i think you're crazy, are you?
➜ DATE/TIME: 19th July, Evening
➜ LOCATION: Infirmary
➜ MUSES: Matsuda Shota & Toda Erika
➜ STATUS: Closed
➜ COMPLETION: Finished
➜ RATING: PG
➜ TYPE: AIM
➜ SUMMARY: She wakes up to her future husband Shota's craziness. Though she has got to admit, she kind of appreciates his presence.
It was past dinner time that consciousness began to creep back to her. First, it had been a flutter of her shut eyelids; then, her body began to shift, her voice letting out little sounds of complaint at the stiffness of her body. When her eyes finally opened, the strange colourfulness of the room had her worried for a second that she was dragged to yet another trial by The Void, horribly ironic by the cheerfulness of the coloured stripes that greeted her eyes. It took her a moment to realise that it was confetti, another to realise that she was in the school's infirmary, and finally a last to let out a soft sigh of relief.
Shota was sitting on the chair next to Erika's bed, and has been for some time now, ignoring the growling of his stomach as he didn't want to leave Erika's side just yet. He liked watching her sleep, comforted by each rise of her chest that was a testament to her being alive. Alright, he knew they weren't really in the Bahamas, and the way Erika, Pi, Kikwang and even Ryo looked so - tired and gaunt and drawn had bothered Shota. Which was why he thought stringing confetti all around their rooms would be a good idea, but only just. He wouldn't even mind being yelled at for the ridiculousness of it, just them waking up, even if it meant getting hit or something, would be enough and worth the trouble.
And so he waited for Erika to wake up, which a nurse had assured him would be 'any time now', though currently he was reading a movie magazine with his headphones on, head bobbing to the music and completely missing Erika stirring from unconsciousness.
Her gaze trailed uncertainly and slowly around the room, studying every corner, taking in the contrast of the bright colours against the pale whiteness of the room. The white made her shudder, memory flickering back to what had happened in The Void. For that she found herself grateful for the colours. It was a distraction, at least, in her case. It wasn't as if she was unfamiliar with the school's infirmary, but there had grown a small part of her that was cautious. She wanted to make sure that she knew where she was. She wanted to be completely sure that she wouldn't be hearing any strange, monotonous voice before she sat up.
That is, she was careful up until the point her attention landed on the figure sitting by her bed. Immediately, she jerked upright -- head spinning from the sudden movement -- blurting his name. Now she realised why there was an odd familiarity out of the sight of the confetti spread around the room: it reminded her of him.
With music blasting in his ears, Shota hadn't heard Erika blurting out his name, although he did catch her sudden movement from his perpheral vision, making him look up. "Erika-chan~!" he cried, tearing his headphones off and bouncing from his chair to the bed, making it creak. "You're awake!" Stating the obvious, but he was happy she was.
His sudden movement had her blinking, confused, at him. Maybe it was because she had been asleep for long that there was a sudden heightened awareness of her power, his happiness loud in her ears due to how close he was. Then, there was the new power. The one that was... unwelcomed, in a way, causing his thoughts to stream like type-written words into her head. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly before she gave an uncertain nod, "Um, yes," looking at him a little suspiciously.
Her suspicious glance at him only made him laugh; she was really back. That glance was familiar, and one Shota hadn't seen for a while and was thus welcome. "I missed you," he told her shamelessly, grinning from ear to ear.
She stuck her tongue out at him. For him to say that made it sound as if they were... well, together, which they were most certainly not. Pushing at him to get him off the bed (though it was a weak push, not having moved her arms in so long), she retorted, "Well, I didn't."
"Sure you didn't," he retorted back with a smirk, and, noticing how weak she was, took advantage of the fact by wrapping his arms around her instead. "You're like a stick," he observed out loud.
Flushing with surprise when she suddenly found herself pulled into him, her weak pushes didn't get any stronger as she tried to pull away. "I am not!" she protested stubbornly, the beginnings of a pout already pursing her lips.
"Shut up," Shota promptly told her, before letting go, but holding her at arms' length. "Where the hell did you all come from, eh?" he asked then. "Sure didn't look like the Bahamas."
She blinked. "The Bahamas?" she asked, confused. Why would they be in the Bahamas? Then again, perhaps the truth was equally strange. Erika thought for a moment, unsure as to how to word it, before finally settling for, "We were... in Xin Qian. Except it was a different Xin Qian, like... like a copy of it." She paused, adding with a shiver, "No one was there. It was just us."
Shota raised both eyebrows as she described the place, before nodding, promptly deciding now wasn't a good time to be asking her. Without warning, he stretched out on the bed, forcing her to move over some to give him space. "Budge up over there."
"Eh?" she started, and would have protested had he not already shuffled up against her. So she could only shift, lying back down with a defeated sigh. She was too confused by what was going through her head -- his thoughts running past, too fast for her to read -- to argue with him. "How long were we gone?" she asked, a little curious.
"A year," Shota answered promptly, making himself comfortable beneath the covers, shoes and all. Sitting on that chair for hours made his back hurt. "I've graduated already, I stayed to let you know."
Immediately she jolted up once again, even though she had only just laid down. "What?!" she screeched. A year? Was all sense of time gone in The Void? Really, though, she should have known that he was taunting her. She can now read his mind, after all, though the words were all jumbled up right now.
Shota laughed, then invariably frowned, as his joke seemed to have slipped past her so easily. "Ehhhh what's this, you used to freak out longer whenever I do that to you." Just then, his stomach grumbled. "...oops."
She could only pout at him. He knows how easily tricked she is, yet he always goes ahead and takes advantage of that. That's why he can be so frustrating. Hearing his stomach grumble, she giggled, and poked his side. "I can hear your stomach, fattie~"
"I have love handles for you to poke, my love," he instantly shot back, easily falling back into their familiar bantering. Shota did miss it, no matter what she thought. "Aren't you hungry? You ought to be. Hang on, I'll call a nurse." He got up, kicking off the covers, walking over to the door to stick his head out in the hall and yell, "We need a nurse here!" before crawling into bed with her again, snuggling into Erika perhaps a little too close for her comfort.
Honestly, she wasn't too hungry, and she doubt she has the appetite for anything just yet, but she didn't bother telling him as he got up to call for a nurse. Maybe if the nurse gets food, then Shota would eat something too. Irritating as he was, it doesn't mean that he shouldn't eat just to watch over the lot of them -- which is, at least, what Erika assumes he had been doing.
Indeed he was too close for comfort, and she shifted uncomfortably away, cheeks reddening slightly, "Oi," she muttered, poking him again.
"Mm?" he chirped, head burrowing into her shoulder and completely undeterred by her discomfort. "...ow, you really are a stick, your shoulder just bloody poked my eye."
She poked him again, harder this time, trying to get her point across that she didn't want him snuggling up against her like that. "Don't lie so close to me then," she said through a mumble, frowning at him.
"But I want to," he insisted impishly, snuggling close still, that is, until a nurse stepped inside the room and gasped in shock.
"Mr. Matsuda!" the nurse called out in a scandalized tone. "What on earth are you doing in bed with Ms. Toda?!"
"I'm sick," Shota answered, turning around to look at the nurse with a pained face.
"You are most definitely not!"
"Erika-chan was cold and I was keeping her warm," he changed tactics, slinging an arm around Erika's waist for effect. "Ne, Erika-chan?"
The nurse's shock and her tone of voice had Erika utterly embarrassed within seconds, feeling much as if she had been caught doing something bad. The nurse certainly seems to think that they were doing something, if her string of thoughts was any indication at all. Surprisingly, instead of nudging Shota and tattling on him, she gave a small nod and mumbled in a small voice, "I was feeling cold." Though the moment she sided with him, she regretted it. He was going to be so smug.
"See?" Shota said in an irritatingly lofty tone, looking and sounding smug. "Please do away with those perverted thoughts, miss. And we would like some food."
"Only Ms. Toda gets her food!" the nurse said indignantly, about to turn on her heel.
"But I'm hungry," Shota wheedled, effecting a pitiful look on his face to help his case.
"Go buy in the cafeteria!"
"I'll have to report to the Headmaster about you lot letting students starve around here," Shota said, shaking his head with a tsk-ing sound.
"Oh, honestly, Mr. Matsuda," the nurse burst out, exasperated, and completely used to how bull-headed the young man could be. After all, Shota was quite a regular in the infirmary as well, mostly for broken bones from his penchant for climbing through windows, but also because of his time-traveling experiences. "Alright. I'll get you some, too." With that, the nurse left, leaving Shota and Erika alone again.
Watching silently the exchange between Shota and the nurse -- and how strange it was, for them to be arguing and for him to gain victory, too! -- she looked over at him and raised her eyebrows. "How old are you, five?" she asked, the exasperation in her expression reflecting the one that the nurse had shown before she left.
"That was my age approximately eighteen years ago, yes," Shota said easily, just as easily relaxing against the hospital mattress. The bed gave a creak of protest as he shifted again - it really wasn't big enough for two people, anyway. But if it would end up breaking, he'd just demand that the infirmary install stronger beds. "C'mere," he said, turning and holding out his arms for Erika to supposedly snuggle into, a mischievous glint in his eye. "You're cold, aren't you~?"
She rolled her eyes. Somehow, she does that quite a lot whenever he's around. He has a way of bringing out of her a side that is normally unseen, and that is... well, it's not such a good thing. And he -- she glanced at him at the thought -- seemed so comfortable despite her discomfort in his presence. That in itself seems to upset her. Her eyes widened momentarily when her own words were thrown back at her, before she gave his side a punch and jumped off the bed, giving him an unattractive look over her shoulder, "You wish!"
"Mmh, I wish that string holding up your practically non-existent hospital gown would be untied - it's kind of coming off," he said, giving Erika a leering glance.
It took her a moment before she realised what he was talking about, before all the blood rushed straight to her cheeks, colouring her face and her neck tomato red. "Y- Y- Y- You pervert!" she screeched, hands fumbling to tighten whatever she can on the gown.
"It ties at the back," he went on, still with that knowing, leering smile on his face. "I can help~"
"Ms. Toda!" The nurse, back with a tray of food, barked at Erika, a disapproving look on her face. "What are you doing out of bed?"
"Oh, I know," Shota said, nodding gravely. "I told her she needs more rest--"
"And for heaven's sake, Mr. Matsuda, get off the bed and let her rest, or I throw you out!"
He-- What had he been doing while she was asleep!? Okay, nothing, probably, but, "I don't need your help!" she snapped immediately, hands reaching behind her back to tighten the string, relieved to feel that there was, at least, something under the gown.
When the nurse returned, disapproval in her voice, Erika was immediately flustered, apologising quickly, though, not without shooting a dirty look at Shota first. Shuffling almost reluctantly back to the bed, she got back on and could not help the relieved grin that spread across her expression when, yes! He was told to get off the bed! "Hear that?" she said, almost smug about it, "Give me back my bed."
If he only knew what she was thinking, it would have given him an immense amount of pleasure, amusement, and amused pleasure. He hadn't been doing anything apart from diligently staying by her bedside (and decorating her room), but seeing her so suspicious of him was always funny.
"Now, Mr. Matsuda," the nurse warned, setting the tray down on the table beside the bed. "Or you won't get any food, which is outside, I'm not bringing it here for you because you're not a patient." With that, the nurse strode out again, heels clicking on the floor with a busy air.
"Harsh," Shota muttered, slipping off the bed and out of the room to get his food and coming back with a smaller tray of food for himself. Settling back down on the chair beside Erika's bed, he dug in heartily, and was mid-chew when he looked at Erika. "...what, do you want me to spoonfeed you? I can do that~"
Like before, she could only watch the nurse quietly as she scolded Shota. The nurse seemed almost scary in a maternal way, and Erika always has the tendency to feel quite small in the presence of such women. But a peek at Shota was enough to tell her that he obviously did not feel the same.
Shifting to sit more comfortably before pulling the tray onto her lap, she stared down at it, lips pursing. A part of her knew that she should eat, but another part of her didn't feel up to the task. Although she blushed at the question, there was an uncertain edge behind it as she looked back down at the food, before returning the tray to the bedside, "You know what? I'm not that hungry yet."
"Can I eat it if you don't want it?" he asked flippantly, shamelessly, although Shota really only half-meant it. "It won't taste as good when it goes cold," he pointed out, though not insisting she eat.
He devoured his own porridge-like food, lapsing into silence except for occasionally muttering that his food tasted like glue, comfortable enough with silence as he was comfortable in the middle of chaos he had caused himself. When he was done (it really didn't take too long as he downed mouthfuls), Shota busied himself with peeling the apple from Erika's tray with a pocket knife that he always carried around, slicing it up after and arranging the slices into a lopsided smiley face back on the tray.
Though aware that he didn't mean it, completely, she shrugged and waved her hand as a gesture, nodding, "Go ahead." She didn't really intend on eating the food, anyway, so she was kind of glad that he didn't insist on making her eat.
The silence was, most probably, due to her. She had taken to just lying there, on her side, watching him eat and wondering why he was eating the food when it was as horrible as he made it sound. She stared because she was trying to concentrate on his thoughts, using him as some sort of a test subject for her new power -- though his thoughts were so completely random and all over the place that it was all the more difficult for her to grasp hold of. At the end, she gave up and sat up, finding herself looking down at the tray with the strangely formed smiley face on it. At first it was a small smile, before she giggled and reached out, fixing the face so that it was not longer lopsided, telling him, "It looked demented, just now."
"Oh I know, I was attempting to make it look like you," he said breezily, giving her a lazy smile. He was glad, though - relieved, even - to hear her giggle and even have her smiling at him now. Shota knew she would be able to feel it, and he didn't really mind.
"I'm glad you guys are back," he went on, and meaning it, too. "Especially you."
She was quiet for a moment, surprised, somewhat, by the relief that she could feel flowing from him to her, the sound of it comforting on her ears, before she, a little awkwardly, reached out and made a grab for the smiley's left eye, popping it into her mouth, "Now it looks like you." It was an attempt to ignore the sincerity that she knew came with his words, but it didn't matter: her embarrassment was apparent as she avoided his eyes.
"I don't see it looking remotely handsome," Shota said, looking at the apple-smiley scrutinizingly before eating its right eye. "Now it looks like Tomo-chan." Inwardly, he felt the flickerings of disappointment as Erika once again evaded his attempts at normalcy towards her, but he quickly suppressed it, giving her an almost manic smile instead.
Erika wasn't the meticulous girl that she is for nothing, and noticed his disappointment, and noticed too how quickly he suppressed it. She found herself looking at him a little curiously, and decided that she must have made a mistake upon seeing his smile. Her eyes went back to the smiley, pouting as she jumped to Pi's defense, saying immediately, "He looks better than that!"
"That's because you looooove Tomo-chan," Shota teased. He was aware of her long-standing feelings for his friend, and was, to be quite honest, not pleased with it. But he never let it show nor even let himself feel it in her presence. And in a way, he was comforted with the thought that Tomohisa was with Erika in--wherever they were in, because Shota knew Tomohisa would take care of her. "Hey, eat your food, or Nurse-chan will have my hide."
Maybe it was because she was moving on, just as senpai had wanted her to do so. Maybe it was simply because she was out of it, that, her reaction was not as dramatic as usual. Instead, she blinked, a light blush crossing her cheeks, before she dragged the tray back onto her lap to start eating, hiding the little embarrassment that she felt. She stabbed at the food before pushing them into her mouth, eating like a child.
Shota watched her eat unabashedly, as if she was an interesting movie. Though it was amusing to watch her eat as if she was being forced to - which in a way, she was.
"Hey," he piped up suddenly, leaning forward. "Let's go watch a movie."
She kept her eyes lowered, aware that he was watching and getting more and more embarrassed by the second, even though the point of eating was so that she didn't have to be so embarrassed anymore. It was weird. Talking about Yamashita-senpai didn't embarrass her, yet being stared at like that by Shota did. How very strange indeed. It was a territory that she was quite sure she didn't want to think too deeply into.
Gaze finally lifting, eyes wide with surprise, she swallowed before asking, "What?" as if for confirmation.
"A movie," Shota replied, slowly, as if talking to a three-year-old. "You know? They're these things shot with a camera, in film, sometimes in mini DV or mini DVD or in hard drive format, where there is a story created by the director and the screenwriter and the actors who bring it to life and an entire production staff--"
Cheeks burning now, she cut him off hurriedly, "I know what a movie is!" Did he already forget that she was one of the few that took Film in their school? He made her feel stupid, and while that normally wouldn't matter, she is always filled with this urge to prove herself to him. "Let's go, then, when I'm out of the infirmary," she said firmly, thinking that this must be something that he wants to do because she's probably the only other person on the course the talks to him.
Shota smiled in triumph, widely. "Oh, are you asking me out, Erika-chan? I would love to go on a date with you, thank you!" He preened, batting his eyelashes at her comically.
Only then realising what he had been doing, she reddened, squeaking desperately, "I am doing no such thing!" She wrinkled her nose at him, trying to regain some of her dignity, "Go watch a movie yourself!"
"But you already said we'll go after you're out of here!" Shota insisted, still grinning. "Yosh. Let's go see Inception! I already did but the sound was bad. I think you'll love it. The plot is awesome. It's the kind of script I want to write someday."
She could never resist a good film, but... but... he-- Finally, she let out a sigh of defeat that made it obvious that, okay, she'll go with him, though that did not stop her from insisting stubbornly, "It's not a date, okay? I'm only going because I want to watch Inception."
"Why is it not a date?" he asked, pouting. "Does that mean - ah. Really, Erika-chan." His tone, as well as the expression on his face, was serious now. "If I asked you out on a date would you say no?"
It was a question that she had never properly considered, and for him to ask her so seriously now was... forcing her to consider it. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him uncertainly, before she finally avoided the question altogether, looking away. Somehow she couldn't seem to straight out and tell him that, yes, she'd say no. Maybe, because that wouldn't be the truth. "Why are you so serious all of a sudden?"
Shota didn't answer, but just stared at her in that disconcerting way he knew he has when wanting to make people squirm - which Erika was doing right now.
"I guess that means I have a chance," he said finally, grinning and leaning back on his seat. "Since you didn't say you'd say no~"
It unnerves her when he's that serious, because it's rare and she never knows what to say when he is. So she couldn't deny that, despite his words, she was a little relieved when his tone returned to a playful one. "Whatever you want to think," she mumbled, trying to at least sound stubborn as she once again turned her attention to her tray, placing food in her mouth so that she didn't have to talk.
"Then I think we're going out on a date," Shota nodded, grinning more still. And before she could protest, he stood up, bending down to drop a kiss on top of her head and saying breezily, "Going to check on Tomo-chan, I'll be back for you later, princess," before picking his headphones and magazine, walking out of the room.
Not even realising that it happened until it actually did happen, she stared after him with wide eyes. The red rose through her cheeks, almost in slow motion, as one of her hands reached up to touch where he had kissed her. Okay, this is normal. Ryo-'nii does it sometimes too to comfort her. But. But it felt different...
➜ LOCATION: Infirmary
➜ MUSES: Matsuda Shota & Toda Erika
➜ STATUS: Closed
➜ COMPLETION: Finished
➜ RATING: PG
➜ TYPE: AIM
➜ SUMMARY: She wakes up to her future husband Shota's craziness. Though she has got to admit, she kind of appreciates his presence.
It was past dinner time that consciousness began to creep back to her. First, it had been a flutter of her shut eyelids; then, her body began to shift, her voice letting out little sounds of complaint at the stiffness of her body. When her eyes finally opened, the strange colourfulness of the room had her worried for a second that she was dragged to yet another trial by The Void, horribly ironic by the cheerfulness of the coloured stripes that greeted her eyes. It took her a moment to realise that it was confetti, another to realise that she was in the school's infirmary, and finally a last to let out a soft sigh of relief.
Shota was sitting on the chair next to Erika's bed, and has been for some time now, ignoring the growling of his stomach as he didn't want to leave Erika's side just yet. He liked watching her sleep, comforted by each rise of her chest that was a testament to her being alive. Alright, he knew they weren't really in the Bahamas, and the way Erika, Pi, Kikwang and even Ryo looked so - tired and gaunt and drawn had bothered Shota. Which was why he thought stringing confetti all around their rooms would be a good idea, but only just. He wouldn't even mind being yelled at for the ridiculousness of it, just them waking up, even if it meant getting hit or something, would be enough and worth the trouble.
And so he waited for Erika to wake up, which a nurse had assured him would be 'any time now', though currently he was reading a movie magazine with his headphones on, head bobbing to the music and completely missing Erika stirring from unconsciousness.
Her gaze trailed uncertainly and slowly around the room, studying every corner, taking in the contrast of the bright colours against the pale whiteness of the room. The white made her shudder, memory flickering back to what had happened in The Void. For that she found herself grateful for the colours. It was a distraction, at least, in her case. It wasn't as if she was unfamiliar with the school's infirmary, but there had grown a small part of her that was cautious. She wanted to make sure that she knew where she was. She wanted to be completely sure that she wouldn't be hearing any strange, monotonous voice before she sat up.
That is, she was careful up until the point her attention landed on the figure sitting by her bed. Immediately, she jerked upright -- head spinning from the sudden movement -- blurting his name. Now she realised why there was an odd familiarity out of the sight of the confetti spread around the room: it reminded her of him.
With music blasting in his ears, Shota hadn't heard Erika blurting out his name, although he did catch her sudden movement from his perpheral vision, making him look up. "Erika-chan~!" he cried, tearing his headphones off and bouncing from his chair to the bed, making it creak. "You're awake!" Stating the obvious, but he was happy she was.
His sudden movement had her blinking, confused, at him. Maybe it was because she had been asleep for long that there was a sudden heightened awareness of her power, his happiness loud in her ears due to how close he was. Then, there was the new power. The one that was... unwelcomed, in a way, causing his thoughts to stream like type-written words into her head. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly before she gave an uncertain nod, "Um, yes," looking at him a little suspiciously.
Her suspicious glance at him only made him laugh; she was really back. That glance was familiar, and one Shota hadn't seen for a while and was thus welcome. "I missed you," he told her shamelessly, grinning from ear to ear.
She stuck her tongue out at him. For him to say that made it sound as if they were... well, together, which they were most certainly not. Pushing at him to get him off the bed (though it was a weak push, not having moved her arms in so long), she retorted, "Well, I didn't."
"Sure you didn't," he retorted back with a smirk, and, noticing how weak she was, took advantage of the fact by wrapping his arms around her instead. "You're like a stick," he observed out loud.
Flushing with surprise when she suddenly found herself pulled into him, her weak pushes didn't get any stronger as she tried to pull away. "I am not!" she protested stubbornly, the beginnings of a pout already pursing her lips.
"Shut up," Shota promptly told her, before letting go, but holding her at arms' length. "Where the hell did you all come from, eh?" he asked then. "Sure didn't look like the Bahamas."
She blinked. "The Bahamas?" she asked, confused. Why would they be in the Bahamas? Then again, perhaps the truth was equally strange. Erika thought for a moment, unsure as to how to word it, before finally settling for, "We were... in Xin Qian. Except it was a different Xin Qian, like... like a copy of it." She paused, adding with a shiver, "No one was there. It was just us."
Shota raised both eyebrows as she described the place, before nodding, promptly deciding now wasn't a good time to be asking her. Without warning, he stretched out on the bed, forcing her to move over some to give him space. "Budge up over there."
"Eh?" she started, and would have protested had he not already shuffled up against her. So she could only shift, lying back down with a defeated sigh. She was too confused by what was going through her head -- his thoughts running past, too fast for her to read -- to argue with him. "How long were we gone?" she asked, a little curious.
"A year," Shota answered promptly, making himself comfortable beneath the covers, shoes and all. Sitting on that chair for hours made his back hurt. "I've graduated already, I stayed to let you know."
Immediately she jolted up once again, even though she had only just laid down. "What?!" she screeched. A year? Was all sense of time gone in The Void? Really, though, she should have known that he was taunting her. She can now read his mind, after all, though the words were all jumbled up right now.
Shota laughed, then invariably frowned, as his joke seemed to have slipped past her so easily. "Ehhhh what's this, you used to freak out longer whenever I do that to you." Just then, his stomach grumbled. "...oops."
She could only pout at him. He knows how easily tricked she is, yet he always goes ahead and takes advantage of that. That's why he can be so frustrating. Hearing his stomach grumble, she giggled, and poked his side. "I can hear your stomach, fattie~"
"I have love handles for you to poke, my love," he instantly shot back, easily falling back into their familiar bantering. Shota did miss it, no matter what she thought. "Aren't you hungry? You ought to be. Hang on, I'll call a nurse." He got up, kicking off the covers, walking over to the door to stick his head out in the hall and yell, "We need a nurse here!" before crawling into bed with her again, snuggling into Erika perhaps a little too close for her comfort.
Honestly, she wasn't too hungry, and she doubt she has the appetite for anything just yet, but she didn't bother telling him as he got up to call for a nurse. Maybe if the nurse gets food, then Shota would eat something too. Irritating as he was, it doesn't mean that he shouldn't eat just to watch over the lot of them -- which is, at least, what Erika assumes he had been doing.
Indeed he was too close for comfort, and she shifted uncomfortably away, cheeks reddening slightly, "Oi," she muttered, poking him again.
"Mm?" he chirped, head burrowing into her shoulder and completely undeterred by her discomfort. "...ow, you really are a stick, your shoulder just bloody poked my eye."
She poked him again, harder this time, trying to get her point across that she didn't want him snuggling up against her like that. "Don't lie so close to me then," she said through a mumble, frowning at him.
"But I want to," he insisted impishly, snuggling close still, that is, until a nurse stepped inside the room and gasped in shock.
"Mr. Matsuda!" the nurse called out in a scandalized tone. "What on earth are you doing in bed with Ms. Toda?!"
"I'm sick," Shota answered, turning around to look at the nurse with a pained face.
"You are most definitely not!"
"Erika-chan was cold and I was keeping her warm," he changed tactics, slinging an arm around Erika's waist for effect. "Ne, Erika-chan?"
The nurse's shock and her tone of voice had Erika utterly embarrassed within seconds, feeling much as if she had been caught doing something bad. The nurse certainly seems to think that they were doing something, if her string of thoughts was any indication at all. Surprisingly, instead of nudging Shota and tattling on him, she gave a small nod and mumbled in a small voice, "I was feeling cold." Though the moment she sided with him, she regretted it. He was going to be so smug.
"See?" Shota said in an irritatingly lofty tone, looking and sounding smug. "Please do away with those perverted thoughts, miss. And we would like some food."
"Only Ms. Toda gets her food!" the nurse said indignantly, about to turn on her heel.
"But I'm hungry," Shota wheedled, effecting a pitiful look on his face to help his case.
"Go buy in the cafeteria!"
"I'll have to report to the Headmaster about you lot letting students starve around here," Shota said, shaking his head with a tsk-ing sound.
"Oh, honestly, Mr. Matsuda," the nurse burst out, exasperated, and completely used to how bull-headed the young man could be. After all, Shota was quite a regular in the infirmary as well, mostly for broken bones from his penchant for climbing through windows, but also because of his time-traveling experiences. "Alright. I'll get you some, too." With that, the nurse left, leaving Shota and Erika alone again.
Watching silently the exchange between Shota and the nurse -- and how strange it was, for them to be arguing and for him to gain victory, too! -- she looked over at him and raised her eyebrows. "How old are you, five?" she asked, the exasperation in her expression reflecting the one that the nurse had shown before she left.
"That was my age approximately eighteen years ago, yes," Shota said easily, just as easily relaxing against the hospital mattress. The bed gave a creak of protest as he shifted again - it really wasn't big enough for two people, anyway. But if it would end up breaking, he'd just demand that the infirmary install stronger beds. "C'mere," he said, turning and holding out his arms for Erika to supposedly snuggle into, a mischievous glint in his eye. "You're cold, aren't you~?"
She rolled her eyes. Somehow, she does that quite a lot whenever he's around. He has a way of bringing out of her a side that is normally unseen, and that is... well, it's not such a good thing. And he -- she glanced at him at the thought -- seemed so comfortable despite her discomfort in his presence. That in itself seems to upset her. Her eyes widened momentarily when her own words were thrown back at her, before she gave his side a punch and jumped off the bed, giving him an unattractive look over her shoulder, "You wish!"
"Mmh, I wish that string holding up your practically non-existent hospital gown would be untied - it's kind of coming off," he said, giving Erika a leering glance.
It took her a moment before she realised what he was talking about, before all the blood rushed straight to her cheeks, colouring her face and her neck tomato red. "Y- Y- Y- You pervert!" she screeched, hands fumbling to tighten whatever she can on the gown.
"It ties at the back," he went on, still with that knowing, leering smile on his face. "I can help~"
"Ms. Toda!" The nurse, back with a tray of food, barked at Erika, a disapproving look on her face. "What are you doing out of bed?"
"Oh, I know," Shota said, nodding gravely. "I told her she needs more rest--"
"And for heaven's sake, Mr. Matsuda, get off the bed and let her rest, or I throw you out!"
He-- What had he been doing while she was asleep!? Okay, nothing, probably, but, "I don't need your help!" she snapped immediately, hands reaching behind her back to tighten the string, relieved to feel that there was, at least, something under the gown.
When the nurse returned, disapproval in her voice, Erika was immediately flustered, apologising quickly, though, not without shooting a dirty look at Shota first. Shuffling almost reluctantly back to the bed, she got back on and could not help the relieved grin that spread across her expression when, yes! He was told to get off the bed! "Hear that?" she said, almost smug about it, "Give me back my bed."
If he only knew what she was thinking, it would have given him an immense amount of pleasure, amusement, and amused pleasure. He hadn't been doing anything apart from diligently staying by her bedside (and decorating her room), but seeing her so suspicious of him was always funny.
"Now, Mr. Matsuda," the nurse warned, setting the tray down on the table beside the bed. "Or you won't get any food, which is outside, I'm not bringing it here for you because you're not a patient." With that, the nurse strode out again, heels clicking on the floor with a busy air.
"Harsh," Shota muttered, slipping off the bed and out of the room to get his food and coming back with a smaller tray of food for himself. Settling back down on the chair beside Erika's bed, he dug in heartily, and was mid-chew when he looked at Erika. "...what, do you want me to spoonfeed you? I can do that~"
Like before, she could only watch the nurse quietly as she scolded Shota. The nurse seemed almost scary in a maternal way, and Erika always has the tendency to feel quite small in the presence of such women. But a peek at Shota was enough to tell her that he obviously did not feel the same.
Shifting to sit more comfortably before pulling the tray onto her lap, she stared down at it, lips pursing. A part of her knew that she should eat, but another part of her didn't feel up to the task. Although she blushed at the question, there was an uncertain edge behind it as she looked back down at the food, before returning the tray to the bedside, "You know what? I'm not that hungry yet."
"Can I eat it if you don't want it?" he asked flippantly, shamelessly, although Shota really only half-meant it. "It won't taste as good when it goes cold," he pointed out, though not insisting she eat.
He devoured his own porridge-like food, lapsing into silence except for occasionally muttering that his food tasted like glue, comfortable enough with silence as he was comfortable in the middle of chaos he had caused himself. When he was done (it really didn't take too long as he downed mouthfuls), Shota busied himself with peeling the apple from Erika's tray with a pocket knife that he always carried around, slicing it up after and arranging the slices into a lopsided smiley face back on the tray.
Though aware that he didn't mean it, completely, she shrugged and waved her hand as a gesture, nodding, "Go ahead." She didn't really intend on eating the food, anyway, so she was kind of glad that he didn't insist on making her eat.
The silence was, most probably, due to her. She had taken to just lying there, on her side, watching him eat and wondering why he was eating the food when it was as horrible as he made it sound. She stared because she was trying to concentrate on his thoughts, using him as some sort of a test subject for her new power -- though his thoughts were so completely random and all over the place that it was all the more difficult for her to grasp hold of. At the end, she gave up and sat up, finding herself looking down at the tray with the strangely formed smiley face on it. At first it was a small smile, before she giggled and reached out, fixing the face so that it was not longer lopsided, telling him, "It looked demented, just now."
"Oh I know, I was attempting to make it look like you," he said breezily, giving her a lazy smile. He was glad, though - relieved, even - to hear her giggle and even have her smiling at him now. Shota knew she would be able to feel it, and he didn't really mind.
"I'm glad you guys are back," he went on, and meaning it, too. "Especially you."
She was quiet for a moment, surprised, somewhat, by the relief that she could feel flowing from him to her, the sound of it comforting on her ears, before she, a little awkwardly, reached out and made a grab for the smiley's left eye, popping it into her mouth, "Now it looks like you." It was an attempt to ignore the sincerity that she knew came with his words, but it didn't matter: her embarrassment was apparent as she avoided his eyes.
"I don't see it looking remotely handsome," Shota said, looking at the apple-smiley scrutinizingly before eating its right eye. "Now it looks like Tomo-chan." Inwardly, he felt the flickerings of disappointment as Erika once again evaded his attempts at normalcy towards her, but he quickly suppressed it, giving her an almost manic smile instead.
Erika wasn't the meticulous girl that she is for nothing, and noticed his disappointment, and noticed too how quickly he suppressed it. She found herself looking at him a little curiously, and decided that she must have made a mistake upon seeing his smile. Her eyes went back to the smiley, pouting as she jumped to Pi's defense, saying immediately, "He looks better than that!"
"That's because you looooove Tomo-chan," Shota teased. He was aware of her long-standing feelings for his friend, and was, to be quite honest, not pleased with it. But he never let it show nor even let himself feel it in her presence. And in a way, he was comforted with the thought that Tomohisa was with Erika in--wherever they were in, because Shota knew Tomohisa would take care of her. "Hey, eat your food, or Nurse-chan will have my hide."
Maybe it was because she was moving on, just as senpai had wanted her to do so. Maybe it was simply because she was out of it, that, her reaction was not as dramatic as usual. Instead, she blinked, a light blush crossing her cheeks, before she dragged the tray back onto her lap to start eating, hiding the little embarrassment that she felt. She stabbed at the food before pushing them into her mouth, eating like a child.
Shota watched her eat unabashedly, as if she was an interesting movie. Though it was amusing to watch her eat as if she was being forced to - which in a way, she was.
"Hey," he piped up suddenly, leaning forward. "Let's go watch a movie."
She kept her eyes lowered, aware that he was watching and getting more and more embarrassed by the second, even though the point of eating was so that she didn't have to be so embarrassed anymore. It was weird. Talking about Yamashita-senpai didn't embarrass her, yet being stared at like that by Shota did. How very strange indeed. It was a territory that she was quite sure she didn't want to think too deeply into.
Gaze finally lifting, eyes wide with surprise, she swallowed before asking, "What?" as if for confirmation.
"A movie," Shota replied, slowly, as if talking to a three-year-old. "You know? They're these things shot with a camera, in film, sometimes in mini DV or mini DVD or in hard drive format, where there is a story created by the director and the screenwriter and the actors who bring it to life and an entire production staff--"
Cheeks burning now, she cut him off hurriedly, "I know what a movie is!" Did he already forget that she was one of the few that took Film in their school? He made her feel stupid, and while that normally wouldn't matter, she is always filled with this urge to prove herself to him. "Let's go, then, when I'm out of the infirmary," she said firmly, thinking that this must be something that he wants to do because she's probably the only other person on the course the talks to him.
Shota smiled in triumph, widely. "Oh, are you asking me out, Erika-chan? I would love to go on a date with you, thank you!" He preened, batting his eyelashes at her comically.
Only then realising what he had been doing, she reddened, squeaking desperately, "I am doing no such thing!" She wrinkled her nose at him, trying to regain some of her dignity, "Go watch a movie yourself!"
"But you already said we'll go after you're out of here!" Shota insisted, still grinning. "Yosh. Let's go see Inception! I already did but the sound was bad. I think you'll love it. The plot is awesome. It's the kind of script I want to write someday."
She could never resist a good film, but... but... he-- Finally, she let out a sigh of defeat that made it obvious that, okay, she'll go with him, though that did not stop her from insisting stubbornly, "It's not a date, okay? I'm only going because I want to watch Inception."
"Why is it not a date?" he asked, pouting. "Does that mean - ah. Really, Erika-chan." His tone, as well as the expression on his face, was serious now. "If I asked you out on a date would you say no?"
It was a question that she had never properly considered, and for him to ask her so seriously now was... forcing her to consider it. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him uncertainly, before she finally avoided the question altogether, looking away. Somehow she couldn't seem to straight out and tell him that, yes, she'd say no. Maybe, because that wouldn't be the truth. "Why are you so serious all of a sudden?"
Shota didn't answer, but just stared at her in that disconcerting way he knew he has when wanting to make people squirm - which Erika was doing right now.
"I guess that means I have a chance," he said finally, grinning and leaning back on his seat. "Since you didn't say you'd say no~"
It unnerves her when he's that serious, because it's rare and she never knows what to say when he is. So she couldn't deny that, despite his words, she was a little relieved when his tone returned to a playful one. "Whatever you want to think," she mumbled, trying to at least sound stubborn as she once again turned her attention to her tray, placing food in her mouth so that she didn't have to talk.
"Then I think we're going out on a date," Shota nodded, grinning more still. And before she could protest, he stood up, bending down to drop a kiss on top of her head and saying breezily, "Going to check on Tomo-chan, I'll be back for you later, princess," before picking his headphones and magazine, walking out of the room.
Not even realising that it happened until it actually did happen, she stared after him with wide eyes. The red rose through her cheeks, almost in slow motion, as one of her hands reached up to touch where he had kissed her. Okay, this is normal. Ryo-'nii does it sometimes too to comfort her. But. But it felt different...