Too Pleasantly Tired To Fight Who: Kieran and Allie Where: their suite When: evening
The past couple of days had passed with no major traumas, which was a good thing. Even though Kieran felt he'd done an excellent job of pretending not to give a shit, the tension of ignoring Allie and having her ignore him had been a killer, and while things weren't rom-com hearts and butterflies by any means, it was much better now. She didn't seem to mind exercising with him, and that was both productive and filled up some of their time, and she'd ceased sleeping on the couch. Of course, the bed was so huge that four people probably could have slept on it comfortably, so it wasn't as if they were crammed up against one another even when they were both in it.
He'd taken a quick shower after dinner, feeling sweaty from the day's exercise session, and he loped back into the living room dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, pausing to pull open the balcony door. They'd decided to watch the movie that was being shown outside, although they'd watch it on their own entertainment terminal, and he figured they could get stereo sound by having the door open. Might as well watch the movie. It was something to do, right? He settled down on the couch after he'd turned the room lights off; plenty of light came in from the middle room where they ate their meals.
Allie was right where he'd left her. She'd had her shower before their meal had been set out and now she was slowly braiding her hair into a damp plait so that the water wouldn't soak into the microfiber of the couch. The breeze from the outside was nice and Allie was glad he'd gotten up to open it because there was no way she was going to.
No one was more grateful for the ceasefire than Allie. She felt 85% more relaxed in their situation, which was amazing because there wasn't a bit of her that didn't hurt. She didn't think Kieran felt comfortable enough with her to actually egg her on when they exercised but he was certainly not easy to keep up with. Despite the amount of food he consumed, there wasn't an ounce of fat on the young man and now she knew exactly why. She was dreading the prospect of a comedy movie because if she laughed, she felt that her abs might tear like tissue paper. Had she ever done so many stomach crunches in her entire life? She didn't think so. One day her stomach would be amazing, right now it was a field of napalm.
And best yet, her young husband seemed completely unsympathetic. Of course, Allie did sign that check all on her own...
She was glad the couch was an L-shaped one because it meant she could stretch out as they settled in to watch. "Oof," she grunted faintly as she stretched out. Her shoulders ached as well, from all of the push ups, but it was nothing compared to her stomach.
Kieran had been adjusting the volume on the terminal with the remote, and he took the time to put it down before turning his head to glance over at Allie. "Something the matter?" he asked. His tone was mild, but there was a gleam of smug mischief in his eyes, and he had to work to not let his smile widen too much. He wasn't really laughing at her, but he couldn't help but be amused that here she was a doctor and the exercises they did were kicking her butt. He had to hand it to her that she didn't whine or complain, or give up even if she couldn't quite keep up with him entirely. If she kept it up, she'd get there.
Allie smirked, but there was a good-natured glint in her eyes. "I'm not even gonna lie. I'm staying as flat as possible for the rest of the night." She crossed her arms protectively over her stomach. Considering dinner was over and the only things left on the bill were the movie and bed, she thought she'd be able to make that statement happen. Her stomach rumbled though, and she looked down at herself in surprise. "I can't possibly be hungry already. We just ate!" She was familiar with the way the body worked, though. She had a pretty decent metabolism and she'd worked off quite a few calories. Her body might think it needed to replace them but she didn't think she had to indulge it.
"You do that," Kieran said, nodding at her, pretending the utmost seriousness. "If I get restless during the movie, though, I might do some push-ups." He was mostly joking, although something like that wouldn't be unheard of for him. Exercise had become a soothing mechanism for him, and while that probably wasn't strictly healthy-- at least from a mental standpoint-- it was what he had. He was relaxed for now, though, leaning back on the couch, stretching his long legs out and crossing his ankles. "There's stuff to snack on in there," he remarked, then glanced at the terminal to see if the movie was starting yet. He wasn't even sure what it was supposed to be, but then that didn't really matter, he guessed.
Allie stretched out and pointed her toe just enough to press her toe against his long thigh. "Can I beg you to grab me the bowl of grapes?" She'd pass on the carbs that were out there. She needed to get a decent sleep to recover from another day with her young spouse. She never slept well when she dipped into chips or pretzels and things like that after dinner.
The sound of the preshow was drifting clear as a bell up from the grounds and Allie wished she could be out there. "And I might have to cry if you start doing any more push ups tonight. How do you find the energy? I can't be that much older than you," she stated, though her curiosity was present. They still hadn't so much as exchanged birthdates or states of origin.
Kieran rolled his eyes, but he got up and loped into the middle room to get the grapes. He was feeling relatively mellow today, and he didn't have it in him to get into any serious protest. He returned and set the bowl down where she could reach it. "I've got tons of energy," he boasted when she questioned him on it. "When you get in good shape, you've got more of a reserve to pull from." He got comfy again, legs stretched out and head tipped back against the back of the couch. He glanced over at her as if deciding whether to say more and then added, "I'm twenty-three."
Both of Allie's brows lifted in surprise. "Older than I thought," she said. "And I'll have you know that I am also in great shape. I have a low percentage of body fat, great lung capacity, excellent cardio. I dunno. Must be something else that keeps you running a little hotter than me. I doubt four years makes all that much of a difference." She stretched out nice and slow, liking the feel of the tense pull of overused muscles. She plucked a couple of firm green grapes before settling back into the plush couch.
Kieran's eyebrows arched. "How old did you think I was?" He didn't believe he looked all that much younger than the average twenty-three year old. He'd actually thought he might look older considering all the stress he'd been through in the past year or so. He would have put Allie at around twenty-six, and it was mildly surprising to find that she was older than that. He'd never dated a girl who was older than him before, and now he was married to one. Strange, but then he hadn't gotten to choose, had he?
Allie gave him a speculative look. "I thought maybe twenty one," she told him, giving him a shy smile. "But then, we didn't see each other much the first couple of days." Even when they had been in the same room, they hadn't really looked at each other. At least, not in a way that either one would notice. "I just turned twenty seven in February," she added. "On the 16th." He seemed to be more receptive to hearing a tiny bit about her now, so she thought she'd seed in a little bit of info she thought he should know, as her husband. For the most part, they were ignoring the movie but that was ok with her. She'd seen it before.
"Twenty-one?" Kieran made a face, his tone incredulous. "I do not look that young." He didn't really care about the movie, either. It was something to do, a way to pass the time. He still couldn't believe that they had to be locked up here for an entire week, but at least there wasn't much more time to go. "Mine was in March," he said of birthdays, then settled his head back against the couch again. So they were almost exactly four years apart. Again, he wondered what specifically it was that had caused him and Allie to be matched up, but he guessed he might never know. It didn't really matter, anyway.
Allie tittered slightly at his indignation. "Well, you do have a bit of a baby face, you know." He certainly wasn't small in size. Allie felt tiny, even stretched out on the couch next to him. It was like he cast a really long shadow, which she supposed was true compared to her own. "March, hmm." She cast him a curious look. "Do you like to give orders? Be in charge?" That might be it. Maybe he hated the total lack of control he had in his life right now. She tried to imagine an angry ram, curled horns, bunched muscles and the intent to batter anything that got in his way. The image didn't quite fit with her melancholy husband. Maybe if she gave him a real reason to be angry at her, she might see him pummel the problem with his head down. She didn't really put a lot of stock in astrology, but she had to admit that she could be an emotional dreamer of a Pisces at times.
"Baby face," Kieran scoffed, not seeing it himself, but he didn't say anything else. His goal should probably be to be less argumentative, after all. He turned his head to look at her again at her questions, although he didn't lift it from the back of the couch where it was resting. "Not really give orders, I don't think, but who doesn't want to be in charge of their own life?" One of his problems was that he'd been cast adrift without a clue of what he should do next after his dad had died. So he'd ended up here, and while it wasn't the worst place in the world, he couldn't help but wonder what might have happened had he felt capable of choosing for himself. There was no way to know.
Allie smiled when he actually looked at her. He was doing that more and more often, and she saw it as progress. His brand of civility might not be glorious to bask in, but it was a lot better than his biting sarcasm. "No one, I guess. Neither of my parents wanted me to be a doctor. I had to fight for that." Not too long, with her mother, since she'd been gone well before Allie had finished high school. "My dad wanted me to be a photographer or a concert pianist or something artistic. I don't think I'm bossy but I've been told I am. I just try to be as direct as possible." She flashed a brief dimple at him. "You might have noticed."
She was okay, Kieran supposed. Could've been worse. He thought, not for the first time, that maybe he hadn't wanted to like her, at all. Because liking her, maybe even showing her any civility whatsoever, would mean that he was one tiny step closer to accepting this. All of it, including his dad's death. "Do you have musical talent or something?" If she wasn't artistic or creative or whatever, why would her dad want her to do that instead of being a doctor? That'd be odd. When she said she was as direct as possible, he raised an eyebrow and deadpanned, "Yeah. I noticed."
"Ugh," Allie said. "Seven years of piano lessons. And I am not a prodigy of any kind." Allie chuckled, wrapping an arm around her abs as they pulled tight. "I hated recitals." Moving to L.A. after her mother's death had put an end to those lessons. Mercifully. "What about you? Any musical genius in you?" She tried to imagine Kieran hunched over a piano or hefting a flute. She sunk her teeth into her lower lip to keep from smiling or laughing.
"So maybe you made the right choice bein' a doctor instead," Kieran remarked. He leaned forward to get a handful of grapes; anytime there was food around, he felt inclined to have some of it. It took a lot of calories to keep him beefed up. "Me? Nah. I can't even sing. I was always more into sports, stuff like that." Not that there'd been anything to sing about in the past year or so even if he'd wanted to. Could things change? He'd felt hopeless for so long that he wasn't sure how to change his mindset.
"Nothing wrong with that at all," she said. As a doctor, she knew that it was important to stay physically fit. Not a whole lot staved off the serious illnesses that plagued their world these days, but if a person was in better shape, they had a greater chance. Also, Allie was secretly appreciative of Kieran's physique. He worked hard at it, but he made it look pretty effortless. She tried not to be anything creepy like staring at him, but when her arms gave out on her during the push-up segment of their day, it was hard not to notice his muscles working smoothly and confidently under his skin. They had been pretty careful not to touch one another too much. Allie thought they were not there yet. Despite that, she was pretty curious. He had to be the most physically powerful person she'd ever been close to. All of her ex boyfriends had been short for men, and average build at best.
When Kieran had still been a carefree kid in high school, he'd started to notice how the girls had reacted to the guys who were muscular and cut as opposed to ordinary guys with soft abdomens and no biceps to speak of. That had been the main thing that had gotten him started with sports and working out. Really, though, he'd liked the way he felt when he was in top shape, and that had kept him motivated to continue. Great stress reliever, too, he'd found. "Mm-hmm," he murmured, his gaze shifting back to the entertainment terminal as he munched grapes. This was actually turning out to be an okay night, he thought. They were chilling, getting along. He'd worked out hard today, and it was nice to relax a little.
It was nice. Nice to have let go of that weird nervousness from earlier in the week. Maybe they would survive this marriage after all. She wouldn't have to sign up to be a program spinster. Her fingers and toes had un-pruned and she could sleep in the bed like a normal adult. Allie, too, turned her head to follow along with the movie for a while. Five minutes went by and she was blinking longer and longer. There was the distinct possibility that she may end up passing out of the couch after all.
Kieran was a bit sleepy, too, but he was probably doing better than Allie. He glanced at her and smirked when he saw how her eyelids were drooping. He wasn't psychic or anything, but he had the distinct feeling that he might end up carrying her to bed if she fell asleep out here. That was progress, he supposed. A few days ago he would've just left her to do whatever while he went and snuggled down in the huge, soft bed in the bedroom. He shifted enough to prop his head on one hand, elbow anchored on the back of the couch. They'd been going to bed outrageously early, but then, what else was there to do? Besides, well, what they were here to do. He muffled a yawn behind his free hand and gazed at the screen, not really paying that much attention to it.
Allie didn't last more than another few minutes. She was out like a light, her body relaxing across the couch, her breath evening out into the long strokes of sleep. It felt nice, this sleep she sunk into. There was no anxiety, no more need to hide out of sight. Kieran was far from her mind, if he wasn't far from her person. Even the ache in her body had a place in her dream. She was camping out in the Nevada desert after climbing up and down rock faces all day. She felt scraped, bumped, bruised, but happy. Happy to be wrapped up in her sleeping bag and away from all of the cares in the world.
Once Kieran noticed that she was asleep, he reached for the terminal remote control and turned the terminal off. He was more half-dozing than watching the last part of the movie, anyway. He got up from the couch and stretched, sighing as his neck cracked. It was definitely bedtime. He leaned over and picked Allie up, finding, as he'd expected, that he had no trouble lifting her slight weight. He carried her through the middle room and into their bedroom, putting her down on the bed and pulling the covers over her. After making a quick visit to the bathroom, he moved back into the bedroom, turning out the light and pulling off his t-shirt and sweats, leaving them on the floor next to the closet. Clad in his boxer briefs, he climbed into bed with a sigh, settling his head on the pillow.
Allie had opened her eyes just a little when Kieran had picked her up. She was dumbly grateful that he moved her to the bed at all, since she'd dimly expected to spend the night on the couch. Getting up and moving herself had seemed like too much work.
When he pulled the covers up over her, she turned herself over onto her stomach and - through a thick haze of sleepiness - contemplated her young husband. They had managed to spend time together the past couple of days. They still didn't talk too much, but they were still in the same room. That was amazing progress, considering she'd been moments away from declaring herself a spinster for the rest of her life.
She pulled the down-filled pillow up under her chest and gave him a smile. He was too far away to touch, so she kept her hands to herself. The bed was enormous but he no longer felt totally unreachable. He had secrets, sure. But Allie thought that he might tell her, some day. "G'night," she said.
Kieran's eyes had fallen mostly closed as he got comfortable, arranging the blankets around himself just the way he liked them and plumping the pillow beneath his head. He was a little bit surprised when she spoke, since he'd thought she was sound asleep. "'Night," he replied softly. He wasn't sure precisely why, but he didn't feel quite so adrift as he had for months now. This might not be ideal, but in all honesty, he wasn't sure ideal existed in his world anymore. All he could do was try to find the most reasonable semblance of it that he could. He let his eyes close the rest of the way and prepared to drift off to sleep.
Allie was more than prepared, she was there. If he kept working her as hard as he had been, she didn't know when she might get around to seducing a baby or two out of the man. A sneaking suspicion told her that if she pushed the idea, he probably wouldn't put up too much of a fight. He was young, after all, and bored. Allie had never really been the type to demur about sex. Her mother had explained all of the tricks of the trade when she'd been too young to really get it. Then medical school had explained the physiological side of it. The truth was that she wanted a major connection before there were children. It was something that the Program promised it's accepted members, and sometimes she had seen around her every day. She hadn't been able to see the possibility with Kieran at first but now she saw that it was just going to take some time. The man was an onion. If she had to sweat a little to get to the center of him, so be it. She gave him one more sleepy smile before her entire body relaxed into sleep.