It was in the office that Asuna's phone kept pinging every few minutes. And she would cross the room, reply back and go back to sorting files for the following day.
"Oh come on who is it that you're playing phone tag with," Kim whined, leaning back in her chair.
For the last few days Kim had done nothing but complain how cold Aizawa had been toward her, how he's playing hard to get and she would get him to see that she was the girl for him. All Asuna could do was bite her tongue. She wasn't sure how to tell her that it was in fact Aizawa who was blowing up her messages without her best friend losing her mind.
"It's just a friend Kim," Asuna dismissed the issue at hand. "I'm allowed to have friends," she laughed.
Kim only narrowed her eyes at Asuna, trying to figure out what kind of game she was actually playing.
"Now come on, you tell me everything. What's going on," Kim pushed her limits by just addressing the elephant in the room.
Asuna just shook her head. She knew this was going to end ugly if it continued. "Seriously, Kim. It's nothing. Just catching up with someone."
But fast than Asuna could react, Kim had snatched up her phone only to type her password in and to see who was in fact messaging Asuna so much.
Shota
Well maybe we can catch takeout one night and do a movie?
Asuna didn't dare move watching her friend's facial expression. It felt like forever til Kim shoved her phone back to her. Asuna carefully took it back from her and pocketed the device. Silence lingered thickly between them til Kim broke the silence.
"Yeah guess that makes sense," Kim nodded, sniffling, "He asked a lot about you."
"Kimmy I'm so sorry," Asuna felt like she could cry. She couldn't lose Kim too. She had lost so much already. She couldn't lose her longest and best friend. "Please. Please don't leave," she begged.
Kim laughed airly, trying to stop her sobs. "I'm not going anywhere, stupid," she told Asuna, wiping her tears quickly. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Asuna simply looked away and tapped her fingers on the filing cabinet. "Well... because you were happy. And I've been such a disaster."
Kim shook her head disapprovingly, giving Asuna a look she knew all too well. "That is zero excuse Asuna. You should have told me."
"Honestly, Kim... it just kind of happened. I didn't realize how deep I was in til I was stuck in it. And who knows; we could not work at all."
Kim again gave her a look that screamed 'be serious'. Asuna couldn't help but to laugh slightly.
"Seriously, NaNa," Kim started before walking back to her desk, "Don't lose this chance."
It was the accepting smile that Kim gave Asuna that Asuna finally felt at ease about her role in all this. She gave a slight nod and continued filing away the folders she had. It was when she was walking back to the room she now has to call home.
"Hey," she heard Aizawa's voice approach her from behind, "you never messaged me back."
Nodding, Asuna continued her stride to her door. "Yeah about that..." Asuna paused her steps quickly and turned to him, causing him to stop abruptly.
"Kim," he asked quickly.
"Yeah. Surprisingly we are okay," she admitted, "but she knows about your interest."
It was then that his cheeks had a pink hue that continued to deepen. It only made Asuna giggle to herself as she watched this long haired man get flustered.
"Anyways," he then cleared his throat a moment, "movie and takeout?"
"That sounds great," Asuna smiled.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"Eh, the sequels are hardly ever as good as the first one," Asuna stated leaning back into the couch on the common living space.
"You aren't wrong," Aizawa admitted to her. He checked his watch quickly before getting to his feet to beat her to picking up their empty containers.
"I was going to-"
"I know. That's why I got up first," he teased her before dismissing himself from the room with the empty containers in tow.
Asuna watched as he walked off and felt like she could finally breathe. She brought her attention to how her heart could beat so hard but she could hear only her breathing. She took the moment alone to collect her thoughts. However when she heard him wince she quickly got to her feet and went to investigate.
"Aizawa," she asked as she entered the shared kitchen.
She saw him over the sink holding a paper towel tightly on his hand.
"It's nothing. Just nicked it on the knife. Someone left it in the sink and I reached in without looking," he admitted.
However that didn't stop Asuna from grabbing his hand quickly to look at the wound. It wasn't as deep as she thought it would be. But it was when she was trying to use her quirk that she stopped herself finally.
"I um," she swallowed hard to keep her tears at bay, "habit. I'm sorry. I'll see if I can find the first aid kit."
Asuna quickly dismissed herself down the hall towards the bathrooms. She tried hard to not cry on the way there but once inside a stall she let her walls down. She let her sobs echo off the walls, let her tears fall freely. It's been months but she still found herself trying so desperately to keep that part that was once part of her.
Collecting herself in front of a mirror she finally went to the closet and opened the door, grabbing the first aid kit and headed back to the kitchen.
"Sorry," she smiled sheepishly, "found it. Let's get that taken care of."
Aizawa stayed silent as he let her tend to his hand. He watched as she acted like she didn't just have a meltdown and continued to try to take care of him. Something about it didn't sit right with him. The way she avoided herself to make sure everyone else was taken care of seemed so harsh to her own self.
"Aizawa, you are all patched up," she smiled leaning away from his hand, inspecting her work. Once she was satisfied she looked to see his facial reaction. However, he seemed so indifferent.
"Aizawa-"
"Shota," he interrupted her.
She paused a moment, processing the new information. She heard his name before but somehow hearing him say his own name made her melt a little more.
"Shota," she tested his name on her lips, as if asking permission.
Nodding, he watched as she smiled and looked away. He only smirked, tearing his eyes away from her a moment.
"Well, Shota, you are all patched up," she smiled, her heart beating rapidly. Thought part of her was cursing herself for such a school girl crush.
Aizawa flexed his hand and looked at work, nodding as he inspected it. "Remind me to keep you as close to me when we need a medical team," he stated finally look back to her, only to see her face heat up and her gaze immediately adverted to the kitchen floor.
Smirking to himself he kept note of her reactions, a mental filing cabinet to know how to tend to her in the future.
"Well, I'm going to call it a night. I've got to get up early and speak with Nezu," she admitted to him as she closed up the first aid kit.
His curiosity got the better of him. "Nezu? What for?"
Asuna shrugged. "I'm assuming it has something to do with developments on Dai."
Humming to himself, Aizawa seemed to get himself lost in thought as Asuna started to walk off. He quickly moved to catch up to her, only to hear her laugh softly to herself.
"What," he asked her quickly.
"You can't go in the ladies restroom with me," she reminded Aizawa.
He immediately stopped his tracks and looked to see exactly where they were walking. Only to see the restrooms ahead of them.
"Well, yeah I guess. We are both consenting adults," he admitted to her mostly to see the reaction he would receive from her.
Asuna immediately felt her face heat up, knowing very well she was blushing horribly. She kept her eyes off of him for a moment before dismissing herself a moment to put the kit back in the bathroom closet. Asuna took an extra moment to look in the mirror and saw exactly how red her cheeks truly were. She took a few deep breaths before walking back to Aizawa's side.
Smirking to himself Aizawa continued to walk with Asuna to her door, shoving his hands in his pockets, getting lost in his thoughts about a certain redhead.
