Kasumi Goto has more to talk about! (shipseveryone) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-01-26 17:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, kasumi goto, wrex |
Who: Wrex and Kasumi
What: Wrex takes Kasumi to a fancy, fancy dinner
When: Last Wednesday
Where Fancy, fancy steakhouse
Warnings: PG. Awkwards, Cutes.
Status: Complete
Wrex arrived at Kasumi’s at seven sharp. He even looked sharp (if uncomfortable) in a formal black suit, his hair slicked back and a nervous smile on his lips. He knocked on the door, and fidgeted from foot to foot. He felt like a soldier in dress uniform who was more used to the grunge of a foxhole.
Kasumi wasn't sure where they were going, but Wrex had said it would be fancy. She couldn't go wrong with the little black dress. Wrex had seen it on a number of occasions, but she doubted that would diminish the evening. She dressed it up a bit with some nice earrings and a silver wrap draped over her shoulders. She'd opted for flats tonight; she'd been feeling queasy, and didn't need heels to add to her discomfort.
She answered the door, smiling and raising an eyebrow. "You look nice."
It didn’t diminish the evening. It was a treat every time, and tonight was no exception. Wrex drank her in, and had to resist wrapping his arms around her and kissing her until her make-up smudged and her dress rode up. It was an epic battle of instinct against politeness, waged on the battlefield of his libido.
“..yeah thanks. You look … amazing...”
Kasumi smiled, knowing he really meant it, even if she didn't feel it. "Thanks," she said. "I feel kinda like I've been hungover all day. Only without the fun drinking part the night before."
"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asked, pulling the door closed and locking it behind them. It must be somewhere really nice, if Wrex was dressed like that.
“Hopefully someplace you can keep your food down.” He looked down at her stomach and swallowed. It still hadn’t fully registered in his mind that she was pregnant, and it was with his kid. He didn’t even know what to feel. Taking a breath, he offered his arm. “There’s this high class steak house I’ve always wanted to try.”
Because, Meat.
Kasumi smiled, though she felt a bit self-conscious when he glanced down at her body. Her stomach was still flat, for now. She wouldn't be surprised if she'd actually lost a few pounds, with all the time she'd spent with her head in the toilet.
Needless to say, she hoped he was right about keeping the food down. "I think I can handle steak." She took his arm, letting him lead her back to the car.
Not that he thought she needed to lose weight. Her figure was just about perfect. And he'd had a great deal of experience exploring it with his hands and mouth, so he could testify to that!
"Good, because that's what ruined my first marriage," he joked. Which wasn't true in the slightest.
Kasumi was actually a little worried about not gaining weight yet. But the doctor had said that was normal, and before long she'd be wishing she was skinny again. Kasumi knew she was just being overly cautious, and she needed to relax a bit more. Maybe dinner would help with that.
She laughed at his joke as they climbed into the car. She realized she didn't know a lot about Wrex's first marriage, or what ended it. They didn't usually talk about that 'serious' stuff. It was sort of weird to think about Wrex going from husband, to single father, to man who runs away when 'love' is mentioned. His first wife must've really messed him up.
"How's the Ranch?" she asked, deciding to avoid the difficult topics for now. "People recovering all right with the antidote and everything?"
“Yeah. The staff is starting to get onto their feet, and most of the kids are back to their usual antics. It’s a bit sadder, since we lost one. I think we can use it as a growing experience for some of them.” Though death by violence was something close to many of their hearts, this was a different sort of grief.
Kasumi frowned. "Wrex, I'm so sorry. I hadn't heard." She guessed that it wasn't just the kids that were affected by that. So much for avoiding serious conversations. She reached out and squeezed his hand lightly.
He squeezed her hand back, falling into a brief silence as they drove. He broke it when he said, “You know, it could have been harder, or worse. I think we came out lucky.” Wrex glanced at her. He was profoundly grateful she hadn’t gotten sick.
Kasumi nodded. He was right. The death count could've been a lot higher. "I think my entire worldview would've been shattered if a bad cold had taken out Shepard. I wouldn't know what to do with myself." She meant it to be lighter than it sounded, but maybe the joke wasn't in the best taste.
"Take more than a cold to kill Shepard," Wrex replied gruffly, going with the joke. "Maybe the bubonic plague. Ebola. Hell, she'd probably survive both of those together."
Kasumi chuckled. "Yeah, that might keep her down for a week, but I'm sure she'd come out of it just fine." She smiled, glancing over at him. "I'm glad things are back to normal. Normal-ish, at least."
"As normal as it can get, Kasumi." Wrex grinned. He felt relieved, and light, and genuinely happy. His cautious optimism was slowly increasing. He was going to be a biological dad, and that was far more important to him than he'd ever realized.
Kasumi smiled. "Well, we wouldn't want to get too normal." After all, you never knew when Shepard would call you up to save the world. Nothing wrong with getting a little comfortable, though. Kasumi was starting to embrace the whole 'one step at a time' mantra, and was feeling a bit more at peace. That probably had something to do with Wrex's presence.
"I don't think we could go back to the way things were even if we wanted to." The steakhouse appeared on the right, and he pulled in to park. "And if Shepard needs me, I'll be there." That was one of three certainties to the world, right now.
Shepard, Kasumi, and 'his' kids at the Ranch.
Wrex had more faith in Kasumi than she had in herself. She didn't consider herself a certainty, in any sense of the word. She still wasn't sure what the future would bring, or where she would be in a year. She still believed she would do the kid more harm than good if she stuck around, but she was trying to take things slow, and not get too far ahead of herself.
She nodded. "It's pretty much impossible to say no to Shepard," she agreed. She tried not to feel a pang of disappointment at the idea of not being able to go back. Things were really good with her and Wrex, for a while. He was right, though. They couldn't go back. Maybe things would get better, though.
Wrex got out of the car and opened the door for Kasumi. He could do the proper gentleman thing. He had a mental image of him as his dream self. In a tux. Opening the door for Kasumi.
It made him snicker.
"I still don't know how you got the design on that one costume so accurate..."
"I have a very good designer," Kasumi said, grinning as she climbed out of the car. She certainly was glad to have Lulu. Maybe she could even help her out with a project in a few months, when it became more difficult to found something that fit her.
“Remind me to send her a thank you card. Or a love letter.” Wrex took Kasumi’s hand for the walk to the restaurant. Belatedly he realized he should have valet parked, so Kasumi didn’t have to walk all that way. Then he remembered she wasn’t that far along and didn’t need to be babied, and chastised himself.
Kasumi smiled up at him. "You should. I'm sure she'll be thrilled that you like it." The walk was fine. The cool air was nice, and her flats made it an easy enough walk.
Inside, the maitre'd greeted them. This really was a fancy place. Kasumi was impressed.
“Love it.” What that said, he didn’t know. But as hot as Shepard was, she didn’t hold a candle to Kasumi, especially in sexy anything. “Reservation for Urdnot.”
The maitre’d nodded his head, and led them to a table. It was by a large window that gave them a view of the city.
"This is really nice," she said as she sat down, looking out the window. "The view is great." Suddenly, she had the briefest idea that he was planning to propose; the tux, the five star restaurant.. It's not like they did this every Monday night. But that was crazy, right?
Right?
Right!
Wrex fidgeted in his seat, nervous. He wondered if he’d gone overboard, but he wanted to take her someplace nice, some place classy like a woman like she was deserved to be taken. It wasn’t like it was out of his means, just out of his style. As long as the food was good and he got to look at her in that dress, it was all good, right?
Maybe she’ll get the wrong idea.
Maybe she’ll think he was going to propose. But that was crazy, right?
Right.
It was a fleeting thought, for Kasumi. What good would thinking on it do? It was a very nice restaurant, but it was still a steakhouse. No exotic, unfamiliar French dishes or hard-to-pronounce menu items. No wine for Kasumi; she ordered a Sprite instead. She almost ordered just a salad, but she didn't want Wrex to think she was feeling miserable. So she ordered a steak, medium. As long as they didn't go crazy on the seasoning, she thought she'd be all right.
"So.." Surely they hadn't exhausted conversation topics already! Think, Kasumi! "How's Alma?"
"Farther along than she should be. Faiza is baffled. Alma seems to be taking it well. It's almost like she's expecting unexpected things." He unrolled his napkin, freeing his silver ware and looking at the cloth for a moment, then put it in his lap. That's how civilized people ate, he figured.
A face peered at them from the window, but when he turned to look it was gone.
Kasumi blinked. She really should stop being surprised by these things. They'd already warned her that it wasn't 'normal', but somehow, each new piece was startling. "Well, I'm glad she's managing it." What else could she say? She certainly didn't have any advice for the girl. "Maybe she could give me some tips on what's in store for me."
She tilted her head, glancing over at the window. She was imagining things.
“I was worried she couldn’t be able to. She has a lot of phobia around pregnancy, from her dreams.” Wrex ordered the biggest, most expensive steak on the menu (because why not?) and looked at the wine menu. He was going to pretend he hadn’t seen anything in that window.
Kasumi frowned. She didn't know anything about Alma's dreams, but she got the impression they were unpleasant. And if there was a phobia.. Maybe it was selfish, but Kasumi decided that she really didn't want to know.
"If there's anything she needs.." Kasumi said, completely unsure of what that might be, "I'll try to help anyway I can."
"Just be there if she needs anything." She was very independent now, which was both good and bad. Good, because it would be easier with her, and bad, because he wasn't needed as much. "Between you and Shepard, I think she'd had the different areas of mother figures covered."
He was reluctant to make that comparison since he was aware that Kasumi still had.....issues.
The surprise registered on her face. Neither Kasumi or Shepard were particularly motherly. Imagining the product of that kind of parenting was a little bit horrifying. "Oh god, that's just scary..." She laughed, shaking her head.
“Don’t look so surprised! You’re kind and fun loving. She’s tough, and fun loving. You’re both women.” He nodded his head, like that was sexist that. “Uh..not to say that that’s the whole reason. The woman thing.”
"Well, being a woman helps," she said, chuckling. At least in the initial.. squishy part. "I don't know, though. You get too fun loving, you get distracted with all the fun stuff and forget about the baby and leave it somewhere."
“Are you really that afraid of that?” Wrex shook his head. The wine arrived, and was poured, and he took a sip to taste it. “I don’t believe you’d have that problem. I honestly don’t. Not with how Shepard described your ability to keep track of what you’ve stolen.”
Kasumi smiled a bit. "I don't know." She shook her head. That wasn't what she was worried about. "Not really. I'm just not a very nurturing person. I'll keep the kid at arm's length and it'll grow up to think I don't love it or whatever." It's what her parents had done. She was closer to her nanny than she was either of them. She didn't want to be like her mother, but she could see it playing out already. "I'm too selfish."
“I don’t believe that.” Wrex shook his head, his expression somber. “You’ve got a bigger heart than I do, it’s just kind of hidden. More importantly, you know exactly what not to do. And you wouldn’t be alone.”
"I think you've got more faith in me than I do." Maybe more than was warranted. She bit her lower lip, still feeling unsure about what their relationship would be like after the baby. She was sure Wrex wouldn't leave, but she was worried that she would bolt..
“As long as one of us does, we’ll be fine.” Wrex took her hand in both of his, and rubbed them lovingly. “Look, I’m a little boggled at the whole thing myself. But I still think we’ll do okay. Us, and whatever we decide to call it.”
"Maybe you're right," Kasumi said, smiling. She felt a little more solid, knowing he had this much faith in her. "It.." She took a deep breath. She wasn't sure she was ready to think of it as a person yet. Imagining the three of them.. It made her a little dizzy.
But he believed in her. She squeezed his hand. "Wrex, I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but.. I love you." Please don't run away.
Wrex blinked, resembling a fish, briefly as he couldn’t decided whether or not to open his mouth or shut it. The words caught in his throat. He’d certainly been thinking them, a lot more lately than he’d realized. He’d always caught the thought, before it fully formed, but now she’d said it and it was hanging out the air. He knew he didn’t want to run away. He knew this was serious. He knew he was serious about her. He knew he loved her.
“Kasumi, I love you too, just never thought either of us could say it.” Or that she’d love an old man like him.
Kasumi let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Maybe we're actually growing up." How about that! Grinning, she lifted her water glass to toast. "To us."
Wrex laughed, a nervous but happy one. He picked up his wine and toasted. “To us. Lets not grow up too fast. I like making out on the couch.”
Kasumi grinned. "Well, yeah. We won't stop that." For the first time, she imagined the two of them, old and gray, making out on the couch. She laughed.
Grinning, Wrex nodded his head. He was having the same thought and it was making his face hurt. Maybe everything really would be okay. He believed it. “What do the kids do these days when they’re out at restaurants?”
Kasumi raised a playful eyebrow at him, grinning. "I've got an idea," she said with a wink. She slipped out of the booth, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the men's room. It was no couch, but it would do.