Room 324, Monday After Classes

[vanillajello]

Kate was twitchy. She supposed it was a natural side effect of knowing one of her best friends was pretty much going to walk into his death in a few days, and she was supposed to go... see him off, or something. That was not something she wanted to be dealing with.

So after classes, she'd pulled on her PVH garb, and sat down in front of her computer. This was easy, this was so far removed from everything else going on in her life. She got to talk about the whole Princess Valhalla mythology, and random other stuff too. In fact, she was just in the middle of a good rant about the latest season of one of her favorite trashy shows when the guy on the screen (fourth_mister, again) interrupted her.

"Uh, I'm sorry but... I don't actually watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey."

Kate blinked, a little taken aback. "Oh," she said. "I... thought you said I could talk about whatever I wanted."

"I did!" the guy assured her hastily, and gave her a smile. "But now I wanna do something else."

Well. This was unexpected, but she supposed she was game. At least to find out what it was he wanted to do. "... Okay. What?" If it involved her taking her clothes off, she was so not doing it.

"Do you have any cake?"

What? Kate laughed, just because that went way over her head. "Cake?" she repeated, then sobered up some, because she really had no idea where this was going. "Why?"

"Um... I was hoping you could, um..." He swallowed. "Sit on it?"

Uhh. Kate didn't even know what to say to that. After a moment of hesitation, she told him she didn't really have the means to fulfill his request at the moment, but that she'd think about it, and then she announced she had to go, and ended the chat.

With a sigh, Kate started changing out of the costume into some regular clothes, her mind buzzing with several different kinds of things all at once.

[ooc: Door is closed, post is open! The contents of the conversation under the cut are NFB, please and thank you. Taken again from UsoT S02E08.]

Comments

[therewaslife]

"That doesn't or look good," Bod said, frowning again. "Mostly?"

[vanillajello]

Kate pursed her lips a little, a bit displeased with how she'd let her facade slip. "Gotta go back to England. Wednesday."

[therewaslife]

"Oh. Very well," Bod said, looking down and nodding. "Have a good trip. Be safe."

Since he couldn't ask about anything, he felt that was the only thing to say.

[vanillajello]

"I will, nothing to worry about." Well, she figured she'd just yell at people a lot, and try to keep from bawling her eyes out. "I'll be fine."

[therewaslife]

"Yes, of course," he said and tried not to be both worried and slightly upset that he'd seen her so little lately because she'd been gone so often or he'd left her alone to deal with the aftermath of being done.

He'd just enjoy a quiet Thanksgiving in his room, he supposed. He had several books to read and it wasn't a holiday he'd celebrated before.

"I know."

[vanillajello]

He didn't really sound all that convincing to her, but she wasn't going to poke at that. He wasn't asking questions. That was what she wanted, as uch as it was making her feel bad right now.

With a quiet sigh, she leaned against him to bury her face against his neck. "Thing'll probably start clearing up soon again."

[therewaslife]

"If you say so," he replied, not really sure he believed that anymore. Usually he was the optimistic one but it was hard to muster up optimism when he'd seen her the last time she'd come back from England.

He kept quiet though even if it was hard. The result of keeping his questions to himself meant he couldn't really find other words to substitute so he was just quiet all around.

[vanillajello]

Kate kept quiet for a while as well, eyes closed and breathing him in. It should've relaxed her, but some exhaustion was creeping back in again.

"Sorry if everything's kinda shitty right now," she muttered, quietly.

[therewaslife]

"It's fine," he said quietly, shrugging. "I'm not involved so I can't say what's bad and what's not. It's yours to handle. I'm just..."

Helpless. Sad.

"...here."

[vanillajello]

Kate resisted sighing again. Instead, she shut her eyes tighter. "It'll get better," she reiterated. "Stuff will go back to normal. I think our six month anniversary is coming up."

That wasn't really connected to anything other than her desire to think about better things.

[therewaslife]

"All right," he said, trying not to sound non-committal and dull about things. He was just beginning to wonder if he'd even get to see her that day. He couldn't help it and shook his head to dispel that thought.

"I haven't really been keeping track," he added after a moment. "Sorry."

That one slipped out because he was having a weakly selfish emotional moment and he couldn't stop it. Oh well. He wasn't going to take it back.

[vanillajello]

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," she replied, with no particular fire in her tone. It was just a fact. "It's a girl thing to remember all that stuff, anyway."

[therewaslife]

"If you say so." He realized he'd said that once already and shook his head again. What she said might have been true but he still would have liked to remember.

This time, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the door, contemplating a myriad of things all at once. It was giving him a headache.

[vanillajello]

Kate was kind of in the same situation. Her head been feeling way too full for about week now, as if it was ever all that clear. Things kept happening, and after they did she was stuck with them.

Still, she stayed quiet now, and didn't give in to the urge to immediately fill the silence with stupid chatter.

[therewaslife]

He wasn't going to step in and pick up her talent for inane chatter either. He just had nothing really productive to say. What he wanted to say he couldn't and what he was feeling was stupid and selfish and made him sad and worried all at once.

He stayed still, even slightly tense, while leaning against the door and wondered if he was supposed to do anything.

[vanillajello]

Kate wasn't really expecting nything from him. She just kept leaning against him, trying to keep her head from feeling like it was going to cave in on itself.

She nuzzled his neck lightly, as if wanting to rid him of some of that tension she was picking up on. Since it seemed to be her doing and everything.

[therewaslife]

Unfortunately, it probably wasn't going to work. The tension was due to worry and fear of the unknown and knowing she probably wasn't going to be fine because she hadn't been fine last time.

He had no reason to believe this would be different, not after how she'd reacted earlier.

Bod didn't shy away from her or anything but he just wasn't going to react to her attempts very well. He just couldn't.

[vanillajello]

Kate sighed when it didn't seem to have any effect, but she didn't stop touching him. Didn't stop thinking, either. About everything.

She was quiet for a long moment, and then: "Hey, did Silas ever -- ?"

She hesitated, then let her voice drift off, unsure whether she should ask after all.

[therewaslife]

"Did Silas ever what?" Bod asked, worry and sadness giving way to curiosity for the moment. She didn't tend to just bring up Silas.

[vanillajello]

"Um." Kate hesitated some more. "I'm not sure I should ask."

[therewaslife]

"Ask what?" Bod replied, letting his worry just continue to increase. "You obviously wanted to ask me something about Silas. What is it?"

[vanillajello]

"It's nothing," she tried, keeping her face pressed against his neck so at least she didnt have to look at him right now. "Really. Just... whether he ever had to, y'know, like... feed from you, or whatever."

That may have just broken her personal record in hedging.

[therewaslife]

He had not expected that question.

"I was a child," Bod said, sounding a little surprised at even being asked. "He was my guardian. No, he never did that. He had other ways and means that I never asked him about because he wouldn't have told me anyway."

He swallowed a little thickly and felt his stomach twist uncomfortably. If she was asking him this, there was a reason and not knowing was going to make him sick.

"I was just a child."

[vanillajello]

"Right, of course," Kate replied quickly, a little flustered, now definitely thinking she should've just kept that question to herself. Even if a part of her wanted to point out he hadn't really been a child the entire time, and ask whether he would've offered if Silas had needed it.

She was going to keep her mouth shut about that now. "Sorry."

[therewaslife]

"Why did you ask me that?" He knew he wouldn't get an answer but a question like hers didn't just crop up from random curiosity. "Why did you want to know that?"