sumarusfinest | お誕生日おめでとう~!

Saturday for lunch. Verity knows what that means, but that didn't stop her from calling Katsuya earlier in the morning. She had a good excuse, though! She had to know the weather report so she could dress appropriately. Early autumn is always a tricky time of year.

He'd said to dress casually and she took him at his word, layering her favorite giant cardigan over a blouse and jean and leaving her hair down. Being early, like she usually is these days, she waits near his portal for a few minutes before sending him a text.

You sure it wouldn't be easier for me to come to your apartment?

It's a completely valid concern. Fall weather can shift at the drop of a hat after all.

If his portal wasn't quite so conspicuous these days it would almost be easy to miss the officer when he does show up. His hair is fluffy rather than styled, and he's wearing a pair of khaki slacks and a short sleeved dark blue polo shirt.

And normal glasses?

Did Verity stumble into an AU portal of some kind?

"Sorry, I'm here now." The officer apologizes, despite being early for their scheduled meeting time. It's still not early enough to have kept Verity from waiting. "You weren't waiting long, were you?"

Give her a minute. She's just.

What happened to her boyfriend?

Is he a Skrull? This is a valid concern in her life.

"Not long. You have new glasses?"

"Uh...no good?" Katsuya looks rather self conscious at her reaction. He fiddles with the frames slightly and averts his gaze. "Uhm..Y..yes."

He was trying to be casual.

"No, I like them." She smiles and reaches up to take his hand away from them. "It's a surprise is all. You look very handsome." That fidgeting hand is better off resting on her waist, right? Because that's where she's putting it, and then she's giving him a hug. He's just going to have to deal with this. "I'm sorry, I'm not good at surprises."

There's something to be said that Katsuya in casual wear is that much of a surprise. The officer nods a bit and hugs her back.

"Well, I did say casual wear." He gives a nervous chuckle before inclining his head toward his door.

"Ready to go?"

"I didn't think that included new glasses. I feel unprepared now." She's in her regular boring glasses. Tragedy. Someday she's going to wear her contacts and really freak him out.

"Mm-hmm." She has to bite her lip to keep from asking where they're going, but she'll manage to restrain herself. For a few minutes.

"Well I..." Katsuya looks down at his outfit. "It didn't match." He blushes slightly at the admission. That was his reasoning. And verity always looks so well put together. He thought he should try to look less stuffy.

Especially for her birthday.

She wouldn't get a peep out of him if she asked. Other than perhaps.

"Himitsu desu." A smile, and then. "It's a secret."

"Well, I like them. And I like your outfit. And mostly, I like you." She likes making him blush, too, but that's for her to know and him to figure out.

She'd say he's the put-together one. Tees and jeans isn't exactly a hard combination to pull off, and it's easy to put things together when half your wardrobe is either black or denim.

"You know I could look that up, right?" But she'd rather hold his hand than fuss with her phone. But if he's not going to tell her, she'll have to bore him with small talk while they go... wherever it is they're going. She's very proud of herself for finally getting a tamagoyaki right. She got one of those special pans and everything. And it means she's figured out the heat settings on the magic stove.

"Nono, 'himitsu desu' literally means 'it's a secret'. I was translating for you."

Katsuya is content to lead her down winding side roads, back toward the Aoba shopping district they had passed by before on their way to the shrine.

It's less bustling than the downtown areas, but still close enough to be thrumming with life, especially on a Saturday.

"I had thought you might grow tired of my using Japanese, so I've been attempting to translate when I slip up."

"Oh." Well, now she feels silly. But this is not going to stop her from trying to learn. "No, I like it. So long as you keep translating until I understand it."

The winding side streets are lovely and she enjoys the walk. There aren't many landmarks for her to recognize, but that means a chance to learn new ones. And she does want to learn her way around. Someday she wants to be able to surprise him by knowing the way.

"I know I won't ever really fit in here, and to be honest, I'm not sure I'd want to, but I am trying to meet you halfway."

The obligation culture of expected responses and half-lies of tradition can be maddening for people who don't have Verity's powers. Katsuya understands.

"It is difficult for foreigners to adapt to Japanese culture." Katsuya looks annoyed by that. "Even moreso for women. And acceptance is usually hard to come by. Xenophobia is a drawback of my culture." He sighs, shaking his head.

He can't fix it, but he doesn't have to like it.

"I can't blame you for not wanting to. Hopefully visiting isn't too terrible though." Okay Katsuya. You've trained for this. Done the recon. Taken half a bottle of allergy medicine. That have arrived at their destination.

An adorable cat shaped sign beckoning them inside. It's a cat cafe! There are adorable kitties everywhere, and the hostess is quick to get them a table close to the play area where several Scottish fold kittens are batting around their toys.

The food here is adorable and cat shaped. And you get to play with the kitties. And there are health codes and it's clean. And Katsuya's wardrobe change makes sense on another level now. He would never be able to breathe again if he went in here in his normal clothes.

"I like visiting. I just. It would get ugly if I lost my temper, and I don't want you to see that." And eventually, she would lose it on someone. It would not be good. "We'll see what happens."

They'll have to see what happens about a lot of things before she's in any position to make any more major life changes.

Their secret destination is... a cat cafe? She smiles at first when she looks around, then realizes and gives him a worried look. "But your allergies. You'll get sick." And she won't enjoy a minute of it if he's going to get sick.

"They keep this place very clean, and I went by myself already to see if I would be alright with allergy medication."

He gives her an actual thumbs up.

"We can't stay here all day, but I'll be fine. And if I have to admit it, I've wanted to come since this place opened years ago."

"Okay. But we're leaving the minute you start feeling sick."

She glances at the table, then over at the kittens, then back to him. "So... why are we sitting here when we could be over there playing?" Priorities. She has them. And there's one particular striped gray kitten she's got her eye on.

"Yes." Katsuya nods in agreement and then gestures that she should go play with the adorable kittens. He'll order them both a cup of coffee and watch.

They can stay longer if he's not literally putting his face right up to the fluffy little allergen piles.

So cute.

She hesitates a moment because she'd rather spend her time with him. But he went to all this effort and she doesn't want to ruin it, so. Off comes her cardigan, and then she'll introduce herself to the kittens. She's gentle about it, sinking down to sit cross-legged on the floor and waiting for the kittens to come to her. They must get tired of grabby hands all day.

"Do they have names?"

He's not going to stray far, don't worry. They van wind their ways around his ankles, that's fine. Katsuya will even lean down and pet any of the curious kitties that rub up against him even.

"That one's tag says 'Osamu'." Katsuya points to the grey kitten Verity is playing with. He's feisty and loves play time! Verity is going to be able to play with him for a long while until he gets tuckered out.

"Osamu. What's that mean?"

So much feisty! Such play! Very wow. Fortunately, she loves kitten tackles and pouncing, so she's having a delightful time. He's going to have to face his greatest challenge yet: the monster with two opposable thumbs! All those wiggling fingers are alluring, but does he dare challenge such dexterity?

"Discipline, actually." Katsuya snorts as the kitten launches himself at Verity's wiggling digits. So ferocious!

Kitten may have tackled more than he can handle, but that doesn't stop him! Bounce bite bounce bounce!

Katsuya thanks the waitress when their coffee arrives. Lattes with cats in the foam. Yes, everything they order is going to be cat themed. Katsuya is thrilled. He hopes Verity likes it as much as he does.

Verity's having a grand time. She's laughing at the kitten's antics and how poorly named it is. Osamu finds himself onto his back so she can tickle his tummy. "Discipline, hm? A name to grow into maybe."

She is a fierce competitor. Osamu's not defeating her so easily! Just when he thinks he's defeated one hand... there's another one right behind him ohno!

Katsuya's going to have to draw her attention to the coffee. That is how much fun she's having. Or maybe he'd rather enjoy how she's shifted so she can play with the kittens and lean against his leg at the same time? He can pet her all he likes without worrying about his allergies.

Edited 2015-10-04 21:36 (UTC)

Katsuya does indeed support her back with a leg while she plays with the kittens. Watching her is almost as adorable as watching the kittens themselves. There's an all black cat that has taken up residence under his chair and curled around his free foot.

It's probably glad for the lady keeping the kitten attention off of him for a bit.

"Here." The officer murmurs and carefully passes her latte down to her so she can at least enjoy the foam art before it melts away.

She waits until Osamu's occupied with trying to eat her nail polish before she looks up, giving Katsuya a bright smile before she takes the mug. "Thank you."

The cute foam art gets an amused hum, and Osamu gets tumbled again while she takes a sip. He can fight the dreaded tickle monster for a while. "Mm, not bad. Is everything here cat themed? Are we having fish for lunch?" There has to be fish for lunch in a cat cafe. That's just common sense!

"We can, or we can have taiyaki snacks." Fish shaped pastries with sweet bean filling! Or kitty shaped donuts. Or, you know, anything else adorably put together as is the Japanese way to do food.

Admittedly Katsuya is probably going to get the curry where the rice is shaped like Hello Kitty. So much adorable. He loves this place, and the medication is keeping his regrets at bay for now.

"Hmm. I should probably look at a menu huh?" She tilts her head back because his knee is such a convenient pillow if not a particularly comfortable one. "Or you can order for me because my hands are full." It's reasonably likely she'll get up and sit at the table again when the food comes since she's not allowed to share it with the cats.

Don't tell her if she's allowed to share it with the cats.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjLeUItrWmU Just this whole channel really.

That's basically "cat video starring Loki" fyi. <3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEPSjiyia0Q

http://tinyurl.com/nf8ssle

http://bit.ly/1GqY9Hm

Drink the cats, that will help your allergies.

It's all natural so it has to be good for you!

http://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/japanese-food-art-82__700.jpg

I need like all of those right now. http://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/images/giant-cat-couch.jpg