There the Whole Time - Aggretsuko - Retsuko x Haida

♥ Chapter 1 - Silent Confession ♥

Retsuko steadily tapped her fingers on the table to a beat inside her head. Fenneko was next to her, tapping something into her phone. Haida sat opposite her, face towards his food. She found herself staring at him more than she'd like to admit. It frustrated her how Haida had been acting like nothing was different. You can't just lie on a hospital bed and confess your love for someone and then act like it never happened! Suddenly she realised a hand had stopped her tapping. She followed the arm up to Fenneko's face. "That tapping was getting annoying. I can tell something's bugging you. What's up?" Retsuko glanced at Haida. He seemed to have turned a subtle shade of red. She looked back at Fenneko, "Nothing, nothing. Just thinking about work, you know how it is with..." She trailed off. Fenneko raised an eyebrow but didn't press any further. "Uh, yeah..." Although Fenneko had returned her attention to her phone, Retsuko couldn't shake the feeling that Fenneko wasn't finished with her. She let out a big sigh. Retsuko couldn't take this any longer. "Haida, I just remembered my um... Laptop has... um... Stopped working?" That was the worst lie ever.  Haida looked up, startled. "Oh, yeah! Sure, I'll help you!" The two got up and left the lunch room. Retsuko could feel Fenneko's eyes boring into her back.

When they were in the hallway and out of sight, Retsuko pulled Haida into the archives room. He let out a startled cry before she placed a hand over his mouth. "Shhh! I need to make sure we're alone." After a quick look around, Retsuko was satisfied that nobody else was in the room with them. Haida slid down the wall to sit on the ground and narrowed his eyes, "I knew  you didn't really want help with your laptop!" She sat down next to him and nodded. "I need to talk to you. You can't just tell me you love me and then act like it never happened!" She spread her arms out in an exasperated gesture. "To be honest, I was scared to bring it up. You never told me how you felt," Haida pointed out. Retsuko sighed. She had told Haida that she needed a while to think over her feelings. "Well... I didn't realise until you told me how you felt, but... I think I - I'm pretty sure I- I'm probably-" Uncertainty and agony sparkled in Haida's eyes as he shifted his weight from side to side, "Spit it out! You're killing me here!" I don't know if I can tell him! Why am I having so much trouble?  "I-i think this would be a clearer way of getting my message across..." She scooted closer and grabbed his face. Haida let out a grunt of surprise as she pulled his face towards her until their lips were touching. After a few heartbeats, Haida wrapped his arms around her and kissed back. 

Click clop click clop. Footsteps sounded outside. Startled, the two pulled apart. They sat there, bracing for the door to open, but the footsteps passed. Retsuko sighed with relief before saying, "That's probably people heading back from lunch." Haida nodded and stood up before offering her his hand. She grasped it and let him lift her to her feet. Taking out a pocket mirror, Retsuko checked her makeup while Haida straightened his tie. With a burst of confidence, Retsuko asked "Are you b-busy tonight?" After Haida shook his head, she continued, "M-maybe we could go into town together tonight?" She shifted uncomfortably as she waited for Haida to reply. Would he want to go to town with her after she had left him uncertain for so long? "Of course! I w-would love to!" Retsuko smiled casually, hoping she didn't look as excited as she was inside. Grabbing the door handle, she held it open for Haida. "I guess we'll talk after work then," he said.

"Yeah, I guess we will."