Patience Kowalski (eternalpatience) wrote in btvsal, @ 2009-09-10 02:25:00 |
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Current location: | Pat and Patience's house |
Entry tags: | kevin van warren, patience kowalski, place: la |
A friendly face
Who: Kevin and Patience
Where: Pat and Patience's House
When: Wednesday afternoon
As long as the day had been, it still wasn't over yet. This was officially the longest twenty-four hours EVER, and she still couldn't relax. She wouldn't be able to until Ash and Gwen and Ami and everyone else had returned. No matter what Pat said, no matter how much she believed they'd be okay, she still had to see it for herself. And...it was taking too damn long. She REALLY wasn't a patient person. Flipping through the channels in the living room, she didn't even feel like looking at wedding stuff. It was awful. She had zero drive to do ANYTHING. Nothing but sit around and...wait.
Kevin, meanwhile... was just so damned thankful to be ok again, that he'd been almost finding excuses to get up and go places all day. After going to the Sugar Shack with Lucy to surprise Chloe, he'd felt a bit of an urge to repay Ash for everything he'd done, even if it was done more for Lucy than for him. He knew Ash had a sister, one that cared a great deal for him. And being the eternal ray of sunshine he tended to be, he offered to take a gift basket of sorts to the girl, hopefully bring a smile to her likely worried face. He'd gathered a few types of pre-ground coffee, assorted candies, a few of the Shack's now-famous cookies, and an extra-large Sugar Fairy Shooter. Hell, if that monstrosity of sugar couldnt make someone smile, there was no hope. Standing at the door of the house, he took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
When the doorbell rang, she sat there for a second, not sure of who it could be, but almost positive who it wasn't. So why did it even matter if she answered it or not? God. The whole depression thing was even starting to piss HER off. Pushing up off of the couch, she walked barefoot to the front door and looked out of the window before opening it up a few inches. Nope, she didn't recognize the guy, but the gift basket in hand said she was either SUPPOSED to know him...or he was some kind of perv going door-to-door. "Can I help you?" she asked, leaning in the doorway. Maybe he was some rockstar groupie. If so, Pat would be REALLY sorry he missed this.
Well, between the eyeliner, the hair, and the denim-and-leather outfit, he looked the part. Luckily, no such tragic comedy here. "Um... hey. Patience? Patience Kowalski? I'm Kevin Van Warren... my sister Chloe is in your fiance's band."
The first thing that put her on guard was the fact that he knew her name. The second...was HIS last name. Maybe it was a guilty conscience, but Patience found herself questioning whether that kid had run and tattled to her older brother about the conversation they'd had earlier. Really, she didn't think it'd been all THAT bad. It wasn't like she'd threatened to beat the shit out of her or climb in her window at night to whack her hair off or...whatever it was crazy, psycho people did. But then he mentioned Chloe and, well, with the whole basket thing, he didn't LOOK like he was ready to kick her ass. "Oh. Hi. Yeah, I've met Chloe. Do you wanna come in?" She opened the door wider in invitation.
"Thanks." He walked in, looking around with a smile. "Just wanted to... god, this is gonna sound stupid... but your brother did something really great for me and my family yesterday... and I know whats going on. And I thought maybe, in return, I could stop over and see if you were ok. See if maybe, you just needed someone to talk to."
Jesus...was the whole family this sweet? Patience blamed it on the Sugar Shack. There was no way they could honestly be this genuinely...nice. But she couldn't be sarcastic in the face of it, especially when he was talking about Ash. "Did he? What did he do?" She closed and locked the door and then motioned him toward the living room. "Come on in. Sit down. Would you like anything to drink or...anything?" She eyed the basket with a grin and then looked back up at him. "It's nice of you to come over. Really. I'm just...not very good company right now, I don't think." She shrugged lightly.
"I figured as much." He said with a grin that was charming... but in a sweet way, not in a 'Ben' way. "Thus..." he motioned to the basket, "Enough candy, treats, and cookies to make anyone smile." He placed the huge drink on a coaster on the coffee table. "And this... is possibly the most dangerously caffinated drink ever created. Chloe said to bring one for you. But... yeah. Ash. Well... it's kind of a long story. Do you know.... I mean..." how should he workd it? "Are you up on everything going on in his life? As in... 'work' stuff?" He couldn't just blurt out HAY DO U KNOW ABOUT MONSTERS because then if she didn't, he'd look crazy as a loon.
She made some space to set the basket on the coffee table and looked at the drink he offered up with a mixture of delight and horror. She could already feel it giving her cavities. But a sugar rush every now and then didn't hurt. "Hm?" He was talking about Ash again, but she got the feeling there was something he was trying to get at. And then she laughed. "Oh. You mean how he's got enough power running through him to go all Evil Overlord? Yeah. I got the Cliff's Notes version when I kinda got brought back from the dead." Only...not so kinda.
Well then. That was that. "Ok. Well... a woman who really hates my family recently... well... she became even worse. And she attacked me, and crushed my throat. I couldn't even talk. And your brother, before he left... he used some of that power he'd been stockpiling to heal me. Totally. I mean... I'll probably be able to sing again and everything." He smiled with a little bit of a sigh. "And I know he mostly did it to make Lucy happy... but I still feel a little indebted to him. I figured the least I could do was come check on you."
Lucy again. Funny how that name was popping up a lot lately. "Yeah, he...he cares about her. And...thank you, really. It was...sweet...of you." What else could she call it when she didn't even know this guy and he didn't know her? "I'm...I'm sorry you had to go through something like that, but I'm glad my brother could help out."
"Well... I'm guessing we're gonna get to know each other better eventually... may as well start now." He laughed, his almsot girlish giggle that was so unique. "Chloe just adores Pat and the rest of the band, so I'm guessing we'll be seeing a lot of each other. And... between us? I swear... Lucy's not what she seems. She's not some... homewrecker out to ruin Ash's life. She's a really good kid. A little... naive sometimes, but she'd never hurt anyone on purpose. Not even her worst enemy."
"You know, I'm actually inclined to believe that. Ash has nothing but good things to say about her and...well...if he was willing to come to me and ask me to keep an eye on her, then she's got to be pretty...." What was a good word for it? "Trusting." Ash knew how fiercely protective she could be. He also knew that it only extended to people she considered to be hers, in some way, shape, or fashion. "But, you know, it works for some people. And I'm sure we'll see each other around. All of us. I kind of have a thing for the Sugar Shack. It's addictive."
"Yeah... some days I fear Chloe may be putting crack in some of the stuff..." he said with a smirking grin. "Oh.... daaaamn..." he said in awe, looking up to a large framed poster Pat had hanging in the living room. "Is that an original Beatles print from Sgt. Pepper? That... might be one of the coolest things I've ever seen."
Patience smiled when he got excited about the poster. "Yeah. We, uh, we both have a thing for the Beatles." Leaning back into the cushions of the couch, she crossed her legs and shook her head. "Pat's got this idea about singing at our wedding. Beatles songs. I mean, he wants to sing one of my favorites to me and I think it's really sweet, but he seems to think that I should sing one too. And I? I'm really not a songbird." She shrugged lightly, but her smile was still in place. "Maybe I could get my brother to work some magic on me. At least for one night. Otherwise, it'll be a night most guests won't be able to forget...no matter how much they want to."
"Let me tell you a secret." He grinned, almsot a little cocky. Kevin was very humble... but when it came to his singing ability? He lived by the old motto of 'its not cocky if you can back it up'. "Lucy? Best guitarist I know. Vocally? She could have killed people with that voice. She has a decent singing voice now... because *I* taught her."
She had to laugh, if only because it DID sound cocky. "Yeah, well...I'm sure you had more than a couple of weeks to train her, too." Yeah. That was the other issue. "Pat and I don't want to wait too long. So...we're talking weeks. Not even months."
"Tell you what then..." he said, knowing how much this could make her feel better. "Give me ONE lesson. If I can't at least make a sliver of improvement after one little lesson, I won't ask again."
"You're a little bit relentless. But...what the hell. Couldn't hurt, right? Not me, anyway." She smiled sweetly. "Your ears, on the other hand...well, you've been warned."
"I've only met one person in my life I couldn't help." He laughed again, taken aback a little at just how abrasive yet attractive she was. It was an odd combination... that classic beauty combined with such a blunt mouth... but somehow, on her, it worked. "And trust me... it would take an absolute act of GOD to teach my mother how to carry a tune."
Laughing again, Patience shook her head. "One lesson. We'll see how it goes. Not that I don't think it's great of you to offer, but...if your head doesn't explode, maybe you're as good as you say you are." Without thinking, she reached for the Sugar Fairy Shooter, took a sip, and immediately started coughing. "Oh, Christ. That's...sweet. I think I just got diabetes." Her gaze flew to him, as if she were suddenly afraid of offending him. "But yummy."
He couldn't help it... he just giggled again. Once she got to know him better... she'd understand why. Offending him was damned near impossible without downright insulting one of his sisters or his girlfriend. Still... he seemed to be distracting her a little, so at least for today? Mission accomplished. "So... is your fiance going to blow my face off if he comes home and finds us sitting here talking? Just checking, because I've grown sort of attached to my face."
"Pat?" she scoffed with another little laugh and a smile as she shook her head. But there was a playful look in her eyes. "Nah. He wouldn't go for your...face." She winked at him and, yes, for a while she'd forgotten all about worrying. "Actually, he's not the jealous type. He knows I love him. The only time he gets unnerved is when I bring up having a threesome with another guy and, wow, that was probably TMI, right? It's cool, though. I only do it for the reaction. Gets him every time." Not that she'd turn it down if he ever finally agreed.
Yeah, the eyes went wide a little there. Again.. while not a typical guy, she was a pretty enough girl that that visual? Yeah. He shook his head, letting out a deep breath. "Yeeeaaah. So. When would you like that lesson?"
Her smile was bright - for a moment at least. "I don't know. Sometime...after everyone gets back?" She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly chilled. "Maybe this weekend or the beginning of next week?" It was nice talking to Kevin, but concentrating on anything? So wasn't going to happen until everyone returned.
"Understandable." He sighed, seeing her get so worked up again, even if she was trying not to show it. "I refuse to believe our friends and family aren't coming back, you know. It's not even an option. So don't get too worried. Because... again. Not happening."
"You sound like Pat." Which was a good thing. It helped strengthen her hope. "You're right, though. They will. It's just a matter of when, now. So...I wish they'd hurry up." She couldn't even imagine what they were all doing right now.
"Trust me. Your brother will be back soon. And then he gets to face alllll the drama that's gonna make him wish he was BACK there." Kevin couldn't help but laugh there. Teenage love really WAS worse than war sometimes.
"Yeah, I don't envy him that." Really. In comparison, maybe she and Pat DID have it easy. Despite the act that he'd held off on...fully consummating their relationship...until she was eighteen, there had never been a time when she'd questioned whether or not she was the right one for him. "For what it's worth, I hope your sister doesn't get hurt. But...I really don't want my brother getting hurt either."
"Right there with you." He gave a wince, and then decided to let her know just how in the middle of this he really was. "You think you got it rough there? Try this one on. My little sister is in love with him. And he's currently dating... ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS."
"Well, then I don't envy you either." There was no love lost between her and Buffy, but she felt like she'd been doing a pretty good job of trying to accept Ash's relationship with her. As good a job as she could do, at least. "I know he cares about them both. So...yeah. He's probably going to have a rough time of it when he gets back."
"And the worst part? I'm totally boned, no matter WHO he chooses." He sighed, shaking his head. This was one thing he really had nobody to talk to about. "Either my baby sister gets hurt, or my good friend."
It was true. Someone he cared about probably would be getting hurt. Hell, it was possible they both would. "Who knows. Maybe it'll all work out in the end." It wasn't like her to be a pessimist, but then again...she wasn't some eternal optimist either. Working out, in this situation, probably meant no broken bones for anyone.
"I have to ask..." yes, it had been on his mind since he met her. Come on... CHLOE was his sister, meaning he knew every stupid gossipy rumor about everyone they knew. "Did you really wipe the floor with Buffy's sister once? You kinda of have this Xena-like rep over it."
That...wasn't the question she'd thought he was going to ask, but she should have expected it. Patience opened her mouth as she searched for an explanation that wouldn't make her sound like a lunatic. The bottom line was that she'd do anything to protect Ash. The thing with Dawn had come after the fact, but she wouldn't lie. It had felt good and she'd do it again in a heartbeat. Her expression said she was thinking about denying it. In the end, only one word came out. "Yep." The thing about Xena? Well. She didn't know if she'd go THAT far. Wasn't like she was some Slayer or anything. But...for not being one? She could definitely throw down.
"Between us?" He nodded. "Crazy or not... I understand. Don't judge me here... but after I heard some fo the bad things about Ash floating around... I told Buffy if he ever hurt my sister I was going to run him down with my car, and I think I was only partially kidding."
She grinned. "I'd have to kill you, but, um...yeah. No, I get it. He...he got a raw deal. And every time it seems like he gets close to being really happy, something fucks it up. I'm not saying he hasn't made his fair share of mistakes. Even big ones. But he's not a bad kid. I'd do anything I had to in order to keep him safe and that's why this is killing me right now. Because I CAN'T do anything." Her smile turned a little sad, but she managed a joking tone. "Don't worry about Lucy, though. I'm bound by my word to watch out for her, so...I can't really take her down if anything goes south. Buffy, on the other hand? Well. I've already enlisted the help of a Slayer. Just in case." She laughed again and dragged her fingers through her hair. "I think we all just want to protect the people we care about."
He reached over, and took her hand, squeezing it kindly. "That's what unites us, I think. We both just want our siblings to be happy... no matter what it takes."