Touch

Aizawa/Shiraishi
Established relationship.
A story about skinship; with her touch coming most naturally.

There was always distance between them. They always kept to each other, allowing each other personal space. It was what they needed, what they were comfortable with.

Or so Aizawa thought.

After the awkward fumbling that was his confession, Aizawa had expected things to be different but he didn't expect... this.

Shiraishi's hair tickles his cheek as she leans over him, peering at the screen on his desk with a slight furrow of her brows. Her hand rested on his shoulder so naturally, weight leaning onto him and -

"Saito-san's test results are coming back fine but he's still complaining of abdominal pain..." She murmurs, breath tickling his ear. It takes all of Aizawa's self-control not to jump out of his seat. He manages to suppress it with a frown, a nod, and a short albeit somewhat strangled hum of agreement.

It wasn't that he didn't like their closeness - he liked it, very much so - but he wasn't expecting Shiraishi to be the one... asserting herself. Aizawa had expected to take the lead in this - as he always did - so this... threw him off. He thought he'd be the one to take her hand, to pull her into corners, to brush her hair behind her ear. He thought he'd have to ease her into physical contact, into the skinship part of being in a relationship. She just seemed like the type to be clueless about these things, right?

And while he wasn't the biggest person when it came to physical proximity either he thought... He really thought she was dense when it came to these things. He may seem unfeeling, but he was the one who made the first move. He didn't mind making the first moves in their relationship, and taking things at their own pace, even if it meant a turtle's pace.

He was ready to take this relationship slow.

He really was.

In fact he had expected her to be flustered by their first kiss, to avoid him after. He was ready for all sorts of scenarios except this-

He inhales as she continues to discuss their patient, but patient be damned when her arms was sneaking around the chair, and she was practically pressing herself down on him.

He wonders if she realises what she's doing. He knows everyone else is aware at least; Hiyama's been grinning for days and Fujikawa's been giving him unwarranted comments with every single breath he took. Saejima's eyebrows were perpetually raised, wondering the whens, the whys and the hows. Were they not embarrassed?

And let's not forget the interns either - Yokomine's ability to come up with soap opera-worthy scenarios was a talent he wishes her medical skills were equal to, after all.

And yet Shiraishi doesn't seem to notice, nor does she take the teasing the lifesaving department dishes out to heart. She simply tilts her head the way he loves, brows furrowing as she mumbles out the most adorable 'Eh?' then finally moving on to do her work when he nudges her to do so.

But she's been doing this for days you see, ever since the night he sent her home from the bar and they shared an alcohol flavored kiss in front of her door.

Ever since then her hand would brush against his as they walked side by side, as she passes patient files to him. She pats him on the back on good days, give his shoulder a light squeeze on tougher ones. She would scoot slightly closer over to him when they sat side-by-side on the railings at the heliport, would offer her open can of coffee to him. They would share kisses this way - indirect, but it occurred... often.

He wasn't a highschooler anymore, these things shouldn't unsettle him, he thinks. He should be able to take this in stride and reciprocate with his own affection.

And yet as she settled into the relationship, he was -

There's something soft on his back-

- Unsettled.

Now this was a first. She may have been touchy, but she hadn't clung to him the way she did now. Was it because they were (finally) alone? Imagine the riot Hiyama, Fujikawa and Yokomine would throw if they saw the pair now.

"Shiraishi." His voice comes out stern and steady, interrupting her analysis. She stops promptly, head tilting down slightly to glance at his face, and she's confused by the conflicted expression on his face.

"What is it? Did I miss something?"

He ponders how to bring it up, when her hands are practically wrapped around his neck by now and their faces so close together it would simply take a small turn of his head to capture her lips.

The office was silent for a second as the two came to a standstill; Aizawa, pondering his next move; Shiraishi, still a step behind, wondering why he interrupted her. She continues looking down as the silence stretches, growing a little more awkward by each tick of the clock's hand.

She starts to feel self-conscious as she thinks, thinks and overthinks; She comes to realise just how close they were being. How her increasingly rapid breaths were brushing by his ear, his hair. She's finally aware of her hands wrapped so comfortably around his shoulders and her upper body pretty much glued to his back, not allowing any gaps between them.

When did this happen?

"I'm sor-"

She chokes on her words as she feels her face flush, sees her skin reddening. He finds it endearing, the way her body temperature rises as she blushes with her whole body. He can feel it right now, along with her arms slipping loose from the hold they had on him.

His hands immediately move to stop her, holding her in place as he turns his head and decisively presses a chaste kiss on her retreating lips. The surprise causes her to freeze and Aizawa manages to hold the kiss, lips smirking against hers.

"I didn't know you loved physical contact this much," he murmurs factually as he pulls away, turning the chair to face her better. His hands never lets go of hers though, enjoying the way they grew warmer as he interlaced their fingers. His gaze travels from her hands, up her arms, to the soft lips he just kissed, her nose and finally settles on her eyes.

Her eyes, betraying the turmoil she felt inside - the embarrassment, the nervousness, the happiness. And yet she didn't break eye contact, meeting his stare head on.

"I- I-, It... It wasn't on purpose," she replies lamely, with none of the eloquence she honed for her profession. She straightens her back, putting distance between them but still keeping their hands connected.

"I just- I guess I feel too comfortable with you." She continues sheepishly, squeezing his hand. "Have I been doing this a lot?" She can see the satisfied quirk of his lips as his answer, can feel his hand squeezing hers back.

Shiraishi finally breaks eye contact to look at her feet, wincing at what she's done. Will the ground please open up and swallow her whole right now? At least she hasn't been too obvious when other people were around right...? Right? She hopes so. Oh god. Oh no.

"I'll be more careful..." She berates herself mentally - how could she be so unprofessional? "I'm sorry - I must have made you uncomfortable."

He cuts in sharply, "No." No, she didn't make him feel uncomfortable. He liked the fact that she let her guard down around him completely; and only around him. He wonders if she feels at home around him, the way he did around her. He doesn't voice the rest of his thoughts out though, instead absentmindedly rubbing his thumbs in reassuring circles on her hand.

"Aizawa-sensei?" Shiraishi finally looks at him again, breaking the silence between them again.

"Hm." He doesn't seem inclined to talk, instead fascinated by her hands.

"We should get back to work." She tries to pull away, realising he didn't have anything else he wanted to say. She wants nothing more than to take her mind off the night's embarrassing situation and figure out how to act tomorrow, completely oblivious to the tension between them right now.

Aizawa on the other hand, has other plans. His grip on her hands tighten, and he peers up at her from his seat. "We're not on night duty today."

Shiraishi doesn't know why his gaze is making her nervous, but she can feel her palms grow sweaty and her heart rate rising. The flush is creeping up her neck again, and she's sure he sees it.

There's a twinkle in his eyes as he suggests, rather forcefully,

"Let's go home."

A/N: Then they go home and play monopoly the whole night.

I'm kidding, I don't know what they did :3c
I hope you liked it!
I had the idea for an obliviously assertive Shiraishi in my mind for some time, but it took me longer to write than I thought!
Please tell me if you spot any mistakes, I didn't take as much time proofreading this as I usually do and I was all out of ideas on how to end it.

Thank you for reading!