Red Strings ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Fifty-Second String

After much deliberation, and a surprisingly easy news break to Niragi, Chishiya was officially moving in with Kurenai. As soon as the decision was made, Kurenai had contractors coming in to do some renovations and took the chance to upgrade some parts of the apartment, mainly in the kitchen.

Once the work was done, Chishiya was given the okay to start moving his things.

Unfortunately, on the day of his move, she was busy with work though Chishiya did not mind packing and unpacking by himself, especially since he had Ayako around to help out. And he did not have many things to begin with either, so the move was rather smooth and easy.

Carrying the box containing his clothes up the stairs, Chishiya walked into Kurenai's walk-in closet. This was one of the rooms she renovated, and she even asked Aoi to clear out his things now that he was no longer crashing at her place. When he knew about that, Chishiya thought he would be taking over the spot Aoi used to occupy, since that was all the space he needed.

Little did he know, however, what Kurenai had prepared for him.

As soon as he walked into the room, Chishiya froze by the door. This was a lot more changes than he was expecting. Where she used to have her clothes in about 90% of the room, Kurenai had somehow managed to put everything of hers to the left half of the room. The right half was his, and she already had it stocked with new clothes and shoes. But he could not help but feel something was amiss. So he stayed by the door, surveying the room to try and figure out what it was.

"Are you alright, Mr. Chishiya?" Ayako asked, coming up the stairs.

"Something doesn't feel right..."

Ayako walked into the room too, looking around. A few seconds later, she realised what felt wrong to Chishiya. Before renovation started, Kurenai told Ayako what she would be changing around the apartment, so she would know what to keep an eye out for when she was overseeing the project.

With a knowing smile, Ayako pointed at the end of the room.

Chishiya stared at the opposite wall, still not understanding. Then he realised. Kurenai's wall of shoes was gone. What used to cover the entire wall had now shrunk to just half the size, and it seemed like she had gotten rid of half of the shoes she owned too.

"Miss Kurenai wanted to make sure that you have enough space too," Ayako said. "She said it's not fair if she took up an entire wall just for her shoes."

"What happened to the shoes?"

"She donated them. She said she's fine with getting rid of them but it hurts her a little, I think."

Hearing Ayako, Chishiya felt a tug at his heart.

He knew how much the shoes meant to her. Everyone had something they loved and obsessed over, and that was shoes for Kurenai. She never cared what brand her dresses were, or what kind of bag she would carry around for the day. She would, instead, match her outfit to her shoes. She had a few favourite pairs, but she tried to wear a different pair each day because 'they all need to be loved'.

For her to get rid of her beloved shoes because of him, just how much did she love him?

"Miss Kurenai really loves you," Ayako smiled, as if reading Chishiya's mind. "She only got rid of a small corner for Mr. Aoi, but she gave you an entire half of the room. Oh, come with me."

Beckoning him, Ayako led the way to the study room.

Again, there were changes made to the study that Chishiya was not expecting at all. It was split in half, just like the walk-in closet. Kurenai's side was pretty much the same as before, just on a smaller scale. His side was almost identical to hers with how it was laid out but everything was brand new and state-of-the-art.

"Miss Kurenai shopped for these all by herself," Ayako said. "I don't know anything about computers but apparently this PC is very fast and the monitor is high definition. There's blue light filter too? Whatever that means. The chair too, she picked out personally. Good for your back, apparently."

There were times when he heard some people say that Kurenai did not love him as much because she did not do much for him. They were expecting her to show her love by building him a hospital, or something equivalent, but that was not what Chishiya wanted. Kurenai loved him with all her heart, and he could see just how much she loved him through the little things she would do for him.

How she was willing to give up something she absolutely loved for him. How she would go out of her way to pick out only the best of the best equipment for him.

It was then that Chishiya realised.

Definitively.

Very firmly.

100%.

She was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

--

Laying on Kurenai's lap, Chishiya was staring up at her while she was applying a facial mask on him. She was humming softly, a soft smile plastered on her face as she worked. Her touch was soft, and Chishiya felt so relaxed that he could just fall asleep.

This was the first night they got to spend together since he moved in with her, and there was something he had been itching to ask her.

"I've never done these things before meeting you," he said.

"Why not? Skincare is not exclusive to women." She poured the remaining essence in the pack on her hand, rubbing the cold liquid on his neck. "Everyone should take care of their skin. You should know that as a doctor."

"I've never done a lot of things before meeting you. I never thought I would do any of those things, actually."

"Why are you getting all sentimental suddenly?"

He touched her cheek gently, pulling her down for a kiss. Although Kurenai obliged, she soon pulled away and made a face because some of the mask essence got into her mouth. Chishiya laughed softly, watching as she reached for a tissue, wiping her tongue down.

"Let's get married."

Forgetting about the weird chemical taste in her tongue, Kurenai looked down with her tongue still out. She was a little stunned, wondering if she heard Chishiya right. Did he just propose to her?

"What did you just say?"

"Let's get married."

Yeah, those were the three words she heard the first time round.

"Are you serious?"

"Do you not want to?"

They had only been dating for about a year, but with the right person, the length of time never mattered. He knew people who got married after just a month of dating, and they were still happily together. And he knew a long time ago that there was no one else for him; Kurenai was the only person he wanted to be with.

"I do, but this is not the proposal I was expecting. I don't want anything fancy, but shouldn't you at least propose with a ring?"

The subject was seemingly dropped when neither of them said anything in regards to the matter. They continued the night as normal, finishing the facial spa, enjoyed a movie together in bed, and talked a little before going to bed.

When Kurenai woke up the next morning, Chishiya's side of the bed was empty and he had already gone to work. She turned, reaching for her phone on the nightstand when she noticed something. Or well, she felt something on her finger.

Sitting prettily on her left ring finger was a ring. It was a simple ring, shaped like a tiara with a small emerald stone in the middle.

As she sat up, she saw a sticky note on Chishiya's pillow.

I'll take that as a yes.