SS Contest #13 - No Diamonds or Red Roses
Jun 28, 2016 11:44:13 GMT
neonquincy1217, yesterday, and 1 more like this
Post by stelraetnae on Jun 28, 2016 11:44:13 GMT
Pairing: Sato x Takagi
Word count: 1037
Takagi slumped face-first onto his desk with a long groan. Half-filled reports sat a scant inch from where his forehead pressed tiredly against the worn wooden surface, but he had no energy to pay them any mind for a good while yet. The office was only partially lit, lending a further gloomy air to the otherwise empty room. The diminishing sunlight outside the window indicated how late it was already, only confirmed by the baleful eye he cast at the wall clock. It had been an utterly exhausting day, and it had to happen on this day to boot. He uttered another groan as he let his head fall back onto the table with a heavy thump.
It was their three year anniversary since he and Sato-san had officially become a couple, and he had wanted it to be special. His preparations had started weeks before, with both of them arranging for their off day to fall on this particularly date, already making plans to go out and have a proper celebration. He'd gamely sat through giggling counsel from Sato-san's friends about dinner arrangements, whether roses were still the most romantic choice or totally outdated, and even what to wear (shopping malls from now on would likely trigger nightmares, but it had to be admitted that Yumi-san had good taste in fashion). It had been a grueling experience all in all, but at the end of it Takagi felt quite confident about Sato-san would enjoy what he had planned for the day, so that was something at least.
Unfortunately, things rarely went the way Takagi wanted them to. Ever.
Just three days before the anniversary date, a particularly nasty flu reared its ill-timed head and infected about half of the station. Thankfully both of them escaped from it but that already gave Takagi a sinking premonition that their long-awaited off day may have to be postponed as a result of a severe staff shortage. He didn't give up hope however, and it began to seem as if the near-incapacitated station would still manage to hold itself up for one day without them (Inspector Megure had been kindly understanding and promised to only call them in if absolutely necessary).
Until the Inspector himself came to the station one day with an entirely too flushed complexion and blurry eyes that had them sending him home immediately, collectively turning a deaf ear on any semi-intelligible arguments that he managed to rasp out. And inevitably, the next morning the two of them had been called in, with a murder case being reported at 8am in the morning. Takagi got the call only five minutes before Sato-san had pulled up in front of his house in their usual police car, resulting in him running down with tie askew and a piece of hastily buttered toast hanging out from his mouth.
He'd at least managed to collect his wits enough to utter a rather disjointed 'happy anniversary, Sato-san' as he reached (after removing the bread of course), which happily earned him a quick but still very sweet kiss from said female detective before they sped off to the crime scene.
That had been the start of a day that would unfold into a complete, absolute mess.
The murder was a poisoning incident that had occurred in a diner across town, and all staff and customers had been detained for questioning. Forensics came in as backup a short while later, and they had finally traced both motives and evidence back to a single suspect when the accused tried to take a break for it. Fortunately for the police and unfortunately for both the suspect and himself, Takagi unwittingly walked right into the path of flight. It earned him a now rapidly bruising eye, a sore nose and a moment of disorientation as the world tipped upside-down, but it had let them recapture the suspect without further complication so it wasn't all bad.
(Sato-san pretty much molesting him in public to check whether he was really alright had been rather embarrassing, but deep down did help to mollify him about the whole incident as well.)
One case came after another, leading to him sitting alone in the office at seven in the evening catching up on the multiple reports he hadn't had time to fill during the day, conscious that they had already missed their dinner appointment. And not just that... Out of his pocket he drew a small velvet-lined case, placing it on the desk in front of his eyes. He had planned a lot more than a simple dinner for this day. Sighing, he groggily stood to get another cup of coffee to boost him through this (hopefully) last stretch of work.
When he returned, it was to the sight of Sato-san standing over his desk, holding in her hand not the reports but the unopened velvet box.
Three years of dating and an even longer partnership had long taught him how to read her little expressions. Right now what he saw was a myriad of emotions that danced across her face too fast to trace, but something in her eyes as she turned to look at him gave Takagi the courage to step forward, take the box from her hands and sink down on one knee, right there in the office.
“Sato-san,” his voice cracked, and he swallowed past the nervousness that clogged his throat. All those impassioned speeches that he had rehearsed for this moment had completely fled his mind, but only thing that mattered was the brightness in her eyes. “Will you marry me?”
This was no romantic candlelit dinner with soft music playing in the background, but it was poetic in its own way. After all, what better place could there be for a couple who had staked their lives to this same noble cause? The station was where they had first met, where they had spent countless days in each other's company, slowly falling more and more in love. This place was theirs, just like the memories they had made together were theirs.
Warm hands closed over his, clasping their hands together. Like how their lives had become not just 'his' and 'hers', but 'theirs'.
“Yes.”
Word count: 1037
Takagi slumped face-first onto his desk with a long groan. Half-filled reports sat a scant inch from where his forehead pressed tiredly against the worn wooden surface, but he had no energy to pay them any mind for a good while yet. The office was only partially lit, lending a further gloomy air to the otherwise empty room. The diminishing sunlight outside the window indicated how late it was already, only confirmed by the baleful eye he cast at the wall clock. It had been an utterly exhausting day, and it had to happen on this day to boot. He uttered another groan as he let his head fall back onto the table with a heavy thump.
It was their three year anniversary since he and Sato-san had officially become a couple, and he had wanted it to be special. His preparations had started weeks before, with both of them arranging for their off day to fall on this particularly date, already making plans to go out and have a proper celebration. He'd gamely sat through giggling counsel from Sato-san's friends about dinner arrangements, whether roses were still the most romantic choice or totally outdated, and even what to wear (shopping malls from now on would likely trigger nightmares, but it had to be admitted that Yumi-san had good taste in fashion). It had been a grueling experience all in all, but at the end of it Takagi felt quite confident about Sato-san would enjoy what he had planned for the day, so that was something at least.
Unfortunately, things rarely went the way Takagi wanted them to. Ever.
Just three days before the anniversary date, a particularly nasty flu reared its ill-timed head and infected about half of the station. Thankfully both of them escaped from it but that already gave Takagi a sinking premonition that their long-awaited off day may have to be postponed as a result of a severe staff shortage. He didn't give up hope however, and it began to seem as if the near-incapacitated station would still manage to hold itself up for one day without them (Inspector Megure had been kindly understanding and promised to only call them in if absolutely necessary).
Until the Inspector himself came to the station one day with an entirely too flushed complexion and blurry eyes that had them sending him home immediately, collectively turning a deaf ear on any semi-intelligible arguments that he managed to rasp out. And inevitably, the next morning the two of them had been called in, with a murder case being reported at 8am in the morning. Takagi got the call only five minutes before Sato-san had pulled up in front of his house in their usual police car, resulting in him running down with tie askew and a piece of hastily buttered toast hanging out from his mouth.
He'd at least managed to collect his wits enough to utter a rather disjointed 'happy anniversary, Sato-san' as he reached (after removing the bread of course), which happily earned him a quick but still very sweet kiss from said female detective before they sped off to the crime scene.
That had been the start of a day that would unfold into a complete, absolute mess.
The murder was a poisoning incident that had occurred in a diner across town, and all staff and customers had been detained for questioning. Forensics came in as backup a short while later, and they had finally traced both motives and evidence back to a single suspect when the accused tried to take a break for it. Fortunately for the police and unfortunately for both the suspect and himself, Takagi unwittingly walked right into the path of flight. It earned him a now rapidly bruising eye, a sore nose and a moment of disorientation as the world tipped upside-down, but it had let them recapture the suspect without further complication so it wasn't all bad.
(Sato-san pretty much molesting him in public to check whether he was really alright had been rather embarrassing, but deep down did help to mollify him about the whole incident as well.)
One case came after another, leading to him sitting alone in the office at seven in the evening catching up on the multiple reports he hadn't had time to fill during the day, conscious that they had already missed their dinner appointment. And not just that... Out of his pocket he drew a small velvet-lined case, placing it on the desk in front of his eyes. He had planned a lot more than a simple dinner for this day. Sighing, he groggily stood to get another cup of coffee to boost him through this (hopefully) last stretch of work.
When he returned, it was to the sight of Sato-san standing over his desk, holding in her hand not the reports but the unopened velvet box.
Three years of dating and an even longer partnership had long taught him how to read her little expressions. Right now what he saw was a myriad of emotions that danced across her face too fast to trace, but something in her eyes as she turned to look at him gave Takagi the courage to step forward, take the box from her hands and sink down on one knee, right there in the office.
“Sato-san,” his voice cracked, and he swallowed past the nervousness that clogged his throat. All those impassioned speeches that he had rehearsed for this moment had completely fled his mind, but only thing that mattered was the brightness in her eyes. “Will you marry me?”
This was no romantic candlelit dinner with soft music playing in the background, but it was poetic in its own way. After all, what better place could there be for a couple who had staked their lives to this same noble cause? The station was where they had first met, where they had spent countless days in each other's company, slowly falling more and more in love. This place was theirs, just like the memories they had made together were theirs.
Warm hands closed over his, clasping their hands together. Like how their lives had become not just 'his' and 'hers', but 'theirs'.
“Yes.”