Author's note: I got a new job! Thank you everyone for your kindness and consideration during this tumultuous time :) now I can breathe a little easier and continue working hard on this!
Qian was oddly warm when she blinked her eyes open. Her eyes felt unbearably dry and she realized grimly that she still wore her contacts. Nonetheless, a part of her was grateful for it, because now she can clearly search her surroundings in the unfamiliar room.
Where am I? She was lying on her side, facing the wall. She gripped the soft egyptian cotton sheet underneath her as she began to push herself up. However, she felt something heavy around her waist.
She twisted her head over her shoulder and almost screamed as she saw Satoru fast asleep right behind her, his arm thrown haphazardly over her belly. He wore a black t-shirt and sweatpants, though the bottom of the shirt rode up in his sleep, revealing his built abdomen. From how close she laid, she could see how long his lashes were, how unusually disheveled his hair was… the layer of stubble lining his sharp jawline…
Her eyes bulged out of their sockets as her face grew bright red from her ogling. W-W-W-W-What is this?!
She swallowed thickly as her mind raced to piece together the bits and pieces of what she remembered from the night before. She was at her favorite hill, wallowing in misery, when he found her and took her here. Then, he insisted that she took a bath which- admittedly- felt heavenly. So heavenly that she must have passed out from the heat.
She touched her forehead, feeling her skin to still be mildly hot. She must have gotten very sick from being out all night. She noted in relief that her head now felt much lighter than before. However, a sudden tickle hit her throat and she let out a hoarse cough, slapping a hand over her mouth immediately as she stiffened, silently praying that it didn't wake him.
Unfortunately, the man stirred and he, too, opened his eyes. Their gazes met immediately and her face turned an even darker shade of red. He released a small smile. "Hey, how are you feeling?"
Qian's heart leapt in her chest upon seeing the rare expression, immediately feeling captivated by his beautiful blue irises. I'm so pathetic. She wanted to bash her forehead against the wall; even after the way he treated her, she's still fawning over him like some lovesick fangirl. As she continued to berate herself internally, she quickly tried to leave the mattress, her mind completely bewildered by the situation and needing to remove herself from this compromising position so she could think clearly.
Satoru quickly perceived her attempt and tightened his grip, pulling her back down on her back. She released a gasp as her head hit the fluffy pillow once more. He propped himself on one elbow, resting his chin in his palm as he held her down with his other arm, scrutinizing her with concern. "Qian, calm down. You're in my room, you were really sick."
"R-Right, I remember." She gulped as her eyes flickered to the right. "U-Um, thank you for taking care of me b-but I should probably go now."
"And like I asked last night, go where?" His brow furrowed as he stared down at her intently, his unkempt bangs barely covering his irritated, glowing irises. "We went over this, if you had somewhere to go, you would've gone there."
"I-I had a place in mind, I just needed to catch my breath." She argued breathlessly, even though she knew that was a blatant lie.
His gaze remained skeptical. "Right. That's why you were sitting on that hill like some pathetically lost puppy."
Her earlier fluster suddenly dissipated like a blown out candle. Ears burning in indignation, she furrowed her brow as she clamped her mouth shut. Pathetic? His brash statement made her gut squeeze painfully, fury coursed through her veins. Why do you think I was in that state to begin with?! She pushed against his arm, trying to twist her body out of his grip. "L-Let go of me."
Shit. "Sorry." He gritted his teeth, his arm tightening on her as his gaze softened. "That was harsh-"
"D-Don't be. I get it." After struggling for another minute, she managed to turn around so her back was facing him, ultimately exhausted and giving up on trying to escape his iron grip. She bit down on her tongue. Don't cry. Don't show any more weakness. "Y-You made it very clear that you hated me that night- this is nothing."
Satoru clenched his jaw, guilt stabbing him through his gut. "I never said I hated you."
"Y-You didn't need to. I could see it in your eyes." She took a deep breath, trying to quell her raging inner turmoil. She was so defeated. "P-Please just let go of me."
However, she suddenly felt herself getting pulled closer, his muscular chest pressing against her back. Her eyes widened in shock. "S-Sensei… w-what are you-"
"I'm sorry about what happened that night." She froze as she felt his forehead rest against her shoulder, his hair tickling her neck. "I shouldn't have treated you so harshly. You were right, you didn't do anything wrong."
Her heart was hammering against her ribcage, the blood pounding in her ears as his apology echoed inside. Her throat felt dry as she suddenly felt like all the air was sucked out of her lungs. Does he really mean that? Or is he just saying it to make me feel better?
"I-It's fine." She somehow managed to choke out with difficulty. Her mind was racing as the heat returned to her cheeks once more. She couldn't wrap her head around what was happening. Why was he being so nice?
They fell into silence, and Qian remained stiff as an ice block as she noticed he had yet to release his hold. A few seconds passed and she swallowed nervously, unable to bear being in this position any longer. "S-Sensei, can you let me go please?"
Satoru lifted his eyes, glaring at the back of her head in exasperation as he expected her to argue with him once more. "Why?"
"Th-Th-Th-" He suddenly noticed that her ears were bright red. "T-This is making me feel weird."
There was a momentary pause as he processed her words, and she mentally slapped herself. Great, let's make this more awkward for both of us. She bit her lip as she waited for him to finally let her go.
However, unbeknownst to her, his eyes darkened as he pushed himself up on his elbow, that peculiar feeling rushing through his core once again. "Weird in a good way, or a bad way?"
Qian snapped her head over her shoulder to face him incredulously, wanting to ask him to clarify his bizarre question, but upon seeing him staring down at her with a stormy gaze, the words died in her throat.
"I-I-I don't know… " She trailed off, her brain completely frozen. Oh, no. This was not good. The man was heatedly watching her, like some predatory animal studying its prey. Her eyes darted to the left and right as he shifted above her.
She had to leave.
Right now.
She needed to get. the. fuck. out. of. there. now.
Move, Qian. Move! "S-Sensei, I-I should g-go-"
His face drew closer. "I want to try something."
She flushed a dangerous shade of crimson as she shook her head vehemently, panicking alarms blaring in her eardrums. "I-I don't think you should-"
Before she could utter another word, he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his own.
—-
Her eyes widened to the size of saucers as they stared at Satoru, her mind completely short-circuiting. Here she was, in the arms of the man who first looked down on her, who then saved her, who then acknowledged her feelings but then rejected them, who then broke her heart into a million pieces while stomping on the fragments. And now, this same man, who she had been actively trying to repress her feelings for in the past few months, was now… now…
…. k-k-k-k-kissing her?!
She squeezed her eyes shut, pushing against his shoulder as her cheeks boiled. What in the world was happening?! She had to stop him, this was wrong on so many levels! She tried twisting her face away, but he raised his fingers, hooking them under her chin to lock her in place, pressing them into his pillow as he slowly shifted his weight over her.
A shudder of pleasure racked throughout her entire body as his mouth dominated hers, a spark igniting in her belly. This wasn't her first kiss, but the way it made her feel was...
A year ago, a classmate asked her out during their school festival and they spent the rest of the day together. He showered her with endless compliments and she felt flattered, having never been an object of anyone's interest before. In the evening after they had dinner together, she allowed him to give her a quick peck on her lips. By the end of the week, she noticed he began to ask about her best friend quite often, and it didn't take her very long to piece it all together: that he was trying to get Miyano's attention by using her as a foot-in-the-door to make her acquaintance. Qian politely confronted him about it, and after his admission, they parted ways amicably (though the blonde apparently gave him a thorough thrashing after Qian shared the news).
This kiss, however, was completely different. Whereas her first kiss was, frankly, wet and sloppy, this man's lips were so soft and intoxicating, nibbling and doing wonders to her brain, which was struggling to hang onto her last shred of logic. Unable to fight the rapturous sensations, or her repressed emotions, any longer, she shyly began to kiss him back, trying to keep up with his movements.
She gasped in shock as he suddenly gripped her hips, growling in the back of his throat as he used the opportunity to push his tongue into her open mouth.
—-
Fuck. That was the only thought in his mind as he felt her kiss him back, unable to stop himself from plunging in to taste her sweet tongue. How in the world could someone taste so good, and feel so amazing? The girl was clearly inexperienced, trembling from head to toe as she clutched the front of his shirt, clearly overwhelmed yet attempting to meet his pace.
He had no idea what compelled him to reach out to her in the first place. Was it the fact that a woman was in his bed? Was it because he hadn't been with anyone recently? He couldn't come up with an answer, nor was he able to stop himself from touching her. She was in his arms, initially so angry with him, as she should be. But upon seeing her become flustered as he pulled her against him… that weird, confusing feeling from before dominated his entire being. Before he could think, his body moved on its own.
He shifted his chest over hers, resting on his elbows as his hands began to travel up, delving under the hem of his shirt that she was wearing which- by the way, the fact that she was wearing his clothes- was not helping subdue his lust. He bit back a groan in need upon feeling the smooth skin of her lower back underneath his fingers-
She suddenly squirmed, trying to tear her mouth away from his. "S-Sensei- wait-"
"No." He mumbled against her mouth, biting at her lower lip.
"T-Too fast-" She squeaked, her protest muffled once more by his kiss. She yelped as his fingers fully went under her shirt, stroking her bare abdomen, inching upwards. She managed to pull away briefly. "S-Sensei, please!"
This girl. With all the willpower he could muster, he stopped and raised his head, staring down at her in exasperation. Her cheeks were bright red, her lips swollen and gaping as she panted desperately, trying to catch her breath… her dark hair sprawled over his pillow in complete disarray.
God, she looked beautiful.
"What?" He breathed out as she gulped. She retreated further back into the pillow, trying to create space between them, but he shifted forward, keeping his face close to hers as he regarded her. His pupils had dilated fully, the blackness almost completely hiding the stunning ice-blue color of his irises. His voice sounded so gruff and… sexy. The fire in her lower abdomen burned stronger as her heart pounded in her chest.
The way his lips moved against hers was completely different than anything she had ever experienced. Her breath was completely taken away, as if she sprinted a marathon nonstop; she was swallowing and gasping for air as she desperately tried to make sense of what just happened, her consciousness grappling at her disoriented thoughts. "S-Sensei, why did you do that?"
He honestly had no idea. "I… I don't know." He admitted, massaging his temple as he struggled to speak. "I-"
Suddenly, there was a hard series of knocks and he shot a glare at the door. But he didn't move.
She regarded him quizzically. "S-Shouldn't you get that-"
However, he covered her mouth with his hand, silencing her with a glance. "No. People know not to bother me."
"Satoru! I know you're in there!" He groaned as he recognized Shoko's voice. "You're due for your check-up and it has to happen NOW."
He pushed himself off the bed, quickly throwing the girl a side-eye glance, wordlessly telling her to not move.
She bit her lip worriedly as he headed out of the bedroom. He reached the front entrance, pulling the door open slightly. The doctor stood before the entryway wearing her lab coat with a stethoscope around her neck. Her arms were crossed as she glared up at him, her foot tapping impatiently. He sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "Shoko, I told you before, I don't need a check-up."
"Yeah, well your health says you do so." She countered, placing a hand on her hip. "Come on, put on your shoes and let's go."
"I'm not going anywhere." He began to close the door before she slammed a hand on the wood, a frown stretching across her lips.
"I knew you were going to say that." She replied with a devious glimmer in her eye. "That's why I brought my equipment."
Before he was ready, she shoved the door open, causing the man to stumble back. She huffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Alright, Satoru." She looked down, reaching into her pocket, before she whipped out a pen light from her pocket, clicking it on. "Sit down and look at this light- Qian?!"
He peered over his shoulder and bit back a curse upon seeing the girl standing by the entrance of his bedroom, her eyes wide in shock. She heard the ruckus and climbed out of the bed, worried that someone was hurt. She wasn't expecting to see her old mentor. "I-Ieiri-sensei?"
"What are you doing here-" The doctor glared up at her old classmate, raising a finger to point at him accusingly. "Are you- how did-" The finger was now pointing at Qian. "You-You found her?! A-And you kidnapped her?!"
Satoru palmed his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, I didn't. Shoko, just let me explain-"
"Oh, hell no. Qian, come with me." In a couple strides, she grabbed the girl and placed a protective arm over her shoulder.
Qian frantically looked between the two faculty members while Shoko dragged her towards the door. "B-But… I…"
"She doesn't want to go home." Satoru argued, glaring at them as they made their way across his room.
"Idiot." Shoko scolded, clicking her tongue in disapproval at him. "You think I'm taking her back to her house, after what her family did to her?"
He faltered, raising his brow at her quizzically. "Then… where are you taking her?"
"Her room." Shoko replied flippantly, with a shrug of her shoulders.
Satoru crossed his arms skeptically. "Since when did she have a room?"
"I had prepared a room for her ages ago, in case the weather was bad or she worked late." Shoko gently pushed her out the door. "I just never brought it up because knowing her, she would use it as an excuse to overwork herself."
Qian gaped at the woman. "T-That's not true! I wouldn't-"
Shoko raised a brow at her skeptically. "Is it though?"
The girl clamped her jaw shut, knowing her old mentor wasn't entirely wrong.
"Okay, where is it?" Satoru asked, following them into the hallway.
"Nowhere you need to know." Shoko countered over her shoulder. "In fact, why don't you go to her house and grab her stuff?"
Qian whipped around, waving her arms adamantly. "T-That's not necessary-!"
"Oh, it is." Shoko finally turned around, placing a hand on her hip as she regarded the sorcerer. "She's going to be staying here for a while."
Upon seeing Satoru remaining silent, glowering at her with suspicion, she released a breath in defeat. "Come on, you know this is what's best for her. Just do me this one favor."
Satoru clenched his jaw, finally releasing a sigh. "Fine. But then…" His eyes flickered over to the girl. "I need to talk to her."
"She'll come to you when she's ready." Shoko sniffed as she turned around, ushering the girl down the hall as she raised an arm in farewell. "Drop her stuff off to me, thanks!"
Qian threw one last desperate look at the man, who continued staring at her as they rounded the corner.