Isle of Ikea, Tuesday

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy and Raven had a new apartment in need of decoration and furnishing and they also had a lot of things to not think about and/or work their way through, depending on how they were feeling at the time. Conveniently enough, both of those things worked with the other. Kathy had spent her sleepless hours the night before making lists, flipping through magazines for inspiration (seriously, how many Williams-Sonoma catalogues did you need Eliot?!), and doodling layouts to try to figure our furniture arrangements. Then, once it had gotten bright enough outside that it wouldn't be weird to be up and about, Kathy had put together a trip to the Isle of Ikea. Because what could be better than combining a caffeine buzz, a ridiculously generous budget, and four teenage girls?

You were welcome, Ikea employees!

"So we need pretty much everything," Kathy said, as they landed on the shores of the isle. "Two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and our bedrooms. Pretty much the sky's...the..." She trailed off, looking at the building in front of them. She'd known the whole island was devoted to the store, but she hadn't really thought about how big that store would be. "And this looks like it has everything," she added. "Okay then."

[For those invited, and I have no idea whether the Isle has squirrels or not! Also open for phone calls]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"Err.." Kathy shook her head. "Sorry, Ringo. Habit. I got really used to thinking in a certain way over the last couple of months."

You know, preparing for combat with every turn. Hashtag: Just Zombie Stuff.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Oh."

Oh!

Ringo shook her head quickly. "No need to apologize," she said with a quick smile while mentally kicking herself for not having realized that on her own. "It's no big deal." Except for Ringo being an obliviously terrible kohai.

"I mean, it can take a while to adjust, right?"

It was something she tried to assure herself most mornings since coming back from LA, so the words came easily.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Exactly that," Kathy said, because that was her mantra, too. "Just a bit more time. It's only been, what, ten days? It's crazy to think I'd be all adjusted by now."

If it made Ringo feel any better, Kathy was clearly a terrible senpai, too. So wrapped up in her own issues, she was failing to notice Ringo's.

Truly, they were the worst.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Yeah, no joke." Ringo managed a little smile as she looked over and up at Kathy. "How are you settling in, anyway? I mean, furniture shopping is probably a sign of things getting back toward normal, right?"

Casual conversation was a good way to avoid thinking too much about the hard things. Hers or Kathy's. Especially since if either of them noticed how oblivious they were to each other, it'd probably just make them feel guilty. Guiltier.

[spin_kick_snap]

Guilty was the new black!

"Exactly!" Kathy said, flashing Ringo a grin and a victory sign. "Raven and I are gearing up to move into our own place! Thinking about maybe having a small housewarming dinner on Friday. Though it'll probably be a housewarming dinner-cum-housework party, depending on how much we get done in the next few days."

Being an insomniac sure made it possible to paint a whole apartment and assemble a bunch of furniture, though, didn't it?

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo beamed. "I'm glad you're both sticking around." She'd just gotten them back, so it was great to know she could keep them for a bit.

"Oh, hey, that reminds me! Did you guys get your stuff out of Mister Spencer's attic?"

Ringo had half-forgotten until that moment that she'd packed all that stuff up.

[spin_kick_snap]

"It's still up there," Kathy said. "We'll get it once we get the big stuff moved in."

No point bringing over clothes or knickknacks if there was nowhere to put them!

"Thank you so much for making sure it got saved," Kathy added, going to pull Ringo in for an impulsive hug. "You kept it safe for us, and we really appreciate it."

[soniaroadsqueen]

That hug was more surprising than it should have been. After all, Ringo and Kathy had always been pretty hug-y.

Things just didn't feel quite like they had before, no matter how hard Ringo tried to pretend otherwise.

But after a second, she returned the hug, maybe a little more desperately than was called for.

"Well, I figured you'd want it when you got back." No 'if', even if Ringo had given up on the possibility months ago. Better not to think about that, or the way Dante had yelled at her for wasting her time.

[spin_kick_snap]

Because they were in the calm before the storm, no matter how much they were both trying to deny it.

"I do," she assured her. "And not everyone else would have thought of it like that. Or gone to the effort of making it happen anyway. So thank you, Ringo. Thank you so much. You're really, really thoughtful and I appreciate it. You. Everything."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo tightened her hug, pressing her face against Kathy's shoulder to try to hide the way her eyes teared up a little bit at that.

"Hey, I just tried to do what you would have," she answered. Which was the truth. Ringo still spent a lot of time thinking about what Kathy, at least the perfect one in her head, would do in any given situation.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Be careful about that," Kathy warned, trying to make a little headway into shattering that perfect conception of her that Ringo had. "That kind of thinking can get you killed. It did me."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Sorry, Kathy. That was going to be a tough job, even if you were the object of the hero worship.

Actually, maybe that made it harder.

"Well, it worked out pretty well this time," she pointed out.

[spin_kick_snap]

But this pedestal was high and she was afraid of heights!

"More by luck than anything else," Kathy said. "And there won't always be a Nanika around to make a wish on. And you'll just be dead."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Well, she really should have thought of that before she was nice and supportive of a young teenaged girl.

But Ringo nodded. "I'm definitely going to try to avoid getting dead."

[spin_kick_snap]

Nice and supportive were things that everyone should try to be! Not special!

"Do that," Kathy said urgently. "And...don't just accept everything. Question. Argue. Remember that nobody has all the right answers."

Especially not a girl who'd died before she turned nineteen.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo nodded, but kept smiling. "Some people have more of them than others."

She meant you, Kathy. In case that wasn't obvious.

[spin_kick_snap]

She'd noticed.

"And some just think they do and then find out the hard way they don't," Kathy said. "And want to spare their kohai that."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Yeah." Ringo pressed her head against Kathy's shoulder. "Thanks."

It did mean lot to her, even if she seemed to ignore a lot of what Kathy was saying.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy was just going to have to work at it until Ringo got it. This could certainly never lead to any kind of friction between them, right?

"You're welcome," Kathy said, slinging her arm over Ringo's shoulders. "Now help me figure out what my room's color scheme should be. I'm thinking my furniture will be kinda light, which means we can get a little weird about the walls, right?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo put her own hand around Kathy's waist and snorted. "You're asking me for decorating advice?"

That was the sort of thing you brought Alluka along for, wasn't it?

[spin_kick_snap]

"Yup!" Kathy announced, slinging her arm over Ringo's shoulder. "Might not take it, but the more opinions people offer, the more options I have to choose from, right?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"The only thing I can tell you is to make sure you have room for AT equipment."

Because of course that was Ringo's priority.

[spin_kick_snap]

"AT is not a color, Ringo," Kathy said. "And there's more to the world than just ATs. Promise."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Hmm, you say that," Ringo teased.

Then she considered. "Really you should probably be asking Alluka about colors and stuff, but maybe a blue of some sort?" Blue was a good color!

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm going to ask Alluka," Kathy said. "But I can ask both of you. Now, c'mere and help me look at pain samples until you can figure out which blue you're thinking of."