Harry and Alice - Backdated
Jun. 26th, 2015 03:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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om_mainHarry and Alice celebrate her first week of interning at Oscorp.
Harry lifted his glass. "To the newest intern at Oscorp Industires, the PR princess--someday to be queen, I'm sure--Alice Fitzgerald."
"I don't know, 'queen' sounds old and... married and stuff," Alice grinned, her glass lifted in return. She tilted her glass against Harry's delicately, eyes twinkling happily. "I think I'll stick to princess for a while yet."
"Excellent." He chuckled and sipped, then gestured with his free hand around his spacious balcony and its wonderful view. "Consider this your castle, Highness."
"My out of court residence?" Alice asked with a smile, after taking a sip. "Where I can just be me, away from the constraints of court etiquette?" Hey, she was in a great mood and just rolling with it, okay.
"Exactly. And believe me--with this new roll-out for the CNS interface coming up next month, you're gonna need the break." But Harry was still smiling and laughing quietly as he drank. He was in a rare, casual mode, with a soft (hundred dollar) t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans--no shoes, no socks, hell, not even any underwear, truth be told--his only clothing for the moment. Wide open to the sky and to her--that was just how comfortable he was with her and with his apartment, these days. "But your timing is impeccable."
Alice was wearing one of her versions of comfortable clothes, too, although the mood was much less rare in her - a patterned maxi-dress with a cut original enough not to be boring, including that lovely slit for her thigh to peek through more often than not. It was actually impossible to wear a bra with it, and she'd gone without panties as well, very aware of how much Harry liked it when he found out she had done that. Shoes were overrated when they were just being together like this, and the only compromise she made to some form of effort were the bracelets around her wrists. Wearing that dress with no jewelry would have felt wrong.
But even more of a testimony to how comfortable she felt with Harry was her answer to his words. "Well, you can send Lydia a thank you basket for getting me through this year of maths." Admitting to not being as academically gifted as she wished was a very telltale sign of comfort, and trust. "Can you brief me ahead of time? On the interface." She only knew the general idea, and she'd welcome extra information - which, of course, she wouldn't let on she had to anyone at Oscorp.
Oh, you know, just something my father made them develop to try and keep his raggedy ass alive so I can't have what's mine for another year or so. But Harry took another sip of champagne, washed down the bitterness, and said, "It's revolutionary. It cues into electrical impulses and signals in the nervous system--I mean, down to the chemical exchanges between neurons--and can make adjustments in a flash.
"It's limited, though, due to space and a need for speed; you have to have the right interface to do a specific job. Those suits that were on the loose... those were an attempt to integrate more than one kind. All of them, actually." Harry... didn't know what Alice knew about that, so he just waited to see.
"Was the tech really stolen?" she felt compelled to ask. There was no way for her to know for sure other than ask him, but she wouldn't be surprised if it hadn't been, if Oscorp had been doing that kind of shit behind Harry's back. Things would be so much simpler once he had proper control of the company.
"Yes," he said candidly. Then he gave a wry smile at the forthcoming explanation: "Just not the way they're claiming it was. Obviously, Oscorp did not intend to send crazy people out in the streets armed for a fight in Times Square. But their applications for the tech were not all sunshine and roses, as claimed, no."
"What happened, then?" That was her way with him. Ask the questions she wanted answers for, and trust that he would deny her those answers clearly when he wanted, rather than answer her with bullshit. That was trust for you, wasn't it.
He shook his head and smiled apologetically, knowing she'd get it. "Sorry; one of those 'better if you don't know' things. For the moment, anyhow. The most I can say is that some tech got out before it was ready, and so we need to push up the non-evil application for that tech to cover our asses."
"Gotcha," she simply told him, a measure of how much she trusted him. "But keep me posted?" A reminder.
Harry nodded. "Always. I don't want you going in anywhere near as blind as the standard Oscorp employee." His smile turned wry.
Hers didn't, viewing his words from a much more self-centered stance. His consideration for her always warmed her through. "Okay, let's stop talking about work now?" she offered.
Harry tugged the bottle out of ice and poured out another full measure for both of them. "Your mind is absolutely beautiful, Alice. Right, though, I'll have to call you Jenna if I see you there, won't I? That'll be fun." He smirked. A little bit of subterfuge was always entertaining.
"Yeah, I was thinking about that," Alice stated with a bit of a pout, her no-more-work-talk request temporarily forgotten. She drank a bit of her champagne, then brought her legs up to curl up in her chair, perfectly at ease with Harry. She mechanically arranged the dress so not too much skin showed - that much was instinct that had nothing to do with Harry, on the contrary. "I think I should start asking everybody to call me Jenna. It was fine at school, we were so sheltered. But now..." She clearly didn't like it, but what was a psionic entity supposed to do?
"You could just tell people it's a nickname, if you'd rather stick with Alice," Harry said thoughtfully. The problem was, she wasn't much of a "Jenna". She defined "Alice" for him. He slipped one finger up her dress, over her thigh, now it was covered. "Whatever you want, I'm there. But I'm afraid you're Alice to me forever."
"Damn well better," Alice answered, with feeling, and then smiled, reaching out to trace soft fingertips over the back of his hand on her leg. "People are bound to slip up, anyway. I'll go with the nickname story to explain that away." Her fingertips skimmed over his wrist, stroked up and down his forearm. "Something to do with Wonderland?"
"Suits you," Harry agreed with a smirk. He shifted her skirt to trace the line of her thigh upwards, under it. "And I'm sure I could come up with some horrible innuendo to explain why, but it goes without saying, really."
Her hand had naturally come up to play with the hair at the back of his head, fingertips sliding against his scalp. But at his words, she burst out laughing. "Oh my god, yeah, horrible." Now she was stuck on the rabbit hole. The mushroom to make things grow bigger would just have to wait for its turn. "Horrible is apparently really easy when it comes to Wonderland?"
Harry leaned into her touch, enjoying it and not minding if she saw. Things were like that with Alice, so remarkably easy. It could've been so complicated, but it never was, with her. "Definitely. But then, 'really easy' suits us." He smirked and leaned in for a kiss.
"Yeah," she agreed just before their lips met, her smile fading in favor of a slow, promising kiss. Really, really easy, when it came to Harry, and she turned more fully towards him on her chair. "I think you should enjoy your champagne," she told him, and finished her own before slipping down to her knees in front of him, smiling brightly, hands sliding up his thighs, "while I enjoy you."
He watched her silvery eyes, twisted a lock of hair around his finger gently, just appreciating her. "I am a lucky, lucky boy," Harry said. And though he was smiling, for once in his life, he was entirely serious about that.
Harry lifted his glass. "To the newest intern at Oscorp Industires, the PR princess--someday to be queen, I'm sure--Alice Fitzgerald."
"I don't know, 'queen' sounds old and... married and stuff," Alice grinned, her glass lifted in return. She tilted her glass against Harry's delicately, eyes twinkling happily. "I think I'll stick to princess for a while yet."
"Excellent." He chuckled and sipped, then gestured with his free hand around his spacious balcony and its wonderful view. "Consider this your castle, Highness."
"My out of court residence?" Alice asked with a smile, after taking a sip. "Where I can just be me, away from the constraints of court etiquette?" Hey, she was in a great mood and just rolling with it, okay.
"Exactly. And believe me--with this new roll-out for the CNS interface coming up next month, you're gonna need the break." But Harry was still smiling and laughing quietly as he drank. He was in a rare, casual mode, with a soft (hundred dollar) t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans--no shoes, no socks, hell, not even any underwear, truth be told--his only clothing for the moment. Wide open to the sky and to her--that was just how comfortable he was with her and with his apartment, these days. "But your timing is impeccable."
Alice was wearing one of her versions of comfortable clothes, too, although the mood was much less rare in her - a patterned maxi-dress with a cut original enough not to be boring, including that lovely slit for her thigh to peek through more often than not. It was actually impossible to wear a bra with it, and she'd gone without panties as well, very aware of how much Harry liked it when he found out she had done that. Shoes were overrated when they were just being together like this, and the only compromise she made to some form of effort were the bracelets around her wrists. Wearing that dress with no jewelry would have felt wrong.
But even more of a testimony to how comfortable she felt with Harry was her answer to his words. "Well, you can send Lydia a thank you basket for getting me through this year of maths." Admitting to not being as academically gifted as she wished was a very telltale sign of comfort, and trust. "Can you brief me ahead of time? On the interface." She only knew the general idea, and she'd welcome extra information - which, of course, she wouldn't let on she had to anyone at Oscorp.
Oh, you know, just something my father made them develop to try and keep his raggedy ass alive so I can't have what's mine for another year or so. But Harry took another sip of champagne, washed down the bitterness, and said, "It's revolutionary. It cues into electrical impulses and signals in the nervous system--I mean, down to the chemical exchanges between neurons--and can make adjustments in a flash.
"It's limited, though, due to space and a need for speed; you have to have the right interface to do a specific job. Those suits that were on the loose... those were an attempt to integrate more than one kind. All of them, actually." Harry... didn't know what Alice knew about that, so he just waited to see.
"Was the tech really stolen?" she felt compelled to ask. There was no way for her to know for sure other than ask him, but she wouldn't be surprised if it hadn't been, if Oscorp had been doing that kind of shit behind Harry's back. Things would be so much simpler once he had proper control of the company.
"Yes," he said candidly. Then he gave a wry smile at the forthcoming explanation: "Just not the way they're claiming it was. Obviously, Oscorp did not intend to send crazy people out in the streets armed for a fight in Times Square. But their applications for the tech were not all sunshine and roses, as claimed, no."
"What happened, then?" That was her way with him. Ask the questions she wanted answers for, and trust that he would deny her those answers clearly when he wanted, rather than answer her with bullshit. That was trust for you, wasn't it.
He shook his head and smiled apologetically, knowing she'd get it. "Sorry; one of those 'better if you don't know' things. For the moment, anyhow. The most I can say is that some tech got out before it was ready, and so we need to push up the non-evil application for that tech to cover our asses."
"Gotcha," she simply told him, a measure of how much she trusted him. "But keep me posted?" A reminder.
Harry nodded. "Always. I don't want you going in anywhere near as blind as the standard Oscorp employee." His smile turned wry.
Hers didn't, viewing his words from a much more self-centered stance. His consideration for her always warmed her through. "Okay, let's stop talking about work now?" she offered.
Harry tugged the bottle out of ice and poured out another full measure for both of them. "Your mind is absolutely beautiful, Alice. Right, though, I'll have to call you Jenna if I see you there, won't I? That'll be fun." He smirked. A little bit of subterfuge was always entertaining.
"Yeah, I was thinking about that," Alice stated with a bit of a pout, her no-more-work-talk request temporarily forgotten. She drank a bit of her champagne, then brought her legs up to curl up in her chair, perfectly at ease with Harry. She mechanically arranged the dress so not too much skin showed - that much was instinct that had nothing to do with Harry, on the contrary. "I think I should start asking everybody to call me Jenna. It was fine at school, we were so sheltered. But now..." She clearly didn't like it, but what was a psionic entity supposed to do?
"You could just tell people it's a nickname, if you'd rather stick with Alice," Harry said thoughtfully. The problem was, she wasn't much of a "Jenna". She defined "Alice" for him. He slipped one finger up her dress, over her thigh, now it was covered. "Whatever you want, I'm there. But I'm afraid you're Alice to me forever."
"Damn well better," Alice answered, with feeling, and then smiled, reaching out to trace soft fingertips over the back of his hand on her leg. "People are bound to slip up, anyway. I'll go with the nickname story to explain that away." Her fingertips skimmed over his wrist, stroked up and down his forearm. "Something to do with Wonderland?"
"Suits you," Harry agreed with a smirk. He shifted her skirt to trace the line of her thigh upwards, under it. "And I'm sure I could come up with some horrible innuendo to explain why, but it goes without saying, really."
Her hand had naturally come up to play with the hair at the back of his head, fingertips sliding against his scalp. But at his words, she burst out laughing. "Oh my god, yeah, horrible." Now she was stuck on the rabbit hole. The mushroom to make things grow bigger would just have to wait for its turn. "Horrible is apparently really easy when it comes to Wonderland?"
Harry leaned into her touch, enjoying it and not minding if she saw. Things were like that with Alice, so remarkably easy. It could've been so complicated, but it never was, with her. "Definitely. But then, 'really easy' suits us." He smirked and leaned in for a kiss.
"Yeah," she agreed just before their lips met, her smile fading in favor of a slow, promising kiss. Really, really easy, when it came to Harry, and she turned more fully towards him on her chair. "I think you should enjoy your champagne," she told him, and finished her own before slipping down to her knees in front of him, smiling brightly, hands sliding up his thighs, "while I enjoy you."
He watched her silvery eyes, twisted a lock of hair around his finger gently, just appreciating her. "I am a lucky, lucky boy," Harry said. And though he was smiling, for once in his life, he was entirely serious about that.
