Who: Michael Glass and Yue Katou What: Being weirdly adorable When: Recently Where: Michael's house Rating/Warnings: Lowish - there's some talking about things they could do/innuendo but nothing super explicit Status: Complete when posted
Katou had been really hoping that Michael’s ghostyness was going to be a temporary thing, but it was seeming more and more like he wasn’t going to be so lucky. There was a part of him that knew that this whole arrangement had to be harder on Michael than it was on Katou, but sometimes he didn’t care. Just because he didn’t want people to know he and Michael were dating didn’t mean that Katou didn’t ever want to go out with Michael. And actually being able to see him and touch him during the daylight would be a plus too.
Instead, when he walked into Michael’s house, bags of groceries over his arms, it felt as though it was empty. He knew that Michael was around somewhere, but it didn’t matter much since he didn’t know where. He wasn’t entirely sure why he kept coming most nights, but it kept him out of trouble so he didn’t think too hard about it. Besides, it was nice when he actually got to see Michael.
It seemed like a good night for shepherd’s pie, and so he’d turned on The Cramps and got to cooking it. The sun was just going down as he put it into the oven.
***
Michael had known when Katou had come in, the other man used his key to unlock the door and to Michael it had felt like something coming to life in the house around him. He was starting to realize that his house was changing, something fundamentally in it was changing. Almost like it was developing a personality of its own.
He felt his body solidify as the sun sank below the horizon and he hurried to change quickly and make it downstairs to see his boyfriend in the kitchen. He stepped up behind him, arms sliding around his waist as he nuzzled his neck. “Hey babe.”
***
Katou leaned into Michael’s embrace, forgetting nearly all the complaints he’d had only a few minutes earlier. “Hey yourself,” he said, turning his head so he could kiss Michael. “You been here for a while?” In the kitchen, specifically. It wasn’t like Michael could leave the house even if he wanted to.
***
Michael kissed him back, a small smile on his face at that question. “I was upstairs - closer to my clothes. I knew you were here though. Promise not to think I'm going nuts?”
***
“You didn’t need to do that,” Katou grinned, in reference to Michael needing to get dressed before greeting Katou.
He raised an eyebrow skeptical at Michael. “I ain’t gonna promise that. But I’ll try not to hold it against you. It’d be hard not to go nuts being cooped up in this place all day. What’s up?”
***
Michael laughed at that comment as he slowly stepped back so that he could lean on the kitchen island behind him. “I figured it would be the smart thing if we were going to eat. At least force me to behave a few minutes.” He teased.
He sighed. “I felt it when you came in. The house told me. Which I know sounds crazy but it’s what happened.”
***
Katou raised his eyebrow. “You’re right,” he said after a moment, and then grinned. “That does sound crazy. I think you’ve been cooped up too long in here, and that’s even more true if your house actually is starting ta chat with you. We really oughtta start looking for a way to get you outta this place.”
***
Michael gave him a sort of weak grin as Katou told him he thought it was just a result of having been stuck in the house so long. “Well...somebody on the Network that I was talking to suggested I try and get in touch with people at the Magic Guild here. See if any of them might be willing and able to help figure out a way for me to at least be able to get out for a couple hours.”
***
Katou nodded. “That’d make sense,” he said. “You know, I could get in touch with them if you wanted. I got an in, kinda.” He didn’t have any magic, but Zatanna had put him on the occult division of the Agency before she’d gone off for mat leave.
***
“This in got a name?” Michael asked with one brow arched.
***
“Yeah, Katou,” Katou said, with a bit of a grin. “Sometimes I gotta deal with them with work. I mean, I ain’t like, in it or nothing,” he didn’t have any magical powers, for one, “but bug ‘em sometimes if the Agency needs something.”
***
“You almost had me worried there for a moment.” Michael admitted with a half shrug. “Any of your connections there got the power to help me out? I mean I love the view from every room of this house but...it’d be better if I could actually get out and enjoy it some. And maybe then you wouldn’t have to worry about me going nuts because I feel like my house is talking to me.”
***
“No idea,” Katou said with a shrug. “The last dude I talked to from the Agency punched me in the throat last time I saw him.” Katou had deserved it, he could admit that much, but he wasn’t going to admit that to Amycus, and he was still kind of pissed off about the cheap shot.
***
Michael frowned when Katou mentioned getting punched in the throat by the last person he talked to from there. “Do I even want to ask what brought that on or just get their name so I know not to take them up on it if they offer to help?”
***
“Well, I almost ended the world,” Katou said, shrugging casually, and moving toward the fridge to get a beer to stop Michael from seeing his face, and how much it still bothered him how badly he had fucked up. “So, you know, I kinda deserved it.”
***
“I can see a punch in the gut but not in the throat babe. But then there’s been times I’ve been tempted to take a swing at you myself.” Michael teased him, not arguing the point about deserving to get punched for that. “But yeah. If you can find somebody willing to give me a hand I won’t say no. I miss being able to go outside. And I miss being able to perform.” That was the real thing he missed.
***
“I’ve had worse for less,” Katou said with a casual shrug and a wry smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He reached for Michael to drape his arms around the man’s neck. “I’ll see what I can do. Maybe we’ll get lucky and we’ll find some way to make it so I can actually touch you during the day, too.”
***
Michael frowned a little bit when he realized that his boyfriend wasn’t quite smiling for real but he chose not to push right then. Later maybe. When they weren’t in a room full of blades that he knew Katou was very familiar with. He wrapped his arms around his waist lightly, pulling him close. “Well I didn’t want to say anything but...I definitely have missed that. Getting to touch you during the day when I’m a...breeze or whatever I am just isn’t the same.”
***
Katou draped his arms around Michael’s shoulders, and he let Michael pull him in until they were touching. “Yeah man, it’s kinda creepy,” he said, teasingly. He placed his right hand on the back of Michael’s head and pulled him in for a kiss. “Too bad one of these events don’t just make it night all day.”
***
Michael laughed at that teasing comment, a little bit of the tension he’d been feeling bleeding out of him. Things weren’t always easy - okay yeah he was tired of only being able to touch him at night, and while they wouldn’t have been on a date (well using the term date) it would be nice to be able to go out to a club or something with Katou.
He pulled him closer for a second as the kiss ended, waiting an extra second to speak. “I would say not to tempt whatever’s behind them but...I can think of a few ways we could use that to our advantage babe. Especially if you don’t have to go save the world or whatever for the first 24 hours of it.” He said, his tone somewhere between joking and serious as he made that suggestion.
***
Katou opened his mouth to say that really was through with playing hero, but he guessed that wasn’t necessarily true. Not now that he was back with the Agency once again. “I’ll ask for a day off,” he assured Michael. After all, there was nothing in his dreams that would cause that, which meant that they probably didn’t need him. He wasn’t in the science division anyway, so so long as there were no monsters or magical items involved, it wasn’t like there’d be much he could do.
***
“Tell them you’re helping a friend with a crisis brought on by the sudden night constantly.” Michael joked, stroking his back lightly through his shirt.
***
Katou leaned back into Michael’s touch and grinned. These hours where he could actually touch and be touched by his boyfriend really were the best. “You know,” Katou said, glancing at the timer on top of the stove. “We’ve still got at least half an hour before this thing’s done cooking. How ‘bout we do a little cooking of our own?”