33 Apocalypse Ave, Tuesday Afternoon

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It was October, even if the weather didn't match Tumblr's expectations of the month, and Kathy was getting into the spooky spirit. She'd decorated the living room with some window decals and a small stuffed bat for the cats to play with, there were a chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven and a bowl of ganache cooling on the counter for chocolate monster cookies, and two gallons of apple cider sat in the fridge, waiting to be mulled or spiked with cinnamon-flavored booze.

Now she was sprawled on the couch, playing through her repertoire of songs she'd learned on the guitar, and trying to figure out if she could learn to play Bad Moon Rising before it ceased being relevant. Hmm, maybe she should try to play something off of the Bad Seeds' Murder Ballads instead.

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"I promise not to stop when you say when," Kathy sang, her voice going high as she picked up the harmony instead of the melody.

A bit of improvisation, yeah, but she liked the way their voices sounded when they melded together to make chords. And the change in lyrics just seemed right.

"I sang..."

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Dante fell silent - well, his mouth, anyway.

He stretched out the outro for quite a while, strumming along.

Happy place.

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Every so often, Kathy could copy his finger placements on the strings, but never strummed. This was his, at least for the moment, and she was just happy that she could be here for it, to appreciate it and him.

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At last, Dante's guitar fell as silent as his voice had minutes ago.

The smile on his face was, for once, completely devoid of anything smug - devoid of anything concerning the rest of the world at all.

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And Kathy was hesitant to speak and break that. He just looked so--happy and content. Peaceful, almost. It was a look she'd never seen on him outside of sex and really, not even then. Maybe Anders had? But it wasn't an expression she was used to.

It was beautiful.

She lowered her lashes so she wouldn't be just creepily staring at him, happy that they had shared this together.

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"Anyway," Dante said, after a span of time too long for it to sound entirely organic. "I can probably teach you some Foo Fighters. To start."

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"So they hit the sweet spot of being rock enough for you and yet a manageable amount of rock for me?" Kathy asked. She leaned over at a ridiculous angle, one that would have guaranteed most other people would topple over, and brushed a kiss over his cheek. "That'd be cool."

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Dante grinned through the kiss. "Basically," he agreed.

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"Maybe I can work my way up the cool chain to get to the real rock," Kathy said, batting her eyes at him. "Oh Happy day!"

She was going to do her best to make sure he hosted that jam. Because he was too damn good to be held back by people who just didn't have the interest to keep going.

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Dante snickered. "Yeah, we'll work you up to fucking Slayer or something in no time."

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"But the real question is when do I manage to work my way up to Combichrist?" Kathy asked, thinking about the collection of black and death metal she'd had on her old ipod with amusement.

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"Give it another year," Dante said sagely.

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"Or even two," she agreed with a nod. "Don't wanna rush the rock."

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Dante struck a chord. "Stop the rock, can't stop the rock..."

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"Maybe I'll get to introduce you to the awesome K-rock scene," Kathy said with a solemn nod. "You seem like the kind of guy who could get into Royal Pirates or F. T. Island."

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"That just sounds like they're from one of those shitty Mooby movies with Johnny Depp," Dante announced.

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"Because bands like HIM, Killswitch Enganged, Noisia, and Pantera all sound like totally cool names," Kathy said, snickering.

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"They sound badass," Dante said. "Take that sarcasm back."

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"Will I not get my Babymetal merit badge if I don't?" Kathy asked, dimples quite prominent.

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"Don't be a dick."

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"Okay okay, sorry," she said, holding up her hands in surrender. "I'm sorry I made fun of their names."

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"Good, you should be," Dante sighed. "'Cause you're the girl like, coughing up Spencer's Best Country Hits now."

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"Hey now, it's classic and southern rock right now," Kathy protested. "A girl's gotta have some standards."

...She and Eliot totally listened to country together. He'd even brought her back some autographed pictures from the CMAs once. But what Dante didn't know wouldn't get her made fun of.

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"Please. That's like lame southern nostalgia shit," Dante said.

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"He is from Oklahoma," Kathy said, laughing again. "And totally wants to be a cowboy when he grows up. It's like the worst-kept secret in the world."