xp_logs | Domino, Haroun and Nathan, Saturday night

Haroun comes looking for Nathan, hoping to kill some time in their time-honored fashion while Alison and Madelyn are having their girl's night in. Domino answers the door, and he jumps to a very unfortunate conclusion. The two of them wind up down in the gym trying to beat the crap out of each other, where it comes out that they had a friend in common. (Had being the operative word.) In the end, Nathan, still reeling from the incident with Angie, has to intervene.

Haroun knocked on the door to Nathan's suite. For once, he didn't call out through it, but waited patiently for the big man to answer the door. He was carrying his medkit, the one festered with obscure metal band stickers and a new inscrption done in Alison's neat hand.

Domino, sitting cross-legged on the couch, looked up from her laptop and frowned at the knock on the door. She'd just coaxed Nate into going and lying down, after he'd come stumbling back up from the medlab looking absolutely miserable and muttering something about Angie being in bad shape. Setting the computer aside, she slid off the couch and headed over to the door, prepared to tell whatever kid this was to fuck off and come back later.

Allah hated him. This was the ONLY possible explanation for why Domino, looking all touselled and dishevelled, answered Nathan's door. And oh look, she was all pissed-off. Just his luck. "Sorry." he told the surprised mercenary. "Was looking for Nathan."

Domino's eyes narrowed. "al-Rashid, right?" she asked, smiling very thinly. "Well, Nathan can't come out to play just now. Yet another one of his students decided to try and break him, and he's having a bit of a nap. Why don't you wander along? I'm sure if you come back tomorrow he'll be amenable to beating the crap out of you." She had noticed the medkit.

Haroun's eyes narrowed. He had gone from Good Mood to Bad Mood in about four seconds flat. Very nearly a new record. "Domino." he said coldly. "Since Nathan's apparently unavailable - probably recovering, if I know him - will you pass along a message for me?"

"Oh, gladly!" Domino's violet eyes lit with unholy glee. He wanted to get pissy with her? That was just fine. "Since, you know, I live to serve and all."

"You know, scratch that. If you think you can spare a few minutes out of the old man's bed, I think I'd like to see what moves you think you have." he said with a feral grin. "Grab your shit. Let's go hit the Gym."

Out of his WHAT? Domino blinked and laughed out loud, a little too loudly, maybe. She really didn't want to have Nate out here listening to any of this. She somehow thought Xavier would frown on teachers killing teachers in the hallway. Which meant that she should really take the idiot up on his offer and get him away from Nathan before Nate picked up on it anyway.

"Gladly," she said. "And if you ask nicely, I'll tie one hand behind my back to make it fair."

Haroun snarled at that, but didn't say anything. Instead, he stepped back so that she could go retrieve her gear and then walk with him down to the Gym. "So what brings you to Westchester? Shouldn't you be off entertaining the entirety of the Russian Mafia or something?" he asked her with a cheerful voice as they walked. "Instead of the very happily engaged Nathan?"

Nate, I thought you considered this brainless idiot a friend? Why does he not know you're painfully monogamous? "Well," Domino said with a pout, "old habits die hard. And Moira's been neglecting him just shamelessly, you know."

Haroun tried not to chip a molar by grinding his teeth. He was only barely successful. The two of them arrived at the Gym, and Haroun put his O-Woe-Is-Me medkit down next to the sparring ring. "You need to loosen up first, or are you still running hot from earlier?" he asked with a nasty smile.

Domino did a few stretches, smiling brightly at him. "Ah, sparring. My second-favorite way to burn off jetlag."

Haroun stretched out his back and his arms, all the while keeping a close eye on Domino. "You still running with the Pack?" he asked her as he stepped out into the ring. "'Course, from what I hear you'll run with just about anyone."

Domino finished stretching. Nathan was going to kill her, the part of her brain that was still thinking clearly pointed out. Kill her dead. Probably slowly. But fuck it, she was just getting so sick and tired of this place and what it was doing to the people she cared about, and here was this handy asshole offering to let her beat the crap out of him. Who was she to turn him down?

"Talk, talk, talk," she said lightly, striding into the sparring circle. "Let's have at it, shall we?"

Haroun didn't waste any more time with the pleasantries. He came after Domino fast and hard, looking to do some damage. He wanted to smash that pretty face in, leave her on the ground unable to walk. She deserved no less, for stepping into Nathan's relationship with Moira like she apparently had.

"Slow," Domino taunted, having moved out of the way and landed a hit of her own as she got out of range. "Like a charging bull. No subtlety at all."

Haroun spun around agilely, ignoring Domino's hit in favor of sending one of his own her way. "You're lecturing _ME_ about subtlety?" he said incredulously.

It didn't land, of course. Domino followed the push of that internal shiver, darting back in close to land a fist in his ribs and then back out again, avoiding his counterstrike easily. "I don't need subtlety," she said, baring her teeth at him. "I have luck on my side."

"Yeah. You got lucky all right." he grunted, riding out the force of her hit, using all of his skills to give her a nice shiner to remember him by. "Real lucky. What possessed you to break him like that?"

"Break him? Bullshit. This place is doing the breaking - I'm just picking up the pieces." Domino threw herself gleefully into the fight, riding the inner push of her power, letting it dictate the flow of her attack. "We should've hauled his ass back to Berlin months ago while he was still in traction."

"Yeah, I'm sure Moira would have loved that." grunted Haroun, getting frustrated by his inability to lay a finger on the smirking bitch. He used his anger, channeled it, let it give his moves fuel and fire. "But I guess she's up to kick your ass anyway for poaching."

Domino made a mental note to apologize to Moira later. "Oh, Moira and I understand each other," she said sweetly. "And speaking of kicking, she's mentioned that you make quite a habit of kicking him when he's down." The smile dropped off her face and she proceeded to demonstrate just what a kick could be. "She likes to fill me in on these little details, since God knows he's close-mouthed about shit like that."

Haroun dropped to all fours from the force of the kick that had somehow snuck past his defenses and nailed him across the ribs. That _hurt_. He scrambled back to his feet and relaunched himself at Domino, technique forgotten in favor of brutal efficiency.

Not a talker. Well, that was fine. From what she'd heard about him, it was better for everyone if he kept his mouth shut, anyway. "Really," she gritted out as he actually made her work a little. "How was I supposed to resist?" The internal shiver was getting stronger, and she spared a moment to hope that she didn't blow out any of his cyberware. That could be awkward. "He comes staggering back upstairs barely holding it together, and where's his loving fiancee?" Yep. Definitely apologizing to Moira. There might have to be groveling.

Haroun snarled audibly, and kept up his attack. His 'ware was starting to send him the occasional error code, but he ignored it for the time being. Nothing he could do anyway if she caused it to fail. Other than send her the repair bill. The spur of Domino and Nathan together while Moira was in Medical working to save lives spurred him on.

"I mean," Domino drawled, deciding to put an end to the game, "the single time I have ever actually slept with him involved him being hypothermic and me pouring vodka down his throat, so, you know. Old habits die hard." She landed another good kick and then backed off, glaring at him. "Asshole. He talks about you like you're friends, but you seriously thought that he'd cheat on the woman he's been pining after for six years?"

"I have all the faith in the word in Nathan and Moira. I have no faith in _you_." he snarled, blocking her kick before trying to wipe that smug look right off her face. "I hear you've screwed at least half the merc community in Northern Europe."

"Well, I'm only one woman, but I do my best." She launched herself into another attack. "Just like a man. Slurs on a woman's sex life."

"It's impossible to slur your sex life, as slurs have to be untrue." he growled. "Besides, I remember what happend to Abdol after you got done with him." he snarled, then attacked again. "You probably don't even remember him."

"Abdol, Abdol... no, doesn't ring a bell."

"Of course it doesn't. That would require that you give a shit." he snarled. "He died by his own hand a month after you got done with one of your little drunken benders. Greece, bidding on a big assignment in Tunisia? Ring any bells _now_?"

Ah. Now she remembered. "Given that all we did was drink, have sex, and enjoy Athens' night life, I'm at a loss as to what you think I did to cause him to off himself," Domino snarled.

Haroun very nearly screamed. "Temptress! Slut!" he growled at Domino and attacked again. So far, he was barely managing to refrain from going for kill-shots, but he was sorely tempted. Allah, he was tempted! "He is dead, and you killed him!"

"You know, I'd like to hear your logic on that, but somehow I doubt it's your strong suit," she taunted, blocking every attack with ease. Let him wear himself out. She'd have her fun then.

"He was fine before you entered his life! You poisoned him, set him against God and man both! All he could talk about, all he could think about is you!" he screamed, keeping up with his reckless level of attacks. Anyone without a healing factor or a luck power would have been a bloody rag by now.

She shouldn't say it. She really shouldn't. She had rather liked Abdol, after all, upon reflection, and did regret that he'd apparently done something so stupid.

But Haroun was really, really pissing her off. "Well," she said with a tight smile. "I do tend to have that effect on the weak-minded."

Haroun grimaced and swore bloody vengeance on behalf of his friend Abdol Ahmed. He stepped up his attacks _again_, this time taking the kill-shots. He ripped off a vicious shot right at her throat, and followed it with a shot aimed for her solar-plexus and another aimed right at her temple.

Her stomach was doing butterflies, her power was pushing so hard. She backed out of range deliberately, knowing just how much trouble she would be in if she fried his mechanical parts. That didn't stop her from darting in again, taking an opening no one without her power would have perceived, and launching a flurry of full-speed, full-strength attacks. No more playing, apparently.

Haroun ate the shots without a word of complaint. He didn't even wince much. He kept on the assault, beyond the point of reason, consumed with the desire to take revenge on the behalf of his poor dead friend Abdol. He kept pressing the assault, not realizing what he was doing or the lengths that he was going to. His muscles burned and the breath did not want to come to him, but he pressed on anyway.

"Stubborn--prejudiced--bull-headed--ASSHOLE!" Domino flung at him, punctuating each word with a punch or a kick. He was starting to wear down, leaving her all kinds of openings. "I ought to just put you out of your misery and do the world a--"

#ENOUGH!# The telepathic roar was accompanied by a carefully divided telekinetic wave that flung Domino and Haroun away from each other.

Haroun landed hard, with none of his usual grace. It also took him a second or two to flip back to his feet. But at the sight of Nathan, his anger drained out of him, leaving him very unstrady on his feet and feeling the impressive collection of bruises he was going to have the next day. "Hello, Nathan." he said carefully, around rasping for air.

Nathan stood in the doorway. Holding onto the doorway, if one were to be precisely. Pale and haggard, he looked as though getting down to the gym had sapped the last of his strength, unless one paid attention to the incredulous, bewildered anger in his eyes.

"What the hell is going on here?" he said, his voice breaking in sheer weariness. "What are the two of you DOING?"

Domino hopped back to her feet, inwardly flinching even as she presented her best diffident expression. "Ask your friend," she said coolly. "He decided to invite me down here to beat the crap out of me based on the fact that he thought you were cheating on Moira with me."

Haroun glared daggers at Domino. "You answered his door all dishevelled. I've heard the stories, and I know what you did to Abdol. I was defending his honor, and hers." he said with venom in his voice.

Nathan blinked at Haroun. "You thought--" His voice wobbled again and he looked back at Domino, willing the glittering in his peripheral vision to stop. Please, stop... "And you didn't tell him I--"

He stopped, squeezing his eyes shut and leaning his forehead against the doorframe, something close to a whimper sneaking out. "I really can't... for a minute, can it? I just wanted a fucking nap and for the lights to go away, and you decide to pick a fight when you KNEW THAT?" His voice spiraled upwards as he looked up at Domino, glaring at her for a minute before he turned to Haroun. "And you!" His voice broke, the anger draining away as quickly as it had come. "As if I'd ever... fuck, you don't know me at all, who am I kidding..."

"Nate," Domino said more softly, wincing outwardly now. Oh, she really shouldn't have done this...

Haroun made an apologetic gesture with his hands, and then winced as his ribs protested. "I didn't think you would! I thought she had taken advantage of your frayed mental state. And she let me believe it quite happily, when all she had to do was say no. I was defending you, not antagonizing you! I'm sorry." he said helplessly.

"I can't do this right now." Nathan swallowed, rubing at his temples and swaying a little before he focused on Haroun. "Are you--your cyberware? Any damage?" He knew what Dom's power could do to machines of any variety.

Haroun paused for a second to run a diagnostic. "Everything seems OK. It was throwing some errors earlier, but that was probably her." he said. "I'm OK. Look, go get some rest. We'll talk about what happened here later." he said apologetically.

Nathan waved a hand at him in a gesture that might have been agreement, or telling him to shut up, and advanced on Domino. She stood her ground, raising her chin to meet his eyes levelly, but unable to keep the shame and worry off her face.

"Not a foot out of line," Nathan grated shakily as he stopped, almost but not quite pushing into her personal space. "Not a word in the wrong place."

"I know," Domino said, her voice very low. "I won't."

"Go sit with Amanda or something," Nathan said, breathing hard. "And stay the fuck out of trouble." With that, he turned and left the gym without another word to either of them.

Haroun glared at Domino and then picked up his medkit and walked out of the Gym after Nathan, limping a little from the wounds she'd given him.

"Shit," Domino sighed, sinking down into a crouch on the mats. Oh, that had so not been worth it.