Reigen really, really, really, needed a new air conditioner.
"You can take that off, your suit jacket I mean, you look like you're dying." Said Reigen. She knew that she must not have looked much better. It was too damn hot in that office. She had put the getting the air conditioner off for too long and now they were in the middle of what must have been the worst heat wave in at least ten years. It was so hot out that even Mob and the others had decided to wait out the worst of the heat in places where there was actual air conditioning. Rei's house had central air, apparently, and Reigen had spent some time debating with herself as to whether or not it would have been weird to show up with some paper thin excuse as to why she was there.
She needed to get out of the heat.
Her own apartment wasn't much better. She had an air conditioner but it was only in the living room and it was cheap as all else. There was no way for it to go up against the hell that she found herself in. She wondered if it was any better at Serizawa's. She had been to his apartment before and she knew that he had an air conditioner…she wondered how it was at night. She had been tossing and turning all night because of this heat…
Not that she would ask to spend the night with him, no, it was much too soon for that.
She had nothing against moving forward in their relationship. A relationship was like a shark, it had to keep on moving forward or it would die. Since she did not want their relationship to die then it was time to keep it going. Not that she was pushing for anything and not that he was, either…aside from meeting his mother. She hadn't met anyone's mother, anyone who she had been seeing's mother, in so long…well she hadn't seriously dated anyone in a very long time. She should have just gone with him. That was what people their age in committed relationships did.
She had been too afraid.
"I would but I'm pretty sure that I've sweated through my shirt and undershirt, too." Said Serizawa. He had no idea that it could even get so hot. No wonder that they hadn't had any customers in a while. It was like an oven in there. He almost wanted to ask if he could go home…but he wanted to be with her…and also that was bad work etiquette. They still worked together, she was still his boss, even though they were dating. It was less complicated than he thought that it would be. He cared about her, it wasn't feelings transference from the President, he genuinely cared about her….and he would have thought that it would have been complicated but it wasn't.
This was the least complicated thing in his life.
Nothing had ever made more sense in his life than her. Reigen Arataki. He loved her….he had very strong feelings towards her, and she felt the same way…mostly the same way. Even if they didn't…a lot of things…they still cared about each other. She cared about her. She may not have gone with to meet his mother but she still cared about him.
She was wonderful…even if she still hadn't got a new air conditioner even though it was hot as an oven in the office and had been for quite a while.
"And I haven't?" asked Reigen. She was in nothing but her silk shell and her skirt. She had even bitten the bullet and shaved her legs, she looked like she had gotten into a fight with a cat, but at least she could ditch the stockings for a little bit. She needed to get them a new air conditioner. She could not take much more of this…the only problem was that her bank account could not take it. She really needed to stop pissing her money away on stupid impulse buys and takeout…even though it was so hot out that she didn't dare cook. No need to set the world on fire.
"Um…I hadn't noticed!" said Serizawa even though he had. She was in her silk shirt thing and she looked so pretty…and he had told her so, before, that she looked pretty that dad. Once was enough. Too many times and she would have thought that he was insincere or he just liked her for her looks or something like that.
"Uh-huh, I'm sure you hadn't." said Reigen. He really was too pure for this Earth. She was hot in more ways than one and she knew it. She just had healthy self-esteem, that was all, she was not full of herself as her mother had often accused her of being.
"Ok….maybe a little." Said Serizawa softly. He liked to look at her and she liked it when he looked at her. So therefore there was nothing wrong with looking at her. She was his girlfriend. It was ok to look at her…even now. There was just something about her now, all shiny, that made his heart skip a beat. She was always so pretty, so beautiful, even covered in sweat.
"A little." Said Reigen with a smile. She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. She knew that she shouldn't have done something like that during work hours, they may have been a couple but they still had to work together, but it wasn't like they had any customers and the kids were off somewhere waiting out the worst of this heat. It was just him and her.
"Or maybe more than a little?" asked Reigen before she kissed him on the cheek, dangerously close to his mouth. He was red, now, and so was she. They could both just blame it on the heat.
"Maybe more than a little." Said Serizawa. He knew that this was ok. He leaned up and kissed her. Quick and short. Always quick and short when they were at work. Work was not the place for…all of that. Not that there was an all of that. Not yet. There was kissing, a lot of kissing, and that was more than enough for him. He had never thought that he would ever have had this with someone let alone someone as wonderful as her.
He kissed her again.
And he shrugged out of his suit coat because it was as hot as an oven in hell in that office. He stood up and kissed her just a little more. Part of him, the part of him that watched way too many ...'art' films wanted to pick her up and sit her on his desk and-
He didn't.
Because this was real life and in real life the door wasn't locked and technically they were working even though they hadn't had an appointment or a walk in since this heat wave began and someone could still walk in at any time and he knew that they would not think much of either of them if they walked in on…this.
Not that they did anything more than kiss.
She kissed him again. Reigen knew that it was too damn hot for this. It was too hot and they were at work and a customer could walk in and see her making out with him and then that would not have been good for business at all. This was a place of business, not a peep show, and people did not want to see that. She knew, she had walked in on enough make outs to know how awkward it was, but it wasn't like they were going to be getting any more walk ins any time soon. Not in this heat.
It was sweltering.
"Um…should I…should I lock the door?" asked Serizawa. This was…he had no problem with this. This was nice. This was the sort of things that they usually saved for after work. It was hot, very hot, and getting hotter. Sweltering. That was the word for this. This room was sweltering.
"Do-do you want to?" asked Reigen. It would have been easy. He could just reach across the room with his powers and lock the door…and it wouldn't take more than half a second. But setting the lock…that would be…if that door was locked then they could have kept up with this…which of course she wanted to.
But they were at work.
And it was too damn hot. She was barely near him but she could feel the silk of her shirt clinging to her. He hadn't been exaggerating, either, about sweating through his undershirt and shirt. They could not go on like this in this sweltering heat. They would die of heat stroke or at least pass out. She wanted more than anything else for him to pick her up and sit her on her desk, or maybe his, and just kiss her and other such things she had read about in those books she kept hidden under her bed….which was ridiculous because she was a grown woman and she knew that doing anything on her desk would only either break it, make a mess, or both.
It was too damn hot for any of this.
A drop of water, no, sweat, hit her on the forehead. She wiped it off. Yes, way too hot.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" said Serizawa. He pulled his shirt up, quickly, and used it like a towel…even though they had plenty of paper towels…but he had not been thinking. He had not been thinking of anything other than the fact that he had done something as gross as sweat on her and now she was probably grossed out and-
A hand on his wrist.
"It's fine, really, I'm ok." Said Reigen. He was so cute sometimes. Yes, that was a good word for him right now. Cute in the way that he was so flustered and worried. It was just a drop of sweat but he was acting like he had spat in her face or something. He was so cute…but it was too hot for this. She had felt like a melting candle all day. She usually wore a full face of makeup when she was at work…or went out…or really anytime she had to be seen in public. Maybe it was due to some deep seated insecurity, maybe she just liked wearing makeup, or maybe she just wore so much of it because she compulsively bought it. She didn't know. All she knew was that he was currently making a mess out of not only his shirt but also her face.
"Oh! I-I'm sorry…again. I'm very, very, very sorry." Said Serizawa. He tucked his shirt back in. He had undone all of her hard work. He had seen her touching up her makeup before. There were so many things she needed to do and in a very specific order…and that was just to touch it up! He had ruined all of her handiwork and now she was probably mad at him or-
Or maybe she'd kiss him.
That worked too.
"Stop apologizing. You're fine. It's hot as all else in here but you're fine." Said Reigen. She almost wished that he would have locked the door….but that would have been irresponsible. This was a place of business, not a love hotel, though a love hotel would have made her quite a bit more money. Not that she was going to be making any money in this heat.
Maybe it would turn into a terrible cycle.
No customers because of the heat and then no air conditioner because she wasn't making enough money and then the customers would stay away and it would all just be a mess…or something. Maybe she should just close up shop now and reopen when the worst of the heat passed. They did that in other countries, didn't they? They needed to start doing that in Japan, especially with global warming being what it was.
"You are….I mean it is! It is…very hot….in here." Said Serizawa
"I need to get an air conditioner before we go out of business." Muttered Reigen. She took a step back. The movement of the air between them offered no more relief from the heat than the cheap electric fans she had going in every corner of the office or the windows that, while they were opened, offer not even the slightest breeze. It was not only hot but thick and sticky and humid. The sort of summer heat that made her want to start walking north until she reached somewhere cold.
"That would be nice…" said Serizawa. When he was a kid, before the incident, he would spend his summer days in the arcade where there was air conditioning. They hadn't had one when he had been a kid, before the incident anyway, after that mom had gotten him whatever he wanted. He had almost forgotten just how hot summer could have gotten. He had spent fifteen years of his life inside and then another three going from air conditioned car to air conditioned building and then back again.
"I think…yeah. I'll just bite the bullet and get us a damn air conditioner before we die of heat stroke." Said Reigen. She pulled her shirt from her skin. It clung to her. She felt gross. Her bra was digging into her skin and the lace was killing her. She wished that she were at home, she could have at least been slightly less uncomfortable there…but she was an adult and they could have had a walk in at any moment.
"I…I could help with that." Said Serizawa. He knew why she hadn't gotten one already. Money. She said that she didn't have enough. He had plenty…well a decent amount, and there was no price that he could put on her comfort. Also this heat was not good for business. She had been saying that any day now the heat could break…even though Miss Kurosaki had said that it would be a very long and very hot summer.
"Well yeah, I'll definitely need help carrying it unless I can get a hold of Mob. I swear, she gets a boyfriend and suddenly she forgets about old Master Reigen…nah, I'm kidding. I'm happy for her and there is no way that I'm going through all that again. No, her life is her own." Said Reigen. Mob was busy these days. She had her friends and her boyfriend, who according to said friends she spent a lot of time with, and Reigen did miss her. Reigen missed her a lot but she was not going to eat up all of Mob's free time again. That had not been a good fight, not that there was such a thing as a good fight, but it had not been something that she wanted to relive. No, Mob could have all the fun she wanted and Reigen was not going to call her in for something as easy as carrying an air conditioner. That was what Serizawa was for. Heh.
"Um….I mean that I could help you buy one. I mean I remember what you said about them being expensive-" said Serizawa
"Serizawa, I know how much you make. I know because I pay you. Don't worry about this, I've got you." Said Reigen. She would not ask that of him. Not in a million years. Not even if he hadn't worked for her. No, she could take care of herself and she could not ask that of him. She had this.
"I-I want to help." Said Serizawa. This was for his comfort, too. He wanted them both to just be comfortable for a few minutes. It was too hot and sticky and just uncomfortable. Besides, she was his girlfriend and it was his job to help her out when she needed him. That was what boyfriends did…though not employees….which one outweighed the other? He didn't know. They had never discussed that before. It hadn't come up. Was it coming up now? He didn't know.
"Serizawa, I've got this." said Reigen. She could take care of herself. She was not going to ask that of him. Even if he hadn't worked for her that was still a major purchase. How did you split an air conditioner anyway? He would have had half ownership of it. That meant that if they were to break up then, what, exactly? They sawed it in half and then nobody had an air conditioner and then nobody had any air conditioner to condition the air with?
Break up.
She doesn't like to think about that. She doesn't like to think about how easily they could break out. She lov-she liked him a lot. They were happy together now. They were both so very happy…but that could change. She knew how fast it could change. She knew how fast things could turn sour and how fast she could find herself all on her own again and how difficult it would be to…to get back to being on her own…and maybe she was just trying to protect herself or…or something.
Or maybe she just didn't want to break him financially.
She hadn't been lying when she said that she knew how much he made. Shew was the one who wrote his checks after all. That was another reason not to accept that of him, him helping her buy a new air conditioner, and it was a much better one than her own insecurity due to her long and painful romantic history.
"You said that you didn't, before, and I want to help you…both because I lo-like you a lot and also because it's very, very, very hot in here." Said Serizawa. He pulled his shirt away from his chest just because it was so hot and his shirt was so sticky. Ick. Just ick.
Her eyes were on him.
"It is…" said Reigen. She wanted to tell him, again, that she was fine and she didn't need help…but that would just be giving in to that part of her. The part of her that had a foot out the door just waiting for this to be over, for their relationship to implode as hers always did….and she should not have been worried about that. He wasn't like that. This wasn't like that. They were together and this was about more than….more than what a lot of her other relationships had been about. This was about him and her and lo-caring about him. Caring so much about him that she felt like she loved him…something that she was not going to say to him. Not for a very long time, anyway, not until she was sure that he would say it back. There was nothing worse than when they didn't say it back.
"Half sound ok?" asked Reigen. They would never get to the point at which he would even want to say it back unless she gave him a reason to. There was no reason to guard herself like she had before. He was different and this was different. Better. Better than a lot of what she had been through before….
And this was moving forward.
And also she really, really, really needed a new air conditioner.