Nikolai's Room at the Arms, Monday Morning, Before Classes

[spin_kick_snap]

It had been a very long and very tiring weekend for the little klipspringer that was actually a girl. There had been the necessary kicking anytime she'd been called a goat and the fretting every time her oddly-shaped MateProtector had gone out of sight. The time he'd been hidden behind the Great SquareWood the hid the place of BrightLightLotsWater had been quite distressing. Oh! And bouncing, of course. The bouncing was very important! And then she'd had to protect him when the creature with the weird headfur had been taken by predators--really, it was a lot for one little klipspringer to do.

Taking care of her MateProtector was definitely the hardest part of her weekend. He seemed to have no survival instincts at all. He kept trying to wander off without her, he blocked his eyes so he could not see, and he never kept lookout, even when she was eating! They had even fought the night before about when it was time to sleep. He didn't seem to understand that once the DayBright went away, it was time to sleep. After an intense argument where she'd had to headbutt him several times to get him to listen to reason, she had eventually 'persuaded' him to lay down. In addition to being dumb, her MateProtector lacked horns, which made it easier for her to win their arguments. He refused to sleep, preferring to watch the BrightSquare, but at least he was still enough to let her sleep. Except for those times when the BrightSquare would make loud enough noises to startle her awake and bounce away looking for predators.

MateProtector sometimes made loud noises at her when she did that. The klipspringer did not understand why. Was he trying to bring the predators to them? Each time, once she'd ascertained that they were safe and nothing was trying to kill them, she would return to her place on his chest and fall back asleep, privately resolving not to mourn too much if his idiocy got him eaten by an eagle or something.

At some point after the BrightSquare had gone off and the DayBright had risen, the Fandom's whimsy had released it's hold on the little klipspringer, returning her to back to her normal self. Sleep held Kathy too tightly for her to be aware of shift in form. She stayed comfortably tucked on Nikolai's chest with her head pillowed on his shoulder, a little colder now that her fur had turned back to skin, but too deep in dreams to really notice.

[For him whose room this is and was shamelessly modded!]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"Nope, not even with all the dancing I did on your chest." Kathy's voice was muffled and her bottom wiggled slightly as she tried to reach a little further under the couch. Was that...? Nope. Empty soda can. "Sorry about that, by the way. I guess klipspringers are kind of nervous."

As opposed to Kathy, who was always totally cool.

[gunslingerpose]

"You thought my bike was going to eat you," he shared. "And I'm pretty sure you thought the bathroom door was, at one point, too. The dancing wasn't too bad, though."

If you didn't mind hooves putting the same sort of pressure on your chest as a large cat's paw might.

[spin_kick_snap]

"The bike was very noisy," Kathy informed him, pulling her head back out from under the couch but keeping her eyes averted. "And the bathroom door meant I couldn't see you. I'm pretty sure I was convinced you were going to be eaten by something the moment I turned my back."

Because Nick was pretty stupid for a prey animal.

"...I'll pay for the damages to your door."

[gunslingerpose]

It was pretty fortunate that Nick was actually at the top of his food chain, then, wasn't it?

"You can if you want to, but it's easy enough to fix," Nick replied with a shrug of his shoulders before he just started pulling the cushions from the couch entirely. "And the bike's not all that bad. Maybe when you're less antelope-shaped I can take you for a real ride on the thing, without having to stuff you into a saddlebag or put the thing in neutral and walk it or whatever."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Wait, you will?" Kathy caught herself at the very last second before looking up at him and grinning. "I'd love that! And--aha!"

She dove forward, snagging his sunglasses from where they had somehow landed under the coffee table. Holding them up, she beamed triumphantly, eyes firmly closed. "Look what I found!"

[gunslingerpose]

"Oh, good," Nick was quick about making his way over to her and plucking the shades from her hand. "Thanks, baby. I wouldn't be going anywhere without these."

Well. Except for heroing, of course. But he wasn't exactly keen on making Gorgon a full-time job until he could get more mirrored shades.

"And... there. It's safe for you to open your eyes again, too."

[spin_kick_snap]

Lord, every time he called her baby, it was like a firecracker went off in her stomach. It was stupid--he probably called every girl he talked to 'baby' or something. But still. Total turn-on.

Never mind that she'd written a Tumblr screed like a year ago about how if anyone ever used such an infantalizing nickname for her, she'd freak. That was different.

"Welcome," she said, opening her eyes again. "Glad I could help. Least I could do, with the way you took such good care of me over the weekend. And, you know, not laughing at me for freaking out about waking up..." She couldn't make herself say 'naked.'

[gunslingerpose]

"Human," Nick supplied, because he was capable of being half-decent at least occasionally. "And don't mention it. I'm not in the habit of leaving people I like behind when they're suddenly small, scared animals. And the last couple of days, it isn't like I even remembered who you were."

He wasn't apologizing for calling her a goat, though. She kicked and headbutted like one.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Human," Kathy agreed. "Actually, that kinda reminds me. Umm, would you mind if I maybe borrowed your shower? A night of heroing and then a weekend of being an antelope--" that part was important!--"means that I'd really appreciate one right now."

Granted, she could just run back to the dorms and shower. Or maybe see if he'd let her into one of the empty hotel rooms. But none of those brilliant ideas were occurring to her.

[gunslingerpose]

"Yeah, go ahead," Nick replied, shrugging his shoulders. "You know where the bathroom is by now. That torture chamber with the indoor rain box, or whatever it was you were under the impression that it was..."

Hey, it wasn't like she was the first person to wake up naked on top of him and then ask to use his shower, even.

"I might even be able to scrounge up some clean clothes that'll only be a little big on you. Jeans and a t-shirt, so you're not running back across the island in your gi. I got 'em for those weekends when the island thinks it's funny to swap genders around, so it's not like I'll miss 'em."

[spin_kick_snap]

Yeah, but she was probably the first one to do so without having sex with him first. Not that she was thinking about having sex with him. Much.

"Thanks, that would be awesome," she said, heading to the bathroom. "I'll be pretty quick, I promise. And I'm good at leaving plenty of hot water for the next person."

It was only once she was under the spray, her gi folded up neatly on the sink, that she realized that he'd have to come in to leave the clothing for her. Which was pretty much the same scenario that had played out that weekend she'd been Lady Dokkaebi and had used that opportunity to seduce him.

Maaaaybe he shouldn't do that then. Just to avoid any misunderstandings. Except then, she'd have to go out and fetch the clothes in a towel. Which could also...

Oh my.

[gunslingerpose]

Nick seemed to have run into the same conundrum, finding himself standing outside the bathroom, frowning down at the t-shirt and jeans in his hand, and then up at the door.

Jeans and t-shirt. Door. A few more times for good measure before he just knocked and called in, "If I leave these on the floor just outside the door, you can grab them without opening it too far?"

Yeah, he had predicted the same issues. And it wasn't that he wouldn't appreciate the sight of her either way, but she'd already freaked out about being naked enough for one day.

[spin_kick_snap]

"That should be--AUGH!"

Someone had managed to slip on the soap. And while that same someone managed to keep her balance and not crack her head on the tub by grabbing onto the shower curtain for support. Since this certain, special someone now weighed considerably more than a klipspringer, it meant that the curtain were coming down, the rings jangling on the bar.

That had her windmilling for balance once again, now caught up in a plastic shower curtain. Her hand struck the shower shelf, knocking all of the products onto the floor in an amazing ruckus.

Kathy was just going to look around at the devastation and wonder if it was possible to go back and do it again, but with more landing on her head.

[gunslingerpose]

Well. That sounded... nothing shy of catastrophic. Nick blinked, taking a moment to process the sounds he'd just heard, before swearing, loudly, and calling in, "Hey, are you okay in there?"

Because, who knew? Maybe she just knocked something over?

Or maybe she was dead on the floor. It sounded a little like a proper avalanche had happened.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy couldn't really respond. She was staring at the mess, trying to figure out how she could either clean everything up immediately or fit down the drain.

Sorry, Nick. It was the panic talking. Or, rather, staying silent.

[gunslingerpose]

"Fuck," Nick hissed again, before bracing himself for the worst and opening the bathroom door to check out the damage.

Yes, he was pretty much expecting to see a bloody body on the floor or something.

... That was not a bloody body.

"... Ah..."

Okay. It wasn't what he had been expecting at all, but it was a far better view for... several reasons, really. He coughed, and then turned his back.

"So, you're, uh, not actually bleeding from a massive head wound on the floor, huh?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"If you give me another few minutes I can try my hardest to be," Kathy said, trying not to wail. And wrapping the shower curtain around herself, for all the good it did her. Clear plastic did not a good cover make. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I just slipped. I'll pay for this, I'm sorry, I just kind of suck."

She was near tears now. Why did she always have to humiliate herself in front of him?

[gunslingerpose]

"It's a three dollar curtain liner," Nick said easily, reaching for the big, fluffy towel on the towel rack (you had to have at least one, and that was easily accomplished when you live and worked in a hotel), and then turning around with his eyes closed. He made his way over to the tub, turned the water off, and then straightened up and wrapped the towel around her himself, a little awkwardly. It wasn't an easy feat when he was just straight-up not looking, and his shades were starting to fog up anyway. "It was a bigger noise than it was a monetary disaster. Hell, I've probably got a spare. Are you okay? Sounded like it could've been painful."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I didn't actually fall," Kathy said, bright red and miserable. "I don't fall anymore, I guess. I made the mess more keeping my balance than I probably would have if I'd just hit the ground."

She let go of the liner, wrapping the towel more securely around herself. "I'm really sorry. I guess showers around you are just a terrible idea no matter what."

[gunslingerpose]

For a half a second, Nikolai wanted to inform her that wasn't true, and even give her a few suggestions as to how to improve her 'using Nikolai's shower' experience.

He thought better of it. The poor girl was already mortified, after all.

"Hey, look," he said, "all that's damaged is the curtain itself. You didn't even bring down the rod. And the rest is soap and my shaving kit, all that shit, and it looks like it's fine. That shower gets slippery. I keep meaning to put a mat down or something in there, but it isn't like I haven't fallen on my ass in there, either."

So, there. This wasn't just a her thing. It just had unfortunate timing.

[spin_kick_snap]

"This is so not how I pictured the morning going," Kathy mumbled, appreciating his attempt at comfort even as it failed.

Look, when you were trying to convince the hot older guy you had a ridiculous crush on that you were suave, sophisticated, and totally worth dating or whatever, turning into an animal, freaking out by suddenly being naked, and then practically face-planting in the shower were not ways to go about it.

She probably would have had better luck just sticking with her attempts to seduce and then murder him anytime Fandom whimsy struck.

"Maybe I just secretly have it in for your bathroom?" Feeble joke was feeble.

[gunslingerpose]

"Or maybe my bathroom secretly has it in for you," Nick countered, smirking a little. "You're sure you're okay, bruised dignity aside?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Vengeance for my assault on the door," Kathy mumbled, offering him a tentative smile. "And...yeah. It's pretty much my dignity that got the worst of it."

Immediately, she began cursing herself out. Wouldn't it have been smarter to pretend to be hurt and let him take care of her? This was why she was terrible at flirting.

"I can be ready to go as soon as I get dressed, if you want. I mean, of course you do. All I've done is try to destroy your apartment. I'll be out of your hair in just a few minutes."

As many as five if she decided to chance the shower again and wash away all the soap and as few as two if he really wanted her gone immediately.

[gunslingerpose]

"In a rush?" Nick gave her a wry grin. "I was about to put some coffee on, if that's your thing. Maybe fry up some eggs or something. You've been eating a vegan diet all weekend, I figured you might want a real breakfast before you take off or something, at least."

Lookit that, he wasn't chasing her out!

[spin_kick_snap]

Wait...he wasn't?

Kathy peered up at him, confused. "You--you don't want me to go?"