2022-02-20: A Delayed Valentine
- Log: A Delayed Valentine
- Cast: Suzaku Kururugi, Euphemia li Britannia
- Where: Nagoya, Area 11
- OOC - IC Date: February 20, 2022 - February 20th, U.C. 096
- Summary: In which Euphemia and Suzaku do Valentine's Day things belatedly because reality ensued for almost an entire week after.
<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.
20th February, U.C. 096 Morning
On special occasions one hopes to have the opportunity to act on them more than either passingly or belatedly. Valentine's Day for Euphemia li Britannia and Suzaku Kururugi has been both-- the package and note he left her on the 14th spoke for itself, of course. The days that followed were not particularly giving in terms of available time, however. Like two puzzles mixed together erroneously their schedules had been a nightmare of simply not properly meshing, with one obligation or another rearing its ugly head for just shy of a full week.
The previous night had been demolished on Suzaku's end because he followed up the Nouvelle Tokyo kaiju incident and had helped bring the kaiju in to STORAGE peaceably, which was a riot of paperwork and special arrangements largely because of how unusual it was-- and how unprepared everyone was to deal with it. There's an entirely different crew that deals with slain kaiju and their remains. That was the crew prepped to go that night.
Fortunately one of the many things that Euphemia and Suzaku have in common is a sleep schedule that is usually very night-hostile and morning-friendly. The downsides and perks of one career or another that revolves around military schedules, which in this case lends an element of predictability.
So it is that Suzaku has roughly worked out when he can text after Euphy is awake, but before she's functional. Not coincidentally this slice of time also precedes Euphy receiving her agenda for the day.
Suzaku -> Euphemia: Good morning! Suzaku -> Euphemia: Today won't be a testing day for me, and it isn't a school day either. Suzaku -> Euphemia: Are you free?
.
.
.
Suzaku -> Euphemia: And if you're not, could I steal you anyway?
The last message is ever so slightly delayed, and as much a light expression of frustration with their circumstances as it is boldly said by his standards.
<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.
Euphemia has been swamped. Black Knights activity has been on the rise -- mostly outside of Area 11, but it's 'an Area 11 problem,' fundamentally, which means it invariably ends up on either her desk or Cornelia's. Lately, it's been hers, which *may* be an effort to keep her *at* a desk until her head heals, which, to be fair, it mostly has.
In this sense, basically everyone has won, one supposes.
The strategic text lands exactly three minutes after Euphemia reaches any amount of wakefulness. She is still so unprepared for reality that she has a little bit of bedhead and her hand fumbles onto a strawberry truffle before it fumbles onto her phone, and she actually decides to just eat it when she finds it. "Mmm," she murmurs, before text number four hits and she actually remembers what she was doing.
Euphemia -> Suzaku: Yes!
That's the one that comes immediately. Euphemia realizes what time and day it is when she actually manages to piece things together, though; she takes a minute to send a follow-up response.
Euphemia -> Suzaku: I've figured out how to make myself stealable. Where should we meet?
Euphemia decides to lose her schedule. More accurately, it never reaches her; she takes a slightly awkward, meandering route out of the building (that involves routing through multiple emergency exits after personally overriding their alarms) specifically to avoid getting 'checked up on.'
Out of the building and clad in a white and brown outfit similar to the white, orange, and green one she wore when they first met, Euphemia adjusts her Incognito Glasses and gets ready to book it.
<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.
A contrast to Euphemia, Suzaku is a natural early riser. Part of that is simply the military schedule; he's early enough in his career that he's used to a fairly rigid early-rising duty shift. But on the whole this is his preference-- getting an early start was something that Todoh tried to impress upon him. This was mostly just the far end of Japanese work culture speaking, and definitely not intended for... -this-.
Suzaku -> Euphemia: Great.
He grabs his briefcase, and his just-in-case-I'm-stuck-out-for-a-while duffel. One is strapped on, the other flung over his shoulder. The second message comes as the door shuts behind him. Suzaku pauses to think and respond.
Suzaku -> Euphemia: Enlisted housing to VIP quarters is just about as far from each other as they can get here. Suzaku -> Euphemia: I need to hit the motor pool. Get as close to halfway to the barracks as you dare to.
It's far from the longest wait. Handling the non-combat use vehicles is one of the jobs that actually gets delegated to another Japanese Honorary Britannian; a non-glamorous job that nevertheless has plenty of wiggle room for trading favors. Suzaku has a good relationship with that guy.
The vehicle that eventually does pull up is of the characteristic this-isn't-for-combat-zones-but-a-casual-ambush-won't-do-it transport that gets checked out for a number of tasks that are definitely not this. It's painted white, doesn't have any obvious military markings, but has a mildly angular bulk to it that betrays it as something that came from a military base at some point.
It looks normal enough as long as you're not really focused on it.
He leans over and pushes the passenger door open when he pulls to the curb -- or the nearest equivalent to wherever Euphy has made herself visible, pressing the horn once in case visibility is not too good.
"Sorry for the grunt wagon," Suzaku says the moment she gets inside. "The VIP motor pool is handled by... um, an Earl's son or something like that." In other words, he knows who will give him the time of day and it's not that guy.
The interior does have the look of someplace mostly frequented by rowdy soldiers. It's just a little frayed, and smells vaguely of cleaning chemicals as if whatever happens in here usually warrants an at least cursory spray-down.
For his own part, Suzaku has dressed in a white button-down shirt and dark green slacks, though his boots are his usual civilian fare. He could thrown on a jacket and look pretty put together, or roll up his sleeves and achieve the opposite effect. It's a notable step up from his usual casual get-up which is far less fitted in particular, but not by a whole lot as-is.
"Someplace fast and exciting, or slow and relaxed?" He prompts, as he steers them away from the curb and back into motion.
<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.
Euphy's sleep schedule tilts toward the sun... but maybe not *quite* as closely as Suzaku's. Besides -- you text a barely-functional Euphy, and you get one!
... But getting such a text speeds her all the way to functional in record time.
Euphemia has not nearly planned so much; she has no specific plans-duffel. She just goes for it and resolves to figure out everything else on an as-needed basis, and if she can't? ... well, she and Suzaku can probably figure it out together. Speaking of meeting each other halfway, Euphemia actually manages to make it a little *more* than halfway there; it's actually easier the further she gets, as security gets more lax and, bluntly, people care less. The further you get, the more Honorary Britannians there are, and the more Honorary Britannians there are, the less they care about a runaway princess. The blame will fall on VIP quarters detail well before they're even considered, even with the excuse-seeking so many Britannians love to indulge in.
When she thinks she's about positioned right and can easily and quickly get into a vehicle from where she is, she sends Suzaku a text -- or, well, a quick picture of where she is, more accurately. When he arrives, she scrambles in. She's got a big, engaged smile on her face; Silly Time has activated a bit.
Bringing a hand up to her mouth, Euphemia giggles, "I like it! It's inconspicuous, and --" Hm. Disinfectant smell. Mildly concerning, but maybe only mildly.
As they start to get underway, though, Euphemia needs a second to think, because, again: no plan. "Let's try somewhere exciting today! Oh, and thank you so much for the chocolates... and the letter. Your penmanship is beautiful... and the things you said were very kind."
After a second, she thinks to add, "... I hope we get to cherish a lot more time together."
<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.
"You're in a good mood," Suzaku comments, catching the look on Euphemia's face. He's not surprised by that, but it still delights him more than a little to see. Last evening had a lot of serious, sour faces involved-- or voices, at the very least. That's how those things go, sometimes, though. It's no wonder, considering that he was collaborating with citizens from OCU Japan.
The trail away of her comments on the vehicle gets a laugh out of him. "Worn in. It's mostly the back that's 'dangerous', you're too visible if you try to get up to anything up front."
He jerks his head lightly towards the rear. The only thing back there is his duffel. All of these transports come at minimum in SUV size though; they only really go down to jeep size when they're mainly intended for getting around quickly within an installation itself. Everything going outside has to be prepared for unexpected attack... and you don't want to buy a lot of separate cars to get it done. So you cram a bunch of grunts into an SUV.
"At least, that's what Ichikawa had to say about it. I can't say I've ever gotten into the enlisted roughhousing around here," he admits.
Base to streets. Streets to roads. It's not hard to tell that he's angling them south, apparently already having pinned down a decent place to go based on what she said. Somewhere towards the harbor. The good news is that that's prime real estate and therefore generally safer and more rebuilt.
"You're welcome. But I just said what came to mind," he answers, a little sheepishly. There is one obvious exception to that statement; signing in green could not have been a more blatantly deliberate in-joke. As blisteringly sincere as he'd been in the letter though, Suzaku still isn't altogether used to engaging anybody else like this.
"The, um... experiments that led to those got passed around the ASEEC shop floor. The spicy ones are really tricky, it turns out," Suzaku adds. It is not this moment that prompts him to smile brightly; rather, this whole time it's seemed difficult for him to do anything but. It's a good day.
That last addition only brightens him. Circumstances align neatly, and they're at a stop light leading towards the southbound highway when Euphemia says it. Suzaku looks properly at Euphy instead of that vague peripheral side-long that is necessary during active driving.
"Yeah," he agrees sunnily, reaching over to lay his hand over hers. Were they walking it would certainly be a more firm gesture. "As much time as you like."
<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.
"I'm glad you avoid that kind of thing," Euphemia says, on the topic of enlisted roughhousing. She finds the options there worrying -- for lots of reasons. It's a thought that isn't very happy, though, and for that reason it doesn't stick very hard. This is makeup Valentine's Day, so it gets the full priority of happiness.
Euphemia watches the streets change -- or more accurately, rebuild -- the closer they draw to the harbor. "I can see where the spice would be tricky -- I've had some like that before, but the flavor is very delicate," Euphemia thinks aloud, reviewing her own experience. "Some of that reaction might be on ASEEC's end, rather than the product of overspicing, though. Britannian sweets tend to be very mild, so I imagine a lot of your colleagues weren't ready for it."
That hand rests on hers. Euphemia looks up to Suzaku, eyes shining just a bit. "If no one delivers my schedule in a way I acknowledge, we might actually get the whole day," she says, playfully. "It's Sunday, anyway... that's usually a quieter day, so it'll just pile up."
That makes her remember something. "Oh! I talked to Dr. Mass. We're still working out some of the finer points, but we've figured out ways we can help each other that won't require taking anything to the Senate. ... I think she's really quite remarkable. To continue loving people the way she does, with all she's lost, seems like it shows... a lot of personal strength." Perhaps Sayla is too strong. .. then again, maybe Euphemia's drawn to that kind of person.
She decides not to get bogged down in work talk, though -- this is really more about the thing that brought it to mind, anyway, which is: "That might open some new doors for renewal around here, too. I think it'd be nice to get more of the city back on its feet than just the harbor and the Britannian quarters..." In the end, it's still work talk, just -- more personal.
It winds back to the actual personal, though, as Euphy finally thinks to ask: "So -- where are we going?"
<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.
"It's just not my idea of a good time," Suzaku says, truthfully. That he generally isn't welcome mostly doesn't factor into it. There are people he can find to hang out with, here and there. But he is, very simply, not much of a grunt.
A mildly suspicious, "Oh really..." is his initial response to the matter of spice. Suzaku has a momentarily thoughtful expression, then adds, "I might have ended up prototyping more than I needed to, for one reason or another. But that's fine. I enjoyed it. My mentor didn't really teach me that sort of thing, so it was a learning experience."
On the subject of actually getting the whole day to themselves, Suzaku makes a pleasantly affirmative noise. "They're tweaking the hardware today on the shop floor, so they don't have anything for me to do. I've been testing another Club mostly. I think they're trying to decide whether or not to stick with a Sutherland frame for whatever ends up being the Lancelot production model, but they're not particularly clear about it. I suppose it's probably classified. A...nyway, that just means there's no use for me."
Evidently deciding that he can deal with steering one handed -- not unjustifiably -- Suzaku ultimately answers the line of do-we-or-don't-we-have-today by lacing his fingers with Euphemia's.
"She IS remarkable. It's hard to stay resolute and kind when you're hurt, and I don't think that anybody who lived through the time period she did was able to avoid... some really terrible things completely. I'm told my father was very different before the One Year War," he says.
It would be easy to keep talking about work. About STORAGE things from last night. But Suzaku seizes on the detour towards 'where we're going', and sticks to it: "The Harbor has a few amusement parks in it. A lot of them just managed to squeak by mostly intact during the fighting, and there's a strong market for them because..."
He hesitates, then finishes, "Um... because even though it has everything, Clovisland got a reputation for breaking up couples."
<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.
Those fingers intertwine, and Euphy gives a tiny bit of extra squeeze. "I don't have much experience with cooking, either," Euphemia concedes, a little sheepishly. "It wasn't really on the agenda..." There's something in her voice that suggests she might want to learn, but she doesn't linger on it much.
They're both fully committed to the conversational detour, and Euphemia doesn't really need to think to decide that's the best route she has available to them. "... huh! Is this going to be your first time at an amusement park, too? I've actually never been." Euphemia has had... very few of what many might consider 'normal childhood experiences.' That's not really a surprise, or something she mourns *excessively*. (She might like to have some of them, granted. But it's not as though the world will simply part for what Euphemia might like to have.)
Mention of Suzaku's father gets a slightly firmer squeeze of the hand. "... I think that's true of a lot of people. But if we face these things together, maybe we'll be able to make it through... even if we can't avoid some terrible things."
Talk of Clovisland leaves Euphemia with two options and she decides, once again, to take the more comfortable one. "I'm glad that type of thing survived -- we wouldn't want to curse ourselves," she offers, playfully. "Do you have a favorite park, or are we both going in blind...?"
<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.
"I could teach you, if you want. I avoid the mess, so I had to learn once I got settled. I've also known some survival cooking for a while but that's more practical and less tasty," Suzaku offers. After a moment he adds, "Might... be a bit plainer fare than you're used to, though. Let's see... I think the best way to do that would be if it was on a day when we can visit a market together. It's not a necessary step, but that's unwinding time for me, so I'd like to share it with you anyway if I can."
The fact that the topic was passing doesn't dim Suzaku's enthusiasm at all. It seems like a slice of life that is, in the most mundane sense, important for its absence of importance.
"Huh? Um..." It's a question that somebody really shouldn't have to think about hard, but Suzaku does. He has many memories of stalls and food vendors and little games. His father took him to some, a long, long time ago. Todoh, more recently than that. But amusement parks...? Dangerous. Demanded a security detail.
Waste of time.
"Now that you mention it," he says, and it's obvious that he hadn't thought about it at all, "I really haven't. All of the things that 'feel like that' to me are just festivals. My mentor thought that they were very important... but I think the history behind them mattered more to him than the actual festival. It was always a production."
A small noise of concern rumbles in Suzaku's throat in answer to the squeeze at his hand. He sucks in a breath, and seems poised to say something-- and the moment passes. He squeezes back, deciding not to let his history with his father -- or the relative lack of it -- become a gloomy cloud on a sunny day.
The car ride doesn't drag on for long. There are a couple of options; one at least is partly dominated by presently-anemic water rides-- it's just too cool for most people to be bothered by that. The other has a very large ferris wheel that is definitely its centerpiece.
"I think," Suzaku says, pulling off into the mostly-disused parking lot of a lot that is in the middle of re-development into a Britannian fast food chain of some kind. "That kindness can prevail over the terrible possibilities of the world. But if we have to face terrible things, I'm glad to be facing them with you."
A breathy laugh meets Euphemia's comment about Clovisland. With a moment's pause from actual driving already provided, he gets to actually look at her properly again. He looks her in the eyes, and says, "You're really smooth, did you know that? I think I have chillbumps."
This is entirely truthful, and could've gone entirely unnoticed since he dressed the way that he did. Evidently that's something that he doesn't think should be hidden.
"Mostly blind," he says. "I've heard a thing or two. If it were warmer, the one with the big slide is definitely the favorite. I don't know much about the one down the way with the ferris wheel, but I like ferris wheels. What do you think?"
<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.
"I wouldn't mind learning the survival cooking, either," Euphemia admits, with a little bit of a rub at the back of her head. "I don't know if it'd ever come up, but I think it'd be nice to try. I want to see more of what life is like for other people." It's a small thing, but at the same time -- food is... a lot. The world bends so much around how people engage with food.
"That makes sense," Euphemia agrees, as they move in earnest into the area of festivals. "It sounds like he really wanted to impress the value of your heritage on you. I think it's healthy to be able to look back and see everything, good and bad, and let that help you decide how to move forward."
Euphemia closes her eyes for a few seconds, trying to sort through what she means. "People talk about the past as if it's full of mistakes, sometimes, and there's a lot... but I think there's great joy to be found there, too. I don't think there's some magical understanding found in the past or the future... but there's a lot we could benefit from trying *to* understand." It's actually a pretty hard sentiment to express! Euphemia doesn't *quite* have the words for it, but she thinks she managed it to the best of her ability, at any rate.
At the mention that she's smooth, Euphemia smiles. "... You do," she says, with a nod, before moving on to the parks. "I think the ferris wheel sounds like the better bet. Even if it's a little warmer than it used to be, February is still a little early for a water park..."
<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.
"I think making a fire without any tools is worth learning to do either way. The food's a bit crude. But what life is like..." Suzaku hums thoughtfully. "The farther back you go, the more likely it is to look like something that would be familiar to you. A lot of the trappings were traditional Japanese instead of the architecture that's particular to Britannia. My family home is still around-- it's arranged like a shrine."
His grip tightens for a moment and then loosens, and in this case there is no doubt that he doesn't even know that he's doing it. It was more of a spasm than a coherent grasping motion.
"It was actually kind of jarring, when I finally separated from my family. But I think I... like living that way more than I liked being attended to so much," he decides.
About the history that was impressed on him, he says, "Todoh is a very traditional man. I think that the 'value of heritage' is probably the most important thing to him, and it's part of why we ended up on different sides like this. I didn't really get it as a kid, but I've never regretted knowing anything that he taught me about. 'Good or bad', though... I don't know what about any of it he might have considered 'bad'."
Chuckling, he adds, "I'm sure he told me and I just missed it. That stuff is really heavy for a child."
Suzaku lapses into silence, listening intently while Euphemia tries to sort out her specific feelings on the matter. He nods, slowly, even as she works through it out loud. Once she's done, he says, "It's easy to forget that the 'past' is not a collection of facts in which each actor perfectly understood what they were doing and what the ramifications were. When a turning point in history comes to you, you make a choice-- or you don't, and that's a choice too. For the average person those turning points happen in small, personal histories. But they happen in the bigger picture, too. And the people who are making the decisions..."
"They're just as small and uncertain as anyone who is making ordinary decisions for themselves," he says. "I don't know if it's what you meant, exactly... but if it was, 'We should be kind, even to what's come before.', I think you're right."
But there's something about it that's a little troubling to him, and it's definitely in a way that he doesn't actually register. Like something that exists in a mirror across from him, abstractly there but unacknowledged by his surface self.
Destination decided, Suzaku puts the car back into gear and pulls out in the relevant direction. "Ferris wheel it is, then."
It's not much of a drive, and there's a middling crowd. Suzaku chooses a more distant parking spot because it lets him scope out the vehicle and its surroundings better when they inevitably return to it. The time comes to at least temporarily separate, and Suzaku withdraws his hand to lean into the back and fish something out of his bag. Sunglasses! He slips them on as he disembarks the vehicle, snagging the fob as he goes.
The separation doesn't last longer than Euphemia wants it to. He circles to meet her, and whatever unease their prior conversation had dug up out of the silt of his mind seems gone by the time he's offering her his hand again.
<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.
Euphemia nods at the idea of learning how to make a fire without any tools. She knows where that'd be useful -- there are a lot of places, even within Britannia, where significant numbers of people live in... conditions that necessitate the skill, one might say. That's a bit of an unhappy thought, to say the least.
Euphemia startles a bit at that sudden grip -- she feels... something, behind it. But despite how much she cares about Suzaku and how much she'd like to... in the end, their relationship is still young. There's no way that she can trace the full shape of that feeling just yet, and it'd be crueler than it would be kind, to pry it open.
Between Euphy's glasses and Suzaku's sunglasses, the pair are positively incognito! There's no way they'd be recognized as the former number one suspect in Clovis's murder and a Britannian Princess, surely. They're just two people out on a date at the amusement park least likely to curse them with an acrimonious breakup
When they're both out of the car, Euphemia reaches out and takes Suzaku's hand once more. Unlike the casual intimacy of the gesture in the car, this one is alittle more... practiced, a little daintier. You can't *fully* get that kind of muscle memory out of your brain. It is very, very princessy.
"Hmmm... is it too early in the day for fair food?" she thinks aloud, her free hand coming up to tap at her chin. "I don't know if our stomachs will be the happiest with it, but... they say it's important for people to experience different things, even if they don't always turn out perfectly."
<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.
Suzaku blinks at the very particular grip Euphemia defaults to. He gives her a little, 'What's that about?' grin, but doesn't comment on it. He knows how these things go. The way you stand, the way you carry yourself-- you get groomed on those things. He's sure some people see it in him, even if soldiery has adjusted it a little.
"When you have a special day, you do special things. It's only too early if it conflicts with something you want to do later," he says. "I don't think I'd say I have a weak stomach... and I'm pretty sure the things we've gotten up to elsewhere--"
He means Knightmare frames, even though he doesn't name them.
"-- is more than enough to test that. What would you like?"
The process of actually getting inside is... fine. The morning crowd is composed heavily of new parents squeezing in a trip with the kids and their time is absolutely dominated by that very specific situation. The entry attendant looks at them for a bit longer than is normal-- for now at least, that's all.
"By the way... I got the impression that Bridget might be thinking of having some sort of grand debut at Ashford Academy. Your situations are different, but it might be a good chance for you to slip in the door behind her if she goes through with it," he suggests. With a playful wink and a smile, he follows up with, "I wouldn't complain if our schedules were a little more aligned that way."
<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.
That blink -- even with a lack of comment -- is enough to make Euphemia realize she's doing it, and stop, and hold hands like a normal person. It's a little bit of an alien gesture for a second, but she decides she likes it. "... All right -- if we can find yakisoba, I'd like to try it," Euphemia says; getting some more 'local' food flourishes in sounds nice. "... If they've fully committed to Britannian food, though... I know fairs and parks often have cheese curds, but I've never actually had them myself."
Euphemia doesn't seem to mind the look. These things happen. As long as the attendant doesn't decide to make a fuss, then they can just roll with it.
"... Hmmm. It -- might be good for her to have someone there who doesn't..." That actually prompts one of Euphemia's rare downcast expressions -- but it's only for a moment, as she realizes what she might be able to get up to as a result. She can have it all, at least for a little bit -- at once the responsible member of the royal family *and* the mischief-seeking little creature.
"... I'll start looking into arrangements. I'd be happy with that too, I think." She isn't sure how much schooling she'll actually be able to *participate* in -- but baby steps.
Besides. Right now, they have just a little too much carnival food to sneak onto a Ferris wheel and eat.