Weeping Angel A4, Friday After Classes

[vanillajello]

Kate was fighting a losing battle.

Namely, one of trying to stuff all her surprise luggage under her bed. There were just too many. They would never fit. But she just had to try. Not like she wanted them just laying around, when they had labels like Too much responsibility, Pushed around by skeevy guys and Heart bruised by Southern idiot.

And of course, that one fucking luggage set with the label Crazy mother issues.

Eventually though, she just gave up, letting a few of the bags that wouldn't fit just stay in sight. She was just going to flop down on the bed and be thankful that at least she'd been able to push that one black leather bag (which for some reason looked like an old-fashioned doctor's bag, and which had the words That one awful Saturday labelled on it) as far back under the bed as it would go.

Fucking Fandom.

[ooc: Open for cabinmates/visitors! I'll be around for a couple of hours now, and then again later in my evening.]

Comments

[therewaslife]

"You should have done it sooner if it was going to make you feel that much better," he told her, winding one of his arms around her waist. "I wouldn't have minded at all."

[vanillajello]

"Well, I had to pretend to be a nice girl for a while," she teased. "I can't just go around doing what I want all the time."

[therewaslife]

"So, you were pretending to be a nice girl," he repeated, nodding at this sudden revelation of facts. "Now that you're not pretending, what are you going to do?"

[vanillajello]

"I'm just gonna be me," she said, as if that actually meant something. "Beyond that, I don't really know."

[therewaslife]

"That's good because I'm really pretty fond of actual you," he told her, nodding. "Though, I don't mind when you pretend, of course. Actual you is more what I want."

[vanillajello]

"I'm not sure there is an actual me," she said, but lightly. Not inviting any more bags to show up. "Glad you still like it."

[therewaslife]

"There is an actual you," he replied, nodding and reaching to draw a heart over both her shirt and where her actual heart probably was. "I know there is even if that's not what I'm seeing. What I do see?"

He finished that heart and looked back up at her.

"I like."

[vanillajello]

She'd watched him draw that heart, and now she leaned to press her forehead against his, and said, quietly but with a hint of amusement, "Sorry if you get a bag dropped on your head anytime soon."

Hearts could lead to that.

[therewaslife]

"Maybe it'll say something amusing," he said, sounding hopeful even if he knew that wouldn't happen on a day like this. He did smile at her and kept his eyes open because he liked seeing her this close to him. "My head's pretty sturdy. I think I'd survive. Don't worry."

[vanillajello]

"I don't know," she replied easily, "I'm pretty sure some people got, like, trunks and stuff. Could get dangerous."

[therewaslife]

"Nothing's happened thus far," he noted, shrugging one shoulder. Not that he was deciding it was over but his head was still in one piece. "I can live with a little danger. Don't worry about me and my head."

[vanillajello]

"Well it's better than acknowledging that I might get hit." Somehow, it was better. She didn't even know. "I'm still just glad there's nothing actually attacking."

[therewaslife]

"This is more an attack of the metaphorical kind," Bod decided, glancing around slightly. "Metaphorical via physical manifestations, at least. Aside from the baggage, I think we're relatively safe inside your small alcove."

[vanillajello]

"We're basically being attacked by crap that's already inside us," Kate noted. "So it's the same shit we're dealing with all the time anyway."

She glanced at her left arm, where the gremlin bite scar was currently covered up by her sleeve. "And scars I already have."

[therewaslife]

"Everyone's got those, Kate," he said quietly, giving her lower back a rub with the hand he had around her. "Scars from the things inside us, scars from the things we can't let go of, scars from the things we bury, scars from the people in our lives, scars from everything. Maybe it's about how you carry those scars."

[vanillajello]

Kate stayed quiet for a moment, and most of that was probably spent resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

Her reply was about as quiet as his voice had been. "You're about a single overly poetic sentence away from starting to sound like Mitchell."

[therewaslife]

"...is that a good thing?" Bod asked slowly after a moment. "You didn't sound that poetic when I talked to him last."

[vanillajello]

Kate snorted. "I usually tell him to shut the fuck up when he starts sounding like that."

Wait. "... You've talked to Mitchell?"

[therewaslife]

"Yes." Bod nodded and shrugged a shoulder. He didn't elaborate, at least not yet. If she was curious, she'd ask. "Are you going to tell me to do...that?"

[vanillajello]

Kate didn't even try to resist rolling her eyes this time.

"Only if you start saying having scars is a part of being human," she said. Not that Mitchell had said that particular kind of thing all that much since that one day that had its very own bag under the bed.

Yet another backpack plopped into existence beside them, in the spot she'd vacated to sit in his lap.

"... Great."

[therewaslife]

"I wasn't going to say that but it is true," Bod said, wincing at both the eyeroll and the bag. He didn't look, leaving that to her since it was her bag. "Poetic or not, he's right."

[vanillajello]

"Mmh." It was probably for the best that Kate was too distracted to really argue about that.

She glared at the bag but reached for it anyway. Might as well see what this one was about.

Family isn't blood, it's shared trauma, apparently. She let out a dry, joyless laugh before dumping the bag on the floor and leaning in again, pressing her face against the side of his neck. "This stopped being funny a long time ago."

[therewaslife]

"I'm sorry, Kate," he said because he was even if he hadn't done anything. He could still be sorry. He got his other around her, pulling her a little closer to him and making smooth circular motions against her back with his hand.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked after a moment. "I don't think I can stop the baggage but I'm here."

[vanillajello]

"You always ask that," she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. It could've sounded like an accusation, but her voice was too soft for that. "Why do you always ask that?"

[therewaslife]

"I don't know if there's a reason specifically," he replied quietly, giving one shoulder a brief, slight shrug. "If I can be helpful, I'd like to be and there's really no way to find out if I can unless I ask. I think it's better to offer and be told no than to not offer at all and wonder if I could have helped and missed the chance."