Barry's Old Warehouse, Warehouse District, Sunday Afternoon

[spin_kick_snap]

So. The island could turn her back into an ex at literally any moment. That was not a thought that was good for Kathy's peace of mind. Being an ex again, for however short a time, had not been good for Kathy's peace of mind. She hadn't been a mindless husk that had seen everything that moved as 'prey,' no, but that was cold comfort when she had spent the day eating brains.

Sharing brains with other people.

Hunting small creatures to get--

Her stomach lurched again, just thinking about it. She hadn't eat much this past week just for that reason. It felt like February all over again, when eating had been a struggle, the very act bringing up memories she didn't want to relive.

Distantly, Kathy knew she should go home, deal with the mess left in her room, deal with the mess that was her life. And she would! She just--couldn't yet. Not while she still felt like this, ten pounds of crazy in a four pound bag. She just needed to get a handle on it--was trying to get a handle on it--and when she did, she'd go home. She'd apologize for worrying everyone, she'd clean up, she'd be okay.

Soon. Just not now.

[Open]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"Wait, really?" Kathy asked, blinking at him wide-eyed. "I thought--"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Thought what?" Dante said. "That she wanted to spare you like, another year of you guys not being fucking awkward at each other?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"...Kinda?"

And it had just, like, horrifically backfired?

"That she just wanted to be super-honest or something?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Nah, from what I could tell, she just wanted the satisfaction of saying it," Dante said.

[spin_kick_snap]

"...Oh." Beat. "That's kinda fucked up!"

[rebelseekspizza]

"No shit," Dante said, snorting. "I like Ringo, but fuck, she loves making problems, shoving them in somebody else's lap, and then getting fucking mad or upset when the other person doesn't fix 'em."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy frowned, uncertain how to feel about this. It had been years ago, so it felt stupid to get upset over it all over again, but it was still a little galling to learn this.

"Dammit, I've felt guilty about this! For years!"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Why?"

Dante stared at her.

[spin_kick_snap]

"...Because I hurt her feelings?"

Was that weird?

[rebelseekspizza]

"Kathy, she knew you were gonna say no."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Right, but..." Kathy stalled, unable to figure out what came after the 'but.' "She just looked so wrecked up there afterwards. And I hated hurting her feelings. I felt like maybe I hadn't tried hard enough or something."

[rebelseekspizza]

"You weren't gonna fall for her," Dante said simply. "Even if you hadn't been straight. There was nothing you could do, and she knew that."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I know it's just...she was hurting and that hurt was because of me," Kathy said. "Even if it's not logical, I just felt bad. I don't like being the reason my friends are in pain, even if it's not something that was my fault to begin with."

Making Kathy feel guilty was a pretty easy proposition, let's be real.

[rebelseekspizza]

"She was hurting 'cause she was in love with you and she couldn't deal with it on her own," Dante said, sighing. "Weight of the world's not yours, Kat."

[spin_kick_snap]

She was making him sigh a lot with this conversation. (And kind of felt bad about that, too.)

"Yeah, that's another one for you to teach me how to accept," she said with a laugh devoid of actual amusement. "You're right. I know you're right. But I keep thinking...I dunno. Maybe if I work just a little bit harder, I can make everyone I care about happy."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Can't."

For once, it was Dante who put his head down on her shoulder, and stayed there. "But you're doing pretty good with Anders." Beat. "And me, I guess."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy pressed her cheek against his hair and closed her eyes. "Just you guess, huh? I'll have to up my rock guitar and strawberry dessert game."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Figure you'll get that down sometime," Dante said, sounding equal parts joking and content, his own eyes closed too.

[spin_kick_snap]

"You're just hoping I'll reveal where the third bottle of strawberry tequila's been hidden," Kathy declared, tugging him down so they could continue this discussion laying down. Her arm stayed looped around him though; usually, she tried to keep her distance so he'd be comfortable, but right now she wanted him close.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Yeah, where is that?" Dante asked, with no fight whatsoever as he moved with her.

[spin_kick_snap]

"In my room," Kathy told him. "Just waiting for us to end up there sometime with me in the mood for sharing."

So, you know, post-coital probably.

[rebelseekspizza]

"I should plan for that," Dante mused. "Seduce you for your booze."

[spin_kick_snap]

"You really know you way right to a girl's heart," Kathy snarked. "Seducing me for my booze, Dante, that's cold."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Aw, but that's why you're into me," Dante said, and turned his head to kiss her.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy snorted, her retort swallowed by his mouth. She slid her hands down his chest, settling them on his hips and kissed him back, nice and slow.

"You're just lucky you're pretty," she told him when she at last eased back. "You'll have to be pretty fucking special if you think you can seduce my crappy booze outta me."