From our window we could see

[velveteened]

Date & Time: June 24, 8 pm
Location: Unit 403
Characters: Kate Kane, Gilbert Nightray, and Oz Vessalius
Summary: Gilbert offers to make Kate dinner. Oz wants to meet his mysterious lady friend.
Warnings: SHENANIGANS

( he'd been curious.

gil had been acting really strangely, oddly surprised at oz coming to the apartment at this time. oz had only wanted to ask about something trivial and not so important it needed to really be dealt with now; but the fact that gilbert had asked just that -

if it really can't wait, if oz can't make do for a bit, he can't go anywhere right now but later...!

- had made oz decide to change his plans.

so gilbert is now off to search nearby shops and stalls for a local specialty, because rhubarb berries are totally real and being sold nearby but if he doesn't hurry he'll miss out for the whole rest of the summer!!!! - and oz waits to investigate just what it is gil had been expecting. )

Comments

[gevurah]

[ Gil seems like one of those guys that can't take a no for an answer. At least he's relatively harmless, so she agreed to come along and drop by his room. She hadn't realized he was Collette's roommate; where was he when the girl had collapsed? She isn't angry at him, but she does wonder if he ever wondered about her.

Though a part of her does wonder if he's actually asked her out in a not so subtle way.

Not aware of what's about to happen, she knocks on the door and steps back, thumbs hooking onto either side of the waist of her bright jeans (red, of course) and waits. ]

[velveteened]

( his vision is better by now, but not quite all there; so when he opens the door - (maybe gil had been expecting someone after all) - he pauses and blinks for just a moment.

he'd been teasing when he'd suggested that gil might be meeting a lady behind his back. )

Ah - hello!

[gevurah]

[ She nearly does a double-take when a fifteen year old greets her at the door. It's too easy to pass her surprise off as it not being Gil or Collette who answered the door when in reality this kid looks like almost like a replica of that man she ran into at the hospital.

The one unplugging patients.

She hadn't realized he had family here. ]

Hello.

[velveteened]

( he takes the obvious answer for her surprise - that she wouldn't have been expecting him - and asks, )

Let me guess! Are you looking for Gil?

[gevurah]

I am. [ She surveys the kid briefly. ] He said to come by for dinner.

[velveteened]

( which would explain the extra stew, he thinks, stepping out of the doorway to wave her in. )

I'm sorry, you can come in. He had to get something, but I'm sure he'll be back soon.

( hopefully )

[gevurah]

[ She lingers an extra few seconds. Is it a good idea? It's weird to be in someone else's apartment with a kid. ]

I can always come back another time.

[velveteened]

Well, you could. But then he'd feel reaaaally guilty about it and call you to apologize a lot, later, and probably bake you a cake, too, just to be sure.

( he figures if she knows gil at all, she'll probably know that he's actually not exaggerating. do you want to take that risk, kate? )

[gevurah]

[ This definitely feels like a trap. She exhales a sigh through her nose and nods, making her way into the apartment. She doesn't inspect anything the way a newcomer would, indicating she's actually vaguely familiar with it. ]

Collette's not home?

[velveteened]

She is.

( he shuts the door with some care behind her, turning back to face her )

But she's resting in her room.

[gevurah]

[ She nods, her thumbs still hooked onto the sides of her jeans. ]

That's good. She doing better?

Oh... I'm Kate.

[velveteened]

She's getting there.

( he'd say something about how it's taking longer since she got pretty sick in the first place if he were talking to someone familiar, but as it is he takes a lighter tack. )

I'm sure she can't wait to get better and talk to everyone more, though.

I'm Oz. It's nice to meet you.

[gevurah]

[ And she doesn't have any news on Marty or CTSV. Best not to disturb her then and bring up that topic.

Her gaze falls back on Oz. It's uncanny really, those eyes and even the shade of blond. Then Gil might know about the man from the hospital. She'll consider asking later.

Gil's master is a teenager. It's a bit strange. ]

It's nice to meet you, too. How long did you say Gil was going to be out for?

[velveteened]

Not for much longer.

( that she's looking is something he can tell, but whether at him - which would be odd - or something else is difficult for him to tell. )

...if I can ask, how do you know him?

( it's the kind of thing that could be asked in a demanding way, but it's genuine curiosity that colors his tone. there's a thought from something gil said once, but it's entirely possible he knows more than one woman.






maybe. )

[gevurah]

We helped each other out recently. [ There's nothing else to it. He helped her and she repaid the favor. She would ask if he's doing better himself, not sure if Gil's been lying to her, but she doesn't want to set off an uneasiness already. ]

[retraced]

[It hadn't been easy to find rhubarb berries. After a quick sprint to the market, Gilbert had gone to five different fruit vendors until someone bothered to both acknowledge his presence and also show him his wares. The berries...well. They look like berries, it's true, but he has to wonder just why Oz has developed a taste for them. A taste that was so demanding that he'd been forced out of the house in order to go find it while Kate was supposed to arrive soon. He just hopes he's back with enough time to spare so he can throw this bag into Oz's hands and get him back to his apartment before she shows up.

He bursts in through the door, damp from the rain and breathing harder from his run. Good physical shape or not, his lungs still ache from recent events and his pant legs are wet from splashing through puddles. He's hardly the most attractive he's ever been.]

Oz? I finally found the rhu--

[He appears in the doorway, triumphantly holding the bag up in front of his face, but immediately falters and slumps forward at the sight of his young master and his guest sitting together.

Damn. He was too slow after all.

ps: the 'rhubarb berries' are really just mutated raspberries. Maybe he'll figure out later that he was just blatantly ripped off.]

Ah...g-good evening...?

[velveteened]

( we helped each other out recently.

that certainly seems to match up with the 'woman' gil had mentioned that oz had teased him about. he opens his mouth to say something on it -

- when gilbert bursts in. he turns and offers a blithe wave. )

Ah, there you are.

[gevurah]

[ Kate's a little startled by his appearance. She looks between Oz and Gil (what the hell is this kid not telling her?) and then she lifts a hand in greeting herself. ]

Welcome back.

[ She wonders if she should get up and help him. ]

You need a minute?

[retraced]

I -

[At first he can't comprehend what she means by that, but all of a sudden he realizes how ridiculous he looks standing here awkwardly holding a bag of whatever-it-was that Oz asked for. But the realization hits him a second later, and he quickly drops his hand, moves over to Oz's side and drops the bag down in front of him.

The damage is done, he supposes. There's nothing else to do except to try not to look embarrassed about his bad timing and the teasing that he knows he's sure to get after all of this is said and done. Face flushed, he keeps his head bowed with his hair covering his eyes as he mutters:]

Yeah. Sorry. Please, excuse me one second.

[And then turns to hurry out of the room. brb, weeping bitterly into hands.]

[velveteened]

( he catches the bag as gil drops it, opening it and having a look - or more like a smell, really - inside. so gil really did find rhubarb berries! that or someone claiming to sell them anyway, but regardless he won't object to relatively fresh berries.

with this, he considers leaving - he's mostly found out what he wanted to know, in any case - but not before gil gets back. it'd be rude to leave a guest alone! )

[gevurah]

[ Well, this is just getting more and more awkward. ]

Are you sure I didn't come at a bad time? [ Gil looked partly horrified just now. ] I can come back another time, really.

[velveteened]

I'm sure! The stew should be ready, anyway.

( he'd first walked in while gil was finishing off making that, after all. )

[gevurah]

Do you need help setting up the table, then?

[ She should be polite... nothing's tested her patience yet. ]

[retraced]

[Elsewhere in the apartment, Kate and Oz will hear a muffled gaaah! followed by the sound of someone falling over against the wall. Pay it no mind, changing pants is hard when you're in a hurry.]

[velveteened]

( gil r u ok.

normally he couldn't possibly let a lady, or something like that, but as things are he hesitates and nods. )

That's alright with you?