a/n: Saturday's main thread chapter was pretty heavy. Here's something quick and light to help balance it all out.
Point Rock, Second Term
"Try it."
"What is it?" Sophie asked, jolting in surprise at the strange form hovering uncomfortably close at her eye level.
"Just try it."
"Not until you tell me what it is."
"It's uni."
"It sounds made up."
"It isn't."
"What is it really?"
"It's uni."
"Kate."
"Sophie."
"It's yellow."
"Yea, it's uni."
"That… that's not helping."
Sophie scowled in distaste at the yellow goop-like substance balancing on Kate's outstretched chopsticks.
"It's a delicacy in some parts of the world."
"Does that include Point Rock, New York?"
"Uh… depends?"
"Not interested."
"Come on, where's your sense of adventure?" she said, waving it toward Sophie like an airplane spoon.
"Where did you even get it?"
"Delivery."
"Yea, but from where?"
"Sushi takeout joint in town."
Sophie gaped before breaking into laughter.
"What?" Kate scowled.
"$10 you get food poisoning."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"I'm being dead serious. You feeling like a bet, Kate Kane?"
"If you were really that confident you'd make your wager more interesting."
Sophie brow raised in intrigue. "Oh?"
"How would you feel about a strip tease?"
"I think I'd rather have the $10."
"Ouch," Kate pouted in offense.
"But," Sophie began, glancing back at the sweaty pile of yellow sitting between them. "I could be persuaded."
Three hours later
"Hey champ."
"Shut up."
"I barely said anything."
"It was on your face."
"Does this mean I get a strip tease now?"
Kate groaned as she fell into bed. She'd stumbled in after spending the last thirty minutes retching out her guts in the bathroom.
"Want a raincheck?" Sophie offered with a small smirk of victory.
"Yes, please," Kate moaned pathetically.
"You don't look so great."
"You're really showing off those observation skills," Kate replied through her pillow.
"Can I get you anything?"
"No."
"How about some more sushi?"
"Soph."
"I'm just saying, you look a little peckish."
"Don't."
"Maybe a nice plate of uni."
"I'm gonna be sick again."
"I put your leftovers in the fridge."
"Just burn them."
"But it's a delicacy."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Come on Kate. Where's your sense of adventure?"
"I hate you," Kate continued weakly.
"Oh, no you don't," Sophie said, crawling over Kate to lay next to her.
"I could try," Kate tried to challenge back, rolling to rest her head against Sophie.
"Let me know how that goes," Sophie chuckled softly as Kate relaxed into her with a sigh of surrender. She spent the next few minutes running her hand up and down Kate's back in soothing circles and slowly felt her breathing calm into the rhythmic pattern of sleep.
She smiled softly at the warm body pressed against her, pulling her book from Kate's desk and flipping it open to read. The next thirty minutes were spent like this; the silence broken only by the soft sound of Kate's inhales and exhales. The weight of sleep was pulling at Sophie's own eyelids and, after rereading the same excerpt without retaining anything, she surrendered to her instincts and closed the book. She reached toward the lone desk lamp illuminating the room when the breathing shifted and Kate jerked back awake.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Hey?" Sophie replied in curiosity, flicking the light off.
"It didn't work," she said, sighing in defeat.
"...what didn't work?"
"I tried, but I can't hate you."
