[Shizune] The Next Step

The Next Step


I continue to hustle around the kitchen, my apron flapping around I practically sprint across the room from the stove to the small table we have off to the side.

It's a beautiful night out, the moon giving ample lighting as it cascades through the window and onto the table. I run down the things I have laid out on the table, making sure everything looks perfect.

It needs to be perfect.

Otherwise, tonight is going to be a miserable night.

Under my soiled apron, remnants of the various foods I've been preparing literally all day long splattered in various spots all over it, I'm wearing my nicest sweater vest, a long-sleeved dress shirt and a pair of black dress pants.

I really need to be myself when she gets home, as I don't want to give away any surprises before I bring her into the kitchen.

Shizune will be home from work any minute.

In a fit of panic, I run through a mental checklist in my head as I untie my apron, tossing it out of view.

Table set up with candles and the moon as our only form of lighting. Check.

Shizune's favorite foods. ranging from a huge salad to the best tasting crab I've ever managed to cook up. Check.

Use of silver and glassware that she has constantly forbidden me to use under any circumstance at all. Check.

A perfectly chilled bottle of wine centering it all. Check.

Last, but certainly not least, I run my hand over top of the tiny box that I have hidden off in a corner of the room, making sure to keep it out of sight.

Just as I finish wiping down the counter and tossing away useless remains of various spices and ingredients, the lock at the front door begins to twist as she inserts her key to unlock it. I rush out of the kitchen and wait patiently as she pushes the door open, looking a bit surprised to find me waiting for her.

She hangs her heavy winter coat up on the hangers off to the side of the hall, also kicking her shoes off.

Her eyes haven't left me yet as she raises her eyebrow at me, crossing her arms over her chest.

I gulp and grin nervously, trying as hard as possible to hide what she'll find in the kitchen for a moment.

[Welcome home. How was your day at work?] I lean in and give her a quick peck on the lips, something the two of us have become accustomed to doing when one of us returns home from a long and treacherous day of labor.

She sighs at me, pushing her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose.

[Frustrating as usual. Sitting in meetings all day, ready to just come home and crawl into bed...] She drops her hands to her sides at the end, more or less trailing off in what she was signing. She clenches her fists and closes her eyes for a moment, trying to relieve the stress of a common day.

I give her a sincere smile before wrapping her in a hug. She graciously returns in, gripping me harder than she has in quite some time.

She looks up at me before pulling her hands back to sign, looking at me with a hint of curiosity.

[Okay, Mr. Nakai. What are you scheming here? Waiting for me at the door, looking awfully shady and all isn't necessarily the best way for you to hide something.] She squints her eyes at me, a habit she's gotten into while trying to draw information from me.

I reach up and rub the back of my head for a moment, letting out a couple of shaky laughs.

This isn't going as smooth as I was originally hoping.

I reach forward and grab her by the hand, catching her off guard, and lead her down the hallway with little resistance. We round the corner and enter the kitchen as I turn around to face her, an expression of anger completely melting off of her face and morphing into one of complete surprise.

I can feel my face burning red as she reaches her hand to her mouth, staring in awe at the surrounding setup.

[I thought you deserved a nice dinner prepared by none other than your wonderful boyfriend.] I look down at her feet out of embarrassment as she still is looking at the table before her, stepping past me and standing beside the table.

When I finally look up at her, she has one of the widest smiles I think I've ever seen from her.
Shizune looks up from the table for a moment, gazing into my eyes with amazement.

[So this is why you took of work today?]

I rub the back of my neck and grin.

[Maybe.] I walk around her and pull her chair out, offering her a seat. She accepts and sits down on the chair before I push her in, taking my position on the opposite side of the table.

For a moment, both of us just sit in a motionless state. My heart races at an uneven pace as I force myself to smile. She takes a look outside at the moon resting in the night sky, streaks of light creating shadowy patterns on her face.

After a few moments, her eyes meet mine once again as she raises her hands and attempts to string together some form of a conversation starter.

[Why are you doing this?] Her face looks curious and actually slightly emotional, her eyes appearing a bit glassy.

I can't tell her the real reason yet, can I?

I mean, I know she's going to press the matter at hand here, but what am I supposed to tell her?

I take a moment to process my thoughts before responding, my cheeks lighting up as I move my hands.

[Well, you're always working hard and long hours. I thought maybe I could show you my appreciation of what you do.] Upon finishing, I reach forward and take a hold of her hand between the two of my own, holding it tight.

She looks down out of embarrassment, her cheeks showing a hint of red.

It's certainly not easy to get her to be embarrassed or flattered, but romantic settings have always been a soft spot for her.

I retract my hands from around hers and grasp the bottle of wine sitting in the middle of the table, taking the opener and pulling the cork off. I offer her a questioning look, to which she simply responds with a nod and a smile. I tip the bottle and fill her glass up, following that up with my own shortly after.

I take a sip and place the glass back down on the table, my mind distancing from the world we're in.
That's how tonight needs to be.

We need to be in our own little, dysfunctional universe.

Shizune sits with her hands on her lap, still sort of settling into the mood of the room. It's completely understandable that she would be, anyways, as my goal of catching her off guard was greatly achieved.

[Now, Mrs. Hakamichi. How may I serve you this evening?] She brings her hand to her mouth and silently giggles, smirking at my very interesting attempts to impress her.

[I think you can 'serve' me by taking a break. You've done enough for me today.] I frown a bit at her. I worked hard to get this perfect set together, yeah, but that doesn't mean my act is over yet.

Before I can get anything else out, she begins to take food from the various mounds scattered across the table, filling her plate up high with crab and various greens.

I pout.

[Fine. I was just trying to be nice...] She offers me a pat on the shoulder and a satisfied smile.

[You've done plenty enough for me, Hisao. Let's eat.]

-----

After a good half an hour of eating and mindless talk about work and things going on in town, I finally set down my silverware and pat my stomach. Shizune imitates me, resting the back of her hand against her forehead and mockingly sighs at her filled stomach.

I glare at her, but she doesn't seem to catch it. I stretch my arms and stand up, clearing the table and carrying our dishes over to the sink. As I go to dump excess food into the trash, I sneak my hand up and remove the ring box from the hidden corner, putting it in my pocket.

I think it's time.

After putting the rest of the dirtied items in the sink, I take my place back in my chair, Shizune waiting for me with her seemingly non-removable smile still perched on her lips.

It's strange.

I don't think I've seen her this happy in almost a year.

It's definitely a satisfying feeling when you know that you've made the person you love happy.

She takes a sip from her third glass of wine, her cheeks slightly red from the alcohol getting to her head.

[I think we need to take a vacation, Hisao.] I look at her with a confused expression.

She's generally the one who doesn't want to take a vacation because she's afraid her workplace will go nuts without her there.

[Is that so? Where did you have in mind?]

[Here. Just you and me.]

She looks like she could use a break, really. With my work picking up around now for the holiday season, I'm not sure how long I can get off for.

But I will damn well make sure it happens.

I grin.

[I think I like that idea. What would you want to do here though?] She smirks deviously, her eyes regaining their strength.

[Oh, I have more than enough ideas of what we could do...]

I blush.

She's getting too good at sneaking in references to our sexual expeditions.

Enough of that though. It's time to build up to the big question. I take her hand in between mine again, my muscles tensing as every moment begins to lead to the goal.

She looks at my with a glance of interest as I retract my hands, preparing to hit the home stretch.

[Shizune, do you know how long we've been together?] She takes a moment to count the years in her head, her grin widening with every year added to the total.

[Six years. Why?]

I swallow hard, my nerves beginning to get the best of me.

[I want to know something. How much have these six years meant to you?] She stares at me for a moment, the wheels in her head churning as she buys time to come up with a response.

[You're acting really strange.] She looks almost worried, turning her head and raising an eyebrow at me.

[Just answer the question, please.] She rests her head on her hand for a moment and looks into my eyes, trying to read what's going on in my head. After a failed attempt, she finally gives in and gives me an answer.

[Fine. The past six years have been the greatest of my young life, and you already know that well enough. I'm just hoping we can make the rest of our relationship be just as amazing as these last few years have been. Happy?] I can tell she's exhausted from the wine and stress from work today.

Time to put it out there.

[What do you think of taking our relationship to the next level, then?]

Her eyes go wide, her mind seemingly waking up. She brings her hand up to her mouth as I stand up from my seat and take my position beside her, getting down on one knee.

I then reach into my pocket and remove the box, containing an item I've been secretly saving up for over the past year.

I look into her eyes, a steady stream coming out of the corners of the two of them.

[Shizune Hakamichi, will you marry me?]

Without hesitation, she lunges forward and tackles me backward onto the ground, completely disregarding the dangers of my heart condition. She straddles over top of me, her teeth shining in the dim light of the room.

[Yes!]

A drop falls off of her cheek and onto my shirt as her muscles seemingly shake with joy.

She lowers herself down to me and our lips meet, being held together for what feels like an eternity.

The two of us get up as she continues to hang onto me, like a child clinging to one of their parents. I put a small space between the two of us and take her hand, taking the diamond out of the box and sliding it onto her finger.

A perfect fit.

She holds her hand in front of her face, staring in amazement at the stone. The light of the moon reflects off of the stone, causing it to shimmer in an awing fashion.

She finally peels her eyes away and wraps her arms around my neck, bringing our foreheads together.
I hold her with my arms around her waist, a massive grin forming from cheek to cheek as I mentally give myself a pat on the back.

She pulls her hands away for a moment so she can talk.

[I love you. More than you can even imagine.]

I smirk with an evilly, always ready to tease her with every chance I get.

[Are you trying to insult my mental capacity?] I laugh out loud as she punches me in the arm, my joke easily killing the tender moment between the two of us.

[Don't be a dick. This is serious!] I smile lightly, wiping away a bit of the trail left from her tears.

[I think you already know that I love you.]

She shoots me a competitive grin, her eyes gaining that edge once again.

[Then you should have no trouble showing me how much.] She takes me by the rest and runs the two of us out of the kitchen, heading towards the bedroom.

I find myself laughing all the way, as we enter the room and she hops up onto me, wrapping her legs around me and kicking the door shut on the surrounding world.