title: the rain, the books and everything in between
pairing: aizawaxshiraishi
a/n: a continuation to the scene when both of them are in the rain.
As thunder clapped loudly and lightning flashed above their heads, the rain still continued to pour down mercilessly on their bodies, drenching them completely. He could feel the water seeping into his shoes, the water dripping from his hair and clothes, the chill from the howling wind. But he didn't care. All he wanted to do was to be by her side. Even if it was just his hand on her shoulder.
One moment Shiraishi was indoors, the next she flew out the doors to the Helipad, where she knew no one would go on a thundery shower. She heard Aizawa call her name as she ran, but she didn't care. Arriving at the Helipad, she threw her precious notes, books and equipment to the floor. The blood, sweat and tears she spent on her notes now had no value. As the rain ruined her notes, she felt her life being ruined too. A hand grasped her to stop, but she forced her arm out. Shiraishi felt like she deserved this.
There, she cried out to the rain, not caring about the man behind her who ran out in the rain. He could have stayed to complete his report, but seeing her fly out the doors made him follow without a doubt. He even called for her, unknowingly letting his body make the decisions instead, He didn't know why he followed either, he knew there wasn't much he could do. But his feet moved before his brain could say stop. Before he knew it, cold rain dripped on his scrubs and he finally accepted that he followed her.
Aizawa wasn't close to Shiraishi. Heck, all the fellows weren't particularly chummy or close with her either. She was timid, a little blunt, but extremely gifted and talented. The total opposite of both Fujikawa and Hiyama combined. You might as well throw in a touch of Saejima too. She was far from competitive and Aizawa could easily outsmart her. Aizawa could easily let her fail somewhere else, like now. One less spot in the Fellowship means lesser competition, right? It was a good thing.
But Aizawa didn't. He wanted to stay by her. He wanted to be her corner stone, her pillar of strength, her own moral support. He didn't know the reason for why he always felt tense when they sat in the storage room; he didn't understand his racing heartbeat whenever he accidentally touched her fingers or made eye contact. He blamed the adrenaline, the coffee and his tenseness. But today, he was certain why.
Soon, the rain slowed to a slight drizzle, and it finally stopped. He could feel the sore in his legs and the ache in his back as he crouched next to her. He assessed the situation. She had by then stopped crying, but only stared into space with lone eyes. Getting up, he squeezed her shoulder to get her attention. It's no good to stay outside like this, she better get somewhere warm, Aizawa thought to himself.
"Shiraishi, let's go inside." He said to her. She didn't move or respond at all. Sighing, he crouched in front of her and tipped her chin up lightly, forcing her to look at him. Lifeless eyes stared back at him. It broke him even more than before.
"Let's go inside, okay?" He said in a kinder voice, much nicer than his usual strict tone. She merely looked at him before going back to her state of confusion. Aizawa got up from his position and turned. Walking around, he picked up her notes carefully, ensuring the pages are not folded before stashing them into his own scrub pockets. Grabbing her stethoscope from the floor, he hangs it around his neck before helping the woman up.
She was so exhausted that Aizawa had to literally drag her. He wrapped one arm round her waist, supporting her and the other gripping her shoulder lightly, guiding her to the door. Aizawa could feel her body weight on his, her arms desperately grabbing on his scrubs like he was going to leave. He rubbed her shoulders occasionally for comfort as he dragged her back indoors.
Aizawa arrives at the doors to Hiyama and Fujikawa. Hiyama had a change of clothes and a towel in her hands, while Fujikawa came prepared with a warm can of tea. They helped him guide her to the lockers where he calmly instructed her to take a hot shower. Shiraishi merely nodded and went into the shower room while Aizawa stood outside the room, his back against the wall, shoes forming a puddle on the floor. It finally occurred to him that he was standing in the female locker room, but once again, it didn't matter. She mattered more.
He waited till he heard the sound of the showers and the steam rising up before leaving her to her own privacy and standing by the doors of the locker room. He rested his head against the wall and let out a sigh. None of them knew what to do for the young woman. Her breakdown made Aizawa's heart break apart as well. Even more the reason why it pained him to see her cry. A towel being thrown at him brought him back and he caught it midair. He trained his eyes to Hiyama and Fujikawa just outside the doors.
"Get yourself into something dry. You'll get sick." Hiyama flatly says before nodding towards the lockers. Aizawa nods in reply and steps out. He towels dries his hair before changing into a scrub top and some sweatpants. Taking out the books and equipment from his scrub pocket, he makes an effort to dry the stethoscope, hoping it isn't ruined. He also makes a mental note to dry her books.
Done in almost 5 minutes, he steps back into the female locker room again. Hiyama looks at him from top to bottom and he stares back with a raise eyebrow. She shakes her head and passes the tea to him, still warm from the vending machine.
"I'll help cover your reports tonight." She says to him before he could react. She leaves before Aizawa could voice his opinions. The sound of a door opening brings him back. Shiraishi stepped out in a plain black tee, and long sweatpants, similar to what Aizawa was wearing. Even though he knew those clothes were supposed to fit her nicely, it hung loosely around her, making her look like she was smaller that she is.
She met with his eyes before shrinking back, almost out of fear. Aizawa's heart broke even more to see that this woman, the doctor that could analyse situations faster than a senior doctor could; one that could memorise countless procedures and wasn't afraid of anything on site was afraid now. It scared him that she too, had an extremely vulnerable side.
Putting his arms round her, Aizawa rubs her shoulders comfortingly as she relaxes herself in front of him. Although she didn't know him well enough, she felt comfortable. She felt warm when Aizawa places his hands on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort. With an arm around her shoulders, he brings her to the on-call room, where no one ever goes during night shifts. He opens the can of tea and makes her take sips while he carefully dries her dripping wet hair. All this while, she stays silent, complying to his orders slowly.
Aizawa stops once he hears chokes sobs coming from her a few minutes later. Putting the towel aside, he shifts himself so he sits cross-legged next to her. He takes the now empty can of tea from her and disposes it in the trash. He rubs her back silently as she cries her remaining tears that has surfaced out. No words were needed, she just wanted him by her side.
He suddenly feels her hand trail up his back to his neck and the other arm following suit. She pulls his chest towards her as she buries her face in his shirt in sobs. She clutches onto his shirt, as if he was going to disappear. Aizawa couldn't care less, he just silently allowed her to soak his shirt with tears as he rubbed her back soothingly. With each sob, she kept saying "I'm sorry" and he kept saying, "It's okay". Although they both couldn't make out the words to what they said, they both knew deep inside what they meant to each other.
Shiraishi soon felt her eyes close and droop down. Tired was an understatement. She was beyond exhausted and ready to collapse. Crying it all out left her dehydrated, exhausted and faint. Aizawa notices her tiredness and wraps his arm round her in a more comfortable position. Both her hands clutch on to the front of his shirt and her eyes shut, succumbing to the fatigue that overtook her.
Making sure she was sound asleep, he shifts himself to the bed where he lets her lie down and tucks her into the sheets. He would have pried her hands off his shirt if it was anyone else, but this was Shiraishi. And he would never want to do that to her. But this was different. He had things to do and he needed to them now. Gently, he pries her hands off and rubs her knuckles gently for comfort. Placing a light kiss on the top of her head, he tucks her in and pours a glass of water by the bed before turning off the lights and leaving.
Aizawa makes his way to the lockers, where he collects the stack of books by the benches. Fujikawa left a note, saying he flipped through most of them to ensure they aren't ruined and assures Aizawa they are in good condition. Aizawa scoffs and suppresses a smirk. Sometimes, having a nosy friend means you are well taken care of.
Stashing the note aside, he gets a hairdryer from the room and turns it at a low setting, before proceeding to dry hundreds of handwritten notes and printed medical journals. His arms hurt from holding and controlling the hair dryer, and the hair dryer is hot enough to be burned out. But he didn't bother. Her books needed to dry.
Once they are mostly dry, he gathers the books and stethoscope before sneaking into the female lockers and stashing them in Shiraishi's locker. He silently thanks Hiyama for 'accidentally' leaving her locker unlocked and covering his shift. Grabbing a change of clothes and her handbag, Aizawa throws her valuables in the bag before sneaking into the office. He wouldn't want anyone to think he was stealing.
Creeping into the room, he dims the lights and sees that she is still sleeping. Shrugging, he places her things by the bed and writes a note, telling her to go home and take the few days off. He knew she was going to be sick and told her to take care of herself. He visualises the words 'you can rely on me' several times before deciding not to write that. With nothing left to write, he leaves the letter on the table and takes his leave to finish whatever reports were left undone.
He leaves just before Shiraishi wakes up.
Shiraishi was sent home the next day by Mitsui-sensei to rest, when she woke up with a scratchy throat. Heeding the note, she tried to take her time off and heal but only came back demoralised for work. She catches Aizawa in the morning and stops him as he is walking to the lockers.
"Thank you…for that night. It was nice to have you stay." She replies timidly. She didn't know what to tell the man who let her cry in front of him. Fumbling with her handbag, Shiraishi gets pulled to attention when Aizawa grabs her shoulders warmly and he bends down slightly to meet her eyes.
"Take care." He said to her firmly before letting go and leaving to the lockers. Startled and confused, she nodded her head in slow motion and paced herself to the lockers.
She never knew who got her books and stethoscope from the floor to the lockers dry. She assumed it must be Hiyama or Saejima. But she never suspected it was the man in the rain who ran with her.
a/n: hello everyone! im back with another oneshot! this has always been at the top of my mind and i just needed to get this out before i go practically insane. thanks for the reviews for this book so far! so thankful for everyone who has favourited, follow and reviewed this. request are always open and i gladly love to write what you guys want. let me know what you guys want to read next and let me know how this one went! love you all! thank you all for all the support once again!
-akino