rahne's shelter's after paid workers. From what she says, they got no problem with mutants."

"You could sign up with one of these placement agencies, maybe," Nathan suggested. "Have you talked to the Professor? He might have some specific suggestions when it comes to stuff like that..."

"Not since I mailed him about the whole idea of gettin' a job. I was pretty sure he'd let me have one - Amanda has, after all - but it's not a bad idea. I'll go see him if nothin' turns up here."

"Good," Nathan said, his smile wavering a little as he realized they were coming to the end of this handy conversational distraction. "I'd like to see you get something you like, Angelo. Amanda was lucky, that way." Surely there was something Charles could do, another string that could be pulled.

Angelo grinned slightly. "Yeah, me too. The shelter's soundin' like an idea, actually - think I'll ask Rahne about it, too."

"See?" Nathan said, trying for a teasing tone and not quite making it. "You just need to know what you want, Angelo. That's the first step."

Angelo eyed him with some concern at the slightly off note in his voice. "First step for a lot of things, seems like."

Bite the bullet, coward. Nathan took a deep, unsteady breath, still trying to smile. "Are you okay?" he asked. "After... last night, I mean."

Angelo nodded, not needing to ask what he meant. "Yeah. Could ask you the same thing."

"I don't... remember it very clearly," Nathan said, attempting to laugh. It came out sounding kind of weird, and Angelo didn't look particularly reassured. "So long as you're all right, though... I figure it probably had something to do with me being in contact with your mind yesterday."

"I'm fine", Angelo assured him, before asking tentatively, "...What do you remember of it?"

"Just bits and pieces. That you were there - I'm sorry you had to see all of that," Nathan said a bit dimly, the apology slipping out automatically. "I really need to do something. Talk to Charles. I don't seem to be able to shield well when I'm asleep anymore."

Angelo was watching him in open concern now. "Might be an idea, if you used t'be able to an' you can't now. Any idea why?"

He shrugged uneasily. "Exploring my telepathy on top of dredging up all the crap I've been carrying around in my head for all these days. The dreams seem to be a side-effect. It happened with Amanda the night before last." Again, he tried to smile. "I seem to be mastering some form of reverse non-physical sleepwalking. Weird, huh?"

Angelo nodded. "It is kinda, yeah. Anyone else showed up in your dreams that shouldn't be there?" he asked speculatively, eyes on Nathan's face.

Nathan shook his head. He and Moira had shared a couple of dreams late last week, but that was normal, an outgrowth of the link. "I'm just sorry you wound up in my head like that," he said quietly. "Are you absolutely sure you're okay?"

Angelo nodded firmly. "Absolutely sure. There was somethin' I was curious about, though, if you don't mind talkin' about it...?"

You owe him that much, at least. Nathan nodded. "Ask away," he said, managing a neutral tone, if not an enthusiastic one.

Angelo hadn't expected enthusiasm and had, in fact, been more than half-expecting Nathan to say he'd rather not. "At one point, Dom showed up. Only it wasn't Dom, an' she knew that. Said she was a representation."

That sounded odd. Nathan tilted his head, considering it for a moment. "I don't know what that would have been about. A representation - she called herself that?" He shrugged uneasily. "She might have been something out of my subconscious. I don't really know what Dom would represent for me at that level."

"She was out in the woods. She seemed t'know a fair bit about what was goin' on - an' she said she'd seen it before."

"It wasn't her," Nathan told him more firmly, even though he didn't really remember what Angelo was talking about. But he knew Dom had certainly not been in his head last night. "Just an image of her, Angelo. That's all. Part of me trying to talk to you and picking a weird way to do it."

Angelo nodded. "Oh, I know it wasn't really her. She said as much, like I said. Just wonderin' what it was she represented."

"I really don't know." Nathan smiled awkwardly, rising from his chair. "Anyway. I've got some photocopying to do before class - I think I've found a better way to go over the stuff you were all having so much trouble with."

Angelo nodded. "Fair enough. See you in class, then."