Nate, Amanda - Sunday night
Oct. 3rd, 2004 10:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsRandom fluff. Amanda drops by to congratulate Nathan and Moira on the whole engagement thing, and has an encounter with Big Marshmallow Man.
It was only after she'd knocked on Nate and Moira's door that Amanda realised that is was a bit on the late side. Oops. Still, they were both on the insomniac side of the force, so maybe they'd be up still... She bounced a little as she waited - she'd missed all the excitement of post-question-popping, but the reactions on the journals had been amusing enough. And she was rather proud of her own contribution to the whole plot.
Sprawled on the couch with Bella draped across his shoulder, cooing softly and apparently doing her best to read his book, Nathan looked up at the knock. He grinned, sensing who it was, and opened the door telekinetically. "Shh," he said, putting a finger to his lips as Amanda came in. "I wore Moira out." The grin turned smug; he couldn't help it.
She snickered and rolled her eyes at him. "Ain't you the big manly man?" she teased, coming in and plopping onto the couch beside him. She could really hug him with Bella on his shoulder like that, so she restrained herself to patting his knee. "It all went 'ccordin' t' plan, then?"
"Perfectly," he said, smug grin turning into beatific smile. "I'm still pinching myself every so often. And I don't think Moira's taken the ring off once."
"She ain't s'posed to, is she?" Amanda asked innocently, but still grinning herself. "Now yer've gone an' done the whole askin' thing."
"She'll have to in the lab," Nathan said, still smiling as he shrugged. "Perils of being a doctor. Jewelry gets in the way."
"But she liked it? The settin' an' all? An' the whole riddle thing?" Since she'd had a role in the whole choosing the ring thing, the was important.
"Can you believe we actually surprised her? And she loved the ring." Nathan smiled a little wistfully. "She got all weepy. Hadn't expected that. Hell, I just about did myself... I'm a big marshmallow, you know? My hands were shaking like crazy."
"Why? 'S not like you didn't already know what she was goin' t' say when you asked her," she pointed out, but she couldn't help smiling at the self-description. Big marshmallow man indeed.
"I don't know," Nathan said thoughtfully, lifting the bird off his shoulder. Bella made a muttering noise and hopped across to Amanda's lap, settling herself. "When it came right down to it..." His smile was softer again. "I think I finally realized what a big step it was. How much it changes everything."
Amanda scratched Bella's head, smiling at the resulting cooing noise. "Everythin', an' nothin'," she said. "Havin' a shiny ring an' a piece of paper don't change the fact you two love each other, but it does make things all official, like. Shows t' everyone what you already knew yerselves, that you want t' be together." There was a slightly wistful expression in her eyes.
"It's symbolic," Nathan said wisely. "I know that. But it's a symbol of more than just the fact that we love each other - it's a symbol for me, too. That I'm moving on. For real." That Nathan Dayspring, mercenary and ex-Mistra operative, was taking a back seat to Nathan Dayspring, teacher, husband-to-be, and potential X-Man. "Picking the future instead of the past, if that makes sense."
"It does," she said softly, smiling down at Bella's head as the bird nibbled gently at her fingers. "An' I'm glad, that yer seein' it like that. Movin' on from all that." She glanced up at him. "For real, even."
"I told her that she made the world make sense," Nathan said after a moment, more quietly. "I think, in the end, that said it all."
"Yer right," Amanda said, leaning her head against his shoulder. When he made an enquiring noise, she added. "You are a big marshmallow man. But one who's makin' sense. Lots of it."
"I think the thing I love most about her..." Nathan trailed off. "She understands," he finally said, with a trace of frustration, because that really didn't say it all. "She understands me. Oh, that doesn't stop her from smacking me upside the head when I need it, but she just... knows. She always has. Even before the link."
"Sounds familiar," she murmured with another smile, thinking of a certain empath downstairs, but not mentioning his name. No need to make things uncomfortable when Nathan was so obviously happy. And sappy. Lets not forget the sappy. "So, 's it gunna be a long engagement, or are you two wantin' t' get things over an' done with as soon as you can?"
"Probably a while," Nathan said amiably, cheerfully Not Hearing the implicit reference to Manuel. "She wants a big wedding. On Muir. She's shrieked at the idea of setting a date, but I would be surprised if it was before next spring."
"Big weddin'? You mean dressin' up, lots of people, the whole deal?" Amanda blinked. "Didn't expect you two t' want that."
"Moira does. I think it has something to do with making up for her first wedding, but don't tell her I told you that."
"My lips're sealed. Witch's honour." Amanda gave him a curious look. "An' how 'bout you? You all right with makin' a big deal of things?"
"It's what she wants." Nathan smiled. "I'll just be here, ready to throw her over my shoulder if she starts stressing about it."
"Yep, marshmallow." Bella chirped her agreement, and Amanda snickered. "'S gunna be a right laugh, seein' you all decked out in a kilt. 'Cause she'll insist, y'know. Scots're weird like that. They've got a thing for men in skirts."
"You know," Nathan said with a cheerful sort of malice, "she's almost certainly going to want you taking part. Which would probably involve dressing up."
"Me?" Amanda looked startled, then slightly panicked. "Yer jokin', ain't you?" She caught the glee on his face, and pouted. "You have a nasty streak, you know that, right?"
"A mile-wide nasty streak," he affirmed, nodding. "It's one of my loveable traits."
"Says you," she retorted, but the way she was snuggled up against his shoulder pretty much belied that.
Bella cooed softly, pushing her head against Amanda's stomach, and Nathan smiled. "Scary to be this happy," he confessed. "I'm too used to something coming along to knock my feet out from under me when I'm happy."
Amanda knew _that_ feeling all too well, and didn't say anything to it at first, simply scratching Bella's head. "Maybe 's about time you had a break then," she suggested at last. "Everyone should be happy at least once, an' yer've got the karma for it."
"My karma is good?" Nathan said playfully. "That's interesting to know..." Bella reached out and nibbled at his fingers.
"Meant more yer'd had enough bad t' last anyone a lifetime, so yer due some good..." Amanda said reluctantly, not wanting to cast a cloud on his good mood. "About time somethin' went yer way, so maybe this is it?"
"Well, it won't be for lack of trying," Nathan said firmly. Bella scrambled out of Amanda's lap and hit the floor with a thump. There, she proceeded to wander into the bedroom, and Nathan snorted. "I think that's a hint."
"And I still have homework t' do, so I'll let you take it. I know you old farts need yer rest." Amanda chuckled and gave Nathan's shoulder a pat. "~Goodnight, father,~" she added in Askani.
"If I'm grinning like a loon in Mandarin tomorrow, don't laugh too hard at me," he said with a chuckle of his own as he watched her let herself out, closing the door quietly behind her.
It was only after she'd knocked on Nate and Moira's door that Amanda realised that is was a bit on the late side. Oops. Still, they were both on the insomniac side of the force, so maybe they'd be up still... She bounced a little as she waited - she'd missed all the excitement of post-question-popping, but the reactions on the journals had been amusing enough. And she was rather proud of her own contribution to the whole plot.
Sprawled on the couch with Bella draped across his shoulder, cooing softly and apparently doing her best to read his book, Nathan looked up at the knock. He grinned, sensing who it was, and opened the door telekinetically. "Shh," he said, putting a finger to his lips as Amanda came in. "I wore Moira out." The grin turned smug; he couldn't help it.
She snickered and rolled her eyes at him. "Ain't you the big manly man?" she teased, coming in and plopping onto the couch beside him. She could really hug him with Bella on his shoulder like that, so she restrained herself to patting his knee. "It all went 'ccordin' t' plan, then?"
"Perfectly," he said, smug grin turning into beatific smile. "I'm still pinching myself every so often. And I don't think Moira's taken the ring off once."
"She ain't s'posed to, is she?" Amanda asked innocently, but still grinning herself. "Now yer've gone an' done the whole askin' thing."
"She'll have to in the lab," Nathan said, still smiling as he shrugged. "Perils of being a doctor. Jewelry gets in the way."
"But she liked it? The settin' an' all? An' the whole riddle thing?" Since she'd had a role in the whole choosing the ring thing, the was important.
"Can you believe we actually surprised her? And she loved the ring." Nathan smiled a little wistfully. "She got all weepy. Hadn't expected that. Hell, I just about did myself... I'm a big marshmallow, you know? My hands were shaking like crazy."
"Why? 'S not like you didn't already know what she was goin' t' say when you asked her," she pointed out, but she couldn't help smiling at the self-description. Big marshmallow man indeed.
"I don't know," Nathan said thoughtfully, lifting the bird off his shoulder. Bella made a muttering noise and hopped across to Amanda's lap, settling herself. "When it came right down to it..." His smile was softer again. "I think I finally realized what a big step it was. How much it changes everything."
Amanda scratched Bella's head, smiling at the resulting cooing noise. "Everythin', an' nothin'," she said. "Havin' a shiny ring an' a piece of paper don't change the fact you two love each other, but it does make things all official, like. Shows t' everyone what you already knew yerselves, that you want t' be together." There was a slightly wistful expression in her eyes.
"It's symbolic," Nathan said wisely. "I know that. But it's a symbol of more than just the fact that we love each other - it's a symbol for me, too. That I'm moving on. For real." That Nathan Dayspring, mercenary and ex-Mistra operative, was taking a back seat to Nathan Dayspring, teacher, husband-to-be, and potential X-Man. "Picking the future instead of the past, if that makes sense."
"It does," she said softly, smiling down at Bella's head as the bird nibbled gently at her fingers. "An' I'm glad, that yer seein' it like that. Movin' on from all that." She glanced up at him. "For real, even."
"I told her that she made the world make sense," Nathan said after a moment, more quietly. "I think, in the end, that said it all."
"Yer right," Amanda said, leaning her head against his shoulder. When he made an enquiring noise, she added. "You are a big marshmallow man. But one who's makin' sense. Lots of it."
"I think the thing I love most about her..." Nathan trailed off. "She understands," he finally said, with a trace of frustration, because that really didn't say it all. "She understands me. Oh, that doesn't stop her from smacking me upside the head when I need it, but she just... knows. She always has. Even before the link."
"Sounds familiar," she murmured with another smile, thinking of a certain empath downstairs, but not mentioning his name. No need to make things uncomfortable when Nathan was so obviously happy. And sappy. Lets not forget the sappy. "So, 's it gunna be a long engagement, or are you two wantin' t' get things over an' done with as soon as you can?"
"Probably a while," Nathan said amiably, cheerfully Not Hearing the implicit reference to Manuel. "She wants a big wedding. On Muir. She's shrieked at the idea of setting a date, but I would be surprised if it was before next spring."
"Big weddin'? You mean dressin' up, lots of people, the whole deal?" Amanda blinked. "Didn't expect you two t' want that."
"Moira does. I think it has something to do with making up for her first wedding, but don't tell her I told you that."
"My lips're sealed. Witch's honour." Amanda gave him a curious look. "An' how 'bout you? You all right with makin' a big deal of things?"
"It's what she wants." Nathan smiled. "I'll just be here, ready to throw her over my shoulder if she starts stressing about it."
"Yep, marshmallow." Bella chirped her agreement, and Amanda snickered. "'S gunna be a right laugh, seein' you all decked out in a kilt. 'Cause she'll insist, y'know. Scots're weird like that. They've got a thing for men in skirts."
"You know," Nathan said with a cheerful sort of malice, "she's almost certainly going to want you taking part. Which would probably involve dressing up."
"Me?" Amanda looked startled, then slightly panicked. "Yer jokin', ain't you?" She caught the glee on his face, and pouted. "You have a nasty streak, you know that, right?"
"A mile-wide nasty streak," he affirmed, nodding. "It's one of my loveable traits."
"Says you," she retorted, but the way she was snuggled up against his shoulder pretty much belied that.
Bella cooed softly, pushing her head against Amanda's stomach, and Nathan smiled. "Scary to be this happy," he confessed. "I'm too used to something coming along to knock my feet out from under me when I'm happy."
Amanda knew _that_ feeling all too well, and didn't say anything to it at first, simply scratching Bella's head. "Maybe 's about time you had a break then," she suggested at last. "Everyone should be happy at least once, an' yer've got the karma for it."
"My karma is good?" Nathan said playfully. "That's interesting to know..." Bella reached out and nibbled at his fingers.
"Meant more yer'd had enough bad t' last anyone a lifetime, so yer due some good..." Amanda said reluctantly, not wanting to cast a cloud on his good mood. "About time somethin' went yer way, so maybe this is it?"
"Well, it won't be for lack of trying," Nathan said firmly. Bella scrambled out of Amanda's lap and hit the floor with a thump. There, she proceeded to wander into the bedroom, and Nathan snorted. "I think that's a hint."
"And I still have homework t' do, so I'll let you take it. I know you old farts need yer rest." Amanda chuckled and gave Nathan's shoulder a pat. "~Goodnight, father,~" she added in Askani.
"If I'm grinning like a loon in Mandarin tomorrow, don't laugh too hard at me," he said with a chuckle of his own as he watched her let herself out, closing the door quietly behind her.
