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One of the many problems with a long distance relationship, Kash realizes too late, is the lack of time. There’s always something getting in the way, and it’s aggravating. So calls from Keyleth are moments he relishes.
“So, I think I may have some bad news,” Keyleth starts, and that’s not how he was expecting their first call in two days to begin.
“Please don’t tell me you got arrested again,” he says, balancing his phone between his shoulder and his ear as he watches Zahra unpack their takeout from the bag and spread it out on the table.
“Did she?” Zahra asks, quirking an eyebrow. He holds up a finger in the universal sign of one moment, please.
“Okay, first of all, I wasn’t arrested, technically,” Keyleth says, more than a little hint of offense in her voice. “I was -”
“Detained,” he corrects with an eye roll, as if that makes it any better, “for trespassing and interfering with a construction project.”
“Alright, but that tree was ancient, and it deserves better than to get knocked down for some strip mall!” She huffs for a moment before seeming to mellow out again. “And secondly, no, I didn’t get arrested again.”
“She didn’t get arrested again,” he echoes to Zahra as he picks up a box and a fork and, instead of using one of the plates she set out for them, begins eating straight from it. She whacks him on the arm and he makes a disgruntled sound around a mouthful of rice.
“Well, that’s good.”
“Hey,” Keyleth says, drawing his attention back to her, her voice dropping low and soft. He frowns, glances at Zahra and his food, and takes her shift in tone as a cue to pull off to the side for privacy. He takes a few steps out of the kitchen and into the little hallway leading to their bedrooms, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
“Hey,” he responds finally, his brow furrowing. “Is something wrong? You said you had bad news, and so far we’ve only managed to clear up that it’s not that you got arrested.”
“What? Oh, no, no! Nothing’s wrong, it’s just…” Keyleth trails off. “I just miss you a lot, that’s all. And my bad news is that I got another gig and it’s going to be taking up a lot of my time until it’s done. I’m just kind of bummed out that I’m so tied up with work that our Us Time gets cut down even more. I mean, don’t get me wrong! I love my job! I love what I do! But--”
“I know, I know,” he soothes, cutting her off before she sends herself spiralling into a rambling tizzy as she’s prone to doing. “I’ve been busy at the hospital too. I know the feeling.”
Keyleth is an exceptionally kind and bright person, and if he’s being blunt then he’s not sure how he even ended up with her. They are very different people. (Although he definitely isn’t complaining.) The weight of it still sits funny in his stomach. He’s not… used to this. This affection. This interest in him as a person. He’s not used to the fact that somebody besides Zee doesn’t want to punch him in the face.
So, because of that, even if his time with her is limited he tries his best to savor every moment he has with her.
That said, Kash is a very tired man who misses his girlfriend very much, and one phone call every couple of days is not enough.
“I don’t know, maybe next time we get free time we could, like, do something. Like a vacation or something. Together.” Kash has never really been much of a vacation person, true, but Kash has never been the type of person for a lot of the things he does for Keyleth.
Her voice brightens like a ray of sunlight turned full force on him. “We can?”
“Sure,” he says, even as he thinks about how much fucking money that’s going to be and can practically feel his bank account writhing in agony and fear. “Why not?”
A high-pitched squeal comes from the phone and he winces, pulling the phone away slightly. “Ooh, we can go on a cruise!”
“Well, maybe not a cruise cruise,” he adds quickly, because he does have to draw a line somewhere before he goes flat broke for this woman.
“...A weekend at a nice, reasonable hotel and a ride on one of those cute old ferries?”
“See, now that’s more like it.” And, honestly, it’s more appealing to him than being crammed on a ship with a bunch of people he’d probably hate out in the middle of the ocean for more than twenty-four hours.
Keyleth laughs, a little giddy-sounding, before she clears her throat and says, “Okay, well, I have to get up super early in the morning for this job so I think I’m going to have to say good night, but really, I love it. I love the idea.”
“I do too,” he admits.
“I’m glad! Well...” The soft sound of her blowing him a kiss comes across the line. After a beat of silence, Keyleth pouts, “You didn’t kiss me back, Kash.”
“I love you,” he says slowly. “But I am absolutely not blowing you a kiss over the phone or… kissing the phone. Or whatever.”
“Do it!” Keyleth says, spinning off into a chant. “Do it! Do it! Do it! Do--”
He sighs and blows her a kiss. Keyleth makes a high-pitched noise of excitement and approval on the other side of the line. “There. Happy?”
“Yes!”
He sighs again, but a small smile edges at the corners of his mouth. “Well, good. And good luck on the job. I’m sure you’ll do great.”
“Aw, thanks! Oh, hey, wait. Before I go, hand me off to Zahra real quick.”
Kash raises an eyebrow but complies, walking back into the kitchen and holding his phone out to Zahra. She looks back at him with her own quirked eyebrow and he shrugs in response, so she takes the phone.
“Hello, darling. Yes, yes, I’m splendid. Glad to hear you didn’t get arrested, that would really put a damper on the mood--”
Kash picks up the box of food he set down and starts eating again, only vaguely paying attention to the side of the conversation he can hear. He’s midway through a mouthful when he hears Zahra go, “Yeah, I can do that, hold on--” before he feels a sudden whack on his rear end that makes him jump a good foot in the air and nearly choke on his Kung Pao.
“Zee, what the fuck--”
When he whirls to look at Zahra, she’s looking at his with a smug smile, the faint sounds of Keyleth losing her shit emitting from his phone. Zahra nonchalantly takes another bite of food off her plate before responding with, “From your girlfriend.”