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WHO: Andy, April, and Katurian
WHERE: Brooooadway.
WHEN: Wednesday April 5th, evening
WARNINGS: Talk of death.
SUMMARY: Katurian takes Andy and April to a surprise musical. It's a perfectly acceptable thing to do, when you've just been dead.
FORMAT: Quicklog.

[The first thing Katurian does when he comes back from the dead is contact Angelica. His murderer.

The second thing he does is buy scalped tickets to the musical Chicago.

He gets the money from the stash in his old, hidden apartment and sets out with a fevered energy for those tickets, combing streets and streets and streets and finally paying far more than was needed, practically shoving those bills into the man's jacket. He buys three tickets. Himself. Andy. April.

He calls them through the communicator like it was any other Wednesday, like he had good news instead of the comparatively awful. He has a surprise! he said. Meet him at Broadway!

He waits for them with his hands tucked in his pockets. He whistles.]

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[The first thing April did was throw the communicator across the room. It wasn't really satisfying. The thud was nice, but the stupid thing was built to last. She guessed if this place could turn her into Sleeping Beauty a crack resistant screen wasn't that hard a follow up. Eventually, when she'd stopped hating it enough, one of the raccoons brought it back to her. Katurian being an idiot wasn't going to stop her from having a phone.

Fine. Whatever. She had demanded a present when he got back. It would just be Andy's job to actually get them there.]

[ Andy had almost not wanted to go; he'd stared at the message. He'd locked himself in his room. He murmured hurriedly to himself to keep from panicking and staying in there all day.

It was just Katurian. It was just Broadway. Somehow he could make it through this. He hailed a cab for himself and April though didn't say much on the ride over to the theatre. ]

[Katurian had clean clothing in his old apartment. He wore it now, that long jacket, those nice pants, while he waited for them. He looked perfectly healthy save for that usual darkness under his eyes. The pallor.

When he saw them, those tired eyes lit up.

He didn't realize, until those moments, how desperately he missed them.]

[April didn't hesitate to march over to where Katurian was. She took him in. Normal face, hair. Finger nails. No Frankenstein stitches. Not even at the collar of his shirt. But who knew about across his chest. Maybe he was a tin man.

In contrast to his apparent excitement, April's mouth formed an ever harder line than normal. Pissed. She was pissed. Her voice had a more clipped, sharp edge of annoyance as she broke the silence she and Andy had spent the day in so far, staring right at Katurian as she spoke.]

Andy, tell Katurian this better be good. Because I've got a totally busy night of ignoring him to get back to.

Edited 2012-04-07 20:58 (UTC)

[ Andy pressed his lips together tensely, arms crossed, but looked over at Katurian and forced a smile and a little sideways glance to April, as if to say Kids, right? ]

Uh. April says this better be good. But it will be good, this is Chicago.

[Katurian slipped the tickets out of his pocket, took one, and handed it to April. He flashed a smile that wavered, slightly, with the lowered mood, with the tension he could feel circulating in the air.]

It's going to be good.

[He stepped away from April and approached Andy, reaching for his hand and tucking his ticket inside, up tight against his palm. He held his hand there a moment, skin against skin, before pulling him into a hug.]

[She eyed the ticket in her hand like it might attack her for a moment, preferring observing the piece of paper over the PDA going on next to her. Ugh.]

Beware of maggots.

April, gross. [ Andy hugs Katurian back, though he keeps it a bit briefer than usual. Maybe also in part because April is judging. ] He doesn't have maggots. I didn't have maggots, no one here has maggots. I'm sure we're all fresh and showered and parasite-free for the occasion.

[ Well, he hopes. He can only speak for himself. ]

[He doesn't. He didn't. With death still warm on his skin, Katurian thinks about Andy turning through calming nothingness. There are worse things, he thinks. Why was he so frightened for Andy, when he knew he was safe? Why did he scream and cry and throw a fuss?

Weeks away from his latest breakdown, hours away from death, Katurian is growing pleasantly numb. Stronger.

He pulls back. His fingers are the last things to let go.]

I--

[He isn't sure if he's sorry. He catches the words, swallows them. Then he raises both his hands to April, as though asking her to inspect them.]

This place is-- This place is full of miracles, isn't it? It's filled with-- w-with fantastic possibilities, with experiences you can never have anywhere else. [His laughs, the sound thin but genuine.] I'm so thankful I was sent here.

[She stares at him for a long moment, eyeballing his hands as he talks. Then a moment later she takes a step closer and wraps one hand around a thin wrist, tips of her fingers pressed against the pulse point. She'd watched kids, she knew enough first aid to find that.

And there it is. Heart fueled and all. She releases with a frown.]

Stupid.

[ Andy's heart aches peculiarly, but he tries to brush it off. He doesn't look at either of them, just smiling and walking forward with his arms out. ]

Hey guys, let's go inside. I want to look at the program before the show starts.

[Katurian follows those eyes, that gaze that doesn't quite meet his. He draws his hands away from April to feel at that ticket snug in his pocket, the edges sharp against his skin.]

I'm fine, by the way.

[He directs the words to Andy, his voice raising just slightly.]

I've never been better.

No one asked.

[His words aren't directed towards her, but she doesn't care as she replies anyway. Her own ticket in hand, she immediately turns to catch up with Andy, walking fast with a small huff.]

Are you? That's really... really good, I'm glad to hear it, that was pretty -- well. [ Andy clears his throat, still not making eye contact. He pauses for a moment to let them catch up and uses that as an opportunity to look at Katurian. ] You've been gone so much lately I wouldn't even have known if not for...

[ He doesn't finish his sentence because he doesn't want to talk about this. ]

Do you guys want snacks? My treat.

[He has been gone for so much. So often. He stays out late in his alternate apartment, crafting away at vicious plans with knives and duct tape and glitter, sewing new parts to his costume. He deflates at the words. In his absence, he had forgotten that people would notice. Miss him.

But he still cannot stop.]

Sure. Great.

[He forces a smile before quickening his pace as well. Once he catches up, he gives April a playful, albeit awkward smack on the arm. His brain is filled with cotton.]

What sorts? I-- I can eat anything. I'm completely open to anything.

Edited 2012-04-10 15:13 (UTC)

[She'd told it to Eddie on day one, and it still rang true. There's nothing satisfying about being mean to Katurian. Just too much like kicking a stupid, suicidal puppy. Even livid at him, for what his death has started, there was just nothing for it. It doesn't make her feel better. At all.

Which somehow just makes the entire night worse.]

Candy hearts.

[ Andy looks over at Katurian again a little helplessly, pursing his lips together before he pushes back his shoulders and skips merrily to the vendor inside the theatre. This should be fun. It will be fun. Tonight shouldn't be the time for all that hurt to bubble up to the surface even though it's so challenging keeping it down. It wasn't unlike his second honeymoon in that regard. ]

Candy hearts for the lady [ He puts the money down. ] and for the gentlemen, starburst. Tropical and original. Take your pick.

Original.

[He murmurs it, letting that cheery facade falter for a moment. And then with a swallow, his voice recovers something like happiness, like excitement. He should be excited. Dying and then crawling out of it like a perfect miracle. Company with friends.]

Unless you would rather-- I mean, I don't-- I don't know anything about this sort of candy, I don't really buy candy. Except for-- [That one time, tiny wings handed to Sylph, tiny sugar wings, and then a bag of kit-kats unattended, a lonely valentines day filled with headaches and tears and time that didn't make sense.

He trails into a sad, nervous laugh instead. He ducks his head.]

It's not really the season for candy hearts, is it, April?

Maybe someone can mail some to me.

[She leans against the candy counter, expression a perfect wall of bored annoyance.]

Who doesn't eat candy? Seriously. Just get things.

[ Andy buys and then hands over the original flavor starbursts to Katurian, putting his free hand on April's shoulder. Mostly because everything is uncomfortable and he doesn't want it to be. ]

We can get some at the store after the show. What about sweettarts? That's... similar.

[He throws an anxious glance at April, wide-eyed, before shoving his hands deep into his pockets.]

Don't let her push you around.

[She doesn't so much let him put his hand there as just ignore it's happening.]

What are you. Like a life coach or something now?

[A frown]

Cookie dough bites.

No problem-o.

[ He pays for them. ]

She's not pushing me around, Katurian. That's just how our friendship works.

[Katurian, with his poor understanding (and poor experience) with friendship, shifts his weight uncomfortably.]

Tell me how the week went. With your friendship. Tell me what I missed.

[That gets Andy a quick, concerned look. Friends? But whatever. Boss. Maid Lord. She can.]

Great. There were rainbows and kittens everywhere and we sang songs every night.

Just as she said. Uh, well, as you know, she works for me at City Hall, and she's been [ Uhhhhhhh. ] extremely invaluable when it comes to contacting clients. I don't know where I'd be if not for her.

[ What a liar. ]

She only says stuff like that as a joke.

[For the joke, Katurian gives an awkward, clipped laugh. A riot. His hands work on the candy wrapper.]

I think it's great that you've gotten into government, Andy, I mean, I think that's really great, you know, getting involved with things as best you can. That's one of the things I like about this world, that even ordinary citizens can get involved with the government just because they'd like to. I think it's incredible.

[He gracefully shoves a starburst in his mouth.]

[For all the aggravation, April can't help a tiny, microscopic upward twitch of one corner of her mouth at Andy's blatant lies. Peacekeepers.

So her words are more resigned that sharp now. Anger was too hard here, now that he was alive. And trying. Painfully trying.]

Whatever. At least people will stop giggling about us living alone now, I guess. The threesome rumors are so better.

[So. Welcome back Katurian.]

[ Andy tenses a little at that. ]

Yeah, well, I mean, they shouldn't -- wait, are you serious? Isn't that weird?

[ Wait, maybe she's joking again. He has deliberately not asked her age for a reason. ]

Actually, this does mean your raccoons can't keep going into Katurian's room anymore. Um-- [ He rubs his neck. ] Thanks, it is pretty great. I thought it was about time I started acting more like a manager, and not just a small paper business manager. I'm out of Scranton, darn it, and I might as well act like it.

[At threesome rumor, Katurian double-takes not so subtly. He is used to the rumors about him and Andy (thank you, Mr. Sionis), but April is a new, unpredictable variable. With Cassie's confession so vivid in his memory, he hopes and prays that this is a joke, oh please, let this be--

And then Andy mentions the raccoons.]

Can't what?

[He practically whines. Raccoons on his clean laundry. Raccoons on his typewriter.]

What about the raccoons?

It's not like you were living there.

[God. They just wanted to try their hand at writing, Katurian. Don't cry about it.]

They do a better job of being you, anyway.

I've been cleaning it, don't worry.

[ Andy fiddles with his tie. ]

I'm just saying.

Thank you, Andy.

[He sees Andy fiddling with his tie and, unthinkingly, reaches over to stop his hands. The anxiety is getting to him.]

It looks fine. Anyway April, that doesn't make a bit of sense, the raccoons doing a better job of being me. What sort of IQ do they have, beyond following your orders? Minimal?

I dunno. How much IQ does it take to have a zero death count?

[ Andy swallows. ]

So, guys, should we go sit down?

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