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

[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.

[brave_heart_verity]

She's going to curl up around his arm now, so, hope he wasn't planning to use that. "Nuh-uh. The doctors had a lot of theories, but nobody ever figured it out." There's a reason for it, but it's unlikely anyone will ever figure it out. Nobody else remembers what she does.

"How much longer can you stay?"

[sumarusfinest]

Losing arm function is a small price to pay for helping verity calm down and get comfy again. Katsuya suspects its just another one of those side effects of having the powers she does. Or maybe being friends with a God. Getting visions you didn't want or ask for,

"All evening if you'd like. I did take the day off."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Mmm. Tempting." More than a little tempting. She's definitely not letting go of him now. "I would like. If you'd like. No sneaking out if I'm asleep, though." You know, like she does. "Promise?"

[sumarusfinest]

"So I should wake you up if I need to head home?" Katsuya removes his glasses and clicks them shut before setting them aside on a nearby coffee table.

"That seems impossible not to do given the way you're using me as a pillow."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Yes. I'd rather know you're leaving than wake up alone." Her glasses are soon set beside his. Hopefully, they won't get mixed up later.

"I dunno, you didn't notice when you fell asleep on me. You do know I have a read bed, right? We don't have to sleep on the couch."

[sumarusfinest]

"...Oh, well..uhm.." He didn't really remember that evening too well anymore, but it had been shortly after the demon incident. He'd been severely overworked, even by his standards. "I don't really remember, but I suppose I was running on fumes at the time."

"Whichever works. I don't mean to drift off on you, admittedly. It's...I'm able to relax when i'm with you."

[brave_heart_verity]

"You work too hard." It's more a statement of fact than an accusation. It's not something she intends to argue with him about. But she worries. "You need to sleep, and if I can help with that, then good."

His lack of enthusiasm isn't helping her lack of self-confidence. He doesn't care, and she can't bring herself to risk another rejection right now. "So long as you're comfortable."

[sumarusfinest]

She really does worry too much. They both do. Katsuya pulls her in closer and smiles gently.

"I believe you were the one who told me....that being with you is the only thing that matters. The rest is just details."

[brave_heart_verity]

She hmphs good-naturedly at that. "It's not details when your back hurts later."

[sumarusfinest]

"We can move if you'd rather. I've slept in a lot harder and dirtier places than this too many times to be bothered anymore whether I'm sleeping in a chair or my futon." The stiff neck and sore muscles go away after some stretching.

[brave_heart_verity]

It's about the bed, but it's not about the bed. She wants him to be excited about her. About getting to kiss her, about getting to join her in special sacred places. He is so wonderful in so many ways, and he has so many more important things to worry about, she just doesn't know how to tell him any of this.

"It's fine. Sweet dreams." They are nothing if not experts in not talking about their feelings.