Unexpected Developments [For Verity Willis]

[sumarusfinest]

The entire week has been a near constant roller coaster. Between discovering the fate of Verity's world, designing the memorial for the Nexus, interviewing with Schon and...revelations, the officer is completely drained when he wanders into his empty apartment at the end of the week, late evening and wiped.

The stillness of the apartment makes a numb sense of loneliness settle over him that makes eating seem like more trouble than it's worth. Might as well just settle in and read a book until he's too tired to stay awake anymore.

His tie is loosened, suit jacket hung up carefully. His holster comes off, followed by his cell phone, both set down on the counter. A pot of coffee maybe? Katsuya looks back at his cell phone.

Oh.

It's scooped up immediately, speed dialing Verity's number. The officer worries at his bottom lip while he waits for it to ring.

Comments

[sumarusfinest]

Katsuya totally negotiated. At least he thinks he did. He made Schon promise him that the requests would be made of him and not to interfere with his friends or family. Something he's quite certain has been violated by goddamn putting half his remaining favors onto Verity's shoulders.

He's completely dumbfounded about how to react to this. He's furious at Schon for breaching their deal. Worried about Verity. Upset that literally no one talked to him about this. And guilty. For needing to be helped.

Tatsuya would have done the same thing.

It occurs to the officer while he's struggling for how to rely. And then he smiles. Because he'd given up trying to change his brother. The boy was fool hardy, reckless, and s well meaning Katsuya could only stand back and be proud of him. DIdn't Verity deserve the same sort of treatment?

"...I'm...not pleased that you did this without talking to me. That Schon went back on his word about only taking his payment from me. I can't deny that, you'd know anyway." He doesn't let Verity pull herself away even if she tries.

"...But I'm proud that I have someone who cares enough about me to stand up for me. It must have taken a lot to do that. So..thank you."

Have her goofy face

[brave_heart_verity]

Verity was prepared for more of an argument. She's got several excuses and attempts to reason with him lined up in her head. The fact they're not needed leaves her speechless for a minute, but not helpless. She'll give him a gentle squeeze and a relieved smile while she figures out what to say next.

"You're welcome. And you're right, I should have talked to you. Maybe neither of us were thinking clearly at the time." If there's room she'll maneuver around in front of him so they can talk (and hug) properly while they wait for dinner to cook.

Heehee!

[sumarusfinest]

"I knew..potentially, that Schon's requests could be dangerous. Knew that I may not want to do them. But my wants...or even my needs...did not change the fact that the Nexus and everyone's' worlds were in danger if I did not shut that door. I would have given much more, had he asked it of me."

Don't ever let him hear you say that Katsuya.

"I'm sorry you got drug into this as well.You have so much to deal with on your own already..." He doesn't want anything to happen to her.

[brave_heart_verity]

Oh, he already knows that. Verity can guess although she tries not to think about it.

"Shh. Katsuya. I didn't get dragged into anything. I went to him." She doesn't want him feeling guilty about this. This was supposed to make his life better, not worse. "I chose this, because this is something I can do. And if it's dangerous, that's okay. I'll be careful. I have friends who can help me prepare. And whatever happens, it's worth it to me. You're worth it."

[sumarusfinest]

He'd have done the same for her. Katsuya knows it. It's astonishing how many times he has to remind himself this. Verity's getting a proper hug now, Katsuya's face buried into the top of her head.

"I'll protect you. No matter what happens." When he finally pulls away, he's trying to keep a smile on his face. "The dishes are in that cupboard there, do you mind setting up while I tend to the food?"

[brave_heart_verity]

Proper hugs are wonderful things, and she'll enjoy it as long as she can. The way he's nuzzling into her hair is so nice, and she's glad someone else gets to enjoy her fancy shampoo that smells really good.

"We'll protect each other." She's not helpless, Katsuya, and she doesn't want to be treated as an unequal partner. Her smile is more firmly fixed when she looks up at him again. "Okay." Setting the table will take her longer than usual because she's not used to Japanese dishes and has to think about these things. But she will manage. She even remembers the hashioki, although they might not be in the right place.

[sumarusfinest]

"I think you are already doing that whether I like it or not." Katsuya admits with a chuckle, turning back toward the beeping rice cooker.

With a little 'pop' he opens it up to let the smell permeate through the kitchen. He already has the rice paddle in hand, removing the fish, mixing the ingredients (tossing in half the green onions) and shutting the lid again.

The fish gets de-boned and broken into bite size pieces before the rice gets another toss.

"Ah, thank you Verity." He'll fill two of the rice bowls, sprinkle on some more of the green onion before serving both bowls to the table. "Here, I know it's a bit late, but...dinner is ready."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Then you'd better learn to like it." Because she's not going to stop.

The smell of dinner gets an appreciative sound from her. It smells so good. She's fascinated by his de-boning the fish. That's something she's never really done before. American fishmongers do all that for her. This is something she'll have to learn to do for herself.

"Thank you. And it's just on time because we're not eating until now." She's very good at finding these little and sometimes silly ways of reassuring people. It comes with practice. "Next time can you teach me how to deal with the fish?"

[sumarusfinest]

"Deal with?" Katsuya raises an eyebrow, chopsticks halfway to his mouth before he sets his bowl down again. "You mean like, cleaning?"

He's so used to beheading, gutting and filleting his own seafood he almost doesn't understand what the question is. It's the freshest when it's whole, so it's pretty common to just do all of that at home.

"I can show you. It's not terribly difficult but it does take practice."

[brave_heart_verity]

She nods then gives a little shrug. Is it really so shocking he has to stop eating? "It's already cleaned when I buy it at home. I never had to learn." These things may be common for him, but need she remind him things are different in America? He's going to be so disappointed to learn she's used to tuna coming in a can.

"I don't mind practicing." She idly wonders if Naugus eats fish. He doesn't usually turn down anything she makes, but she's never quite sure about these things. "It would be good to know, I'll probably have to do it myself from now on anyway."

[sumarusfinest]

It's not shocking, he just can't gesture with his bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other. Plus its super rude to gesture with one's chopsticks. So down they go.

"I suppose that makes sense, though Manhattan is so close to the water I hadn't considered that." He's making these slicing motions with his hands, as though mapping out how to clean and gut an imaginary fish on the table.

"With the smaller fish like the sanma...er...pacific saury I think? In English? Anyway, they're easier to remove the spine and small bones once cooked. You just have to be thorough."

[brave_heart_verity]

She still has so much to learn.

"America is the land of convenience. Plus nobody wants to think about where their food really comes from." She watches the mime act with an amused smile. It's not really going to help, but he's too cute to stop. "Yes, I would think so. Wouldn't want to choke on anything."

Her first several attempts are going to end in fish nuggets. This is what beer batter was invented for.

[sumarusfinest]

"Exactly!" Katsuya beams and then nods, picking up his bowl and chopsticks again.

"You understand. It won't be hard to learn. I can show you next time." It's Verity's turn to go home with a bunch of leftovers tonight, because Katsuya isn't going to eat all of this himself. Cooking for one's kind of a downer that way.

"So, Nexus fruit?"

[brave_heart_verity]

"Thank you. I'm sure you'll be a great teacher." It'll be nice to have something he made the next day when she's bored and lonely and working on finding the energy to go out and do anything. Having something to look forward to, even as vague a promise as 'next time', cheers her too.

She smiles at the question and glances over at the bag of fruit she brought. "I'm not sure what it's called, nobody seems to have agreed on a name yet. It tastes like a mix of melons and strawberry, but you don't have to peel it or remove a rind or anything. The skin is like an apple's, you can eat it. The boy I bought them from says they grow on trees in the park. I thought it might be fun to find out what we can do with it."

[sumarusfinest]

"....They don't...do weird things when eaten then?" Why yes, Officer SUou has learned his lesson from last time.

Nexus fruit is regarded with some suspicion.

He's still going to make the sweetened whipped cream to go with the diced fruit. But with suspicion.

[brave_heart_verity]

"No, I don't think so. It didn't do anything to me." She wouldn't bring anything like that into his house. He should have more faith in her. "We... if you don't want to risk it, that's okay." She'd be a little disappointed, but she won't force him. After last time she can't blame him for being wary.

[sumarusfinest]

Oh! Good, Verity has already tested it.

"Excellent." That's all he needs to hear really. He can count on Verity to look out for things like that. It's quite reassuring.

"I'll prepare the cream now then, if you'd care to dice the fruit?" Cutting board and knife are produced in short order. Katsuya's busy fetching a bowl and his whisk.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Sure." She'll take care of preparing the fruit, washing and drying it before dicing it up. She may be sneaking a bite while she works because it's really yummy. There's a piece conveniently out-of-the-way on the corner of the cutting board if he wants to do the same.

"You know, if we added marshmallows, this would be called a salad in America." This is meant to be amusing. Her tone suggests it's not something she understands or approves of, and considers the sort of weird habit people generally accept from a family member.

[sumarusfinest]

"Nothing about this is a salad." Katsuya mumbles with a shake of his head. He does not approve either. But he does op the conveniently out of the way fruit piece into his mouth with an interested hum. It's not like anything he's ever tasted before.

Powdered sugar is added to the cream and then Katsuya gets to whisking. Electric mixers are for suckers. He'll have a bowl of soft-peak whipped cream ready in no time.

By then, of course, Verity has the fruit into small bowls and Katsuya places a serving spoon into the whipped cream so Verity can take what she'd like. He gives a dollop of it to himself and settles over onto the couch with it and a spoon for eating.

"I'm glad someone discovered these. They're quite tasty."

[brave_heart_verity]

"No," she agrees with a soft laugh. "But American imperialism extends to the culinary horizons as much as the political." She watches his reaction to the fruit carefully, hoping he'll like it and pleased when he does.

Electric mixers are for people with bigger kitchens and a willingness to have whipped cream turn into butter when they're not looking. Let's just not go there.

She doesn't take too much cream, preferring it as an accent to the fruit, and then sits beside him on the couch. "They are," she agrees. A few more good associations with the place might make him feel better about wanting to spend time there.

"So, should I explore the new foods there further?" She's going to either way, but she doesn't have to involve him.

[sumarusfinest]

"Well, I mean, you're living there now. It would seem prudent to."

Katsuya can't get over this idea that there's someone else in his apartment spending an evening with him. The loneliness of the place still hangs--it will take a while to disappear. But for a change his home seems warm and inviting.

"I'd think you'd be safer than most to do such an investigation, too." Why wouldn't he treat it as an investigation. It's also a good distraction for her, Katsuya suspects.

[brave_heart_verity]

"I do have a better chance of avoiding the unpleasant side-effects," she agrees. "And it can be fun." He's right about it being a good distraction, and about her needing a few. She doesn't mind his framing it as an investigation. She can be very scientific about it all and write things down.

When she's finished with her dessert she sets the bowl down and folds her hands in her lap. She wants to cuddle, but she's not sure how to ask. With Loki, she would have just taken what she wants. She was always welcome to be whatever she wanted to be with him, except his lover. There was a freedom in that. This uncertainty is less appealing.

[sumarusfinest]

Katsuya will scoop up all the dishes and retreat back to the kitchen. He's always so on top of things like this, making sure the area was clear before--no, not he's got the sink going now. Guess he's planning on doing the dishes right away too.

"Would you care for some tea or coffee?" Comes a polite offer from back in the kitchen. "I'd be happy to make some for you while you're relaxing."

Not a clue.

[brave_heart_verity]

Well, now she's disappointed and confused. Is this a date? Are they even dating? Are they just friends with feelings? Is she officially the world's worst girlfriend yet, or is that title still only in potential?

But she does know a good guest is a helpful guest, so when she hears the sink running she'll follow him into the kitchen to dry the dishes. "Whichever you're having would be great. I don't usually drink a lot of tea," which he may have noticed, "but it's supposed to be real healthy so that wouldn't be a bad change."

[sumarusfinest]

He seems rather shocked to see her come in and help, and the brilliant grin that spreads across his face tells her that he's very pleased she decided to join him.

"You don't have to, Verity.." He's mumbling, but he's already scooted over to give her room. Is the kitchen really this tiny or is he deliberately staying just a little too close to be casual? He keeps brushing her side with his.

"Coffee it is then." Katsuya dries his hands on a teatowel before getting them some beverages. "I must confess I don't drink nearly as much tea as I used to, but I received a very good quality brand of matcha powder from a coworker last new years, so I try to make a habit of drinking it when I can."