Author's Note: Written for my wonderful girlfriend, neversung. I do not own Gravity Rush, all characters are the property of their creators.
Raven stared at the woman she loved. She knew full well that it would never be returned, but her feelings were growing to the point that she couldn't hide them anymore. She'd tried to ignore them, she'd encouraged Kat to find a boyfriend, she'd even tried looking for someone else to date herself, but none of it accomplished anything. Kat seemed to have lost all interest in pursuing a boy, almost as if she was intent on tormenting Raven with the knowledge that she was so very close, and yet just out of her reach. Her own search had been as painful. Kat completed her, literally, there was no one else who could ever compare to that.
It was a long moment before she realized that Kat was staring back. She glanced away quickly, long before she realized that that only made her look more suspicions. "What is it, Raven? Is there something on my face."
There was actually. They'd just eaten ice cream – Raven had had twelve scoops – and there was a little dot of it on Kat's nose. It was beyond adorable. She wanted to lick it off, but she stopped herself. That would be weird. "You've got some," she gestured somewhere in the general vicinity of Kat's face, "ice cream on your face."
Kat pawed at her mouth, rubbing vigorously, before looking back again. "Did I get it?" Those innocent red eyes staring up at her, trusting her, without so much of a thought as to the wicked things that Raven wanted to do to their owner.
"No, it's –" she reached her hand out and wiped the ice cream off. Before she even had the chance to resist the urge to lick her finger off, it was in Kat's mouth. For just an instant, she felt Kat's tongue meet her finger. Any thoughts of trying to abandon her feelings vanished immediately. No one could ever compare to Kat – her Kat. She needed to confess her feelings. Maybe, somehow, they wouldn't be immediately shot down. Maybe Kat could actually want her too.
When she got her finger back, she couldn't help but marvel at the digit. A mere instant earlier, it had been inside the woman she loved. It wasn't quite how she'd been dreaming it, but it was certainly a step in the right direction.
She'd do it. She'd tell her everything, consequences be damned. "Kat –"
"Yes, Raven?" Her face lit up, and she leaned forward, supporting herself on her hands, hanging on Raven's every word. In that instant, she looked far more like a puppy than a cat.
Raven couldn't resist. She scratched softly behind Kat's ear before petting her head. Kat was too distracting. How was she ever going to manage to gather her courage if she was just going to be this cute.
Kat didn't seem to mind and leaned into Raven's touch, clearly enjoying the attention. "What were you going to say?" she insisted.
"You look really cute in that outfit," Raven managed. She wanted to believe that it was a start, but it was far more a statement of a girl friend than a girlfriend. The distinction hurt. She needed more. Though she couldn't exactly argue that Kat didn't look amazing in her little shop girl outfit, with her hair back in a pony tail, and the visor over her eyes. She was working there just so that she could look after Raven. Kat didn't have many needs herself, but Raven seemed to need to eat her own body weight in food a day, and even the mining wasn't always enough to provide for them. She would be such a good girlfriend.
"Oh." Her face fell. Had she said something wrong? "You look great too. I know it's just your normal outfit, but I'm not sure I ever told you how good you like in it."
Raven's cheeks suddenly matched the tips of her hair. She was not exactly subtle. "Oh, thank you. That means a lot, really."
"Well good. I always love making you happy. Did you get enough to eat?" Kat glanced around. She was already looking for another restaurant for Raven.
"Yeah, I'm full."
Kat eyed her suspiciously before poking her. "What happened to my Raven? Are you just a Nevi?"
Her Raven? Raven's heart had skipped a beat and seemed to be working overtime to make up for it. She could practically see it through her chest. She wondered if Kat could manage to hear the faint music from a band performing a few streets over.
"Raven?"
She had to stop doing that. Twice in a row she'd managed to spend so much time freaking out over something Kat had said that she'd forgotten to answer. It was going to get her in trouble. "You caught me, I'm really a nevi."
"Am I going to have to search you for your weak point so I can kick it?"
Should she just disrobe and let Kat thoroughly examine her? No, that was ridiculous, they were in public. She certainly couldn't do that, at least not until they got home. "Maybe when we get back."
"I'm looking forward to it." That smirk! It was like she had known precisely what Raven was thinking. Had she been that obvious?
"How about I take you out to dinner tonight?" Raven was surprised to find the words leaving her lips. Had she really just asked Kat out? She was a little impressed with herself.
"Don't be silly." Ouch. "I love looking after you. How about I take you out?"
Oh. Raven blinked. There was no way Kat had meant it the way she had. "It's a date," she replied.
"Yeah it is. Go pick out a cute dress. I'll take you to the nicest restaurant in Jirga Para Lhao."
It was too good to be true. Was there any way Kat really felt the same way she did? If there was even the slightest chance, then Raven would spare nothing. She'd look so stunning that even the straightest girl would drop to her knees before her. She was going to win Kat's heart, no matter what she had to do. She could do this. It wasn't all just a pipe dream.
She'd spent a year dreaming in their pipe house without Kat, now Kat was back in her bed – well, Kat's bed – and she was never willing to go without her again.
Raven stared into the mirror in the changing room of a pretentious little boutique in Hekseville. This was the tenth dress she had tried, and none of them were good enough. She looked good, maybe even amazing, but not perfect. Kat could still resist her looking like this. She needed something that looked so good on her that the saleswoman's jaw would drop. As disinterested in life as the young woman seemed to be, if Raven could manage to wow her, then she knew that she'd have Kat in an instant.
As she expected, the saleswoman – her name tag said Linda – maintained her utter disinterest. Next dress it was.
The next dress didn't do it either. Nor the one after. Nor even the one after. The same was true for the next dozen dresses. It still held true for the skirts and tops she tried. Then for the pants and blouse. She was starting to run out of options. You could only fit so much in this little shop.
"Do you have anything else?"
Linda only shrugged in reply.
Raven wanted to use stasis to hurl everything, Linda included, through the large windows by the front door. She exhaled the breath she'd been holding and managed to keep her violent impulse in check. She perused the store again, scouring every inch of it for an outfit she had overlooked. She had already checked two shops in Jirga Para Lhao and another in Hekseville and found nothing that was good enough.
Then her eye fell on a stunning black fabric. The texture was a bit thick, and it was a weird cut. She picked it up to examine it further. Oh. It was a suit. She didn't realize this store sold men's clothes. She began to put it back to look for something different.
"Oh, that's new," Linda said. "It was a custom order, but the woman who ordered it never picked it up. She wanted a version of her husband's suit made cut to her measurements. It's a pretty bold look, You should try it on."
Raven was tempted to turn her down. She was supposed to wear a pretty dress, she needed to look drop dead gorgeous, and this hardly seemed the piece to do it, but she was running out of outfits to try, and there was only one more shop she knew of, and it wasn't nearly as nice. She picked it back up and headed towards the dressing room.
When she emerged again, Linda had precisely the same reaction Raven had. Her jaw hit the floor. She promptly paid for it and flew off to the restaurant. She hoped she wouldn't be late.
Kat seemed incapable of forming words when she saw Raven approach. Smiling inwardly, Raven tried to keep her composure. She had won. She was going to win Kat's heart.
"New look?" Kat finally managed to choke out. "I really like it. It suits you. Heh, get it?"
Raven rolled her eyes, but sat down across from her date. She could feel sweat pooling on her forehead and brushed at it casually. She was so nervous, she was starting to wonder if she could actually make it through dinner. And for once it wasn't just because she wanted to rip Kat's clothes off. This might really be a date!
Raven allowed her eyes to drift over Kat's gorgeous red dress. It wasn't new, but she had always loved her in it.
"If I'd known you were going to go buy some new clothes I would have bought something too. You really do look amazing," Kat said, forcing Raven's eyes back to her face.
"You look great too. I'm never against seeing you in that dress." She was blushing again. Just great, awkward and nervous was exactly the look she was going for.
Fortunately, the waiter arrived to spare her any more embarrassment. Apparently Kat had gone to the trouble of ordering them some wine, as the waiter set a glass of red in front of both of them, along with a basket of bread. It smelled amazing. Raven wanted to shove the entire thing in her mouth, but that was hardly going to make her look good in front of Kat. She knew she was already used to it, but today was different, she had to be the best she could be. She wanted to be the perfect girlfriend, just like Kat always was.
Kat, however, showed no such restraint as she ripped a chunk from the bread and unceremoniously popped it into her mouth, prompting a giggle. The giggle turned into a great big belly laugh. She didn't want to laugh at her date, it seemed mean, but she was so tense that she couldn't help it. Kat was so adorable, and had completely ruined the mood.
The rest of the bread was quickly on its way to Raven's stomach. She wanted to woo Kat, but she had to still be herself. She was so comfortable with Kat, other than the massive sexual tension, and she needed to let Kat feel the same.
"I ordered you shish-kabobs," Kat explained, after a sip of wine. "I just got some soup, but I know how much you love them."
Raven wanted to resist. They were amazing, but she should be having something fancier from a place like this. Maybe escargot. Just then, however, the waiter arrived with their dinners, and it was the most mouth watering sight she'd ever seen in her life – present company excepted. She had no interest in changing her order, though she was certainly not against a second one.
"The rest should be out shortly," the waiter informed her, before taking off. Kat knew her too well. She really was the love of Raven's life. She was perfect for her, and she spoiled her. How could she ever deserve her?
"I love you." For a second Raven wasn't sure who had said it. Then the look on Kat's face finally drove it home. She had. Raven had been so moved by her food that she had confessed everything to Kat. She wanted to take it back, to insist that she only meant as a friend, or a sister, but the look of shock, and the faintest traces of a smile, made it all to clear that Kat understood.
"So that's what this was all about. I thought you might finally be getting ready to say it. I love you too, Raven. So much, you could never understand. You're my whole world."
Wait, what? Kat had known? She could've said something earlier and saved a lot of time! "So, you mean you'll be my girlfriend?"
Kat laughed, but stopped short when she saw the look of worry on Raven's face. "Raven, I thought I already was. We live together. I thought you just wanted to take things slow, and I didn't want to pressure you."
"I am such an idiot." Raven kissed her. She had no memory of going around the table, but Kat was in her arms, and pressed tightly against her. The kiss seemed to last forever, and quite frankly, Raven wouldn't have it any other way.