There was something special about mornings.
Reigen had always loved mornings ever since she had been a kid. The promise of the new day, mostly. The world bathed in light and made new once again. It was like the light of the morning came in and chased away the darkness of the previous day. Of course her days were mostly good, these days, the bad days were few and far between. She didn't need the morning to chase away the previous day, but she did like to greet it.
Though maybe not at this hour.
There was a knock at her door. A hard one, and insisting one. Someone was determined to get her attention at…she reached over to her nightstand and turned her alarm clock around. There was no way she was answering the door at this hour. She knew who it probably was. That nosy neighbor of hers, the one who seemed to have the hearing of a bat and the nose of an aardvark. The one who had lived so long that she had run out of things to do in her own life so she spent her remaining years sticking her nose into everyone in the building's business. Well Reigen wasn't going to get out of bed just to hear that she had been too loud last night, or that her mailbox was too full, or that she needed to sweep her stoop, or that her windows were looking dingy or…or anything else that the old bat would have come up with.
There was no way she was getting out of bed, not at this hour.
"Go away." Muttered Reigen as she closed her eyes and nestled herself into the warm body beside her. There was no way she was voluntarily giving this up. She inhaled deeply, taking in the slightly spicy scent of deodorant and body wash. Not her own, of course, she always went for tropical scents. Strong smelling things that covered up the smell of cigarettes. He didn't have to worry about that. She wondered how he had chosen this particular combination of scents. If he had been planning on it, finding something this perfect, or if he had happened upon it by accident.
She wondered, too, where he had gotten them and if, maybe, he wanted to maybe pick some up and store them in her bathroom…
She wasn't going to ask. She knew not to push him too fast.
"Reigen?" asked Serizawa with a yawn. She felt his chest rise and fall under her head. Somehow that was even more perfect than listening to him sleep. Snore. He did snore, and loudly, but it was far from annoying…he was far from annoying.
The pounding at her door, though, was several different kinds of annoying.
"Not you, Serizawa…Katsuya. You're fine." Said Reigen. She frowned as she felt him sitting up…alright. So they were doing this then. She checked the time again. It was the morning, not the early morning, but earlier than she had planned on getting up. Hell, she had planned on spending the day in bed with him.
But plans, she reminded herself, were always subject to change.
"Are you sure? Do you need more bed?" asked Serizawa
"There isn't any more bed." Said Reigen. Serizawa paused for a moment. She decided to laugh first, to show him that it was alright. She had to do that sometimes, not that she minded, it was actually kind of sweet. What wasn't sweet, though, was the sudden…kick? That better not have been a kick at her front door. She needed that security deposit!
"Goddamn it." Said Reigen as she picked up a puppy throw pillow and threw it at her bedroom door. She didn't know what she had been trying to accomplish but she sure as hell felt better.
"What's happening out there?" asked Serizawa
"The old bat next door's pounding on my door, probably with another list of complaints." Said Reigen as she pulled the duvet up over her bare chest. A disappointed look crossed Serizawa's face.
"Oh…we were kind of loud last night." Said Serizawa
"We?" asked Reigen with a laugh. Was he blushing? There was no way that he was going to blush after everything that they had gotten up to last night. There was no way one human being could be that, incredibly, adorable.
"Well you were kind of loud last night…it just seemed wrong for me to draw attention to it like that. Like I might embarrass you." Said Serizawa
"Why the hell would I be embarrassed that the whole city knows how amazing my boyfriend is?" asked Reigen. Serizawa blushed and quickly turned his gaze onto Reigen's puppy duvet. First thing in the morning and he was as adorable as ever.
"I'm not amazing. I just did what you said to do." Said Serizawa quietly. She leaned over and kissed his neck. She would have actually kissed him but neither of them had brushed their teeth yet. Maybe next time she planned on spending the day in bed she needed to keep their toothbrushes in her room. toothbrushes, toothpaste, water to actually brush their teeth with. Somewhere to piss, too, since she didn't really like getting utis…
Maybe next time they needed to spend the weekend in the bathroom instead.
"Well you did it amazingly. Stop selling yourself short, Katsuya, you're amazing. Admit." Said Reigen
"I can't." said Serizawa
"Come on, you can do it." Said Reigen, leaning over and letting the duvet fall from her chest. He glanced at her, and then back to the duvet when she caught his eyes. He was conflicted, though, she could see his eyes trying to defy his sense of modesty.
She leaned back and let the duvet fall further.
"I really can't." said Serizawa, pulling the duvet close. Of course he only succeeded in making the problem, or opportunity as Reigen would have put it, worse.
"Come on. I, Serizawa Katsuya, am absolutely amazing in bed." Said Reigen, kicking the rest of the duvet off. He didn't know where to look, it seemed. He was always like this. Everything was still so new to him. She'd stop if he asked, not that he ever had, but she was prepared to at any time. There was just something to teasing him like this…or initiating, depending on what it was that he was in the mood for.
Though she strongly suspected that he was up for anything.
"Fine. I…am amazing in bed...oh! I can't believe I actually said that!" Said Serizawa, holding his head in his hands. The bed had jumped when he had said that, like he had been shoving the words out so hard his powers went with them. Well, that was an acceptable amount of collateral damage, in her opinion, to succeed in her ultimate goal of making Serizawa see himself the way she saw him.
"Well, you did." Said Reigen as she shook her hair out. He was fighting himself again. Glancing at her, looking away, and then glancing again.
"The whole building heard, didn't they?" moaned Serizawa. Reigen shrugged, making sure that it was a whole body sort of shrug. The kind that made him turn a shade of red that she wasn't sure if human beings were supposed to be able to turn.
"Yes, most likely." Said Reigen as she turned onto her side for good measure. She poked his foot with hers. He gasped, he groaned, but he didn't pull away.
"What am I going to do?" asked Serizawa, shaking his head. Reigen leaned in and kissed his side.
"Prove it…but maybe we should brush our teeth first." Said Reigen as she took his hand and rested it on her hip. He swallowed and, finally, looked right at her. She brought her eyes up to meet his. The effect would have been better if she had done her eyes, her eyelashes had always been pretty stubby and sparse, but it had it's effect. He left his hand rest on her hip for a moment before moving upwards to her waist. It just sort of hovered there while his eyes smoldered into hers.
He needed to see himself the way she saw him.
"Are you sure? I mean we already…before…and I don't want you to think that I only want to do that with you. I'm happy just laying here next to you." said Serizawa
"I'd be happy with just cuddling too. I guess I did come on just a little bit too strong there." Said Reigen, trying not to sound as deflated as she felt. She kept on looking at this like she had every other relationship she had ever been in…and she knew she was really stretching the definition of the word 'relationship' with some of those. She didn't know, sometimes, how much of this was her and how much of this was her trying to keep his attention. He was a guy, after all, and as devoted as he was he could still lose…she could still lose his attention…
It hadn't been a rare thing, after all, Reigen losing a man's attention.
"No! You didn't! I just…I don't want you to think that I only want that from you. I want a lot more from you…with you! With you, I want a lot of things with you." said Serizawa
"Like what?" asked Reigen
"Mostly to be with you. I just like being with you." said Serizawa
"I like being with you, too, but I also like sex…but that doesn't mean that we have to go at it like rabbits!" said Reigen
"I…wouldn't mind if we did, though…but only if you want to." Said Serizawa
"What do you think I'm all sprawled out like this for?" asked Reigen
"I just thought that you were hot…I mean overheating!" said Serizawa
"But I am hot, right?" asked Reigen. Before she could laugh he nodded, eagerly, like the world's most enthusiastic bobblehead.
"Incredibly." Said Serizawa. He practically exhaled the word. Where he had been shy, before, shooting her the quickest of glances now he was bold. Looking her up and down, his eyes resting on every since centimeter and crevice of skin she had laid out on display for him. His hand, too, was starting to roam…
This was definitely going to be a good morning.
"Then why don't you come closer and show me how hot you think I am?" asked Reigen. It sounded like a line from a bad porno but it worked. He leaned in close and, yeah, forget brushing their teeth. She could overlook that little lapse in dental hygiene if he could. He just needed to get a little closer and…
Another knock.
Reigen wasn't prepared to overlook that. She couldn't. Not when she knew, for certain, that her door was being kicked. The nerve of some people! They were living in a society and in this city you didn't go kicking in people's doors on a weekend! Or any day of the week for that matter. Reigen groaned and sat up, prematurely stopping what was sure to have been something amazing. It always was with him. She had never in her life met a man more attentive and caring than Serizawa Katsuya. Even now he didn't protest. He just pulled the duvet back around himself again. Either he was cold or he was trying not to rub a wasted opportunity in her face.
Not that she would have minded, of course…fucking neighbors.
"Goddamn it!" said Reigen as she got out of bed. This was going too far. She was going to put an end to this and whoever was out there trying to kick her door down.
"Are you alright?" asked Serizawa
"I'm fine, I'm just going to go and give whoever the hell that is a piece of my mind. Back in a sec." said Reigen as she kicked a stray throw pillow out of her way. She was going to give whoever that was more than a piece of her mind. She was going to give them-
-darkness?
"Sorry!" said Serizawa. The darkness was lifted and…oh. Right. Her robe. Not the comfortable one with the kittens, no, the short silky one she had gotten to impress him. Not exactly the thing to be answering the door in but compared to standing there stark naked it was a vast improvement.
"It's fine, good call on the robe thing." Said Reigen as she slid her arms into the silky sleeves and tied the sash. She rocked from side to side. Short, but not the kind of short that was going to get her sent to jail.
"I just didn't want you to get in trouble." Said Serizawa
"Didn't want me to get in trouble or didn't want to share me?" asked Reigen
"Neither, I guess." said Serizawa. He was so adorable there. Reigen could have just jumped right back into bed beside him…but she couldn't. Another kick, this time she could hear her lock straining. That was it! She kicked a path in front of her and stormed out of her bedroom, through the combined living and dining room, and to her front door. She was so mad she was standing barefoot in the genkan, somehow this was worse than being nearly naked. She didn't care! She needed to knock some sense into-
-the kids?
"Reigen, good morning!" said Rei, looking entirely too chipper for this hour. Reigen craned her neck over. No Tome, but Mob was there, though.
"Master Reigen!" said Mob, her entire face lighting up like it was Christmas morning. Normally Reigen would have been happy to see her, too, and Rei…but this was not a normal day. This was a day that she had planned for herself and…wait. They were here…why were they here?
Something might have been going down.
Reigen quickly checked them over for injuries. No cuts, scrapes, or bruises. They didn't smell like smoke. There weren't sirens going off in the distance. Nothing had exploded, no earthquakes, and they were too far inland to have to worry about tsunamis…so things might have actually been fine.
Or the world could have been ending. That was always an option, too.
"See? I told you she'd answer." Said Rei smugly, a bottle of something purple tucked under her arm. They both had purple splotches on the fronts of their shirts. Reigen didn't think that this was some kind of 'save the world' level calamity but with them she couldn't discount anything.
Tome wasn't involved, though, so maybe that was a good sign…or maybe it was an omen.
"I know but I still feel bad about using my powers." Said Mob. Reigen checked her door. Mob had been knocking with her powers…well, it was still standing at least. At some point she was going to have to talk to the two of them about security deposits. Also about giving people space and boundaries and all of that.
"I knew nothing bad was going to happen. I mean I mostly knew." Said Rei
"Mostly?" asked Mob
"Hey, guys, how about you tell me what's happening right now?" asked Reigen. She knew them, they could have easily kept that up all day. They seemed fine but it wasn't always easy to tell with them, especially Mob.
"We came to see you, it's important." Said Mob. Reigen nodded. Alright, something might have been going wrong. Mob was calm now, best not to ruin that. If she did then they'd have two problems on their hands.
"Is anyone dying?" asked Reigen
"No. I mean yes, someone in the world is probably dying, but nobody that I know is dying…but wait, what if I jinxed it? Is that how it works? I hope that's not how it works." said Mob
"Want me to check?" asked Rei. Reigen decided to end that train of thought before Mob freaked herself out any more than she had already.
"Is anything on fire?" asked Reigen. Rei got that far off look in her eyes that happened whenever she used her powers.
"Not that I know of." Said Rei. Reigen nodded. Good. Mob's house wasn't burning down again…that had been a rough day for all of them. The office burning down had been the least of her worries. Mob was just a kid…of course it had all worked out thanks to that weird guy Sho knew, but still. It all could have gone so wrong so fast…
And that was why Reigen preferred not to think about that day any more than she had to.
"Anyone in the hospital?" asked Reigen, getting back to the present.
"Probably, but nobody that we know." said Mob
"And Tome is….?" Asked Reigen
"At her house. Her parents got her but don't worry, we saved the sauce." Said Rei before she held it proudly above her head. Reigen took the bottle from her and flipped it over…she doubted that this was the original bottle. That is unless they were making mustard salad dressing in purple these days.
"And the sauce is…?" asked Reigen as she shook the bottle. Mob was looking her up and down. She pulled her robe tighter across herself. Right, yeah, this was not the state to be answering her door in.
"Are you naked?" asked Mob
"No. Clearly I'm wearing a robe. Anyway-" said Reigen
"Aren't those Serizawa's shoes?" asked Mob, practically sticking her head through Reigen's doorway. She shifted so that nosy little eyes couldn't peer inside and start asking questions that she didn't really want to answer.
"Hey, I'm the one asking the questions here! Now tell me, what is so amazing about this sauce that you had to wake me up at this ungodly hour to hand deliver it to me?" asked Reigen
"Oh, there's nothing special about it. It's just ranch and purple. The original has secret ingredients, we got it online, but when we tried it the whole thing was terrible so we decided to make our own. It's not important, Master, not like-" said Mob
"How about we get back to you two ordering mysterious things off of the internet again. Didn't you two learn your lesson already?" asked Reigen
"No, we didn't, or at least Rei didn't." said Mob
"She's right, I never learn. My mom even said so. Anyway, did Serizawa just come over or did he sleep over?" asked Rei
"That's not-" said Reigen
"Are you in love with him? Did he come over to confess?" asked Mob
"Again, none of your-" said Reigen
"Are you getting married?" asked Mob
"Why do you need to kno-" said Reigen
"Do you want me to look into the future and see how many babies you'll have?" asked Rei
"No! I can live my life without that knowledge, thank you." said Reigen as she pressed a hand to her stomach. She wasn't pregnant, she knew she wasn't pregnant. The red flower had bloomed, aunt Flo had made her monthly visit, the red moon had sent it's vengeance down upon her. She couldn't have possibly been pregnant and she didn't want to be!
Right?
"You really don't want to know? I don't get it, if I had someone who was in love with me-" said Rei
"You're both in middle school, you don't need to worry about these kinds of things." Said Reigen
"I meant if I were your age." Said Rei
"I can't have a baby now either, my mom said that if I did then she was going to send me to live with grandma and she lives in the middle of nowhere." Said Mob
"Good, then we're in agreement. Nobody's getting pregnant anytime soon." Said Reigen
"Fine…but do you want to know when you'll get married?" asked Rei
"No, I don't need to…wait, when? This is a 'when' kind of thing?" asked Reigen. She…had no idea how she was supposed to feel about that. She had never given it much thought, marriage, aside from mom's constant 'where are my grandchildren' and 'nobody wants a Christmas cake' lectures. Marriage…a when thing…
Did she even want that?
"Yes. When, it's a 'when' kind of thing." Said Rei
"Guys, right now I just kind of want to spend my weekend alone, alright? I love you both, and Tome too, but sometimes we need time to ourselves." Said Reigen
"But wait, you have to tell us if the sauce is good. Tome says that if it is we can get rich selling it." Said Mob
"It's decent, now put this in the fridge before someone gets sick…and no more buying food off of the internet! Ok, I'll see you on Monday." Said Reigen as she closed the door. She knew that she shouldn't have done that, just slam the door in their faces like that, but boundaries were a thing. They were kids, they were used to just showing up at each other's houses whenever they felt like it. Well Reigen wasn't a kid and as much as she loved the actual kids she just…needed some space.
That had been a lot.
She pressed her ear to the door. They were debating what they were supposed to do with the rest of their day. Choices included going back to Rei's house to hang out or trying to liberate Tome. They, wisely, chose Rei's house. She waited by the door until she could hear their footsteps echoing off of the metal stairs.
That had been…something.
"What was all that about?" asked Serizawa. Pulled her head away from the door and sighed.
"Mob and Rei wanted to hang out, I guess." said Reigen. She couldn't look at him. He was fully dressed now, at least one of them had sense, and it wasn't like she hadn't seen in any other state of being before. She couldn't help it, though. Rei's little glimpse into the future was ringing through her head.
Marriage. Babies. When, not if.
"Oh, should I go? I can, if you want." Said Serizawa
"No, no, stay. I sent them home." Said Reigen
"If you want to hang out with them, though, I understand. I mean it just feels kind of weird…hanging out with them outside of work, and here, too." Said Serizawa
"Which is why I sent them home. Call me crazy but I'd rather spend time with my boyfriend than a couple of kids. I mean I love the kids but I…" said Reigen. She could feel the hair on the back of her arms standing up. She risked a glance at him.
She had his full attention.
"I get enough of them during the week." Said Reigen. The expectant look on his face fell. She had no idea what it was that he had been expecting. She loved…the kids. She loved…she really cared a lot about him. Why wasn't that enough?
"Alright. I just thought that you might have been mad at me, that's all." Said Serizawa
"Why would I be mad at you?" asked Reigen
"You don't want to look at me. Before, I mean. You were looking away." Said Serizawa
"I was just…I don't know. I'm just being weird." Said Reigen as she walked out of the genkan. She put the sauce she had, accidentally, stolen down on her coffee table. It was suddenly very cold in there. Maybe she should have gotten dressed, too, or at least into her real robe. It must have been awkward for him, though, being the only person in the room with actual clothes on.
"You could never be weird." Said Serizawa. Reigen smiled.
"Not as weird as this sauce, anyway." Said Reigen
"What even is that? Ube?" asked Serizawa
"According to the kids it's purple and ranch." Said Reigen. Serizawa made a face. She wished she could have saved that moment forever. He was so adorable sometimes. He had no business being that adorable.
"Why would anyone want that?" asked Serizawa. Reigen shrugged and sat down on the couch. He sat down beside her. She leaned in, for a moment, but then quickly sat like normal. Marriage. Babies. The words were still living in her mind. She could feel him beside her, the warmth of him. She didn't dislike those things, and she didn't dislike him. She just…she just didn't know. It had been so soon and she hadn't exactly planned on any of that for herself. She was still young, despite what her mother thought, and she…she had time.
She was twenty-nine. There was plenty of time…but also no time at all.
"I have no idea what goes through those kid's heads sometimes." Said Reigen. She felt the couch shift and suddenly she found a blanket on her lap. A slightly scratchy throw blanket she had bought off of wish mostly because of the lab on the front. Not the best blanket but it had been sweet if him to think of her at all. He really was a sweet guy, the sweetest guy she had ever been with.
She wanted this to keep going.
"I think it might be an internet thing, now that I think about it." Said Serizawa
"It's definitely an internet thing. Apparently the kids, mostly Rei, are ordering food off of the internet now. Random sauces." Said Reigen
"Oh. I mean I'd trust ordering a pizza off of the internet or snacks but not anything like that." Said Serizawa
"Kids are ridiculous. Of course that's what our parents said about us so I guess that we're finally getting old." Said Reigen
"I'm a year older than you, if that makes you feel better, but I don't think that twenty nine is that old. Not really." Said Serizawa
"It's different for men. For women it's like you expire at twenty five and then you're just shoved to the back of the shelf with the other Christmas stuff that didn't sell." Said Reigen
"That's not fair. I mean I've heard people say that but I don't think that twenty five is old…and you aren't old either." Said Serizawa
"Exactly. We're in the prime of our lives. We have our whole lives for things like…nothing." Said Reigen
"Things like what?" asked Serizawa
"Things like…it's nothing, just some stuff that Rei said. I'm going to have to talk to her about abusing her powers. People aren't meant to know their own future. I mean hasn't she seen Back to the Future?" asked Reigen
"I don't think so, that movie is kind of old…but I do agree with you, it's not safe to know the future. When you know the future then you, I don't know, obsess over it. I mean it's got to be hard, trying to figure out how to make things happen. It's easier to just-" said Serizawa
"Let them happen." Said Reigen
"Yes, I mean that's just how I feel." Said Serizawa. But what did he want to happen? He must have wanted something…Rei had said that it was a 'when' thing, not an 'if' thing so did that mean that, secretly, he was just sitting there with baited breath waiting for her to propose? To…what? Toss a positive pregnancy text at him and tell him that they were going to be a family now? She didn't dislike it, the idea of having kids, but she had spent so much of her life trying not to get pregnant that the idea of doing it on purpose was just…a lot. Plus marriage had never been on his list of 'must haves' either…but she wouldn't have minded having those things with him.
If it was even him she had those things with.
There was always the chance that he didn't want to start a life with her. He had spent his entire life as either a child, a shut in, or working for a complete and utter nutjob. Maybe he didn't want to be tied down like that. Maybe he wanted to make up for all that lost living he had done. That was what Reigen would have done, anyway, if she had been in his position. But she wasn't in his position and he wasn't in hers. Thinking about this, speculating to herself would get them nowhere. She just…she had to ask.
It was the only way to know for sure.
"Hey…Katsuya?" asked Reigen softly. She risked a glance at him. He did more than glance at her. She had his full attention, again. He had such beautiful eyes…but she had to focus. This was important. This was the sort of things that people their age had to talk about, to think about, to plan about. They weren't kids anymore and…and like mom had always told her, she needed to have some actual plans for her future.
She had never been much of a planner, though.
"Yes?" asked Serizawa
"Can I ask you something?" asked Reigen, marshalling her courage. He didn't falter so neither did she.
"You can ask me anything." Said Serizawa
"Alright…just…what do you want? To happen, I mean." Said Reigen
"I don't know what you mean." Said Serizawa
"I mean between us. What do you want to happen between us?" asked Reigen
"Today? I brushed my teeth like you asked so I was hoping that we could kiss again and…you know…and then I was thinking that we could cuddle some more and maybe take a walk. But we can do whatever you want." Said Serizawa
"No, I mean like in the future. The far future." Said Reigen
"I…really don't follow." Said Serizawa
"Just…do you ever think about where this is going? Where we're going? You know like…like do you ever think about us…do you think about our future?" asked Reigen
"I try not to worry about the future. I just think about how happy I am now. I like being with you and I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Sometimes I wish that we were together more often, though. I like waking up next to you. I like falling asleep next to you, too. I just like being with you a lot and I wish that we could always be together." Said Serizawa
"Like you want to…to move in with me or something?" asked Reigen. His eyes widened. The lights above them flickered. The couch even rose a few centimeters off the ground. She clung to the side as it started to rock. The whole thing only lasted a few seconds, of course, but it felt like longer. The whole time he looked so, incredibly, happy…
Perfect. He looked perfect.
"I would love that!" said Serizawa. And that was that. They were moving in together. These lazy sorts of weekends would now be every single day of the week…and she was alright with that. She was even a little excited. A little, very, excited. This was…there was a lot to do, of course, lots of logistics. She was going to have to figure out how she was going to cram another person into this shoebox she lived in, and there was the matter of her lease, and his lease, and also the matter of what would come next…but she would worry about that later.
Right now she was just going to enjoy the specialness of this morning.