Room 508, Sunday Evening

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy hadn't intended to spend the evening grumpy. She had intended to get a more studying in; her AP classes were a lot more grueling than anything Fandom could come up with and she didn't have any dedicated class time to work on them. But after two hours of staring at Calculus problems and Spanish vocab, Kathy had decided she needed a break. She took Minako out for a walk (and fortunately, she hadn't wanted to stay out in the chill any longer than Kathy had!), and stopped in a common room long enough to boil some water for tea, but when she got back to her room, she found herself pulling up Tumblr on her laptop rather than settling back with a text book.

It's okay, she rationalized to herself. I'll just spend a few minutes catching up on my dash and then I'll get back to work.

An hour later, Kathy was typing VERY ANGRILY at some ass over racist Halloween costumes and the sexual fetishization of young girls in general and young Asian girls in particular. "Don't you even tell me that it's 'just a preference', you neck-bearded, mouth-breathing, spunk-stain!" Kathy snapped aloud. "You've been culturally conditioned to believe that we're all docile, pretty, and doll-like, who want nothing more than to cater to your every puerile, colonial fantasy!"

Yeah, there wasn't going to be any more studying done tonight.

[For one, please!]

Comments

[not_every_mage]

Anders snickered behind his hand. "See? I even used to know an enchanter who swore 'by the Maker's short and curlies,' but that always bothered me. It doesn't seem like He should have body hair."

Contemplation of the contents of the Maker's drawers set aside for the moment, Anders nodded at what she said, eyes not leaving the screen. "I wouldn't have believed you could show a connection in two seconds, but I think I see it."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Sometimes it's just pictures of people kissing or focusing on them holding hands or nuzzling or just fully-clothed foreplay," she said, the cursor hovering over her favorite blog of the bunch. "Uhh, I'd show you, but I don't wanna offend you or make it weird or whatever."

On her long list of 'things Kathy had never done' checking out porn blogs--even tasteful ones!--with guys was pretty high up there.

[not_every_mage]

"I'm not easy to offend," Anders said slowly, biting his lip as he tried to work this one out. "But now that you mention it, I'm trying to imagine explaining how we ended up looking at it together to Nathan and it wouldn't sound very good, would it?"

Not because he thought anything would happen with Kathy, or wasn't allowed to look at porn, or wasn't allowed to be friends with someone he had kissed,or that he and Nathan had even discussed those types of rules for each other. But he was getting the kind of niggling in his stomach that suggested he probably shouldn't follow through on this brilliant idea.

Anyhow, he could look the blogs up on his own later.

He gave her an apologetic look. "Or is that being insane?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"If I thought it was crazy, I wouldn't have asked," Kathy assured him. "And, I mean, I'd probably like to meet Nathan before I become 'that girl who shows his boyfriend porn' to him."

[not_every_mage]

"He's outside a lot," Anders said, glancing over his shoulder at Kathy. "I promise I'll find a way to introduce you sooner or later."

Though he wasn't rushing to do it. The truth was, he still liked having Nathan to himself.

"And -- 'boyfriend'?" He knew what the word meant, he'd just never been anyone's boyfriend before. It was going to take him a moment to adjust. "We haven't said that yet."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oooh, sorry," Kathy said, looking chagrined. "I didn't mean to jump the gun or anything. I just assumed--" she shook her head. "Never mind. I just assumed and that was the problem."

Offering him an apologetic smile, she added, "Can I ask? Complicated, just not there yet, or don't like labels?"

[not_every_mage]

"Complicated," Anders answered, after a moment's contemplation that saw him lean back in his seat and look at the ceiling as if the exact words to use might be written there. "At home we don't say boyfriend, for one thing. And for another I've never let myself be serious about anyone before. As far as I know he hasn't either."

[spin_kick_snap]

"What do you say instead of boyfriend?" Kathy asked. She could guess why Anders had never let himself get close to anyone. As far as she could tell, that wasn't really encouraged among the Circle. She was curious why Nathan hadn't, but also fully aware that was none of her business.

[not_every_mage]

"Lover or partner if we have to, but normally we'd just say two people are 'together,'" Anders answered. "It might sound funny, but you don't realize you need a special word for boyfriend or girlfriend until you have it."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'll use together then," Kathy said with a nod. "And partner. Lover usually means that you've taken that step already and, umm, I'm not gonna assume that's a thing until you tell me it is."

She dimpled at him, eyes sparkling. "I hope you know I'd never push you to tell me more than you're comfortable with. That being said, any time you want to share about anything, I'm right here for you."

It's what any good friend would do!

[not_every_mage]

"I'll keep that in mind," Anders said dryly. Maybe someday he'd be ready to share, but at the moment there was so little to tell it was hardly worth gossiping about even if he wanted to.

He eyed her curiously, Tumblr forgotten for the moment. "Can I ask you something, though? It's about that time we kissed."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh, you mean, you and me?" Kathy blushed but nodded. "Of course. Whatever, umm, you want to. Ask, I mean."

[not_every_mage]

"I backed off because I got the idea you weren't particularly interested," Anders said carefully. He wasn't upset, just curious, and he figured he'd ask her now while he was feeling brave. "Which is fine -- clearly I'm not sobbing into my pillow over it. But was I right?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh!" Kathy let out the breath she'd been unconsciously holding, expecting something much worse than that. Which didn't make sense, because this was Anders, but there it was anyway. "Oh. Oh."

Very enlightening, Kathy.

"No, it wasn't like that. Well, I mean, it sorta was?" She shook her head and took a minute to put her thoughts into proper order. "I did like you and I was interested? But there was this other guy that I liked more. And I didn't think it was fair to encourage you while I was really crushing on him?" She sagged against the wall. "Which probably just shows how not good I am at all of this."

Considering Anders now had Nathan and Kathy had several dirty Tumblr blogs.

[not_every_mage]

"Ah, better that than we start seeing each other and three months in you dump me for not being the other guy," Anders said. He was taking it almost completely in stride -- partially because he already suspected there might have been something like that, partially because coming in second to someone else was slightly easier to manage emotionally than if she just hadn't liked him that way at all.

His pride stung a little, that was all. He'd been through worse. (Besides, it was hard for him to think about Nathan and not feel like things had worked out in his favor.)

"So, who'd I lose out to?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"I don't think you lost out to anybody," Kathy said with a sigh. "Considering my state of perpetual singleness. I never even had a chance, really." She flopped down on her bed because this was the kind of conversation you needed dramatics for. "You probably don't know him--he's way older than us. I fell for the worst kind of cliche: the tall, dark, sexy, and mysterious superhero. Who probably thinks of me as a sidekick, assuming he thinks of me at all."

She pulled a pillow over her face and groaned. "The worst part is? It's been months and I still totally have a thing for him. That's pretty much the most pathetic thing ever."

[not_every_mage]

Anders flopped next to her. So Kathy's crush wasn't someone attainable: He couldn't decide if that made him feel better or worse. "No, I'm sure we could come up with some more pathetic things if we thought about it hard."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Impossible," Kathy declared.

This, of course, meant 'That would actually be really awesome if we could? Because I'm feeling pretty bummed about the whole situation.'

"He did, like, this sexy dance for me to in a bet and now I dream about that. Dreams! It's ridiculous. I'm ridiculous. There is nothing more ridiculous in the entire world."

Your cue, Anders.

[not_every_mage]

"Really? I think dogs in stockings are a little more ridiculous, myself," Anders told her. "Anyhow, if he's doing sexy dances for you at least he knows you exist."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I just insulted his pride or something," Kathy said, glad she rated somewhere above 'dogs in stockings.' "Something about him not being a great dancer? I don't even remember."

She groaned again. "Mind you, it was at his birthday thing that I set up for him. Because I'm both pathetic and obvious."

[not_every_mage]

"Sometimes obvious is good," Anders said philosophically, reaching to pat her arm. "If you weren't, how would he know you were interested? And I'd be thrilled if someone threw me a birthday party. I bet he was, too."

[spin_kick_snap]

"It wasn't a party? I just made a kind of...mini-theater thing. So we could screen an old Western. He loves them. His whole cowboy thing is hilarious."

With his posing and the way he sometimes forgot himself and started humming Dead Or Alive...

"When's your birthday? Maybe I'll collaborate with Nathan or something to throw you a good one. Have you ever had a birthday party?"

Kathy hadn't. At least, not beyond something her mom had thrown for the family when she was growing up.

[not_every_mage]

"Oh, it's not for ages," Anders told her, waving a hand vaguely. "It's in -- what do you call Justinian again? -- June. That one. But no, I haven't ever had a party for it."

Shocker: The Circle wasn't big on celebrating mage's name days. Most of Anders' recent birthdays had passed with little notice,and he'd still been too confused by the new calendar to realize his most recent one had happened until it had passed.

"When's yours?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Little over a month from now. December 17th. Which means that it mostly gets folded into Christmas anyways." Not that Kathy was bitter about that or anything, no!

Granted, before Fandom, her birthday would have gotten overlooked by her peers regardless of when in the year it had been, but it still stung anyway.

"I'm sorry we missed yours. I'll have to get you an unbirthday present to make up for it."

[not_every_mage]

"There are unbirthday presents?" Occasionally Earth customs weren't that bad. "And I probably won't do Christmas, so I'll make an extra-big deal out of your birthday. Lucky you."