Antigua, Saturday Night

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy's kotatsu had died an undignified death and the repair (something about proper voltage) was complicated enough to require several days of work. Faced with a girlfriend sad about the cold and, more importantly, faced with a girlfriend's frigid feet, Dante had made the executive decision that they needed a tropical vacation. Immediately. So last week, he'd basically shoved the entire household through a portal that opened to a small island in the Caribbean, complete with blue ocean, white sand, and an all-inclusive menu that contained more fruity booze cocktails than actual food items.

The week had been fun, in a lazy, let's-not-do-anything way, which had also had the side benefit of short-circuiting Kathy's "Christmas Crazy." She'd sprawled in the sun and read trashy novels and swam in the ocean and practiced her Spanish without a care. In fact, she'd lost track of the date until they were talking about returning home tomorrow and she realized that, oh shit, today was her birthday. (And also Dante's, but they didn't talk about that.)

A quick conversation with the resort, some handwavy phone calls to invite guests, and more fairy lights than a grown woman should really need and their little villa was turned into a tropical wonderland birthday party.

[Open! If you think you'd get a phone call (for either Kathy or Dante), you did! Dante modded with permission. No OCD]

Comments

[vdistinctive]

Far be it for Eliot to disobey an apron; he pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he hugged back. "Fantastic on all fronts. They said to say 'hi'. Parker's knee deep in planning to steal all the local street dogs, so they're a bit busy."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy gave him a big squeeze, inhaling deeply. There was something about being wrapped in Eliot's arms that just made her feel safe. "See, if I didn't think I'd get too attached and piss Anders and Dante off by coming home with four more, I'd go help," she said. "...Ronin might also have an opinion on that, come to think of it."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot chuckled. "Yeah, if our boat was any bigger, we'd probably end up with a whole pack of 'em ourselves. All of 'em named Megabyte."

[spin_kick_snap]

"And lo, the real reason you all decided to stay on the boat is revealed," Kathy said with a soft chuckle.

[vdistinctive]

"Already know we're destined for some kind of family sitcom house full of people and animals someday," Eliot said. "Gotta get our peace and quiet in while we still can."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Gonna give me all sorts of younger siblings to hang out with?" Kathy teased. "And baby-sit for?"

[vdistinctive]

"Pretty sure you've already met a couple of 'em," Duke said. Parker especially was always on the look out for signs it was time to go get Spike, for instance. "And I'd be real careful about volunteering to babysit. We will take you up on that, you know."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh noes!" Kathy said, her hands coming up to her face. "Spend time with kids so my family can have some time out together? I sure would hate that!"

[vdistinctive]

"See, you say that now. But just wait until we find a job in Timbuktu and leave you with 'em for a week."

[spin_kick_snap]

"A week, easy," Kathy declared. "It's when you start pushing it out to ten days that I'm going to start thinking about sugar rushes and loud presents for the day you're scheduled to come back."

[vdistinctive]

"Well. Good to know what the limit is. I'll let Parker know so she can mastermind accordingly."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy laughed, shaking her head. "So...you guys are happy? Really, really happy?" she asked.

[vdistinctive]

"Disgustingly so," Eliot said. "Shoulda gotten my head out of my ass about the whole marriage deal a long time ago."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy couldn't help but glance over at Dante at that. Not that she was ready for that kind of step, not at all. Still, though... "Was it the institution that you didn't believe in?" she asked. "Or more your own stuff?"

[vdistinctive]

"My own, definitely," Eliot said. "You know, I was all but engaged when I went into the army as a kid. Everything that happened after that, everything I put that girl through -- the institution was never the problem."

[spin_kick_snap]

Well, there went that hope.

"I didn't know that," Kathy said, chewing on her bottom lip. "I always figured that, like, you didn't believe in it. On top of never expecting to get there."