Elly was nervous as the elevator chimed pleasantly, opening into the hallway between Aizawa's rooms and hers. As she stepped out, her heart started beating so rapidly that she coughed a little, covering her mouth with one hand.
Her new head of security stood beside her door with one foot propped on the wall behind him, one hand rubbing the back of his neck in that way he had. "Ah. You ready?"
"Y - yes." She awkwardly opened the door and he followed into her personal quarters for the first time. "My bedroom's over there," she gestured at the farthest door. "I'll, um. Just get changed and brush my teeth."
Aizawa nodded and strolled calmly forward, taking everything in. These were abnormally spacious rooms that would amount to a home in itself for more modest people. Elly closed the bathroom door and he paused to admire the fish tanks lining the walls. The farthest walls were one giant, wrap-around saltwater tank that, as he knew, was maintained one floor above. Bright splashes of color flashed about as schools of tropical fish darted in and out of plants and a vibrant reef.
He opened the bedroom door and saw there were more plain walls here. A few freshwater tanks with more neutral colored fish lined one wall, providing a bubbling water sound and ambient glow. He drew the chair that was beside her bed closer and sat, waiting for her to arrive.
When she did he was happy to see that she was wearing a simple t-shirt and pants combination in pastel colors. Her hair was down, different than the style she wore where it spiked out along the sides during the day. Everything was softer about her and while he was relieved she didn't have on a sexy negligee, it suddenly didn't matter. He felt the same way.
"How are we going to do this?"
He shrugged. "However you want. I suggest you get in bed and I'll pull the covers about you. Would that suffice?"
She nodded hesitantly. "I guess..? I don't know. But okay." She did as he suggested and Aizawa tucked her in.
"I will, as always, be across the hall if you need me." He moved to leave but paused in the doorway, frowning. He heard a soft new sound and it took him a moment before he realized she was crying, struggling to muffle her tears so he wouldn't hear.
"Ches?"
She was under all the way, her face hidden from sight. When he spoke she jerked guiltily. "Yes?"
Aizawa sighed. She couldn't hide the raw emotion in her voice, try as she might. He rushed back to her side and tugged on the blanket covering her. "Ches. Don't hide. What's wrong?"
The sheets flung back in a wave of cotton and she leaped out at him. "<i>Don't leave me!</i>" She wailed, throwing her arms around the surprised man. "Don't... everyone luh - leaves me."
"I'm here." His arms wrapped around her warm body, holding her as she wept. He did not try to stop her but rather let her cry until words became mixed, once again, within the sobs.
"He left me, the bastard. I thought he cared, that he was d - different..."
Aizawa knew for a fact that Zoro did care, but that he held his feelings in for too long and could not face her now. He bit back anything he might have said, knowing she would not believe him if he tried. "I'm here," he repeated as calmly as possible. "I'm here with you."
"For how long?!" Her tear-streaked face wrenched up from where she had been burrowing it in his chest. "You'll leave, too!" His shocked gray eyes witnessed such panic and fear in hers that he acted without thinking. He reached up and caressed the side of her face, wiping wetness from her cheek.
"Ches," he whispered, "I am different."
"So you say." She sneezed lightly, her cat's nose wrinkling in such a comical way that he smiled. "What's so fucking funny?"
"Ah, swearing. You're very upset." He handed her a tissue from the nightstand. "I will tell you the same thing I did before. If I feel I should step down from my position, I will let you know. It will not be sudden, and, if you want, I will continue to visit you."
"Y - you can't promise." She trembled, hesitant to ask what she really wanted of him.
"Yes I can. It isn't a lie."
"No... I mean, a real promise. No one ever really promises a demon anything. It's binding, it's a soul contract and I get it. I understand. You can use the word but it means nothing to me. So many humans have done before and it's always broken."
"Your heart? Or the promises?"
"Both." She stared wearily at him.
"You admit it, then."
She didn't seem to understand what he was alluding to or she ignored him as she continued. "No one - no one will ever seriously promise me anything," she faltered, suddenly very tired. "No one. And, seeing as I'm a demon, they really shouldn't. It doesn't mean I haven't wanted it for so very, very long, though."
He spoke her name sharply, the oldest name they had on record for her and the widest kept secret alongside her weakness.
She gasped, instantly alert. "<i>Aizawa, stop!</i> No! If you use that name and then -"
He placed his forehead on hers, his eyes flashing bright red as his hair rose from the back of the bun he had it pulled up in. It wasn't as dramatic as when it was loose but it still swept up in that strange, unseen wind. She choked, halting at the exotic sight of demonic appearance in a human.
Again he spoke her full name and then added formally, "I <i>promise</i> you that <i>we will not be ripped apart unless by death or mutual desire.</i>"
There was a mysterious, bell-like note that sounded as he finished speaking. He felt strange, and saw that she had gone very pale with rosy spots of color in her cheeks. The cat woman's lips were parted in disbelief and her eyes huge. He held his breath, his heart hammering in his chest. Hers was not the face of a demon in her stunned innocence.
Elly was panting, her ears askew as she stared incredulously at the scruffy man holding her. "Shota," she whimpered quietly, using his name for the first time and causing a shiver to run down his spine. "Now it has to be."
"It will," he said simply.
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