padme_n (padme_n) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-04-25 10:52:00 |
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Entry tags: | kitty pryde (shadowcat), padme amidala |
Who: Kitty and Padmé
What: Running into each other at the beach and relaxing
When: Today
Where: The beach
Rating/Warning: None
Status: Complete when posted
It had been a beach day, Kitty had decided, something nice for just her and the kids. Except they weren’t exactly kids anymore, were they? They were teenagers and the fact she was only eleven years older than them hit her like a ton of bricks as she watched the twins in the surf; Nga literally surfing and Leong hitting on some surfer babe.
“I don’t know if I’m feeling old or young,” Kitty remarked to herself, leaning back on her blanket. Because holy shit her kids were going to be adults soon and she wasn't even thirty yet.
“You look too young to feel old,” Padmé said, walking by Kitty. She’d met the other woman in passing the other day, so felt confident enough to eavesdrop and then comment.
She glanced down at the sand and gave a smile. She hadn’t really known what she was going to do when she came to the beach. She’d pulled a muscle at the dojo a few days prior, and didn’t want to exacerbate it with a surf, but the beach -- well, it always called to her. The water, the spray, the sun … “Is this spot taken? Do you mind if I sit with you? I was planning on just people-watching, but it’s always better with company.”
Kitty looked up, smiling at Padme and turning off the Star Wars fan inside her. This was always more difficult than she’d like, but over the years Kitty had gotten used to meeting characters she was a fan of and not entirely making a fool of herself.
“Go ahead. Blanket is big enough for the two of us.” She was proud of herself for not making a sand joke. Kitty’s eyes fell back on the kids. “It’s just … I feel like I’m barely an adult, but I’m raising two teenagers.”
She pointed out the Vietnamese twins, the girl with the surfboard now joining her brother. “I remember when I was dating their guardian and they were ten and trying to set us up. And now I’ll be sending them off to college in a year or two. Or travel. They haven’t decided.”
Kitty glanced at Padme and smiled. “Just be glad I’m seeing someone because they’d try to set us up.”
Padmé’s eyes widened a little as she laughed. “Oh no, that would be terrible since you’re a lovely woman but definitely not my type.” Sitting down next to Kitty, she stretched her legs out and buried her feet in the sand. Looking in the direction Kitty pointed, she squinted and then looked down at Kitty in shock.
“Okay, now I can see why you feel old. They’re going to college? That’s crazy, but amazing that you’re so up-beat by it.”
“I’ve been told I can be too perky,” Kitty joked, crossing her legs at her ankles and leaning back again. “Yeah. I’ll make sure they can go wherever they want to, or do whatever they need to. Planted the Peace Corps idea in their head, among other possibilities. Options, right?”
Padme didn’t know people still joined the peace corps. In her mind, it was akin to the Foreign Legion, but to each their own. “And then you’ll be alone at home. I guess it’ll be time to take up a hobby with all your free time. Like knitting or bedazzling,” Padme teased.
Maybe not the Peace Corps specifically, but that sort of thing. Explore the world, help other people, get used to other peoples and life styles. “I won’t be entirely alone. I’ve got the cats.”
Kitty laughed, pushing some hair out of her face when the wind kicked up a little. “They spend every summer with my dad anyway, so I won’t be entirely unprepared. Even if it feels different.”
“And with any kind of loss, be it planned or otherwise, it’s easy to fill in the blanks, I guess. I mean, I’m just saying things, I really have no idea. No kids, no partner, nothing. Just me” She gave a shrug and a smile. “I’m basically a workoholic, keeping busy with my business, and then my hobbies. Surfing, hiking, that kind of thing. All time consuming, and I’m not afraid to say I’m slightly too selfish to give up any of that free time. Even for something as wonderful as kids.”
“I get that. The workaholic thing, and hobbies. Luckily there’s some overlap there. But I’ve learned to relax a bit more than I used to. And it’s nice having a few people around to help. My dad loves them, so does my girlfriend.” She grinned. “I think suddenly having grandkids made my dad’s century, to be honest. I’d always wanted kids eventually anyway. Just not until I was at least thirty.”
“And it sounds like you skipped the baby stage, which honestly, scares the crap out of me.” Padmé hadn’t even babysat much in high school (or ever), and definitely did not do much with children. She’d toyed with the idea of being an au pair at one point, just to go and live in Germany or somewhere equally exotic but that idea had been shot down by her mother.
“I don’t understand how any of us became adults. Infants are so fragile!”
“I get you… but I wouldn’t mind the baby stage myself,” Kitty admitted, thinking about her dreams and some events that remained a sore, bitter spot in her heart. “But at least I’m prepared for the terrible tweens and terrible teens, now!”
How much worse could it be than that? Kitty had saved the universe, fought monsters and super villains, survived exploding planes and much much worse.
She could handle a baby, right?
“Sometimes, I think you need that baby stage, where they’re really cute and cuddly, to get you through the tweens and the teens. That way, when they’re fighting with you, you can remember when you were their entire world,” Padme mused, her hand now scooping sand and letting it run through her fingers. “I mean, again, I could literally be making all this up. It’s not like I have a baby in my life. I have a younger sister, and she’s on the patented Mom-approved path for success.’ Why no, that wasn’t any snark on her voice at all. “So. There will be no babies. Accidental or otherwise, in the Naberrie household for some time.”
“That’s probably some good advice there,” Kitty replied. With the twins she had Xi’an’s memory to rely on, at least. But raising one from the beginning, she’d have that.
Something for future her to think about. Kitty shook her head and laughed. “I remember when I was on the mom-approved path, then I brought home a girl!”
Padme burst out laughing. “Oh wow. And how did your mom take it? I like to think my mother would be equally disappointed with me, no matter what decision I make.” She grinned. “I mean, she would have rathered I be married by now, I think, and here I am, not even dating.”
“Lets just say I haven’t talked to her since 2012,” Kitty replied, deadpanned. “My dad took it a lot better. Luckily they’re divorced or getting together on Yom Kippur and other holidays would be really awkward. And she misses out on some great grandkids.”
She’d long ago got over it, for the most part. “At least this way you can stick it to her.”
“Oh geez,” Padme made a face. “I’m really sorry to hear that. I’ll never understand how parents can do that to their kids. It’s like ‘hello! You lived your own life! Let me live mine’.” She shook her head. “And yes, I agree. It’s her loss totally. You have a really good outlook on this. When I got disowned, I mean, it was nice but I still missed my family. If my sister hadn’t forced us all to reconcile, I don’t know… I guess I still wouldn’t be speaking to them.” She brought her knees in close and hugged them, resting her cheek on them. “Blah. Family.”
“Disowned twins?” Kitty said, lifting her fist for a potential fist bump. “And if you ever need a backup family, plenty of room in mine. My mentor is also the type to figuratively adopt people.”
Padmé laughed and fist bumped Kitty back. “I’m an orphan with a family at this point,” she teased, tossing her hair back to cascade over her shoulders. Reaching for an elastic in her purse, she pulled it back into a ponytail. If it was down for too long, she started to play with it. “I mean, I talk to them. We have Sunday dinners at least once a month, if not twice. I dutifully call my sister once a week. It’s all very scheduled and WASPy. Good enough for me.”
She smiled. “Who’s your mentor? They must be a special kind of person to take others in.”
That sounded like some other people Kitty knew, but she chose not to remark on it for Padme’s sake. “His name is Logan. He runs an outreach center out in the canyons for kids. Mostly the ones that would otherwise end up in juvie, or kids who have no where else to go. I volunteer there sometimes.”
"Oh?" That piqued Padme's interest. "You know, i've been looking for a way to get more involved with the community. I've kinda been stuck with exactly how to do it. Does he need volunteers?" This could be a gentler way to start delving into that leadership role she wanted.
“There’s always a need for volunteers,” Kitty assured her, wondering how she’d react to the extra stuff that happened beneath the Jean Grey Outreach Center. Namely the training room for people with powers.
Padmé thought for a moment before nodding her head. “Can you pass him my number maybe? I’d appreciate it. I don’t have a whole lot of time, especially right now, but I’d really rather fill my hours with something more valuable than binging Game of Thrones for the 100th time.” She grinned. “I mean, I had to prepare for season 8, you know.”
Kitty’s eyes twinkled in amusement and she nodded. “I’ll definitely pass it along, he’d appreciate it.”