A Birthday to Remember [Oneshot Fic]
Fandom: BBC Ghosts Rating: G Word Count: ~ 6.4K+ Relationships: Kitty Higham & Alison Cooper, Alison Cooper / Mike Cooper, (other ghosts mentioned) Summary: It's Kitty's birthday and Alison has a special surprise in store for her to make up for being busy with preparing for the arrival of baby Cooper. A day full of fun and relaxation with her favorite Georgian lady and what is sure to be a sleepover for the ages.
Using the Ao3 rating system / formatting here cause everyone is familiar with it! This is a fluffy little one-shot that came to my mind that I wanted to write exploring Kitty and Alison's friendship and Acespec Kitty! This is set sometime after "Pineapple Day" in season 5. So, possible spoilers if you still have not seen season 5! Lemme know if this is good and what you guys think! I hope you enjoy! I get nervous about posting to Ao3 but if enough people enjoy it I might upload it there for all to read! Also author is aroace, so my interpretation of being ace might vary as it does between other asexuals, it's a spectrum not a checkbox.
"Alright perfect! Here we are your package ma'am."
"Yes! Finally! Great thank you- just pop it down right over there next to the door and I will have my husband help bring it in." Alison motions over to the spot in question, stepping out of the way of the delivery driver as he sets the large cardboard package gently down atop the gravel path, giving her a quick nod before setting off for his next stop.
As soon as the truck rolls back down the drive and out the iron gates, Alison steps inside the house, cautiously peeking around the corner of the lobby before tiptoeing into the drawing room. No ghosts- good. She smiles to herself giddy with anticipation as she turns on her heels setting off for the kitchen. She finds Mike sat at the table digging into a sandwich for lunch, momentarily distracted by the ping of a notification emanating from his phone picking it up to have a quick look as she pops her head in the doorway.
“Mike- can I get your help for a minute? The last of my packages has just arrived and I need your help to bring it in.” She whispers loudly across the kitchen checking over her shoulder to make sure none of the other ghostly residents of Button House had come to investigate the latest delivery.
“Uh yeah sure Ali but why are we whispering?” Mike asks in confusion glancing around at their cozy kitchen suspiciously eyeballing the air around him. “Is there a ghost in here?”
“No- they are all upstairs watching Friends right now.”
“Friends? Again? Haven’t they already watched the whole show through like five times?”
“Yes I know- but they really like it and it keeps them busy so let’s hurry. I might have to switch to the next disc soon and I don’t want them finding out about the deliveries.” Alison remarks ducking out of the kitchen as Mike follows along behind, tiptoeing through the house rather unnecessarily finding the package in question resting outside on the gravel path. While glancing over the box trying to find the best way to pick it up, he notices the description on the shipping label.
“Ooo- a popcorn maker, are we having a movie night?” Mike glances over excitedly watching as Alison's smile twitches apologetically.
“Oh- no Mike, I’m sorry- it’s not exactly what I had in mind, but we can! An we should! Sometime soon maybe? Have a nice day in and a movie marathon… oh that would be lovely. You have been so busy lately helping me with all of this-”, Alison mentions motioning toward the grand facade of the old house as Mike struggles to pick up the box, “-and I think we could both use a bit of a break.”
“Yeah, sounds great!” Mike mentions struggling to haul up the heavy box into his arms carrying it back to the kitchen when he drops it down onto the table with a small thud. “There we are- voilà!”
“Thanks Mike… I would have done it myself but well- you know.” This far into her pregnancy, her doctor left very clear instructions to not be doing any heavy lifting. As frustrating as it is, Mike has been nothing short of a saint for helping do all these little things for her.
“Yeah, it’s alright Ali.” Mike insists, sitting back down to enjoy the rest of his sandwich receiving a quick peck on the cheek in thanks. Alison grabs a pair of scissors excitedly slicing through the packing tape at the top of the box carefully removing the instructions, setting them down on the table beside her. Carefully she begins removing the various components from the box, laying them all out to see rubbing her hands together excitedly as she pulls the last piece out, setting aside the empty cardboard.
“Now to put it all together.” She remarks eagerly flipping through the instructions manual to the first page, taking an inventory of all the parts laid out before her before she begins, Mike watching curiously off to the side.
“Woah- that looks like the real deal. Like one of the ones they have in the cinema.” He remarks surprised as Alison begins assembling the base of the popcorn maker, quickly stepping away and rummaging through the kitchen drawers looking for the screwdriver she left in here ages ago.
“Ha! There you are!” She finds exactly what she's looking for, quickly shutting the designated kitchen junk drawer and excitedly joining Mike back at the table as he finishes the rest of his sandwich. “It is one of the ones they use in the cinemas! It’s a smaller one- but it's the real deal! I found a really good deal on it online and couldn’t pass it up! It is absolutely perfect for the surprise I have planned.”
“Surprise?”
“What- did I not tell you?” Alison glances back at the look of confusion on Mike's face as he slowly shakes his head. “Oh Mike- it’s Kitty’s birthday tomorrow.”
“Oh! Kitty! Right- she’s the one with the pretty frilly dress? The one who likes to dance with you?” Mike asks raising a questioning brow as Alison screws together a hinge on the lid of the popcorn pot, glancing over with a quick smile.
“Yes Mike, that Kitty. Now I know they are ghosts- and they cannot eat anything but they do like to smell the food and I have been craving popcorn so it’s a win-win.” She explains scanning back over the instructions, making sure she is putting everything together correctly.
Mike nods slowly, “Right- that’s not weird at all…” He remarks suspiciously glancing around the room then back down to the empty sandwich plate. Alison looks over at him in exasperated fondness.
“Yeah well, the point still stands. Anyways! I wanted to do something nice for Kitty this year since we have been so busy getting ready for the baby that I have not had much time to properly hang out with her.” Or any of the ghosts for that matter, and to their credit they have tried to stay out of her way and be less annoying even if only slightly. There is still Thomas’s excessive wooing to contend with, and Lady B’s watchful scrutiny silently judging the lipstick she chooses to wear and the way she folds the laundry, there is also the Captain’s morning runs, the resetting of the chessboard for Robin and Julian, and making sure that all of the books have had their pages turned in the morning and well… alright they are still a handful but they at least have been trying to keep out of the way during the day. They are more than content to spend their days trying to find new clubs to keep themselves busy, or watching whatever film or TV show she would pop into the DVD player upstairs or play on YouTube and it has been a massive relief. Trying to juggle living with her ghostly housemates, the side effects of her pregnancy, and getting ready for the arrival of the baby has been more than a little stressful and daunting of a prospect but, she will manage just as she always has, and all their efforts no matter how small, she is grateful for.
“Right- alright then, sounds great. So um- what exactly is the surprise?”
Mike’s question draws Alison back into the present conversation, raising her eyebrows a broad smile gracing her face. “I have a few things in mind, but mostly watching some movies and finally having that sleepover she has been asking for, for almost a year now. You know- a bit of a girl's night in. I think she will enjoy what I have planned and I am going to be setting it all up tonight. So if you don’t mind holding down the fort tomorrow and doing some of the chores for me I would appreciate it.”
“Of course! That shouldn’t be a problem- I can just play some Xbox and catch up on some shows while you do your ghost stuff!”
“Thanks Mike, your a legend… I love you.” Alison’s broad smile makes her soft brown eyes to crinkle at the edges in a way that makes Mike smile fondly as she steps around the edge of the table wrapping him up in her arms. Her old fuzzy blue jumper tickling his neck as she rests her chin on the top of his head.
----
"Happy Birthday to you!" Alison trails off into a laugh pulling the string at the end of the confetti popper. It bursts to life with colorful ribbons and pieces of confetti paper that flutter to the ground around her as Kitty gasps in surprise, laughing gleefully along with the other ghosts as they clap and cheer.
"Alright, great work everyone! That was lovely! Just like we rehearsed! An a very happy birthday to you Kitty!" Pat remarks jovially shuffling out of the way of a stray pink balloon as it floats about the room.
"Thank you Pat this is absolutely lovely!" Kitty remarks cheerfully taking in the sight of the library that had been so lovingly decorated by Alison early that morning. Streamers have been strung up along the bookcases in varying hues of pink, red, and vibrant shimmering gold, and clusters of balloons are tied up in every corner of the room, bobbing and swaying in the drafts of air coming in through the cracked window. A long string of colorful letters decorates the wall behind her spelling out in big bold font, "Happy Birthday Kitty" next to big gold number balloons Alison purchased for her age. It is all so wonderful down to the brightly colored confetti that now litters the floor under their feet.
"I'm glad you like it Kitty. I know I have been very busy lately but I wanted to make it up to you so I got you a couple of presents and afterwards I have another big surprise for you!" Alison remarks excitedly giving a quick thumbs up to Pat for the good work watching Kitty take it all in.
She whirls around eyes wide with excitement, "You got me a present!"
"Of course I did! It's your birthday!" Alison remarks excitedly whipping out the gift from behind her back, crudely wrapped in lilac wrapping paper, dotted with reflective silver polkadots, and all topped off with a pastel pink ribbon and a tag with her name written in Sharpie. She watches Kitty's eyes light up in awe and excitement as they quickly make their way to the table, her fellow ghosts crowd around as Kitty laughs in delight.
"Oh I wonder what it could be! This is so exciting!" Kitty giggles as the rest of the ghosts peer over her shoulder.
"Go on Alison open it!" Pat shouts excitedly finding Kitty's enthusiasm contagious as Alison gently removes the bow setting it aside to keep for later.
"Alright- here we go!" She grins glancing to the ghosts as she peels off the paper and they all pile in closer fighting to get a good look.
"Oh what is it! What is it!" Kitty shouts in delight watching as Alison rips off the wrapping paper slowly unveiling the gift below. Her eyes widen gasping in delight as she reveals the stack of books below setting them all out on the table for everyone to get a better look. Their covers are illustrated with gorgeous women wrapped up in the strong arms of handsome men the salacious titles in elegant script sprawled across the lower third of the covers.
"Oh ho ho- what do we have here~!" Julian raises his brows whistling in amusement only to roll his eyes a moment later. "Really- books? Reading is for squares- come on! At least get her a-"
"What absolute debauchery!" Fanny turns up her nose in disgust to Julian's left looking away in her indignation, only for him to catch her peeking at the covers a few moments later trying to get a better look at them.
"Oh how exciting!" Kitty remarks happily scanning over the covers eager to know what writing lay inside.
"I thought you might like them! I was at the shops the other day and remembered you were running out of books to read from that old box in the attic, so I picked up a couple of new ones for you!" Alison remarks smiling as the ghosts mumble amongst themselves behind her.
Kitty turns to her with a radiant smile on her face. "Oh Alison this is wonderful thank you! I can't wait to read them all! Gosh I wish I could hug you right now!" She holds out her arms to do just that, Alison quick to remind her not to.
"I know Kitty, but you would hate it." She smiles sadly as Kitty drops her arms letting them swing at her sides for a moment, before lacing her fingers together in front of herself with a gentle laugh.
"Oh- right yes of course. I remember!" She remarks her overflowing joy refusing to be dampened by the limitations of being a ghost. Alison sets aside the wrapping paper before clasping her hands together with a loud clap drawing in the attention of the other ghosts.
"Right! I said I had one more surprise for you Kitty, and I know you are going to love it!" Alison grins as Kitty clasps a hand over her mouth in surprised excitement.
"What is it?" She asks with baited breath.
"Well- I know it has been a long time coming but, we are finally having our sleepover together." Alison is interrupted by Kitty's excited squeal unable to contain her excitement any longer.
"A sleepover! How wonderful! I always wanted us to have a sleepover together! Oh this day couldn't possibly get any better! Thank you Alison! Thank you!" She's absolutely overjoyed, Alison has always been like a sister to her and it fills her eyes with tears of happiness at the prospect of spending the evening and the night together.
"Your welcome Kitty- and that's not all! Cause we are also having a movie and TV show marathon! I have already picked out all of your favorites! We will kick off the night by watching The Wizard of Oz followed by Love Actually and to top it all off I thought we could watch Grease together!"
"Grease?" Kitty pauses in her joy her face falling to a look of slight worry. "With Freddy?"
"Oh no Kitty- no absolutely not that one. There was a bit of a mix up last time-", Alison shoots a pointed glare at Julian as the disgraced politician shrugs his shoulders, "-this time I have a version I absolutely know you will love I promise." She finishes an Kitty nods eagerly a relieved smile on her face.
"Oh good, that sounds lovely then!"
"Right! This all sounds very exciting! Can't wait to start!" Pat chimes in cheerfully.
Alison turns hesitantly to Pat with an apologetic smile. "Um- well, you see Pat... this is kind of a thing for Kitty and I, just Kitty. So i'm sorry but this time the rest of you are not invited. We can do this again some other time in the future! An besides, we all went camping together a few months back."
Pat's face falls slightly, as he gives an awkward laugh. "Oh right- yeah of course! That makes sense. Well alright everyone! You heard Alison! Come along it's time for food club! Then afterwards Robin is going to be giving a talk about that one time he and his friends went to hunt a bear!"
"It go very badly." Robin shakes his head a haunted look in his eyes that makes the other ghosts grimace, exchanging worried glances wondering just what they have got themselves into this time.
Pat swallows nervously nodding, "Right... Well come on then! Let's go or we are going to be late!" He jumps in to herd them along like a rowdy bunch of cattle. They gripe and complain shuffling around the room and out of the way of several balloons left floating about, trying not to let them pass through them.
When they all had gone Alison turns back to Kitty an excited smile on her face. "Ready to get started?" Kitty nods enthusiastically trailing behind her as Alison exits the library heading towards one of the lesser-used rooms of the house, where she had carefully prepared for their sleepover the previous night.
----
Alison props herself up against a set of red crushed velvet pillows enjoying the last bit of her strawberry-banana smoothie as the credits of Love Actually begin rolling across the screen. Kitty smiles to herself sitting beside her on top of a red and purple color-block crocheted blanket that Alison had been gifted by Mike's mother for her birthday last year. Scattered around her is a mix-matched set of burgundy and purple pillows that she, unfortunately, could not use but loved no less. Alison had bought them to decorate her room, and retrieved them for her at the beginning of their movie marathon.
"wasn't that just delightful Alison? It's such a good movie."
"Yes it is Kitty, it's a classic." Alison agrees pausing the credits to get up and stretch having been sat in one position for too long making her feel a bit crampy. No matter how many times they watch them, Kitty would never grow bored of her favorite movies having sat eyes glued to the screen not missing a single moment of it. The beautiful smile on her face is contagious as she glances up at Alison from where she sits cross-legged on the floor. She would never get tired of seeing Kitty's smile, she had warmed to her quickest of all the ghosts except for maybe Pat, both of them having award-winning smiles and being some of the funniest most charismatic ghosts out of the bunch. Spending time with Kitty really does feel like having the sister she never got, something that brings a smile to Alison's face.
"Right! I hate to interrupt our movie marathon here but I need to come out of this jumper so I am going to go put on some pyjamas and take my glass back to the kitchen. Would you like me to put on an episode of Is It Cake for you while I'm away?" Alison asks pulling on her house slippers as Kitty nods enthusiastically.
"That would be great! Thank you Alison!"
"Right no problem," Alison replies quickly opening up Netflix on her computer currently hooked up to the TV setting on the floor. She scrolls down to find Is It Cake, putting on the most recent season they had stopped on before standing. "Alright be back in a bit!" She says pulling the door to the room open and shutting it back behind her leaving Kitty to watch the latest episode. The luxurious fabric of her dress fans out around her across the multitudes of blankets laid down over the old worn floors, to create a soft pallet to lounge on. For a moment she pauses to think, taking in the room around her.
She is so lucky to have Alison here now, they all are. Before Alison had arrived the decades and even centuries for some, had dragged on inside the confines of the grounds. People from all walks of life came and went, some staying behind, as Higham House became Button House and exchanged hands throughout the centuries. She had never been completely bored, gifted with a beautiful sense of imagination and finding company in her fellow ghosts, but meeting Alison changed everything. Now they could listen to music, read books of their choosing and not ones that just fell from their shelves, and watch TV together and with her. Alison taught her how to dance and had been the first to truly let her open up about and listen to her talk about her sister Eleanor. Together along with the help of the other ghosts she had even been able to to finally learn how she died, by a spider bite of all things. Alison had given them all so much, and not just the tangible things like party games, books, and even a new teddy bear and fake flowers to decorate her room. Alison had given them all a chance to feel alive again, and she had given her the sister she always wanted but could never quite have until it was too late.
She tries not to tear up despite how they well in her eyes as she looks around the room. Alison had gone through so much trouble to make this the best day and night possible, from purchasing new pillows and a machine she isn't quite sure what it does, to setting up a tent-like canopy indoors made out of a beautiful red shimmery fabric that they could sit under like a fort. She does not have to do all this... she could have left them alone to their own devices and pretended that they never existed to begin with, or have simply moved away but instead she makes the effort to do nice things for each of them. The feeling of gratitude that wells up in her chest is almost unbearable as she smiles fondly at the room around her. They are all so lucky...
The doorknob twists as the door is pushed open. Alison emerges from the hallway in an old oversized black band shirt she has had for years now, and comfortable fluffy white pants with a little red heart pattern holding a large glass of water.
"Right! I'm back! Sorry for the delay! Ready to turn off the lights and watch Grease?" Alison asks cheerfully glancing back at Kitty who looks a bit wary.
"Oh right- we are watching Grease aren't we..." Kitty hesitates a moment her unwavering smile faltering slightly. "Alison- do you think we could leave the lights on until we are done watching Grease?"
"Oh Kitty, don't worry I've got something in mind! We won't be in the complete dark. Here let me show you!" Alison eagerly walks over to the back corner of their canopy picking up a chord that had been draping down the back. With a quiet click, a gentle warm glow lights up the translucent red canopy around her. Kitty looks up with a smile on her face finding a string of lights looping down around the top.
"They are so pretty! Like little starlights!"
"Exactly! And that's not all, I have one more over here just give me a moment-" Alison fiddles around for a few moments, trying to find the correct angle to plug the chord into the socket, but when she does an odd-looking lamp lights up a vibrant purple on a corner table. Kitty looks on in fascination trying to figure out what exactly it is.
"It's beautiful Alison but what exactly is it? And what is the little pink blob bit doing at the bottom?"
"Oh! It's called a lava lamp Kitty, they are really cool and that glob there at the bottom will float around inside the lamp when it gets hot enough. It takes these things a few minutes to get going but you will see."
"That's fascinating! It sounds like magic! Ok Alison, we can turn the other lights off now and watch Grease together." Kitty finally agrees watching the lamp from across the room excitedly.
"Right!" Alison smiles feeling a sense of accomplishment having put Kitty's nerves at ease, and turns off the main switch leaving the room bathed in a calm purple and golden glow. She ducks back underneath the red fabric of the canopy resuming her seat on the floor beside Kitty, scooting over to leave just enough space where they would not accidentally pass through each other. Pulling her laptop over she pauses Is It Cake to quickly pull up Grease, pressing play to start the movie and cozying up into a nest of pillows, pulling one of Mike's spare blankets over her legs. About ten minutes or so into the movie a moment of realization hits Alison.
"Right! I had completely forgotten about- hang on one moment Kitty! I promise I won't be long! Something new arrived in the post today and I really want to try it out! It won't take but a few minutes!" She remarks pausing the movie before getting up and walking over to the machine that had caught Kitty's eye earlier.
"Oh? What is that Alison?"
"This is a popcorn maker Kitty! It's one of the really nice ones like they have in the cinemas!" Alison excitedly glances over the instructions before measuring out her ingredients already set aside on the table. She dumps the popcorn kernels, salt, and butter into the pot, gently closing the tin lid and turning on the machine. It lights up with a bright yellow light illuminating the decorated panel on the front containing little popcorn puffs.
"Oh how exciting! I've never heard of a popped corn before! What is a cinema?"
Oh right- some of the ghosts did not have this technology during their lifetimes. It's hard to even imagine what her life might be like without going out to the cinema with friends to watch a movie and buy a ridiculously overpriced extra-large bag of triple-buttered popcorn. Pat and Julian regularly talked about movies together with her. Julian more so what he got up to in the back of the theater but Pat had several lovely memories of date nights taking Carol to go see a movie in the theaters. From what she knew about the history of cinema from a few late-night internet deep dives, Lady B might be the oldest ghost to have seen a film live in cinemas. The Edwardian era was host to some of the very beginnings of silent films, but Alison doubts Fanny has seen any of them, never having heard it come up in conversation. Then there was the Captain who had a very different idea of just what exactly they were showing in the cinemas, lord knows how he stumbled into one of those films- but as far as the others went, none of them could have experienced it.
"Well, the cinema is a lot like theatre, except instead of watching actors perform live you go there with your mates to watch movies like we are doing right now! They have these massive screens that they show new movies on and rows of chairs like a theatre for everyone to sit in. Now days they have really comfortable reclining chairs and speakers that make it feel like you are surrounded by the sound and in the actual movie itself. Some cinemas even have special 3D movies you can go to where you wear funny glasses that make the movie jump out at you. I can't go to those though, they make me feel sick." Alison explains listening to the popcorn starting to pop eventually overflowing the pot it is contained in, spilling over into the bottom of the machine where she could scoop it into her bowl.
"The cinema sounds lovely! It's a shame we can't go to one together... I think I would have enjoyed it if we could. If it's even half as fun as getting to sit with you and watch movies together like this I imagine it would have been wonderful!" Kitty smiles at the very thought, able to picture it so clearly, having a girl's day out with Alison wearing matching jumpers and going to the cinema to watch a romantic comedy. It would be the perfect evening.
"Aw Kitty... that's sweet thank you. I think you would have liked it too. Maybe one day we can have our own private indoor theatre. We could convert one of the rooms of the house into our own private cinema, Lady B permitting." Alison smiles over at her turning back to the popcorn maker to shovel in the last few scoops of popcorn before turning off the machine. Carrying her freshly made bowl and a few napkins she rejoins Kitty back under the cozy canopy careful to not knock over her glass of water as she sits down. Once they are all settled in Alison resumes the movie pressing play with the trackpad of her laptop.
"The popped corn smells lovely Alison, what is it like?"
"Oh popcorn can come in many different flavors but this is just the classic way to make it. It's salty and buttery but light and fluffy, and when it's freshly made it is slightly crunchy. I'm sorry you cannot eat any... I would let you have some of mine if you could." Alison mentions with an apologetic look in her eyes as Kitty glances back at the TV screen giggling excitedly.
"Oh no worries Alison, the smell is lovely enough as it is. I can already imagine it tastes just as lovely as it smells."
Alison smiles at Kitty relieved, quietly eating her popcorn as they watch the movie in silence. Almost two hours later the credits start rolling and Alison is left with an empty glass and an empty bowl sitting next to her as Kitty claps her hands quietly smiling at the screen.
"This was just lovely Alison! I think it might be my new favorite movie! You're right- this version of Grease is much better than the one I watched on TV."
"Yeah about that Kitty... what you watched on TV was a- oh never mind, I'm glad you enjoyed the movie." She waves off the original thought of introducing Kitty to horror movies. It was a foolish idea anyway, and would not go over well. She glances down at the clock on her laptop finding out it's almost midnight and her battery is down to 53%. "Well we don't have enough battery life left for another movie, and I have to get up early tomorrow to go with Mike to pick up a buggy for the baby, so why don't we finish up the episode of that reality TV dating show we were watching last week?"
"Oh yes! The one where the girl has to choose between the three eligible men!"
"Yes that one! The one where one of the roommates got a chunk of her hair burnt off with the hair straightener!" Alison eagerly reaches for the laptop pulling up a separate application to look for the episode they left off on. Scrubbing through the video timeline to get to the part she left off at she presses play, resting back against her pillows watching the carnage unfold on tv as two more bachelors are introduced to the ever-growing cast.
"Oh! Now who are they? They look rather fine don't you think Alison?" Kitty laughs watching eagerly to see what happens next as one of the men approaches one of the women on the beach, giggling when he kisses her hand. "Such a charmer!"
Alison is doubtful, raising a brow as the man flashes an award-winning smile knowing an absolute sleaze ball when she sees one. "Yeah... not really my cup of tea to be honest Kitty."
"It's kind of sad in a way don't you think?"
Alison glances over brows furrowing in curiosity, "How so?"
"Well think about it... the girls can't possibly stay in the relationship if they don't want to make a baby with the man, so what even is the point of falling in love," Kitty states it so matter-of-factly that it gives Alison whiplash, turning her full attention towards Kitty with a look of concern.
"What? No Kitty that's not how it works-"
"It's not?"
"No- who told you that?"
"Oh! My father always used to say to me and my sister that the whole point of a relationship was to have children. That it's what is expected of us. One day we would have children of our own. I don't mind children, I think they are absolutely adorable but I never wanted one. So I never allowed myself to fall in love with any of my potential suitors because I didn't want to have any. The idea of romance is nice, but not all the other bits. Guess I'm just unlucky." Kitty mentions looking back at the screen with a forced smile.
Alison's expression softens into a small frown. "Kitty, you know those are two separate things right?"
She glances back at Alison a bit confused, "What are two separate things?"
"Well, sex and romance. It's two very different types of attraction Kitty and having children is something else entirely."
"It is?" She turns her full attention to Alison, turning to face her, losing interest in what is going on in the TV show entirely.
"Yes, it might be kind of difficult to grasp at first since we were brought up in very different time periods but hear me out. There are multiple different types of attraction, two of which are romantic and sexual attraction. They are not exclusive to one another. You can love someone and not want to do all the extra bits and just the opposite is true too! Sometimes people don't love each other and just want a quick hookup- think of Julian's stories, or- actually... well, maybe not- bad example but anyways!" Alison tries to explain the best she can as Kitty looks back at her in astonishment.
"People can just do that? Love each other without having to make a baby?"
"Yes of course!" Alison nods continuing, "Look, in the time you were alive women were raised to have families but it's not like that anymore. It's all up to personal preference. Mike and I share both types of attraction I mentioned, and also decided we wanted a child but not all people are like that. It's hard to talk about because there's such a wide array of different kinds of attractions, like every color of the rainbow and more. As you know women can love women and men can love other men and hell some people like both, more, or neither. There are so many different types of people in the world Kitty, and so many different types of love. It gets much more complicated than just 'love means having children', it's not like that for everyone."
"Huh... it all makes much more sense when you explain it like that. It was a silly thing to think... why wouldn't there be more." It seems much more logical now looking at it in the way Alison explains it. It had always felt a bit weird wanting the romance and loving the idea of falling in love but wanting none of the bit that came after. Although scandalous, it sounds fun on paper reading about it in the books Alison buys for her and Lady B but actually doing it? The idea is ghastly and leaves her with goosebumps, like the uncomfortable sensation of tiny ants walking up and down your spine. "Well, then what do they call the people who just like the romantic part and not the making a baby part?"
"Oh- they are Asexuals Kitty, it's a newer term but the concept has been around for ages. Just no one ever quite put a name to it that stuck. Mike and I have a few friends who are asexual and quite happy on their own and with their partners." Alison mentions as the reality TV episode ends, turning off her laptop to save the last 15% of battery in case she needs to look at something on it tonight.
"Oh, that must be nice! Getting to have someone to connect to without all the other bits it sounds absolutely lovely! I think I might be Asexual too! Don't tell the others though- it can be our own little secret!" Kitty grins brightly after giving it some careful thought allowing herself to be briefly swept up in her own private romantic fantasies, giggling happily at the thought of being whisked away to the dance floor by her own personal prince charming at one of the many elegant balls her and her sister had been invited to.
"Don't worry your secret is safe with me Kitty." Alison smiles brightly, laughing along quietly, Kitty's sweet smile filled with so much joy warms her heart. Something feels so very domestic about it all, sharing secrets with one another at a sleepover under a canopy of fairy lights, perhaps this is the closest she will ever get to feeling like she has a true sister. Someone she could trust with all her little quirks and secrets. This evening was perfect, allowing her time to relax for what felt like the first time in months. Now she felt worn out yawning quietly her tired brown eyes glancing over at Kitty, who also seems to grow sluggish the more seconds ticked by.
"Why don't we get some sleep Kitty? This has been wonderful but I really do have an early day tomorrow." Alison mentions pulling her blanket closer and rearranging her pillows to be more comfortable to sleep on. Being careful she also moves her glass and empty popcorn bowl out of the way so they would not be knocked over in the middle of the night by a stray hand. Satisfied with the temporary sleeping accommodations she lies down curling up to one of the many soft plush pillows sending Mike a quick goodnight text. He won't read it, most likely already having been passed out for a few hours by now but it's the thought that counts. Kitty joins her a few feet away straightening out her dress to be more comfortable before lying down, well as comfortable as one could be sleeping in a dress Alison imagines. "Alright then, goodnight Kitty. Sweet dreams!"
"Goodnight Alison sweet dreams and thank you this has been the best birthday I've had in centuries." And it's true, spending the evening watching her favorite movies and discovering new shows with Alison has been magical. It's a shame it has to come to an end, perhaps they could do it again next year. Kitty smiles to herself quietly watching the lava lamp in the corner of the room as the globs of pink wax float up and down in a rhythmic pattern making it impossible to stay awake.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it Kitty, goodnight," Alison remarks softly, her voice muffled by the blanket pulled up around her face as she slowly falls asleep.
