The House In Limbo City, Limbo City, Wednesday Evening

[spin_kick_snap]

It had been ten days since the kids had left and Kathy was mostly back to normal. The fact that it was the end of the semester had probably helped a bit in that regard - it was possible to be maudlin and to study your ass off, but it took a lot more energy than Kathy really had to spare.

Her immediate plans for the evening - more studying, finals started on Monday - had been immediately derailed when Dante had declared it a night off, carrying her downstairs to a pillow pile, made from what looked to be every pillow in the damn house. As if that wasn't dirty enough, he plied her with a mixing bowl full of ice cream, whipped cream, and caramel sauce, a similar-sized sundae for him on the other side of the nest.

Ice cream, blankets, pillows, and boyfriend. The perfect recipe to get rid of post-kid and pre-finals blues.


[Dante modded with permission!]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy didn't know how to respond to that. Thank you just seemed so inadequate. So she kissed him again, letting herself fall against his chest. "So long as you know it's true for you, too," she whispered.

[rebelseekspizza]

"You don't let me forget it," Dante teased, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Thanks."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Not enough people told you that for about eight years there," Kathy told him. "I'm making sure you're aware."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante smiled.

He didn't say anything, but he kissed the tip of her nose. Gently.

[spin_kick_snap]

And, well...she just liked him. She liked spending time with him, he made her laugh and smile and relax in ways that few others could.

So she took opportunities to tell him that she liked him. That he was likable. Not just sexy or good at fucking or useful. But likeable.

She giggled at his kiss and stole one in return. "You want me to continue on your chest now?"

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante laughed. "Oh, you getting ambitious on me?" he teased. "Isn't there a show on body art you should be on?"

[spin_kick_snap]

His back was maybe half-done at best, but the outline was there at least. "Pretty sure we watched that the summer I came back," she said, amused. "I don't know if I can make you disappear though."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante reached for her hands. "So what are you planning to put on my front? Back, wings, I get."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Then down your spine, I decided to swap from a sword to a tail," Kathy said. "So I was thinking of doing a dragon curling around your chest, with its tail going over your shoulder."

Her fingers traced over his chest, illustrated how she was going to draw and where. "Western or Eastern dragon?" she asked.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Depends," Dante said. "Is Eastern gonna be cute or make me look like some white boy wannabe?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy grinned at him. "I dunno. How many Korean words are you up to now?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Du se madi," Dante said, grinning back.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy lit up, her smile a bright flash across her face. "More words than I expected, though!" she said, kissing him again. "Your accent is improving, too."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante grinned against her mouth. "Still sound like a white boy who watches too much Kdrama," he retorted.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Which is still like seven steps up from your average white boy," Kathy pointed out. "You've never even tried to speak Japanese to me, even one time."

She raised an eyebrow. "How many people are gonna see your naked chest before this washes off you think?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Depending on where you put it... You and Anders?" Dante said, tilting his head.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Then if I draw you an Eastern dragon no one who sees it who is gonna think anything other than 'this is the kind of dragon that Kathy can draw better'," Kathy grinned. She wasn't a great artist, but practice had shored up a little of what natural talent had left behind.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante grinned at her. "And you're not gonna make fun of me for it?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Dante out here asking the hard questions.

"Would I ever do something like that?" Kathy asked innocently.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Yeah," Dante said, snickering. "You would."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm shocked to hear you hold such an opinion of me!"

Not 'low opinion' or even 'inaccurate.' Just 'opinion.'

"I suppose I can give you a pass on the baeg-in jokes," she said. Reluctantly. "At least those specifically about the dragon."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Fine, I'll take it," Dante said.

He dropped back onto the pillows in a lazy sprawl, stretching out in front of her. "Go ahead."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy straddled his hips again. Same position as before, but damn was she a lot more aware of how she was sitting like this. "I wish I could do this in pencil," she murmured, the tip of her tongue sticking out in concentration. "A nice golden ratio around your chest would make drawing this easier."

Okay, so if the head was right over his heart, she could have the dragon spiral around. Meet up with the tail that could wrap around his shoulder and down onto his side...

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante chuckled softly, his hands coming up to settle on her hips. "Think there's dry-erase marker for this?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"You're not a whiteboard, Dante," Kathy teased, giving him a wicked grin that told him she had absolutely swallowed back another joke. See? She could be good! "What I should really do is design this on the computer and get some of that temporary tattoo paper and use that on you."

Which would look cooler, sure, but she'd miss cuddling over and breathing the warmth of his skin as she decorated him.