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With only two weeks to go until Christmas, all of New York seems to be abustle with holiday spirit, and the Rego Park Community Center is no different. The place is decked out in a vast array of decorations throughout the hallways and even inside the classrooms, making it impossible for Kate to ignore. Ever since her divorce, she's often found this time of year to be hard, though having the group in her life has thankfully made things easier. Still, she can’t help feeling that bothersome twinge of loneliness during this otherwise festive season, and wishing she had someone to share it with, as opposed to being single once again.
Letting out a forlorn sigh as she tries not to dwell on her disaster of a love life, she throws on her jacket as she exits the 1-2-1’s meeting room, where she practically bumps into fellow group member Kirk, who's lingering out in the hall.
The sight of him only manages to further sour Kate’s already foul mood, while the blond man standing before her has a very different reaction. His blue eyes light up as he sees her, and he shifts his gaze up towards a green plant with white berries currently hanging above their heads, then let's out a keen whistle.
“Hey Red, would you look at that, we’re under the mistletoe together. What are the odds, eh?” He grins widely while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, but Kate is quick to level him with an annoyed glare as she folds her arms across her chest.
“I’d say pretty high considering you’ve been taping mistletoe around the community center all evening.”
Kirk’s usual high pitch laugh follows, having clearly been caught, though it does little to deter his hopes of sharing a kiss with the fiery redhead. “So, should we get to sucking face now, or do you need a mint first?”
A look of pure disgust takes over the divorcee’s face as she scoffs at the notion. “Absolutely not!”
The man frowns in disappointment, not seeing what the big deal is. “Come on, you know what they say, if you don’t do it, that’s seven years of bad luck.”
“I’m fairly certain that only pertains to mirrors.” She retorts with a roll of her eyes. “But even if it were true, I’d much rather risk that than to kiss you.”
Bringing his hand up to his chest, the blond feigns hurt. “Ouch. You wound me, Red. Where’s your Christmas spirit?”
“In the same place as your brain, apparently.” Kate irritably huffs as she pushes past him, and prepares to unleash another seething retort his way. “Rest assured, Kirk, you inconsiderate pig of a man. I will never, ever let you kiss me under the mistletoe. You hear me?”
“Okay, okay.” He relents, letting out a sigh as he holds his hands up in defeat. “We don’t have to use tongue.”
Practically growling in frustration at this point, Kate is unable to contain her anger any longer.
“God, you really are a piece of work, you know that!? To this day, I genuinely struggle to believe that there's actually a woman out there who was ever willing to marry you in the first place!”
As a deafening silence fills the hall, Kate immediately realizes that she’s gone a step too far when Kirk visibly flinches, and her words pierce the protective layer of snark and bravado he hides behind. This allows for a momentary crack in his facade, where she’s able to catch a glimpse of something she understands all too well, a brokenness that only a person whose marriage has fallen apart knows.
The sting of the redhead’s barb causes Kirk to swallow roughly, and he tries his best to act as if he isn’t hurt by what she’s said, but he is. There are two people's opinions he values most in the group; one is John, who he considers to be his best friend, and the other is Kate, who he cares for more than he’s willing to let on.
It’s abundantly clear she doesn’t share those feelings however, and that she still only sees him as some sleazy, uncaring jerk. Not that he can really blame her, after all, he prefers to keep things superficial, and is constantly lying about himself in the hopes that people might like or find him interesting.
“Alright. Sorry.” Kirk murmurs, managing to find what's left of his voice as he shoves his hands into his coat pockets. “I didn’t really have time anyways. My schedule’s pretty busy in December and uh, I just remembered I got somewhere I need to be.”
It’s clearly a lie, but he’ll say anything to save face right now.
“Kirk.” Kate calls out remorsefully, but he doesn’t bother to turn around, he just keeps walking.
When next Friday rolls around, Kate can’t help feeling a mixture of emotions as she sits in the 1-2-1 meeting room. A few weeks ago, the group had decided on doing a Secret Santa for Christmas this year, and Kate found herself a bit worried about who had pulled her name. For the most part, the group did pretty well when it came to presents, with the exception of two members. The first of which was Ralph who, as much as she adored the awkward young man, wasn’t exactly known for being the best gift giver. And as for the other person, the one she dreaded getting the most was Kirk, for obvious reasons, along with the fact that she still felt guilty for what she said to him last week. She had planned to apologize before the meeting started, but he'd shown up late, forcing her to sit in her contrition for the time being.
Thankfully, Kate is pulled from her thoughts when John's name is called to receive his Secret Santa present, which happens to be from her, and is a lovely blue and grey striped tie.
“Alright then,” Louise signals as she claps her hands together, ready to move onto the next member of the group. “So who here got Kate?”
“That would be me.” Kirk announces as he stands up, much to Kate’s horror, smoothing out his suit before reaching under his chair to retrieve the wrapped parcel. With the package in hand, the blond struts his way over to deliver the gift.
Kate reluctantly grabs the item from him and places it on her lap, all while wondering if perhaps Kirk had been right about that mistletoe superstition after all, seeing how her evening's currently going. Grimacing as she braces herself for what will undoubtedly be lingerie or a pair of fuzzy handcuffs, she’s caught off guard by the sight of a book instead. As she flips it over, she immediately recognizes the cover of one of her most cherished novels.
“Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice?” She questions aloud, eyeing Kirk rather dubiously as she flips through the pages of the book, expecting to find something crude hidden somewhere inside.
“Yeah. You mentioned last month that you lost your copy of it on the subway, and seeing how it’s your favorite and all, I thought you’d wanna another.”
Blinking repeatedly in disbelief as her brain tries to process his answer, she tips her head to him curiously. “You... you actually remembered that?”
Kirk offers her a nonchalant half shrug while looking away. “I listen.”
Those two words hit Kate a bit harder than she anticipates. It wasn’t that long ago that she had been complaining to the group about feeling invisible, and how she feared she was turning into her father’s cousin Sophie, who no one ever paid attention to. But perhaps she’d been wrong, maybe there was someone that saw her, but she’d just been too obstinate to notice.
Mumbling a quiet thank you for the present, the redhead sits in a perplexed daze as the gift exchange continues on, and she tries to wrap her mind around the fact Kirk might actually be... decent. If she’s truly being honest with herself though, maybe the notion isn’t so crazy. She’s seen glimpses of it in the past, like that time he helped her nephew Danny finally talk with his dad when no one else could get him to, or how he lied and said he was the one who had tipped off the tabloids about Brooke Collins just so the group could get back together again.
As much as she doesn't care to admit it, underneath all of those flashy suits and obnoxious cologne, there really does appear to be a heart.
When the meeting finally ends a little while later, Kate seeks out her Secret Santa, who she finds standing by the coat rack, retrieving his jacket.
“Hey, Kirk. Look, I um…” She exhales a weighted sigh as she fidgets awkwardly with the sleeve of her blazer, trying to work up the nerve to express her regret. “I wanted to apologize for what I said last week. I was out of line and you didn’t deserve that.”
Waving off her concern, the blond shakes his head. “It’s fine, Red. Water under the bridge. Unless...” He presses optimistically, arching an inquisitive brow. “You care to make it up to me in some way?”
Kate narrows her gaze at him. “Don’t push it.”
“Eh, it was worth a shot. So, you like your Christmas present?”
“Remarkably enough, I do.”
Kirk makes a face. “You could maybe try to sound a little less surprised.” He quips, causing Kate to redden slightly in embarrassment, unable to help herself to an instinctive put-down.
“Right. Sorry, force of habit. It was a very thoughtful gift, really. Thank you.”
Pleased to hear that, he smiles and nods as they both head for the door to make their leave. Before they're able to however, they find themselves trapped in the doorway thanks to a janitor's cart parked right outside, causing the duo to get stuck beneath that pesky holiday plant once more.
“Here we are again, under the mistletoe." He points out, though he’s a bit more tentative this time around after their last encounter. "Kinda feels like fate if you ask me.”
“Fine.” Kate begrudgingly relents with a heavy sigh. “You can have one kiss, but that’s it. Alright?” She warns sternly, as she points her finger at him. “And no funny business, either.”
Kirk grins triumphantly in a way that makes Kate immediately regret her decision, but there’s no going back now.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He chuckles in a rakish fashion, while slowly leaning in closer.
Kate expects him to take full advantage of this situation by planting the sloppiest kiss possible on her, or perhaps letting his hand wander a little too close to her backside, but instead, she’s surprised when he warmly presses his lips to her cheek.
“Merry Christmas, Red.” He murmurs quietly, with a sincerity she isn’t quite used to hearing from him.
Feeling unexpectedly flustered by Kirk Morris of all people, Kate nevertheless finds herself reciprocating the gesture by giving him a quick peck on the cheek as well. “You too, Kirk.”
The uncharacteristically tender moment between the pair comes to an abrupt halt when the janitor returns for his cart, prompting a still baffled Kate to take advantage of the opportunity by hightailing it out of there as fast as possible, in an effort to sort herself out.
Upon exiting the building, a sense of normalcy begins to wash back over Kate, and the divorcee decides to chalk the bizarre incident up to the punch she drank at the party, and the spirit of the season. After all, it’s the only thing that makes sense, given the alternative would involve something as crazy as her actually having feelings for Kirk. The thought alone makes her laugh aloud, which is good, because it helps to drown out the fact that his voice is still buzzing in her ear.