お誕生日おめでとう~!

[sumarusfinest]

A day planner laid out on Katsuya's kitchen counter has a big red circle over the date.

October first.

The officer wipes his glasses clean with a cloth and removes the apron he'd been wearing until moments ago. Changes back into his suit and tie and resolves that his kitchen will just have to be cleaned when he gets home.

He has gifts for a very special someone to go deliver. He scoops up the cake box and his keys and leaves his apartment for the Nexus. A certain magi's tower in the Nexus, to be exact. He does have the courtesy to text her to let her know he's on his way.

Still feels weird to announce 'I'm here to see Miss Verity Willis' to a wall of solid crystal though. Would it still open if he spoke in Japanese? Experiments for another time.

"Verity?"

Comments

No, it just makes me sad that the remake for EP never got released in the US :(

[sumarusfinest]

Who they are is integral to what. Maya was there as an intrepid beginning reporter for a popular teen magazine. A vehemently positive thinking woman with a determined streak wide enough to change worlds. A terrible driver (no seriously the WORST) who caught hell all the time from her harpy of a boss. Wanting to follow her dreams but having to settle for the equivalent of US Weekly to work her way up.

Who they all were. Maya, Ulala, himself, Tatsuya. At that time. He will talk about. But he doesn't talk about Who Baofu is. He knows. He admits that he knows. But it's not his business to tell Baofu's story. The rumor monger prefers to be a what. The who died a long time ago, or so the cynical older man thinks. The truth is he's the closest thing to a best friend Katsuya has. And he only sees the other once a year, if that.

But by then they're inside and Katsuya nods.

"Yes. I've been here before." Twice even! He'll slip his shoes off dutifully and take a cursory look around. It's hard to get used to the solid crystal structure after only seeing it twice.

Aw, that's frustrating.

[brave_heart_verity]

Maybe someday Baofu'll come back and Verity can find out for herself. And for the rest, she likes hearing about them. Even if he does sometimes sound a little too fond of Maya.

...okay, sure, they can take off their shoes. Those red slippers are waiting for him by the door, and so are her fuzzy ones. Not so different. But she's still looking expectant when he's done with that.

She's obviously waiting for something.

Katsuya.

Pay attention.

The original is fine, but the remake added content and my fangirl compeltionist is seething.

[sumarusfinest]

Hopefully! Baofu was the one that called Katsuya back into the Nexus after all. He wouldn't be here again if not for the rumor monger. And as for Maya...Katsuya wouldn't lie to her. It's not like he and Maya would have ever happened. And it doesn't matter now anyway. He still cares for her, but he chose Verity.

Hopefully she understands that.

He pauses. Looks back at her.

There is this horrible pause where Verity might get the idea that he has no idea what she wants. A tinge of red crops up on his cheekbones before he leans down and kisses her gently on her forehead.

"Where would you like to go?" Can they get inside first? Katsuya no, it's not the pace. It's you. Get it together, Suou. You're the one who's dated before even. Sort of. Once, during a zombie apocalypse. Wow neither of them knows what they're doing here, really.

Aww man I totes get that.

[brave_heart_verity]

She does. It's the same way she chose him. When they're a little more sure of things between them his fondness for Maya won't hurt any more than her fondness for Loki.

Well, that's a kiss, and she likes it of course. But it's not quite what she was looking for. They're inside. The door is shut. The slippers are on. How much more inside does this man need?

Wait. That's a really good question. "Um... the living room? Unless you're really nervous about getting caught, then we should sit in my bedroom. Naugus never bothers me when I'm in there."

They are so pathetic.

[sumarusfinest]

"Why...why would..." Getting caught? Just what does she intend to be doing here? They've shared a first kiss less than an hour ago, he has zero intentions of racing to the extreme intimate.

"It's fine. You're hardly a teenager sneaking a boy home." Katsuya tries to joke, even as he heads toward the living room. He'll sit on her couch and place his arm along the back of it, making room for Verity to cuddle up to him however she likes.

[brave_heart_verity]

Hey, their first kiss was on her birthday.

"I know. But you're really cute when you blush." She'll curl up beside him in a minute. First though, she's going to kneel on the couch beside him so she can kiss him. Making up for the height difference is important for proper... things. Angles. Something. Shut up.

[sumarusfinest]

"I could say the same about you." The kiss stops him from whatever else he was about to say. Katsuya squeezes Verity's hand gently and smiles when she pulls away.

He smiles even wider when she joins him on the couch to cuddle up.

This is really nice. Unfamiliar, but nice.

[brave_heart_verity]

"I suppose." She can be content with just the one kiss. She does hope there will be more later.

A good cuddle is hard to find, but in this at least she's confident. Verity sits so she can lean against his side and lay her head on his chest, curling up rather like one of those cats he so admires. One arm is tucked behind his waist, and the other curls over his stomach and chest. He is now her comfy spot and she's not keen on letting him up anytime soon.

"Thank you for today. It's been wonderful."

[sumarusfinest]

It's a good thing the officer isn't planning on going anywhere. He shifts slightly so Verity can curl up more easily, before wrapping the arm that was slung over the back of the couch around her shoulders gently.

"I wanted to treat you to something nice." Katsuya affirms. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

[brave_heart_verity]

She makes another of those secret little sounds when his arm wraps around her. It's warm and safe and pretty much perfect now.

"You are the something nice. Everything else is a bonus." Maybe he doesn't need such stern reassurance, but she needs to say it. She needs to know he knows these things. "And now I know what your idea of a good date is, so I can plan accordingly in the future."

[sumarusfinest]

This is the sort of thing neither of them get to do nearly often enough. It's a comfort that is nearly alien to Katsuya, having spent so much time alone.

"I do try to please." The officer murmurs quietly, sinking further into the couch and thoroughly enjoying himself. He's really glad Verity had a good time. She deserves many more of those. As much as it takes to help with the wounds her world is leaving behind.

[brave_heart_verity]

Oh, Katsuya. There is so much cuddling in your future.

"And succeed quite marvelously." She shifts with him, somehow managing to curl up even closer to him. They both deserve days like this, and a safe place to heal. Lucky for them that's one of the perks of dating. "It's going to be hard to measure up, you know. But I've already got an idea, so. Next time. Prepare for so much cute."

[sumarusfinest]

He could get used to this. There is literally nothing to complain about in his current situation. He doesn't feel guilty about taking the day off, about leaving Sumaru to its own devices for an afternoon.

Sometimes, everyone just needs a break.

"I like cute." Katsuya murmurs, voice taking on the airy lilting of a man drifting off in the late afternoon completely relaxed.

[brave_heart_verity]

He's certainly earned one.

"I noticed." It's almost like he can't tell she's been watching him. Silly boy. Speaking of... oh hell, he's falling asleep again isn't he? Fine. This time she's not leaving, he'll just have to sleep with her half on top of him and also asleep. Slippers off, feet up, complete sleepy-time cuddle commencing: now.

[sumarusfinest]

Probably the biggest clue that Katsuya works too damn hard is that if you get him in a quiet place and get his guard down, he almost always drifts off for a while.

Of course, this is only possible because he's so comfortable around Verity. At least he won't wake up screaming and throttling whoever's touching him in an hour.

His nightmares are typically more psychologically traumatizing than physically violent. Typically. None for now. Verity's mastery of cuddling has earned her a warm cuddle buddy that sort of naturally feels like Verity's curled up next to a fireplace.

[brave_heart_verity]

She's trying not to take it personally. But a lifetime of seeing the world and everyone in it as horrible and herself as the worst of all has made it all too easy to think the worst. She has a lot to work on. She knows that. She's trying, but it's not going to be fixed overnight.

And she's trying not to say these things out loud. That counts for something, right? It's a start.

A warm and welcoming place to doze helps her keep the worst of the self-doubt at bay. Her nightmares aren't violent, she's not a violent person, and she learned young to be quiet. If he stays long enough for her to have one, he might not even realize what's happening. The damp spot on his shirt could be from her sweating. She should have taken off that cardigan before they started cuddling, she just got too hot, that's all.

[sumarusfinest]

Katsuya doesn't get nightmares as often as he used to. Right after the incident he could scarcely sleep for the constant reminders of Nyarlathotep's accusations. Of Maya falling into the fire in the museum. Of Tatsuya's face staring back at him in shock from the other end of his gun.

Very rarely he would dream of all the times he was hurt or nearly killed. Phantom pains. Memories of what he thought would be his last moments.

The incident itself, and many like it since, have made the officer a light sleeper. He wakens on his own some time later, perhaps to a noise from Naugus upstairs, or even just because his body was protesting relaxing for this long. When he notices the moisture on his shirt he gently shakes Verity awake. He's not certain it from crying, but even if it's sweat he'd like to be sure she wasn't overheating or something.

"Verity? Is everything okay?"

[brave_heart_verity]

Verity wakes quickly, but not well. There's a choking sort of sound, and then she's at the other end of the couch before she's even really awake. No, nothing is okay. Nobody panicking like that will ever say everything's okay in a believable manner. There's a few blinks before she wipes her eyes with the back of a hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Liar. "Just a nightmare. Nothing to worry about." Kind of true. She believes it to be true. "I'll be okay." Debatable.

[sumarusfinest]

"You're in your home." The officer replies gently, giving her the space she needs until she's woken properly and knows where she is and that it's real.

"...Do you want to talk about it?" He extends a hand, an offering for comfort. She doesn't have to sit there all alone.

[brave_heart_verity]

"This isn't... this is the tower. Okay." Deep breath. Another. And another. Then she takes his hand and slinks back into the spot against his side she'd so rudely abandoned. "I'm sorry. I didn't hit you or anything?"

Because taking care of him is obviously far more important than taking care of herself.

[sumarusfinest]

"You did no such thing. I woke on my own." Katsuya holds her to him gently, stroking her hair ever so slowly. He's going to take care of her whether she wants to or not.

That's what boyfriends are for.

"I'm here for you."

[brave_heart_verity]

It may be shocking that such a tiny girl can heave such a big sigh of relief. Only when she's sure she hasn't hurt him does she curl up again and close her eyes, letting his petting and warmth soothe her. "Thank you."

There will be a long quiet moment between them before she's ready to talk. "It was the wasteland dream again. Apocalypse."

[sumarusfinest]

Katsuya makes a noise of understanding as he continues to stroke her hair. Of course she was fretful of the end of her world. Who wouldn't be?

"You'll have them for some time." He knows how this goes. "And that sounds awful now. But they do become less frequent as time passes. You will slowly become stronger than your nightmares." He believes this, too. Believes in her.

[brave_heart_verity]

"No. Not that. This... I've been having dreams of this place since I was a little kid." She shifts slowly and carefully to lay with her back against him. "There was a war I think. And the mutants won, sort of? It's... pretty terrible."

[sumarusfinest]

Mutants? Katsuya isn't familiar with the term. A faction, maybe. Of a war that Verity has dreamed about all her life.

"I see." Not that it changes Katsuya's belief in her. "Someone so young shouldn't have to see those kinds of things. DO you know why you dream about it?" Katsuya doesn't understand much about dreams or the Collective Unconscious, but he knows just enough to know there's usually no coincidence when it comes to these things.