Kansas City, MO, Tuesday Evening

[vanillajello]

Ugh. Long workdays due to delayed flights were horrible. Made all the more horrible by a seemingly endless stream of increasingly annoyed and annoying customers. Seriously, it was ridiculous how far the general mood could plummet. Kate's cheeks were practically aching from the all the smiling she'd forced herself to do.

So when she made it home, she shed her uniform, pulled on a flannel shirt like it was a decent thing to wear, and flopped down on the couch in the living room.

"Nooot moving."

[ooc: NFB, but open for calls/texts/boy, as usual.]

Comments

[therewaslife]

"You want to know if things start rising from the dead?" asked Bod, amused. "Really?"

[vanillajello]

"Uh, yeah," she said, like that was obvious. "That shit doesn't happen in Kansas, I need to know immediately if it does."

[therewaslife]

"And what would you do if it did happen?" Bod felt compelled to ask.

[vanillajello]

"Get you and my parents and get the hell out of here."

She was... actually serious about that.

Look, she'd spent a lot of time drawing a line between what happened where she was from, and the places he and Mitchell and Jack and Eric and whoever where from. Her world was supposed to be normal.

If it ever turned out not to be, she was making sure they all got the fuck out of there and somewhere safe.

[therewaslife]

"What would you tell your parents?" Bod wondered, letting the food cook and coming out into the living room. "They don't even know about me."

[vanillajello]

Kate shrugged. "I would tell them everything."

And then deal with the consequences.

[therewaslife]

"So, if that never happens, do you think you'll ever tell them about me?" He was curious and his expression was unreadable for the moment.

[vanillajello]

She shrugged again, but it was a slower gesture, a little more unsure. Because she was thinking about it. "Dunno. Maybe? But if it's not for an acute emergency, I'd have to break it to them slowly. Because there's no way I would ever just tell them about you and not let them in on a lot of other unusual stuff too."

[therewaslife]

"How do you think they'd take it?" he asked quietly.

[vanillajello]

Kate looked down at Seamus in her lap.

"I honestly don't know."

Although she thought they'd probably suspected something was off about Fandom over her years there.

[therewaslife]

Bod smiled at her. "Well, I would like it if one day you did tell them about me, at least. But I also understand why you might not and it's fine either way."

[vanillajello]

Kate looked up and smiled too, even if it was a bit lopsided. "I'll consider it. Mom seems pretty stable these days."

The alters just came out every once in awhile. It seemed to be under control for the most part.

And yes, that had been a major part in why she'd never even considered telling when her mom had been worse.

[therewaslife]

"Knowing the truth would probably make Alice dislike me but I bet everyone else would be okay with it."

He hoped they would, at least.

[vanillajello]

Kate gave him an amused look. "Alice? Why?"

[therewaslife]

"Well, we lied to her," he said, shrugging. "I'm sure she never lies."

[vanillajello]

Kate chuckled. "Oh, sweetie," she said. "I don't think that's something you need to worry about."

[therewaslife]

"Why not?" Bod asked, stepping back into the kitchen to stir the vegetables.

[vanillajello]

"Because it's not the alters' reactions you need to worry about," she called afer him. "They'll be fne with whatever you throw at them. That's their job. It's Mom and her sanity that concern me."

[therewaslife]

"Well, you could ease her into it," Bod said, rubbing the back of his neck and shrugging. "And I think she's stronger than we think as well."

[vanillajello]

"Yeah but it's still a shock, y'know?" Kate shrugged. "That there's all this weird shit in the world? I mean, it was to me."

As much as she was an expert now.

[therewaslife]

"I know," Bod agreed with a nod. "But, you handled it remarkably well. The genes had to come from somewhere."

[vanillajello]

"Or I just lived with the crazy for so long even before Fandom that it couldn't shake me." It actually had. But it had been a process. Everything was. "But I'll think about it."

[therewaslife]

"That's a good start," Bod said, smiling at her before falling silent to get the food out of the oven and off the stove so it didn't burn.

[vanillajello]

Kate... finished her drink and then gave Seamus some more belly rubs because he was clearly asking for them.

This was totally a useful thing to do. She was showing affection for their pet!

[therewaslife]

Showing affection for their pet was a fine thing!

"Dinner's just about ready," he called out, turning off the oven and reaching for the plates. "Haven't fallen asleep, have you?"