Teru stepped into the hospital room with bated breath. It was just her luck to be paired with a criminal for the program. She crept up to the bed, and then leaned down.

"Um, Akira?" She whispered. "I'm Teru and I-"

He jumped up from his blankets, messy hair covering his eyes, and kissed her. She stumbled back, her eyes wide. Then she glared.

"It's very rude to kiss someone without their permission, you know!" She said, trying to forget that this kiss had been her first kiss.

He stuck his tongue out at her and hid under the covers again.

A great start.

Teru pawed around in her bag, and produced a toy. His room was barren, not even a single get well card.

When her brother had died, his room had been filled with cards, flowers, teddy bears, even some balloons.

But Akira had nothing and no one.

Teru handed him the Yoyo, and he took it eagerly. He crawled to the edge of the hospital bed, dangled his legs over the side, and held his hand up. He played happily for the rest of her visit, and Teru got to catch up on her homework.

The next she came, he was sitting up, hands folded on his lap, waiting. She smiled and walked through the door, hands behind her back.

"Guess what I have for you?"

His eyes shined with curiosity, and she produced the bouquet.

"I noticed you didn't have any flowers in your room," she said, laying the bouquet on the windowsill and opening the blinds.

And this will force you to let in a little sun now and then, she thought. She took a flower from the bunch and walked over to his bed.

"Daisies are my favorite," she said softly, twirling the stem between her fingers. "But I thought you might like roses." She handed him the flower, and he held it like it was made of glass.

"You need to eat, Akira."

He turned his head away like a stubborn baby and crossed his arms. Chiharu Mori used to be the only person who could get him to eat, but now it seemed that wasn't true anymore. Suddenly, a head peeked through the door.

"Oh, am I Interrupting? I can come back late-" Akira shook his head quickly, and she smiled and stepped into the room.

"What are you eating?" Teru asked, setting her bag down on a chair. "It looks good."

Akira picked up a spoon.

"Macaroni and cheese," he said, stuffing it into his mouth. "It's gross." Chiharu wiped her forehead with a handkerchief and sighed.

"No!" He screamed, shaking his head in panic. The doctors were trying to inject him with his medicine, but Akira was not happy about it.

Teru, who was sitting next to him on the bed, grabbed his chin and turned his head to look at her.

"Akira, look at me," she ordered. He did. He stared and stared.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked, his eyes boring into hers. She nodded, and when the needle pierced his skin, he kissed her, then whispered, "Will you marry me?"

"I'll wait for you," Teru promised, his hands in her own. They were standing in the parking lot of the hospital, and his wrists were in handcuffs. "When you get out of prison, I'll marry you."

Akira put his face against her neck, and took a deep breath. Then he stepped into the police car and drove away. Teru sniffled and wiped at her eyes. Then she started home, thinking of all the things they'd do when he was free.

Since the other criminals mostly avoided him because of his spells of madness, Akira could have had a much worse time then he did.

The only thing that made him upset was that she couldn't come in everyday, with flowers, or a new toy she had seen in a shop window. Or just her, with her smiles and cute little voice that sounded so very sweet.

Akira looked at the calendar and chewed on his thumb as he drew an x on today's date. One agonizing year to go.

Teru stood outside the prison, checking her watch every few minutes. He better not have increased his sentence by fighting, or anything like that.

She was wearing her favorite daisy hair clip, and it pinned back her hair so she could see better.

Finally, she looked up, and there he was, blinking at the sun. She squealed and ran up to him, grabbing him in a hug.

"Oh, you're so skinny!" she cried. "I'm going to make you a proper meal tonight! I know that I'm not a good cook but-"

While she babbled, he held her tight, soaking her in as tears fell from his eyes. God, he'd missed her.

Author's Note: As far as I know, Bedside Beginnings is not a real program. I hope you liked the oneshot.