So this is the result on a sentence starter prompt from Tumblr, and I started writing this while my power was out (when Hurricane Matthew was hovering over top of my state). I took a break from it for a few days but since my internet has been on & off, I finally got to working on it again yesterday and finally finished it today! In a way this almost feels like a far-off continuation of The Benefits of Dating a God, so you can interpret it as such if you want~
Fair warning that my hospital knowledge/jokes all come from watching the TV show Scrubs hahah. My mom is a medical assistant but she's only worked at private practices so hospital life is a whole different thing. Anywhere, here it goes!
GODS & HOSPITALS
So I might be in a hospital right now…
Hiyori's heart froze momentarily as she read the text before her logic kicked in and she remembered this was Yato; a god, someone who was relatively immortal and even if he was injured, he surely wouldn't be in a human hospital. Despite the fact she constantly had to deal with a wide assortment of problems due to having a boyfriend from the Far Shore, she still somehow managed to forget at times.
Very funny. Where are you?
She casually glanced around once she had sent the text, careful not to catch the attention of her co-workers. However, she saw no sign of his violet hair or bright cyan eyes.
It's a surprise.
He texted back almost immediately and she huffed as she read it over.
"Iki-san, is everything alright?" The voice of the attending doctor caught her attention and she quickly snapped her head upward to see the woman giving her a concerned look, "It seems like you've got something on your mind."
Hiyori quickly shook her head, flustered, "It's nothing, really. I'm just making a mental list of everything I need to do when I get home." She gave a nervous laugh.
Thankfully, the attending nor her fellow interns didn't think much about her lie. On a normal day to day basis, Hiyori was one of the hardest working people in the hospital so her good reputation gave her a little bit of leeway whenever she ran into situations like this. It was no easy feat getting that way either, people had recognized her family name right off the bat and expected her to be either lazy or spoiled due to the fact it seemed obvious she would have a job as soon as she had finished her internship.
She could have done her internship at her family's hospital too, if she liked. However, as much as she loved her parents, she didn't really want them watching over her as she started out her career; especially considering she was probably going to have to deal with their commentary for many years to come once she did start working there.
After checking on the last patient of the day, Hiyori gave quick farewell to her co-workers before heading down the hall, giving a small relieved sigh to herself for at least managing to not make that situation anymore awkward. However, she had still had yet to find Yato, so she was a bit on edge as she made her way to the locker room to change back into her street clothes.
As she got closer, a familiar scent filled her nose and she frowned deeply. She swung open the door slowly, peeking in and quickly catching sight of his wide grin. "The woman's locker room? Really?" She stepped in and closed the door before crossing her arms, grateful that it was empty at the current time.
"Hey, hey, hey; calm down. I only came in here after I saw you coming." He quickly defended, holding up his hands.
"Still, it's extremely inappropriate." She answered back roughly, passing by him and making her way towards her locker.
"I just wanted to surprise you, Hiyoriii…" He whined as he followed after her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder after she had come to a complete stop.
She reached up over him to take her hair tie out, some of her hair falling harshly into his face, "What if I didn't come in by myself?"
He made a small noise of surprise before tucking her hair behind her ear and out of his way, answering in annoyed tone, "I wouldn't look!" He took a brief pause before turning his head and speaking lowly into her ear, "Other than at you, of course."
She flushed but found herself grinding her teeth at the same time, "Yato."
He laughed in response but they both tensed as they heard the locker room door swing open and heard a greeting, "Oh, hey, Hiyori-chan!"
She turned quickly, practically throwing Yato off of herself even though she knew he couldn't be seen, "Katsumi-chan, hi."
"Can you not get your locker open or something? You were giving it a pretty frustrated look." She teased as she passed by her, moving towards her own locker which was a few more down.
As Yato tried to reattach himself to her, she elbowed his side and answered honestly, "No, my boyfriend is just being a pain today."
"Oh, I see how it is." Katsumi nodded along as she twisted out the combination for her lock before glancing over her, "Still, you should hurry up and get changed while you still can. Otherwise you might be here for another full day."
Hiyori laughed nervously, "Y-yeah, you're right." She leaned forward and started to open her locker, pulling out her clothes and setting them on the bench behind her.
Yato stayed quiet though he crossed his arms and watched her in amusement until she pointed his way, motioning for him to close his eyes. He gave a dramatic roll of his eyes before agreeing, his eyelids falling shut.
Still, Hiyori felt herself growing warmer and warmer as she slipped out of her scrub pants, carefully slipping on her skirt before looking back at Yato who, so far, was still obeying her order. However, as soon as she slipped her top over her head, she caught him peeking out of one eye and so she immediately lifted her foot to stomp down on his boot.
He let out a loud yell and she flinched, but Katsumi didn't seem to hear him. "What was that about?"
"Oh, I saw a spider…" She lied quickly, still glaring up at Yato as she tried to discreetly use her scrub top to block his view.
He lifted his leg and cradled it as best as he could without losing his balance, whimpering before lowering it back to floor, "Alright, alright. I'm sorry."
She sighed to herself and lowered her shirt as she watched him turn around. But as she put her arm through one sleeve and got her shirt halfway on, several more women started entering the locker room.
Yato glanced back at her, starting to flush as well, "Uh, ah. I guess I'll wait back at your apartment."
She nodded wordlessly, pulling her shirt the rest of the way down as he disappeared into a flash of light. Exhaling softly, she gathered her things together into her tote bag before slipping it over her shoulder and shutting her locker door.
As she turned to make her way for the exit, she heard Katsumi call out, "Hey, wait up." She tilted her head as she caught up to Hiyori, "Wanna walk together?"
"Sure." She gave a small smile.
As they started down the hallway, Katsumi started, "You know, you've mentioned your boyfriend a few times but I can't believe we've worked together for over four months and I've still yet to see him. Is he that busy with work that he doesn't have time to meet you here?"
Hiyori shook her head, "He's been here a few times. He's just… kind of shy." She wasn't sure how to put it. Yato definitely did have social anxiety, but it was more so the fact that it took a lot of extra effort to get people to notice him. "He sort of blends in with the crowd." She added hesitantly.
It was true, but once he was noticed, Yato definitely was the farthest thing from blending in with the crowd when it came to his track suit and scarf. Not to mention his eyes, or just his general appearance; he stuck out like a sore thumb. Ami and Yama had even gone out of their way to tell her how attractive he was after they were introduced to him, though they were mostly shocked he wasn't a Touno-sama look alike.
Much like it had been for her when Yato was in yomi to help Ebisu, Hiyori's friends and family only had very faint and fuzzy memories about Yato whenever he wasn't actively present. And honestly, they just plain forgot some moments, so Hiyori had become vigilant about taking plenty of photographs to help all of them remember.
At least for a while.
There was eventually going to be a point in which they might become suspicious of Yato and Yukine not aging; Yukine especially, since he was so young. It lingered in the back of her mind, but for the most part, she tried not to focus on it. For now, she was just happy that they were able to all spend time together and that Yato and Yukine were no longer somewhat of a secret part of her life.
"Well you'll just have to point him out to me the next time he's here, alright?" Katsumi smiled widely.
"Of course." Hiyori answered automatically, lightly gripping the railing as they started to make their way down the stairwell.
"You two have been together for a while, right?" She sighed longingly, "I hope I'll meet someone soon."
Hiyori gave a small smile, "Don't worry about it too much. Yato and I were friends for quite a while beforehand, so don't feel the need to rush anything I guess is what I'm trying to say."
"That's adorable! Childhood friends?" Katsumi blinked and looked over at her curiously.
"Sort of, but not really? I met him around halfway through my third year of middle school." She gave a small laugh, "And, um, it wasn't that great of a friendship at first. But things changed over time."
She nodded understandingly as they exited the building, "That's not surprising, boys could be extremely annoying at that age and into high school as well."
Hiyori forced a laugh, "Y-yeah." Yato had definitely matured since they first met, but that really had nothing to do with age. By that standard, he should have been extremely wise and put together which… wasn't really the case.
Yato wasn't the only one, though. All of the gods had their moments of immaturity in different ways and, aside from their usefulness in battle and clearing away ayakashi, it had become all too clear to Hiyori over the past few years how much gods really need their shinki. Especially when exploring the lower realm and trying to pretend like they were normal people. Worst of all was any combination of Yato, Bishamon and Takemikazuchi; all three of them were much too competitive for their own good.
"Y-you know," She started hesitantly, "You could always pray to Ookuninushi-sama, if you haven't tried that; about finding someone." After all, she'd seen the process of kamuhakari in person. In fact, Katsumi could technically already have her fate tied with someone she hadn't even met yet or even someone she already knew.
"Oh, so you're into that sort of stuff." Katsumi answered in an intrigued tone and nudged Hiyori's lightly, giving a small laugh, "Well, I suppose it's worth a shot! I usually only visit shrines during New Years, but for the person who will hopefully be my soulmate, I guess I can make a special trip."
Hiyori forced yet another laugh, "You could say that…" It wasn't as if her life was almost entirely wrapped up in those sort of things.
"Thanks for the advice and for walking with me. I'll see you tomorrow, Hiyori-chan!" She gave a small wave as she started to turn away towards the train station.
"You're welcome, see you tomorrow." She repeated back to her, returning the wave before she kept walking forward. Now on her own, she started to walk just a little bit faster to her apartment knowing that Yato was waiting on her. Though, for a second, she considered purposely taking her time in retribution for the stunt he had pulled at the hospital.
Her apartment was thankfully only about a ten minute walk from her work but after rushing herself, she was a tiny bit breathless as she approached her front door due to the several flights of stairs she had eto climb.
And just as expected, Yato was already waiting by the door as she opened it, "Hiyoriiiiiiii." He lingered on the raised floor, waiting for her to slip her shoes off and step up to him before entangling himself around her, "Welcome home."
"Thanks." She leaned in towards him, enjoying his warmth momentarily before she pulled back with a serious expression, "What were you thinking!?"
He blinked and lowered his shoulders, though his arms still remained loosely at her waist as he pouted, "I said I was sorry!" Though she continued to give him a disapproving look, he bent forward to press against her cheek for good measure, at which she finally softened.
She let out a small sigh, "So where's Yukine-kun today since you've got all this free time?"
"Working with Daikoku. There hasn't been much going on in the city ayakashi wise and I guess he's trying to save up for new clothes again." Yato rolled his eyes and scoffed, "As if the kid doesn't already have a thousand different outfits."
"Oh, c'mon. He donates the clothes he doesn't wear anymore and at least he uses his money on practical things." She leaned in towards him again, smiling amusedly.
Yato pulled back slightly to stare at her, "Unlike me?"
"I didn't say that." She answered automatically with a serious expression before her lips crept upward into a smile again.
He smiled as well, but shook his head, "You're clearly thinking it."
"You could be a bit better with your money, yeah." She admitted as she draped her arms over his shoulders, her hands resting at the nape of his neck.
He gave an overdramatic sigh, "See, I knew it."
"You've gotten better though." Hiyori reached up to run a hand through his hair, "With a lot of things."
He quirked an eyebrow before grinning, "That's good to know." He looked over her expression for her confirmation and as she kept smiling back, he raised his hand to cup the side of her face as he leaned in to meet her lips.
She kissed him back softly, still smiling as she did so. As his hand moved down from her face and across her neck, tickling her skin, she pulled away with a small laugh, "Just wait a minute. Let me at least go put down my bag."
He let go of her wordlessly, trailing behind her as she made her way into the living room.
As soon as she shrugged the tote bag off of her shoulder and onto the coffee table, she looked back at him but he didn't budge from his spot until she smiled again and said, "Okay."
He swooped in upon her, causing her to giggle again and him to smile widely as he collected her into his arms again. "See, this is the reaction I was hoping for at the hospital."
"Maybe if you hadn't picked literally the worst place." She returned her hands to the back of his neck, teasing, "Everyone knows the on call room is where you're supposed to hook up."
Yato's eyebrows raised and his eyes widened at her comment, "Oh?"
She let out a small groan and rolled her eyes, though her voice kept the amused tone, "It happens, I've had the misfortune of walking in on people, but work's too important to me. I'd be too nervous to ever do anything there, so you're wasting your time with that."
"But people don't notice me easily." He reminded her, pressing his cheek against hers as he breathed in the scent of her hair.
"That just makes it more awkward if you ask me." Hiyori laughed sheepishly, "I'd rather be here, by ourselves, with no chance of interruptions anyway."
"True," He answered before pulling back slightly, tilting his head downward to kiss her neck and speaking against her skin, "I didn't think about interruptions."
She gasped at the initial feeling of his kiss but was quick to mumble in response, "Of course not."
He turned his head, still lingering close to her but giving her an incredulous look, "You've really got it out for me today, huh?"
"I'm just teasing you." Hiyori gave another laugh and rubbed his shoulder, "If I was really mad, I would have told you to go home by now."
"Yeah, I guess so." Yato lifted his head to kiss her once again, gently biting her lower lip before asking, "So should I try to surprise you at work and get you halfway mad more often?"
"N-no, definitely not." She gave another quick kiss before clarifying, "I mean, you can surprise me at work still; that's nice. But not by sneaking into rooms just because other people won't notice."
He blinked his eyes open to look at her, commenting, "So you want me to act like a boring human boyfriend."
"Whenever we're around regular people, yeah." She gave a tiny nod, swallowing as she practically drowned in his blue eyes that were piercing right through her.
A mischievous look took over his face as he gripped her hip a little tighter, "But I don't have to tonight, right?"
"N-no." She answered breathlessly, her face growing warmer.
"Good." He pulled her tightly against him as his lips crashed down on hers once again.
She wasn't even sure what he could even really mean by that, but the way he said it was enough to make her heart race anyway. It was almost enough to make her dizzy sometimes, the realization that she was in love with a god and that he loved her in return. But despite the complications they'd already faced and the ones that had yet to come, it felt right.
Because it was Yato.
He may have been a god, but he was also one of the most caring people she knew, hardworking (usually), and honestly one of the biggest dorks she had ever come across. He could be obnoxious, but also endearing. Childish sometimes, but also extremely mature in more serious moments.
And the fact that she loved Yato for who he was down to every single last flaw was one of the things that made him love Hiyori even more. He cherished her more than he could ever put into words, so he tried his best to show it as often as he could.
Hiyori's hand had already crept up his shirt, trailing slowly across upward across his stomach, so Yato lowered his hand to let his fingers dance across the back of her thighs as he continued to kiss her deeply. However she didn't make it too far before his jacket and scarf constricted her movements. She made a small noise of annoyance before he pulled away from her face with a small laugh.
Before he completely pulled away, he teasingly squeezed her ass and she let out a gasp, though it was more in shock than arousal.
"Really?" She put her hands on her hips as he started to untie his fluffy fluff scarf from his neck.
"I mean, I was working up to it anyway." He gave her a grin as he dropped his scarf on the table by her bag before he reached up and tugged at the zipper of his jacket, "Didn't want to lose the opportunity."
She rolled her eyes.
Adding his jacket to the pile, he gripped the hem of his shirt and pulled it slightly upward, questioning, "This too?"
"I guess so." She answered shyly, not meeting his eyes.
"Just don't want you pouting at me another two minutes from now." He pulled it up the rest of the way and over his head.
She scoffed before hesitantly lifting her own shirt over her head and adding it to the pile Yato had started, commenting softly, "So it's fair."
He took the few steps back to her, placing his hands on each side of her bare waist as he pressed a single kiss to her shoulder and then her cheek, smiling softly, "You're so beautiful, Hiyori."
"So are you." She answered back without a beat, leaning in to kiss him again.