"Mm?"
Shou yawned lazily and looked over at the source of the voice with lidded eyes. He hadn't realised his dark circles were back to haunt him, and he barely got enough sleep anyway, the casino the night before only made it worse. Having barely four and a half hours of sleep under his belt was obviously unhealthy, and it showed now, too.
"Oh, good morning, Shizuka." the latter half of the sentence was intercepted by another yawn, with him hanging on the door handle for a handful of seconds longer before pushing it open and trudging into his office, "Walk and talk, Shizuka. Need coffee." And as he said this, he took a long sip from the coffee-to-go cup.
He was inside when she asked her next question from where she stood at the door, and he gestured for her to come in. Speaking to her while gathering his sheets and making the necessary exchanges between his shoulder bag and the items on his desk, he ran a final check before leaning back against the desk on his palms, lazy brown eyes finding the girl's. It warmed his heart, the way she worried.
"I'm alright, I'm alright. Don't you worry, young lady." he replied fondly, running a hand through his silver hair and managing his best smile in that state, though it never reached his tired eyes. "You're sweet to worry about me on top of all of your assignments, mm? I just didn't get much sleep last night, that's all."
And here he noticed the hamsters in the cage Shizuka was carrying, which made him leave his belongings at the desk for just the moment and close the distance between him and the girl.
...maybe that's a little...too close.
He paused. Looking down into the girl's eyes, wordlessly he knelt down before her, level with the hamster cage she was carrying. His cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink though he wouldn't let her see it, no, he'd be too embarrassed. Though Shou was still pretty courteous and easily flustered around women.
"How are these little guys doing?" he reached a finger to one of the gaps in the iron-wire-walls of the cage, and immediately one of the hamsters curiously scurried over to sniff his fingertip, which made him retract his hand and rest in that kneeling position, smiling fondly at the little creatures in the cage.
"Seems you're keeping them very well, Shizuka." he tilted his head up, his smile a little more genuine now at seeing the little creatures in the radiant health in which they were in. "I'm glad."
The scent of bitter black coffee mixed with an elegant cologne must have reached her nose from his presence. It seemed he always smelled somewhat like the coffee he drank. In his favour, it only accented the colognes he chose to wear.
He grew quiet again at realising just how close he must have been to her, like that.
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