Apartment Above Luke's, Tuesday

[spin_kick_snap]

It was Tuesday. Kathy knew she was supposed to be getting to work sometime this afternoon, doing stock or cleaning or trying to find people to come work for her or any number of countless, pointless projects. She had a routine and routines were important, at least according to what little poking around she'd done on the computer for Helpful tips when you're a basket case. But she couldn't summon the energy to get up off the couch today. Hell, getting out of bed had been a titanic struggle and the only reason she'd managed a shower at all was because she'd sat on the floor of the tub and just let the water run over her for most of it.

It sucked. She'd really thought she was doing better. She'd been okay for a few days there, genuinely happy and smiling and laughing. The kids had been great distractions while they'd been there, but they were gone now, leaving a hole in Kathy's heart and the promise of a future that seemed further away than ever, today. From 'okay' to 'utter distaster' in just twelve hours, only this time she didn't even have the outlet of fighting in Baltimore to try to channel some of this bullshit into. All she had was Hulu and about a million seasons of Hades' Kitchen to get through while she tried very hard not to think about what Saturday had been or her alternate reality daughter with her dead sister's name.

"You're never going to impress him with that mess," she informed the TV from inside her comfy cocoon of blanket. "It looks like you threw up on a plate. Way to just hand the victory to the blue team, ladies, jeez."

[Open, though I'll be off to bed soon.]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"A reminder of consequences," Kathy said wryly. "That even having the best of intentions doesn't prevent you from doing harm."

Which made it sound a lot nicer than it really was.

"It's the number of people I killed while I was an ex."

[not_every_mage]

Anders gave her a funny look.

"That's all?"

From how long Kathy had been an "ex," he would have believed a dozen times that. More.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I spent the first couple of months locked in Griffith's Observatory," Kathy said. "The Mighty Dragon dropped me off there and turned the film on loop and left me. Once the power went, it took me a few days to wander through the park to civilization. By the time I got to LA proper, the survivors were all hiding. I made due with...other sources of food, usually."

[not_every_mage]

"I know you weren't free the whole time, but somebody from a world more like yours might understand all of this better," Anders told her, shaking his head. "At home, seven deaths is a tavern fight gone wrong."

A pause. "Not that I wouldn't feel guilty! I just assumed you'd killed a lot more than that."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy found herself laughing at that description. "If I have to have a bodycount, I guess I'm glad it's roughly on par with 'angry tavern brawl,'" she said. "But...it was weird. There was only a tiny chunk of time with lot of deaths, I think. In the beginning, most people were bit, but got away and died elsewhere. Then, the number of exes started growing and people started getting surrounded and getting killed. I died right at the beginning of that. Places were getting overrun and people were getting killed in large numbers. But then, I guess it tapers off again, once most of the people are either dead or hiding. By the time I got out, LA belonged to the exes."

She made a face. "I ate more than seven people. But I only killed seven. The rest of the time, I was drawn by the sound of struggle, but the person died before I got there."

[not_every_mage]

Anders shuddered. "That can't be much easier to have in your memories," he speculated. "Whether you did or or not, you still saw everything."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Saw, heard, smelled, tasted...it's a full-on sensory experience," Kathy said, leaning into him. He felt so good. "And, no, it's not? But those seven, I am directly responsible for. It feels right to...not just commemorate them or remember them, but have them serve as a reminder that I can't just run blindly into something and expect that my intentions will make everything okay, you know?"

[not_every_mage]

"I think I understand," Anders nodded. "And if that's what it'll mean to you, I can't blame you for wanting it."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Three tattoos," Kathy said, looking for a little levity. "If my mom were still alive, she'd accuse me of becoming a biker."

[not_every_mage]

"You got Dante his motorcycle, didn't you?" Anders reminded her. "How wrong would she really be?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Well, I helped him steal it from a chop shop," Kathy conceded. "Not sure why that makes it his and not mine..."

You know, other than the part where Dante loved his bike like a child and Kathy would have just found it pretty cool to have.

"Pretty sure my wardrobe doesn't have enough leather for me to be a real biker chick. Something I should work on, you think?"

[not_every_mage]

"I think it's his because he'd give a limb for it, as long as it wasn't one he needed to drive," Anders told her. "And I'm never going to vote against more leather."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'll keep that in mind," Kathy said, relaxing a little further. Anders was good at distracting her, even without sex or violence. He was...soothing. Restful. "Next time I go clothing shopping, I'll see what their leather selection looks like and send you pics."

[not_every_mage]

"I'm never going to turn down photos of you," Anders said, a bit dreamily. "Especially if you're wearing leather."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Did I ever send you a picture of me as the bike bunny that night we got the bike?" Kathy asked, reaching for her phone. "...Probably not. You were still with Nathan then. Hang on, I know I snapped a couple of selfies when I was trying to perfect the look."

She found the pics she was looking for and sent them to his phone.

[not_every_mage]

Anders looked at the photo and smiled a dirty kind of smile at Kathy. "I might not've stayed with Nathan if you;d been sending me photos like that," he claimed.

[spin_kick_snap]

That dirty kind of smile sent butterflies right to her lower stomach. In fairness, it always did. "If I'd known I had a shot, you'd've gotten pics like that every day," she said, a spark of desire in her eyes. "Not too late to make up for lost time, is it?"

[not_every_mage]

Anders shook his head, feeling his anxiety about their earlier conversation melt away to be replaced by a warm, happy glow.

"Never going to be too late for that, I hope."

[spin_kick_snap]

"God I hope not," Kathy whispered, then pulled out her phone, angling it to catch the two of them on the screen. "Say cheese?" she suggested.

[not_every_mage]

"Cheese," Anders said, and pressed his face close against hers as she took the photo.

[spin_kick_snap]

She took one of them with their faces close that way and then another with her kissing his cheek.

"Not as sexy as leather, I guess," she said, sending both pics to his phone too. "But hopefully they'll make you smile when you see them."