ArchivedLogs:Rooming Couplets

Rooming Couplets
Dramatis Personae Mallory, Aloke
In Absentia	2013-01-10 Mallory and Aloke make plans for some new arrangements
Location <NYC> Home
Nestled into the heart of the Village, Home is an unobtrusive place, with an unobtrusive name to match. A nondescript storefront opens up into an equally nondescript cafe, plain tiled floors, an assortment of veneered tables with plain wooden chairs or booths with cracking vinyl benches. What it /does/ have to recommend it is the food, hearty solid breakfast and brunch served twenty-four hours a day. Known to locals and little frequented by tourists, its friendly serving staff tend to remember their regulars, giving the place a warm feel that lives up to its name. The sun is setting, casting muted orange and purple colors onto the buildings outside the diner, illuminating the dreary atmosphere in one final blaze of glorious color, as though attempting to brighten the mood. It is early enough to be at the beginning of the dinner rush, with people filtering in from the city, a small cluster of people waiting for tables just inside the door; at least one of them is a physical mutant, a young man with pale blue skin and a long sea-green ponytail of hair. The hostess is seating people as tables become available, but it appears as though there might be just a bit of a wait; as to be expected, perhaps on a Friday night in New York - can’t get a table, anywhere, can you? In spite of her usual lack of care about the cold weather, Mallory has actually bundled up for the evening, with a pair of her favorite skinny jeans that hug her legs perfectly, paired with a dark gray scoop neck tunic belted about her waist. However, on top of all this, she wears a nearly ankle length wool coat, flared out the back to accommodate and attempt to hide her long tail, a soft white cashmere scarf arranged over her head in an old hollywood style, an attempt to mask the impressive horns on either side of her head. Long hair pulled into a neat braid that sways in time with her tail as she walks, the slightest dusting of makeup accentuating her features. This date might have been her idea - an attempt to get Aloke off campus - and she had spent quite a good deal of time trying to find a restaurant that would accept them, finally settling on Home. Her arm is linked through his as they approach, possibly leaning just a touch on him in order to not slip on the slush that covers the sidewalk. Aloke was trepidatious about leaving campus, and Mallory was the only person who could have convinced him to do so. He even told her as much, but that getting out for her sake was worth it. They deserved a night out, even if things didn't go perfectly. And for his part, Aloke is trying something new. Most days his bright skin is hard just to look at, and this is no exception, so he's pasted on stage makeup to the best of his ability. He even employed Thomas' help, since the other mutant has had so much experience with the technique. They found a shade not entirely unlike Aloke's own fairly dark skin, and applied it liberally all the way to where his neck disappears into his shirt. There are still clues of course, places where the makeup is thinner seem brighter, not to mention the illuminated skin around his eyes, and inside his ears, but over all, Aloke is much easier to look at and converse with like this, even if still obviously a mutant. Aloke went out with black jeans and a lavender collared shirt, untucked with the top button undone, showing off a little chest hair even. Over this is a black, puffy, parka-type coat, and a knit cap to hide his scalp glowing through his hair. He walks deliberately and carefully, arm in arm with Mallory to make sure she doesn't topple, until they find themselves outside the restaurant in question. "Well, here we are. What was that phrase you didn't like? 'What could possibly go wrong'?" Aloke chuckles and squeezes her into his size briefly before stepping up to put his name on the table list. He smiles when the hostess barely even registers their mutations, jots his name down in the next available slot, and directs them to the waiting area. “Yes, that phrase,” Mallory says with a chuckle, raising his hand to her lips to kiss the back of it, “But it’ll be fine, I’m certain of it.” She waits patiently while Aloke speaks with the hostess, and offers a smile at the lack of commentary, “See? Nothing to worry about here, love. Just a couple of people getting dinner together.” Her dark eyes, already starting to smolder with dull orange fire in the dying light, linger on his features, as though studying his face for the first time. “Thank you. For this,” she glances between the bustling diner and the street outside, a happy smile on her lips, “I had been somewhat afraid we wouldn’t have the opportunity to see much of New York, with all that has gone on.” Mallory leans into his side while they wait, letting her scarf fall away from her head to drape stylishly around her neck and shoulders instead. She even hazards a kiss to his temple, though her lips touch to the knit cap rather than his actual skin - she might be more than just a bit nervous about messing with his carefully done makeup. Aloke chuckles at the confirmed phrase and snugs her tight against him again. "No, thank /you/. I can't believe you found a place like this. I didn't think there was anything this friendly after Evolve burned down." Aloke reaches up and slides his cap off, a little hesitantly, but in the end, a few people glance over at the dull glow coming from his hair, but otherwise no overt reactions to embarrass or single them out. "Huh," he says thoughtfully, and then shrugs. "I just wish I could give you the full tour, you know? I grew up here, and I wanna show you everything. The Empire State Building, a Broadway show, the arena, a /proper/ shopping trip. There's nowhere in the world like Manhattan. You deserve better." He smiles over at her, the first tiny, tiny crack showing in his makeup. It wouldn't even be noticeable if we weren't glowing through it. Mallory happily leans against Aloke, affectionately bonking a horn against his head once he takes his hat off, “Research. It’s what I do.” She chuckles and shrugs, wrapping an arm around his waist as they wait, “I knew the entirety of New York couldn’t have gone sour to people like us. And this place seems pretty promising.” A bright smile lights her features at the simple fact that they are treated as normal people, not as freaks to be gawked at - not that there aren’t glances, but the blatant staring is blissfully absent. “Oh, goodness, I would /love/ to see a show on broadway. A good show is worth the discomfort of the seating,” Mallory sighs wistfully, shrugging, “In time, you’ll get to.” Leaning over, she gently kisses his cheek, smiling happily, “I have you, I think I’ve got it pretty good right now.” If she notices the glow starting to be visible, she keeps it to herself. "We've got /each other/," he says with a happy tone in his voice. His expression flickers briefly, perhaps thinking of his friend's family who can't be all together tonight. He had mentioned still having a hard time with it before they left, but he also wanted to promise one good night out, and he'd do his best to stay on topic. He resumes his smile and then raises his eyebrows when the hostess gestures for them to follow a waiter to their table. Standing, he turns and offers his arm to Mallory, but asks the waiter, "Sorry to ask, but, do you have any tables in a corner?" He doesn't /mention/ Mallory's tail, but surely being seated in the /midst/ of a room full of rocking chairs would be less desirable than a corner somewhere. "Um, and no booths though, if you can. Thanks." “We do,” Mallory says quietly, reaching a hand up to ruffle through Aloke’s hair reassuringly, hugging him to her while they wait. “I know you’re worried, love. I know,” she says quietly, searching his face for a moment, but letting the subject drop, unless he brings it up; whatever that shadow of concern had been. She glances up curiously at the arrival of the hostess, perhaps looking just a bit sheepish at being so clingy with Aloke, but the expression passes as they start to follow. Her mouth opens, possibly to express the exact commentary which Aloke had, instead closing it with a pleased smile, tail swaying demonstratively. “Thank you,” she says quietly, linking her arm through his and resting her hand against his elbow. The click of her hooves against the tile flooring does draw some looks, but it’s just a brief glance and nothing more. The waiter looks confused for a moment, but then looks at Mallory and her extra appendage, “Oh, uh. Right.” He glances around at the few open tables, before leading them over to a table against the wall, near enough the windows to allow them to watch people outside the windows. “Uh, will this one work enough for you?” He gestures at the table, starting to set the menus down on the table. "It's perfect, thank you," Aloke says to the waiter, though he still looks to Mallory to see if she likes it too. When approved, he pulls out a chair for her, helps her get situated, and then takes the next seat over on her right at their little square table, rather than sit across from her, giving them both a view of the restaurant, and also not plunking Light Bulb Man /right/ in Mallory's line of sight. Once settled in himself, Aloke peels off his outer most layer and picks up the menu. He keeps his glove liners on however. They're thin enough to be able to handle utensils, but applying makeup to his hands would have been an enormous hassle. As he looks over the menu, subtle details indicate Aloke has something other than his dinner order on his mind, but he also doesn't seem troubled the way he was earlier. Just. Distracted. By big thoughts. Mallory smiles brightly, nodding and glancing at the surrounding tables and the arrangement, responding to the waiter, “Yes! Thank you very much.” Carefully draping her coat over the back of her chair, she willingly accepts the assistance in getting situated, settling in with her tail curled as compactly behind her as she can, just to keep from being tread upon, just in case. “Thank you,” she says quietly, looking up at Aloke briefly before he sits down. Even though he does not sit opposite her, she still turns to face him with a relaxed smile, before returning her attention back to the menu in front of her. While Aloke looks distracted by his thoughts, Mallory looks decidedly distracted by him, her eyes regularly glancing up from the menu to watch him. She finger-walks her hand over towards his, sneakily lacing her fingers through his; perhaps intentionally a bit distracting, judging by the smirk that tugs up at the corner of her wine colored lips. Aloke smiles and almost jumps when Mallory takes his hand, but then he squeezes it tight. He licks his lips, thinning the makeup there further, and then nods at the menu held one-handed now. "Any idea what you want? Seems like… good old American fare. I like the look of this mac-n-cheese. Full of fresh veggies, apparently." His tone is clearly a 'I'm not distracted, why would you think I'm distracted?' kind of tone. One dark eyebrow arches at Aloke’s jumpiness, and Mallory squeezes his hand, “S’pologies for that, love. Didn’t mean to startle you.” The curious concern has edged back into her voice, but she doesn’t let go of his hand, likely making herself a bit of a pest while he tries to focus on the task at hand. Her gaze lingers on the thinning color on his lips, licking her own lips in a subconscious mirror of his mannerism. “Hmm… I was actually eyeing the breakfast, I think. I’m afraid I have a bit of a sweet tooth on occasion, and the stuffed French toast is calling to me,” Mallory says, glancing down at her menu with a smirk. She continues to scan the menu, just in case something else calls her name, occasionally hazarding a glance up at Aloke. "Breakfast for dinner, huh? Can't blame you for that. I hear it's popular but," Aloke pauses and holds up his free hand to forestall the obvious subsequent attack. "But… it's never appealed to me. Don'tkillme!." He chuckles softly and sets his menu down, the picture of the veggie-laden mac-n-cheese staring up at them. “Fine,” Mallory says with a wide grin, sticking her tongue out playfully, her tone taking on a sing-song lilt, “This means I don’t have to share. More for me.” She sets her own menu down, open to the 24-hour breakfast menu, smirking in amusement. Still holding on to his other hand, she leans over and kisses his cheek, tugging at his arm to bring him a bit closer to her for ease of access. “You alright tonight? You seem… jumpy,” she asks quietly, still not letting go of his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Aloke chuckles at Mallory's playful banter and then his eyebrows pop up when she calls him out on his odd behavior. On his cheek, the extra warmth of Mallory's lips thins the makeup there enough to leave a ghostly outline of her kiss, glowing yellow in the light of the diner. "I um… I was gonna wait till later. But obviously I'm terrible at keeping secrets. A terrible character flaw, I know," Aloke says with a wry grin. He glances at the table for a minute, takes a deep breath and squeezes Mallory's hand tight before looking back her. "Well, how would you feel about moving into one of the couples' suites with me?" Mallory’s breath catches at the start of Aloke’s statement, a deep blush rising to her cheeks as she seems momentarily frozen. Her eyes go wide at the question, the blush fading only slightly as she processes what he’d said, blinking several times as though trying to make sure she weren’t imagining it. “Oh, goodness. Yes, I...” Mallory finally breathes after a pause, smiling giddily, “That sounds absolutely lovely.” She squeezes his hand for a moment, still grinning like a fool, and raises his hand to her lips, though her eyes seem fixed on his cheek, where the glowing impression of her lips remains. “Though I believe I may have smudged your makeup a touch already - I should likely refrain from kissing you so readily at the moment,” she says quietly, settling instead with kissing the inside of his wrist, rather than further damaging his covering. Aloke smiles so broadly at Mallory's acceptance that more tiny cracks start to show in his makeup. He should really try to be more reserved. But when Mallory kisses the inside of his wrist he uses the opportunity to cup her cheek, and leans over to press his lips to hers for a long kiss, though one still appropriate for a public place. Just barely. When they pull apart, he's just grinning, and finally says, "You have no idea how happy that makes me." His lips are glowing almost at full brightness now, and he reaches up with his thumb to rub at the smudge of makeup he left on her lip. He just smiles and smiles at her, and is completely unaware of the waiter standing behind him, looking slightly awkward and probably wondering if he should just come back instead. Usually considerably more reserved, especially in public, Mallory seems to quite content to lose herself in the kiss, her dark eyes fluttering closed for the duration. As they part, she just smiles quietly to Aloke, oblivious to the continuing activities of the diner. After who knows how long, she notices the presence of the awkwardly patient waiter, the blush on her cheeks returning with full force once again. “Oh god. I apologize so very much, for, ah,” Mallory stammers, sitting properly upright and looking not entirely unlike a kid caught trying to sneak a cookie. “I… oh dear. I think we are ready to order, yes?” she says, looking at Aloke with a sheepish grin, giggling and catching her lower lip in her teeth to try and keep the guilty smile under control. For his part, at least, the waiter only rolls his eyes slightly while waiting to take their orders. That they see, anyway. Aloke starts and laughs guiltily when he turns to see the waiter. "Oh hey, apologies. Yeah, we're ready to order." Aloke uses the menu as a guide and goes through the process of getting himself the mac-n-cheese he was drooling over. He orders a pot of tea as well, but Earl Gray instead of his usual Assam. Then he turns and just waits for Mallory to do her part, the waiter to leave, and then he can die of embarrassment. Mallory places her order for the French toast, completely unable to meet the waiter’s gaze for fear of keeling over from embarrassment right then and there; she smiles appreciatively at the order of Earl Grey, and then hands the menu back to the waiter. Once he is gone, she drops her head into her hand, fingers drumming against the base of a horn, staring at a particularly interesting spot on the table. Eventually, an amused giggle escapes her lips, and she hazards a glance up at Aloke. “Oh my god, I…” she bites her lip to stifle the giggling, though the effort largely fails, her cheeks still blushed a deeper crimson from embarrassment, “I rather hope we don’t get thrown out of one of the few mutant friendly restaurants for snogging.” She covers her eyes, smiling brilliantly despite the unending blush. Aloke's chuckle soon turns into an unstoppable, quiet laugh which takes a fair amount of time to settle. He has tears in the corner of his eyes from the laughter, and has to very carefully dab at them to avoid smudging his makeup even more. "Oh my, indeed. That was… perfect." He threatens to lose it to the laugh again, but pulls himself together just in time and takes a sip of water from one of the glasses the waiter had dropped off. "Oh jesus that was funny. That's a story for the grandkids-" Aloke stops himself, bites his lip, and tries to cover the moment with /another/ sip of water. Talking about family planning is probably not /that/ unusual after a few months of dating, but one probably eases a little more gracefully into that conversation than Aloke just did. “Oh, can’t you just picture them? Little darlings, pulling faces and whining that they’ve heard that one bef--” Mallory continues with the thought, leaning back in her seat and laughing at the idea, until she realizes what she just said. Out loud. Her mouth clamps shut with a neat little ‘clack’ from her teeth impacting, and she adopts a notable deer-in-headlights look as she blinks at Aloke. “I… I mean, um,” she stutters, the blush that had started to fade from her cheeks rising back with a vengeance as she averts her gaze. She ducks her head and tries to hide the sheepish, anxious smile behind a long sip of her water, the other hand running along the spiral of a horn reflexively. Aloke only barely avoids /another/ bout of uncontrollable chuckles, getting himself calm again and asking, "I um." Which as we know, is not really a question. And yet. Aloke takes a long sip of water this time and takes a very full moment staring up at the ceiling before taking Mallory's hand and kissing the back of it. He sighs and leans forward on the table, still holding her hand. "So look, I uh… We already talked about this, so you know I don't date frivolously. It's hard to talk about, but the fact is, I'm in this to find out if we can be 'life partners' or whatever it is people want to call it. So, I feel like we should probably be able to talk about stuff like this. And stuff like… I wanna have kids some day." Aloke takes a deep breath, but in the end looks relieved to at least have said that. It is several long moments before Mallory is able to meet Aloke’s gaze again, her expression more than just a touch nervous when she finally looks up at him. Her hand is trembling when he takes it, just enough to further betray her anxiety; slightly pointed canines catch on her lower lip to keep it from quivering as well. She nods slowly, listening as he talks, very much trying to look far less worried about what he would say. When Aloke says that he does indeed want kids, Mallory lets out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, the easy smile returning to her features. “Oh, good,” she says quietly, squeezing his hand and blushing again, “I was afraid you wouldn’t… I mean, that is to say, I want to have children, very much.” She actually looks a little startled at this admission, blinking and smiling sheepishly, “I think that may be the first time I’ve admitted that aloud, even to myself.” The tension that had been building in her shoulders relaxes, and she squeezes his hand again, chuckling nervously at her own admission. "What a relief," Aloke says, sighing and leaning his shoulder against Mallory's. He tips his head to clonk against her horn on that side, and then straightens up again. "I'm glad we got that sorted out. Geez, this has been a very productive dinner." He puts on what he must think of as his 'businessy' voice, "Move in together: check. Both want kids: check. Great, lets move on to quarterly income projections." Aloke chuckles again and shakes his head. "I apologize for being so loopy tonight. I think it's been too long since I was just out to have fun, but I'm glad it's with you. Love you, Mallo." He smiles and places a quick peck on her cheek. Mallory giggles quietly, leaning into Aloke with a happy sigh, “Such a relief, yes.” She turns to kiss the side of his head before sitting back up properly once again, aiming for his hair instead of his makeup covered temple. There’s an amused snort at the business voice, and she sits up properly with a sedate smile on her lips that threatens to turn into a smirk, her tone professional but obviously barely containing laughter, “Yes, quite productive, indeed. I rather look forward to the next one.” It doesn’t last long, and she starts to laugh giddily at the kiss on her cheek, smiling, “Please don’t apologize. I think we both needed an outing like this. Just getting out, laughing, talking.” She perks up even more, eyes sparkling with happiness, “Love you, too.” Aloke nods, smiling and not caring about the light peeking through his makeup. "Yeah, we really did need this. I haven't laughed this much in… Wow, I can't actually remember." Aloke sits back in his chair grinning, and then reaches out to hold his glass of water, taking another long drink. His face lights up (figuratively this time) when a new idea occurs to him. "Hey, this means we get to go furniture shopping. I've had the same stuff for a while, and it's gotten pretty shabby. No offense on your stuff, but it's very much, uh… lady bachelor? {Sorry}," he says with a sheepish duck of his head. “It has been quite some time since I laughed this much,” Mallory smiles, leaning an elbow on the table, cheek resting in her hand, “This has been an amazing evening already, and it’s still fair early, too.” Sipping slowly from her water glass, she raises an eyebrow at the idea of shopping, perhaps a bit skeptical. “Furniture… shopping?” she asks with a tilt of her head, “I, ah, well. Can’t say I’ve really /done/ that sort of thing before. Catalogs, mail order.” Mallory ducks her head and looks sheepish, scratching idly at the base of a horn. “My one request,” she says, glancing up, an impish smirk on her lips, “King size bed. Agreed?” Aloke grins in a way that seems exactly the opposite from the halo-effect created by his glowing scalp and hair. One might even call it 'devilish'. "King-sized sounds right to me. I hear the couples dorms are a lot more roomy anyway. But yeah, I figured we could do some real shopping. We might get tossed out of some places, but we can at least look around and see what we like. Maybe order some of it online. But mainly, I just want it to be stuff /we/ picked out. Make it our place, you know?" Mallory chuckles, dark eyes looking over Aloke and his shining halo, the mischievous grin widening on her lips, “Mm hmm. Well then, glad you agree.” She takes his hand again, squeezing it gently and smiling, “I don’t mind. Can’t say there’s anyone else I’d rather get tossed from furniture stores from with.” Giggling and sticking her tongue out at Aloke, Mallory nods, “Our place. Huh.” She smiles and kisses the back of his hand again, smiling and looking up at him, “I like the sound of that.”