Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Matsunaga-san. Tsk.
Adjectives
A lot of words could be associated with Matsunaga Seiji: kind, generous, or dependable.
But if Seiji had to pick, he would labeled himself as patient. In the public eye, many would agree with his choice, judging from the calm and collected composure that he carried while presenting the news on TV.
However, only the man himself understood the depth of this word.
Oh, patience is definitely a virtue, Seiji mused while reading one of the fan mails that was shoved into his hand by his colleague this afternoon.
"Trust me, there are more of this but I figure I'll just give you one each day because then you can take your time to read these love lett–, ahem, I mean, fan mails. Great idea right?"
With that being said, his co-worker walked away with a satisfied smirk on his face before Seiji could even come up with the right words to reject his friend's so-called "great" idea.
Sighing, Seiji flipped to the last page of the letter. The one that he's reading now was filled with positive adjectives that, according to the writer, 'described' him best.
Let me see…hmm…charming, compassionate, courageous, energetic, gentle, gregarious, impartial…? Seiji started to chuckle. Why do I feel like a thesaurus is involved here?
"Hmm…Seiji…?"
He felt a small movement on this chest before he found himself looking right back at the drowsy eyes of the person that used him as a pillow.
"Ah, I'm sorry Shiharu. Did I wake you up?"
Shiharu shook her head lightly, while adjusting herself into a sitting position, "No it's fine." She looked around her surrounding as a thought registered her mind, "And thank you for bring me here, Seiji. I fell asleep in the living room again aren't I?" Shiharu blushed and looked down at her lap.
Seiji smiled at the sight in front of him.
In the past, if someone had told him that Nakamura Shiharu would be sitting on the same bed with him, and used him as an emergency pillow, he would mentally laugh his head off at the absurd idea.
Because he knew by heart that it was impossible, and it's best remained as one of his wishful thinking.
But that was 6 years ago.
The girl that he met at the day-care many years ago had blossomed into a fine young lady. Before, Seiji had always thought of her as 'cute' but now…
Beautiful.
Ah yes, that would be the best word to describe Shiharu. She was beautiful inside and out.
Reaching out to tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear, Seiji reminisced about the amount of time that had been spent before they were able to reach this point. Seiji had restrained himself from making a move on her because he didn't want to scare her off. At that time he knew that his happiness was not the priority, so he waited.
He had consoled Shiharu when the twins moved to live with their grandparents. Acting with pure impulse, he had pulled her into a hug, and reminded her over and over again that she was not alone.
"I know it's not the same but we can still visit them, Nakamura-san. I will bring you there every week. I promise."
Seiji had known that the existence of Aoi and Akane was the bridge that linked them together. Without them living in his house, Shiharu no longer had the reason to come here so for once in his life, Seiji voiced out his selfish request to her.
o
After realizing that they were still hugging each other, both Seiji and Shiharu pulled out from the embrace simultaneously. Seiji covered his heated face with one hand while Shiharu stammered out a series of apology, before making a beeline to his front door.
Seiji did not know what possessed him that time, but the words left his mouth before he could stop himself. "Nakamura-san, I know that you have no reason to come here anymore b-but I wonder if it's all right for you to come here from time to time. Not as a maid but maybe just to make dinner? I-I'll pay you of course so don't worry about that, and I'll talk to your sensei for you," his voice sounded tense and desperate.
Seiji gulped. God, he felt pathetic.
There was a silence that hung heavily in the air, and Seiji's heart was clenched while waiting for her answer.
Crap, Seiji thought while looking at her frozen form. He must have sounded really creepy to her.
But before he could take his words back, Shiharu slowly turned to face him, cheeks slightly tinted with rose-color, and eyes that brimmed with tears and emotions that he couldn't read. She nodded with a bright smile and gave him a bow, completed with her usual "Thank you Matsunaga-san" speech, then ran out of the front door in a full speed.
In their first month of dating, Seiji had asked if he had somehow freaked her out back then, but Shiharu just shook her head vigorously and said that she was "too happy and didn't know what face to make," so she ran away.
After that faithful evening, Seiji spent the night toss and turn with worry that he had did what he feared the most: scared her away from his life. However, after he got home the next day, he found Shiharu standing in the hallway and greeted him "Welcome back Matsunaga-san," with a shy smile that graced upon her lips.
It was awkward at first but eventually this routine continued. He told himself that he was content with this; being in her presence every evening was enough for him. He could wait.
He knew he fell hard for her, but he was determined to wait for the right time to tell her about his feelings.
Little did he know that his resolution could easily be broken by a mere 17 year-old boy.
o
It started when he accidentally overheard a rather loud conversation between Shiharu and the boy from the institution.
It was Hayami Nao, the boy that liked to throw death glares at him every time he was around Shiharu.
It was just a short trip back from the supermarket so of course he didn't expect to witness this scene in front of his own house.
Oh well, at least it seems like my neighbors are not at home right now.
At the corner of his house, Seiji stood behind the wall, contemplating whether or not he should show his face because let's face it, Matsunaga Seji and eavesdropping did not belong in the same sentence.
Until that caught his ears.
"Why do you insist on coming to his house everyday? The twins are no longer here anymore. If you are worry about the money, after graduation you can stay with me." There was a pause. "I will take care of you, Shiharu!" The boy was shouting now.
"W-wait Nao-kun, why would you–"
What? Did that boy just–?
Instinctively, his own body began to carry him towards the two figures standing in front of the house, however someone beat him to it.
"Shiharu-chan…? What's going on here?"
Takeru! What a great timing!
Silently thanking his friend, Seiji stepped back to his previous hiding spot.
With his back against the wall, he looked up at the twilight sky above him.
It's getting dark.
It was then he realized that even though he could wait, it didn't mean that Shiharu or others would do the same.
Somewhere a clock was ticking. Soon the alarm would ring, and it would be too late for him.
Then what? Would she disappear from his life?
No.
As selfish as it may seemed, he couldn't allow that to happen.
o
His confession to Shiharu happened on the night of her graduation day.
It was nothing fancy. No flowers. No expensive dinner. Nevertheless, it was sincere.
While walking her back to the institution, he stopped her and poured out every feeling, and every emotion that he had been keeping to himself.
"Would you allow me to take care of you, Nakamura-san?"
When he saw a single tear slid down her face, Seiji was certain that he had destroyed whatever was left of their relationship.
However, his thought was interrupted when he felt her small body wrapped around him.
"Nakamura-san?"
And when she looked him in the eyes and said yes, he knew that nothing else mattered.
Except her.
o
Six years later, Seji still worked as a news announcer, while Shiharu was now in her last year at the college.
It took weeks for Shiharu to stop turning bright red and back away every time their hands brushed. It took them months to start calling each other by their first name. Not to mention the amount of time spent on trying to get used to openly holding hands in public.
But that was all in the past.
They were comfortable with each other now. Every touch, every gesture they shared had become natural to them.
Seiji smiled fondly at the figure that snuggled close to him – with clothes all wrinkled from her previous sleeping position.
"What are you thinking about?"
Instead of giving her a reply, he entwined their fingers together. Gently using his thumb to rub the back of her left hand, he spoke, "I'm just thinking that your sleeping face earlier is really cute."
With a face flushed with embarrassment, Shiharu hit Seiji's arm lightly, then went back to place her head on his shoulder.
The comfortable silence was soon followed by the sound of Shiharu trying to stifle a yawn.
Seiji looked up from his letter, "Why don't you go to sleep first? You have a morning class tomorrow right?"
"But…I want to–Ah! Never mind."
Seiji's eyebrows rose in response. "What is it?"
"Ah, well, I'm thinking that I'll wait for you to finish reading the letter because then…" Her voice trailed off unceremoniously.
"Because what?"
This time Shiharu's cheeks developed an endearing red color. "B-because then we can go to sleep together!"
Looking at her crimson face had woken something inside of him. "Really Shiharu, you are way too cute for your own good."
"Eh-?"
Whatever Shiharu about to say died on her lips when he kissed her.
They stayed like that for a while until Shiharu broke apart for air.
"S-Seji…"
Looking at her swollen lips, Seiji wanted nothing but to ravish them again. However, knowing that it would lead to dangerous consequences, he decided to settle for a small teasing instead.
"Are you going to sleep now or…" Seiji whispered directly into one of her ears, "Should I punish you again?"
After a small gasp escaped from her mouth, Shiharu went straight to the pillow and pulled the cover over her face.
"Seiji…you are sly."
Unable to control his laughter, Seiji laughed out loud.
That word can definitely be added to my adjective list.
A/N: Hey there my fellow LSL lovers! This is my first time posting a story on this website. Please tell me your thought! Keep the R&R policy going people!
And in case someone is wondering about their age in this story, Seiji is probably around 29-30, while Shiharu is 23-24.
For questions like: 'Are they married?' or 'Did they move in together?' - I will leave it up to your vivid imagination hahaha ;)
Thank you for reading & Stay tuned for the next update! :)