Shota/Els
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Elly sat on the edge of her hotel bed and stared into the space between the small television and the wall. She had been sitting there for a quarter of an hour, thinking very hard and fighting back tears when the service phone suddenly rang. Curious, she picked it up.
"Package for me? Thank you. I'll come get it right away."
She walked down to the desk and thanked them again for accepting it for her. It was a small box, simple and brown. Upon opening it she saw her collar inside - the one she had dropped only a short while ago at Shota's apartment. She gasped and held it up, blinked, and realized her neck was exposed.
"Oops." Elly clipped the collar on quickly and rushed back to her room before reading the attached note she had seen inside. No wonder the desk clerk had been staring at her! The bruise was very prominent, especially as he had just worried at it earlier. After she calmed down from her nerves and embarrassment, she picked up the scrap of paper. The handwriting had a rushed kind of feeling to it, as if he had written it seconds after she had run out the door.
<i>Ches,
I'm sorry I frightened you. I'm not very good at this kind of thing. Please meet me in front of the hotel at six so I can explain.</i>
Elly bit her lip, afraid to look at the end and not sure why. She inhaled deeply.
<i>I love you.
- Shota</i>
He said it.
Well, he had written it, but there it was on the torn piece of one of his school notebooks. The fact that it was ripped and done so unevenly spoke volumes about his state of mind. And he had clearly rushed all the way here to deliver it. She nodded to herself and went into the bathroom to shower.
He brought her to a more intimate restaurant than any they had gone to so far. He even requested a booth so they could sit in the dim, romantic lighting by themselves and not be interrupted. She had worn something simple and he had as well, as neither of them liked dressing up. But the pale man had shaved again, she saw with surprise, and his hair was tied up in a very neat bun instead of a messy ponytail. Elly reached out and placed her hand near his when she noticed how hard he was shaking. Aizawa stroked her hand and took a slow, deep breath.
His gray eyes locked onto their entwined hands on the table. "I got carried away, and I've never been more ashamed of my actions," he admitted gruffly.
"Oh." She sat quietly for a time, trying to process this fact.
Aizawa looked up after a couple of minutes, his expression agonized. "Please, Ches. I know it's completely illogical, but I am suffering physical pain at the thought that you might not want to be with me anymore."
"Shota." She placed her free hand on top of the pile and squeezed gently. "I <i>do</i> want to be with you. I just got a little jumpy that we were moving so fast."
"I apologize," he said in a clear, firm voice. "I want far more than physical relations with you. It's just that I never..." He trailed off, a slow burn spreading across his cheeks.
"You've never what?"
Aizawa grumbled faintly and looked away. "Nothing."
"It's obviously a big something."
"I have nothing to be ashamed of, but the social stigma of this is difficult to ignore..."
"I hate societal norms." She sighed. "They cause more damage than good."
"Agreed." He still looked worried, though, so she didn't ask again. A few moments passed and then he spoke softly in a voice only they could hear. "I'm a thirty year old man that has never had a - a <i>serious</i> relationship."
"Until now." She was acutely aware of what he was implying.
He looked at once relieved and mortified that she understood, and rested his head on one hand in defeat. "If you still want to be with somebody that doesn't understand any of this - " he waved his free hand around in an all-encompassing manner, "I will be very surprised." He jumped as he felt a soft touch on his cheek, hesitantly glancing up. Elly leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth softly. His eyes widened. The light kiss was brief, a warm brush of her lips not even directly on his, but his stomach fluttered and his breath caught in his throat.
"I'm just as much in love with you, Sho. We just need to go a little slower."
"I can do that," he said. "I promise you."
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