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( you would think, with all of the glitching happening across the network, he would have the sense to not try in the first place. but as far as he's seen, all of those glitches have been confined to text posts, and with all of the intermittent voice chats he's been having with kate –

he should be safe. right?

( sure, we'll go with that, sammy. )

they never do video – whether due to no real reason, or the fact that most of their conversations take place in the small hours of the morning is anyone's guess – so it's only audio, though there is the sound of a smile in his voice like there always is. )

So, you're missing a notebook, right? You left it on the kitchen counter. ( a beat. ) It's got something added to it, but you're gonna have to come get it to find out what it is.

( this – sadly – is how this idiot flirts. or thinks he's flirting. s i g h. )

Oh, and how do you feel about another movie night? If I promise not to burn the popcorn this time.

( that promise will probably be broken. s i g h.

and kate is probably going to flip her shit when she sees this. )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( there is certainly nothing saying that being 5'3" automatically makes her cute. it's not her smallness that makes her cute. it's ... it's -

everything about her. from the small things to the larger things that make up her personality, everything that amasses her, but there's no room for thoughts like that in his head right now, not when she's so blatantly irritated at being called as much in the first place. )

How hard are you going to hit me for saying that, the next time you see me?

( there. a tiny bit of a tension-breaker. maybe? )

[ sam you are legitimately the only person who has ever or will ever think those thoughts you weirdo. ]

Haven't decided yet. [ with the rest of this post's progressions, maybe she'll just hit everyone else instead ok? ]

( doesn't make it any less true, okok.

but don't hit everyone. it's not their fault this went network-wide, and not just to her.

it's also not their fault that they're a little quicker on the upkeep than she is. )

Do I get a chance to beg for mercy?

( mercy, kitkat. mercy. look at that face! )

[ it really does, sry.

they might be, but so many people are terrible at seeing the things in front of their faces, no matter how much evidence is presented. (although, for what it is worth, kate began getting the idea around the time sam mumbled out that she was cute like some kid on the playground trying to ask out the most popular girl in school. then cas and emily happened...

and. well. shit. these are not things kate knows how to deal with. it was one thing to pick someone up in a bar, or reject a stranger's advances, things that were blunt and obvious, that had no tangle of previous emotions or loyalties to them. and for all their years falling into bed together, for how comfortable and touchy carl was with her, he never looked for anything more than an occasional warm body in his bed from her. never - as far as she may ever be aware - wanted that.

really, who would? she's been too tied up in other people - in her brother's life and goals - to be anything but off limits to a lot of people. once he died, it was all about throwing herself into so much work that she wouldn't have had the time for anything that lasts more than a night, anyway. there had never been time for these sorts of things, and she'd never, not really, felt like anything was missing because of it. not with so much to do and so many people she already felt too much for without whatever crushes and romantic interest implies.

but there's so much time down here.)

she sucks on her teeth for a brief moment, rests her chin in her free hand, looking a whole lot more relaxed than she actually feels right now. maybe it would be better to just keep pretending to not get it, maybe that would buy her some time to think.

but this whole thing is far more embarrassing than it should be already, whether that's because she's stuck with the awkward knowledge that everyone's teasing is right on the money and now she has to deal with it, or for other reasons she hasn't even disentangled yet, kate doesn't know.

she raises her brow and attempts a smirk, not that it's quite as effective - not just because of the filters, but because her cheeks feel warmer than they would be if this was just their private 2am banter. ] Have to wait and find out. [ a beat, and some of that amusement leaves her face. ] Probably... We shouldn't keep talking here.

( it's always been about the subtle things, with him. the things that could be easily missed - blink, and they're gone - and it's no fault of her own, not really, that she hasn't given it a second thought until this happened. a wicked twist of fate more than anything else, of course it would have been something like this to finally have the lightbulbs lighting up in her mind, even if she isn't quite there yet, steps are being taken. progress being made.

more often than not, he is more tied up in the affairs of his brother and the people around the both of them to have the time to devote to others in this capacity. but as it's already been said, thought, there's more time underground than there ever had been for either of them anywhere else, and it's one of the contributing factors of his feelings for her, whether he chooses to acknowledge it or not. there are things he isn't supposed to let himself think about, to dwell on, because they can never be real for him.

everything in his past has shown him that much. but here?

there might just be a break. a crack. something.

he watches her, closely, and he gives the smallest nod at the idea that maybe ... they shouldn't give the whole of the city more ammunition for their teasing. )

Save it for another time? ( it is late, but that's never meant much of anything to either of them. ) Or I could ... bring you that notebook.

[ it is late. and as much as kate insists that she only needs three hours - in the same way a normal human can technically get by on four hours of sleep - she's having to bite back a yawn before she says anything in response. ] The morning? [ the impulse to have him come over does flit through her, a momentary desire for everything to just rewind a bit to when these conversations were just for them and she was blissfully ignorant of all the little moments that keep bubbling in her memory, prodding her and saying really? you missed that?

but ignorance can be shattered so easily, and genies don't go back in their bottles once they're free. so she ignores the impulse, denies the desire for the impossible, and sticks with that offer.

she also doesn't specify which morning. ]

( it's late for both of them, and regardless of how simple it always is to deny that neither of them need the sleep they're so valiantly avoiding, he can feel it in his own bones, deep down in his core, the sort of tiredness that comes from fighting it off for too long. she might not specify which morning, but they should both know that, by now, any invitation like that to be left open-ended will be taken up at the earliest opportunity that pops up.

which is to say that she might find him outside her door in a little over four hours, if she hasn't already left for the clinic, to resume her self-appointed task of taking care of everyone else before herself. )

The morning. ( he echoes, voice soft, and not with sleep. ) Get some rest, yeah?

You too. [ Sam, do you really expect to find her in her flat in the morning? Even if she isn't at the clinic, this is still the same woman who you first met face to face when she dropped off a rooftop in the earliest hours of the day. If she's not at the clinic, she'll be watching the cave get lighter in a mockery of sunrise or running across rooftops until her muscles ache in that pleasant way they always do after a long workout. ]

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