Stress Relief
Pairing: Shicca (College AU) **This is written for my amazing friend @mautrino! Thanks for always being awesome! Hope you like it!
Rebecca sighed as she took a sip of her third cup of coffee. She was extremely tired, but she knew she had to push through and finish her paper. She mentally berated herself for procrastinating on this paper. If she had started the paper earlier, she could have been curled up in her soft and warm bed with her boyfriend instead. However, she got distracted by the release of the new Pokemon games and opted to spend her evenings playing it instead of working on her paper.
“I can do this. Only two more pages and then I can go to sleep,” she assured herself.
The sound of the bedroom door opening caused her to turn around and get a glorious view of her shirtless boyfriend sleepily rubbing his eyes.
“Hey you,” she greeted as he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her neck.
“Bec, come to bed. It’s 1 AM and I need your warmth,” Shiki whined, resting his cheek on the top of her head.
Rebecca giggled at her boyfriend’s cute actions, affectionately patting his arm. “I just have 2 more pages left in this paper, and then I’ll come to bed.”
“You got this. I’m going back to sleep but wake me up if you need anything,” Shiki kissed the top of her head and soothingly rubbed her back.
Rebecca smiled. He was too sweet. “I will. I love you!”
Shiki winked and blew her a kiss, which Rebecca pretended to catch. “I love you too, baby girl.”
Rebecca turned back to her laptop, determined to finish her paper quickly. She furiously typed away while she listened to calming music in order to concentrate better. After a half an hour passed, she was finally finished. The blonde sighed in relief as she scanned through her paper to catch any grammar or spelling errors. After she was sure she fixed any mistakes, Rebecca hit print and stood up to stretch her limbs. She decided that she would grab her assignment in the morning since she was eager to finally go to sleep.
After putting away her empty coffee cup in the sink, Rebecca quickly threw on her pajamas and hopped into bed.
“Goodnight, darling,” Rebecca whispered, placing a chaste kiss on her beloved boyfriend’s soft lips.
Shiki hummed and sleepily opened his eyes. He grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head in the crook of her neck. “Goodnight, baby girl.”
Rebecca closed her eyes, basking in her boyfriend’s warmth as she gave in to the wave of sleep that hit her body.
***
The blonde groaned as she felt a hand tap her cheek, swatting at it with her own hand. “Let me sleep..a little bit longer.”
“Bec, wake up. It’s almost 10:30.”
Rebecca immediately shot up, glancing at the clock in panic. He was right. It was 10:27 and her lecture started at 11.
“Oh no. Shit, shit, shit,” she smacked her hand against her forehead, realizing that she forgot to turn on her alarm before going to sleep. “I can’t be late. I need to turn in my paper.”
“Don’t worry. Just get ready and I’ll drop you off. I’ll make sure you reach on time,” Shiki assured, causing Rebecca to smile and give him a quick kiss. Shiki didn’t have a class on this day, so she would normally drive herself while he slept in. However, it takes a while to find parking so Shiki dropping her off would save her a lot of time.
“I’m glad that I can always count on you!”
Rebecca hopped out of bed and quickly grabbed the first outfit she saw in her closet before running to the bathroom. She changed her clothes, threw her wavy locks into a ponytail, and washed her face.
“Okay I’m ready,” Rebecca said as she grabbed her school bag. Shiki grabbed the car keys, and the two of them rushed out of their apartment.
“Did you get everything?” Shiki asked as they entered the car.
“Yeah,” Rebecca responded. She normally kept her bag ready the night before, so she wouldn’t have to worry about it in the morning. Luckily, the two of them lived 15 minutes from campus so she could possibly make it to class on time. She was snapped out of her thoughts when a loud growl emitted from her stomach, causing Rebecca to blush as Shiki chuckled.
“My poor girl. Didn’t get to eat 20 bowls of cereal since she overslept,” Shiki teased, causing Rebecca to playfully smack his arm.
“Shush. I don’t eat 20 bowls of cereal,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes.
“My bad. My poor girl didn’t get to eat 10 bowls of cereal,” Shiki corrected himself, laughing when Rebecca pouted in response.
“Hey! Food is delicious. Don’t make fun for me for eating a lot. I need to grow,” Rebecca defended herself.
Shiki smirked. “The only thing that’s growing is your chest.”
Rebecca crossed her arms. “Not my fault that I’m short.”
“It’s fine. You’re perfect the way you are,” Shiki’s tone softened, causing her heart to skip a beat. His sweet words never failed to make her swoon.
After a few minutes, they reached the campus. Shiki stopped the car in front of the building her class was in. It was currently 10:57 AM, so she could make it on time if she walked fast.
“Thank you so much, Shiki. You’re my savior,” Rebecca gave him a quick hug and got out of the car.
“Anytime Bec, have a good day! I’ll pick you up 4.”
“You too!”
Rebecca rushed down the hallway, sighing in relief when she finally reached the lecture hall. Thankfully the professor was busy talking to a student indicating that class did not start yet. Rebecca sat in an empty seat, and opened her bag to take out her stuff.
“Alright class. It’s time to turn in your papers. Place them on the table in an organized pile,” the professor announced. Rebecca could hear the scraping of chairs around her as the students got up to turn in their paper while she dug through her bag for her paper. She started to grow frustrated when she couldn’t find it, then she realized that she forgot to grab her paper from the printer.
“Oh shit,” she whispered. Rebecca wanted to scream. How could she have forgotten to grab her paper? It was the reason why she was rushing in the first place, and she didn’t even have it. She was screwed. The professor told them that she wasn’t going to accept the papers late unless there was an emergency. She forgot to grab her laptop too, so she couldn’t even show the professor the paper on her laptop to prove that she completed it. Rebecca got up from her seat and walked to the professor, praying that she would let her turn it in late. She couldn’t get a zero on it. The paper was worth 40% of their final grade.
“Professor,” Rebecca called out, causing the green haired woman to turn to face her. “I know you said that you weren’t going to accept the papers late, but I swear that I finished it. I just forgot to grab it from the printer. I’m so sorry, but can I please email it to you or turn it tomorrow?”
“I believe you Rebecca. You always turn in your work on time, so I will make an exception for you this time,” the professor said, causing Rebecca to smile in relief. “However, you’re still turning it in late. I’m going to have to doc 10 marks from the grade you get.”
Rebecca’s smile dropped. Ten marks was a whole letter grade. However, she was thankful that at least she wouldn’t be getting a zero.
“Thank you so much. I’ll make sure this won’t happen again,” Rebecca promised causing her professor to smile.
“Just make sure to email it to me before 8:00. I don’t check my email after that time,” the professor explained.
Rebecca nodded. “Yes I will.”
She returned to her seat, burying her face in her hands. The highest grade she could get was a B now. Rebecca was hoping she could score an A, but that chance was gone now. She would have to do well on the final to get an A in the class.
“At least I’m not getting a zero,” she repeated to herself.
After class was over, she had an hour before her next class. Rebecca decided to head to a dining hall to buy herself lunch. She hadn’t eaten anything all day. She joined the line in the dining hall and opened the small front pocket of her backpack to take out her wallet. However, it was empty. Rebecca quickly shuffled through the contents of her bag only to see that she forgot her wallet too. She felt like crying. She was so hungry and she couldn’t even buy herself lunch.
“Today is just not my day,” she lamented to herself as she left the line. Rebecca walked around campus hoping to find someone possibly giving out free food. Fortunately, one of the clubs had a table set up in the student center to advertise their club. They were giving out a bag of free popcorn to anyone who listened to why they should join their club. Rebecca listened to the club president explain the benefits of joining, feigning interest in what he was telling her. She didn’t give a damn about joining. She was just desperate to get some food.
Rebecca munched on the popcorn as she walked to her next class. It wasn’t much, but at least she was getting some food in her stomach before she went home.
***
After her other class was over, Rebecca waited outside the building for Shiki to pick her up. She was looking forward to getting home and spending some time with her boyfriend. Rebecca smiled and waved as she saw Shiki’s car approach her.
“Hi darling,” Rebecca greeted as she entered the car.
“Hey beautiful, are you okay?” Shiki asked, voice laced with concern.
“Yeah I’m fine,” Rebecca lied. She didn’t want to worry him. She was just glad that she was with him now.
Shiki didn’t look convinced. “Okay..if you say so?”
During the ride home, Rebecca listened to Shiki excitedly tell her how he beat Weisz in 10 of the 15 races they played together in Mario Kart. His enthusiasm made her feel a little better after having such a rough day. She loved that he was such an upbeat and positive guy.
When they reached home, Rebecca immediately opened her laptop to email her paper to her professor. Her professor was nice enough to let her turn in her paper in late, so she couldn’t risk possibly forgetting to send it.
“Rebecca, are you sure that you’re okay?” Shiki asked again.
Rebecca closed her laptop and smiled. “Yes I’m sure. I’m going to make dinner now. What do you want to eat?”
Shiki frowned. Rebecca knew that he didn’t believe her. He could always tell when something was off. Shiki walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her into a tight hug, causing tears to start pooling in her eyes. “You know that you can tell me anything. I’m here for you.”
“I-I’m so frustrated. Today was such a bad day. I overslept. I forgot my paper and wallet at home. Thankfully my professor let me turn it in late, but I’m still losing marks for turning it in late. I couldn’t even eat lunch. Had to settle for a bag of free popcorn. The whole universe was against me today,” Rebecca cried out while Shiki rubbed her back.
“Let it all out, Bec,” Shiki consoled as she continued to sob into his chest. “You’re an amazing person, baby girl. I love you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you. You deserve to be happy and it breaks my heart to see you in so much pain. Fuck the universe if it’s going to treat you so badly.”
Shiki’s words warmed her heart. She felt so lucky that such a wonderful guy loved her so much. “Thank you, Shiki. It feels so good to vent. I love you more.”
Shiki cupped her face in his hands and wiped away the lingering tears before passionately kissing her. Rebecca wished she could kiss him for hours, but unfortunately the need for air was an obstacle. Shiki rested his forehead against hers after they broke apart. “I love you most.”
Rebecca flashed a cheeky grin. “I love you mostest.”
Shiki laughed. “I love you mostestestest!”
“That’s not a word, silly!” Rebecca giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. “So what do you want for dinner?”
Shiki poked her nose. “You aren’t cooking anything. We’re going to order two large pizzas, and you’re going to cuddle with me while we watch a movie together.”
“Sounds good to me!”
Shiki ordered the pizza while Rebecca grabbed a blanket from their bedroom. Shiki laid down on the couch and gestured for her to lay on top of him. Rebecca rested her head on his chest, pulling the blanket over them before wrapping her arm around his waist.
“I love you. You’re my everything, Shiki.”
“I love you too. You’re also my everything, Rebecca. Forever.”
