[His cheeks are poked.] Don't do that.
[The depreciation is so subtle that Nariko can't pinpoint where his normal, somewhat reasonable response sets off her 'Boxer's being too hard on himself again' senses but that's what's happening, and she trusts her own instincts.]
I want dumplings.
[Food cravings are a bitch, okay.]
[The depreciation is so subtle that Nariko can't pinpoint where his normal, somewhat reasonable response sets off her 'Boxer's being too hard on himself again' senses but that's what's happening, and she trusts her own instincts.]
I want dumplings.
[Food cravings are a bitch, okay.]
I know.
[Honestly, she'd just been excited, it was easy for her to get carried away and let her mouth run off but it wasn't as if she expected all of it to happen right away. So in a similar vein? He doesn't have to keep going if he doesn't want to, and in the moment it seems like the best thing she can do is just kind of wait.]
[Honestly, she'd just been excited, it was easy for her to get carried away and let her mouth run off but it wasn't as if she expected all of it to happen right away. So in a similar vein? He doesn't have to keep going if he doesn't want to, and in the moment it seems like the best thing she can do is just kind of wait.]
Someone's going to have a lifetime of clogged arteries to worry about.
[Says the woman who could easily put down a whole large pizza by herself.]
What about Shanties, near the bay?
[One of the few places she hasn't eaten at, yet! It was recommended by a coworker, but she'll trust Boxer more than Alexander on any given day.]
[Says the woman who could easily put down a whole large pizza by herself.]
What about Shanties, near the bay?
[One of the few places she hasn't eaten at, yet! It was recommended by a coworker, but she'll trust Boxer more than Alexander on any given day.]
I love you, too, handsome.
[One, two, three more little goodnight kisses and then she can let go of him for the rest of the night. Once he's settled she crawls out of his tank to go and take a shower. Given enough time she gathers her computer afterward and really does crawl into bed.
What a weird night, but at least it's over with.]
[One, two, three more little goodnight kisses and then she can let go of him for the rest of the night. Once he's settled she crawls out of his tank to go and take a shower. Given enough time she gathers her computer afterward and really does crawl into bed.
What a weird night, but at least it's over with.]
[He's always so hard on himself.]
Pork. Ohhh, and fried rice!
[This order will probably just keep going.]
And hugs, and your chest. [Which gets a little peck of a kiss.]
Pork. Ohhh, and fried rice!
[This order will probably just keep going.]
And hugs, and your chest. [Which gets a little peck of a kiss.]
[It is close enough! But it honestly never occurred to her that the positions might be switched.]
This isn't so confusing when I'm sober and not at a frat party! [That's a whole other long story.]
Ho-Holy shit, I think I love this. [It's about as slippery as she remembers, but-] And your tongue, I really, really love your tongue. Totally gonna break out the playboy bunny outfit on our anniversary.
[As opposed to something that was actually classy.]
This isn't so confusing when I'm sober and not at a frat party! [That's a whole other long story.]
Ho-Holy shit, I think I love this. [It's about as slippery as she remembers, but-] And your tongue, I really, really love your tongue. Totally gonna break out the playboy bunny outfit on our anniversary.
[As opposed to something that was actually classy.]
[Okay, that's way more normal and she can accept that. Nariko attempts to work a little longer but in the end she shoves her laptop under the bed, and turns to face his tank, she keeps her hand near his until she's completely out. Let's hope tomorrow is a little less eventful.]
[What is he doing. What's going on. Oh, right, okay, he's going to need the wheelchair to get to the phone except the phone! She adjusts in his lap, throwing her arms around his shoulders and leaning to one side so that she won't be in his way. The phone is not in the kitchen, though! Cue the confusion.]
Boxer. [She draws a heart on his shoulder blade.]
Are you seriously going to tell me you know how to cook Asian food.
Boxer. [She draws a heart on his shoulder blade.]
Are you seriously going to tell me you know how to cook Asian food.
[She never told him that story? Of course she didn't, it was kind of awful.
It turns out she doesn't have any sense of balance at all because she's not expecting him to shift her body with nothing but his tongue, alright? A surprised little yelp comes with it but she manages to not fall over, so that's a win.
Also ... Two months from now. That's a good time for anniversaries.]
Oh my god. Definitely better than the superhero kraken dream.
It turns out she doesn't have any sense of balance at all because she's not expecting him to shift her body with nothing but his tongue, alright? A surprised little yelp comes with it but she manages to not fall over, so that's a win.
Also ... Two months from now. That's a good time for anniversaries.]
Oh my god. Definitely better than the superhero kraken dream.
[Asian-inspired isn't Asian! Actually making dough and forming and all that was Asian. ... Look, this makes sense in her head, okay. It takes a good amount of work but she shifts on his lap, moving so that her back is to his chest. How much kneading can you do, Boxer, when your girlfriend keeps taping at your muscles as if keeping track of something.]
[Being officially engaged was apparently busying work because for the last week Nariko hasn't been the easiest to reach. Sure, she had the occasional need for privacy but with Boxer it was often enough to be together without really doing anything together. He could go work or cook or watch something and she'd just exist around him, content as the fish in his tank. But she hasn't seen his apartment, let alone the man himself in four full days. It's a strangely long time for two people who hadn't separated since the day they met.
But on the fifth she turns up after texting to make sure he wasn't working, and she has all sorts of gifts (new shirts, Junction Jan's Sea Monster, cheesecake, etc) and apologies that are only gently tinted with both exhaustion and guilt. More than anything she's incredibly grateful to be near him again and it shows. For having spent so much time apart Nariko can't seem to let go of him once she's walked in the door.
It's probably only right to say that she spends a good handful of hours exuberantly making up for her absence. After that comes a shower, and all is well - or should be. Her phone keeps going off, alternating between an endless series of vibrations and her ringtone. When the screen lights up the numbers tell all: 26 missed calls and 68 new texts.
Someone is really trying to get a hold of her, but she can't hear it right now.
Maybe just ignore it, Boxer? That's what she's tried to do.]
But on the fifth she turns up after texting to make sure he wasn't working, and she has all sorts of gifts (new shirts, Junction Jan's Sea Monster, cheesecake, etc) and apologies that are only gently tinted with both exhaustion and guilt. More than anything she's incredibly grateful to be near him again and it shows. For having spent so much time apart Nariko can't seem to let go of him once she's walked in the door.
It's probably only right to say that she spends a good handful of hours exuberantly making up for her absence. After that comes a shower, and all is well - or should be. Her phone keeps going off, alternating between an endless series of vibrations and her ringtone. When the screen lights up the numbers tell all: 26 missed calls and 68 new texts.
Someone is really trying to get a hold of her, but she can't hear it right now.
Maybe just ignore it, Boxer? That's what she's tried to do.]
[When they'd broken up she'd taken his picture off of his number, because she did have to call her ex-boyfriend a few more times - namely to get her extra set of keys back, insisting on that a few times before she'd ultimately had to change her locks. So his name is still there, a constant flow in her missed call log and her unheard voicemails and texts. 'Chris, Chris, Chris' over and over again.
If Boxer starts at the very top then the messages don't seem so bad, it's a lot of 'Please call me' and 'I need to talk to you' and 'I know you have your phone, don't ignore me'. But once it becomes incredibly clear that he's not getting the attention he wants the messages become incredibly long, whole huge paragraphs about how she couldn't get married (in all caps, multiple times), not when they were on a 'break' and why had she insisted he be thrown out of 'their' apartment building?
Apparently the last few days have been incredibly rough, because the texts where he alternates between begging and threatening to see her go back at least a full day. Shit's been nuts.
Meanwhile, the shower turns off.]
If Boxer starts at the very top then the messages don't seem so bad, it's a lot of 'Please call me' and 'I need to talk to you' and 'I know you have your phone, don't ignore me'. But once it becomes incredibly clear that he's not getting the attention he wants the messages become incredibly long, whole huge paragraphs about how she couldn't get married (in all caps, multiple times), not when they were on a 'break' and why had she insisted he be thrown out of 'their' apartment building?
Apparently the last few days have been incredibly rough, because the texts where he alternates between begging and threatening to see her go back at least a full day. Shit's been nuts.
Meanwhile, the shower turns off.]
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