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Oh my heavens, over eight thousand five hundred comments in the last post alone. I feel so tardy and yet I briefly felt compelled to wait until we had over nine thousand, hoohoo~! Oh, even the oldest of memes gets a rise out of my... big and manly heart.
SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI: PERSONA 4 KINK MEME
PART FOURTo beat the dead horse (or beat off the ( Read more... )
SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI: PERSONA 4 KINK MEME
PART FOURTo beat the dead horse (or beat off the ( Read more... )
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It all started with a simple question.
“Guys…,” Teddie piped up, silencing the group’s idle chatter with a sudden, unsettling sobriety, “What am I going to do after next week?”
They had this heard time and time again. Each time the answer had been so glaringly obvious that it was almost a non-issue. Even Teddie had to admit that sometimes, when he was feeling just a little left out or frustrated by a custom he didn’t understand, he would use it to shift his friends’ attentions in his direction and wait for them to vehemently validate his belonging.
Because after all, Nanako-chan, Chie-chan and Yuki-chan were here. Rise-chan, Naoto-chan, and Kanji-kun were here. And, maybe most importantly, Yosuke and Sensei were here, always there to lend a hand, ear, or any other necessary extremity when it was needed. No matter how many doubts crept into his head, Teddie trusted Yosuke and Sensei’s promise with all his fuzzy bear heart.
But that was before March 21st was only a week away, when the sudden fear of abandonment cropped up anew inside him. Perhaps that also contributed to why things went the way they did, but thinking that deeply wasn’t up Teddie’s alley. Staring in exaggerated shock while the two most important people in his life glared daggers at each other? That was his style.
Of course, it took them a while to work up to that whole ‘dagger’ thing.
Not that long, though.
“’What are you going to do‘?” Yosuke repeated, furrowing his brow despite the broad, almost teasing smile stretched across his face, “Dude, not this again…”
“Are you still worried about whether you should stay?” Souji interrupted, looking to their friend with quiet sympathy and support. The bear responded by nodding soundlessly, lower lip jutting out to such an extreme degree that Yosuke was sure he could balance his drink on it.
“We told you, you could stay with us!” the brunette interjected, barely hiding a discreet eye roll, “Hell, it would be…weird if you left, y’know? Besides, where would you go, other than back to your own world?”
Teddie paused thoughtfully, eyes scanning the table for ideas (he had discovered early on in his forays into the human world that one could usually find a right answer if one just took a moment to look around for it). His gaze eventually stopped on Chie, who was looking back at him with a peculiar mixture of sympathy and mild irritation. Chie-chan, he thought to himself, letting his train of thought do the rest.
Chie-chan. Meat. Steak. Skewer. Souzai Daigaku. Daigaku. University!
“I could go to school with Sensei!” he gushed, clinging to Souji’s arm tightly while the boy just looked down at him with puzzled amusement, “Just the two of us, roughing it out on those crazy city streets! Wearing matching college sweaters and loafers! Throwing our futures to the wayside while we score night after night after night after-”
“We get the picture,” Yosuke deadpanned, not bothering to hide it at all when he rolled his eyes a second time, “Although if I were you, I wouldn‘t get my hopes up.”
Teddie puffed up his chest, ready to defend his plan to the death, regardless of how that might affect (or, more accurately, not affect) Yosuke's opinion. Those shrill, defiant words were just about to leave his lips when, suddenly, he was cut off by the boy he was still adamantly clinging to.
“Actually,” Souji mused, looking oddly serious, despite the bear who had apparently welded himself to his arm, “That’s not exactly a bad idea.”
Now it was Yosuke’s turn to laugh.
“Dude, you’re joking, right?” he gasped on the tail end of a long burst of giggles, “I mean, c'mon, it’s Teddie! He’s never even been to school!”
“Well, if he’s going to be staying here,” Souji explained, his tone changing in such a subtle way it was hard for the others to catch. Yosuke, though, he caught it. And judging by the sudden quirk of his brow, he didn‘t know what to make of it. “He should probably start thinking of how he’s going to be supporting himself in the long run. Some sort of schooling would help, don‘t you think?”
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“Why wouldn’t I be?” Souji took a drink of his soda, cool as a cucumber, which only served to frustrate the other boy more.
“Well, for one, it’s a monumentally stupid idea,” he began, counting off on his fingers for emphasis, “Secondly, he’s already got a place to stay. In case you forgot how the stupid bear has been crashing in my room and eating my food for almost half a year.”
The others were staring now, their own conversations forgotten while Yosuke’s voice grew in volume and Souji’s became cooler and sharper as the beginnings of a fight made themselves clear. Yosuke falling into an argument wasn’t exactly rare and probably wouldn’t have raised any eyebrows under normal circumstances -- but Yosuke fighting with Souji? That was just…blasphemous, somehow. They had fought before, sure, but over little things that neither really cared all that much about anyway. Like the superiority of one brand of cereal over the other or who was a better dresser. The one serious fight the team had bore witness came during a time they, well, weren’t particularly fond of recalling.
“You’re not going to be living in your parents’ house forever,“ Souji pressed, “And if you’re complaining about him depending on you so much, wouldn’t you like him to start carving out a real future for himself here?”
“I wasn’t complaining!” Yosuke spat, instantly defensive as he spun around to face Teddie, who was busy occupying himself with looking between the two boys with something akin to horror, “Ted, don’t listen to him, that’s not what I meant--”
“Maybe he could even get a job,” Souji mentioned conversationally, cutting off Yosuke’s explanation with casual (and yet, wholly intentional) disregard while he examined his cuticles.
“He has a job.”
“I meant a real job.”
The team winced collectively, averting their eyes when Yosuke’s face took on the distinct hue of a baboon‘s ass. Souji took another sip of soda, this one so prim and smooth, the others half expected his pinky to extend.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean!?” the brunette shouted, losing the already stacked battle against his volume. People were turning to stare, watching with morbid interest while the tension at their table mounted. This new attention seemed completely lost on both Souji and Yosuke, but the others felt a new wave of self consciousness when simple stares slowly turned to quiet mutterings. Most of them stared at their hands or their laps, exchanging occasional glances between themselves. Naoto, for her part, seemed content trying to hide in her hat.
“It means,” Souji continued, looking entirely nonplussed by Yosuke’s now-audible seething, “I doubt anyone would consider working within the mighty Junes a fulfilling career.”
“Oh, that sure is funny,” Yosuke scowled, waving his hand in exaggerated back and forth motion, “I don’t seem to remember all these nice little opinions when my Dad was writing you checks over the summer!”
Souji said nothing, instead lolling his head to the side and fixing Kanji with a weary, ‘do-you-see-what-I-have-to-deal-with’ stare. The larger boy squirmed in his seat, stunned and a little frightened by his sudden inclusion in the fray. He would have been quite content to continue counting the scars on his knuckles and wishing the pavement beneath his chair would give and send him rocketing down through Junes until he hit the safety of the basement. The prospect of hanging out with rats and expired stock was downright appealing compared this hell. At least rats were cute, if you squinted.
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“What the hell are you trying to do? Don’t look at him!” the brunette sputtered, gesticulating wildly between Kanji and Souji, “Stop acting like you’re so goddamn mature and I’m just some annoying kid you have to put up with!”
“Well,” Souji shrugged, turning away from Kanji, prompting the first year to all but collapse with relief, “I wouldn’t call it an act.”
“Oh, ouch,” Yosuke hissed, clutching his heart with an expression of exaggerated pain, “That stings man, right here.” He thumped on his chest a few more times for good measure, while Souji’s eyes narrowed to gray slits. For the others, a look like that directed their way would usually send them rocketing into a fetal position. For Yosuke, it seemed to slide off his back like water off a duck. Being monumentally pissed was the best deterrent against getting hurt, it seemed.
Teddie, however, did not have a buffer of rage to protect him from the tears welling up in his eyes. The two best friends -- if you could even call them that at the moment -- were oblivious, but the rest of the team had already started to shield their ears. Judging by the tremble of Teddie’s lower lip, their hearing was about to be in grave danger.
“W-why…,” he began, deceptively quiet at first, “Why are you…”
The flood gates opened, and both boys turned towards Teddie just as tears started streaming down his face with abandon, “W-Why are you fighting!??”
As if something jumped in both boys at the same time, their expressions softened in tandem. Souji reached out to squeeze the crying boy’s shoulder, while Yosuke settled for tousling his hair with a smile.
“We’re not fighting, Ted,” Yosuke explained, shooting the boy a wink, “This is just…” He looked to Souji for help, and his friend didn’t leave him waiting.
“A discussion.”
“Right, exactly!”
Teddie blinked, tears starting to slow as he stared at both. He wasn’t the only one either -- the rest of the team, also, seemed to be holding their breath.
“If Yosuke could just understand I only want to help you and would stop reacting like a child,” Souji explained, rubbing Teddie’s back gently, while the ‘child’ in question suddenly stiffened, “This would probably be going a lot smoother.”
As one, the group exhaled deeply. The last traces of their collective sigh were still hanging in the air when Yosuke finally started recovering from Souji’s slap in the face.
“I can’t believe you just said that,” he blinked, an edge to his deceptively soft tone. A tone that promptly gave way to yelling once Yosuke found his voice a second time, “I can’t believe I never realized what an asshole you were! You think you know what‘s best for Ted? Well, fuck that!”
“I don’t see why you’re so animated about this,” Souji pondered coolly, “Last I checked, I’m the one Teddie comes to when he needs to figure something out. I can’t blame him either.”
“Oh, yeah?” Yosuke’s voice was dialing back to a normal volume, which only made the others more uncomfortable.
“You’ve said so yourself a thousand times. I’m…what was the word again?” Souji paused, tapping on his chin in mock thoughtfulness, “Oh, right, special.”
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“Yeah, you’re right, you are pretty damn special, partner,” he snapped, folding his arms angrily across his chest, “So damn special that -- god forbid! -- you take on a problem that doesn’t include you spouting the same three phrases over and over again.” He took a moment to bring his hand against his forehead, pushing his fringe down until it mimicked Souji’s distinctive hair style, “You’re still you! Be true to yourself! Do whatever the hell you want!“ He removed his hand, letting his hair fall back into its usual mess, “Damn, man, talk about special. I mean, what advice could be better than telling someone to leave the people he needs and who care about him behind? Just because you--”
“At least I’m trying to do something for him,” Souji snapped, startling the team with the sudden tightness of his face. General impassiveness was their leader’s signature, and seeing him so riled up over Teddie of all people…
“Oh, you don’t think I do stuff for him?” Yosuke asked, false innocence ringing in his voice and showering a sense of foreboding over the rest of the team, “Tell me this, Souji, do you know what color someone’s puke is after they drink all of the stomach medication in the house?”
Souji blinked, thrown by the strange turn of questioning. The others were thrown too, albeit in a different direction. As if to accentuate the point, Rise and Yukiko both shifted a little to the left from where they sat across from Teddie. Just in case what Yosuke was implying happened to be a habit and happened to be projectile.
“Because I do! It‘s pink! And after an hour of scrubbing it out of your carpet, it still leaves a giant. Purple. Stain.” the brunette continued, bristling with anger, “I bet you also don’t know how long it takes to unclog a toilet your roommate has just tried to flush three rolls of tissue paper down. Four hours. Four hours! Not to mention all the bad dreams I’ve lost sleep making better, the mornings waking up to cold feet in my bed, the fact that he sheds!“
Yosuke smacked his fist on the table, causing all their drinks to jump from the force of impact (and, in Chie‘s case, spill right onto their laps), “Face it, partner. I’ve been taking care of him since he came over to our side, so don’t you fucking dare try and say I don’t do stuff for him!”
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“I’m sorry for calling you a child,” Souji finally spoke, looking as sincere and abashed as one could after being told off, “And for implying you didn’t care about Teddie.”
Yosuke said nothing, running his finger around the rim of his glass. Still, with eyes averted and the flush in his face fading to a light pink, the prickling rage was clearly starting to go out of him.
“S’alright,” he mumbled, still staring at a spot on the table. Souji frowned a little, opening his mouth to presumably apologize again before Yosuke cut him off, still holding the same embarrassed tone, “I’m sorry too. I know you were just trying to held Teddie fit in here better…”
“Still, I shouldn’t have been such a jerk-”
“Huh? Dude, you weren’t being-”
“-and I should have realized that it‘s-”
“-a jerk at all, you were just-”
“-not my place to tell people-”
“-trying to help out and be a good friend-”
The volley continued for another minute, leaving the Investigation Team thoroughly confused about which sentences began where and how they finished. Or they would have been confused, had the concept of feeling anything other than uncomfortable entered their minds. Even Teddie’s sniffles had quieted, leaving an expression of one part confusion and two parts relief.
“Can I buy you a soda?” Souji asked, once their jumbled back and forth came to it’s awkward, stammering conclusion.
“Y-yeah, okay,” Yosuke consented, even smiling a little as Souji immediately rose from his seat, “Could I have--”
“Dr. Salt, I know,” Souji smiled, walking briskly over to the vending machines at the corner of the food court, clearly in full on Let Me Make It Up To You mode. Yosuke watched him go, looking a little goofy as he fidgeted absently with his headphone cord. Once Souji disappeared around a column, Yosuke finally turned towards the rest of his friends.
The sight was...odd, to say the least.
Chie’s usually sunny complexion was shockingly pale. Yukiko’s lips looked like they’d been gnawed on by a wild animal. Kanji was red as a beet and frantically casting his gaze around the food court for any more onlookers. Rise was giggling in a nervous, uncomfortable way that sounded nothing like her usual Risette tittering. Naoto…Naoto was nowhere to be seen. And Teddie? Well, he was currently taking advantage of Yosuke’s momentary attention and nestling into the crook of his arm.
Replete with furrowed brow and put off expression, the brunette cautiously dipped his head to the side.
“…Did something happen?”
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Someone's getting make up sex tonight~
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This was awesome, anon. It was cute and funny and awkward as all hell (I felt like I was right there with the others - the urge to cover my mouth was high, let me tell you). Especially when Souji made that offhanded little quip about Junes not being a "real" job. (The urge to comment at that point with a simple "OH NO HE DIDN'T" was also very, very high. *dork*)
Ahh, I love seeing these two fight. &hearts Making up is good too, of course, but I feel like they could fight like cats and dogs and things would still be cool in the end, somehow. And I also enjoy seeing their mutual fondness for Teddie, so this was extra awesome. :3 Kudos!
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I liked the bit with the mutual apology - that's exactly how husband-san and I make up after a fight - "Aaack, I hurt your feelings! I'm sorry!" "No, no, I'm sorry for upsetting you :(" - so it made me grin even wider.
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Thank you~! <3
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Again, I'm thrilled you liked it!
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It's perfect anon perrrfect.
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Especially the ending! I had no idea how much I loved Souji+Yosuke+Teddie "family mechanics" until this. XD
Thank you very much for writing and sharing this.
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