KC (escapevelocity) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-07-05 15:22:00 |
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Old habits died hard. Meaning Kevin didn't have to take the most circuitous route to get to the place he was meeting Nina, but he did it anyway. The streets were supposedly safer now -- he had seen the government’s patrols clearing out abandoned buildings in various parts of downtown Austin, putting the shufflers down with practiced efficiency. Still, when he emerged from the underground into the open air, he didn't go straight for the bar. He took the long way, cutting down little-used alleys and going around the more populated areas -- which seemed to be expanding, lately. Every so often he stopped completely, listening for the sound of telltale moaning. That was how he heard the zombies before he saw them. Only a small group, he guessed, but way too close to their meeting place for his comfort. That was the side effect of the patrols’ activity, since more commotion always drew the attention of the undead. Kevin was just about to double back, planning to head up a few blocks and hit the bar from the opposite side, when he heard a cry. For a split second he froze, that oh, shit feeling going through his mind in a flash as what he’d heard registered. He didn't know who was in trouble, but it didn't matter. Kevin broke into a run. He burst from between two buildings about half a block away from the action, and took a quick survey of the scene. Three shufflers and, on the far side, Nina. That was where rational thought stopped. There was a crowbar through a loop on his pack, and it was out and in his hands before Kevin even had the idea to get it. He rushed the nearest shuffler and swung the weapon, which landed with a crack against the back of its head. It happened so quickly, to Nina it was almost like a blur -- the kind of thing that seemed to be just a turn of phrase until the experience actually hit her. For a moment she didn't even recognize the man who'd rushed over, even as one zombie crumpled to the ground and he turned towards the remaining two. And then, staggering back, stumbling as her heel caught on a stray piece of gravel and she caught her balance by throwing her hand out against the side of a building, she realized: Kevin. The shock of it was nearly enough to push away the terror of the situation and the stupidity she felt, dismissing her security out of concern they may intrude on her first meeting with her brother. After all, she'd walked back and forth between the Capitol and The Bar so many times by now, and it'd always been a safe, short route. Where were the soldiers? Why was her brother the one who'd first heard her crying out? In the back of her mind, while she watched him dispatch the zombies with apparent ease, Nina couldn't help but begin to draft a hysterical email complaint to the US Captain who'd traveled down with the troops. The problem with using a blunt instrument like a crowbar against a shuffler was that it sometimes needed more than a single hit to really bring one down. To Kevin, it felt like it took entirely too long to dispatch the next zombie and turn to the last, with each second that ticked by another moment that Nina was in danger. There wasn't time to think about what would go down if she was bitten, but the fear of it happening gripped him all the same. When the third finally fell, he stomped its head against the curb, and looked back over the others, just to be sure. Everything was quiet again, aside from the pounding of blood in his ears. Kevin turned to his sister. He'd meant for their reunion to involve something other than him standing before her sweaty and winded, clutching a gore-covered weapon in one hand. He let the crowbar slip from his grip, wincing as it hit the ground with a clang. “Are you alright?” he asked. "Yeah. I'm--" Nina cut herself off abruptly, looking down at herself to confirm that she was fine, that her mind hadn't glossed over an injury or bite. No, there was nothing. She'd be able to see if there was something, wouldn't she? She pushed herself up off of the wall, straightening her spine and dusting off her clothes, and lifted her gaze up towards the face of her little brother. Three years had passed since the last time she'd seen his face, a tenth of her life, and all she could think of was how she'd forgotten just how tall he was. Nina's mind was working in stops and starts; it took longer than she liked for her to finish her sentence. Then, finally: "I'm fine." Her voice sounded hollow, even to her own ears; perhaps it was the shock. "Thank you. I'm glad you're here." Nina’s delayed response got a raised eyebrow from Kevin, but he didn’t call her out on the fact that she was pretty clearly not fine. Fuck, when it came right down to it, Kevin wasn't sure he was fine either. The after-effects of the adrenaline were hitting him, leaving all his limbs shaky. And he hated that feeling. “I'm glad I'm here too. None of them got close to you, did they?” He tilted his head to take her in from head to toe, confirming for his own peace of mind that none of the biters had managed to get a piece of her. Only then did some of that lingering tension release, and he gave a sigh of relief. "No, they didn't have a chance." Nina looked down at herself again, too, as though an injury might suddenly appear. "Because you got here just in time." Her words were still coming out in stutters and starts; Kevin may have been able to relax a bit, but Nina was still too wound up for that. "We both know what would've happened if you hadn't." He did know, maybe even better than she did. And that thought was enough to spur Kevin to hold open his arms. “C’mere. You can be mad as you want at me again in a minute, but just let me give you a hug first. That really knocked the wind out of me.” She lifted her gaze to his again, eyebrows drawn together in confusion as she shook her head. Ever since she'd found out Kevin was still alive, over a month ago, she'd thought about their first meeting and imagined how it would go. She'd been mad then, boiling mad half of the time, but now? "I don't want to be mad at you," she said, taking a step forward. Then another, as many as it took to be within reach, until they'd embraced each other tightly. Kevin was sweaty and tired from the exertion, but Nina rested her cheek on his chest all the same. "Don't you know how much I've missed you?" she asked, realizing with a start that she'd begun to cry. “I know.” A heavy stone of guilt settled in his gut, but even though Kevin closed his eyes against it, he didn’t try to push the emotion away. It was his fault it was there, after all, might as well feel the effects of it. He brought one hand up to cradle the back of Nina’s head, gently, like he thought she might disappear if he wasn’t careful. “I’m sorry, Nina. I thought I was doing the right thing, but --” Kevin broke off, swallowing hard. All those reasons for staying away from her, that he'd spent the better part of a year telling himself were valid, fell apart in her presence. “I was being a selfish asshole from the start. You might not know this, but it's kind of a failing of mine.” Levity wasn't much of a shield, but he clung to it anyway. She nodded into his shirt, her vision blurry from the tears and the lingering shock. In the back of her mind, Nina was indeed aware that they were still at risk standing there out in the open in the zombie apocalypse, but she didn't care. "Yes, you were," she agreed, unwilling still to hold back constructive criticism even during a moment like this, but there was a smile on her face nonetheless. Her brother was alive and they were together, and there wasn't any obstacle that could get in the way of him being a part of her life again. "That's just our way. I hear I'm kind of stubborn, myself." Kevin let out a low chuckle at her words, glad that at least some things never changed. At that moment he would have willingly listened to as much scolding as Nina wanted to dole out -- it was just nice to have her here, talking to him, instead of only being a memory. “Let's get outta here,” he said, finally. He was reluctant to let go, but they couldn't stand on the sidewalk all day. So he have Nina one last squeeze and stepped back, bending down to pick up his discarded crowbar. Her eyes dropped down to the weapon as he hefted it, looking sure and confident. Nina didn't think she'd be able to soon forget the sight of him dispatching those zombies, and it wasn't for the first time that she wondered about the dangers he'd lived through over the last three years on his own. "Yes," she said, after another delay. "Of course." “I look okay for going to your friends’ place?” The question was offhand, Kevin’s attention more on cleaning off the crowbar and stowing it back on the outside of his pack, but there was maybe a little too much casualness in it. If she had any second thoughts about being seen with him, now was a chance for her to back out. Despite the years of estrangement, Nina still liked to think she could read her little brother well. She didn't think those little bits and pieces of Kevin -- his stance, the way he sounded -- would ever stop resonating so strongly with her. "Yes," she repeated. Her tone was little softer as she pulled together all of her self-assuredness, though she was running a little low on it just then, and stepped forward, intent to lead them towards The Bar. Nina glanced over her shoulder at him and tried a joke. "Believe me, after the year the three of us have had together, your brand of trouble ain't gonna give us one bit of pause." “I don’t know if I like the sound of that.” Kevin fell into step right behind Nina, trailing his big sister just like always. He kept his head up and his eyes watchful as they walked, scanning the area constantly, but those three shufflers didn’t seem to have brought any other friends along. “You're gonna have to give me all the details on everything, you do realize. Or else I'm gonna feel like I have to look out for you, and you're gonna suddenly gain a shadow.” "Don't worry, I already have my fair share of shadows," she replied, thinking nothing of it, though it sounded almost like a boast to her ears. Or worse, some kind of calling out of her own ridiculousness, considering how she'd left said security behind before meeting Kevin. That last word he’d spoken had struck Kevin almost like a physical blow. Another thing he's have to explain to Nina and ask her forgiveness for. He sighed. “That’s me, by the way,” he said. They were nearly at the entrance to her friends’ bar, but for some reason he felt like he had to get this out first, before they went in. “On the freenet, I mean. I go by ‘shadowed’. We've, uh, talked a few times.” "Have we?" She couldn't help the irritation she felt at the admission as her mind began to unpack the implications. In order to have made the connection, Kevin must have figured out her own username some time ago. It made sense, though; she already knew he'd been aware of her for at least a couple of months. Nina sighed, shaking her head. "You've got some nerve," was all she said as she reached for the door to The Bar. Twenty minutes later. They'd done the meet and greet, Nina introducing Kevin to her closest friends with obvious excitement despite the annoyance she still felt at his last revelation. Now, tucked into one of the booths with a glass of whiskey in front of her and Demi and Isaac hopefully out of listening range, she studied her brother's face in The Bar's lighting. "I'm sure you've got questions," she said after a sip of her drink. "I'll answer whatever you want to know." Kevin’s own glass contained nothing but water. He kept it at hand, using his fingertips to absently rotate it in circles on the wooden tabletop -- an obvious sign that his nervousness lingered. Meeting Nina’s friends had been interesting. They clearly cared for her, which was a good thing, but watching the three of them interact had only reminded Kevin of the distance between himself and Nina. “Seems like you ought to have more questions than me, but alright.” He nodded, and glanced away in the direction of the bar. “Tell me about Mom and Dad. They’re both okay?” "Yes. They're both doing well." For once, Nina was happy to bite her tongue on all the things she wanted to ask him. "Mom works in the kitchens and Dad's a clerk with Communications. We all came to the Capitol together in the early days of the uprising." She paused for a moment, reaching for her glass, and looked up at him. "You should know, too," she added, a small smile played on her features, "that they've gotten back together." She wasn't sure she'd ever felt Kevin's absence so keenly as on the day their parents had remarried. Nina’s revelation struck Kevin with a complicated mix of emotions, and he lowered his gaze to the tabletop, avoiding the sight of her smile. His parents’ split had been caused by him in the first place, or as good as. The stress and pain he'd caused the whole family had overwhelmed their marriage. And his first impulse was to put some significance on the fact that, with him out of their lives, they'd finally been able to get back together. Even as he thought it, though, Kevin could feel the selfishness hanging on that idea. His parents’ choices weren't all about him; they were driven by a lot more factors than their wayward son’s absence. “That's great,” he said, finally, and managed to drum up some actual warmth in his tone to go along with the statement. “I'm happy for them.” "Me, too." Nina knew the divorce hadn't been easy for any member of their family -- not that it ever was for anyone, really -- and she wished that their parents could know about Kevin's presence in Austin. She had meant it when she'd told him it would be his secret to confess, though; she just hoped that day would come sooner rather than later. Kevin had hunched forward without realizing it and he sat back again now, stretching an arm to rest across the top of the bench seat on his side of the booth. “What about you? I thought --” He’d seen Gemma’s name on the freenet, once, but even years after their break-up it seemed too sensitive to mention. So he finished, instead, by saying, “I thought, three years in, you might have started seeing someone. Even with all that drama you just told me about.” She couldn't help the way she looked sharply up at him, sibling prescience making her feel like she knew exactly what he'd been about to say. "No," she said simply, shaking her head as she tried to pretend he hadn't hit a nerve with his innocent question. There was that nebulous sort of thing with Kitty that kept happening, yes, something she needed to still figure out, but it wasn't enough to bring up now. "There hasn't been anyone." A brief nod showed Kevin’s acceptance of her answer, though he thought to himself that it was a shame. There were her friends, though, so at least his sister hadn't been totally alone. "What about you?" Deflecting, maybe, but Nina was genuinely curious. She looked back up at him again, this time with less defensiveness. "Are you seeing anyone?" Once upon a time it felt like she'd known nearly everything about him, whether that was true or not, and now there were so many things she still needed to learn. "And you're sure you're all right, where you're living?" Both questions drew a laugh from her brother. “Alright, fair’s fair. I guess I deserved to have that turned back on me. No, there's not anyone for me either.” He hadn't exactly been in the best place for that kind of thing. Not for a while there. “And hard to believe, but the tunnels are probably the safest they've ever been right now. I'll move on eventually, but you know what? It's nice to have you worrying about me again.” Kevin grinned over at Nina, knowing that there was a time he never would have said such a thing. It was true now, though. Being here at The Bar with her felt right, felt good. Even with the missing years and a hell of a lot to catch up on, they were never going to stop caring about each other. It was just what siblings did. |