After getting Casey's internship for him, Kane spent a lot of time doing it too. That was annoying.
It was a relief when Casey graduated from college and started working at the antiques shop because Kane came out much less frequently. He was under for months after finals and realized he had only come out because he had to handle a phone call to the shop while Tilly seemed…disoriented, for lack of a better term.
What was going on? He only ever had context clues to work with and right now, there weren't any.
At least not until Vera arrived, looking rather tired. She sort of flopped into Kane's arms. "Hey. How were things today? Did she do okay?"
He was distinctly thrown off by the hug. Especially since it seemed like she did this sort of thing a lot, based on the fact that she did it as soon as she walked through the door. Casey must be used to it.
Was she his girlfriend now? Or was she just extremely huggy?
"Okayish? She was pretty disoriented so I had to handle some phone calls," Kane said as confidently as he could, still having no idea what was going on.
"Thanks for doing that. I don't know what I would do without you."
"No problem."
So this was a regular thing. How long had it been going on? What was up with Tilly? She was perfectly normal the last time Kane saw her. Something must have happened while he was under.
It was super weird that Vera thought Casey was reliable though. She must to say she didn't know what she would do without him.
He was taking care of her to some extent. Would she take care of him back? Would Kane finally get more of a break? He HAD been under for quite a while this time, which was more than he ever got when Casey was in college.
She lowered his stress somehow. Kane only came out when Casey was stressed or in danger.
This only increased Kane's questions about whether or not Vera was Casey's girlfriend but asking was impossible. She would know something was up.
So Kane kept them to himself until he went back under. He pretty much only came out when Casey had to make phone calls on Tilly's behalf. That was doable. Kane was used to doing phone calls since Casey was such a wimp.
Sometimes Kane was still out when Vera got there after school, sometimes he wasn't. She hugged him whenever he was.
It was off-putting at first but he got used to it. This wasn't so bad. She was much gentler with them than Candy ever was. Maybe that was why Casey liked Vera so much.
What about her then? She must like him on some level to be so huggy with him but he didn't think she loved him. There weren't any new scars to Kane's knowledge. There would be if she did…at least if she was anything like Candy.
He hadn't interacted with Vera enough to tell. People weren't always what they appeared to be on the surface. He knew that better than anyone.
Casey clearly trusted her on some level but how much? How much did she know about them?
She probably didn't know about their scars. That would be the real test to see if she could accept them as they were. If she could love them. But since Kane had been wearing long sleeves every time he came out, that seemed highly unlikely.
He certainly wasn't about to rock the boat. Casey would freak out if he lost Vera and that wasn't something Kane wanted to deal with. He would continue playing his part as usual.
So that was what he did. He wasn't sure exactly how much time passed before Tilly wasn't there the next time he came out. Casey had hurt himself working in the shop and he couldn't handle the sight of blood.
"You okay, Casey?" Vera asked in concern.
"I'm fine," Kane said as he went to find the first aid kit. This wasn't the first time this had happened here. He knew where it was.
He patched himself up then got back to work helping with what she was doing. He had enough experience at this point to be about as good as Casey probably was. She didn't seem suspicious at the very least.
They finished up and she let out a satisfied sigh. "There! We can get this to the customer in the morning. I need to go visit Tilly before the nursing home closes. Do you want to come with me?"
Oh. So Tilly was in a nursing home now? When did THAT happen?
"Nah, I'm tired," Kane lied, not wanting to pretend more than he had to. He would just go home, assuming it was the same place. He would have to check Casey's driver's license to be sure once Vera left. "You go on ahead."
She nodded before giving Kane a brief kiss that shocked him to his core. "Okay. See you tomorrow."
"See you."
He barely managed to get that out calmly. His question about her being Casey's girlfriend just got answered! How long had it been though? Why couldn't Kane just have access to all that idiot's information? It would make things so much easier!
At least Casey hadn't moved according to the driver's license. Kane was able to go home and watch TV, though he had so much to think about that he couldn't really focus.
What was Vera's deal? What did she see in a wimp like Casey, even if he had been useful during her aunt's illness that was bad enough for her to move to a nursing home? What exactly were her feelings for him?
Kane wished he knew. It would help him navigate this mess better. It was the biggest one Casey had gotten himself into in a good while.
He was always in some sort of trouble though. He was just that pathetic.
Vera didn't seem to think so, as strange as that was. Kane couldn't imagine anyone finding Casey reliable but she must to have bothered getting into a relationship with him.
They had never done this before. Kane didn't like variables he couldn't control but he had to do his best here for Casey's sake. He needed her so, as much as Kane may not like it, he needed her too.