The Language of Love

Elly tapped the table in front of her student. "Pay attention. All right, let's try again. <i>I (blank) my cat in the (blank), before I eat (blank).</i>"

Aizawa Shota sat at the opposite end of her dining table dressed in dark civilian clothing. He looked more tired than usual and he whuffed air out between his lips, clearly frustrated. "You're using 'cat' a lot."

"Of course I am," Elly said matter-of-factly, twitching her ears. "It gets your attention. Now, fill in the blanks with any word that makes sense."

He groaned. "I'm never going to learn English."

"Didn't you keep up after school? You went here, for god's sake!"

"I just did enough to pass. Didn't care."

"It shows," she told him gently but firmly. "Look, Nezu said everyone has to have a better understanding of the language. Yamada's busy, so he can't coach you right now."

He muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said, it's okay. I prefer you."

She raised her eyebrows slightly. "Okay, then. Do you need me to repeat -"

"I feed my cat in the, uh, morning. After I eat -" He frowned, struggling to remember the word. Elly waited patiently, not pressing him. After a few minutes he laid his arms on the table and sank his head into them, defeated.

"Breakfast," she murmured.

"Breakfast," the grumble came from somewhere in the tangle of arms and dark hair splayed over them. His pronunciation was horrible, but he dutifully repeated the word.

"Oh, Aizawa. It's not that bad. You just need a motivator. I used to give myself a point every time I got a sentence right when studying Japanese, and I added up so many for a treat I liked."

"M'not a child, Cheshire." He managed to sound indignant as muffled as he was.

She reached out and touched the top of his head. He flinched, then relaxed as she hesitantly threaded her fingers through the shining, dark tresses. "I think I may have an idea. Please look up."

His gray eyes were wary as he straightened slightly. "Fine. What is it."

"Try the sentence again." She scooted her chair beside his. He gave her a suspicious look, but then repeated it once more.

"I feed my cat in the morning. Before I eat breakfast." Though his R sound wasn't that good, it was correct. She leaned close and lightly kissed his stubbled cheek.

Aizawa pulled away as if in slow motion, his bloodshot eyes huge. One hand came up and touched where she had kissed him. "What - what did you..?"

"Motivation." Elly blushed, but pressed on, "If you get better, you get rewarded."

He scowled at her, his brow drawn. "How can you be so sure <i>that's</i> a good incentive for me?" He realized his fingertips still rested on his cheek and he yanked his hand back to lay on the table. "It's highly unprofessional and we're colleagues."

"I'm sorry," she said sadly, her ears folding backwards. "I took a chance and it didn't work out. It won't happen again."

She started to move her chair back, but his hand whisked out and grasped her forearm. "No need to be sorry. I ... you were right."

Her eyes twinkled as she smirked at him. "I know."

"What." He spoke the word flatly as he watched her move back to his side.

"Because I apologized in English. You didn't even notice, but you understood."

His forehead hit the table. "Shit."

"I can teach you more swearing, if you're interested," she said cheerfully. "Let's just stick to basic communication for now, though."