Nathan might've noticed the weaponized nature of the comment in any other circumstance. However, here and now, it just causes him to grin sharply and sidle up to her. "And don't you forget it," he muses, before he settles back onto the sofa. He lays an arm across the back of the sofa, the other laying idly across his lap as he focuses on the action of Furious Volus. It's surprisingly evident that, despite
#Nate'sApartment – December 12, 2019
everything that has happened in the past few months, he seems... relaxed. Sure, he may have appeared to have aged a few years through the harrowing events of the Collectors and may have collected a few new scars here and there (not to mention a new found phobia of snakes), but overall he is content, at least at this moment in time.
Leah gives a small, fond roll of her eyes as Nathan takes her jab in stride, the smile that slips across her lips betraying her groan. As he starts to get more comfortable, she takes it as a cue to do the same. With a flick of her ankles her heels thud to the floor and she shifts a little bit closer to the man beside her, folding her legs up on the couch on her opposite side. Leaning a bit heavier against Nathan's shoulder she
turns her attention towards Furious Volus, brows furrowing as she attempts to bring herself up to speed, the movie having taken a backseat to their smalltalk. "That's one pissed off volus..." she muses in a mutter.
Nathan glances at her from the corner of his eyes, unable to suppress the small smile that finds its way onto his face. He removes his arm from the back of the sofa and instead lays it across her shoulders, pulling her in just that smidgen closer. He motions to the screen as Furious Volus is awash in blue biotic light, which seems to manifest a biotic fist the size of a car to punch a Krogan square in the
face. "Okay, I have to ask, is THAT actually possible? You can't just... make shit appear out of thin air, right?" Nathan's omni-tool pings, alerting him to a new message. However, he pointedly ignores it for the moment, his question remaining the most prominent and important thought on his mind.
Leah allows the movie to hold her attention for a while, head coming to rest against Nathan's shoulder when she's pulled in closer. The question illicits a small snicker and a lazy nod against his shoulder, green eyes still fixed to the screen as the heavy-breathing ball of biotic fury puts a hurting on the unfortunate krogan. "Absolutely! Fists. Cars. Shuttles. You name it. We can summon demons and read minds, too." she
adds sarcastically without missing a beat, tossing in a few of the other wild, ignorant bit of fearmongering she's heard over the years. But, despite those being the sort of ridiculous accusations she's dealt with throughout most of her life, it's clearly said in jest. There's no edge to it. She's had a lifetime to come to terms with how most of humanity views her and her kind.
Nathan 's eyes go wide momentarily, a sudden thought of Leah conjuring cars out of thin air taking prominence in his mind. But, the sarcastic quip in her voice causes him to tut and give her shoulder a small, affectionate squeeze. "Alright, alright, stupid question number twelve from Nathan," he drawls with a chuckle. He merely watches the movie for a while, the action flick providing everything from over the
top action sequences, to corny dialogue and cheesy romance. At some point during the hour and a half long movie, Nate's omni-tool chimes twice more. With a frustrated sigh, he flicks it to mute and continues to watch the film with Leah. He's not going to let one of the few moments of normalcy in his life be disrupted. He takes a long drag of his beer, emptying it completely. He blinks, gives it a
little shake and huffs. "You want another one?" He gestures with said bottle over his shoulder to the kitchen.
Leah gives a snicker of her own. Truth be told, stupid questions are far better than the common alternatives. Accusations. Ignorant insults. And, perhaps the most scathing, quiet resentment. Most people aren't confrontational. When people would find out that she was a biotic back in Alliance space, more often than not, the response was just to avoid it altogether. Silent discomfort. It always made her feel like she had some
sort of illness that was pointedly being avoided. Maybe if more people asked their stupid questions there'd be a whole lot less misinformation out there. It certainly helps that Nathan has seen her in action. Seen what she can do. And, despite all of that, invited her over for a night of stupid movies and junkfood. He still wants to spend time with her. The thought causes her to lean a bit heavier against him. The movie
might not be award-winning, but it's just the sort of night she needed. An opportunity to shut her brain off and just... spend time with the person that has quickly become a fixture in her life. The question that eventually comes causes her to lift her head from Nathan's shoulder, green eyes shooting to her long-emptied beer on the table. She's already a few slices of pizza in as well. "Oh-... sure!" she agrees, shifting
Nathan flashes a smile and, with a quick and deft action, gives her a quick peck on the forehead. "Be right back. I think the movie is almost over, so go ahead and choose the next one." He slips free and plucks up the empty bottles, making his way to the kitchen. He hums a small tune as he does so, popping off the caps from both bottles that are retrieved from the fridge. "Oh, Jason, uh... spoke to me, by the
by," he says and he walks back to the sofa, holding out the beer to her. "Reeeeeally laid it into me, y'know. Like, mein Gott, fist fighting, some swearing. Should've seen it. Pretty sure he started crying too." The sarcasm in his voice is so thick, you'd need a chainsaw to cut through it. He gives her a small smirk as he takes his place back on the sofa. "He totally did."
Leah gains a sheepish grin as Nathan presses a kiss to her forehead, sucking in her lips to hide the full-fledged smile that threatens to escape. She's quick to occupy Nathan's spot on the couch once he leaves, back to the armrest and legs sprawled out in front of her, idly picking at the number of colored hairties around her wrist as Nathan begins to speak. "I heard..." she says in response to Nathan's initial statement, a
brief wince entering her features. As he continues speaking and it becomes obvious that he's not being serious, a look of confusion crosses her face. "I-... uhh-... I didn't want to bring it up but-... Jasper-... kiiiinda mentioned it. I-... think he's still pretty pissed off at us, by the way." she adds as an aside, nose scrunching up with a sigh. "He said that Jason told him that you were crying."
Nathan perks his brow up at her. He sets aside a small mental note to go and apologize to Jasper soon and get him a nice little Christmas present. The old man had been nothing but kind (his own version of kind) to him since he got to Aite, so it's only fair. As Leah continues, however, he gives a small shrug of his shoulders. "I'll let him have that. Truth be told, things did get a little... heated, but I
think we both knew in the end that no matter what, nothing would've changed. I got a slap on the wrist and I promised to let him weave whatever tale he wanted out of our talk. Mostly just so Vasquez doesn't kick HIS ass. Owed him that much at least." He smirks faintly, before the smirk falters. Not really the most appropriate date night talk, Nate. "Shit, sorry, I said this was going to be a relaxed
Leah allows a small, restrained smile to resurface as Nathan speaks. She accepts her beer and brings it in close. To make room for him on the couch, she lifts her legs so he can sit down before draping them across his lap rather than sitting upright. His apology causes her to furrow her brow and give a few shakes of her head, ponytail bouncing about behind her. "No it's-... it's fine." she assures. "Linda-... Chief and I had a
little talk of our own." she admits, letting a deep breath out through her nose as she shifts her attention back towards the television, idly reaching out in a lazy attempt at grabbing the remote from the coffee table without actually having to get up. The remote is juuuust out of reach of the tip of her finger-... nevermind. With an almost imperceptible, subtle glow, the remote moves on its own, sliding a quick inch
closer so she can grasp it. "It went-... better than expected." she offers, shooting Nathan a brief glance before getting to work on queueing up the next movie in the trilogy. "She's definitely not happy with what we did but-..." she draws in another breath, a small nod accompanying the words that follow, "...she gets it." Truth be told, Vasquez' admonishment of their attack on House Bar'adon was the least distressing
Nathan chews on his inner cheek as she begins to relay her own conversation. Her lazy draping of legs across his lap does elicit a small smirk from him, so her rests one arm across her whilst the chilled beer rests idly against one of her shins. He does, however, have to snatch a double take on the remote. Did that... move or did he just imagine that? Naw, he imagined that. It's almost like he completely
forgot that the woman he's dating is a biotic and capable of manipulating objects with her mind. He refocuses back on her as she offers a quick glance. "You know... I kinda imagined she would. She scares the living hell out of me, but... yeah, I kinda guessed she would." And that was the truth. She DID scare him, but equally, he could wager she had a soft spot inside her, a little... carelessness that
was similarly found in Jason. She must have if she is with Jason, after all. "We did what we had to do... I'm glad that Jase and Vasquez both could at least... see that, I guess."
Leah reaches out to set the remote back on the edge of the coffee table. Nathan's final comment garners a small, slightly hollow smile. He's not wrong, they did have to do what they did. It was the only way Tara would ever be safe. But people got hurt. People died. Her best friend nearly lost his life. Jason and Vasquez have plenty of reason to be upset with them. As do Jasper and Halisi. The thought causes her expression to
turn serious, green eyes growing a little distant as she focuses on the cool beer against her jeans. She's been purposely avoiding crossing paths with the doctor. It's easier that way. But she can't avoid her forever. It's just not fair. Not after everything they've been through together. Halisi has been a good friend and friends aren't exactly something she has an abundance of... She does her best not to let those
thoughts sour her mode, making a mental note to talk to Halisi. "She stopped by yesterday and helped me and Tara put up our Christmas tree." she says instead, hoping to avoid a dip in the mood. It helps her to prop that smile of hers back up.
Nathan watches the expression on her face, a crinkle of concern creasing up at the corner of his eyes. He rests a hand on her beerless shin and gives it a small and, what he hopes is comforting, rub. He doesn't say anything, he just lets her work through the mental conversation with herself. Her drastic shift in conversation causes his smile to return, entertaining her effort to avoid a dip in the mood of the
Leah has a genuine laugh, slipping a little bit lower against the armrest to get more comfortable. "No shit!" she confirms. "It was fun! I don't think she's as much of a hardass as she lets on." she continues with a shrug, "She just... has a lot on her plate, you know? But, oh my god you should've seen Tara!" she snickers as she sharply switches gears, face lighting up as that bright smile of hers spreads across her face
at the mention of Tara, "She put up a lot of the Christmas lights on her own and it looks soooooo cute!" She gives Nathan's thigh an excited nudge with her foot, "She is gonna love Christmas."