A/N: This is my first time posting anytihng on FF, so I hope everything works out okay. I never did a summary either, so I'm sorry if it's a bit low on information - but really, there's not much to say about this story.

Each chapter will be a collection of events from one day. The chapters will be arranged chronologically, but the days they're about don't have to be one after another - heck, they don't even have to be in the same week, or month. I also won't explicitly write that in any place, but instead will give little clues through dialogue or inner monologue. The main reason for this is because... Well, exact time is unnecessary.

I should probably point this out immediately: This will be a drama-free fanfiction.

All events will be (I hope) as plausible as they get, and volleyball - while still an important part of each guy's life - will be put in second place for most of them (note: not all, but MOST). IRL just because someone's good in a sport doesn't mean they go professional, and a very small percentage of people actually manage to make a living off of it. I want to replicate that realism to the best of my ability, meaning that this will be a fanfiction regarding an ordinary couple living an ordinary life with ordinary friends.

One last thing: because this will have such a loosely-connected format, feel free to leave suggestions of what you'd like to see or what you'd like to know, or perhaps what you think a certain character is doing in the future I described here. I'll try my best to add them in to the story.

I think that sums it up for now. If you haven't been discourage by that long note - I hope you enjoy!

The sound of loud, urgent chirping suddenly filled the formerly still and peaceful room.

With a small groan, Morisuke reached out and blindly felt around for his phone, finally locating it and bringing it up to his face. He groggily turned off the pesky, chirping alarm, and sighed when the blissful quiet returned again.

He put his phone away and turned to his side, letting his mind slowly come to it's senses and understand that sleeping time is over.

He hated Monday mornings.

As he finished his action of rolling to his side, his eyes fell on the silhouette nestled next to him.

Her short hair curled at the ends, limply falling to one side, revealing the side of her slender neck. It smoothly transitioned into a small shoulder, now almost completely tucked under the covers. The said covers hugged her petite form, only the curve from her waist to her hip slightly visible under the thick material.

If there was one thing Morisuke loved about Monday mornings, it was the possibility to have this short moment of marveling at the beautiful woman that lay next to him. She was never woken by alarm clocks; her slumber was too heavy. Even though she had already tried everything, every volume of every tune, she finally opted on the option that Morisuke personally liked best.

He reached out his arms under the covers, pushing them forwards until they came into contact with the warm waist. He then curled them around the soft, feminine body, gently pulling her closer into an affectionate hug.

The woman stirred in her sleep and sighed quietly, turning over in his arms, tucking her head under his chin.

In her current position, Morisuke couldn't see her face, only the top of her messy, chestnut hair. But he didn't need to; it's details were carved into his memory so that he could easily tell them all by heart - Long, dark eyelashes, matched with equally dark, but thin eyebrows, perfectly framing the warm, chocolate-brow eyes.

High cheekbones and a wide nose, underneath which lay small, pale lips.

As far as Morisuke was concerned, there was no face more beautiful, more angelic, than that of his sleeping wife's.

He pressed his lips against the top of her head in a kiss, making her stir again, in feeble protest.

"Shizu…" He murmured against her skin.

"Five more minutes…" She mumbled, pressing her face into his chest.

"And then five more, and five more, and five more…" He teased gently, his hand rubbing her back affectionately.

"No. Just… Just five." She mumbled again.

"You always say that. You know you need to get up." He said, unaffected.

Or rather, doing his best to stay unaffected. It took a lot of willpower to unfurl his arms from around her, slowly sitting up. It took even more willpower to not immediately return to his previous position when her arms instinctively reached out for him, trying to pull him back.

"Morisuke…" She whined softly, and he smiled softly at her.

"I'll make coffee." He stated, stretching, and finally stepped out of bed.

Abandoned of his warmth, the woman made one more attempt of catching him, before giving up with a sigh and stirring with more purpose in her movements.

Knowing that she was on the road to fully awakening now, Morisuke left her to get ready, while he walked out of their bedroom and into the kitchen.

A few minutes later, as he was pouring the hot, dark beverage into two mugs, the woman walked in slowly, arms high over her head as she stretched in her walk.

Upon noticing him, her lips stretched into a sleepy smile, large eyes peering at him warmly through the stray strands of hair that made it to her face.

"Good morning." She said, stifling a small yawn, and sitting down by the kitchen table.

"Right back at you." He replied, passing her one of the mugs - no milk or sugar, as she liked it in the mornings.

"You are a sweetheart." She said, gratefully pulling the mug towards her, and taking a sip immediately, sighing as the liquid hit her taste buds.

Morisuke couldn't help but smile at her with slight amusement, sitting down as well.

"You got up earlier today." She noticed, putting the mug down and glancing at him curiously. "You have an earlier shift this time around?"

Morisuke shook his head. "The shift stays the same, I just want to be there earlier." He explained. "A new patient was admitted last night. A six year old fell from a tree and badly broke her arm.

"Poor girl… Do you know how she's faring?"

"A coworker told me she's gone through the operation just fine, it's her mental state I'm more worried about. Bother her parents were away at the time, and are on their way back now - she must be going through a whole lot of stress and trauma in the meantime."

Shizu smiled at him sympathetically. "You do realize your coworkers are there for a reason, like you." She reminded him. "I'm sure everyone's doing their best to help her out."

Morisuke sighed, taking a large gulp of his own coffee. "I know. It's not like I'm getting paid extra, either, so I…"

A hand reached out and rested firmly against his own.

"It's not about the money, Mori." Shizu interrupted him. "You know that's not what I mean."

Morisuke glanced up to see her giving him an amused smile.

"You tend to forget you aren't the only one who cares sometimes." She explained. "Have a little faith in others. Nobody is expecting you to hold the weight of the world on your own two shoulders."

Perhaps Shizu had a point. But it was a point Morisuke didn't really want to acknowledge, at least not yet.

Morisuke didn't reply, just finished his coffee and got up to get ready. She watched him thoughtfully, her finger running around the rim of the jug.

He returned to the kitchen after around ten minutes, dressed up and and with his satchel prepared for work. Immediately after returning to the room, he steered towards the counters, with the purpose of preparing both of them breakfast.

Shizu was still sitting at the table, quietly sipping her coffee when he returned, and watched him silently as he started taking out the ingredients.

"Do you have a shift on Sunday next week?" She asked at one point curiously.

Morisuke paused in his vegetable cutting thoughtfully, running his timetable through his head, before shaking his head. "No." He replied finally, returning to his action,

"The next weekend is off, unless there's an emergency. Why?"

"I was thinking of inviting Tetsurou and Kozume over for dinner." She remarked. "Since Tetsurou's in his last year, he probably won't have time any other day, and Kozume will probably be fine with anything."

Morisuke glanced at her, intrigued. "Fine with me, it'll be great to see them again." He said, gathering up the vegetables and throwing them into an earlier prepared pan to sizzle. "Why them, though?"

"Worry, I guess." Shizu sighed, resting her head on her hand. "I don't trust them to look after themselves correctly. I'd like to get at least one solid meal in them."

Morisuke laughed at her reasoning, scooping the vegetables off the pan and cracking three eggs into it instead. "That makes sense for Kenma, I guess, but Kuroo?"

He asked lightly. "I'm sure he's taking care of himself."

"I'm actually less concerned about Kozume than I am about Tetsurou." She replied darkly. "Don't underestimate what a student during exam season is capable of."

"...I won't argue with you there. You'll call them, then?"

"Yes, I think I'll get that done today, after I return."

He nodded, throwing the fried vegetables onto the ready omelet base, and throwing in shred cheese, folding it all together.

"You'll be finishing the painting today, right?" He asked after a moment, shifting the omelet onto it's other side.

"Yes, I've just got minor details left." Shizu said, sighing. "It's too bad, really. I liked working on it."

"It took you almost two weeks. You're usually done quicker with them."

"Well, it's from the 11th century." She said, straightening. "Terribly kept, though. The paint was all cracked, and the canvas in such a bad shape I had to scrape it off and replace it completely. That in itself took a lot of time. I usually just reline. Oh, and the varnish mixed with all the grime that had settled… Not to mention the rough brush stroke used proved incredibly hard to replicate. I think I got the hang of it, though."

Morisuke pretended he understood all of it, nodding wisely, and only asked about what seemed easiest for him to grasp.

"What do you mean by the brush stroke?" Morisuke asked, puzzled, gently pushing the ready omelet onto a plate and neatly cutting it in half, sliding one of it onto a second plate.

He took both these and chopsticks to the table, laying one each. Shizu smiled her appreciation as she took her portion and the chopsticks, before slightly frowning with frustration.

"The technique used. Impressionists, for example, use short, defined lines of different colors of paint to form the image they want. Or from Japanese culture, back in the 14th century, the dominating style used black ink to depict monochrome landscapes, usually highly detailed as well." Shizu explained. "The painting I'm working on is from the Ottonian Renaissance, but the art style is completely different from it's time period. It's still religiously themed, as it was popular back then, but instead of rich, vibrant colors and neat, bold lines, it is a lot more rugged, and rough - it actually reminds me of abstract expressionism."

Morisuke stared at her blankly, most of the terms she used going completely over his head.

"…Now again, in non-artist language." Morisuke suggested, and Shizu laughed. After a moment of thoughtful silence, she smiled triumphantly.

"Image trying to receive a volleyball from a wing spiker that's a cross between Hinata and Koutarou." Shizu remarked. "Unpredictability and speed mixed with a large array of techniques and brute force. No pattern, because each spike is made purely on instinct, and you have to match them each step of the way to receive their spike."

"…Sounds like libero hell." Morisuke said wearily, and Shizu grinned.

"That's a bit what it feels like to replicate that art style." She explained. "It's very hard to match, since you're supposed to put thought into remaking something that looks like it was made on instinct."

Morisuke nodded thoughtfully, and they continued to eat in comfortable silence, with only a few comments passing between them. After he was done, Morisuke packed the bentos Shizu had prepared the evening before and smiled at her.

"I'll get going then." He remarked. She looked up at him curiously.

"What time will you be back?" She asked.

"Around six, if I'm not needed for longer." Morisuke remarked, and leaned down to kiss her cheek. In the last moment, she turned her head so instead of her cheek, he caught her lips.

She raised a hand to his cheek, lightly, almost teasingly stroking it as she deepened the kiss, playfully catching his lower lip between her teeth.

The amount of emotion that suddenly blasted through Morisuke could not be described.

Before he had a chance to reply, she had already broken it off, the suddenness of it completely opposite the sensuality she had used in the kiss itself. Dumbstruck,

Morisuke stared at her as she looked back at him with amused sparks in her eyes.

"…Try to make it back at that time, then." She said huskily, her fingertips grazing the contours of his lower jaw. "Don't keep me waiting." She added in a low voice, thick with suggestion.

At that moment, Morisuke was conscious of two things.

The first was how much he suddenly did NOT want to leave the house.

The second was how tight his trousers suddenly seemed.

Scowling, Morisuke forced himself to straighten again, glaring at her - something she completely didn't seem to mind.

"You…. Are being extremely unfair right now." He said, a small croak creeping into his voice.

Her smile widened into a grin, completely unabashed. With a disapproving huff, he turned on his heels and forced himself out of the house, Shizu's laugh following him out.

"Drive safely!" He only heard her call before he slammed the door behind him.

He stood on the doorstep for a moment, taking in a deep breath to calm down. The sharp, morning spring air did wonders in cooling down his overheating body.

"What got you in such a sour mood so early in the day, son?" A loud, rough voice caught his attention.

Morisuke turned to see the mildly curious face of their elderly neighbor, as he rested his elbow against their fence.

Morisuke also noticed, with slight exasperation, that he was wearing gardening gloves and holding shears. Naturally, instead of answering his question, he focused on what was truly important.

"Tanaka-san, you shouldn't be out so early." He scolded him, walking down to his car. "And don't overwork yourself, your arthritis won't get better from it."

The man huffed, his face contorting into a scowl. "You leave me and my joints alone, I can take care of myself just fine." He said, and Morisuke narrowed his eyes, walking up to his car.

"Not letting your knuckles rest at any point during the day isn't taking care of yourself." He pointed out sternly, unlocking the car door. "If you end up being unable to use your hands due to their swelling any time soon, you can't say I didn't warn you."

The man growled and snapped off one of the many rebellious twigs in his ferns.

"Kids these days." He muttered. "Think they know everything, and have the right to stick their noses everywhere."

"That won't work on me, Tanaka-san." Morisuke said bluntly. "I don't want to see you by the bushes when I get home this evening."

"Do I look like I need a nanny?!" He asked gruffly, watching Morisuke enter his car and drive off.

Shizu walked up to the window when Morisuke left the house, and watched him converse briefly with their neighbor and then drive off in his car. The moment it disappeared from view, she turned back, hands on hips.

Now that the main distraction was gone, she could focus on her own morning routine.

She started off by eating her own breakfast in silence, after which she washed all the dishes and cleaned the table. She walked to the bedroom and made the bed and took a change of clothes to the bathroom, showered, and changed. She then went through all the laundry, separating whites from colors, before choosing the bigger pile and throwing it into the washing machine, turning it on.

As the machine started humming quietly, she walked back to the bedroom and prepared her own things for work.

It was still too early for her to go, but finding nothing better to do, Shizu decided to just go anyway. Taking her bike from the garage, she leaned it carefully against the fence and walked back to the house to lock all the doors.

"A little early today, aren't we?" A rough voice reached her. She turned towards the source, smiling warmly at the elderly face.

"Tanaka-san." She greeted the man. "I figured I had nothing better to do."

"Your husband left earlier than usual, too." He continued grumpily, leaning against the fence. She wondered if his grumpiness had anything to do with the conversation they had earlier - but decided not to comment it.

"Yes, he was worried about one of the patients." She said pleasantly. "He decided to get there early."

"Caring man, he is. To the point of being a pain." Tanaka said gruffly, watching her return to her bike. "Some women like that, though. You should be careful he isn't whisked away."

Shizu laughed, looking at the other cheerfully. "I'm more worried about your joints, Tanaka-san, than I am about Morisuke's faithfulness."

"My joints are doing fine!" Tanaka said with a scowl. "You're getting just as bad as he is with your nagging!"

Ah. So it DID have to do with their conversation. Shizu should have guessed Morisuke would've commented on it again.

"It's part of his job." Shizu reminded him lightly. "And rightly so, since you have a tendency to over-exert yourself."

Tanaka muttered something about nannies as Shizu sat down on the bike seat.

"You know what you need? A little rascal." Tanaka said, still miffed about the comment. "Then you'll be too busy with your own problems to care about other people's lives."

"Maybe one day." Shizu said with a grin, waving to Tanaka, riding off.

Forty minutes later, she arrived at the museum, and after chaining her bike to the bike stand, walked inside. The receptionist glanced up and blinked, surprised.

"Yaku-san!" She said. "You're here early!"

Shizu shrugged. "I didn't have much to do at home. And that Ottonian painting is really bugging me."

The woman shook her head with a sigh. "I sometimes think you have two husbands, Yaku-san. And I believe you should divorce work."

"Not gonna happen." Shizu said with a smile. "Did the director come in yet?"

"No. He'll be in later than usual. Oh, but he did call." The receptionist added, suddenly reminded. She sorted through her papers and pulled out a note, eyes scanning it, before looking back up at Shizu.

"He asked if you'd get done with the painting today…"

"It might be possible, I only have the tidbits left," Shizu said thoughtfully,

"…That you're to start on the Greek vase that came in yesterday." The receptionist ended. "It's waiting in the storage room. The staff has been informed already, so just show up and they'll tell you everything you need to know."

"Hmm… I haven't done a lot of work with ceramic decorations." Shizu said, scratching her chin. "I might not have all the necessary tools and chemicals-"

"Oh, the director mentioned that too." The receptionist added quickly. "If you're missing anything, you're allowed to go buy it, or get someone to do it for you, using museum funds."

Shizu smiled with relief. "That's great, then. I'll get to work. See you." She added, waving to the receptionist fondly and heading to the employee doors.

Once in the backrooms of the museum, she weaved her way through the clutter and mess until she reached the restoration room. Donning on her protective wear,

Shizu entered the room to find the large painting as she left it, lying face-down on the table. She sighed quietly as she carefully turned it over, exposing the cracked surface, the paint missing in more than one spot.

Already, the painting of the crucified Jesus Christ was more discernible than when she first got it - the grime had been removed, exposing the true colors of the paint itself, and with the canvas changed and pulled firm, the painting was once again straight, the wrinkles and creases gone.

Shizu had already gotten the gaps and cracks filled with putty; parts she managed to paint over as well, keeping as closely to the original style as possible. It was time to finish off all the rest.

She prepared her paints and narrowed her eyes at the painting. It was time to get to work.

Nobody disturbed her. She didn't see anyone, or hear anyone, either - when lunch break came, she opted to eat it alone. It's not that Shizu disliked human contact; she didn't. She liked company, especially among people she trusted. But she liked alone-time, too - and her work gave her all the opportunity for this that she needed. Just her and the painting; nothing more was needed for her happiness.

"Yaku-san, you're needed in room 3-0-5, like, right now." The face of his co-worker popped out from behind the door.

Morisuke glanced at her, brow furrowed. "Chika's room? What's happening now?" He asked, slightly exasperated.

"She says she doesn't like today's food." The other replied, wrinkling her nose. "Little brat. Wanted to throw the damn tray into my face."

Morisuke rubbed his eyes tiredly. This was the third time he was called to the twelve-year-old's room. Third. Time.

"I'll be there in a minute." He said with a sigh. "Let me at least finish my coffee."

"Well, hurry. She's one tantrum away from destroying serious medical equipment." The other warned, disappearing again.

With a scowl, Morisuke gulped down the remainder of his coffee. Five minutes. That was the amount of time he had used up of his well-needed break before he was called on duty again.

With a frustrated sigh, he threw away the paper cup and stormed up to the girl's room.

"NO!" A scream greeted him immediately. "I. Don't. WANNA!"

"Look dear, I know that this all seems icky, but if you-"

"No, no, no, NO!"

Morisuke looked at the scene before him with growing irritation.

One of his female co-workers was kneeling by the bed, a begging look on her face as she held a plate in her hands. A small girl, no older than twelve, stood up in her bed, hands on hips, feet apart as she looked away indignantly. The IV connected to her wrist swung flimsily at her movements, almost begging to be caught on something if she did any too sudden moves.

The nurse by her bed looked up at her, the weariness obvious on her face.

"The sooner you eat it, the quicker you can forget about it." She reasoned, but the girl just looked away, unconvinced.

"No WAY." She said with determination. "You're not gonna force me!"

"Is there a problem?" Morisuke asked, forcing to keep his voice calm. The nurse whipped her head to him, relief instantly flooding her face.

"Yaku-san!" She said gratefully.

The girl, who had been facing backwards to him, now jumped around to face him.

"Mr. Nurse!" She said, delighted, before pouting at him, and pointing at the other nurse. "Mr. Nurse, she's being mean to me!" She whined.

Mr. Nurse. A nickname Morisuke had been given by patients and other nurses alike - being the only male nurse in the wing made him easily recognizable. Using a nickname made it also easier for patients to call on a certain nurse, since they didn't need to remember surnames that way.

Morisuke didn't mind. He didn't feel uncomfortable in his position; unlike most other male nurses he knew (which weren't that many anyway) he didn't take the nursing study course after failing to get into medicine; that was never his goal at all in the first place.

"Is she now?" Morisuke asked, feigning surprise. He walked up to the bed and the girl lost some of her confidence.

"Because as I see it, you're being very disrespectful, Chika-chan." He said, keeping his voice calm, but firm. "I'm disappointed in you."

Color drained from the girl's face as her accusing finger trembled.

"But- But she wants to force me to eat vegetables!" She whined. Morisuke smiled a cold smile.

"Well if you don't want to eat, that's fine." He replied. "We won't give you your dinner later today, since that has vegetables too. Your next meal will be tomorrow's breakfast, how does that sound?"

The girl widened her eyes at him, fear creeping in as she realized how serious he was. As if on cue, her stomach growled, echoing her fear.

"Suzuki-san, please give me the plate." Morisuke said to the other nurse, who up till now had been gaping at him as if he were a saint. At the request, she snapped out of it and got up and walked up to him, giving him the plate. She then flashed a quick, grateful smile and hurried out of the room, leaving them both alone.

Chika eyed the vegetables on the plate as if they had personally offended her.

"I'll count to five." Morisuke said, still in that same calm voice. "If you don't sit back down in that time, you can say goodbye to eating anything else than vegetables during the rest of your stay here. One…"

The speed with which Chika clambered back under her covers could only be compared with the speed of light.

Morisuke smiled.

"Good girl." He said, setting the plate down on her knees. "I'm going to stand here until you finish that. I'm not letting you do anything until you get that into your stomach."

Chika looked up at him, alarmed. "But-" She yelped, but Morisuke shook his head firmly.

"No buts. Eat, or you can say goodbye to even sleeping." He said bluntly, crossing his arms defiantly.

It took Chika a solid twenty seconds for Morisuke's words to sink in, to make her realize he wasn't bluffing. During that time, Morisuke didn't look away from her even once.

And then, in painfully slow bites, Chika started eating the vegetable, her distaste for it obvious on her face. Morisuke didn't move until she had finished each last bite.

When she finally did so, with a sigh of relief, she leaned back on her pillow, closing her eyes wearily - as if the action itself took a lot more energy than the food itself would give her.

Morisuke smiled again - but this time genuinely.

"Was that really so hard?" He asked gently, taking the plate, and putting it back on the tray. "As a reward, I'll make sure you get something nice for your dinner later today."

Chika's eyes fluttered open as she looked at him hopefully. "Really?" She asked excitedly.

"I promise." Morisuke replied warmly, and left her room, heading to the kitchens with the tray.

Morisuke reckoned the cooks probably wouldn't be pleased with his request to give Chika a second helping of dessert after dinner, but they'll oblige either way. It wasn't the first time he made such a request; he believed in rewards more than he believed in punishments.

And his methods did work. Which was probably one of the main reasons why Morisuke was assigned to the children's wing of the hospital.

He didn't mind. He enjoyed it.

"Yaku!" One of the doctors called sharply, and Morisuke turned on his heels to face him, high on alert.

"Yes?" He asked immediately. Dread filled him instantly when he saw the impatience and fatigue painted all over the other's face.

"Koizumi's being... Uncooperative again." The doctor stated.

He stilled.

"Please don't tell me he turned off the equipment again." Morisuke said, and the doctor replied with a not too promising facial expression.

Morisuke grit his teeth, and marched over to the boy's room, with the intention of giving him a good earful - one he'll hopefully listen to... finally.

Morisuke really did enjoy his work.

Most of the time.

It was half past six when Morisuke drove his car up into the driveway, and turned it off with a sigh.

Such a long, tough day. He didn't even feel like getting out of the car. He could go to sleep right there and then.

With a yawn, Morisuke left the car, locked it, and walked up to the house.

"I'm home." He said tiredly, entering into the corridor, changing his footwear clumsily.

Shizu leaned up from her sitting position on the sofa, and upon noticing his state, smiled sympathetically.

"Welcome home." She said warmly, unwrapping herself from her blanket cocoon and walking up to him to kiss his cheek affectionately.

"Go rest. I'll heat up your dinner." She said, patting his arm apologetically. "I was ravenous when I got back, so I already ate."

A gush of emotion towards her passed through Morisuke.

"No, that's fine… Thanks, Shizu." He said genuinely, passing her towards the sofa, and plopping down heavily.

"Happy to help." She said lightly, disappearing in the kitchen.

Morisuke watched the movie she had been watching blankly, until she returned sometime later with steaming food and hot tea, placing both in front of him.

"Here you go." She said softly. "Good work today."

"Thanks." He said, immediately starting to eat. At his tremendous appetite, Shizu chuckled and sat down next to him, wrapping herself up in her blankets again, looking at the TV screen with interest.

After a while, while still eating, Morisuke noticed something familiar in a particular scene.

"Didn't you watch this before?" He asked suddenly. She gave him a small smile.

"This'll be my fourth time." She admitted. "But I just love it too much."

"…Fourth… You'd think I'd have recognized it earlier then." Morisuke murmured, taking another mouthful.

"You never really paid attention to it, since it's not up your alley." She said, nestling herself more comfortably. "Like most men I know, Jane Austen is far from your sphere of interests."

"Funny name." Morisuke noticed, finishing his dinner and leaning back as well.

"It's English." Shizu replied simply.

Morisuke glanced down at her, at the fascination painted on her face as she watched the movie. She stated it was her fourth time watching it, but she was as immersed in it as if it were her first. Her eyes were alight, cheeks slightly flushed - and her entire body leaned forwards, as if she only wished to jump into the world of those fictional characters.

She was so immersed, she didn't notice Morisuke's gaze on her; didn't notice as his eyes trailed down from her dark pupils to her pink cheeks, down to her slightly parted lips, pulled back into a small smile…

It occurred to Morisuke that she had a similar facial expression, the same liveliness to it that morning, when she surprised him before he left for work.

And Morisuke suddenly felt a lot more awake.

"C'mere." He said softly, pulling her closer to him.

"Hmm?" She asked distractedly, shuffling closer.

"I'm cold." Morisuke explained, though this was a lie.

She unwrapped herself from the blanket again, and draped them both with it, shuffling closer still to his side, sitting down on her legs.

Morisuke lightly draped his arm around her small shoulders, and she leaned her head against him, eyes still glued to the screen.

He'll have to do something about that. In a moment, though. If he turned off the screen right now, she'd not appreciate that at all.

He slowly moved his hand down from her arm onto her waist, lazily drawing circles over her torso with his hand.

"Mori, not now." She huffed, catching his hand, eyes still on the screen. "This is the best part."

"I'm not doing anything, though." He replied innocently. She scowled slightly, but didn't let go if his hand.

Undeterred, he rubbed the skin on her hand with his thumb, moving it in wide, constant circles.

Her small scowl only deepened.

"Mori…" She said again, shifting her position, so she was leaning her back against his side, head still turned to the screen, letting his hand go in the process - probably in a lame attempt to defend her stomach from being touched further. What a silly way of thinking.

"Yes?" He murmured, leaning down to kiss the crook of her neck, both hands now on her waist.

"Stop it." She said, though her voice held less conviction than before.

"Stop what?" He asked softly, planting another kiss up her neck, gently nipping her skin as well. He could well hear her shiver slightly as he did so, too.

"…It." She said, her voice trembling. "Don't…"

"Don't do what?" He asked again, his hand pulling up her shirt slowly, to rest his hand against the bear skin of her stomach. She took in a sharp breath, the skin under his hands moving with the sudden intake of air. Almost on instinct, he pressed his hands against her warm stomach, enjoying her instant reaction as he held her closer.

"…I recall asking you to NOT keep me waiting. You missed your chance." She muttered, though the hint of longing in her voice informed Morisuke of all he needed to know.

"Well, I did try to get back as quick as possible…" He murmured with a lazy smile, his hands slowly trailing up her stomach, running over her ribs idly, and moving to her sides up onto her back, inclined on removing a certain pesky article of clothing.

Perhaps he had caused her excitement to pass a certain level, or perhaps she accepted the inevitable - or maybe she just wanted to surprise him. Whichever it was, before he could do anymore, she suddenly twisted around till she faced him, eyes glazed over with need, eyebrows furrowed in a scowl.

"Damn you." She growled out, before trapping his lips in a passionate kiss.

Trying hard to stop the growing, triumphant smirk, Morisuke kept enough sanity of mind to turn the television off before swooping her off the couch, bridal-style, inclined to move to a more comfortable place.

It was her fourth time watching the movie. Morisuke really didn't feel too bad about breaking her focus on it.