Kansas City International Airport, KCMO, Evening, Saturday Fandom Time
Kate was having a hard time shutting up today, it seemed. Maybe she was having a kind of a breakdown. Meltdown. Something like that. As you do, when you're just changing your plans in a major way. Whatever it was, it was big and Kate wasn't sure she was handling it all that well. It was weirdly liberating and yet totally terrifying all at the same time. And, having skipped out on her flight, she was now trying to reclaim her luggage, which meant that her current victim to babble at was a teenaged SkyKans employee called Ray. While they waited for her bags to hopefully appear on the luggage carousel thing, she paced back and forth and she talked. And talked. And talked.
She couldn't help it, the world was still sort of spinning and she was trying to make sense of this whole thing, whatever revelation she'd had that had made her drop her plans. "It was pretty intense," she said. "I mean, it's a lot going on... Very hard to explain, sort of really intense."
"Yeah, you said intense," Ray interjected mildly, but she barely heard him, pressing on. Gesturing with her hands as she tried to find words. "This bursting forth of... of... of realiza--" She changed her mind, frowned, turned sharply. "Or, no, of this... this... this sudden big bang of consciousness, like... like boom!" With a flail, she stopped and turned towards Ray, raising her eyebrows, looking at his face like maybe he'd provide some insight now. "New universe of Kate," she concluded. But Ray was hung up on the non-philosophical. "Meg said you freaked the fuck out." Kate waved his contribution away. "Junin toiro," she said, "which... which means 'different strokes to move the world'."
She'd learned so many phrases in the last week, it was insane. Maybe she had been insane. Maybe Luke's letter had triggered a minor psychotic episode and she was just now coming out of it? Luckily, before she could get further into that theory, Ray distracted her by jabbing a thumb in the direction of the conveyor belt. "Is that yours?" he asked, and what do you know, it was. She ran to grab the bag, then frowned when she realized something. "Well, here's one," she said. "Where's the other bag?"
"Japan?" Ray offered, as she wheeled her lonely bag back to him. "Bursting into consciousness? The possibilities are varied and complex."
Kate raised her eyebrows at him. "Well, could you --" She gestured at the luggage carousel. "-- figure it out?"
"It hurts my brain when I give a shit," he said, mock apologetic, which made Kate sigh. "Come on, Ray," she said. "Can't you see that I am in the middle of some life-altering stuff right now, stuff that I have yet to spring on my boyfriend and my family, and it would be a really big, major, super helpful thing if I had my shit together. So to speak." She tried a pleading look. "Please?"
"I would prefer not to."
Ugh. "Kachou fuugetsu," Kate told him, in her most sage voice, then translated, "'flower, bird, wind, moon'."
At least it seemed to amuse him. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know," Kate admitted, "but it sounds pretty."
-----
Nope, all the pretty Japanese words didn't get Kate her bag back. Nor did they provide her with the strength and clarity to face her parents and Bod and everyone and tell them she'd bailed on Japan, which explained why she was still at the airport when the evening had already darkened hours ago. She'd calmed down from her most hysterical, though, and was trying to nap on one of those little rows of chairs, when a brief laugh and a newly familiar voice caught her attention with a 'hey'. Kate opened her eyes to see the flight attendant from earlier smiling at her. "Niigata, you're still here," she said. "Pilot still drunk?"
"No," Kate admitted, brushing her fingers through her hair as she pushed herself up to a slightly more upright position on the chairs. "I, uh... I. I... just couldn't." The woman's smile turned a little more wry. "Oh, dear," she said, again, but it was a lot more compassionate this time. "In 12 hours," Kate replied just as wryly, rubbing her forehead, "I'm supposed to call my parents from Japan to tell them how awesome my new life is." Never should've hyped it up before going through with it. Sigh. The woman gave her a wryly amused look, though. "How bad is your old life?"
Kate honestly had no idea, at this point. All she knew was that the idea of having to face up to everyone after chickening out on this thing she'd had her heart so set on was kind of killing her. "Hey," she started with an attempt of a smile sent the woman's way, "do you think that maybe I could fake it, like I could pretend to be in Japan for six months?" Hey, if Portalocity stopped hating on everything for long enough, she could've disappeared off into some remote corner of the multiverse. She could've seriously considered that right now.
It was probably for the best she was putting off any more life-changing decisions until tomorrow.
The flight attendant took a seat next to her, leaning in conspiratorially, and Kate could finally see that her nametag read Bridgette. "I faked having orgasms for six years," Bridgette said. "Then I stopped nurturing a blind hatred for my life, and got divorced."
Kate raised an eyebrow, her head slightly tilted, considering that. "There's a lesson in there, somewhere," she said. But fuck if she knew what it was. Good thing Bridgette was willing to elaborate. "The big O is life," she explained. "You can fake your way through it, but what's the fucking point?" Wisdom shared, she got up again, and gave Kate a smile and a little wave before going on her way, like some drive-by life advice giving flight attendant angel.
Kate, in her sleep deprived state, stared after her and decided, "She's a fucking genius."
[ooc: NFB, NFI, OOC-okay! Taken from USoT S03E04, 'Wheels'.]
She couldn't help it, the world was still sort of spinning and she was trying to make sense of this whole thing, whatever revelation she'd had that had made her drop her plans. "It was pretty intense," she said. "I mean, it's a lot going on... Very hard to explain, sort of really intense."
"Yeah, you said intense," Ray interjected mildly, but she barely heard him, pressing on. Gesturing with her hands as she tried to find words. "This bursting forth of... of... of realiza--" She changed her mind, frowned, turned sharply. "Or, no, of this... this... this sudden big bang of consciousness, like... like boom!" With a flail, she stopped and turned towards Ray, raising her eyebrows, looking at his face like maybe he'd provide some insight now. "New universe of Kate," she concluded. But Ray was hung up on the non-philosophical. "Meg said you freaked the fuck out." Kate waved his contribution away. "Junin toiro," she said, "which... which means 'different strokes to move the world'."
She'd learned so many phrases in the last week, it was insane. Maybe she had been insane. Maybe Luke's letter had triggered a minor psychotic episode and she was just now coming out of it? Luckily, before she could get further into that theory, Ray distracted her by jabbing a thumb in the direction of the conveyor belt. "Is that yours?" he asked, and what do you know, it was. She ran to grab the bag, then frowned when she realized something. "Well, here's one," she said. "Where's the other bag?"
"Japan?" Ray offered, as she wheeled her lonely bag back to him. "Bursting into consciousness? The possibilities are varied and complex."
Kate raised her eyebrows at him. "Well, could you --" She gestured at the luggage carousel. "-- figure it out?"
"It hurts my brain when I give a shit," he said, mock apologetic, which made Kate sigh. "Come on, Ray," she said. "Can't you see that I am in the middle of some life-altering stuff right now, stuff that I have yet to spring on my boyfriend and my family, and it would be a really big, major, super helpful thing if I had my shit together. So to speak." She tried a pleading look. "Please?"
"I would prefer not to."
Ugh. "Kachou fuugetsu," Kate told him, in her most sage voice, then translated, "'flower, bird, wind, moon'."
At least it seemed to amuse him. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know," Kate admitted, "but it sounds pretty."
-----
Nope, all the pretty Japanese words didn't get Kate her bag back. Nor did they provide her with the strength and clarity to face her parents and Bod and everyone and tell them she'd bailed on Japan, which explained why she was still at the airport when the evening had already darkened hours ago. She'd calmed down from her most hysterical, though, and was trying to nap on one of those little rows of chairs, when a brief laugh and a newly familiar voice caught her attention with a 'hey'. Kate opened her eyes to see the flight attendant from earlier smiling at her. "Niigata, you're still here," she said. "Pilot still drunk?"
"No," Kate admitted, brushing her fingers through her hair as she pushed herself up to a slightly more upright position on the chairs. "I, uh... I. I... just couldn't." The woman's smile turned a little more wry. "Oh, dear," she said, again, but it was a lot more compassionate this time. "In 12 hours," Kate replied just as wryly, rubbing her forehead, "I'm supposed to call my parents from Japan to tell them how awesome my new life is." Never should've hyped it up before going through with it. Sigh. The woman gave her a wryly amused look, though. "How bad is your old life?"
Kate honestly had no idea, at this point. All she knew was that the idea of having to face up to everyone after chickening out on this thing she'd had her heart so set on was kind of killing her. "Hey," she started with an attempt of a smile sent the woman's way, "do you think that maybe I could fake it, like I could pretend to be in Japan for six months?" Hey, if Portalocity stopped hating on everything for long enough, she could've disappeared off into some remote corner of the multiverse. She could've seriously considered that right now.
It was probably for the best she was putting off any more life-changing decisions until tomorrow.
The flight attendant took a seat next to her, leaning in conspiratorially, and Kate could finally see that her nametag read Bridgette. "I faked having orgasms for six years," Bridgette said. "Then I stopped nurturing a blind hatred for my life, and got divorced."
Kate raised an eyebrow, her head slightly tilted, considering that. "There's a lesson in there, somewhere," she said. But fuck if she knew what it was. Good thing Bridgette was willing to elaborate. "The big O is life," she explained. "You can fake your way through it, but what's the fucking point?" Wisdom shared, she got up again, and gave Kate a smile and a little wave before going on her way, like some drive-by life advice giving flight attendant angel.
Kate, in her sleep deprived state, stared after her and decided, "She's a fucking genius."
[ooc: NFB, NFI, OOC-okay! Taken from USoT S03E04, 'Wheels'.]