apocalypsehowcomm | NETWORK [video

Kate is sitting on the sofa. When she sees Winter's head peak around the corner, she smiles back at him and offers a slight wave in return. She's glad that he made it back from Wolf Pen and is so far still here. How long will he remain is the question.

"I'm okay. I've just been thinking."

His arm is still glitchy from all the electric zaps-- he's been tinkering with it, in an attempt to fix it-- and he's a little more twitchy around anything resembling a wire, but he's still in one piece.

"About missing people," he surmises, and comes all the way out of his room, instead. They should probably talk, anyway, and that's easier to do when he's not leaning backwards out of his bedroom.

"Yeah." She nods her head. She looks away a moment but soon has her attention focused back on him. "And people who might leave anyway."

Winter comes to join her on the other end of the couch, sinking down carefully, and guesses, "Me and Steve and Yelena." Kate is the only person besides Yelena herself who he uses her first name with. Kind of weird. But he continues: "We're not going to go far. And I thought maybe you'd come. If you wanted."

"Yeah. You three." She tries to smile to show that there are no hard feelings because there aren't. She understands their reasoning for leaving. She doesn't blame them. It is simply a change and a big one. "I know. I do want to come but I think someone needs to stay behind to monitor ADI."

He doesn't like that, but it's not like it isn't a useful thing to do. It's like he told Yelena: they will all still have people here. It's why they can't go far. "Then you will have to visit," he says. "A lot. We'll stay in town, at least until we can get the others out. The ones who can't leave yet even if they want to."

She isn't sure about how she feels about it either. But she can't ask Winter or Yelena to sacrifice their beliefs. Kate will stay behind and spy. She works in administration. She can find reasons to go into other departments and snoop. "Don't worry, Winter. I'll still make dinner mostly every night and keep you supplied with brownies."

Well, that's nice, but he also feels like he has to protest: "I can live without your dinners and brownies if I have to. It's you I'd miss. I love you for more than just food."

Oh, Winter. That's so sweet. While Kate knows that she is truly valued for more than just her cooking she can't help but feel a little emotional. She scoots down the couch and without asking hugs Winter. "I love you too."

Thankfully, he's been getting a lot of practice with touching these days, and he's jumpy right now but not about hugs. So he lifts his arms, gets the metal one out of the way so it doesn't spasm and hurt her, and puts the other one around her, back. "You're my team," he reassures her. "I don't want to be far away from you. Who would read you books or yell at stupid movies with you."

It is fortunate that Winter had had practice with touching because now that she has him in a proper hug, she's not going to be quick to let go. He has come such a long ways. She's so proud of him. "I don't want to be far away from you either. I don't know who would do any of those things but I know that I would miss it terribly."

"We can keep a room open for you," he suggests, patting her shoulder a little awkwardly, but at least not uncomfortably. He's come far, but not so far that this is natural for him. "You don't have to live here, even if you still work for ADI."

It is okay that Winter is not the best at giving affection. Kate isn't the best herself except for when the urge takes over. She smiles at him. "I'll keep that offer in mind. It is my greatest fear that I wake up one morning and you all are gone. I mean gone gone."

"I think at this point. We're probably here to stay," Winter says with another little pat. "If we were gonna disappear, there's been a lot of chances in the past. You and me. We're from the very start, right?" If something was going to take them out, eat them up or bury them in a shallow grave, it surely would've happened by now.

He can't say that for sure, but he's pretty sure... "I'm not going anywhere. Not like that."

It is a bit depressing to hear that, that they're probably here to stay. Deep down, in her heart of hearts, Kate knows that Winter is correct. There is no going home again, not for any of them.

She nods her head, "From the start." Maybe he's right? Maybe they are safe? There have been a lot of opportunities for something to have gotten them by now. Or maybe there number just hasn't come up yet. It's hard to say. "We're in it together." That isn't hard to say. They are in it together.

"You'd better not. I'd have to hunt you down and you know, Yelena has been teaching me things."

Winter's never had any hope for going back, and frankly he's never had any real desire to do so. Everything and everyone he cares about is here, in this world. Including the woman still clinging to him.

"Can't promise I won't get shot or eaten or something," he warns, only half joking. "But you'll know what happened. No disappearing without warning. And I'm gonna try my hardest not to get shot or eaten by something. Got a lot I still want to do. Yelena promised me more museums with dinosaur bones."

Kate finally lets go of Winter. It had been a good hug but she knows how he is about touch. There can be too much of a good thing especially if it's one sided. (She would rather it continue. It's comforting.)

"You'd better not do either of those things either," she shakes her head. She is only joking a little. "I don't know what I'd do without you. I mean that. You're like a brother to me." Is she going to cry? No. Can she feel her eyes get a bit misty? Yes. She blinks and the mistiness is gone.

"More museums are good. Just promise me you won't play any of the games?"

He has no intention of dying. It just might happen, especially with them going rogue like this, with no backup, and he has to make sure his people are prepared for that. And hopefully don't go on rampages or turn to entities if he does.

"No games," he swears. "Just dinosaur bones and dioramas and maybe the pretty rocks. Not into that modern art shit anyway."

She has no intention of dying, disappearing or becoming an Avatar either. However, things in Gloucester happen. She had not imagined her almost boyfriend turning into a weasel nor had she ever pictured someone turning into a mannequin or any of the other horrors she had witnessed.

"No games," she repeats and is glad that he agrees. Even if he does play games she doesn't need to know that. "Modern art is so pretentious anyway." Pot meet kettle. "Who can blame you for that?"

"I don't know how you determine if something's pretentious." He knows the dictionary definition, but it seems subjective. "I just don't get it. It's weird and boring. Older stuff is better." Paintings that have actual subjects, not just lines and blobs of color.

"If you ever feel like a snob about something or look down on something because you find yourself feeling superior, that's pretentiousness." Kettle meet pot. "Older stuff like you?" She teases.

"Older stuff like me, sure. Though I don't think I'm as old as a painting from the 1800s." Winter sounds distracted, as he tries to think of a time he's felt like that. "Like when I yell at movies for being really bad at fighting or shooting?" That's the only time he really feels superior to anyone or anything.

"Kind of like that, Winter. Yeah. Except you know what you're talking about and yell about the practical aspect of it. OH. It's like when I watch cooking shows and think I know what I'd do and do it better." Hey. Wait.

"You do that a lot." But he's kind of half-smiling as he says it, to show he's teasing. Maybe he's not sure how paintings can be like that, but frankly, he doesn't care, either. He'd rather rib Kate for lecturing the tv.

"I know. I must sound insufferable when I do." But look. Sometimes people on the television are wrong and they should know it along with the people around her. "I'm sorry."

NETWORK [video - open]

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