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As you look down at your hands, you see the faint remains of blood, it wasn't his blood. It was yours. Your nails had dug into your palms so hard that tiny crescents of red appeared.

"Shit." You hissed, the bandages on your palms burned as you wrapped them, a reminder that no amount of fabric could ever hide the stain of one's life being taken in your hands.

Geto and his gang were all monsters in their own right, but what did that make you? You could still remember the first time Satoru spoke of his plan to put an end to his ex-best friend's life. Back then, it made sense, it felt as if justice was going to be served. But now?

Now it felt like you were drowning in filth, you're tainted with what you've become. The guilt gnawed at you. Killing Mahito hadn't made you feel better, it left you feeling like the real monster.

"Don't forget that they've taken numerous lives. It was for the better." Satoru speaks up, he had been observing you for a few minutes and watched you get closer and closer to self destruction.

"Was it?" You ask weakly, was this how it was supposed to feel like?

"You've done nothing wrong." Satoru needs to get you out of this, it's hurting him seeing you put this much guilt and pain on yourself. "If you hadn't done what you did, Mahito would've killed us. Think of it as self defense."

"Geto's still out there." You remind. "People will still die."

"Less people," He pointed out, his body shifts in the bed and he regrets moving. "It had to be done, Y/n. As shitty as it feels, we're bringing more hope to humanity."

You were changing his iv bag when he stops you, a saddened look on his face, "Talk to me, sweetheart. I don't want you to go through this alone."

Tears brimmed your eyes, making it difficult to finish securing the new bag. Your hands trembled that the simple task felt impossible. Before you could gather yourself, Satoru gently pulled you towards him, his touch painfully tender against what you were feeling inside.

He wrapped an arm around you, his hand gently caressing the back of your head, fingers weaving through your hair. Your body, as if on cue, began to shake, soft whimpers escaping your lips, despite your efforts to hold them back.

His breath was warm against your ear as he hugged you closer to him, his own tension palpable as he realized everything that had happened. There was nothing he could do to stem the flood of emotions. His embrace tightened, trying to shield you from the darkness that clung to you.

Despite what he said to make you feel better, he too was hurting inside. Killing people was way different than killing zombies, he knew that, but it doesn't make it any easier to bear.

What helps him process these emotions far better than your state, is that he knows the world will better from those lives lost. He lost track of time, but when your cries come to an end, he realizes you've fallen asleep.

His lips softly press against your forehead, Shoko comes in a bit too loudly for his comfort and he glares at her, then makes sure you haven't stirred awake.

"Just bringing breakfast." Shoko whispers, "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine," He brushes her off. "Y/n's struggling." He sighs and with his free hand he carefully begins to eat, cautious of his movements to not reopen any stitches.

"Geto got away. Who knows where he went." Shoko moves around the lab.

"We need to find him. If he teams up with the other gangs, I'm not sure we'll make it out like we have been." Satoru sighs.

"You need to relax," Shoko looks at his vitals, "Your blood pressure is going up."

"I can't exactly be calm right now." He furrows his brows, but he knows she's right. He tries to think about anything other than the issues at hand.

You could hear what they were saying, being awaken during their conversation. Your head was pounding from your crying, which wasn't a surprise.

"Woah woah, baby, where are you going? Keep resting." Satoru moves and winces, holding his side.

"I'm just getting some water." You say, "Quit moving so much, you'll reopen your stitches—and I won't fix them."

"Ha ha. We both know you would." He says, Shoko finishes finding what she needed and leaves. "It's cause you love me, c'mon say it." You could tell he was smirking from just his tone.

You throw him a playfully glare over your shoulder as you swallow a few pills for your throbbing headache. Satoru sits up in the bed, mischief already dancing in his eyes as he pats his thigh invitingly, "C'mere, pretty girl."

"Nuh uh. I know that look." You can't help but smile, for just a moment forgetting your guilt and pain.

"What look? I'm just admiring the girl I love." He smirks, tossing the blankets aside, letting them fall to the floor.

It's impossible not to notice the growing tent in his sweats. You rolled your eyes, "Now's not the time, Satoru." You say, trying to pull your gaze away from him, but it's almost futile.

"See what you do to me, sweetheart?" His voice dips into a throaty groan, the sound sending a shiver down your spine.

"I haven't even done anything," You retort, placing a hand on your hip. You're still wearing your scrubs from last night, hair in a mess, but despite that, Satoru looks at you like you're the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.

"Just lookin' at you does this to me," He murmurs, his hand trailing down his chest, stopping just above his growing erection.

"This is way too out in the open for anything like that." You say, trying to convince yourself, no funny business in the lab.

"Shoko said my blood pressure is high. You're a doctor, you should know that ejaculating lowers that." He's trying his best to convince you, a playful glint in his eyes.

"You'll reopen your stitches, they're too close to your abdomen. If you flex or even move slightly, I'll have to restitch it." You warn, though it's taking everything in you to not give into temptation. "And don't say ejaculation." You cringe at the word.

He whines, a sound that's more desperate than playful as he moves his hand lazily over the bulge in his sweats.

"I promise, when you're all better, we'll find a right time." You assure him, your voice softer now, "There's too much at risk right now."

He pouts, but he knows you're right. He pulls his hand away and rests his arm behind his head, staring at the ceiling as he tries to banish the mental images of having his way with you.

Shoko walked back into the lab, unaware of the tension between the two of you, she gives a small smile and goes to check on the culture you had been growing. You give Satoru another warning glare, he doesn't seem too concerned as he flashes you a smile.

The two of you wear protective gear, Satoru was forced to be quarantined in his own little bubble as getting him into a hazmat suit was a lot of work and would likely tear the stitches.

"There's no bacteria growing." You say out loud, "That means bacteria isn't the primary pathogen."

Shoko smiles, "Correct. What else?" She encourages and you look deeper at the culture.

You hum and millions of thoughts ran through your brain. You slowly rule them out and give her another observation. "There's no growth under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, we can rule that out, too."

"You know your stuff." Shoko chuckles, "I'm impressed. I cheated through medical school, which is why I'm having to read a ton about the specifics."

You try to contain your own laughter, but it bubbles out of you and she grins. "You're joking, right?"

She shook her head. "If you don't believe me, ask Gojo. He helped."

"No way." You laugh, "I mean, you had to have had some sort of understanding to graduate."

Her eyes squinted as she laughed. It took her a few seconds to contain herself. "Fungi takes longer to grow than bacteria, so we'll have to keep a close eye on them still."

You hum, "If no fungi or bacteria has grown, we could be looking at a virus." Shoko writes down your words into her notebook and clicks the pen when she's finished.

"Looks like it's a waiting game again." She leaned back in her chair. "Who disinfected the lab last time?" She smirks, knowing it was her.

You groan as you grab the cleaning supplies, "You."

She's satisfied at your sighs and does her own thing to take her protective gear off and heads to the showers. Satoru pouts in his own bubble, watching as you clean and disinfect everything.

"I'm gonna die in here." He says, getting your attention. His arms are crossed, like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

"You're fine." You deadpan. "I'm almost done you big baby."

"Can I have a kiss when you're done?" His bored voice distracts you again and you sigh.

"I need to shower." You remind and he groans, throwing his head back. "Keep doing that and you'll get a conclusion."

"That means you'll have to keep your eyes on me 24/7. Sounds perfect to me, sweetheart." He smiles widely, he quickly gets distracted by his wound and lifts his shirt and peaks inside his bandages to reveal the red, still throbbing injury.

"Don't touch it." You sigh, "You're like a child, I have to monitor you every second of the day, otherwise you act out."

He pouts at your lecturing and puts his shirt back down, "That was my first time looking at it." He huffs, his hair moving as he looks off to the side, avoiding your gaze dramatically. "I've never gotten stitches before."

"Not too bad, right?" You say, remembering your first time getting stitches, which was a few months ago when you got caught on barbed wire. The thought alone sends a shiver down your spine at the reminded pain.

"I'll have a sick ass scar." His eyes found yours again, his earlier tantrum dwindling.

"We'll sorta be matching." You say, getting ready to head out.

He notices your movements and pouts. "Can't you take me to the shower with you? I gotta shower eventually, yeah?"

You nod, "Yeah, but we need to cover your injury. No water can get into it."

"So, I can come with?" He asks hopeful. "I'll sit and be quiet while you shower. Promise."

"Oh my—Satoru, I'm leaving." You laugh and he whines, his attempts at getting to watch you were now diminished—for now.

Oddly enough, you were starting to feel a little better about the whole situation as a whole. Of course, not every moment will feel like this, but it slowly will heal. The shower did wonders for you, clean body clean mind. If felt so refreshing to step out.

Now it was Satoru's turn to shower, which you were slightly dreading because you knew he was going to try some funny business, and you weren't sure if you could contain it this time. "This isn't comfortable." He says, his shirt was off and you were covering his injury.

"That's unfortunate." You answer, adding some finishing touches. Making sure it was waterproofed enough so he could wash himself.

"I think I need some assistance cleaning myself." He mischievously smiles.

You rolled your eyes at him, "Just don't lift your right arm and you'll be fine." You pat his chest twice and go to leave the bathroom.

"Wait!" Satoru calls out and you stop in your tracks.

"What's wrong?" You ask.

"Stay in here." He says, his eyes staring deeply into yours.

"What?" You felt your heart racing and your skin felt hot at the mere idea of seeing him naked. It's just now that you realize you haven't seen all of him.

"I want you to stay in here." He pleads again, his left hand finds itself on the back of your neck, pulling you closer to him. His familiar lips on yours are something you think you'll never get used to. Every kiss with him feels like a first, filled with the same sweet anticipation and tender, fluttering emotions that make your heart feel like it's going to explode.

His touch is both comforting and electric, a gentle reminder that he loves you. It feels like that still hasn't settled in your mind either. "You don't have to watch me, but please stay." He mumbles against your lips.

"Okay." You shiver at his touch, your lips tingled and it feels like the moment is too short when he pulls away.

"I need some help." He says, his sweats were untied, but it was difficult for him to push them fully down. You nod and step close to him again, his scent filling your nostrils. You shut your eyes helped him step out of his sweats.

He thinks it's amusing to see you like this, he really couldn't care less if you looked at him. He was not ashamed of his body at all, if he had it his way, he'd force your eyes on him as she showered. A reminder that you're the only one who can see him like this, he's annoyed that he still can't have sex with you yet.

You step back until your hands touch the counter and you turn around. You thought it was safe to open your eyes, but the mirror above the sink was facing him as he turned on the water. You took a long stare at him, and looked off to the side quickly, feeling that it was wrong to stare.

Your heart was racing at seeing him fully nude. The mental image of him will be cherished in your mind and put away for safe keeping—only to be brought back out for special occasions.

You thought about his body the entirety of his shower. It wasn't fathomable how one could look so good so effortlessly. He really had no shame, nobody would if they looked like that.

"You're awfully quiet back there." He calls out, his voice alone making your thighs clench together.

"Just thinking." You vaguely say, hoping and praying he doesn't ask any further questions.

"Yeah?" He asks, "Care to let me in?"

You curse to yourself mentally, knowing how nosy and involved he likes to be. "The..um—" 'Think, Y/n, think!' You say to yourself in your brain, but your brain apparently wants you to look back at him and you glance in the mirror again.

This time, there was a cloud of steam on his lower half. He was careful as he washed his chest, he leaned his head back a little and shut his eyes, letting the warm water cascade down him.

He was too tall for the shower, and bent his knees a little so he could get the water on his face. "You alive, baby?" He calls out to you again.

"Yeah, uh—yeah, I'm okay." You lie, "I'm gonna step out for a little, I think the warm air is making me feel funny." You lie again.

"Okay, I'll be finished in a few." He reluctantly lets you step out.

There's no way you can afford to take your eyes off them for even a second, you just hoped that Nanami wasn't a heavy sleeper. "Nanami, come in." You radio him.

The next few minutes felt like hours, "Nanami, come in, Nanami." You walkie again, you're starting to feel nervous not being able to reach him. "Satoru, come—"

You're interrupted when you hear a voice, "I'm coming." Satoru says, he had woken up immediately at your voice. He thinks he has a sixth sense because he woke up seconds before you walkied.

You feel somewhat better that Satoru was on his way, you tried getting Nanami to answer, but it was no use. He was probably knocked out.

Satoru opens the door to the tower, he hadn't even bothered to put a shirt on, he needed to see you were okay for himself. "What's wrong?" Concern was evident in his face, he begins to check you for injuries and you shake your head.

"Maybe I'm just sleep deprived, but—" As you turn your head to point the odd people out, they're gone. Your entire body goes cold, you can feel your heart plummeting. "Fuck." You say and look around the other windows.

"Sweetheart, what's going on? Are you okay?" Satoru asks, his eyes follow yours everywhere you look. He doesn't like how frantic you are right now.

"There was—people? Zombies? I don't even know, it's too dark to see, but they were acting weird." You explain.

"Acting weird?" He repeats, his eyes continuing to look outside.

"Yeah, they didn't blend in with the other zombies. Satoru, I sound crazy—"

He quickly shuts you down, "No. I believe you." He says, he subtly flexes, the lack of shirt made him a little cold.

"I tried radioing Nanami and when he didn't answer, I called you. I'm so glad you answered." You say grateful, but worry overcame every other emotion.

He turns his head quickly to you, "You walkied Nanami before me?"

"He has the next shift, I just figured—"

His expression is one of annoyance and a little bit of hurt, "You radio or call me first, 'kay?"

"Satoru." You say, your intention was not one to hurt him.

He sighs and pulls you close to him, his chin resting on your head. "Sorry." He mumbles into your hair. "I want to be the one you come to."

"You are." You reassure him, "I panicked and he's on next shift, so I just...yeah." You say, hoping he'd understand.

"I know." Satoru kisses your forehead, "Let me go get Nanami, keep an eye out, yeah?" He says and quickly walks off.

You looked around quickly, your eyes darting to every single figure outside, but still, none of them matched the weird behavior from before. You're starting to wonder if you imagined it, you were feeling sleepy, but you didn't think you were that tired.

Another minute passed and Satoru reemerged with a dozy Nanami. "You okay? Gojo told me what you saw." Nanami's sleep laced voice asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." You sigh, "They're gone. I haven't seen anything."

Nanami sighs along with you and rubs his tried face, "I'm sorry I didn't wake up, I must've accidentally knocked the walkie off my nightstand in my sleep and it fell underneath my bed."

"It's okay." You shake your head, "Luckily, Satoru woke up."

Satoru stood off to the side, his arms crossed and a focused look on his face as he searched the surroundings. "If it were daytime, I'd say let's go out there and find them, but I really don't think that's the smartest thing to do right now."

"I agree." Nanami nods, "All we can do is keep an eye out. From now on, we'll have two people keep watch."

You nod at his instruction and go to offer to stay up with Nanami, but Satoru beat you to it. "Go get some rest, sweetheart. I'm already awake, I can stay here with Nanami." He was now next to you, his hand moving away a few strands of hair from your face.

"Are you sure? It's not even your night." You say, but deep down you're a little relieved because the earlier exhaustion was hitting you harder than before.

"I'm sure." He nods and kisses your forehead softly, "Don't worry about me, sweetheart." His strong arms wrapped around you, you hadn't realized how cold it was, but he was warm. He always was.

"Okay." You sigh contently in his arms. "I'll see you tomorrow morning." You pull away and give him a quick kiss, he wants to pull you in for a longer one, but you're already walking away.

"Sweet dreams." He says and stands next to Nanami.

"Go put on a shirt, Gojo." Nanami deadpans.

You don't even remember falling asleep, but you also didn't wake up naturally, you're startled awake when you hear the alarms blaring through the base. This was not normal. It takes you a second to realize what's happening.

Yuji bursts through your door, he was wearing his protective gear as if he was going to leave the base, his gun was in his hand and he also looked like he had just woke up. "There's people trying to get in. We need to hurry to help the others." And with that he leaves and runs down the hall.

You quickly get out of bed, your heart racing at the thought. 'Is this connected to what I saw earlier?' You think to yourself, you shake your thoughts and hustle to put your gear on. You make sure your gun is loaded and rush down the hallway.

Jogo and Mahito, who were the ones that tried to kidnap you, were inside, there was also someone else you didn't recognize, they were tall and white with branches coming out of their head. Everyone had their guns aimed at each other. You're unsure how they got in, but this just confirmed that they're connected to what you say.

"We're not letting you leave." Satoru says angrily, his gun is pointed at the one you don't know. Jogo stood near Satoru, pointing a gun at his head.

"You forget," Jogo chuckles, "If you shoot, I'll kill you."

You aimed your gun at Jogo, anger rushing through your body. You can't let anyone get hurt.

"Watch it." A voice says behind you, Mahito took off the safety to his gun and let the cool metal hit your temple. You freeze, you don't think you've ever been held at gunpoint like this, it makes your blood run cold.

Satoru turns his head and sees your position. "Where's Geto?" He spats at the one you don't recognize, his heart is beating rapidly, he needs to do something or else he knows you're getting hurt.

Jogo chuckles evilly, Mahito gave him a look, one saying to not reveal the plan. "Don't worry 'bout that." Jogo says.

You side eyed Mahito and were able to catch their silent communication. You look around and realize nobody else is to be found, it was just you and Satoru against the other three.

"I'll kill you first, Hanami." Satoru says and clenches his teeth.

"Yeah?" Jogo says.

Satoru met your eyes, silently trying to communicate something, but you're lost. You don't know what he plans on doing.

"Eyes off her." Jogo pushes his gun further into Satoru's temple. You glare at him and want nothing more than to shoot him.

"Satoru—" You try, but get interrupted by Mahito.

"Shut the fuck up." He says, "Say another word and I'll put a bullet in your head."

"Stay quiet, Y/n." Satoru says, eyeing you and quickly looks ahead as Jogo pushed the gun further to his head. "You don't wanna duck yourself further into their trap."

You catch onto his words, but you don't visibly give a reaction. Mahito rolls his eyes, "Don't you mean dig? You idiot—"

The second Satoru moved and caught Jogo's arm with the gun and twisted, the trigger was pulled and you ducked, avoiding the bullet, while you're low, you kicked Mahito off balance and he fell to the ground.

You pushed his gun away as it fell out of his hands and you shot his arms, he yelled in pain and stayed still, your gun now pointing to his head. You look over at Satoru and as he held Jogo in a headlock, he aimed his gun at Hanami and shot her straight in the chest before she could react to the ambush.

You flinch, he wasn't kidding about killing her first. Jogo manages to get out of Satoru's grip and kicks him in the stomach, Satoru falls back, you intervene and shot at his arms as well, so he wouldn't be able to pick up a gun.

Satoru stood up as you shot Jogo and he finished him off with a few bullets in his chest. You wouldn't be able to get that image out of your head. When you turn around, Mahito stood up weakly with a gun shakily in his hands.

It all went in slow motion as you lifted your gun to aim at Mahito, a shot rings in the air—and it wasn't yours. Mahito's finger was lowered on the trigger, you blink and suddenly you're on the ground and your head was pulsating.

Your vision was blurry as you came back from the impact, as you sat up and steadied your vision, you see Satoru lunge at Mahito and punch him in the face. As Satoru landed his hit, he fell onto the ground and it's then you see blood pooling out of his side.

Mahito holds his gun to shoot him again, but you beat him to it and shot several bullets into his chest. Making sure he was dead. He falls onto the ground and you run to Satoru. He took a bullet that was meant for you and saved you.

You feel your throat tighten up, 'This can't be happening.' Your mind races, you flip him over and blood soaked his shirt. "Satoru?" Your voice breaks, "Can you hear me?" You say, checking to make sure he was still breathing.

His pulse was low, you knew you didn't have much time. "Stay awake for me, please." You don't even realize you're sobbing, your vision was blurry and you blink the tears away.

You removed your gear and take your shirt off, using it to apply pressure to his gunshot wound. He winces and you take that as a good sign that he's conscious. "Shoko!" You cry out, your hands were trembling.

Satoru's hand gently caressed your cheek, his face was going pale. "Sweetheart," He did his best attempt to shake his head.

"No," You say. "You're going to live, just stay awake for me." You cry. "Nanami!" You yelled. He was losing a lot of blood, you needed to get him in the lab. "Can you hold this?" You grab his hand that's caressing your face to apply pressure to his wound and he gives you a weak nod.

You help him up, he's trying his best, but his weight was a lot. He's basically on top of you and you limp to the lab. His blood is trailing behind you and Satoru uses his last bit of strength to help you out and get on the operating bed. "Eyes on me, baby." You say. He weakly follows your movements. "Shoko!" You yell, your voice was going hoarse.

You prepare the table with tools, materials, and any kind of sterilization you could find with limited time. Shoko ran into the lab and saw the scene before her. "Y/n!"

At her voice, you turn, "Have you ever done surgery?" You ask. You're in the zone now.

Shoko weakly shook her head, tears forming in her eyes at her best friend. "Satoru." She quietly says as approached the bed. "He's losing too much—"

"I've never done a surgery before either." You say and put on some gloves, "But I read about it."

"Y/n..." Shoko goes to refute, but she stops as she sees your deathly glare. She gulps and puts on some gloves, "Tell me what to do."

"It didn't hit anything critical, we don't have time to get an x-ray to see exactly what it's done." You explain to her. You approached the bed and looked at him, he was still awake, "Can you hear me?" You ask and he nods weakly and tries to speak, but you shake your head. "I'm going to need to put you to sleep. You'll be okay, I promise. I won't let you die on me." You say.

Satoru had tears forming in his eyes, but he nods bravely anyway. He breathes in the anesthesia and his eyelids droop almost immediately. "He's out." Shoko says and monitors her vitals on the screen.

You read about bullet removal a few weeks ago, it happened to be in your book and it caught your attention. Never did you ever expect to be using that knowledge—if you can even call it that.

You're in the zone as you performed this surgery, you don't even hear the others come in, or Shoko telling them to get out. You're completely focused.

Memories replay in your head, visions of laughter and smiles with your Satoru. Just a couple hours ago you were hugging him goodnight, and now you're cutting into his side to retrieve the bullet and asses further damages.

It took you three hours, you checked his arteries, organs—anything, you name it and you made sure everything was okay. The bullet removal was lodged in a relatively accessible area and did minimal damage. You took the bullet out and placed it on the tray Shoko was holding.

You wordlessly continue and begin to make sure he's okay before closing the wound. He was getting several stitches, you felt like you were out of your trance as soon as you did the final stitch.

"You did it." Shoko lets out a huge sigh, "He's still breathing." She monitors his vitals. "You've never done that before?"

You shook your head, all the events leading up to now were flooding your mind. "Where was everyone else?" You ask.

"Satoru told us to find Geto, and a couple of zombies got in during the intrusion, so the rest of us..." She trails off.

"I killed one of them." You say and look down at your hands, "Who cleaned—"

"Nanami most likely." Shoko says, "As soon as we heard your yelling, I ran back down and came straight to you."

You let out a shaky sigh, tons of emotions flowed through you, you weren't sure if you wanted to cry, yell, or throw up.

"Mind filling me in on what happened on your end?" She asks and you tell her everything. You cried the entire time and held Satoru's hand, Shoko gets a flashback to when you were in that bed and Satoru never left your side once.

She doesn't think it's the most appropriate time, but she feels a small smile creep up on her face, she can tell how much the two of you care for each other.

Nanami knocked softly on the door, you don't look up, your eyes are trained on Satoru. Nanami came over and his voice is drowned out, he's catching up with Shoko. Their conversation goes on and soon the students begin coming in to see their teacher.

"Can uh—can she hear us?" Yuji asks a little worried, he was asking how the surgery went.

"No, she's in her own world right now." Nobara observed you.

"He's going to live, right?" Megumi asks worried, despite making fun of him all the time, Megumi deeply cared for his legal guardian.

"He should pull through." Nanami answers. "C'mon, let's give them some privacy." He ushered out the first years.

"Y/n, you good to handle—Y/n." Shoko repeats and you finally pull out of your trance and look at her.

"Yeah?" You ask.

"I said, you gonna be good to handle everything?" She says again.

"Oh—yeah, I'll handle it." You say and squeeze Satoru's hand. You watch his chest slowly rise and fall, thankful that he's alive.

"You did a good job." Shoko says and pulls you out of it again. Her hand resting reassuringly on your shoulder, and a small smile plastered on her face. Her footsteps got quieter the further she walked.

You kissed Satrou's hand and murmured quiet prayers, the anesthesia should be wearing off now slowly. Your foot bounced impatiently, waiting for him to wake up.

Your head hung low, resting on his hand as you gripped it tightly. When the bed shifts slightly, you look up. His pained groans could be heard as he tried to get in a more comfortable position. He opens up his eyes and looks around the room, his heart rate picking up.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You're okay." You softly say, bringing his attention to you and gradually his heart rate went back to normal. He goes to open his mouth, but you stop him, "It's okay, just rest for now. Are you feeling pain right now?"

He nodded his head and threw his head back on the pillow, he instinctively goes to reach for his wound and you stop his hand, "I got it out, just rest. You're okay." You reassure him.

You went to the other side of the bed and grabbed some more iv fluid for his pain and dehydration. He watches your moves in a dazed look. "Thank you." He murmurs.

"I should be thanking you." You say and change the iv bags, "You're crazy, you know that?"

He chuckles, but then regrets it as he feels a sharp pain where his wound is. "I'd do anything for you."

"You shouldn't be talking so much." You shake your head, but the smile on your face tells him you're enjoying this.

"I haven't talked to you in, like, forever." He dramatically said.

"Satoru," You go to sit back down in your chair, but he shook his head and pulled you towards him. He smiles when you're in the bed with him and you gently play with some of his hair, "What you did was reckless."

"But I knew you'd save me." He rasps out, frowning that you're scolding him when he just woke up. "Can't you save the lecture 'till later, sweetheart? I'm hurt and need lots of kisses." He grins.

You rolled your eyes, "I'm serious, Satoru."

"I am, too." He licked his lips. "I swear, I'll listen later." You can tell his meds were working, he was much more at ease—well, as much as he could be with a hole in his body.

"No you won't." You sigh and he puts on a serious face, he doesn't want to upset you. He knows it was crazy what he did, but he wouldn't change a thing if time suddenly reversed.

"You don't understand," He begins, his voice trembling lightly, "I would do anything for you. What happened back there, I don't regret a single thing. I'd do it all over again if it meant keeping you safe."

"You almost died, Satoru." You say, your voice wavering as the scenes from earlier flooded your mind. You can't stop the tears welling up in your eyes, threatening to spill over.

"But I didn't." Satoru counters, his voice firm. "I cannot bear the thought of you getting hurt."

Your heart aches as you shook your head, the weight of the situation pressing down on you, "That bullet...was meant for me." His eyes stared deeply into yours, gauging the hurt in your face and voice.

"And I'd push you out of the way every single time. You're not getting hurt with me." He says and caresses your cheek. "I love you, Y/n. I love you so goddamn much, I want to help you fix this broken world, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because I want us to be together without any worries. I have never felt like this before, you have me in every way."

His declaration left you breathless,your heart was racing as you tried to process the magnitude of his words, and he stares at you intently, gauging your reaction. "I don't care how long we've known each other for— I love you and every single damn day I find myself falling more for you. You've become the center of my world, and I'd do anything to keep you safe and to be with you."

"That's just the drugs talking," You insist, but your voice was laced with uncertainty as you tried to deny his words. "You're not thinking clearly—"

"For once, I think I'm thinking pretty damn clearly. I love you, Y/n." His grip on your hand tightens, "Don't push me away, sweetheart."

You squeeze his hand back, your grip trembling as you finally let yourself go, "I love you, too, Satoru."

"There's my girl." He smiles widely, tears prickling his eyes. He brings you closer to him, careful to not injure himself further as he nuzzles his nose into your hair, he can't believe this is real. One day he's trying to convince himself he only thought of you as a friend, and now he's so in love.

The thought of him being in your house, and maybe even your room suddenly made you a little anxious. You quickly ran around and frantically tidied up every single crevice of your house, wanting it perfect.

The knock on your front door made you come to a halt, you unknowingly fix your hair and open the door. "Hey, come in." You smile and move to the side so he could enter.

He gives you a warm smile as he came in and let his eyes wander, "Hey. Thanks for inviting me." He took his shoes off.

"Yeah, I figured baking cookies alone would be boring." You smile at him and lead him to the kitchen.

He chuckles, "I don't bake often, so don't make fun of me if I suck." He likes the way your house is decorated, there were family photos scattered and he wished he could get up close to see a younger version of you.

"It's easy. I'll be here so my house won't burn down." You joke and he shakes his head. You liked seeing him outside of his school uniform and volleyball clothes. It felt like this sight of him is for your eyes only.

"Okay, I'm not that bad." He laughs and watches you take out some bowls. "Can I—uh get some things? I feel bad just standing here."

"You can get the wet ingredients." You tell him what he needs to find in the fridge and he puts them on the counter. He gets to mixing and is doing a good job, he doesn't spill or over measure anything.

You did the dry ingredients and then poured them both into a bigger bowl and let the mixer do its job. "Isn't this kinda of cheating?" He chuckles, watching the mixer work through the dough.

"No." You laugh, "It just makes it easier."

"I don't know, I feel like I'd be old fashioned and mix without it." His eyes meet yours and he feels the all-too-familiar thump against his chest.

"But it gives me time to preheat the oven and prepare the pans." You counter, smiling softly as he looks at your features.

"I guess so. You got me." Kuroo rests his elbows on the counter and looks into the mixer. "Smells good." He notes.

"I can't wait to eat them." You hum and agree. "It's taking everything in me to not eat the cookie dough."

"Well, let's try it together." He grins and grabs two small spoons, scooping a pea sized amount for you. His tongue savors the flavor of the cookie dough, he knows it's bad for you and the two of you could potentially get sick, but it's worth seeing your pleased face.

"These might be my best cookies yet." You chuckle, the oven was preheated. It beeped to let you know. "I'll show you how to get the pans ready and how much to scoop." You move around the kitchen with ease.

He listens intently, matching your actions. He's starting to get the hang of it and scoops the perfect size for each ball. "This is actually very therapeutic." He chuckles, a lopsided grin on his face. The soft music playing in the background really topped it all off.

You agree with him and open the oven carefully, making sure you weren't going to get burned while putting the trays in. "Now it's time for the boring part. Dishes." You sigh and shut the oven, putting a timer to check on them.

"I've got them." Kuroo says, already turning the faucet on.

"No arguments here." You raised your hands up and he laughs, you sit on the counter chair in front of him. Your mind goes to volleyball, it's second nature to think about.

Kuroo notices you've gone quiet, but decided not to ask about it. He washed the dishes with ease, stealing glances at you occasionally. "Do you think Daishou's team is better than us?" He speaks up after a few minutes.

You give him a confused look, "Who's Daishou?"

"Right," He chuckles, forgetting you're not that familiar with the boys' names on other teams. "He plays for Nohebi academy? He kinda looks like a snake."

You let out a laugh, "How can someone look like a snake?"

"He just does." He chuckles with you.

"Oh, wait, are they the team with green and yellow?" You ask, "Yeah—their ace, he kinda has curly hair."

Kuroo shook his head, "You're thinking about Itachiyama." He flashed a smile, "They're the other green and yellow team. Their jerseys are more lame."

"Oh, yeah. I think I know who you're talking about." You hum and think hard. "Their girls' team never makes it past the first round."

He nods slowly, "Well, their boys' team is annoyingly good."

"Not as good at you guys." You smile.

"I mean, we've been beat by them the last few years." He rubs his neck and sighs. "I think I'm just worried."

"I've seen how you guys play, you're really tough. I'm sure beating a snake boy and his team won't be an issue." You say to him.

"I really hope so." He sighs, "I just want to play Karasuno at nationals."

"That's all? You don't want to win?" You chuckle.

"I mean, obviously, but I want to beat them." He says determined.

You hum, liking this competitive side of him. "I'll be there to cheer you on." You say, but then quickly realize how that sounded, "You—uh, you know, like me and the girls—we'll cheer you on, and of course your teammates!"

He smiles big at your words, "Thank you, it means more than you know." He says, and it's true. If you're out there cheering him on, that's more than enough motivation for him.

"You guys will do great." You smile, finally calming back down. "If not this June, there's always January."

He lets out a soft sigh, "Yeah...that does make me feel a little better." The oven dings, just in time as the conversation dwindled down. "I've got them." Kuroo says and puts on the oven mitts.

"Thanks." You smile and put out a cool down rack for the two batches. The smell filled your home, making your stomach grumble.

"I don't know if I have the self control in me to not eat them right now." He says seriously as he took out the second pan.

"No," You chuckle, "C'mon, you're supposed to be the strong one and tell me we have to wait for them to cool down."

He laughs loudly, "We're both the same, huh?" And you give him a sheepish look, he shook his head and led you out of the kitchen so the two of you wouldn't be tempted to eat them piping hot. "We need to distract ourselves for at least 10 minutes."

You hum excitedly, "Oh! I have just the thing." You say and this time you're leading him upstairs, towards your room. You're so glad you decided to clean your room beforehand.

He follows you upstairs, his eyes taking in everything as he passes by. When he steps into your room, he can't stop a goofy grin forming on his face. He looks around and he thinks he's silently getting to know you even more by just your decorations.

As you turn around, you notice his eyes absorbing the details of your room and softly smile, 'He looks so cute.' You say to yourself, you bring his attention back to you as you're holding something up.

"Is that paint?" He chuckles and asks, taking the box from you.

You nod excitedly, "I got it as a gift a long time ago, but I've never gotten around to paint it." He looks at the ceramic piece, it was a book vase with words on it and flowers.

"I'm not sure you want me painting." He says grinning, "I'm not a very good artist."

You shake your head, "C'mon, it'll be fun! I'll show you how to make it look good."

That was all the convincing he needed, "Alright, I'm in." He smiles widely and follows you back downstairs. He's sitting at the coffee table in the living room, you gave him the controller for the tv and he's scrolling through different movies.

You came back with the supplies needed for watercoloring and sat next to him. He let you do the unboxing, he didn't trust himself with doing it because with you being so close he thinks he'll accidentally rip open the box and drop the ceramic.

He finishes picking the movie. Satisfied with his choice, thinking it'll impress you. He listens intently just like before when you give him instructions on how to paint the ceramic.

"If I do bad, what will you do with it?" He chuckles as he nervously dips his brush in the water.

"But what if you do good?" You challenge, "Either way, they're going on my bookshelf."

He feels his heart do leaps and can't stop a light blush dusting his cheeks, "I noticed you have quite the collection on books. You like reading?"

You hum and begin painting, "Yeah, I do. Some of its manga, though." You say.

"That still counts." He shrugs, "I don't read, like ever."

"It's fun." You smile at him, "I used to read a lot more a couple years ago, now I just try to when I get the chance."

"Volleyball and school is a lot." He agrees.

"What do you like to do on your free time?" You ask curiously. "Besides play volleyball."

He chuckles, "I play video games with friends." He pauses his painting for a second to think. "I also like working out and fixing up cars with my dad."

"Oh really? You like car guy stuff?" You chuckle.

He hums, "I'm not, like, crazy about it, but yeah. It's fun to do, and gives me time to spend with my dad."

"That's cool." You smile, "What about your mom? What do you like to do with her?"

He's quiet for a moment before answering, "She's not really in the picture." As the words leave his mouth, he's worried it'll create an awkward atmosphere between the two of you.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for bringing it up." You freeze your hands in mid-action.

He waves you off, he knows he had nothing to worry about, you were great girl. "It's okay, she and my dad divorced when we moved next door to Kenma." He explains.

You're hesitant with your next question, but ask anyway, "Do you...miss her sometimes?"

He stops painting completely and looks at you, "Not really. I try not to, why waste sadness on her, you know? She made her decision." He can feel himself get annoyed just thinking about his absent mother.

"That's understandable." You nod, "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay." He smiles, he feels his annoyance dwindle down and all he's doing is looking at you and your pretty self.

"I know I can't understand fully how that feels, but I did grow up with Himari and her dad sounds just like your mom." You say, "That kind of hurt—I've seen it, I helped Himari through it." You give him a comforting smile.

"Thank you." He returns one back to you, "My dad and I are good. Way better than when she was there, to be honest." He chuckles and continues to paint. The last person he's opened up to about that was Kenma, and even then, he struggled to feel fully comfortable to tell him. That's just not the case with you, he physically has to stop himself from rambling on.

You nod and continue painting as well, "So, tell me more about these cars you fix up with your dad?"

His eyes glimmer as he thinks about it, you can tell he enjoys talking about it. He doesn't get to do it much because nobody else on the team is really interested, "Right now, we're fixing up my car for when I turn 18."

"Oh really? That's exciting." You smile.

He hums happily, "It's vintage and real nice, it's coming along great."

"I'd love to see it when it's finished." You chuckle.

"We've been working on it for a year, we try to every weekend." He says.

"Oh, does that mean you didn't get to this weekend? I'm sorry—" You begin to say and he interrupts you.

"Don't sweat it," He smiles, "I wanted to spend this time with you." He says and his face immediately gets hot, he can't even hide it.

"You sure?" You ask and he's thanking whoever is above because you're busy painting your bookvase, and not his embarrassed face.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He says, "Besides, he was tired from work, anyways.”

"That makes me feel a lot better." You chuckle. "Oh, cookies should be done. I'll be back." You say and quickly stand up.

"Need any help?" He asks.

"It's okay! I'll be back in a sec." You say from the kitchen and he nods. In a few minuets, you're back with a large plate and some milk.

He wipes his hands and he grabs one, his self control crumbling at the sight and smell of the cookies. He takes a bite and lets out a satisfied hum. "It's delicious." He says and eats it in two bites.

"Yeah, these are definitely my best." You say and agree as you let the cookie savor in your mouth.

"Can I take a few of these back home?" He chuckles as he finishes with his third cookie.

"Sure, but I gotta save at least two for Himari. She'll kill me if I don't." You say and he sets aside two, knowing if they were on the plate, he'd eat them in seconds.

The two of you talked, painted, and ate cookies for a few hours. Everything felt so natural with him, you're having so much fun.

It was starting to get late and he needed to get back home to eat dinner with his dad. "Thank you, again, for inviting me over." He says, his hands in his pocket as he stands in front of your door.

"Of course," You smile, "I had a lot of fun."

"I did, too." He mirrors your smile, his heart flutters in his chest and his knees feel like they're going to give out. "See you at school?"

You nod and hand him a small bag of cookies, "Yeah, I'll see you. Goodnight, Tetsurou.

"Goodnight, Y/n. Sleep well, yeah?" He says behind him and catches a glimpse of your cute nod and smile.

"Nuh uh. It's been an hour, sweetheart. I need some attention now." His smile widens by the second as he continues to annoy you with his antics.

He admires your determination to continue to try and rest, but he has another idea. During some of your more..intimate moments, he's grown to learn you love his lips on your neck.

And he does just that, he leaves closed-mouthed kisses at first, but he then switches and uses his tongue to tease you first and then kiss you.

You can't help but let a soft, quiet moan leave your mouth. He was too good at this. He's pleased seeing your reaction and began to nibble here and there, wanting to hear more of your pretty noises. "Satoru." You say breathless and tug on his hair.

He grunts softly, feeling himself get embarrassingly aroused by your noises. "You awake now?" His eyes were dark and filled with desire.

You nod softly and he captures your lips with his own, he rests his arms on both sides of your head, keeping himself steady as his tongue laps desperately with yours.

You can feel his arousal rubbing against your heat, his hips bucked into yours, it was dizzying. Everything about this felt way too good.

One of his hands caress your cheek, angling you so he could kiss you deeper. He lets out a loud moan that sends shivers down your entire body and straight down where you wanted him the most.

He then lets his hand travel down your neck, stopping momentarily and giving a soft squeeze, he's pleased when he gets you to moan and kiss him greedier. He slowly goes lower and passes your collarbones and rests on your chest.

He's annoyed the fabric of your shirt is in the way of him feeling you, but he'll do with this for now. He massages your breast and gives a few cheeky squeezes.

You let your own hands slip underneath his shirt, feelings his familiar toned body. He thinks he can just finish right then and there at just your touch. He stops moving his hips against yours to calm himself down, he'd be so embarrassed if he came with only some groping and dry humping.

His eyes stared deeply into your own, he panted heavily, resting his forehead against yours. "I need you." He rasps out, his voice laced with arousal and want.

You feel a smile form on your face at his three words, it's everything you wanted to hear. "Have me, Satoru." You whisper to him and he wastes no time in removing his shirt, he tosses it in the middle of the room.

"Need this off. Now." He demanded and tugged at your shirt, you chuckle at his eagerness and sit up enough for him to discard your clothing, throwing it somewhere else. "You're so beautiful." He stares in awe.

He brings his hands to your chest, feeling you through your bra, he momentarily closes his eyes and plays with your boobs. He thinks he's in heaven right now.

Deposit his aching hard-on and his body aching to be inside you, he takes it slow, he wants to savor every second of this moment. His lips attack your neck, pressing eager, hot, wet kisses.

He trails down your neck and sucks hard on the exposed skin of your right breast, he's determined to mark you up as his own, it makes his cock twitch in his pants.

"Gojo?" Nanami's voice came through the walkie talkie. "Come in, Gojo."

Satoru huffs annoyed and thinks if he doesn't answer, Nanami will think you're both still napping. "Ignore it, baby, focus on me, yeah?" His voice low and husky.

You nod and he continues to worship your body, kissing every square inch he can, as he gets lower and nears your stomach, you tangle your fingers in his hair, giving him all the permission he needs.

As his fingers hook underneath your sweats, the walkie goes off again. "Gojo? Over." Nanami says again.

Satoru grunts annoyed and sits up, he knows Nanami won't leave him alone and he doesn't want to risk him catching the two of you. He grabs the walkie, "What?" He says a little more harshly than he intended. You whine softly at the loss of contact, you can still feel yourself pulsating.

"Did I awake you?" Nanami asks, unphazed by Satoru's tone. "I apologize if I did, but can you wake up Y/n? Shoko needs to see her. Over."

Satoru sighs, knowing the two of you were interrupted yet again. "She's awake. Over." He curtly says. "I'm sorry." He apologizes to you.

You shake your head, "It's not your fault. Or mine." He gives a soft smile at you, his lips were red from how much he had kissed you.

"I know, Nanami really knows how to be a cock block." Satoru scoffs and lays back down, he closed his eyes and waits for his arousal to go down. "Shoko needs you, by the way." He murmurs quietly.

You softly chuckle and nod, "I'll see you in a bit?" You say, he opens one eye momentarily and he nods, you take a quick second to press your lips onto his quickly and stand up. He pouts at the loss of contact, but then he focuses on getting rid of his erection.

You softly shut the door behind you and made your way over to Shoko, this better have been good. She's in the medical room, as always. Maki was also in there, she was sitting on one of the beds.

"Hey." You smile and enter, Maki and Shoko look up and return a smile of their own.

"Sorry for waking you." Shoko apologizes, "But, I wanted to get started on taking regular blood samples so we could compare them to the infected ones."

You wave her off, "It's okay, Satoru woke me up before you did." She smiles and nods, relieved. "I'm assuming Maki is first?" I chuckle and washed my hands.

Shoko nods again, "Figured you could wrangle up another second-year and we could get the process going quicker." She says and prepares to take three vials of blood from Maki.

"Sounds good." You nod and carefully open the door without your hands.

"Everything okay?" Satoru asks, his composure regained.

You smile at him, thoughts of what the two of you were just doing still fresh in your mind. "Yeah, just getting some blood samples to compare with the zombies."

"I'll be first." Satoru offers and doesn't give you a choice as he walks in the lab. "It'll be you, right? Cause if it's Shoko, then I'm not doing it." He stubbornly says and Shoko glares at him as he walks in. He grins at her, knowing what he said would get a reaction.

"I wouldn't want to take your blood anyway." Shoko huffs and resumes with Maki.

He laughs at her annoyed expression, then his attention is back onto you, watching you wash your hands again and pull on some gloves. He thinks it's hot when you prepare to take his blood, he'd give you everything in him if it meant he could be close to you.

"Have you ever gotten your blood taken?" You ask and grab a rubber band, you motion for him to roll up his sleeve.

"Yeah. Sorry you don't get to be my first." He winks and you rolled your eyes.

"Oh please, this just makes my job easier." You say and wrap the band tightly around his arm.

"Have you ever had someone faint on you?" He asks, enjoying you feeling around for a good vein.

"Way too many." You chuckle and wipe down the area, "It'll just be a pinch." You say and insert the needle carefully, quickly one tube was filled and you masterfully got a second and a third. You slide out the needle, making sure not to hurt him.

"Was I a good patient?" He grins annoyingly.

Maki is grateful she was good to leave, not wanting to see the affectionate things that were about to go down, but deep down she thinks it's cute.

"Yeah, you were good." You chuckle and label the tubes and handed them to Shoko so she could store them properly.

"I think I deserve a reward, yeah?" He licks his lips.

"Please don't." Shoko interrupts him and he frowns at her.

"And why not?" He clicks his tongue, "You act like you've never seen a happy couple kiss." His words brought a smile to your face, while it hadn't been official official, you think he just did right now.

"No fooling around in the lab." She glares at Satoru and leaves to go find two more students.

"You heard the women." You chuckle, "Now get out."

"You want me to leave?" He pouts, "Oh, suddenly I'm feeling very faint." He dramatically says and hops off the bed, his body swaying back and forth. "I need a hot doctor to help me."

You rolled your eyes at his antics, he sees you're not buying it and walks over and lays his weight on you, he was by no means light. Muscle weighs and it's evident in the way you're struggling to stand with him hovered over you.

"Satoru." You giggle, "You're heavy."

"And now you're calling me fat? Oh, this is the worst day ever. I will be leaving a nasty review." He gasps and hugs you to his chest, laughing.

"You're very dramatic, you know that?" You look up at him and he shrugs.

"Just wanted my girl to pamper me a little more before she replaces me." He huffs, his hands rested on your hips.

You rolled your eyes, "And I need my boy to move so I can get more samples."

He frowns at you, "Why can't I be your man? My boy sounds like I'm your kid." He huffs.

You shook your head at his dramatics, "Fine. My man, please get out."

He grins, "Can I just sit there? You won't even know I'm here." He promises trying to convince you so he could be somewhat close.

"Okay, but if you're distracting then you're getting kicked out." You warn.

"Yes ma'am. Now c'mere." He smiles widely and tugs you to him, he grabs your face softly and kisses you. "See? I'm a good boy." He winks and sits down.

You smiled at him and went back to your place, Shoko walked in with Inumaki and Panda. Satoru scooted his chair to be closer to you, but still out of the way of your work. The process of extracting blood was done to everyone, even yourself and Shoko.

"This feels like a lot." You sigh and remove your gloves, "I don't even know where to start."

Shoko nods, "I know," She agrees, "But I think a good start is using culture methods."

"Okay." You nod and Shoko handed you a hazmat suit. "Are you staying?" You ask Satoru.

"Can't we do this later?" Satoru pouts.

"You go ahead," You smile, "I'll catch up." You pulled on your suit and protective gear, the process making you a little sweaty, but it's better than getting infected.

He shakes his head and whines, "No."

"No?" You chuckle at his refusal.

"That means you're going to stay here forever." He dramatically sighs, he frowns at Shoko when she throws a hazmat suit and it hits his face.

"We really need to get started." The zipper was caught and Satoru stood behind you to fix it.

"But—" He begins to protest.

"No buts." You giggle, "What'd we talk about earlier?"

He hums and thinks, "That...I deserve a reward?" He guesses and is very wrong.

"No," You laugh, "if you're distracting—" You start for him.

"I get kicked out." He mumbles. "I'll be good." He promises again.

"Okay, good. Now put your protective gear on." You order and he complies. Once you ensured everyone was safe, you began to prepare various culture media.

Under the fluorescent lights, you inoculated nutrient agar plates and broth cultures. The possibilities of what would be revealed was somewhat exciting for you.

Satoru watches in awe as you move confidently, he loves seeing you in your element like this. He makes sure he's not in the way as he sits near you, he has so many questions about what's going on and all the tools you're using, but he saves it for a more appropriate time.

You were so in the zone that you completely forgot everything around you for a second. That split second felt like life was normal. That none of this had happened.

When you shut the incubator the noise of it pulled you out of your trance. It was confusing at first, but then the harsh reality hit you. You were suddenly sad, the feeling leaving your fingertips tingling.

"Everything good?" Shoko asks as she also finished her samples and placed them in the incubator, her voice pulled you out of your thoughts.

"Yeah—no, yeah I'm okay." You chuckle, not wanting her to grow worried over your emotions.

"We'll do our first check in..." She trails off and marks the time on her watch, "24 hours."

"Great." You nod and begin the process of cleaning and removal of safety gear. Satoru notices your quietness, but knows better than to just go up and comfort you in his arms with infected blood everywhere.

You took your second shower of the day and took that time to get out of your slump. You really didn't want to pour this on Satoru, it felt too silly.

"Foods ready." Satoru smiles at you and you look at your now shared bed with him.

"Thank you." You felt your sadness wash away with just his presence.

"I noticed you were looking a little down, so I figured dinner with just us should cheer you up." He cutely says, his thoughtfulness was something that you had craved in past relationships, the others never giving another thought to anything. You feel silly for being with such stupid boys when a man like Satoru Gojo was there to put all their actions to shame.

You think everything that Satoru has done for you in the short time you've known him has trumped all the other boys combined.

"I was," You admit, "but I feel so much better now." With that he feels proud of himself to be able to get you to smile again.

"There's my beautiful girl." He caresses your cheek. "Eat up." He says.

You nod and slowly dig into your food, you hadn't realized how hungry you were, just the smell of it got your stomach to grumble almost immediately.

A soft silence fell onto the two of you, he made sure you were eating before digging in himself.

"Hey, you know what we haven't done in a while?" Satoru spoke up and he set his empty plate to the side. You shake your head at him, mouth too full to answer. "We haven't asked each other a personal question, remember when we first met?"

You hum and swallow your remaining food, putting your plate on top of his. "We haven't really needed to." You chuckle, "Shouldn't that be a good thing?"

He nods, "I suppose." He agrees, "It was kinda our thing."

"It still is, Satoru." You softly smile at him and place your hand reassuringly on top of his, giving it a small squeeze.

His pupils dilated at your action, "This is my question," He swallows hard and your eyes widen a little in surprise, "Do you think we would've found each other even in a world without the apocalypse?"

You're taken back by the weight of his question, he just seemed to be in a good mood. He can tell you're a little stunned and he chuckled, "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to get this deep. I just...sometimes I feel like if none of this horrible stuff happened, then I wouldn't have met you, and I feel awful to be even somewhat happy that this happened because I met you." He avoids your gaze.

"Satoru..." You start, not even sure how to navigate his question. You stay quiet for a few minutes, but you moved your position so you were sitting in his lap and you held his hands with yours. "I'd like to think so." You speak up, "Maybe we could've run into each other for a morning coffee or at the grocery store."

He looks at you intently as you speak, his expression was unreadable which you found annoying. "But, there's something about us meeting under these circumstances that feels...I don't know, like fate." You continue, "Like we were meant to help each other survive. I did already save you once."

A small smile forms on his face, he feels reassured about his wild thoughts. "I like that." He agrees then sighs, "It's hard to imagine my life without you now, even in this sick world, you make me feel safe."

"And you give me hope, Satoru. Hope that there's still something worth fighting for in this world." You softly smile at him, your throat feels tight, but somehow, this makes you feel even closer to him.

"Maybe we would've found each other, in some way, but I'm glad I'm living it right here and now." He held you closer to him, his face burrowed in the crook of your neck.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him impossibly closer to you. His hair tickled your face as you nuzzled into him. This felt heavenly, you and him like this.

He pulls away after a few minutes, "Didn't mean to get so deep." He chuckles.

"It's okay." Your fingers pushed away a few pieces of hair away from his beautiful eyes. "Your eyes are really pretty." You quietly mumble.

"Yeah?" He grins, "I've never had them called pretty."

"You're just so pretty." You squish his cheeks.

"Hey," He frowns, "I'm supposed to say that to you. You're so so pretty, and beautiful, and hot, and sexy." He says and with each word he kisses your lips quickly, even while you're laughing.

"No seriously, Satoru." You manage to hold his face from attacking you, "You're pretty."

He pouts, "I'm supposed to be handsome and sexy." He sighs, "Not pretty."

"You're those things too." You laugh and he smiles at the sound. He thinks that alone could cure him if he ever got bit by those zombies.

He flips you two over so he's on top of you, his head rests on your chest and he hugs you tightly. He doesn't say anything else, just basking in the comforting silence.

"It's a start. Trust me, I'm so rooting for you both." She says happily. "Text me when you're home so we can debrief." She squeals again and hung up.

You frown at your phone and set it down, looking through your closet to find something to wear. Do you wear something comfortable? Cute? Causal? It was pretty warm, as it was later in may, heading to June and July.

You decide on a casual comfy outfit, seeing no wrong in it. You checked your appearance last minute and take a deep breath before waving to your parents goodbye.

As you walk to the agreed destination, you text him that you're on your way. He sees your message as he's sitting at a table, he's been waiting for you. He was so nervous that he left extra early.

The sun beamed down on you, making you sweat a little and in need of a drink. You enter the library and your eyes meet his, you're smiling. A bit too much as you catch yourself excited to do homework with him.

"Hey." You quietly say, "I hope you weren't waiting too long?"

He shook his head, "Not at all." He lied, there's no way he's telling you that he was an hour early. "I got you a drink..I figured since it's warm out you'd be thirsty—or you like to sip on something as you work." He nervously says.

You think it's cute that you can see a hint of pink on his cheeks, why? You're not so sure about that. You can't possibly be thinking he likes you like that, right?

"Thank you, that's so nice of you." You smile and take the iced drink, sipping on it and enjoy the flavor he bought you.

He nods and sips his own drink, trying to calm himself down. He almost chokes on his drink as he spots a few of his teammates in disguise behind a book shelf. He glares at them, specifically Yaku. He just knows this was his idea.

His eyes look at you quickly and is less tense as you haven't even noticed them. You're looking through your backpack and finding a few worksheets. He makes up an excuse that he's going to try and find a book.

You buy it and he gets up and walks quickly over to his teammates. "What the fuck are you guys doing here?!" He whispers, careful not to make too much noise or draw any unwanted attention.

Yaku, Yamamoto, and Lev all wore some shitty disguise. One that consisted of sunglasses and hats—which was stupid in Kuroo's opinion, who wears sunglasses inside?

"It was his idea." Yamamoto and Lev point accusatory fingers at Yaku.

"Oh fuck you guys." Yaku sighs.

"What're you guys doing?! What if she sees you?" Kuroo panicked.

"Relax. I just had to see you weren't lying." Yaku says and crosses his arms.

"Yaku said I could learn a thing or two by coming." Lev says, throwing the libero under the bus again.

"And why are you here?" Kuroo rolls his eyes at the other twos excuses.

"Someone has to be the responsible one." Yamamoto proudly says, but Kuroo was not buying it. None of them were capable of that right now. "Okay fine. Yaku said he'd buy me food."

"Dude?!" Yaku looks at him, "Well, now you're not getting it."

"I said this was a bad idea, for the record." Yamamoto says, as if that was going to make him look more innocent. "And you're still buying me food."

"Guys, please leave. If she sees you guys—in these shitty disguises, she won't want to hangout with me again." Kuroo whines, grasping at anything to get his teammates to leave.

"Bro, relax." Yaku says, "We won't get noticed."

"And what if I did this to you while you're with the girl you like?" Kuroo flips the situation onto him.

"Yaku can't get girls." Lev says and Yaku kicks him, Yamamoto held his mouth to not laugh loudly.

Kuroo's mind was filled with worry, he'd laugh at that joke later. "Yaku, I can't be embarrassed. I'm already nervous as is." He admits.

Yaku senses his captains worries and sighs, "Okay fine. We'll leave, but I just wanted to make sure you weren't lying. I can't stand the fact that you have a girlfriend before me." He glares.

"Oh god, thank you." Kuroo breathes out a huge breath of relief. "I've already taken too long, hurry up before she sees you." The three nod and Kuroo acts casual as he walks back up to the table.

"You didn't find your book?" You ask quietly and look up from your worksheet.

He looks at you confused, but then realizes that was the lie he told you. "Oh—yeah, no. Couldn't find it." He takes a long sip of his drink, watching his teammates pretend they're in an action movie as they leave the library.

The workers all looked at them like they were crazy. He's glad you didn't look behind you, otherwise he probably would've died from embarrassment.

Kuroo takes out his homework and works on it quietly in front of you. After a little you take a mental break, putting away two out of three papers into folders and into your bag.

"You look focused." You smile, he thinks his entire face is red as he feels you stare at him.

"Coach Mori assigns a lot of homework." He chuckles, "How's it going for you?

"Good, I just need to take a break." You say and stretch, "Otherwise I think my brain will explode."

"Oh, I'm sure you're okay." Kuroo laughs. "Miss smarty pants." He teases.

You playfully rolled your eyes, "Ha ha. Very funny."

"You think I'm lyin'?" He quirks an eyebrow, his homework long forgotten about.

You shake your head and chuckle quietly, wary of others studying nearby. "I know I'm smart, way smarter than you." You tease a little, finding the small banter amusing.

He laughs a little too loud and gets a look from the librarian, he smiles widely at you and the two of you quietly chuckle. "You're going to get us kicked out." He says quietly.

"Me? You're the one who laughs loud." You shake your head.

He wants to tell you that he laughs loud like this when he's with you, nobody else can make him feel this way. But, he's taking baby steps right now, he can barely ask you to hangout without turning bright red.

"Hey, you wanna get out of here?" He speaks up after a few seconds.

You raise an eyebrow at him, "I thought we were supposed to be studious?" Your actions are the opposite of your words as you begin putting away your things.

He grins and throws his things into his bag, he stands up and pushes his chair in, waiting for you to finish up and follow him.

"Where are we going?" You ask, finally not having to keep your voice down.

He thinks for a moment, walking beside you. "Do you like ice cream?"

"Of course." You nod and smile.

"I know a place." He says and leads the way, "Kenma and I have been going here since we were kids."

"Himari and I have a spot like that too." You say, keeping up with his long legs.

"Yeah?" He says interested, "What is it?"

"Bowling." You chuckle, "You know that old place deeper in town?"

He hums, "Yeah, haven't been there since I was little. It's still running?"

"Himari and I practically keep the place going." Your laugh was beautiful to him, he needs to hear more of it. "Last time we went was for her birthday, right before school started."

"So, does that mean you're like a pro?" He smiles, thinking he could potentially beat you.

"I'm not bad, but definitely not the best." You see the competitive glint in his eyes, "We mostly go for the curly fries and milkshakes."

He shakes his head softly, "I found the ice cream place the first time I asked Kenma to play volleyball with me." He smiles at the memory, "I practically forced him, so I offered to buy him a cone if he played with me."

"So you bribed him into playing volleyball?" You raised an eyebrow at him and he chuckles.

"I guess so. I would ask him to play a lot, so he and I quickly became regulars at the shop." His eyes leave yours momentarily as he opens the shop door for you.

You thank him, the bell ringing and an older woman looks up from her magazine. "Is that you, Tetsurou?" She pushes up her glasses and smiles warmly at him.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Yuki." Kuroo smiles back at her.

"My oh my, you've grown." She chuckles and closes her magazine.

"Maybe just a little." He chuckles and scratches his neck, "but it's only been 2 weeks."

"2 weeks too long, dear." She says and finally takes notice of you, "And you've even brought your girlfriend, how cute." She claps her hands together.

You think your heart just stopped beating for a second, your mouth opens to deny or say anything, but a part of you kind of liked it.

Kuroo felt his face heat up, he had been telling her about his struggles to talk to you for years. "Oh, we're just—"

"What can I get you two?" She interrupts him, liking the way he blushes at you.

"Don't—uh don't mind her." Kuroo turns to you, "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's okay." You chuckle, noticing how his face was more pink than normal. "I've never been here before, what would you recommend?" You ask and walk closer to Mrs. Yuki.

"Well, all of our ice cream is homemade." She smiles warmly, she can see why Kuroo had taken a liking to you. "I'd be happy to let you sample any flavors you'd like."

You smile widely at and thank her. You take a few minutes to read the labels on the tubs, you tried a few flavors. They were all delicious, her ice cream was nothing you've ever tasted before.

"I'll do a scoop of strawberry, please." You say and throw away the little spoon of the sample. She nods and takes her scooper, she gets a heavy ball and puts it in a waffle cone.

You grab it and wait for Kuroo to order, wanting to treat him.

"I'll do my usual scoop of matcha." He tells her, his face is still pink from earlier. She goes to put it in the register, you weren't given a chance to go up because he beat you to it.

"Hey!" You protest, "I said—"

"Too slow." He grins and pays for both of your treats.

"I said next time was on me. Let me pay you back." You go to reach for your wallet and he stops you and shakes his head.

"I invited you here." He smiles, your breath is caught in your throat at his smile, you've always known he was cute, but this was different. He was more than cute.

"Fine, but next time—"

"Eat your ice cream." He says and bumps your elbow on purpose, making your ice cream smudge onto your lips. He laughs, knowing exactly what he did. Mrs. Yuki hands him a napkin and he hands it to you.

"You're so funny, Kuroo Tetsurou." You playfully glare at him and wipe your mouth.

"You kids enjoy." Mrs. Yuki smiles, she can feel her face hurt from watching the two of you. She's happy to see Kuroo so happy.

Kuroo continues to laugh as he leads you outside to the tables. "Eat your ice cream." You do the same thing to him, he licks his lips and smiles.

"How mean." He says and wipes his face as well with his own napkin.

"You did it first!" You laugh and eat your ice cream, watching the green leave his face and onto his napkin.

"It's good, right?" Kuroo asks, seeing your eyes light up at the treat.

"Way too good." You chuckle, "I won't be able to eat store bought ice cream anymore."

"Welcome to my world." He laughs. "She's practically my second mom." He says, looking inside the shop for a moment.

"She's very sweet." You nod, "How long has she worked here for?"

"Her whole life, I think." Kuroo says, "Her father bought the store for her when she was young."

"It's a cute shop. I can't believe I've never came here before." You bit into your waffle cone.

"Yeah, I help her out from time to time." His tongue savors the flavor he got, "She needs help moving her batches sometimes."

"That's nice of you," You smile. "Thank you, by the way. For the ice cream."

He shakes his head, "No problem."

"But for real. Next time is on me." You warn him with a finger pointing at him and he only grins. Already knowing that would never happen, but he goes along with it for now.

You sit for hours there just talking to him, he made you smile a lot. You're trying so hard to keep your mind straight and focused on prelims, but being out with him was just so much fun.

It wouldn't hurt to keep this going, would it? You're still focused during practices and games, that's not changing.

Kuroo looks at his phone for the time and sighs, "It's getting a little late." He notices the sun setting, he looks at your features, appreciating how well the sun hit you right now. He almost wants to sneak a picture, but he doesn't want to seem creepy, he just wishes he could capture this moment forever.

"Yeah, we should start heading back." You say and throw away your napkin.

"I'll walk 'ya." He offered.

"You sure? I swear I thought your house was in the opposite direction." You say.

"Nonsense. I'll just take the long way." He chuckles and you give in, it was hard not to, especially since you didn't want it to end. "Don't want you to get kidnapped." He jokes.

You rolled your eyes, "I'd come back to haunt you."

"Oh, I'm honored." He laughs. "I had a lot of fun with you." He side eyes you for a reaction, you're smiling when he finishes his sentence and that's a win in his book.

"I did too." You say truthfully, you didn't even want to go home. "Who knew? That the nekoma boys volleyball captain was kinda cool?"

"Just kinda cool?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Don't push it." You joke and he laughs along. "I wasn't able to get very close with the other captains, so I'm really happy I got to know you more, Kuroo."

"Tetsurou. You can call me Tetsurou." His face gets hot.

You nod, "Tetsurou." He almost falls to the floor as a pile of putty after hearing his name leave your lips. "Today was fun." You say again, getting his attention, he was still smiling widely.

"We should do this again—if you want to of course, I-I don't want to force you unless you were just being nice—"

"I'd like that." You smile, cutting off his rambling and he lets out a grateful sigh.

"Great. Sounds good." He chuckles, telling himself to calm down.

"Actually..my parents leave tomorrow for a work trip," You gained a little more confidence to ask him to hang out, "And I have this cookie recipe I've been wanting to try, if you'd like to come over and bake with me?"

He feels his heart thump loudly against his chest, he's elated that you're the one who asked him to hang out again. He didn't want to feel like he was being too pushy or persistent. "I'd like that." His face hurts from how hard he's smiled all day with you.

"Great, so again tomorrow? At like noon?" You ask to confirm, looking at your house.

"Yeah, I'll be here." He nods. "Have a good rest of your night, Y/n."

"You too, Tetsurou." You give him a small wave and he thinks you look adorable. Once you're inside your room you're fumbling for your phone to call Himari to come over asap.

"Yeah? Wait—woah, slow down, slow down." Himari laughs on the other end.

"Wait! Don't go yet, he's walking past your house right now." You say as you look out your bedroom window. "Okay okay, come now." You say after he rounds the corner and off to his house.

Himari greets your parents as she walks by, seeing them pack up their car. She runs to your room and barges through the door. "Spill." She smiles ecstatically.

You go on about how you did homework at the library and then got ice cream, basically just giving her the rundown. "And then, I asked him to come over tomorrow after my parents leave to bake cookies." You finish, hiding your face.

"No. Way. You, Y/n L/n, invited a cute boy over." Her jaw drops, before all of this you hadn't been super boy crazy, you had two boyfriends before, but it obviously didn't go on for more than a couple of months.

"I know! I don't know why I did it." You say uncontrollably smiling.

"You like him. You so do." Himari grins, "Don't give me that bullshit about how you don't." She raises her palm to your face.

"I don't." You deny, but you can't stop thinking about him. He gave you butterflies. "We are just friends."

"Wait till Mori hears this now." Himari laughs, "She's going to have a talk with you.”

You groan, "No. She won't. Because this isn't going anywhere."

"Then why are you so excited to tell me about what happened? And why you invited him over?" She catches you in a lie.

You frown and didn't answer her for a minute, "So what? This'll probably fizzle out and go away in a few weeks." 

Himari raises an eyebrow, "Sure." She pretends to go along with it. The rest of the night, you and Himari spent the night together, watching shows and eating popcorn.

Kuroo had the dopiest smile on his face as he got home, he can't even say in words how happy and excited he is. He calls Kenma and yaps for an hour about you.