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It’s been about a year since Niko met Kate.
Her brother, Packie, gave him her number, saying she needed to get out of the house more. They get along well. It’s nice that he’s able to be open with her. Grief and childhood trauma isn’t the best thing to bond over, but, they make do. He’s only ‘dated’ one other girl since he’d arrived in America, that being Michelle, or, Karen, if that name is even real– He’s not really sure he can count that as a relationship. He’s not sure his relationship with Kate counts, either. They like each other. They’ve admitted it, but Kate says she’s not ready for a real relationship, and she says Niko isn’t, either. He’s not sure. Packie might cut off his head if he admitted he’s truly into Kate, anyways. Can’t stand her in the house, can’t stand her out of the house, Packie’s a strange man. Not his business. Maybe kind of his business. Well, he won’t pry. The way their lives have been, it only makes sense Packie would be protective of his little sister.
Right now, he’s waiting for her to finish her shift at the community center. He didn’t call her to let her know beforehand, but he thought it’d be nice to surprise her today. He never truly cared about Valentine’s day, however every holiday in America is spent with loud advertisements and vibrant colors to sell vaguely related items, and what is he if not another victim to capitalism? He’d picked up a small teddy bear and a box of chocolates, nothing flashy, just a light gift. As a friend. Normal gift for a friend. Better than getting wine-drunk all day like he would in his old country.
When she finally walks out, he honks the horn. She jumps, snaps around to see who’s behind the wheel, and her face softens as she recognizes him. He grabs what’s on the passenger seat to make room for her and rolls down the window.
“Hey you, what are you doing here?” Kate asks, leaning against the car.
“Are you busy? I wanted to spend some time together.” Niko says.
She smiles, “No, I don’t have much going on today. You know me.” She opens the door to sit in the car. “I like this car. Where do you wanna go, Niko?”
“Do you wanna go get something to eat?” He rolls back up the passenger window, puts his seatbelt on, trying to ignore the gift he left on the glovebox. He feels like a teenager, giving a gift to his crush, God, he’s too old to be feeling like this. He watches Kate nod, following his actions.
Niko bites the inside of his cheek and grabs the gifts, putting them in Kate’s lap.
“Here, Kate. I saw these on the way here.”
She picks up the teddy bear, giggles a little. “Thank you, Niko. If I knew you were gonna get this I would’ve gotten you something too, gosh,”
“You don’t need to worry about it, Kate, it’s nice enough to spend time with you.” He replies, starting to drive to the diner.
They don’t really talk on the way there, or at the diner. He briefly worries if he had gone too far with the gifts. It’s not really far, at all, actually, just… well, the implications. They’ve gone further than implications, at this point, he’s just worried he’s crossed boundaries. She’s just usually chatty over meals. Habits formed from her home, those nightly family meals, although she’s confessed they ended in fights between her brothers more often than not.
“Kate, is everything okay?” Niko asks. “You seem a little in your head today.”
“I’m alright, sorry.” She shakes her head, as if she’s trying to physically remove whatever was on her mind, “You’re right, I am, it’s just,” Puts down her fork, sighs, takes a sip from her drink, “I’ve never spent Valentine’s Day with anyone before, so…” She lets her sentence trail off.
“This doesn’t have to be anything you don’t want it to be, Kate. I like you, I do, but you said you do not want a relationship. If you want this to be between friends, then that’s all it is.”
Kate gives Niko a small smile.
They finish their meal over silence.
On the drive back to Kate’s home, she finally breaks it.
“Niko, what you were saying in the diner, about..you know, relationship..stuff.” She starts, “I’ve never dated anybody. It’s hard for me to get close with people. My family’s crazy, you know that, you’ve seen it. My brothers aren’t good people. It wouldn’t really go over well.”
“I can understand that. I haven’t either. I was in the war when I was younger, I had no time for a relationship.” Niko replies. “I figured I would be in a relationship by now, the way Roman made America seem in his emails to me, talking about a woman on each arm…” He scoffs, “He could become a writer with what stupid stories he told me.”
Kate laughs, really laughs, and Niko feels his heart skip a beat. She’s so beautiful. He’s really never felt this way before.
“I think what I’m trying to say is that..well, it’s not that I didn’t want it to be a relationship thing, us going out today. I mean. I think I want a relationship. With you, Niko. You really understand me. I think I feel ready for it to be more than…whatever it’s been.” Kate confesses.
Niko sits there for a second, unsure what to reply. It’s what he’s wanted all this time, but it feels unreal.
“It’s fine if you don’t feel ready–-”
“I do.” He cuts her off, “I really like you. I would like to be in a real relationship with you. You’re a nice girl, Katie. I like spending time with you, I’d be happy to be your boyfriend.”
Kate lets out a giggle. “Thank you, Niko.”
They’ve finally arrived at Kate’s house, and he parks outside. They sit there awkwardly, both waiting for the other to say goodbye first.
Niko’s the one, letting out a small, “Well, I’ll call you.”.
“Okay. Goodnight, Niko. Don’t tell Packie anything yet. He’s liable to kill you. Kidding. Maybe.”
Kate unbuckles her seatbelt and picks up the gifts he had given her earlier. He lightly grabs her arm before she can leave.
“Is it alright if I kiss you?” He asks after a moment.
She looks a bit taken aback, at first, before nodding gently.
He unbuckles his own seatbelt and leans over the glovebox, cupping her face with his hand before leaning in for a kiss. She tenses up, doesn’t properly tilt her head, making their noses bump together. She lets out a quiet laugh and a quick, sorry, and tilts her head to match Niko. It’s nothing more than a small chaste kiss, but it feels like forever. It feels perfect, like everything he needed– everything they needed. When they part, he tucks her hair behind her ear, with the taste of her lip gloss still on his lips.
Kate smiles at him, “Goodnight, Niko. I had a really good time today.”
“I did too. Goodnight, Kate.” He replies, smiling back at her.