Private Finished Everything Stays

Angelo was, truth be told, not actually that different. Maybe a little bit more muscular from all the scout training he'd been doing, and finally out of having to wear the high school uniform, but... for the most part, still the same. He still looked the same, anyway. They might have acted a little bit differently, though.

That said, socially he was in a pretty different place. He'd graduated, for one. He'd started a job (even if it was in training) for another. He felt... older. More together.

So hearing Gabe wanted to meet up was... well, it was something else. It felt like a blast from the past as he headed into the courtyard, his hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets as he looked for him.

Aaaaaand there he was, looking... flustered? Frustrated?

"Gabe!" Angelo called, lifting one hand for a quick wave. "Long time no see. How've you been?"

The not-quite-a-huge was undeniably awkward on both their parts. Angelo engaged in the same game of physical affection chicken, second guessing himself before the hug could actually go through, and then shifting for a handshake.

Yeah, that was safe. A handshake.

"Long time no see," Angelo said. "Really... really long time no see, it feels like. I've been busy with scouting stuff, but what have you been up to?"

For a while, Angelo had been effectively taking two completely different programs. He'd been graduating his senior year of high school by night, and training as a scout by day. It had been far more work than he'd expected, and had cut his free time immensely.

A small plant dude? Angelo's first thought was to wonder if they were thinking of the same small plant dude (how many fitting that description could there be on the island?), but after a moment's thought he dismissed the idea. It was probably just a coincidence, after all.

"That's good to hear," Angelo said, listening to him talk about his stuff. "The shop's still doing well?" Both the shop and La Bussola had opened around the same time, and Angelo knew the anniversary of La Bussola's opening was coming up. He knew his dad was going to do something for it, but he wasn't sure if a flower shop would celebrate the same way a restaurant would.

Scouting, though, was a topic he could talk about much more freely.

"Good," he said. "Really good. It was stressful at the time, but in retrospect having all of us running around like chickens with our heads cut off when the island got cut off from the narrow reality was kind of funny. All my instructors were about to tear their hair out. Every lesson they'd taught us was suddenly no longer relevant, and it wasn't even clear if we'd be able to have scouts anymore." Mercifully, they did end up needing them. If anything, the need for scouts was even more pressing. People needed to be told about what was happening.

"I graduate soon, actually," Angelo said. "Then I'll start going off-island for jobs more regularly."

"Floral shops can do well," Angelo protested. He liked the idea of it, but at the same time, it wasn't like he'd gone to visit, either. He didn't really need flowers. Alma wasn't the sort of girl who wanted flowers. She was more... well, she liked practical things.

And it would have been really weird to get a bouquet of flowers for a guy who grew said bouquet.

"I..." Angelo said, hesitating before continuing. "I haven't really gone off island except on two quick training trips. I know Angelo--other Angelo--was saying that if I wanted to go to New York, I should stop by and visit his old family. His... I mean, he's not Basilio, but he's the closest thing this world has to him. He obviously misses Angelo a lot, but Angelo's still wanted, so he couldn't go back. I'm not sure I'd really want to go, you know? It's like..." Angelo faltered, suddenly aware he'd been rambling, and went red.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I've been doing a lot of talking. Have you--do you have any plans for what you're doing after you graduate?"

There was a lot of uncertainty there, and Angelo wasn't entirely comfortable with the situation. It wasn't anything Gabe had done, but instead who Gabe was: his ex. The guy he'd dated. Even if they'd broken up on entirely friendly terms, a lifetime of watching movies and TV shows and reading books about evil exes and all the things that could go wrong were absolutely weighing on him.

The mention of Halcyon helped in a weird sort of way. It dragged his head away from the fact that Gabe was his ex, and back to what mattered: that Gabe was from Halcyon. That there was shared, common ground.

"Not sure if I can say the same," Angelo said, cracking a smile to signal it was supposed to be a joke. "Depending on how things played out, I'd have either ended up a superhero or taking over dad's companies, after all."

Still a possibility, but a single Italian restaurant wasn't quite the same thing as an entire semi-legal business venture.