Hitorijime My Hero

Back to Work

I walked into class the day after Masahiro was sick and the students greeted me with smiles and "welcome back"s. There were a few questions and I just explained to them that my partner was sick and I stayed home taking care of them. I probably didn't know if the students would be accepting of me if I told them I was married to a guy, nor do I know if they would have the same amount of respect for me, so I stick to the word "partner".

"Alright class, since you have your finals coming up I'll give you this second half of the class to study and/or ask questions about the upcoming exam for this class" I said as I sat down at my desk and started to grade some of the students late assignments.

When it comes to late assignments, I deduce five percent of their total grade on the assignment. For example, if a student got 100% on an assignment but submitted it a day late it'd be bumped down to a 95%. While I was working, one of my students came up to me; her name's Junko and is in the top five students in the entire school.

"Sensei?"

"Yes Junko?"

"Could you possibly...write me a letter of recommendation? I want to travel and study abroad but the program I applied for said I would need a letter of recommendation from a teacher before they could give me a definite answer. Would you mind writing me one?"

"It'd be a pleasure" I said and smiled at the 18 year old.

She thanked me and returned to her seat. This is what I live for, this is why I teach, to change lives. Who knows, I could have a future doctor or lawyer in my class.

I didn't plan on staying long after the final bell rung, but was caught by one of my colleagues on my way out.

"Ohshiba, how are you feeling? Some of the teachers and students were talking about how you were out sick yesterday." Lee asked.

"I'm fine, it was my spouse who was sick and I was taking care of them" I replied.

"Couldn't they had taken care of themself?"

"Lee, if your wife woke up at three in the morning puking her guts out would you let her take care of it on her own?" I was getting pissed off but tried not to show it.

"Now, I'll be on my way" I continued when he failed to respond.

I walked into the little townhouse and sat my belongings in my office. Masahiro was in the basement working on a final for one of his art classes, he's told me that he doesn't want me to see it before he's done and I agreed. He made his way up the stairs after I let him know I was home. The apron he was wearing was covered in paint along with the rest of his body, but it looked to be mainly dry.

"How's my little artist doing?" I asked.

"Tired, but good. I feel much better than yesterday."

"Good, how's the final going?"

"It's getting there, how was work today?"

"Pretty laid back, I want to make sure students have time to prepare for their exams"

"I wish mine would be more like you"

"I don't"

"How come?"

"Because then you might fall for one of them" I said smirking.

"For fricks sake" he replied rolling his eyes a bit.

I place a small kiss on his head and suggest he goes to take a shower to get the paint off, which he agrees to. We had some oven baked pizza and turned on a movie as background noise as we talked about school and work. Masahiro was cuddled up to me as we had a few make out sessions, because both of our schedules have been busy, we cherish every moment. This will be the rest of our lives and I and more than happy with that.