Room 505, Thursday Evening

[thismaskiwear]

So there was a Talk to be had, that hadn't been had yet. After work Katchoo had stopped by J,GoB, because this was the sort of thing that needed a ridiculous assortment of munchies, preferably chocolate-covered and requiring lots of butter, so there was a large box of said munchies lying on her hastily-cleared nightstand. The occasional muffled beep from the closet hinted at the fact that Clocky'd been banished for the time being.

Now all she needed was the love of her life. Or, you know, her best friend. And roommate.

Because that wasn't awkward at all.

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[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Which meant that this, in turn, was Katchoo not fighting this at all, not even when she made a soft muffled noise of surprise and reached up to touch a hand to Francine's cheek. Then pause just before contact, as if she was afraid she'd make a move and the moment would dissipate.

Like . . . like a cloud of dust or something.

[thatsamilkshake]

It did, eventually, but not like a cloud of dust. First there was Francine's mouth soft against hers, then hard, desperate for reassurance, then a beat and a beat that were something Francine couldn't put a name to, then pulling away quickly and covering her mouth.

"Sorry!" What. What? "I ... " Owe Arthur money. "I just had to be sure." Yes. That was it. To be sure. "I mean--" What did she mean? "...What about my hair?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

The pulling away didn't hurt as much as the apology, maybe. "It's --" Hoping too much of her disappointment didn't show on her face, Katchoo reached up to touch Francine's bangs. "Part of it's gone white."

[thatsamilkshake]

"It can't have. How? I'm only seventeen. People's hair doesn't go white until--" Mmm, defensive babble. Tastes just like chicken.

People's hair doesn't go white until they look in the mirror and shut up because huh?

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo watched her closely, hovering nearby, not wanting Francine to lose the reassurance of her presence. "Until you saw whatever it was you did just now."

[thatsamilkshake]

Looking at Katchoo over her shoulder in the mirror made Francine shudder for a moment, hand paused halfway to her face to touch the weirdness hanging over it. "It was horrible."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo wondered: if she came up to hug Francine from behind right now, would that go badly? "Can you talk about it?" she asked, just beside Francine's elbow.

And yet if she got asked the same question, she'd probably say no. She kind of hated that.

[thatsamilkshake]

It really wouldn't go badly at all. Francine ran her hand disbelievingly through her hair again, then stepped back. "We were just talking." Well, hardly just talking, given the subject. But. "And then everything got bright and my head started to hurt like crazy. And... you were there, but you didn't look like you. Your hair was shorter, and ... then your face went all funny."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Okay, Katchoo couldn't take it any more, and she did give in to the impulse to wrap her arms around Francine. If she pulled back, well, Katchoo would take the risk.

"Not the way it does when you use the Fat Man voice, I'm guessing."

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine laughed once, a little too hard, at that, wiping tears off her face. "No. Like a monster or a demon or something. with sharp teeth. It still looked like you, but not. And then I said do it, and you just..." No, Francine wouldn't be pulling back, not when she could hold on to Katchoo's arms so hard she couldn't let go if she wanted to.

"You fell apart. I was holding on to you and you fell apart and turned into dust."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Well, that was ironic. (Alanis, take note.) It was when Katchoo wasn't around Francine that she felt like she could fall apart and turn into dust.

This mask I wear pretends I'm here
And hides me from the awful fear
That you might find the heart of me
And take that too, beneath the trees.

Why did that poem she'd written three years ago come to mind all of a sudden?

And, when she was around Francine, was when she was most afraid of being seen as a monster. Of course at the moment she was around Francine and her arms were starting to lose feeling. Not that she cared.

"Not going to happen, Francine," she said firmly -- and lamely, she thought, but what else could she say?

[thatsamilkshake]

"Promise?" Francine tried to say it like a joke, but it came out sounding like she was five years old and desperately needed to hear that from someone she trusted or the world was going to end and there would be no more ice cream ever.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Promise," Katchoo said, and she even meant it. "I'll never let that happen."

[thatsamilkshake]

"Me neither." Because I will never let you die is a promise you can totally keep, Francine.