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Work came less for Noi and Shin these days.
While that left them a little more bored now and then, and they missed the constant thrills, it was nice to have some more time to just relax, and do things they didn’t used to have as much time for. Things like getting lunch together at their favorite restaurant, exploring the city, visiting friends, hanging out with the family, etc. Shin even (reluctantly) agreed to finally start training Fujita. They got together on the weekends to work.
Now, all that isn’t to say they didn’t still have frequent job requests from En. There were still plenty of problematic citizens, like small copycat cross-eyes groups that kept popping up. Terrorists weren’t uncommon too. These types of things would continue to happen in the magic realm, even after everything that had happened. And Noi and Shin would be there to ‘clean it up.’
On one particularly uneventful, sweltering hot day, Shin was out in the courtyard at En’s estate with Fujita.
“No, not like that! You have to put more into it, alright?”
“I’m trying, Mr. Shin! This is haaaard!”
Shin’s patience was running thin. Fujita was a great kid, and obviously tried very hard, but sometimes he was just a pain in the ass.
“Ok ok, let me show you.” Shin said exasperatedly.
Fujita watched closely, hoping he could emulate the older man’s movements.
“Now you try.”
Disdainfully watching Fujita flail around, struggling to get the move right, Shin silently prayed for it to be dinnertime so he could leave. This was going nowhere.
“Did I get it that time?”
“..uhh, well...”
“Hey Shin! You wanna go grab something to eat?”
A voice from behind them shouted, as she approached their training area.
“Oh thank god. Yeah Noi, we’re all finished here anyway!”
“Hey wait a minute, no we’re not! Heyyy!” Fujita protested.
“We’ll come back to it, Fujita.” Shin said as he began walking away with Noi.
“Sorry Fujita!” Noi waved apologetically. “Ebisu is inside playing with kikurage, you guys should get some food too!”
“.. Fine.”
~
Noi and Shin walked together back to the manor.
“So, how was training?”
“Terrible. The kid just wouldn’t get it.”
“Aww, man. Well, he’s trying. Give him a chance.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m just glad you showed up when you did. I could use a break.”
Noi chuckled. “My pleasure. It’s tough being a trainer, huh?”
“It’s tough being FUJITA’S trainer.”
Noi laughed again. Shin just frowned.
“....So where d’you wanna go to eat? Usual spot?” Shin inquired.
“Actually, I had something else in mind.”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“Well, there’s this place in the city where i heard they have they have the bestttt takoyaki.”
“Mm, sounds good to me.”
The pair made their way to their car, briefly bickering about who had to drive. Shin lost the argument.
The car ride there was quiet, but not in an uncomfortable way. They had been partners for years now, and had known each other for even longer. After having spent so much time together and being friends for so long, there was rarely any awkwardness between them. They were just comfortable being together.
~
Shin thought about their relationship a lot. More than he’d care to admit. It was hard not to be painfully aware of his feelings for Noi, especially now that he had so much more time to think. He figured he’d probably loved her since the day he met her. She was so strong, yet kind.... and funny, yet intelligent. And not to mention she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.... he was getting ahead of himself.
At some point about a year or so ago, Shin admitted to himself that he was in love with his partner. It had taken years of overcoming his own denseness and denial until he finally realized it.
It also didn’t help that people often thought they were a couple, and the entire En family (except probably En himself) shipped them together, teasing them about it whenever given the chance.
But Shin’s biggest fear was letting her find out. He loved the relationship they had, the comfort and happiness they felt together. They had been friends for so many years, and if he told her, he was afraid he would ruin it all and push her away forever. So he kept his mouth shut, and pretended the feelings weren’t there.
Every moment she got a little too close, or he saw her in a sexy outfit, or some asshole would make kissy noises at them (the asshole usually being Ebisu), his heart would skip a beat. And he had a terrible habit of blushing... profusely.
But for both of their sake, and to preserve this friendship, he would shove all his feelings down, forever if he had to.
But what Shin didn’t realize at this point, is that no one, not even him, is strong enough to hold feelings like that in forever.
~
Noi was blabbering about something En had said that offended her, and Shin was erratically driving around searching for this blasted restaurant.
“Noi, what the hell does this place look like? I drove to the part of the city you mentioned but i dont see any takoyaki place!”
Noi, briefly pouting from being ignored in her ranting, said innocently, “oh, did I not mention? It’s a food truck.”
“Shit, for real? Dammit Noi, couldn’t have said something sooner, huh?”
“Well, I was in the middle of a story, which you were apparently not listening to.”
“..Sorry.”
They looked at each other, and burst out laughing.
Shin finally found the food truck, and he pulled over into a parking spot on the side if the road.
The truck was located in a nice area of the city. Right behind it, there was a beautiful park with green grass and a pond, and a few picnic benches. While still surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city, it was a little out of the way and a bit quieter and more peaceful. Noi had really chosen the perfect spot. Hopefully the food was as good as she made it out to be.
Noi whistled. “Wooww, this is a pretty nice spot!”
“I’m just excited to eat already.” Shin looked longingly at the pictures of food pasted on the side of the truck.
There were a few people in line but not many. Noi ordered for them and after getting their food (which smelled delicious) they found an open bench right by the pond. They sat down next to each other, on the same side of the table.
Without a word, they both took a bite.
“Oh my god, this is amazing!” Noi exclaimed with her mouth full.
“Agreed.”
They ate quickly and not at all daintily, their trademark fashion.
Shin looked at Noi’s plate of food. “Haha, I won!” He said showing off his empty one.
“What?? I didn’t even know we were competing!”
They both chuckled, and looked off at the scenery in front of them. The light was turning golden, sun rays barely touching the tips of the few trees around the park. It was quite warm outside, but a very lovely day. Probably one of the best all summer.
Noi broke the silence.
“It’s weird that we have so much time to just do stuff like this, huh.”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking the same thing. It’s weird, and kinda boring sometimes.”
“Yeah, I wanna beat more people up!”
“We still get to do that plenty. Just not as much.”
“Yeah, I guess. And I guess it’s kind of nice, you know. That we get to spend more time together outside of just work.”
Shin blinked and looked over at Noi, who was brightly smiling at him. His heart fluttered. Damn.
Shin smiled back. “Yeah, I agree.”
Shin glanced around at the other people in the park. He started to notice a pattern of couples, sitting together or walking around holding hands. He wiggled in mild discomfort.
Going by the look on Noi’s face, he figured she had realized it too. She was looking down at her now empty plate.... blushing. Noi was blushing, something that Shin didn’t think he had ever seen before.
“It’s like we’re on a date or something, huh.” She said, smiling.
Shin laughed nervously. “Hehe, y-yeah.”
Oh no. The awkwardness was starting to set in. No no no! They were having such a good time together, why does the notion of romance always have to come in and ruin it?! Shin wracked his brain on how he could make it less awkward for them.
“If you’re done, do you wanna go back to the car?” He said, trying to be courteous.
Noi paused for a moment, frowning, and still not looking at him.
“Umm... If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay here a bit longer.”
Shin’s eyes went wide. She.... she couldn’t mean it like that. Like how he thought she did.
“It-it’s just so nice out, thats why!” Noi added frantically, finally looking up at Shin.
Shin’s heart sank. The blush must have just been from the heat.
“Yeah, it is. Okay, we can stay.”
“Cool.”
They continued to watch the scenery, as the golden light was threateningly dimming.
The awkwardness faded, not completely but it was no longer so intense. The two chatted about normal things; easy everyday conversation. Until dusk was upon them, and they agreed they should head back.
“Oh, I never thanked you for paying.” Shin said.
“Ah it’s no biggie, it was my idea anyway.” Noi grinned at him.
Shin bravely started, “we... we should do that again sometime.”
He cursed at himself silently, until Noi gave him a smile as bright as the sun that day. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
They had been out to dinner before, but this kind of thing was different. It definitely felt like more of a date then just two friends getting food. And that’s why Shin cursed at himself for requesting to do it again, and why he was so surprised when Noi said yes. Although, she wasn’t the type to let the whole ‘date’ thing get to her, so it was probably no different for her.
Shin drove them back to the manor.
By the time they got back, it was dark out. It was probably around 9:00.
They walked back to their respective rooms together, getting to Noi’s first.
Shin said, with a hint if disappointment, “I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess. En said he’s got that task for us, so...”
“Yep, see ya, Shin!”
“Goodnight!”
“Goodnight!”
Noi lingered outside her door for a moment, watching Shin walk away. His room down the hall from hers. She then unlocked the door and went inside.
As soon as the door closed, Noi leaned her back against it and sighed. “Stupid brain,” she said quietly to herself.
She walked into her small living room. “What am I thinking?” Picturing Shin, she got beet red in the face and covered it with her hands. “Dammit—fuck—ugh!!!”
She cursed and kicked the coffee table.
~
Noi had not come to terms with her true feelings towards Shin until very recently. She had certainly pondered the nature of their relationship before; she wasn’t that oblivious. But all of a sudden, just a couple months ago, maybe even less than that, she started thinking about him more. It wasn’t just one of those ‘crush on your senpai’ type things, which was what she thought at first. No, it was a lot deeper than that, and she knew that it went back a lot longer. She loved him. Was in love with him. With every fiber of her being, she loved that man. He was complex and strong and intense, but at the same time he was gentle and caring. Not to mention how physically attractive he was.
But he could be a complete dork sometimes and she loved him for it.
But Noi also loved their friendship. She valued that so much. And she knew how Shin felt about any notion of romance between them. She could see it in his discomfort every time their relationship was brought up, or any time he struggled to compliment her without it being weird, or when they had ‘intimate’ moments, like when she healed him mouth-to-mouth.
The thing was, a part of her knew that he loved her back. But she respected his boundaries, and she was happy with their relationship as it was.....
..... wasn’t she?
~
Noi looked at the door. She stared at it for possibly an entire minute, contemplating.
~
Shin was settled on his sofa when he heard a soft knock at the door. *who could that be,* he thought. But he already knew.
He cautiously opened the door and looked up to see Noi, hair shining in the dim light of the hallway.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey. Um, would you want to come hang out? I just rented a movie and it’d just be sad to watch it alone.” She snickered.
“Yeah, sure, I got nothing better to do anyway.”
Shin grabbed his key off a small table by the doorway and stepped out of his room, turning to close and lock the door. They headed to Noi’s room, Shin’s heart beating faster with each step.
Shin hadn’t been in her room in ages. She had rearranged some furniture since last time he saw it, and the walls were a different color.
“I love what you’ve done with the place,” he said, half sarcastically.
“Mm, you’re too kind,” Noi replied in a similar tone.
Shin made his way to the living room, having a look around, while Noi went to the kitchen.
“Want some popcorn?” She asked.
“Is that even a question?”
He heard her laugh, and she started the microwave.
~
Noi’s couch was much more comfortable than Shin’s, and he made a point to complain to her about it.
They sat through the movie, Noi occasionally yelling at the screen when the characters did something dumb and Shin laughing at her (or telling her to shut up). All was well, and they were overall just enjoying each other’s company.
When the movie ended, Shin looked over at Noi to make a comment and realized she was asleep. Her head was leaned back and she was lightly snoring. *Cute,* he thought, smiling.
She shifted in her sleep a bit and her hand landed on Shin’s thigh. Shin looked down, shocked for a second, but soon relaxed. He observed her hand for a moment, absentmindedly picking it up in his own.
Noi’s hands were large, but still.... feminine. Even with all the hard labor she goes through, they were still quite soft. And warm. Shin’s face got hot and he didn’t really know why. He was just reminded of how she was very much a woman. And a gorgeous one at that. He glanced over at her face, which had tilted towards him.
Then, to his horror, Noi shifted again, and mumbled groggily, “Shin.... what’re you doing?” As she opened her eyes.
Shin’s eyes widened and his face reddened. Startled, he yanked his hand back.
“N-n-nothing!”
He expected Noi to laugh and move away, but she didn’t. She just stayed there, carefully observing him.
Then, she spoke in a very soft voice, rare for her. “Shin... are you scared of me?”
Shin blinked at the strange question.
“No, of course not.”
“Then what are you scared of?”
He was at a loss. Was she just sleep talking? None of this was making any sense.
“I.. I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.”
“It’s just... whenever we have intimate moments like this, you always act so uncomfortable, like someone’s going to get angry with you.”
Oh.
“Well.... uh....”
“How do you really feel, Shin?”
Shin gulped.
Noi sat up, and leaned closer to him, but not too close.
“I’m not sure if I can do this anymore.” She said.
Shin’s head was spinning; his body felt like it was burning.
“Noi, I...”
“You...?”
Shin stared into her eyes, lost in that piercing red gaze of hers.
He was starting to get the hint, and he bravely took her hand in his, with the most gentle touch.
They looked down at their hands, then back up at each other, with knowing eyes.
“I’m not afraid of you, Noi. I’m not afraid of anyone, really. I’m just afraid of... well, of losing you.”
Noi’s expression softened, but remained inquisitive.
Shin spoke again.
“If I say or do something that makes you uncomfortable, I’m afraid you’ll run away, or that what we have will be gone. So I’ve been okay just keeping things the way they are.”
Noi squeezed his hand.
“But... Senpai, how long were you planning on keeping that up?”
“Forever, if need-be.”
“Just to keep me around?”
Shin nodded.
Noi smiled.
“Oh, Senpai. Did you even stop to think for a second how I might feel about that?”
Shin’s eyes widened again. Did she... was she....
“Uh... I guess not, but... does that mean that you, uh...”
When Shin got nervous like this, words didn’t come out of his mouth quite right. But Noi knew what he meant.
“I love you, Shin.”
Hearing those words with his name was like a bomb landing on his heart. He was completely paralyzed, he didn’t think he could move if he tried. And his surprise and amazement at hearing her say that was enough for him to just die right there.
“And I know you might not want to jump into anything just yet, but I can’t keep pretending that my feelings aren’t there, and if you’re not ready to say it back that’s okay, but I—“
She was interrupted by Shin’s mouth pressing against hers, his hand cupping her cheek to pull her in.
It was Noi’s turn to be shocked. Her brain couldn’t process what was happening before Shin pulled away, with dazzling eyes and a flushed face.
“I love you, Noi.”
He looked like he was about to cry.
“I love you so much, I can hardly stand it. Every day that goes by it just gets harder and harder not to scream it from the rooftops. But I was just so afraid of my own feelings, because I thought they would ruin what we have..... but you’re right, I cant take it anymore. A-and apparently, n-neither can you...” He stuttered a bit as he neared the end of his rush of adrenaline, and let what he just did sink in for a moment.
“Ah— I’m so sorry!” His face went even redder than it was before, and he stumbled back a bit, flailing his arms. “I shouldn’t have done that without asking! Fuck, sorry—mmpf!“
Noi grabbed his wrists and decided to shut him up by planting another kiss right back. Shin immediately reciprocated. Their inexperienced mouths moved together messily yet beautifully, and the kiss grew more and more desperate with each second that passed. Years of companionship and months of longing had come to this, and it was like no matter how they held each other they couldn’t get close enough.
Noi swiftly pushed shin onto his back on the couch, and deepened the kiss, now using her tongue. Shin obliged. Noi’s hair draped down her neck and tickled his face. He felt the warmth of her body pressing up against his own. Were those her breasts? She was so strong.... and wow she smelled so nice...
Shin shifted a bit and Noi pulled back. They were both panting.
“Noi...” Shin said between breaths, “shouldn’t we slow down a bit?”
Noi giggled. “Heh, sorry,” she replied.
“Don’t be.”
Noi was propping herself up just over Shin, their faces so close they could feel each other’s breath. Noi was all Shin could see, and Shin was all Noi could see. He gazed up at her with the softest, most loving expression she had ever seen, and Noi gave him a beautiful grin.
“Oh, Shinnnnnn!”
She crashed on top of him in a big hug, and Shin let out an “oof!” as she practically knocked the wind out of him. Noi was not a small woman, after all. Which of course, wasn’t a bad thing.
“Noi, I can’t breathe,” he squeaked.
“Oops, sorry! Haha!” She sat up.
Shin chuckled.
They sat and smiled at each other.
Shin didn’t know why he had been so scared before. It was such a relief to get his feelings off his chest, and to know that Noi felt the same way and THIS could be their relationship now was amazing. He was so grateful for her.
And Noi was grateful for him.
“So....” Noi began. “Did we totally spoil our friendship?”
“Totally.”
“Want to go spoil it some more?”
“Absolutely.”