75 Godiva Street, Monday morning

[vdistinctive]

Eliot didn't sleep nearly as much as Parker and Hardison did, so he was pretty used to being up before they were, getting coffee ready and sorting through his fridge for what to make for breakfast. He'd've been perfectly happy to stay in bed and just stare at his partners and make sure they were still there, but whatever the aliens had been using

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy had 100% needed Val last night. Flick hadn't been in the room at all and spending a night in a completely empty room would have been unbearable. She probably would have ended up crashing on a common room or hitting up one of her friends with a single, just to have someone else there. But Val was the best of all possible companions--she hadn't complained when Kathy had cried, just given her puppy kisses until her tears dried. She'd also been warm and happy to cuddle, just pleased to be with a familiar person and given all the pets and attention she could handle.

There were times when Kathy really, really wished she could get a pet. A dog or a cat of her very own would be well-appreciated right now.

She'd gone back to her room after classes were over for the day, taken Val for a very long walk, and then eventually made her way over to Eliot's place on Godiva when she couldn't in good conscious draw out returning Val any longer.

Val pulled her around to the back and over to a sliding glass door. Through it, she could see Eliot puttering around the kitchen, looking thoroughly domestic. Smiling a little, she tapped lightly on the glass to get his attention.

[vdistinctive]

Eliot looked up, and his heart rate leaped when he saw Kathy silhouetted in the doorway. Jesus, this kid was going to be the death of him.

He didn't do more than stiffen momentarily as an outward sign -- he was far too used to these sorts of moments -- and headed over to open the door. "Hey." He smiled and gestured for Kathy to come in. Val was already bounding into the kitchen to sniff at absolutely everything. "You doing alright?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Hi," Kathy said, giving him another small smile and following Val in. "I hope you don't mind that I didn't bring her over right away last night. Once I got back to my dorm, I was pretty much done in."

She thought about giving Eliot a bright smile and assuring him she was fine, but she was pretty sure he'd see right through that. So instead she skipped around the question and hoped he wouldn't notice--or that her non-answer was answer enough.

How did you say, I dunno, I died but it's hardly been the first time or Well, it wasn't really real, so I feel stupid for letting it bother me?

#JustFandomQuestions

[vdistinctive]

"I figured," Eliot said, crouching down to give the puppy a thorough welcoming rub-down. "Val was probably just as happy with whatever familiar face she could get." And having a puppy around to interrupt what he and the others had gotten up to last night could have been . . . awkward. "You want something to drink? I could get some tea going."

Not whisky. Eliot would not be facilitating that again.

And yeah, he noticed her lack of answer. And was willing to respect her dodge for the moment.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I don't suppose you have any nokcha, do you?" Kathy asked hopefully. Honestly, if anyone on the island had even heard of Korean green tea--besides Dr. Lecter--it would be Eliot. "Ever since I was in the sim with Anders, I've had a craving for Korean food like nobody's business."

And tea would be perfect. Warm and soothing, tea was a balm for the soul in almost every culture.

[vdistinctive]

"You know, I might," Eliot said, standing again and going to check the cabinets. "Let me take a look. Grab a seat, would ya? I've just about got some food ready, too."

Welcome to the group of people who Eliot fussed over by feeding, Kathy. It was a small but very important club.

[spin_kick_snap]

And Kathy was quite happy to be in it. Especially since the Zin hadn't taken her insane metabolism into account when setting up her feeding schedule and her clothes were a little looser than they should have been.

"Thanks," she said, sliding into a chair at the table. Val immediately came over and sat by her feet. "Don't even pretend with me," she scolded lightly. "I was the one who fed you this morning."

Because of course she had some of Val's special food left over! Kathy believed in being prepared. "She's been fed and walked and brushed today," she rattled off to Eliot, because there was a big spaceship-shaped elephant in the room she was carefully avoiding. "Don't let her convince you otherwise."

[vdistinctive]

"Don't worry, I won't." He totally would. Just for today. Eliot was going to be a lot of coddling today. "Thanks for lookin' after her. And make sure you thank your -- little sister? -- too. I didn't think your sister went to school here."

[spin_kick_snap]

"My school-assigned sister, Lottie," Kathy clarified. "Not my actual little sister, Sarah. You'll probably meet her over Parent's Weekend."

If her parents let her come after the debacle that was last year. Kathy hoped so. Of her entire family, she missed Sarah most of all.

"She's actually a freshman this year. I keep wondering if I should convince her to come to school out here. Though I'm not sure if our parents could afford the tuition for both of us." She sighed, following the grain of the wood of the table with a finger. "And do I really want to bring Sarah somewhere she might get kidnapped by aliens?"

[vdistinctive]

"You know, I didn't tell Hardison or Parker about this place for a really long time, partially for that reason." Well, at first because he was trying to run away from being attracted to them, let's be totally honest. But once he saw what really went down around here, there was a lot of protectiveness involved, too. "And, well. You've seen how that turned out."

[spin_kick_snap]

"How do you deal with it?" Kathy asked abruptly, looking up at him. "How do you handle them being in danger and maybe watching--watching them get hurt?"

[vdistinctive]

Not well.

"It ain't easy." Eliot brought over with a tea cup and a wooden box of assorted tea bags -- no Korean teas, unfortunately, but a variety of Japanese and some nice French blends. "Though they're usually the ones havin' to watch me do it. Parker gets clingy. Hardison yells." He turned back to the counter, piled a plate with protein and carbohydrates, and put it down in front of Kathy. "I feed people."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy looked down at her plate and then up at him. "Oh," she said softly.

Then, "Are you mad at me?" She couldn't look him in the eye when she asked.

[vdistinctive]

"You mean for that damn stupid move you pulled?" Eliot asked. "No. I ain't mad. I honestly probably woulda done the same thing, when I was your age. Only stupider, 'cause I'da had even less experience." He sighed and moved to get the kettle and another cup, then came back over to the table. "Actually, I was plannin' to apologize to you."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I didn't mean to make you see that," Kathy said, pushing her potatoes around. And then looked up at him, startled. The idea of an adult apologizing to her was still surprising. "To me? For what? The whiskey? That wasn't really your fault."

Sure, he'd handed it to her, but he hadn't made her guzzle it down.

[vdistinctive]

"For all of it." Eliot focussed on the tea for a few moments, rinsing his cup in the hot water and carefully measuring out the milk. The whole tea ritual thing went a lot better with loose tea instead of bags, but he could make due. "It was pretty clear that sim was built -- that it was set up for me, for my nightmares. Hell, Swearengen even said it, after --"

The sugar jar needed refilling. And anyway honey would be better with the green tea. He started to get up to get the jar, then made himself sit back down. Fidgeting wasn't going to help.

"You never woulda had to face that shit if it weren't for me. Is what I'm sayin'."