Dante'd had a good day. Hung out, had a beer, played some guitar. The old itch of do-cause-you're-gonna-die had been absent lately, and so Baltimore had turned into an afterthought.
Turned out waiting for the best time to strike caused a different kind of itch, though. And so, after at least a month, he was back in town... roaming the streets, checking the doors of some of his old haunts.
From several stories above him, Kathy shifted position, pulling her legs in tighter as she watched the cars blur by. The some of the loose detritus on the roof shifted with her, tumbling over the edge and down to the sidewalk below.
Dante moved away from the incoming debris instinctively; faster than he would have even a few months ago, though even then his reflexes had been lightening-fast.
He frowned, looking towards the ceiling. "Is anybody up there?"
Kathy wasn't at all surprised when she saw Dante propel himself up and over the edge of the roof. She spared an idle thought for trying to pull herself together and look somewhat...presentable...or something, but she just didn't have the energy. So it was a dejected lump of a girl that greeted Dante, rather than the perky shell she often tried to be.
Her hand reached up for something that could charitably be called a wave, but her forehead stayed pressed against her knees.
Kathy cracked an eye to look up at the moon. Even with Baltimore's light pollution, she could see it just fine, hanging full and ripe in the sky. "Think so," she said. "If not tonight than tomorrow."
She drew in a ragged breath trying to find conversation. She was tapped out and so she lapsed back into silence instead.
"Kinda cool," Dante said. He settled back next to her, not terribly fussed about his arm brushing against hers. "You don't get a view like that back in Limbo City. Maybe the demons've got something to do with that, too."
It was enough to get her looking over at him. Or maybe that was the sudden warmth at her side. She'd been out here long enough to get cold, though she hadn't really noticed. She was...really bad at paying attention to the signals her body was sending her these days. "How would they affect the moon?" she managed to ask.
"Didn't bring the bottle with me," Kathy noted. "Didn't expect company."
Hadn't been looking for any. Though now that he was here, she found herself torn between keeping him close for as long as he was willing to stay and pushing him away as fast as she could.
Turned out waiting for the best time to strike caused a different kind of itch, though. And so, after at least a month, he was back in town... roaming the streets, checking the doors of some of his old haunts.
That bar?
Nah.
Not that bar.
Reply
Reply
He frowned, looking towards the ceiling. "Is anybody up there?"
Reply
Kathy poked her head over the edge of the roof and looked down, right into a pair of pretty blue eyes she knew as well as her own. Possibly better.
And groaned quietly. Of course.
"If I say no, will you believe it?" she asked, hating how thick her voice sounded.
Reply
"Not really," Dante said.
He glanced over one shoulder, then over the other. Nothing but bored city people; he'd be fine.
He leaped up, feet touching briefly on the fire escape-- and then he was on the roof.
Reply
Her hand reached up for something that could charitably be called a wave, but her forehead stayed pressed against her knees.
Reply
He walked across the roof, feet kicking against the dirt. He squatted low when he got close, tilting his head. "Kat?"
Reply
Honest. Blunt. Herself.
Reply
Her being something other than bippy or chirpy or trying too hard wasn't one of them.
"Moon's out," he mused, sinking down next to her on the ground. He looked up meditatively. "Think it's full yet?"
Reply
She drew in a ragged breath trying to find conversation. She was tapped out and so she lapsed back into silence instead.
Reply
If she wasn't going to talk, he would.
Reply
Caught by her own curiosity. Well-played, Dante.
Reply
Reply
Just the opposite, in fact.
Voice quiet, she asked, "Why are you here?" It wasn't accusatory. She didn't have the cope for that. Just curious.
Reply
It was entirely possible he knew that wasn't what she was asking.
Reply
Hadn't been looking for any. Though now that he was here, she found herself torn between keeping him close for as long as he was willing to stay and pushing him away as fast as she could.
Fun times.
Reply
Leave a comment