spin_kick_snap | The Mount, Ex-Los Angeles

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The Mount, Ex-Los Angeles

The last time anyone from Fandom had been in Kathy's LA, the heroes had been living inside the walls that surrounded Paramount Studios, with the exes and the South Seventeens laying claim to everything else. Since then, they'd expanded; the Big Wall pushing the borders out almost a mile in all four directions. In some spots, it was hard to tell that there had ever been a zombocalypse; the streets were clean, the buildings repaired, the blood all scrubbed away. There was a proper school, lots of farms and gardens, several churches, and even a small library. The studio was still the heart of the community, but people had started to spread out and settle. It was still a tight fit, several thousand people into one square mile, but honestly not much worse than Los Angeles used to be, back before the world died and reanimated again.

Life had fallen back into a rhythm again. People got up, got ready for the day. Kids were sent off to school, adults took themselves to various jobs, though there were fewer sales people, baristas, and aspiring actors and a lot more guards, scavengers, and farmers these days. There was a brewery down on Larchmont and a still over on Monroe. Burns Park let people enjoy a bit of nature where the kids could run around and burn off steam and a Gold's Gym practically against the Big Wall. That was where the Unbreakables spent most of their free time, with curious gawkers watching them put more and more weight onto the machines.

It was a bustling little community of survivors, as safe as a place could be, surrounded on all sides by millions of undead waiting to find a way inside to devour them all.

[For them that are there! NFB, and ~~please wait for the~~ OCD is up! Previous entry Next Entry]

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And Dante wrapped his arms around her as soon as she was there, just holding on to her.

"I don't think..." Kathy stumbled over her words, they came out clunky, graceless. "I don't think I'm going to be better when we get home."

"It'll take time," Dante said softly, "Like it did last time."

"That time I'd been dead," Kathy groused. "This time, I was just..."

She sighed, knowing what she'd say to anyone else who'd undergone this kind of trauma.

"I was doing so well," she said instead.

"You're strong," Dante said quietly. "You'll get back up there again. But this shit takes time, Kat. You just got fucked up all over again."

"It is very, very tiring, being fucked up all the time."

And then she realized who she was saying that to and felt guilty again.

"Yeah, it is," Dante said, and tightened the hug.

"Did you ever feel weird about being all fucked up?" Kathy asked. "Like you were just bringing everyone else down and m-maybe it was better to just...I dunno. Go off and be fucked up by yourself in a corner somewhere?"

Or a closet.

"Why d'you think I never slept over, back when?" Dante asked, kissing the top of her head.

"I always figured it was because you hated cuddling and didn't want anyone to get the idea that sex was more than just...a good time, I guess," Kathy said, thinking back to the old days in the dorm. "I was always so proud of myself for not leaning in to cuddle with you and for giving you space and shit. I thought it was the one thing I'd figured out right."

And now...probably not.

"It was something I really missed after Ez left and before Anders and Nathan broke up," she added, a little wistfully. "He was never in a hurry to go or kick me out. And liked to cuddle. And - well, you know me. I'll cling like a limpet given half a chance."

"You're not wrong," Dante said, running his fingers soothingly along her arm. "I mean... cuddling's still not my number one thing, but I like it all right these days."

It helped when you cared as much as he did, now.

"But I got nightmares and shit at night. I'd get restless, I'd pace around - you saw me in that fucking bathroom. Used to do worse things to myself when it was dark, before I got to Fandom."

He expelled a sigh. "And that's why I didn't just not wanna cuddle, I also didn't wanna sleep over," he said. "So I could be fun and sex and shit around you guys and not have to depress the shit out of everyone with my bullshit."

"Except it wasn't bullshit," Kathy murmured. "It was never bullshit. You had so much you were dealing with back then."

And there had been a lot of times when Kathy hadn't been as understanding or as sympathetic as she could have been. As he'd deserved.

"And if I ever cuddle in too much..." she added, starting to ease away without even realizing it, "you can always tell me. I'll back off."

Dante made a faintly amused noise. "Kathy, I know," he said. "Always knew that. Don't worry about it. I'm good."

Kathy hesitated. "Wait, is that about the it not being bullshit part? Or the cuddling bit? Or both? I'm not entirely sure."

"The cuddling bit," Dante said. "You were overcompensating."

"How was I - oh." Kathy realized she was almost a half foot further away from him than she'd been before. "You make a good point."

And then curled back up around him.

"There we go, that's better," Dante said, smiling into her shoulder. "But-- yeah. I get it. Trust me. It's bullshit, but I get it."

"Five steps forward, three steps back," Kathy sighed. "And on top of that, when we get home, I still have to move."

UGH. But a slightly amused ugh, at least.

Dante laughed softly. "We'll help you with that," he promised.

"I was really hoping you'd tell me that you lot did it for me while I was gone," Kathy admitted with another sigh. This one contained an actual chuckle, though, so win.

"Sorry," Dante said. "We just crashed at the old place."

He ran his fingers through her hair.

"See if I ever get kidnapped to get out of moving again," Kathy grumped, her eyes closing with a pleased sigh. She owed Anders so much for teaching Dante how nice this felt.

"Please don't get kidnapped again," Dante admonished her quietly. Maybe more seriously than he'd been going for.

"I'm pretty sure I hit my quota for a lifetime," Kathy said while the narration laughed. She laid a hand on his cheek. "I'm so sorry for all the worry you've had to deal with this whole time. I know it's not my fault, but..."

She hated the thought of him upset.

"Don't worry about it," Dante said softly. "We're gonna get you out of here, figure this shit out, and then this is never happening again."

Edited 2018-09-30 17:29 (UTC)

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