Spa Day, Alison and Lorna

[x-polarisstar.livejournal.com]

A series of vignettes reveal how Lorna and Alison spent their day--being exceptionally girly.



Leaning back in the chair, staring up at the sunlight playing through the multicolored panels of glass which composed the spa's ceiling, Alison smiled just a bit, listening to Lorna going on about the colors they'd chosen. The blue she'd chosen for herself was a nice shade, she decided, the name admittedly being what had drawn her to it first.

Fearless. Lips quirking, she turned to wink at Lorna.

"...could have gone for Princess Grace instead." Lorna wriggled her free hand in front of her face admiring the polish that was the same hue as her amused gaze. "But this some much more fitting." She rarely wore polish, though she adored it. It just wasn't feasible when her hands were so often preparing food. But this week was about her and not about work so she indulged.

"Ha. Strong is just fine. Matches your eyes," Alison informed her gravely, before grinning far too cheerfully at her. Today was a Good Day. There wouldn't be any more days like this soon, not for a while, and as sobering as the thought was, Alison didn't let it affect her. The bracelet at her wrist hit the side of the chair, light metallic sounds echoing as a result and she glanced down at her charm bracelet automatically. Maybe they could find a last one to fit in, in tribute for today. "We're due for the chocolate store after, I think. Mmm."

"And the video store," Lorna agreed. She'd set aside this entire day for just her and Alison. Even Alex had been told that he would have to fend for himself. The sound of the charms made her smile and she gave a thought to what else Alison might like. Nothing so facile as a premade charm. It had to be special. "Although don't think I can move yet. Too relaxed."

"And then the restaurant. Can't forget that!" Humming merrily, Alison leaned over to peek at her feet. She hadn't gone for the full body massage today, for obvious reasons - as far as she and Lorna knew, anyway. But the pedicure, manicure and facial had been lovely and she was more than looking forward to showing off the new polish later. "We can move when it's time to get chocolate. Chocolate might be enough to get us motivated towards getting up." She paused. "You think?"

"If it's really, really good chocolate maybe." Lorna replied after due consideration. She grinned at the mention of the restaurant. Any day that she didn't have to eat her own cooking was a good day.

"Well, considering it's chocolate for lunch and they have this new coffee and chocolate thing that looks," she segued from the usual 'to die for' to something different without missing a beat, "absolutely sinful, I think we probably manage to haul ourselves up eventually. Ooh, that's nice!" Grinning, Alison eyed her toes, the perfect pedicure having indeed been achieved. As everyone obligingly ogled her toes, Alison glanced up and around the room, idly. Just looking, though there was nothing to spot out of the ordinary.

Lorna stretched lazily, "Oh I suppose that will do." She held out her hands for Alison's inspection, deliberately pulling her friend's attention back to her and away from even the slightest bit of paranoid worry. "Should I get a flower do you think?"

~*~

"I think we should have picked up more orange peels. Oh so much." Sitting in the small chocolate café, having liberated a neat little table and two chairs from a bedazzled would be patron, Alison and Lorna had their purchases stacked up on the table, one box opened for inspection. "They're so good." Purring over chocolate was maybe wrong, but it really was that good.

Lorna cackled quietly over her truffles, piling them in their tiny boxes like a dragon arranging her treasure. "Cho. Co. Late." She plucked at the ribbon on one box, debating about opening it but no sure she wanted to kill the anticipation just yet. Instead she reached at hand toward the open box. "Hmm, taste test."

"You know you want to open that one." Alison's eyes danced at the thought, even as she generously allowed herself another bitter chocolate covered orange peel. She'd just order more over or something. Today was for the spoiling of self and Lorna, and nothing else really. Blue nail polish shimmered neatly over the edge of the ribbon Lorna was toying with as Alison poked it idly. "Those are the cho-co-late coffee beans, dear." It was such fun to say chocolate that way. She really had to do it more often.

"Hrm, but maybe I should save them for later?" Obvious reluctance there. Lorna gave a small grin then tugged the ribbon off the box and lifted the lid. Her own emerald-polished nails with their sunny flowers and gemstones flashed in a stray ray of sun. "Caffeine and cocoa. It's like bliss in a tiny round pebble." She popped one in her mouth and munched happily.

"No, you weren't!" Alison grinned and picked out one for herself, carefully so. Chocolate covered beans had to be treated with care, after all. "You have no will power when it comes to anything coffee related." Which was why Alison had bought three more boxes of those to get Alex to stash them away in his luggage and casually put on a shelf in the kitchen of the new apartment when they arrived in Hawaii. Considering everything she wanted Alex to bring over secretly, it might not be a bad idea to just buy a new carry-on luggage for him, at that. "Mmm. Those are scary good." She'd reached for another without even realizing it, at that.

Lorna slapped Alison's hand lightly. "Mine!" she declared, curling over the box protectively and looking at Alison with a gleam in her eyes. "Besides," she said with a slow, mischievous grin, "I need a new swim suit and you need a new swim suit and we both need stop-their-heart-make-them-beg lingerie."

The word 'lingerie' brought a briefly pained look to Alison's face, though it was replaced by determination the moment afterwards. Haroun most certainly deserved to get his heart stopped and all the begging he wanted to do. There was, in Alison's mind, not a moment's doubt that he'd certainly not mind this in the least, too. "Make them forget how to beg, even," she stated firmly, then smiled back at Lorna, just as much impishness showing through. "How about stop-their-hearts-make-them-howl-at-the-moon lingerie?"

Lorna grinned at that then squeaked as Alison stole another coffee bean. She slapped the lid back on. "No, no. Mine!"

"Yes, we can reduce them to saying that too," was the merry reply, followed by the sound of a coffee bean meeting a crunchy death. "Mmm! Dunno about you but," flipping the box of chocolate orange peels, Alison rose to her feet, "I'm ready to go lingerie shopping!"

~*~

"Mine!" Green nails dug into the deep violet material and Lorna pouted at Alison as she tried to tug the garment away. "Saw it first! And it's my color."

Snickering, Alison opened her hands and let the scrap of fabric go, doing her level best to keep an innocent air about her. It wasn't as though she'd ever favored that shade before. And finding indecent lingerie to have Lorna pounce on was always fun. "It's got... interesting features," she said, deadpan, before innocently turning to one of the displays of the new collections, eyeing one of the black silk sets of nothing contemplatively.

Lorna held up the pretty purple fabric. "It's not got many features at all." She grinned, "That's what I like about it." She hooked the hanger over her wrist and went back to browsing. She kept picking up then rejecting things in Alex's favorite tropical shades. It was just very hard to pick colors that didn't clash with her hair. Hence her protective stance over the purple. She turned and rested her chin on Alison's shoulder. "What about that one?" She pointed at a filmy concoction of lace and chiffon to the left of where Alison was looking.

Leaning back a bit, Alison tilted her head to the side, taking in the suggestion. "I think I like that too. It's a nice shade of peach..." One which would do very nicely against her tanned skin. "I'm thinking of spoiling myself rotten today here, as well as Haroun." Smiling a bit, Alison decided that both the black and the peach would go on the list of things to get. "Oh." Tilting her head a bit more, she grinned. "Sneaky thing, you are. I hadn't spotted the whole set there. Niiiice." Yes, the peach would do very nicely. "And the new collections are always in stock. I love that."

But Lorna's attention had already been drawn away from the pretty peach set. With a crook of her finger she floated a pale pink gown from the highest hook and down to where she could look at it. "It's a little demure but..." she hesitated, maybe too plain? "What do you think?" With her vivid green hair, she tended towards bolder colors but it was such a pretty blush pink.

"I can do the innocent look," Alison replied far, far too serenely, eyeing the set pensively. "It is nice." She grinned afterwards, leaning her head just a bit to rest it against Lorna's. "You're trying to make me buy the whole store, aren't you?" She was amenable to it, though.

Lorna blinked then laughed, "I meant this one for me. But hey if you want to buy it for me, I'm sure Alex will thank you." She tilted the label to show Alison that she'd grabbed one in her size, not Alison's. Although just that reaction made her think that it wasn't meant to be. With a wistful sigh, she floated it back to its spot. "I'll just stick to the old standbys, I guess."

An amused snort greeted that, Alison making a come hither gesture to the hanger and the gown upon it. "My treat, wench. Bring it back or I'll have to yodel for a salesgirl from across the store and you know that'll bring every single one of them down on us like a plague of locusts." And the black number further on the left could be added more discreetly later and packed - wrapped! - in Alex's things, at that. "Old standbys, ha!"

Lorna smirked as she brought the gown back down. "If you don't think it'll suit me then I shouldn't get it, right?" She added it to the other selections she'd made anyway. "This shopping trip definitely goes on my own credit line. 'Daddy's plastic' would probably contribute to Daddy's heartattack if I used it."

Well, that was if Alison even gave her the chance to try and pay for anything here. Quite happy with this thought, Alison grabbed Lorna's hand, spotting an absolutely sinful proposition in lace and silk on the other side of the store. "Oh! C'mon!" The memory of being smashed through the window of Victoria's Secret at the mall by Sabertooth didn't even faze her overmuch as she dragged her friend along towards her next purchase.

~*~

"He's looking down my shirt every time he pours me more water, isn't he?" Lorna eyed the vanishing waiter who had just topped off her glass for the tenth time this evening. And they hadn't received their entrees yet.

"Well, since you buttoned it up as much as possible between the first time he was here and the last, I don't think so," Alison laughed quietly, taking a cheerful bite from the whatsis on her plate which had sent Lorna into raptures of delight earlier. "I think he's ogling the hair, myself. It's very exotic."

Lorna pulled a strand of hair in front of her face and looked at it, her eyes crossing slightly then shrugged and tossed it back, "Nope, still don't get the appeal. I could always dye it brown again. Then the staring would stop." And stares still bothered her but the sidelong looks followed by whispers were worse. "Then they'd stare at you instead."

Alison shook her head at that, amused. "No, they stared at you even as a brunette, Lorna. You just notice less cause you figure people don't stare then, really." Imparting great truths such as that was a thirst inducing sort of work though. Taking a sip of her San Pelligrino, she wrinkled her nose amusedly at Lorna. "You are drop dead gorgeous. And I'll keep saying so forever n'ever!"

"How would you know? You never hung out with me as brunette." She made a face at Alison, "Besides which, next to you, people shouldn't be staring at all. I'm basically plain by comparison." Lorna sipped her red wine, chosen carefully to match the dinner she'd ordered. She was already plotting how to get the recipes out of the chef.

There was a faintly indignant look on the passing waiter's face, which Alison answered with an amused smile. "Well, some people seem to disagree with your assessment on the matter," she intoned gravely, before turning the discussion away to something else, because this particular song and dance they went through regularly. And probably would when both old and grey, sitting out on the back porch in their rocking chairs. "Now. I think the surprise I ordered should get here any moment…"

Lorna bounced gleefully, willingly distracted. "Surprise? What is it?" she demanded breathlessly, her eyes wide and delighted by the very idea, "Does it make noise? Is it a sparkly?"

"We're in a restaurant," Alison said, pretending to gape at Lorna, "and not once does she ask me if it's edible! Ha!" Pretending to huff in indignation to keep Lorna's attention fixed on her, Alison caught sight of the 'surprise' heading towards them, in the form of the restaurant's chef himself, holding aloft a covered plate with great dignity. It had made things so much easier, when she'd called up, to discover that the man was a fan. Oh so much.

Lorna blinked at the chef then at Alison, "When did you have, like, time to set this all up?" The inadvertent Valley slip wasn't noticed as Lorna scrambled out her seat to shake the chef's hand. Professional courtesy for one. Professional awe for another. This man was the reason this restaurant was world famous. Chef Marcel spoke of him glowingly.

Oh, I made the time, Alison thought to herself, smiling as she gave up any hope of following the cooking intensive conversation for the next little while, while shamelessly trying to find a way to peek under the cover of whatever had been prepared for Lorna.

~*~

"I still thinking just watching both movies is the best solution," Alison declared solemnly, while unwrapping one of the boxes of chocolates they'd brought back - one purchased by Lorna, this time, who had given strict instructions that only this particular box would be opened for movie night. "And you're not even telling me which movie you did pick!"

"That's because it's not a secret movie choice if I tell you," Lorna pointed out sensibly. She was already curled up on the sofa with a soft afghan tucked around her legs. She'd done her part by making the coffee and picking the film. She let Alison fuss with the rest of the setup.

The chocolate was set within distance as well as water to supplement to coffee, and Alison then scrambled on all fours to the TV to finally yank out the DVD which had been taunting her, just out of sight enough that she couldn't make the name on the cover. "Shaun of the dead?" Blinking, Alison flipped it around, curious. "I've never seen this one."

Lorna grinned, "It's a love story. With zombies." She waved at Alison, "Put it in and start it already. Time's a wasting, clock is ticking, I'm not getting any younger and all that."

"A love story with zombies?" Alison gave the case a dubious look, suspecting this had nothing to do with Haroun's hidden stash of romance movies. Not one bit. "Uh huh. Well, you're providing the coffee, chocolate and brilliant company!" Without further ado she popped the DVD in the player, then scrambled back to the couch to take up as much space as possible as she could on it.

Lorna waited until Alison had arranged herself then immediately flopped over into Alison's lap and kicked her legs over the arm of the sofa. "And you're providing my pillow. Okay, press play and away we go."

"Yes, milady!" With mock deference, Alison curled up a bit more comfortably now that the expected Lorna was using her as a pillow, tugging the afghan a bit closer, then picked up then pressed play on the control as ordered. "Voila!" Setting it down, she made sure coffee and chocolate were within reach before slumping back into the couch with a sigh of satisfaction.