xp_logs | Kevin & Nate | Thursday afternoon

Nathan sets wheels in motion to keep Kevin right where he is. Kevin smites Nathan for his logic. Again.

It was business hours so Kevin didn't bother much with the bell or knocking. Instead he just poked his head through the doorway into the boathouse and smiled at Juliette when he saw her. After finding out that Nathan was apparently possibly going insane, as usual, in the office, Kevin headed that way. Clearly having spent quite a bit of time with Yvette lately, Kevin set an apple down on top of the stack of papers in front of Nathan and grinned. "Heya bossman. Ah hear you're edgin' closer to clinically insane."

"Now, whatever would give you that impression?" Nathan asked wryly, shifting a file from one pile to another. He was badly behind, still. Not that he regretted any of the time he'd spent with Jean-Paul over
the last few weeks.

"Ah dunno, probably the towerin' stack-o-files that Ah can barely see ya over. Ah know I'm not that tall, but Ah ain't that short either." Kevin purposely went up on his tip toes and stretched upward so he could look down at Nathan as if he couldn't see him over the files otherwise.

"Very funny," Nathan said tolerantly, waving at the nearest chair. "So, to what do I owe the actual visit? I was beginning to think you were going to keep telecommuting even while you were here."

Kevin dropped down into the indicated chair and shrugged. "Well, Ah wasn't 'bout to leave 'Vette while she had the inhibitor on and," and he was still so worried about her that he might as well have been her overprotective mother or brother. "Anyway, mostly wanted to say 'hi' and make sure Ah'm not making too much noise. Sorta appropriated some expanse of grass between here and the woods to work on stuff without bein' holed up inside and Ah wanted to make sure the hammerin' and sawin' wasn't interruptin' you. 'Cause Ah can move it along somewhere else. Ah miss my workshed out at the Annex."

"Haven't even noticed," Nathan said mildly. "But I'm glad to hear you're keeping up with your art while you're here." His smile was somewhat crooked. "I know it's dearer to your heart than my paperwork, shocking as the idea may be..."

"Oh, but Ah'm working on a way to incorporate 'em both," Kevin said, tone light and attempting to keep a grin off his face. "It's sort like a furnace with an eternal flame. And the paperwork, it gets fed to it in a ritual sacrifice kinda way."

"You might get your coworkers trying to outbid each other for that one," Nathan said with a snort. "So how much longer can we expect you to stick around on the wrong coast?"

"Dunno. Probably not much longer. Mostly just making sure Yvette adjusts back to bein' her alright." But he wasn't sure she'd really be adjusted for a while. "Ran into an art teacher from Salem Community who tried to convince me to take a metalworking class there. Might see if there's anything out by Fallbrook like that, seems like a good idea. Y'know, going back to art classes and stuff. Or blacksmith classes."

"If you don't mind me asking," Nathan said, leaning forward a little in his chair, "why are you going back to the West Coast?"

"Why wouldn't Ah?" Maybe that wasn't the best argument Kevin could have come up with. He sighed and leaned back in the chair. "The only control Ah've ever really had over my powers Ah got there. Less people. Quiet. Ah get left alone and all Ah gotta do is art and training and therapy. It's peaceful. Ah don't gotta be hyperaware of who is around me all the time and whether or not they know to pay attention and not bump into me. Ah don't hafta wear eighty layers of clothes when it's hot out 'cause if Ah'm outside workin' people'll leave me alone."

"All very good reasons. And if you still feel you need that... well, I'll give you a ride to the airport myself." Nathan paused. "I'm just... wondering if you do still need it. If you need more training, more therapy, it's the best place in the world. But if you're staying there because it's comfortable... it's not meant for that. It's a place to take a break from the world when you need it, not an end in itself."

"It fits better. Ah dunno that the mansion fits." Or maybe it was just that there were so many people around all the time that Kevin was just terminally uncomfortable and on edge because of it. Some people would argue that was exactly why he should be at the mansion. Kevin would rather not force that and suffer through it again though.

Nathan raised both hands, palms up. "Your decision to make," he said, easily enough. "But the Annex can't fit permanently. That's all I'm saying. Sooner or later, you're going to come back into the world, and find a way to live in it."

"Y'know, maybe Ah'd be more enthusiastic about comin' back into the world if Ah had more choices than the Annex, mansion, or Muir. Ah mean, seriously, who wants to go back into their little cage when they get a cage that at least feels bigger?" Maybe that was what it was for Kevin. The mansion had been seen as a cage for too long for him to think of it as anything else.

"The cage isn't going to last forever," Nathan pointed out. "What happens when the three years is up? Or your genetic counselor decides to make it official that you're not a threat to the people around you?"

"Ah move to the Colorado Rockies and become a mountain man," Kevin replied flippantly. He hadn't honestly thought about what came after. All those options he would have were overwhelming and until they were really there Kevin couldn't grasp even having options. Being able to go and do whatever he wanted. It was crazy.

"All I'm saying is, it might be worth starting to think about how to ease your way back into a more crowded environment. You've been making progress, from the sounds of it. You can't expect yourself to go from these restrictions to absolute freedom successfully, not when you've been caught up in them for so long. Preparation equals success," Nathan said, not quite facetiously. "I wish I'd had some support in adapting to life outside Mistra. I probably wouldn't have done a tenth of the crazy shit I did."

"So what's your excuse for all the crazy stuff you're still doing'," Kevin asked with a bit of a smirk. Then he sobered a bit. "Yeah, you're probably right. Ah hate when you're right. All logical and stuff. Ah dunno. Ah'll think 'bout it. Last time Ah left Catseye made me promise to come back." Which was odd, because the catgirl didn't know him nearly well enough to be all that attached to him he thought.

"You know you have people here who'd like to see more of you," Nathan said. "Might work to ease the transition a little."

"Hope your paperwork's not among them," Kevin quipped, then deflated in his chair. He pulled in a deep breath, held it for a moment and then let it out all at once in an exhale. "Ah'm gonna pretend Ah'm still thinkin' 'bout it, okay? And that you're not using stuff against me you know'll work and stuff. Gonna tell myself there's lots of reasons to go back still." Pretend because the more Kevin thought about it Nathan had a point. And there was no way to keep an eye on Yvette and make sure she was relatively okay without being here.

"Hey," Nathan said mildly. "Just rambling over here. Ignore me completely if you like." But as he turned his attention back to his paperwork, there was a suspicious glint in his eye.

"Uh-huh." Kevin didn't sound convinced. "Just ignore the man behind the curtain, right?" He stood up, shaking his head. There was a small smile hiding on his lips, though. "I'ma go get to work on that furnace, then."