Log [Alison, Haroun] ~ A moment to breathe...

[x-dazzler.livejournal.com]

Finally relinquishing supervision of the singing and band, Alison strikes out to find Haroun. A little fresh air is in order as well as time for two.

Haroun sat in an out-of-the-way chair and cradled his head. He'd done his duty and taken Domino for a spin around the floor. Didn't even get to step on her toes, which was truly tragic. But now he had gone from basically OK to full-blown headache mode, and all he wanted to do was crawl into a corner and die.

His current theory was that this was Divine Revenge for sampling the National Drink at the bar after his little tête a tête with Domino.

Nathan had already made sure she didn't hover about overseeing anything music related once and though she'd been sneaking back to doing that just again, feeling oddly restless about enjoying the wedding reception. The sudden lack of Haroun anywhere in the room for her to check upon however had been enough to draw her attention fully to Other Things. Such as finding Haroun for one thing and perhaps claiming a dance or several, while she was at it. Anything to make the odd restless feeling go away.

Finding Haroun with his head buried in his hands and shoulder slumped was not what she'd been hoping for, however.

"Haroun?" Worry edged her voice and she leaned over him a bit, wondering what was wrong.

"My brain hurts." he said, without looking up. "It's Divine Punishment. Had a Scotch up at the bar earlier. On an empty stomach. Dumb, dumb idea."

"You had a scotch?" Faint disbelief colored her voice, the Scottish accent she'd learned to sing the traditional songs for the wedding properly still lingering. She reached down to claim one hand, tugging slightly. "Come on, let's go outside for a bit of fresh air... you look like it'd do you good."

"Hey, if you got partnered with Domino you'd start drinking too." He grumbled, but let her lead him outside to grab some fresh air. "It seemed like a good idea at the time?" he offered weakly. "And you sang beautifully." he added lamely.

"Thank ye!" She flashed him a grin over a bare shoulder at the compliment, reaching out to open one of the doors just outside the main reception room and slipping through the opening, pausing only a moment to check and see if anyone was already there before leading him on the small balcony with her. Once
that was done and the glass tiled door closed again, she moved a bit closer to him, worry showing through once more. She wasn't about to chastise him for drinking – she wasn't Muslim, for one and Haroun would berate himself over it far more efficaciously and for much longer anyway. "Deep breath," she suggested, doing the same and then smiling a bit at the smell of the sea nearby. "The air is so different here."

Haroun did as instructed, taking a deep breath. It seemed to help him a little. "Gah. Possibly the best living friend that I have got married today. And all I can think of is how much I really hate his former protégé." he said. "I'm a horrible person sometimes."

"So stop thinking about her," Alison suggested calmly, reaching up to gently straighten out the flower pinned to his tux. "Stop giving her the importance, the attention and all. People who like attention or thrive on conflict don't do so well when they just get ignored. That's all." There. The sprig wasn't drooping
to the side so much anymore, and she smiled up at him, just a touch. "Enjoy yourself. This is a special day for Nathan and Moira. They'd want you to just have fun."

Haroun looked up at Alison and grinned. "You're right, as usual." He said. "I like your dress." he said randomly. "Looks really good on you. Then again, you could make a burqa look hot, but this... this is nice." he said with a grin and hoping he wasn't blushing too much. Thank Allah for dark skin.

One day, she would have to see about indeed, making a burqa look hot. But for now, she certainly wasn't complaining about this. "Thank you," she beamed up at him, leaning against him fully now that he seemed to feel a bit better, noting the easing of the tension about him. "And I've been meaning to find you for a while and let you know that I think you look dashingly handsome in that tux…"

Haroun looked at his finery and shrugged "Not really my thing, culturally, but I have to admit that it does suit me." he said, posing just a bit for her benefit. "One of these days we'll go to the Middle East or Africa or something like that, and I'll show what what a Moor wears when he wants to look his best." he said with a grin.

"I think I'd like that," she replied solemnly, her own shoulders easing a bit from seeing the obvious way he was now relaxing as well.  This was so much better. "I'd take you back out there so we could show off but I'm minded to keep you here to myself just a little bit longer," she murmured, the smile fading just a touch, to something smaller thought no less warm. She turned around, leaning her back against his chest and looked at the breathtaking view laid out before them. "It's so gorgeous here, isn't it?"

Haroun looked out over the crags of Muir Isle. "It's OK." he admitted. "Not really my preferred thing. I like the desert and the scrub best." he admitted. "The stark beauty of it is what appeals to me. Not that this is bad, really, but it's way too humid out here for my tastes."

"Well, we do have Ororo to thank for the weather today," Alison admitted, chuckling softly. But it was gorgeous and perhaps that had something to do with the continuous sound of the waves against the rocks and the shore. Closing her eyes for a moment, Alison just listened, smiling softly to herself. For all that the mansion was home for now, she wanted one of her own one day. "One day..."

Haroun draped his arm around Alison's shoulders. "One day what?" he asked her as he looked out over the water. It was rather pretty, in a rugged sort of a way.

"A home. Something that isn't the mansion, much as it is home now. That isn't shared with a bunch of teenagers or adults and - just a home." Somewhere to be safe and grow old in peace in with you, she almost added, and then blinked instead at the train her thoughts were taking.

Haroun hrmmed. "Don't you already have one? There's the apartment in the city..." he said, clearly confused. Where was she going with this? "I'm guessing that that doesn't count?"

"It's… not the same," she finished, feeling a bit lame about saying it that way and suddenly entirely unsure about how to try and explain what she'd meant. "Ehn, I'm not even sure what I mean myself." She shook her head, nestling in the embrace of the arm around his shoulders and turned her head a bit to smile apologetically at Haroun. There was a small love seat on the balcony and Alison tugged at this arm lightly, deciding that sitting down and staying outside longer was good.

Haroun shrugged and just sat next to Alison to watch the waves crash against the crags. "My head feels a little better. You wouldn't happen to have tucked away a bottle of aspirin or something into that dress somewhere, would you?" he asked with a grin. "If you want help looking, I'd be honored to aid in any way I could."

Alison laughed at that and shook her head. "Well, no, I don't think I have aspirin hidden anywhere under this," she teased lightly, poking him gently in the ribs. "Course, I haven't checked since I wriggled into it earlier..."

Haroun, with an absolutely straight face, said "I like wriggles". He then lost it and laughed. "Ow, don't make me laugh, my head hurts. I think I'm hung over. Stupid mutant physiology." he said, and then paused for a second.

"We'll find you some aspirin when we head back out," Alison offered, smiling at the sight of him laughing. "And see about turning in not too late tonight. I'm mostly done with the whole overseeing the music stuff and I think the band will be happy to not see me again. I fussed," she muttered, a bit shamefacedly.

Haroun shook his head to try to shake off his suddenly black mood, which, of course, made his head hurt that much more. "Ow." he said. "OK, time to go find that aspirin. And a bottle of water. I swear, it really is the Devil's Drink. A shame it tasted so good at the time."

Feeling a touch wistful at the idea of going back inside, Alison nonetheless nodded, rising to her feet slowly. "Okay. Let's go find some water for you. And I think we've aspirin in our room if nothing else. I know I packed some along with," there was the briefest of hesitations, "our other things."

Feeling a touch wistful at the idea of going back inside, Alison nonetheless nodded, rising to her feet slowly. "Okay. Let's go find some water for you. And I think we've aspirin in our room if nothing else. I know I packed some along with," there was the briefest of hesitations, "our other things."

"Our other things?" he asked before catching on. "OH! Those other things! Well now, I guess someone was determined to make the most of this trip." he said with a grin. "Well then."

Quiet laughter greeted that remark, even though it hadn't been what Alison had meant. "I've got a set of those Other Things on right now, you should know," she purred, even as she opened the door and stepped back inside, winking at him through the window pane.

Haroun grinned from ear to ear. "You are, love, a horrible tease. You know that, right?" he said, walking back inside to join hands with her.