[RP for ki2k] Welcome home, honey...

[hattie_notqueen]

Hattie had made dinner. Her back was now killing her, but she'd made it. Something she hoped Kitt would like, since she realized that they didn't eat much together. Still, food was food and while she wasn't a big cook-

Oh, who was she fooling? It wasn't very tasty looking at all. A little black on the outside and maybe a little under-done on the inside? Meatloaf wasn't SUPPOSED to be good, was it?

"Hi, honey, welcome home!" She called it, meaning it to be a little on the cute side, wincing at her meatloaf attempt. Tossing the towel over it, she shook her head and grinned as he came down the hall.

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[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

He slipped his hand into hers, then started walking again, more slowly than before. He didn't want to tax her too much, or put too much strain on her feet.

"Thank you for this, again." He gestured over the track with one arm outstretched to take it all in. "It makes the place feel like home." He couldn't deny the part of himself that still thrilled to the feel of asphalt under tires. "What about you, Hattie? You don't about home much. Is there anything you want, or need, or want to talk about?"

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

Hattie loved the way her hand felt in his and she shifted her hand so her fingers were threaded through his. When he started talking about how happy he was with the track again, she couldn't keep the smile off her face and she had to interject with, "I'm so glad you like it, Kitt. You needed it. I really wanted to see you out here. Doing what you do."

Then he asked her a question she hadn't thought about and her thoughts shifted. She was quiet for over a minute, thinking and finally said, "Maybe a range, eventually, but other than that, the things I'm used to aren't things one can just build here. Maybe a lab, a great workspace where I can write down classified things?" She gave a light burst of laughter and shrugged her shoulders. "The things I know aren't things I can share with the world. You? I can probably tell, but other than that..."

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

He swung their hands, not much, just enough to be playful. "I have to be honest, Hattie, for a while there I was wondering if I ever wanted to be KITT again. He just seems so far away. That whole life just seems so far away." He shook his head, glancing over at her to see how she'd react to that. "But seeing the track, I don't know. It reminded me of who I am. Who I used to be. Who I still am inside, when I think about it instead of just burrowing it away." He looked out over the track again, thoughtfully. "I'm grateful to you for reminding me of that. Not only that, but for not wanting me to lose that part of myself. For not only accepting it, but encouraging it. For loving me all the same, no matter what." One corner of his mouth pulled back into a nervous smile that didn't last. There really had been a part of himself that was ready to put the car behind him completely. Hattie had made him realize what a loss that would be.

He waited silently while she pondered over his questions, working them out. He frowned, even as she laughed. "I'm sorry." He'd never really understood that before, or maybe he'd simply never taken the time to understand. "There's still so much I don't know about you, Hattie Jac..." His voice trailed off. They still hadn't decided on last names. "I wish your family was here for you." His voice had grown quiet. He hadn't meant to spoil the mood of their perfect day, but there was something about contemplating life under the canopy of the universe that made him moody.

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

The way he talked about how he'd been almost willing to put that part of him, the part of him she had fallen in love with (even if she hadn't known it at the time), aside... it bothered her. She listened and nodded and finally said, "I've told you before that I love you no matter what you look like on the outside." The smile she gave him was almost sad. "That'll never change. Ever."

"Nothing to be sorry for, really." Her smile changed to one of encouragement and she hugged his hand to her chest. "I wouldn't change any of this. I wouldn't have changed any of that and Kitt? This is where I'd want to be if given the choice to do it all over again. With you." She looked back at their house. "Even without all that. I'd just be... with you." A deep sigh and she wondered if melancholy was contagious because it washed over her in that moment. "Hattie Jackson. Hattie..." She lifted her shoulders. "It's all so strange here. Us. Having my family here would be..."

What, comforting? Aggravating? Needlessly confusing? She just shook her head and looked up at the sky again. "I miss being out there, sometimes," she offered.

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"Oh, I know." He looked over at her, trying to make out her features in the shadows. "It wasn't that. It was mostly just me, I suppose. Me becoming comfortable with this form. Realizing that most of my legal problems can be more easily resolved like this. Realizing that I like being human." He shrugged a little, trying to make light of it. "But you reminded that there was too much at stake to choose one or the other exclusively."

Still, he would more than likely choose his humanity as his default form in the coming days. There didn't seem to be much call for a talking car around these parts, and Hattie couldn't hold his hand as she was doing now if his hand was a door handle. He smiled a moment, following her gaze towards the house, his brow creasing into confusion for just a second. "I'd follow you wherever you choose to go, Hattie. So long as you'll have me." He squeezed her hand as she looked to the sky. "Even up there."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"Oh! Your legal problems. Our legal problems, that reminds me. I talked to an attorney here who said that as long as you're in your human form, anyone from the Foundation will have a hard time proving you're a car. It's not much of a solution as far as ownership goes, but he also said that suing them for human trafficking would also be an answer." Her smile was made of amusement as she remembered the conversation. "The title, the registration for you being... well, a car, should also suffice in any court battle as long as they're not in the Foundation's name."

At the squeeze of his hand, she sighed. "I'd never take you away from all of this, Kitt. Especially since it would involve flying. In space." She rested her head against his upper arm as they walked. "And I'll always have you."

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"You did?" His brow creased more, but for a different reason this time. "They did?" He listened, nodding, then touched a finger to his lips thoughtfully. "But the title and registration are in the Foundation's name. If it even exists here. I don't want to take my benefactors to court." It felt like a betrayal to even think about it, somehow.

"Flying in space isn't like flying on Earth. No mountains. No turbulence. No ground coming up at you quickly. No crashing." At least, not until the landing. He smiled softly. "Thank you, Hattie. For everything."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"Did. His name was Denny Crane or something. He's very sue happy but backed off once I assured him that suing the Foundation wasn't what you were aiming for." Human trafficking indeed. Hattie shook her head even thinking about it.

Looking back up at him, she grinned. "No, flying in space has hyperspace, galaxies, shootouts and if you fall? You'll be falling for a very long time with nothing to stop you. Your chance at breathing would die first, leaving you to suffocate." It wasn't like she was TRYING to scare him. Really.

Frowning through her smile, she asked, "Everything?"

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"Like I said, I don't even know if the Foundation exists here to sue. Or if they'd even know why I'd be suing them." He rubbed his forehead with one hand, trying to stave off a headache. Thinking about all these universes did that to him.

He stared at the ground, hard, picking up his feet in turn and stomping them down again. "I'll be staying here." Maybe she could send him a postcard, instead. He looked up at her and nodded. "Everything."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"I don't think suing them would be the best course of action, anyway." She could see he was getting frustrated with everything and squeezed his hand. "Hey, it's not even an issue here. No Foundation."

Hattie ducked her head to try and stifle her laugh. "I figured as much." Shaking her head, a small bit of laughter escaping, she hugged him impulsively. "I haven't done anything recently and this-" she motioned to the track, "-doesn't count."

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"I don't think so, either." He sighed, gave her a tired smile, and shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't checked to see if there is a Foundation or not, and if there is, whether or not they've got a talking car." That would be a strange thing to discover, indeed.

"Mmmm." He had to laugh at himself, so he would have forgiven her laughing, too. "Flying doesn't seem to be my thing in any dimension." He hugged her back, his smile wider. "You don't have to have done anything recently, Hattie. Just being here is enough. Though I'm curious." He pulled back to look at her. "Why doesn't the track count?"

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"Because it just doesn't." And that was the end of that.

Hattie yawned again. "You gonna stay out here? I'm thinking of heading back." Suddenly the walk back seemed long and she was really tired out of nowhere. "I'm beat. Finish watching that movie, sleep through the ending and have to watch it all again tomorrow or something."

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"Okay." He frowned in confusion, but decided not to press it.

He looked around again one last time, then shook his head. "No." Her yawn was contagious, and he realized that he finally really did feel tired. "Sounds like a good idea."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"Okay."

She could see he didn't understand, but she couldn't have explained it if she was forced. She hadn't done it to earn points or be loved more or anything. It was just because.

Swinging them both around, she then let go of his hand and slid her arm around his waist. "Maybe tomorrow I could come down and watch you again? Maybe ride along?" If she sounded hopeful, it's because she really was.

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

He couldn't love her more than he already did, but he was still utterly touched at the fact that she'd gone to the trouble to have a track built just for him, just because.

"I'd like that." He slipped his own arm around her waist in return, walking comfortably beside her, reaching for her hand so that he could hold it against her stomach. "If you ride along we won't be making any jumps though. The g-forces and stress won't be good for the baby."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"Not even a little-" Hattie bit her lip as she looked up at him and then grinned. "Fine. No jumps and that means no flying around corners and no fun stuff at all."

Feeling just this side of impertinent, she stuck the tip of her tongue out at him as quick as she could and then pouted. "You're so mean to me."

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"No, not even a little." He clacked his teeth at her, threatening to bite that tip of her tongue if she did that again. "I'm rotten to the core." He narrowed his eyes, pretending to think hard. "Maybe a few fast corners."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

She was giggling before he had the chance to compromise, just as they started up the hill. Somewhere in there, the baby had woken up and was kicking up a storm. She groaned and dropped her head against him again. "I'm going to get no sleep tonight, which means you're not either," she promised him.

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"Hey, you." Kitt directed his words at the baby, tilting his head down towards Hattie's stomach. "You leave your mother alone. She needs her beauty sleep. And so do I." Just because he'd had his sleep, what, he thought they should cater to his whims at what, was it close to 2 am now? He nodded at Hattie, a look of smug satisfaction on his face. "That should do it." He yawned again.

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

There was a solid kick to her ribs and she said, "Oof" out loud and swatted Kitt's arm. "That did it all right," she laughed and then her look turned tender at his yawn. "Let's go to bed, honey. It's really late. Sleep in tomorrow?"

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"Sleeping in sounds positively decadent." His smile was tired but perfectly content as they finally made their way back into the mansion. He'd always been an early riser, punctual and efficient once awake, a habit he'd picked up from so many years of, well, being a punctual and efficient AI.

He could say he would sleep in, and the idea sounded wonderful, but he had the feeling he'd be awake with the dawn no matter what.