Alex and Kathryn - An Unlikely Shoulder to Cry On
(also see: this)
The laws of nature (or at least of Mr. Murphy) dictate that phones will always ring at the most inopportune of times, or so Alex was convinced. It was true enough in this particular case, when just as Alex was leaving his apartment on a dreary Saturday afternoon, the phone rang. He stopped in the doorway with a sigh and went to answer it.
Kathryn’s voice came over the line, frustrated and angry, almost as soon as Alex picked up the phone.
“This is it. It isn’t fair. The entire fucking world is against me, Alex.”
“Kathryn?” Alex blinked a few times.
“It isn’t fair! Why did he have to go and do that? Why did he-”
“Katie, what-”
“And why the fuck am I dating a prospective politician in the first place? Me, dating a politician! It only figures…”
“Kathryn Kennedy,” Alex finally managed to break in, “You want to start from the beginning?” It wasn’t so much that Alex wasn’t used to Kathryn’s random and vehement tirades, but this particular anxious expression was worrying him.
“It’s Sebastian,” she finally said, and Alex noted that her voice seemed calmer.
“I gathered that much,” Alex responded quietly.
“He supports the war.”
“Ah. And you don’t I assume?”
“’Course not.” Kathryn scowled. “Who do you think I am?”
“I see…”
“Is that all you can say?” Kathryn’s voice began to rise again. “’I see’?”
“So you have a difference of opinion,” Alex told her matter-of-factly, hoping that if he walked her through her griping, his sister would get the steam out of her as usual.
“It’s a bit more than a difference of opinion, Alex,” Kathryn shot at him. “This is /war/ we’re talking about. Real, full-blown war-”
“Kathryn, it’s still just a difference of-”
“Well then, what do you think of it all?”
As the pause that followed stretched to a breaking point, Alex could almost see his sister raising her eyebrow expectantly. “I’m probably not the right person to ask, Katie…” he responded carefully.
“Oh, right.” Kathryn’s voice was suddenly bitingly bitter. “You /don’t/ have opinions, do you? You don’t think, you don’t care-” her voice began to rise as Alex waited for her tirade to finish, “all you do is follow orders and who gives a flying fuck about the consequences or free will or your fucking conscience! So you’ll support whatever the hell they tell you to and who cares what happens to you or anyone else.”
“Kathryn, calm-”
But he was cut off again. “Cisco would agree with me.”
The silence from Alex’s end of the line said more than any number of words could. Finally, he said quietly, “Kathryn, that isn’t fair…”
“Of course it isn’t fair,” Kathryn snapped back. “Nothing’s fair. It isn’t fair what you’re doing to him, is it? That you’re making him worry constantly and don’t even have the balls to have a fucking opinion about it? No, you know what? Fuck Guerrera. It isn’t fair to me.”
Alex was silent again, though this time it was out of shock. He could probably count on one hand the number of times he had seen his little sister cry. And now he heard Kathryn’s voice shaking. “Katie,” his voice was soft, “want to tell me what’s really wrong?”
“Damnit, Alex…”
“It’s okay…”
“I’m fed up.” Alex could hear the tears in her voice. “I’m sick of all the fucking idiots running our country, and all the fucking arrogant idiots here at school that are just like everyone at home, and I don’t want Sebastian going home, and I don’t want you getting hurt…”
“Oh, Kathryn…”
“Call me selfish or stupid or whatever the hell you want, I don’t want you going off and getting yourself killed because our village idiot of a president decides you should.” Alex said nothing, sensing that more was coming. “And then there’s this fucking place. I thought – I thought I was getting away from all that self-centered, childish, ignorant elitist crap. And there’s just as much of it here as there is at home. It isn’t fair.”
“I know,” Alex agreed softly.
“You know what? When I came back to school after Christmas I thought I would be relieved…but it was just…” She trailed off.
“I know,” Alex repeated, still soft. “You done?”
Kathryn took a shaky breath and nodded. “Yeah…”
“Okay. Everything’s going to be okay, Katie. It always is. You’re just stressed.”
“I’m sick of always going against the grain.” The confession was almost inaudible.
“You’re not exactly going against the grain when it comes to the war,” Alex told her.
“That’s a bit hard to remember when I feel like beating my boyfriend’s head against a wall.”
“Go talk to him.” A pause. “And leave me out of it? I’m going to be fine.”
“Alex…”
“I haven’t been deployed.”
“You could.”
“I might not.” Alex smirked. “Or if it makes you feel better, I could always come out.”
Kathryn laughed shakily. “That isn’t really funny.”
“Not the way it sounded to me.” He grinned.
Kathryn rolled her eyes, but her voice stayed serious. “You’re the best big brother in the world, you know that, right?”
“It was probably a good thing that the two siblings were thousands of miles apart, for though Alex flushed, he made his tone appear cocky. “Well, now that you mention it…”
Kathryn snorted. “Fine, I take it back, asshole.”
“Love you too, sister dear.”
“Thanks.” Her voice was serious again.
“Anytime.” Alex smiled. “And talk to Sebastian or whatever his name is, ‘kay?”
“’kay. And you stay out of trouble.”
“Shouldn’t I be the one telling you that?”
“No. ‘cause I know you.”
Alex chuckled. “Fine. Now go find something else useful to do and stop bugging me.”
“‘Bye, Alex.”
“‘Bye, hon. Take care of yourself.”