The cold sand crunched beneath my feet as the rushing foam of the ocean washed the shores. The burbling of the water reaching till my shins sent shivers up my body due to its chilling intensity. The air was crisp and sharp, the sun high into the air bathing the scene with soft light that felt so pleasant. My shoulders-locked and tense, finally let go. And so the works and worries of the Teacher and Counsellor were left behind, washed by the sea, leaving behind only the woman – Hiratsuka Shizuka.

The beach in the winter was something else. Not the hotspot for tired salarymen and their wives or for the tourists that it was during summer. No, absolutely not, it held a strong divinity to it that I had to admit to, even if I wasn't much of a religious person.

The sand stretched as a strip of yellowish-gray on either side eventually extending out of vision. I turned around and walked, still enjoying the crunch while trying to tuck in my fluttering hair– an endeavor in which I failed promptly, and just let them fly in the air– before Hachiman came into view.

3rd Person P.O.V

He was wearing a very loose white T-shirt which hung off his shoulders and black cargo shorts. His dead eyes– on Hiratsuka's suggestion as to not scare away innocent civilians– were covered by sun glasses. He sat on a beach chair, sleeping.

Hiratsuka pouted with a frown.This wouldn't do it.

A light bulb went off above her head and she turned back towards the Ocean and went into the waves until they were shin-high again. Then bent and scooped some cold water in her hands which made her shiver a little but regardless– she turned again and headed towards Hikigaya.

A child-like grin on her face, she flung all the water which landed on its victim, one unaware dead-eyed loner, who jolted awake with a scream. "Aaaaaaah!!! " He was upright and clacking his teeth now. He stayed like that for a moment and then took another to realize what had been done to him.

She was now laughing her heart out, booms of laughter rolling through the air as she put her hands on her chest before bending forwards and putting them on on her hips. He was the one with a frown now.

"I'll get you back for this you know?"

"Oh really? And how do you plan on doing that? "

"Like this–" He got up and leapt at Shizuka, enveloping her in a hug– a freezing cold hug due to all the water still dripping off of him.

"Ahh fine okay okay, let me go already… " She said not to get too cold herself but he never did.

He simply pulled her to the chair and both of them crashed onto the white woodwork, the legs buckling under the weight but ultimately holding.

"Never." He looked into her eyes with a longing intensity. They could never do this in public– hold each other, touch each other, bask in the presence the other provided. But this beach due to its lack of visitors, and distance from the highway provided a safe haven for them. She could feel her restraint slipping so she buried her face into her lover's neck, biting slightly before closing her eyes and resting them on his strong chest. God she was surprised how lean he had gotten.

They stayed like this for quite such a time that she didn't bother keeping track. Then when she finally pulled away she chuckled with closed eyes. "You should change Hachiman."

"Mhm and who's to blame for that?" He booped her nose and she got off him. Their car was parked just off the edge of the sand, away from the shore. "Let's go."

They had changed into something more appropriate–him a black jacket over a sweater and pants, and her a soft purple overcoat on a turtleneck and pants.

Her car cruised the streets of Chiba Prefecture, the tires rolling on smooth concrete with elegance that helped carry the couple through the city. He was looking outwards to the buildings with the occasional glance inside.

"So what do you wanna do?" She said.

"Well we haven't had lunch so…" It was past midday so most cafes were still open and markets bustling. The question however was…

"Where do you wanna eat?"

"Hmmm, let's see. Definitely something hot. Ramen? "

"Eh, I feel like we have Ramen too often."

"Wow I didn't know you were capable of saying no to ramen."

"Hey!! What do you mean by that brat? " He only chuckled before responding.

"Right, anyway, how does Chinese sound? Hot Pot will probably warm us up."

"Yeah that sounds good." He nodded and looked up for a good place nearby on his phone while she drove around idly, not wanting to stop.

She liked driving, she had saved up money for several years to buy her Aston Martin so you could say she liked driving a lot. Something about it just provided her with satisfaction.

Maybe it was the notion of constantly moving forwards, maybe it signified the hustle and the rushing life she had so immaculately become a part of in her years. Regardless, she liked driving.

"Right, found it. Building No. 404, just down the road next to the Sakuragi 7-Eleven."

"Huh that's a bit far away." She slowed her car and looked at him.

"Well it's the one with the most and the highest ratings so I figured it'd be best. There's closer ones if you want. "

"No no no, I don't mind. Let's go. "

Sometime later the restaurant came into view. Huiquan written on its board in bright red letters, a small glass window by the door showed off the inside of the restaurant quite well. Shizuka pulled over and parked before both of them got out and walked in.

"Seats for two please." He said to the receptionist as a waitress gestured to show them their seats. Thankfully there wasn't any crowd at the store, only a few people sitting to the other side of the place. It was a Sunday but there was no rush hour, most people would have been outside somewhere else so the lack of people made sense.

A waitress came over and they ordered the usual hotpot set. It came out a few minutes later, a pot of bubbling warmth and flavor divided into two different flavors, one more spicy and one more rich and soup-like.

Both of them– now sat across each other, said their prayers, split their chopsticks and dug in. It came with a collection of vegetables and meats. He picked a thin cut strip of beef and put it into the spicy side while Shizuka took a collection of relatively thick cut pork and cabbage before stuffing it deep into the same spicy side.

"You should always put one piece in first to marinate throughout the whole meal. And eat it at last. It's what I've learned from my years of experience in the battlefield that is life." She delivered while nodding with self-righteousness.

Hachiman only remarked in his mind how cute she was before picking out the food he had put in. Shizuka stopped the overdue nodding suddenly.

"You just thought of something mean didn't you?"

"No I didn't." He shot back instantly.

"You totally did!!"

"If I even did, which I didn't, what did I think?"

"Hmm let's see then." She said putting a small chunk of pork into her mouth, chewing for a second before swallowing. "A comparison of me to the Saiyans from DBZ would be totally in character with your rotten cynical self hm."

"Wahhh, my beautiful girlfriend is too assuming." His shoulders slouched and eyes closed. "I didn't. Besides, I'd never think of you as a Saiyan." He frowned a little, looking like he hadn't meant to let that last part out.

"Hmm and why's that? Too strong for your tastes Hikigaya Hachiman." She teased,

"No…" Her companion blushed and looked away to the side. "It's because Shizuka with a tail would look too cute."

"H-hahhhh??????" A blush rose all across her cheeks that was totally because of the steam rising from the hotpot, surely not. Shizuka was a well respected and known woman amongst the academic community of Chiba and Tokyo. She surely was not turned into a blushing maiden that looked silently with a smoldering gaze at her plate like a schoolgirl who just had been confessed to. Hachiman wasn't any better either, reduced to meekly picking the meat from the hot pot and eating.

Despite the silent atmosphere she had a stupid smile on her face that looked like she was on cloud nine. And she couldn't stop giggling throughout the meal as they ate.

The hot food had rejuvenated their body as both now lay next to each other on their bed. Comfy and warm sheets covered them as closed windows blocked the chill of the winter. The TV on the opposite wall had some anime about devils and chainsaws going on that Hachiman didn't care much about.

He actually didn't care much about anime in general nowadays, finding more pull in novels or manga. But that sounded too self righteous to go around saying it, and he didn't want to sound like a stuck up pseudo intellectual. So he just kept this to himself.

Don't get him wrong the anime was better than most, but what took the brunt of his attention was the woman in his arms.

She had ditched the overcoat which was now tossed over the living room couch and now was only wearing a sleeveless turtleneck. It covered the shoulders that poked out of the sheets that he had eyes upon. A click was heard as the show playing went black.

"Hm what?" He asked, turning and meeting her gaze that was intently trained on him.

"You aren't even watching." She said as if it was an obviously incriminating accusation.

"But you were." He argued.

"Well I can watch it later. When I'm alone." She snuggled up to him and pressed her face into the crook of his neck. "Let's cuddle."

"Hm fine." He opened his arms and pulled her so that now she sat on him. Hands travelled down her body and Shizuka groaned out a sound of relief and satisfaction. "Your waist is very thin."

Hachiman said it like a casual remark. Like it was a simple fact.

Shizuka only hummed for a few seconds before chuckling. "You're considerate at very weird moments you know?"

"Is that so? That a bad thing?"

"Mhm not really."

She leaned in for a kiss but they were interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing.

When she checked who it was: Yukinoshita Haruno