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xp_logsHaroun is not happy with Lorna for cutting his and Alison’s comms. Lorna stands up for her decision. He yells, she laughs. Nobody wins.
Haroun knocked on the door to Lorna's shared room with Alison. But for once, he wasn't looking for the songbird. His knocks were short and intense, almost pounding a hole in the door itself with their intensity.
Lorna nibbled on a slice of toast as she opened the door. She started to smile at Haroun then thought better of it when she saw Haroun’s expression. “Can I help you?” she asked instead, very calmly for having a good idea of what was to come.
"Yes. Yes, you can. You can start by explaining why you pulled two active X-Men off the duty roster last night." he said, voice clipped and very, very angry. "Then you can elaborate on that by explaining to me when I missed your elevation to command status, and finally, let's wrap it all up with a good reason why I shouldn't bust your pretty ass back down to trainee status for that little stunt?"
Lorna stepped back from the door and didn’t let the way her heart had just clawed its way into her throat show on her face. “Come in, sit down and I’ll answer those.” She crossed to a chair and sat down, waiting for him to do the same.
Haroun stepped into the room, but he ignored the chair in favor of an easy parade-rest stance. He then closed the door behind him - not coincidentally psychologically blocking her easy escape route from the room. "Go on." he said curtly.
Lorna sat forward, hands clasped loosely, nothing defensive about her posture. “First of all, you weren’t on duty. You were on a date. Those on the duty roster were still connected to the network. It’s standard practice to view all team as active unless they happen to be dead or dying, yes but not strictly necessary. You weren’t needed. If you had been, I’d have turned it back on.” She ignored the second question entirely and raised an eyebrow at him, “You’re welcome to speak to either team leader or Xavier if you’d like them to reconsider my status, of course.”
"The Hell I wasn't!" he exploded. "I saw my name and Alison's names both on the duty rotation roster. We're not on medical leave, we're not injured, we're not on vacation, and we're not dead. Therefore, we're on active duty. You put out an all-points bulletin - I checked the comm logs this morning. And you _deliberately_ turned off mine and Dazzler's commbadges. It doesn't matter what we were out doing."
Lorna sat back in her chair and tried not to wince at the sheer volume in his voice. She raised a hand and waved at him to keep it down. “Yes, I turned it off. If we needed you, I’d have turned it on. As it was, I got the response I needed from team here. Believe me, I was not sacrificing the safety of either Scott or Alex simply for your date. You weren’t needed.” She wasn’t particularly concerned by his anger even though her stomach was doing its jumpy best to make her believe she should be.
Haroun's lips compressed into a thin line at that reasoning. "So you, on your own, without any consultation or discussion, decided that you knew _exactly_ what manpower was needed for this op. Is that what you are telling me?" he asked her. "Dammit, Lorna! You're not qualified to make that kind of decision!"
“I’m telling you that I, the one whose job it was to monitor the comm. system and respond to any emergencies, did just that. The fact that you don’t like it doesn’t mean it was wrong.” She stood, swiftly becoming tired of being upbraided like a child. “Listen closely. You weren’t needed. I do know how to do my job. I know our teams strengths and weaknesses and I know that if I had needed you or Alison I would have contacted you immediately. You can stop yelling at me now.”
Haroun blew out his breath noisily. "You got _lucky_, pure and simple, that this _was_ something your team could handle." he said, still repressing a great deal of anger. "I am an X-Man - and that applies even if YOU don't think that I am needed. Same goes for Alison."
“Luck had absolutely nothing to do with it. If the right people for the job had been you and Dazzler, you would have received a call.” Her eyebrows went up, her expression amused. “I’m an X-man too. Furthermore, you’ll notice that the people in danger were the people I have the greatest emotional stake in defending. Don’t flatter yourself thinking that I would have hesitated in the slightest to ruin your date if I thought Alex needed you.” She rested her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side, “Is it that you’re pissed that you didn’t get to play hero or that you don’t trust the rest of the team?”
"I trust all of you just fine. I'm beginning to wonder if there is some problem with me, some reason why you left me off the notify list. The answer had better not be "because I was out with Alison"." he growled.
Lorna laughed, “I like that you’re arrogant. It’s cute. Yes, Haroun, clearly I’m just persecuting you.” Her sarcasm was soft, just a vocal roll of the eyes. “On a night when most of the team was ready, willing and able to respond to any emergency, and don’t think I don’t know that you checked first to be sure that was the case, you and my overworked roommate went out for a relaxing evening. I chose not to interrupt that because, and forgive the broken record, you and she. Were. Not. Needed.”
Haroun scowled at Lorna. Clearly, he was not getting through here. "Don't do it again. I don't care if you think I'm needed or not. You put out an all-team broadcast, that still includes me. And Alison."
“Should I salute?” she asked dryly and shook her head. “Look, if you’d had a good objection to what I did then I would have said sorry and admitted that I was wrong. But you’re upset because you were out of the loop. Tough. You were out. You wouldn’t have been able to help if you’d known and you’d just have worried about it all night and ruined the evening.”
Haroun tried very hard not to grind his teeth. "If it comes down to my private life or a mission as an X-Man, then I choose the mission." he said, and then turned around to leave.
“Good,” Lorna said lazily, “But this wasn’t your mission.” She frowned at his back and decided she wasn’t quite ready for him to walk away. Fusing the hinges and handle in place was the work of a half a moment’s thought. “You do know that you just expressed a wish to be worried and useless rather spend time in the company of a beautiful and interesting woman. What? Did the date not go well?”
"The date went wonderfully. I got back and spent two hours in the transfusion chair, it went so very well." Haroun said, looking at the fused door. "Cain is going to kick your ass for fusing another door, you know." he said conversationally.
“Then why are you bitching at me?” Lorna rolled her eyes. “It’s reversible. I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. I’ve a healthy respect for Cain when he’s in a mood of righteous wrath.”
"I am bitching at you, as you put it, because I am an _X-Man_. I have worked hard to be one. I don't like being pulled from the notification list because _you_ wanted my date with your roommate to go well! Speaks well for you as a person, but very badly for you as an X-Man." Haroun said patiently.
“X-men are persons, Haroun. I didn’t cut your comm. signal on a whim. It wasn’t simply because I hoped Alison would finally find something that made her forget to be hard, though God knows I hope that you’ll be that for her. You needed the break. She needed the break. What you and she didn’t need was to know about this mission because, say it with me now, you were not needed.” She fixed the metal around the door with a wave of her hand. “Anyway, like I said, if you want to complain to Ororo or Xavier, please do. But you don’t get to dress me down for doing my job.”
"No, but I do get to dress you down for not letting me do mine." he retorted, and then stalked out of her room.
Haroun knocked on the door to Lorna's shared room with Alison. But for once, he wasn't looking for the songbird. His knocks were short and intense, almost pounding a hole in the door itself with their intensity.
Lorna nibbled on a slice of toast as she opened the door. She started to smile at Haroun then thought better of it when she saw Haroun’s expression. “Can I help you?” she asked instead, very calmly for having a good idea of what was to come.
"Yes. Yes, you can. You can start by explaining why you pulled two active X-Men off the duty roster last night." he said, voice clipped and very, very angry. "Then you can elaborate on that by explaining to me when I missed your elevation to command status, and finally, let's wrap it all up with a good reason why I shouldn't bust your pretty ass back down to trainee status for that little stunt?"
Lorna stepped back from the door and didn’t let the way her heart had just clawed its way into her throat show on her face. “Come in, sit down and I’ll answer those.” She crossed to a chair and sat down, waiting for him to do the same.
Haroun stepped into the room, but he ignored the chair in favor of an easy parade-rest stance. He then closed the door behind him - not coincidentally psychologically blocking her easy escape route from the room. "Go on." he said curtly.
Lorna sat forward, hands clasped loosely, nothing defensive about her posture. “First of all, you weren’t on duty. You were on a date. Those on the duty roster were still connected to the network. It’s standard practice to view all team as active unless they happen to be dead or dying, yes but not strictly necessary. You weren’t needed. If you had been, I’d have turned it back on.” She ignored the second question entirely and raised an eyebrow at him, “You’re welcome to speak to either team leader or Xavier if you’d like them to reconsider my status, of course.”
"The Hell I wasn't!" he exploded. "I saw my name and Alison's names both on the duty rotation roster. We're not on medical leave, we're not injured, we're not on vacation, and we're not dead. Therefore, we're on active duty. You put out an all-points bulletin - I checked the comm logs this morning. And you _deliberately_ turned off mine and Dazzler's commbadges. It doesn't matter what we were out doing."
Lorna sat back in her chair and tried not to wince at the sheer volume in his voice. She raised a hand and waved at him to keep it down. “Yes, I turned it off. If we needed you, I’d have turned it on. As it was, I got the response I needed from team here. Believe me, I was not sacrificing the safety of either Scott or Alex simply for your date. You weren’t needed.” She wasn’t particularly concerned by his anger even though her stomach was doing its jumpy best to make her believe she should be.
Haroun's lips compressed into a thin line at that reasoning. "So you, on your own, without any consultation or discussion, decided that you knew _exactly_ what manpower was needed for this op. Is that what you are telling me?" he asked her. "Dammit, Lorna! You're not qualified to make that kind of decision!"
“I’m telling you that I, the one whose job it was to monitor the comm. system and respond to any emergencies, did just that. The fact that you don’t like it doesn’t mean it was wrong.” She stood, swiftly becoming tired of being upbraided like a child. “Listen closely. You weren’t needed. I do know how to do my job. I know our teams strengths and weaknesses and I know that if I had needed you or Alison I would have contacted you immediately. You can stop yelling at me now.”
Haroun blew out his breath noisily. "You got _lucky_, pure and simple, that this _was_ something your team could handle." he said, still repressing a great deal of anger. "I am an X-Man - and that applies even if YOU don't think that I am needed. Same goes for Alison."
“Luck had absolutely nothing to do with it. If the right people for the job had been you and Dazzler, you would have received a call.” Her eyebrows went up, her expression amused. “I’m an X-man too. Furthermore, you’ll notice that the people in danger were the people I have the greatest emotional stake in defending. Don’t flatter yourself thinking that I would have hesitated in the slightest to ruin your date if I thought Alex needed you.” She rested her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side, “Is it that you’re pissed that you didn’t get to play hero or that you don’t trust the rest of the team?”
"I trust all of you just fine. I'm beginning to wonder if there is some problem with me, some reason why you left me off the notify list. The answer had better not be "because I was out with Alison"." he growled.
Lorna laughed, “I like that you’re arrogant. It’s cute. Yes, Haroun, clearly I’m just persecuting you.” Her sarcasm was soft, just a vocal roll of the eyes. “On a night when most of the team was ready, willing and able to respond to any emergency, and don’t think I don’t know that you checked first to be sure that was the case, you and my overworked roommate went out for a relaxing evening. I chose not to interrupt that because, and forgive the broken record, you and she. Were. Not. Needed.”
Haroun scowled at Lorna. Clearly, he was not getting through here. "Don't do it again. I don't care if you think I'm needed or not. You put out an all-team broadcast, that still includes me. And Alison."
“Should I salute?” she asked dryly and shook her head. “Look, if you’d had a good objection to what I did then I would have said sorry and admitted that I was wrong. But you’re upset because you were out of the loop. Tough. You were out. You wouldn’t have been able to help if you’d known and you’d just have worried about it all night and ruined the evening.”
Haroun tried very hard not to grind his teeth. "If it comes down to my private life or a mission as an X-Man, then I choose the mission." he said, and then turned around to leave.
“Good,” Lorna said lazily, “But this wasn’t your mission.” She frowned at his back and decided she wasn’t quite ready for him to walk away. Fusing the hinges and handle in place was the work of a half a moment’s thought. “You do know that you just expressed a wish to be worried and useless rather spend time in the company of a beautiful and interesting woman. What? Did the date not go well?”
"The date went wonderfully. I got back and spent two hours in the transfusion chair, it went so very well." Haroun said, looking at the fused door. "Cain is going to kick your ass for fusing another door, you know." he said conversationally.
“Then why are you bitching at me?” Lorna rolled her eyes. “It’s reversible. I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. I’ve a healthy respect for Cain when he’s in a mood of righteous wrath.”
"I am bitching at you, as you put it, because I am an _X-Man_. I have worked hard to be one. I don't like being pulled from the notification list because _you_ wanted my date with your roommate to go well! Speaks well for you as a person, but very badly for you as an X-Man." Haroun said patiently.
“X-men are persons, Haroun. I didn’t cut your comm. signal on a whim. It wasn’t simply because I hoped Alison would finally find something that made her forget to be hard, though God knows I hope that you’ll be that for her. You needed the break. She needed the break. What you and she didn’t need was to know about this mission because, say it with me now, you were not needed.” She fixed the metal around the door with a wave of her hand. “Anyway, like I said, if you want to complain to Ororo or Xavier, please do. But you don’t get to dress me down for doing my job.”
"No, but I do get to dress you down for not letting me do mine." he retorted, and then stalked out of her room.
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