Angelic Layer (Ichiro/Shuuko) [Week 3, Prompt 5] Title: Thump Author:lanerose Rating: PG Word Count: 325 Summary: Ichiro and Shuuko have work to do.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Ichiro's shoes slapped against the pavement as he walked down the hall. The week had been long and frustrating, with little to no progress on the development of the dolls. He had watched as Shuuko's face slowly grew tighter and tighter with each hour that passed, as they struggled to get the dolls limbs to do more than basic movement on command. Ichiro reached the door at the end of the hall and opened it.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
"Icchan, come here, you've got to see this!" She called to him as the door swung inwards. He hurried in. There, on the Layer, was their first Angel. It hopped to the right, bouncing in a one-two, one-two combination as the right foot landed, the left foot came down beside, and then both went into the air again. Shuuko looked up.
"Wonderful? It's fantastic!" Ichiro jumped up and down as he hurried to her side. "With this data we'll finally be able to move onto the next step of the project! It shouldn't be too much longer before we having a working product!"
Without thinking about it, he scooped Shuuko out of her chair and swung her around. She laughed, high and light and more relaxed than he'd heard her in ages.
Thump.
Ichiro set Shuuko down on her feet, supporting her weight with his arms. Their foreheads leaned together. Ichiro closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her silk blouse beneath his hands, her skin warm against his, her light perfume filling his nose, her lips gently against –
Her lips against his. Ichiro's eyes flew open.
"We should get back to work," Shuuko said, smiling and not quite meeting his eyes.
"Right," Ichiro blushed as he placed her back on the chair. She put the mask back on, but smiled at him again before flipping the visor down. "Let's get to work!"