A memorial of sorts

[sumarusfinest]

The resident Nexus police officer looks a lot less formal than he usually is. He's missing the usual suit and tie, dressed in all black--button up and slacks.

He sets a vase of lilies down on a table gently.

"Has anyone been able to determine the full extent of the damage and...casualties here in the Nexus?"

He's been cleaning up in Sumaru since the attack, and feels bad he's only now checking in.

Comments

[sumarusfinest]

Even though she's just parroting back something he'd said to her, he flushes to the tips of his ears.

Clears his throat.

Again.

"Yes, I believe I did. N-no...I do not regret that either."

[brave_heart_verity]

That's a relief. An obvious one. "Good. That would be a terrible thing for either of us to regret."

She won't press the point while he's blushing and uncomfortable, but now he knows.

[sumarusfinest]

He flushes even harder, if possible. Oh god, she knew what that meant. Oh god, she--Wait.

He might have short circuited there.

"You...you too?"

[brave_heart_verity]

Now it's her turn to blush, but it's not an unhappy expression. "I do. I'm not sure what kind of love it is exactly, not yet. It's hard for me to figure these things out right now, and I don't want to rush. But I know that I've never felt this way about anyone before."

[sumarusfinest]

Katsuya hears all of this. He was listening. But the admission keeps getting stuck in his head. Her too.

He looks kind of dazed. It's probably best to assume he's stunned, rather than the internal monologue racing around in his head at the moment.

I have no idea what I'm doing and suddenly there's an awful lot to fuck up and lose. Stop smiling like an idiot. Say something. No, not 'uhm'.

"That...that's certainly reasonable." There we go. Words.

[brave_heart_verity]

Very sensible words that she appreciates. Definitely better than "uhm".

"So... we can figure it out together?" Because yes, she's that scared of rejection, even now.

[sumarusfinest]

"Yes!" He clears his throat again, nods. "Yes. Of course."

Stop nodding, you sap.

"I...I think now's as good as time as any to admit I have no idea what I'm doing."

[brave_heart_verity]

"That's okay. Neither do I." Please don't take this giggling the wrong way, but she's giggling now. She is just so relieved. Something is going well, finally.

"Next time you have something important to tell me, please don't make it so hard to figure out?"

[sumarusfinest]

It's fine. The pause gives him a moment to ground himself. To try thinking rationally again.

"Yes...Sorry. I was...afraid to be forthcoming." It's a quiet murmur. He fidgets with his glasses.

[brave_heart_verity]

She's quiet for a moment, giving his admission some thought while she catches her breath again.

"Please don't ever be afraid to tell me the truth." This is the most important thing, so it's first. "Why were you afraid to tell me?"

[sumarusfinest]

"Rejection. Adding another concern to your towering pile. ...Taking advantage of your friendship." There's a small sigh as he lists items off.

"Historically, nothing good has ever come from my admitting something of the sort. I didn't want to end up losing another friend because of my feelings."

[brave_heart_verity]

The rejection she can understand. The other two are more confusing, even if she's guilty of very much the same thing.

"I am an extremely difficult friend to get rid of," she admits with a little smile. "That is truly the very last thing you need to worry about with me. Even if it's something I don't want to hear, I'd rather know the truth than have you try to gaslight me."

[sumarusfinest]

There's a small nod from Katsuya. It's not going to be easy given how used to bottling up and hiding things he feels.

"If you...will have patience with me, I can promise to try my best to be more...open."

[brave_heart_verity]

It's not going to be easy for either of them, but isn't the idea of a "them" worth fighting for?

"Deal." Patience is not a virtue she's much in possession of. But he's worth the effort. "You see? That wasn't so hard." She hopes.

[sumarusfinest]

Nothing worth fighting for is ever easy.

Katsuya doesn't seem quite so tired anymore. Maybe its realizing he's not alone. Not just among friends but, well. At all, anymore. He's forgotten what that feels like.

"I'll have to do some reading up on American customs." He gives a small half chuckle. "My cultural differences have caused their fair share of misunderstandings in the past." definitely learned some things from those past mistakes.

[brave_heart_verity]

She's glad to see him looking better. He so deserves to have some hope in his life.

"We'll learn about each other." This is something she can be sure of. "And hopefully, we'll be able to laugh about the mistakes we make anyway. Or at least forgive." She would so like to hold his hand right now, but she's not sure if he's ready for that, so she'll set her hand on the table where he can take it or not.

[sumarusfinest]

He'd say the same about her.

He's a grown man, hand holding isn't some social faux paux that's going to shatter his sensibilities. He does get up to go and discard their lunch trash, but when he sits back down he'll scoop her hand into his and go back to watching the Nexus.

"I need to come up with a design for a plaque to be created. For those who perished in the demon attack. I have Jesse's word that there will be help to put it together, but...he wants me to design it." Katsuya looks serious once more, back on the topic of why he's here today.

But with an important addition. Verity is included in this task, suddenly. And he isn't letting go of her hand unless she tries to pull away.

[brave_heart_verity]

She murmurs her thanks when he gathers up the trash, but is much more grateful when he takes her hand. It's good to have a little bit of that physical contact they both go so long without. Her fingers lace into his, and she's not planning to let go anytime soon.

"He's been talking about it for a while now." Which means she's been thinking about it. "It should be on a plinth so people can see it. With flowers around the base?" She takes her inclusion in this very seriously, but she's not sure what the problem is. It's a plaque. There's not a lot to decide there, she wouldn't think.