InsaneJournal

Who: Kenzi and Bo
What: Discussing some parental issues and making some life decisions over a feast of pizza, breadsticks and lava cakes.
When: Today?
Where: Croft Manor
Warnings: Pretty low



Kenzi was pooped. Living with a baby was exhausting, and she wasn’t even the one taking care of the baby starfish at all waking hours of the night - and she learned, quickly, that wearing fashionable and expensive things around a developing human with a habit of spitting up or, say, pooping through the air was a baaaaaaaad idea. But at least she wasn’t bored, and one day she’d have to bring Bo into the mayhem of the Disney Villain Home to meet the newest addition to the fam.

Not today, though. Today she’d spend time under the ritzy roof of the Croft Manor, still pooped, and underdressed stylishly ripped skinny-jeans that did her booty justice and a frayed Slipknot shirt. Straight, black hair was pulled back into a genie-like ponytail, and she was trying her best to look presentable - hence the opened compact mirror in Bo’s living room, mascara wand brushing along the curves of her eyelashes.

“Pizza should be here in like, uh - ten minutes? I got us some lava cakes with it that’ll put us in a sugar coma later,” she piped up. Before important things were to be discussed there was a necessity to set the mood. Make Bo all cozy and comfortable without the option of running out the door.

The manor still didn’t have much of Bo’s touches to it decoration-wise. Which probably wasn’t a surprise given the crackshack in the dreams didn’t get much of a makeover. Bo was, however, in the process of getting storage for her arsenal of weapons which her dreams seemed to like continually giving her. Seriously, she liked things other than weapons sometimes! The weapons were currently in the gym, save for a couple choices ones Bo tended to keep either on her or near her in case of emergencies.

She was seated on the couch beside Kenzi, watching her make herself presentable. She certainly looked like she could use a good night’s sleep. Though at least Bo had finished going through fae puberty without having to do her actual Dawning here. It had been traumatic enough in the dreams in the whole killing Dyson bit and then having to go Evil Succubus Queen in order to revive him.

“Oh man, lava cake. Definite sugar coma upcoming, but so worth it for all of that chocolatey goodness.” Bo said with a grin. It was no secret that chocolate was Bo’s favorite thing. It wasn’t quite an Achilles heel, but she could definitely be bribed and placated with it.

Those strokes of the black-dipped brush to her lashes were methodical, because it had to be done in a certain way to prevent clumping - at least that’s what Vex had taught her, and she didn’t realize that there was a part of her that’d miss that puppeteering pain in the ass as much as she did. Kenzi assumed they haven’t seen the last of him, though.

“Soooo,” she began, breaking eye contact from the compact mirror very briefly to glance at Bo. “We gonna talk about the elephant in the room, toots? You know how we went on a self-journey for you to confront your uptight, uber conservative mumsie?”

Vex was complicated, but he’d definitely started to grow on Bo. Not quite like a fungus, but it was somewhere in there. Bo also didn’t hate Tamsin as much as she had. Not only because Tamsin was the only person who believed her when she said Kenzi wasn’t Kenzi, but because Tamsin had stuck by her when they’d gone on that crazy journey to save a fae. There was good in Tamsin, and Bo was seriously wishing her dream self would get on that valkyrie instead of the doctor.

Bo eyed Kenzi tensely. It was a difficult subject, one that got Bo’s heckles to rise faster than anything else. “What about it? You were there, you know what happened.” As if that would stop the conversation. Bo knew Kenzi would keep pressing, and the succubus was a ticking time bomb on the feelings she kept bottled up about it. The Bo seated next to Kenzi, however, had the double whammy of feels on the subject. Not only were her parents in their dreams a hot button issue, so were her parents in this life.

Oh, Kenzi knew the feels. Really, she did - her family situation wasn’t exactly the best, either, and a mirror was held up to both lives. A mother who claimed to love her but just didn’t love her enough, and chose a man with wandering hands and who hated the laughter of children (seriously, if she laughed too loud it was a time-out in the closet for a couple hours). Hence the whole running away thing and preferring the streets over her own household. But the scrappy little human was a survivor, through and through.

“Babe, you’re probably getting gang-banged on both sides with an onslaught of feels, alright?” Yes, leave her to word it in such a way. Such a poet with words! Anyway, she snapped the compact mirror shut and with fresh, plump lashes, she turned her gaze to fully focus on the succubus. “And I know you. If you don’t burst about it now, you’ll burst about it later - and we can’t guarantee later’s going to be in a ‘safe space’ like this.”

A sigh was exhaled, and she smiled morosely as she squeezed Bo’s knee. “So talk to me. You know you can.”

Bo knew that Kenzi understood the feels. It was part of why they were so close, how Bo considered Kenzi a sister to her. She understood the feeling of being ostracized by family, the struggle that came with trying to make a life for themselves. Bo had an easier time of it in the dreams due to having been a succubus the entire time and having the enthralling touch power to get what she wanted. The Bo in this life was far more hardened and streetwise from her own time on the streets doing whatever jobs she could get.

She almost snorted at Kenzi’s wording. Such a poet, really, but Bo didn’t comment on it because she knew what she meant. Plus sometimes people needed to take a sledgehammer to the walls Bo built up to hold her pains inside as best as she could. She took a slow breath, resting one elbow on the back of the couch as she shifted to more face Kenzi.

“The dreams left me with a bittersweet feeling. I mean, on the one hand I did get to say my piece to my mom, but on the other, she had dementia, so I don’t really know how much it all sunk in, or if any of it would stick with her once we left. And I never got the chance to talk to my dad because he’d died before I ever got it in me to go back. Not that I even wanted to, I had to because of the Dawning preparation.” She bit her lower lip a bit, the emotions coming stronger than she wanted as her eyes filled with tears. “Me sitting here looking at the dreams, it does make me wonder about my parents here. Is my dad dead? Does my mom have dementia? But at the same time I’m still so angry and hurt and I don’t know what to do, Kenz.” She sniffed.

“Lara told me a while back that I should go talk to them, to say my piece so I can get it off my chest. And I know logically that she’s right, but I’m scared of what I’ll find, of it maybe being worse by finding out than simply staying here.” Bo was angry and hurt still, but she also did still love her parents. That conflict was something that Kenzi understood.

Kenzi took a deep, deeeeeeeeeep breath, and exhaled as she leaned against the back cushions of the sofa while Bo’s words simmered. It really was hard not to love your parents even if they were pieces of garbage - she never had a chance to meet her father (though from what Killian had said she really wasn’t missing much), but her mother was someone she wished would snap out of her drunken haze and realize what a piece of shit she married. Galina hadn’t taken the plunge of married with the douchebag in the dreams but here? God, way different story. What the fuck, mom.

“Well, going from my favorite quote of all time - regret is for suckaz - I’m going to have to echo Muscles here, Bobo. Don’t let the fear evolve into something you regret not doing later on. If you go ahead and give ‘em a piece of your mind, what do you have to lose? Them not being part of your life like they are now? Pfft.” There was an eyeroll there for emphasis, don’t forget the eyeroll. “You tried, you gave it your all, and the ball will be in their court in the end. And maybe knowing will also help your pretty face sleep better at night.”

No matter how one looked at it, it was a complicated situation, yet it wasn’t unlike the one in the dreams. While she had told her mom about being fae, she’d only done that because of the dementia aspect. She’d learned to keep her fae state of being a secret from humans. But here, she couldn’t tell her parents that, if both of them were even still alive. They’d think she’d lost her mind and have her committed somewhere. Fitting in a way since that’s where her biological mother was.

“I’m long past expecting miracles to happen.” Her parents hadn’t accepted her over a decade earlier, why would they accept her now? Of course, time had a way of changing people, but that only happened if the people allowed themselves to change. “Even if they turn me away, I still at least have you and Lara.” It would hurt if her parents rejected her again, but it wasn’t like they were part of her life now.

“Worse case scenario? You can totally rub it in their faces on how well you’re doing,” Kenzi pointed out, hooking her arm with her bestie’s for a little side squeeze. “You can show them that no matter what happens, how they’ve treated you won’t stop you from being happy. And if you want me to go with you? You know I will, Bobo.”

There was also no way in the fiery depths of Satan’s butthole she’d let them mouth at Bo, no ma’am, no sir - and she wouldn’t let them poison her with whatever words they might be ready to throw at her.

“You are assuming that I could do that without devolving into blind anger or running out the door.” Though maybe there was a chance if her parents knew she was happy that they could learn to accept her and be happy for her. But Bo wasn’t going to hold her breath on it. She leaned into Kenzi and gave her a return squeeze.

“I would like you to come with, yeah. And Lara too. At the very least maybe having two of you there will stop me from running off and leaving you in Hicksville all alone?” Bo managed to lightly tease. “Though with luck my mom won’t make us put on my old dresses this time.”

Bo definitely needed people to go with her. It was a pretty high-stress, all-emotions-running-amuck situation and the succubus could use two people that knew how to keep her properly grounded - and two people that would also defend her, no matter the cost. Fear didn’t stop Bo from doing things, and this wasn’t about to be an exception.

“Though I’m hoping she kinda does?” Kenzi countered impishly, and once the doorbell rung she shimmied off the couch with a hop to the door and retrieve the goods. Deliciously cheesy pizza slathered with pepperoni, garlic breadsticks and lava cakes that were still too hot to bite into. But they’d be cooled plenty after they finished their appetizer and main entree, no worries.

All the goods sat on the coffee table, she twisted the cap of her drink off (she ordered a cherry coke because lordy, they did not exist in Canada) and took a sip. “I want extra embarrassing pictures, too - like, I really hope they took little naked baby pictures of you on a bear rug in front of a fireplace.”

“Well, I have plenty of sensible shoes still there,” Bo countered, knowing Kenzi took designer shoes seriously. Bo’s shoes from back then were definitely not designer. They could be best described as either Sunday Best or Farm Friendly. There were no inbetweens there. The same went with the clothes she’d left behind.

When food arrived, she grabbed a breadstick first and bit into it. “Well, according to Killian they have like a shrine or something to me in the living room. I’m assuming it’s similar to the one my mom had in the dreams.” She talked around the breadstick. While she did try to mind her manners when around Lara, with Kenzi she’d talk with her mouth full more often than not. “So I think embarrassing pictures are definitely a thing I can’t avoid.” Not to mention her bedroom was probably still full of the teeny-bopper type stuff. Boy band posters (yes, there may have been a Backstreet Boys poster there), possible Spice Girls poster too. She’d come a long way since then, though the Spice Girls love had stuck.

Manners. What were manners? They’d dreamt about being roomies for cryin’ out loud! Stuck with each other’s habits, the good and the bad, the toothpaste in the foot locker, Bo’s loud banging and Kenzi’s natural inclination to never clean a damn thing. So, yeah, definitely no manners or consideration when it came to eating and talking with their mouths full - by now they had perfected the art of translating each other’s ravenous gibberish. Hashtag Bestie Goals.

“Still creepy, don’t matter what world it’s in,” Kenzi mumbled around the first bite of hot, hot pizza. That cheese was burning. “Family’s weird, babycakes - even if they’re total dicks there’s that part of us that loves them anyway. And I think that’s true vice-versa too. In most cases.”

Like, personally? This mafia baby knew her mother loved her. It still didn’t stop her from making crap decisions in regards to their mother-daughter relationship and choosing a disco stick over her.

Bo tended to abscond with manners. However, Lara was a countess, she felt weird talking with her mouth full to her. Not to mention Lara didn’t exactly like that little habit of hers. Speaking of that title, Bo was suddenly reminded of the fact she might just have a title of her own after marrying Lara. Which meant fancy parties. And etiquette. Etiquette that Bo so didn’t have. She’d wrecking balled how many fancy fae parties in her dreams? She’d probably wrecking ball fancy parties in this world too.

She shoved the rest of the breadstick in her mouth as she claimed a slice of pizza for herself. This time she waited until she swallowed before speaking again. “Yeah, it is. I still love them, but I also hate them.” There, at least she’d said it out loud that she still loved her parents. “I just...hope my dad’s still alive and my mom doesn’t have dementia.” Sure, she could pick up the phone and call them, but she’d rather just do it face-to-face. It was too easy to hang up the phone, after all.

She took a bite of the pizza, revelling in it. “I just hope that I can get across how much they hurt me with what they did. Even if that’s the only thing said between us, at least I’d get it off my chest.” At least now she was open to the idea of going to visit her parents. When Lara had poked at the issue before, Bo had completely stonewalled and fought her on it. But now? Now she actually wanted to go visit them. And at least this time she didn’t have to go because she’d devolve into something needing to be kept in a cage if she didn’t.

Hate was totes valid when it came to emotionally abusive parents. Bo had the right reaction to her mistreatment - but Kenzi hoped that for everyone’s sake involved they’d all come together and heal, or whatever. Was it likely? Eh. If there was anything she was sure of was that this place worked in hella mysterious way. It brought her to Killian, it brought her to Bo, and some things followed the path of the dreams but not always.

“Anything else on your, uh, biological mom?” Saskia, later than known as Aife, the captured daughter of the Blood King. Kenzi knew the woman was legit mental, but she didn’t know if Bo wanted to at least try and visit her? What were the viable options in that crazy scenario?

Bo wasn’t sure what would come of it. It could range anywhere from getting thrown out of the house immediately to fully forgiven. While Bo was known for her bleedy heart and sometimes being too quick to forgive those who hurt her, she wasn’t certain if she could forgive her parents in one visit for what had happened twelve years earlier. All she was hoping for was a conversation with her parents, assuming her dad was alive, as opposed to a more one-sided conversation like she’d had with her mom in the dreams.

“No, not yet. I’m still working up the nerve to call my grandfather first. He would probably be able to tell me if she’s okay with visitors or not. But, you know, considering her problems stem from my conception, I’d probably not be the best visitor for her.” Bo wanted to see her, just once, but she wouldn’t push it if it wasn’t healthy for Aife. “Speaking of, considering I’m Irish, your brother told me he’s going to teach me all the sayings. Though I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise that I’m Irish, I kinda drank like one for years.” She’d taken to laying off the alcohol as much of late, something that she didn’t consciously make the choice to do, it had just happened.

Kenzi’s eyes had to widen there a little, because that meant - “You’re going to call Trick??” Blood King Trick? Tiny pretentious man that gave her free drinks but whom she also loved bunches, even if he had a habit of being super shady? “Oh man, that’s - that’s weird. I wanna know how that entire thing goes too. But Killian knows all the curse words, he was teaching me some of it when we went to Ireland for a vacay together. We can be his eager students.”

Well, considering she was technically half Irish, though she was more in touch with the Russian roots - that’s the side of the family she grew up in, after all, bilingual and cursed to be related to jerks of the Russian mafia. Thanks, Putin.

“Yeah, I am. Killian gave me his contact information, and said he was happy to hear about me. I just need to remind myself that even if he goes by Trick here, he doesn’t dream like us.” Which was a bit of a downer. Bo would’ve loved it if he did dream because Trick was a font of wisdom for all things fae. Sometimes she could really use a guiding hand in dealing with fae shit like the Dawning. “I’ll definitely let you know how it goes.”

There was another mouthful of pizza. “I’m definitely all for being an eager student. The Irish have a lot of creative swearing, I have to say.” She said with a laugh. She took a sip of her drink. Finding her family, finding out where she came from had given her a lot to think about. She was still upset over the circumstances of her conception, she was less worked up over it than she had been when Killian had first given her the report.

“Hey Kenz, can I get your opinion on something? But you have to promise to not breathe a single word of it to Lara.” She’d had an idea on her mind, but before she took it up with Sam, she wanted to know if it sounded weird at all. Kenzi was the best to keep her in check on that front.

Gulp gulp gulp went that cherry-coke, washing away all the garlic-parmesan carbs down the hatch from the breadsticks she had devoured. After a refresh ‘ahhh,’ Kenzi was able to communicate without a full mouth of chewed food. “Pinky promise?? Though if you’re asking for suggestions about what to do on the honeymoon night, we could probably google some ideas.”

It wasn’t entirely outside the realm of possibility when things were being discussed between the two of them, alright? The concept of oversharing didn’t really exist between the succubus and her once-claimed human.

“Pinky promise.” Bo responded. “No, I’m not looking for suggestions about the honeymoon night. Though I will eventually want to find some lingerie that could make me a widow on my wedding night.” Though in all reality, Bo was certain she could wear a burlap sack and Lara would have a heart attack.

“But I want you tell me if something is too weird or silly. Lara’s best friend, Sam, can’t make it to our wedding because of a previous engagement she has that she can’t get out of. So I want to surprise Lara and arrange something that Sam can attend. That something being a handfasting ceremony.” She knew a handfasting ceremony would be something that appealed to Lara’s archaeologist brain, and Bo rather did like the idea of it. She just didn’t know if it was too cheesy or something, but she really just wanted Lara to be able to have some wedding-type thing Sam could attend. After all, Sam not being at Lara’s wedding would be the same as Kenzi not being at Bo’s. It would hurt and definitely not be the same without them.

Kenzi’s legs crossed indian-style as she pondered the idea, and it wasn’t long until she responded with an affirmative. “That’s super cute, and super personal. I think it’d suckerpunch Muscles right in the feels to be honest - but in a good way, of course. I’d imagine her bestie’s bummed about not being to attend, right? This’ll be a good way to make up for it.”

Handfasting seemed more like an old fae pagan thing, too. Fitting for her, and fitting for Lara and her nerdiness about cultures and digging up old things from the dirt. “I’m game for helping you plan this surprise!”

Bo was a little anxious as to what Kenzi would think. She was the one who kept Bo grounded in reality, and if something was too weird or out there, Kenzi would tell her. So when Kenzi thought it was a good idea, Bo grinned that thousand watt grin of hers. “Oh good, I was afraid I was going too overboard or something. But yeah, Sam’s bummed about it, and I know it hurts Lara even though she understands. I’ll give Sam a call because I do think setting this for Valentine’s Day, which is Lara’s birthday, would just make it even better.”

Seriously, Bo couldn’t wait to see Lara’s face if Sam was able to make this work. Especially if she managed to keep it a complete secret until that day. “Yes, I totes want your help. I need to find someone to do the ceremony. And then I’ll want another dress for that. Not nearly as fancy as a wedding dress, but still something nice. Something Celtic-y? Irish-y?”

That’s what best friends were for, to tell each other if their ideas were crap or not - and Kenzi was never really one to hold back the punches. One of her biggest priorities was Bo’s well-being. If she felt as if something or someone wasn’t good for the succubus, her feelings would be blared loud and clear without restraint. Like the whole Ryan thing, and she’d also voiced her concern over the Hot Doc because of the past spy-banging and ‘oh btw my girlfriend is in a cursed coma lolol THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW’ thing.

There was also a part of Kenzi that was still Team Dyson in the dreams - but she and the wolf, they’d gotten on some pretty good terms as time went on.

“A bunch of shops online have really nice Celtic dresses, so we’ll have to do some internet shopping and get your measurements and all that - you’re also probably looking at a nice, woodsy venue of sorts?” Somewhere small and intimate, maybe? Kenzi would have to check her connections to see if she knew any peeps that could play bagpipes or something for that extra Irish touch. “I’ll ask Killy what he recommends, too, but we can definitely make this a thing. “

Bo definitely appreciated that about Kenzi. Luckily Lara wasn’t in the business of doing stupid things with Bo’s heart, which made Bo happy that her bestie and her fiancé could actually be friends. Besides, Kenzi could whip out a can of woop ass on Lara so fast it wasn’t even funny. While Bo wished her dream self would give Dyson another chance, or even jump on the Tamsin train, she was more than happy to have a non-complicated and relatively drama-free relationship here. Of course she and Lara had their bumps along the way, but that was normal for any relationship, romantic or platonic.

“I’m all for the shopping.” Bo said, emphasizing it with a bite of pizza. She wasn’t as much of a shopper as Kenzi, but she still found joy in it. “And yeah, definitely thinking the venue being somewhere in the woods. You know, fitting to a traditional handfasting ceremony.” She hoped that Lara wouldn’t mind it happening before their actual wedding, but she doubted it would be a problem. Lara was rather traditional, but Bo thought the chance to have Sam at such a ceremony would override anything else.

“Awesome, thank you, Kenz. You’re the best!” Bo said with a grin and she then hugged Kenzi. Then planted a kiss to her cheek. “With you on board, it’s definitely going to be amazing and gorgeous.” Not to mention go off without a hitch as well. She took a sip of her drink before shifting subjects a bit.

“So, girl, how’re you and your boy doing?” She was curious, and she wanted to make certain Kenzi was being treated right. Otherwise there’d be a protective succubus to deal with.

Mmmm, platonic pizza smooches - with extra cheese! Kenzi smirked, munching on a piece of breadstick. “You know there’s little I wouldn’t do for you, Bodacious.” They were their biggest supporters in the dreams, and it was the same here too even if this world didn’t revolve around fae and their underground society. “But we’re gooooooood, no complaints on that end. Still a hermit but he’s coming out of his shell, slowly.”

Her hacker beaux wasn’t the most socially acclimated - he had some anxiety when it came to dealing with people, usually resorting to his oh-so biting sarcasm, but he couldn’t really escape the ties Kenzi had. Not when her brother was circling like a hawk.

Extra cheese was precisely how Bo operated! She loved cheese, and she totally owned her own cheesiness. “Likewise.” Bo would do pretty much anything for Kenzi. In some respect, Bo was glad that this world didn’t revolve around fae crap. It made things simpler in some ways. “I’m glad to hear you’re both doing good. You definitely deserve the best.”

Bo liked seeing Kenzi happy, and she definitely seemed to be that way now. “So what are the chances he’ll be out his shell enough to attend the wedding?” She was genuinely curious, but also she’d definitely have some cake or something set aside that Kenzi could take to him. Because at this rate, there was going to be so much food at this wedding they’d be eating it for months afterwards. She and Lara had already decided on having two cakes!

“He’ll come,” Kenzi promised. “If it’s important he’ll be there - maybe with his stomach doing lots and lots of tumbles, but it’s not the craziest thing he’s done for me.” Like, oh, dispose of a fae body for her while it was still wearing her face. And yet she still hadn’t seen the damage those chemicals had done to his bathroom. Huh.

Probably best that she didn’t.

“But I’m sloooowly pulling him out of the depths of his cave - he’s got his reasons for not being completely out there. He’s, uh, sort of a wanted hacker?? So there’s gotta be some caution exercised.”

“I promise there won’t be anything scary at the wedding. And definitely no loud noises either. So no fireworks or things of that nature will be happening.” Bo was way conscientious of Lara’s PTSD, and she went to great lengths to avoid as many episodes as she could control. It was why they typically went out of town to the middle of nowhere during the holidays when fireworks were shot off. Bo also really didn’t want to use that calming power of hers on Lara on their wedding day if she could help it.

“Clearly you have a positive effect on him.” Bo said with a smile. “But that’s totally understandable. I know what it’s like to run from something and want to avoid being found. Baby steps is the best way to approach it.”

Birkhoff hadn’t been caught yet - he did well covering his tracks but gods know what could happen later on. He didn’t stay in one spot permanently, though Kenzi hoped he’d stay put here for awhile. “I’m just adorable,” she chirped, grinning slyly. “It charms peeps. But it’ll be alright; you’ll get hitched twice, and I’ll have my nerdy arm candy there as a plus one.”

And if her parents realized they were being assholes, bucked up and were there for it, that’d be nice too - but at least Bo ha made a family for herself that’d be there, no matter what.