The Causeway, Friday Noon

[not_every_mage]

After a few days in San Francisco, it had finally been time to go home. Anders's emotions were mixed as he waited for Dante to return the rental car and took the shuttle to the portal station home.

On the one hand, they'd been gone long enough that it'd be good to get home. He missed Kathy, their beds, his jobs. On the other ... it had been nice to step away from real life for a while.

A flash of light, and there they were on the causeway.

"Island's still standing," he noted, elbowing Dante. "So we couldn't have missed too much."

Comments

[rebelseekspizza]

"Ehh, I don't know. They coulda fit an invasion in here, easy," Dante said, his bag slung over his shoulder.

He wasn't particularly excited about being back, but he'd live. He just missed the easy-going rhythm of being on the road; it suited him better than dorm life.

[not_every_mage]

"You aren't wrong," Anders admitted. "I'm not sure why I'm being the optimist."

[rebelseekspizza]

"I was wondering for a minute there if we had an invasion of pod people," Dante said, smirking at him. "But nope. Looks like same old Fandom."

He looked up at the castle. "Where you are now officially no longer a student, you fucking cradle robber."

[not_every_mage]

Anders snorted. "You're probably going to be sleeping with a teacher soon, so by that logic you're a poor abused youth."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante pulled a face, giving a dramatic full-body shiver. "You trying to talk me out of sleeping with her now?"

[not_every_mage]

"Andraste's tits, no," Anders swore, some worry creasing his forehead. "Forget I said anything."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante shook his head. "Already gone," he said, patting Anders on the shoulder.

Look, nobody needed to make a fuss out of the part where Dante had been a poor abused youth and-- yeah, nope, no fuss about that.

"Kinda feel weird being back," he added conversationally.

[not_every_mage]

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do," Anders admitted, with an easy little laugh to cover what he sensed had been a case of foot-in-mouth. "I've had classes to go to since I got here. Now Ill just be at work."

[rebelseekspizza]

"A whole whopping two days a week, too, you overarchiever," Dante said, smirking at him.

[spin_kick_snap]

So, Kathy hadn't actually been watching the Causeway to see when the guys were coming back. There was an acceptable level of missing them, and then there was full-on stalking and she was very firmly not in the latter camp.

One benefit that being a creepy stalker would have given her? A chance to greet them while having control over her appearance. She could have been showered and pretty, dressed in something cute, with makeup on and smelling like perfume. Instead, she caught sight of them while doing laps around the island, trying to get rid of some of her excess energy. So the Kathy that veered over to greet them was wearing a sweaty, barefaced mess of a girl, with a ponytail that was trying to work itself loose on the back of her head, wearing a tanktop and a pair of spandex running shorts. She wasn't even properly able to greet them when she first stop, her wave changing to a finger asking for a second while she caught her breath and drank a few long swallows from her water bottler.

Yeah. Next time she was going to greet them after being gone for two weeks, she was going with the stalking option. Dammit.

[not_every_mage]

Anders, at least, looked happy to see her (though the clothes did warrant a quick second look).

"Hi," he said. "I guess I shouldn't ask if you were waiting for us."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy shook her head, pulling the bottom hem of her tank up to wipe at her face, giving him a quick flash of stomach and sports bra. "Didn't know when you'd be back," she panted. "Seemed a little creepy to just hang out."

But she could have greeted them with a picnic lunch or something and been charming, rather than disheveled. Seriously, next time she was going to go with that.

[not_every_mage]

"We could have called, but you know how portals are," Anders said apologetically. "We weren't sure when we'd get here until we left. Can't complain about seeing you right away, though."

[spin_kick_snap]

"No worries," Kathy assured him, pausing another moment to take a sip from her water bottle. She was being careful now, because the only thing that would make this even better would be getting a cramp in front of them. "I wasn't sure if you guys would rather just head back to your room and crash instead. Road trips can be exhausting."

She gave him a smile and leaned forward to give him a soft kiss. "But since I am here, welcome home?"

[not_every_mage]

Anders returned the kiss, a bit more firmly. "There are good things about being back," he said. "I missed you."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy ducked her head, unable to hide the happy grin that had formed with his kiss and only grown with his words. "Missed you, too," she said. "Nothing much happened around here other than classes starting up again. You guys picked a good time to go off."

[not_every_mage]

"It's usually a quiet time right after graduation," Anders agreed, and something about Kathy's smile always made him smile too. "But I'm glad that held. We wouldn't have wanted to Nissan invasion."

[spin_kick_snap]

"You come back and there's blood and wailing in the streets," Kathy snorted. "And just turn to one another and decide to visit New York or something instead."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante noticed her - with the waving and the finger and the water - and chuckled. "Hey, Kat," he called. "Going gym bunny on us?"

[spin_kick_snap]

He got a different finger with a different message, but also a bright, warm grin that hopefully showed, if anything, she meant the gesture fondly.

"I'll have you know I'm a gym cheetah," she informed him when she could make sentences again. "Full of speed and majesty."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Cheetahs look goofy," Dante retorted, hands shoved in his pockets as he walked to her. "So do I get a gross, sweaty hug or what?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Well, only because you asked for one," Kathy said. She hadn't been planning on inflicting a hug on either of them, but if he was actually going to ask... In the moments before his casual stroll brought him within hugging distance, she wiped her face with the front of her cotton tank again before stepping forward to wrap her arms around him. "Hey, welcome back," she said, tipping her head up to give him another smile. "Also, cheetahs look awesome."

[rebelseekspizza]

"You are so fucking wrong," Dante said, hugging her back with far more ease than he'd had a year ago. "Nerd."

[spin_kick_snap]

She'd have to give it some thought, but she was pretty sure this might be the first hug he'd ever requested and among the few handful he'd ever initiated. "If by 'nerd' you mean 'awesome person full of definitive facts,' then you're right," she teased. "And as a person full of definitive facts, I can tell you cheetahs are the opposite of goofy looking."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante patted her on the shoulder as he pulled back. "You're delusional."