Better late than never

[guns_and_coffee]

Characters: guns_and_coffee, cassie_of_troy, isfullofennui, and whatsacliche
Setting/Location: the hallways of the Beast's castle, close to the cells
Date & Time: Backdated to Day Six, shortly after the prisoners were released
Warnings: None.
Summary: Ianto and his entourage find Cassandra, as requested

Comments

[isfullofennui]

Kurt tilted his head to Finn, eyebrows raised disparagingly, before returning his attention to Cassandra. "Yes. As Finn so pointedly interrupted, we're from Ohio," he paused, then clarified, "America."

Then, of course, came the absence of linearity.

"But I'm from 2010, not 2009." Half a year after Finn, after the baby scandal and the Jesse scandal and the 'guess what, our parents are totally hooking up and now we're sharing a room' scandal, along with every other scandal in-between. He didn't want to think about the calamity each had left in its wake, let alone when and how he was going to broach each subject and The Subject with Finn. His immediate, probably selfish preference was never, but the inability for Kurt's life to ever be simple suggested that it was going to come up, and it wasn't going to be pleasant.

Depressing as it was, he almost hoped there were spare chairs in the caravan. At least then he had somewhere to direct Finn when the metaphorical ordure hit the fan.

[guns_and_coffee]

"I'm from 2008," Ianto provided, as that seemed to be what they were doing now. He was young, Cassandra had said. Would she know what year his other self had been from?

Not that he was curious about his other self, the Happy Families Ianto. His opposite. His shadow -- Shadow Ianto and Shadow Jack playing house somewhere on the other side of the void. The concept was too ridiculous to attach any sort of emotion to, even curiosity.

Which was a very nice thing to say to himself, level-headed and practical, but it didn't work too well in application. Ianto had emotions about it, all right. He had emotions about almost everything. He was just good at keeping them locked up and filed away.

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra, who was rather used to people coming from a future she couldn't even imagine, simply nodded. "2008, 2009, 2010," she repeated, nodding to each one of them in turn. "You're both American," she said to the boys, "and I seem to remember you being Welsh," she added to Ianto. There was some secret, sick joy in the fact that she knew more about him this time around, as they were making introductions. For the boys' benefit, more than his, she concluded with, "I grew up on the eastern shores of the Aegean Sea

[whatsacliche]

Finn narrowed his eyes at Kurt, still annoyed at being snubbed in the conversation as a whole, but now pleased to not have to contribute much in the face of what the others were saying. After all, he was only vaguely certain that Welsh people and the Aegean Sea came form Europe. He felt it'd only reinforce people's assumptions if he attempted discussing either of those things without being totally sure.

He was, however, slightly more aware of what was going on since they'd arrived in this awful place. "I think people were calling it Loophole. The place. And I think they said something about a, uh, witch." He paused, and then added, "It even sounds crazy when I say it, doesn't it?"

[isfullofennui]

"Loophole, yes," Kurt confirmed. "And it sounds about as crazy as the fact that we all come from different years and that our singular mode of transportation is a giant called Grandore pulling a caravan through Willaknapp." There was something endearing about the way Finn felt the need to reaffirm his position within their group -- like being the alpha male of the two of them was somehow validating. Not as endearing as it would have been if Kurt were on Finn's timeline, but endearing nonetheless.

And a little frustrating, but to err is human.

"I think Finn is feeling a little under appreciated," Kurt sighed, readjusting his cuffs. "Could one of you please ask him about a sport or the last person he thought about punching so he can return to his self-affirmed hierarchical position above myself?"