we walk in circles, 'cause I've been waiting for some sort of sign Who: Kitty Gilmore and Nina Clarke Where: Nina’s apartment What: The make up dinner date for the one that got ruined by Kitty’s kidnapping. When: [backdated] June 5th, 6:00PM
We've been walking down this open road for way too long, and I don't wanna lead you on, I don't wanna lead you on, the traffic stops, the doors are locked and no one's near, never has it been so clear, never has it been so clear, that I could like you so I don't know why
The verbal acrobatics that Kitty had had to employ to convince Zach she could walk to Nina’s place on her own had been impressive and also just a touch exhausting, but she refused to let that lessen the excitement she felt at the idea of seeing Nina in person -- and for longer than the short period of time they had spent on the Capitol lawn together watching Olinger get carted away. If she also avoided making eye contact with strangers in the hallway on her way over, well, I don’t think anyone could blame her. Kitty did not under any circumstances ever want a repeat of what had happened the first time she and Nina had attempted to have dinner together. Not that she thought there was any direct correlation, no, it had just been a sad coincidence.
Still, if she let out a sigh of relief when she reached Nina’s door without issue Kitty thought she should be allowed that small gesture as well. She had successfully made it from point A to point B without running into any kind of trouble or issues, she was practically home free and while she didn’t think she suffered from any kind of post traumatic issues regarding the kidnapping, she couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t relieved to have made the trek unbothered.
After taking a couple more deep breathes to calm nerves she hadn’t been aware she had had, Kitty brought her hand up and knocked on Nina’s door; it opened almost immediately.
'You made it!" And no, Nina hadn't been hovering nearby on the other side, nor had she been pacing as she waited for Kitty to arrive. There was nothing abnormal about her greeting, either. In a world fraught with zombies and secret government conspiracies, you never knew what would happen.
That was what Nina told herself, anyway, as she stepped back, allowing Kitty enough room to enter. There was a lasagna in the oven and wine in two glasses on the table, on either side of a lit candle. Tonight wasn't a date, of course, but Nina didn't think there was anything wrong with some extra hospitality.
“I did!” Kitty answered with a laugh as she stepped into the apartment. “There wasn’t a black clad group of men in sight, and even if there had been I swore I wasn’t going to stop for them.” She added with just a ghost of a smile. Considering how the plans they had had for dinner last time had ended up, Kitty didn’t blame Nina for the greeting she got. Frankly in this day and age it was never a guarantee that someone would make it to their destination -- although with the new state of things that could very well be changing.
With a glance around the apartment she couldn’t help but feel a little bit like this might have been a date, what with the candle and wine. But Kitty very stubbornly reminded herself that Nina was still grieving the loss of her ex and this was most definitely not a date, they were just two friends hanging out, right?
“Dinner smells amazing,” Kitty finally broke the comfortable silence that had fallen as she dropped her purse on the table near the door. "Thank you." Nina's cooking skills were rudimentary at best, but lasagna was something she could manage. And thanks to the cheese, meat, and non-expired canned goods that had imported from the rest of the country, they could actually enjoy a version that was nearly normal. She nearly beamed as she turned to retrieve it from the oven, gesturing for Kitty to follow her into the kitchen.
“Now tell me, how are you settling into your new job, Miss Mayor?”
"It's a change," Nina replied, the wry smile on her face a testament to just how much of an understatement that truly was. The lasagna dish went onto the counter before she began to slice it; in another time she would have let it rest for a little bit, to come together, but the two of them were women who'd gone long enough without food such as this. Nina wasn't about to wait.
"But a good one all the same, more responsibility and all. It's…. Nice. To be trusted with that again."
While Nina moved about the kitchen, Kitty propped her hip against the counter and stayed just far enough out of the other woman’s way to avoid getting underfoot. “I would imagine it’s a huge change,” she replied with a small laugh. “Did people really distrust you before simply for who one of your former clients used to be?” Kitty had never pried into Nina’s past beyond knowing she had represented the man known as the Austin Cop Killer and later the Dog King. Still, never once had that colored her opinion or trust in her.
Nina cut two slices and set them both on a plate. "Yes," she said simply, not wanting to get into the details, but the tension brought on by the question was evident in the way her lips pressed together into a straight line. It was hard to remember, sometimes, that Kitty wasn't entirely aware of everything she, Demi, and Isaac had been through over the last year. But even though this wasn't a date, Nina didn't want to spend the evening waxing poetic about that period in her life. "To a certain extent, at first."
“Well, I’m sorry you had to experience that,” Kitty said, not dwelling on the topic -- because she was sure it wasn’t necessarily a pleasant one. Instead she forged ahead, adding. “And I’m not going to make you talk about work all evening, unless you want to,” this was said with an understanding smile. “But I imagine you have your hands full trying to put Austin back in order.” Kitty was of course curious about all of that, but tonight wasn’t supposed to be about grilling Nina about her new job -- it was supposed to be about making up for their last failed dinner.
"No, thank you. Not now, at least." Nina picked up the plates and gestured for them to leave the kitchen, towards the dining table. The last two days had been a whirlwind of activity and stress, navigating the new world in which she worked. As good as she felt about it, she needed time away from it as well.
“In that case no more work talk,” Kitty said while she moved over to the dining table and settled herself on one of the chairs. For a moment she was almost at a loss as to what to talk about, so much of what was happening within the city circled its way back around to what Nina’s new job was, so it was probably best not to talk about any of that at all. Nina's tension remained in place, too, as she waited for Kitty to speak up; she spent a moment carefully cutting her lasagna into squares before the silence was broken.
“How strange was it to have actual fresh ingredients to cook dinner with?” Food seemed like a safe topic, one that wouldn’t recall work stress for Nina or Kitty’s recent experience with having been kidnapped, and it worked; Nina laughed, something she did so sparingly these days, the sound of it surprised her.
"So strange, but I'm certainly not complaining. And I'm hoping this won't just be a blip, but from the sounds of it this should be something we could get used to." It was an allusion to her work, of course -- Kitty was right to think that everything would eventually circle back. But instead of discussing how train tracks were being built between Tulsa and Oklahoma to better connect Austin to the rest of the United States, she smiled and added, "So if you've got any requests for things you've been missing, you should let me know. Apparently I have some pull now."
God, it felt good to hear people laugh and Kitty found herself smiling in response to the sound Nina made. “Who would complain about actual food?” She asked with a small laugh of her own. “I mean we’ve been living better here in the Capitol than some, but still, the majority of our food was canned as well.” Kitty was relieved on some level that she now knew why it was the Capitol had had such privileges, having Olinger’s corruption exposed set her mind at ease some. “The line is that we’re joining the rest of the US, so I would hope the food continues,” she added, knowing that that comment danced dangerously close to the subject of Nina’s new position.
“Now, wouldn’t placing requests for friends be an abuse of power?” Kitty questioned with a quirk of her eyebrow and a barely contained smirk, only hidden by the wine glass she brought up to her lips to take a sip. “Nina Clarke have you been corrupted already?” Her tone was absolutely teasing as she placed the glass back down on the table and began cutting her lasagna.
"I sure am trying not to be," Nina replied with the barest possible smirk. Indeed, as soon as she'd took up the position of mayor the privileges had seemingly been rolling in: a new, substantially-sized office, a secretary of her very own, the opportunity to move into the Governor's Mansion, her choice of daily menus. It was the kind of thing she'd tried to avoid throughout her career. "But I have to admit to feeling a bit starved for the bare necessities. How've you all been holding up with the changes?"
“They’ve admittedly been a bit strange to adjust to,” Kitty began honestly. “But I have to admit I’m encouraged by them, even if I do believe there will be growing pains until people begin to realize that this is true, that life won’t simply be all about surviving anymore.” She knew that even she would experience growing pains throughout this, the idea that soon enough Hellhounds could walk right into the Capitol and mingle with the very same people whose family members they killed was in fact one of the more unsettling thoughts. Kitty merely had to remind herself that everyone deserved a second chance...though she wondered if most Hellhounds had surpassed that second chance years ago.
The conversation for the remaining parts of dinner wove in and out of talk of the changes, things each woman was looking forward to having access again, what kind of people might chose to make Austin their home from the remaining United States and all the possibilities the future might hold.
With the dishes cleared off the table, their wine glasses refilled and slices of cheesecake (yes actual cheesecake) on plates, Kitty and Nina moved into Nina’s living room and settled on the couch as they continued to talk.
“Have you thought about moving out of the Capitol building if it became available?” Kitty asked as she made herself comfortable on one end of the couch, wine glasses set on the coffee table as she picked up the fork off her plate and went to take a bite of the dessert she still wasn’t sure she believed they were eating.
"I have." Nina paused to take a bite of the cheesecake, her eyes half-closing as she relished the taste of actual chocolate and dairy. What a blessing this dessert was, the perfect way to cap off an evening between them that had been a long time coming. And then she remembered she'd been asked a question and she nodded, reiterating her words.
"The Governor's Mansion has been bandied about as an option," she said, though she couldn't help but feel slightly bashful about the concept. It seemed like such a sudden change, going from her refurbished office to such a grand place. "But to tell you the truth, I don't know if it's right to be in that sort of setting while so many people are still getting off of their feet."
“The Governor’s Mansion?” Kitty asked in surprise. “They really are not fooling around in offering you the best of the best.” She added. Kitty had been to the Governor's Mansion before, back before everything fell apart in the world.
"They're absolutely not," Nina agreed, her nose wrinkling as she pondered the possibility once more.
“I can understand your reservations though, moving into a place like that while so many people in Austin are still living in makeshift homes and often times sharing space.” The school had been a situation like that. Even Kitty herself had shared a very small space with Zach and their children, and while the apartment in the Capitol was a large upgrade from that -- it was still a makeshift home.
Thinking it over for a moment as she took another sip from her wine glass, Kitty added. “If you didn’t move now, when would you?” She studied Nina. “Would it be after most of the population in Austin were settled back into homes?”
"I think so. It would seem the most fair that way." Nina paused, looking around the place she'd called home for almost three years, and smiled almost sheepishly. "Although I wouldn't mind getting out of this place sooner rather than later, and into something actually meant for living. But what about you? Will you be moving next month, when the housing's opened up?" Her smile broadened as she looked back at Kitty. "If I'm feeling claustrophobic, I can't imagine how all of you feel."
She wondered, then, if Kitty and Zach would continue to live together once they were able to leave the Capitol building. Everyone was a bit more protective of the woman after what she'd been through, but Nina couldn't help but be curious.
In all honesty Kitty hadn’t thought much about moving yet. Maybe it was a little daunting because she had already moved once before in such a short span of time. But the idea of a real live home, a full kitchen, more space for her kids to play, they were all appealing. “Truthfully, I haven’t given it much thought yet,” she answered with a sheepish smile. “But if you’re waiting for other people to move first before doing so yourself, I really probably should. I’d hate to make your life with less last much longer than the rest of the population.” If anyone deserved to have some luxuries it was definitely Nina. Being mayor had to have more than its fair share of stresses and having creature comforts, while not making it easier, might at least make it bearable.
“And space is definitely something I long for,” Kitty confirmed with a laugh. “But also kind of scary in that for the last three years I’ve never lived somewhere with so few people.” First the school had had a fair amount of people and then she had moved to the Capitol where it was much the same. “Do you ever think about how weird it will be not to be living with hundreds of people under one roof?”
"All the time. It's only been three years, a tenth of my life, but it already feels like this is the only way things have ever been." It was a sobering thought, one Nina sought to combat immediately with the only remedy: more wine. After all, the two of them had barely finished the bottle, and now that she didn't have to worry about supplies running out, Nina thought she may as well take advantage. It was the one privilege she really felt comfortable with, so far.
"It'll be weird," she continued, getting up to pour the last of the wine into their glasses and open a new one, then clinked her glass against Kitty's. "But there's a lot to look forward to. Things we haven't been able to do for three years… The possibilities aren't endless, but there's more than we had before. Anything you're looking forward to?"
Kitty thought about Nina’s question for a long moment. Until just now she hadn't necessarily given it much thought, the things she may be looking forward to. “Honestly, I’m looking forward to normalcy, to things like dating and the possibility of a career.” While it was an honest answer, it also felt like she was walking some kind of line mentioning dating while both she and Nina had decided they were going to be friends for now and nothing more. Needing something to make bringing that desire to light easier to handle -- even though it was unlikely Nina would read anything into it -- such as her desire for this to have been more than just a dinner between friends --Kitty reached forward and took hold of the bottle of wine, pouring herself another glass.
“How about you? Anything you’re looking forward to?” Turning Nina’s own question back on her didn’t necessarily erase Kitty’s own answer, but at least it gave her something else to focus on.
"There's definitely more of a future to look forward to, no matter how you're defining it," Nina said, hoping the words came off as more diplomatic and understanding than evasive. She hadn't missed the mention of dating, of course, and it instantly brought to mind the kisses they'd shared after Joel's party. It was odd to think that had been two months ago; it felt like entire lifetime had passed since then, and as much as Nina was attracted to Kitty, it was hard to reconcile that part of her life with all of the responsibilities she'd now been given. Still, Nina couldn't help but spare a lingering glance in the woman's direction as she took another healthy sip of wine.
"It almost feels like anything can happen," Nina added, and as she continued to speak it was hard for her to know if she was speaking more about her personal life or her work. She'd always had a hard time separating the two, and now she feared it was impossible. "New normal or not, we can put the systems and rules and structure in place to create lives for ourselves that we never thought we could have. Not only for us, but for future generations. It's exciting, isn't it? Suddenly instead of heading towards a dead end… Who knows what will happen."
Even though she had wanted her dating comment to go unnoticed, when it actually had -- or Nina simply chose not to respond. Kitty couldn’t figure out if she was relieved or disappointed, it didn’t help either when Nina looked her way. They had decided to be friends, but the more time they spent together the more confused she became on that matter. Maybe she was imagining it, but it felt like there was an attraction there. These were of course things she didn’t need to be dwelling on or thinking about, not when Nina was still grieving a loss and embarking on a job that would bring along with it more stress than anything she had likely faced before. Needing a distraction Kitty took another sip of her wine, and then another, the level of wine in her glass rapidly decreasing.
“It is exciting,” Kitty finally agreed, offering a smile that she hoped didn’t convey the thoughts that had been pinging around her mind. It could be that this would all turn out to be some kind of silly crush, that maybe she was reading their interactions all wrong. Of course the more the wine seeped into her system, the less Kitty felt like thinking about any of this.
Their conversation continued on in that manner, the two women seemingly talking about everything, while ignoring the elephant in the room -- the kisses they had shared two months ago and the attraction that seemed to still linger. The evening was beginning to wind to a close now, the hour definitely getting late -- so late that if Kitty remained in Nina’s place much longer she would no doubt need to crash there.
“I should really be going,” She began as she finished what felt like her fourth glass of wine -- she had admittedly lost count. “That is unless you really want a guest for the night.”
The hour on Nina's watch was a shock to her when she looked at it, confirming Kitty's words. "How did it get so late?" She leaned forward to set her glass on the coffee table, then stood to see her guest out. The conversation had flowed so smoothly between them, it'd been easy to lose track of time to such an extent. She had to be at work early the next day, though, and even when drunk Nina couldn't justify staying up any later than that. Indeed, she was very aware of both of their responsibilities and was sure that would never change.
Still, she smiled as they reached her front door. "I'm really glad we could do this. It was worth the wait."
“It’s shocking how time can just get away from a person when they’re enjoying themselves,” Kitty remarked as she took a cue from Nina and followed the other woman towards the front door -- albeit a bit tipsy from the wine -- and stopped once they reached it. “I’m really glad we were able to do this as well,” she agreed, a smile of her own appearing. “It was well worth the wait,” Kitty paused, “and hopefully there won’t be two months time between now and the next time.” She added, a tad more open with her feelings on the matter thanks to the alcohol in her system.
"Oh, I think we can manage less than every two months, busy work schedule or not." Nina's smile broadened at the thought; romantic intentions or mutual attraction aside, conversations with Kitty always went well. "We should put the next one down in the calendar soon."
“I may hold you to that,” Kitty remarked with a laugh, shouldering her purse as she added. “And we should.” She added while she pulled Nina in for a hug, and then without thinking her actions through Kitty pressed a quick kiss to Nina’s lips. It was reciprocated almost immediately, the action first a reflex before Nina pulled away, making eye contact briefly. The hesitation lasted only a moment until she was leaning back in again for another kiss. One which Kitty had no hesitation in reciprocating.
It was almost like deja vu, the exact same thing happening between them once more and ruling out the chances of the first time being a fluke. Nina wasn't as drunk tonight as she had been then, though, so she broke the kiss once more and looked up at Kitty, trying to assess the way she felt about what had just happened. It had been a surprise, yes, but not unwanted, and the attraction wasn't something she could deny. But there was so much weight still on her shoulders, she barely felt like she could stand up straight even without the additional complication of a woman.
"Well," she said, only a tad bit awkwardly. "I suppose it's getting late, and we better say good night."
A kiss like that happening once could be written off as a fluke, but twice? No, even if Kitty hadn’t originally intended for that to be the closing of their evening. She couldn’t deny that she had wanted it, the evidence of that clear in the small smile that had snuck it’s way onto her face and the sparkle in her eyes as Nina looked at her. There was an attraction here and something inside of her had been thrilled when Nina had returned the kiss, not only returned it but followed it up with another. Still, she didn’t know what it meant. Nina still had an ex she was grieving, not only that but a job that consumed her already limited time. To say Kitty didn’t know exactly where to go from here was an understatement, all she knew was that she wasn’t quite ready to write it all of.
“I suppose we should,” Kitty answered, wondering if they were both going to pretend as if this kiss hadn’t happened and they were in fact still simply attempting to be friends. “And I would hate for the new mayor to be tired on my account.”
Nina's smile was only slightly tinged with something else -- disappointment, maybe, or apprehension -- but it was genuine all the same. Even if she wasn't yet ready to allow herself anything other than professionalism and platonic friendship, she'd enjoyed the company all the same. For a moment, she considered confiding in Kitty some of the concerns and thoughts rolling around in her head, but in the end she just opened the door and reached out to touch Kitty briefly on the shoulder. "Good night."