Haroun and Alison - the Birthday Boy
Aug. 15th, 2005 08:32 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsIt's Haroun's birthday. Alison gets him some presents. Pure, 100% fluff, guaranteed 100% content-free.
Haroun stretched and lounged in bed for about thirty seconds before sliding his legs around and climbing out of bed. The sun had just come up, the birds were beginning to chirp, and he felt rested, really rested, for the first time in a long time. Of course, finishing the heavy lifting parts of the Blackbird repairs contributed to his sleep of the righteous. Yawning, he lazily walked over to the bathroom to begin his morning ritual of getting cleaned up.
There was nary an Alison in sight in the suite thus far, but entering the bathroom seemed to prove that she'd at least been there earlier. Her towel on the rack was slightly askew, still damp from the shower she'd taken earlier and on the counter...
...on the counter was a small box, white and simple, held shut by a blue ribbon.
Haroun blinked at the box, and then shrugged and unwrapped it. He saw the note, smiled, and then put the note aside so he could take his typically just-this-side-of-on-fire shower. Once that was done, he brushed his teeth and cleaned everything that needed cleaned, then took up the note and padded back into their bedroom. He grabbed an old pair of camo pants, shrugged into them, then went into the living room to look on the new shelf as per the note's instruction.
The shelf was made of an old, obviously worn wood. Something which had life and wear to it, from the nicked and scratches on the polished wood. And upon the shelf several bright silver containers were arranged neatly, each contained a variety of incenses, to go with the delicately inlaid bronze incense burner which filled up the rest of the space. Beside the burner was another note, this time directing Haroun back to the bedroom, to look under his pillow.
Haroun took a deep sniff of the incense, and smiled as the wave of memory hit him. She'd gone through considerable trouble to find the stuff, he could tell. Grinning, he padded back into the bedroom to look under his pillow. The scavenger-hunt was somewhat amusing, in a down-the-rabbit-hole sort of a way.
Under the pillow was a plain, dark wooden box. Longer than it was wider by far, it still had fit other than pillow nicely, clearly put there sometime while he'd been showering. The wood's smooth deep luster hinted at the quality of the box, which once opened was revealed to contain a folder square of black silk. From one of the folder corners a slip of fabric was easy to see. The end of a tassel, perhaps, or a frayed edge of rope, which revealed a series of very ordinary looking clay beads, once the silk was tugged loose.
The small note tucked in a corner of silk slipped free, the words written out in one of Alison's more careful and elegant scripts.
"I know you can't go. But there's no reason you can't keep a small part of it here, with you. I love you. Happy Birthday. Alison."
I know you can't go. But there's no reason you can't keep a small part of it here, with you. I love you. Happy Birthday. Alison. Haroun blinked as he let his fingers roll over the beads. The clay from Mecca itself, Islam's holiest city. Blinking hard to fight back the tears, he permitted himself a silly, small, stupid smile.
What a perfect start to his day. And speaking of perfect starts - it was time for morning prayer. He took his new prayer beads with him as he knelt towards Mecca and began his prayers.
The sound of Haroun's voice echoing through the room drew a smile from Alison as she sat in the corner of the room, steadily stopping the draw she'd had on the sound immediately around herself. It had been oddly easy to just stay out of his vision as he'd gone about from the shower, to the incense and then back to the bed. But she knew she had to be there when he opened the box, knew that seeing the look on his face would be one of those utterly priceless moments she would not miss for anything in the world.
Waiting until he was done was the easy part, now. She loved the sound of his voice as he spoke the cadenced prayers and this was hardly the first time she had tucked herself away out of sight to just listen until he was done.
Haroun finished up his prayers, straightened up, and moved back to put the prayer beads away and in a safe place. As he packed them away, he turned to look at Alison. "Thank you." he said simply, his eyes bright.
His expression pretty much made everything right with the world in all of a heartbeat. "Mm." Pushing herself up, Alison walked across the room to hug him. "Thank you," she murmured, before kissing him lightly. "I've been such a wreck to put up with lately and you've just been so patient with me and… I just wanted to do something special." She wasn't done, yet, but this had been the biggest part.
"You don't have to, silly goose!" he said playfully, beeping her nose. "What you've given me far outweighs any material thing. Even prayer beads from Mecca." he laughed. "I am blessed by God, truly."
"I've been absolutely," she paused, stealing a quick kiss, "horrible and I know it. I just…" she paused, then smiled at him slowly. Today was not a day for those issues. "I'm just the luckest woman in the world?" Sappy she could do. Oh, and then some. "Happy Birthday!" She hummed out the words lowly, making a song out of them.
Haroun laughed as she sang him Happy Birthday. "Awlright, awlright, I get the picture!" he grinned. "What else do you have planned, O Devil Woman?" he said with a waggle of his eyebrows.
"Oh, nothing too dramatic…" Leaning back a bit but not letting go, she started to take small steps towards the door, tugging him along against her. "Maybe something like going out for a walk in town. Miles has a present for you toooo. And the evening well… that'll just be you and I."
Haroun grinned wolfishly at that. "Can't complain about that. Sounds nice." he said, and then his stomach growled. "Mmm. First - I need food, badly!" he said with a grin. "Shall we dine, my dear?"
A cheerful grin greeted that. "And where did you think I was trying to lure you to, mmm?" Luring and cajoling and teasing through the day. Yes, she could do that. She so very much wanted to do that, take the time to express appreciation for everything he'd done of late. The birthday was a good reason, though she would have found a way otherwise.
"Well, if I had to guess I'd say that you wanted me back in your bed, but even without all the bits I am a guy." he grinned. "But I really am hungry, so unless you've got a breakfast tray tucked away in here somewhere..." he said with a hopeful look.
Laughing quietly, Alison paused to stop luring away and leaned against him. "I've got a lovely breakfast all tucked away in that tiny refrigerator we have. It's like those ads on TV with clowns that come out of the tiny car for ever and ever. And then? Then we are heading out and we will have a wonderful day." And nothing would spoil it. Nothing.
Haroun stretched and lounged in bed for about thirty seconds before sliding his legs around and climbing out of bed. The sun had just come up, the birds were beginning to chirp, and he felt rested, really rested, for the first time in a long time. Of course, finishing the heavy lifting parts of the Blackbird repairs contributed to his sleep of the righteous. Yawning, he lazily walked over to the bathroom to begin his morning ritual of getting cleaned up.
There was nary an Alison in sight in the suite thus far, but entering the bathroom seemed to prove that she'd at least been there earlier. Her towel on the rack was slightly askew, still damp from the shower she'd taken earlier and on the counter...
...on the counter was a small box, white and simple, held shut by a blue ribbon.
Haroun blinked at the box, and then shrugged and unwrapped it. He saw the note, smiled, and then put the note aside so he could take his typically just-this-side-of-on-fire shower. Once that was done, he brushed his teeth and cleaned everything that needed cleaned, then took up the note and padded back into their bedroom. He grabbed an old pair of camo pants, shrugged into them, then went into the living room to look on the new shelf as per the note's instruction.
The shelf was made of an old, obviously worn wood. Something which had life and wear to it, from the nicked and scratches on the polished wood. And upon the shelf several bright silver containers were arranged neatly, each contained a variety of incenses, to go with the delicately inlaid bronze incense burner which filled up the rest of the space. Beside the burner was another note, this time directing Haroun back to the bedroom, to look under his pillow.
Haroun took a deep sniff of the incense, and smiled as the wave of memory hit him. She'd gone through considerable trouble to find the stuff, he could tell. Grinning, he padded back into the bedroom to look under his pillow. The scavenger-hunt was somewhat amusing, in a down-the-rabbit-hole sort of a way.
Under the pillow was a plain, dark wooden box. Longer than it was wider by far, it still had fit other than pillow nicely, clearly put there sometime while he'd been showering. The wood's smooth deep luster hinted at the quality of the box, which once opened was revealed to contain a folder square of black silk. From one of the folder corners a slip of fabric was easy to see. The end of a tassel, perhaps, or a frayed edge of rope, which revealed a series of very ordinary looking clay beads, once the silk was tugged loose.
The small note tucked in a corner of silk slipped free, the words written out in one of Alison's more careful and elegant scripts.
"I know you can't go. But there's no reason you can't keep a small part of it here, with you. I love you. Happy Birthday. Alison."
I know you can't go. But there's no reason you can't keep a small part of it here, with you. I love you. Happy Birthday. Alison. Haroun blinked as he let his fingers roll over the beads. The clay from Mecca itself, Islam's holiest city. Blinking hard to fight back the tears, he permitted himself a silly, small, stupid smile.
What a perfect start to his day. And speaking of perfect starts - it was time for morning prayer. He took his new prayer beads with him as he knelt towards Mecca and began his prayers.
The sound of Haroun's voice echoing through the room drew a smile from Alison as she sat in the corner of the room, steadily stopping the draw she'd had on the sound immediately around herself. It had been oddly easy to just stay out of his vision as he'd gone about from the shower, to the incense and then back to the bed. But she knew she had to be there when he opened the box, knew that seeing the look on his face would be one of those utterly priceless moments she would not miss for anything in the world.
Waiting until he was done was the easy part, now. She loved the sound of his voice as he spoke the cadenced prayers and this was hardly the first time she had tucked herself away out of sight to just listen until he was done.
Haroun finished up his prayers, straightened up, and moved back to put the prayer beads away and in a safe place. As he packed them away, he turned to look at Alison. "Thank you." he said simply, his eyes bright.
His expression pretty much made everything right with the world in all of a heartbeat. "Mm." Pushing herself up, Alison walked across the room to hug him. "Thank you," she murmured, before kissing him lightly. "I've been such a wreck to put up with lately and you've just been so patient with me and… I just wanted to do something special." She wasn't done, yet, but this had been the biggest part.
"You don't have to, silly goose!" he said playfully, beeping her nose. "What you've given me far outweighs any material thing. Even prayer beads from Mecca." he laughed. "I am blessed by God, truly."
"I've been absolutely," she paused, stealing a quick kiss, "horrible and I know it. I just…" she paused, then smiled at him slowly. Today was not a day for those issues. "I'm just the luckest woman in the world?" Sappy she could do. Oh, and then some. "Happy Birthday!" She hummed out the words lowly, making a song out of them.
Haroun laughed as she sang him Happy Birthday. "Awlright, awlright, I get the picture!" he grinned. "What else do you have planned, O Devil Woman?" he said with a waggle of his eyebrows.
"Oh, nothing too dramatic…" Leaning back a bit but not letting go, she started to take small steps towards the door, tugging him along against her. "Maybe something like going out for a walk in town. Miles has a present for you toooo. And the evening well… that'll just be you and I."
Haroun grinned wolfishly at that. "Can't complain about that. Sounds nice." he said, and then his stomach growled. "Mmm. First - I need food, badly!" he said with a grin. "Shall we dine, my dear?"
A cheerful grin greeted that. "And where did you think I was trying to lure you to, mmm?" Luring and cajoling and teasing through the day. Yes, she could do that. She so very much wanted to do that, take the time to express appreciation for everything he'd done of late. The birthday was a good reason, though she would have found a way otherwise.
"Well, if I had to guess I'd say that you wanted me back in your bed, but even without all the bits I am a guy." he grinned. "But I really am hungry, so unless you've got a breakfast tray tucked away in here somewhere..." he said with a hopeful look.
Laughing quietly, Alison paused to stop luring away and leaned against him. "I've got a lovely breakfast all tucked away in that tiny refrigerator we have. It's like those ads on TV with clowns that come out of the tiny car for ever and ever. And then? Then we are heading out and we will have a wonderful day." And nothing would spoil it. Nothing.
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