Who: Tony W and Cate Adler, later Kent Brightstar (via text) What: Art & Soul is good for the soul. Talking is also good for the soul. When: Sunday, 7:15 pm Where: Cate's house, Snowcap. Warnings: Too sexy for Cate's shirt, so sexy it hurts… (also, feels)
There was almost nothing more comfortable than reclining on Cate's couch with the woman herself tucked under his arm and the remnants of takeout from Delilah's spread on the coffee table while their current favorite show played on her TV. He wasn't thinking about how it would've been the most comfortable with Kent on her other side to make it a cuddly Cate sandwich, because they were not going to mope today, not when there was a whole season of Art & Soul to binge.
His hand had crept up Cate's thigh throughout the last episode, and as the credits rolled with that instant-classic theme song drifting through the room, he dragged his fingers up to her hip, his thumb sliding under the hem of her shirt to trace a lazy, half-teasing line across her side. "Merlin, I forgot how draggy Leon's romantic angst was up until that midseason finale when things really started moving. Don't tell Orrin I said that, I still think he's a genius. How are we doing? You up for another one right now, or should we pause to get drinks and pie? I got your key lime..." He twisted enough that he could grin at her. "Or we could pause and have sex if you want. I'm easy."
After a couple of weeks of alternating between crying, hoping, wondering, and moping, Cate was glad for this day to snuggle up with one of her favorite people and not think about the things that she knew they were actually both thinking about anyway. The TV was the perfect distraction, and Tony's arm around her just enough of a reminder of what she had—teetering on the edge though it sometimes felt right now.
"Aww, I love Leon. How dare you call it draggy." She tipped her head up and gave him a pouty face. At his question, she pretended to seriously consider it for a moment, eyes scrunched up in concentration. "Hmm...pie, I think. I haven't quite reached my quota of comfort sugar yet today." Despite that answer, she stretched up and kissed him, mindful of that slight tug of skin at her side. It didn't hurt anymore, much, but it was still a little raw and twingy if she moved wrong.
Tony went happily into that slow, warm, easy kiss, letting the familiar taste of Cate's mouth wash away all the unhappiness that had lingered around their triad for weeks. He shifted after a moment without releasing her from that kiss, tugging her carefully into his lap so he could hold and make out with her all at once. He was still so aware of the splinching wound, watching where he put his hands, but after the scare they'd had on Wednesday night, touching her was comforting.
He pulled back after a moment and brushed a kiss over the tip of her nose. "You want sugar? I'll give you some sugar, baby." With a laugh, he dipped in and kissed her neck, too; despite being the one who'd suggested it in the first place, Tony was not terribly interested in pie if it meant letting go of his girlfriend.
Cate laughed, too, lips teasing over Tony's ear before she tilted her head, encouraging his attention to her neck. It, thankfully, had escaped the freak splinching. "You're lucky I kind of like you, or that absolutely terrible line would have definitely earned you a trip to the kitchen for pie." The hands that had been almost lazily draped around his neck trailed up into his hair, making it stick up in the best sort of way as they dragged along his scalp.
She couldn't seem to make up her mind if she wanted to savor this or rush where it was leading, and her movements followed that, first gentle and then firm. She lifted his face back up, bringing their lips together almost too softly, a glancing brush, and then another, and then she realized her thoughts were turning to their missing boyfriend, and her sigh was almost entirely swallowed up in a far more insistent kiss.
He liked where this was going -- well, he generally liked anywhere Cate took him, and he followed her lead gladly, falling into her kiss with all the concentration she deserved. Tony's hands roamed over her back, urging her closer and closer against his body until there was no air left between them, pressed chest to chest as they kissed deep and hot.
Eventually he broke away long enough to say, his voice pitched low and a little unsteady, "You wanna do this, Catey? Are you healed enough? I don't want to hurt you, sweetheart, we can do something that'll be gentle on you, or we can wait." The way his hands were still wandering over her body and the hungry look in his eye made it plain how little he wanted to wait right now, but his concern for Cate's recent injury kept him from rolling her down onto the couch and vanishing both their clothes right then and there.
"Yes," Cate said immediately, and then paused for the space of a couple of breaths, despite wanting no pause at all. But the last thing she wanted was to tell Tony it was fine and then end up making him feel bad later because she hadn't been entirely open. For half a second, her mind flashed to having him avoiding her, too, and she squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her forehead to his. "I just can't twist too much. Or lift my arms." Which was exactly why she was wearing something that buttoned down the front instead of pulled over her head. "It doesn't hurt so much as the skin's tight."
That was entirely too much talking already, and she dug her fingers into the muscles of his neck as she dropped the angle of her head just enough to catch his lips again.
"Good," Tony said, the word swallowed up in her kiss. He put enough distance between them to work on the buttons of her shirt, and broke away from her lips after a moment to kiss his way down her neck as he revealed more of her skin, dedicating lips and tongue to tasting her as he slid the open shirt over her shoulders, helping her ease it off.
He was distracted enough that he half expected to see Kent over Cate's shoulder when he glanced up, those dark eyes burning with the intensity they only got when he was watching the two of them together, and Tony's heart gave a sudden pang. He and Cate had slept together alone often enough before and it wasn't like this was new, and yet the absence of Kent now seemed wrong. That wrongness made Tony hesitate just for a moment before he pushed it aside and dipped his head again to kiss his way down her body. "You're so gorgeous, Catey," he said to her collarbone, his hands sliding up her back to nimbly unclasp her bra. "Is this where you want to be, or you wanna lie down and let me do all the work?"
One of Tony's many good qualities was his ability to distract a girl from her concerns, and though he was actively involved in what was on her mind, there came a point when his body and his hands overrode even the worst of it. That point came later than usual—somewhere in the vicinity of her bra dropping to the floor—but it was enough that Cate made a little sound of playful annoyance that anything was being delayed even long enough to ask a question. She opened her mouth to quip that they wouldn't be doing much work at all if he didn't let go of her enough to get her pants off, but then her phone trilled from where it rested on the couch cushion behind her. It was a distinctive notification tone for a distinctive group chat that she would have known even without Tony's phone's simultaneous ding.
She froze briefly, then made the mistake of trying to twist to grab hers. Her side pulled, and she winced, clapping a hand over it to ward off the worst of the pain. Rather than try that again, she simply moved enough for Tony to be able to get his phone without her actually getting out of his lap.
Tony was just as still in the same moment, and for the same reason; they hadn't heard much from Kent lately, and the alert from their group chat was surprising. He reached for his own phone with some trepidation, and unlocked it with a press of his thumb, turning the screen so they could both read it.
[Kent] I want to have your babies.
He blinked and looked up at Cate, slightly stunned and more than a little disbelieving. "Um," he said. "What?"
[Tony] [Tony] Really?
The answer came back immediately, and they both read on, wide-eyed.
[Kent] Yes [Kent] I have this pciture of me in an office and I'm holding a baby and pacing and trying to burp him and i know its ours because i wont have babies with anyone aelse and he;s gt dark hair so it coudl be your or it could be mine and i don't really care because he's OURS and thats what I want
"He's drunk," Tony said, the realization slamming into him with the gravity of a collapsing tower. "He has to be. He doesn't actually…" He shook his head, closing his eyes briefly, and
[Tony] [Tony] Baby, are you drunk? [Tony] Where are you? [Kent] i have bene very well acquainted with a bottle of bourbon
Cate watched Tony typing as Kent's words popped up, her eyes getting wider and her heartbeat thundering in her chest. She'd heard Kent say a lot of things while intoxicated that he might not have otherwise, but it was incredibly rare for him to be positive about something.
"He's at the Kestrel," she said. "He's been there a lot lately, apparently. Only when I'm not. I asked the others to make sure he was safe." She managed to reach her arm behind her and lean back enough to grab her phone without stretching too much or twisting. The hand that wasn't texting had a death grip on Tony's arm.
[Cate] You're at the Kestrel, right? [Kent] @ the Ck yes [Kent] Im sorry i was so stupid [Kent] I miss you guys
Tony's heart was doing something really complicated, swinging between wild hope and the more realistic knowledge that Kent was drunk and lonely and maybe this wasn't the time to take his sweeping declarations and drunken hallucinations overly seriously. "I'll go get him," he told Cate, even as his fingers flew on his phone keyboard. "He's really drunk."
[Tony] I'm going to come and get you, don't try to apparate [Kent] no apparating in CK [Cate] well aware of THAT [Kent] some dick thistle did that and Cate got splinched and I want to hunt that bastard down and hex his cock off
Tony laughed despite himself, squeezing his arm around Cate.
[Tony] We're not doing that [Cate] what Tony said [Cate] because I'm not telling you who it was anyway [Kent] dammit [Kent] i slept with you Cate [Kent] that night [Cate] ....huh? [Kent] I just didn't stay bc im a dumb dumb [Kent] When you got splinched [Cate] you mean in the medical wing? [Kent] ys
Cate pressed her face into Tony's neck, sighing softly. "I miss him." Despite the fact that she knew she should get up and get dressed again so that Tony could leave, she only turned enough to type on her phone again.
[Cate] ❤ I wish I'd known you were there [Kent] couldn't face you [Kent] didn't KNOW know [Kent] Now I KNOW know and I want babies with you both [Kent] I'm gonna love the shit out of our kids
Cate slid her arms around Tony and squeezed. She could accept that Kent was drunk, missed them, and maybe would regret what he'd said in the morning...until that statement. If he took that one back later, she was going back on her promise not to be pushy about this.
With a shaky inhale, Tony pressed the heel of one hand to his temple, gathering Cate closer still with the arm that held his phone. "Do you think he really…" He stopped, though, shaking his head, because whether or not Kent would be so sure about it when he was sober wasn't a question they could answer until it happened. "I'm gonna go get him."
[Tony] Sweetheart [Tony] We'll talk about it when you're sober, okay? [Tony] Now stay put, I'm coming to pick you up [Kent] Won't makea difference [Kent] fuck [Kent] fuuuuuuuck [Kent] fuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK
Tony traded a look with Cate, fully alarmed at the sudden change of tone.
[Tony] ?????? [Kent] Blast alert @ Reserve [Kent] multiple ward failure [Tony] What does that mean [Kent] URGENT MESSAGE FOR ALL RESERVE PERSONNEL - There is a level 5 containment breach in the dragon enclosure. All buildings are on medical-only exit lockdown. If you are currently on Reserve premises, please seek shelter immediately. All available flying creatures personnel report to administrative offices for assignment. Will alert when all is clear. Please standby.
Within a few seconds of Kent's alarmed message, Cate started receiving other messages, mostly from her parents, but also from a few other friends who wanted to know if she'd heard the news. Since half the town worked at the Reserve, it was logical that the news traveled fast, but the fact that it was all happening at this moment still shook her. Between Kent's mood swings and her own Splinching, she'd had about enough this week. She ignored their group chat for a minute in favor of reassuring her parents that she wasn't leaving the house, trusting that Tony would alert her if she needed to jump back to Kent immediately.
[Kent] need to sober up [Cate] OMG [Kent] how does this shit keep happening? [Tony] Damn [Tony] Are we gonna be okay in town? Should I get Cate out of here? [Kent] Just stay indoors [Kent] i'm gonna drink my weight in pepper=up and try to head to work [Kent] idk the situation [Kent] no ones replying
That put an end to any plans to go and pick Kent up from the Kestrel and take care of him; Tony kept his arms around Cate, frowning down at his phone as they both sent off texts to family members. He got a quick "okay" from Stevie and Jesse, but Nat was taking longer to respond; he tamped down on his initial worry because Nat wasn't dumb, she was definitely fine, and he leaned over to read Cate's screen over her shoulder.
[Cate] Dad just texted me. He said they've got some of the wranglers heading into town to get the main street wards up. [Tony] Make sure you're sober before you go [Tony] Be safe, baby [Cate] what he said - and love you [Tony] We do [Kent] I love you both so much [Kent] hope you can forgive me [Cate] what is there to forgive? [Tony] ^^^ [Kent] your boyfriend's stupidity [Tony] Never happened 😘 [Tony] Go sober up and be a medical hero [Tony] Then come home safe and let us hug you forever [Kent] k ❤❤
Despite the seriousness of the situation and the depths of his concern over how sober Kent could get in the next few minutes, Tony had to laugh as he typed in his next response, turning his screen toward Cate. "Should I?"
Cate laughed. "You always should."
[Tony] That's my good boy [Kent] evil 😈 [Tony] For you, always
An Hour and a Half Later
[Kent] jfc [Tony] ????????? [Cate] everything okay? [Kent] Can't get in the damn building [Kent] Medical override my ass [Cate] I thought medical could go everywhere? [Kent] That's how it's supposed to be, but none the wards are responding the way they should [Kent] Or at all [Tony] I'm not an expert but that sounds kinda bad? [Cate] That sounds really bad [Kent] It IS bad [Cate] who's on call this weekend? [Kent] Rory, on the creature side [Kent] I have no idea where she might be [Kent] SINCE I CAN'T GET INTO MEDICAL [Cate] did you try texting her? [Kent] Yes, and nada [Kent] My texts won't even go through [Kent] To her, that is. [Kent] Obviously to you. [Tony] If you can't get in, then come home [Tony] I don't want you out there with dragons on the loose [Cate] I'm texting Thorne [Kent] I've been trying anyone from security and admin [Kent] Giving it a few more minutes [Cate] Thorne is coming [Kent] Finally. [Kent] Someone competent. [Tony] I'm telling him you said that [Kent] Lies [Kent] I'm erasing my text logs 😛 [Cate] already screenshotted and saved to the cloud [Kent] DAMMIT [Tony] Seriously, is everything okay? we're worried about you over here [Tony] Stay safe, baby [Kent] No sign of anything pissed off and scaly and breathing fire, so fingers crossed [Kent] lbr I'd rather be with you two [Kent] And drinking that much Pepper-Up may have been a colossal mistake [Cate] are you all jittery now? [Kent] My heart might explode [Cate] I wish we could do something [Kent] You're safe. That's what matters to me [Cate] you stay safe, too...we need you here for those important chats ahead of us [Tony] And our babies need a dad [Tony] Not a crispy one, either [Kent] ❤❤ I'm sober enough now to be able to tell you that I know I still mean that. [Tony] Cate is concerned right now because I'm crying like a fountain [Tony] Happy tears [Tony] Also worried tears [Cate] I'm not concerned [Cate] just trying not to cry myself [Kent] I'll be okay [Kent] I have to be [Kent] We're going to at least have a son [Tony] And naming him after me, right? [Cate] you don't think you're enough Tony W for the world? [Tony] Yeah, true [Tony] Okay, we name him after Kent [Kent] Could we be that cruel? [Tony] Hey, Sammy's a great name [Cate] Why not give him his own name? [Cate] And wait, how in the world do you know we're gonna have a son? [Kent] Rafe Saw it [Cate] oh wow [Cate] so it's like, really real? [Kent] Yes. [Tony] Oh [Tony] I want you to know Cate is crying more than me now [Kent] That was NOT my intention! [Tony] It's good, though, happy tears [Tony] I think [Cate] its good [Cate] i just cant really see myphnone to type [Kent] Sorry! [Cate] dont you dare apologize for this [Cate] did you say you had a picture? [Kent] Hang on, I'll send it to you [Kent] [futurefam.jpg]
[Kent] We're gonna make that [Tony] Oh my god [Tony] What else did Rafe say? [Kent] Just that it was mine and I needed to get my head out of my ass [Kent] Then he took off [Kent] I should probably text him later to see if everything's okay [Kent] Y'know, after this latest dumpster fire of the day burns itself out [Tony] He's incredible [Tony] Not Rafe [Tony] Our kid [Kent] Of course he is [Kent] He's OURS [Cate] Did Rafe say when? [Cate] I probably shouldn't even ask more, but now I'm dying of curiosity [Cate] A baby! Ours! [Cate] And LOOK AT HIM [Cate] 😭 [Kent] Didn't say [Kent] Too stunned (and drunk) to ask [Kent] So we need to stick together [Kent] So we can make him [Cate] Need to do more than stick together [Cate] Wink wink [Kent] I mean.... [Kent] Definitely not no [Tony] We'll do all kinds of things together [Tony] Give up waiting for Thorne and come home, baby [Tony] The dragon wranglers will sort everything out and they'll be fine [Kent] They can get by without me, or call if there's a genuine creature medical emergency. [Kent] (this is me justifying leaving to myself) [Kent] be there as soon as I find a place where I can actually apparate [Kent] I like the sound of "home" [Kent] Home is wherever you are [Tony] Right now that would be Cate's [Tony] We'll see you soon 😘 [Kent] I love you ❤❤