Office Hours, August 7

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy wasn't entirely over the other week, but hardly being the type to keep her mouth shut she wasn't really repressing anything, either, so there was a general trend of improvement going on. It actually helped that she hadn't really had time to brood about it, either; in between a sudden flareup of demon activity around Manhattan in the last few days, and prepping for the Big Move (there were capital letters in her head, too), she was pretty busy.

The second of those two things would be taking up most of her time today. There were a billion arrangements to make: getting their things shipped out to São Paulo, making sure Vi was prepped to take over the New York circuit, flight bookings, passport and visa paperwork, arguing with Giles over the scope of her responsibilities, keeping Willow from freaking out.

Really, this was the best way to put her bossing-people-around powers to work for good. Well, Giles might disagree on a couple of points.

[[open office hours are open.]]

Comments

[life_inshadow]

Tara hadn't checked in with Kennedy the week before, but this felt like a good day for it. In a nod to tradition, she had a latte in each hand as she leaned in the door.

"Hey," she ventured. "Is this a good time? I brought your afternoon coffee fix..."

[brat_inslayage]

"She'll do fine, trust me," Kennedy had been assuring Robin over the phone, but she looked up when she heard footsteps approaching. "Hey, gotta go. We'll discuss this later."

Apparently not interested in waiting for a response, she thumbed the End Call button on her phone and set it down on the desk. "It's like you know me," she replied with a half-smile, gesturing for Tara to come in. "What's up?"

[life_inshadow]

"Nothing huge," Tara said, setting one of the paper cups down on Kennedy's desk. "Just ... you know. Wanted to see how you're adjusting now that everything's normal again." She frowned. "Okay ... normal-ish?"

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy made a vague noise, raised one hand, and waggled it back and forth. "Getting there. I still feel kind of gross about how I acted with you guys. I know, I know, not really me, but it was a head trip of the not fun variety." She didn't feel like rambling on and on about it, though, so she shrugged. "I don't have time to dwell on it, anyway. You doing okay? Gonna take the coffee-- thanks, by the way-- as a sign that you're not holding alt-me's jerkitude against me."

[life_inshadow]

Tara shook her head. "Nah. But I'm glad you're you again. She was -- kind of a bitch."

"And," she added as she dropped into a chair, "I'm fine. Maybe ... a little done with the island?"

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy would not argue that assessment at all.

"Yeah. I know the feeling," she agreed, picking up the coffee cup and turning it around in her hands. "When that whole thing was over I felt like I kind of really hated this place. Got over that, but..."

An oddly pensive look crossed her face. "I guess I feel... like I've outgrown it, a little. That sort of what you mean?"

[life_inshadow]

"Like it's time for the next thing?" Tara supplied, nodding vigorously. "I don't know how you do what you do, teaching. I'd feel ... weird."

She needed a better adjective.

"Like I was kind of stuck in between high school and ... whatever's not high school."

[brat_inslayage]

"Well, it has been two years since graduation for me, but you wanna know the truth? This is way more than weird," Kennedy admitted. "I came back here 'cause I felt like I owed it to this place. Y'know. To make sure the next generation was good to go. Pretty dumb, huh? We could handle ourselves. So can they."

She grinned ruefully.

"Which, I guess, officially makes us old."

[life_inshadow]

"... I don't want to be old," Tara mock-wailed. "But I get it. And that's ... solid. Wanting people to gear up, and stuff. You're probably pretty good at it."

[brat_inslayage]

"It's what I do," Kennedy said, with a remarkable lack of bragging to the statement. "But these kids'll be okay. It's time to focus on the ones in my world who need that, you know? It being my actual responsibility and all."

She took a sip of coffee, and considered how to segue into the actual bit of news. "And you have college to go to. Actually, that's both of us, so we just have to suck it up and deal with being old now."

[life_inshadow]

"I guess," Tara sighed, with great reluctance, before she figured out there was actual news being imparted. "... oh, wait, you figured out what you're doing when you leave?"

[brat_inslayage]

"Oh. Yeah," Kennedy replied, just a touch of sheepishness in her voice. "I'm, uh... starting at the University of São Paulo in a few weeks."

Yeah, she knew that would be unexpected.

[life_inshadow]

That it was. Tara opened her mouth to offer congratulations before she entirely caught on to what exactly she'd be congratulating.

"That's -- in Brazil," she said, a funny little catch in her voice. "Right? There's not, like, one in Nevada I never heard of?"

[brat_inslayage]

"Nope, definitely Brazil." There she went again, running her mouth off without thinking, huh? "Christmas in summer and everything."

More apologetically she added, "I was gonna tell you, when it turned into a definite, but then wackiness ensued."

[life_inshadow]

"... do you even speak Portuguese?"

Yes. Because that was the most important issue in play.

[brat_inslayage]

Despite her mother living in Portugal...

"No? But I guess I'm gonna have to learn, right?" From the blasé delivery of that line, guess which person moving to Brazil was not the one freaking out about this problem.

[life_inshadow]

Which certain exes probably would have remembered, if they'd thought much about Kennedy's mom lately.

"I guess," Tara said, blinking. "Okay. Brazil. So -- why Brazil? Do you just really wanna not have fall right away?"

[brat_inslayage]

Well, it wasn't like Kennedy had spent enough time at her mom's to justify learning the language anyway. In hindsight that was kind of a shame.

"It was kind of an unexpected thing," she began. "Technically, it's an official Slayer assignment. Studying abroad was a convenient way to not have to explain that, you know?"

[life_inshadow]

"Definitely," Tara nodded. "So ... you're going to be keeping Sao Paulo safe? That's ... actually pretty cool."

Insane and dangerous, but cool.

[brat_inslayage]

"Also studying," Kennedy pointed out. "For real. We're also gonna be tracking down all the newbie Slayers in the area, getting them up to speed, all that."

Still insane and dangerous, yes. She wouldn't deny that.

[life_inshadow]

Tara considered that. "Do you have a 'welcome to superpowers' brochure yet?" she asked. "I bet somebody in Fandom's written one."

She brushed her hair back. "Oh, and - yay, studying."

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy snickered. "Not yet, but I would so not be surprised if one exists by the time we go." She was getting pretty excited about it; the way her eyes lit up demonstrated that. Still, a little wistfulness crept into her voice. "Which is... pretty much right after this summer session ends."

[life_inshadow]

"Which is ... less than three weeks away," Tara acknowledged, with a slight smile at Kennedy's obvious eagerness. "Do you think you'll make it back for Homecoming and ... stuff?"

[brat_inslayage]

"That's the plan. It's just another country, not a totally different world." Though Kennedy was aware of how that had been the plan last time, too, and then it had been Land of Incommunicado forever. "Come on, like you guys could really get rid of me that easily? Hell, once we get settled in, there's totally an open invite, too."

Yeah, Kennedy, that might not necessarily work.

[life_inshadow]

"I'm ... not sure how that would go," Tara said, trying to be diplomatic. "But maybe! Who knows, right?"

[brat_inslayage]

"Why would..." Kennedy trailed off, blinked, and groaned. "Right. Dammit."

She'd allow herself exactly 0.73 seconds to sulk about it.

"But! The point still stands, right? I'm not, like, disappearing forever or anything, and you know I'm gonna want to know how things are going for you in Sunnydale."

Was it really weird to be waving mental shipper flags for your ex and your girlfriend?

[life_inshadow]

Sort of, yeah. At least they were understandable shipper flags?

"I'll make sure and tell you," Tara promised. "Especially after I graduate, just so we can laugh about how things ... didn't happen."

[brat_inslayage]

Look, it wasn't like Kennedy could exactly help thinking they'd be adorable together. She'd seen pictures. Also, this was total karmic retribution for every joke she'd ever made about the lesbian dating world being a tiny pond. Thanks, Fandom.

"Especially then," she agreed emphatically. "Kind of want to ask you to pinkie swear on it."

[life_inshadow]

Oh, like that had more than one possible response. Tara stepped forward to reach her hand over Kennedy's desk, finger crooked.

"Pinkie swear," she said emphatically.

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy reached out to snag Tara's finger with her own and give it a light shake. "Good," she said with a soft laugh. "'cause I'm a little invested in my two favorite girls having it good."