[Oct. 13-20] full stops and exclamation marks

[girlsolo]

Kate's back to drinking tequila again. That's never a good sign. Tonight it's a sign she's bouncing between sexy check-in notes with Declan that make this island seem all right and people like Coraline screaming and crying over how much it fucking sucks.

The smart thing to do would be find Will or Magnus, talk some of this out. Even finding someone to spar with, that would work. Thing is, Kate's not that kind of smart. When it comes to helping Coraline? Sure. Yeah. She's been listening to Will do his shrink thing for years now. But when it comes to herself?

Fuck that noise. She'd still rather fuck and forget.

Kate leans her back against a post to watch the room, drinks another shot (hot wheels only, no training), and flirts at whatever makes eye contact. Whether she's Go or just Show, she hasn't decided yet. Mostly, she's trying not to look for anyone in particular. She's trying not to wish he'd come in and just...

Take her home.

[OOC: Find her at the Hub or the Winchester (let me know) any evening between now and the 20th. Available for all of your Freelander needs. If you need a specific date, email me, otherwise I'll work them out. For the record, Kate's very bi but a lot less available than she thinks she is.]

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[notsocommon]

"What feels natural is the easiest answer," Helen offered. "But the truth may be more complex than that. It often is. How do you feel about him, Kate?"

[girlsolo.livejournal.com]

"It's complicated. We..." Kate shoves her hands through her hair and twists it back behind her neck. Fidgeting. Not a her thing. Not unless she's sitting in a quiet room where they're supposed to be working.

"We have a thing. It's not actually a thing. Yet. But it is, and..." She makes a face, brows pinching and mouth twisting with her awkwardness. "He knows all the stuff you and Will don't, so sometimes when it's bad he can help." Take a breath, Freelander. It's kind of a relief to tell her. Different than telling anyone else. Magnus has always been the one who knows what she's capable of and pushed her to her best. "It was just sex at first, doc. But now there's no sex unless it's just him. And I'm worried about that because I always fuck things up with people pretty spectacularly before I get it right. I really don't want to hurt him."

[notsocommon]

"Declan's a good man, Kate," Helen said after a long moment, weighing what she'd said with what she knew about the two of them. "If he's asked for exclusivity, he has faith you can provide it. For what it's worth, I agree with being cautious...it wouldn't be good to hurt a friend. That said, I think if you really want him, you can make it work."

[girlsolo.livejournal.com]

You can make it work. Magnus means to encourage her, she thinks. But it makes her feel kind of defiant. Like she used to when the team didn't trust her yet.

What Kate says, mild and still worried sounding, head tipped down, is, "I guess I have to figure out what I want then," but what she means is we already work, you'll see.

[notsocommon]

"And then when you do know, go out and get it," Helen said, beaming a little at her. "Because you're the sort of woman who always gets what you want. I've always seen that in you."

[girlsolo.livejournal.com]

That's because it's true. What Kate Freelander wants for herself, she gets. She shrugs her way into a small smile. "Yeah, but this time I can't mow down everything in my way to get it."

It's happening more and more often. Not just not wanting to hurt people but actively wanting to protect them. People who aren't the team. It's strange and uncomfortable. As strange and uncomfortable as how she feels about Declan.

"How did you know, with Will?" she asks, same as she did Steve. It's on her mind a lot. "It can't have been easy. Lots of reasons why you'd be worried about it. What made you decide it was worth all the risks?"

[notsocommon]

"Because when I'm in a room with Will, it's like nobody else exists," Helen said simply. It was easy, that way, and that was how she'd known.

"Being loved by Will is like having the sun turned on you full force. I needed it, clearly, and once I knew, I had to have it."

[girlsolo.livejournal.com]

Steve knew because Danny stood up to him. Magnus because Will loves like the sun. Maybe she should ask Declan how he knows it's her.

Kate thumbs the side of her beer glass. "I've never felt like this before. I'm not sure I like it."

[notsocommon]

"Love is a scary thing. It certainly was when I was young and it was John and I," Helen said, reaching out and touching Kate's hand.

"If he's someone you love, you'll know. It feels...it feels different from anything else, Kate. I can assure you of that."

[girlsolo.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, well." Kate makes a face and rolls her eyes at herself. "If you still needed any proof that I've changed, I think you just got it. I sound like a caller on Friday night loveline."

She drains her beer in one swallow and orders another one. "Quick, let's talk about something else before I'm banned from wearing leather."

[notsocommon]

"Mm, one of these days I'll get you into a sundress and Will is going to think you hit your head and have amnesia," Helen teased. She preferred sundresses, on the island, but that was mostly because there was no real need to suit up and hunt Abnormals.

"I remember Will once pointing out that I needed to spend some quality time flopped on a beach reading books and drinking mojitos. I really haven't done much of that since I've been here in spite of having plenty of time."

[girlsolo.livejournal.com]

She says sundress, Kate thinks Little Black Dress, and it's instantly a good thing she doesn't show a blush. Gods. She just bets they're all going to think she hit her head and has amnesia.

Covering, she cocks her head and sucks in her cheeks. "No sundress. But I'll wear a sarong if you wear a bikini. Beach day, you bring the books and I'll bring the mojitos?"

[notsocommon]

"I think you may have a deal," Helen said, grinning wickedly. "I have a black bikini, actually. I lost the top to it the first time I met Sam, actually, and I do believe I may have scarred him for life."

[girlsolo.livejournal.com]

Kate rolls her eyes. "Scarred is not the word you're looking for." Sam's crush on Magnus knows no bounds. "More like made a massive deposit in the--" She stops that thought before it finds its way to explanation station. 'Spank bank' is not a phrase Magnus needs in her vocabulary. "There's probably a ten page entry in his diary about it."

[notsocommon]

"He did tell me I was a MILF, once," Helen said, giggling a little at the implication. "Not something I've ever been called to my face before but I suppose it's accurate, considering I have had a child before."

[girlsolo.livejournal.com]

"It's accurate." Kate gives her a don't be stupid look. Sometimes she wonders if Magnus has ever seen a mirror. It's like the woman doesn't know she's amazing.

[notsocommon]

"Well then, you don't think I'll be blinding anyone if I decide to resurrect my bikini?" Helen teased. It was fun to be light and easy with Kate, especially given the difficult emotions of late.

"I'd like to leave the island's residents relatively unscathed."

[girlsolo.livejournal.com]

"Can't promise unscathed," Kate says with a shrug and orders Magnus another drink. "Put you in a bikini and half the island will walk into walls." She quirks a half-smile, dips her fingers in her beer and flicks them at Magnus. "Stop fishing for compliments. I'll get a black eye if I don't stop falling all over myself giving them."

[notsocommon]

"Fair enough. A lady likes to feel special every once in a while," Helen said, blushing a little at being caught. "And you know I'm impossibly vain. It's the old spinster in me rearing her ugly head."

[girlsolo.livejournal.com]

Kate just lifts an eyebrow, not baited this time. Instead, she rubs her thumb against her forefingers and smirks. "Declan says I'm a lady. So. Pay up, boss."

[notsocommon]

"You want me to compliment you? Compliment you how, exactly? As a trusted friend and someone who works for me or as someone I want to sleep with? I assure you, the compliments are very different depending on how you want me to mean them," Helen returned, smirking.

[girlsolo.livejournal.com]

"Oh, this ought to be good." Kate sits up, stretching her arm across the back of the booth like a guy. She knows what she looks like but she's pretty sure Magnus never thought about her that way a day in her life. "Bring it. Let's hear you try to make me believe you want to sleep with me."

[notsocommon]

"Fine," Helen said, getting up to move so she was sitting next to Kate. She flashed a smile before dropping her voice low and brushing her hand back against Kate's cheek. It was dirty pool, perhaps, but she leaned in and whispered against her ear.

"You're beautiful, Kate. I want that mouth of yours all over me, love, if that can be arranged? I promise to make it worth your while."

[girlsolo.livejournal.com]

"Not bad." Not bad, her ass. Kate's warm and the image in her head is vivid. But it's just that. An image. Not a desire.

Fuck. Guess that answers the question of how she knows.

None of that shows on Kate's face, though, and it's definitely not in her voice when she answers, "Magnus, beautiful, if I get my mouth all over you, you won't be doing anything for awhile except screaming my name," at a low, promising purr.

[notsocommon]

Helen flushed a little. Kate was actually very good at this whole thing but that shouldn't have surprised her very much; Kate was a con.

She leaned in and kissed just to the corner of Kate's lips. "We should get out of here, then, unless you want to put on a show? I would hate for it to get around when all I want is you around me."