ArchivedLogs:Hot Water

Hot Water
Dramatis Personae Mallory, Aloke
In Absentia	2013-10-19 Mallory and Aloke catch up and make a date
Location <XS> Teachers' Lounge - B1
Running a school for mutant teenagers just taking control of their powers is not an easy job, and the teachers at Xavier's deserve a place to come and relax. This lounge is their place to come and de-stress, and it does not skimp for relaxation. The room is elegant and luxurious, plush couches making up the seating in the lounge and a glossy glassy bar wrapping around one wall, well-stocked with alcohol (and perpetually fresh-brewed coffee, for those so inclined.) A large-screen high-def television hangs on one wall, stocked with about as many movies and games as the childrens' rec room upstairs. High bookshelves hold a wealth of books. The fridge here is always well stocked, and the cook is always willing to make deliveries down to this level. Far in the back, a hot tub is submerged into the floor, for still more unwinding. Aloke has had a long, stressful couple of days. His good friend was in trouble, Aloke was racing all over town, and helping out as much as he could, all the while thinking about that terrific date with Mallory. Sure, they didn't get any sleep, but not for the reasons one might assume. They talked. Talked into the night, and then the sun was coming up when they realized they needed to get Mallory back to her rooms without bruising her reputation. Not that anyone on their floor would really care, but at that point, sleep deprived and goofy as they were, it was more /fun/ to pretend. When Aloke got back on campus Saturday night, he texted Mallory to see if she was around and free. So Aloke is in the lounge now, hanging up his thick white bathrobe on one of the hooks over by the hot tub. He's wearing burnt orange board shorts with brown a Hawaiian floral print on them, but not much else once he kicks his flip-flops off, and steps into the tub, standing on the top step, just letting his feet warm up first. Aloke's body is not 'muscular' by any stretch, but he is toned and taught from decades of yoga. He sports a sparse amount of chest hair, none of which has gone gray yet. An empty glass with a little ice and a lime wedge in it sits nearby as well. The soft chime of her phone indicating a text message may have taken a few minutes to actually pull the librarian out of the book she was curled up with at the time. That said, it’s hardly been fifteen minutes when Mallory enters the teacher’s lounge, book still in hand, but apparently having opted for a slightly more casual method of dress this evening. Wrap pants in a lightly patterned blue-gray cotton flutter about her legs, the cuffs left unknotted so the fabric just billows a bit with each step; she’s paired this with a very basic black tank top and zip-up sweatshirt that bears the Xavier’s school logo on one side. Her long hair is pulled back into a neat ponytail, the style accentuating the curling black ram horns on either side of her head. As she shuts the door behind her, her eyes settle on Aloke, and a bright grin spreads over her features, “Hello, Aloke.” Mallory does what she can not to let her gaze linger too long on his shirtless chest, instead averting her look towards the bar, and heading that way. She does glance briefly towards the hot tub, a bit of a conflicted look crossing her features, but fading quickly back into an easy grin. “Want anything else while I’m over here?” she questions, ducking behind the bar to start mixing herself a drink - a fairly standard gin and cranberry over ice, with a slice of lime balanced on the edge of the cup for garnish, “I’m no bartender, but I’m not that bad at mixing up drinks, if you’d like something.” Aloke is just sitting down on the edge of the tub when Mallory comes in, and he finishes the motion smoothly. His legs slide in up to the knee, and he returns Mallory's smiles, with suddenly bright eyes. "Hey there. I wasn't sure if you got my text, and I didn't want to bug you if you were busy." Aloke nods gratefully with she offers drinks. "I know you're not supposed to in the hot tub, but I've only had the one, and I could really do with another gin and tonic, if you don't mind? And besides, you'll be here if I swoon." Aloke chuckles, referencing their midnight conversation about the silliness of leading ladies swooning all over the place. "I've been running around like crazy the last few days, but honestly… All I've been able to think about is when I can see you again." “Oh, certainly not a bother in the least,” Mallory says with a chuckle, pulling another glass down from the shelf, pouring the requested gin and tonic, “My Saturday nights usually aren’t exactly brimming with excitement - I was reading. Kinda have a tendency to zone out when I’m in the middle of a good book.” She brings both drinks along with her to the the hot tub bending at the waist to offer the drink to Aloke, smirk on her wine colored lips, “Here you go. One gin and tonic, hold the swooning. Though I’ll catch you if the heat and gin goes to your head.” It takes a moment, but Mallory takes a seat beside Aloke on the floor by the edge of the hot tub - but no part of her body touches the water. This close to the heat of the tub, however, she does unzip and remove her hoodie, leaving her shoulders bare. Raising her glass to Aloke, a faint blush rises to her cheeks at his statement. "Is everything alright? I was a touch worried when you messaged earlier," she says quietly, looking at Aloke with a quiet concern. If he allows, she scoots her free hand over to gently lace her fingers through his. Aloke smiles at the thought of Mallory catching him, and accepts the drink. He takes a sip and gives an appreciative nod before setting it down next to him on the right, so Mallory can sit on his left. Without thinking or preamble, Aloke reaches out for Mallory's exposed shoulder, and runs his hand gently down her arm, before twining with her fingers. His expression is thoughtful, and quiet, at her question. "Jax has become a close friend since I came here, and his family was going through some hard stuff, that I probably shouldn't talk about in detail." He shrugs, making a silent apology. "I just wanted to help out. But I'm glad I'm back, here and now with you." He picks her hand up to kiss the back of it, while idly swishing his feet in the hot, bubbly water. At his initial touch, Mallory trembles briefly, looking over at Aloke with a gentle smile on her lips. Her skin beneath his fingertips is entirely smooth, and feverishly warm to the touch, not even the faintest fuzz of hair. She gently squeezes his hand at the explanation of what was going on, vague though it is, and nods slowly as she listens. "I understand," she quietly says with a smile, the faintest touch of worry passing behind her eyes, "That is kind of you, to be there for him and his family when they needed it. I imagine he would do the same for you in a heartbeat." Mallory's smile brightens, a faint blush growing on her cheeks at the kiss to the back of her hand, gently running her thumb over the back of his hand, "I'm glad you're here, too. I can't think of another person I'd rather spend my Saturday night with." She watches his feet swishing in the water, head tilted slightly as she sits in contented quiet for a few, sipping her drink. "He's a good friend," Aloke repeats, nodding. Then he sighs and shakes his head. Turning, he smiles and regards Mallory's face for a long moment. "The thing is… the whole time I was there, seeing everything they were going through…" Aloke pauses and turns his body to face Mallory, tucking a leg under him, and taking Mallory's hand in both of his. "Ok, so, I'm bad at this, but I'm not seeing anyone else. And if you're not seeing anyone else… shit, I don't even know what the right words are." Aloke makes an embarrassed laugh and looks over Mallory's shoulder for a second before looking back. He sighs, resigned. "You wanna go steady?" Mallory tilts her head curiously when Aloke looks at her, returning his gaze with a bemused grin, tinged with confusion as she listens to the start of his statement. When he bodily turns to look at her, she tenses momentarily, though her gaze wanders briefly over his bare chest before returning to meet his eyes. The grin spreads as he continues to speak, and Mallory is smiling brightly when he finally stutters out the question. “Oh! Oh, I…” she pauses, gently squeezing his hands, surprise evident in her voice, “Really? You… me? That is - yes. Yes, I would like that quite a great deal.” A lighthearted giggle escapes her lips as she leans forward, hesitating for just a moment, before she moves in for a quick little kiss, still grinning like a fool. Aloke follows that kiss with a slightly longer, lingering press of the lips, only opening his eyes again when they pull apart. "I just… I'm old enough… I mean, I was old enough /before/ everything that happened, and now I definitely am. But I'm old enough to not be interested in flighty dating crap. And to be completely honest, at the risk of scaring you off, the only reason for me to date, is to see if this could work 'long term'. The distance. The whole nine yards." He shrugs, smiling. "I might as well be up front about it. I think you deserve to know my intentions." Mallory’s eyes flutter shut with the lingering kiss, though the corners of her mouth still tug up into a slight smile. She leans back slowly, opening her eyes and blinking at Aloke for a long moment, still holding tight to his hand as he talks. At the mention of long term and such, Mallory’s eyes go wide, her mouth dropping open slightly as she looks at him, perhaps just a touch shocked. “Long term?” she parrots quietly, dropping her gaze and smirking. “I’d… honestly never given /that/ much thought. I rather assumed it was just not something that would actually be a topic for consideration, given, well,” her eyes trace along her own legs, lingering on the length of her tail which twitches close to the edge of the tub. A faint frown crosses her features, as she is lost in thought for a moment before speaking again, “I still would like to give this a try - you and I. You… being around you, it makes me feel like…” Mallory blushes, bringing a hand up to her face in a failed attempt to mask the coloration, words failing the librarian, smile brightening her features as she fails at speaking. “So, uh, what sort of ‘whole nine yards’ are you looking for?” she asks quietly, a sheepish glance cast towards Aloke’s face with the question. "Well, I think you've been short-changing yourself," Aloke says, when Mallory explains her lack of future planning. "And besides, /I/ think you're beautiful. Exactly as you are." Aloke smiles and leans in to quickly kiss her cheek, and the side of her neck, before sitting back again. At her question, he glances down at the water, a little shy as well. "Oh, well, I mean… I don't mean to /rush/ anything. We've got all the time in the world. But I think it's worth saying… I'm thinking big picture, is all." Mallory laughs and blushes at the compliment, running a hand along one of her horns in a sheepish gesture. “Thank you,” she whispers, eyes closing briefly at the kisses, her head tilted back to expose her neck more, a soft sigh on her lips. There’s another blush, and she nods, looking at him again with a smile, “Oh, no, I wasn’t meaning to rush, either. Certainly not. I appreciate your candor, though.” She pauses and smiles brightly at Aloke, reaching over to take his hand again, “I enjoy spending time with you, quite a great deal. And that is enough for me, regardless of what comes of it in time. But I would very much like to see more of you, and I can’t think of a better way to spend all the time in the world than getting to know you.” She brings his hand up to her lips, leaning forward and pressing a lingering kiss to the back of his hand, smiling up at him, dark eyes all but smoldering. Aloke smiles, and shivers a little at the kiss on his hand. One foot in the hot tub, and one hand against Mallory's warm lips, with the rest of him in cool air has probably thrown all kinds of strange sensations through him. He squeezes Mallory's hand, and then slips down into the hot tub, up to his neck, sighing as the hot water evens him out. Easing back into the water so he can face Mallory, he grins and says, "Well, I think you should pick the next place. That last one was a little iffy on the service." He chuckles softly and then takes on a slightly more thoughtful expression. "Although to be honest, I'm not totally sure what your comfort level is like on going out. I mean, on the one hand, I hate the idea of people harassing you, but on the other hand…" He shrugs, holds Mallory's gaze and adds softly, "Fuck them, right?" Watching as Aloke submerges himself in the water, Mallory lets go of his hand, taking a moment to sip at her somewhat-forgotten drink, the glass already sweating before she picks it up. She sets the drink aside before she melts the remaining ice cubes, smiling at the mention of the other night, “Aw, I think you are being a bit too hard on the last place. Food was excellent. Cute cook, too.” Leaning forward slightly, she props herself up on her elbows, resting her chin in one hand, idly running her fingertips through the water, a thoughtful grin on her lips at the question. “I actually have no problem being off campus or in public. Yes, I do tend to cover, at least a little bit because it makes getting done what I want to do done faster, especially when I’m alone,” Mallory explains, watching the bubbling water for a long moment, before meeting Aloke’s gaze, “I refuse to be relegated to hiding just because genetics decided to hand me a rubbish hand.” She smirks at the last statement, raising an eyebrow, “I’d really rather not, to be honest. But, really, the main reason I haven’t been to the city but once is that I am a bit of a stranger in a strange land - I got lost.” She snorts slightly at this admission, and shrugs again. Aloke smiles and nods, his expression impressed at Mallory's openness. He chokes slightly when Mallory makes his figurative reference into something more literal, and can't help his gaze from briefly sliding over her folded, seated figure. When he recovers he nods and says, "Oh yeah, this city's a rat's nest. But I'd love it if you let me show you around. This is my hometown, after all." Aloke briefly splashes water onto his face, and runs his hands through his short, curly hair to dampen it. “Please don’t drown,” Mallory says lightly when he reacts to her turn of phrase, the impish grin on her lips lending her a more sinister appearance, giggling slightly, “I can fish you out of there, but I’d really rather not have to.” The grin softens into a relaxed smile as she stays folded over at the water’s edge, watching Aloke while lazily running her fingers through the water. “I think I would like that, getting to see more of the city with you,” Mallory says quietly, gaze following the motions of Aloke’s hands, falling quiet for a moment in thought. Aloke laughs cheerily when Mallory warns him about drowning, and just sits back against the wall of the hot tub, massaging his back with a jet. "Well, it's settled, then," Aloke says. "We'll make a date for a night on the town." “Sounds perfect,” Mallory says with a bright smile.