xp_logs | Manuel and Domino, the morning after in Amsterdam

Domino comes by the hotel to pick Manuel and Amanda up after the rather eventful evening at the club. She and Manuel have a few minutes alone to talk about what happened the night before. Manuel angsts. Domino lusts. They manage to pull themselves together and go looking for Amanda.

Domino paused in front of the door to Amanda and Manuel's room, sighing a little. I needed about... oh, eight more hours of sleep, she thought wearily, slipping off her sunglasses and then raising her hand to knock. "Chaffeur service," she called out sweetly.

Manuel, alone in the room, stared at the door like he thought it was going to explode. "It's not locked." he called out, sitting himself on the bed among his bags and Amanda's battered duffel. "Come in."

Domino came in, noticing the tense wariness in his posture immediately. "Morning," she said with a smile, her eyes flickering around and noticing no Amanda. "She step out for a smoke or something?" she asked, turning the chair at the desk out to face the rest of the room and wincing a little as she settled herself.

Manuel nodded. "Something like that. She should be back soon." Manuel's hiding his eyes behind his darkest pair of sunglasses, and wearing all dark depressing colors - lots of black and dark grey to his suit today. "Sleep well?" he asked, knowing full-well the answer.

"Like the dead," Domino said honestly, the smile tugging at her lips. "Theo claims he had to carry me from the car to the house. He's probably exaggerating." Oh, someone was definitely not a happy empath at the moment. Domino winced inwardly, feeling more than a trace of guilt. "Are you all right?" she asked more gently.

"How am I supposed to answer that question?" Manuel said bitterly, looking right at the mercenary. "Well, Domino, I fulfilled your every need, then I mindraped an entire club of people, including my linkmate and several very dangerous people with guns, and then I went home to sleep. It was a pretty average evening."

Domino sighed, not answering for a moment. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "If I'd been thinking a little more clearly, I probably wouldn't have offered to unlock you. I didn't expect it to blow up in your face like that."

"Neither did I. I don't regret what I did for you." he said, looking right at Domino again. "If I had it all over again, I'd do it again, and enjoy every second of it - like I did last night. What I regret is what I did to everyone else. That was inexcusable. If you want to turn me over to the authorities, I will not struggle."

Domino stood up, going over to the bed and sitting down beside Manuel before he could react. "Look," she said calmly. "I think possibly, out of everyone in the Pack, Mina has the least warrants out for her arrest, and she's wanted in about fifteen different countries these days. We're criminals, Manuel, by any definition of the word. None of us are about to turn anyone over to the authorities for any reason, let alone because of an accident."

Manuel looked over at Domino. "You're a very evil woman. You ever decide you need to feel that way again, look me up. Preferably when we're alone, so I don't drag everyone around me into things." he said with a wan grin. "But I think I am right to feel terrible for doing what I did in that club. To everyone else, not you. I like the rough stuff sometimes. And the Pack - I did it to them, didn't I." he said.

"I may just," Domino said softly. "I'm not going to try and tell you how you should feel about the collateral damage, Manuel. I don't feel all that good about it myself. Lien's in something of a state this morning."

"That's a relief. Too many people are trying to tell me how to feel about various things." he said sarcastically. "Is it safe for me to go out with you all today? Or should I stay here, or fly ahead to Spain? And do I have to worry about assassins now?"

"I will say it's done, though, and ripping yourself up after the fact isn't going to change that." Domino pushed one of the bags aside and laid back on the bed with a sigh, staring up at the ceiling. "And you're perfectly safe to come out with us today. The only one who's really angry is Lien, and G.W.'s already told her that she doesn't get to do anything about it. So she won't be there."

"That's a relief. So - no hard feelings among the Pack? I know how tight you all are, I would not want to come between all of you." he said sincerely. And then, to amuse himself, he used his new knowledge of all things Domino to brush a fingertip or two across one of her more sensitive spots.

Domino shivered. "Well," she said a little hoarsely, trying to remind herself that last night was last night and this was this morning, "Mina and David apparently wound up in a secluded corner of their own, so they're basically fine with it. Newlyweds, you know... The boys and Amanda had a great time, and I suspect part of Lien's problem is that she did enjoy herself with G.W." She paused, staring up at him. "Theo might be a little stiff around you, though. He was outside at the time, thank God, but that just meant he had to be the one picking us all up afterwards."

Manuel liked that reaction, so he did it again. "Understandable, I think. Do you think it would help if I apologized?" he asked, his good humor starting to come back a trifle.

"To Theo?" Domino said, biting her lip. Be good, damn it, she told herself. "Think it would, definitely. Just... tell him what happened. He's used to having his teammates lose their grip on their powers ever so often."

Manuel was _definitely_ liking what he saw in Domino's aura, so he continued his assault upon her sensitive spots, this time changing things up slightly, being a little more demanding. "I was thinking about apologizing to all of them, but I will start with Theo. It was an accident - I don't get my kicks by inciting random passers-by to act out their emotionally private feelings." Anymore, anyway.

"G-Good to know." And what the hell was with her? She did not start... slipping this easily, not with anyone. Except she was still feeling last night, even six hours of sleep and a hot shower later. "Shit," she sighed, raising a hand, half-intending to nudge him backwards so that she could sit up. But she couldn't quite manage to follow through with that, and she smiled a bit derisively at herself. "I think I handed you the key to me last night," she confessed softly, not quite able to meet his eyes. "I don't know that you'd even need your powers to... push me under like that again."

"I don't want to push you under like that again. It would break you - you're not equipped to handle that intensity of feeling for very long. Nobody is, except for maybe me." he said. "Do I distress you?" he asked with a leering grin, knowing damned well what the answer was. "Damn, woman, you're just about ready for another go. Love to indulge you, but I think I have confessions to make to your team-mates, and then food would be a good idea. I'm hungry." he said with a leer, giving his words two meanings.

Domino grinned, and this time did push him back - gently, but firmly. "Tease," she scolded him, sitting up. "You've got a point, though. Didn't have any breakfast myself." Her body was busy protesting that it didn't want breakfast, it wanted him and maybe that wall right over there, and Domino laughed again helplessly, shaking her head. "Just... tell me you're not addictive or anything?" she murmured a bit shakily. "Morning-afters are not supposed to involve wanting to strip and invite the guy from the evening before to have at it..."

"No, as far as I know that's _all_ you." he said with a grin. He then cocked his head and stated at her. "Nope, definitely all you. Your emotions look as normal as they get to me."

"As normal as they get. That's reassuring," Domino said with another soft laugh, her hand clenching around the comforter as she struggled to resist the urge to touch him. Her eyes flickered to the dampener. "I don't remember putting that back on you last night - did I, or did you do it yourself?"

"I did it. I am a man of my word, and I told you I would." he said plainly. "And after all of that, I needed to just not feel for a while. I think I overloaded." A chuckle escaped him despite his best attempt to hold it back in - one of those on-the-edge-of-hysteria chuckles. "Passing out was probably a great mercy." He shifted in his seat slightly, as if he'd suddenly grown uncomfortable with something. "Well, if we stay in here, I'm going to just push you back down onto that bed and give you what your feelings are screaming for. So why don't we just grab my and Amanda's stuff and head downstairs?

"Sounds like a plan," Domino quipped, turning aside and picking up the bag next to her. "And Manuel..." The look she turned on him then was more warm and sympathetic than anything else. "I'm sorry it turned out the way it did. Not sorry we did what we did, mind you, just sorry it got out of hand."

"I don't regret it either. You're far too skilled in bed for that." he laughed. "I do regret that other people got violated, and that's something I will have to live with. But you? You wanted it, and I gave it to you. No regrets on that score. Hell, I'm of half a mind to give it to you again, but one of us has to be good." he said with a smirk, then moved over next to Domino so he could breathe into her ear (and cop a distracting feel while he was at it) "So, do you feel it today?"

Domino closed her eyes, shivering again. "Oh, you little shit," she murmured in amusement. "Keep teasing me and I may have to hurt you." But she owed him the admission, after everything that had happened, she supposed. "Yes," she murmured, a smile playing on her lips. "I certainly do." She raised a hand, patting his cheek. "Amanda's a lucky girl," she said, and drawing on pure willpower, slid off the bed. "So let's go find her and some breakfast, okay?"

Manuel grinned, and took a step back. "Good. I had thought you might." And then he gathered up his bags, and waited for Domino to open the door and lead the way. "I always deliver on my promises." he smirked.