Log [Alison & Haroun] - Going out for a drive...

[x-dazzler.livejournal.com]

Friday afternoon. Haroun and Alison go out for a drive, to get out of the mansion and generally relax. Of course, things don't quite go that way although they manage well enough.

Take me, I'm yours. For a ride, that is.

Haroun knocked on Alison's door with an impatient knock - after having SMS'ed her to warn her that he was coming over. Under one arm he had his thick CD binder that held his travelling music collection.

Still holding her phone Alison opened the door - and stopped tapping out a reply message, blinking a bit at him. "That was fast." She quirked an eyebrow at him and grinned a bit. "Should this be a 'come on in' thing or are you dragging me off right this second?" The tone of her voice implied that being dragged off was not something she considered to be bad. It was better than looking at the suite and wondering if she should just move to another one too now that Lorna was gone.

"We both need a break. Badly. I've got the car idling outside. So if you think you can put aside your need to pack enough stuff to last you six months, I think that I have just the perfect place in mind. Up for a ride, little girl?" he leered at her in a friendly way.

"But I only had two months packed up and ready!" She pouted at him, although not for long. The leering always made her grin. She reached for a sweater by the door and tugged it on, wriggling into it to good effect, then winked at him as she stepped out of the room. "Take me, I'm yours." A pause. "For a ride, that is." Still deadpan, at that.

"BLAST!" he said, in his steadily-improving Stewie impression. "Come on, I think the open road is calling." He led her downstairs and then out to the driveway of the Mansion, where the deceptively fast little sports car that Haroun favored for the get-out-and-drive sessions waited for the both of them. He opened the passenger's side door for her with a grin and a bow.

If she had been driving, they would have so taken Scott's car. But Alison wasn't about to argue with this, beaming at him approvingly while taking her seat in the car, settling back with a sigh of satisfaction. She was very much looking forward to this.

Haroun dropped his CD binder in her lap, then hopped over to the driver's seat to let himself in. "And away we go!" he said with a laugh, gunning the little sports car's engine unnecessarily.

Sinking back into the seat as he accelerated, Alison pretty much flopped for a moment, going limp. "Mmmm." She stretched as much as the little car would allow, the CD binder sliding to one side only to be caught at the last second. "What are we listening to today, I wonder?" She unzipped the case and flicked it open, contemplating the selection.

"I figure if I let you choose now, I can get the pain out of the way and listen to some real music on the way back." he said with a grin. "So bring on your pop whinyboys, I can handle it. I got a good shot of Candlemass before we left." Ah, old-school heavy metal. Just the thing to give the ears a booster shot.

"Yeah, but I'm choosing from your binder," she griped good-naturedly, wondering if she still had a smaller case of her own in the glove compartment. "We are not listening to that!" Alison flipped through a few pages of the binder, wrinkling her nose at the selection. "No, no, no... God, no."

"Hey, I had the foresight to bring music with me. You can flick on the radio and hear something you like." Haroun's feeling on radio, American or otherwise, were fast-becoming legendary. "Nobody likes good crunchy music anymore. Even the stuff calling itself metal isn't. I mean, come on. Linkin Park? Get real."

"Careful mister. If I've got a CD case in this car, odds are high I can subject you to that." Alison stared at one of the CDs in the binder for a moment, head turning slowly to the side. No. That was not what she thought it was. Turn the page now. "Yeah, crunchy. Like the sound cockroaches make when you stomp on them." The grumble was edged with much amusement.

"Only if you're using jackboots." he clarified with a grin. "Hey, I said I'd listen to whatever you want. You can't find anything to suit your delicate sensibilities in there, just flick on the radio or hope you get lucky and somebody put your travelling CD case in the glove compartment." Not that he'd done that, no sir. He put a COPY of her travelling CD case in the glove compartment. He owed Lorna another favor.

"My delicate sensibilities like... music," she informed loftily, even going so far as to lift her nose up in the air disdainfully. "Real music. Not noise that sounds like someone stuffed a brick in a blender and turned it on to high." She couldn't help a snicker as she turned another page on his CD binder. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"I got an urge for cheese steaks and pretzels." he said as he got onto the freeway and cranked the speedometer way, way up. "Philly OK by you?"

"Oh god yes." She hadn't been eating well this week. Apparently not being able to talk to Lorna or be in her sight (because being ignored was just not good for her mental state) did that to her. "I'm starving." Giving up on the CD binder Alison leaned forward to pop open the glove compartment. "Ah ha!"

Haroun didn't even try to hide his grin. "Well, fancy that." he said. "It seems that the CD Fairy has visited this car in your hour of need. Now you will not be without your pop princesses and your boy-bands and your sensitive and misunderstood singer-songwriters." he said solemnly, then lost it with a laugh.

"Hey!" The protest was half-indignant and somewhat spoiled by her own snickering. "I'll have you know some sensitive and misunderstood singer-songwriters are very good. You just can't appreciate that! Not surprising considering the sludge you call music." She paused. "I now have this vision of you in a tutu while placing this CD case in the car." Alison tried not to giggle too hard at that, but it was a very detailed mental image.

"Sludge! SLUDGE! I'm going to have to buy new music now - it used to be much worse than that. I must be slowing down in my old age." he said with a laugh. "And no tutus, sorry. I'll have you know that it was a daring and guerilla tactical raid deep into Enemy Territory to get your CD wallet and burn copies and return it before you missed it."

"Sludge. Please don't try to find worse, pretty please?" It never bothered her until she listened to the lyrics. But now Alison was doing that by reflex whenever he put something new on and it was bad. Alison steered her mind firmly away from the mental image of a tutu and nothing but - it was wrong even if still a bit distracting. Especially if you just cut up and forgot about the tutu and- yes, something else now. "Enemy Territory. Ha." He was getting Yanni just for that one. Or maybe Zamfir.

"Lorna stashed it in your underwear drawer." he said piously. "Definitely enemy territory. No man should ever have to face that horror." he said with an exaggerated shudder. "On the plus side, you've got some very interesting things going on in there."

Ow. That must have been before Monday. "Well you-" Wait a minute. In her underwear drawer? He'd been in her underwear drawer? She turned her head around slowly, giving him a narrow-eyed look.

"Don't look at me like that!" Haroun protested. "Blame your roomie! I think she thought it was funny. Especially since she was Right There, and she kept offering suggestions..." he said with a grin. The woman was downright perverted when she wanted to be. "I was just trying to make sure you had some music in the car." he said innocently.

That had definitely happened before Monday. "Lorna? Making suggestions?" The thought boggled the mind. A bit. "Mmm." Well, there as one way to give herself a few seconds to regain her composure. Slipping the CD binder to rest on the floor of the car next to her feet, Alison then struggled out of the sweater, not hesitating at all to hide her face in it for a moment before finally pulling it off and throwing it in the small back seat area. "Woah. Did you just nearly run over that car?"

"Not even close. I had at least five centimeters' clearance." he said with a smirk. "Besides, he could barely see over the dash." he added as a defense. He was, however, concentrating a little too intently on Alison's little shed-the-sweater routine. She really did need to arch her back like that more often. Definitely more often.

A very wicked grin greeted that remark - being ogled that way did good things to Alison's mood no matter what, it seemed. She smoothed down the hem of her shirt, giving him a knowing look. "Suuuure." And in went the Zamfir CD, along with a cheerful smile.

Haroun got three notes into the Zamfir CD before cringing. "You hate me. It's the only thing that can possibly explain this CD. You. Hate. Me."

She blinked at him innocently. "What? Don't be silly. It's soothing. Good for calming all those wild driving urges. That's what I was told when it was given to me anyway." Alison hummed along to the opening bars, somehow managing not to dissolve in laughter at him on the spot. For now.

Haroun sped the car up, dancing it into and out of traffic lanes with a somewhat suicidal disregard for their safety. "He's a fucking yakherder with goddamned Pan pipes. How you can call this crap music stretches the bonds of reality." he complained. "Don't make me make up lyrics..." he threatened with a grin.

"The sound system in this car is louder than you at the top of your lungs." The serene smile was probably adding a bit too much, but this was fun. Alison winked at him and turned to wave cheerfully at a rather terrified looking man in a red sportscar edging away from them as fast as he could manage it. "But if you'd like," she glanced down at her CD case, "I could change it."

"I don't know - if I lean forward, I can open up the airscoops..." he mused. "I think I could get pretty loud. And I said I'd listen to anything you put in. Even this syphillitic goatherd and his pipes." he stated. "I'll even try to enjoy it."

A snort of laughter greeted that remark, Alison finally giving in and dissolving into rather wild giggles. "Enjoy it! HA!" Although he was at her mercy - something she'd take advantage of as soon as she could stop laughing, which might actually take a while.

Haroun laughed along, knowing full-well the absurdity of the remark. "Crap." he said as the car shifted from NY to PA. "Gotta slow down - the PA cops just love to nail speeders coming out of New York." he muttered as he backed off on the speed to something within hailing distance of the speed limit. "Not even a cute blonde riding shotgun can daunt them."

"This cute blonde riding shot gun means they'll be looking out for you even more." Alison stretched out a little, just to make her point. The cops in this area were very very intent on keeping an eye out for her when she borrowed Scott's car. Oh yes. "You'll have to drive slow. Ick." She wrinkled her nose at that, flipping through the CDs in her case rapidly. Now, what might they both be able to stand as music went?

"Looking at me? I don't think so. Looking at YOU? Definitely." he said with a grin, reaching over to pat her thigh with his hand. "At least the drive is pretty." he said, referencing all the leaves in their color on the ground and some still on the trees.

The bone cracking stretch she really wanted to do wasn't happening in the sports car. But the patting had been nice. "Very pretty," she agreed, taking the time to look out the window. And then decided to give up on the CD case for now. "Random radio station it is." And with that declaration she thumbed the panel from CD to radio, hoping it would be something bearable to listen to.

Haroun grinned. Well, he could deal with old-school Metallica - but he was fairly sure Alison would just turn up her nose and complain about death and misery and woe music. Again. So to head off her protests, he returned his hand to her thigh.

"Oh good," was the verdict in fact, although that might also have been the hand on her thigh if one were inclined to think that way. And it meant a little stretching was called for as well as keeping an amused eye on the road to stop if they started to swerve too much. "How far are we going again?" This would be a very nice way to spend the time until they got to the restaurant.

"We're in upstate PA. We're heading to Philly. Maybe another few hours to go with the few we've already been in the car." he said. "You want to take a break, stretch out? Rest stop coming up in a few miles." he added, then slid his hand northwards along her thigh with a mischievous look. "Should be one of those with the vending machines and the restrooms and the picnic areas with lots of trees..."

More than a few hours away from the mansion - that was lovely. Meant she liked being there when she got back. But the other offer was very interesting as well and Alison grinned a touch wickedly. "Lots of trees, huh?" It was very hard not to purr catlike at the touch. "Might not be a bad idea to stretch my legs a little and all."

Haroun looked at Alison's legs, and nodded - before he swerved violently to avoid that tractor-trailer that was about to crumple them like a beercan. "Sorry about that." he said sheepishly, stopping his hand from roaming but giving her leg a gentle squeeze.

"Eyes on the road," she purred back, setting her foot flat and tensing her leg just a bit before relaxing. She moved her hands away from the side of the door and the seat, where she had braced herself during the swerve, and gave him a reproachful look. "Wobbly legs are not good for picnic areas, you know. No more playing chicken with the immovable objects on the road."

"I will do my very best." he said with a small laugh. The radio was now hitting him with Top 40 schlock, but he could tune that out pretty easily. He stayed that way, hand on her leg, until he pulled the car over at the rest stop. "OK, all ashore!" he laughed as he unbuckled himself and opened the car door. He didn't need to stretch his legs, but nature was calling to him, and to deny her call was to court serious consequences. "Be right back." he said, heading over to the Men's Room.

"Be right here," was the response, Alison leaning on the hood of the car, looking around idly to see if anyone else was about. Fancy that - no one was there but them. How very sad. Grinning a bit she held on to the body stretch, more than inclined to do that only once she was certain she had an audience. Of one of course, which suited her just fine.

Haroun took care of business and grinned as he saw Alison draping herself over the hood of the car. Probably soaking up engine warmth, that junkie. He had to just stop and watch, though, as she took his breath away for a moment. She was so very, very beautiful, and he never got tired of just looking at her.

She didn't even need to look really - sound was more than enough to let her know he was back. And the hood was nice and warm and that meant stretching would be all the more pleasant, really - especially with the wind being that chilly on the highway and her sweater still being inside the car. She popped the shoulder first and then went for something which involved the entire body and then some, smiling in satisfaction at how very good that felt.

Haroun couldn't help the silly smile that came up to his face. "Has anyone told you today?" he asked her as he walked up to the car, watching her stretch and move the entire way.

"Mmm." Wait, that sentence didn't make sense. The high of the stretch was one thing but still, she had been listening. "Told me what?" Alison asked, finished the motion carefully before leaning back on the car with a curious look.

Haroun grinned again. "Has anyone told you that you're beautiful today?" he asked her. "Because if they haven't, then I'm just going to have to make up for that tragic loss."

Her grin at that was just as silly as his own had been while watching her, although Alison managed a pout a moment later. "No one has yet. I feel rather woeful about it." Mmm, yes, she could still do the trembling lower lip just fine, it seemed.

Haroun let out a gasp of shock. "Now that will just not do." he said. He rushed up next to her and then straightened up into the classic Sam the American Eagle pose. Or Scott while lecturing - the two held some disturbing similarities. "I would just like to declare to everyone that Alison Blaire is a beautiful woman in both body and soul. Thank you, that is all." he said, then relaxed his stance a little.

It was a good thing she had been stretching out in the middle of the hood, or else she'd have probably slipped right off to fall on her butt, she reflected, trying not to laugh too hard at Haroun's antics. And not quite managing it. "Nutcase," was all she managed to say, although the fondness in the word certainly said something else.

"It's true, you know." he said in his usual way. "And if you keep stretching on the hood of the car I'm going to start thinking I'm in a Whitesnake video. And then I'd have to kill myself from the sheer force of all the suck." He extended a hand for her to take should she be so inclined.

"It's warm" Alison replied while reaching for his hand - it was all the explanation that needed really. "And there's a definite lack of four inch heels and skimpy negligees here. But we just can't have you do that now, can we." She grinned Haroun as she pushed away from the car, still holding on to his hand.

"I look terrible in heels." he agreed, and then pulled Alison into a sweeping dipsmooch, holding her suspended and planting a very thorough kiss on her.

Alison laughed through the beginning stages of the kiss, holding on to him from pure reflex as she went for vertical to somewhat suspended in mid-air and slowly becoming entirely too distracted. Why had she thought it was chilly out here, again?

Haroun let her up finally when the urge for oxygen was just short of all-encompassing. "Well." he said, still holding her in his arms. "Wait - yep, still beautiful." he said with a silly smile as he looked into her eyes.

"Some things never change," she informed solemnly and with no modesty at all. A car or larger vehicle would drive by occasionally, the sound barely registered at all by Alison. "But it's always nice to hear it." Compliments were fun. Much fun. Alison grinned shamelessly, very much with the getting more compliments idea.

"Nor should they." he said with great firmness. He looked at her again. "Greedy thing, you want me to tell you you're beautiful again, don't you?" he said with a laugh. "That's OK, I don't get tired of saying it. You're a beautiful woman. Smart, funny, deadly hot, a wonderful Mom, and a super-hero to boot. I don't deserve you." he said, fishing for his own compliments.

"You're going to make my head spin," she murmured, kissing him briefly in recompense, not inclined to argue with most of these at that particular moment. "What do you mean, don't deserve me?" Alison grinned, guessing what that was about. "Handsome, fine man like yourself?" Another brief kiss. "Considerate, funnier than I am," when not being pranked, "very hot," she grinned at the double meaning there. "And who drives worse than I do? What more could I ask for?"

Haroun looked vaguely troubled, although he tried to cover it well with a charming smile. "Legs?" he said with an only-slightly-bitter laugh. "And my driving skills are a finely-honed instrument of survival. Ever seen traffic at rush hour in Marrakesh?" he asked her with a grin. "It makes New York City look downright tame."

Alison noticed the undertones - who couldn't? - but only smiled at him, taking the time to get in a very meaningful kiss from him before answering. "I've never even been to Marrakesh." She wasn't sure she wanted to ask how it made New York City traffic tame in comparison, vaguely suspecting that explosions might have something to do with it.

"New York City has fewer camels." he said by way of explanation. "Camels _spit_." He looked like a thought had just occurred to him, but whatever it was, he didn't voice it aloud.

"What?" she asked curiously, unable to not do so. And didn't go into New York taxi cab drivers probably having been camels in a previous life or something, or anything of the sort, no matter how tempting it was.

"I was just remembering Marrakesh." he said softly. "You'd like it there, I think."

Well, they were hardly rushed to be anyplace just now, despite the grumblings of her stomach now and then. "Tell me about it?" It would be warm for one thing, in Marrakesh, Alison suspected. The thought made her smile a bit.

"Let's get back on the road first. You hungry?" he said, cannily guessing her probable most urgent physical need - since she hadn't used the ladies room. "I think the next place up may have something approximating real food - and there's the machines here if you're desperate."

"I think I'll wait till we get to the restaurant. No use spoiling that with whatever might be in the machines." She shuddered in mock horror at the thought. Alison could just hear what Lorna would have to say about that stuff, and she looked down for a moment, wishing it wasn't something that hurt to remember just now. "Off we go then?"

"Sure thing." he said. "You want to take this leg?" he asked her, gesturing to the driver's seat. Never let it be said that he was a sexist Arab ass who had to be in control all the time. He was perfectly comfortable with letting her drive. Besides, shotgun passenger controlled the CD player.

"Yes." There was far too much purring and satisfaction involved in that word and Alison grinned as she snagged the keys from him, glancing out in the direction of the highway. They still had a bit of road left to do, but it was all fun as far as she was concerned.

Haroun settled into the passenger's side, after adjusting the seat for his slightly taller and larger frame. Then he picked up her CD case, and stuffed it back into the glove compartment. "The CD player is MINE! Bwahahahahaha!" he ranted.

Adjustments made and the engine started, Alison gave him a cheerful grin. "Yep. And the wheel is mine, smart guy." With a far too pleased look on her face Alison sent them skidding out of the rest area and back on the highway, not really thinking of keeping an eye on the speedometer until the growl of the engine started to suggest it might be a good idea.

Haroun wasn't bothered by the speed - the faster the better, as far as he was concerned. He was more interested in finding some tunes - something he could still talk over, which diked out maybe half his collection right there. Finally, he settled on a burned CD. He ejected the hated Zamfir CD, contemplated tossing it out the window, then reluctantly thought better of it. He put the CD he wanted to listen to in the player, and then settled back for some nice, low, black metal. Alison might even like the soundscape aspect to things, although she sure as all that was holy would really, really hate the lyrical style.

The guitarist was good, Alison decided - typical of the style and the sound crept over her in a nice pleasant buzz. The voice she could easily just not pay attention to and she grinned a bit as she inched the speed a bit higher up, possibly into the realm of the Decidedly Too Fast. "Are you going to do anything with that CD?" she asked teasingly, noting he was still giving the Zamfir CD evil looks.

"What, this CD?" he said, waving the Zamfir disc around like it was toxic. "I was giving serious thought to committing a crime with it." he said seriously.

"No, dear. You can't stab the policeman to death with the pretty Zamfir CD if we get arrested for speeding," she said sternly. Alison was joking, mostly, although she did glance in the rear view mirror, just in case. "You need to listen to more of it, you know? You'll see. It'll get to you eventually. And then you'll be humming it nicely along with the rest of us."

"I don't think so!" he said with a laugh. "That's a sign that Nathan's - what were they called, brain-sucking parasites? - have struck again. If I give up my crunchy music for this crap." He waved the CD at her again, and then rolled down his window just long enough to launch the CD out the window. "HAH! A blow struck for music fans the world over!"

"I don't think the Askani like that expression." Alison sounded amused however, and the sight of the CD bouncing off the highway and into the wilderness drew a snicker from her. "Oh yes, released into the wild, where it can slowly work on taking over the world now that it's no longer confined to a CD case." Still snickering, she continued in a high-pitched voice. "Free! I'm free! The world is mine!"

"I can be fairly confident that they would not." he said. "I have not met them, nor do I care to, but I know I wouldn't like being called a brain-sucking parasite were our positions reversed." He looked out the window for a moment, and then grinned. "That Zamfir CD doesn't have what it takes to survive in the big bad world, bereft of its sleeve. Some boy-band will take it out back and kick its ass. That's how weak it is."

"Sixty gold and platinum albums in the last decade say otherwise," Alison informed him wryly. "Not sure how many millions of sales he's at in the U.S. just now, either. But if you're looking for brain sucking parasites, the boy-bands would do nicely." They overshot a car trundling down the road far too slowly, Alison grumbling something about this being the highway and not a dirt road in the boondocks.

"All that that proves is that real music just can't stand up to the marketing hype." he retorted. Now they were in familiar ground - any second now, she'd bust out any one of a number of anti-music-label rants. Then he'd remind her that she had her own, and then she'd change the subject or something. "And I'm no fan of boy-bands, unless they're being used as human shields or sacrifices on the altar to GWAR or something."

"GWAR? No! Keep that for later, I don't want to know and what did the lead singer just try to growl out just now?" Alison gaped at the sound system, desperately wishing she hadn't heard that snippet of lyrics. "Sounds like he's trying to talk with a live rat in his mouth. He really is. You know that, don't you?"

Haroun glanced over at the CD player. "Never you mind him - this album's in Norwegian." he said with a smirk. "Good old chruchburners - always good for a nice incomprehensible growl." he mused with amusement. "Anyway - so what do you want on your cheese steak?"

"Safe. Safe from horrible hideously mangled lyrics that drive me nuts. Yes!" She was making a production out of the pathetic gratitude she felt for that and was clearly enjoying every second. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" That done she smiled angelically, eyes never quite leaving the road. "Don't care. Food is food. And I'm beyond craving anything in particular just now - I just want something to eat." She eyed the speedometer and then the road ahead. "Tell me about Marrakesh?"

Haroun blinked, and then settled back in his seat. "Well, it's a wonderfully old city. There's always something going on - trading in the marketplaces, women shopping, the mosques, the street-theatre..." he let his voice trail off quietly. "I miss it sometimes. New York is nice, and America is a very rich land, but Marrakesh had a soul about it. A grand tradition that you just don't feel here."

"New York is a lot younger that way." Alison spoke softly - his voice was giving so much away that perhaps he hasn't entirely intended to. "You should let me give you a proper introduction sometime. Not the touristy areas but where the soul of the city really is. It's not the same as what you've seen so far, I'm willing to bet." She adjusted their speed a touch, and smiled a bit, glancing at him briefly.

Haroun nodded. "That sounds like a wonderful idea." he said with a pensive smile. "Marrakesh - ah, she is a woman in many ways. Once she gets into your blood, there is no getting her back out again." He gave her a Significant Look at that pronouncement, but didn't hold it for very long. "It's a beautiful city - the architecture is magnificent in places. But it too has its slums, its hovels, the desperately poor trying to eke out a living."

That reminded her of some of the areas of town she had been living in for a while, after leaving her parents' house - maybe she would take him there, as well. "Marrakesh sounds beautiful." It was something of an understatement after the way he'd been describing the place to her, but it was still accurate. "Maybe one day, you could show me?"

Haroun sighed. "I would love to, but for me to return is to risk death." he said. "At least while the clerics hold sway." He refused to elaborate on that any further, preferring instead to stare out the window and watch the Pennsylvania scenery flash by.

Foot, meet mouth. Ow. She didn't press however, letting him keep his silence for a while, the steady grind of the guitar in the background easily ignored. She did reach out at one point, resting one hand on his arm lightly - just a touch, nothing more. A quiet way to let him know she was paying attention but that he should take as much time as he wanted before deciding to fall back into the conversation again.

Haroun took a goodly long while to pull himself together. Finally, with an exhale, he turned to face her again. "Someday, I will go back." he said quietly. "I am not sure how, and I am not sure when, but it will happen." The touch on his arm was far nicer than he was prepared to admit, though. It felt too good.

She left her hand on his arm, squeezing lightly and gave him a small smile - quiet agreement in answer to his words, an offer of support as well. "I believe you." Alison turned her attention back to the road however, and slowed down. They were nearing one of the more consistent speed traps on this stretch of the highway and she really didn't feel like earning a ticket just now of all time.

"Besides, all of my family is in Marrakesh still." he said with a brighter smile. "I miss them terribly. Letters are not enough." he said. "I think you'd like them." he said. "It would take some getting used to - my poor mother will wail and weep hot tears at bringing a decadent Western woman home, but it's for show. She would love to meet you. And my grandmother would poke you in the ribs and feed you until you burst." he laughed.

Alison laughed at that as well, hand moving up to brush against his cheek lightly before coming to rest on the gearshift. "Your grandmother would find me very cooperative on that score," she admitted. The immediate assent coming from her grumbling stomach draw a rather sheepish laugh from her. "Tell me more about them?" It seemed to be safe ground, or so she hoped.

"My grandmother? She's a battleaxe. She's too ornery to die - she's totally obsessed with making sure that the al-Rashid family prospers in this world. She is my oldest living relative - I have many aunts and uncles and cousins, all of whom have lived with us at one point or another. She used to make all of us mint tea each evening after prayers." he said with a fond smile. "And nobody, not even Lorna, cooks couscous like she does. And if you tell her I told you that, I will be forced to tickle you to death."

Oh god, did he mean Lorna or his grandmother? Alison nearly blurted out that she and Lorna weren't exactly talking now but thankfully fell back on a far safer reply. "Ah. But I'm not ticklish." There was the damn spot in the back of her neck, but that wasn't ticklish exactly, really. "Which is why it's the perfect weapon to use on others." She waggled her eyebrows at that, feeling rather smug with herself.

Haroun grinned. "I know where your spots are." he said with a leering grin. And if he was good, he might get a chance to capitalize on that knowledge. Someday. By way of demonstration, he ran a fingertip along her earlobe, then slipped around her neck to That Spot.

She was not going to do a squirming chicken dance in the seat of the car but oh dear lord that was distracting. A lot. "Not ticklish," she stated with determination, taking a deep breath to try and not budge. "Gah!" Alison arched out of the seat, the car swerving just a bit in response.

"You sure about that?" he said, giving That Spot one last caress before leaving her to drive in peace. He laughed at her residual spasms - like it or not, she was doing the Squirming Chicken Dance in the driver's chair. He loved the Squirming Chicken Dance.

"Not ticklish," she repeated, shivering very visibly as she pushed back into the seat, concentrating very much on the road. "Very sure about that." It was a borderline thing most of the time and he kept hitting the 'not ticklish at all' side of things most of the time since he'd started doing this. Alison wrinkled her nose just a bit, although she wasn't displeased about it. It was fun, in a pleasant being tortured sort of way.

Haroun leaned over to breathe lightly into her ear. "Are you sure?" he said softly to her.

Another small but sharp swerve and Alison held her breath. Concentrating. Badly. The side of the road. If a rest area wasn't showing up soon she was pulling over to the side of the road. Wasn't she the one supposed to be doing this to him while they were driving, anyway? "Very sure. Not ticklish." Ticklish didn't turn you on quite that way, after all.

Haroun nibbled lightly on her earlobe before returning to his seat with a huge grin on his face. "I guess you are sure." he mock-pouted, and then ran a fingertip along the skin of her arm lightly. Just aimless patterns, tight spiral patterns up and down her arm.

There was a very nasty sound as the car swerved, Alison making a liberal application of the breaks because it was the side of the road now or wrapped around a tree five seconds later. "Ah." The car wasn't moving anymore. That was good. Very good. She carefully killed the engine, pulled up the break and then slowly looked at Haroun. Predatory was a good way to describe that look.

Haroun looked at Alison, saw her look, and then returned it with one of his own. "We're not moving, Alison." he said to her. "Why not?"

"Because continual motion in a large metallic object while you're doing that to me would likely result in the large metallic object being crunched around us," she replied evenly, hand very firmly affixed to the break. It was that or yank him much closer to her and she wasn't sure the car's interior would allow for that without someone ending up with a few bruises in the process. On the other hand, she could still undo her belt buckle. Snap.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Haroun said in a totally unapologetic voice. "Was I disturbing you?" he asked with a smirk. "How terrible of me!"

He was, she decided, a horrible tease. So the belt was gone and while yanking him over wasn't happening there wasn't a thing in the world keeping her from twisting around and moving over just a bit. To sit in his lap. It was a good thing to be flexible when in a small sports car she decided, doing just that. "Tease."

Haroun unbuckled his belt as well before Alison climbed all over him. "Me? A tease? Surely not! You're the vile temptress, I'm just the good Muslim boy being seduced by your charms and wiles." he said, clearly teasing.

"Nice try," Alison muttered, shifting considerably before settling on something that was nominally comfortable, sitting sideways in his lap, upper body twisting to press against him. "If you hadn't been distracting me so much I nearly took us off the road I might have fallen for that one. Not." She grinned, fingers running down the side of Haroun's neck in slow dance.

"I thought it was." he said companionably, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. He managed to slide a hand under her shirt, resting his hand on her stomach, by the simple expedience of kissing her as he did it.

"Mrf." Alison didn't really feel like protesting any more at that point, far more interested in things that involved not much talking at all, the hand resting against her skin feeling warm and entirely suited to be there. And while it was hard to maneuver in the small space they were in (Jeep next time, was the mental note) she could at least move her right arm enough to return the favor and tease as well, even though the left arm was neatly wedged between Haroun and the window at this point.

Haroun slid his hand northwards - no hesitance, no delay, no looking for approval or questioning. Just skin-on-skin, drunk with sensation and anticipation. He claimed another kiss, this one far more passionate than most of his usual kisses, almost mashing himself against her.

If there were any bruises being earned, Alison couldn't have noticed to save her life, just as the sound of a car driving by at very high speeds never caught her attention. The only thing in her mind right now was how very fast she was losing herself in the kiss and the feel of Haroun's hand on her skin, trailing fire in its wake with impressive effect.

Haroun finally went over the line, and cupped Alison's breast lightly in his hand. It was everything he thought it would be, even through her rather ... filmy ... bra. Pure heaven. The added warmth was probably driving her nuts, if he knew her like he thought he knew her.

She came up for air at that moment, arching into the touch without a second thought, breathing somewhat raggedly while gazing down at him, eyes dark and intent. Slow? Who needed slow anyway? The little voice in the back of Alison's head died very messily, overwhelmed by everything else that said 'this is very nice and stopping this will earn everyone involved in the stopping of this instant death'.

Haroun looked up into her eyes, and smiled tenderly at her. He was just about to lean in for a nice long deep kiss when he heard a sharp rapping on the window - as if somebody had struck it repeatedly with a solid blunt object.

Alison knew that sound - and the knee-jerk reflex to move meant she jammed her leg on the car break and her elbow against the door frame much harder than she might have wanted to. "Oooow..." she winced, settling for not moving at all, shooting a very sheepish look at the window that had been knocked upon in the process. "Erm. Haroun? Hand."

Haroun hrmmed, and then adjusted himself so that she could get herself free of his entanglements. He couldn't help but be sad when she finally got off his lap and back into her own seat, though. The windows were totally fogged up (downside to his high body-temperature) so he couldn't tell who had come a-knocking.

The window was scrolled down slowly, Alison resisting the urge to draw a happy face in it and instead coughing a bit to clear her throat before giving the cop outside her most winning smile, with nary a blush in sight. "Good afternoon, officer!" She didn't ask if there was a problem. He wouldn't have been knocking at the window, otherwise.

"Good afternoon, ma'am." said the officer - an older gentleman in the brown uniform of a Pennsylvania State Cop. "Saw your car pulled over, wanted to be sure you weren't in any distress." he added with a flat look.

Taking a deep breath, Alison shook her head. "No, we're fine." This should be horribly embarrassing, she knew, only she just had this wild desire to laugh herself silly instead. 'I'm sorry, my boyfriend kept distracting me and I decided to stop so I wouldn't drive us in the ditch' didn't seem quite proper as responses went just then. Thank heaven the windows had been fogged up. Then again. She stole a quick glance at Haroun.. "I apologize if we caused you any undue worry, sir." She. Would. Not. Laugh.

Haroun kept quiet - it was safer, and his accent would give him away as Not Being From These Parts. Instead, he sat calmly and waited for Alison to deal with the problem.

The police officer ducked down just slightly to look at Haroun, then back to Alison. Then back to Haroun. "I see." he said. "Well, this is an Interstate, and we do have laws about loitering. Since you're not in any distress, I suggest you move along now, you hear?" the officer said. "And clean your windows before you leave. They're all fogged up." he added with a smile. As he withdrew to go back to his squad car, he could clearly heard to mutter "Kids these days..."

She waited until the officer wasn't looking at them anymore to lower her head slowly to the driving wheel, shoulders shaking wildly. Fogged up windows. Alison pushed back into the seat, laughing cheerfully. That was one way of being interrupted!

Haroun was quite torn at the moment - he had his blood surging, and he didn't know what he wanted more - Alison back in his lap, Alison grinding against him, Alison in a hotel room, Alison in his bed, Alison in her bed with him, Alison on her desk, Alison on his desk, or to go beat the crap out of something until he calmed down. Unfortunately, it looked like the lattermost was going to be his most realistic outcome.

Once she finally managed to stop giggling Alison turned to look at him, taking in deep soothing breaths while rubbing leg absently. That was going to bruise, not a doubt about it. "I can't belie- are you all right?" She stopped laughing instantly at the sight of him, mirth fading into quiet concern.

Haroun was taking short shallow breaths. His hands had balled into fists, and he had a distinctly glazed look about his face. "Huh?" he said, then looked over to Alison. "I'll be fine." he said, but not with much confidence. "Tell you what." he said abruptly. "You know that little rest stop right before we get onto I95? Meet me there. I need to get out." he said, opening his door but not yet stepping out of the car.

Hormones. Right. Man, she was an idiot. "I know it. Go." Alison resisted the urge to reach out and touch him, which might lead to them not moving from this place at all and going from slow to light speed which wasn't the best of ideas right now. To say the least. And if Haroun still wasn't steady when she met him there, it'd be straight to the mansion and the medlab, for her to put to good use that Blood Filtering 101 class Madelyn had put her through.

Haroun stepped out of the car, shucked the shirt and jacket, then extended out the jetpack that gave him fine control over his power. He blasted off with a roar, shooting into the sky at a goodly rate of speed, trailing a line of fire behind him that died fairly quickly in the cool Pennsylvania air. But the stink of his power didn't fade, not right away.

Alison watched him leave before starting the car again, reminding herself to stay well within the speed limit as she made for their rendezvous point - it was a rather nasty test of her resolve that, but the reminder that the cop was likely not very far off and that getting arrested would be a bad thing just now was more than enough to help her keep to reasonable speeds.

Haroun, at the rest stop, sat cross-legged atop a picnic table, apparently lost in some fairly deep meditation. He was once again wearing his shirt and jacket, with no sign of his mutation visible. His eyes were closed as he concentrated on his breathing - in through the nose, out through the mouth.

She drove the car in the rest area, parking it a fair distance away so that the sound woudn't be too much of a bother. Picking up her sweater from the back seat Alison pulled it on while walking towards Haroun, although she paused at another picnic table instead, sitting down to let him keep meditating longer if need be.

Haroun opened his eyes after a few more minutes, effortlessly unfolded his legs, and got down off the picnic table. He spotted Alison fairly easily, and walked over to her with a big smile on his face. "So nice of you to stop by. Give a brother a ride?" he said, fully understanding the dual meanings of what he'd just said. He seemed far more relaxed than he was before the flight.

It was, Alison thought, damn hard to not tempt a man like Haroun even when you knew it was the last thing you were supposed to be doing, and for very specifics reasons at that. So there would be no stretching again. "What, and be accused of being an evil temptress, using my charms and wiles to seduce an innocent and good Muslim boy?" She grinned cheerfully though - he seemed much better, at least. It as still straight back to the mansion if either of them actually misbehaved again.

"But you are all of those things!" Haroun protested with a grin. "But the good Muslim boy will travel with the evil temptress if she will permit it, and they will journey to the City of Brotherly Love and consume cheese steaks and pretzels." he said with a smile.

Much, much better, although there would be no more heavy teasing tonight, Alison decided. "Well then, the Muslim Boy better get his butt in the car," she grinned, handing him the keys to drive this time. It was one way to keep him otherwise occupied. Besides - she wanted to change the music. Badly.

"Yes, O Vile Temptress." he said, and then ducked into the car on the driver's side of things. He started the engine, listening to it purr for a moment while she got situated on her side of things.

She took her sweater off outside the car this time, chucking it in the back before slipping inside. "Seatbelt on, we're set," Alison announced unnecessarily, leaning back in the seat with a small sigh - the drive over to the rest stop had been somewhat tense. "You know, I didn't get to go out of the mansion nearly enough before. This helps a lot with the appreciating the place more on a regular basis instead of going slowly stir-crazy."

Haroun grinned. Mission successful! "I can usually get away for a flight, but this is also really nice. Good company, fast car, out-of-control hormones - must be my life." he said with a grin as he eased the sports car back into traffic. "We're maybe an hour out from Philly."

"I hope the service there is really fast." Alison blinked, realizing that she had passed the 'am hungry' point and was fast headed towards 'ravenous and will rip heads off if I don't get food soon'. She wriggled a bit in the seat, finding a comfortable way to sit down and grinned at him. "There's going to be a stop at the medlab when we get back, I think."

"I'm not entirely sure that's necessary at this point. I worked a lot of it out just getting here, and more of it while waiting for you to arrive. But if you think it's necessary..." he said with a small smile. "I won't fight you too hard. Just letting you know that my grip is just more solid than it was."

He was tempting her. He really was. "Yes, but we've still got a fair amount of time between now and whenever we get back home for me to slip up and do really bad things to your self-control again," she pointed out, a touch sheepishly. Alison then grinned wickedly. "Especially since you're not fighting me too hard, at that."

Haroun sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry." he said. "This has got to really be awkward for you. I know it is for me - that I can't keep it together, keep myself under control in some ways while losing control in others. It's not fair to you."

Pushing the seat back, she then turned - not quite sideways, but enough to be comfortable while looking at him drive. "I knew what I was getting in, Haroun. I spoke to Madelyn, remember?" She took a deep breath, shaking her head. "I asked a lot of questions. You're still going to have to be excruciatingly clear sometimes, so I know what's going on - and there's probably still stuff that'll take me by surprise." Alison offered him a smile. "But I'm pretty much going to be me. And well - demure I'm not."

Haroun grinned. "That's one of the things I really like about you." he said happily. "And I'll do what I can to let you know in a non-threatening way when I'm in bad shape. The problem is that I'm not exactly coherent at times like that."

"Oh good," she snickered a bit. It wasn't as though he hadn't already had ample demonstration of that, after all. "Safe word? Something preset we both know means 'the medlab is a good place to be, let's go now' something or other?" Alison paused, chewing on her lower lip a bit. "We probably should determine what should be done if things go beyond that. Because, well... you do really bad things to my self-control to and I might miss the warning signs."

Haroun grinned like a maniac. "I do, do I?" he said, suddenly demure and innocent. "Little old me?" He laughed then, loud and clear. "But your safeword idea is a good one. As for the other - I pray to God that you will never, ever know me when I am in such a state. I could not guarantee your safety or sovereignty, and once I cooled down, I would loathe myself forever."

"Yes, you do," Alison answered tartly, whapping him on the shoulder lightly so as to not interfere with the driving. "I'll try and keep a lid on myself at least, when things get too - hot. But when I say I'm weak-willed I'm not kidding and being wanted like that pretty much kills my sense of proportions. But, you know... a light shield is a very useful thing to have. I'd be fine, if things ever got that out of control." She'd have to learn to judge things - fast. Alison wasn't going to let things get that bad - for his sake, if nothing else.

Haroun hrmmed. "There is sense in what you say." For some reason, the huge grin just would NOT leave his face. No matter what. "And I do. Want you. Even though I cannot, strictly speaking, have you like a man should." he added. "And I trust you to take care of yourself if I lose my final control. But I could not forgive myself if I ... if it ever came down to that."

She shrugged a bit and it was likely a good thing he had his eyes on the road, considering the results. "I'd have more than my share of the responsibility there." Damn, but this was a conversation Alison hadn't ever dreamt she'd be having. "But we're working on that not happening so instead of worrying about what ifs, why don't we try to find a safe word?"

Haroun nodded slowly, concentrating on the road. "Then choose." he said, flicking on the car's sound system and changing it to radio so that she could find something to listen to. "We're almost to Philadelphia."

"Mrr. I was thinking of the competition, really." Alison kept a straight face, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Betty?" She turned to thumb the dial on the radio after that, still deadpan. It wasn't as though they'd be using that particular word in everyday conversation a lot.

Haroun smirked at that one. "Bouncing Betty." he countered. "It's got a nice sound to it, and it is something that does not tend to come up in polite conversation." He left what a bouncing Betty was unsaid.

"Works for me." It might be a bit too much of a mouthful if things ever came to that, but even just Betty would be enough at that point - or else nothing would and then they'd both be in trouble. "As for now, I'll try to keep the preening to a minimum." Alison paused, then shook her head. "At least until we're on our way back to the mansion. Maybe. If I can." She was laughing at that point, shaking her head.

"Don't you dare!" he said with another laugh. "You preening is a high point of my day. It is impossible to remain angry or depressed when you're sitting there showing yourself off under the guise of stretching or spraying blue silk on yourself or whatever excuse you can come up with. It makes me feel good."

"So I'm the all around 'bringing the fun in and stuff' babe?" she asked saucily, giving in the damnable urge to drape herself all over the car's seat in a very undemure way.

"You could say that." he said, missing the reference entirely - but appreciating her drapage. "At least I seem to amuse you as much as you do me - how that works out, I'm really not sure but I will not question my good fortune."

Alison rested her cheek on her arm, the draping actually being very comfortable, and sighed slowly. It felt good to be out like this. For many Reasons at that. "Funny, how things work out, sometimes, isn't it?" The team leader thing still had her somewhat off balance. "Usually all of them happening all at the same time, too. Heh."

"It is." he agreed, concentrating on navigating the streets of Philadelphia proper to find their way to South Street, and the cheese steak places thereon. "Merciful God has smiled upon me."