Baltimore, Sunday Night

[spin_kick_snap]

It had been another bad day. The worst part was, there had been nothing that had made it a bad day. It wasn't like there was rhyme or reason for it, but for some reason as the sun went down and the lights came on over the water, Kathy been struck anew by grief, her breath thick in her throat, her eyes burning with tears. Maybe the lights had reminded her of LA. Or maybe they'd reminded her of happier, easier times, when everything was good. More than good. Perfect. She'd known what she was doing and why--everything had made sense. She'd had a plan and every step she'd taken had moved her closer to her goals.

Now she had no plan, no goals other than 'make it through the day.' Some days, she felt good, like she was making progress, uncovering bits and pieces of herself that she'd thought she'd lost, trying to fit them into the person she was now like shards of a broken mirror. Other days, like today, she felt like she was drowning and every breath was a struggle around the thick weight of grief and regret and pain that sat on her chest like a creature out of myth. Most days were somewhere in-between, an odd muted gray as she fumbled her way, uncertain whether she was moving forward or backwards or even off to the side.

Like she did so many nights, she made her way to Baltimore. This time, she found herself on a rooftop somewhere, staring down at the city. She didn't think she'd even stood on this particular building as Banzai before, but still the vantage point and the angles were so familiar that the ache she felt sharpened to the point of true pain. But the tears stayed where they were, locked away, and instead she just sat, staring at the city, at the life, she'd once called hers and waited for it to pass.

It would pass, right?



[For one and up early for SP]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"If I jump, am I going to miss another cool thing you can do?" Kathy asked. "Because I'm enjoying Show and Tell."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Nah, I think you're all caught up," Dante said. He threw her a casual smirk, then stepped off the roof.

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"Show off!" Kathy called. Before back-flipping off the roof, as you do. She landed after Dante, because she couldn't just leap and let gravity take hold. She had to bounce, bleeding off momentum a bit at a time. "First round on me?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"You're the one who runs a business now, right?" Dante said, striding casually towards the bar.

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"Runs, not owns," Kathy reminded, elbowing him. "But haven't you been working longer?"

Never mind that she volunteered and the crew had been ridiculously generous when they were getting them set up. She was just being sassy. "Another round of Angel's Tits? Or did you want to start with something else?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Angel's Tits feels weird now," Dante said, pulling a face. "Just get us some whiskey. Then we'll do weird shots."

[spin_kick_snap]

Dammit! Those had been really good drinks, too.

"I'll make 'em doubles, just to start the night off," Kathy said, catching the bartender's attention. "You see your friend?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Not really my eye out," Dante admitted.

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Kathy had her own thoughts on why that might be, but she was keeping her own counsel on that, handing over her debit card (and her fake ID) in exchange for two large shot glasses as a cover for her sudden quiet.

It was gone by the time she turned around again, handing the glass over. "Worth getting a table, you think? Or should we just hang out at the bar?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Table's quieter," Dante said, "And nobody can watch us pass out if we manage to get smashed."

He took the glass and beelined for a place in the corner.

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"Oh believe me, I'm going to take my phone out and film you as you pass out," Kathy promised as she followed him. "Draw on you with sharpie and make you stay stupid shit."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Never gonna happen before you crash out," Dante said, sinking down into a seat.

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"You should be so lucky," Kathy said, ignoring things like 'fact' and 'liver capacity.' She sobered up really fast, but that meant she also got drunk super fast. "I'm going to make you gorgeous with permanent marker, just you wait."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Can't do that. I'm already the most gorgeous guy around," Dante said, tossing her an easy wink.

And then tossing back his whiskey.

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"I see your ego got an upgrade while you were at it," Kathy teased, rolling her eyes at him while she knocked back her whiskey to keep up. "Heaven help the rest of us."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Eh, you like it," Dante said.

On an impulse, he poked her leg with his foot.

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"Yeah, arrogant guys is totally my kink," Kathy told him with another eyeroll.

And poked him back.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Looking at your track record?" Dante said, snickering. "Yeah."

[spin_kick_snap]

"...God dammit," Kathy grumbled because Dante was right. "Anders isn't! ...Mostly!"

Except he could be, sometimes. And even if he weren't, Ezra probably counted for two people by himself.

"Shut up." She was trying to hold back laughter.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Oh, please, Anders is totally arrogant," Dante said, still snickering as he waved over a waiter for another drink. "You've met him, right?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Mostly just about the magic!" Kathy protested on Anders' behalf. "And, okay, sex. And...shut up!"

[rebelseekspizza]

"And himself sometimes," Dante mused. "Easier just to name the things he isn't arrogant about, really."

He sounded amused. It was not exactly a character trait of Anders' he was bothered by, here.

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Kathy thought it was amusing. And endearing. For all three of them, actually.

Ugh.

"How do both of you fit into the same room at once?" she wondered. "Or how your heads fit in the doorway."

[rebelseekspizza]

"It helps when you take your pants off and let it air out," Dante said, which was as close to a sex joke about him and Anders as he was willing to get.

At least until it stopped making Kathy weird, anyway. "Hey, waiter. Get us a dirty shot."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Not the heads I was thinking about," Kathy told him, giving the waiter a nod to show she agreed. "But good to know that some things haven't changed and 322 is still the pantsless utopia it was meant to be."