*Author's Note: Thank you for all the feedback from the last chapter! Please continue to comment on what you think of this story and help me improve it! Enjoy! XD
Chapter 3 – Taking Care of Her
"Excuse me Arima-kun, visitors' hours are up," said a nurse as she walked in.
"Alright," said Arima and then turned back to face Kaori. He felt like he should do something, like a kiss maybe? After all they just confessed their love to one another, so shouldn't he like give her a goodbye kiss? All this was all so new to him; he's never really liked a girl beside Kaori, and much less has experience on what to do in this scenario. So he just went with the safer option and took her hand and gave it a little squeeze. She couldn't feel much in her hands yet but she could imagine the warmth and blushed at the gesture.
"I'll see you tomorrow," said Kousei as he got up.
"Now if you don't come visit me often I'm going to get really mad," said Kaori, trying to have an intimidating look.
"I'll make sure to come daily," said Kousei turning around at the door and giving her one last smile.
"Oh and bring me my caneles!" yelled Kaori as Kousei walked out of sight.
She cried the whole time; he actually couldn't understand where the tears were coming from by the end. She cried and talked about how stupid Kousei was, and about how much she liked him. He was glad he was there with her, he wasn't really being useful, and he was kind of just sitting there beside her in this little cramped space that was already small enough for her alone. But it was still comforting to her; it was really the best support she could have at that time; someone who could just sit there silently and listen to her vent out her sadness and anger.
"Thanks for sitting through that," said Tsubaki after she calmed herself down, "you didn't have to."
"C'mon we've been friends for ages, plus I needed to sulk a bit as well. We can be sulking buddies from now on," said Watari and laughed, which made Tsubaki laugh as well. Sulking buddies, it was so sad and depressing that it turned funny.
"Ey, there we go, you finally cheered up!" said Watari with his usual smile back. "Now let's please get out of this pipe thing before I start developing back problems."
"Yeah let's do that," said Tsubaki suddenly realizing how uncomfortable she was. It was quite the awful experience getting out of there, which made both of them think how they ever got in, in the first place.
"Hurry up!" yelled Tsubaki as she waited for Watari to get out first since it only had one hole to exit from.
"I'm try- OW! My leg! My leg!" yelped Watari which made Tsubaki burst out in laughter. They probably looked absolutely ridiculous from the outside. It was a tangle of limbs; it hurt and they felt like two circus freaks performing a trick.
"Tsubaki stop being so fat, you're pushing against m- OW!"
"Huh what did you say?" said Tsubaki with an evil smile while pushing against Watari even harder.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! You're not fat!"
After finally tumbling out, the two of them laid on the snow, both tired and out of breath. Looking to the side they both spotted a black cat which curiously looked at the two of them.
"That cat probably thinks we're both dumbasses," said Watari.
"We are," said Tsubaki while laughing. The two of them then fell silent, both staring up at the starry night sky. The only sound was their breathing and the only movement was the rise and fall of their chests.
"Let's get up, we're going to catch a cold like this," said Watari breaking the silence.
"Nah, I want to stay like this for a bit longer," said Tsubaki still looking at the sky.
"You already have a cold but I have to worry about catching one right now," said Watari jokingly but nonetheless stayed where he was.
"Hey Watari," said Tsubaki with a sadness in her voice. "Say, why doesn't Kousei like me…am I not pretty enough?"
'Nonsense.'
"I think you're -"
ACHOO!
"Sowey, continew," said Tsubaki sniffling.
"I…don't think that's the why." Tsubaki then started coughing which was Watari's cue to get her home.
"Alright c'mon it's time to go home, your sickness is starting to get worse," said Watari as he got up.
"What? No I want to stay here," said Tsubaki as she struggled against Watari who was trying to pick her up. "I want to sulk for a longer time!"
"You'll stay with me right?" said Tsubaki suddenly looking into Watari's eyes. Brown eyes met each other, both of them with flushed cheeks.
"I…," stuttered Watari; the usual playboy gone, with his mind completely blanking on things to say. That's when she started to faint, and was caught by Watari.
"Hey what's wrong?!" In a state of shock and worry he quickly put his hand on her forehead to check her temperature.
"You're burning up you dumb gorilla girl!" said Watari as he managed to get Tsubaki on his back and started sprinting toward his house since it was the closest.
"Kou…sei…"
"You call his name even now huh?" said Watari with a sad smile. "At least say the name of the person that's saving your ass right now."
When Kousei opened the door she was still sleeping, so he quietly walked in and set down the bag of caneles on the food holder and sat down.
'She's so peaceful and quiet, unlike the awaked version,' thought Kousei as he laughed to himself. Deciding not to wake her up, he took out some music sheets and began analyzing them.
"Huh?" said Kaori tiredly after waking up, "Kousei when did you get here?"
"Oh…I uh just got here actually," said Kousei deciding that saying he has been here for almost half an hour will make Kaori think that he was creepily staring at her while she was sleeping. Which he kind of did, minus the creepy part. He couldn't help it, she was just too adorable.
"Help me sit up, I still can't move very well and I feel weird talking to you like this."
"Okay."
After walking closer to the bed he realized that this was a much harder task than it sounds. The first thing he tried was to get a hand behind her back and a hand under her legs to move her up the bed and allow her to lean against the back of the bed.
"W-w-watch where you're placing your hand!" yelled Kaori, her face turning completely red.
"I-I'm so sorry! I meant to grab your legs I swear!" said Kousei, quickly pulling his hand out of the blankets. His thoughts all jumbled from what his hand just touched and his face the color of a ripe tomato.
This led to his next idea which was even worst than the first one. He attempted to push her up by putting his hands under her arms, but after what just happened Kaori was on high alert and looked at Kousei with a questioning look.
"W-what are you trying to do?!" said Kaori hugging her chest which made it impossible for Kousei to execute his plan.
"I-it's not what you think! So please cooperate."
"What am I cooperating to?!"
"Just put your arms out I'm trying to get you to sit up!" said Kousei as he struggled to push her up.
"Kousei I know we confessed to each other and all that…but don't you think you're moving too fast…I mean I'm only 14 years old I don't think I'm ready for this…"
"Just what are you thinking about right now?!" Right then Kaori's arm muscle suddenly gave out and Kousei's hand went up and landed on her chest.
"Kousei you liar, pervert, camera voyeur! Taking advantage of a girl that can't move; I didn't know you were like that! Now I can no longer be a bride!"
"Miyazono-san I've brought your break-," said a nurse walking in with a plate of food and witnessing the scene.
"I-it's really not what it looks like!"
It took a lot of explaining to convince the nurse that he wasn't some kind of rapist but actually just trying to help her sit up.
"You foolish teenagers, you know that there are buttons right here to adjust the bed right?" said the nurse as she pressed a few buttons and the moved to bring Kaori into a sitting position. "Even if you two are dating this kind of behavior is unacceptable in the hospital."
"We're not-" said both of them at the same time but then stopped and looked at each other. Both of them still not used to the fact that they are dating.
"You guys don't have to be shy about it," said the nurse with a smile, "it's quite obvious."
'It is?' thought both of them as they blushed at the comment.
"So how about you make it up to her by feeding her breakfast," said the nurse to Kousei as she set down the plate of food on the food holder.
"Sorry about that," said Kousei after the nurse left. He took the plate of food and sat on the bed.
"You're quite possibly the worst caretaker in the world," said Kaori teasingly.
"That's pretty harsh," said Kousei with a small smile. "Still want me to feed you or do you want the nurse back?"
"I want you." She looked at him in the eyes and he nodded shyly.
He scooped up a spoonful of scrambled eggs and blew on it softly to cool it down. "Say 'ah~'," said Kousei with a blush as he held the spoon towards her.
"Ah~" Nom. Nom. Nom.
"Is it good?"
"Uh huh," said Kaori, nodding while chewing. The room was filled with silence, with no noise except the soft chewing of Kaori and the soft blows of Kousei. Nothing special was happening but at the same time these were the moments that neither of will forget. How could such talented musicians revel in such silence?
"You got something here," said Kousei pointing to the spot on his own mouth.
"Huh?"
"Here I'll get it." He took a napkin and leaned in closer wiping the food off of the corner of her mouth.
Before he realized their faces were only inches apart. Dark ocean blue met sky azure, both with rosy cheeks, as if under a spell they inch closer and closer. Eyes closing, fingers tangling together, the sound of their light breathing and a smell of scrambled egg.
"Good morning!" said Kaori's dad as he opened the door with Kaori's mom. Time froze for a second, all the previous sensations gone, replaced by the killer aura of Kaori's dad. "ARIMA-KUN!"
The door then closed again and in the hallway the voice of Kaori's dad could be heard. "Honey let me go I must go stop them!"
"We should leave them alone," said Kaori's mom with a small laugh. "Let them have their precious experiences."
"Experiences?!" said Kaori's dad horrified. "Nooooo, my innocent daughter!"
"Well that was a whole new level of embarrassment, twice in one day, bad things just keeps on happening when I'm around you huh?" said Kaori, more than disappointed that their moment was ruined. Kousei just nodded, still blushing from the moment earlier and now worried about the impression he left with her dad.
"You want to pick up where we left off?"
"I…uh…um…" stammered Kousei which made Kaori laugh, then suddenly she gave him a small kiss on the cheek.
"You're not such a bad caretaker after all," said Kaori with a smile. "I am satisfied with my care for today."
'No need to rush, we still have plenty of time. Our dream is only beginning now.'
*Author's Note: Thank you for reading! Please take a moment of your time to drop a comment :D! I can't guarantee that I will update as frequently as I am now since March Break is ending but I will try my best to put out one chapter every week (will probably fail miserably don't hate me please)!
Mermaid Monster: Thank you for reviewing once again! Also thank you for your support on my other pair, I'll try my best to sell it to you through the next few chapters XD.
TheFlowerWeSawThatDay: Thank for taking the time to leave a review! I really do appreciate the feedback since I'm not a very experienced writer yet. If you could point out the parts that Kousei and Kaori were out of character it'd be a huge help to me! Finally, thank you for the support and I will try my best to sharpen my writing for the next chapter!
creepysaru: YES! Someone who is with me on the Watari and Tsubaki ship! Thank you for dropping a comment again! Also this is the first time I've been called someone's hope in the desert (so much pressure .).
: No problem! I started writing this fanfic to cheer myself and others up, so I'm happy that you like this alternate ending.
1996garfield: Thank you for your support! These 'pat on the back' comment give me a huge confidence boost and motivates me to keep writing so thank you for taking time out of your day to leave one.
wrestling-with-jimmy: LOL I hope you were able to piece yourself back together. Thank you for the support!
Aiyoukhyra: I'm happy that you found what you were looking for in my writing. Thank you for the support!