xp_logs | Kurt and Topaz || Sunday Afternoon

Kurt finds Topaz partaking in some solo gymnastics down in the gym, and the two catch up.

The gym wasn't exactly a common place to find Topaz, but she was there today, low music playing in the background as she walked along the tumble mats, dressed in work-out clothes with her hair pulled back. She'd never outright admitted it to Matt, but going to classes with him over the summer had sparked an interest in gymnastics. Not that she was good at it, but she could manage hand stands and basic balancing. It was a start.

She took a breath to center herself, eyes closed, before leaning over and pushing up into a handstand. Usually when she was alone she balanced back against the wall since no one was there to spot her, but she was feeling daring today.

Kurt visited the gym at least once a day, and stepped in quietly - then paused in the doorway to watch. The last thing he wanted to do was interrupt and make her fall over.

He was quiet, but one could never really quell all their emotions - not even Kurt. Topaz tilted her head around to look at the door, smiling when she saw him. "Hullo." Her arms were starting to protest, so she dropped back down to the mat, settling into a sitting position with her legs curled under herself.

"Hello, Topaz." He smiled back. "How are you today? Trying a new skill?"

"I'm alright, just messin' around." One thing she liked about gymnastics was that it required concentration and it tired her out. Moving in with Maddie had helped the insomnia in leaps and bounds, but she still had problems sleeping sometimes. Being tired at the end of the day helped a lot. "Do you need the gym? I can clear out."

"The gym is quite big enough for both of us", he pointed out easily. "No need to leave on my account."

"True enough." She looked around for a moment before focusing back on Kurt. "How're you?" She asked suddenly. It had been quite a while since she'd spoken to him - she'd gotten too caught up in life.

"Very well", he said with an honestly contented smile. "And yourself?"

"Good, actually." The answer still surprised her sometimes. Everything with Molly last month had tripped her up a bit (understandably so), but she was getting back on track again. "Really good. Strangely enough."

"I am glad." It was sincere. "You have not been struggling so much with your empathy?"

"Had a couple slip ups," she admitted, but it wasn't like the thing with Molly was a huge secret or anything. "Nothing as bad as it could be though." And they both knew how bad it could get.

"You must not blame yourself, given how hard you have been trying", he said gently. "Especially not when those slip ups happen in your sleep."

"I know." She sighed, giving her ponytail a small tug. "And I know I shouldn't keep harpin' on it so much, but I keep thinkin' about what could've happened if my roommate had been anyone but Molly."

Kurt nodded. "Of course, it is natural. But your roommate was Molly, and she is fine, and now we know that it can happen."

Topaz moved a hand to scrub her eyes for a second before abruptly changing topics. "Sleepin' a lot better now though. So I mean...silver linin' and all that." She'd never exactly been the optimistic type, but in this case it was the only thing keeping her from going mad.

"I am very pleased to hear it. What do you think has brought that on?"

"I think part of it has somethin' to do with havin' a roommate who can shield. And I've been doin' more of this lately." She waved her hand around the gym, indicating the mats she was sitting on. "Helps if I'm actually tired when I go to try and sleep."

Kurt nodded. "Tiring yourself out can be a good thing, if done in combination with other things. You must take care of yourself at the same time."

"Oh yeah, of course," Topaz said quickly. "Stayin' hydrated, eatin' right and all that, I'm doin' it." Okay eating was sometimes questionable. But she knew her limits and she never let herself go long enough for it to be bad.

"Good." He grinned. "I would not want to have to set Amelia on you."

"Definitely not." Topaz shuddered. She hadn't seen Amelia as much during her time in the Box, but she had seen her enough. She wasn't easily intimidated, but the Russian doctor just had a way about her. "I'm good, thanks." But she was smiling again.

"And taking an interest in gymnastics", he said after a moment, briskly. "How long have you been practising?"

"Uh...off and on here and there for about a year, but I don't know if you can really call it practicin'." She shrugged. "Matt started draggin' me down here to teach me and get me out of the library, then over the summer I went with him to some of his classes and I just enjoyed it so I kept kinda goin' on my own."

"That is the way many people fall into it." He tilted his head, considering. "Would you like to learn more seriously?"

She perked up a bit at that, interest flashing through her eyes. "Yeah. Definitely." She had no hopes of ever really being good at it, but learning more certainly couldn't hurt right?

"Then I will happily teach you. And I have been doing gymnastics since before I could walk, so I can take you as far as you may be interested in going."

That had her properly excited, and it actually showed in her expression. "That'd be brilliant. Thank you so much."

Kurt grinned, happy to see her light up that way. "We can start whenever you like."

She looked sideways for a moment before looking back at Kurt with a small smile. "Can we start now?" Hey, they were both in the gym, it made sense...

He laughed at that, warmly amused. "Of course we can. I had come in here for a work-out, it may as well just be a different kind."

Topaz was definitely smiling - it may have even almost been a grin - as she scrambled up. "Brilliant."