title: decisions and shifts
pairing: aizawa/shiraishi
a/n: when shiraishi gets invited on a date, how will aizawa handle it?
Aizawa scratches his head lightly as he stares at the report. He felt like he was looking at gibberish and a language so foreign to him. Muttering curse words under his breath, he takes a deep breath in and re-reads the report from the top. He bites into his sandwich and carefully lays the information out in his brain.
Was he tired? He feels lethargic, as least. He remembers getting home late at night from the emergency surgery he had with Shiraishi. A patient had wheeled in just as Shiraishi was knocking off from work. The physician in her sprung into action and she wheeled him in with Fujikawa. Aizawa caught her wheeling the patient and trauma and decided to help out. He was about to knock off too, but what harm will it bring it? A cerebral hematoma and an rupture in his abdomen, both of them had a surgery lasting from sunset to midnight. Needless to say, by the time he got home, he was beyond exhausted and he barely had 4 hours of sleep.
Rubbing his eyes, he tries to make out the words to his report and sips on the extra strong coffee he ordered. Today, caffeine was not giving him the adrenaline boost he wanted. His mind was still foggy and slow. The sight of a tray being placed opposite him caught his attention. Looking up, he sees familiar black scrubs, a doctor with long curls in his hair, and a smug grin on his face. Of course, it's his rival, Anko Shinkai.
"Are you just eating that?" He motions to the remainder of the egg sandwich. Aizawa ignores his questions and continues to process the information.
"What are you doing here?" He grunts to Shinkai. Shinkai takes a sip of his soup. He pauses for a moment before he replies. Leaning forward, Aizawa raises his eyebrows. What was he doing?
"Just getting to know my rival a bit more." He smugly says. Aizawa rolls his eyes and Shinkai lets out a laugh. He knew Shinkai wasn't being serious.
"I saw Shiraishi-sensei on the way here." He admits. The name of the Shohoku doctor piqued his interest. What does he want with her? How did he know her? They've only seen each other a couple of times. Aizawa lets his slow mind process it. It would make sense, though. The time he's been away from Lifesaving, Shinkai has handled most of their cases before. Aizawa was mostly busy with Neurosurgery consults and patients. It would be normal for her to know his name.
"Hm." He murmurs out.
"I thought I'll let you know I asked her out for dinner today." Shinkai says, a proud expression ghosting his face. Aizawa freezes and looks at him in the eye. Shinkai's arrogant eyes face Aizawa's dark and mysterious ones. He asked her out? And she accepted? Aizawa almost loses his head, but he kept himself composed.
"What are you trying to get at?" Aizawa gets out, frustrated. Shinkai leans back on the chair as Aizawa wraps up the trash.
"I won't lose to you." Shinkai softly says, that pride coating his words. Aizawa leaves the cafeteria and cracks his neck, telling himself to calm down. He knows Shinkai can't beat him. Aizawa is aware that he was better than Shinkai in analytical skills. It was something Aizawa was proud to admit he was excellent in. Well, after all, he had to be good in order to be a flight doctor and to be Lifesaving. But Shinkai crossed his line. Competing for the privilege to go to Toronto was good enough, now, he brought it up to competing for the same woman.
Aizawa admitted to himself; he liked Shiraishi. Whenever he's down, she's there to help him. Whenever she is down, it always seems to be him who is there first. He's up in his mind from the start of the shift; if she's managing well; to the end of the workday; if she's having a good meal. Somehow, they both always work in sync. Passing items in silence. Suturing the wounds without him telling her to. Assisting him in surgeries without him asking. Both of them were like puzzle pieces, working well with one another.
He found it no surprise for the doctor to ask Shiraishi out. There wasn't much to say. She was known throughout the hospital, not only for the passion and skills running in her blood, but for her beauty that captivated the other doctors. Fair smooth skin, almond shaped eyes, rosy cheeks. All around her, was a glow that lured others to her. She rarely wore makeup to work, only wearing makeup on the days she needed them. It was natural for doctors to fall for her. He was one of them too. The moment he laid eyes on her, as she read her notes… he could still remember that bright feeling in his heart.
Coming across the staff station, he see someone he unfortunately doesn't want to see. Shiraishi has her eyes buried in a report and doesn't notice the doctor standing there. Aizawa pretends he doesn't notice her and sits at one of the computers, far from her and reviews his report. Just a few minutes in, he senses her nearer and nearer.
"Um…" She shyly says taking a seat at the table nearby. Aizawa doesn't shrug, but contains his urge to ask her not to go for the date. Maintaining his composure, he keeps a stoic expression and keeps typing into the monitor.
"Just now…Shinkai-sensei…he said he wanted to eat dinner with me. What does he…?" Shiraishi trails off, not knowing what else to say.
"It's just as you heard. He's asking you out." Aizawa says, his tone coming out harsher than expected. He doesn't even feel angry, so why did he feel this way? He shouldn't be angry with her, that's for sure. Was he just jealous that Shinkai is asking the girl he likes for a date? His questions popped up even more, clouding his mind.
"Ah…o-okay…" Shiraishi awkwardly stutters before returning to her reports at the other table.
Aizawa didn't need to turn to see her facial expression change. He knew she was upset that he said that harshly. Grunting to himself, he types the last of reports, jamming the keyboard with his fingers and furiously typing away. Once he's done, he walks to the lift and massages his temples. He wanted a break, and he knew very well where to have it. Aizawa checks the last of his reports and abandons them at the office. Picking up a can of ice coffee, he heads to the Helipad and leans against one of the railings. He takes a long sip of the caffeinated drink, letting it run through, waiting for the caffeine to hit his system. Looking up, he relaxes his mind.
A door opens and he swiftly turns his head to the door. He sees Shiraishi holding a can of coffee, stumbling in through the door and her eyes meet his. She does a small nod before slowly walking here. Aizawa looks away, not prepared to see her. He didn't want his emotions to takeover. She leans against the railings next to his. They stand there in silence, just like any other day.
"Aizawa, is everything okay?" She asks across to him. Aizawa doesn't turn, but holds his coffee can. He doesn't want to reply, afraid of what would come out. But he knew she would continue to ask if he didn't. She was someone he couldn't avoid replying too, anyways.
"Ah." He finally replies. She acknowledges, still holding her can of unopened coffee. Both of them stay like this, till Aizawa finishes his coffee. Shiraishi just fidgets with her unopened can, flipping the tab of the can with a 'click' sound every so often.
"Are you going to drink your coffee?" Aizawa nods to that coffee she held, bringing her out of her thoughts. She looks up slightly surprised, and nods away. Flipping the tab, she takes a few small sips of the coffee, unable to process what was going on.
Shiraishi stares at her report on the table. Tapping her pen on the report mundanely, she sighs as she takes a break. Leaning back on the chairs in the staff station, she couldn't believe what happened just 5 minutes ago. Holding her reports in one hand, she was having a small conversation with Shinkai in the lift, while he headed for lunch and she to the staff station.
She knew very well he was rival to Aizawa. Well, the whole hospital knew. They are literally famous for going heads on in surgeries, competing for patients and chances to operate. In her past few years of Lifesaving, she always seemed to find him showing up instead of Aizawa. Rumour has it that Aizawa was always busy with consults and Neurosurgery based operations, which left him little time for Lifesaving.
Shiraishi respected Shinkai. She admired his intellect and his skills in surgery. She secretly admitted that Aizawa was better than him, but she could tell why they were going head to head. No one could rival against these two, with the exception of Saijo-sensei and the other senior doctors that has had decades of experience; much more than the two amateurs, compared to them.
One moment, they were talking about Lifesaving and joking about Aizawa's stern, monotonous attitude. The next moment, Shinkai asked her on a date and told her to meet him outside the hospital tomorrow for dinner. Shiraishi froze in the lift, cocking her head to one side in confusion. A date? Why? While she has heard many rumours about doctors romantically fond of her, she has never expected Shinkai to be one of them.
She let out another sigh as she thought about the questions she asked Aizawa. She must have really upset him with the name Shinkai. But his disappointment was out of the ordinary. It had a slight…jealousy to it. Shiraishi almost burst out laughing at that. That can't be it, she thought, there's no way Aizawa was so childish over small matters like these. Absentmindedly, she picks up her coffee and heads to the Helipad for a short 10-minute break. Well, until she saw who else was there.
His question brought her out of her thoughts. Nodding her head quickly, she flipped the tab of her coffee and took small short sips. With her fingers lightly tapping the metal can, she stared at her shiny metal can in her hands. Turning to Aizawa, she opened her mouth to speak, but he spoke faster than she could.
"I heard… Shinkai invited you on a date?" Aizawa says. He tried to keep his voice as monotone as possible, as to avoid her picking up on his jealousy, of which he admits he is, yes, jealous of his rival.
"Ah…yes." Shiraishi muses softly. Despite hiding his jealousy, she could sense the sourness in his tone and in his face when she replied. She managed to crack a small smile and a light giggle that drew his attention.
"What?" He grumbled grouchily.
"You are jealous, aren't you?" Shiraishi laughs walking over and sitting next to him on that fence. A bright red flushes his face and he immediately looks away in shame and embarrassment.
"Ah! You are!" Shiraishi cracks up as she teases him.
"I'm not!" He retorts, a slight pout on his face. Shiraishi shakes his head, laughing at his denial.
"So if I go on a date, you are completely fine with it?" She teases. Aizawa plans to fight back, but stops and turns away.
"I thought so." She smugly says, with a playful tone.
"I didn't say if I wanted to go, you know." She tells him. This once again catches Aizawa's attention.
"Besides, I have night shift tomorrow… so I don't think I'll be going." She admits as she takes a few steps forward, a half filled can in her hands. This somehow puts ease in Aizawa's heart.
"Really?" He asks. She turns and nods, as if it's a matter of fact. Aizawa nods as the corners of his lips curl into a small smile unwillingly. Shiraishi cracks a small smile and she sits next to him, coffee still in hand.
"If you aren't eating tomorrow, will you eat today?" Aizawa says before the words can stop slipping out of his mouth. Taking Shiraishi by surprise, she merely laughs, a bright smile lighting up her face. Aizawa was now the one left confused, embarrassed and shy. Shiraishi finishes the rest of her coffee and disposes the can at the rubbish bin nearby. Turning back to face Aizawa, a slight twinkle in her eyes gave him hope.
"I don't have a night shift, and neither do you. Where shall we go?"
a/n: hello everyone! I'm FINALLY back! I'm so sorry to hold you guys off for so long! I've been busy and writing this while managing school work is no easy task for me. however, since I'm on a break, i managed to write and bring it up to my expectations! hope you guys enjoyed this! requested by Jieberg and mentioned by Slchida . keep the ideas coming! i want to see what you guys want and I'm willing to take on the challenge!
on a side note, for those reading my fanfic: heart of lifesaving, expect an update next week! I'm working doubly hard to deliver the chapter to you guys. also, maybe a warning that you should gets some tissues. (enough said, you guys can interpret yourselves. HAHAHA)
i might be replying some reviews from now on, so keep the ideas coming and ill gladly write them! thank you all for reading and supporting! love you all!
-akino