Up in Flames (Fire Force fanfic)

Chapter Six: A Drunken Smile

This gloomy man is smiling...and it's the cutest thing I have ever seen. Oh no...my vow of chastity is doomed.

"Why're you looking at me like I grew a second head?" Shinmon asks with that cute drunken smile on his face. 

"You can smile!?" I ask.

"I already told you I can."

"You look so gloomy and deadpan all the time I assumed you didn't have the facial muscles to smile."

"Clarisse...Clarisse...it's a foreign name. Where exactly are you from?" He asks drunkenly.

"America. Parents moved here to be closer to my grandparents."

"It's pretty. Shockingly it rolls off the tongue. Clarisse."

"Stop saying my name like that it's weird."

He smiles even more, "Say my name, Clarisse. I want to know what it sounds like on your lips."

Is...is he a flirty drunk?! My vow is truly doomed.

"Benimaru." I say simply.

"I wonder what it would sound like if I-"

"I prayed to the lord, amen." I cut off what could have been a lewd comment.

He giggles like a school boy, "You're so cute when you're drunk."

He scoots closer to me and reaches out to touch my wine red strands of hair. He combs his fingers through them.

"What're you doing?" I ask while my heart thumps at the strangely intimate act.

He brings my hair up to his lips and presses a gentle kiss to my strands, "Such a pretty color. Like wine..."

Soon I feel his head fall on my lap. Then I hear gentle snoring.

I need to wake him up but...he looks so cute like a sleepy cat.

I reach my hand down and pat his hair gently. Suddenly he grabs my hand and plants a kiss on it.

"Eep!" I squeak.

"Ugh what's all that noise?" Konro appears in the doorway.

An awkward silence falls between us.

"It's not what it looks like!" I cry out.

"Oh to be young and in love." He walks over to Shinmon, "He becomes a more social version of himself while drunk. I'm gonna get him back to his bed."

I gently move his head from my lap.

"You know Clarisse, I think you two would be very good for each other." He says as he drags his captain back to his room.

I slowly stand up and walk back to my room. My heart still beating out of my chest.

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The next morning is rough and it isn't just the hangover. I couldn't help but keep glancing over at Shinmon. Does he remember what he said last night?

"Clarisse." Shinmon calls for me.

"Yes sir?" I stand up from my desk.

"I need you to deliver this reimbursement form to the postal office. It's our statement on the house that burnt down." He pushes forward an envelope. 

"Um, alright."

Maybe he was too drunk to remember. Probably for the best.

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After delivering the envelope to the postal office, I walk along the streets. I like it here, it's pretty and traditional for a district in Tokyo. But...I miss the open countryside. I miss the clear sky and rolling hills at my grandparent's home. A home that is now ash on the wind.

"So...um Shinmon-san...I was wondering if you would ever want to go out with me?" I hear a feminine voice ask.

I stop and peer around the corner to see Shinmon and a pretty girl standing in an alleyway.

"I'm sorry but I'm not interested and I don't really know you." He looks bored. I feel a little bad for the girl to get such a lame response.

"Ah...I see. Is it that nun? You can't be with her, she took a vow of chastity." She says desperately.

She's not wrong but...why did that sting?

"I just don't know you and I'm not interested. I have to head back to the office. Hope you find someone who can make you happy."

The girl awkwardly answers, "Oh uh thanks. I guess."

Talk about an awkward confession.

"Clarisse, what're you doing here?"

I look up at Shinmon, "Oh I was just walking back from the postal office."

"Want to walk back with me?" He asks.

"Uh sure."

I look back at the alleyway and silently apologize to the young girl who was crushed by rejection.

"You could've been nicer about your rejection to her." I say without thinking.

"So you saw that. I just told her the truth. I'm not interested in her and I don't know her that well."

"You'll never get a girlfriend if you keep that gloomy expression on your face. Besides..." I look away "You're really cute when you smile."

He stops walking, "Oh...thank you."

His face is slightly tinted red, "Come on, we gotta get back to the guardhouse Shinmon."

He walks beside me quietly, every now and then I would catch him staring at my hair.