Comments | thismaskiwear: Katchoo and Francine's Dorm Room, St. Louis (Tuesday Fandom Time)

thismaskiwear

Katchoo and Francine's Dorm Room, St. Louis (Tuesday Fandom Time)

Mar 15, 2011 18:25

Yeah, you try living in the same not-that-big room as someone you'd had a nasty fight with not all that long ago; it wasn't all that fun, especially if you were like Katchoo and had a tendency to let these things simmer.

. . . if you were Katchoo, you also had a tendency to work these things out through painting. That explained the oil-based ( Read more... )

cranky chewie is cranky, st. louis

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Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thatsamilkshake March 16 2011, 03:14:21 UTC

That girl that lived there in that not-that-big room with her had to come back to it sometimes -- and it wasn't even like they were Not Talking. Not really. They were just Not Talking About That.

Or... as much. Or...as non-awkwardly. Or...or okay, so maybe she'd been spending a lot more time Not There, this last week or so. To, you know. Hide from the chance of uncomfortable discussions. Give her space. To paint without Francine's issues getting dealt with in the way.

But she did have to come home sometimes. This time, there was pizza. "Hey."

And awkward. Pizza and awkward.

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thismaskiwear March 16 2011, 18:17:44 UTC

Katchoo was hardly inculpable when it came to the Not Being There either; she'd tried a few times to avail herself of the studio in the arts building, but the funny thing about being there during hours where security wouldn't frown at her presence: there were other people there.

Imagine how thrilled she was about that state of affairs . . . which was less awkward than coming home was lately, anyway.

"Hey," she replied -- or grunted, more like, even that sound muffled by the paintbrush in her teeth -- and aside from a quick, furtive sideways glance kept her attention focused squarely on her canvas.

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thatsamilkshake March 17 2011, 00:50:38 UTC

"Bacon and mushroom okay?" Because she could totally do something about it at this point if it wasn't?

The point was... it was something to say, was the point.

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thismaskiwear March 17 2011, 01:01:25 UTC

"'s fine," Katchoo answered more clearly that time.

Usually they'd make jokes about the mushrooms right now, wouldn't they? With the Fat Man voice and hijinks that would scandalize the neighbors if they weren't living in a college dorm.

A few more brushstrokes, and she set the painting aside for the moment; she was hungry, actually, and going for the pizza with incredibly paint-smeared hands.

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thatsamilkshake March 17 2011, 01:29:42 UTC

"You're gonna end up eating paint and poisoning yourself. Here."

Napkins. Nothing could stop Francine from being a mom. Nothing. Not even Epic Awkward.

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thismaskiwear March 17 2011, 01:51:34 UTC

Katchoo wasn't looking when she reached out for the napkins, so if there was any hand contact there . . . well . . . oops?

"As much of it as I've gotten in my mouth by now, you'd think if I was gonna, I would've."

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thatsamilkshake March 17 2011, 03:23:35 UTC

And if there was any accidentally-maybe lingering there, well, oops too.

"It is kind of amazing that your tongue isn't dyed rainbow colors by now."

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thismaskiwear March 17 2011, 15:20:42 UTC

Katchoo huffed an uneasy laugh, but didn't exactly pull her hand back. "The cigarette smoke cancels that out."

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thatsamilkshake March 17 2011, 16:02:13 UTC

Francine let it slip free, though, in the tongue-biting --stupid, stupid-- aftermath of, "I guess if anything was going to poison you, it'd be those, not the paint."

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thismaskiwear March 17 2011, 16:37:34 UTC

Katchoo bit back the snarky retort she could have made, being all too aware of how excruciatingly awkward a week-and-change-old fight still was without any extra help.

"Francie." The nickname snuck in before she could help it. "Not now?"

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thatsamilkshake March 17 2011, 22:05:36 UTC

Francine let her eyes fall closed, half from the tone and half from the name and an extra half from being so, so tired of this.

"Yeah, okay." Eyes open again but cast down, she reached for a slice of pizza and added a quiet, "Sorry," that was nowhere near casual enough for nagging about cigarettes, if not so loud that it could be taken to mean Sorry for everything, ever.

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thismaskiwear March 17 2011, 22:22:09 UTC

'Everything, ever' was a hell of a lot, and Katchoo wasn't so optimistic (ever) that she'd be willing to say you could cover that in a five-letter word. (There were a lot of other things that could be covered in four-letter words, but that was beside the point.)

Oh, look. Free hands, and napkins, and what she'd said to Arthur about the less-than-admirable ways society had evolved away from public execution still on her mind; she spent a little too much mental focus on wiping the paint off as best she could before gesturing toward the pizza box again.

"Yeah," she answered, just enough of a break in her voice to hint that it wasn't the blow-you-off kind of acknowledgment, more like me too but that takes more words than I can get out of my mouth right now. Then, taking an awkward step or two toward the bed --

"You wanna eat now?"

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thatsamilkshake March 17 2011, 23:30:31 UTC

Francine nodded, a handful of her own napkins creating a makeshift plate to carry her pizza slice to the bed because... well, because she forgot to ask for paper plates, shut up.

But then that seemed stupid, or maybe she was just way too focused on everything that seemed stupid, so she turned back to just grab the whole pizza box. If plopping that down on the bed beside her created a nice, safe No Man's Land, it wasn't really intentional.

"Are you--" But she trailed off before even finishing the thought, much less the sentence, because it had to do with whatever had got the paint on Katchoo's hands in the first place, and that just seemed like a bad road to walk.

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thismaskiwear March 18 2011, 01:34:12 UTC

The subject of whatever had gotten the paint on Katchoo's hands in the first place was . . . the same subject that had led to a stupid mundane conversation about pizza being cosmically difficult.

"Hungry?" she offered instead, a weak stab at a joke.

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thatsamilkshake March 18 2011, 01:54:45 UTC

"Well, if you're not, I know what we're having for breakfast tomorrow." Francine nudged the pizza box.

Re: Aaaafter any phone calls, which means SP is our friend. (When isn't it?) thismaskiwear March 18 2011, 02:07:00 UTC

Katchoo would get the piece of pizza where the cheese insisted on stringing out forever, or at least long enough that she was in danger of having a too-short-arms problem.

It was annoying, but a quick and easy sort of thing to find amusing.

"It does have bacon and mushrooms. We could fry an egg and slap it on top . . ."

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