phasing_cat | Oops I Overdid It Again

Kitty struggled out of the taxi, nearly falling to one knee when she stepped up onto the sidewalk. Every part of her felt like it was filled with lead, and her clothes and hair smelled like smoke. She assumed that she looked as disheveled as she felt, but that wasn't important at the moment. Looking up, she was greeted by a small miracle. Since the last time she'd been there, a shelter had been built over the bench at the bus stop just a few feet away. She shuffled over to it, planted her feet, locked her knees, and leaned back against it. Immediate threat of collapse handled.

It was late, after midnight, and the street was deserted though the sounds of traffic from the main thoroughfare a couple blocks away floated in the air. This was a good neighborhood, on the nicer side without being obvious about it, and the building was very secure. She didn't have the key fob or code to get in on her own. So she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed Steve's number. If she weren't so utterly exhausted it would have occurred to her to call while still in the cab, so that if he wasn't home she could have chosen a different destination. But she was committed now, for better or worse. Glancing up at the darkened windows she knew looked into his bedroom and living room, she prayed that he was there. And awake. Or at least had left his phone ringer on.

Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up...

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He had every right to be creeped out at the idea of being watched. She wished there was something she could say to reassure him, but times were strange. Big brother was everywhere.

"I can't vouch for the intentions of the people who own the satellites, but I can say that we're mostly trying to get Kurt in and out without being noticed. He can't blend in like I can." Not only was he tall and lanky, but he was blue and had a tail, and only 3 fingers on each hand. Sadly those who were afraid of mutants trended toward being outright violent toward the ones who looked so obviously different.

She leaned over and unzipped the bag, rooting through it until she found what she was hoping for - sweat pants.

"You okay with me waiting a little to take a shower? I wanna let this food kick in, give me some strength back."

“Sure,” Steve agreed easily. He was okay with whatever she needed to do to recover, though, felt like his presence was just to make sure she got whatever that was. He was there to help. To take care of her. She was in charge of her own recovery.

The only thing he wouldn’t budge on was not letting her leave until she was able to comfortably do it under her own power.

“I’m not going to rush you into anything. Take some time, do it when you feel up to it.” He wasn’t even going to complain if she didn’t want to shower at all for another day or two. “Why don’t you go ahead and get comfortable instead?”

There was a question in his gaze that he didn’t voice. He’d of course help her to the couch or back to bed if she wanted it, but Kate was independent. She might not want.

"I'm one step ahead of you," she answered as she pulled the sweat pants on, pausing just long enough to scoot forward on the chair and make sure her feet were securely under her before standing up and pulling them the rest of the way up. She let the blanket fall off her shoulders as she tied the drawstring around the waist. She should have known Storm would think of everything, and would pack the drawstring ones.

She looked up, fully expecting him to be watching her with barely-restrained concern, ready to jump to her side at the first sign of weakness. She felt pretty good, all things considered. Definitely stronger than earlier.

"So what's one step up from 'death warmed over'? Because I think I've achieved that."

He was watching her when she looked to him, sure, but it wasn’t concern coloring his features. It was caution, yes, and readiness to catch her if she did topple over, but much more than that it was affection. It was pride. He looked at her and still saw exhaustion and the weakness that came with it, but he also saw her pushing through it and recovering more quickly than he’d thought she would.

A bit of food in her had apparently made a big difference.

“Whatever you call it, it looks alive,” he said with a hint of joking in his voice, holding out a hand to her. “C’mon. You can make yourself at home on the couch until you’re up to anything more.”

He would even put on a movie or something for her. Steve wasn’t much of a television watcher but he did have one.

"I'll take alive." Both as a description and of her current state of being. She suspected she came very close to not being so.

She was grateful for his outstretched hand - she wasn't sure that her pride would have let her reach for his help on her own. She had a tendency to think in absolutes. She either needed his help all the time or none of the time. She was standing on her own, and she wished that meant she could do everything on her own, but the wobbliness she felt in her knees said otherwise.

She led him support her for the slow but steady walk to the couch. Once seated, though, she didn't let go of his hand. She didn't want to ever let him go.

"Watch some 'I Love Lucy' with me? They say laughter is the best medicine." And his laugh never failed to make her happy.

Steve knew a thing or two about pride and absolutes, and if their positions were reversed he didn’t know that he’d accept the help he offered, but when it came to his girl he saw things in more grays. Really, if it was anyone but himself he could be a little more flexible.

He noted that she didn’t let go when she sat, and so Steve joined her easily, settling himself in next to her. “Sure,” the agreement was just as easy. There was nothing going on today that needed his attention and nothing he was in a hurry to do. He could spend a while just relaxing if it meant he was making sure Kate rested. “I like that one.”

TV as a whole, at least in any meaningful way, was a little after his time, but the older shows were close enough that they still felt a little familiar even while being new to him. Steve enjoyed the glimpse into the things he would’ve known.

Most of the time. Sometimes it just made him sad.

Oops I Overdid It Again - for @americanass

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