Madelyn, Haroun - Thursday morning

[x-madelyn.livejournal.com]

Set before Alison's test flight (obviously!), Madelyn catches up with Haroun in the hanger and gives him his present. There is banter, Haroun jokes, and there is discussion of Madelyn's non-existent romantic life.



One of the best parts of the whole post-vacation thing, Madelyn decided, was the giving out of all those little bits and pieces you had picked up for people along the way. She'd chase down Alison for a gift-and-gossip session later, but in the meantime, there was the _other_ friend to see. Of course, Haroun was reasonably easy to find - if he wasn't in the gym or with Alison, he was in the hanger. Or flying, but there wasn't exactly a way for her to get hold of him then except for surface-to-air missles. Fortunately, he was in the hanger, cooing to the Blackbird as he did something-or-other to the underside.

"I always feel like I should knock before I come in here," she remarked as she walked in. "Just in case I interrupt you two."

Haroun grinned as he heard Madelyn's voice. He patted the malfing control computer then straightened up, making a production of pretending to straighten up his clothes before he turned around. "Well, you know me and the old girl here. Just can't keep our hands off one another." he smirked. "You're looking good. Pick up a tan while you were out? It suits you. Makes you easier to integrate into my harem." he grinned.

"Your love is so technical," she teased, smiling at the compliment. "And yes, there is tan. Well, as much of a tan as I can get without freckling, curse my Irish ancestors." She made a show of looking him up and down. "You're looking good. In one piece and with the shit-eating grin and everything. I take it things are going well with Al?"

Haroun blushed at that, although with his dark skin it was difficult to spot. "Things are going _wonderfully_." he gushed. "Allah has blessed me, so even a halfman like me can find such love in his life." he said piously, then impishly darted forward to wrap Madelyn up in a hug.

She squeaked a little at the sudden move, and hugged him back as tightly as she could. Having two arms again was _good_. Especially with the hugging. "You are not a halfman," she told him mock-severely. "And you and Al deserve to be happy. So there."

"Yes I am." he said. "Well, technically, the ratio's a little off from fifty-fifty. Probably closer to sixty-forty in favor of the machine." he babbled. "And I am. Happy." he grinned, finally stepping away. "So I take it you were looking for me, as you usually put things together with a needle and thread and not a welding torch?" he teased.

Madelyn screwed up her nose at his correction slightly, but let it go. "I'm doing the rounds," she told him. "Find my friends, show off my fabulously relaxed self, generate envy and longing..." With a grin, she pulled a small tissue-wrapped parcel from the pocket of her suede jacket. "Bestow gifts on the undeserving."

Haroun grinned, and touched fingertips to heart, lips, and forehead in a benediction. "Thank you!" he said, unwrapping enough of the parcel to reveal a part of truly obnoxious orange board shorts. And a small something wrapped up inside of them. He groaned when he saw what the inner gift was. "I am so busted, aren't I?" he sighed. "Thank you for the gift. Alison will _howl_ when she sees these. I'll make sure to note who she has to thank."

"You left one behind the last time you were in medlab," Madelyn teased. "And I couldn't resist this one when I saw it. Nothing says 'aren't you glad to have me back' like a truly appalling romance novel. And I think orange suits you." She chuckled. "Alison can join Moira in the thanking - you should see the shirt I found for Nathan."

"You must really be getting lonely, if you're inviting retinally-scarred women down to Medlab to express their displeasure. Moira's coffee is about twelve-molar strength acid, and Alison can laser-etch her name across your retinas. I'd be careful if I were you." he laughed. "Thank you again for the gifts. I'll let you know if the book is any good, and you can borrow it once I'm done with it." he grinned.

"What can I say? I like to live on the edge." Madelyn chuckled. "Either that or Jubilee is rubbing off on me. Besides, I have a sarong for Al that's entirely tasteful and not eye-searing at all. I think you'll like it."

Haroun shuddered. "She got her wish - she's on the trainee roster." he said with real distaste. "I get the impression she's treating it like some kind of a giant lark, and Scott won't let me beat it out of her." he grumbled. "We're still trying to find something that will do the job without breaking her in half."

"I think she'll surprise you," Madelyn said mildly - team business was strictly that, team business, but she felt Jubilee was being done a disservice. "Still, that's what being a trainee is all about, isn't it? Finding out whether you've got what it takes?"

Haroun nodded. "It is." he said, and left it at that. "So speak to me of this trip you took. Have a good time, did you? Come back with a little bounce in your step, a grin on your face?" he grinned and winked at her. "I would hate to see my favorite near-wife so deprived."

"Everyone keeps asking me that - I don't look that desperate, do I?" she teased. "The trip was great. Lots of sun and lying by the pool and having drinks brought to me, which is a little more sedentary than my usual vacations, but Andy was insistent on me taking it easy. Apparently I haven't been."

Haroun grinned. "OK, so we've all been cranked up a little tight. It happens." he said with a shrug. "That's why units like the X-Men tend to get incredibly tight over time. When you're trusting people with your life _and_ fighting for a cause, a whole lot of shit can pop out of the woodwork. Bonds develop." he said simply. "We're not there yet, but it's starting. Can't be forced, it has to be organic."

"It used to be like that back in the Bureau," Madelyn agreed. And it's a little like that in medlab, when we aren't all insane with stress." She appeared to be pondering something, and titled her head slightly at him. "What would you say if I told you I had a job offer from my old boss?"

"That depends. Should I start shopping for a wish-you-well gift, or should I schedule my next checkup with you?" he asked her, studying her closely for her reactions. "I for one would hate to lose you - good in a fight, keeps her cool under fire, and is fully human, so can go places we can't. Everything else, well, shit, that's the cherry on the sundae." he laughed.

Joining his laugh, she shook her head. "I haven't decided entirely yet," she said, perhaps a little evasively. She was still in the information-gathering stage of things, and it helped to know what the reaction would be. "I won't deny it's tempting, but there's still work here to be done, and like you were saying earlier, bonds develop. Not always the comrades-in-arms sort, either."

Haroun grinned. "So you've decided to be my harem wife! I'm so pleased by your decision. When would you like to have the ceremony?" he asked with a laugh. "Or do you have your eye set on someone else, perhaps?" he asked with another grin.

"I don't remember deciding anything," she replied, poking him gently in the chest. "As for someone else..." She shrugged a little. "That's undecided as well." She'd had many a chat with Andy about certain hints and clues, and was starting to get an idea of things, but as yet she hadn't worked out whether she was on the right track or not. Hard to tell when neither suspect had actually said or done anything out of the ordinary.

Haroun grinned a truly evil grin. "Luckily for you, you have one of the finest negotiators anywhere on the planet in your corner. We Moroccans take in haggling with our mother's milk, and plot intrigues that would make MC Escher nauseous." he said with a happy smile. "So - is there anyone I need to go soften up for you? Say, someone small and blue, or large and blue?"

Madelyn blushed. Deeply. "No!" she burst out, then recovered herself. "Um, no need for softening, not yet, any way. I don't..." She made a helpless gesture with her hands. "I have no idea if there's anything there at all besides me being delusional, and I'd rather not go there until I'm sure at least I won't look like an idiot." Her personal feelings on the matter were staying just that, personal. At least until she worked them out.

Haroun threw his arm over Madelyn's shoulders. "Come on, tell Haroun all about it." he said with a reassuring grin. "I've read far too many romance novels not to help you out _somewhat_ here. Maybe talking it out with the sexy muscle-bound God of a friend will help clear your mind." he added.

"God, I wouldn't know where to start..." Madelyn said with a sigh. "It's insane - I have people dropping hints about how both of them have feelings for me, but between Hank's outrageous flirting and Kurt's habit of talking about everyone's feelings but his own, I'm thinking they must be mistaken. As for what _I_ feel..." She thought of a certain moment in the linen closet with a brief shudder. "Sometimes I wonder."

Haroun hrmmed and then smiled at Madelyn. "You have to decide what you want before you can let either or both of them know what you want. So I guess that's what it boils down to. I mean, you _could_ go the Paige route, but given how well Paige is doing with the Paige route I wouldn't suggest it. I joke about harems and multiple wives all the time, but it's a hell of a lot of work, and there are fairly strict rules about such things." he said seriously. "But seriously - way I see it, you need to decide which fuzzy blue one, if any, that you're interested in." He sighed in frustration. "I was never any good at these games, and it's not done this way in Morocco."

"Definitely not the Paige route, no," Madelyn said. "And between you and me, I'm not very good at games either. Which is why it's frustrating - if I knew for sure either way, at least then I could think about it more clearly. Still, it'll muddle out in the end." She gave him a sunny smile and poked him in the ribs lightly. "So, if you're done cooing at the 'Bird, want to join me for early lunch? You can catch me up on all the gossip I've missed."

"You know just what to say to get my motor running. Let me go wipe the grease off and I'll meet you back here for deciding what we're doing for lunch?" he said with a grin. "And you're a woman - the game is coded right into your DNA." he smirked, then headed off to the refresher area specially designed to cut through the noxious substances all aircraft tended to accumulate.