Kitty & Jean-Paul | Sunday Afternoon

[xp-northstar.livejournal.com]

Kitty gets some unasked for advice. Jean-Paul gets a dance date for tonight.


Exiting the suite's bathroom, Jean-Paul rubbed his towel through his hair before hanging it around his bare shoulders. It was nice, being able to take a shower in the shower. His suitemate's eccentricities concerning the washing and storage of cutlery and plates were unfathomable, but he would not hold them against her. She was, overall, a very pleasant suitemate to have.

Humming the chorus to "Shake It Off," he meandered into the kitchen.

Kitty was sitting on the counter with her legs crossed, a pint of ice cream balancing precariously on her left thigh as she licked the spoon she was holding. She squinted at Jean-Paul, then shrugged and went back to eating.

"Bonjour," Jean-Paul said, raising his eyebrows at the pint of ice cream. It was mint chocolate chip, which he very much enjoyed... so he got himself a spoon, propped his hip up against the counter, and scooped out a spoonful for himself. "It is not even dinner yet. Why are we eating ice cream?"

"Because I'm thinking about dating. And when I think about relationships, it makes me want to stuff my face," Kitty said, cheerfully taking another bite. "Don't worry. I'll dance it off."

Nodding sagely, Jean-Paul said, "Ah yes. Dating. This is a good reason to eat ice cream. I will put on dance music for you later. For now." He ate his scoop of ice cream. "Who are we thinking of dating?"

"Um. A guy." Kitty swallowed. She flushed, kicking at the cabinet below. "I've known him before, but not for a long time. And I dunno... the last relationship I was in... it got..." She fell silent, thinking.

"Hm..." Jean-Paul dug out another scoop of ice cream. "Tell me more."

"Toxic," Kitty said finally. She slid off the counter and handed Jean-Paul the ice cream. "Grant and I... we were together off and on for years. Five of 'em, actually. He wanted to get married. I never said yes. And that ate at him, at both of us. He never believed he was good enough for me and... after a while, it changed us."

She stared into the distance, her hand gently falling to her stomach and cradling the swell of something that was no longer there.

For all that he was a self-centered ass half the time, even Jean-Paul could see that there was more to this than simply a toxic relationship. The movement, the motion -- he looked toward the ceiling for a moment for no reason other than that he needed to decide how he would handle this situation.

Finally, putting the ice cream and his spoon down on the counter, the Quebecois turned so he faced Kitty properly and took her face between his cold palms. "You must tell me the happy things so that I may live vicariously through your wondrous experiences with whomever it is you are considering dating. Because I have very good sex, please do not mistake me, but it is not a relationship. I... how do you say it? I actively avoid them. Relationships. Also, there is a thing I have seen. It says..." He paused and frowned. "Do not look to the past, that is not where you are going. Which seems very short-sighted, oui? But, the past. It must... it must inform your present and your future without preventing you from moving forward."

She smiled but there was a note of sharpness in it. "I don't know... he shouldn't be what kept me from moving ahead. The thing is, Grant became my fall-back in a way. He was always there to go back to when everything else failed."

Kitty sighed. "And I know we weren't good to each other or for each other but at least he was there. Until he wasn't." She shook her head. "The thing is, when we started, it was good. And I've thought about it and thought about it and I don't know what happened. It was so gradual... it was like I turned around one day and we'd become two different people. Two different, hateful people and I didn't even know how it happened or who those people were."

She swallowed. "That's what I'm afraid of. Losing myself. Not to someone else but to the person I might become."

Jean-Paul squished Kitty's cheeks together briefly just to make her make the fish face. Then he released her with a negligent shrug and said, "This is a fear for everyone, is it not? Your experiences make it more heightened for you, but we are human. Changing is what we do."

"I know... it's just." She sighed. "You know, I've never really dated someone who felt like a best friend first. I don't want to fuck it up."

"I have never had a best friend to date," Jean-Paul said. "But I think I also would not like to fuck it up, as you say." He frowned, then shrugged. "But friends, the best ones, at least -- they are more forgiving of things? And more understanding, oui? Maybe? I am not so good at this part of the advice. Please, ask me about blowjobs or anal sex. I am very good with both of those."

"Oh?" Kitty grinned. "Maybe you can give me pointers."

Expression very serious, Jean-Paul asked, "Is he circumcised, or no?"

"I haven't asked," Kitty said.

"You must."

"And how am I going to bring that up exactly?"

"Like this," Jean-Paul said. He cleared his throat, then began speaking in a terrible approximation of an American accent. "Hello! I'm attempting to get help from a very knowledgeable, caring, handsome friend about blowjobs because I would like to give you one. To make sure my knowledgeable, caring, handsome friend gives me the best advice possible, I need to know whether or not you're circumcised. Are you?" He raised his eyebrows at Kitty.

"Ummm..." Kitty paused. "Maybe you should just ask for me. Since you're so good at it and all."

"Tell me who this person is," Jean-Paul said. "I will do this thing for you."

"Oh, I really don't think you want to have that conversation with Scott." Kitty said.

Tilting his head to the side, Jean-Paul considered Kitty for a moment, then shrugged. "He is attractive. I approve."

"There's more to it than looks, y'know." She wrinkled her nose at him.

Jean-Paul rolled his eyes, though he was smiling a little as he did so. "He is a competent leader? I approve. He seems very sincere? I approve. He is athletic? I approve."

Kitty sighed loudly. "Whatever." She pinched her stomach and wrinkled her nose again. "Though given the state of things, it might be better if he wasn't athletic. Everything my mother warned me would happen in my thirties is coming to pass." She grinned, half-gleeful, half-repentant.

"Pah," Jean-Paul said, shaking his head. "If you tell me we should not be eating ice cream now, I will be very disappointed, oui? We are dancing later, are we not? It is simple. More dancing will balance out more ice cream and whatever it is your mother has said of your thirties."

"Well, previously she's said I'm going to die alone unless I at least learn how to commit to a cat or something. But I'm here so obviously, that isn't happening," Kitty said. "Pass me the bucket."

Smirking as he picked up the ice cream and handed it to Kitty, Jean-Paul said, "Very good. We can die alone together."