Literally Pirateninja (shadowcat) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2012-07-27 20:28:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, kitty pryde (shadowcat), obi-wan kenobi |
"It's sobering."
Who: Kitty and Obi-wan
What: Post rescue awkwardness and srsface
When: backdated to Tuesday, after Dom and Obi talked
Where: transport en route home
Status: Complete
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: talk of sex trafficking and death
The chaos had settled, and they were on their way home. Mai would get treatment, the bad guys would go to jail. Most of the bad guys. At least two, possibly more, would never go home. She didn’t feel bad. She thought she should, but right now she didn’t feel bad.
She felt sad, when she’d seen the man ‘s body sliced in half. She’d felt horrified when she realized she’d partially phased a man into the deck of the ship. She’d pulled him out, but it was too late. She’d gone looking for the businessman instead, kicking him in the throat before bringing him back up. More careful this time. And then there’d been a torpedo, and the sinking shop and all that chaos. It took a lot of willpower not to black out during all of that.
The effort left her wiped. She leaned against the side of the chopper, wanting to curl up somewhere. Despite her exhaustion, she couldn’t. Too much was on her mind, and she was putting forth a monumental effort to keep a brave face on. She just wanted to make it home. She wanted to be in Xi’an’s arms when she finally crumbled.
The woman with the dark hair and weary eyes -- Neena, Domino? -- had approached to examine his injuries, though ultimately not the physical ones, and Obi-Wan wasn’t sure he’d satisfied her by the time she finally released him back to his world of troubled thoughts. He closed his eyes and tried to center himself. And failed, as per usual.
But what surprised him was the strange void -- there was no other word for it -- her departure left behind. It wasn’t a need for her specifically, and it took Obi several tries before he was even able to acknowledge it was there at all; but he had to admit he was shifting uncomfortably in his seat, and his hands couldn’t find a place to rest. He was restless all of a sudden, whereas before he’d been almost immobile. Apparently, the woman had chipped away at some layer of his and now it felt just awful to be alone again.
When Obi rose to his feet, he initially thought he intended to walk off the feeling somehow. But his steps were too direct and it didn’t take very long to realize he was moving toward someone specific. With a sigh, he came to a stop beside Kitty, whom he had been avoiding for many reasons since his first kill. For some reason, it was difficult to look at her.
“Hullo there,” he said softly, giving her arm a nudge with his elbow. “I promised Xi’an I’d get you home safe.”
"That you did," She replied, quietly. Kitty didn't look at him, at first, but after a moment's thought she turned her head. It was difficult to look at him, too.
Weariness creeped over her features, before she offered a ghost of a smile, "I'll admit when I heard that hum I was both surprised..and not." Not that she'd expected him. More like it just made sense.
She reached over and put a hand on his arm, "How are you holding up?"
It hurt more than usual to be touched. Obi folded his arms over his chest, just so he could play off brushing her hand away without being outright rude. “I’m fine. Physically, anyway. The rest of it will sort itself out. Apparently.” He cast a quick glance at Neena.
As for Kitty, she looked a little banged up and certainly leaner. But otherwise, unscathed. She would bounce back from all this much more quickly than he, Obi felt. “Mai’s lucky you were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.
Kitty shrugged a shoulder non-committably, "Probably. Don't feel that lucky but it could've gone a lot worse."
She wanted to tell him that sorting it out didn't mean losing parts of himself - but she was sorting it out herself. Besides, she knew he'd deal with it in his own way. She wasn't sure she'd be the one helping him through it.
After a long moment's pause, she finally said, "It's sobering."
“To which part are you referring?” he asked. But did it really matter? He assumed she was talking about the crates full of women, and he shuddered.
She was. More than anything else really. How much different could things have gone? She decided to think about it later.
"The women. Makes you think about your normally comfy life compared to other people."
He frowned. “I’m a bit ashamed to say, I wouldn’t have chased down the ship if you hadn’t been on it. That will be something for me to contemplate for a long, long time... a long time.” He wasn’t quoting anything, but the comparison probably couldn’t be avoided. The words even rang in his own ears.
Obi shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and then did something surprisingly out of character for either version of himself, which was that he leaned over and gave Kitty a kiss on the top of her head. It still hurt to do it, but afterward he was somewhat proud of not talking himself out of it. “I’m glad you’re not hurt.”
Kitty didn't comment on it as she normally would have. This wasn't a time for quips or even light chatter. She was surprised at the head kiss, but pleased. It did a great deal to lighten her mood, "Thanks. I'm glad you didn't get hurt charging in like a super hero. That's supposed to be my gig."
She thought about telling him that he wouldn't have even known about the ship if she hadn't been on it. That was a job for the authorities. But she still remembered the empty looks in some of the womens' eyes. She wondered if they'd be swept under the rug.