Bethany and Nathan

[x-shinobi.livejournal.com]

Saturday at the HeliX benefit, and shortly after she meets Manuel, Bethany and Nate spot each other in the crowd. Rather than continuing to fly solo, she goes to say hi, and he winds up taking her outside for some fresh air and something of a pep talk.



Nathan sipped at the punch, which really wasn't bad - he'd been tempted to try the wine, but there were enough unfamiliar people around at this little shindig that taking a chance on his apparently funky metabolism didn't seem like a good idea. His eyes roamed the crowd and he let his mind do the same, sifting through stray thoughts and background battle. Maybe this was eavesdropping, but it was still more than moderately entertaining.

His eyes lit on a familiar figure in a suit - and sneakers - and Nathan couldn't help a grin as Bethany noticed him looking at her. He raised a hand in a brief wave.

After a quick look around to make sure she wouldn't be trampling anyone - or be trampled, as was more likely the case - Bethany flashed a grin towards Nathan before hurriedly squeeking her way through the crowd. Company would be good, and hey, he was Nathan - anyone Amanda liked, she liked. "Don't we look dashing," she said once she was closer, grinning cheerfully up at him.

"Dashing? I like that," Nathan said with a warm smile. He wholeheartedly approved of Bethany, on just about every level, and didn't see any reason not to let her know it - subtly, of course - whenever they met. "And you look... are you going to hit me if I say cute?" Cute and a little ill at ease.

"If I hit you, I'd break my hand, so probably not," Bethany grinned, shooting a quick look down at herself. "You don't think I look bad in this thing? I'm surrounded by gowns and tuxes, but this was the best we could do. Doin' a number on my inferiority complex, I swear."

"You look like you. That's a rare accomplishment, at something like this," Nathan said. He spotted a glimmer of silver through the crowd, and couldn't help the utterly sappy smile that crossed his face as Moira paused, waved at him, and then went in the other direction, obviously having spotted someone she wanted to talk to.

"Looking like me would have involved showing up in jeans and a sweatshirt," Bethany observed reasonably, looking up in time to catch his sappy smile. She could have tried not to look too amused, but.. why bother? It was funny, in an adorable sort of way.

"You still look like you. Just a slightly dressier version of you," Nathan said lightly, sipping at the punch again. "So are you having fun?" he asked.

Bethany made a thoughtful noise, moving over to stand next to him so she could join in on the people-watching. "As much fun as I can flying solo, I guess," she nodded, somewhat unhappily. "Not that I'd have gotten my choice in date anyway, but I'm a teenage girl, I'm allowed to pout about these things."

"It's really a pity Dom wasn't here this weekend," he said with an entirely shameless grin. "She would have been up for a date, I'd imagine."

"Oh, God, that would have been nice," Bethany replied wistfully, resting a hand against her forehead. "I know I wouldn't be considering sneaking out and getting a cab home this early if she were here to keep me entertained, that's for sure."

"Don't be silly," Nathan said firmly. "You're not going anywhere." He set his glass on the tray of a passing waiter, and then held out a hand to her. "Dance?"

"Broken toes?" Bethany countered with an amused smile, eyeing the offered hand somewhat warily. "Manuel already offered, we decided we didn't want to kill anybody with my lack of coordination."

"You won't break my toes. Come on," Nathan said, and rather shamelessly used the puppy-dog eyes.

With a whimper of defeat, Bethany reached over to drop a hand into Nathan's waiting one with a slump of her shoulders. "Just make sure you're billed for the damages," she sighed.

Nathan drew her over to the dance floor, laughing softly. "Don't worry so much," he said. "You want a confession? I'm not particularly at ease in settings like this either."

"I'd be better if I wasn't here solo, probably," Bethany admitted, letting herself be drawn along. It was a step up from making him drag her, at least. "Or in a Teenage Mood. I don't know how I let her talk me into this."

"In this? Or into meeting Manuel?" Nathan said, keeping his voice low, conversational, as they started to dance. She really wasn't as bad as she'd thought, either.

"Mostly the latter. I'd have come to this anyway." She shrugged helplessly, and was perfectly content to let him lead - she wasn't half-bad, mostly because she wasn't thinking about it. More important things to think about right this second than where her feet were going, like the conversation at hand. "I'm so far out of my league it isn't even funny."

"Bullshit," Nathan said firmly, ignoring the slightly shocked look he got from an elderly couple dancing close to them. "You are no such thing. Amanda would smack you upside the head if she heard you saying that."

"That's why I'm saying it where she can't hear me," Bethany pointed out reasonably, flashing a tired grin up at Nathan. "She probably feels rotten enough already."

He couldn't help feeling a little bemused. "Rotten? Why?"

Bethany paused to think about that for a second, then blinked. "No, I think that one's just me, come to think of it," she amended, making a face. "I put my brain in backwards, I swear."

Nathan gazed down at her as they danced, his smile turning a little sad. "You and she," he said finally, very quietly, "have very little to do with him and her. The two things don't have to have more than a passing relationship with one other." At least for now.

"Oh, I know there's little overlapping," Bethany said quietly, deciding to study Nathan's chest. She couldn't look at his face if she wanted to keep talking, and she did - she figured she needed to get this out to somebody other than her pillow. "He's the boyfriend. I'm the friend. Two different ballparks. If I tell her how much he creeps me the fuck out, after meeting him, guess who's easier to dump on their ass?"

"That's one way to look at it," Nathan allowed quietly. "But Amanda's also used to people, even people she cares about, having trouble with Manuel. She hasn't booted any of us out of her life yet." He smiled a bit wryly as Bethany looked up at him, catching his meaning. Bright girl, this one.

"If she's cool with him mindfucking people into giving them a table for dinner instead of just asking politely for a seat, then she isn't the one who's doing the dumping," Bethany replied tightly, setting her jaw.

Manuel, for the love of... Nathan sighed, shifting a hand up to Bethany's shoulder and squeezing it gently. "Would you mind if I talked to you in the not-aloud sort of way?" he asked gently. "For the sake of not being overheard. If not, we can go find a quieter corner."

"A quieter corner would be better," Bethany replied after a moment, looking up with an apologetic smile. "I like being the only inhabitant of my head, no matter how much I trust you. It's nothin' personal."

He smiled, just to let her know that he wasn't bothered by it. "Come on, then," he said, inclining his head towards the doors that were open to the gardens. "Some fresh air?"

"Fresh air would be good," she agreed, drawing in a deep breath that she let out in a nervous laugh. "Maybe I should'a worn a big unGodly poofy gown. I could have smuggled my board here in it."

Nathan sent a brief reassurance and explanation down the link to Moira, and left a comforting arm around Bethany's shoulders as they made their way through the crowd. "I can not," he said with a soft laugh, "see you in crinolins. Seriously."

Bethany definitely found the arm around her shoulders comforting - it reminded her of her dad - so she was quite content to tuck herself up under it and let Nathan lead her towards the door. "I must just have a better imagination than you do. I can picture damn near anybody in a big poofy gown. They don't necessarily look good, but I can picture it."

The night air was cool, quite refreshing, really, and Nathan took a deep breath, relaxing a little as the psychic atmosphere lightened a little. "So," Nathan said, leading her over to a little bench. "You want to talk about it?"

"Which part?" Bethany asked, casting a quick look around for somewhere to sit before looking up at Nathan. "The insecure part, the freaked out part, or the part that wants to go home?"

Nathan tugged her down with him onto the bench. "Any and all of the above," he said soothingly. "I'm actually a very good listener. Ask Amanda sometime."

"She's mentioned it once or twice already." Bethany let herself be tugged, holding out for a whole five seconds before she brought her feet up and sat crosslegged on the bench. Oh, boy, where to start? "This would be a lot easier over e-mail," she said after a moment, rubbing at her face with both hands. "Seeing something you write is easier than hearing something you say. Crap. Let's see.."

"Don't worry about making sense," Nathan suggested. "Just tell me... what you're feeling." His lips twitched in a wry smile at the irony.

"Like she's dating an asshole?" Bethany said after a moment, looking up with a twitchy smile. "Like she's so blind to how big an asshole that he is to other people that I may as well just take my ball and go home?"

"I think she knows," Nathan said, still wryly. "I should tell you something before you go any further, Beth. I was spending... well, every weekday morning with Manuel for much of the summer." Barring his frequent catastrophes, of course. "So I actually know pretty well how he bad he is at dealing with people at times."

"Oh, then you know he's an asshat, that makes this much easier," Bethany snorted. "He isn't bad at dealing with people, he doesn't want to. He says 'this is how it is, and if you disagree, you're an idiot', no matter how far up his ass his head is."

"A lot of it's a show," Nathan said quietly, his eyes drifting back to the doors. "Oh, he's pretty damned arrogant, don't get me wrong. But half the time, especially lately, it's out of fear." He smiled at her a bit faintly. "And he was probably very nervous about meeting you."

"Why should he be nervous?" Bethany asked, rolling her eyes. "Worried my dick's bigger or something?"

"Worried that you make her happier, maybe?" Nathan suggested gently. "That you get along with the other people she likes, that she doesn't feel like she has to struggle, with you..." His expression grew more serious. "Manuel's not had a good time of it," he said quietly. "He is learning, though."

"Not having a good time of it isn't an excuse," Bethany muttered, curling her arms around herself and aiming her scowl down at her own lap. "He sounds like every abusive boyfriend I've ever dragged my friends away from, and Amanda won't be dragged, so what the fuck am I supposed to do here?"

Oh, boy. Nathan sighed. "Ignore how he sounds, for a moment," he said calmly. "How does Amanda sound? Like these friends of yours?"

"'Oh, Mike's not really this big an asshole, Beth, just give him a chance,'" Bethany recited in a falsetto. "'He doesn't mean it, he just doesn't know any better, he's still learning! He needs my help!'"

Nathan couldn't help a frown. "Have the two of you talked much about Manuel?" he asked quietly. "In person, I mean. Not over email."

Bethany shook her head, keeping her attention firmly rooted to her lap. "Not really, no."

"Then you may be jumping to conclusions," Nathan said gently. "I'm not saying don't trust your own judgement, but you probably shouldn't come to a conclusion about what's going on between the two of them before you've heard her explanation and looked her in the eyes while she's giving it."

"No matter what she says, he's still an asshole. Whether or not she can look me in the eye when she tells me how he needs her help gettin' by doesn't change that," Bethany grumbled unhappily.

"It can tell you that she honestly thinks there's good there that can be nurtured, beneath the asshole-ish behavior," Nathan pointed out. "Sometimes people need help to change."

"They always honestly think there's good there that can be nurtured," Bethany pointed out with an exasperated roll of her eyes. "That's why it's so damned dangerous."

"And is that a universal rule?" Nathan asked. "That it has to be dangerous?" He smiled a bit faintly again. "Sometimes it's just hard."

"Forgive me for crying wolf, then," Bethany muttered darkly, beginning to untangle her legs so she could get to her feet. Or, so went the theory, anyway. "I'm gonna go call a cab."

"Stay put," Nathan said wryly. "You don't think I've had, and continue to have my doubts about what's going on with the two of them?" He tapped his temple with a finger. "One, telepath. Two, I have a link of my own that is, to be perfectly candid, a hell of a lot more healthy than what the two of them are doing."

Bethany got to her feet anyway, probably just to make sure she still could, after having a telepath tell her to stay put - she was stubborn that way, and Manuel hadn't precisely put her fears in that regard at ease. But, she stayed put once she'd gotten up, leaving her arms wrapped around herself. "You'd know better, I guess," she grumbled. "You actually have an inkling of what's going on, whereas I only get to see her after a particularly spectacular near-death experience."

"What I know," Nathan said after a moment, meeting her eyes unwaveringly, "is that there is good there, between the two of them. There's also a whole lot of shit that makes me want to either castrate him or smack their heads together."

"And does the good justify the bad?" Bethany asked, watching him carefully. "Do the ends justify the means?"

"I'm not sure," Nathan admitted with a sigh. "I'm really not. You ask me to look at them one day, and I may say something completely different than I do the next day. And I have my own issues with Manuel, as I hinted... I'm not anywhere near objective on the subject. But," he amended quietly, "I love Amanda like a daughter. And if it goes too far, I will step in." Whether it blew up in his face or not.

"Guess I'll have to trust you on that one. I'm too far away to do it myself, if it needs doing." Bethany shrugged, and after a moment, dropped back down to sit on the bench. "Let Dom know I say hi, next time you hear from her?"

"I will," Nathan said, oddly depressed by the whole conversation. Bethany was good for Amanda, he knew that, and the idea of Manuel causing a strain in that relationship... damn it, boy, can you ever NOT be awkward?

Bethany nodded, looking up with a small smile. "Thanks." She was silent for a moment, then laughed, looking down and covering her eyes. "Pete's supposed t'be kidnapping me to the school to see her tomorrow," she said unsteadily. "'Hi, A, how you doin'? Hate your boyfriend, but I'm still crazy 'bout you, so everything's peachy keen, right?' So fucked."

"Can you still be her friend?" Nathan asked quietly. "In spite of all of this?"

"Dunno," Bethany admitted unhappily. "I want to be, but that depends on how much of a tale Senor Spindoctor weaves to her before I get t'see her tomorrow, doesn't it?"

"If you want," Nathan said with a small, if sincere smile, "I can tell her about our little interlude out in the gardens here. She trusts me to be honest, if not entirely objective when it comes to Manuel."

"Only if you don't mind getting wrapped up in it," Bethany replied gratefully, dropping her hands back into her lap. "I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do."

"Oh, I'm already in it up to my neck," Nathan said dryly. "Trust me. A little deeper to help you out isn't going to hurt me." He laughed softly. "Besides. I like you, Dom likes you, and even if neither of us did, you're good for Amanda. Reason enough to risk it."

"I hope I'm good enough," Bethany chuckled tiredly, looking up with a weak smile. Still, the approval from Nate (and apparently Dom's) direction was nice to hear. "Thanks. Um.. what time are you the the doc getting out of here? Because if I had the choice between bumming a ride home off of you, and cab fare, I'd go for the bumming."

"Another hour, maybe," Nathan said, glancing at his pocket-watch. "You okay until then?" He smiled. "We could always sit out here in the gardens for a little while long and talk about something totally frivolous."

"You have a hot redhead in a slinky dress waiting for you inside, you're not sittin' out in the cold with me any longer than you need to," Bethany scoffed, elbowing him carefully in the side. "I'll live. I'll come find you if I need out."

"Doesn't she look amazing?" Nathan asked, his eyes lighting up before he caught himself, grinning a bit foolishly. "I'm a sap. Everyone and their uncle knows this. You're sure you'll be okay?" He could always steer someone easy-going in her direction, he reflected...

Bethany smiled wryly at him. "Didn't say I'd be okay, said I'd live. Go be a sap at her, I'll work on the whole 'pull myself together' thing before I come back in."

Nathan rose, laying a hand briefly on her shoulder. "You want to know a secret?" he asked. Bethany nodded. "She's tougher than he is," he murmured. "Deep down, where it counts. He is not the one with the power in the relationship. Not really."

Bethany considered it for a moment before she nodded slightly, and reached out to catch Nathan's hand as it drew away from her shoulder. "It's just hard to think that way when he's strutting right in front of you."

"I'm just not absolutely sure she realizes that," Nathan said after a moment, then shook his head. "Now I'm getting weird and philosophical," he said with a snort. "You come find me if you don't want to wait any longer, okay?"

"I think she does, at least a little," Bethany said after a moment, giving Nathan's hand a quick squeeze before releasing it. "But, yeah, I'll come find you if I need to. Promise."

"Good." Nathan gave her one up-and-down look, then grinned helplessly. "And you do look cute."