xp_logs | Nathan and Mick, Thursday evening

While Anika's with Kyle, Nathan and Mick take the chance to talk. Mick has very clearly come a long way since November, and manages to gently nudge Nathan in a forward direction on a few key issues as well.

"So are you absolutely sure about this? Really?" Nathan asked, lowering himself into the armchair and giving Mick a pained look. Anika was off with Kyle, of course, and he had taken the opportunity to suggest to Mick that they have the inevitable talk about why he was doing this. Best to get that out of the way, even if Nathan was pretty sure this was a done deal.

Mick's expression was tolerant, almost amused, as he met Nathan's eyes unwaveringly. "Nathan," he said patiently, "that's the sixth time you've asked me." He made a show of checking his watch. "In three hours." Nathan grimaced, and Mick sighed, raising both hands, palms-up, then bringing them together in a conciliatory gesture that came straight out of the feral body language that they'd all picked up to at least some extent over the years. "Yes, I'm sure. I know you don't like the idea, but I feel like it's something I have to do."

"Why?"

"Why did you keep the Trojan Horse?" Mick said, knowing he was being irritating, answering a question with a question, but he was getting at a point here.

Nathan flushed, shifting in his chair. "That's different," he muttered.

"Oh? Is it because you don't think I have as much to feel guilty about as you do?" Mick shook his head, immediately regretting the words as soon as they were out of his mouth. "Look, I don't want to argue about it. You know that you're not going to try and tell me I shouldn't do this, and I know that there's nothing I can say to you to make you not worry." He smiled a bit wryly. "I think we're at an impasse, old man."

Nathan regarded him with a weary sort of amusement of his own. "You think so, huh? And enough with the old man crap - you and Tim are both on the wrong side of thirty, so you don't get to call me that anymore." He slouched in his chair, sighing. "I'm just worried about you, that's all," he murmured, tilting his head back and staring up at the ceiling. "I think I'm allowed."

"It works the other way around, too," Mick said with a slight smile. "You look exhausted, Nathan."

"Long week." Between Pete, and the attack on the mansion, and now MacInnis was back again and everything was moving so quickly... "Maybe I feel like I'm leaving the three of you to take up the worst part of the job," he said abruptly. "Working with MacInnis, that is."

But Mick was shaking his head, immediately and almost vehemently. "No," he said very firmly. "Even setting the Trojan Horse aside, we need you here. We need one of us with the X-Men, and you're the best-suited for that." He paused, hs smile turning wry. "And to be honest, Nate - Tim and Ani and I talked, and we agreed that the three of us can probably handle MacInnis more easily than you can. He's got a lot less to throw in our faces."

"Right," Nathan said a bit hollowly. "Good point." He was suddenly, acutely aware of just how much did separate him from the other three. Years of being out, the blood of colleagues and friends on his hands... "I'm proud of you, you know," he said more quietly. "I may be worried, yeah, but seeing you here, wanting this so much..." He smiled weakly. "Took me a hell of a lot longer before I decided to do anything about Mistra."

Mick gazed back at him steadily. "You're forgetting something," he said quietly. "Ani and Tim and I... we had someone to show us the way."

Nathan swallowed. Cliched, to talk about a lump in one's throat, but... well, cliches were cliches for a reason. "It's this place," he said hoarsely, waving a hand around. "Kind of... makes you do things you never thought you would."

"You weren't here when you rescued Ani."

Nathan raised his head, blinking at Mick, who was smiling at him. "Don't argue with your elders," he said feebly.

Mick got up, chuckling softly and shaking his head again. "Get some sleep, old man," he suggested lightly. "We don't need you falling asleep at the table tomorrow at the meeting. Entertaining as it might be to see the old rat bastard's face if you did."