thoughtformed | Closed Log

Entry tags:

Closed Log

Who: Sheska and Koizumi
What: plans, dinner, panic, dating
Where: the police station and Sheska's apartment
When: Tuesday, July 9th
Warnings: cuteness may ensue

Now that school was out, Koizumi finds himself working at the police station nearly every waking moment that he isn't busy with Kyon or Haruhi. It's hard work, and most of his fellow officers are definitively not people he would have normally chosen to spend time with, which doesn't make the job any easier.

Nevertheless, he manages to come in to work every day, not just with a smile on his face, but a genuine smile. And the reason for that is because the first person he sees when he walks in the door - as well as the last person he sees before he leaves for the day - is almost always Sheska, greeting him brightly and optimistically, with a smile to rival one of his on her face. It's not really something he's considered, but it makes his day considerable brighter, to have that smile to look forward to, both coming into work and in the middle of his shift. Even the days she's not working, he's encouraged by the thought of the smile she would be wearing when he walks in.

So it is that Koizumi enters the police station at 6 in the morning, a wide smile on his face as he greets the receptionist.

"Good morning, Sheska-kun. How are you today?"

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Sheska has been doing her best, over the last week, not to think about what happened with Rudy that night. She's been failing, of course, but she has been trying. The easiest thing, she's found, is to lose herself in her work. Usually there's just enough of it that she can work long and hard and not have any problem focusing on that instead. She's up early every morning, relieving the night dispatcher before the end of his shift, and leaves late at night. Toward the end of the week she was running out of things to do and took up cleaning in her spare moments between phone calls. She'd been less talkative and more evasive, frequently murmuring that she had something to do and hurrying off if someone tried to engage her in conversation.

The weekend was the hardest. Chief Beifong wouldn't let her come in, saying she needed to recuperate sometime - somewhat counter-intuitive, since the Chief always stopped in for a few hours on the weekend regardless as far as Sheska could tell. So instead she'd spent more time at the animal shelter and cleaned her entire apartment. Twice.

Now it's Tuesday, and despite her resolve, she was distracted and pensive when her friend comes in. "Hm? Oh! Officer Koizumi, good morning. I'm all right!" She puts on a smile. As practiced as she is, it was still a little lacking in sincerity, but she pushes on before he'd have much chance to remark on it. "There are breakfast pastries in the break room - from the new bakery, I believe. How are you?"

Koizumi had noticed his friend had been a little distracted recently, but hadn't mentioned it before. Everyone has off days, and she works such long hours. It's been over a week, however, and she still seems down. He responds to her questions cheerfully enough, but then his voice becomes more concerned and serious as he ignores her attempt to change the topic. "Ah, that sounds most excellent. I'm very well, thank you.

Are you sure you're all right, Sheska-san? You've seemed a little down recently."

"Mm? Me? Oh, no, I'm fine, really! Just... tired, maybe. A lot to think about. But really, you don't need to use the honorific, Officer, remember?" Casting about for another conversational tack, she hazards, "Actually, I don't suppose you'd be available for supper tonight or tomorrow? I have a few evenings free, and I really would like to thank you for the other week."

He notices her efforts to change the topic again, so he decides not to press her for now. However, he certainly won't forget about it anytime soon.

He promptly ignores her request to drop the honorific, noting his title with amusement. "Certainly, Sheska-kun. I'm working the night shift tomorrow, but I don't have anything planned for tonight.

Are we going out, or shall we go to your place?"

She blinks, blindsided by the question. "Ah..." Oh dear. She hadn't decided! She'd rather hoped he would have in the meantime, but he clearly hadn't, had he? She can feel her ears going warm and laughs a little, tucking back a strand of hair. "I really hadn't decided, to tell you the truth. Would it be all right if you came over to my apartment?" ...She really hadn't thought about that before it came out of her mouth. Well at least she wasn't flushed anymore. Keep talking, don't think about it. "I could cook, or we could order in, if you'd rather!"

He continues to smiles pleasantly, the corners of his mouth raising almost imperceptibly with fondness and amusement at her flustered state. "That sounds just fine, Sheska-kun.

I'll get off around seven or eight, so... I'll meet you there, shall we say, eight-thirty? Nine o'clock?"

...Well that answered one question. That was actually quite a good record. Especially for six in the morning. She smiles and snags a sticky note - shaped like ice cream cones today - and writes out her apartment number (as if he didn't already know it). "Certainly! I'll pick up some movies on the way home from work, too, and maybe we can actually have a relaxing evening for once. Would that be all right?"

He takes the sticky note, giving her his most brilliant smile in response. "That sounds lovely! I look forward to it.

Until tonight, then, Sheska-kun."

She may have overdone it, Sheska thinks to herself, looking at the pile of food. She'd done some research last week on where those honorifics had come from on Earth, and found that they were from Japan, so of course the best course of action would be to make Japanese food, right? Obviously! But she'd realized very quickly that she wasn't very good at making sushi yet, though she managed some fairly decent rice balls, agebitashi, and hiyashi chuka. She's a little dubious of them, but her research says they're common foods in the warm seasons, and if they don't suit she's also got some fruit and vegetables and sandwiches ready. Lemonade, iced tea, an assortment of sodas... That should be enough, right?

The apartment is neat and tidy, ten movies laid out across the coffee table, Bishop and Rook stretched out behind the couch. Now all she needs is her guest!

Not staying quite as late as he usually would, Koizumi quickly head home to take a shower and put something a little nicer on before heading over. He chuckles at himself when he realizes how much he was looking forward to this dinner, as well as the fact that he was just a little bit nervous. He tells himself it was simply because of the strange experience being her teacher and counselor for a week, and also that she was obviously going to go to a lot of trouble to do this. He knows this not because cooking dinner is inherently difficult, but simply because it's Sheska. It seemed she worried about others all the time while only occasionally sparing a thought for herself.

He dons khakis and a nice, casual dress shirt and heads on over, arriving promptly at eight thirty, his hair still a little wet. He knocks softly, holding a bouquet of flowers he had picket up on his way home from work to thank her for the thought and what he was sure would be a lovely evening. If he's honest with himself (which he's not), half of the reason he bought them was simply to see her smile and get all flustered when she opened the door.

Edited 2013-07-07 06:26 (UTC)

He knocked so gently that she would have missed it if Rook's head hadn't come up with a curious whine. Oh! What time is it? Is he here? Sheska sternly tells Rook to stay, which actually works for once, and hurries to the door, calling: "Just a moment!"

The door opens, and sure enough, there he is and-- Are those flowers? "M-Master Koizumi, what...?"

Oh, and he was so nicely dressed up... She hadn't thought to do something similar, and suddenly she's very conscious of the floury smears on her jeans from baking earlier and the way her hair is probably rather unkempt and white-streaked from the same incident. ...She's a mess. And he is looking rather handsome, really. Her ears are warming, and she can feel it beginning to creep into her throat and cheeks.

"A-are those...?"

He laughs, casually and gaily, seeing the flush creep into her face and hearing that adorable nervous stutter enter her voice. Though he tries not to think about it too much, he can't help but notice how good she looks in her casual jeans and blouse, flour streaked through her hair and across her clothes. It was a very comfortable and homely look, simple yet becoming, and he thought it suited her very well.

"You're looking lovely tonight, Sheska-kun." He offers the flowers. "For you, of course."

Blinking in complete astonishment, she runs her fingers through her hair and almost reluctantly accepts the flowers. "Th-thank you, they're beautiful... You really didn't have to, you know, this isn't supposed to be about me, exactly... Ah... W-won't you come in?" She steps back, opening the door wider and gesturing him inside. She does manage to wait till he's actually moving to touch the flower petals wonderingly and raise them to inhale the sweet fragrance before closing the door behind him and going to find a vase.

"I, ah... Have you met Rook before? I really should introduce you or he might have a fit over there..." True to form, Rook is dancing in place, wagging more or less his whole body in eagerness to come greet the newcomer.

He smiles a little more broadly at her continued reaction, but says nothing about it, giving a simple "Thank you" as she ushers him inside.

"As a matter of fact, I have not. Hello, Rook." He crouches down next to Rook, reaching with one hand to scratch him behind the ears.

Taking this as a sign, the beagle-basset hound mix immediately abandons his 'stay' and leaps at Koizumi to lick enthusiastically every bit of skin he can reach, wagging furiously. Sheska yelps and, putting the flowers hurriedly in their water, dashes over to seize the dog's collar and haul him off, crying, "Rook, no! Don't knock him over! Sit!" This is, of course, entirely futile, and they both wind up panting and pulling until Rook abruptly gives over and sits down, nearly pulling Sheska off her feet.

"Heavens... I'm sorry. He's just so enthusiastic! Very friendly, mind, but he'd kill you with love if you let him. Laura has this way with him, but I'm afraid he doesn't listen to me very well yet. Here, ah... Why don't you sit on the couch, and you can get better acquainted without him getting in your face. You can push him off your knees, but when he gets up onto your chest it's suddenly a lot harder to put off forty wriggling pounds of dog."

Well so much for looking any sort of respectable. Now she really does need to go change - and she has an excuse for it! "Would you mind terribly if I went and freshened up a little? I'm sort of a mess..."

Sheska may be worried about Koizumi's reaction to the dog's attention, but if so she needn't have been. By the time she gets Rook to stop, Koizumi is simply sitting on the ground, leaning up against the wall and laughing.

It takes him several moments before he is able to speak again, and when he does he still hasn't quite caught his breath. "Don't worry about... it, Sheska-kun. It's quite... all right."

He manages to get himself up on to the couch, still shaking a little with restrained mirth as Rook follows him. "Go ahead, take your time. This evening is supposed to be relaxing, so I'm in no rush."

Edited 2013-07-07 22:34 (UTC)

He's... laughing? She doesn't think she's ever heard him laugh like that. Not once. He's always smiling, it feels like, but this is something new and different, and she finds that it really suits him. It's infectious, and she smiles as Rook goes to grin up at Koizumi. "I'll be right back, I promise," she assures him, and darts back to her room. A quick change into a new outfit, a moment to dust out her hair and run a brush through it (not that it did much for the style) and she was back out.

"Sorry about that. Ah, how was your day?"

By the time Sheska came back out, Rook was stretched out belly-up across Koizumi's lap, tongue hanging out and an expression somewhere between dreamy enjoyment and silliness on his face. Koizumi was rubbing his stomach, and was still wearing a slightly amused and entertained look. He stretches back on the couch when Sheska comes in, smiling up at her.

"Well, it was long, as I think you know. But there was nothing more difficult or dangerous than usual, so I think, as a police officer, that today would generally be considered a good day."

Edited 2013-07-08 03:10 (UTC)

She comes over to lean on the back of the couch next to his shoulder, smiling down at her ridiculous dog and reaching out to gently tug his ear just the way he liked it. That was... a complicated explanation. But she knew what he meant. "Given how frequently you seem to come in with a fresh scrape or bruise, I'd say that a day without a new one is definitely a good day! You and the chief both seem to work yourselves into the ground every week," she says, completely oblivious to the mild hypocrisy, given her own work schedule. "It makes me worry about you. But I know that you're doing good things - given what happened while we were different ages, I don't think that's likely to change anytime soon, either."

Nerving herself up, she touches his shoulder lightly to make sure she had his attention and gave him a warm, sincere smile. "Thank you. It made a big difference to know that there was a teacher that I could trust. Someone who would believe what I had to say, no matter how many opposing voices there were."

He gives her a more gentle smile. "Well, we're not the only ones working overtime." He doesn't elaborate, but there's a softly chiding tone to his voice that she may or may not notice.

There's a sharp intake of breath and his heart seems to speed up when she touches him - why did he respond like that - though he manages to keep himself from visibly startling or reacting.

And what she was saying... she made it sound like he had done something brave or noble. It had been obvious what had been going on, and he had reacted accordingly. He simply did what anyone should have done in his place. However, he says none of that. "Of course, Sheska-kun.

If it means anything to you, you were one of the best and favorite students - and seeing as I was counselor to the entire high school, that's not bad."

Edited 2013-07-08 03:58 (UTC)

The possible scolding goes right over her head, but the praise brings back that blush and she drops her gaze. "I believe the term used was 'brown-noser', but... I-I didn't offer answers t-to suck up to you. I genuinely enjoyed your classes. I-it wasn't to try and get a place beyond my means. Really!"

She's babbling again. Justifying. But she wants him to know anyway. She bites her lip and looks up just enough to briefly catch his eye. "You make a really excellent teacher. If that's something your interested in, anyway. I'd imagine you kind of got both sides of the coin, being a guidance counselor."

"I know that, Sheska-kun. You're simply not that kind of person. It's precisely because you genuinely tried and enjoyed learning in my class that you were my favorite student." That and the fact that she was complete adorable. Though that was something of an odd thought, now they were the same age.

...These events did tend to confuse relationships.

"And they may have called you a brown-noser, Sheska-kun, but I don't believe that for a moment. You were an absolutely joy to have in class." He returned her earlier gesture, putting a friendly hand on her shoulder. "I hadn't seriously considered being a teacher before, but having you in class might just make me consider it as a possibility."

Edited 2013-07-08 18:51 (UTC)

She just keeps getting pinker the more that he says things like that. "Y-you really shouldn't do it because of me... I mean, you should do it because you want to - because it appeals on its own merits. Definitely not because I th-think you should." Embarrassed and a little flustered, she straightens, tucking her hair back futilely.

"So I know it's been a long day, and I'm not sure if you're hungry, but I have some things ready when you'd like to eat. I have a bad habit of nibbling on things while I'm cooking, so I'm not very hungry just at the moment - though I could certainly eat, if you're hungry!" She never could figure out what to do with her hands, and now is no exception.

He smiles gently. "I won't do it just because you think I should, Sheska-kun. I just mean that I hadn't had experience with it before, and having you in class showed me the good side of being a teacher. Why it might be worth it."

He takes in a deep breath, exhaling cheerfully. "I'm not too hungry, at the moment. Shall we watch a movie and then have dinner?"

"Ah! Certainly!" She returns his smile with a certain amount of relief, and glances down at the happy dog spread across her friend's knees. "...Stay there a moment - I'll get them." In a few minutes she's knelt beside the coffee table and spread ten different boxes across it. Romantic comedies, adventure epics, a nature documentary, two children's animated features and something that might be a horror movie but looked like historical fiction - she organizes them into categories without even thinking about it, much more sure of herself now that she isn't tripping over her own tongue. "There! See anything you're particularly interested in?"

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Time skip~

Re: Time skip~

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