Dinner as a goodbye...

[1stmacleod]

After talking with Jelani in the Nexus, Connor returns to the place he's starting, tentatively, to think of as home base. He tucks the envelope full of money away in his suitcase, and takes roughly two minutes to pack, because he's been living out of it anyway.
Then he goes to the kitchen, and rummages, and gets to work. A chocolate cake comes first, made from scratch. While that's cooling he starts on dinner; chicken breasts stuffed with broccoli and cheese, rice pilaf, a little more steamed broccoli in case what's in the chicken isn't enough.

He has to tell Kairos that he's going back to his world, just long enough to get things in order and talk to Duncan, but he's not sure how long that will be.

After it's over, though, this is where he plans to return to.

Comments

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

And Kairos comes home, decompresses, and kicks off her shoes. She makes her way into the kitchen, following her nose. "Ooh. Gracious! What did I do to deserve this..?"

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

Connor looks a little sheepish, just starting to set the table while things are finishing cooking. 'you didn't do anything' is probably the wrong answer, and he doesn't want his news to sound ominous either, so his first response is a shrug. "It... I needed to... talk to you. And I wanted it to be nice." To make up for the fact that he'll be gone a few days at the very least.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

Her eyebrows raise, and she smiles a little. "This is nice. Really, really nice. Thank you." She'll go ahead and sit down. "So.. what's on your mind, handsome?"

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

He fidgets with the silverware, and sits down too, although in his mind he's timing what's on the stove. "you've... heard me talk about Duncan... and that I... what I tried to make him do?" He can't quite remember what he has and hasn't told her, but he knows she knows who Duncan is, at the very least. "Things are still unresolved between us. He's the last friend I've got, in my world. He's... kin. My true brother..." He's looking awkward, not meeting her eyes.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

She reaches over and places her hand over his. "I'm familiar enough with him. He's alright, isn't he?" she's concerned, not for herself, but for Duncan.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

There's a flicker of worry, just over the thought that might not be the case. His fingers stretch, though, trapping hers between his. "As far as I know, yeah... I try to keep an ear to the ground and watch him from a distance. But he... we haven't talked since..." He shifts guiltily, watching her hand on his. "Since I tried to force him to kill me. He knocked me out and left me there- and I don't blame him." He wants to be clear on that last point. "That was five years ago. I owe him more than an apology. I owe him more than I can ever give. But I have to go try to tell him I'm sorry, at least..." His shoulders are slumped, as if the burden of guilt is a physical one. This is one of the bigger matters that's been tearing him up inside, and it needs to be dealt with.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"I.. bet he knew you were there. You said you know when there's another like you around, right?" She agrees with him, though. "You do need to come to terms with that. Talk to him, see if he agrees with you or if you've exiled yourself for no reason."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"The last five years, you mean?" He shakes his head. "I've been listening, watching the news, mostly from across the Atlantic." He looks sheepish over this, but once he landed in America, he ran out of funds to go back. "We have to get close to sense each other. Fifteen to twenty meters, at a maximum."

His other hand comes up on the table, and he begins to play with her fingers gently. "He must hate me. I'd hate me, if I were in his position. Heh... I do hate me, a lot of the time. But I have to at least try to apologize."

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"Oh." It's her turn to look sheepish. "I keep seeing you in your coat, watching wistfully from afar. Silly of me, sorry." She shrugs a little, grins at their fingers. "I doubt you'd hate Duncan if he asked that of you, but you'd be angry. I'd be angry. But you should try to apologize, yeah. Before ten years pass."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

He's done that before, too, especially back in the days when the world wasn't full of interconnected information. "No, I... could never hate Duncan." He holds himself to a different standard than everyone else, though.

The way he's playing with her fingers is shy and childish and uncertain, like a teenager who's afraid to go a step further and get rejected. "I know I do. I've been putting it off because... I don't know. I guess I'm a coward. But the girl I've been giving sword lessons to loaned me some money, and I... need to go back to my world. Get things in order."

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"I don't think you're a coward. You couldn't do what you do if you were." And then what he says sinks in, and she frowns, pulling her hand back. "So that's why you cooked such a nice dinner. This is goodbye. You're going home."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"I don't say goodbye, and it's not... home. It hasn't been for a long time." He doesn't grab at her, but he does watch her pull back, soulfully, worried. "But I can't abandon Duncan. Maybe... maybe he'd like the Nexus, and I need to do something about my car. I thought... it might be a few days. I'm not sure how long. It might... take a week." He looks a little anxious. "But if you... don't want me coming back here, after..." Because he thought she would, but now he's getting mixed signals.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

She's sort of avoiding his eyes. She isn't sure what she'd see there. "I don't want you to abandon Duncan. Or anyone." Her, for example. "I just.. figured you'd stay once you mended things with him. I guessed.." she shrugs. "Dunno what I thought. You never unpacked, so I figured you weren't planning on staying." She chews on her bottom lip for a minute, trying to get up courage. "I want you to come back. But I want you to be happy. Happyish, anyway." She wants him to be happy coming back to her, but she doesn't have that much bravery stored up to say that out loud.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

Connor's not so dense that he doesn't start to figure this one out, after a quiet moment of thought. "Duncan has his own life. I... need to talk to him, but even if he forgives me... Well, I thought I'd tell him about this place, but I'm not going to live with him. They did, for years, back when Duncan was his student. Now, it would just be weird and they'd end up grousing at each other. Plus Duncan would get all the women.

He reaches for her hand again gently. "I was going to sell the car because I won't need it anymore, if I'm... staying here." He smiles sheepishly, looking down. "I'm scared to get involved with you, but not scared enough to run away. I just need to take it a little slow. But I need to get things in order because I was planning to come back here." His other hand runs through his hair, making it stick out worse. "And I live out of the suitcase because I only have six shirts and two pairs of jeans. It looks pathetic if I stick it in a drawer."

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"Oh." Well. Now. Doesn't she feel stupid. She squeezes his hand. "I see. You make valid points. We can go very very slow, as long as you don't mind me stealing kisses ever so often."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

He lets out a breath, smiles a little, and then rises out of his chair enough to lean over and beat her to it. The kiss is a gentle one, but he means it.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

She kisses him back, just as sweetly. "Mmm." And once the first kiss is done, and they've breathed, she kisses him again, letting herself taste him. "Figure if you're allowed to get a kiss in, so'm I."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

He tastes more like coffee and tea, today, instead of scotch, but he needs a shave again. She can steal a few kisses, then he draws away reluctantly. "I've got to get things off the stove. You'll still eat dinner, right?" He worked hard to make it.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"Mmhm. You will too. If I'm not there, I can't make sure you eat well." And if he's nervous about going to see Duncan, she knows he won't eat much.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

He looks sheepish, going to turn off the burners. He probably won't eat as much as he should, but he'll try. Duncan's probably going to prod him about it, though, so she shouldn't worry too much. They're both good cooks. "I promise, I'll try to behave myself." He smirks a little, but he means that.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

Kairos leans back, steeples her fingers. "Mmmhm. I'll try to behave myself, too." Pause. "Do you have a cell phone?"

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"No, sorry... I... haven't had anybody to call." He gives her a weak smile from over by the stove. The last time he was in a position to have a cell phone, they were big, clunky things. He knows times have changed, but with no money and no friends...

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"Mm. It's okay." She just will worry while he's gone. She might have one for him when he gets back, though. "When were you planning on leaving?"

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"I have a PINpoint, but I'm still learning how to use it..." He transfers broccoli and rice to dishes while the chicken cools. "I don't know, before I lose my nerve again. Tomorrow, I guess." Theoretically he should get a good night's sleep first, although that's unlikely to work out well.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"So.. one more night with me, huh. For a while." She gets up from the table to get drinks. She's craving carbonation, so she gets Pepsi for herself. "What d'you want to drink?" She peers at him from around the fridge door.