Log [Alison, Haroun] Close encounter with the Doomsday Scenario

[x-dazzler.livejournal.com]

Backdated - set on Monday evening. After Alison and Haroun go through one of the training scenarios that Scott prepared for them, they go over things and come to the conclusion that they do indeed need the team training. And plan to push it further. Talk then veers to other things, since they're like that.



The shower had been heavenly and though Alison had done her best to drown in it, standing up had eventually gotten to be too tiring. So once she was done, she'd trudged her way to Haroun's room, making a beeline to crash on his bed while waiting until he was done trying to drown himself in the shower.

Ow. I hurt. It was both physical and mental as conditions one, Alison feeling like her bruises had bruises and generally somewhat twisted up inside. They had agreed on a debrief upstairs instead of making use of the main briefing room downstairs, if only because that attempt had led to them staring at each other blankly for a good ten minutes. Which was what Alison was doing now, sprawled face first on Haroun's bed while waiting for him to emerge from the bathroom as well.

Haroun wandered out of the shower, buck-naked as was his usual custom save for the towel draped across his shoulders. "Well, that was an interesting run." he said as he walked over to his armoire to pull some clothes to wear. Underwear and a pair of old faded grey sweats are all that he decided to bother with. "I take it that was a Summers Special, or was this your idea?"

The nakedness was noticed, though Alison was feeling too run over to do anything more than offer a half-hearted moment of ogling before hiding her face against the bed again. "Ngngr mgm!" Yes, that was clear. Sighing, she turned her head to the side again. "All Scott." And then, because in a way it had been her idea. "I'm the one who asked him to do a full out scenario though." They were alternating with command situations of various amplitude and general team runs. Apparently, today had been doomsday.

Haroun sighed, then winced as several groups of muscles in his lower back protested. Loudly. "So - we were doing just fine until that last set." he said, sitting on the ground and twisting to try to stretch his aching back. "I'm surprised, I have to admit. I didn't think you were going to be able to handle that last spastic trio."

She watched him stretch, glancing in the direction of his night table and the tiger balm she knew was in the drawer - as soon as she could move and they were done with the debrief, she'd offer him a back rub. If he was lucky, she might be able to move in a few hours. Maybe. "I didn't think at all at that point. Just did." That was all it had been at the end - those last three in particular, in fact. She took slow even breaths, keeping herself calm by virtue of Haroun bring right there in front of her. It would be without sense to apologize for leaving him behind.

Haroun nodded. "And you did the right thing, ordering me to cover the withdrawal. I was the only one who could have handled it. You had your hands full. No hard feelings, OK?" he said, with a canny guess as to her mental state. His face twisted, though, as he said it.

"The right tactical decision," she murmured - there hadn't been any other option that she could see, in that brief moment she'd had to decide, which would have allowed for the mission to be carried out successfully. And it being a doomsday scenario, this meant there was an 'at any cost' rider to the mission goal. "I'll be reviewing the log tomorrow to make sure I didn't miss anything."

"That's why we do these things, so that we can learn in here as opposed to Out There. Because I'm in no hurry to meet God personally, if you know what I mean. I've come close before..." he said, then winced as his back twinged mightily. "And we really do need to do more team logs, you and I. We were crossing each other more than we were putting the hurting on the bad guys."

Her breathing remained steady, Alison firmly keeping all the Might Bes in place. Part of the crossed wires, she had realized, was her fault. She was used to teammates who knew what she would do, were able to predict what she intended and needed - she and Haroun needed more
practice before it would be like that. "I agree. Review each other's training scenarios too, solo and team. Get to know what the other's habits are. Complement better." They'd had one good moment in there though - what had carried them through to the finale, in fact. "Why don't you lie down?" The winces were getting too pronounced, drawing one from Alison in sympathy. "Your back's hurting."

"Yeah, well, it's hard to carry a conversation when I'm face-down on my floor." he grumbled, but did as he was bid, laying flat on his floor with a hiss of pain. "And yeah, we do need to review each other's files - give me access rights and I'll start that tomorrow." he said. "And may I say "OW"? Because one of those little fuckers tagged me in the kidneys and my back still hates me."

She stared at him a moment, the attempt at keeping 'briefing' and 'personal things' separate taking a flying leap out the window. It would get sorted out somehow, just this once. "I meant on the bed, Haroun." She slipped off the bed herself however, joining him on the floor, wincing a bit as she did so. "Here. Let me do this first, before you move again..." Resting one hand flatly on the small of his back, she concentrated, light sparking to life - it was a warm, steady glow, heat meant to sink in and soothe the aching muscles. "Let me know if this helps. And I'll do that - give you access I mean."

Haroun nodded. "You already have access to mine. And you were on my bed, I didn't want to kick you out." he said with a shrug. The heat felt delicious on tortured muscles, and Haroun audibly groaned in pleasure. "That feels good." he said with a sigh. "Ow."

She nodded, realizing belatedly that he couldn't see the gesture. "Yeah." Alison didn't mention she had yet to review certain parts of his medical file. "Doing an eval of each other's general performance would be the basics, wouldn't it," she stated more than she asked. "We both fit on your bed, as teeny tiny as it is," she teased gently, moving to set her other hand down as well, light flaring up from it as well. "I'll rub in some tiger balm later."

Haroun hissed as the heat hit something sensitive inside his electronics. "Not there." he said with a groan. "Move that over a little bit, if you would..." he pleaded, as he crawled over to his bed
to drop his carcass on top of his bed, leaving as much room as he could for her to sit/lay next to him as she saw fit. "You did a good job against the first wave of drones. A quick aim with the cutting laser."

"From here to here is good?" she asked, careful not to use heat - knowing what was where was one thing, but practice was another entirely. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she placed a hand on the small of his back again, carefully bleeding light and heat. "The drones are easy to dehumanize," she pointed out lowly. Doomsday scenario - Alison hadn't pulled her hits, as much as she hated it.

Haroun grinned, even though she probably couldn't see it. "Yeah, that's good." he said with a groan. "And yeah, they are. That's the point of using the nonhuman drones. At some point I'll need the more human drones for the kids." he mused. "Get them used to hitting something that looks like a regular person and not a robot."

"That'll be good for all of us," Alison stated, adding just a bit more pressure then releasing it, testing what was sore muscles and what might be a potential injury oh so carefully. "Hank's still working on solid holographic images based off the solid light stuff I've been practicing on. It's still clunky though. And only for small objects for now." She blinked. "Wonder if he could use something similar to the inducers but cheaper and just integrate them to the drones..."

"Until that happens, I'll make do with the Rubber Bob variants." he said. "Just need it to have the same internal structure as a regular person and move like a regular person. Everything else is just gravy." he said. "But you cut through 'em quite nicely. Sorry for spoiling your aim there for a bit..." he said sheepishly.

"If you're going to start apologizing, I might as well do so too," she replied, a touch self-deprecatingly. Both of them had had their share of blunders, due to simply not meshing perfectly in terms of style or knowing the other's combat quirks. Yet. She kept up the very careful and light massage, fighting to not give in to the tiredness just yet. "Nearly made you go through a wall at one point." Chaotic was one way to describe the moment right after the second wave of drones hit.

Haroun grinned. "Yeah." he said with a laugh. "That could have been ugly, as I can't soak the hits like some folks I could name." he added. "And yeah, I think you had a couple of hairy moments with the one that got up in your face - you really need to work hand-to-hand."

"I've got what, maybe a bit over a year of serious hand to hand training?" Alison nodded, surprising herself by how un-defensive about it she felt. "I know. The Tai Chi was a good base, but not the best for actual... combat. Working on it - Nathan is going to show me some of the Askani Arts and I've you," she lingered over a knot of tension in his back, slowly trying to work it out, " for the stick fighting. And more sparring, too." And scenarios from Hell.

Haroun sighed as the heat finally started to begin to loosen unbelievably tight muscles. "God, that feels good." he said, near delirious with relief. "Back's been bothering the crap out of me lately." he confessed. "Stick fighting - should put you in my Krav class. Think you could handle being in a class with Shiro?"

She raised an eyebrow at the question. "If you mean whether I'm upset with him or something like that, I'm not in the least. Don't see why I couldn't be." She could hold her own just fine in actual combat - the level of the drones earlier had been not exactly inconsiderable, after all, what with it being a Doomsday scenario. "What do the medstaff have to say about your back?" She paused only a moment, this time to retrieve the tiger calm from the desk, then took the time to heat it in her hands before resting them once more on his back.

"Just making sure." he said as the blissful heat sank into his muscles. "And I haven't been to Medical yet. Hate to bother them over a strained muscle. I'll be fine tomorrow." he said with a slight slur as fatigue and the heat finally started to get to him. "How are you feeling? How's the leg doing?" he asked.

"The leg is fine," she reassured him. "Everything is. Seemed to work out that way, when I got better." She leaned just a touch, only enough to help ease the tension in his back further. "You're back's been bothering you for a while, on and off, hasn't it? Why don't you stop by the medlab tomorrow morning." Alison waited a few seconds, concentrating on the heat she was generating, the light playing against his skin. "We're on active duty this week. Better to take no risks, mmm?"

Haroun grumbled. "I'll be fine." he said. "It's nothing. Just a strain. Happens all the time. Weird internal structure, remember? You don't go see Maddy or Moira every time you get cramps, I'm not going to bother them for something this stupid. And we are on active duty. The both of us." he said with a wide grin, even though she probably couldn't see it from the way he was laying down.

The smile was echoed in his voice however and Alison couldn't help but grin a bit in return, even as her hands indeed followed a muscle path that was unique to Haroun's modified physiology. "Yes, we are. How often does this happen?" she asked, since the parts of his medical file she had read didn't have a regular notice of such things - and what with him being leery of going to the medlab for routine stuff, that made sense. She made a mental note of checking up on when his next physical evaluation was - probably soon, since the entire team was being pulled in for that, one at a time.

"From time to time. I've been spending a good bit of time in the saddle, trying to get myself up to my peak, so I'd say maybe once a week or so I get a really bad twinge. Started a few months ago,
really." After he had tried to carry the Blackbird on his back, but he wasn't about to tell her that. "A little stretching, some liquid heat, and I'm fine the next day. Really."

She remained silent at that for a moment, feeling some of the tension ebb slowly under her hands - but not entirely. "Repetitive stress injury? Huh." It was more to herself than to him that she said that, really. "Tell you what, do me a favor? Let me check up on that tomorrow morning. I'm not an expert, but I did take the massage course way back when and it was tailored specifically to what we'd need. And even if it's nothing, a regular massage isn't a bad thing, mmm?" And if poking at his back produced a bad reaction, Alison decided that she was sending Haroun down to Hank's tender loving care whether he liked it or not.

"Mmm. Massage." he said blissfully. "Won't complain about that." She wanted to lay hands on him? Watch him complain. Really. "And I told you, I'll be fine. No need to go make a fuss about it." He pulled himself into a sitting position, then motioned towards where he was just laying down. "You. There. Now. Your turn." he said demandingly, but with a grin.

It wasn't fussing - but Alison knew how some people could get about things like that. And it was, at times, awfully complicated to separate the whole team leader versus personal thing, and yet
sometimes not. Alison decided to fret over that to herself later though, comforted by the fact that they seemed to be doing all right at least. Or rather, that Haroun seemed remarkably unfazed so far. "No fuss making. And I'm so taking you up on that." The Tiger Balm was relinquished without a protest, Alison peeling off her camisole without a second thought before lying down face first on the bed.

Haroun blinked and then grinned, staring at the expanse of creamy white skin just placed on display. He started his massage at her shoulders, noting with great amusement that there was not a single article of clothing between him and her. That never, ever failed to bring a big ol' smile to his face. He walked the massage slowly down her back, hitting all the usual suspects in Find The Sore Spot Bingo. Then, once he got to the small of her back, he used the tiger balm to give a good shot of heat to the spots she indicated really hurt.

Trying to see if they'd at least worked out what needed to be worked out tonight was hard considering what he was doing, Alison's mind fogging over nicely during the massage. They'd gone over the scenario briefly. More details tomorrow and they each had reports to file too. She wasn't quite setting aside the issues he seemed to be having with his back just yet, but keeping an eye on that could be done. "I think I'm just about done now," she murmured, head turned to the side as she took a slow breath then let it out lazily. "Couldn't move to save my life. Feels wonderful." She paused, then cracked her eyes open. "We're done, right?" Hopefully, there could be crashing to sleep now, and the rest of the talk could be the next day, once they'd written everything up.

Haroun grinned at Alison. "Well, your legs look tense. Very, very tense. Want me to work out some of that for you?" he asked. No ulterior motive here, no sir! "I'd hate to see your hamstrings cramp
up on you tomorrow because you didn't stretch them out today. And since I'm right here and I've got the Tiger Balm handy, I would be delighted to take care of that problem for you."

She twisted just enough to look at him fully, looking entirely too amused. "That'd be a horrible thing, my legs cramping up tomorrow," she agreed, lips still quirking even though she was doing a fair impression of solemn as she went on. "It is very kind of you to save me from such a fate." A pause, and Alison wriggled her hips a bit. "Be easier for you if the pants go, mmm?"

"That would be a requirement, yes." he said with a grin. "Shall I do the honors, or would you like to?" he asked her, figuring that she'd probably want him to do them for her. He traced a fingertip along her waistline, just for fun.

"But I'd have to move if I did it," she purred back, in a fine example of laziness as it's... best, in this particular instance. And it seemed they were very much done with the informal debriefing for now - and then some.

Haroun grinned again. "As my Mistress demands.' he said, and hooked two fingers on either side of her hips. Once he had a good grip, he tugged the material downwards, until only her incredibly boring underwear stood between him and complete perfection of the nude female form. He then slid down the bed so that he could start with her feet - massaging them muscle groups there, maybe even playing with her toes just a little bit.

It was, Alison decided, a lovely thing not to be ticklish. Most of the time. "M'going to be going out like a light," she rolled her eyes a bit at the unintentional pun as realization caught on afterwards,
"pretty soon, at this rate." She stretched out just bit, unwilling to move her feet too much, then peeked over her shoulder again, the corner of her eyes wrinkling just a bit as she smiled at him.

Haroun hrmmed, but kept the massage going. Now he was at her calves, spending a goodly bit of time massaging all the tension out of them slowly and methodically. "Good bit of muscle here." he commented idly as he massaged. "You must work out." he said with a laugh.

She'd nearly slipped off but the comment drew startled laughter from her, shoulders shaking in reaction as the amusement refused to fade. "It's all that Tai Chi I do," she deadpanned, wincing just a bit as he hit a knot of tension she hadn't realized was there. "There's all this gym training I've been doing lately too," she added, a clear reference to all the drills he'd put her through since she'd healed.

"Well, it's doing things for you. You should keep it up. In a Gallup poll taken among Moorish men age 25-30 living in the Mansion, a full 100% of respondees think that you have amazing legs." he said, completely deadpan. "Gallup also reports that the Moorish population is eagerly waiting for true spring, as the prospect of skirts, the shorter the better, does terrible things to his peace of mind."

More laughter greeted that, Alison hiding her face against the bed for a moment until she regained some measure of control, before peeking at him over her shoulder again - it was tempting to push up a bit, just so, but the laziness from the backrub won out and she settled down instead with a lazy smile. "Mmm. Skirt buying to prepare for spring is very important and should probably be done soon, then. This means the Moorish population of the house should come along to offer arguments for or against one skirt or the other, mmm?" It felt good to hear he thought her legs were amazing - the scar still bothered her, though she ignore that most of the time.

Haroun grinned at that. "I believe that notion would poll very well in the Moorish community." he said with a laugh, then moved his massage up to the level of her thighs. "Approval ratings, already extremely high, are pushing even higher at the very thought." he said, massaging up her hamstrings as he spoke. "But the Moorish community does have an addendum to place on the table." he said, more seriously than before. "They feel that a wardrobe upgrade would probably be a good idea, as to maintain high popularity and satisfaction ratings among Mansion ex-rockstars." he said. "As the Moors are a bit in the dark as to what ex-rockstars would like to see."

"Shopping all around?" she purred, going - if at all possible - even more limp than before. "The Moorish community brings a very interesting proposition to the table, even though certain Mansion ex-rockstars would like to point out that the current attire," or rather, lack thereof was left unsaid, "is very pleasing to the eye." There was a definite sleepy touch to her voice, though Alison wasn't about to stop him just yet. "Next week, to celebrate the end of our first week of active duty?"

Haroun worked slowly up even higher on the massage end of things - any further north, and he would be at Interesting Territory indeed. "Next week should be fine. You foot the bill, I'll play packmule, watch you try on things, and let you dress me up like a doll." he said with a grin he didn't entirely feel. Still, she was letting him paw her to his heart's content, under the guise of massaging out muscle cramps and tight tendons.

Silence greeted that for a moment, Alison turning over his words in her head. "You pick," she murmured, then reached back to grasp one hand, gently pulling him down with her. "Fun for both of us, yeah? Just relaxing and not worrying about anything but how silly we can get about dressing up and stuff." Shopping was therapy - always had been, as far as Alison was concerned. Fun and not about worrying over anything at all. But... "How is your family doing?" The words were softly spoken, Alison waiting until he joined her in lying down on the bed, fully intending on snuggling up to him.

Haroun grinned, but his eyes were skeptical. "Sure." he said with a laugh. "And the family is - OK, last I heard from them. It's been a few weeks. Father is working quite hard - the French firm he works for is competing hard for some projects related to an ESA launch." He said. "I come by my mad love for aero quite naturally. Mother is, well, she's a traditional woman. She wouldn't complain to me - or anyone else - if her veil caught fire and her dog died. But I think she's doing fairly well." he said reassuringly.

He was willing to go with her - what more could a girl ask for? She'd just have to point out the actual benefits of skirt ogling by actual experience, that was all. It wasn't as though it wouldn't be fun for her as well. There was no delicate way to ask if the funds he was sending them helped, or if they needed more - so she didn't ask. That he still sent near everything he made over said a lot by itself, really. "That's good to hear." She shifted a bit to the side, closer to him. "You're probably due for some letters from them soon, right?" There was a semi-regularity to the correspondence, after all.

"I hope so. I can't count on any set interval of time between when I write them and when I get an answer back." he said with a sigh. "It sucks, but there's not much I can do. I don't want to risk them or my father's employment." he said firmly. "It was hard enough on them when I was doing the mutant protector thing. I'm not going to scar them any more than I already have."

There had to be something, Alison thought, the notion already present before, simply taking hold further. But it was getting harder and harder to focus and with a small sigh, she nodded at his words, shifting to her side to draw him closer, unwilling to offer false hope, especially since he was so determined to keep them from grief by staying away. She knew Haroun had sent pictures already - one of the two of them together, another of herself and Miles. The reply to that letter was the one she was both dying to see and dreading, really. "Let me know when something comes in?"

Haroun nudged her side, to see if she wanted to roll over and maybe play a little. She was sitting there in just her underwear, after all. He cranked up his power a few notches and stretched, feeling his lower back attempt to tie itself back into knots. "Yes, Miss Greedy Thing, I'll let you know if they write me back and mention you." he said with a laugh.

She didn't tell him it was more along the lines of a deep-seated fear they might take an insane dislike to her - it was unreasonable and she knew it, though it still didn't make the worry go away. She shifted a bit to give him room to stretch, misinterpreting the nudge as a request for space, but moved right back to where she'd been before when he was done. The heat was met with obvious approval and Alison took a second to draw up the covers before slipping one hand around
his waist to rest it on the hollow of his back again, returning the favor. 'Be nice. Think I should write to them, one day? Or be too forward?" She was skipping words, she knew, but the need for sleep was taking over. Fast. Despite the fact that there were Alternatives they could have explored, all the while hoping the ceiling wouldn't collapse on them in the process.

Haroun hrmmed - not what he wanted, but he'd take whatever she wanted to give him. She wanted to play it cool, that was fine by him. "If you want to write to them, that's not a problem. I could include your letter in with mine the next time I send one out." he said with a jaw-cracking yawn. Then again, maybe cold was the best way to play things - he was _tired_ and he hurt after that hell-run. His lower back was still a knotted ball of pain, even after the massage and the Tiger Balm.

Oh heavens, what had she just gotten herself into? What was she going to say? Alison huddled a bit closer to him, hiding her face as her eyes went a bit wide. And there was no way in the world she was getting out of that now - none. "Okay." And in an effort to not sound as though she'd been offered to jump off the plank into a precipice. "That'd be good." And his yawn triggered one of her own, Alison loosing track of her thoughts despite everything else. "Sleep now think. Have to be in shape f'tomorrow." Along with the hope they didn't get an emergency call during the night.