hi holland!

[blondfragility]

Who: Ken & March.
What: March makes assumptions.
When: During the Aurora.
Where: Snowjo Dojo Casa Dreamhouse.

Content Warnings: goose shenanigans TBD.


The night comes and goes, and Ken is glad for the daylight. It's getting too spooky around here for him, especially at night. Even if the sun here isn't the bright, warm sun of the beach, it's still comforting in its way.

Bundled up, he makes his way down the stairs so he can get the fireplace going. He likes to keep the living room warm-ish, at least, as some sort of reprieve from the chill. Once he does his usual walking around town, it's nice to come back and thaw out in front of it. He's tossing a log on to the new flames when he sees March.

"Hi Holland! Did you sleep good?"

Comments

[questioningmermaids]

"Hi Ke--Hi." He at least catches himself before repeating the inevitable greeting, though he hates that he's doing it in the first place. He stops at the last syllable, but hey, small victories, right? Right. Either way, Ken is here, which is great, because March has just arrived after shuffling back from Huaisang's with half a hangover and a pit in his stomach that signal that he's extremely hungry.

"Did you sleep good? Or at all?" His eyebrows lift, and then lower, and then lift again.

[blondfragility]

"You know? I did sleep good. I wasn't so scared by the ghosts last night."

And that's really just because Barbie was there, and everyone knows you're way more safe from ghosts when you're not alone.

Ken looks at March for a moment, brow furrowing slightly in concern.

"Are you okay? Is your face cold? I do that with my eyebrows when my face starts feeling frozen. Here, come stand by the fire."

[questioningmermaids]

Is he okay? March's brows furrow entirely. What? He's fine. Does he look not-fine? He looks great for a hungover man. He looks great in general, but that's not the point.

"No, what? No. I mean you and Barbie." He's going to the fire anyway, though to emphasize what he means, he lifts and wiggles his eyebrows again like it'll help a second time.

"You know."

[blondfragility]

"I think Barbie slept good."

Ken does not know. He's just assuming March is being nice by asking, and he adds another block of wood to the fire just in case March needs it. His face is doing the scrunchy thing again, so he must be pretty cold.

[questioningmermaids]

March can't help the snort that bubbles up as he begins to pull up a chair to be a little closer to the fire.

"I bet she did. Good job tiring her out, tiger. I'm really happy for you guys."

It's the only explanation he can think of, after all.

[blondfragility]

It's Ken's turn to furrow his brows. He tries to think about what March must be talking about, and comes to the conclusion that it must be the staying up late to talk.

"That's the first time we've done it. Back home it was always girls' night so she never let me stay over, but it was really great. I think we really connected, you know?"

[questioningmermaids]

"This--"

March's brow furrows for an entirely different reason.

"This is your first time together? But you guys are... is it--it's not your first time, is it?"

[blondfragility]

"Yeah. Kens don't really have sleepovers or get invited to them, so I've never done it before last night."

Ken isn't too put off by March's confusions. He's learned that people find the entire concept of Barbieland pretty confusing, along with everything that goes along with it.

[questioningmermaids]

"That's impossible," March points out, and then physically points: "You look like you belong on the cover of Playgirl."

Sleepover has to mean fucking. Logistically not, but March has far too much of a one track mind when it comes to this stuff.

[blondfragility]

"I don't know what that is," Ken answers, pretty matter of factly but assuming it's some sort of compliment. He also doesn't know what it has to do with sleepovers.

"I guess Barbie and I sort of talked after the whole patriarchy thing, but not like we did last night. It was so great just being able to open up to each other."

[questioningmermaids]

One day Ken will say things that don't make March's head spin. Today it looks like it isn't going to be that day, but he's going to grab a nearby blanket and pull it over his body.

He's decided he really fucking hates Canada. Too cold. And there's the shit Ken is saying, like patriarchy--what?--but the important thing is that Barbie and Ken were being open and vulnerable. It's nothing like what March had imagined when he walked in, but honestly? It's sweet. They're a couple of kids in incredibly toned bodies.

"Your first time's supposed to be sweet and emotional. That's pretty good."

[blondfragility]

"Oh last time we talked was definitely more emotional. I cried a lot."

He's not afraid to say it, either.

With the fire crackling, Ken rubs his hands together to warm them up a bit, then thinks maybe he can get something warm for them to drink. The instant coffee found in the cupboards tastes horrible, but there's some tea that Ken likes, and he's learning how to use the kettle.

"But last time wasn't like last night. This time we really talked. She cared about what I was saying."

[questioningmermaids]

Jesus Christ. No wonder this was their first time together, crying ruins a lot of it. March has never cried during, before, or after sex, of course. Absolutely not.

(He has. A lot. It's embarrassing. But he can at least do one night stands now.)

"If you ever want to 'talk' more, just let me know. Huaisang's a pretty cool guy, we're trying to get booze sorted out. You guys are both cute, Barbie is a real dish and since you look like me you're obviously a spitfire casanova, but I'm not into hearing you guys. I'll just crash over there the next time you guys want to have sex."

[blondfragility]

He's about to say that's really nice of Holland but obviously he and Barbie can talk when Holland's at home, then he stops. He's fussing with the kettle and he frowns a bit, confused and also a little bit curious.

"When we want to what?"

[questioningmermaids]

It's March's turn to look confused but also a little bit curious.

"What do you mean 'when we want to do what?' You know. Get freaky. Boogie down."

[blondfragility]

"When we want to ... Dance?"

It seems like they're just going to stare at each other, perplexed and somehow miscommunicating something that should probably not be this difficult.

"You're not making any sense, Holland."

[questioningmermaids]

There's a flail of his arm--loose, awkward and disjointed, more limb and less grace, and March brings his other hand up to pinch at the bridge of his nose.

"Jesus Christ. No, Ken, I'm not sure how I can be more clear than 'if you guys have sex I can leave the mojo-jo-jo-snow-house-casadilla thing, whatever you guys call it, if you give me a heads up."

[blondfragility]

"I don't know what the means," Ken replies, hands coming to emphasize his own frustration. How can he be any clearer about this? "Why do you keep repeating yourself?"

[questioningmermaids]

March's shrug has upgraded to an all out flail.

"Because you're repeating yourself!"

[blondfragility]

"I'm trying to tell you I don't know what sex is!"

Ken throws his hands up, ready to just give up on the conversation all together, because he's got tea to make even if he still isn't sure about tea.

[questioningmermaids]

March's mouth opens to say something back, inhaling sharply and about to let the other really have it, mostly because now that they're both shouting he can't stop and naturally escalates almost every situation he's in when he's not actively trying to do the opposite. But what comes out of Ken's mouth is so dumbfounding that he just sort of...forgets how to speak for a few seconds.

"What, uh--sorry." A hand moves to his ear, scratching it, clearing his throat, calm and collected.

"Did you just say you don't know what sex is?"

[blondfragility]

"That's what I've been saying!"

Gosh, it only took long enough. But now March isn't shouting, so Ken isn't shouting, either, and he's just relieved that March is actually listening now.

[questioningmermaids]

March is quiet for a solid five or six seconds.

"Like, at all? Whatsoever? You've at least kissed?"

[blondfragility]

Ken scoffs a bit.

"Yeah. Of course. Obviously."

Come on, March, he's Barbie's boyfriend, of course they've kissed. Geez.

[questioningmermaids]

The other blonde gestures for him to continue, pinky ring glinting in the fire light.

"And then after kissing...?"

[blondfragility]

Ken looks a bit disheartened at the question, and he shrugs, doing a good job at just playing it off like it's nothing.

"It was always girls' night. I couldn't stay."

[questioningmermaids]

March laughs.

"It can't always be girls nights."

[blondfragility]

"Always. Every night for forever."

Ken's accepted it. More or less. Maybe because Barbie apologized for it, but it doesn't matter because Barbie wants to live in the real world now anyway.

"She doesn't like me the way I like her."

[questioningmermaids]

"That's the most depressing shit I've ever heard," March says completely honestly, blunt in his statement but very sincere. He has a dead wife and that's the saddest shit his ears have listened to.

He pauses, though, thinking on it. Wishes he had some of that scotch to pour him and Ken a drink, realizes he needs to find a way to make some sort of booze, makes a mental note to ask Huaisang about it.

"Hey. Before this, did you two talk all night like you did now? At home, in the Land of the Dolls or whatever."

[blondfragility]

"No." Ken pauses. "The closest was after she stopped me from turning Barbieland into Kendom and she was really nice to me, even though she didn't need to be. But it wasn't like last night."

He doesn't seem too upset about it. Resigned, maybe, but he's had a lot of practice at acting like it's okay.

"She told everyone she isn't in love with me right in front of me, but we didn't technically break up?"

[questioningmermaids]

March has no idea what that means, but context clues--and the fact that Barbieland and Kendom have their names in it--lets him piece most of it together. He thinks. with this conversation, he's not entirely sure.

"Were you, uh... Were you guys going out in the first place? I'm a little confused."

[blondfragility]

"Of course."

Ken says it like that should be obvious, because, you know, he was literally created to be Barbie's boyfriend.

"We've been girlfriend-boyfriend for forever."

[questioningmermaids]

Holland needs a minute. Just a minute.

He needs to carefully run his hands over his face as he absorbs this entire conversation so far.

"Wow. Okay."