bossyboiler | Call me, beep me if ya wanna reach me!

[ In the morning, a pretty bouquet of pastel flowers arrives at Kate's room. Attached is a handwritten note: ]

Hey "Mom"

So like I know I shouldn't be leaning into this. We should definitely be working on forgetting Hellburbia and all, but I just wanted to send you a little token of my appreciation. I was your favorite son for a reason (shhhh, don't tell Suzaku lulz). I hope you enjoy the flowers. Don't worry, I triple checked to make sure they were completely normal and not going to infect you with some weird aphro pollen or whatever.

Happy "Mother's" Day!

- Tech / Aindreas

[ Neither one of them should be leaning into it. Kate knows it. She knows that to be true. It's the however that gets her. The feelings feel good. Oh, sure. It's wrapped up with a little bit of trauma and such. But shouldn't they focus on what makes them happy? Or do they all need therapy? Yes.

The flowers are pretty and she likes receiving pretty things. The note makes her smile. It's a nice experience and she could use so many more of those (also the previously mentioned therapy.)

She's going to send him a text as acknowledgement. A simple thank you. ]

Aindreas. Thank you for the flowers. They are beautiful. I appreciate the thought that went into writing the note and making sure that the flowers didn't have any special kind of pollen. It means a lot. Thank you. "Mom"/Kate

ok....so

i'm gonna preface this by saying i'm gonna tell you something and i need you to not freak out

[ Which is 100% not ominous at all.... ]

I can only promise that I'll try not to freak out.

[ Because she can only promise and conversations that begin like this are usually never good. Maybe it's something mundane like he saw a snake near her room. But, she thinks, it's probably not. ]

k so, remember the brides? the ones that were getting married to mammon in that horribly gaudy ceremony?

i managed to barter for their freedom. but it means i gotta go stay with mammon for a while. which also means......i won't be around for a bit

I do.

[ Son, where is this going? What did you do? And then he tells her what he did... ]

I raised an idiot.

[ She says it out loud. It is a completely Katherine-like response and so are the thoughts that follow it. Why would he do such a thing for those people? They weren't his family. Were they even his friends? What is the point of it? Who is he doing this for? He is better than this. Let the others rot.

Where did he get the goddamn gall and the audacity to try a stunt like this?

But she's not Katherine and he's not her son. She wrestles with this.It doesn't change the fact that she doesn't like it, she doesn't like it at all. ]

Why?

[ Is her first response. She is trying not to freak out but it's too late. ]

Please tell me why you are doing this? Are they your friends?

[ Jesus. Why does this feel like he's being scolded by his mother? He can very much read those words like he's just a hair's breadth from getting into trouble. There's an irony, though. Because this is the absolute opposite sort of thing Aindreas would have done. He would have easily left Yennefer to carry the price alone. Maybe even thrown Suzaku into the line of fire for good measure. ]

two are my friends. one is the first roommate i had here and we just kinda maintained a friendship since then. the other i met later, but we quickly bonded and started working together on finding a solution. i came out of that hellburbia shit being able to read some demon languages so that was helpful

we found the spell and later on found the counterspell. it required mammon's participation and his blood. so we had to negotiate. yennefer bartered for her own freedom by allowing mammon to alter her. then she was going to accept owing a 'favor' equivalent to two mortal souls to free the other two

i'm a god. i know the weight of a soul. i couldn't let her do that. so i stepped in and offered myself. he will take that price out of me, but then it will be done. no more owing anything, nothing to hang over our heads.

trust me. it's not something i WANT to do. but it's the RIGHT thing to do.

[ In a weird, fucked-up way, he is being scolded by his mother. His fake one. Maybe the closest thing to a mother he'll ever have. He is certainly the closest thing to a son that she'll ever have. She's certain of it.

And Kate knows that it's fake. It's not real but GDI, the feelings remain. That's her baby and he's going to do something stupid and dumb.]

Your friends. Okay.

[ What's to stop her from rushing to his room and locking him in a forcefield until Mammon leaves? Nothing. She could do it and she wants to do it too. Is it the right thing for her to do? She doesn't know. Is she going to actually do it? No.

Aindreas... Tech is his own person. They've both had their agency stripped away and she isn't going to take away his however much she might like to. ]

I understand why you're doing this. You're too good for them.

But you're going to be hurt! And I can't stand the thought of it.

[ She says it out loud because she isn't going to burden him with her own fears. Who knows what Mammon is going to do to him? Who knows what kind of torture he has in mind. Is Aindreas going to be the same when he comes back? No. She knows it.

Kate wants to channel her inner Katherine and march right up to him and lock him away. She really wants to but she doesn't. ]

Are you sure this is the only way? Maybe someone else knows something. Anything? Maybe Fitz.

[ This all hurts a part of him that just wanted her to be proud. She's understandably worried and the worry he can deal with -- it's just the edge of disappointment he imagines that hurts him more. Katherine's disapproving stare. The chilling thought of her ever treating him with the same distance as Suzaku when he came home a failure.

But she's not Katherine. She's Kate. And she could never push him away like that. This is why he's telling her -- why it's safe to tell her. ]

the contract was already signed, kate. yeah, mammon's still here and there's still a chance to barter with him, but i don't want anyone else taking my place or owing him anything. i already talked to fitz and he asked the same sort of thing.

but you know, until now aindreas and i had a lot in common. thinking only of ourselves, ready to throw those we don't care about to the wolves. i'm trying to be different. i'm trying to change the narrative that's dictated my whole life. i just want to do something good for a change.

even if there's a risk i could lose myself in the process.

Edited (sent it before proofreading. oops!) 2022-06-13 12:36 (UTC)

[ Aindreas is strong. Strong enough to withstand whatever Mammom is going to throw at him and come out stronger on the other side. HOWEVER! She can't be proud of him at the moment. Why? Kate is absolutely terrified for him. Her feelings on the matter are trumping Katherine's. What is Mammon going to do to him? Her imagination needs no help in answering that question. ]

Okay. Ok.

[ She reaches up and wipes at the corner of her eye. It's one solitary tear. ]

So you're going to sacrifice yourself for your friends. I understand that. It's noble. I get it. It is a good thing. I understand why you're doing it. I do. I don't think I could do what you're doing if our positions were switched.

[ Ramble much, Kate? If it were Pete or Bela, Kate could see herself doing something dumb like Tech is doing. But she wouldn't do it for strangers. Or a roommate. ]

~~I'm terrified for you.~~

Thank you for telling me.

[ Baby. Baby boy! ]

Do you need anything before you leave? Is there anything I can do for you?

Edited (HTML FAIL) 2022-06-14 00:06 (UTC)

maybe this is a weird request, but....

don't suppose you can make some of those cookies? the ones you made for my "birthday." it'd be nice to have them for the trip.

It's not weird at all. I'll bake you as many as you like. [ And maybe some other treats for his journey. It is the very least she can do. ]

Call me, beep me if ya wanna reach me!

beep, beep. Special delivery 5/8/22

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