2007-05-21: Work It Out

Starring:

Desiree_icon.gif Manuel_icon.gif

Summary: Desiree talks to Manny about his relationship with his sister and what's to come.

Date It Happened: May 21st, 2007

Work It Out


Gomez Residence, Queens, NYC

Desiree does very little, lately, to help anyone's opinion of her /not/ being completely crackers, least of all Manny's. Afternoon in the Gomez residence finds the woman who has humbly (and sometimes not-so-humbly) ingratiated herself with the family sitting on the floor on her knees, the skirt of her blue dress pooling around her. She's very quiet, and half-hidden by the height of the couch behind her as she is, she might be easy to miss. On the coffee table in front of her is a bowl of oranges. Chewing on a thumbnail and seeming to be involved in either a daydream or intense thought - her distant expression could be attributed to both - she's doing nothing but staring at said fruit.

Manny comes home notably earlier than he probably should be, it being a school day and all, but it's not exactly uncommon for him to be home early. The younger Gomez male pulls up to his home at a rate of speed considerably higher than he needs to be going, stopping just in line with the curb. Pushing his door open, Manny pulls his keys out and runs a hand over his head, shutting the door and locking it quickly. Padding into the house, Manny tucks his hands into his pockets and looking around—he doesn't expect to see anyone, and when he spots Desiree…staring at oranges, Manny just stops to look before starting to head back toward his room.

Though the sound of the car doesn't jar her, the woman's gaze is broken easily when Manny wanders just a bit closer en route to his room; maybe she wasn't so lost in thoughts or dreams after all. As if sitting there staring at a bowl of fruit was the most casual thing in the world, a friendly smile spreads across Desiree's face, turned in the young man's direction. "Hi Manny!" she chirps in her Southern-accented voice and gets to her feet, brushing down her dress. "Shun't you be in school?" It's a curious question more than it is accusing - in fact, there's no accusation at all, her hazel eyes just blinking blithely at the teenager.

An eyebrow quirks upwards on the young man's forehead when the question's asked…even moreso at the tone. He looks over at Desiree again, shrugging and just saying, "Got out early." It's not exactly an amiable tone that comes from the younger Gomez male. He stops and thinks…then turns and heads into the kitchen to grab a drink, glancing at the fruit, "What's with the oranges?"

Desiree seems to accept Manny's answer at face value, since she just bobs her head. As for the oranges she glances down at the bowl, a fleeting frown turning the corners of her mouth down. She forces into a smile a moment later, however, even if it is a little wry. "Thought maybe they'd tell me how to… y'know, maybe not have a untimely death," she confesses - but tacks on a good-natured, almost mischievous wink after the fact. She swoops down to swipe the fruit bowl off of the coffee table, holding it in her arms. "But it looks like they're keepin' their secrets today." She plucks an orange away from its brethren and tosses it once in the air before catching it. "You want some orange juice?"

Another eyebrow raise…this time at Desiree's answer, momentarily unable to think of a response. He slips into Spanish for a minute, muttering, "<Oranges ain't gonna tell you anything, lady…>" He steps into the kitchen, pulling the fridge open and just grabbing one of the soda bottles in it, holding it up in response to the juice question, twisting the cap off and taking a sip. "So, what's this I hear about some fight me and Ella are havin'?" Okay…so Manny wasn't…totally ignoring everything around him.

Desiree also heads into the kitchen, toting the bowl of oranges; even if Manny doesn't want any juice, she still has plans to make some. "We-eell," she begins somewhat tentatively, glancing sidelong at the teenager as she slides the bowl onto the countertop. She just watches him guardedly for a moment before watching her own motions with the oranges - out of the bowl, onto the counter, rummaging for a juicer. She worries at her lip. "Y'all are jus' gonna have to keep bein' good to each other, that's all I can say."

Manny just smirks a little bit, "That's all you can say?" Okay…so Manny's not the best guy to hold information from, but the younger Gomez leans back against a counter and sips his soda, "Mm…that's not too helpful." /It'd be a good start for Ella not to knock me out cuz of Armando, but…/

Desiree turns a look on Manny that is, quite simply, sympathetic. She stops her efforts toward orange juice as soon as she slices one in half with a large knife; both fruit and knife are set down as she turns to face the Gomez teen. "I don't even know how to stop myself from gettin' killed, or how to stop the whole city from fallin' to pieces, I don't know how to stop you and your sister from gettin' into it like tomcats. I jus' know that I'ma do what I /do/ know how to do. And that's have hope. So." Desiree turns, takes half of the orange, and presses into to the domed top of the juicer. "I don't know you real well, Manny, but I'm gettin' to know Elena. She's a good kid. She jus' wants what's best for you too. It's her you oughta be askin'."

Manny scoffs some, sipping from the soda before folding his arms across his chest. He taps his foot for a moment, thinking, "I love Ella more than people know…but she's…how you say, rose-colored glasses? The world's supposed to be perfect and happy to her…" Manny shrugs a bit, taking another sip of his drink as he considers how to explain the next part, "She doesn't understand how shitty the world can be…"

"I think 'Lena knows more than you think," Desiree attempts to point out as she moves from one piece of citrus to the next. "Ain't nothin' wrong with rose-coloured glasses as long as you got 'em on straight." Of course, she and Elena have that in common. "World ain't perfect," she agrees - somewhat - as she puts some elbow grease into juicing the orange. A bit more than necessary, in fact. She's starting to squeeze the ever-living hell out of that orange. She is, suddenly, very adamant about what she's telling the teenager. "Sometimes it seems like shit, but that don't mean people should do nothin' to make it better, or give up hope, or fight with their own flesh 'n' blood, 'cause whatever the reason, it ain't worth it. You never know how much time you got. Remember--" *SQUEEZE*. "--that--" *SQUEEZE*. "--Manny."

Manny nods a little bit, knowing Desiree's trying to make sense to the teen, but Manny already knew what was coming. He smirks a little bit, nodding, "I'm not LOOKING to fight with her…just…" Another sip of the soda before Manny can explain, "…she's trying to play hero for some things that don't need one…" Manny finishes the soda, dumping it in the trash and folding his arms again. Yes, he is referring to the situation with Armando, among others. He notices the strain Desiree's putting on the orange, "Need help?"

Desiree slams the empty peel of the orange on the counter, leaning forward and taking break as if her intense orange-juicing and tangent was exhausting. One was, the other wasn't. However, after a moment to collect herself, she shakes her head with a soft little smile of gratitude. "Naw. Almost done." She picks up the next orange, slices it in half. "She's your big sister. Tryin' to be hero's in the job description, right up there with bein' a pain in your ass," she cracks a grin at Manuel. "You ever go to any waterfronts regular?"

"Can't say as I do," Manny replies, looking over at Desiree as she chops the orange, "Not much of a swimmer; prefer driving. Why?" In Manny's mind, that was a really weird question to ask, let alone in the context of the conversation.

"Not that kinda waterfront. Least— I don't /think/. It was dark. Somewhere in the city, y'know? No one wants to swim in that water." Desiree goes about cleaning up the counter and tossing the mangled oranges away; as she runs her hands under water at the sink, she squints at Manny. "That's where it'll happen if you two don't work it out."

Manny quirks an eyebrow, thinking for a second…then palming his face for a moment, breathing out a sigh and suddenly letting out a quiet but lengthy string of fluent Spanish, not exactly sounding like the happiest of campers on this particular exchange.

Desiree may not understand most Spanish, but she's /fairly certain/ none of that was anything happy nor clean. She turns the water off and dries her hand on a kitchen towel, her brow knitting together in concern as she regards the young man carefully. "Uh, M-manny?"

Manny just shakes his head. He doesn't seem too interested in saying anything in English about what he might have just said in Spanish, just muttering, "Know the place…" He looks down at the ground, a scowl on his face as he considers what could be…

"…Yeah?" The Southerner tips her head down, pegging Manny with another careful stare. This one is of the slightly maternal variety, out of instinct or habit or both. "Well. Then you know to stay away from it."

Manny's voice mutters again in his favored language, shaking his head. The only word that really stands out is "Elena." Otherwise, it'd just be a blended mix of Spanish muttering, folding his arms again and thinking, "Take it to mind…"

Desiree gives Manny a /look/ A 'you better behave' look. It just sneaks out. She's been a mother for so long, she has no control over these things! "Yeah." She fetches some glasses out of a nearby cupboard, two at once, and fills one - which she hands to Manny. "Have some juice. Vitamin C helps boost up your norepinephrine." Pause. "It'll put you in a better mood," she clarifies with a well-meaning smile.

Indeed, Manny seems to have no idea what the mentioned word from Desiree was. When it's explained, Manny shrugs and takes the cup, sipping from the juice. It's not much; he mostly just lifts and lets a little slide past the rim. Manny looks at Desiree, a shrug leaving the teen, "Can't control what Ella does…" He's not going to get in a fight with his sister on purpose…it'd have to be a hell of a feat for ella to make Manny get physical with her, even…

"Nah," Desiree agrees as she turns away to get some juice for herself, this time. "But you can control what you do. Right? You can try'n make sure you don't do somethin' that'd make her even wanna smack you inna head." She takes a sip of the homemade orange juice and points around her glass. "And I'll tell the same thing to 'Lena."

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