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xp_logsFollowing the fiasco that was Manuel meeting Bethany, Amanda gets one version of what happened. Manuel is surprisingly accomodating in terms of sharing, and the serious part of the talk soon turns to giggling and tickle fights.
It was late when the partygoers returned, but those who had stayed behind were mostly awake anyway. Amanda, certainly was, propped up in bed making a show of doing the reading she needed to do for Monday's classes. Her mind was definitely turned inwards, though, monitoring the link with a care she seldom had showed before, hoping to not feel large amounts of irritation and/or anger down it. Results had been inconclusive, at best.
Manuel arrived back at the Mansion, and sighed as he let the link relax. He felt the concern over it, but honestly, he had his own things to think about. So he trudged upstairs towards his own room - which meant passing Amanda's. So as he walked by he sent a "want to talk to you!" ping over the link then headed back to his own room - ignoring the dirty look that John shot him as he keyed into his own room and collapsed onto his bed.
That was the thing about having a boyfriend who was over eighteen, you got more privacy. Dropping her book and practically bounding out of bed, Amanda paused just long enough to pull a pair of sweatpants on over her underwear (she was wearing one of Manuel's t-shirts already and whilst it was big enough on her to be a mini-dress, she didn't want to flash everyone in the hall) and followed, dodging returning party-people with nods and vague waves. Everyone was fairly wiped, which helped avoid conversations of any length. John sighed dramatically and made a show of getting up and going into his room as she entered the suite, closing the door firmly behind him.
Manuel was lying on the bed as she came in, looking exhausted. Uh-oh. "Hey," she said, pausing in the doorway. "You look all in."
"That was a disaster." he moaned, rolling over so that he could look at Amanda. "I am very sorry." he said, honest sadness coming across in waves. "I tried, I really did. But I slipped, and now she hates me. Why is it that I always remind people of someone else?"
Fuck. "I dunno," she said honestly, coming in and closing the door behind her. "Tell me what happened - maybe it ain't as bad as you think."
"If anything, it's worse." he said. "And before you go there, I kept my word to you. I never touched her with my power. And I am not going to try to keep you from her or some such nonsense - we both know how well that worked with the Mex… - with Angelo. She - gaaah! She _dared_ to _judge me_!" he said, holding his head in his hands.
"You promised you wouldn't, an' you keep yer promises," she pointed out, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently pulling his hands away. "As for the rest... we'll sort that out in a bit. Just tell me what happened, all right?"
Manuel took a deep breath, and then nodded. "Just for the record - I'm not abusive towards you, am I? Your Bethany seems to think that I am. I tracked her down after I arrived. We talked, and I fucked up - used my power to clear a table away from the crowds so that we could get to know one another, talk, all the stuff that we had talked about. And she _freaked_!"
It was very hard not to roll her eyes at him. "You used yer powers in front of her? When you didn't have to?" She sighed. "Manny, I warned you she was twitchy 'bout psis. Why didn't you just find somewhere else t' sit, instead of makin' people leave? An' no, you ain't abusive t' me. If you were, I wouldn't stick around - I've had enough of that t' last a lifetime."
"Why do people _keep_ telling me that I _am_, then?" Manuel cried, and then took a deep breath to get himself under control. "Sorry." he said by way of an apology. "Anyway - I admit it was an error. And not only did she freak about that, but she got _jealous_. Of my place in your affections. She has fallen in love with you, my dear, and she is a jealous mistress."
"Love? Beth?" Amanda was honestly surprised... and perhaps a little pleased. "She never said anythin' t' me, 'bout that or 'bout bein' jealous. 'Friends with benefits', is how we think of it."
"She's lying to you." Manuel said. "She told me as much. Didn't want me to tell you, but fuck her. I'm not inclined to be generous right now." he snarled, then took a moment to get a firmer grip on himself. "Right. So she gets all jealous, and then when I try to put her at ease, she tells me that I'm apparently abusive to you, and that she's going to go hang out with the rest of the poor kids."
Yes, it really was that bad. "I'm sorry love. I shouldn't have asked either of you t' do this. Should've known somethin' like this would happen." She leaned forward, resting her forehead on his shoulder. "So what do we do now?"
"I do nothing. You carry on however you wish to. I won't tell you to stop seeing her. You and I have what we have, and her existence or non-existence doesn't change that in the slightest - does it?" he asked her with some worry. "Does this change you and I, knowing what you know now?"
"Of course it doesn't," she said firmly, far more decisively then she'd expected, given the way her thoughts were all over the place. "Beth... I'm sorry things went so badly, but it doesn't change how I feel 'bout either of you. I just won't try anythin' like this again. An' I'll talk t' her, 'bout bein' jealous."
Manuel blew out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Oh good. I feel much better then." he said with a grin. "Gah - I have to hang this tuxedo up!" he said, rolling off the bed and starting to shuck his formalwear. "I told her several times that I wouldn't use my power, but she never believed me. Why is that?" he asked as he hung up his tuxedo - which meant that he was stripped down to his bare skin.
"Scared, I suppose. She did say she had a problem with psis. An' you should know, fear ain't always rational." Amanda shifted so that she was sitting more fully on the bed, back leaning against the wall, knees pulled up and her arms wrapped around them. Defensive position Number One. "She talked t' you 'cause I asked her to, made her feel she had to. I should never have brought it up. Wouldn't have, if I'd known she had the psi issue. She's always been pretty open t' the magic."
Manuel grabbed a robe from his closet, and plopped down on the bed next to Amanda. "You've got that frightened thing going on. Talk to me, OK?" he urged her. "Everyone hates my fucking power. Hell, I hate my fucking power." he ranted. "Maybe, in time, she will mellow."
"Maybe. I'll talk t' her, see what she thinks 'bout the whole thing." Amanda relaxed her posture slightly, enough to lean against Manuel. "I feel like this is my fault," she admitted.
Manuel shook his head. "Nonsense. If anything, the error here is mine. I set her off, after all. I used to be good enough at the social game to keep people like her spinning for hours. That's a distressing thought - I'm not nearly as good as I think I am without my power."
"Still, you wouldn't have had t' talk t' her at all if it weren't for me." Amanda sighed. "I... I can't give her up," she said quietly. "I love you, an' I'd never do anythin' t' hurt you, not on purpose, but... If you asked me t' give her up, I'd have t' say no."
Manuel grinned at Amanda. "Then it's a very good thing that I have zero intention of asking you to do any such thing." he said gently. "Not even I am that arrogant." he laughed.
Amanda's relief was palpable. "I'm glad you understand. I just... I dunno, Rom doesn't have all this trouble. Or maybe she did, an' just didn't mention it." Perhaps a Talk was in order. "All this love stuff... I thought sayin' it was supposed t' make things easier."
Manuel laughed until he very nearly fell off the bed. "No, love never makes it easier. Just more worth it." he choked out around giggles. "I do love hearing you say that." he admitted. "And I like saying it to you. I love you, Amanda Sefton." He then collapsed into another case of the giggles.
"Yer laughin' at me." Amanda tried hard to be offended, but it was impossible when Manuel was giggling like a schoolgirl almost. Her lips quirking into a grin, she poked him in the side. "I like hearin' you laugh," she admitted. "Too bad you ain't ticklish."
"I laugh at the absurdity of life!" he protested, but the twinkle in his eye (non-red) gave him away. taking a few deep breaths to get himself under control, he snuggled up next to Amanda. "I've been trying to find things to laugh about." he said.
"An' here I was bein' serious..." A laugh of her own escaped her, however, followed by a squeal as the snuggle found one of her ticklish spots. "All right, no more bein' serious. Tho' I have t' say, that tux? You were lucky t' get out of here in one piece earlier. I was this close t' jumpin' you." She held up two fingers not very far apart at all to show him how close.
Manuel just _grinned_. "I'm glad you liked it." he said. "I bought it with you in mind." he said with a silly little smile. "I saw it, and I just _knew_ you'd love it. So I had them alter it to better fit me and there it is." he said, waving a hand at his closet. "Ready to be worn any time you like."
"I'll keep that in mind." Although not right now. Right now she was realising that his robe was already half falling off from his giggle attack earlier, and if she tugged at a particular edge of it, it slid off his shoulder completely... "Yer probably exhausted," she murmured, taking advantage of all that suddenly bare skin and running her lips over his collarbone. "Just want t' sleep, I expect?"
Manuel shivered slightly at the touch of Amanda's lips to his chest. "You keep that up, and sleep's going to be the absolute -last- thing on my mind." he said with a naughty grin.
"That was sort of the idea," she replied.
It was late when the partygoers returned, but those who had stayed behind were mostly awake anyway. Amanda, certainly was, propped up in bed making a show of doing the reading she needed to do for Monday's classes. Her mind was definitely turned inwards, though, monitoring the link with a care she seldom had showed before, hoping to not feel large amounts of irritation and/or anger down it. Results had been inconclusive, at best.
Manuel arrived back at the Mansion, and sighed as he let the link relax. He felt the concern over it, but honestly, he had his own things to think about. So he trudged upstairs towards his own room - which meant passing Amanda's. So as he walked by he sent a "want to talk to you!" ping over the link then headed back to his own room - ignoring the dirty look that John shot him as he keyed into his own room and collapsed onto his bed.
That was the thing about having a boyfriend who was over eighteen, you got more privacy. Dropping her book and practically bounding out of bed, Amanda paused just long enough to pull a pair of sweatpants on over her underwear (she was wearing one of Manuel's t-shirts already and whilst it was big enough on her to be a mini-dress, she didn't want to flash everyone in the hall) and followed, dodging returning party-people with nods and vague waves. Everyone was fairly wiped, which helped avoid conversations of any length. John sighed dramatically and made a show of getting up and going into his room as she entered the suite, closing the door firmly behind him.
Manuel was lying on the bed as she came in, looking exhausted. Uh-oh. "Hey," she said, pausing in the doorway. "You look all in."
"That was a disaster." he moaned, rolling over so that he could look at Amanda. "I am very sorry." he said, honest sadness coming across in waves. "I tried, I really did. But I slipped, and now she hates me. Why is it that I always remind people of someone else?"
Fuck. "I dunno," she said honestly, coming in and closing the door behind her. "Tell me what happened - maybe it ain't as bad as you think."
"If anything, it's worse." he said. "And before you go there, I kept my word to you. I never touched her with my power. And I am not going to try to keep you from her or some such nonsense - we both know how well that worked with the Mex… - with Angelo. She - gaaah! She _dared_ to _judge me_!" he said, holding his head in his hands.
"You promised you wouldn't, an' you keep yer promises," she pointed out, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently pulling his hands away. "As for the rest... we'll sort that out in a bit. Just tell me what happened, all right?"
Manuel took a deep breath, and then nodded. "Just for the record - I'm not abusive towards you, am I? Your Bethany seems to think that I am. I tracked her down after I arrived. We talked, and I fucked up - used my power to clear a table away from the crowds so that we could get to know one another, talk, all the stuff that we had talked about. And she _freaked_!"
It was very hard not to roll her eyes at him. "You used yer powers in front of her? When you didn't have to?" She sighed. "Manny, I warned you she was twitchy 'bout psis. Why didn't you just find somewhere else t' sit, instead of makin' people leave? An' no, you ain't abusive t' me. If you were, I wouldn't stick around - I've had enough of that t' last a lifetime."
"Why do people _keep_ telling me that I _am_, then?" Manuel cried, and then took a deep breath to get himself under control. "Sorry." he said by way of an apology. "Anyway - I admit it was an error. And not only did she freak about that, but she got _jealous_. Of my place in your affections. She has fallen in love with you, my dear, and she is a jealous mistress."
"Love? Beth?" Amanda was honestly surprised... and perhaps a little pleased. "She never said anythin' t' me, 'bout that or 'bout bein' jealous. 'Friends with benefits', is how we think of it."
"She's lying to you." Manuel said. "She told me as much. Didn't want me to tell you, but fuck her. I'm not inclined to be generous right now." he snarled, then took a moment to get a firmer grip on himself. "Right. So she gets all jealous, and then when I try to put her at ease, she tells me that I'm apparently abusive to you, and that she's going to go hang out with the rest of the poor kids."
Yes, it really was that bad. "I'm sorry love. I shouldn't have asked either of you t' do this. Should've known somethin' like this would happen." She leaned forward, resting her forehead on his shoulder. "So what do we do now?"
"I do nothing. You carry on however you wish to. I won't tell you to stop seeing her. You and I have what we have, and her existence or non-existence doesn't change that in the slightest - does it?" he asked her with some worry. "Does this change you and I, knowing what you know now?"
"Of course it doesn't," she said firmly, far more decisively then she'd expected, given the way her thoughts were all over the place. "Beth... I'm sorry things went so badly, but it doesn't change how I feel 'bout either of you. I just won't try anythin' like this again. An' I'll talk t' her, 'bout bein' jealous."
Manuel blew out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Oh good. I feel much better then." he said with a grin. "Gah - I have to hang this tuxedo up!" he said, rolling off the bed and starting to shuck his formalwear. "I told her several times that I wouldn't use my power, but she never believed me. Why is that?" he asked as he hung up his tuxedo - which meant that he was stripped down to his bare skin.
"Scared, I suppose. She did say she had a problem with psis. An' you should know, fear ain't always rational." Amanda shifted so that she was sitting more fully on the bed, back leaning against the wall, knees pulled up and her arms wrapped around them. Defensive position Number One. "She talked t' you 'cause I asked her to, made her feel she had to. I should never have brought it up. Wouldn't have, if I'd known she had the psi issue. She's always been pretty open t' the magic."
Manuel grabbed a robe from his closet, and plopped down on the bed next to Amanda. "You've got that frightened thing going on. Talk to me, OK?" he urged her. "Everyone hates my fucking power. Hell, I hate my fucking power." he ranted. "Maybe, in time, she will mellow."
"Maybe. I'll talk t' her, see what she thinks 'bout the whole thing." Amanda relaxed her posture slightly, enough to lean against Manuel. "I feel like this is my fault," she admitted.
Manuel shook his head. "Nonsense. If anything, the error here is mine. I set her off, after all. I used to be good enough at the social game to keep people like her spinning for hours. That's a distressing thought - I'm not nearly as good as I think I am without my power."
"Still, you wouldn't have had t' talk t' her at all if it weren't for me." Amanda sighed. "I... I can't give her up," she said quietly. "I love you, an' I'd never do anythin' t' hurt you, not on purpose, but... If you asked me t' give her up, I'd have t' say no."
Manuel grinned at Amanda. "Then it's a very good thing that I have zero intention of asking you to do any such thing." he said gently. "Not even I am that arrogant." he laughed.
Amanda's relief was palpable. "I'm glad you understand. I just... I dunno, Rom doesn't have all this trouble. Or maybe she did, an' just didn't mention it." Perhaps a Talk was in order. "All this love stuff... I thought sayin' it was supposed t' make things easier."
Manuel laughed until he very nearly fell off the bed. "No, love never makes it easier. Just more worth it." he choked out around giggles. "I do love hearing you say that." he admitted. "And I like saying it to you. I love you, Amanda Sefton." He then collapsed into another case of the giggles.
"Yer laughin' at me." Amanda tried hard to be offended, but it was impossible when Manuel was giggling like a schoolgirl almost. Her lips quirking into a grin, she poked him in the side. "I like hearin' you laugh," she admitted. "Too bad you ain't ticklish."
"I laugh at the absurdity of life!" he protested, but the twinkle in his eye (non-red) gave him away. taking a few deep breaths to get himself under control, he snuggled up next to Amanda. "I've been trying to find things to laugh about." he said.
"An' here I was bein' serious..." A laugh of her own escaped her, however, followed by a squeal as the snuggle found one of her ticklish spots. "All right, no more bein' serious. Tho' I have t' say, that tux? You were lucky t' get out of here in one piece earlier. I was this close t' jumpin' you." She held up two fingers not very far apart at all to show him how close.
Manuel just _grinned_. "I'm glad you liked it." he said. "I bought it with you in mind." he said with a silly little smile. "I saw it, and I just _knew_ you'd love it. So I had them alter it to better fit me and there it is." he said, waving a hand at his closet. "Ready to be worn any time you like."
"I'll keep that in mind." Although not right now. Right now she was realising that his robe was already half falling off from his giggle attack earlier, and if she tugged at a particular edge of it, it slid off his shoulder completely... "Yer probably exhausted," she murmured, taking advantage of all that suddenly bare skin and running her lips over his collarbone. "Just want t' sleep, I expect?"
Manuel shivered slightly at the touch of Amanda's lips to his chest. "You keep that up, and sleep's going to be the absolute -last- thing on my mind." he said with a naughty grin.
"That was sort of the idea," she replied.
