Closing Time
Diclaimer: I own only the plot... but it is a cute plot :)!
I can smell it in the Clinic for Kami's sake! That's just cruel and unusual; I still have another half an hour left before I can close. Which is annoying as it is because nobody comes to a clinic at half seven. They're all to business eating dinner, like I should be doing. Right. Now. Dammit! Masaki is evil, just downright evil; and it's my favourite meal, I can smell it! The delicately simmering fish, dressed in soy sauce and just the right amount of herbs... Plain, white rice to under-set the spiced miso soup… Urgh, I'm drooling.
I growl at the clock which tells me only thirty seconds has past since my last glance- I think it's conspiring against me- before my eyes flick longingly towards the staircase. I wrench my eyes away and I can do this, what's thirty minutes? Nothing, exactly, not a problem…
I force my eyes to look out of the glass door, watching the rain make ripples in the large road-side puddles. Every so often a car would drive by (probably going home for dinner, lucky bastards) and send a sheet of water flying into the air, occasionally splattering against the door, leaving little droplets to obscure my vision.
Unfortunately these occurrences only occupied me for so long and a glance at clock and it tells me that 'so long' as about two minutes. I glare at the offending piece of technology before trying to find something else to entertain me for 28 minutes… and I seem to be staring at the stairway again… Dammit! I am Kurosaki Isshin, ex-captain of the Gotei 13! I have achieved ban kai; I have self control! And my eyes still haven't left the doorway...
"Oh fuck it!" I declare to the empty room, "I'm closing early!" It takes me a whole three minutes to complete all the necessary actions of 'closing time'. A whole three! Far too long… but eventually I am free to race up the stairs, kicking of my shoes as I reach the top.
"Isshin? Is that you? Isshin you've still got half-an-hour left before closing time," there's a hint of amusement in my wife's disapproving tone which tells me that she'd known exactly what she'd been doing. An inexcusable act.
"You're an evil woman, 'Saki," I tell her, following the tantalising smell into the kitchen and wrapping my arms around her waist, resting my hands on the swell of her stomach
"You can forgive a pregnant woman for wanting to spend more time with husband, can't you?" she replies innocently
"No, your methods are unforgivable," I growl playful
"Even if I feed you your favourite meal?"
"Even if you did,"
"Even if I was the mother of your children?"
"Even if you were,"
"What about if I give you a kiss?" I pretend to muse upon the idea
"Perhaps if you give me a kiss," I answer
"I think I can do that," she replies with a smile, she turns her head to face me and presses a soft, chaste kiss to my lips, "what do you think?"
"I don't know… I think it might take a couple more," I grin down at her
She turns in my arms and wraps her arms around my neck, "well there's plenty of time. Everything's on simmer until the rice is done," she tells me seriously and I have to smile at her solemnity
"Yes, dear," I reply dutifully and my grin doesn't leave my face even as she pulls me towards her.