Worth More Than a Sapphire

Chapter 10: Letter

You woke up with half of your bandages shifted off, and your neck stiff, but not as painful as before. That much was clear by the simple fact that you could stretch it without feeling like you were being choked to death. You knew you'd tossed and turned over the night, but somehow still stuck close to Zenigata.

Maybe it was because at some point he'd clung to your waist from behind like a koala. He snored. Loudly.

The king of romance, you thought with a smile.

You lifted his hands and sat up as quietly as you could, taking a peek at him. He looked angry even when he slept, and you laughed. The compress was still over his black eye. You stopped laughing when you remembered why you'd put it there.

Would it be okay to wake him up? What time was it? Should you let him sleep or-- Wait, your arm. You looked down, particularly where the gauze had slid, and made a face. It didn't hurt too horribly, but it was far from comfortable, and you wondered if more painkillers would overdo it. You didn't want to look at it for too long, knowing it would be disgusting, but you took note of how it had begun to scab over, and there wasn't any sign of pus or infection. Zenigata wasn't kidding when he said he knew what he was doing.

Still, you knew he'd fuss and throw a fit if he knew you were awake and in pain in the slightest. Even so, you couldn't bring yourself to nudge him awake.

While you had contracted the most visually upsetting injury from that night, you were lucky enough to be behind him and Jigen. You had realized while Zenigata took you both home that all of your scratches and scrapes had come from when you were awake, not vulnerable and unconscious. The pain in your neck had no doubt stemmed from the hit to your skull knocking your head back, maybe straining a muscle there, but after a little while, even the pain in your head subsided. You were dirty and your skin was rubbed sore in some spots, but that was probably just from contact with the floor. Your arm... was obvious.

But Zenigata...

In all honesty, you weren't sure how bad things had gotten for him. His eye looked horrible, so much you didn't even notice the cuts on his face. He moved his arm uncomfortably, and avoided standing for very long if he could. Most of his damage seemed to be internal, and he was concerningly brushing it to the side in favor of taking care of you. Maybe it was just territory for the job, but it didn't set right with you.

It was decided.

You were just going to curl back in and pretend you were asleep until he got up. It was the noble thing to do.

You scootched back under the blanket, laying on your side as before. He would be none the wiser, aside from how you'd moved his arms away to get up. Maybe if you pulled them back...? You scooted backwards, closer to him. If you waited long enough, he'd probably do it again instinctively, and if he didn't it was whatever. It didn't really matter too much. That said, you wouldn't exactly object if he wanted to hold you again.

Debilitating pain aside, the whole situation was oddly domestic. Waking up before him, debating whether or not to get out of bed and eventually settling back for more cuddles with your boyf-- 

You winced at the thought. Not because you hated the idea, but because you still didn't know your standing. What labels applied here? It felt like "boyfriend" was an understatement after everything that had happened, but even that term seemed like you were rushing things. You'd only been on one date. You only spent one night in his apartment while he took care of you and in all honesty, you were both too busy t--

Oh my God.

"Work," you whispered feverishly. "I'M MISSING WORK!" you cried, jumping out of bed. Suddenly, letting him sleep wasn't your concern anymore, and he woke with a start.