Sunlight streams in from the window, warm and bright as it drifts onto the bed. The curtain doesn't do much justice in blocking the light from entering; it is dancing to the sound of the breeze that cold morning. Aside from the birds chirping happily outside, all is calm and serene in Aizawa Kousaku's bedroom.
That is, until a ringtone fills the room loudly, the standard sound bouncing off the four walls of the room. Someone, not Aizawa, stirs slowly from her position.
Disorientated and still exhausted over the event of last midnight, add on to the fact that she had barely slept properly in days, Shiraishi Megumi grunts in protest, fumbling blindly for the phone that is still ringing. Her head hurts, has the ringtone always been this loud? Her eyes are still closed, but she locates the ringing phone; it is at the bedside table beside Aizawa, who is somehow still sleeping soundly despite the noise. Shiraishi reaches over him gingerly, unthinking as she wraps her hand around the black device.
She answers in reflex, wasting no second. "Hello?"
There is only silence over the line, and Shiraishi frowns. "Who's this?" She asks, slightly annoyed at how early it still is, and how the caller has decided to disturb her on the only day she has off. Shiraishi doesn't even bother opening her eyes, it has slipped her mind that she didn't even check the caller ID before answering the call.
And then an all too familiar voice comes in. "Shiraishi?" It is a tone mixed with many emotions, which confuses the flight doctor even further.
"Fujikawa-sensei? What is it? Is everything okay there?" She mumbles a little too aggressively, suddenly worried that something has happened over at emergency.
"Um…Shiraishi?" She could hear Fujikawa hesitating.
"What is it?" Shiraishi prods further, now clearly annoyed and worried that Fujikawa is taking such a long time to answer a simple question.
"I…uh…I called Aizawa." Fujikawa replies slowly, and Shiraishi is suddenly confused, her sleep-deprived mind does not catch what he said.
"What?" The word slips off her mouth before she could stop herself. She hears Fujikawa trying to suppress a laughter, and suddenly, it just hits her. Shiraishi immediately pulls the phone from her ear, eyebrows furrowed together in extreme confusion and she stares in mock horror at what she sees on the display screen. A random, unflattering picture of Fujikawa stares back at her, the word Annoying Comrade gleams at her face brightly.
Shiraishi is wide awake now, realising a little too late that the device she is holding isn't hers, but Aizawa's.
"Shiraishi?" Even though she couldn't see him, Shiraishi is one hundred percent sure Fujikawa has his signature stupid grin on his face at that moment. She groans out loud, slapping a hand onto her forehead repeatedly. "Shiraishi? I don't wish to bother both of you, especially not the morning after—"
"Fujikawa." Shiraishi interrupts, feeling her face turning into a bright red tomato. "I'll pass the phone to Aizawa. Don't ask any questions." She half warns, before turning to her side at the still asleep Aizawa. Her features softens at that sight, knowing full well that Aizawa is equally as exhausted as she is, perhaps even more, since he has pulled an all nighter for three days.
"Aizawa," She nudges his arm gently. "Aizawa, it's Fujikawa."
He stirs then, groaning as he glances at her in a daze. "Ha?"
Shiraishi doesn't elaborate, merely hands the phone to him. He accepts it without a question, eyebrows knitted together as he sees the Caller ID. "Fujikawa?" He says over the phone, but the response he got in return isn't what he expected.
"Oi, Aizawa. Since I swapped shifts with you last night, you should thank me."
"What?" He doesn't understand, forcing himself to sit upright. His gaze slowly finds its way to the woman beside him—why does she look so flustered and embarrassed for some reasons?
"You're slyer than I thought, Aizawa." Fujikawa continues, a chuckle is heard. "But can I just say this? Finally."
"Finally what?" Aizawa is annoyed, but the answer to his own question comes a quick second after he asks that question. Shiraishi isn't looking at him, both her hands are covering her face. It hits him that she is the one who handed the phone to him…
"Ah." He says nonchalantly, suddenly understanding the whole situation. He doesn't feel the least upset over the revelation, if any. "That. Yeah. What do you want?" Aizawa switches the topic with much ease, despite knowing Fujikawa and how he isn't going to stop there.
He's right, as he could practically hear him grinning widely over the phone. "Oh, nothing. Never mind anymore. You enjoy your free morning okay? Bye."
And then he hangs up, much to Aizawa's annoyance.
There is silence over the air for a good two minutes, before Shiraishi shifts to look at him. She's still blushing, and Aizawa finds it endearing to see her like this. "How long do you think it would take for him to tell Saejima and Hiyama and the whole hospital?"
Aizawa doesn't miss a beat. "I'm sure he's doing it as we speak."
Shiraishi groans again, slapping herself and slumping back onto the bed. She pulls the duvet over her face, whimpering slightly as she turns away from Aizawa.
"Shiraishi—" He begins, but is interrupted when she suddenly pushes herself up again, the duvet now covering her bare skin. Her face is serious, rendering him speechless. "Aizawa. How long have we been seeing each other?"
"Uh…" Her question throws him off guard. If Aizawa is to be honest with himself, he has never counted the days they are officially together, since he has been in love with her for the longest time possible without realising. "Long enough, I suppose."
"Exactly." She agrees easily, much to his surprise. "Aizawa, er…" Shiraishi hesitates, biting her lower lip in contemplation of what she is about to say. Aizawa only raises an eyebrow, prompting her to continue. "I think we shouldn't hide it anymore."
The moment she says it, Aizawa could see she is turning red again. It makes him want to laugh at how cute her reaction is, but he holds it in. "Ah." He merely nods calmly, though deep down, as uncharacteristic as it could be, he wants to run around the field screaming.
Aizawa has been trying to be public and vocal a few times about their relationship, but Shiraishi has always prevented him from doing that in fear it may disrupt their work. It annoys him to no end whenever he sees that annoying Shinkai trying to flirt with her, but he is often left with no choice but to swallow the bitterness and lock it away. He understands that Shiraishi isn't the type of woman to parade her boyfriend around, especially not at the same work environment, so he respected her decision to stay as low profile as ever.
Hearing her say those words today suddenly made up for all the times he had shot daggers from his eyes at the men that had flirted with his Shiraishi. Seeing how nervous and shy she is at that suggestion, the evident blush on her cheeks just made him love her even more. At that, Aizawa smiles at her softly, reaching out for her hands and nodding. "I agree."
Shiraishi is smiling now, though she is still embarrassed. She is suddenly fully aware that Aizawa is still naked, and the event of last night floods into her mind. While she has not regretted anything, Shiraishi finds herself wincing inevitably at the image of Fujikawa knowing what had happened the night before.
"Megumi." Aizawa calls her first name, and it sort of surprises her, since she has only heard of him calling her that way less than three times. "Don't worry about Fujikawa. He should know better than to reveal anything personal in the hospital."
Shiraishi knows exactly what he means. Fujikawa may get a tad bit excited and may exaggerate things, but she is confident he won't reveal any details in relation to their privacy. Well, then again, even if he doesn't, she is sure everyone in the hospital could guess.
"Even if he did, it doesn't matter. Everyone would soon know, anyway."
There is an implication behind his words that Shiraishi half gets, half doesn't, so she tilts her head to the side slightly.
"Meeting you is a blessing to me." He continues, a thumb stroking her hand gently. "I know I'm leaving for Toronto soon, but…promise me you'll wait for me."
Shiraishi smiles, leaning in closer to put a hand on his face with so much affection that she could feel her heart bursting with adoration for the man in front of her. In all truth and honesty, nine years ago, Shiraishi would never in her mind expect herself to develop such feelings for her fellow comrade. He has always been cold, and insensitive in his earlier days, and there was a point where Shiraishi had wondered to herself, how it was possible for someone to be so heartless? But then, as time went by, and the more she talked to him, Shiraishi realises that her judgement towards him was flawed. Aizawa is capable of love, and when he does display it, he displays it to the world to see. He was always there for her even when she didn't ask for him to be, always there to listen to how her day went, how her late father's condition had been. She confides in him more than she would have imagined, and it is inevitable, Shiraishi muses to herself, how things would turn out the way it has today.
"You know I will, Kousaku." She says, still smiling, her voice as soft as ever; it is only for him to hear.
Shiraishi believes that deep down in her heart, Aizawa has been etched onto it since a long, long time ago. It took them a while to sort out their feelings and truly embrace them, but Shiraishi just knows that it has always been him she would grow to love.
"Marry me." His voice is a mimic of hers; soft, loving, adoration, firm—like there is nothing else in the world he is sure of except the fact that he wants to spend his life with her forever. Shiraishi breaks into a huge smile upon hearing that, tears suddenly forming in her eyes as she nods twice.
The thing with both Aizawa and Shiraishi is that they didn't need a loud love declaration to justify their relationship. To them, what matters most is being with each other through thick and thin, through all the good times and the bad times. It has always been that way for them, and it will always be that way.
Aizawa closes the distance between them with a kiss, one hand on the nape of her neck. The kiss starts slowly, gently, exactly like how their relationship began, before he pulls her closer to deepen the kiss. Aizawa was never good with words, always wishing he could just keep quiet throughout his day if it isn't necessary for him to speak. But in that silence, whilst listening to how their hearts seem to beat in unison, Aizawa is clear in what he has to say.
"I love you." Even though it took him nearly a decade to say it to her, he is sure that if she asks him whether it's true, whether he does love her that much, Aizawa is prepared to answer he does. He could feel Shiraishi smiling against his lips. "I know." was all she said in response.
Aizawa doesn't need to hear the same words from Shiraishi, because like her, he knows in clarity that she loves him too. He doesn't need to ask if she really does love him that much, because he knows she does.
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a/n: I need a break from writing sad things because I lost a friend recently and I need something to cheer me up, not aggravate my sadness. I hope you enjoyed this fluff! I'm honestly not sure if it's good because I'm so used to writing angst...lol. As usual, reviews are very much appreciated, and I thank you in advance for reading this fic. Thank you so so so much.
