xp_logs | Romany and Nathan, Monday afternoon

Nathan finds Romany after her conversation with Alphonso (and before these logs). They catch up and talk about Amanda, Pete, and Domino.

Nathan found Romany in one of the lounges, sitting there with a cup of tea and staring a bit blankly at the far wall. "You look tired," he said, coming over and sitting down on the couch next to her. "Badgering your brother to eat and sleep is all well and good, but you need to do the same."

"You should talk," Romany replied, but there was no malice in the retort. "No, I've just had one of the more unsettling conversations of my life. I decided to have words with Manuel's father, see what the situation was there." Her eyes hardened. "Bloody threefold rule - I should have turned him into a newt."

"You, too?" Nathan leaned back into the couch, smiling a bit defensively. "Had one with him on Saturday that rather went badly myself. Even before I was stupid and introduced him to the voices in my head."

"He knew far too much about Amanda and about me. And he kept talking about her gifts being for sale, like she was a common street tart." Romany realised her knuckles were whitening on the tea mug and forced herself to relax again. "Please tell me you and my brother are keeping tabs on the odious little pig."

"You know Pete," Nathan said quietly, reassuringly. "He keeps tabs on everyone. And as for me..." He smiled a bit thinly. "I can watch the father through the son."

"I understand the son a lot better now I've met the father." Romany shook her head, trying to clear it. "He knows what the situation is, at least, and while he thinks my hands are tied, this old girl has more than a few tricks up her sleeve. Besides two very dangerous men on her side." She glanced over at Nate, not liking what she saw in his aura. "And speaking of dangerous men... what have you been doing to yourself? Besides leasing yourself out as a house of spirits?"

"If he underestimates you, Rom, he deserves what's coming to him," Nathan said with a crooked smile. "Just promise that I can watch." She simply watched him, clearly waiting for an answer to her question, and he sighed. "Leasing myself out... that's a funny way to put it. It's taking some adjusting."

"That's one way of putting it. And the rest?" She indicated his wrist. "I count several broken bones in the last six months - that's more than you ever used to pick up when you were a mercenary, Nathan. Do I need to ship you and your lovely doctor friend off to Homily for the mystical version of a health spa?"

He caught himself rubbing at his wrist again. What, was he looking for new nervous mannerisms these days? "Amanda keeps talking about a plastic bubble," he said a bit vaguely. "Beginning to think that might not be such a bad idea." Romany merely raised an eyebrow, and he sighed. "Bad luck, old ghosts coming back to haunt me... between that and all my new friends, I'm thinking I'm probably doing well to have survived the last six months, Romany."

"You never were one to do things by halves." Romany lay her hand briefly on Nathan's wrist, and he felt the tell-tale tingle of a healing spell. "If things get too much... well, I wasn't entirely joking about the health spa thing. I'm happy to give you sanctuary when you need it."

Nathan smiled a bit. "Thanks," he said softly, knowing she'd understand he meant for both the healing spell and the offer. "I think I'll stick it out here, though. Getting quite disturbingly attached." He looked up at her, trying to formulate the right words. "There have been a number of times I've had to stop myself from groveling over email to you, the last few months," he confessed finally, his voice subdued. "All the trouble Amanda's gotten into because of me..."

"I think we're both aware Amanda is more than capable of getting herself into trouble, with or without your influence," Romany said crisply. Then she added, a bit more gently. "She made her choice when she decided you were one of her people. Don't make me give you the lecture about self-determination. Besides, I think the benefits outweigh the costs, tenfold. She's not the same streetbrat I picked up on the streets of Brighton back in January."

"She's..." Nathan stopped, aware that he had that somewhat idiotic smile on his face again. He looked sideways at Romany, who was watching him, patiently. "I love her to death, I really do. I want to see her happy more than anything..." He stopped, laughing wryly. "Even if it's with Manuel. Whom I'm weirdly fond of, admittedly, but in a very different way."

"He has potential, I'll give him that. And he has made progress, from what I hear. I just wish..." Romany cut herself off. "It's good to see you letting yourself feel again, Nathan. And you always were a pushover for little girls in distress. Speaking of which, how's Domino? She keeps promising to visit, but I haven't seen her in months. She owes me a present from Amsterdam."

Nathan grinned. "I won't ask," he said with a laugh. "And as for where she is... not absolutely sure at this point." He grew more serious. "Pete's sent her off to look into some leads on Mistra. She's checked in a couple of times to let us know she's okay, but she's more or less off the grid for the time being."

"Pete mentioned something about a new job, but we have an agreement - I don't ask details about his work, and he doesn't ask about mine. We know enough to not get into trouble, generally. So Domino's working for him, now? Interesting." The grin that appeared on Romany's face could be best described as 'evil'. "Does she still have that crush on him?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "What do you think?" he asked, another laugh slipping out. "Dom doesn't tend to let things go. And Pete, unlike me, is still very much unattached, unless there's something he hasn't told me..."

"He growls and tells me to mind my own business when I ask, so I'd say that he is still unattached. Besides, he never could lie to me, especially after I started practicing magic." Romany finished her almost-cold tea and set the mug aside. "I think the two of them are rather sweet, don't you think?"

"I'm not sure sweet is the word, but..." Nathan grinned. "Cute, yes. You know, she told Amanda about her little adventure with Pete in Dublin? They came back giggling about it. I haven't seen your brother turn that red in years."

Romany laughed out loud at that. "I didn't know Pete _could_ still blush. It seems his inadvertant uncledom has done him a lot of good. I really must work some more on Domino next time I see her."

"She and Moira are actually getting along," Nathan said happily. "Never thought I'd see the day, but..." He paused, smiling wryly. "The two of them and Amanda were having one of those scary feminine bonding sessions a couple of weeks ago..."

It wasn't easy to surprise Romany, but Nathan managed it. "You mean with the giggling and the ice cream and the soppy movies? Moira is bad enough, Domino worse, but they managed to get Amanda to sit through that? I think the only thing that would surprise me more if I saw her in a dress."

"There was nail polish," Nathan confided, his eyes dancing with mirth. "Purple. All over everywhere."

"Oh dear," Romany said faintly. She looked at Nathan. "You're right, this place does things to people."

Nathan snickered. "I know. I'm getting positively domesticated... it's frightening." He reached out instinctively, laying a hand over Romany's. "She is happy here," he said more quietly, the smile still playing on his lips. "Between crises, admittedly. But she is."

Romany squeezed his fingers in return. "I know," she said simply. "It's why she's here."