Kate Gregson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
vanillajello) wrote2011-02-05 01:02 am
vanillajello) wrote2011-02-05 01:02 am
Overland Park, KS, Friday, Late Afternoon Onwards
This was starting to be a weekend routine, going to Kansas and meeting up with Zach. It was something that got Kate through the week in Fandom, at least. Whatever happened. This week hadn't even been that bad, but she was still glad to see him when he came to pick her up from the airport.
By now, they were at the Gregson house. They were the only two people there, but in her bedroom all the same. It was the first time she'd let him into her home, after making sure everyone else was gone and would be for a while. She wasn't hiding him from them – since by now they all knew she was dating someone called Zach though they hadn't met him – but... all in good time.
Anyway, he'd promised her a surprise, earlier, and now he was about to make good on that. He'd taken something out of his coat pocket, then come sit down next to her on her bed, holding this mystery object behind his back. Something he'd said she'd inspired when she'd called him a couple of days ago. She had no idea what it could be: all she could remember talking about was Dark Graceful Bird and whether she should start dancing again.
"I wanna take you to see the Joffrey Ballet," he said as he pulled two tickets out and handed them her. Kate could feel her eyes widen. "In Chicago? Yeah, that'd be fun." More than fun. It was ballet, and she'd never been to see a live performance by dancers of Joffrey calibre. Except, she looked at the tickets and... "But this is for tomorrow night."
Zach seemed to fail to see a problem. "Would you need to check in with your parents?" he asked, something amused in his expression. "Are they gonna meet me and wonder what some strange old guy is doing in your life?"
"No," Kate replied, a little subdued, eyes down on the tickets. "My mom does strange old guys sometimes." She sounded idle, and her lips were twisting as she considered this. She barely notriced him get off the bed, barely heard him when he said something about packing a few things and booking them a suite, but somehow it didn't sit well with her. She kept looking at the tickets, tried to figure out why this was wrong. "I'm sorry," she started finally, looking up at him, "it's just... I've had a lot of skeevy guys bossing me around, and it kind of makes the food come up in my..." She set the tickets down on the bed beside her. Didn't want to, but felt like she should. "In my gullet."
Zach had stopped to stand by her desk, in the middle of searching his phone for the right number to call. He looked a little confused. "I'm... I'm sorry."
"No!" Kate replied quickly, realizing how she'd probably sounded to him. "I mean, you're not a skeevy guy." But it was too late. He was looking around the room, and the expression on his face made it seem like something was dawning on him, something not good. "Jesus," he said. "Wow, um, this... This really is a... a teenager's room." He picked up a stuffed purple dragon from her desk, brows knitting together. "Uh, this... this is not a room for an adult to be in."
Kate shook her head. "No." Though looking around herself, she could see just how fifteen her room looked. "No, I promise you this is not me anymore. I was a little girl when I wanted it pink, and I haven't even really lived here in like two years, and I just haven't..."
"Um... I-- I meant me," Zach said. "This is not a room for... for me to be in." Kate could just watch him now. Hadn't been expecting this turn of events, though she thought maybe she should have. "I'm 27. I don't even know what I was thinking." He looked thoroughly uncomfortable. Pacing. "I... I, I have to get out of here." He went to her desk chair, pulled a tiny little box from the pocket of his coat, brought it over to her, standing there beside her bed now. "Look, I bought you these earrings. You should still have them." Having given her the box, he reached for the tickets, to give those to her as well. "And, and, and keep the tickets."
She'd taken the earrings, mostly because she had trouble even comprehending how things had shifted under her again, but at this point she had to protest. "No."
Zach's turn to shake his head. He made her take them. "No, you don't have to go to the ballet. You can just --" And here he exhaled something of a joyless laugh. "-- put them on your bulletin board." He wasn't laughing at all, though, once he turned around and saw what was on the wall above her desk. "Oh my God," he said, his voice full of disbelief, "you... have a bulletin board."
He grabbed his coat and left without looking at her again.
...
For a long while, Kate just sat there on her bed, somewhat stunned, two ballet tickets in hand. It was getting to be a familiar feeling, not really getting what had just happened. Eventually, she shook herself out of it. He'd given her the tickets, just like he'd given her the earrings. No real reason why she couldn't use both to make herself feel better, so she reached for her phone.
It didn't take long to figure out who to call. Neither of the Irishmen were going to appreciate this particular freebie, so she picked a different number and waited for the recipient to pick up.
...
Way later still, having taken a shower and slipped into more comfortable clothes, Kate made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She wasn't all that surprised to see Marshall sitting there in his monogrammed dressing gown, all on his own, a mug of tea in front of him. "Fancy meeting you here," she said lightly anyway, going to snag herself a mug from one of the cupboards. Then, struck with a thought, she glanced at him over her shoulder.
"Hey, do you know anyone who's happy?"
She wasn't surprised by his reply. "No," he said. Yeah, no surprise there. She gave him another glance as she was pouring herself coffee. "Do you know anyone who's in love?"
Marshall shrugged. "Mom and Dad maybe?"
"Yeah," Kate sighed, "and they're miserable." Well, Marshall had told her he'd found their dad sleeping on the couch in the living room, a couple of mornings. Something wasn't right there. Figures. She picked up her mug and came over to the table, elbows on the edge of it, mug in front of her. "But they can't survive without each other, so... Doesn't make a difference if they're in love or not."
There was a pause before either of them continued. No one in this house tended to do well with relationships, Kate thought. Marshall's thoughts seemed to be going the same way. "I'm gonna have something different," he said.
A brief ghost of a smile crossed Kate's face upon hearing that. "Then go for it," she said, and meant it. "But just so you know, everybody's hooking up with each other because they want to take things. It's a car, or a trampoline, or... happiness." Her gaze had slid down to the mug in her hands, and here she looked up at her brother again. "They're all things. Everyone's a taker, everything's a thing."
Marshall didn't sound happy to hear this. In fact, he sounded a little uncomfortable and sort of twitched, once. "When did you become an expert?" he asked, and she decided to opt for a lighter tone then. They didn't need to start emoing it up to high heaven, not right now. "I am very wise, Marshall Gay Hard-On," she replied, pulling away from the table again. "I'm full of wisdom." Full of something or other, anyway. Wasn't that what she kept hearing, lately?
Just as she was about to walk out of the kitchen with her mug of coffee in hand, Marshall surprised her with a question. "You're wearing earrings to bed?"
They were nice earrings and they deserved to be worn. Or something like that. She flashed him a quick smile. "It's what I'm doing now, yes." And with that she went back upstairs. There was packing to do.
[ooc: NFB, NFI, OOC-okay! Mostly taken with tweakage from USoT S02E10, with a chunk preplayed with the stellar![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
icecoldfrost.]
By now, they were at the Gregson house. They were the only two people there, but in her bedroom all the same. It was the first time she'd let him into her home, after making sure everyone else was gone and would be for a while. She wasn't hiding him from them – since by now they all knew she was dating someone called Zach though they hadn't met him – but... all in good time.
Anyway, he'd promised her a surprise, earlier, and now he was about to make good on that. He'd taken something out of his coat pocket, then come sit down next to her on her bed, holding this mystery object behind his back. Something he'd said she'd inspired when she'd called him a couple of days ago. She had no idea what it could be: all she could remember talking about was Dark Graceful Bird and whether she should start dancing again.
"I wanna take you to see the Joffrey Ballet," he said as he pulled two tickets out and handed them her. Kate could feel her eyes widen. "In Chicago? Yeah, that'd be fun." More than fun. It was ballet, and she'd never been to see a live performance by dancers of Joffrey calibre. Except, she looked at the tickets and... "But this is for tomorrow night."
Zach seemed to fail to see a problem. "Would you need to check in with your parents?" he asked, something amused in his expression. "Are they gonna meet me and wonder what some strange old guy is doing in your life?"
"No," Kate replied, a little subdued, eyes down on the tickets. "My mom does strange old guys sometimes." She sounded idle, and her lips were twisting as she considered this. She barely notriced him get off the bed, barely heard him when he said something about packing a few things and booking them a suite, but somehow it didn't sit well with her. She kept looking at the tickets, tried to figure out why this was wrong. "I'm sorry," she started finally, looking up at him, "it's just... I've had a lot of skeevy guys bossing me around, and it kind of makes the food come up in my..." She set the tickets down on the bed beside her. Didn't want to, but felt like she should. "In my gullet."
Zach had stopped to stand by her desk, in the middle of searching his phone for the right number to call. He looked a little confused. "I'm... I'm sorry."
"No!" Kate replied quickly, realizing how she'd probably sounded to him. "I mean, you're not a skeevy guy." But it was too late. He was looking around the room, and the expression on his face made it seem like something was dawning on him, something not good. "Jesus," he said. "Wow, um, this... This really is a... a teenager's room." He picked up a stuffed purple dragon from her desk, brows knitting together. "Uh, this... this is not a room for an adult to be in."
Kate shook her head. "No." Though looking around herself, she could see just how fifteen her room looked. "No, I promise you this is not me anymore. I was a little girl when I wanted it pink, and I haven't even really lived here in like two years, and I just haven't..."
"Um... I-- I meant me," Zach said. "This is not a room for... for me to be in." Kate could just watch him now. Hadn't been expecting this turn of events, though she thought maybe she should have. "I'm 27. I don't even know what I was thinking." He looked thoroughly uncomfortable. Pacing. "I... I, I have to get out of here." He went to her desk chair, pulled a tiny little box from the pocket of his coat, brought it over to her, standing there beside her bed now. "Look, I bought you these earrings. You should still have them." Having given her the box, he reached for the tickets, to give those to her as well. "And, and, and keep the tickets."
She'd taken the earrings, mostly because she had trouble even comprehending how things had shifted under her again, but at this point she had to protest. "No."
Zach's turn to shake his head. He made her take them. "No, you don't have to go to the ballet. You can just --" And here he exhaled something of a joyless laugh. "-- put them on your bulletin board." He wasn't laughing at all, though, once he turned around and saw what was on the wall above her desk. "Oh my God," he said, his voice full of disbelief, "you... have a bulletin board."
He grabbed his coat and left without looking at her again.
For a long while, Kate just sat there on her bed, somewhat stunned, two ballet tickets in hand. It was getting to be a familiar feeling, not really getting what had just happened. Eventually, she shook herself out of it. He'd given her the tickets, just like he'd given her the earrings. No real reason why she couldn't use both to make herself feel better, so she reached for her phone.
It didn't take long to figure out who to call. Neither of the Irishmen were going to appreciate this particular freebie, so she picked a different number and waited for the recipient to pick up.
| That was because the Irish were uncultured heathens, the lot of them. "I didn't do it," was Emma's automatic response as she answered the phone. "Not saying I wouldn't, but if I did, you won't be able to prove it, darling." |
|
| That actually drew a laugh from Kate, quiet as it was. "No, it was totally you," she drawled. "You snuck in here, and you put that stuffed toy right where he'd easily see it." Maybe she wasn't quite devastated, if she could already joke about it. Hmh. |
|
| "You think I'm sneaky enough to do something like that without anyone noticing? I'm flattered, Kate, really," Emma drawled. "What's up?" | |
| "Nothing much." Oh, liar. "Just wondering if you have any plans for tomorrow night?" | |
| "Tomorrow night? I am - sadly - plan-free," Emma sighed, flopping down on her bed and letting her heels kick against the side. "I swear, my social life is getting practically predictable." | |
| "Well, at least someone's is," Kate replied a bit dryly. She flipped one of the tickets over between her fingers a couple of times, looking down at it. "But, could I maybe interest you in a trip to Chicago? I have two tickets to the Joffrey Ballet, for tomorrow night." | |
| "The ballet?" Kate had her full attention now, and Emma sat up excitedly. "Are you serious?" | |
| Well, at least it sounded like Kate had picked the right person to call. Because this was something to get excited about, even if she herself was having a hard time getting properly into the mindset. "Yeah," she said. "This guy I'm-- was seeing got me tickets, but... He's not going anymore, so I thought I'd share." |
|
| "His loss, my gain," Emma quipped. "Tell me the where and when, and I'll book myself a portal and make dinner reservations for us." | |
| Shrugging, Kate read off the performance information on the ticket. "So, I guess whatever major airport in Chicago Portalocity dumps people in is a good place to meet up?" |
|
| "O'Hare, I bet. I'll text you my arrival information once we get it all sorted it," Emma promised. "We should just get a hotel room, too, and crash the city for the entire day." | |
| "I so do not have a problem with that idea," Kate replied, pretty emphatically. She didn't exactly feel like staying in Overland Park, nor like going back to Fandom yet. "Saturday in Chicago sounds perfect right about now. So, I guess I'll see you there." | |
| "Then it's a date," Emma promised. "Kiss kiss, darling, and be sure to bring your dancing shoes." | |
| "I'll try and remember," Kate snorted. "See you tomorrow, Emma dear. Bye." She ended the call, feeling... somewhat better about things, yes. At least she had something to look forward to again. |
Way later still, having taken a shower and slipped into more comfortable clothes, Kate made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She wasn't all that surprised to see Marshall sitting there in his monogrammed dressing gown, all on his own, a mug of tea in front of him. "Fancy meeting you here," she said lightly anyway, going to snag herself a mug from one of the cupboards. Then, struck with a thought, she glanced at him over her shoulder.
"Hey, do you know anyone who's happy?"
She wasn't surprised by his reply. "No," he said. Yeah, no surprise there. She gave him another glance as she was pouring herself coffee. "Do you know anyone who's in love?"
Marshall shrugged. "Mom and Dad maybe?"
"Yeah," Kate sighed, "and they're miserable." Well, Marshall had told her he'd found their dad sleeping on the couch in the living room, a couple of mornings. Something wasn't right there. Figures. She picked up her mug and came over to the table, elbows on the edge of it, mug in front of her. "But they can't survive without each other, so... Doesn't make a difference if they're in love or not."
There was a pause before either of them continued. No one in this house tended to do well with relationships, Kate thought. Marshall's thoughts seemed to be going the same way. "I'm gonna have something different," he said.
A brief ghost of a smile crossed Kate's face upon hearing that. "Then go for it," she said, and meant it. "But just so you know, everybody's hooking up with each other because they want to take things. It's a car, or a trampoline, or... happiness." Her gaze had slid down to the mug in her hands, and here she looked up at her brother again. "They're all things. Everyone's a taker, everything's a thing."
Marshall didn't sound happy to hear this. In fact, he sounded a little uncomfortable and sort of twitched, once. "When did you become an expert?" he asked, and she decided to opt for a lighter tone then. They didn't need to start emoing it up to high heaven, not right now. "I am very wise, Marshall Gay Hard-On," she replied, pulling away from the table again. "I'm full of wisdom." Full of something or other, anyway. Wasn't that what she kept hearing, lately?
Just as she was about to walk out of the kitchen with her mug of coffee in hand, Marshall surprised her with a question. "You're wearing earrings to bed?"
They were nice earrings and they deserved to be worn. Or something like that. She flashed him a quick smile. "It's what I'm doing now, yes." And with that she went back upstairs. There was packing to do.
[ooc: NFB, NFI, OOC-okay! Mostly taken with tweakage from USoT S02E10, with a chunk preplayed with the stellar
icecoldfrost.]