✩ chishiya x reader where home is where the heart is, but also where apples are too

✩ a/n - finally using tumblr so i thought i'd post some of my oneshots here!

You and Chishiya have shared an apartment for a little over a month now, the unit itself cosy and convenient for the both of you to commute to your respective destinations. The two of you have fallen into a comfortable routine since, alternating between household chores each week for fairness' sake. 

These chores, aside from the actual purchasing of groceries, include the task of either you or Chishiya writing up a grocery list of the items your pantry is missing - and this week, the task has fallen upon you. 

The two of you now stand by the grocery store's fruit stall, while Chishiya glances over your shoulder to see the notepaper you had scribbled a list out onto the night before. You hear the teasing hum reverberate in his throat before he speaks. 

"I see we need apples." 

"Shut up," you grumble. When Chishiya begins to laugh, you jab his shoulder in protest. "At least apples are good for you. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, you know."

"Oh, so you want me to stay away?" Chishiya smirks, easing the grocery list out of your hands. He scans over the rest of the items scribbled onto the notepaper, his smirk growing wider as he reads the word 'apples' written three times over at various stages of the grocery list. To be honest, you can barely recall writing the thing - you had been dozing off writing your final papers, and in a state of lucidity had recalled your empty fridge. 

And apparently, your lack of apples. 

Chishiya shrugs and begins to place a week's worth of apples into your cart, chuckling when you lightly shove him and tell him that he couldn't possibly stay away for that many apples-worth. You sigh and begin returning the fruit to the stand; your blonde 'doctor' simply tucks a strand of hair behind your ear, reminding you to sleep earlier tonight as he reaches for a pear. You can't help but smile at the indifference in his tone, for the way his touch lingers against the side of your cheek tells you just the opposite. It doesn't bother you that Chishiya's affection for you is quiet - you had come to find comfort in the small pieces of his heart, hidden between warm gazes and the gentle reminders to take care of yourself.

He starts to help you put the apples back, taking the fruit cupped in your hands from you and placing it carefully on top of the apple pile. As he does this he muses that yes, he wouldn't be able to stay away that long; no doubt you would eventually appear in his hospital, wasting away from sleep deprivation and malnutrition, and quite frankly he didn't need another patient on his hands.   

"I take back what I said earlier. Stay away as long as you'd like," you declare, and he snorts when you begin to scoop the apples back into your cart.

-

Chishiya is there when you are up late again, squinting at your computer screen as your curtains begin to soak up moonlight. 

"It's late," he says. He leans around the doorway to your room, one hand on the doorframe. He looks tired, clearly weary from his shift at the hospital. You feel a stab of guilt for making him have to remind you to sleep instead of resting himself, and resolve to make it up to him somehow tomorrow. 

"I'll finish up in an hour or so," you promise. He eyes you skeptically. He knows this is a lie - you will most likely be up until the sun rises. Many a time you have found blankets draped over your shoulders, your computer shut with a note reminding you to eat a proper breakfast pasted over it. Chishiya pretends he doesn't know what you're talking about when asked about it, but you know for sure that the notepaper is from the campus notebook he keeps on the coffee table.

You smile, hoping to reassure him. "Go get some rest, Shuntaro. You must be tired." 

"That would make two of us," he points out dryly, but disappears from your doorway nevertheless. You hear his footsteps softly moving about the apartment as you return to your papers, suppressing a yawn. You wonder if it's too late for caffeine, briefly recalling the new coffee machine you'd bought on a whim. It had taken a while to convince Chishiya, who is anti-coffee, that the purchase had been a good one. 

"You can make matcha tea with it too," you'd pointed out, and his complaints turned to curiosity when you'd presented him with the machine catalogue.   

The blonde returns a few moments later, waving away your protests as he places a round apple on your desk. 

"Here," he says, looking at you pointedly as he pushes the apple forward with his index finger. "Since I know you're not going to sleep anyway, you may as well eat."

You blink at him, bemused, but he offers no further explanation besides a raised brow and a smug: "It's too late to drink coffee."

You swat at him, his lips curling into a wider smirk. As always, he is able to predict your thought process down to a T. "You're despicable," you laugh, but you press a kiss to his cheek before he leaves your room, thanking him in a whisper (which he dismisses, saying the proper way to thank him would be to not die). 

His footsteps eventually recede, and you are now left with the apple. 

You pick up the apple and turn it over in your hands, watching the way the soft light of your lamp shifts across its red skin. It's a sweet gesture, unusual for someone with Chishiya's nature. A smile finds its way to your lips as you recall what you'd said to Chishiya at the fruit stall, insisting he stay away from you as you'd piled apples into your cart. 

You suppose he really won't stay away, then.

-

Apples begin to appear all over your apartment.

You find the little red fruit waiting on the breakfast table after Chishiya has left for the hospital on the day of yet another final exam, or sitting on your nightstand when you are up late again. The apples, crisp and sweet, earn themselves a special place in your heart; the fruit becomes almost precious to you, a wordless but sweet means for Chishiya to reach out to you in his own way. They make your apartment feel like a real home.

So you happily accept the increase in apples around your shared apartment, occasionally teasing Chishiya about his sudden love for the red fruit. Chishiya pretends he's paving his way to a discount on apples; you suppose the owner of the fruit stall is getting used to the two of you too, by the way he greets you and Chishiya as you enter the store. Instead of calling his bluff you kiss the blonde gently on his cheek, the warm fondness for him in your heart almost overwhelming. 

While Chishiya brings home an abundance of apples, you begin to return the gesture in a different way. You start frequenting the bakery across from your apartment complex, the air in the store as warm and sugary as the employee who works the register (who, by now, also knows you by name). You pick out desserts and pastries baked with apple to give to Chishiya, playing to the blonde's secret sweet tooth; golden chiffon cakes topped with apple slices, apple danishes sticky with honey. You felt that this exchange, with your sugary twists of golden pastry and fruit and Chishiya's plain apples, seemed to suit the two of you perfectly. Plus, it was a great way to trick Chishiya into developing a liking for the same desserts you did - you wouldn't mind an increase in apple tarts around the apartment, either.

"If I have to eat all these apples, you do too." You would insist, pressing a paper bakery bag into his hands, then grin when he sighs and reluctantly takes the pastry from you.

And aside from the fruit stalls and bakeries, you couldn't forget the grocery list, either - the square of paper was now always headed, without fail, with the word 'apple' written three times over in Chishiya's terrible doctor's scrawl. 

-

"Shuntaro, it's super late." 

Chishiya pushes hair back from his forehead, dark rings visible for once beneath his eyes. It surprises you to see the blonde look so tired, when he's normally so composed. You recall the night shifts he's been taking the past few days at the hospital, wondering exactly how much sleep he's had this week. "Maybe you should to go to bed."

"I should be telling you the same thing," he says. His voice is slightly rough from fatigue, although his words still manage to mantain an amused quality. He is disinterested in your concern; even though the two of you have been living together for some time now, you know that in some ways, Chishiya is still used to being alone.

"I'm not sleeping until you do," you say adamantly. The blonde sighs and turns to you wearily, his computer screen flickering before him and an array of papers spread over his desk. Medical reports, you presume, although you admittedly know shocking little about Chishiya's occupation. 

"It's going to be a while." He sifts through the documents with one hand, raising the other to pinch the bridge of his nose. "You shouldn't have stayed up as long as you already have. There's no point in compromising both of our sleep."

You fall silent, pressing your lips together. Chishiya turns back at you knowingly through half-lidded eyes, head tilted despite his weariness. Choosing to disregard his words, you step carefully into his room and gently kiss his forehead, resting your hands on his shoulders. "I'm not sleeping, Shuntaro," you repeat, slightly softer than the first time. "The burden of one is the burden of all, right?" 

Chishiya snorts, automatically leaning back into your touch. "That's ridiculous." 

"It's righteous, that's what it is." You grin. "Look, I'm going to make some hot chocolate. Do you want some?" 

He shakes his head, but you make up your mind to prepare two cups anyway, pattering into the kitchen to find the blue and white ceramic mugs you had bought when you'd moved in. All the mugs you'd brought from home were terribly chipped, but while you'd protested that it gave them character, Chishiya had silently added 'new mugs' to the shopping list. 

The steam from the drinks create soft clouds in the air, the warmth settling over your hands as you take both mugs by the handles. You briefly note to yourself to add cinnamon to the shopping list, having not found any in the pantry to add to the hot chocolate. 

On your way out of the kitchen, your gaze lands on the fruit bowl.  

Chishiya doesn't look up as you slide the white mug onto his desk, careful to avoid the various documents scattered over it. The other mug, the faded blue, remains in your hand as you place a shiny red apple beside the blonde's computer. Chishiya blinks, finally glancing curiously over from his computer screen.

"I know you're not supposed to eat before sleeping," you gesture to the apple with your free hand, "but just in case, okay?"

Chishiya raises his brows and you see his tense expression ease slightly, amusement evident in the smirk that plays across his lips. He closes his eyes for a moment, before reaching for the mug of hot chocolate. 

"Aren't you thoughtful," he hums, leaning back in his chair to take a sip. His eyes drift to the apple, and he taps the fruit with his other hand teasingly. "Well. While I am a stickler for rules about apples at night, I think I can make an allowance just this once." 

You laugh, lifting your own mug of hot chocolate to your lips. "Shut it. I'm never bringing you apples again."

He chuckles, taking another sip of his hot chocolate. "I'm devastated. Traitorous, that's what you are." He then pauses, tilting his mug thoughtfully. "Shall I add cinnamon to the grocery list?"

"Mhm. I think we might need more cocoa powder too."

"Right."

-

You wake up the next morning to the sound of the apartment door opening and closing, followed by the quiet click of the lock. You find you are swaddled in a warm blanket, your two mugs of hot chocolate lined up neatly on Chishiya's desk. His chair is empty and last night's mess of documents is gone. You yawn, remnants of sleep still blurring your vision. Where is he, anyway? You recall the shuffling downstairs - ah, right - and realise the door just now must have been him leaving for the hospital. 

You sleepily make your way downstairs, collecting the mugs and placing them carefully into the sink. Your coffee machine calls out to you enticingly; you search for another mug to make your morning beverage, blearily taking the milk from the fridge after locating a glass and setting both items onto the counter.

But then you register, with surprise, the little red fruit positioned right beside your coffee machine.  

Something folded and crinkling sits beneath it, a hint of grey letters peering through the paper. You utter a soft laugh as you slide the piece of campus notepaper from under the apple, taking in Chishiya's penciled note.

Don't drink coffee on an empty stomach, it reads. It's bad for you. 

You fold the note back up, tucking it into the space between the counter and your coffee machine. There's no harm in doing what he says for once, you suppose. 

The apple glints in the morning sunlight before you pick it up and take a bite, munching thoughtfully on it as you make a note to visit the bakery in the afternoon. The last time you'd been there they'd advertised apple crumble, and you'd been hoping to buy some for you and Chishiya to share.