notsocommon | for Kate

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for Kate

Something happened between Helen and Kate and Helen wasn't entirely sure what it was. She did know that once Declan showed, Kate was quick to bolt from their beach picnic and it bothered Helen, somewhat. It was mostly amusing, though, because Kate was so completely gone on Declan that there didn't really appear to be anyone else in the world. When he'd left and Kate started heading back toward their towels, Helen marked her place in her book and looked up.

"Good visit with Declan, then?"

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Kate's still humming with the goodbye kiss when she comes up the beach to Magnus. She's only half-aware of Magnus when she pours herself another of the mojitos and looks around for the boss's glass.

"Want more?" she asks, and then the question hits her and she smiles, caught out, and ducks behind a curtain of wet hair. "Um, yeah. It was good to see him."

"Would love more, yes," Helen said, grinning. "It's just good to see you happy, is all, and Declan's a good sort for you. He's a perfect gentleman."

She fell quiet. "So you're dating him, then?"

"It's still complicated." Nothing's really changed since last night, except that everything has. In a way.

Kate pours the mojitos and flops down next to Magnus, relaxed and lazily aroused. That's probably why she slides Magnus a very sly, very sexy little smile. "And he's not that much of a gentleman."

Generous, oh hell yes. Gentlemanly, thank fuck, no.

"Hmm. Well, congrats on not-dating, then. I just assumed based on how close you were," Helen said, slightly awkward. "And he's a very good man. A sweet man and a fine soldier, for all I know about him."

Is it weird that she feels defensive about what Magnus knows about him? Will Magnus always know him better than she does? Kate shrugs and combs her fingers through the ends of her hair. "There's nothing really to congratulate, but thanks, I guess."

"It's the curse of being one half of a couple, I'm afraid. I feel like I have to pair everyone off," Helen said, laughing a bit. "I'm so happy with Will that I couldn't imagine any other way to be happy...which is good, in a way. I needed it."

"Yeah." Kate's not wired like that, but she's glad Magnus is happy with Will and he's happy with her. She takes a long sip of her drink and stares off in the direction Declan went. "It's not his job to make me happy. But it's good. We're better together, mostly."

"Suit one another with your strengths and weaknesses?" Helen asked, mildly intrigued. She wouldn't have pegged Kate for Declan's type, at all, but if there was anyone on the island who'd be good to her, Helen suspected Declan would be it.

"Sorry, I keep asking a million questions. It's rude, isn't it?"

"It's okay." Kate tips Magnus another little smile. "It's cool that you care. Plus, you know me. If I clam up or get snarky, you won't take it personally." At least Kate hopes she wouldn't.

"Me and Declan are kind of partners at home. Not like you and Will, but we do a lot of tactical stuff together and we're good at it. I don't think anyone would be surprised if you shipped me off to be Declan's protege." Kate's not sure how she'd feel about that, and she frowns lightly at the thought. "I'd go, but only because we've been working with the UK team a lot lately. Anyway, I guess we just kind of fit."

"I wouldn't ship you off to Declan, Kate. Not unless he requested you for a specific project...I just don't like the idea of shipping you off as if you're something easily traded or easily bought and sold. You are part of my family and always will be."

Helen pause for a moment and laughed, awkward. "Ahem. Anyway, if you mesh well together in the field I can see where that'd translate to the bedroom."

Magnus says that and most of the time Kate believes her, but today it's hard. She just nods about that, and says, "He's different than I thought he'd be. But I think I'm pretty different than he expected too."

"You learn so much more about someone in that context," Helen said, agreeing. "He gets to see a side of you that perhaps I never see, or Will never sees, because I presume you feel safe with him, don't you?"

"It's not an issue. Me feeling safe. I don't..." Kate screws up her face. It's not a lie really. It just feel so...personal. "I trust him. He's family. So I don't have to hide anything and neither does he."

"You're lucky, then. Helen Magnus always has secrets, even in her bedroom." Especially in her bedroom, actually, but the conversation wasn't about her at the moment.

"I'm glad he's someone you can show everything to. Everyone needs someone like that."

"Why do you need secrets from Will?" That surprises her. "I'd think... I mean I guess I don't know what he's like in bed or anything, but he's used to keeping secrets. He'd keep yours."

And he'd do anything for Magnus. Kate knows that. Magnus should too.

"It's not that I think he'll tell my secrets," Helen said, shrugging lightly. "It's more that I don't want to get hurt again and it's easier to keep things from him than risk that. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, after all, and it's not like I'm keeping secrets like Adam Worth anymore."

"I guess it's not my business." If she wants to talk about it, Kate will listen. But Kate doesn't need to know. "It's not like I'm the Let's Chat Queen. It's just, I don't really have a choice with Declan." Her hand comes up, waving off any attempted intervention. "Not like that. It's just...he pushes all the right buttons and I don't like to run cons in bed."

"I wasn't shutting you out, darling," Helen said quickly, not wanting Kate to think she was trying to wall herself off when she'd been working on being more open and human and available since coming to the island.

"It's just...Will loves me. That's evident. I just don't like asking Will for things because I don't think he'll want to give them to me. I let him take the lead on how we are together and I'm not open about my wants or needs aside from a physical context. It's easier that way."

"Yeah, but..." Kate stops herself. What the hell does she even know about relationships anyway? Except...she does know Will and she thinks she knows Magnus pretty well too.

"Listen. I just went and bought myself 110 hours of community service trying to get Will to do something he would've done anyway if I could just make myself ask. I get not wanting to open up." Trust me. "I'm the last person to tell someone to let it out or whatever. But Will would do anything for any of us. Especially you. That's just who he is."

"Will spent months telling me he didn't want me in order to protect himself," Helen pointed out.

"Will told me he was in love with me and he didn't want to be with me even though I'd opened up for him. I never, ever want to feel like I did last autumn so I'm not terribly inclined to let him hurt me. If I never ask him for anything, he can't reject me. Bit extreme, perhaps, and sometimes I want what you seem to have with Declan so I can talk to him about things I want for us but it's too much of an emotional risk."

"You're scared." It's not an accusation at all. Kate's eyes are soft and wide before they narrow in concern, lips pursing too. She's never seen Magnus scared before, except when she thought she was dying.

"You're never scared." Kate sits up and pulls her knees to her chest. She rests her arm across them and her chin on her arm. "I get it." It's weird to talk about, something she does easier with Will usually. But Will helps her a lot. It would mean a lot if she could help him, and Magnus. "One of the reasons me and Declan are complicated is because I'm scared. I'm scared I'll screw it up, because I always do. But I think maybe I'm more scared I won't."

"It would be a bit stupid for me to say you shouldn't be scared of it, wouldn't it?" Helen asked, touching Kate's hair lightly.

"I don't think you should, though. Love is a good thing, even when you're as ancient as I am, and being open to affection with others keeps us grounded."

"Not stupid." Kate smiles, sharp, and lets Magnus pet her hair without flinching. "Just kind of hypocritical." She shrugs to pull the bite off it, since she's not looking to piss Magnus off or hurt her. "I'm not putting him off forever. Just making sure, first. That's probably what Will was doing too."

"More than likely. He is excessively more cautious about matters of the heart than I am," Helen said, smiling wryly. "It's not necessarily a bad thing...you can easily say I don't have good taste."

"Think I'm gonna bypass that one." But her voice is lazy-warm, almost drawling how she says it. Magnus has lived a long time. Yeah, Kate hates Druitt with the fire of a thousand burning suns, but she's not judging.

She weighs it for awhile, not really sure of how to say what she means or even if she should. It's kind of Will-territory, but it's about her as much as him. "You know how we were joking about me picking you up and how it would be?"

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