2015-08-17 - The Move

"So the landlord doesn't mind if I move out, so long as my rent's paid up. Which it is." Leah says as she unlocks the door to her apartment. Possibly for the last time. "This also may be the first time you've used the front door. Don't break anything, I've got plans for my security deposit."

The apartment looks the same as it always has, save for the sense of melancholy Leah has at having to say goodbye to her independence. Two bedrooms, a living room and an attached kitchen. The place isn't tidied up and the only thing in order is the gaming section. Which is in order of 'Leah's brain'. Could be anything really.

Kara Zor-El smiles as she, in her civilian clothes, walks into Leah's apartment. She looks around. "Okay so... I'm going to get some boxes and you can pack stuff up while I take the bigger stuff and bring it over to my building. I sort of did some work on two of the rooms in my penthouse so you can feel like you have a whole separate apartment in the penthouse if you get sick of rooming with me by the way. Yknow?"

There's a blur, and Kara's back in a few seconds with a stack of folded up boxes, which she puts on the floor. She then proceeds to look around. "Just seeing what's the best way to get stuff out of the apartment, like with this couch. Getting it into the penthouse isnt a problem, with the bay windows to the balcony and garden.

"It does fit through the door, and into the elevator," Leah says as she collects a box. "That's how it got in." She considers where to start as she goes into the kitchen and picks out bowls, then starts setting out the box. She shifts some of the countertop stuff to one side, trying to make room for the box with an armful of bowls at the same time.

She glances at Kara, then says, "Go ahead. You can get started, I'll work on this. Should only take a few hours with you to do all the heavy lifting." Opens the box and starts shifting dishes into packing.

Kara Zor-El nods a little as she walks over to the couch and casually picks it up. She then looks back at Leah as she fold up one box and starts wrapping the dishes. "This is really going to be great, you know, Leah. I havent had a roommate since Valkyrie went back to Asgard." Then she heads over to the door, turning away from it to nudge the door open, and heads out with the couch, like someone might do with a folding chair, making sure that it juuuuust fits through, and puts it into the delivery elevator with her to go down.

Rao this was slow, having to rely on the elevator.

At least once she got it out of the building, she able to just pick it up again and fly it back to her place.

When she comes back - and it took almost 2 MINUTES thanks to the elevator portion, Kara opens the door and peeks in. "How goes the packing?"

Leah has the first box half-full, grinning as she packs some newspaper around her dishes. "Going alright. I just started, hon." She pulls down some glasses and puts them in, then reaches for more newspaper, humming a tune she heard on the bus earlier. Something about whales. "You can take it all and I'll figure out where it goes when I get there, no worries," she says, meaning the big stuff. Because that was her understanding of what was going on.

Oh Rao, this is going to take a long time. Kara thinks to herself. She looks to see if any of the windows were big enough to fit the mattress or any of the other furniture through. Then looks back at Leah. "Want any help with the whole um... you know... wrapping stuff up ... stuff?" she asks as she heads over to the loveseat and picks it up on her shoulder. She looks over at Leah. "Oh and I know that it's customary for me to bring pizza for you when a person is moving, so I'll make sure to pick one up before I get back."

Leah pauses, then facepalms herself quite gently but with feeling. "I was supposed to get pizza for this, I'm sorry. It IS customary, but it's actually kind of a bribe to get folks to help you move. So I buy. Generally. It is really odd to see you do that so easily." She grins at the loveseat on Kara's shoulder.

With a raised eyebrow, she gets a hint and says, "I'm driving you up the wall with how slow this is, aren't I?"

Kara Zor-El listens. "Ohhhh - I was wondering about that. I figured it was like when you have a birthday or baby shower and others are supposed to bring presents. Do what so easily?" she asks before looking at the loveseat she's carrying. "Oh. Well... I lifted an experimental research submarine that got trapped by the Marianas Trench yesterday so..... 48,000 ton submarine... 400 or so pound loveseat." Kara shrugs a little, then makes an apologetic smile. "And no.. noooooo, it's not driving me up a wall at all." She pauses and shifts her foot a bit. "Buuut if you do want me to help, that's what I'm here for."

Leah actually snorts in amusement for a moment, then says, "No, no, that's alright. I'll do it all, you just carry the heavy stuff and then sit around and wait the two hours it'll take me to pack the rest of this." She raises her left eyebrow a little, waiting to see what Kara says. Because she's not packing anything at this exact second, waiting with a mischievous grin.

Kara Zor-El opens her mouth, then closes it. Then opens it again to start to say something, then shakes her head in confusion, and closes it again. "Two hours?" she finally asks on the third attempt. "I mean... oh.. okay. That's probably why the pizza is involved, right? So people can eat during the wait?" She looks around. "Oh hey... I have an idea. I can just bring everything up to the roof via elevator, then just carry it all at once." She pauses. "Which will... probably mean more waiting afterwards." She then heads to the door without another word.

Leah starts laughing into her hands on the countertop. Then into her arms, unable to stop herself. She eventually drops a dish, breaking it if it hits the ground. Which isn't a guarantee with Kara in the immediate vicinity. "God above, girl, you are hilarious. You actually believe me."

'IF' it hits the ground being the operative word. By the time it goes from Leah's hand to halfway to the floor, Kara's already put down the loveseat and made her way over to the dish, catching it. She hands it back to Leah. "Oh thank Rao.... That sounded like torture - made me think that's why you need to bribe people when they help you move."

Leah shakes her head, tossing a couple more dishes into the air for Kara to catch. Without the slightest fear of them landing and breaking. She straightens up, then gives Kara a hug after she's had a moment for the dishes. "I love you, but you have to work on your ability to read people. No, for most people this process takes DAYS. If this were normal, I'd have all this packed before you arrived so you could just take it and go. Which is still okay if you want to come back. Or I can get my personal shit out of here in a few minutes and you can take everything that's left once I get my toy box out of the bedroom."

Within a blur, the dishes get caught, wrapped up, and put into the box, after which Kara says, "Oh... I mean... whatever you're most comfortable with. I'd have done it all myself but I don't know which stuff of yours is most important to you for when I brought it over so you'd be able to find what you need. How about this, you do your toys in the back, and I'll pack up all the dishes and little knick knacks and take the big stuff afterwards."

Leah gives Kara a kiss on the cheek, then steps away from the kitchen area. "I'll just get my personal stuff from the bedroom because I don't want anyone to have to handle them. No offense, I seriously doubt you want to either." She blushes just a touch, then stretches her arms up brushing the ceiling with her fingers. "Maybe you can pack up the games too?" She slips into the bedroom, kneeling to dig under her bed for a few things.

After a moment, her voice drifts out with a thought. "Try not to mess with the sewing table, I've got a pattern pinned up I can't quite figure out."

While Leah's in the bedroom, there's a flurry of activity outside. Kara stops to say, "Okay, I'll hold off on doing anything with the sewing machine just yet!"

Then back to the blur of activity.

By the time Leah comes out, she might notice there's nothing in the rest of the apartment, outside of what's in her bedroom and in the refrigerator. And the sewing machine. It's a miracle Kara didn't take the fridge, actually. Kara's standing there. "I wasn't sure if I'm supposed to take the refrigerator or not, or if it's part of the apartment. Everything else is on the roof on a pallet I got from a nearby construction lot, plus I put everything in boxes.

Also there's a pizza on the countertop.

Leah just leans in the doorway, trying not to laugh. She's mostly failing, as she holds her box under her arm. After she's got control of herself, she says, "The fridge stays, and the stove." Then she turns her head to the door frame and presses her forehead into it a moment, closing her eyes. "Did you get olives?" For some reason she's suddenly embarrassed, but not really sure why, as the urge to laugh fades a bit.

Kara Zor-El pauses. "No...." She walks over. "I'm sorry? I'll get olives..." She puts her hand on Leah's shoulder. "What's wrong? It's just olives. I just got pepperoni and sausage."

Leah looks up at Kara. She shakes her head, just a little, then says, "You didn't do anything, Kara. I don't know what's wrong myself. I just...I dunno." She doesn't raise her hands, but she is smiling still. It just doesn't look quite as easy. "Feels kind of like I'm losing control of things. If that makes sense."

Kara Zor-El keeps her hand on Leah's shoulder. "Yeah, it makes perfect sense, Leah." She smiles and gives her a half hug. "I have a little experience on feeling like I've lost control of stuff before." Planet exploding, losing everyone, seeing it happen as the ship put her into stasis. Black Kryptonite splitting her into an evil her vs a good her. Yeah... losing control of things is a specialty for Kara. "Are you still not getting any sleep?" she asks, looking more closely at Leah. Increased blood pressure. Shakiness. Systolic hypertension.

Leah nods, giving a grateful smile for the concern. "I slept pretty good last night," she says. Luckily she's not used to planets exploding. Her expertise is more in the field of the screaming panic of the triage during a major incident, or the concentrated chaos of a domestic dispute in the waiting room. In this case, she just feels like her world's running away and ...she nods, the problem clicking in her head. "Seeing everything changing is kind of hitting me, that's all. I'm pretty sure I'm still in shock from being fired, a little. You know how you build your life around something for years, and suddenly it's gone? Feels like I need to ground myself. Somehow." She doesn't mention how this was HOME. And suddenly it's not anymore. Kara probably gets that.

Kara Zor-El nods a little. "Yeah um..... I do know what it's like to lose everything you had and to lose your home and have to find a new home. When it happens suddenly and absolutely, and you're forced into some new situation in a new place that you feel like you had no control over. I know it can make you feel helpless. Even if ... well... even if you can do what I can do. But ... um... this is the important part. You aren't losing a home." She looks around. "This is just a place. You aren't losing family, and you aren't losing friends. And if you ever feel the need to ground yourself, know that I'm always here for you."

She looks at Leah. "And maybe we can do something about your job, or you can focus on the cosplay jobs. You love that, right? And you're so good at it."

Leah looks around. She takes a moment, realizing that nobody would begrudge her that no matter how much Kara doesn't like being made to wait. And when she's ready, she gets out of the way of the ransacking of her bedroom, which is next on the list, and takes a breath. "Well," she says, letting Kara at the only room left. "We should probably get on with it then. And besides, I'm still a nurse. Nobody can ever take that away." She stands up straight and waves Kara on. "I'ma watch this time though. I want to see it happen. Okay?"

Kara Zor-El nods a little and says, "I'll just put it all on the roof pallet first." Then there's another blur. Even with Leah watching, it's often faster than the human eye can follow. Blurs of motion, then stuff is in boxes. Then another blur of motion, and the boxes are gone. There's a whoosh of wind as the bed leaves the apartment as well. Then all the pictures are off the wall, and another box, and Kara stops by Leah, holding the last box in her hands. "Anything needing to be done with that sewing table that you were saying you needed to do?"

Leah has her mouth slightly open as she tries to take in what she just saw. She's smiling though, and adapts with admirable ability as she nods, then turns to amble into the sewing room. "Oh...a bit," she says as she begins to giggle. "I need to take a picture of the pattern and try not to lose any of the little bits of the stuff pinned to the table, and there's probably some bits of lost lego in the corners, and if you see anything of Donny's, drop it out the window. Oh, did you know that my mom thinks I'm in lesbians with you?"

She has this silly, silly smile on her face now as she wonders what the family will think of THIS.