Explorean Resort, Cozumel, Mexico, Saturday

[spin_kick_snap]

Cozumel was about three thousand miles away from Fandom, so Kathy had no idea that there were storms or sharks about. She was sitting on the white, sandy beaches of Mexico, sipping her...somethingth...glass of sangria and reading reading an e-book series about a half-fairy knight who solved mysteries with her cat-prince lover.

It was better than it sounded, shut up.

Every so often, the waiter assigned to the private beaches would swing by to bring her more glasses of sangria (which was how she's lost count of the number she'd had) and clear away the empties (making it impossible to keep track). He'd appreciated that she spoke to him in Spanish and was polite with her requests and so sometimes also brought bowls of fresh fruit for her to snack on while she lounged in the sun.

Basically, this vacation was the best thing ever and exactly what she'd needed. And she was going to continue to enjoy the peace and relaxation until her phone beeped with a text from Raven.

lukes got trashed in sharkicane. apt probly uninhabitable. finding new shelter will update later

"WHAT?!"

[For the boy, the roomie, or anyone else who wants to call!]

Comments

[tigerundercover]

"I'm pretty sure they actually get both down there," Raven pointed out. "But they didn't get hit by Hurricane Finley, so that's still a point in their favor."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Finley?" Kathy asked, shocked into a sputtering laugh. "Finley?"

[tigerundercover]

"Yup," Raven said, making sure to pop the P.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I am never coming home ever again," Kathy threatened, still giggling. "Never ever."

[tigerundercover]

"See, that's just going to make Mr. Spencer cry. And then that will make Hardison upset and he's going to come fussing to me to make you fix it. . . ."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Which is all a roundabout way of saying you'll miss me and I have to come home so we can be homeless roomies, together," Kathy declared. "I can read between the lines, Raven."

[tigerundercover]

"Don't make me walk to Mexico and get you. You know I will."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I dunno, I bet I could convince you to stay if you did."

Kathy's eyes were wet because it was raining. Sea surf. Spilled alcohol. Shut up.

[tigerundercover]

"I mean, at least for awhile. I'll be all tired."

But she'd have to go through Texas to get there. And Raven had promised herself she'd never go to Texas again.

[spin_kick_snap]

"And there are pretty people here to ply you with tasty food and drink even when you're rested," Kathy agreed. "Buuuut...I suppose a good roommate wouldn't make you cross another country to come get her. Again."

[tigerundercover]

"Into one where I barely speak the language, even," Raven said. "I suppose you'll just have to come home. I'll fuss at Hardison and Mr. Spencer to try and get our place fixed back up in the meantime."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh, so...you think it could be fixed and ready to go before I come home?" Kathy asked, brightening up.

[tigerundercover]

"Sure?" Raven did not sound certain at all, no. "I mean, they just have to fix the first floor, right? . . . How long are you staying in Mexico?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Through next week," Kathy said, still trying to hold onto those shreds of optimism. "So, expect me home next Monday?"

[tigerundercover]

"Sooo, like the 21st?" That seemed forever away. Surely repairs could happen by then.

[spin_kick_snap]

"No, no, the fourteenth," Kathy said, pulling up the calendar on her phone. "Today's Saturday the fifth, right?"

Look, she was on vacation. Keeping track of days was hard.

[tigerundercover]

"I don't know," Raven said. "It's all windy and rainy and today has lasted, like, four days already. Being a prehistoric armadillo is exhausting."

[spin_kick_snap]

"You're going to be sore in the weirdest places tomorrow," Kathy said, knowing how Raven worked.

[tigerundercover]

"I really am," Raven agreed. "On the upside, I won't have gotten blown away by a hurricane."

[spin_kick_snap]

"And hey, Ibuprofen is a thing that exists, so you definitely made the right call," Kathy said. More tentatively she added, "Do you need me to come home? Or whatever is passing for 'home' right now?"

[tigerundercover]

"No," Raven said firmly. "You deserve your whole vacation." And also this gave Raven the chance to at least try to salvage some of Kathy's stuff to make wherever they ended up staying in the meantime look home-y.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy would be so upset if Raven got hurt trying to salvage some of her stuff out of the apartment. Raven was more important that stuff, dang it.

"Well, you can call me anytime if you need to," Kathy told her. "Or even just wanna talk! It doesn't have to be a need." She bit her lip, feeling useless so far away. "You're gonna need a vacation after this."

[tigerundercover]

"I wouldn't know how to take a vacation." Unless it was going out into the woods and being a bear.

That was basically camping, right?

[spin_kick_snap]

...No. Not in the least.

"We can figure it out," Kathy offered. "Didn't you try to teach me how to do nothing once upon a time?"

[tigerundercover]

Sure it was! You slept outside and everything!

"Yeah . . . But vacations are doing nothing with, like, purpose."