Meeting [Haise x Touka]

Three

Wanting to start work as soon as possible, Touka finished all of her projects and assignments in 3 nights and went to work the next day. As she stood in front of the shelves and slotted the books in one by one, her mind trailed back to what Yoriko said. "You might like him better than you think you do..."

"Like who?" Sasaki asked, from behind her back and prompting a shout from her for scaring her.

"Oh, nothing.."

He gave a nod and stood beside her to sort the books out on the cart. They were standing so close that Touka could feel the warmth radiating from his body and she wondered how it would be like if he just wrapped his arms around her just like that. He'd be saying her first name into her ear and his arms would hold her so tightly as if she was a piece of glass. Out of the 3 boys she dated, none of them lasted more than 3 months and ever gave her a feeling of safety. But somehow she felt that Sasaki would be able to do so.

She shook out of her thoughts and looked down, cheeks flushing. Just as Yoriko had said, she liked Sasaki, in a romantic way and she was sure that it happened on their first meeting when their hands touched over the cash register. The contact was electrifying and at that moment, she knew they had a connection. But it seemed Sasaki pretended it didn't happen or was just a dense person in these type of stuff.

"Kirishima-San? Are you okay? You look like you haven't been sleeping much and your face's red." Sasaki asked, shortened the space between them and peered at her face.

Touka took a step back. "I'm fine, really."

"Really?" He asked again, placed a hand on her forehead and she felt her face turn redder at the contact. His hand was big and warm and—"Do you want to rest for a bit in my house upstairs? You don't look well."

She knows a girl shouldn't go to a guy's house so willingly but seeing the concerned expression on his face, she just wanted him to be less worried. So she took a step, the world spun and her knees buckled. Right before hitting the ground, he caught her and was enveloped in his warm arms, who held her so tightly and she knew she would be safe before she closed her tired eyes. 

"Kirishima-San? Kirishima-San!"

His stomach flipped when he realized that she's running a fever and is out cold.

Sasaki carried her in his arms, moving to quickly flip the shop's 'open' signage to 'closed' and locked the door. Through the door behind the counter, he ran up the stairs to the second floor of the shop and unlocked the door to his apartment.

He rushed to his room and placed her on his bed gently. As he moved to pull the blankets over her, she pulled him down and pressed her lips to his. His eyes widened when she gazed at him with a smile. "Haise."

After calling his name, her eyes closed and she went into deep slumber. His fingers touched his lips and he struggled to get his racing heart to return to its normal rate as he went to get a wet small towel to place it on her forehead. He changed into a new set of clothes, sat down on the bed and stared at her. Why would she do that? She's sick so she must have mistaken me for someone else. But she said my name...

With both hands on his head, Sasaki messed up his hair and groaned in frustration. Best to just ask her tomorrow, even if she doesn't remember what happened. He's an adult, he cannot let this drag on. It needs to be addressed. As he was absorbed in his thoughts on how he's going to bring the topic up, Touka whimpered in her sleep and he watched her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth turn into a frown. A nightmare, maybe? He placed a hand on the side of her head in an attempt to soothe her and it did work when she stopped whimpering.

Having her bangs on her face while she slept must be uncomfortable—was what he thought when he pushed her hair to the side and exposed the usually hidden side of her face. The first thing that came to his mind when he saw her full face was that she's beautiful. He had always thought of her as cute, from being a student and his employee, but seeing her now changed his mindset. What he saw now was a beautiful woman.