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?"

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[sumarusfinest]

It makes him blush, but he only leans forward slightly, touching his forehead to hers with a pleased smile.

"I'm not that narcissistic, I'm afraid." He chuckles in reply before turning her around so she can open her cake box. Inside is a cake frosted in all white, matching the flower arrangement he'd brought her. It's simply finished, but well executed.

"Would you like some?"

[brave_heart_verity]

She can live with making him blush, so long as he's not pulling away or chastising her again. He's cute when he blushes. "Would it be narcissism to know what I like and let me have it sometimes?" She doesn't think so.

And then there's cake. It certainly looks good. She wonders what kind it is... "Mm, yes please. I'll get some plates."

Into the kitchen they go. He may recognize some of her dishes. The green crystal is definitely not hers. But nothing's out of her reach here, since Naugus is even shorter than she is. Her coffee maker isn't anywhere in sight (gasp! shock!), but since there's no electricity...

"You want some coffee with it? Or tea?"

[sumarusfinest]

"Coffee would be nice, thank you."

It's a good thing that they can both agree that the other one looks quite adorable when they're blushing.

Katsuya carefully disassembles the cake box so they can remove it without marring the frosting job he'd done on it. He's happy to place it on a green crystal cake stand and wait for Verity to finish preparing.

The real treat is when Verity cuts into her cake.

[brave_heart_verity]

She can make coffee. She's got a new flip coffee pot and she's been practicing. It's not going to be quite the same, but change isn't always bad. It certainly looks impressive.

When she sees the design in the cake she gives him a smile. "A flag cake, cute. Thank you." She knows how much work can go into the fussy little things and she is truly grateful for the effort. "You realize I'm going to have to retaliate for your birthday, right?"

[sumarusfinest]

"It's your birthday. I wanted to celebrate you." Katsuya replies simply.

"Flowers that express your unique talents. A cake celebrating your heritage. Everything that makes you, you, I wanted to put on display. Be proud of who you are, Verity. You're a wonderful woman."

[brave_heart_verity]

It's a good thing he thinks she's cute when she's blushing because boy, is she blushing now. She isn't sure what to say or what to do, but he's getting another hug now. It's an instinctive move and he's going to have to deal with it. After all, hugging him should be her safe place in the world.

"Thank you." That's not enough, not nearly enough. "I think you're being too nice to me, but I don't want you to stop."

[sumarusfinest]

"I don't think you get told that often enough." His words are soft. As soft as his hand stroking her hair.

"Ohtanjyoubi omedetou." He murmurs quietly. "It means 'Happy Birthday'" He doesn't need her to ask him. He's learning.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Hmm." She won't argue. Maybe they're both right. If they aren't, she's hoping it's him. Really, how can she argue when he's petting her like that?

The Japanese is repeated quietly several times. She's trying to learn. It'll be slow going but she wants to surprise him with her ability to navigate Sumaru soon. "Thank you. It sounds prettier when you say it. Do I have a terrible accent?"

She's from New York. It's never gonna be great.

Oldschool anime trivia--Hashiba Touma from YST

[sumarusfinest]

There is certifiable proof that Japanese with a thick Brooklyn accent at least sounds adorable. She'll be just fine.

"I've been speaking it all my life. I'm certain my English is horrendous at times. Hullendus indeed, Katsuya. Indeed.

"I hope cake and flowers is enough of a gift until this weekend."

[brave_heart_verity]

Then there may be hope for her yet.

"I like it. Your accent is cute." 'Hellendous' could be the hot new swear any day now, you don't know.

"More than enough for my whole birthday," she assures him. "It's already the best birthday ever. Thank you."

[sumarusfinest]

They can be adorable accented cuties together for all time. So long as the other one can understand them, what problem is there? None, that's what.

Plus commenting on it makes the other one blush like a tomato so there's added cuteness going down just all the time.

"You're welcome." Another hug before he lets her go so she can eat the cake she's cut for them. Besides, coffee's ready! "What kind of tattoo did you get?"

[brave_heart_verity]

They can form a mutual blush and accent admiration society. It'll be great.

She doesn't want to let the hug end yet, but cake and coffee is a good consolation prize. She'll take her time fixing their coffee before she answers the question.

"White ink. Loki's name in runes." Blood and sacrifice on a significant day might be her last chance to reach him. She hopes Katsuya understands.

[sumarusfinest]

Katsuya's not quite sure he does, but he clearly meant something to her. And if her world is gone...well. There's an awfully good chance that the reincarnated God might not have survived the incident.

A tattoo of mourning? Verity likes tattoos. Maybe it was her way of keeping his memory alive. Katsuya would have settled on a photo, but well. With her abilities, maybe photographs don't mean as much. They're facsimiles of the real thing.

So no. He doesn't quite understand, but he doesn't fly off into a jealous temper tantrum over it. He nods quietly and wonders if it bothers him. He's not really sure. Sometimes it's not easy to know how you feel.

He thanks her for the coffee when she hands it to him, unsure of what to say about her new ink. Finally he settles on a tangential question.

"Does it hurt terribly, when you get those?"

[brave_heart_verity]

He has time to think about it and figure out his feelings.

"Not much. This one is small and only lines, so it didn't take long or hurt nearly as much as the ones on my arms. Lots of people do things that hurt for fun. Eating spicy food or playing football or things like that."

She cuts a bite of cake from her slice while she's explaining, making sure she has a good cake-to-frosting ratio for the first slice. "Mm. This is really good." It's important she tell him that before the things he'll find less pleasant.

"I know I'm probably never going to see him again, but I'm always going to love him. I hope you can accept that."

[sumarusfinest]

It's not something he wants to hear. And it does sting. All the normal insecurity questions slink in.

Is he a replacement? A place holder for a love she's never going to stop pining over? And if he does come back...then what happens to them?

But, he thinks of Maya. If she came up to him tomorrow and asked him out, what would he do? He'd politely turn her down, and ask if they could remain friends. Did he still care for her?

Yes. Quite a lot. But he wouldn't hurt Verity over it. Not after he'd waited for years, doing nothing. Just because he'd moved on didn't mean he cared for her any less.

"I think I understand." Is what the officer finally says. And he's not lying.

[brave_heart_verity]

It's a relief when he says that. She takes his free hand in hers, just wanting to hold hands while she works out how to say something. She's either thinking really hard or trying to telepathically communicate with her cake.

"How I feel about him has nothing to do with how I feel about you. I may have regrets, things I wish I had said or had done differently, but." She pauses, taking a breath, trying to stay calm. "He and I never chose each other. It all just happened, like... we weren't in control. You're the one I chose. I know I'm never going to be your first choice, but I hope we can enjoy what time we do have together."

[sumarusfinest]

"...You're not?" Katsuya looks rather alarmed by this. Did she think he was interested in someone else?

This was not at all how her birthday should be going.

"I'm not going anywhere, Verity. I meant it when I said that I cared for you very much."

[brave_heart_verity]

"I know. But you'll always choose Sumaru first. And I understand why. Let's enjoy what we can have instead of worrying about what we can't, okay?"

This is what happens when you keep putting these talks off, Katsuya. She brings things up when she can, even if it means ruining her own birthday. But she still has cake, and the cake isn't going to run off and leave her until Naugus gets home.

[sumarusfinest]

For a moment the officer just looks stunned. He opens his mouth a couple times, looking like he's going to argue with her. And then doesn't.

He doesn't know what the truth is. Isn't sure he wants to find out by her telling him he's lying.

"I wasn't aware it was a competition." He decides on quietly. And that much is true. He'll sip at his coffee quietly. "...Are you trying to convince me or yourself? Because my coming here was supposed to be an enjoyable experience for both of us. Especially you."

No, he doesn't need reassuring Verity. But he does need to know what's going on.

[brave_heart_verity]

"It isn't a competition." That would be pointless, and she doesn't think she's that foolish.

"I'm sorry if I'm doing this wrong. I thought we were supposed to be able to talk about our feelings with each other, even when they're not pleasant."

[sumarusfinest]

"We can..." Katsuya nods to emphasize this point.

"But I feel like I've been dropped into the middle of a conversation with no preamble. I don't....understand. I guess is what I'm saying." The officer sips at his coffeee further, brow furrowed in thought.

"What is making you feel this way?"

[brave_heart_verity]

She doesn't answer immediately, but again, she looks like she's thinking.

"You lied during the meeting," she explains finally. She couldn't think of a gentle way to put it, so, there it is. "And we haven't had much time to talk about... anything. And I need to know we're okay before..."

She doesn't have a lot of time to find sure footing for herself before her world literally falls out from beneath her.

[sumarusfinest]

"The meeting...with Naugus and Hughes?" Katsuya tries to think back to the event earlier. A lot had gone on during that he hadn't been prepared for. It had been in some ways shockingly alright, and in others horribly awkward and uncomfortable.

He's not sure which part she's talking about.

"...What I said to Ixis?" Was it the Japanese? But that hadn't been a lie. At least, it better not have been, because then he's really unaware of what's going on. "I called you my girlfriend. That was the truth."

[brave_heart_verity]

There's a flicker of a smile when he calls her his girlfriend. She likes that. He could do that more often, that'd be fine.

"When you lied about thinking about collapsing the portal to Sumaru." He didn't really think she wouldn't notice, did he? "You were going to do that, weren't you?"

[sumarusfinest]

Ah.

There was a lot of desperate bargaining going on at that point, wasn't there? And Verity's safety had been a concern, although...

"I was...prepared for that outcome, should it have been deemed necessary. But...I was prepared for quite a lot of outcomes, at the time as well. It was a lie that I had not considered it. I was fairly desperate to see the portal closed, at the time."