There the Whole Time - Aggretsuko - Retsuko x Haida

♥️ Chapter 2 - Falling for you ♥️

"CALENDAR! GET ME SOME TEA!" Retsuko almost jumped as the yell suddenly rang out across the room. "Yes Mr. Ton," she replied, barely able to keep the annoyance out of her tone. But at least she could have a moment to herself. After she and Haida had made plans to go out, the clock had been ticking painfully slow. Quietly, she slipped out of the office and into the tea room. While she waited for the water to boil, she got out her phone. With a few taps, she opened up her group chat with Gori and Washimi. Can we postpone karaoke until after yoga tomorrow? I just landed myself a date! Send. Gori replied almost immediately: Good for you girl! ;). A few moments later, Washimi texted: As long as you give us all the details tomorrow. Good luck on your date. After a while, the water came to boil. Retsuko pocketed her phone and poured the water into a cup.

Clink. Retsuko placed the cup gently on Mr. Ton's desk. He looked up, but she had already left without saying anything. She honestly did not want to kick up any fuss that might land her over-time work today. Calmly she lowered herself into her chair and started crunching numbers again. Fenneko was staring at her, she could see from the corner of her eye. "Why are you in robot mode? What's going on?" Sighing, she stopped tapping the keys of her laptop. "You're not going to leave me alone until you know, are you? You'll find out eventually, won't you?" Fenneko smirked half-heartedly, "You know me too well, Retsuko." Retsuko thought for a moment. Would Haida mind if she told Fenneko? Fenneko was bound to find out somehow. But what if rumours spread around the office? Surely Fenneko wouldn't do that, they were her friends. Besides, it would be better to tell her now then have her find out another way, and possibly find out something wrong. "Tomorrow. Lunchtime, I'll get you alone and then I'll tell you," she looked Fenneko dead in the eyes before continuing, "But you can't tell a single soul... Unless I say." Solemnly, Fenneko nodded. "If you're this worked up about it, I won't tell anyone... But how bad can it be? Have you had a baby for real this time?" Retsuko blushed angrily as Fenneko laughed in her monotone voice.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, it was time to leave. With her mind somewhere else completely, Retsuko whisked through the daily end-of-work routine. She sat on a bench a few metres from the building, waiting patiently. Although she would've liked to be wearing something a bit nicer for a first date, she didn't want to risk going back to her apartment and missing Haida altogether. Speak of the devil, there was the man himself. "Haida, there you are!" Retsuko stood up and smiled, straightening out her skirt. "Hey, sorry to keep you waiting." Haida walked up beside her, "Now I know you were the one to ask if I was busy, but I have a great idea of where we can go. It's a fairly new place, just popped up last month." Retsuko tilted her head, "Oh?" He took her hand and lead her down the street, "It's not far from here!" Hesitantly, she pulled her hand away. "Wait until we're a little further away from work," she whispered in explanation. Haida blinked, then nodded and blushed. "Oh, y-yeah. Of course..." Around the block she took his hand. "Now, let's go!" She winked, and Haida smiled a big, goofy smile.

"Here it is!" Haida exclaimed as they stopped outside a building. There used to be an old ware-house like building here, but it had been done up well. Blinking signs invited you in to the 'Super-fun Ice Rink!'. "You do realise I've never skated in my life?" Retsuko stared at Haida. He nodded, "Neither have I, I just thought it would be fun!" Together, they walked into reception. An arctic wolf looked up from some papers on the counter. "Hey, are you here to skate?" He asked. Haida nodded, and Retsuko stood there trying to keep her cool. What do I do if I fall over in front of him? It would be so embarrassing! "Can we get two pairs of skates for... An hour?" Asked Haida, staring at the board showing the prices. The guy at the counter nodded, and before Retsuko knew it she was sitting on a bench next to Haida and putting her skates on. Not many people skate on a Tuesday night, so the place was pretty quiet. Thank goodness... While she was still lacing her skates up, Haida staggered out into the rink. He tried to skate a few paces, but fell directly onto his butt. Retsuko tried to suppress her laughter, knowing that would be her soon, but she couldn't. "What can I say?" Haida blushed, "I'm falling for you!" She bent over laughing. "That was a terrible pun!" She stood up and tried to follow to where Haida was, but fell over herself. They laughed together. "Not as terrible as your skating~" Haida teased. "Hey, says you!" Retsuko giggled and stood up, clinging to the rail. After about 10 minutes, she was getting the hang of it. She let go of the rail and skated wobbly towards Haida, who wasn't very far in front of her. But she started to topple, and she grasped at Haida's sleeve. He yelped in surprise as she dragged him down with her. In a heap on the icy floor, they laughed. Clumsily, they helped each other get up and skated hand-in-hand, not very gracefully.

At the end of the hour, they walked out of the rink. Retsuko was shivering, "I'm going to get hypothermia from spending too much time face-down on the ice! Worth it, though." She giggled. "Here," Haida slipped off his jacket and wrapped it around Retsuko's shoulders. She took it gratefully. "Won't you get c-cold?" Playfully, Haida shook his head and pretended to flex his biceps. "I'm a man! I don't get cold!" She took his hand and leant against his arm as they walked. "Okay then, Mr. Muscles." Retsuko smirked. Haida nodded, "You may only call me Mr. Muscles from now on... Or sexy. One of the two," He winked. Retsuko stared into his eyes and narrowed her own, "I think I'll go with sexy..." She smiled in satisfaction as Haida blushed. "Come on, you goof-ball!" She straightened up and walked slightly faster, "The night is still young!"