Not so tough (Aless, Marc)

[Lovely]

March 26, 2011
7:15am


The diner was busy with the morning rush and filled with people, warm, breathing, live people and it was just what Aless needed after the night she'd had. She been touched before, felt a breeze, a drop in temperature, a pinch, or a poke.. even a scratch or two but she'd never had an experience like she had last night. Her hands curled around the warm mug of coffee, to try to keep them from trembling, she still felt like she couldn't brush off the chill. Exhausted but too upset to go home alone, she sat in the company of strangers trying not to cry and make a spectacle of herself. Last night something had made her it's target - she'd been shoved, grabbed, scratched, lifted, pinned to a wall and had the marks to show for it. She wasn't sure if she could go back again tonight, she didn't know if she could even sleep today to give herself the strength to even consider it. Aless had insisted that she was fine, other than being mildly shaken and now wished she'd not tried to pretend she was so tough, the rest of the team were probably all home and snug in their beds while she was alone and trying to deal with this. She closed her eyes and rested her head in her hands, rubbing her temples slightly with fingers that had been warmed by holding the mug.

[Lovely]

The cup was moved away followed by the sound of it being refilled. The last thing he wanted to do was startle her and spill it as he sat down at the table waiting for her to open her eyes. She likely expected it was the waitress topping off the cup, though. "Um, I figured you'd have trouble sleeping, but didn't expect you'd try a catnap here. Are you alright?" Marc spoke quietly.

She jerked slightly, startled by the sound of the cup being refilled and her eyes opened wide, after the night she'd had - her first thought was something was doing it rather than someone living. She stared at Marc with wide eyes and lowered her hands which were visibly shaking. "I'm not.." She paused and swallowed, licking at her lips. "I'm not trying to sleep here.." Aless paused a second time and shook her head lightly. "No, I don't think I'm alright."

Marc glanced over at her and poured a bit more from his cup into hers and pushed it slowly back to her. "Try this. It might help for a little while," he said. The hint of whiskey steamed up from the mixture he'd poured. "It's not exactly a morning blend, but what does it matter when you haven't slept at all? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited about last night, but I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't scared spitless or that I haven't been worried nearly sick about you since we left the place. Crew's packed up, gone back to watch the tapes over beers and pop tarts apparently. I came over here on a hunch you didn't want to go home alone. How are the scratches?"

She looked down at the cup and made a slight face, pushing it away from her with a shake of her head. "I wasn't drinking it anyway.. and how I feel makes it matter alot whether I drink that and feel worse." Her gaze stayed on the table for a couple of minutes and her fingers tightened against the opposite hand. "I'd be more excited over last night if it hadn't been me it happened to.." She admitted quietly and looked up to him again. "I figured everyone went home to sleep before looking over the tapes, better to have a fresh head to catch something. Or at least that's what I always thought.. don't know what to think right now." She was so very tired after a long night of investigating, never mind what had happened to her there. "You were right on your hunch.. I don't want to go home alone.. it hurts, the scratches and bruises.. but those I could manage. I'm not sure I can manage the rest.."

He took the cup for himself. He wasn't exactly the epitome of calm, either. He looked at the table a long moment as he drew invisible patterns with one hand and sipped from the cup in the other. "They want you to come back," he said carefully, glancing up a moment. "I want you to come back. I know, I know. It's terrible and I'm not being insensitive, I promise. I'm not, but we have to admit that whatever it was that happened responded around you and there's a notion that now its got our attention that we can approach it more delicately... whatever 'it' was. We were careless, that's all. We can do better than that, but the truth is, I'm not sure I can go back either after what happened. I don't want to see you hurt." The sincerity sparked across his face as he tried to offer some reassurance in the grin he mustered.

At first she wanted to get up from the table, maybe even dump his coffee in his lap for being an insensitive jerk but as he went on she started to think maybe he wasn't being quite that way. "I'm not really surprised that they want me to come back. I am surprised that you'd mention it after telling me you were worried sick about me.. I don't know if I can.. I definitely can't without some rest, not the way I feel right now. It hurt me.. and I'm exhausted but too shaken to even go home by myself.. I don't know that I can go back and face it.. like this I will get hurt." She looked over to try to meet his gaze, she wanted to be brave but at the same time just wanted someone to hold her and to feel safe, protected.

"You didn't drink your coffee. Did you eat anything? Let me get the bill for you and take you home. Not keeping your strength up won't help you shake it off, either. I already told them not to expect me tonight. They'd better not expect you either unless they come through me first.... asses," he muttered as he downed more of the cup.

Aless chewed at her lower lip and slowly shook her head to his question. "Only ordered the coffee.. didn't even think about eating. I'm not really hungry after... all that." She reached for her purse to pay for the coffee, setting her other hand over his for a moment. "Thanks.. I can afford this.. but I won't refuse you taking me home."

"Aless, please. Let me? It's the very least I can do, and it's not a question of affording but a question of pride, here. I insist, now put that away," he said, pleading quietly with a small smile. "And thank you for not refusing me taking you home. I'd have made a scene sweeping you out of here," he chuckled, turning his hand to grasp hers gently. "I want to be absolutely sure you're okay."

"Alright." She relented pretty easily about the bill and gave him a tired but sweet smile. "Thank you." His concern was appreciated even if it surprised her coming from him, he always seemed more tough, like he didn't really have a more caring side. Her fingers curled around his hand and she sighed softly. "How long are you willing to stay? I don't think I'm going to bounce right back to being okay.."

"Today? Tomorrow if necessary? I hadn't thought that far ahead, but on my way looking for you I kept telling myself I'd do whatever it takes," he admitted. "You're not -just- part of the team, you know." Maybe she didn't know or maybe he'd been too subtle, too dry and distant. It was easy to do behind meters and mechanisms.

Her mouth dropped just a little at his last and perhaps it was obvious that she didn't know that. "I.. I had no idea.. maybe I'm just that tired that I'm imagining things now." She spoke softly, her gaze held on him as she held her breath, waiting for him to confirm that she was crazy or that she wasn't reading more into what he said.

"Well I'll tell you more about it, then, after you've had some rest. Believe me, nothing in the past 24 hours has been your imagination," he reminded her, hoping she'd understand that what he was telling her was just as real as what she'd experienced at the haunted site. He put some cash on the table to pay for her coffee and stood to help her steady herself to walk out to the car.

[Lovely]

"You could tell me more on the way to resting.. and while I'm resting. It might distract me from the burning pain." She half smiled, realizing that wasn't the best thing to joke about and she shrugged her shoulder. "Sorry.. you don't have to tell me anything."

"Burning pain?" The comment drew a worried frown then a sigh. "Have to and want to are entirely different. I've made you a promise, I think, and I'll make good on it once you tell me more about the pain and what I can do to help," he said, growing more worried about their encounter and how it had so physically affected her.

Aless licked at her lips and then bit at the lower one, having a moment of doubt but then she nodded and gave him another half smile. "Some of the scratches really hurt.. the burning pain.. when my clothes brush against them. I haven't really looked at them.. I wanted to keep them covered out in public." She explained, with an apologetic expression, almost as if she'd done something 'wrong'.

"Well we'll get you out of public, then, and make it better," he said gently. "Maybe some not-so-watered-down variety of whiskey or beers for us, too? No, you need something far more solid," he decided out loud, not thinking how it may have sounded.

She nodded in agreement, though the way she took it might not have been how he meant it. She did need something solid, or rather someone to hold onto while she felt scared and a little weak in the knees. "Marc..." Aless was likely to chew her lip raw at this rate, tugging on it again as she hesitated to ask him for what she needed right then.

"Yes, dear?" He responded attentively without even thinking until the sounds came back in his voice. He shuffled a foot. "Well, that was unexpected, hm? What is it?"

The 'yes, dear' surprised her enough to give her poor lip some mercy and a small soft smile showed for a moment. "It was nice.." She admitted with a slight blush and looked down to the foot he shifted. She cleared her throat softly and brought her gaze back up to his face. "I was just going to ask.. if you'd mind.. holding my hand?"

He chuckled, partly embarrassed but more delighted at the request. His larger hand circled her daintier fingers without a second thought. "Of course I don't mind," he whispered with a tiny kiss to her hand. "If it makes you fell better, I'll do it, whatever you ask."

"That could be a dangerous thing to say.. I'm feeling pretty wimpy and needy right now." She warned him with another soft smile, he was starting to make her feel better already with just this little bit of attention and caring he showed. It wasn't like she was miraculously healed and feeling wonderful, but she was able to smile a little and the promise that he'd take care of her for a bit was a relief. "I'll try not to abuse my power." Her hand clasped back at his, he sure felt solid to her and she shifted a little closer to him, finally turning to start for the door. "Thank you... for caring enough to come find me."

He laughed. "Abuse away. My fault for not being more specific, right?" He leaned closer and whispered. "I gave you that power to use. Please do," he offered, considering a long moment as he gazed into the endless depth of her eyes.