[Aim Log] [Shuuhei and Hana] [In which Shuuhei's pride takes several blows]
Growing up on a farm, physical labor had been something that Hana was always used to, whether it be hoisting heavy bags of animal feed or farm equipment. So for her, lugging box after box of stuff down two stories worth of stairs wasn't too tiring, only... time consuming. But Shuuhei was interesting to talk to and Hana didn't mind helping him move all of his belongings.
Once all of the boxes had been piled in the living area of apartment nine, Hana wiped the beads of sweat off of her forehead (why did it always have to be so hot in this building?) and wandered into the kitchen, followed by her dogs. "Would you like something to drink, Shuuhei?" she asked as she poured a glass of water for herself and filled her dog's bowls as well.
Shuuhei was pleasantly surprised that Hana harbored no misgivings about the gruntwork required to haul all of his stuff down two flights of stairs. He had subtly tried to coax her into taking some of the lighter boxes at first, but apparently, she hadn't noticed (or didn't care for) his covert efforts at chivalry; she'd just grabbed the nearest box, which was actually quite heavy, and had set off out the apartment, conversing amiably with him over her shoulder. So he resolved to let things alone, and did not at all make an effort to be the first back to his apartment so that he could get to the heavier boxes before she could. Really. (Then again, if he did walk slightly faster than normal, who would blame him?)
Once they'd gotten everything into Apartment 9, Shuuhei sank onto the nearest couch, flexing his sore arms and stretching out his leg muscles, which objected to being repeatedly forced up and down two flights of stairs. He shot Hana the most grateful look he could muster when she asked him if he wanted a drink. "I would die for a glass of water right now," he replied. "And thanks for the help. I really appreciate it."
"It's no trouble, I'm glad to help." A short moment later, a large glass of ice-water was handed to Shuuhei as Hana took a seat on a the adjacent loveseat, propping her feet up on the coffee table. When the dogs finished lapping up their water, they joined the two humans, jumping up on the couch and surrounding Shuuhei. Hana chuckled, but didn't move to shoo them off of the furniture. She would just wipe up the fur later.
"If the dogs bother you at all, just nudge them in the rump and they'll go somewhere else. They just like being with people, you know?" She smiled and ruffled Shouri's head, and the dog smiled a big husky smile, letting her tongue loll out to the side.
Shuuhei accepted the glass gratefully and promptly chugged down nearly half its contents in 2 gulps. He sighed, feeling more refreshed, and sat back, taking another sip of water. It was warm in the apartment, and he was tired and slightly achy. He rested his head on the back of the couch, letting his eyes drift closed; he didn't want to move in the next 20 minutes if he could help it. However, the dogs had their own ideas. Shuuhei grunted softly as his relaxation period was interrupted and he found himself in the middle of a doggy sandwich.
"Nah, they can stay. They're good company," he said in response to Hana's suggestion, rubbing Kougi's back vigorously, as if to prove that he didn't mind. The effect was spoiled by the slight grimace that overcame Shuuhei's face as his hand came away covered in fur. He chuckled, shaking his head. "Looks like I need to invest in some lint rollers."
Hana shook her head. "No need, you can use packing tape or duct tape to de-fur yourself. Just make a loop of the stuff and the fur comes right off." This was obviously spoken from many years of experience. "But you do it after you've left the apartment, or you'll be covered in fur again before you leave." She grinned and finished off her water, setting the cup on the table and reclining on the couch.
"Do you think you'll need any help unpacking? I don't have work tomorrow so I could help out if you needed it."
"Ah, it's a good thing then that I've still got the packing tape I used on all these boxes." He flashed her a crooked smile and set his glass on the table as well. He leaned back, absently scratching at the back of his head as Hana offered to help him unpack. "Mmm, yeah, I could use the help. It's not a lot so might as well get it over with."
He nudged at the dogs, coaxing them off the couch as he straightened. He walked over to the pile of boxes and lifted one up. "I guess we should move these into the room, huh?"
Hana stretched and popped a vew joints lazily before getting up off of the loveseat, approaching one of the boxes and lifting it easily. "Lead the way," she replied, allowing Shuuhei to shuffle over to the door and set the box inside, before setting her box down as well. "This shouldn't take too long," she said, eying the pile of boxes by the apartment door.
Half an hour later, all of the boxes had been moved and piled into Shuuhei's room. "All righty, that wasn't so hard. But I think it's time for another water break." The apartment was still warm, even though Hana had turned on the three oscilating fans that she'd placed around the room.
"Yes...water...please," he rasped, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
Transferring the boxes to his new bedroom didn't take long, even with all the dogs constantly running underfoot. Speaking of the dogs, as soon as Hana left to go get the water, Shouri jumped up onto Shuuhei's bed and sprawled across the mattress of his bed like she owned the damn thing. Dolefully, he imagined the mess of fur that would inevitably be left behind. "Hey, that's my bed," he protested, weakly. Shouri raised a doggy eyebrow and didn't budge. Shuuhei sighed. It was too damn hot and he wasn't about to engage in a contest of will. If she wasn't going to move, he was just going to have to join her.
He flopped backwards onto the foot of the bed. Ugh. He was sweaty from the heat and the exertion. He could feel his t-shirt sticking to his skin. Gross. Did he smell too? He took a few experimental sniffs. Hmmm...Shouri would know, she was a dog after all. He turned his head to the side. Shouri looked back at him, expectantly. "Do I smell? Tell me the truth, I can take it." She whuffled and thumped her tail on the mattress twice. Shuuhei supposed that meant "Yes."
"Thanks, I appreciate the honesty." He looked up at the ceiling and let out a big sigh. It really was too hot. He was talking to a dog. Idly, he hoped that Hana hadn't witnessed the exchange. She'd probably think he was crazy...or a softie. Which he wasn't. He was a man, damnit.
The clear bottom of a glass of watter appeared in Shuuhei's line of sight only three seconds later, held aloft by Hana's hand. "Shouri's always been the most honest of the three," she confided, grinning. Surely this was impugning his masculinity, but Hana thought it was funny. Her dogs were good listeners and would always interact with people who spoke to them, barking or singing or wagging their tails.
Shit!
Shuuhei flushed and scrambled to sit up, gingerly accepting the glass while purposely avoiding eye contact. "Uh...." he began, intelligently, his eyes darting from side to side. He looked to Shouri for support. She sneezed and then licked her nose. Shuuhei grimaced. Gross. Way to be unhelpful. See if I ever let you sleep on my bed again.
He cleared his throat and delayed speech by gulping down the water. "So..." he croaked, wiping the wetness from his upper lip with the back of his hand. "We should get to unpacking, shouldn't we?"
Hana couldn't stop smiling, but she was merciful and didn't laugh outright at how Shuuhei squirmed after being caught talking to her dog. "Yes, we can do that." The tape on the box closest to her was cut clean through with the edge of a nail and opened carefully. Inside was mostly nicknacks; an alarm clock, a toothbrush in a ziplock bag, and a pile of books were some of the items therein. Clearly, most of these things had been tossed in without much concern for organizing the contents.
Hana looked up at Shuuhei and handed him the alarm clock. "Where should all of this stuff go?"
Shuuhei sighed gratefully and while Hana wasn't looking, shot a glare at Shouri, who flicked her ears at him, unconcerned. He then turned, accepting the alarm clock and setting it on the bedside drawer. "Oh, um..." he peered into the box Hana had opened. "The toothbrush can go in the bathroom. Just leave any books you find in the boxes. I'll shelve them later." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking off in the distance, as if pondering something. He opened his mouth, ostensibly to say something, but shut it a moment later and shook his head, turning away. He produced a Swiss army knife from his pocket and cut open a box.
"If you have any questions about where something goes, just let me know," he called back over his shoulder. And an hour passed thusly, with the both of them busily unpacking and occasionally conferring over where an object should be stored, while Shouri lazed about on the bed.
Finally on her last box, Hana dug through the contents and sorted the items out to be shelved or stored. A smaller box that she picked up made her pause as she read the label. '... for Sensitive Skin, Extra Large...' ... Oh... Hana's eyebrows rose and her cheeks colored, and she cleared her throat.
"Ah, Shuuhei, uh, I'll let you put these away." She set the box of condoms on the floor and gave it a push, sending it sliding across the ground to bump into Shuuhei's knee. Hastily, she continued to sift through the other items in the box, head hunched slightly to cover up the bright red color of her face. How embarrassing.
"What? What is it?" Shuuhei blinked and chanced a glance at the box--and did a double-take. Oh...oh no. Shuuhei was sure he'd never been so red in his life.
"Wait!" he cried out, desperately. "It's...it's not what you think!" Oh someone please kill me now!! He sat down heavily and clapped both hands over his face, trying to regain his composure.
Javy, a friend and co-worker, had been over, helping him to pack. And Javy had brought a gift.
"So...one of your new roommates is a chick, huh?" Javy had said, a positively devilish grin on his face. Shuuhei frowned at him.
"Yeah, Hana. What about it?"
"Oh, nothing," he'd replied, lightly. "Just thought I should bring you somethin', just in case...y'know." And with that, he'd tossed a small box Shuuhei's way. Shuuhei plucked it out of the air, giving Javy a suspicious look before reading the label. His eyes widened.
"Javy!! What the fuck?!"
"Like I said, bro, just in case," he cackled and wiggled his eyebrows lewdly...and then Shuuhei had beaned him with a book.
But the bruise Javy now sported didn't even begin to make up for Shuuhei's utter mortification. Finally, he gained enough courage to remove one hand from his face. He gave Hana an apologetic look. "I am so, so, so sorry. My friend was helping me pack, and he'd heard that one of my new roommates was a girl, so he thought it would funny to...you know." He toed the accursed box. "It's...I wasn't expecting anything. I thought I'd gotten rid of it. Please believe me."
It took several very long, very agonizingly silent moments for Hana to respond to Shuuhei's panicked defense of his personal virtue. She was still sitting on the floor in front of the open cardboard box, shoulders hunched and shaking slightly, head hanging down a bit, face covered by her hands. It looked almost as if she were crying. However, when she leaned forward over the box, it became obvious that this was not the case as she started to laugh out loud, peeking up at Shuuhei through her fingers.
The look on his face was absolutely perfect, a priceless Kodak moment. Maybe it was mean to laugh at him like this, but at this point she just couldn't help it. She waved one of her hands at him as she wiped tears of mirth from her eyes.
"I'm sorry for laughing at you, but... oh God you should see your face right now." Hana sighed deeply, bringing her laughter under control (it was starting to make her stomach hurt). "It's okay, really. I believe you." And she did. Maybe it was the look of horror on his face, but Hana believed that Shuuhei was sincere.
"Um...thanks...for believing me."
Shuuhei wasn't going to lie; he'd been hoping for a different reaction. If things had gone his way, Hana would have responded with appropriate sympathy and then expressed her wish that Javy would drown in a vat of Crisco. And then she would have gone back to unpacking like nothing had ever happened. Instead...sigh. Well, at least she believed him. Inwardly, Shuuhei vowed revenge against his so-called "friend".
Shuuhei rummaged through his last box violently, trying his best to forget that the last 5 minutes had ever happened. "Thanks for your help. And I'm sorry...again. If you're finished..." his voice trailed off, and he studiously avoided looking in Hana's direction.
Hana nodded, chuckling, and stood up. "You're welcome," she said, smiling, "and I really do believe you. Look," here she attempted to return a bit of his shattered dignity, "next time you see this pal of yours, just... I dunno, kick him in the shin or punch him in the stomach or something."
Honestly, some of Kiba's friends growing up had pulled similar pranks on him. It had been funny to her then, and it was still funny now, but she knew a bruised ego when she saw one. "Don't worry about it, okay? Me and the dogs won't tell a soul."
"Well, I beaned him with a book, so he's got a nice bruise right now, but the punching thing sounds like a good idea." Javy was so going to get his. "And...thanks. Really." He gave her a wan smile. "Good night. Oh, and if you would be so kind as to take the lazy bum--" he jerked a thumb at Shouri "--on my bed with you, I'd appreciate it." This time his smile was genuine.
The chuckle wasn't directed at Shuuhei this time. "Right, right. Shouri babe, come on." Hana whistled and the dog was up in a second, nails making clickity-clack noises on the floor as she trotted out of the room. "Goodnight, Shuuhei. I hope I didn't torment you too much." She smiled and waved before turning and disappearing into her own room, dogs in tow.
Once all of the boxes had been piled in the living area of apartment nine, Hana wiped the beads of sweat off of her forehead (why did it always have to be so hot in this building?) and wandered into the kitchen, followed by her dogs. "Would you like something to drink, Shuuhei?" she asked as she poured a glass of water for herself and filled her dog's bowls as well.
Shuuhei was pleasantly surprised that Hana harbored no misgivings about the gruntwork required to haul all of his stuff down two flights of stairs. He had subtly tried to coax her into taking some of the lighter boxes at first, but apparently, she hadn't noticed (or didn't care for) his covert efforts at chivalry; she'd just grabbed the nearest box, which was actually quite heavy, and had set off out the apartment, conversing amiably with him over her shoulder. So he resolved to let things alone, and did not at all make an effort to be the first back to his apartment so that he could get to the heavier boxes before she could. Really. (Then again, if he did walk slightly faster than normal, who would blame him?)
Once they'd gotten everything into Apartment 9, Shuuhei sank onto the nearest couch, flexing his sore arms and stretching out his leg muscles, which objected to being repeatedly forced up and down two flights of stairs. He shot Hana the most grateful look he could muster when she asked him if he wanted a drink. "I would die for a glass of water right now," he replied. "And thanks for the help. I really appreciate it."
"It's no trouble, I'm glad to help." A short moment later, a large glass of ice-water was handed to Shuuhei as Hana took a seat on a the adjacent loveseat, propping her feet up on the coffee table. When the dogs finished lapping up their water, they joined the two humans, jumping up on the couch and surrounding Shuuhei. Hana chuckled, but didn't move to shoo them off of the furniture. She would just wipe up the fur later.
"If the dogs bother you at all, just nudge them in the rump and they'll go somewhere else. They just like being with people, you know?" She smiled and ruffled Shouri's head, and the dog smiled a big husky smile, letting her tongue loll out to the side.
Shuuhei accepted the glass gratefully and promptly chugged down nearly half its contents in 2 gulps. He sighed, feeling more refreshed, and sat back, taking another sip of water. It was warm in the apartment, and he was tired and slightly achy. He rested his head on the back of the couch, letting his eyes drift closed; he didn't want to move in the next 20 minutes if he could help it. However, the dogs had their own ideas. Shuuhei grunted softly as his relaxation period was interrupted and he found himself in the middle of a doggy sandwich.
"Nah, they can stay. They're good company," he said in response to Hana's suggestion, rubbing Kougi's back vigorously, as if to prove that he didn't mind. The effect was spoiled by the slight grimace that overcame Shuuhei's face as his hand came away covered in fur. He chuckled, shaking his head. "Looks like I need to invest in some lint rollers."
Hana shook her head. "No need, you can use packing tape or duct tape to de-fur yourself. Just make a loop of the stuff and the fur comes right off." This was obviously spoken from many years of experience. "But you do it after you've left the apartment, or you'll be covered in fur again before you leave." She grinned and finished off her water, setting the cup on the table and reclining on the couch.
"Do you think you'll need any help unpacking? I don't have work tomorrow so I could help out if you needed it."
"Ah, it's a good thing then that I've still got the packing tape I used on all these boxes." He flashed her a crooked smile and set his glass on the table as well. He leaned back, absently scratching at the back of his head as Hana offered to help him unpack. "Mmm, yeah, I could use the help. It's not a lot so might as well get it over with."
He nudged at the dogs, coaxing them off the couch as he straightened. He walked over to the pile of boxes and lifted one up. "I guess we should move these into the room, huh?"
Hana stretched and popped a vew joints lazily before getting up off of the loveseat, approaching one of the boxes and lifting it easily. "Lead the way," she replied, allowing Shuuhei to shuffle over to the door and set the box inside, before setting her box down as well. "This shouldn't take too long," she said, eying the pile of boxes by the apartment door.
Half an hour later, all of the boxes had been moved and piled into Shuuhei's room. "All righty, that wasn't so hard. But I think it's time for another water break." The apartment was still warm, even though Hana had turned on the three oscilating fans that she'd placed around the room.
"Yes...water...please," he rasped, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
Transferring the boxes to his new bedroom didn't take long, even with all the dogs constantly running underfoot. Speaking of the dogs, as soon as Hana left to go get the water, Shouri jumped up onto Shuuhei's bed and sprawled across the mattress of his bed like she owned the damn thing. Dolefully, he imagined the mess of fur that would inevitably be left behind. "Hey, that's my bed," he protested, weakly. Shouri raised a doggy eyebrow and didn't budge. Shuuhei sighed. It was too damn hot and he wasn't about to engage in a contest of will. If she wasn't going to move, he was just going to have to join her.
He flopped backwards onto the foot of the bed. Ugh. He was sweaty from the heat and the exertion. He could feel his t-shirt sticking to his skin. Gross. Did he smell too? He took a few experimental sniffs. Hmmm...Shouri would know, she was a dog after all. He turned his head to the side. Shouri looked back at him, expectantly. "Do I smell? Tell me the truth, I can take it." She whuffled and thumped her tail on the mattress twice. Shuuhei supposed that meant "Yes."
"Thanks, I appreciate the honesty." He looked up at the ceiling and let out a big sigh. It really was too hot. He was talking to a dog. Idly, he hoped that Hana hadn't witnessed the exchange. She'd probably think he was crazy...or a softie. Which he wasn't. He was a man, damnit.
The clear bottom of a glass of watter appeared in Shuuhei's line of sight only three seconds later, held aloft by Hana's hand. "Shouri's always been the most honest of the three," she confided, grinning. Surely this was impugning his masculinity, but Hana thought it was funny. Her dogs were good listeners and would always interact with people who spoke to them, barking or singing or wagging their tails.
Shit!
Shuuhei flushed and scrambled to sit up, gingerly accepting the glass while purposely avoiding eye contact. "Uh...." he began, intelligently, his eyes darting from side to side. He looked to Shouri for support. She sneezed and then licked her nose. Shuuhei grimaced. Gross. Way to be unhelpful. See if I ever let you sleep on my bed again.
He cleared his throat and delayed speech by gulping down the water. "So..." he croaked, wiping the wetness from his upper lip with the back of his hand. "We should get to unpacking, shouldn't we?"
Hana couldn't stop smiling, but she was merciful and didn't laugh outright at how Shuuhei squirmed after being caught talking to her dog. "Yes, we can do that." The tape on the box closest to her was cut clean through with the edge of a nail and opened carefully. Inside was mostly nicknacks; an alarm clock, a toothbrush in a ziplock bag, and a pile of books were some of the items therein. Clearly, most of these things had been tossed in without much concern for organizing the contents.
Hana looked up at Shuuhei and handed him the alarm clock. "Where should all of this stuff go?"
Shuuhei sighed gratefully and while Hana wasn't looking, shot a glare at Shouri, who flicked her ears at him, unconcerned. He then turned, accepting the alarm clock and setting it on the bedside drawer. "Oh, um..." he peered into the box Hana had opened. "The toothbrush can go in the bathroom. Just leave any books you find in the boxes. I'll shelve them later." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking off in the distance, as if pondering something. He opened his mouth, ostensibly to say something, but shut it a moment later and shook his head, turning away. He produced a Swiss army knife from his pocket and cut open a box.
"If you have any questions about where something goes, just let me know," he called back over his shoulder. And an hour passed thusly, with the both of them busily unpacking and occasionally conferring over where an object should be stored, while Shouri lazed about on the bed.
Finally on her last box, Hana dug through the contents and sorted the items out to be shelved or stored. A smaller box that she picked up made her pause as she read the label. '... for Sensitive Skin, Extra Large...' ... Oh... Hana's eyebrows rose and her cheeks colored, and she cleared her throat.
"Ah, Shuuhei, uh, I'll let you put these away." She set the box of condoms on the floor and gave it a push, sending it sliding across the ground to bump into Shuuhei's knee. Hastily, she continued to sift through the other items in the box, head hunched slightly to cover up the bright red color of her face. How embarrassing.
"What? What is it?" Shuuhei blinked and chanced a glance at the box--and did a double-take. Oh...oh no. Shuuhei was sure he'd never been so red in his life.
"Wait!" he cried out, desperately. "It's...it's not what you think!" Oh someone please kill me now!! He sat down heavily and clapped both hands over his face, trying to regain his composure.
Javy, a friend and co-worker, had been over, helping him to pack. And Javy had brought a gift.
"So...one of your new roommates is a chick, huh?" Javy had said, a positively devilish grin on his face. Shuuhei frowned at him.
"Yeah, Hana. What about it?"
"Oh, nothing," he'd replied, lightly. "Just thought I should bring you somethin', just in case...y'know." And with that, he'd tossed a small box Shuuhei's way. Shuuhei plucked it out of the air, giving Javy a suspicious look before reading the label. His eyes widened.
"Javy!! What the fuck?!"
"Like I said, bro, just in case," he cackled and wiggled his eyebrows lewdly...and then Shuuhei had beaned him with a book.
But the bruise Javy now sported didn't even begin to make up for Shuuhei's utter mortification. Finally, he gained enough courage to remove one hand from his face. He gave Hana an apologetic look. "I am so, so, so sorry. My friend was helping me pack, and he'd heard that one of my new roommates was a girl, so he thought it would funny to...you know." He toed the accursed box. "It's...I wasn't expecting anything. I thought I'd gotten rid of it. Please believe me."
It took several very long, very agonizingly silent moments for Hana to respond to Shuuhei's panicked defense of his personal virtue. She was still sitting on the floor in front of the open cardboard box, shoulders hunched and shaking slightly, head hanging down a bit, face covered by her hands. It looked almost as if she were crying. However, when she leaned forward over the box, it became obvious that this was not the case as she started to laugh out loud, peeking up at Shuuhei through her fingers.
The look on his face was absolutely perfect, a priceless Kodak moment. Maybe it was mean to laugh at him like this, but at this point she just couldn't help it. She waved one of her hands at him as she wiped tears of mirth from her eyes.
"I'm sorry for laughing at you, but... oh God you should see your face right now." Hana sighed deeply, bringing her laughter under control (it was starting to make her stomach hurt). "It's okay, really. I believe you." And she did. Maybe it was the look of horror on his face, but Hana believed that Shuuhei was sincere.
"Um...thanks...for believing me."
Shuuhei wasn't going to lie; he'd been hoping for a different reaction. If things had gone his way, Hana would have responded with appropriate sympathy and then expressed her wish that Javy would drown in a vat of Crisco. And then she would have gone back to unpacking like nothing had ever happened. Instead...sigh. Well, at least she believed him. Inwardly, Shuuhei vowed revenge against his so-called "friend".
Shuuhei rummaged through his last box violently, trying his best to forget that the last 5 minutes had ever happened. "Thanks for your help. And I'm sorry...again. If you're finished..." his voice trailed off, and he studiously avoided looking in Hana's direction.
Hana nodded, chuckling, and stood up. "You're welcome," she said, smiling, "and I really do believe you. Look," here she attempted to return a bit of his shattered dignity, "next time you see this pal of yours, just... I dunno, kick him in the shin or punch him in the stomach or something."
Honestly, some of Kiba's friends growing up had pulled similar pranks on him. It had been funny to her then, and it was still funny now, but she knew a bruised ego when she saw one. "Don't worry about it, okay? Me and the dogs won't tell a soul."
"Well, I beaned him with a book, so he's got a nice bruise right now, but the punching thing sounds like a good idea." Javy was so going to get his. "And...thanks. Really." He gave her a wan smile. "Good night. Oh, and if you would be so kind as to take the lazy bum--" he jerked a thumb at Shouri "--on my bed with you, I'd appreciate it." This time his smile was genuine.
The chuckle wasn't directed at Shuuhei this time. "Right, right. Shouri babe, come on." Hana whistled and the dog was up in a second, nails making clickity-clack noises on the floor as she trotted out of the room. "Goodnight, Shuuhei. I hope I didn't torment you too much." She smiled and waved before turning and disappearing into her own room, dogs in tow.