A.N.: Thank you for all of the reviews! I really appreciate the love. Guys, guys, guys, there's another Spinning Out fanfic on here!

I may change Gabe's age. Damnit, I want to see more of Johnny Weir in Gabe's ice-performances - Leah's dragging him down!

Also, I did some research and Regional skating competitions occur in October, Sectionals in November and Nationals in January - Kat and Justin would've had to start skating together in July or early August if, as Jenn said, "Regionals are in three months". I know there's occasionally snow in July in mountainous regions, but the way they filmed it, it looked like they were already in the heart of winter. Confused.

So I'm changing Regionals to being six months away - in October - putting the story in about March/April time, which makes the snow reasonable.

Falling

05

The Space Between Them

She was right: He had been at the club. Probably watching to see if Jenn made any progress.

"Justin, not now," she warned vehemently, striding away from the nightclub's entrance. A hand rested on her elbow, and she stumbled away, wrenching her arm out of his grip. Damn heels, she thought, cursing Jenn's four-inch-high strappy sandals. Perfect party footwear they were; in snow, they put her in danger of a broken ankle.

"Hey, why don't you quit pretending you hate me-?" Justin began easily.

"Justin, I really do not want to have this argument when I'm six tequilas deep!" Kat protested, glaring at him.

"What argument?" he asked, smiling genially.

Kat blinked at him. "You bribed my best-friend with bottle-service, you went behind my back to ask her to convince me to skate with you!" she blurted furiously. "What, you didn't get your fill of watching me being humiliated by your dad?"

Justin's lips parted. "I just thought you'd enjoy the bottle-service. You seem like you need a night out."

"Yeah, you know what, I did need a night out, having fun, with my best-friend, not having to deal with all this shit," she cried, gesticulating. She knew she was too many cocktails deep for this. "You had no right to go to Jenn about this, use her to get to me! You fucked me about and I do not appreciate it. I needed my best-friend to support me in this. Me. But, you know, congratulations - one bottle of tequila and Jenn's your champion. She thinks you're not an asshole; she doesn't know you sat there and just let your father humiliate me."

"I didn't know - I didn't think he'd do that. Everything's a business-deal to him. All he understands is people agreeing to do what he wants because he has the money to make them," Justin said, his voice gentling - almost like an apology. Almost.

"You know, I have a lot of experience working at that restaurant, people talking down to me. I can let a lot just roll off my back," Kat told him; and it was true. Her resilience was epic. Thank you, Carol, she thought. She fixed Justin with a look, and hated that her throat burned and her voice broke as she said, "He made me feel…small…insignificant - as if we didn't grow up together, as if he didn't babysit me. As if I was nothing at all… And I am not nothing."

Anger warmed her. She was just not just the help.

"I know you're not…" Justin's breath plumed around them as he ducked his chin and sighed heavily, looking through his eyelashes at her. "Just - answer me one question: Why are you so dead set against skating with me?"

"You know the one person who hasn't approached me about whether I'd genuinely consider skating with you?" Kat asked slowly, after a minute's silence, raising her eyebrows pointedly. "Dasha, your dad, Mandy, Jenn…all that effort…and you haven't even bothered to ask me."

"You want a formal proposal, on my knees asking you to pair with me?" Justin smirked playfully, but she thought she'd seen a flicker of embarrassment.

"Well, I don't appreciate the sarcasm but the idea has some appeal," Kat retorted.

"You want me on my knees again, huh?" Kat's eyes flew to his, and she was glad of the cover of darkness - her blush would've betrayed her. Hadn't she imagined that, so many times?

The most exquisite kiss she'd ever had…

"Justin…do you even want to skate with me?" Kat asked, shoving those memories out of her mind - at least, to a secret compartment she could examine at her leisure. "Or was it Dasha's idea?"

"What does that matter?" Justin asked hedgily.

"It matters," Kat protested, frowning. "It matters. If this is just some game or you actually want to skate with me."

After a moment, Justin smiled softly. She hated when he did that; he was warm and charismatic and cared more than he ever let on - he'd given her that look over and over that night they'd spent together. That look was why she'd slept with him…the first time - the second, because she'd know how insanely good the first time was… "Yes, I wanna skate with you."

Kat blinked away thoughts of the back of Justin's car, memories that still made her breathless. "Why?"

"Because, I think we'd pair well together, and unlike what everyone thinks…I actually care about skating," Justin said quietly. "And I want to win."

"You won Regionals with Natalie, Justin, you can skate with anyone you want," Kat protested, uncomfortable with the look in his eyes as he gazed at her…as if she was the furthest thing from insignificant. "You're gonna risk a winning streak that could get you to the Olympics?"

"Dasha says she can get you to Nationals in two years," Justin shrugged nonchalantly.

"I've never pair skated before," Kat reminded him, almost embarrassed to admit that she was a novice where he was swiftly becoming a nationally-ranked professional.

"Well, that's a lie," he smirked, clicking his tongue. Kat frowned, taken aback.

"What?" she breathed.

"Summer camp," Justin said pointedly, and Kat's lips parted.

"How do you even know about that?" she blurted.

"Small community," Justin smirked.

"That was - for fun, it was a fundraiser, and - it was a long time ago," Kat blurted indignantly, but of course, he was right; she had pair-skated before, technically. She had spent the summer when she was sixteen at training camp, skating with a new friend who had convinced her to put on an exhibition at the end of the summer. But one four-minute dance she had enjoyed, to entertain a crowd, was very different to skating in competition, intent on the Olympics. "It was before… I can't even land a Double Lutz."

"Yes, you can," Justin corrected her sternly, holding her eye. Her lips parted, and his tone softened as he gazed at her through his lashes. "You can do anything."

"I used to think that," Kat sighed, shaking her head, walking away.

"You wanna know the truth? Why I want to skate with you?" Justin asked, easily keeping pace with her. He caught her arm gently, and she stopped, sighing. She was curious. It better not be anything to do with wanting to fuck her again. Justin gazed out over the illuminated slopes. "'Cause watching you on the ice is like…falling in love with skating all over again for the very first time, every time." She couldn't look away from his gaze; and her blush now was warmer and mellower than when he'd reminded her of their night together. Flattered. "And not even a head-injury could stop you getting back on the ice…but you're gonna let pride and money stop you?"

"That's not…" She sighed heavily, shaking her head. If they were truly doing this tonight, in the snow, after too much tequila, she might as well go for it. There was more than just one reason why she thought it was a bad idea - not just because Justin hadn't had the nerve to ask her to skate with him himself. "It's not my pride and your dad's money that has me thinking better of pairing with you, Justin."

"Then what?" Justin asked exasperatedly, as if he was genuinely concerned what was keeping her from pairing with him. Kat sighed heavily.

"Your dad looked at me and saw an Olympic gold medal draped around your neck, like I'd be this perfect Golden Ticket to get you where he wants you to be. I am not perfect, I'm not something you just pin onto your costume before you go out onto the ice, I'm… It's too important to me; but my head's all wrong…" she admitted. Justin opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand, and he kept quiet. Because she had been thinking about it. And she told him what really concerned her about pairing with him: "Say we start training, and you throw a fit or I can't stick the jumps, we don't - I don't make the progress your dad wants in the time he's willing to pay for…you'll get a new partner and I'd be…exactly where I am now, with no savings, lucky to even be waiting tables and changing sheets at the Lodge and just…unable to do the one thing that I love, after putting all that faith in it."

Quietly, Justin said, "You think I'd trade up just because you're struggling?"

Struggling, she thought. That was a pleasant word for it. She grimaced, almost feeling badly about saying, "Justin, you've had seven partners in the last five years."

"Yeah, but none of them were -" He broke off, looking almost embarrassed at his outburst, holding her eye. She wondered what he'd been about to say.

"It's not your dad's attitude, or even just my head, really…it's your commitment," she said.

"Hey, the one thing I am committed to is skating."

"Yeah…but not your partner," Kat winced apologetically. Contrary to what people believed, and how she acted around him, she didn't think Justin was a colossal asshole. "Maybe I just wanna know you've got as much to lose as I do if everything goes to shit. We're not in the same position."

Justin frowned, and said, annoyed, "I'll never have as much to lose. I can't help that!"

"I know you can't. I don't blame you for it - God knows your dad has worked hard to get where he is so you can have everything you want…" Kat sighed, and her tone was unyielding when she continued, "But he'd fuck me over to make sure you got it. And I don't have to be okay with that."

For a minute, Justin couldn't respond. He tucked his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket, staring over the frozen-over pond illuminated with twinkle lights. Gently, he said, finally, "We have the same things to gain by working together. I've watched you skate for years…you're mesmerising…and I know you've watched me skating, too." His expression turned almost flirty, and Kat rolled her eyes. He had the finest ass out on the ice; and they spent hours training in the same space. She'd be branded a liar for trying to claim she didn't enjoy watching Justin skate. "Think what wouldn't be possible if we worked together. It's important to me, too. I just want to skate with someone who loves it as much as I do."

Kat sighed, flicking her eyes over him, tension crackling between them as she chewed her tongue against breaking the atmosphere, but she couldn't help it - he made her flushed and uncomfortable in her own skin when he looked at her like that. She choked, "Damn, Justin that was…quite…smooth…"

"Think about it," he said warmly, sidling closer, speaking only to her, not the space between them. "Just…promise me you'll think about it."

Kat raised an eyebrow. "Think about what?"

Justin's lips quirked into a smirk. "Katarina Baker, would you consider doing me the honour of deigning to pair-skate with me?"

He was far too close. After a minute, she smirked, "Thought you were supposed to get on your knees…but I'll think about it… As long as you think about what I said." He gave her a sombre look - the kind of look people rarely saw on Justin Davis' face - the kind of look he reserved for his most vulnerable, most intimate moments: She had seen it a couple times.

Somehow, and she knew it had everything to do with the fact she was mesmerised by his pretty eyes, Justin stood close, his hand resting on her waist, gazing down at her. He murmured, "I just wanna skate with you, Kat… I'm tired of not caring who I skate with. I just wanna enjoy it again. And get better, better than I've ever been before. I think we can do that together."

"Bar's set a little lower for me," Kat protested gently, and Justin shook his head, still gazing down at her. Too close, she thought breathlessly. This was familiar.

"You're the only thing holding you back," Justin told her: He was right, of course. She knew it. It was all in her head. He was too close, stood there all cute and deceptively relaxed.

"How would it even work?" she asked curiously. "Pair-skating? I mean…"

"It's…knowing what's inside the other person's head…without them having to say anything…" Justin said softly. He smirked, his eyes playful, gazing at her lips, as he added, "It's like having really great sex."

"Okay, that's -" she blushed, glancing away. "Okay."

Justin chuckled softly under his breath, still so close. He caught her eye, and she couldn't look away. There was something thoughtful and fiery smouldering in his eyes that she couldn't break away from. "Skating together should be no issue for us. It's not like we didn't share an insane night together."

Kat blinked, flushing hotly. Her lips parted, and she tore her eyes away, glancing out over the frozen lake. "I'm…stunned you remember. Figured I was a pretty low notch on a very long bedpost."

She'd hoped she wasn't. She wanted him tortured by memories of their night together, the same as she was.

"Are you calling me a man-whore?" Justin teased.

"I never accused you of being a man," Kat retorted, deadpan, and Justin laughed.

"Touché, Kat…" He leaned in, saying softly, earnestly, "You think I'd forget the best sex I've ever had?" She flushed, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear, avoiding his eye, and shivered despite herself. He chuckled softly. "I like this - you, flustered. You're too cute."

She was saved by her phone, buzzing loudly in her hand.

"Is that your Lyft?"

"It's…Jenn."

"She's made a conquest," Justin guessed, and Kat nodded morosely, suddenly feeling badly for taking her anger at Justin out on Jenn. She texted back, apologising for snapping at her. Jenn sent a heart emoji in response. All is forgiven. They'd been best-friends for too long - and had far worse fights than this.

It did mean she was on her own to find somewhere to sleep: She couldn't justify sneaking into Jenn's bedroom to sleep, not without Jenn there.

"Where are you headed?" Justin asked quietly.

"Back to my car," Kat said, bringing up the Lyft app.

Justin frowned, asking in alarm, "You're not driving back into town, are you?"

Kat frowned, but understood Justin's horror - his mother had been killed by a drunk-driver. "Of course not."

"Then you're - you better not be thinking of sleeping in your car! Tell me that bartender was joking when he said you've been sleeping in your car!" Justin said, his eyes widening in alarm. Kat was so startled he'd overheard Marcus that she couldn't respond. "Are you kidding me? Anything could fucking happen to you!"

"It's fine," she said, waving away his concerns, startled by the shock on his face - it had been a long time since she had let anyone care that much, "I'm parked on Jenn's drive."

"Fuck no, no it's not. No way," Justin objected fiercely. "You're coming home with me."

"Keep dreaming."

"Oh, you are in my dreams, Kat," Justin smirked. "Those little sounds you made while I was -"

Heat flushed her entire body. "Enough."

He grinned, but his smile softened to something earnest, concerned, as he said gently, "Come on. I've got heating, running water and a big-ass bed. What's your car offering you - a sleeping-bag, frostbite and the threat of assault and rape? Come on, Kat, you're not this stupid!"

"No… I am that desperate," she admitted, with a bite. It hadn't been easy to find a permanent place to live, what with trying to juggle her shifts around skating full-time. Her focus had been skating. Now…

Justin sighed heavily, looking her up and down with a slight frown on his face. "How long? Since you left home?"

"Like eighteen months," Kat shrugged.

Justin's lips parted, stunned. "Why have you never asked anyone for help?"

"Because…it's easier to just get on with it," she said honestly, and a little embarrassed, too.

"Except it's not," Justin said, looking stunned. "Come on. Where's all your shit?"

"In my trunk. What're you doing?"

"Arranging a Lyft. We're gonna go grab your stuff," Justin murmured, and he overrode her protests. "I'll give you a ride back to get your car tomorrow. Dash gave me the day off."

"I'm not cramping your style, Justin," Kat protested, suddenly more uncomfortable about Justin offering to - insisting he help her - than any of his allusions to their night together.

"Who says you are?" he smirked playfully. "There's always room in my bed for one more."

"Ugh!" she grimaced, crinkling her nose, and he laughed outright, his eyes twinkling with delight as a silver sedan drew up in front of them. Justin checked it was their ride, and he opened the back passenger-door for Kat before ushering her into the car, guiding the driver first to Jenn's house, where Kat grabbed her Osprey backpack full of her everyday stuff out of her trunk, then to the Lodge, where Justin sweet-talked the night concierge into creating a key to his suite - he hauled her backpack over his shoulder, grimacing at the weight, and punched his thumb for the elevator before passing her the slim card in its sleek matte sleeve embossed with the Pinecrest Lodge pine-tree motif.

"What's this?"

"That's yours," Justin said.

"Justin -"

"Don't even argue with me," Justin interrupted, watching the lights indication each floor they passed. Kat sighed, leaning against the wall, suddenly more exhausted than she had been all week. The tequila, the sudden cold after her fight with Jenn, Justin's presence…she was tired. She may even have fallen asleep against the elevator wall; a soft ping roused her, and she blinked around the elevator bemusedly as the doors slid open soundlessly to a richly panelled hallway - the luxury suites were decorated the most expensively, of course, every chance to show off the view utilised with strategic panoramic cosy-corners arranged with plush armchairs and fresh flowers that cost at least three times what Kat earned per shift.

Justin paused at the door to his suite - one of the luxury residential suites the Lodge offered to guests who had the money, and shifted her backpack on his shoulder before using his own worn key-card to unlock the door.

"Welcome back to Casa Davis," he said, with a tired smile, docking the key-card so the lights glowed softly into life. She remembered the suite - of course she did; she was the one who ended up cleaning it most weeks! - but it was different in the dark. Warmer, cosy - intimate.

She remembered the enormous bed.

And her breath came in shallow bursts as she remembered the soft amber glow and Justin's hands all over her, worshipping her body, taking his sweet time as he thrust his hips with exquisite patience, cupping her breasts from behind as she draped her arms back behind his neck, moaning as she writhed…

STOP, she thought, and heard the needle-scratch of her mind changing the old record. She closed the door behind her, hand shaking a little, and took a deep breath before turning to face the open suite, and Justin slinging her heavy backpack onto the bed, already reaching to use a sleek remote to turn on the hidden stereo-system - she grimaced, and Justin grinned lazily as he pressed a button, changing the music from his favoured hip-hop and rap to a mutual favourite, Classic Radio. He turned the volume down, to a soft background hum, and Kat realised how quiet the Lodge had been as they'd wandered through; how loud the club had been in comparison, how loudly they'd been listening to music in Jenn's room earlier.

"So…the sheets are clean, extra pillows are in the closet," Justin said uncertainly, leaving Kat's backpack on the bed, stepping away from it.

"I'm not taking your bed, Justin," Kat said sternly.

"Sure you are, the couch is terrible," Justin said, blinking at her as if it was a given.

"You're not sleeping on the couch," she protested, cheeks warming. This was his…place, his room: She wasn't putting him out.

"Neither are you," Justin argued lightly, arms crossed over his chest, his expression stubborn.

Kat glanced at him, at the bed, at the couch, and back. She sighed, "Okay, fine - let's just…share the bed."

Justin's eyebrows flew up. "Really?"

She blushed, blurting, "Like you said, it's not like we haven't slept together… And it's a big-ass bed. We can share. We're both adults."

"Okay…no playing grab-ass, though, Kat," Justin chided playfully. "I need my beauty rest."

"I'll try and keep my hands to myself," Kat said, rolling her eyes and giving him a withering look, but the corners of her lips tugged toward a smile at the smirk on his face. He chuckled.

"Me too," he promised, holding up his hand, his pinkie-finger extended. "Deal?"

So much for being adults, she thought warmly, hooking her finger around his. "Deal."

"Thank God, I did not wanna have to sleep on that couch," Justin admitted, and Kat laughed. "Wanna play cards?"

"Sure, for a little while," Kat said quietly, and Justin nodded, going to the dresser, starting to pull out pyjamas from the middle drawer. She'd thought maybe he'd head back out to the club - it was barely one-thirty and Justin was a notorious heavyweight when it came to partying. "Hey, Justin? I…know I can be a real bitch to you sometimes -"

"You're not a bitch, you're a hard-ass," Justin interrupted fiercely, frowning at her. "There is a difference. You set boundaries, and, as far as I can tell, you always have a good reason. Except when you're being a dumbass about sleeping in your car."

Kat's lips parted. "I was gonna say something nice but I don't think I will now."

"You know I'm right," he said solemnly. "Why tempt fate?"

"It's…not like I have many other options," she stammered honestly, watching him retreat to the bathroom, blinking quickly as he stripped off everything but his jeans to throw in the hamper for the hotel laundry to deal with. Shirtless… BREATHE, KAT, she reminded herself, stunned. "I was…gonna say that…your mom would've been proud of you tonight."

"For getting you into my bed by any means necessary?" Justin smirked, trying to joke his way out of any kind of reminder of his mother, but something flickered in his eyes.

"For…seeing through the bullshit and making sure I was safe," Kat said, sighing, suddenly exhausted all over again. "So…thank you. I don't know how to show my appreciation most of the time, but…thanks."

"You're, uh, you're welcome," Justin said, with that warm, soft look on his face she recognised, and could barely resist. He propped himself against the doorframe, giving her a prime view to ogle unabashedly - if she so chose…and she fought hard to keep her eyes on his face. He smirked, as if he knew it, too. "Now, about that cuddling."

"Justin," she warned sternly, and his lips quirked toward another smirk, his eyes glinting. "You better behave or I'll clean out your mini-bar."

He gasped delightedly. "They restocked it? Yay…" She rolled her eyes, and turned her back to unzip her backpack as he disappeared into the bathroom: She heard running water, but he'd left the door ajar, so when she had quickly changed into her long-sleeved grey nightdress, leggings and fluffy bed-socks, she didn't feel awkward in pushing the door open wider so she could use the sink and take off her makeup.

Justin was doing his own night-time skincare routine. Kat raised an eyebrow: He didn't see, too busy raising his own at her pyjamas.

"Some guys get lingerie," he clicked his tongue, shaking his head.

"I was wearing lingerie, earlier," she reminded him, setting her washbag down on the counter. "Should've taken a picture."

"Who says I didn't?" he smirked.

"What is all this?" she asked curiously, ignoring him, eyeing the neat arrangement of bottles and pots.

"Mandy," Justin said grimly. "She got me into it. She's a skincare and sunscreen fanatic. Feels good after I shave, and after I've been on the ice all day."

"I have to use so much moisturiser after being at the rink," Kat groaned, setting to removing her makeup with cleanser. It was a treat to stand in front of a mirror to do it, with warm water and a soft washcloth.

"Looks like I'm not the only one into their skincare," Justin said, eyeing her bottles and pots.

"A friend from camp introduced me, he's…sort of a self-taught guru about this kind of stuff. Plus, mascara," Kat said thoughtfully. She hadn't texted Gabriel in a while.

"Why d'you wear makeup at the restaurant and for competitions, but never at the rink?" Justin asked suddenly.

"At the rink? What's the point, I'm just gonna sweat it off? Waste of money," Kat said, adding honestly, "I get better tips at the restaurant when I look pretty, so…"

"Huh. Never thought of it that way."

"Yeah, well, I once had a guest at the hotel tell me I looked like a trash-bag," Kat sniffed, rinsing her face in warm water - delicious! She had missed little luxuries like this.

"You spit in their drink?"

"Not even worth it," Kat muttered, and sighed as she used a cooling cucumber-rose toner, making her skin sing, before massaging lashings of moisturiser into her face. The snow, the makeup, her exhaustion, it all took its toll on her body - on her skin, too: She did get dark bruises smudged under her eyes when she was exhausted.

The sudden intimacy struck Kat as they both started brushing their teeth. People in months-long relationships sometimes didn't hit this stage - she had never reached this stage with…with Dave. Getting ready for bed after a really, really long week, just…talking. Nothing sexual, just tired, and relaxed, and intimate.

Scary shit.

She tucked her things away, saw Justin roll his eyes as she carried her washbag back to her backpack, but…this was his room and she hated being an imposition, it was one of the reasons why she had never taken Marcus up on his offer to sleep on his couch.

Kat had tucked her sleep-mask on top of her head before folding everything away neatly, and heard the bathroom door softly latching as she sat down at the table with a deck of cards. She glanced up, saw Justin in nothing but midnight-blue plaid pyjama bottoms, and her mind went blank temporarily. His face split into a grin, eyeing something on top of her head.

"No, no - wait, this, I love this!" he laughed, and she scowled as he pointed his phone at her, grinning as he took a picture. He came closer, still smiling delightedly, and she realised he meant her sleep-mask. It was black, sewn with silver embroidery that read 'FUCK OFF'. "Where did you get that? It's very Fiona Gallagher of you."

"Jenn gave it to me for Christmas…" Kat trailed off, blinking confusedly. "She knows Fiona Gallagher is my spirit animal, you watch Shameless?"

"Uh-huh. Don't look at me like that," Justin grinned, adding with a luxurious groan that made her shiver, "Emmy Rossum."

Kat stared, then realised, "Right. She is naked half the time." Justin slung himself into a chair opposite her, swiftly tapping at his phone. "What're you - ?!"

"That is now your profile pic on my phone," he chuckled delightedly, showing Kat a grumpy picture of herself wearing the mask, her dark hair tumbling over her shoulders, looking sleep-deprived and irritated. "Every time you call me, I'll be reminded of this vision before me." He smirked, eyeing her up.

"This vision cleaning you out of mini bottles of tequila," she warned, holding up the cards, and Justin smiled, setting his phone down.

"Hey, you remember when you were like an au pair for the twins last year?" he asked. "We did that poker night with the Halloween candy? Air Heads, pretzels, Pop Rocks, Redvines, Jolly Ranchers, gumdrops and Baby Ruth bars as currency?"

"The boys literally can't play poker for toffee," Kat smirked. Another thing she owed to Gabriel: Teaching her how to clean out at poker. "That was a great night. Was it Uncle Buck we watched or Ferris Bueller?"

"That night? Uh…Uncle Buck - I remember; the boys tried to make giant birthday-cake pancakes for breakfast the next morning," Justin said, shaking his head.

"That's right. Took hours to clean up after them," Kat sighed. "They were sweet. Misguided, but sweet."

Justin sighed, as she pushed cards toward him across the table. Almost as if to himself, he murmured, "I miss our movie nights."

Tradition throughout their childhood, Kat remembered going over to the Davis' house with Serena, having early dinner with the boys; their mother would make treats for them to have while they watched a mom-approved movie. The Davises had had a home theatre that reinforced how tired and dirty the local movie-theatre truly was; it was as much a treat to curl up under a thick blanket on one of the velvet seats, watching old Disney movies, as it was to snack on Mrs Davis' sweet-and-salty marshmallow popcorn. Kat had tried making it since, wanting to keep the memories alive, the tradition - even though Mrs Davis had gifted Carol all her recipes in a gorgeous scrapbook full of pictures of the girls and the Davis boys playing together, Kat just couldn't get them to taste the same.

"Me too," she admitted quietly. She missed Mrs Davis. She missed the warmth and…the feeling of safety Kat had always felt when she was with her, the sense of security she knew, even from a young age, was lacking in Carol.

Justin caught her eye, shuffling the deck, and smiled sadly. They started to play gin rummy - his mother's game. She had taught it to them when they were still little: Kat liked to play with Serena - it was the only time she banned Serena from using her cell-phone.

"Hey, Justin…?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah?" He raised his eyes from his cards.

She gazed at him for a moment, before asking quietly, "Are you lonely?"

He stared back at her, and then admitted, "Most of the time. I'm either…in a crowded club or…here…and I don't know which I hate more."

"Yeah," she nodded, understanding perfectly. In her car, alone; or rushed off her feet at the restaurant, or hopping in between tutoring gigs and other odd jobs she took on to make ends meet.

"Must be weird, without your mom and your sister."

Kat shrugged. Weird, but at the same time…a relief. Carol, she had learned to deal with, to work around: But Serena…she was the one who was becoming the hard work. She had left home to save herself; but she saw Carol's influence over her sister every day. She didn't like the bitch Serena was becoming - but it wasn't up to Kat to raise her, not anymore, not since she'd put her foot down, and decided it was time for Carol to be the adult, and for Serena to see their mother for the vicious train-wreck she truly was. Kat knew one thing: Serena's attitude couldn't outlast Carol's episodes. "Yeah."

"How bad was it?" Justin asked tentatively.

"Bad enough I'd rather risk sleeping in my car," Kat said, not offering up any specifics. She'd chugged two glasses of water, was onto her third and kept sipping as they played, the effects of the alcohol wearing off.

"I didn't realise it was…bad."

She glanced up, locking eyes with him. "No-one would," she assured him. "It's okay."

"D'you worry about her? Serena?"

"Always," Kat said, without hesitation. She sighed heavily, her eyes on her cards but her mind wandering. "I'll always worry about Serena."

"Sometimes I wonder who the twins would've been if Mom hadn't…" Justin broke off, shaking his head, arranging his cards. "They're just like him."

"Drew has a lot more of Mandy in him," Kat said gently, and Justin pulled a face. "That's not a bad thing."

"I know. We'd all be worse off without her." He seemed stunned to have admitted it out loud.

"Have you ever told Mandy that?"

"No. Don't go telling her; I've got a reputation."

"For being a pain in the ass," Kat said, and Justin smirked. "People like to know they're…appreciated, sometimes, you know?"

"Is that why you left home? I mean, I've noticed a difference in Serena's attitude since you moved out, everyone has," Justin said, and Kat flushed. She knew Serena's behaviour reflected on her, the same way Carol's affected how people judged her daughters. She was…sort of gratified that people had noticed Serena was worse off without her influence - or…just worse. "It's like you were the only influence keeping her in check, you know? Now she's a raging -"

"Careful… She's always been Carol's girl…her favourite, our mom's champion. It's been always been me against my mom, and…me trying to protect Serena from my mom dragging her into the middle of it…" Suddenly upset, a recent sting irritated by their conversation, she scoffed, "The other day, she told me it's better at home because I'm gone…as if I'm the problem - whatever. Doesn't matter…" She tidied her cards, and, feeling flustered and flushed, disbelieving that she'd been so close to slipping, she cleared her throat, declaring, "I need sleep." Justin raised his eyebrows, but didn't argue, didn't coax her to stay up and play longer. She paused at the enormous bed. Glancing over shoulder, she cleared her throat and asked, "Which…side are you?"

"Alarm clock," Justin said, pointing, and she saw his phone-charger neatly arranged on the bedside cabinet. "You can have the window." She nodded, walked around to her side of the bed, and tugged back the sheets, special 900-thread-count sheets reserved for the residential suites, to complement the feather-topped mattress and the eiderdown duvet and perfectly plump pillows. She sat on the edge of the bed, watching Justin dim all the lights but the lamps in the bedroom.

She hadn't intended for him to climb in with her just because she was going to sleep; but at the same time, didn't want to push him away if he wanted to go to bed. She tucked herself in, and relaxed into the mattress with a sigh, remembering…

Kat called it the princess-bed. Fit for royalty. She remembered this bed.

Not even memories of their last night together in this bed could shake her out of her exhaustion. She was just…so…tired…

She rolled onto her side, peeking up from her sleep-mask, saw him turning off his early-morning alarm before connecting his phone to charge, and as she settled in, she murmured, "Thanks, Justin."

Kat tucked her sleep-mask back in place, and didn't see Justin's smile lingering as he luxuriated in the expensive sheets, sighing contentedly for the first time in a long time, Kat beside him a comforting presence warding away the exhaustion, the…hollowness and desperation he had been starting to feel more and more the last few years, as his passion for skating was outweighed by his unhappiness with his partner, with…with his life…everything off the ice was a shit-show. Everything on the ice was starting to resemble it, too.

He was tired of it.

He wanted to skate with Kat.

He wanted to look forward to skating.

It had started to become a chore. And that was dangerous. If his love for skating started to slip, that was it - he was done.

He wanted to feel the way Kat looked whenever she was on the ice.

He couldn't believe she'd been sleeping in her fucking car.

Anything could've happened to her, and it made him flustered and angry to think about it.

She was so guarded, something might've happened - and no-one would ever have known.

He doubted her bitchy sister could crack that enigmatic, stern exterior - or be bothered to - he'd guess her sister was part of the reason Kat put up such strong walls to keep herself guarded. More than one girl had been reduced to tears by Serena Baker, but butter wouldn't melt in the eyes of her mother, who was the worst of the worst of the mean mommies. Kat was as unlike her mother and sister as midnight and noon - they were bright and flashy, but she was gentle, mysterious and dangerous, mesmerising.

She was a complicated person, he'd known that since they were kids.

He'd just…never realised she thought she had no one she could turn to for help.

Perhaps she honestly thought she didn't.

Or, like arguing over the couch, she…didn't want to put people in an awkward position, even if it was dangerous for her not to press the issue.

Sleeping in her car…

A soft sigh beside him; Kat was already asleep. She was safe, for tonight at least.

He'd liked having her here - talking as they cleansed away the day, playing cards… It was nice to talk, without the thump and grind of grating club mixes, without the full court press, without the expectation…

It'd been nice just…being with her.

He'd go to sleep before bedtime every night if he thought he could spend the last hour playing cards with Kat and teasing her. He liked startling a smile from her; they were so rare.

Justin liked making her smile.

And he liked that she didn't tolerate his bullshit, either.

He'd practically dragged her here tonight, but Kat was the one who'd set the terms.

It was her move.

A.N.: As we've seen in his interactions with Jenn about her hip, we know Justin isn't a self-absorbed ass. He's actually a very succinct, very observant guy who seems to find it hard to put himself forward, emotionally. I wanted to establish that Kat and Justin did grow up together; they have shared memories and experiences, and Kat can remember his mother, which adds an interesting layer to their relationship, and Kat's perspective on Mandy.