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

[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."

[brave_heart_verity]

She can accept that. She doesn't love it, but it's the sort of thing anyone has to be able to accept when they've got heroes and demons in their life.

He'd better be able to eat that cake one-handed because she's moving her chair closer to him and the hand she's been holding onto is being used to pull his arm around her shoulders. At least she's not hinting this time?

"The last thing I ever said to Loki was 'I'll see you later please'." He's a cop, he should be able to figure it out now that he's got that crucial puzzle piece.

[sumarusfinest]

He can handle that. Getting pulled into a hug is comforting for both of them.

"You weren't going to be abandoned again, Verity." And Katsuya means that, no matter what he had been prepared to do. "I would have called you had I been stuck in Sumaru for some time. My phone still works. But...and I feel like I need to stress this. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do all that I could to protect my world, and the Nexus. You."

It's not a fate he chose. But with the powers Katsuya has, he's one of the few that stands a chance at protecting Sumaru. He's nearly lost his world before, having that happen again just isn't an option so long as he's breathing.

[brave_heart_verity]

"I know that." He doesn't need to stress that with her. The hero's dilemma is a grade-school subject where she's from, something drilled into their heads like the names of state capitals. "I do understand that, Katsuya, and I wouldn't expect you to do anything else. I wouldn't want you to. But I think it's okay to admit we're not always going to love it."

She thinks she's adulting very well. But time to change the subject before they get really nasty with each other.

"So did I tell you I got adopted? I've got two little brothers now. Although, I'm pretty sure Clint is older than I am." She's not trying to fake being happy so much as work toward it.

[sumarusfinest]

"...People usually don't." Katsuya consents that that is really all that needs to be said. He doesn't like it any more than she does. He pulls her closer when he says it, too.

He doesn't want to lose Verity. He finally has someone who makes him happy for the first time in a long, long time. Someone he wants to make happy in return.

"You got what?" Wait, wait what? Katsuya looks down at her. "By Naugus? ...Who?" Katsuya, honey, you've met Clint, he's the archer guy from the demon fight. Remember?

Apparently not.

[brave_heart_verity]

She has no plans to go anywhere or get driven away. Even if Nyarlathotep comes back and tries that 'show her evil Katsuya' trick, she's been down that kind of road before, and she's learned from it. So good luck getting rid of her now.

The idea of Naugus adopting her... actually isn't that far-fetched. But she's got an amused smile none-the-less. "Not Naugus, no. Clint, he's the archery guy. You've met him. And Jim, he's... he was there when Hughes asked me to call you." No need to mention all the blood. I think they only love me for the food." She knows that isn't true, but siblings. She's contractually obligated to tease them, even in absentia.

[sumarusfinest]

"Oh! Oh. Yes." He remembers the archer. One of the core group who managed to kill off the massive demon that had appeared in the Nexus.

Jim is someone he vaguely remembers seeing around the Nexus. He's a regular in the forums, usually arguing with Naugus or the like. Katsuya hasn't made much of an effort to talk to him. The man seems rather irritating, in Katsuya's opinion. Full of himself.

"So this Jim...and Clint adopted you? Are they...." Wait, how would that even. "Are they related?" Is this a literal thing or? Because at least half of this brother equation already has Katsuya concerned for Verity's safety. And it's not Clint.

"You're certain this is alright with you?"

[brave_heart_verity]

"They are, strangely enough. Clint is Jim's alternate-dimension many-times-great grandfather. It's confusing, but it also kind of makes sense because they look so much alike and act so much alike too." And both have come back from the dead, but he doesn't need to know that part.

"Yeah, it's kind of nice. Gods know they need looking after." That's what she's for: taking care of more important people. It's not a bad life when they're not actually on fire. Try to be happy for her, Katsuya, she needs things to be happy about right now. "And they care about me. Honestly. And not in some creepy going-to-hit-on-me way."

[sumarusfinest]

"If you trust them, then I will as well." Katsuya leans over and brushes his lips briefly against her hair before taking another bite of cake.

"It's good that they found each other then. And you. A surrogate family can be as nice as blood relations." Katsuya knows this from experience. Losing them hurts just as bad, too.

"I suppose I'll have to meet them properly at some point then?" Get the 'if you hurt my sister I'll break your face' speech? "Naugus already threatened to hurt me if I hurt you."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Thank you for trusting me." The kiss is nice, and she hums happily. She's a musical creature when she's relaxed.

"I've never had family I could trust before. It's... weird. Nice." She's a little distracted now, thinking... She was just about to kiss him when he brought that up.

"Wait. What?"

[sumarusfinest]

"When I said you were my girlfriend. He replied that I spoke a language he knew, and asked me not to hurt you, because he'd do the same to me." Katsuya shrugs gently.

He doesn't think it's that big of a deal. Not even coming from the Magi. Mostly because he doesn't intend to hurt Verity. What possible reason could he ever want to do that?

"Standard fatherly advice, frankly. I didn't realize it was that cliche in America as well."

[brave_heart_verity]

"But. He's. I don't have a father."

Everyone has a father, obviously, but she's never had one who protected her or smiled at her or did anything of those fatherly things.

She and Naugus are going to have to talk about this. When he's feeling less likely to set everything in the room on fire.

"Huh."

[sumarusfinest]

"That's why I had assumed he was the one who had adopted you." Katsuya points with his fork to further his point. Coffee sip.

"Maybe the biggest brithday present you're being given is a family. Compared to that, cake and flowers seems somewhat paltry."

Katsuya chuckles idly, mostly joking about that sentiment.

[brave_heart_verity]

Gesturing with his fork? How rude. Not that she cares, she likes seeing him relaxed.

"It'd be really weird if you adopted me now, so you'd better stick to the cake and flowers," she teases.