The Causeway, Tuesday Morning

[bitch_prince]

It was ridiculously early when Arthur made it down to the causeway. He'd stayed here yesterday to recuperate, but he couldn't afford to waste any more time. He needed to get back to Camelot, to see if his father remembered anything, and if so, to salvage the situation as best he could

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[thismaskiwear]

"--ke your FRIKKIN' SODA AND SHOVE IT!"

Could you tell it was Katchoo coming down toward the causeway? Probably.

[bitch_prince]

Arthur's eyebrows slid up towards his hair. "Katina?" he called.

No one else cursed like that.

[thismaskiwear]

There was also the part where she was glaring at the bottle of Coke in her hand like she was trying to melt it with her eyes, as became evident when she got close enough.

"Did you think you were gonna sneak off?"

[bitch_prince]

Arthur ran that question through his head and attempted to determine whether there was a correct answer to it. He decided that no, there wasn't.

"Just getting the packing done," Arthur said.

Not that they had much.

[thismaskiwear]

"That'll take you the next ten days," Katchoo drawled sarcastically. You know, she had that damn soda in her hand, she might as well --

Of course they'd give her the kind without a screw cap, and her without a bottle opener. And it was too cold for her to use her teeth on the damn thing. Damn bears.

"Gotta get home, huh?"

Insert inner monologue here about blockheaded princes and their sense of duty. But a very affectionate one.

Thus being the inner monologue.

[bitch_prince]

"I don't know how much my father remembers of what happend," Arthur admitted. "If he remembers anything, he'll blame it on evil wizards again. I'd be spending the next two months convincing him not to murder anyone who's ever touched a poultice."

Welcome to the sad reality of his life.

[thismaskiwear]

"Arthur Pendragon, this is your life," Katchoo added to helpfully supplement the narrative.

Still, she winced; that whole situation with Gaius wasn't really the kind of thing she forgot.

"And a hell of an exhausting one it is."

[bitch_prince]

"No point in complaining about it," Arthur said, sounding a touch uncomfortable. "How are your studies faring?"

Such a subtle change of topic.

[thismaskiwear]

Y'know, it had been tempting to remember those going a little more easily, but she hadn't done that.

"Little rough around this time of year," Katchoo answered instead, honestly. "But, eh. I'll take finals stress over the crap we just got dragged through."

[bitch_prince]

Arthur shot her a concerned look. "Have you had enough time to prepare?"

[thismaskiwear]

Katchoo gave him a wry half-grin. "This is why the gods invented dorms across the street from all-night coffee shops. College is just a giant racket to support the coffee industry."

[bitch_prince]

Skeptical, thy name was Arthur. "If you say so," he said, nonplussed. "All's been well otherwise?"

Post-crisis pleasantries: it was all the rage.

[thismaskiwear]

"Oh, just peachy. Let's breeze right past the part on Sunday where I had a moment of thinking I'd actually miss Margie McCoy and her boobs. It was a moment of weakness." Post-crisis pleasantries were more fun when they were sardonic. That was Katchoo's story and she was sticking to it.

. . . she would have missed that. A little regular irritation in your day was good for you!

". . . it's been good." There was a brief pause before she said that, because she never did stop waiting for the other shoe to drop, so -- optimism was a very cautious go.

[bitch_prince]

Arthur nodded once, almost tentatively.

Even after all these years, he still sort of had trouble with the idea of friendships like this. "Glad to hear it," he said. "I know college is supposed to be a pressuring environment..."

[thismaskiwear]

"Pfft." Katchoo waved a hand. "Half of it they bring on themselves."

Shut up, art major.

"'course if you ever came to visit and wandered into a frat party by accident you might change your mind."

Did it make her a terrible person to imagine Arthur at a frat party? Did she care if it did?

[bitch_prince]

"I remember the frat being a very productive organisation," said Arthur, who had, of course, run his own at Fandom for at least a year.

Sigh, Arthur.