Ezra's Place to Tranquil Ocean Day Spa, Tuesday

[spin_kick_snap]

Jar of kimchi, festooned with a bow and in a cute gift bag? Check.

Pair of tickets for a day spa? Also check.

Super-modest bathing suit bought explicitly for this occasion? Triple check.

Look, between their sort-of fight, his trip with Dante, the trouble with Zeke after prom, and his upcoming exhibition, Kathy was betting that Ez was feeling a little frayed around the edges. And, well, sometimes the best cure for that was a little bit of pampering.

Here was hoping Ez felt the same way.

Knock knock.

[For him in the post!]

Comments

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Kathy nodded. "Yep. Massages, saunas, hot tubs, and a restaurant right there, so we can get fed, too." She leaned over and pointed at one of the pictures. "Not gonna lie, I kiiiiinda fell in love with those big, super-absorbent bathrobes they give you for walking around the place. They look like they're comfortable as heck - and it's still a little too cold for this Californian to be wandering around in a wet one-piece."

[smilestopscars]

"Huh," Ezra said, looking the brochure over. Trying not to be obvious about how he was weighing the pros and the cons in his head.

She'd said 'one-piece' but he wasn't yet sure he was convinced this was a good idea.

[spin_kick_snap]

She'd very deliberately said 'one-piece' in fact. And the giant bathrobes as well.

"I mean, when was the last time you had a decent massage?" she asked. "Or just spent time relaxing in a sauna? You could consider it my version of helping get you into peak performance mode."

[smilestopscars]

God, she was kind of going full-tilt Kathy again, wasn't she?

There was a softness to his lopsided smirk as he looked up at her again, his head still tilted. "And who says I need help, darling?"

[spin_kick_snap]

...Maybe.

"Well, I mean, Sparkle is making your costume and Ada's helping you with makeup and I just thought..." she trailed off, fingers knotting together. "...Just kinda thought that maybe you could use a bit of pampering. Is all. It would be what I could do for you."

[smilestopscars]

No, definitely.

"Okay," Ezra said, after a brief moment of just quietly watching her. "Let's do it."

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Pffft. What did that even mean, really?

"Really?" she asked, all smiles. "Yesss!" Did she actually punch air like a nerd?

Of course she did.

"One day of ultra-relaxation and pampering coming up!"

[smilestopscars]

Ezra, even with all his continued private misgivings about this, couldn't hold back a snicker at what an adorable nerd she was being.

"Just let me take this kimchi back to the fridge, first."

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"And get your trunks!" Kathy agreed. Because, again, she'd been very diligent about making sure this was a bathhouse that required clothing at all times.

For reasons.

"And, I suppose, if you wanted to try it, there's time for that, too."

[smilestopscars]

"Cupcake, you should know better than to let me get distracted with food," Ezra told her, nodding her in before turning to head back into the house, himself. He had a kitchen to visit and light packing to do. "If I start doing taste tests now, we'll be here for a long time."

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Kathy followed with a giant sigh. "Hoist by my own petard," she tsked, shaking her head. "So busy making plans, I miss out on you taste-testing. Need to work on my scheduling, clearly."

She stopped in the living room. Following him upstairs seemed like an overstep.

[smilestopscars]

Especially in a one-story house such as this one, omg.

Ezra ducked into the kitchen. It'd take a second to make some room for the jar in a spot that was worthy of it. "You should know that Ezra plus food always equals an event."

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*waves hands* SHHHHH

"Ezra plus anything equals an event," Kathy teased, unabashedly fond. "I suppose I can wait another time for you to try it, so long as you promise to call me up and wax poetic about how delicious it was."

[smilestopscars]

"Oh, but of course." Well, all that descriptiveness that he wasn't using on her in his most preferred ways, these days, had to go somewhere. "I promise to get notes from Lock as well."

[spin_kick_snap]

Look, having Ezra murmuring creatively descriptive things in her ear was just something she enjoyed. If it couldn't be creatively descriptive filthy things, she wasn't going to turn down creatively descriptive compliments about her food.

"I'm sure Lock will be thrilled to hear he gets some and then immediately resigned to the fact that he has homework to go along with it."

[smilestopscars]

"Oh, now we're calling it homework?" Ezra tsked as he reappeared from the kitchen, though only to head for his room, next. "Careful, darling. Framing it like that might lose you everyone's praise."

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"Hey, I wasn't the one who declared I'd be getting notes," Kathy teased. "For one breathless minute, I'd thought I was surrounded by pod people."

[smilestopscars]

"Notes like remarks, but Lock-style," he clarified, booping her on the nose with a fingertip as he went past. "Get it together, darling."

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"Ah well, can't blame a girl for hoping," Kathy said, and settled on the couch. "Portal in ten gonna be enough time?"

[smilestopscars]

"More than enough."

It wasn't like he had much to pack. Swim trunks, his phone, a wallet - his or one he'd recently discovered in someone's pocket, didn't matter...

[spin_kick_snap]

It was his now, right?

"Hey, I just didn't want to be accused of hurrying you along," Kathy said, fluttering her lashes at him. "I'm being a good guest."

[smilestopscars]

Ezra stuck his tongue out at her. See if he cared about her lash-fluttering!

Anyway, he disappeared into his bedroom right after, so he was safe from her face for the time being. "I suppose that's better than being the menace you usually are," he called back as he packed.

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Was he going to outlaw eyelash fluttering next? Soon it wouldn't be safe for Kathy to have any expressions in this house.

"Menace?!" she called back, pulling up Portalocity on her phone, "I bring you food!"

[smilestopscars]

"Those two things are not mutually exclusive," Ezra called back. "Some of the best menaces smooth the consequences of their actions out with bribes."

He should know!

[spin_kick_snap]

"Speaking from personal experience, are we?"

Because, like, duh. He was the biggest menace she knew! To her composure, anyway.