BEEP BEEP BEEP
Shiho yawned as she turned off her phone alarm. 'That's right, I'm supposed to go jogging with Furuya-san today…' She thought as she crawled out of bed.
As she brushed her teeth, she thought back to his text from last night.
'I wonder who he's bringing along?'
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Shiho waited outside, wearing an oversized gray hoodie with black leggings and white sneakers.
"Good morning, Miyano-san!" Rei called out from the other side of the fence. He wore a black jacket and running shorts. "Ready to run?" He asked as he lightly jogged in place.
"Good morning, Furuya…san…" Shiho said slowly as she looked behind Rei.
"Something the matter?"
"You mentioned a friend coming…" She said as she opened the gate. "Are we going to pick them up?"
"Oh, that's right! Where are my manners? Miyano-san, this is Haro." Rei explained as he held up the puppy.
Shiho gasped, quickly running up to hold him. "You didn't tell me you have a dog!" She giggled as Haro playfully sniffed at Shiho's face.
"I wanted to surprise you! Haro makes a pretty good running buddy." He smiled at Shiho's cute expression. "See? I knew you'd like each other!" He exclaimed as Shiho handed Haro back to Rei.
"Hm? What happened to your finger?" He asked, pointing at her hand.
"Oh, this? It's just a small burn from cooking last night."
"Ah, the yummy-looking food from your photo yesterday?" Rei said as he rubbed his thumb against her fingers. "I also got a lot of burns when I started learning to cook."
Shiho quickly moved her hand away. "Don't be patronizing. It's your fault I got burned anyway…" She mumbled.
"Eh? My fault?" He raised an eyebrow.
"A-anyways! Aren't we supposed to be jogging?" She huffed as she stretched out her arms.
Rei shook his head in amusement. "You're hard to read sometimes, Miyano-san."
The two began lightly jogging together, with Haro leading the way.
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"So, why'd you start jogging?" Rei asked as they were taking a walking break.
"I dunno…" Shiho shrugged. "I just wanted to try out new things, now that I'm an adult again. It gets pretty boring at home, since everyone's got their own stuff happening. My whole life has been about the organization and the drug, so I'm not sure what to do now that it's over."
"Mm…" Rei nodded.
"I-I guess I'm just rambling now…Too much free time is a lousy thing to be annoyed by, huh?" She chuckled.
"No, not at all! I think it's really admirable, to let yourself find new passions. It's a lot harder than it looks, especially when you've never gotten the chance to get to know yourself like that."
"It's not so hard for me, since I have Agasa-hakase, Kudo-kun, and…you, I guess…"
"I'm glad." Rei smiled. "I was able to find a lot of my hobbies thanks to my friends. I'm happy if I can help you in that way, since you helped me too."
"I did?" Shiho asked curiously.
"To be honest, I haven't gone jogging in a while, since the organization was dissolved. Everything before then was just so much, I didn't have the time to just sit in my thoughts, and when I finally did, it was overwhelming. I tried to pour myself into work to keep my head busy again…But when I saw you the other day, jogging on your own, it made me feel proud, and it made me want to feel proud of myself too. So… Thank you for that."
"Ah, I see…" Shiho blushed at the flattery, not expecting such a vulnerable answer. "Is that why you helped me with the antidote, to keep busy?"
"Partly, yeah…" He titled his head, trying to explain his thoughts. "But it was mostly because being with you is relaxing. It reminds me of how I felt when I hung out with my friends in the police academy. I'm happy we were able to become friends."
Shiho looked at the ground. 'Why do I feel disappointed? I also feel happy hanging out with him, even if we are just friends…'
'Deep down, I'd like to be more, but I don't want to lose this friendship, Miyano-san…' Rei thought as he glanced at her.
Trying not to worry about it, Rei picked up the pace again. "Here, why don't you hold him?" Rei said as he handed Shiho Haro's leash. Haro became excited, tugging on the leash as he ran ahead.
"Ah, wait up!"
"I told you he's a great running partner!" Rei laughed as Shiho ran faster to catch up with the energetic puppy.
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Huff…huff…
Rei was keeping a steady pace, but Shiho began to stagger behind.
"Should we take a break, Miyano-san…hey, are you ok?" Rei looked back, surprised by Shiho's shakiness. "Oh man, I shouldn't have gone so far ahead…"
"No it's not your fault…A short run is fine, but going for this long…It's still too much…while my body is readjusting to the antidote." She explained in between breaths. "It's my fault, I knew I wasn't supposed to over exert myself…"
"You dummy! Why didn't you say so? We wouldn't have gone jogging together then in that case."
'That's why I didn't say anything. So clueless…' Shiho thought.
"Well, it can't be helped now. Why don't we rest at my apartment?" He asked as he pointed down the street. "It's just a minute or two from here."
"I'm fine…thank you..." Shiho huffed as she tried to catch her breath. "I'll just go back home now…"
"It's a while back to your place, I suppose I could carry you there." He said as he lightly touched her back and leg, offering to hold her princess-style.
"Th-that's not necessary, let's just rest at your apartment…." Shiho stammered, blushing as she backed away.
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The two arrived at Rei's apartment. They took off their shoes as Haro rushed to his water bowl.
"Why don't you take a cold shower, it might make you feel better. You can borrow some of my clothes."
"T-that's…" Shiho wanted to decline, but a shower sounded like heaven at the moment.
Rei handed her a brown sweatshirt and sweatpants, along with a fresh towel.
"Thanks…" Shiho said as she wandered into the restroom.
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Water poured over Shiho as she examined the different items in Rei's shower. Nothing fancy, but nothing too cheap either. She poured some of his menthol scent shampoo into her hands, putting it up to her face to smell before rubbing it to foam up. The cooling feeling of the soap instantly relaxed her as it ran through her scalp. She rubbed her body in some herbal body wash, and stood there for a moment as the water rinsed the bubbles off her skin.
'I wasn't expecting to end up here…' She thought as she stared at the wall. 'I wonder if Furuya-san is this welcoming to everybody?'
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Shiho stepped out of the shower, drying off and slipping into the clothes Rei gave her. She looked in the mirror, examining her face and body. 'I guess I'm still not used to seeing my real self again…' She thought as she tucked some hair behind her ear and straightened out the clothes. She recalled a moment when they were working on the antidote together.
"I've seen what you look like as an adult. You're very beautiful."
Shiho folded the towel and old clothes. 'Does he still think so, after meeting my real self?'
She shook the thoughts out of her head as she turned the knob.
"Ah, perfect timing! I just finished making us some…tea…" Rei paused, taking in the image of Shiho wearing his clothes. They were much looser on her, with the sleeves rolled over a few times to fit. Her slightly wet hair pulled back her bangs, showing off her modelesque face.
'Beautiful…' He thought to himself.
"Where should I put this?" Shiho asked, referring to the wet towel and clothes.
"Ah, you can just put it over there." He said, with a slight blush over his cheeks. "Come sit, have something to eat." He poured out two cups of lemon tea, placing them next to a tray of ingredients.
Shiho looked at the tray, surprised by the familiar food. "Hm? This is…"
It was a plate of bread slices, some butter knives, and jars of peanut butter and blueberry jam.
"That girl, Ayumi-chan mentioned you liked these sandwiches." He explained as he took a sip of tea. "I never had it before, so I thought I'd try some."
The two made some sandwiches together, taking a bite at the same time.
"Mm, not bad!" He said in between bites. "I could only find the ingredients in the international market, but it was worth the trip."
"This was my favorite snack when I lived in America." Shiho smiled. "Thanks Furuya-san."
Rei smiled back, satisfied. 'It feels good, being able to make her smile like that…'
Furuya Rei was a master of making people comfortable around him, whether he was getting cozy with members of a dangerous organization, or trying to appease customers at a cafe. What wasn't so easy for him, was to feel comfortable around others. For the first time in a while, he didn't feel the need to put up a guard.
"What was it like growing up in America? He asked curiously. "Ah, if you don't want to talk about it…"
"No it's ok." Shiho nodded. "The organization sent me there for my studies, although I suspect they also wanted to restrict me from any outside influences like my sister, that might encourage rebelling. It was hard socializing, being mixed race and not having a traditional household." She looked up, thinking back to her childhood memories. "It wasn't all bad though…there were some nice people of course, even if I was never allowed to grow close to them." She looked at Rei with a heartfelt look. "I ate alone often, so being able to sit like this, talking freely… it feels nice."
Rei shared a similar look, relating well to her feelings. "Mm, I know what you mean. Growing up mixed wasn't easy in Japan either. But because of that, I got to meet your mom. I had a lot of fights in school, and she always patched me up. Actually, it was Akemi-san that saw me one day, and brought me to your parent's clinic."
"Akemi did?" Shiho smiled. "Yeah, that sounds like her, she was always looking out for others…"
"Mm. You're a lot like that too." Rei chuckled. "Although you try to hide it, you're pretty sweet."
"Oh, shut it…" Shiho rolled her eyes, covering her smile with the teacup. "So, tell me about your friends from the police academy."
"You want to see what they look like? I have some photos here, he said as he reached for his photo album, opening to a photo of them at their graduation ceremony.
"Wow, you look so young!" Shiho said, surprised at the smiling photo of Rei.
"Yeah, we all felt so grown up then, but looking back now…" He shook his head. "Date-san was the leader, Hagiwara was kind of a playboy, but a nice guy, Matsuda had a more childish personality and was really skilled in the bomb squad. Hiromitsu...Hiro was a bit shy at first, but I learned so much from him." He gave a sad smile, thinking about the fun times they had together. "And yours truly was at the top of his class, of course." He grinned.
"Uh huh…" Shiho said sarcastically.
"I'm serious! What, you don't believe me?" He pouted.
"I believe you, I believe you!" Shiho laughed. "I bought a photo album the other day, actually. I put that photo we found in it, the one of my family. I never got to properly thank you for that…" She said shyly as she played with the handle of her teacup.
"You don't have to thank me Miyano-san, I was happy to see the clinic after all these years. It brought back a lot of fond memories, like this album does…"
'I hope I can make fond memories with you too…' Shiho thought to herself.
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After talking for a bit longer, the two finished their tea with some leftover food on the table.
"Is your body feeling better now?" Rei asked.
"Mm, much better now." Shiho nodded. "Thanks for letting me rest here."
"Well, since you feel better, why don't we do something fun?" Rei asked as he got up.
"Like what?" Shiho raised an eyebrow.
"Two adults, alone…" He smirked, towering over her. "What do you think?"
"I think I'd like to…" Shiho smirked back.
She stacked the teacups together and handed them to Rei. "Clean up this mess!"
"Ah, you caught on to my teasing huh?" He chuckled. "That's no fun, I like to see you flustered."
"Now you know how I feel." Shiho said as she got up. "When you always have some smart comeback."
Haro suddenly jumped on the table while they were distracted, surprising the two. He was trying to grab a bite of the leftover bread.
"No, bad Haro!" Rei scolded.
"Oh, a little treat won't hurt…" Shiho grinned as she opened the peanut butter. She took a dollop and placed it on Rei's cheek. "Here, Haro!"
The dog suddenly jumped on his owner, licking his face. Rei laughed from the ticklish feeling while trying not to drop the cups. "Ah, Haro!"
"Wow, I see what you mean, Furuya-san." Shiho said as she cleared the table. "It is fun to see you get flustered."
The puppy finally jumped off Rei, satisfied by his treat. Rei shook his head in defeat. "You're lucky I'm going to shower anyway." He said as he rubbed the saliva off his face. "Actually, I'll go do that now. Mind watching Haro? I don't need him searching for any more snacks…" He chuckled.
Shiho nodded, calling over the puppy. "Here, Haro!"
Haro nuzzled up to Shiho, happy to have the extra attention. Shiho smiled as she rubbed his belly. Rei smiled back at them before heading into the shower.
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Shiho continued to cuddle with Haro, yawning while laying on the couch. She felt comforted from the softness of Rei's clothes and Haro's fur.
'It's so warm…'
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"Ah, that feels great…" Rei exclaimed as he exited the bathroom, drying off his hair with a towel. "I hope Haro wasn't too fussy, Miyano-san…Miyano-san?"
Rei looked over the couch, realizing that both the young woman and the puppy had fallen deep asleep.
'She sleeping? It's only 2pm… Oh well, she's had a long day.' He smiled at her peaceful face.
'What should I do, guys?' Rei thought, thinking about his friends. He wrapped a thin blanket around Shiho and Haro.
"I thought it was just a little crush..." Rei mumbled, fixing the hair falling over her face.
"but I think I'm falling for you, Shiho..."