It's a big cruiseliner, but they're only on it for a one-way trip to their destination: the tropical island of St. Lucasta. It's a long trip, but it's--obviously--a lot more comfortable for Boxer to travel by boat than by plane, given his fear of heights--which is admittedly better than it has been thanks to Noriko's involvement, but not quite ready to tackle planes.
That and it's about as much to pay for a room on a cruise than it was to pay for two or three seats for his bulk.
He's in the middle of setting up his pool-bed, in the process of inflating it, when Nariko finds their room. He's all smiles when she enters, but she'll have to forgive him for not running up and giving her a kiss, considering that he's currently seated on the floor.]
[So, a date. Well after amazing sex, and certainly after getting to know each other in various ways. A date, a week and a half after her breakup. Half of her apartment is still in boxes, there's still the awkward pass between herself and Christian, and the fact that she needs to talk to him about getting her keys back soon. Or maybe just change her locks.
But it's the date that takes up most of her energy and has her rooting through her closet, it's the thought of Boxer that softens up the general roughness of day to day life.
As a result it's no surprise that she's excited, right? Dinner, maybe a walk about the city they both seem to love, and then there's the whole Heights Extravaganza. It's a good line-up, but she obsesses over it all the same and she was about as critical of her outfit. It'd have to be enough, she wasn't going to be late because she didn't have just the right dress, though the temptation was there.
So - meeting up for a date, because that seemed like the best idea. She's not too far off from his apartment, leaning against a bench just in front of a nearby park.
Teenage Boy Found Dead in Waters out of North Apatite Coast
The city wasn't a stranger to unexpected deaths. Like any large city, there were drugs and gangs, so headlines reporting deaths were common enough to be on newspapers but not common enough that the populace was unphased. The televised news told the story to satisfy most peoples' curiosity for the time being, leaving out details such as who found the body in the first place.
But Nariko would know. And if she tried to get in contact with him, his messages would just be short enough to keep her updated so she wouldn't worry; that's the last thing she needs on a busy day. It's not like he'd have time to sit down and really talk about it either, because the whole everything is constantly happening. But when he finally gets his downtime at the end of the day, ten at night, all he can do is lay in his tank and stare at the ceiling.
At 10:30, he picks up his phone and texts Nariko.]
[The winters of New Cloudbank are mild. Occasionally, it'll be cold enough to snow...but more often than that, it'll be a cold and unrelenting rain.
And sometimes that means you get rained in on when you're staying at your boyfriend's apartment on the weekend your period starts. Again, Boxer proves himself to be the perfect, ever-reliable boyfriend by telling her that there's both tampons and pads under the sink. He bought them just a few days ago, predicting both the proverbial and literal storms, but he made sure to cover his tracks by opening and disposing a few of each. It's not like they have an expiration date, so who knows when the last person was to take advantage of his hoarded goods?
The electric blanket--well, that's something he's had for a while. A plain heat pad doesn't work for muscle pains the size of their own zip code. He's in the process of bringing it over to his sore girlfriend on the couch, plugging it in and throwing it over her.]
[The Lunae clan arrived in New Cloudbank like a storm. An incredibly loud, boisterous one that could be heard half a mile before they were seen, oddly enough. Arranging their arrival, from the plane ride to how they would drive in to arranging everyone's things was an ordeal and Nariko, happy as she was to be seeing many of her young cousins, aunts, and uncles again, was incredibly focused on making sure everyone arrived in one piece.
Of course once that was done and over with the next item on the schedule was food, and then welcoming Boxer to their family. Nariko's incredibly grateful for whatever strings her boyfriend/fiancée has pulled off because the bunch of them are loud as fuck all while they cook and set everything up. More than once she has to discourage some of the slightly younger ones from inviting random sailors or some nonsense, as if the scent of food wasn't enough to attract a bit of attention.
When she can manage to trust them for five seconds Nariko heads outside, hoping to meet Boxer before he goes in. She keeps tapping her heels on the cement, occasionally she reaches down to mess with her garters a bit - they look nice with her sweater dress, but it's kind of useless to appeal to her boyfriend. It's not as if she'll get to spend a lot of time with him tonight but it would be nice to keep his eyes on her for at least a third of the night.
She'll need a strong start for that, so hopefully he shows up early and they can have a moment to themselves. Gods know the rest of her family won't let go of him once they sink their hooks in.]
[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.]
[Boxer's such a big, and ultimately well functioning guy, that she had never imagined him getting sick. Some incredibly unfair and ridiculous work related injury? That felt way more likely and it was what she was prepared for, not the sudden alteration of his usually smooth voice. The moment he called her she up and left work, and put some of her vacation time to proper use.
He called her twenty minutes ago, tops, and she's already half stumbling through the door, her work bag half fallen down her arm.]
Boxer! [She's usually a little more organized about coming home but fuck that, man, getting to him is the most important thing. Thankfully it seems he's just laid out on the couch and she touches his face a little gently, as if she might accidentally break the poor man.] Oh, sweetheart ...
[If she could back smack a cold then she would, but for right now she's just gonna kiss his forehead.]
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It's a big cruiseliner, but they're only on it for a one-way trip to their destination: the tropical island of St. Lucasta. It's a long trip, but it's--obviously--a lot more comfortable for Boxer to travel by boat than by plane, given his fear of heights--which is admittedly better than it has been thanks to Noriko's involvement, but not quite ready to tackle planes.
That and it's about as much to pay for a room on a cruise than it was to pay for two or three seats for his bulk.
He's in the middle of setting up his pool-bed, in the process of inflating it, when Nariko finds their room. He's all smiles when she enters, but she'll have to forgive him for not running up and giving her a kiss, considering that he's currently seated on the floor.]
Hey.
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gmail needs to stop stacking emails weirdly and not sending me the notif for this thread
I honestly had to make gmail stop stacking emails. it's the only way i can keep up with my tags
I will have to google that because I didn't even think it was a possibility
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But it's the date that takes up most of her energy and has her rooting through her closet, it's the thought of Boxer that softens up the general roughness of day to day life.
As a result it's no surprise that she's excited, right? Dinner, maybe a walk about the city they both seem to love, and then there's the whole Heights Extravaganza. It's a good line-up, but she obsesses over it all the same and she was about as critical of her outfit. It'd have to be enough, she wasn't going to be late because she didn't have just the right dress, though the temptation was there.
So - meeting up for a date, because that seemed like the best idea. She's not too far off from his apartment, leaning against a bench just in front of a nearby park.
..... Shit, what if he totally stands her up.]
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Teenage Boy Found Dead in Waters out of North Apatite Coast
The city wasn't a stranger to unexpected deaths. Like any large city, there were drugs and gangs, so headlines reporting deaths were common enough to be on newspapers but not common enough that the populace was unphased. The televised news told the story to satisfy most peoples' curiosity for the time being, leaving out details such as who found the body in the first place.
But Nariko would know. And if she tried to get in contact with him, his messages would just be short enough to keep her updated so she wouldn't worry; that's the last thing she needs on a busy day. It's not like he'd have time to sit down and really talk about it either, because the whole everything is constantly happening. But when he finally gets his downtime at the end of the day, ten at night, all he can do is lay in his tank and stare at the ceiling.
At 10:30, he picks up his phone and texts Nariko.]
Hey.
Are you still awake?
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And sometimes that means you get rained in on when you're staying at your boyfriend's apartment on the weekend your period starts. Again, Boxer proves himself to be the perfect, ever-reliable boyfriend by telling her that there's both tampons and pads under the sink. He bought them just a few days ago, predicting both the proverbial and literal storms, but he made sure to cover his tracks by opening and disposing a few of each. It's not like they have an expiration date, so who knows when the last person was to take advantage of his hoarded goods?
The electric blanket--well, that's something he's had for a while. A plain heat pad doesn't work for muscle pains the size of their own zip code. He's in the process of bringing it over to his sore girlfriend on the couch, plugging it in and throwing it over her.]
Hi, babe.
[He leans over to give her a kiss on the cheek.]
Feeling any better?
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Of course once that was done and over with the next item on the schedule was food, and then welcoming Boxer to their family. Nariko's incredibly grateful for whatever strings her boyfriend/fiancée has pulled off because the bunch of them are loud as fuck all while they cook and set everything up. More than once she has to discourage some of the slightly younger ones from inviting random sailors or some nonsense, as if the scent of food wasn't enough to attract a bit of attention.
When she can manage to trust them for five seconds Nariko heads outside, hoping to meet Boxer before he goes in. She keeps tapping her heels on the cement, occasionally she reaches down to mess with her garters a bit - they look nice with her sweater dress, but it's kind of useless to appeal to her boyfriend. It's not as if she'll get to spend a lot of time with him tonight but it would be nice to keep his eyes on her for at least a third of the night.
She'll need a strong start for that, so hopefully he shows up early and they can have a moment to themselves. Gods know the rest of her family won't let go of him once they sink their hooks in.]
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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.]
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He called her twenty minutes ago, tops, and she's already half stumbling through the door, her work bag half fallen down her arm.]
Boxer! [She's usually a little more organized about coming home but fuck that, man, getting to him is the most important thing. Thankfully it seems he's just laid out on the couch and she touches his face a little gently, as if she might accidentally break the poor man.] Oh, sweetheart ...
[If she could back smack a cold then she would, but for right now she's just gonna kiss his forehead.]
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