The Apartment Above Luke's, Monday Evening

[spin_kick_snap]

The lack of private function space was perfectly solved by the empty apartment above the diner. Kathy had spent the afternoon cleaning and setting up for dinner tonight. Her anniversary dinner, if you would.

A year ago today, she'd woken up in Eliot's house, surrounded by tight, worried faces. Her friends, pretty much en masse, had gone through a portal to LA and fought through hordes of exes to bring her home, in hopes that Nanika could bring her back to life. Or maybe just so she'd stop chanting Kathy's name. For whatever reason they'd done it, though, they'd succeeded. Kathy was alive again and had been for a full year.

A dizzying, challenging, terrifying year.

It seemed only right to hold some kind of commemorative dinner for it, somewhere between a celebration (which she still didn't think she'd earned, exactly) and an appreciation dinner. Not just for what they'd done, but for sticking with her this past year, for weathering the ups and downs, for reaching out and checking in, for reconnecting and promising to be better and stronger friends from here forward.

And, well, even if that didn't all come through, it would still be a delicious dinner cooked by Eliot and would give her a chance to just spend some time with the people she loved best, getting caught up with those she hadn't seen in awhile and offering an opportunity for them to get to know one another better, too.

If nothing else, they could all just stuff themselves silly with whatever delicious things the kitchen downstairs had whipped up and the super, extra, very chocolatey desserts Kathy had promised Alluka in her invitation.

[For those invited and up early for SP. No OCD, feel free to just ping in and around.]

Comments

[that_oldsaying]

Definitely not.

"There's a lot of areas that normal people aren't allowed in," she said, having looked at the maps. "It's probably better to have at least a little bit of a plan."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Fiiiine," Ringo huffed, pretending that it was a tough request to fulfill.

But, honestly, she thought planning might be part of the fun.

"I suppose that we can make sure to see all the best places if we plan ahead, huh?"

[that_oldsaying]

"Yes!"

That was going to be tons of fun too. Alluka was also looking forward to the planning.

"Though we'll have to do a lot to figure out where the best places are."

Since she didn't know.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Sounds like we'll have to stock up on snacks if we're going to spend that much time planning."

Oh, it would be so terrible!

[that_oldsaying]

"Ooooh, even just planning for that would be fun, then!"

They could get so many snacks! So many!

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo giggled. "Come one, we can't plan for our planning session. Once we start doing that, we'll have to plan to plan to plan, forever!"

[that_oldsaying]

That made Alluka laugh.

"Okay, not too much planning for snacks, then! But we will need them!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Well, I'm not going to argue against snacks." Ringo would never do that!

"As long as they're good ones, anyway."

[that_oldsaying]

"I always pick good ones," Alluka insisted.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Well, you do have pretty good taste." And not just in snacks.

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka beamed.

"You're not bad at snacks either," she said happily.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"That's why we make such a great team," Ringo declared with a beaming smile.

"Well, one of the reasons."

[that_oldsaying]

"What are the other reasons?" Alluka asked, because she was curious now.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Cause we're both awesome!" Duh. "And you've got great fashion sense, and I like good-looking clothes. And we both do AirTrek." And probably some other stuff!

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka laughed.

"And that's all it takes?" she wondered.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Probably depends on what kind of team you're trying to make," Ringo answered with a shrug. "Like, I doubt that you and I make a very good football team."