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Tweak says, "You wanna hear my voices too?"

Alyssa Higurashi (one_shot) wrote in forgotten_gods,
@ 2010-01-23 02:38:00

Entry tags:

alyssa higurashi, industrial warfare

Who: Alyssa Higurashi and Karl Whedon (Industrial Warfare)
What: Just a day at the office
When: Friday afternoon.
Where: DIA building, Washington DC
Warnings: ...UST.

Another day, another twenty intelligence reports stacked in her inbox. She had to sort them out, see which ones were viable leads, along with going over previous cases and checking with Karl to work out possible mission parameters on each viable lead.

It was a little passed 10 o'clock, just one of the most productive times of the day. Their office door was open to get some air circulating and because each of them felt more comfortable if they didn't have to wonder what was going on outside.

She took a sip of coffee. It was lukewarm and she made a face. Bah -- she was not made for desk work. Standing, Alyssa stretched, arching out her back and glanced over at Karl, "I'm going to go get some more coffee. Do you want anything?"

It might not have been the first time she'd looked at him today... but it felt like it. Alyssa had been very careful, even to the point of almost timing herself, to make sure that everything between them was as normal and professional as possible. She wasn't sure how long she could keep it up -- it was like going undercover in her own home, and it made her uncomfortable. It would just have to be until it felt normal again -- she could hold out for that. She had to.

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showandtell
2010-01-24 08:05 am UTC (link)

Karl was pretty sure that if he ever died, it'd feel like this.

Or maybe he already did. And this was the Hell that awaited him when things were over with.

Paperwork. Lots of paperwork, with no end and no--

"What?"

For the twenty-seventh time, Karl snapped out of the semi-comatose state of thoughts that he had seeped himself into once their "research" had started. The surge back to reality was close enough to unbalance a guy his size in an office chair that was obviously not meant for his size, but Karl had enough experience in achieving the impossible to not exactly fall out of his chair at the sound of Alyssa's voice.

Even if they were in the same office, just several feet apart, Karl felt as if there had been a brick wall installed in it while they were in New York for New Year's. Either that, or a bright red line that every time he crossed, would invoke a look he'd rather not see twice on his partner's face in one day.

"Coffee. No, don't need any coffee. Thanks." He cleared his throat and straightened himself up before deciding to just stand up. A little walk around to the water cooler wouldn't hurt him.

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	one_shot 2010-01-24 07:38 pm UTC (link)
	Alyssa laughed when Karl's chair attacked him. "Easy there, Whedon. You sure you don't need the coffee?" She was more than aware of the strain between them, as even now she slid her gaze passed his shoulder. The wall just behind him was much more interesting, and she could still make out his movements in her peripheral vision. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	showandtell 2010-01-24 11:55 pm UTC (link)
	"I think I'm good." The sound of her laugh rather than the uncomfortable silence between them earlier came as a welcome change. He couldn't help but smile at it, learning to take the little things as they came. "Mind if I come along? I just need to stretch my legs." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	one_shot 2010-01-25 02:24 am UTC (link)
	Alyssa shrugged one shoulder. Casual. She could do that. "Sure, why not?" She waited for him to clear his desk in case he needed to be rescued from more office furniture. Smiling wryly, she slipped a hand in her pocket. "Maybe if we walk real slow, it'll take more than three minutes." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

showandtell
2010-01-25 03:45 am UTC (link)

He returned the smile with a grin.

"It's a big place. Other than the fire exits, I don't think we can be accounted for knowing everything about it."

It was a bit too easy to leave behind a case with links that Karl could ask around in "his" circle to discover and make things a lot easier. He walked out of the office first, waiting for Alyssa at the door way before continuing.

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	one_shot 2010-01-26 04:18 am UTC (link)
	"Why, Agent Whedon, are you suggesting we get lost?" Alyssa fell into step beside him. She was so aware of the exact space between them, it was almost uncomfortable. "That would be a fine thing to add to the resume." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

showandtell
2010-01-27 05:03 pm UTC (link)

The distance between them now felt much more comfortable to him rather than the big empty space filled with papers and Post-It notes, even if he didn't voice it.

But his shoulders were less tense and he felt if he could breathe easier.

"Probably not the first incident." They were finally out of the offices and into the hallways leading into each department. "So did you get anything out of the papers?"

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one_shot
2010-01-28 12:50 am UTC (link)

"Blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah, except in Cantonese, which makes it sound more sophisticated," Alyssa sighed. "I feel like we're just treading water until they decide whether or not they're going to reassign us."

It wasn't too odd that partners would leave the office at the same time, but Alyssa still felt like everyone was staring them - like they knew what they'd put behind them, what she could still feel between them.

Finally reaching the small lounge at the end of the hall, Alyssa approached the coffee pot gratefully. A few coworkers were scattered around the place in the not-too-comfortable seats, and the counter was dirty again, but at least it looked like the coffee was fresh.

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showandtell
2010-02-10 05:30 pm UTC (link)

The possibility of a reassignment after Texas should have been very small - not to mention the possibility of having Karl still sitting in an office, should've been close to nil. However, thankfully, he wasn't a "normal" employee around here, so the best he could do was keep him in the office. It was at least comforting to know that the mortals had the common sense to keep Alyssa instead of booting her as well.

Ironically enough, five years ago, Karl would've gladly taken any chance to get of the office.

Karl loitered around the couch near the door, giving the vending machine a passing glance. His hand went inside his pockets to check if he had change to spare before a blond blocked his way to the machines.

"Hey, Whedon! Strange to see you on break, no assignment?"

He found her face to be familiar, and her name to be...uh...

"Preparing for one, paperwork and everything," Karl replied amiably, trying not to include names. "You?"

His look cut over to where Alyssa was before trying to listen to something about Al Quida and France.

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one_shot
2010-02-12 07:45 pm UTC (link)

Getting in between Karl and his vending machines - never a bright move. Amanda Reilly might not have been particularily smart, but she was fast, off the couch and flicking a button of her blouse open in a movement so casual Alyssa nearly missed it... until she came to make 'polite conversation' with her partner.

A muscle in her cheek pulsed as she clenched her teeth. None of her business. She'd just keep going on towards the coffee maker while Amanda nattered on about some terribly fascinating and romantic assignment in France, the kind that she never got to go on anymore because Karl didn't travel and wouldn't Amanda just love to know that before she kept dropping those hints about how useless her partner had been and how much she'd have preferred to have Karl there.

Pour the coffee. Don't spill. Take a sip and do not accidentally splash it on a certain someone on your way back.

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showandtell
2010-02-19 06:16 pm UTC (link)

He looked from Alyssa to the vending machine and then back to the animatedly talking blond whose name he still couldn't remember. She didn't let any information slip, so he was pretty much on his own here.

"Excuse me," he briefly interjected when he reached past her, letting the machine take his two dollars and spit out a raspberry iced tea Snapple with such force that Karl decided that maybe the machine didn't like blonds this close to them either.

The girl continued to twitter about how Paris wasn't all about that hype and something really not about the mission. Karl just nodded and looked at Alyssa again, mentally willing her to hurry up so they can go.

"So, I guess me and Mike are back for the long term, at least for now! We should catch up, it's been a while! Are you free tonight?"

The machine buzzed angrily behind the woman before Karl had to place a hand on its side to silence it. Bad thing was, that it looked like he was leaning over her.

"I'm actually planning for a late night in the office tonight, to prepare for our next assignment. Maybe another time."

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one_shot
2010-02-22 04:00 pm UTC (link)

Pushy, pushy, pushy. And Karl was eating it right up.

Fine. Let him. It would be good for him anyway.

...hell. Alyssa started over to intervene anyway, if just because she couldn't stand the sight of them like that.

"Hey, Higurashi," Mark Song came up beside her. "There you are. I was just looking for you."

Alyssa blinked, momentarily distracted from her goal, and smiled up at Mark. "Hey. What's up?"

Mark held a file of papers in his hand. "I'm having trouble with this dialect. I was hoping you'd take a look, give me a second opinion."

Alyssa glanced between Karl, leaning over Amanda, to Mark's hopeful, open face. They'd dated a few times, and he was clearly still interested, but she didn't want to develop anything beyond the casual at work. All the same, he did have those files and it looked like Karl was fine...

"Sure, I can take a few minutes." She turned to head back towards the counter, with Mark at her side. "Spread 'em out over here."

Mark did so, and their shoulders brushed together as they bowed their heads over the documents.

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showandtell
2010-02-26 06:16 am UTC (link)

Somehow from France, Miss X had landed into something about Kuwait and Karl wasn't exactly sure that she should be disclosing such details to him. He had already finished a third of the Snapple in his hand though not entirely since he was distracted by the additional presence in the room, right next to Alyssa.

His fingers tapped a steady rhythm against the glass.

"--so the intelligence there has been a real killer to get and organize. Karl? You okay?"

Karl looked back to the women in time, wondering just what Mark Song was doing with Alyssa when he was a good enough linguist himself. Besides, wasn't there some kind of office rumor that he was engaged already?

"Yeah, sorry. No, I agree with you. Kuwait and that area's probably not going to be a good area to get information directly. Not with what's going on right now." But it just didn't apply to Karl who had Cyber Warfare as a sister, and could obtain such information just as easy.

"I better get back. It's going to be a long night."

Some words were exchanged, telephone numbers that Karl forgot when he finally had the chance to walk away.

Coming up between the Alyssa and Mark, Karl seemed like some kind of towering interference, large enough to not be ignored although he didn't force himself between them. Instead, he placed a hand on his partner's shoulder and nodded a greeting towards Mark.

"I'm going back first. I just remembered I had a phone call to make, so I'll see you back at the office."

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one_shot
2010-02-28 07:37 pm UTC (link)

Alyssa didn't start when he touched her. She'd seen him coming out of the corner of her eye, perversely glad that he'd left Amanda and come over to her. It was a lousy attitude to have, considering that she was the one who'd drawn the line, but she couldn't bring herself to be fair.

She shifted slightly to the side to include him between them, glancing up at Karl and then back at Mark's papers. "Yeah, all right. This shouldn't take too long."

"I'll be sure to return her to you safe and sound, Whedon," Mark said, and Alyssa glanced down to control her urge to glare. That, right there? Reason number three why she never said yes to a follow-up date.

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showandtell
2010-03-02 03:27 am UTC (link)

Karl was in the process of turning away once Alyssa had returned his statement until Mark's statement made him look back once more, eyes holding a false sense of humor when all Karl was thinking about was the ways that he could make this man eat his words, figuratively and literally.

"You better. If she's not back in thirty minutes I'm coming after you," he responded, his voice holding a firm solidarity to it and was far from friendly, even if his expression looked like he was joking. Leave it to a warfare god to make just two mere words sound like a heavy threat.

I know where you park your car was left unsaid before Karl finally walked away from the two, the statement probably would give away the facade completely if Mark wasn't stupid enough to pick it up already. The idea of crossing some wires here and there to cause an unsightly outcome to a car's engine made the trip back to the office a bit bearable before Karl sat down in the way too small of an office chair again.

He glanced at the clock, before reaching for a folder that was tossed aside earlier.

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