Catch This [Catherine/Doku]

Night would've fallen upon the streets by time Catherine swung around the Yatagarasu, well into the quieter hours. It had occurred to her during work that she hadn't visited him in quite a while, a proposal to open a small branch of the more artisanal end of the job having gone through and money already being handed off. If there was one thing she could appreciate about Japan as a whole, it was definitely their appreciation for the craft - this end of works would do well here. What she didn't appreciate, were the side eyes for her obviously western appearance and habits.

Whatever, whatever! Business was all done, she could drop in for a night! Wasn't like she was in a hurry, not anymore, no need to rush.. There was another three days left in her trip, she could burn one talking shit with a buddy, get some alcohol in her system, crash on his couch maybe...

Thus, did she pull the door open, her distinct appearance sure to pull eyes of familiarity in as she'd walk to the bar, a sly grin on her face, "Hey, Oki-Dokes. Missed me?"

Her tone was oddly chipper, the appearance of a smile would have seemed highly unusual months ago, but was slowly becoming a discomforting but frequent sight.

Surprisingly things have been uncharacteristically busy, likely due to colleges being on break. Japan was always so focused on work that they went all out regarding breaks. It was such a weird culture that was far different than what Doku was used to back in the West.

With the sun setting, the bar had mostly cleared out, though Doku was relieved, he had a good day for sales and now he could relax a little bit. As soon as he was alone, he poured himself a glass of whiskey, he would take a sip and sat down at one of the stools.

However, his attention would turn towards the familiar voice as he heard the bell chime. Oh! A pleasant surprise, though something felt off. “Dokes?” He took another sip of his whiskey before standing up and walking over towards the woman. “I did. Whatcha been up? You seem like you’re in a good mood for once…” He teased, folding his arms with a bit of a dumbfounded look.

“What? Hate it?” A friendly sneer was on her face. She honestly came up with that on the spot and didn’t think much of it. The nickname sounded funny anyhow. With a stretch of her weary arms, she’d languish in the chair; although with her legs crossed.

“I managed to crack the damn code on the language in those dusty ol’ notes,” An air of pride carried her voice, though a good look at her eyes would show a bit of red; she’d definitely been staying up long and using her eyes rather intensively, “I had to decode them like three- no, four times; first out of coded language, then the jump to modern Greek, then to English, then understanding what the hell it meant. I’m quite the genius, truly.”

With a small smirk, she’d swirl a finger in his direction, “Get me a bottle of what you’re having. I got a present for your sister - say it’s from you though, consider it free of charge.”

From her coat pocket she’d produce what looked like a small box, layered in dark leather and stamped with a company logo ‘AEGIS’. Inside was a beautifully crafted silver and gold braided necklace with a little star charm carved of some illustrious jewel.

“Had some extra material from a big order, and i’m not one to waste. So, I thought to make something pretty for a girl. Save it for her birthday or whatever’s coming up next… Hah.”

The bartender shook his head. “If you wanna call me that, go for it. I don’t care” After the initial surprise, a nickname was a nickname, it didn’t bother him much. Bringing the glass to his lip once again, as she started talking about cracking the code. He had only heard about it a few times but decided to be supportive. He actually could relate to translating between languages, as someone who spoke three different languages, it wasn’t an easy task. Of course, he never did as crazy translations as Catherine.

“Gute Arbeit, stolz auf dich” A rare bit of German leaving the man’s mouth, with a rather thick uncharacteristic accent. With a stretch, he placed the tiny glass back onto the counter, where he would stand up from his stool.

He grabbed a bottle of whiskey from behind the counter, grabbed another small glass, he poured one for Catherine, while topping off his drink. Sliding the glass across the bar smoothly it would land in front of Catherine. Moving back he’d sit next to the ginger.

“Cheers to your work! I guess?” He would then throw back the glass. The last thing he expected was a present, as popped the lid off of the box, he was honestly, shocked at the sudden gift. His sister would love this!

“Damn- Thanks Cath…” He threw a quick nickname before picking up the necklace, once he was done admiring it, he slipped it back into its box, setting it down on the counter.

“Holy shit- thanks…” Words couldn’t come to him, this was a step above the usual small gift. He looked over towards the stairs, “I got something for you! Gimmie a sec!” He rushed upstairs, as swiftly as he would put away the necklace, it took a few minutes for him to return downstairs, where he had a simple box.

“You know that woman’s hair shampoo I use?” He paused, embarrassed to admit it out loud. Though Catherine was fully aware of that fact, even suggesting he use it. “They gave me a loyalty point reward”

Handing the box off, inside were two golden hairpins in a wave shape. “My sister doesn’t wear stuff like this, so you were my second pick” He chuckled, it wasn’t nearly as nice as Catherine’s gift but it was something he didn’t want to go to waste either.

“If I dare ask. What’s got you in a good mood? The Catherine I know is… different” A playful snicker followed by a nudge on her shoulder. He shifted the bottle of whiskey over a hair so that either of them could reach and refill their drink. “How long are you in town for?”

“‘Ight, Dokers.”

The sudden slew of thick German caught her off guard for a moment, blinking twice before remembering - Right, Doku was a mixy. She was so used to seeing him here that she oft forgot he was anything else… Moreso he didn’t talk about it much. Not that she was gonna pry - there was a whole lot she never told him.

Rubbing her eyes, she was thankful to finally have some alcohol; she had to swear off it for a while between getting her captain’s license, her company organized, and the damned transcripts decoded. Having a wash of the devil’s drink felt like a cold drink of water after a long trek through sand and heat…

“Oh, yeah,” She did recommend him some brands a while back; it was impossible to take care of such long hair without a routine, so of course she’d tried it all. Wasn’t like she could have it short for long, damn mop grew back every time, the least she could do was keep it shiny and healthy. Her tired gaze looked over the box presented to her, peering at it’s contents.

She would be awful enough to reject this. Her face was unreadable, before uttering without thinking, “Real thoughtful of you, Doku..”

Hadn’t a thought to why she put it away in her bag. She didn’t want to think about it, didn’t matter. Another shot of burning fluid raked her throat as she downed another glass, already feeling the warmth on her system..

“Good mood? What good mood?” She’d murmur, looking off at nothing, “I’m just myself today, nothing different.”

How long she’d be in town… “I’ve got another day or two. Thought to swing by Tokyo or something before I head away. Getting a location approved here was nightmares.”

Guess he was Dokers now… this was fine. The bartender would take another sip himself, thinking about this whole situation. Catherine was REALLLLY acting differently, She was practically confirming it.

The whiskey was a newer type for the bar, it was more of a unique flavor, warm and slightly spicy. Cinnamon. The bartender would hold his glass at eye level and twirl it a bit, spinning the orangeish liquid around.

Thankfully she seemed to accept his tiny gift, it wasn’t anything special or overly expensive, but he didn’t want to let it go to waste. “You know you didn’t have to get me a necklace for my sister right? I appreciate though…” He leaned backward in his barstool yet again, letting out a relaxing sigh. “I’ll make sure to text you what she thinks of it”

Her glass was getting low, gripping the bottle and quickly tipping it over to refill her glass, seemingly without looking. His eyes were still focused on his drink. Though hearing his first name was surprising, as she murmured, his mouth formed a bit of a smirk as he turned to look at the redhead.

“Nothing’s different? Catherine, when was the last time you actually called me Doku? You haven’t called me Fisher once. Plus you sound happier..."
The last time he ever remembers being called that was when he assisted her on a mission and was about to be sliced by a hollow.

“I work with people all day, you think I wouldn’t notice something like that?” He shrugged before finishing off the remains of his glass. He stood up, switching off of Vodka to something a little different, he walked behind the bar and ran his hand across each bottle as he quickly looked for something else.

“Location? Whatcha building?”

Eventually, he found what he wanted, a bottle of moonshine, imported directly from the US. Returning to his barstool next to the Catherine he’d poured some of the new drink into his cup. Sitting the big bottle next to the vodka.

“If you’re here for a few days and in a chipper mode. How about I treat you? There’s this new Italian place a few blocks down I’ve been dying to try. You in?”