ficlet; 014: past midnight
pairing: aizawa kosaku/shiraishi megumi
word count: 677 words
note: another short one, just to keep the Aizawa/Shiraishi feels alive. Heh.

Shiraishi entered her apartment, smothering a yawn, closing the door carefully and quietly, as she took off her shoes and hung up her coat. It was past midnight, and she knew that Aizawa would be asleep, having returned home a mere five hours ago after pulling a double shift due to several emergency surgeries. It had been frantically hectic at Lifesaving and Emergency for the last few days – in fact, she herself had also just completed a double shift. If not for Fujikawa literally shoving her out of the hospital, she would probably still be there, even if everything had already slowed down to much quieter pace.

She padded to the kitchen, helping herself to a glass of water. As she sipped, her eyes landed on a take-out box on the dining table, and a note on top of it, in her husband's rather meticulous handwriting.

Please eat when you come home. I know you wouldn't have eaten anything substantial at the hospital.

She smiled, opening the box to find beef fried rice from one of their favourite take-away restaurants. He was right, she hadn't had any proper food except for a sandwich, but it was late and she was frankly not that hungry. Still, she scooped out the rice onto a small bowl, heating up a portion to be eaten, and refrigerating the leftovers. She wasn't about to disregard Aizawa's efforts; besides, it was probably wise to get some food in, however not hungry she was feeling.

She finished her small meal quickly, and washed the bowl and chopsticks before heading to the bedroom. Silently, Shiraishi crept into the bedroom, trying to be as quiet as possible. She decided to forgo a shower; not wanting to wake Aizawa, for he wasn't exactly a deep sleeper. She cast a glance towards their bed, he was sound asleep, chest rising and falling in even breaths. Quickly changing out of her work clothes, she put on an oversized t-shirt of Aizawa's that she used as a night dress, and slipped into bed, taking care to minimise her movements. She checked to make sure her phone alarm was on before putting it away on the night table.

As she was doing that, she felt a warm body pressing against her back, and an arm around her waist. "You're home," her husband murmured, dropping a kiss on the curve of her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, squeezing his hand. "Did I wake you?"

She felt him shaking his head, as he shuffled even closer to her. "Not really. I was waiting for you to come home. What time is it now?"

"Nearly one o'clock in the morning," she answered, turning around to face him, curling up against his side as he shifted his arm, sliding it around her shoulders.

"Did you eat the fried rice?" He asked, his eyes still half-closed. "Let me guess, the answer is no," he continued, before she could respond.

"You're wrong this time, Aizawa-sensei," she said, a slightly triumphant tone to her voice. "I did eat, although I didn't finish the whole portion."

"At least that's better than nothing," he stroked the side of her arm idly. "You have to take care of yourself."

"Well," she placed her hand on his cheek and pressed a quick kiss onto his mouth, "I am doing that, and I also have a husband that takes very good care of me."

"Isn't that nice for you," he said, tangling their legs together as he hugged her to him. His hand slid down the side of her body, slipping underneath her (well, his) T-shirt, fingers tracing lazy circles on her hip. There was nothing suggestive about his touch; they were both too tired, and they realised it. It was just comforting and reassuring, borne out of the intimacy of knowing each other as well as they did.

"Very nice indeed," she affirmed, yawning, eyes closing as exhaustion caught up to her.

Aizawa kissed her on the forehead, his own eyes shutting. "Sleep well, Megumi."

"I always do," she murmured, "with you beside me."

A/N: Still having the writer's block…made worse by the hectic schedule of work nowadays. I actually spent my weekend in the office ahahaha and yes, I started writing this in the office, too. x.x It's not going to let up anytime too soon…but I hope I can still churn out bits and pieces of writing to keep the fandom alive 😊 In the meantime, I'm not giving up on the longer stories, but it will take me much longer to write.

Thanks for all the lovely reviews, please do keep them coming! xx