homeward bound

kaiya eldridge. thirty-one. army brat. pain in the ass.

tldr; kaiya sucks. and is just here to annoy everyone in her life and never deal with her problems. she will flirt with you or harass you gently, there’s no inbetween.

tw; death, injuries, military stuff

-

Everyone grew more bitter over the years, even the people who seem impossibly optimistic. Becoming an adult meant dealing with the realities of life. Isabella couldn’t blame Kai for how she coped with it, with life. Deep down she knew though, having known the other woman for as long as she could remember. She saw the little fissures where she caught glimpses of the softer side. Her smile grew as the woman on the other side of the table performed for her. “So what your saying is you love my families wine more than my tits?” She teased, pouring another shot into the little glass in front of her. Being 30 meant not being able to bounce back from a hangover like she use to, but she had nothing to do tomorrow.

“I think my papa’s brain would explode.” She giggled softly. Isabella knew what it was to disappoint them. As her mind traced over the distant memories her skin crawled. She tried to be understanding of how her parents were flawed human beings who made mistakes like everyone else on the earth, but sometimes the pressure of it all felt crushing. Sooner or later the small nudges toward marrying someone perfect would either succeed or she’d go through the process of disappointing them all over again. Perhaps this time.. with no return. “I don’t really think bringing someone like you home is an option.” She sighed.

.

Leaning forward dramatically, Kai rested her chin atop her fist, giving a grave nod in Isabella’s direction. “I am absolutely saying that I love your family’s wine more than your tits and I hope you realize how hard that is for me to say,” Kaiya teased, busting out with a bit of laughter. It was easier to keep the alcohol flowing in her system, to ignore the realities of her state in life, and she was glad that Isabella was indulging her in it. They had fun together, they always had, and she was grateful for her friend pulling her off the boat that evening to hang out and just be stupid. Kaiya didn’t need to drown herself in a few bottles of wine, but she wasn’t going to turn it down when Iz was keeping the glass full.

“I’d love to see that,” Kai mused, a wry grin plastered at her lips. She wasn’t the sort of person that someone like Isabella brought home. In fact, she was the exact opposite of the “perfect spouse” and everything a parent from a well to do family would hate. “I bet I could win them over eventually. They’d hate me at first, but I grow on people...” Okay, so maybe a lot of the time she just got more irritating and they hated her more, but Kai liked to think she had a certain charm about her that people eventually gave in to. “I’m a big hit with all your mom’s friends at the country club. They won’t admit it, but I am.”

Cataleya easily leaned up on her elbows as she gently cooed for Roxie to come check her out. There were tentative and cautionary sniffs before a melody of panting and lapping against her palms began. That was enough to get her to sit up and get the full effect of slipping her hands through the dogs fur. She shook her head at the question the woman threw at her. “No, but I grew up around a lot of them. Parents cheaped out and said it wasn’t a good investment.” She sniffed slightly before she bowed her head to the right as she fell into that thought. “Actually was that about the dog or me? Huh,” She shrugged at the notion before she continued to put the dog. “I guess you can lap up as much sunshine as you like.” 

.

Roxie didn’t have her service dog vest on, so Kai nudged at the dog to go greet the other woman. The dog moved forward cautiously before fully letting herself wiggle forward eagerly for attention. “Well, they were wrong either way,” Kaiya replied back with a mirrored shrug. Roxie had happily made herself at home at that point, settled in with a big grin as she got all the attention she deserved. Kaiya rolled her eyes, chuckling a bit. “You know, sometimes I’m pretty sure the dog is a bigger flirt than I am,” Kaiya laughed, shaking her head at the dog, whose neck was craned backwards as she got her scratches from the woman on the ground.

“The confidence you bear better match the actual goods, or you’re gonna look real foolish.” Cataleya said dryly before she sighed contently as the suns rays cascaded against her once more. She knew she could have done well to be less rougher with strangers, but she couldn’t help the wall she had up. She also couldn’t help that it was basically made of titanium. But as she listened to the woman explain she had stopped because of her furry companion, she softened just slightly before she begrudgingly admitted, “Your dog is cute, what’s their name?” 

.

“It matches the actual goods, I’d bet on that,” Kai replied easily, shoulders rolling back with a confidence about her. Her ego was big enough to talk herself up, even with the steely attitude coming from the woman. Fortunately, even if Kaiya wasn’t getting her to soften, Roxie was cute enough to manage it. Proud smile overtaking her, Kai nodded and reached to wrap her fingers in Roxie’s fur, holding on to the dog. “Her name is Roxie.” The dog’s tail thudded happily against the ground at the mention of her name, head perking up to see if Kaiya wanted something from her. “You have any dogs yourself?” 

-

Isabella lent back in the metal chair in which they sat. The tables set up on the patio outside the winery building sat on the edge of the estates. She could see her childhood home just past the vineyard on the other end. Her mother still rolled her eyes when Iz woke up with a hangover, now 30, but still partying like she did in high school. There was only one life to live - why not have fun? Her lips curled at Kai’s question. “Oh babe, I know you’d like for everyone to believe you’re a brick wall with no emotions, but if anyone is falling in love with the other here - it’s you with me.” She teased softly, eyebrows wiggling in a playful way. “I know you’ve thought about my perfect tits. And you actually like spending time with me. I’m surprised you already haven’t confessed your love.”

“Besides, my parents are still banking on me marrying Vargas or at least some other man who can run this winery when they are gone.” Her eyes rolled.

.

Isabella wasn’t wrong. Kai tried to avoid emotions, tried to act like she was some toughie that didn’t let things bother her. Especially now, with as much weighing on her as she had, it was easier to just pretend she didn’t care about anything. Snorting exaggeratedly, Kaiya leaned forward with a sly smile. “You got me. I think about your tits all the time and it’s tragically painful waiting to see you again,” Kaiya replied with a purr to her voice. “I’m deeply in love with you and your family’s wine. Or maybe just the wine. It might be the wine.” Kaiya took another sip from her glass, lips popping before she let out another loud laugh. It was definitely good wine and she wasn’t opposed to a few more glasses before the night was through. 

“How pissed would your parents be if you brought me home instead of someone like Maxie?” Kaiya asked with a cackle of a laugh. She was hardly a parent’s dream. In fact, she was maybe a parent’s nightmare. 

where: Mclntosh Park with: open/all

After a failed meet up with what she presumed to be a catfish of some sort, Cataleya figured to not let the day slip from her hands. The sun was out, clouds were barely blending into the bright blue sky, and she had secured a spot in the park that had just enough terrain to stay away from rambunctious characters - people and animals alike. At least that’s what she thought she’d get, as she placed her picnic blanket down and laid atop the argyle pattern. The warmth of the sun kissed her skin in ways that made her feel a form of joy she wasn’t used to, this was evident by the small smirk that crept up her lips. But all of that came crashing down when a shadow loomed over her. She opened her eyes to peek up at the bystander, their back turned to her set up. She leaned up on her elbows, chin tutted up in the air. “Excuse me, do you mind moving at least three steps to your right? You’re blocking the sun.” 

.

The park was the easiest place for Kaiya to go to get away from the crushing feeling of being trapped there in the small town. It was open, there was sunshine, and it allowed her and her service dog space to roam. She didn’t have anywhere specific she was going or anything that she was trying to do, she was just letting Roxie lead the way around the park, following her nose. The dog stopped to sniff at something interesting, Kai pulling up short alongside her, shadow spreading out right in front of the woman on the blanket. Head shifting to the side at the question, Kaiya’s brows furrowed, though she took the requested three (very short) steps to the right. “I’m a better view than the sun, but alright,” she shrugged. “You can blame the dog, she wanted to stop.”

***

“Unfortunately for me, this woman here was my date,” Skylar said with an overly dramatic sigh, tilting her head in Kaiya’s direction. “So, two things. I have zero social media presence and we’re not even on talking terms, anyway, so,” she retorted with a thin-lipped smile, gaze averting between two of her friends, “Good fucking luck.” Momentarily she pondered about throwing them off their game and giving them a completely random name just so they could go on a wild goose chase. Now that was a hell of a strategy, but not one she’d utilize yet. The guessing game was fun for her. “You did absolutely nothing at the wedding?” She asked Max with a pointed look, quirking an eyebrow. “Not even hands under the pants kinda action? Uh huh…” She grabbed the balls from the slot, neatly organizing them into the triangle. “You can’t blame the alcohol when you lose. This place is practically my second home, so…”

@maxvargas

❛ Oh right, but I doubt Kai was cock blo— that’s not the right term here, ❜ he grimaced in amusement before chuckling.  ❛ We will be disguising ourselves really good, you won’t even know we’re there. ❜ Definitely not true, they’d be spotted in an instant and he wasn’t even sure what Skylar would do about it, her mind realy works in crazy ways. Kai’s too, so he was used to it to say the least. Max gave Skylar a mysterious shrug. ❛ I told you, nothing at the wedding, ❜ he confirmed, brows raising a little teasingly before he tapped the pool table with his cue gently.  ❛ After is another story… ❜ he mused almost in a mumble. Kai knew about Ty but only what happened years ago. Now Harlow knew too. Fuck. She’d even asked about it. Why had it mattered? Maybe the girls would have an answer for that but this didn’t really feel the time or place to tell them he’d slept with his ex. ❛ Loser buys drinks and I kinda hope it’s Kai– then we can get the expensive shit, ❜ he smirked, wiggling his brows at Sky.

@kaiyaeldridge​

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“You were lucky to have me as your date, bitch, so you’re welcome,” Kaiya retorted, making a face at Skylar before her eyebrows narrowed sharply. She was curious, she had to admit, as to who this mystery woman was and absolutely planned on finding out with Max somehow. “Look at how cagey this loser is being, she really just doesn’t want us to realize that she’s lying and making up fake women she’s in love with, huh?” Kai nudged against Max’s shoulder again with a laugh, head shaking a bit. Letting out a loud whistle, Kai waggled her brows at Max as he copped to having gotten some action. “That’s my boy right there. No way a fine ass like yours was going home alone,” she grinned, rubbing at Max’s shoulder before she moved to lean over the table, observing the set-up to make sure Skylar wasn’t pulling any nonsense. “Fuck outta here, I’m the one without a job here. If it’s me buying, it’s dollar drafts all around. You break, Maxie, get this party started”

Another day, another trip to one of the nearby bars for Kaiya. She rotated through the town on a whim, that evening ending up at On the Rocks. After downing a few beers and chatting up an old friend, Kai’s interest was instead drawn towards someone else - Tris. It was no secret that Kaiya loved finding new ways to push Max’s buttons and his step sister was one easy way to do just that. Even if he wasn’t around as far as she could see at the moment, Kai still found herself sliding into the chair next to the woman with a grin lifted at her lips. “You know, something told me that this would be the best place to grab a drink tonight and I think you just proved me right by being here,” Kai greeted, leaning over to give Tris a quick side hug. “What are you drinking? Next round is on me.”

who : @kaiyaeldridge​

where : casillas winery after closing

Two empty bottles of wine sat on the table between her and her long time friend. One of the perks of being in her home town again was spending time with people she genuinely loved - genuinely would do anything for. Her parents went out for the evening, so Isabella told Kai to meet her at the winery. Being a Casillas meant as much free wine as she could fit in her body. In case that wasn’t enough, she brought along a bottle of Tequila. Isabella poured two shots, bringing her’s to her mouth downing it while her face contorted. “Do you think love is real or just like something created so women feel less weird about having to pop out babies?” She asked her words slurring slightly.

.

Having friends in high places was something that never got old for Kaiya, especially when that place was a winery. The night had quickly led them through two bottles of wine and now that the shots were coming out, Kaiya’s grin started to grow. Tossing the shot back, Kaiya downed it with barely any reaction, humming happily as she let her eyes close. A night out drinking alone with a friend was as good as it got nowadays for Kai. Letting her chin rest on her hand, Kaiya mused over the question posed. “You know, if it is real, I’ve never fucking found it,” Kai snorted, head tilting towards Isabella with a raised brow. “Is this the part of the night where you admit that you’re wildly in love with me?”

Cora’s line of sight had shifted towards the array of food, contemplating her choices, before a single piece of popcorn bounced from her cheekbone to tangle itself within her hair. Her brow arched instinctively - contorted by both confusion and surprise - before she suppressed the surge of amusement desperate to claw her lips upwards. “Shit,” she pauses for a beat. “That reminds me, I forgot to grab dinner.” A single hand reaches upwards to unsnarl the kernel from her tendrils before popping it into her mouth. It’s sweet; hints of caramel and cinnamon. “My favourite. How’d you guess?”

.

The nonchalance with which Cora reacted to the popcorn hitting her cheekbone brought a childish huff of annoyance out of Kaiya. She was looking for a rise, she always was, but Cora apparently wasn’t going to give it to her. “What can I say, I just happen to have good taste,” she replied back with a defeated shrug of her shoulders. It was a lot less fun to annoy people when they didn’t actually get annoyed and Kaiya found herself somewhat at a loss. Holding up the bag, she offered it over towards Cora with a shrug. “Do you want some more?”

location: crescent harbor market status: available ( @crescentstarters​ )

Becoming a surgeon was not a cheap decision - it came accompanied with hefty tuition fees and consumed ample hours in her schedule. Whilst others had familial support or begrudgingly grew accustomed to the costliness of medical school, Cora found an alternative; one that often resulted in a sour taste within the mouths of those who presumed she deserved better. As if that element of her life was unenjoyable or forced upon her. Though it wasn’t, Cora all the more vocal about it, there were still unfavourable propositions with large price tags. Some of which Cora would be a fool to decline.            It was what had brought her to the market; her fingertips sliding down her phone screen as she perused through a list from a client. They had a few requests - all of which were edible - and only when she glanced upwards did she realise the crowd no longer simply harboured strangers but a familiarity too. She smiled, briefly, before requesting an ensemble of fruit from a nearby vendor. 

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There was no reason whatsoever for Kaiya to act like an ass to all of Max’s exes, but she did it anyway. In any other scenario she’d have no problem with Cora, but because of her past with Max, Kaiya just couldn’t stop herself from being a dick. Wandering around the market with Roxie at her side and a bag of freshly popped kettlecorn in hand, Kaiya was more or less on the prowl for trouble. When she finally spotted it in the form of Cora, a stupid smile lifted at her lips and she moved herself around the crowds and over towards where the woman was standing. 

Since she had no genuine ill will towards Cora, Kai was just looking to stir shit up for fun. Cora being Max’s ex just gave her a “reason” to do it. Standing against the stall of the closest vendor, Kai met the woman’s smile with one of her own before promptly picking up a piece of the popcorn and launching it right into Cora’s face.

––

She laughed and agreed with Kaiya, “Oh, you are not wrong, at all.” Grace was known to be a fan of a good time, regardless of the price; her ex-husband had learned that a couple of months after the birth of their son. The blonde swallowed a little before she allowed her eyes to widen; she threw her hands up in the air and laughed again, “Shit, I’m in.”

.

The woman was fun and willing to go along with her shenanigans, which was more than Kaiya could ask for. Any boredom had now quickly faded, replaced by a stupid, shit-eating grin as she waved the bartender over to bring them a round of tequila shots. “Now, that’s what I like to hear,” she cheered, lifting one of the shots up towards Grace in a toast. “Here’s to making the most of the free alcohol and hopefully causing a little trouble along the way.”

While the thought of inviting Ash and Lotte out on her boat had felt weird at first, when the day rolled around she was glad that she’d done so. Kaiya hated to admit it, but she loathed being alone anymore. Being left to her own devices and with her own thoughts left her feeling like she was shoved down a pit of despair. Distractions were welcome and Lotte and Ash were a bright light amid a lot of the darkness encroaching around her. When she spotted the two coming down the dock towards her boat, she lifted a hand in greeting, swinging herself from the side and down to the dock to greet them. “Welcome aboard, guys. It’s not much, but...she’s home,” Kaiya shrugged, ushering them up towards the front area so they could get comfortable. “Here, this is for you today, Lotte, you get to be the honorary captain of the ship when we sail out towards some cool spots.” Reaching up to one of her storage spaces, she pulled down a cute sailor hat to hand off to the girl. “Figured we could cast out towards some good fishing spots, hit one of the swimming holes or something. If that’s cool?”

––

“Hey, that’s one of the main draws to a wedding, am I right?” Grace smirked, “Open bars, pre-paid tab, it’s the life. The only way you’ll get me to a wedding.” She laughed. The blonde followed the other woman’s gaze, taking in the extravagance of the event. She shook her head in displeasure, “You know, with enough liquor in me, I probably wouldn’t say no.” She smirked again.

.

“I hear that. Without the open bar, weddings are a waste of time,” Kaiya agreed. She didn’t hate weddings, she had fun with them, but she also would prefer just about any other form of party. Brow lifting with a bemused look, she turned a little more towards the woman, hands folding together. “In that case, let me order you a few more drinks.” Sending a drunk woman Skylar’s way would be endlessly entertaining for her and though Kaiya had promised Skylar to not cause any trouble, she figured this was an acceptable level of chaos.

**

Back to life and shit. That was practically military code, and Astrid gave a small, knowing smile in response. She and Kai were a lot alike in many ways, and she assumed that extended to the importance of keeping up airs. To crack would be to fall apart, and that could never happen. “Indefinitely, actually,” she said, taking another pull of her beer as if to watch the sour taste of that word out of her mouth. “Office politics, mostly, which - I could give a shit, but I’m grounded until they get everything settled.” It wasn’t technically a lie; she just left out the major part she’d had to play in the decision. She’d still be out there if she hadn’t cost some suits probably millions in medicals bills - and gotten the only valuable thing about her (her camera) destroyed in the process. 

“Yeah, we definitely need to catch up. You free now? Can I buy you a drink?” It was certainly preferable to continuing to drink alone…

.

Being out of the field indefinitely could mean a lot of things, but in Kaiya’s experience it was never any good things. But she knew better than to ask. It was an unspoken understanding that she just nodded at Astrid’s explanation. Whatever had happened in reality wasn’t her business. “Well, fuck. I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other, then,” she shrugged in response. The time since Kaiya had been discharged felt like it was just stretching on, leaving her in a weird limbo. It felt simultaneously like the longest year of her life and the shortest, like any day she could wake up and it would all be back to the way things were. “I’m always free, Astrid. And I will never turn down a free drink. Especially not from you.” Kai flashed a softer smile the woman’s way, pausing before sighing. “Next round is on me, though. Looks like you could use a few more.”

***

Max was smarter than Skylar gave him credit for, but then again she supposed it was like a flashing neon sign. The only thing overshadowing that was Kai’s ego which she swore was bigger than the universe they resided in. She had to resist the urge to slap her on the back of her head and roll her eyes into the next dimension. A common thing to do.  “Fuck’s sake, woman. If you hadn’t been busy muff diving at the wedding, you would’ve found out,” she huffed out in response, laying out the bread crumbs. Her gaze averted toward Max, taking another sip of her Old Fashioned. “And you too, bud. Except it’s equally as likely that you were playing the meat flute. Which is a sentence I never thought I’d ever say. Anyway – ….” An involuntary shudder went throughout her. “We’re here to play pool. So let’s fucking play pool. I mean, granted, we’re just prolonging the inevitable here of me beating both of your asses, but hey.”

@maxvargas·

❛ What, you mean the mystery woman was there as your date? ❜ Max asked, raising his brows a little bit. When had she arrived and why the hell hadn’t he seen them? To be fair, the man didn’t usually pay that much attention and the wedding had been full of other people, croweded with new and old faces there to celebrate the brides. ❛ Excuse me I didn’t do either of those at the wedding. I don’t know about this gal though, ❜ he chuckled, poking Kai’s side after unwrapping his arm from her shoulders. ❛ Sure, sure. Whatever you say – but I’m gonna be stalking your ass to find out who this lover of yours is, just so you know, ❜ he shrugged, taking a sip of his Gin and Tonic as he grabbed a pool cue. ❛ If you don’t actually win after pre-bragging about it, it’s just embarrassing, Sky. ❜

@kaiyaeldridge​

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Skylar’s accusation brought a wide, goofy grin out of Kaiya, whose shoulders lifted in an innocent shrug. “Anything that I may or may not have been diving in at the wedding is totally irrelevant here,” she pointed out, waving a hand in front of her. Clapping a hand over on Max’s shoulder, Kai nodded seriously, ready to back him up on that one. “Both of us will be stalking your ass. Next date you go on with this woman, we’ll be there. Or you could make this way less embarrassing for yourself and just tell us.” Kai and Max could absolutely find ways to make this incredibly embarrassing for Skylar if they wanted to, it was what they were good at. Snorting a bit, Kai picked up a pool cue of her own, rubbing the end with the chalk to get ready. “Max, please, we both know she’s got no shot to win here. So, in light of that, loser buys drinks tonight, yeah?”

Chris smiled at Roxie from a distance, Despite Arlo wanting to get too close, she kept a firm hold on him. If she couldn’t pet her service dog than she didn’t want Arlo to distract her either. “I’m figuring that out. I used to live here but I got this big guy a few months back so I haven’t been on the trails a lot. I need to do more research before I try to go for a run with him.” Lessons learnt the hard way but she was just grateful that it wasn’t worst than it had been. “I lived in a van. By choice. A converted one so I’ve kind of been all over but last month, I was in Arizona. More flat land than here and places to run where I could keep an eye on him.”

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Kai had spent a lot of the time since coming back from overseas exploring the town again, figuring things out after a long stretch of twelve years away. Now, she felt pretty comfortable with the trails and places she could go. “If you ever need some help, let me know. I know a lot of good places, happy to have some company if you want,” she offered with a half shrug. Usually she went on her own, but she wouldn’t be against having someone else with her, especially if the dog came along. “Hell yeah. I live on a boat, so I get that. Haven’t gotten it running well enough to start bouncing around place to place, but...” Kai trailed off. “He run off a lot?" Roxie was the only dog Kaiya had ever had, so she wasn’t super familiar with how most dogs acted, if they ran off and got lost a lot.