Room 322, Monday Midday

[not_every_mage]

Kathy had no way of knowing this, but her Valentine's Gift couldn't have come at a better time -- although probably not for the reasons she intended. Nathan had gone home over the weekend, and he hadn't been sure how long he'd need to stay. The important thing to Anders was that, romantically speaking, it had been goodbye.

Anders knew from the start that they'd almost certainly need to split up to go back to their respective worlds someday, and Nathan's growing distraction had made that unpleasant fact ever more clear of late. But Anders still held on to a stupid romantic hope that somehow, the break wouldn't come until the hazy future.

With that hope dashed, he was going to drain the bottle of champagne from the gift basket, eat the strawberry tarts, and write maudlin poetry in the journal. He knew he'd recover, but he deserved a good wallow first.

[OOC: Door closed but knockable.]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"Even tortured geniuses don't want to be itchy," Kathy said serenely, dusting her hands off in the wastebasket. "And even if you do, I don't, but you look like you need a hug."

[not_every_mage]

"It wouldn't hurt," Anders mused, sitting up straighter and brushing the last of the crumbs off his shirt. "'Snothing. Nathan had to go home and I'm feeling sorry for myself."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh, Anders," Kathy said, turning around to wrap him in a tight hug. "That's not nothing and we both know it. You're allowed to be upset. Hell, If I'd known, I would have gotten you something much stronger than champagne. Hon, I'm so sorry."

Still with her arms around him, Kathy sat down on the bed and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Want to talk about it?"

[not_every_mage]

Anders thought about it a moment, sighed, and rested his chin in her hair.

"No," he admitted. "Nothing against you. If I wanted to talk it would be to you. It's just too raw. I'd rather drink."

[spin_kick_snap]

She gave him another squeeze. "I get it," she assured him. "And you don't have to talk until and unless you want to. I've got a bottle of--vodka, maybe?--upstairs in my room I can fetch for you."

Odds were Dante had something in the room itself, but she wasn't about to go sneaking into his stash. She doubted Dante liked her enough to let that go. In fairness, she doubted Dante liked anyone enough to let that go.

"We can just drink and talk about other things. Or drink in silence. Or I can just drop it off and give you some time to yourself."

She wasn't as keen on that last idea, but if it was what Anders wanted...

[not_every_mage]

"I love vodka," Anders informed her. "I think I even have some juice to mix it with."

Not that he seemed inclined to let her up so she could get it.

"I was stupid," he added, mulishly. "Why would I get something nice that lasted? People like me never do."

[spin_kick_snap]

"That's not true," Kathy chided, not really trying to get up, either. "You deserve good things, good people. It's not your fault that Nathan had to go home."

It wasn't about him, either, but that had no place here, in Full Comfort Mode.

"Ah, hon, come here." She hugged him again. "What you are doesn't matter. And who you are is someone who deserves everything good in the world. I promise."

[not_every_mage]

"That's sweet, Kath," Anders told her doubtfully. "Too bad neither of us get a say. Maybe all I'm going to get is moments. Bits of sweetness and then everything goes to shit again."

It wasn't about him, really, but if she'd said that he would have been entirely confused. Who else would it be about?

[spin_kick_snap]

See, that was why that could be for later. If it needed to be said at all. But Kathy was firmly convinced that Anders did not have some dire fate that was going to damn him to be alone and unhappy for all of his life. Whatever happened with Nathan was more about Nathan than Anders.

She reached for his hands and held them tightly. "No, we don't get a say. And this sucks." On the brink of giving him a bright, 'but not everything is shit!' speech, she looked at his face and dropped that. Again, for another time.

Sorry, Anders. She'd never coaxed anyone through heartbreak before. She wasn't entirely good at it. "But I don't believe that it's all you get. I just can't believe it. You're worth far more than that."

[not_every_mage]

"Do you think what I'm 'worth' really matters?" Anders asked. "It never seems to from what I've seen."

He appreciated Kathy's effort, but he wasn't ready to be consoled. Not really.

[spin_kick_snap]

Well, she was going to keep trying!

...Until she gave up and proceeded to get him drunk and full of ice cream. That was what the movies said worked for heartbreak. Bubblebaths by candlelight, too, but she was willing to guess Anders would be okay with skipping that tradition.

Hmm, maybe the onsen?

Wait, no, that was not a train of thought to follow today. Or this week. Back to comforting.

"I do," Kathy told him. "Maybe it's just growing up with the idea of karma, but yeah, I think it does matter. But maybe...maybe not today. Or for the next little while. Maybe today just sucks entirely, and you just got to get through it."

[not_every_mage]

"I'll drink to that," Anders said, finally cracking a smile. "Maybe you're even right. Maybe it's all uphill from here."

[spin_kick_snap]

"You'd drink to it if we had something to drink," Kathy pointed out, ready to commit to a Monday afternoon of drinking with Anders if that was going to help. Maybe she'd finally understand Dante's Tuesday hangovers. "I don't know if the cider's going to work for this, sorry."

[not_every_mage]

"What is that?" Anders asked, nodding to the bottle. "I read the label and it's just juice?"

He sounded properly horrified by this.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I thought--" Yeah, you know what, she wasn't going to go into her train of thought there. "I grabbed the wrong bottle, sorry," she said, ducking her head. "I thought it was a bottle of hard cider. Should I run up and snag that vodka? It might make for a good mixer?"

[not_every_mage]

"No, it's all right," Anders told her. "I want to have you here more than I want vodka right now. Is that horribly sappy?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy's heart hurt at that. Giving him a soft smile, she shook her head. "No, it's not," she told him, leaning in to give him another hug. "I'm here for you whenever you want me. I promise."

[not_every_mage]

"For three more months, anyhow," Anders said, still deep in self-pity even as he hugged her back. "Then you'll be gone no matter what."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Hey now," Kathy said, nudging his shoulder. "There's the whole summer, too. And if you even think that you're getting out of visiting me at college, you're crazy. And I'll be back for Homecoming and will probably portal in for random visits, too." She shook her head at him. "It'll take a lot more than a little graduation for you to lose me, okay?"

[not_every_mage]

"Okay," Anders said, but dubiously. "I believe you. It's just -- people who leave me don't have a great record of coming back."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Yeah, well, maybe you need to make friends with more superheroes," Kathy said, giving him a victory sign. "We always keep our promises. It's part of the superhero code we have to sign when we first put on our masks."