xp_logs | Doug and Domino, Thursday afternoon

Domino goes to find Doug, to thank him for helping find her in Vladivostok. There is a discussion of movies, and some hugging.

Domino poked her head around the doorway of the rec room, smiling a little. Yep. One cute blond, sitting on the couch and watching... one of the Matrix movies. "I have a soft spot for Trinity," she said, her voice wry and a bit hesitant.

Doug turned his head over one shoulder and smiled reassuringly at the mercenary. He'd been expecting her to come looking for him sooner or later, so he'd parked himself in the rec room with some movies. He'd watched the Matrix trilogy with Nathan a few days ago, but as an avowed action-junkie, one could never have enough. And besides, like Domino said..."I do too," he replied. "Reminds me of some mouthy merc I met." He kept smiling to take the edge off the joke. She looked...better. The worst of the bruising had obviously been healed by Amanda.

Domino limped forward into the room, her smile turning a bit shy - not that she'd ever admit to matching that description - as she came over, sinking down beside him on the couch. "Always though she could do a lot better than Neo," she said lightly, wincing a bit as she shifted her bandaged arm. Amanda's spells had been a little more immediately effective on the bruises than the knife wounds.

Doug nodded, careful to keep his tone and attitude casual. There hadn't been any actual explosions from Nathan's room the previous night, but the pair hadn't been exactly shy about keeping their voices down, and Doug could tell that what Domino needed, more than anything, was to be able to relax and not have everyone rehash just how stupid she'd been. He grinned. "Yeah, I mean, sure he's supposed to be humanity's savior, and he can fly, and he brings her back to life and all, but he's such a _putz_ most of the time," he observed. "For my money, you can't beat Morpheus."

"Mm," Domino said, her violet eyes glimmering briefly with something close to their usual spark. "I approve muchly of Morpheus. But as for Trinity, I think she would have been better off with Niobe. Men are so awkward sometimes."

Doug blushed slightly at the thought of two women together, not out of any sense of homophobia, but more out of the fact that his hormones were busy with the mental picture that idea conjured. "Speaking as a man, I'm not sure whether to agree with you or be offended," he joked.

Domino laughed softly, leaning over and patting his knee. "I'm sorry. Couldn't help myself."

Doug chuckled and covered Domino's hand briefly with his own, squeezing gently. "Quite all right. It's not a successful day if you haven't made me blush, hm?" he said.

Her smile wobbled a little. "You're damned right," she said as firmly as she could, blinking rapidly. Okay, she was so not getting sniffly on everyone who spoke kindly to her this week. Crying all over Nate and Moira had been bad enough.

Doug, who was keeping a rather close eye on Dom's body language, smiled gently and fished around quickly for a subject change. Looking back at the movie, he asked, "So what's your favorite movie of all time?"

Glad for the reprieve, Domino thought about it for a minute. "'Lion in Winter'," she said after a moment, her voice very subdued. "I like Katharine Hepburn."

Doug nodded. "I'm probably your stereotypical male teenage action movie junkie," he mused. "I love Disney's Three Musketeers. I also have a soft spot for Notting Hill, though," he said with a smile. "Something about Julia Roberts."

"I got my taste for historical movies from Nate," Domino said. "He watches them all. Even bad ones." She offered Doug another, somewhat wan smile. "Keep telling him that it says something disturbing about the way his mind works, but he just laughs."

Doug snickered. "It probably says something even more disturbing now, considering his brain is full of people from the _future_..." He was itching to ask Domino how she felt, and a dozen other inane questions, but he reined himself in, sure that she'd already had her fill of both yelling and mothering.

Though she didn't have Doug's gift for body language, Domino could still read it pretty well. "Moira and I watched 'Much Ado About Nothing' last night," she said, her smile turning wry. "I think she thought I needed to relax a little."

Doug chuckled. "Keanu Reeves in yet _another_ of his bad acting jobs. I maintain that the only movie he was decent in was Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and that was because he didn't _have_ to act." He sobered slightly. "And she was probably right. You and Nathan _were_ a bit loud."

Domino flushed, hoping that not too many people had heard her more hysterical comments last night. Accusing Nate of having abandoned the Pack was not one of her better m oments. "Yeah, well, strange as it might sound, I needed that." Doug didn't look entirely convinced. "I don't... do well with suppressed anger, Doug. It tends to come out in funny ways."

Doug nodded, still a touch dubious. "If you're sure, Dom," he said quietly. "I worry about you." He grinned slightly. "But then, I have to keep up my title as the mansion den mother second only to Paige, don't I?"

"If you say so," she said with a tired little laugh. "Haven't had the privilege of meeting Paige yet, so I wouldn't know..."

Doug nodded. "So, as the almost-reigning den mother, I have to at least ask if you're doing better. Because you really did worry me. But I promise I'll leave you alone about it afterward."

Domino leaned back into the couch, her eyes lingering on the screen, where Trinity was currently kicking ass in a very attractive, if not entirely realistic fashion. "I'm doing better," she said finally. "And, um... I wanted to thank you. For helping find me."

Doug blushed a bit again and waved a hand negligently. "I'm just glad I could help out. Nathan keeps trying to make it into this huge thing that it's not, if you ask me. I'm a hacker, I helped him find you, end of story."

She looked sideways at him, her eyes narrowing for a minute. "Douglas?" He gave her an inquisitive look, and she smiled, the expression feeling much more natural than it had in days. "Shut up and give me a hug, you goof."

Doug grinned. "I thought you'd never ask, Dom." He leaned in, mindful of her bandaged arm, wrapping one arm around her waist and one around the back of her neck, and hugging her tight.

Domino sighed, relaxing a little at the simple, affectionate warmth of the gesture. "You're a good guy, Douglas Ramsey," she said, and if her voice was a little unsteady again, he was decent enough not to point it out. "I really envy Angie."

Doug ducked his head slightly. "If you say so. I just try my best. Some days I still don't get what she sees in me."

Domino moved away a bit reluctantly, but smiled as she patted his cheek. "Part of your charm, believe me." She turned back to the movie, a little smile playing on her face. "Can we skip ahead to where Trinity snaps in the club and threatens to shoot the Merovingian? Always liked that part..."

Doug snickered. "Negotiation at gunpoint. Now how did I guess that that was your favorite part?" He snagged the remote and leaned back with a smile.