Room 508, Thursday Afternoon

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy adored Christmas, a fact that likely surprised no one on the island. She also really, really enjoyed getting ready for Christmas--the baking, the decorating, the shopping, even the wrapping. This year, she'd pulled out all the stops, even going so far as to hunt down a real live tree small enough to bring back to the dorms and put up. She'd never had a real tree before; her mother not a fan of the idea of needles falling on the carpet and her father declaring that the pine smell made him sneeze. But this year, in her room, she was going to have a real tree, even if it was only about as tall as she was and almost as thin.

...In retrospect, she probably should have asked Raven if it were okay for her to get a tree, but she'd seen it while out Christmas shopping and had been too excited by the idea of having a real tree that she'd just splurged.

If having a tree wasn't exciting enough, there had been a large package waiting for her in the lobby; a present wrapped specifically in birthday-themed paper (with Do not open till Tuesday, nerd! scrawled in black sharpie on the side). She knew she's have an extra present or two under the plastic tree back home from her parents as a nod to her birthday, but Sarah always made it a point to keep Kathy's birthday and Christmas presents separate. She had the best little sister, she really did.

So now, tree safely ensconced in their room (and lugging a tree across the island and up five flights of stairs had been a workout, she'd earned this damn tree), Kathy was blaring Christmas carols, singing along while she strung up lights and other decorations around the room. Her gift was still on the bed, next to a small pile of presents she'd bought and wrapped for her friends. Those would be going under the tree as soon as she finished decorating that.

Yeah, it was final's week, with random mistletoe flying about and no chance for snow for her last Christmas on the East Coast, but none of that mattered now. It was still Christmas.

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"That sounds great!" Kathy agreed, immediately writing that down. "And with the time difference, we can do New Years with your family, then come back and celebrate on the island, too!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"I hadn't thought of that!" Ringo admitted with a grin. "That actually sounds like fun!" Two New Years celebrations!

[spin_kick_snap]

This was why everyone kept Kathy around, right? To take care of the details and scheduling. "Hmm, maybe we should buy the Portalocity tickets at the same time, just to make sure we're going to the same Tokyo? Because I'll be in LA when it's time to go. Or should I head here first and we take the same portal?"

Sometimes she was too detail-oriented.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Oh!" Ringo shook her head. "I wouldn't want you to have to leave your family any earlier than you had to," she said. "So it's probably enough to just buy them at the same time?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Great! It would just suck if I ended up in my Tokyo instead of yours, you know?" And not just because she'd be stuck half a world away from anyone she knew in a land where she didn't speak the dominant language. "When do you want to get tickets?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Good question. I should probably check with Dan--"

Whoops. Forget you heard that, Kathy.

"Um. How about tomorrow?" Smooooth recovery.

[spin_kick_snap]

Of course, Ringo. Kathy was going to be right on top of that whole forgetting thing. Suuuuure.

"Hmmm?" Kathy teased. "What was that? Who are you checking in with?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"No one," Ringo said very convincingly. The way she ducked her head and looked at her feet really helped her sell it!

[spin_kick_snap]

"Mmm, no one," Kathy said, nodding like she totally believed that. "Certainly not anyone like Dante, right?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

Kathy, you sucked at not noticing things. Just for the record.

Ringo sighed, then rolled her eyes. "He didn't have anything to do, or anywhere to go, so I invited him, too."

Wait. "You don't mind, do you? That doesn't make you not want to go?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Why would I mind?" Kathy asked. "We're friends. Well, I mean, we spend more time bickering and he's prickly as heck, but we're still friends. I'm glad you're inviting him. He needs to have more to do than just sitting around and drinking and being bitter."

[soniaroadsqueen]

A smile tugged at the corner of Ringo's mouth. "Prickly," she repeated in an amused murmur. Because that was true.

Then she nodded, grinning up at Kathy. "That's what I was thinking. He's so mope-y, you know?" That probably wasn't the right word, Ringo.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Broody," Kathy supplied. "Like, he's got his own personal rain cloud over head."

In fairness, he also had a damn good reason to be that way, though Kathy wasn't going to discuss it without being sure that Ringo knew about it first. Still though; sometimes Kathy just wanted to be doubly cheerful at him so he'd smile.

[soniaroadsqueen]

If Kathy found a way to make Dante actually smile, like a real smile rather than one of his smirks, and didn't tell her, they were going to have to stop being friends.

"Well, maybe between the two of us and Tokyo we can do something about that." Probably not. Ringo didn't know Dante's full story, but she'd picked up hints here and there. Enough to know that a week in Tokyo probably wasn't going to fix things.

[spin_kick_snap]

So far, it seemed limited to his motorcycle. And sometimes sex, but Kathy was pretty sure that Ringo absolutely did not want to hear about that. "If nothing else, we can give him a whole new locale to be broody in," Kathy said. "And snap pictures of said brooding with cherry blossom filters."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo definitely did not want to hear about that. Thanks, Kathy!

But the other stuff? Ringo was grinning. "And make posters to put up around the dorms?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"It wouldn't be too appropriative if we dressed him up in a men's kimono, would it?" Kathy asked, grinning. "He'd look so grumpy!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Oh, oh, now we have to!" Kathy did have the best ideas!

[spin_kick_snap]

"Just remember we're both in this together when he comes after us for it," Kathy giggled.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Pfft." Ringo grinned. "The two of us could take him if we worked together. And we'd have to since you can't hude behind me." too tall, Kathy!

[spin_kick_snap]

Okay, that was a very optimistic view of things, but maybe if he didn't want to hurt either of them?

"Only because you are Santa's elf-sized," Kathy teased. "Though that's a lot of layers to force him into."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"I'll have you know that I'm just the right size," Ringo declared primly.

Right size for what wasn't clear, even to her.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Not for hiding behind," Kathy retorted. "Or for wrestling Dante into kimonos by yourself."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Well, if someone keeps him distracted," like, really, really distracted, "I might be able to do it on my own!"

It was possible that Ringo was suffering from delusions of grandeur.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy's eyebrows flew up. Surely Ringo wasn't suggesting what it sounded like she was suggesting...

"Distract him how?" she asked carefully.