Katy hummed a jaunty tune to herself as she fastened the buttons on her chef's coat. She watched herself in the tall mirror, smiling happily at her own reflection.
She grabbed her brown apron off the wall hook next to the mirror, and began tying it on. She could feel her feet bouncing up and down as she did so.
Looking at her reflection again, her smile kept getting bigger and bigger until she found herself letting out a squee.
"Oh! What an exciting day this will be!" she said to no one in particular.
Katy closed her eyes and thought back pleasantly to what she and Larry had discussed two days ago regarding the Tagtree Thicket.
"I still haven't been there ever since that day," Katy had explained to him. "I kept wanting to go there again for so long, just to forage around and see if I could find new berries and ingredients for my recipes. But... I don't know. The faces of those Grafaiai… still haunt me. I don't think I could bare to go there alone again. Especially after I had heard that Team Star set up a base inside."
Indeed, the idea of Team Star members lurking inside that forest almost frightened Katy more than the chance of running into feral Grafaiai again. But things had turned around a few months ago when Uva Academy officially announced what Larry had known for a while, that the Team Star-affiliated students were now being put in charge of "Star Training Centers" being made in partnership with both the academy and the League.
"They're very serious about this whole 'STC' venture," Larry had assured her. "You can certainly take my word for it, because I was the one who had to do most of the paperwork."
This conversation led to Katy musing the idea of going into the Thicket to see for herself, and Larry, being the gentleman he so often was with her, immediately volunteered to go with her. Without even a moment's hesitation, she said yes, all her fears about the forest having withered in an instant.
She spent the day after excitedly planning for this trip, arranging to take the afternoon off from Patisserie Soapberry, digging out her outdoor and hiking clothes from her closet, and pre-preparing some yummy food for both her and Larry.
Today, she was still feeling that same level of excitement. But, amidst all that anxiousness, she also found herself thinking over something.
Namely, how eager she was to explore the forest as soon as Larry suggested going with her… and how it reflected on her friendship with him.
Why was going on a hike with Larry the most exciting thing in the world to her?
Katy sighed to herself and said to her reflection, "I know why."
She closed her eyes again, this time holding her hands close to her heart. She put herself in deep thought, and opened them again with a resolved expression on her face.
It's time I did what I said I was going to do and talk to someone I trust with this.
She walked over to the nightstand where her Rotom Phone was and tapped the screen. The Rotom living inside the phone responded with an eager cry and rose up, until the olive green spiderweb-patterned phone floated in front of its owner's face.
"Call Tulip," Katy commanded.
There was a ring for a few seconds and then…
"Katy, sweetheart. It's rare I get to be graced with your voice this early in the morning."
"Hi, Tulip," Katy greeted her friend's icon warmly. "Sorry, I know it's early. It's just… I need help with something."
"Is this a physical emergency or an emotional one?"
Katy twisted her lip. "Definitely more so the latter."
"That I have time for," Tulip chuckled. "What ails you, butterfly?"
"I'm having, well…" Katy twirled her fingers as she searched for the words. "I'm having a bit of an internal crisis, and I need an unbiased opinion to tell me I'm not crazy."
"Hee-hee, you've called the right number, girlfriend. Of course I'm unbiased, because I am always right about everything."
Katy giggled. "I knew I could count on you."
"Go ahead and say it to me right now, my dear. And no sugarcoating."
"Just… lay it out there with my chest?"
"Yes! Yes! The sooner we reach the point, the sooner I dispense my professional opinion. So out with it!"
"Umm… okay, well…"
Katy clenched her eyes, and then leaned in closer to whisper something into the phone.
As soon as she did, she heard something plastic smack onto a surface.
There was a pause.
And then a longer pause.
"Please be clear with me," Tulip finally said after a few moments, breathing heavily. "When you say Larry, you're talking about our Larry, yes?"
Katy rolled her eyes, having anticipated this kind of reaction.
"Yes, Tulip. That Larry."
Another pause. Katy could hear a noise of something fidgeting.
"…Katy. My dear friend. I love you dearly, but I cannot be unbiased here… You are crazy. Certifiably so."
"Tulip!" Katy scoffed.
"Ay caramba, girl! I've kept telling you that you overwork yourself, and clearly the signs speak for themselves! That dry washboard of a man!? You want my advice? Take the afternoon off, and come to my studio post haste. I have herbal medicines that help deal with stress-induced delusions."
"Tulip, listen to me!" Katy insisted. "This—this isn't just a simple thing! It's been building off something that's been going on for a while! There's a whole story to be told! Can you just… can you just hear me out for a bit?"
One more pause, and then a heavy sigh.
"Fine. Give me another… ten minutes to finish putting on my makeup, and then I promise I'll listen. But I don't promise to accept it."
"That's… all I could ask for from you."
It was early into the night by the time the apartment door opened, and Larry came in, hoisting a still half-asleep Katy from his shoulder to make her walk inside.
Larry's face was sweating from heaving this woman all the way from the park bench in outer Medali to the building he lived in, all the way up to the fifth floor and into his apartment.
"Gosh..." Larry gasped. "This is something I would never dare tell you when you're fully awake, but... you're a little heavy to carry."
Katy sleepily giggled, her eyelids drooping about. "Do I win first prize at the state fair?"
"Ha-ha, very funny." With great effort, Larry reached out his arm wide enough to flip on the light switch. "Well... here I am. Home sweet home."
"Am I in timeout?" she mumbled.
"Hey. My room's not that much of a cell."
He understood her half-conscious impression though. Having all the walls of your apartment be a dull gray color certainly didn't do much to make someone feel lively. It wasn't by Larry's design, but he was also never motivated enough to paint it or anything… or check if his lease even allowed that.
It was a small-scale apartment, with a main room divided into a kitchen and quaint living area, a bedroom, and a bathroom.
And the living room slash kitchen was about as basic as you could get. Larry had a fridge, a microwave, a pantry, and an oven to serve his often scroungy food needs. The living room was... a couch. A table. A dividing wall.
And a display case, filled with various medals and certificates. There were also a few photo frames in there, including one of his elderly parents smiling from their home in Eterna City, one taken with Valencia outside the Treasure Eatery, and a commemorative company photo from the Pokémon League.
It was a very curious photo, having been taken at least two years ago. Larry was only serving as a Gym Leader then, not "promoted" to an Elite Four member yet. He was there with all seven of the other Gym Leaders serving.
The one notable face in there was Tyme, the previous Rock-type Gym Leader of Montenevera, before she decided to quit her post to teach full-time at Uva Academy and passed the role to Ryme, her sister.
Also in this picture were Geeta, a few of the board members, and the Elite Four, which consisted of Rika, Hassel, and two former members, a woman named Charr and a man named Diego, before they stepped down and were replaced by Poppy (who was probably still living with her parents at this time) and Larry himself.
Larry was the only one in the picture not smiling.
A gentle stirring aroused him from his gazing, and he realized Katy was still in his arms, wrestling between the dream realm and the world of the waking.
Larry set down his half-eaten sandwich from the park, Katy's bag, and her giant Teddiursa plush on the coffee table. Then he hoisted Katy up completely into his arms. He groaned immediately, feeling his legs wobbling under the pressure.
"Alright..." he wheezed. "Let's get you tucked in."
Katy just snorted in response.
He led her to his soft blue couch as he prepared to set her down.
But, even bearing the weight… he found himself pausing, unable to put her there.
Larry hrmphed loudly, cursing himself, as he readjusted her in his arms and started walking towards his bedroom instead.
"Ohhhhh, where are we going now, chief?" Katy slurred.
Larry swung open the door to his bedroom with his foot and led Katy to his own bed, where he used his shoe to sweep off his blanket. After that, he gently lowered Katy down onto the bed.
He tipped her to her side so that he could gently remove her vest and her shoes and then finally tuck her in, with Katy only making miscellaneous groggy sounds in protest.
Larry took a big sigh. He gazed at her for a few moments, watching as she seemed to already be drifting back to sleep.
"You are... so serene," he said quietly to her. "And so beautiful. I wish... I wish we could... Mm, never mind it." He took off his jacket and smiled at her some more. "Sweet dreams, Katy. I'll see you in the morning."
He started walking out of the room, jacket slung over his shoulder, when he heard Katy begin to stir loudly.
Larry turned around to see her having flipped onto her other side, now facing him. Her eyes opened ever so slightly.
"Hey, big boy..." she muttered very drearily. "Why dontcha come lay next to me and I'll be your cuddlebug?"
Larry's face went red. And he used the jacket to cover his mouth in order to stifle the noises he wanted to make in response to that. His hands shaking, he closed the door.
Katy was still humming to herself when she was hard at work in Patisserie Soapberry later that morning. She took out some breakfast pastries from the oven, all with an eager grin on her face and some antsy movements.
Her assistant chef Krista walked into the kitchen with a tray cart. She quickly noticed her boss's merry movements, and remembered that she had scheduled an afternoon off for herself today.
"On another fun adventure with Mr. Larry?"
Katy's eyebrows shot up, and she turned to her assistant. "How did you know that?"
"Oh uh…" Krista suddenly looked like a Deerling in headlights. "Sorry, I just… kind of assumed. Damian and I were talking about it recently, how often we've seen you two visiting each other."
"You should be sticking your noses over the pies Krista, not your boss," Katy snarked.
"Will do, Chef." Luckily, Krista had worked with her head chef long enough now to know when Katy was being serious.
Katy handed her the full sheet of pastries, and Krista started to wheel the cart back out to the eating area.
"Hey, Krista…?"
Krista turned around. "Yeah?"
"What do… you think of Larry?"
Krista looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Just… I don't know, general opinion of him," said Katy.
"Well, I… I guess I thought he was a bit of an oddball at first," she chuckled. Katy nodded sympathetically. "But, I don't know. I've gotten to see him and serve him so many times now, that… I kind of get it now. He's just a sweet friendly guy who stresses a lot and keeps to himself a bit."
Katy nodded again. "I see… Thank you Krista."
She turned around to go back to preparing more dough. Krista started to walk out as well. But then, she stopped in the hallway, thinking about something. Then she turned back to her boss.
"Umm… do you want me to tell you something kinda sensitive?"
After a pause, Katy replied, "Go for it."
"You know he's got a mad crush on you, right?"
A loud clang happened as the tools in Katy's hands dropped onto the table. She put her hands on the counter and slumped over, not wanting her assistant chef to see how red her face was.
"Yo—What makes you think that?"
"Well, it—it's just how much his attitude changes whenever you're in the same room as him. His whole face lights up, he stops slouching and straightens up… Have you ever noticed that he always adjusts hie tie when you enter a room, like it's a tic?"
Katy thought back to this. It was something she noticed before, is that Larry seemed to always be straightening his tie every time she…
…every time I look at him.
Katy rested her chin on her hands, contemplating what she had just been told.
"Are you okay, Chef? I hope I didn't… overstep my boundaries too much…"
"No. No, you're fine, Krista. Thank you."
Krista nodded and walked out with the cart.
Katy had been ruminating on her friendship with Larry for some time, trying to figure out if the warm fuzzy feelings she had around him were just because of how good friends they'd become or… if it was something more than that.
She'd realized that was potentially another reason she was so excited for today's hike, was because it'd be an good chance for the two of them to be alone, and for her to really explore these feelings and figure out if they're indeed real.
By the end of today, she might have a definite answer.
Just thinking about it made Katy's heart feel like it was rising. In that moment, she couldn't focus on anything else, including the rest of her shift. She needed to get out there.
She needed to see him.
"…Krista!" she found herself shouting.
Krista darted back in. "Yes, Chef!?"
"How much would you mind if I took the rest of the morning off and left the shop to you?"
"I—Y-yeah! I could manage that!" Krista anxiously answered.
"Great. It's just… I think I really have to go now." Katy got up and, much to Krista's surprise, gave her a big hug and two pecks on the cheek. "What would I do without you, Krista?"
As she dashed out of the kitchen, Krista yelled back, "I ask myself that every day, Chef!"
Krista shook her head at her boss's sudden mood shift. But she maintained her professionalism and started immediately tending to the notes on what needed to come out of the kitchen next.
Just as she started taking things out to make dough, the phone in the kitchen began to ring. She ran over and picked it up.
"Hello, Patisserie Soapberry."
"Katy?" said the voice on the other line.
"Uh—no sir, this is Krista."
"…Oh. Hi, Krista. It's Larry."
"Oh! Hello, Larry. That's funny, we were just talking about y—"
"Listen, is Katy in right now?" Larry cut her off.
"No. In fact… Not even joking, you literally just missed her."
"She really says some loopy things when she's asleep…"
Larry stretched out his arms, body aching a bit from having lobbed and carried Katy all the way from the park to his building.
Why did that sound almost… flirtatious, though?
A bit of sweat trickled down his face.
Could it be possible for Katy to feel the same way towards me as I do her? She's done so much for me and been such a great friend… I don't know how much I've repaid that in turn. I've been about as helpful as the average person. And I know I'm not that handsome, either.
I'm sure the most likely scenario is that she really does just see me as a friend…
Looking around his dull space for something to occupy his mind, his eyes came back upon the League group picture from earlier. He walked over to his display case to look at it in further detail.
Although the only new faces were Tyme and the two former Elite Four members, he really took in that even among the familiar faces in that photo, there were some differences. Grusha, for instance, stood out a bit there with his uncovered, gleaming face and more athletic build. This photo was taken, to Larry's memory, just a month or so before his snowboarding accident.
There was also a somewhat shyer-looking Iono, with her pink-and-blue hair worn down straight and a lighter blue jacket in place of the oversized yellow one she's famous for wearing now. A much different look from how she started presenting herself once her streaming career really started taking off.
I think I kind of miss this girl… She was a lot quieter. And a lot less obnoxious.
Larry still took stock of his own frowning face. But then… he noticed something interesting.
Katy was there too, of course. It's just that he'd never had a reason to look at her so particularly before. Ironically, she was stood on the far-right side of the group, opposite from him.
And unlike him, she was smiling bigger than anyone else. She had a full-tooth grin to the camera and was flashing V-signs with both hands. Gazing at her even further, he noticed something peculiar.
Is that… a Premier Ball in her hand? How… funny. I don't remember for certain, but I don't think I saw any of the Pokémon she used in our battle come out of a Ball like that.
Seeing Katy look so happy made Larry smile, and he started to feel more positive himself.
But then. His eyes hovered downward at another photo underneath it. Whereas the League group picture made him feel a sort of fondness… this photo did the opposite, and made his face droop.
It was a photo of him. A few years younger.
…And with a woman. She looked to be around the same age as him, and had beautiful long platinum-blonde hair with rimless glasses. She had on a businesswoman's green coat and black dress, which coupled with Larry's light gray ensemble gave the two of them the look of a very professional couple.
He found himself… placing a hand on the photo.
Larry thought back to these times. On one hand, it's like it was a million years ago. But on the other… it's like it was just yesterday, and he can still see her face.
The last time he saw it. The sadness. And regret.
His eyes were clenched shut and his breathing went heavier. He heard a noise.
Katy murmured slightly, tossing from inside his room.
Larry took a deep breath. He gazed remorsefully one last time at this photo… and then with a finger, he tipped it downward.
Katy's cab sailed high over the skies of Paldea, heading towards Medali. Inside the taxi, Katy was on a video call with her friend Tulip.
"…Alright. Now. I have had time to ruminate on everything you've told me," Tulip said, rubbing her temples.
True to her word, she was in full makeup for this video call. Her signature mascara and eyeliner, her pearl teardrop earrings, and her violet hair done up in the signature curl she liked.
"I've already told you my own feelings towards Larry. His aura speaks of one who has many desires in his life but has given up chasing them to live something modicum and vaguely satisfying, but with no effort to better himself for it."
"Sure, but you once said the exact same of me," Katy retorted.
"Exactly! Which is why I'm now thinking maybe there is some compatibility here."
Katy rolled her eyes. "You really know just how to spit it sometimes."
"There's no more beautiful way to live, darling. Now! You've already surmised to me what you think you're feeling. And so, we arrive at the missing piece of the puzzle."
Katy nodded. "How do I know what he's feeling?"
"What goes on in that gray-toned mind of his? This is a very sharp mystery, because I've often said of Mr. Larry that to call his face a blank canvas would be an insult to canvas-makers."
"Okay, you can start laying off of him now," Katy replied, starting to find herself offended on Larry's behalf. "You can say all you want about Larry when I know you two have barely ever spoken to each other at our parties."
Tulip let out a giggle. "Of course not. I knew he would insult my yogurt. Regardless, I'm going to tell you three important things now. These are the steps you need to do in order to solve your 1.81-meter dilemma."
"Okay…?" How does she know his exact height?
"Step 1. You're meeting him today for how long…? An afternoon?" Katy nodded. "Find a way to stay with him even longer than that."
"Really."
"Yes! Test how patient he is with changing plans for you, and how much he enjoys holding on to your company! This is the first test he must pass! Making new plans on the fly just to be with you! Step 2! … FLIRT."
"Flirt!?" Katy recoiled.
"Flirt! Not constantly, just throw in something spicy every once in a while! Compliment him for his clothes, or his… manliness...? Ehh, I know you Katy, I bet you know some really good zingers. The real test is this: if his face stays colorless, he has no interest. If his face goes flush, then… you should be very interested in that."
"Okay…"
"Now, Step 3. And this might be the hardest one, but it's completely vital. You need to figure out how well he is with children."
"C-children?" Katy balked. "Why would I want to know how—Waaaiit a minute. I think we might be thinking a little too far ahead here, Tulip—"
"No, no, no! It has nothing to do with that!" Tulip assured, waving her hands. "It's all about seeing him without his mask. He's nice to you. He's probably nice with most adults. But children are another matter entirely. They're the purest souls. Watching how he reacts to their small and vulnerable auras is the closest you'll get to seeing his true face. Especially tiny children!"
"Well… okay," Katy shrugged. "I mean, I'll keep that last one in mind, but I have no idea when we're ever going to be in a place where he's around young children. Especially not today."
Larry was snoring soundly on the couch the next morning, until he was suddenly brought back to Earth by a pillow being tossed right at his face.
"You jerk!"
"Mmrm! Wh—What?" he stammered drearily.
"You heard me!"
"Ugh, what time is it?"
Larry aggressively scrubbed his eyes with his hands and strained to open them. When he did, he saw her.
Katy was lording over him, arms on her hips. Looking very crossly at him. She still had on her shirt and skirt from yesterday, and re-tied her ascot, but was wearing her hair down.
"You are such a jerk! You know that?"
"Why do I smell smoke?" Larry asked, ignoring her and sniffing the air.
"You—" Katy wanted to retort, but with an uncomfortable grimace, she glanced back to the kitchen and sighed. "Well, I wanted to see if I could whip up something for breakfast. But… apparently, I've become too spoiled to all my high-grade cooking equipment. I tried to make waffles with your waffle iron, but I just ended up burning them."
Larry craned his neck over to look at the silver waffle iron sitting on the kitchen counter.
"Oh. Well if it makes you feel any better, that waffle iron's junk. I haven't used it in years."
He started to chuckle a bit, until he looked back and saw Katy still standing over him, her arms crossed and her foot tapping indignantly.
"Alright, I'll bite," he said, tiredly rubbing his eyes. "How am I a jerk?"
Katy just leered at him.
"Oh… let me guess. I should've taken you back to Cortondo, right?"
She sighed. "No! No, look, I'm very touched that you must've found me asleep and brought me back to your own place. That part was very nice of you. But… really!?" she exclaimed, gesturing at him.
"What?"
"It's your apartment! Your bed! I should be the one sleeping on the couch, not you!"
"What kind of a gentleman lets a lady sleep on the couch?"
He threw off his blanket, revealing that he had fallen asleep in the same clothes he went to bed with, minus his tie and shoes.
Katy huffed. "The kind of gentleman that's too nice for his own good."
Larry got up from the couch and started stretching.
"What do you want me to be, then? Hmm? A little less considerate every now and then?"
Katy had her back to him, facing the wall, soaking in his words.
"…No. I don't want you to be anything different, Larry. Because you're perfect already."
Larry froze. "Huh?"
Katy turned around. Her eyes were starting to gleam.
"You're perfect. You're so nice to me. And warm. And friendly. And I've been treasuring it so dearly. Today, right here… I realize it more than ever. You're probably… the greatest friend I've ever had."
Larry was shocked when Katy ran over and gave him a big hug.
"Oh, Larry… There's… There's something I really, really want to tell you… Something burning deep inside me… But, I don't want to ruin things between us…"
Larry, struggling to maintain his composure, allowed his arms to wrap around her.
"What is it, Katy?" he asked, stroking her back. "What do you want to tell me?"
Katy let go of him. She looked straight at Larry, her eyes getting even glossier.
"Oh, Larry… I can't—I can't deny it anymore!"
Larry gulped. "D-deny what?"
Katy scrunched her eyes shut, trying to keep the tears from coming. She held her head up defiantly, until finally… like a moment of zen, she threw it back down, and opened her eyes, allowing the tears to stream down.
"Larry…"
"There's… one more test."
"What's that?" Katy asked the phone.
"To know for sure… that this is truly how you feel about him," Tulip explained. "I want you to say it one more time. Exactly how you said it to me earlier."
"Ummm. O-okay. I—"
"But!" Tulip held a finger up to the screen. "I don't want you to say it to me. I want you to say it to yourself." Katy gulped. "Say it… from your own heart. Convince yourself, not me, that this… really is the truth."
"Okay…"
Katy buckled her legs close together, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She held a hand over her heart. And let out a big sigh.
"I… I think I love Larry."
Larry stood up fully now, hunched over the kitchen divider, as Katy sat on the couch in his stead.
"…Wow," was all he could say.
He had a hand over his chin, processing everything he had just been told.
Katy, for her part, was now twiddling her thumbs, her face dry and red. On the one hand, she felt like a massive weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. But on the other… there was still a great anxiety to be held. Waiting for Larry to compose himself.
"I'm just… sorry you had to bottle this up the whole day," he finally said, his voice a bit shaky. "I guess I should've… really done something with that kid and gave us more time alone."
"No! No! It was… great for Poppy to be there," Katy assured. "In some ways, she—she was the last thing that validated it for me. How I feel about you."
Larry leaned against the wall, facing the floor. His expression was blank. Katy liked to say that she'd gotten the hang of being able to read her friend's face, no matter how still. But now, it was like square one again.
She didn't know what he could be thinking about right now.
"Obviously, I'm not expecting you to respond right now. You don't even have to, ever. Our friendship… it means so much to me. If that's all we end up being, then that's totally fair."
Finally, Larry hunched over slightly, letting out a sudden loud chuckle.
"…What?" Katy asked.
"It's just… so amazing. Who could believe the odds of this?"
"The odds of what?"
He turned back to face his guest.
"Do you know… what I was doing yesterday morning?" Katy shook her head. "I was getting all dressed up for our hike. Same as you were. Of course, this was all before Rika called to ask me to look after Poppy. I started thinking about the trip, and… about us."
Katy felt herself readjust.
"I started thinking, about how much I cared about you, and how I felt every time I get to see you. How… time just stops for me. Every time we're together. And then…" he chuckled again. Katy was now leaning in antsy. "And then… I remember I threw my face down to the sink."
There was a pause. Then he faced Katy fully.
"Because… because I was in disbelief. … I was in such disbelief that I had completely fallen for you, Katy."
Katy's eyes were wide. Larry stared her way, and she stared back. Even though Larry's living room was small, there was what felt like a distance between them.
Then… Larry chuckled. He chuckled some more. And more. And then… Katy got to see something that very few people in the world could ever say they've borne witness to.
Larry broke out in laughter.
He laughed harder than she'd ever heard him laugh before. He laughed, and laughed. And laughed.
Katy was stunned by the sight at first. Then, she couldn't help herself from chuckling. And she began to chuckle louder.
Before long, both of them were caught in a loud fit of laughter, there in the middle of Larry's apartment.
Larry got two stacks of two waffles sorted on two plates, butter and syrup on each. They were a little past golden brown, but at least they weren't charred crisps. He carefully picked up both plates in his arms and carried them out to the couch where Katy was sitting, while she helpfully cleared her stuff off the coffee table.
"Well, I can't say our standards are quite up to the Kofu Lounge, or Patisserie Soapberry, but we at Casa de Larry hope you enjoy your breakfast all the same."
"Ooooh," said Katy examining the meals. "It still looks scrumptious. My compliments to the chef!"
Larry grinned as he set the plates down, and they both sat on the couch together to eat.
Once they were all full, they continued sitting there for a while, staring blankly into the distance. Eventually, Larry mustered up some courage and sighed as he turned himself sideways to face her.
"So… where are we then?"
"Hmm?"
"Where are we, in terms of...?"
"You mean... us?"
Larry nodded. "Yeah. I don't know about you, but since last night I'm actually more confident than ever now."
"What did last night change for you?" Katy smiled slyly and said, "Seeing me sleeping on your bed and wishing you were next to me?"
"Well… not quite that." He rested his hands between his legs and stared ahead. "But, being anywhere with you makes me… very happy. More so than I'd ever realized. I thought before that it was just the pleasant joy of having such a close friend but… last night? Even though my couch isn't really that comfortable, I slept… very, very well. And like I told you before, I usually don't sleep that great."
Larry chuckled to himself. "And the thing about that is… I feel like the same was true of when I slept at your house. I just felt instantly comforted, like I could rest easily. And, I think I feel like now that… that both times, it was because you were there." Katy's cheeks went rosy. "Both of those times, I… I think I found myself wishing that… you were there every night."
Katy giggled a little, taking it all in. She smiled warmly at Larry, feeling her own heart being set aflutter. However, the more she thought about things, the more a seed of doubt began to take over.
"I'd… I'd really love to, Larry. It's just…"
"Just what?"
"I remember you told me a while ago that your last relationship fell apart because you couldn't make time for each other." Larry nodded solemnly. "I—I might've had a peek over at your work desk. I saw that you've fallen a bit behind on your tasks…"
"Don't worry about that," Larry said sternly, shaking his head.
"I just, I don't want us to become something we can't manage. What happened before must have really hurt you. I wouldn't… I wouldn't want you to have to go through that again, with me."
Larry briefly looked in the direction of his display case. Of the photo that he tipped down last night. But, shaking it off, he looked Katy's way and smiled in turn.
"Katy… I want you to trust me when I tell you that I'm fine, okay?"
Larry gently touched Katy's face with his hand to make her face him. This made her blush extra hard.
"Listen. That all happened, five… years ago, I think? So I've had five years not just to get over that, but to learn from it and recognize the mistakes I made. So I promise I'll work harder to figure all this out. If I don't have time for everything then… I'll make time. And I'll try my hardest to make sure nothing comes between us."
Katy's face was still. Very red, but still.
"That is of course… as long as you'll have me."
Katy frowned for a bit, still in thought. Then…
She took Larry's hand with her arm.
"Why not? Let's be adventurous."
Larry smiled, and gave her a big kiss on the forehead.
"How was that?"
Katy giggled. "That was great… boyfriend." Then she giggled more.
Larry couldn't help but chuckle too.
