Plotting

Nils allowed himself a bit of a pout that Indigo had called Esperanza and not him, but he brushed it aside in favor of listening to the half of the conversation that he could follow. It definitely sounded like he was planning on being at Halo tonight, which was good.
When the conversation was over, he smiled. "So he's for sure meeting up with us-you tonight. This should be interesting."

"I look forward to seeing you." Ronnie purred, "Hasta Luego sweetie."

As she pressed the off button on her phone she playfully stuck her tongue out at Nils in silent celebration that he'd called her first.

"He'll be there. When I go fishing I always catch my limit. We should let the others know. Something he said about Geoff made me uneasy. That he was considering strangling him. I'm almost completely positive that he was joking... But it's the almost that has me on edge."

Nils blinked. "But they're all kinds of close, according to all of this. I'm sure it was just a joke. People joke about that sort of thing fairly often." He paused. "Which is actually a little disturbing, now that I think of it."
He shook his head, as if to clear it. "You're right, though. We need to let the others know."

Ronnie shrugged.

"He was all kindsa close with Jamie for a while and look what happened to him."

She grabbed the check that the waitress had long ago abandoned with them and gathered up the contents of her briefcase.

"C'mon," she said, checking the time on her phone, "We need to be dressed to kill tonight, and between that and having a pow-wow with the gang we won't have a whole lot of time."

She tossed a crumpled five dollar bill on the table and grinned.

"Avengers assemble", she said.

Nils frowned. He still didn't believe that Indigo was responsible for the deaths and disappearances. He seemed a nice sort. It was clearly no use arguing the point without more evidence, so he didn't say anything.
He nodded. "Unfortunately so. Hopefully we'll have enough time to properly get ready."

As they walked to the front to pay Ronnie sighed.

"Nils, I want him to be innocent as much as you do. More, probably. If he's on the up and up and he likes my dancing... who knows what kind of doors that could open for me. This could be my big chance. But at the same time, we need to know for certain if he's behind this or not. I don't think he is, but I didn't survive the barrio by taking stupid risks."

"I know that." Nils told her quietly. "Believe me, I know that. I'm well aware that far too often the charming smiling ones are the ones with something big to hide. It's something I had to learn early and well. I just..." He sighed. "I thought I was done with that. I thought I'd never have to deal with learning the ugly truth about someone I admired again. Stupid, I know. But I spent twenty five years saddled with all the ugly truths I could bear. It was tempting to think that it was finished."
He sighed. "It was stupid."

Ronnie put a hand lightly on Nils' arm.

"It's not stupid. We all want the world to be a good place. I mean, that's why we do what we do, isn't it? It's why we are what we are. But that doesn't mean there aren't still bad people out there... bad things. Let's just hope Indigo isn't one of them."

She saw the look of disappointment in Nils' eyes and rubbed his arm.

"It's probably not him. It could be a lot of people. It could be no one. That's why we need to find out."

She grinned.

"And hey, if he's in the clear there'll still be plenty of time for you to jump his bones."

Nils sighed again. "I shouldn't anyway. I mean, there IS still Chad to think about. Just because things have been tricky doesn't mean I should feel free to go off and boff whoever I like. Even if he does." He smiled wryly as they reached the counter. "It's fun to think about though."

As she paid for her coffee Ronnie bit her lip slightly and smiled.

"Oh, don't think I haven't thought about it. He's not exactly hard on the eyes, is he?"

Nils paid for his drink and moved away from the counter before answering. "Oh, he is incredible. Did you see those pictures of him in nothing but boxers you printed out?" He smiled. "And he's got a lot of muscle for a musician. I felt that last night. Well, and other things." He blushed. "I can't believe I got to sit in his lap. I've had a crush on him since the first time I saw a picture."

Esperanza laughed as they walked out the door into the warm air.

"You have no shame, Nils. Has anyone ever told you that?"

She stopped for a moment in the parking lot and took off her hat, enjoying the feel of the hot Texas sun on her face. She closed her eyes and for a few moments tried to forget all about titanspawn and gods and monsters and just thought about Indigo.

"Mmmm... I can't believe I actually got to talk to him in person. I've been listening to his music for so long now and I never thought I'd actually get to talk... much less flirt... with him."

Nils smiled. "Why should I have shame? It's you, after all. If I can't talk freely with you, then who?"
He turned to her with a sly smile. "I know you'd like to think that it's all professional with him and you wanting a chance to dance somewhere other than... where you dance, but you're rather attracted to him, aren't you?"

Ronnie blushed a little and smiled.

"I'd be lying if I said the flirting wasn't half serious." she said, "He's a very interesting person and I do want to get to know him. I mean I'm not heartless. I don't just want to use him for his connections. I wouldn't be talking to him if I didn't find him fascinating. Who knows? Maybe something will happen. Maybe not."

She sighed and looked at Nils.

"I'm probably fooling myself, aren't I?"

Nils smiled just a touch sadly at her. "You're not fooling yourself. He called YOU, remember? The man fancies you. I think you have a real shot, if you wish to go for it."
His smile took on a wicked quality before he continued. "And honestly, it would probably do you some good to get yourself out there. When was the last time you had a date?"

Ronnie gave a short, ironic laugh. "I don't have time to date. Between school and work... God, I'm such an impostor. I'm just some pobre cita from San Antonio who thinks she can dance. He'd loose interest in me in a few days. Besides... he doesn't really seem like the commitment type."

Nils shook his head. "Dearest, I know better. You dance AMAZINGLY. I'm sure he'll see it. And if he gets bored with you then he has a lot less sense than we thought he had." He sighed. "True, he's not big on commitment, but honestly darling there's no harm in enjoying a good thing while it lasts. Do you want a go with him? I'll stand down if you do."

Ronnie smiled and kissed Nils lightly on the cheek.

"You're a sweetheart. But no, I wouldn't do that to you. I know you have no problem with casual relationships, and that's fine... But it's not me. Right now I just want to be his friend. We'll see what happens from there."

Nils smiled. "Alright, then. If you're sure. I need to talk to Chad about that..."
He sighed. "Which, unfortunately, reminds me that we need to get everyone together to talk about what we've got. Not exactly my first choice, but it's important."

Ronnie smiled and hugged Nils.

"Alright then," she said as she disengaged and headed for her car, I'll call the others and meet you in about half an hour."