Overland Park, KS, Sunday FT

[vanillajello]

It was a morning in early January in Kansas, and Kate was awake but hadn't accomplished much past rolling onto her back to look at the ceiling of her parents' bedroom. (Or, as it had been for a couple of months, hers and Bod's.) Awake enough to have thoughts whirring in her head but not enough to actually bother getting out of bed. She'd get to that. She had work, later, and all. But she was thinking right now.

They had about a month to go before her parents would be coming back. The news from Boston seemed to be positive, most of the time. It was hard, too, of course it was, but her mom seemed to think she was making some sort of progress and while Kate was naturally wary of getting too optimistic, it was still pretty nice to hear.

But that wasn't really what she was thinking about. Her thoughts were more centred around what would happen once her parents got back. You know, with their general living situation. Even with how annoying paying the bills was, she'd kind of gotten used to just having the house for the three of them.

Hmm.

[ooc: NFB, naturally, but open for calls/texts, and that guy that lives here.]

Comments

[future_sandworm]

Leto, on the other hand, had been up since daybreak, watching the sun strike the top of the mountains surrounding Arrakeen. The cold of the night was still in the air. The small alcove that opened up to a balcony facing the city offered the privacy needed for a phone call, and the waited for the line to connect across the multiverse.

[vanillajello]

Kate blinked a little as the phone buzzed on her nightstand, and it took her a moment to wake up from her reverie enough to actually reach for it.

Seeing who it was managed to yank her back into the here and now, though. "Leto! Hi."

[future_sandworm]

"Hello, Kate." He smiled as he heard the familiar voice.

"How is Kansas?"

[vanillajello]

"Kansas is... Kansas-y." Totally descriptive, that was. "Quiet and kind of sleepy. We just finally made it into 2012, like, last week. And I have work later today. That's about it."

[future_sandworm]

"I see. And here it is still 10,255 in the Age of the Spacing Guild, and I believe there is one less uprising against me than it was yesterday." Because the combined forces of the Fremen and the Sardaukar had crushed them. Not that Leto thought Kate was particularly interested in the politics of his universe, but it was nice to share.

"Also, Hania is well, as is Alice. My daughter has taken an interest in chocobos lately." At least she made loud, cheerful noises when she saw them.

[vanillajello]

"Chocobos?" Kate asked curiously, like the poor deprived fool that she was. "What are those?"

She thought they sounded like candy. Or maybe she was just craving chocolate.

[future_sandworm]

"A species of large desert-living birds that Reno helped me capture on his world," Leto clarified. "With the humidity increasing somewhat on Arrakis they will be useful for transportation here."

[vanillajello]

"Oooh." Yeah, that actually sounded vaguely familiar. Maybe she'd seen them in class at one point or another. "Well, that sounds like something that might look interesting to a kid."

[future_sandworm]

They had been know to turn up at Fandom. "Hania thinks so." And here Leto stopped himself from going off on a report of every detail of Hania's life during the past weeks. Instead he asked:

"And how is your family?"

[vanillajello]

"All over the place," Kate replied, then rethought those words. "You know, physically. Geographically. Mom and Dad are in Boston, Char and Neil and baby Wheels moved to Houston, so it's just me and Bod and Moosh here in Kansas."

[future_sandworm]

"Quiet, then." There was a hint of a question though, because Leto had seldom known Kate's life to be quiet.

[vanillajello]

With all the weirdness of having to actually care for a house, Kate felt like it wasn't all that quiet even now.

"Pretty much," she said, anyway. "Pretty weird. But not in a bad way."

[future_sandworm]

"Weird?" he asked.

[vanillajello]

"Well, I mean, I've neevr actually had to take care of a house before," she explained. "Like... Paying the bills and stuff. It's kinda like playing house."

[future_sandworm]

"You're an adult now, Kate," he pointed out, almost teasingly.

[vanillajello]

Kate exhaled a quiet laugh. "So it would seem. Or at least a reasonably convincing imitation thereof."

[future_sandworm]

"You are," he said. "Of course, I knew that when Alice told me how you had supported her in Fandom."

[vanillajello]

"That was nothing." If only because she'd had to do some incredibly hard stuff after that. "That was one of the easier parts of last year, if you can believe that."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack thought he had sent Kate his new address, but on reflection it seemed more and more like one of those things he meant to do, thought about doing, but never actually did.

Either way, it was past time to check in with her. So here he was, sitting in Ronan's kitchen with a cup of coffee in one hand and dialing the phone with the other.

Ring ring, Kate.

[OOC: I know this is incredibly tardy. SP?]

[vanillajello]

Oooh, Kate was popular today. And rather quicker to pick up this call than the last.

"'Sup, Jack?"

Because that was the way to greet your favorite Victorian.

[*noms on your SP like it's cake* The word "tardy" always makes me think of Clueless. /random ESL person moment]

[bitten_notshy]

"Nothing too big," Jack answered, having considered not much just chillin and decided he couldn't actually say it without laughing. "I'm in Ronan's kitchen, trying to decide if I want breakfast enough to go to the trouble of making it. How are you?"

[vanillajello]

"Pretty good," Kate said. "It's 2012 here, finally, and that's pretty nice. Luke came over for Christmas but other than that, we're still holding down the fort with just me, Bod and Moosh."

[bitten_notshy]

"That sounds all cozy," Jack noted. "Even if it's still odd you're the one in the past now. I'm staying with Roman and Emma. It's pleasant, having house housemates."

[vanillajello]

"So... you're in Fandom right now, hm?"

She wasn't sure if she should have known that before know. It was hard to keep track when time was wonky and she had a lot of stuff going on.

"How's Fandom? Treating you okay?"

[bitten_notshy]

"Quiet so far," Jack said, with a shrug that showed in his tone. "I'm helping Eric at Devil's Nest. Paperwork, not bartending this time."

[vanillajello]

"Oooh, club paperwork, how exciting," Kate teased, lightly. "Ugh, we should get off our asses and visit already."

[bitten_notshy]

"it's less dull than answering phones," Jack shuddered. "And you should. Especially because Emma's been wanting to have a solstice party, which would be this Wednesday our time."

[vanillajello]

"Oh?" Well, that sounded promising. "I might have to make Moosh do some math for me about how that works out over here. We're almost at the same pace as you guys, but it's still a little wonky."

And almost six months behind, but anyway.

[bitten_notshy]

"I wonder if you'll ever go through six months overnight just to keep us all on our toes," Jack wondered. "Anyhow, if the portals make sense, you're all welcome. If the portals don't make sense ... well, Kansas didn't eat me last time I visited."