Who: Wash and Kyu What: Wash saves Kyu's shoes, some dream talk and chill When: Shortly after Halloween Shenanigans Where: Wash's Apartment Rating/Warnings: None, unless you have an aversion to cute Status: Complete
Compared to some other events that had happened in recent months, Halloween decorations coming to life and running amok around town seemed...well...almost tame.
Almost tame. Not everyone decorated their homes with the cheap-oh stuff from Walmart or Target. Some people did go all out for the holiday, however, most of what Wash had seen and/or encountered had been less than scary. It was kind of hard to be scared of paper skeletons wandering down the hall.
“I wonder if I should be worried that shit like this doesn’t phase me anymore,” Wash commented as he dug a bottle of Simple Green out from under his sink. “Glad I don’t dress up for Halloween, though. Two months in a row I’ve managed to avoid this Dream Bleed-over shit.” Bottle and sham in hand, he turned back to where Kyu was waiting for him. “Here let me see your shoes.”
Kyu was wearing comfy Vans sneakers for once, mostly because she’d had to run in stilettos for a while until she’d decided to fight the eyeball back. (It didn’t have limbs, so she’d figured it would be a pushover. She was glad she’d been right.) “I don’t think I’ve had anything awful from the dreams. I like my wings, and we had that one time we had to hole up in the bakery.” Which had lead to their first kiss, so that wasn’t bad anyway.
“The storm was one hell of a way to get jumped in,” Wash agreed. He looked up at her. “I’m glad the Dreams haven’t messed with you.” Truth be told he didn’t know a lot about Kyu’s dreams, just that she was a love fairy who was helping some dude score with ladies….and apparently a cat-girl. Other than that, Kyu didn’t really talk about them. “What are they like? Your dreams, I mean. Are you still having them?”
“Nope! Not since dream schlub boned my boss.” She sat down on a chair while Wash worked at her shoes, dangling her legs. “And they’re... well, Dream me is a lot like regular me, but she grew up in this fairy world, Sky Garden. And she’s invisible, and finds hopeless guys and then tells them what to say to score with girls. It’s kind of depressing, really, ‘cause what’s he gonna do after she leaves?” Probably go right back to being hopeless again. “And the fucked up part is most of the chicks knew each other. He boned this girl and her mom, like they’re not gonna notice.”
Wash had started attempting to get the eyeball goo off Kyu’s satin shoe using the Simple Green and the sham. He was careful at first, testing a small spot on the shoe to be sure that the cleaner didn’t accidentally damage either the shoe or the fabric, although, he doubted it’d hurt it. He’d used Simple Green all the time in the past to get blood out of clothing. The stuff worked great and was gentle enough on fabric not to ruin it.
He glanced up at Kyu as she talked. “Maybe he’ll remember the stuff you told him or showed him and use it later on?” Wash said. “A guy can’t get that much action and not remember how he’d done it, right?” He raised a brow, pausing what he was doing. “Really? A mother and a daughter?” Yeah that was pretty fucked up, Wash wouldn’t lie. “Why?”
“God, I hope so. I mostly taught him that it’s super important to remember what girls say. If they say they like blue, try to remember.” She shrugged. “Dating’s not really hard, it’s just important to remember that you’re invested. And if you’re not, don’t let on that you’re not, you know?”
She moved to sit closer to him, letting her head rest on his shoulder as he worked. “The mom was a porn star and the daughter wore her cheerleading uniform everywhere. Probably the legs?”
Wash smirked despite himself. “I think being invested can be applied to any kind of relationship,” he said. He glanced at her when he felt her head against his shoulder, his smirk turning into a smile. He leaned his head against hers for a moment before turning his attention back to her shoe.
He’d managed to get the goop off and now it was a matter of making sure it hadn’t stained the satin. It was very domestic for a man like Wash, who could barely cook, to do, but he seemed to know what he was doing.
“Could be the legs,” he agreed with a nod. “Some guys have a...thing that attracts them. Legs, hair, butts, you know. Just...really? A mom and a daughter? I’m not gonna lie, it’s pretty sketchy. Did any of the girls find out?”
Kyu’s arms wrapped around Wash’s waist and she smiled, watching him work. “You’ll have to tell me where to get this stuff so I can do it for myself next time. If there’s a next time. Ugh.” She really hoped she didn’t have to kill much more stuff with her heels.
Wash talking about things that attracted him made Kyu giggle. “Oh, I know. Love fairy. Yup, mom and a daughter, the mom’s BFFs, the lady the daughter babysat for, the daughter’s physics teacher - he just went down the chain. I don’t know if any of ‘em found out while I was there. He boned me and my boss then I sorta peaced out.”
“Believe it or not, I got it at Pep Boys,” he said. “I was there the other day to get a couple of things so I can give the van an oil change. I got a bottle of Simple Green while I was there since changing oil can get kind of messy.” He paused in his scrubbing to hold the shoe out and take a look at his progress. The goop was gone and the stain left behind seemed to be gone. He’d be able to tell better once the shoe dried. He set it on the coffee table and sat back to put an arm around Kyu.
“So, this guy basically discovered what sex was and then went kinda crazy with it?” Not the most mature of guys, but who could honestly say they had sex with a goddess?
“Yeah, that stuff gets under your nails like woah.” Leaning against him, she smiled. “Isn’t that what all teenage boys do?” She really didn’t know any guys who’d lost their virginity and not gone crazy.
Kyu snuggled in closer to wash, liking how he always smelled clean and faintly like guy soap. “Maybe in my dreams everyone’s just stupid and falls for his lines.”
“Speaking as someone who was once a teenage boy, I can tell you that no, not all teenage boys want to bang every girl who crosses their path.” At least that had been Wash’s personal experience. He knew his upbringing had been far from normal, but even his friends who had what could be considered normal home lives hadn’t been like that. There were a few guys he knew who considered themselves “players” and had dated best friends at the same time, Wash even knew a guy who went from one sister to another. But he hadn’t met anyone quite like the guy in Kyu’s dreams.
“It’s a possibility, I guess,” he said thoughtfully. “Were they at least good lines?”
Nose wrinkling, Kyu shook her head. “Not really? I kinda let him know what would work for each girl. Like, there was this mega bitch girl named Audrey, and his pickup line was - I shit you not - ‘I’m not moving out of your way because I’m not done checking you out yet’. Worked on her, but I’d have hit him.” It was comforting to Kyu to know that guys like the drip in her dreams weren’t the norm.
“I guess there’s something to be said for confidence?” Wash answered. However to be honest most of the women he knew would have probably hit the guy too if they’d used that line. Or straight up ignored his sorry ass. “It kind of sounds like someone’s poorly written fantasy,” he commented. “No offense.”
Yeesh, even in her Dreams Kyu couldn’t seem to meet a nice guy. It was sad, actually. “I’m sorry you had to deal with such a tool,” he said.
“Confidence from the love fairy telling you how to hit on a girl,” Kyu eyerolled. “And it totally does. Lots of hot chicks, and they were all racial stereotypes, too.” Don’t get her started on Aiko. “At least he was just a client, you know? It’s not like dream me was in love with him or anything. Just work.” She smiled up at Wash, then leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “And you’re awesome. You totally changed my mind on relationships, you know? I used to think they were for suckers. I didn’t know I could find someone I actually wanna be around a lot.”
Wash wondered if she’s always thought that about relationships, or if that was a result of her Dreams. Honestly, he couldn’t blame her if it was the latter.
Wash settled back on his couch. “I know I haven’t exactly been the easiest person to deal with lately, burying myself in work and whatever -” whatever usually having been a bottle in the seediest bar that’d let him in “- you’ve been a saint.” And speaking of seedy bars. “I don’t think I told you about the dude I met a couple of weeks ago? He’s on the network. Actually, he’s dating the woman I bought the van from. Anyway, I’m going to be doing some side work for him, make a little extra money. So that being said, I was thinking I’d like to do something special for you, you know, to make up for being a zombie the last few weeks?”
“Well, I know your dreams are fucking awful sometimes. And what kinda side work?” She curled up closer to him, smiling brightly. “You should spend it on you, if you wanna. You don’t have to worry about me, all I want for something special is to sit and hang out with you. I’m easy.”
“Some of it was dream stuff,” he said, a hand going towards his neck. “Some of it was...other stuff.” He adjusted his arm around her to pull her a little closer. He could spend the extra money on himself, but he had just bought a van. Or maybe he could replace the eyeball kickers sitting on his table.
“I’ll be doing some bounty hunting,” he told her. “Not a lot, just a couple of contracts here and there, whatever Pete - that’s the guy I was telling you about - wants to throw my way. Apparently he’s looking to retire.”
“You can have bad days. Or weeks.” She looked up at him. “You don’t always have to be happy or be on, Wash. And you can tell me stuff, or not. I’m here for you whenever you need me, but you don’t have to be ready right now.” Her smile was small but fond as she stroked his cheek. “I love you. That means the stuff that you don’t like, too.”
Her feet swung excitedly when he mentioned bounty hunting. She wasn’t much of a geek, having picked up most of it from the guys she’d skateboarded with in high school, but she’d seen Star Wars. “Wait, you’re gonna be fuckin’ Boba Fett?”
Wash had spent so much of his life not telling people things. Having people who cared, who would listen? It was nice.
He kissed her forehead. “I love you too.”
He hadn’t really thought about it but…”Yeah,” he laughed, “I guess I am going to be like Boba Fett.”
“How’d you meet this guy? Are you excited? I’d be excited.” She was bouncing a little, and she turned to sit on his lap. “You officially have the coolest job, now.”
“I, uh…” Wash started. He looked up at her as she crawled into his lap. “Well, I met him at a bar. He started a fight for a distraction and the next thing I know the two of us are hauling his mark out the back. Well, he was doing the hauling and I was watching his six to be sure no one thought it was a good idea to clock him with a bottle.” He grinned, “yeah, actually I am excited. I’ve had a couple of contracts already, but nothing quite that epic yet.” He laughed, “I’m trying not to get blacklisted from every bar in the county.”
“It’s smart to do this job, though. You’ve got all of these skills from the military that other people who haven’t been in active combat don’t have. Why not use them? I mean, if you’re gonna have it all in your head, you may as well get paid.” Kyu kissed his neck gently. Really, she just wanted him happy, and he seemed animated and excited to just talk about the job. That made her happy, and she was fine with it.
Wash tilted his head back a little to let her kiss his neck. She was the only person in the world he’d let get at his neck.
He had felt better when he’d been in action. Whether it had been helping Detective Orcot with crowd control during Midna’s surprise transformation or covering Wisdom’s escape route or taking in the Orange County’s less desirables to face Justice, he thought it was just because it made him focus so that his mind wouldn’t wander. He had never given thought to the fact that it had anything to do with his military training. “I think you’re right,” he said slowly. “I wondered why I was comfortable doing these things. Was kind of afraid it wasn’t...I don’t know...normal, I guess? But I really think you’re right. I have these skills I’ve relied on for the last decade. It’s not like I can forget them, right?”
“Exactly. That’s a big part of why vets have problems adjusting to civilian life. I mean, you’re out there waiting long periods for short bursts of combat, and that’s not how civvie life works. We’re boring.” Kyu might have looked up some information about PTSD and such. She loved Wash, and she wanted to take care of him. “Besides, I’m glad that all of your training is going to good use. It seems stupid to just waste your ability.”
“Is that it?” He asked. “I mean, it makes sense. Kinda explains why I felt so restless so...useless after I was discharged.” He adjusted his legs under her, giving her a little more room and put his arms around her. “I’m glad I have the chances I have. With the Ranch and bounty hunting, even helping Navi move plants around. It gives me a purpose.”
“Yup. That, and I think it’s that civvie life is so fucking weird and different compared to what you guys go through in active combat.” She moved so she wasn’t going to cut off the circulation to his legs, taking one of his hands and squeezing it. “People who’ve been in combat and people who’ve been in jail have the hardest time adjusting once they get back to normal. Well. Quote unquote normal.”
Wash laughed. “Yeah, I wouldn’t necessarily call our life ‘normal’. Not unless you consider kicking the shit out of flying eyeballs normal.”
He squeezed her hand back before intertwining his fingers with hers. It was kind of weird to talk about this. He didn’t even like talking about how he was adjusting with the doctors at the VA, but with Kyu it was different. He loved her. Trusted her.
She grinned and sat a little straighter, preening with his compliment. “I took my shoe off and stabbed it, thank you.” Leaning in, she kissed him again. She really liked that he trusted her - which was something she could tell that was between them - and she worked hard to earn that trust. Kyu figured taking care of him when he’d let her was part of that. “Oh! Wanna get food?”
“Kicking, stabbing,” Wash shrugged. “Same difference.” It wasn’t at all, but the oddity of the situation was the flying eyeball itself. He smiled into her kiss before returning it.
Oh, yeah, they had talked about getting food. “Yeah, sure. I could probably go for a pizza or something. What do you think?”
Smiling right back at him, Kyu giggled. “Pizza sounds good. You pick the joint, I’ll make it happen.” Really, was there anything better in life than a helpful boyfriend and pizza?
Wash didn’t have to think about where to order from. Not being much of a cook himself meant he had a number of delivery places programmed into his phone. They practically knew him by name at his favorite pizza place. He went to reach for his phone on the coffee table and made a bit of a show of it with Kyu still in his lap. Phone in hand he handed it to Kyu. “Brooklyn’s” he told her. “They know me there.”
She laughed when he wiggled to grab his phone, taking it and finding the name in his contacts list. “I’m the same way with a place by me. They make it better when they know that someone they give a shit about is getting the pizza.” She called the place and ordered a large “every meat possible” pizza, because pizza was about being unhealthy, dammit.
“Yeah, and I tip well,” he said as he took his phone back. It was always a good idea to tip the delivery drivers well. Wash had learned the better you tip, the faster your food got to you. Or at least he liked to think so.
Fact of the matter was, Wash had ordered from Brooklyn’s Pizza often enough that they had started using the name “Wash” on his order instead of the name on his credit card. It was amusing, if nothing else and ensured that he kept ordering from them, which was probably the point.
He set his phone on the armrest of the couch and sat back, looking up at her. “I’d say we got about 15 to 20 minutes before the pizza gets here.” He smirked at her playfully, “you planning on sitting in my lap until then?” Not that he’d complain.
“Of course I am. You’re comfy.” She nuzzled into his neck, smiling contentedly. Tipping people was just nice, especially delivery drivers; they had to pay for all the wear and tear on their car, which would probably end up being more expensive that what they made at the pizza place, ever. It was depressing, and why she’d never done it.
He put his arms around her and rested the bottom of his chin on her head. This was nice. Comfortable. Relaxing. He was happy just sitting there with her snuggled up to his chest and enjoying each other’s company. After a moment of quiet cuddling, Wash lifted her chin up so he could kiss her.
One of the things Kyu had always feared most about relationships was the nonstop need to be “on”, to always be doing something romantic. Being proved wrong about that and just being comfortable around someone was one of her great joys.
Wash adjusted his legs again, stretching them out so he could prop his feet on the coffee table, gently nudging the shoe over to make room. Then he settled deeper into the couch to give Kyu as much space in his lap as possible. He liked having her there, nestled up to him. He gave her a moment to get comfortable again before putting his arms back around her and leaning his head back. He knew once the pizza arrived they’d have to move, but was content to remain as they were for now.
Snuggling and content, Kyu closed her eyes. “Remind me to thank you later about moving here. I’ve lived here all my life and never met a guy I liked half as much as you. Or a girl, for that matter.”
“You’re welcome,” Wash chuckled lightly. He rested his head back against the couch and closed his eyes as well.