Another year, another birthday.
Elly had already hung her paper on the bamboo display in the common area of the faculty dorm and was on her way to greet the birthday boy. Tonight a group of them would gather at a bar with him for drinks and food, but she wanted a small moment alone.
She knocked and he pulled the door open immediately, backing up so she could enter.
"Hey!" He grinned and threw double finger guns her way in a jaunty manner. This wasn't an unusual greeting but for some reason she responded differently. Maybe it was the excitement of the day or the previous battle they had survived, but when he faced her with his arms thrown wide she leaped forward.
Elly met him in a hug.
Though Hizashi was startled, he reacted by instinctively hugging back. And when she didn't let go right away he squeezed tighter, wrapping his arms more firmly around the smaller woman and bending down to be closer.
They stayed like this for a long time. Several people passed by the open door meaning to congratulate him, but quickly spun around when they noticed the situation.
Yagi, however, was startled enough to cough. His eyes widened and he covered his mouth, hacking up a tiny amount of blood.
Hizashi raised his head, blinking to focus. When he saw the skeletal man standing there stunned he grinned sheepishly and gave him a thumb's-up behind her back.
"Oh! Uh, I'm terribly sorry, Yamada... Ms. Cheshire." He darted back down the hallway where the others had gone but the noise startled Elly. She gasped with mortification, unaware how long she'd been clutching onto the voice hero like a living stuffed animal.
"Ohmigod!" Jerking backwards too fast she wobbled on her feet, her tail swishing for balance.
"Careful, babe!" Hizashi steadied her with a hand on her shoulder.
"H - how long was that. No, Zashi, don't answer, I know it was <i>too long</i>!" Her breathing picked up as she panicked. "Oh man, ohhh boy, I did <i>not</i> mean to do something that awkward, I'm sorry." Elly rubbed the bridge of her nose with one hand, groaning loudly. "It's just that your hug, it was..." She frowned, her eyes softening. "It was so <i>perfect</i>."
"Perfect?" His
"Um. Yeah. Warm and strong and something I can't place that I've never felt before," she admitted quietly. "I'm sorry I held on too long."
He rubbed her shoulder gently in a soothing manner. "Was it safe?"
"What?"
He stepped close again, his golden eyes serious. "Did it make you feel <i>safe</i>, like I'd never let anyone hurt you?"
Elly bit her lip, not really knowing what to say. "Hizashi -"
"'Cause I won't. That's what <i>I</i> felt." He slowly slipped his arms around her again, staring deeply into her eyes all the while. "Like the only hero I need to be is yours."
"Oh."
"So... uh. You wanna go for round two?"
This time she reached up, placing one palm gently on the nape of his neck. Once there her fingertips brushed the short, feathered hair and she stroked it softly.
He shivered a little. "This was a good birthday gift, yo."
"What, me?"
"Yeah." He chuckled.
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