paradisalost | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: Spike Spiegel (

gottaknockhard) and Kate Kane (

soldarius)
What: Meeting up at the right time always.
When: Pre-Paris
Where: The City
Rating: PG-13

There were a lot of reasons to hate the holidays. Before it was more the annoying music and crowds that made it preferable to spend them in a spaceship with four or less people -- now he was coming up with an entirely new set of grievances. Thanksgiving had played a big part in Spike's growing inability to tolerate magic dictating his life, so by the time the Christmas kissing magic started, he was done pretending to be alright with it.

The original plan to spend a month hidden with Julia in a freezing cabin backfired spectacularly after the first few days. If anything, it made his uneasy relationship with her that much more uncertain; which was frustrating on enough levels that he preferred to spend his time wandering the snowy streets just to keep his sanity in check. (It had nothing to do with the bar he'd been patronizing sending him packing after his welcome wore out, as it tended to do when he didn't offer to pay his tab. Everyone is so generous this time of year.)

Eventually, Spike would have to think about finding a place to stay before he broke down and went to the castle. It was one of those problems that he felt he could put off until an opportunity presented itself. As much as he cared about it, there was nothing that aimless wandering couldn't solve.

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It really was a shame that Spike couldn't read minds; he'd actually like to fight someone without mystical powers for once. Although he was understandably suspicious around that woman. Even he had a hard time ignoring the mask and cape entirely, but he managed.

"Yeah. The castle must've really spoiled the economy." From the looks of it, he wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying. Sounded good anyway. At the moment he seemed more concerned about shaking the snow out of his hair. (Could be annoying if he got sick while proving a point.)

She's not quite sure if he's attempting to humor her, or that he's only talking for the sake of talking. While it wasn't Gotham, the cowl (her uniform) still had interesting affects on those in Paradisa, native or not. It did take away some of the power that fear could produce, however she could not allow that to distract or even stop her from carrying out her duty every night.

"It tends to meddle in everything, hm?"

Maybe a little of both. Spike didn't have anything better to do, which he counted as a good thing. Waste time until the month was over and the holiday cheer had grown stale, then he'd think about it.

"Just about." He gave up on getting all the snow off of himself a few seconds later. He'd just deal with being cold until he got inside. "Tis the season, or whatever."

"Not one for the holidays?" Somewhat odd to her. Somewhat.

He probably had a sad childhood tale to explain this, but it wouldn't be the real reason. Happy people are annoying, and the castle always makes them extra hard to ignore.

"Not enough to dress up for them." -- Well, he'd held that comment back long enough.

It amused her but for a fleeting moment; she was used to the commentary on her uniform, here and back in Gotham. People thought they were clever, taking a dig at it, but the reality was Kate had stopped caring about personal jabs at her choice of appearances the moment she had been separated from the army.

But...

"You'd be mistaken for thinking this is seasonal." Could be he had never seen any of the others.

It was one of those things. Costumes got you attention, and as far as Spike knew, that was the only reason people wore them. They just seemed a lot more popular here year round than they were back in his time.

"I thought I might have seen it before." Up in a tree. Should have told her then that it didn't make for very convincing camouflage.

They could probably do this all night, but she was hardly interested in the conversation when she needed to get back to patrolling. Knowing her luck, she figured she would spot Allen somewhere eventually.

But as she shifted, from the corner of her eye she caught a tiny light -- glowing quite brightly in the dimness of the area. She began to move again, this time in the opposite direction of the fairy, but it was quick and the next thing she knew, there was specks of gold dust falling upon her and her train of thought came to a screeching halt.

Without wasting another second, she leaped over the railing and descended toward Spike.

Spike had thought he'd been successfully boring enough to overcome any suspicions about him hanging out alone in a snowy alleyway, but his odds always were stacked against him. He didn't move when she started coming towards him, seemingly not bothered at all by it. The weird thing was that he couldn't quite figure out what she wanted. A fight or information; both of which seemed to be a stretch to get out of any random stranger. Could be she was just lonely and not picky at all about her company.

Then again, people in masks are always big on the mystery.

"It's probably warmer though, huh?" He can carry on pointless casual conversations at even the most awkward times. Yet noticing little glowing balls of magic hovering above him? Doesn't seem to pick up on his radar.

He really needed to start paying attention, especially around holidays.

Kate is only focused on him now and she landed a few feet away, hardly missing a beat as she reached for his collar to yank him into a kiss.

It certainly shouldn't be as much of a surprise when these things happen around Christmas, and yet his guard was still down enough that he only did a half turn and dropped his cigarette as Kate latched onto him. To his credit, Spike managed to know something was wrong and started to pull back before the fairies overhead got to him.

Didn't take long to convince him. Spike always had been unfortunately passionate when magic was involved, and her skin was as warm as he imagined. (Conversely, Spike probably tasted like a cold bar ashtray, but that was the rub.) The only thing getting in the way was that damned mask, and his hands slowly slid up the side of her face...

It was at that moment, by either sheer luck or unfortunate timing, the magic wears off and her mind is flooded with warning signals. It wasn't as much instinct as it was a trained reaction to get away from someone when their hands were dangerously close to her face.

The magic seemed just as slow to leave Spike as it did to get to him. He was already pulling the mask back with one hand while he had his face angled to reach the exposed part of her skin. It'd all be incredibly romantic given the right circumstances.

Unlike at that moment, when it was wrong and about to be incredibly awkward as he finally came to.

She's in a bind; there's no time for her to maneuver and grab his arm, and either snap the wrist or even toss him to the side. She could already feel the mask slipping off and the cold air hitting the exposed skin.

Having no other choice, she pulled back, reluctantly allowing the mask to be pried off and she somersaulted several feet away, her face turned.

Which left a confused Spike with a mask in his hand when the magic finally did wear off. -- So that happened again. Why did that happen again? It doesn't seem to matter how far away he got from the castle, they never left him alone.

It bothered him a hell of a lot more than he let show, but he had some other issues right now.

"Ah, sorry." He held the mask up, and sounded genuinely apologetic for the whole thing after she jumped back. Maybe the costume had more of a purpose than he thought. "That's been going around."

She felt... exposed. So far, this month has been one unpleasant event after another and the last thing she needed was her identity compromised, even by someone like Spike.

She kept her face turned, sticking to the shadows and quietly huffed, "Drop it."

Get the mask back, was her only thought.

You'd think Kate wasn't the one who approached him. Although, to be fair, not many people reacted positively to being magically forced into things. At least that made her more sane than what appearances would dictate.

"Here." Who knows why he did it, other than a passing curiosity, but Spike threw the mask up above her head. Either he overshot, or he thought it might get her attention before she noticed the light catching her face.

Maybe something that would tell him why she seemed so familiar.

She suspected Spike had his own suspicions on her. Even with the wig still on (by a miracle), one look at her face and it was over. But the mask went over her head and though she followed it with her eyes as far as she could, she was too close to the light.

She didn't want to waste any explosives in her utility belt. Attracting attention was the last thing she wanted.

Kate stood still silently for about a minute, then finally turned, allowing the light to catch her face. Her eyes narrowed and her lips a thin line, she gazed hard at Spike, locking with his eyes.

"..." Suddenly it all clicked with him. He didn't say her name, but there was recognition in his eyes by the time she met his. It was the kind of information he wasn't sure what to do with once he had. If anything, it made the girl who had spent so much time badgering him, who had some strange interest in his affiliations, all the more mysterious.

On the other hand, it nearly made sense. Could be she thought of herself as a vigilante and had a sixth sense for certain types of people. That'd be a good enough reason not to tell him about it.

Dead silence.

Whether or not this was Gotham, it didn't matter. It never mattered if crime was active, or she had enemies -- none of that mattered when it came to protecting her identity. All it takes is one slip-up before everyone around you is compromised. (Despite breaking off her alliance with Damian and Stephanie, she had to protect them as well.) A grave mistake she could not afford anywhere.

But Spike was unreadable -- unpredictable at best. Whatever his intentions were, it was not knowing that was maddening. Suddenly, she was flooded with old feelings and fears the night Alice kidnapped her father. It was the nauseating rush and then the gaps between her memory that put her on edge before Spike.

Once again not instinct but trained reactions kicked in and she turned on her heel to snatch back up her mask, cape billowing out behind her. She scooped it into her arm and with the other, her grappling hook shot out onto a rooftop, launching herself upward. It too only seconds before the trail of red and black vanished into the cover of the shadows.

Edited 2011-12-30 11:43 (UTC)

That was the kind of reaction he should have seen coming. It was one of the few possibilities anyway, and might have been the best option. After all, if she'd tried to kill him, he wouldn't have entirely liked crossing that line. (Sure that would have been a little over the top on her part, but you never can tell what someone will do when their cover is blown.)

Spike hung around for some time after she left. One more thing to weigh on his mind, or at least a welcome distraction from the usual. Unfortunately, like all things, it doesn't last long enough and soon his other issues start dragging down his thoughts.

Vicious cycle.

He didn't think she'd be back, so after another cigarette or two, he moved away from the light and headed towards the castle. No real chance of finding an inn still open out there that late. Any luck, and all the residents would be asleep and he could avoid any more of those encounters. At least he knew what to look out for.

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(no subject)

pretend this isn't so late....;;

ffff not late

<3;;

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