Body Language - Doug/Laura (backdated)

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Backdated to June 19th. Doug goes to Silver to have a drink and people-watch, and winds up meeting Laura Kinney.



The advantage to being something of a regular at Silver, and having a connection to the sometime house DJ, even if he hadn't been around much lately, was that the ID check at the door was something of a formality, and most of the bartenders knew the sorts of drinks Doug liked. One of the bartenders was a low-grade empath, certainly no Manuel de la Rocha, but adept enough at judging the moods of the regulars she knew well. She wrinkled her nose at the mishmash of emotions Doug was currently feeling, as if trying to sort the conflicting input out, and finally set a glass on the bar in front of him. He thanked her and turned to watch the dance floor in the sort of compulsive people-watching scan that was equal parts his power and his profession influencing his habits.

From over the group of people dancing, a dark haired hottie parted, not because of being tired, but mainly due to the fact she didn't like that song. Yes, simple girl was simple. Laura looked over the bar, completely ignoring Doug -whom she didn't know as far as she was concerned- and sat next to him, eyeing at the bartender. "Something cold, no alcohol." She didn't like alcoholic drinks anyway, and that saved her from trying to pretend she was older, which was stupid. Humming the song -she might not dance it, but it was stuck in her head anyway-, Laura waited.

Doug cocked his head. It wasn't really all that surprising to run into someone from Xavier's at Silver, but to have a student walk right up and sit next to him was a bit out of the ordinary. He'd seen her around the mansion a few times, but he didn't think they'd ever been formally introduced. He racked his brain, trying to remember her name from various interactions on the journal system. "Laura, right?" he asked her. He held out a hand, realizing the question seemed rather out of nowhere since she didn't really know him from a hole in the wall. "Doug Ramsey, Snow Valley Institute. Xavier's alum."

Starting up a conversation out of the blue? Creepy. Xavier alum? Okay, less creepy. "Yeah, Laura Kinney. Nice to meet you Doug." Her drink arrived -some virgin somethin' something with pretty colors-, and she turned her attention to it for a moment. "I heard several people from Snow Valley come here sometimes, but I don't really know them so, it's hard to tell. You come here often? And...by yourself?"

Doug shrugged. "It's closer to the office than it is to Xavier's," he said with a grin. "And it's mutant-friendly, and it's a fun place..." he ticked off reasons on his fingers. "And I know one of the DJs who works here sometimes. So all in all, it's a good place to go to relax for an evening." He noticed the pause before Laura's questioning whether he was by himself. He wondered how much gossip made its way to the mansion, despite the fact that Marie-Ange's departure hadn't been very public. "I come here every now and again. By myself? Not always, but this evening I am."

Well, she couldn't argue with that logic. Or she could, but her drink was too good to argue about anything. "You know one of the DJs? Awesome." There wasn't a reason on particular why it would be awesome, but knowing people from the place sounded pretty neat by itself. "So you are all alone...any reason on particular?" No, she didn't know about Marie-Ange; she didn't even know who she was to begin with, or hadn't paid enough attention to the posts on the journals. "But hey, you are not alone anymore." She even put a little wink after the sentence.

"Yeah, he's a pretty cool guy. Hasn't been around as much lately, but yeah." Doug's shoulders bunched as he made a moue. "And as for why I'm here alone..." He took another long sip of his drink. "I got 'dear john'-ed," he said rather flatly. Not that it was Laura's fault in reminding him or anything. "So, y'know, rather than sit around and feel sorry for myself..." He waved a hand to encompass all of Silver and mustered a smile.

Even if the DJ wasn't around, it was pretty cool. The other bit, not so cool though. "Woah, sorry to hear that." She would add some more, but his mood suddenly getting a little less festive prevented her; you didn't need to be able to read people like open books to know is better not to press on certain subjects. "Yeah, this is the best change of scenery you could have had." She drank too, turning to see the dance floor. It was quite amusing seeing the number of mutants dancing naturally, without the fear of being excluded or attacked just because they were the way they were. "It's the first time I come here, actually", added after a moment. "But I think I'll coming a lot more in the future. Tell me more about you?" The guy looked interesting, had been recently ditched, and was even cute to boot; Laura was curious, to say the least.

Talking about himself wasn't exactly something that came naturally to Doug, but the subject change was welcome, so he was willing to give it a shot. "Let's see. Douglas Aaron Ramsey, a primer." He laid a slightly self-deprecating hand on his chest and smiled more naturally. "I'm twenty-three, originally from Denver. I have two slightly bratty younger sisters who think I'm a giant dork. I'm a Xavier's alumnus, like I said earlier, and now I work for the Snow Valley Memorial Centre For Mutant Affairs with a bunch of other former students and teachers. I have a degree in computer science, a black belt in jujitsu, and a very sarcastic sense of humor." He supposed it sounded rather like an advertisement, but that could have just been his self-consciousness talking. He nodded and gestured with his glass. "Your turn?"

Oh boy, that was like the whole deal, in a nutshell. It also made Laura feel like her life was much less interesting. "Well, lemme see... Laura Kinney, born and raised in San Francisco. Daughter of Sarah Kinney, single mom who lives with her sister Deborah, and my cousin Megan. I guess...I've had an easy life; good grades, always relevant, a bit of an It girl... school was fine, college seemed to be fun, but then I became a full fledged mutant, yay." There was no resentment on her voice, but her body language shifted a bit; she was nearing some touchy subjects. "Then turns out I'm some sort of government experiment my mother was working on, and my long lost father is Logan, who doesn't have the faintest idea of how that happened, and he wouldn't, since nobody even told him they were trying to make copies of him, or something." She took a drink. "So, obviously, I missed college for coming here until everyone is sure I'm not still being hunted like a fugitive lab rat, and while that I get to pass time with him, cut things with the creepy claws I have, and play the cheery happy girl role with the cute boys on the mansion." A smirk, and another drink. "You didn't tell me what is your mutant...errr, ability? Super power?"

Doug took all of Laura's monologue in with a cocked head. "Copy of Logan? Man, that sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, or a comic book or something." He then grinned and raised his glass in salute. "You're certainly easier on the eyes than he is," he said. After another sip of his drink, he bit his lip. "My mutant power is...complicated," he explained. "Basically it's like a really advanced form of pattern recognition, as far as I can tell. Means I can speak and read any language after pretty limited exposure, and a few other things like being able to 'read' body language." He shrugged. "Like I said, it's complicated. Doesn't exactly fit the neat little descriptions most people have for theirs."

Laura raised her own glass as well, grinning at him, and then listened. Complicated he said, and it sure sounded like a complicated thing. And yet, her mind didn't like complicated stuff that much. "So you read things, whatever they are. See? Not so complicated anymore." Another sip, another smile, and she found herself uneasy on her seat. Too much time sitting for her., "So tell me, what plans do you have for tonight?" Oh, it felt good to play the old games again.

Doug might not be as familiar with those sorts of games as Laura, but that didn't mean he didn't know how to play them. And it certainly didn't mean that he couldn't read Laura's body language pretty easily. The tapping of her foot in time with the rhythm of the dance tracks, the subtle fidgeting of her hips on her seat, the way she had leaned closer to him as the conversation had gone on... He finished his drink and pushed the glass across the counter. "For now?" he asked, standing up and offering her his hand. "Getting back out to the dance floor." And who knew where it might go from there?

---

About an hour after of dancing, laughing, and then drinking, and then dancing some more, neither Laura no Doug were dancing or laughing, and not drinking as well. His door had been opened and closed with dexterity. Forget about the lights. Bodies pressed one against the other, the walk to his bedroom was a slow, sweet one. Had he mentioned something about a girlfriend leaving him? She didn't remember, or care; Laura was too busy removing his shirt while trying to stay as close as possible. It had been way too long since she had the time to enjoy herself.

Doug attempted to marshal his thoughts enough to take inventory of the apartment and whether or not he had stowed everything job-related properly away, since he'd gotten a bit lax at times after going back to 'bachelor living'. Not that Laura was likely to see any of it in the evening, but the following morning...Doug's train of thought jumped the tracks as Laura nipped at his neck with her teeth while his undershirt was still tangling his arms over his head. He grunted in frustration and flung the garment to one side so that his hands were free to impatiently untuck her top with almost a rough yank.

She whispered something along the lines of 'lemme give you a hand with that', and made little work of her top, falling carelessly to a side as she detached her bra in one fluid motion, giving Doug a slight push to the closest wall, resuming her small kissed and bites on his neck before going lower. And then up again, pressing her bare chest against his, hands messing his hair. Even in the darkness it was possible to see her eyes sparkle wit need. Yes, going to Silver had been a very good idea. A smirk in the darkness to check if she was doing a good job, and the next second she was all over him again.

Laura wasn't the only one operating on pure raw need at that moment. He pivoted and turned to push her back against the wall, his hands bunching her skirt up around her hips as he tried to press his farther into her. They hadn't quite made it to the bedroom, and the tiniest part at the back of his mind wondered if he could have sex with another woman in his and Marie-Ange's bed. "Where?" he murmured huskily, trying to compress half a dozen questions into one word so he could go back to kissing and nibbling at Laura's neck. Where do you want to do this? Where do you want my hands? Where do you want my mouth?

Everywhere everywhere everywhere. Now that would be interesting, but Laura made a prodigious act of willpower to rationalize their situation. They were halfway naked and not quite in the bed (his hands went up her legs, making moan, more in anticipation than anything else) and while she didn't mind their current position... With one swift movement, Laura climbed Doug, so her legs were easily fastened on his waist, arms over his shoulders (and her chest right at face level, something he certainly appreciated immediately). Getting a hold of head, Laura lowered her head so she could do as she wanted with one of Doug's ears. "Let's go, tough guy." It was more a purr than anything else, and she didn't wait for an answer as she allowed herself to be carried over (the room looked nice in the darkness, and never mind the blackout shades; it gave a sense of privacy and oh my god what was he doing with that mouth of his). Her hands moved, undecided from the back of his head to his back, hips as close as possible, feeling hot and ready. Way hot and ready.

There was no sense of foreplay, and Doug had a brief moment of concern that he was somehow pushing things too fast, but he could feel the heat radiating from between Laura's legs as they tumbled awkwardly to the bed. And his weren't the only hands and mouth moving impatiently as if trying to kiss and touch and lick everything all at once. This wasn't romance, it was pure naked lust and wanting. Speaking of naked, he made a frustrated grunt at the amount of clothes they were still wearing. He fumbled between them, unfastening her skirt and pushing the denim and whatever underwear she was wearing impatiently downward.

That was the cue for her legs to drop, hips getting rid of the bothersome skirt as she directed her own hands to Doug's jeans; it was only considerate to help him like he did. Deprived of her hands for the moment, she returned to kiss him fiercely, one hand unzipping and throwing down the remaining piece of clothes, as she other moved freely around. Once she had a good feel of what was about to happen, she raised her hands, placing them on his shoulders, and smirking at him threw herself to the bed, arms and legs extended, a playful giggle filling the silence. Slowly raising her legs so her feet could rest on the bed, she motioned him to get closer; Laura was drunk, but not with alcohol. If she had only known being a mutant could feel like this...

"C'mere baby."

Doug grinned. "Logan'll kill me if he ever finds out," he murmured, then followed Laura's open-limbed invitation.