Room 308, Friday Morning

[bitten_notshy]

Jack never saw himself as a diamond thief, but there was something to be said for a job well done that had him distinctly self-satisfied as he got home from New York. He'd barely slept -- there had been too much adrenaline for that -- but it hardly mattered.

He tucked his take into a hidden corner of a dresser, planning to sell the diamonds and give the money to his sister during his next trip home. Then he sprawled on his bed to relax and idly checked his voicemail.

Well. It was good Mitchell was coming back, he supposed, but the whole thing made him frown a bit -- and not just because the messages were of limited coherence, or because he wasn't American. Things would be complicated. But then, they always were.

He picked up his phone to make a call of his own before settling in to write to Sebastien. It would, of necessity, be a rather more censored letter than his norm.

[OOC: Door is closed but knockable, or open to Andy. Aaaaaand let's call the specifics on his thread with Kate NFB.]

Comments

[vanillajello]

It was a rare thing that Kate checked her voicemail first thing in the morning. But there'd been some calls from Aunt Charmaine the night before – asking after a top Kate was sure she hadn't brought with her to Fandom – and she'd just felt like checking whether there had been any follow-up messages.

Apparently, the top had been found in T's box of clothes (which Kate felt proved exactly why she wouldn't have brought it with her), and Mitchell was coming back, only Kate hadn't even known he'd been gone, and so now there was a slightly hesitant knock on Jack's door.

[bitten_notshy]

"Coming," Jack called, and wiped his pen and set it to the side before going for the door. Jack looked surprised to see Kate a split second before hiss face relaxed into neutrality and he stepped back. "Come in. I wouldn't have expected you to check your messages yet."

[vanillajello]

"Family clothing crisis," she replied, stepping in past him. "I was checking to see whether I was still being accused of crimes against fashion."

[bitten_notshy]

"Oh," Jack said, and went to close the door. "Were you?"

It was only a natural question.

[vanillajello]

"No, my... friend was found guilty of that."

She'd get to the point in a moment. But for now, she'd just stand there, wrapping her arms around herself. "As I tried telling everyone yesterday."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack wrinkled his nose in sympathy. "Bad friend, maybe? Sorry they didn't listen."

The point? He'd ... get around to that. Later.

[vanillajello]

"It's okay, I guess," Kate said, shrugging. "I mean, we should all be attacking my aunt, anyway. She's the one who wanted to actually wear the fucking thing."

[bitten_notshy]

"How bad was it?" Jack asked, and sat on his bed with a gesture to his desk chair if she wanted to do the same.

[vanillajello]

Kate rocked back on her heels for a bit before deciding to take the offer, sitting down in the chair. "It's this horrific spangly pink top. So, bad."

[bitten_notshy]

"Sounds like it should be burned," Jack decided. "Clothes shouldn't look like dancer's costumes unless they are costumes."

[vanillajello]

"Yeah, but try telling that to Charmaine and her Forever 37 wardrobe," Kate replied, sighing. Then she leaned back in the chair. "So, where is he?"

Point time, apparently.

[bitten_notshy]

"He went home," Jack answered quickly. He'd been wondering how long they could keep the topic avoidance up. "Bought a house in Bristol and is, apparently, driving George mad enough that he wants to give him back. Do you want to hear the messages?"

[vanillajello]

"... Bought a house in Bristol."

No, after that revelation, Mitchell was no longer allowed to give her any shit for running away. ...And no, despite everything, she hadn't been able to stop herself from thinking of him as someone who was allowed to give her any shit about anything in the first place.

Kate took a deep breath, then let it out, shrugging. "Yeah, okay."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack ... didn't think anyone but Sebastien was allowed to give him shit to start with, and Sebastien's status was permitted only because he did it so rarely. But Mitchell definitely had lost any points he had on the general theme of staying and facing down your problems. Also, while he was at it, on thinking before you acted.

"It's mostly George rambling," Jack said, as he pulled out his phone and punched into voicemail. "I'd talked to them Monday, so I didn't call back. I wasn't sure what to say."

He held the phone out to her. "Here."

[vanillajello]

First of all, it sounded like George was being a spaz, as usual. Not that Kate knew him well at all.

And it sounded like Mitchell was being a massive dork, also as usual.

It also sounded like Mitchell was doing exactly the same thing that had made Bod look at Kate funny, the first day in the Bahamas. Over-compensating for... the bad stuff, inside, by projecting nothing but cheer outside. She knew Mitchell wasn't exactly a social butterfly.

She did a brilliant job at hiding all emotions – of which there were many, and they were mixed – that the messages brought up.

"George does sound pretty desperate," she said, handing the phone back to Jack.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack watched her for a second to see if she'd say more, then put the phone away. Kate's skill at hiding her emotions was ... interesting, if a bit disquieting for someone who spent as much time trying to read other people as Jack did.

"He does," Jack said, and -- feeling like he should say more -- "But the fact George seems to think it's my problem doesn't mean either of us has to babysit, you know."

[vanillajello]

"I really wasn't planning to."

Of course, Kate didn't have the faintest idea of what she was planning to do. She pursed her lips and looked away for a moment before her gaze flicked back to him. "So, he didn't teach this week?"

[bitten_notshy]

"I think I needed to hear myself say it."

Which was honest, but useless. Jack owed Sebastien his life. An accident of species and a damaged friendship didn't mean Jack owed Mitchell anything more than the respect he gave all teachers. It was just -- knowing that logically didn't make him feel less guilty.

He shook his head.

"Alex and Chloe showed some horrible movie. I couldn't really pay attention -- I called George after and heard about Bristol. Should I have tracked you down?"

Genuine question, there.

[vanillajello]

Kate shook her head. "No," she said. "It's not like not knowing about something is anything new to me."

The barb wasn't really aimed at Jack, but she also didn't quite care whether he took it that way.

[bitten_notshy]

He did, but he wasn't sure it was undeserved. He sighed.

"It would have been spectacularly bad timing to tell you before we got to Baltimore. It's not exactly my secret, and I didn't know what we'd find."

As the defensiveness might suggest, Jack had been feeling guilty about that particular decision, too. He seemed to be a regular guilt factory around this whole affair.

[vanillajello]

Meanwhile, Kate felt no guilt about anything at all. (Which was a rarity in the messes she'd been involved in.) But she could make up for that with anger and disappointment and confusion.

She had an abundance of all of those. Not that it really showed.

"Yeah, well, some little hint would've still been nice."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack's look questioned her intelligence. It was an effective look; he'd borrowed it from Emma.

"Right," he drawled. "If a similar situation comes up, I'll take the time to play charades along the way."

[OOC: I apologize for him.]

[vanillajello]

Well, it would've been effective, if Kate had looked in the least bit like she gave a crap about what he thought of her intelligence.

If anything, she was returning the look.

"Oh grow up," she shot back. "That's not what I meant and you know it. It's not my fucking fault that I didn't grow up with-- with this stuff."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack rolled his eyes. 308 was a regular display of immaturity on parade.

"What kind of hint did you want?" he asked acidly. "And it's not my fault I did. None of that was exactly an everyday thing for me, either."

[vanillajello]

Not so much with the mature, no. But at least Kate's indifferent facade was fraying at the edges. Some people might have claimed that was progress.

Not helpful, but progress all the same.

"I don't know. Something, anything. Like 'hey Kate, we might be heading into some serious shit'?"

[bitten_notshy]

That -- was actually a good point, and it drew Jack up short.

"You're right," he said, dropping some of the exasperation. "I should have. I wasn't thinking."

Or, rather, he'd been thinking too much about the wrong things, but the effect was the same.

[vanillajello]

"Yeah."

Kate's expression softened some. It hadn't been Jack's responsibility to fill her in on the whole story, and she knew that, and at least he'd admitted to screwing up in not warning her.

She didn't really have anything beyond 'yeah' to say, though.

[bitten_notshy]

It was a good word; he'd say it back at her. "Yeah," he agreed, and rocked back against his palms as he contemplated the ceiling silently for the surprisingly long moments it took him to form a sentence.

"Do you think you're going to class?"

[vanillajello]

"I don't know." It was the only honest answer to that question. She fiddled with her necklace for a moment, before returning the question. "Do you?"

He'd been in class this week, too, so she expected more certainty from him.

[bitten_notshy]

"Yes." Well, that was certain. Jack justified himself, "I need something to do Mondays, and the class itself is good."

And, for everything he'd say about not babysitting, he still wanted that weekly visual check-in.

[vanillajello]

"I have Algren's class on Mondays too," Kate said, almost feeling like she needed to justify why she might not show up. She'd totally still have something to do on Mondays, see?

Never mind that she'd skipped that class this week, too, half because she'd lost track of time while playing video games, and half because she hadn't wanted to run into Mitchell at the school.

[bitten_notshy]

"I'd understand if you thought Algren's was enough for the day," Jack said smoothly. He didn't think avoiding the class forever was the best option possible, but he wasn't Kate's babysitter, either. She had to deal with things (or not deal with them) as she saw fit.

"It's -- what I said. He apologized to me for you. He sounded like he meant it, though I wouldn't think much of it coming by proxy."

[vanillajello]

"Hmph."

No, Kate wasn't exactly impressed with an apology coming through Jack like that. She shook her head, then pushed herself up from her chair.

Then she hesitated for a moment before asking, "You think there are any bars over on the mainland that serve radioactive-looking rum drinks?"

[bitten_notshy]

"I think you could probably convince someone to make you one," Jack said, glancing up at her before deciding to chance it. "I haven't been much for going to the mainland lately."

The trip to New York with Emma was completely different -- it was miles away in a different universe, and he was protected by people with powers.

[vanillajello]

"I had to. Ballet class, Tuesday night." She fiddled the hem of her shirt, eyes downcast. "Took Bod with me."

At least she'd felt surprisingly safe.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack nodded. He'd seen Bod in law class; he seemed solid, like a good friend.

"Well," he said, watching her. "If you want company trying to find neon things full of rum in the city, my calendar isn't too full."

[vanillajello]

"Yeah, we should try that," Kate replied after a pause. "Maybe sometime next week."

Although she wasn't too keen on thinking about next week yet.

[bitten_notshy]

"I'm free every afternoon except Thursday," Jack told her. "We can play it by ear."

[vanillajello]

"Yeah, Thursday is out of the question, and my Tuesday is booked as well, although it's ballet class in Baltimore, so..." She shrugged. "But we'll see."

There was bound to be a day when booze was a higher priority than on others.

"I think I should head out. Didn't even have breakfast yet."

[bitten_notshy]

"Go eat," Jack agreed with a nod. "I have a few things to take care of, too." Like sleep, and figuring out how to get a few very nice diamonds to a servant in 1900 without arousing her suspicion overmuch.

"I'll see soon, Kate."

[vanillajello]

"Eat? I was just going to have coffee." See, Kate could totally muster up a faint smirk. "See ya, Jack."

And with that, she was out the door.