Log: Momoshiro/Shinji Part One (Closed)
Who: Momoshiro and Shinji
When: Saturday, 13th.
Where: Shinji's apartment, Echizen's house.
Summary: Momo helps Shinji to move out.
Warning/Rating: PG
Player Comments: None.
Comments/Crits Allowed: Yes.
Shinji: Shinji fiddled with one of his bags for what seemed like the fiftieth time in five minutes, glancing at the clock a little nervously. Ryoma had assured him that Momoshiro was in fact coming, and that he hadn’t had any problems with helping Shinji, but Shinji was still extremely nervous about the entire process. I don’t know him that well, and he doesn’t know me that well, and what if he doesn’t approve, that could be awkward, since he’s engaged to my best friend, and it could get awkward for Akira, then, not to mention Ryo, if his best friend hates his boyfriend, and….
He took a deep breath, making himself relax. “I’m being stupid because I’m nervous,” he muttered to himself, looking at the door again. He just hoped that Momoshiro got there soon.
Momo: Not nearly as confident in his navigation skills as he'd like to think, Momo had gotten just a little lost trying to get to Shinji's place, despite the fact Echizen had given him pretty good directions. He was a good 10 minutes late to arriving when he'd set off early to he would make a better impression. That failed, epically, he just hoped that Shinji wouldn't think any less of him for being late.
As he entered the apartment and headed up to Shinji's place, Momo started thinking of interesting and more amazing excuses and reasons for why he was so late. He was stuck on ninja's again when he knocked at the door.
Shinji: Shinji nearly fell over at the knock on his door, and he pulled it open, almost forgetting to check that it was someone he’d actually want to open the door for first. “Thank you for coming, Momoshiro,” he said, moving aside so that Momoshiro could enter the apartment. “Ryo said you didn’t mind, but he was also a little worried when you weren’t here yet, so maybe you did mind, and if you did, you shouldn’t have let him bully you into it, you know.”
Momo: Momo was ready to launch into his story about ninja's and maybe a zombie invasion, but stopped short when, as soon as the door opened for him, Shinji launched into his own little rant... Which caused Momo to grin. "I got lost." He admitted once Shinji had run out of steam. "Echizen asked me to come over, so I came over. Didn't bully me. Heck, he doesn't normally ask me for anything, so this..." he shrugged and stepped into the apartment. "I'm sorry I took so long, though. Meant to be early too.."
Shinji: “Everyone gets lost around here the first few times, which is why we try not to let anyone come over after dark. It’s frustrating, but it’s safer that way…you didn’t run into any trouble, did you?” Shinji was already looking Momoshiro over for any signs that he had been jumped or harassed in any way. “I’m grateful that you came to help, though, Momoshiro. Ryoma is, too, I’m sure. He was…nervous, about me doing this alone.”
Momo: Momo caught the look Shinji was giving him and grinned even wider. He'd seen Kamio giving him just such a look before, until his fiancé had realised he could handle himself. But Shinji didn't have that same knowledge. "No trouble, nothing I couldn't handle, anyway." Most people seemed to avoid him for some reason, which was just fine with him.
"Call me Momo, yeah?" Rubbing his hands together, he looked around for what needed to be done. "So what first? And... yeah, Echizen seemed nervous about this. Never asked him why though, Won't ask you either. Just here to help!"
Shinji: Shinji shook his head slowly, leading Momoshiro back to his room. “He had reason to be nervous, I guess, though it could’ve been a lot worse, honestly. We’re getting lucky with this, I think.”
He looked around his room, really noticing how bare it was. “I have a few bags and a couple boxes. Furniture isn’t coming, obviously, and there’s something I just don’t want to hold on to, or it’s pointless to hold on to.” Shinji rummaged in his school bag and pulled out an envelope. “And I have to remember to leave this somewhere that my father might actually see it.” He looked Momoshiro up and down. “If you think you can handle the boxes, it might only be one trip. Otherwise, just two trips, I think.”
Momo: Following the other teen into the bedroom, Momo immediately moved over to the boxes. Hefting one up, he checked the weight and then set it down to lift another, listening to Shinji talk as he did this. "Guess so." A grin. "Glad you're not taking the furniture. Don't have a car." Belatedly he wondered if he should have enlisted his dad to help him move the things, but he thought he could handle the boxes on his own.
"Nah, think it'll just take one trip. I can deal with the boxes. I can, so long as you're okay with the rest?" Straightening up he looked over at Shinji with a smile. "We'll have you outta here in no time."
Shinji: Shinji nodded. “Yeah…just my school bag, my tennis bag, and a couple duffel bags…it’s really not that much….” He sat on the edge of his bed, looking around the room, feeling almost…lost, in a way. “I’m having a hard time believing I’m doing this,” he muttered softly, clearly talking to himself, only not so much, since he was speaking aloud. “I want to, I’m happy about it, but it doesn’t seem real yet, like someone’s going to stop me, or Ryo’s going to change his mind….”
Momo: Momo looked around at the bags, wondering if he could grab a few of them too, or if he would look more like a pack horse than a guy just helping out a friend. It didn't much matter to him, really. But if something did happen on the way to Echizen's place, he would be pretty useless if his hands were completely full. Dropping everything was an option, he just hoped there was nothing too breakable in the boxes.
Then he realised that Shinji was talking, and Momo shook himself out of his strange thoughts to give the other boy his attention... and frowned. "Moving's weird, give you that much. But Echizen changing his mind? You think like that, Ibu-kun, and I'm goin to think you're nuts. Echizen doesn't do anything, anything without a reason. Don't think he'd change his mind for anything. Well, unless you didn't want to move in, which I'd understand. His families kinda weird..." He trailed off, realising he was talking a bit too much.
Shinji: Shinji looked up at Momoshiro, studying him, trying to figure him out. “I don’t really know you,” he said bluntly. “Everyone says I should know you, or, well, Akira and Ryo say it, and that’s close enough to everyone that really matters to me. What about you inspires such unwavering devotion, anyway, because I’m not sure it makes complete sense, but then, I don’t know you, so I guess it can’t make sense.”
He tapped one of his boxes with his toe, listening to it. “I need to leave that note, and I think I’m going to make sure I get any money he had left for me, because I really shouldn’t turn up at Ryo’s empty-handed…and he never even told me what I’m supposed to be paying his family for letting me stay, I really need to fix that.”
Momo: Momo flushed a bit at the look he was getting, but at the things Shinji said to him, he couldn't help looking mildly confused. "I... don't know what you're talking about." His tone showed his confusion too, he didn't know where the hell to begin in telling Shinji he was utterly wrong and must have fallen and hit his head at some point. Because he was talking crazy talk.
"You don't... y'know? Have to get to know me?" Momo didn't sound very sure of himself as he sat down on the floor, legs crossed and looking down at his hands in his lap, thinking his words through. "I...heh, I don't know what to say to you. I think you're really wrong, but..." Sighing, he finally looked up. "... Don't know you either, Ibu-kun. But Akira and Echizen like you a lot, so... guess we're both in the same boat?" Grinning brightly he just shrugged carelessly.
"Anyway... uh... we can do that other stuff before we leave. The letter, grab the money... Suppose you could call Echizen and ask? Or wait... Be careful though, yeah? Might offend his mom if you try and offer her money."
Shinji: “I wouldn’t want to offend her…” Shinji murmured, standing up. He looked around again, like he was lost in his own room, before abruptly grabbing the letter and going into the kitchen.
“How do we get to know each other?” Shinji asked, raising his voice just enough to be heard in the distance between the rooms. He began yanking open cabinets, looking for something. “Because I want to, and you’re kind of intimidating, you know? I’m not really sure what to say to you, and I don’t like that, because you seem like you’re an easy person to talk to and to be friendly with.”
Momo: Momo was quite as he watched Shinji get up and walk out of the room. He sat wondering for a few seconds if he'd somehow said something wrong. But when he heard the voice calling to him from the other room, he realised that maybe he didn't annoy Shinji, so rose to his feet to follow the other boy. Getting to the kitchen, Momo folded his arms across his chest and propped himself up against the door frame, watching the other mess about with the cupboards.
"... You're... intimidated by me?" Looks mildly amused by that, unable to completely wipe the smile from his lips. "I'm not scary, y'know? Not that hard to talk to. If you want to talk?" He shrugged slightly. "Not that hard."
Shinji: “I am.” Shinji paused and looked over at Momoshiro. “How can you not be? You mean the world to the two most important people in my life. They put a lot of faith in you, and it’s intimidating to be with you and not know you, and to be wondering all sorts of things, and I’m not good at talking anyway.”
Shinji realized what he had said, and flushed. “I mean, I’m not good at the small talk, breaking the ice thing. Once the ice is broken, it’s alright, but until then…is there even any ice to break?” He shook his head, pulling and envelope out of one of the cabinets and shoving it into his pocket. “There has to be if I’m nervous. “Hi. I’m Ibu Shinji.”
Momo: "Okay, maybe mean that much to Akira, because he means that much to me. But Echizen?" Momo gave Shinji a disbelieving look as he moveed away from the door to walk a little further into the kitchen. "We're friends, but... don't think he sees me like that. That's you who's important to him. Not me. And what're you wondering anyway?"
Blinking a bit at the blush that rose to Shinji's cheeks he started grinning, seemingly not able to stop himself. And then held out his hand. "Momoshiro Takeshi, and nothin to be nervous about, Ibu-kun. Think the ice was broken when we started dating each others bestfriends!"
Shinji: Shinji couldn’t help laughing a little. “And Ryo lets tons of people close to him, I know. Believe me, you mean something to him, too.” He shook Momoshiro’s hand. “No, the point where we started dating each other’s best friends was the point where it could’ve gotten really weird really fast, but I guess it did anyway.” He sighed, then yawned. “Sorry. Didn’t sleep well last night. Anyway…what was I wondering? Well…how much you know, mainly, about all of this.” His gesture took in the apartment and the situation as a whole.
Momo: "I didn't mean... I mean I know I mean something to the little shrimp. But important? No..." Shaking his head, he looked rather convinced that he was right and Shinji was wrong. Echizen, to his mind, didn't let anyone close, not even him. Not like he'd let in Shinji.
"... Actually, the point we started dating each others bestfriends, was the point we should have made an effort to talk to each other!" He winked, pulled back his hand and used it to run his fingers through his hair. "But yeah, we should get this thing done so you can rest." Suddenly concerned about the yawn, he almost missed what Shinji said next.
"About this...?" Momo mimicked the gesture, and smiled. "I know that Echizen asked me to come, to help you move and make sure you're okay. That's kinda about it."
Shinji: Shinji decided that it wasn’t worth the effort it would probably take to argue with Momoshiro, so instead he put his focus on arranging his letter just right on the table. “We’re going to have to make more of an effort now,” he pointed out. “We’re being brought into each other’s lives in a way that’s hard to avoid now, if you wanted to avoid it, anyway, which I don’t.”
He looked back up at Momoshiro, finally. “I didn’t know how much Ryo would tell you, or Akira for that matter, since they both know what’s going on here. I kind of hoped someone would, because it’s not fair to send you in as a bodyguard and for you to not know what you’re even guarding against.”
Momo: "Heh, yeah. No way to escape it, huh?" Turning, Momo leant lazily against the counter. "I didn't want to force things with you, honestly. Kept meaning to... make an excuse to get to know you more. Never worked out though."
Glancing up and over at Shinji, he thought through his answer for a moment. As far as he was concerned, it really wasn't any of his business, not yet, anyway. The others didn't seem to think it was either. Kamio hadn't wanted to talk about much of anything so he hadn't pushed him. "It's fair. Thing is, it doesn't matter." A smiles. "I'm here to help you move, Ibu-kun. If I have to play bodyguard too, that's fine. So long as you're out of here and with Echizen at the end of the day, I'll think it a job well done!"
Shinji: Shinji nodded, staring down at the table. “With luck, you won’t even have to see the reason why, anyway. The main one, anyway.” He tried to smile. “I should’ve known that Ryo just didn’t want to haul boxes,” he said, trying to joke. “Who would, when they could just watch pretty cheerleaders, right?”
He pushed away from the table, resolve firm in his eyes. “Might as well go collect up the stuff and see about getting out of here with as few problems as possible. There’s nothing left here for me anymore.”
Momo: Momo gave the other boy a rather strange look then, not really sure how to take his words. There was too little inflection in them, so he wasn't sure of Shinji was being serious, joking, or sarcastic. He was hoping it was all joking, otherwise he might have started to worry. "Think he's trying to make peace with Ryoga's girlfriend, so... Beside, he's half my size. You guy's would have had to make three trips to clear your stuff!"
Momo moved away from where he was leaning to follow Shinji. "Why're you thinking like that? I sorta see it like a new start." Momo looked around the almost bare room. "You'll get away from this place. Soon enough, you'll get away from that school. You've got a boyfriend who loves you, friends who care. Think you've got more going for you than you'd think." He paused, thinking over what he'd just said and then shruged with a sheepish grin. "But eh, what do I know? I'm just talking. You want boxes, yeah? I'll take a few bags too." Stepping further unto the room, Momo grabbed up a duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder before stacking the boxes so he could carry them.
Shinji: Shinji blinked, watching Momoshiro do that. “You know, I was planning on taking the bags, right? I don’t want to overburden you, or hurt you or anything like that, because I’d really never hear the end of it otherwise.” He started picking up his various bags and arranging them around himself, balancing the weight carefully. “It starts something, though, it means you have to end something else, and that’s what this in, an ending, and once I’m outside and on my way, it’ll be a new start, but until then, I’m ending something, and it might be something I want to end, but it’s still an end all the same.”
He looked over at Momoshiro again. “You know a lot more than you’re giving yourself credit for, Momoshiro.”
Momo: Glancing over from what he was doing, he leant a little against the boxes and flashed a warm smile. "Hey, I said no one told me anything. Never said I didn't make guesses. I'm not as dumb as I look. I'm not, not really. I can put two and two together." Shifting his weight he moved and turned to face the boxes he'd stacked, gauging whether or not he could safely lift them and carry them, and knew he could.
"I'll be fine with these though, no problem!" Suiting actions to words, he bent at the knees, and scooped up the boxes, standing a second later and turned to face Shinji. He could just about see over the top of them, but it was fine so long as he managed to keep the other teen in sight. "When you're ready, I'll follow."
Shinji: Like Shinji was going to make Momoshiro stand around like that so he could make a long, lingering goodbye. For one thing, Shinji wasn’t nearly that mean, for another, there wasn’t much outside his own room he had to say goodbye to. He had said goodbye to the memories of his sisters when they left, and he had spent the night before coming to peace with the memories he was leaving behind in his room. The rest of the memories in the apartment -the screaming, the stony silences, the hitting- those, Shinji was more than happy to leave behind.
He paused a moment, touching a dent in the wall that Kamio had made once in anger over…something, Shinji couldn’t even remember the event that had caused it, whether it had been something his parents or Shinji had done. Either way, it didn’t matter. “The change is good for us both,” he said quietly. “It’s proof that there’s happiness, proof of a way out, and maybe one day, neither of us will have to ever hit anything ever again. That would be a nice day.”
Shinji looked back at Momoshiro. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Momo: Momo waited patiently for Shinji to get his things together and then to get himself psyched up to actually leaving. While Momo had never had to do something this life altering, he thought he could understand a little of what Shinji was feeling. Which was why he just stood there quietly, giving the other teen time to sort himself out.
However, when Shinji spoke, Momo smiled and answered him in a softer tone than he'd ever used with Shinji. "If you're open to it, it's out there. Happiness, an escape. I think... if you give it time... You'll realise you sort of already have those things." Still smiling, at the order to go, Momo nodded and walked out of the bedroom door, stopping only when he reached the front door so Shinji could open it.
Shinji: “I know I have more of it than I had ever imagined possible.” Shinji let them out, debated leaving the door unlocked in a last act of pettiness, then was a good boy and locked it, anyway. “Did you know that, for the longest time, I didn’t even believe in love? I didn’t believe in good things. I’m not sure any of us did. Tachibana-san changed some of that when he came, but I don’t think I ever thought about good things until Ryo. And now…maybe it’s that whole light at the end of the tunnel thing, only this tunnel isn’t death.” He navigated the stairs carefully, not wanting to break his neck at this stage.
Momo: "I'm not surprised." Following behind Shinji, his nod of understanding was lost behind the boxes within his arms. "Kamio didn't think he deserved it. Still think he believes he doesn't... Hope he's getting over that." Shakeing his head and he moved a little quicker to follow Shinji down the stairs. "You guys had a hard time though, so it's not strange you didn't believe in love. Heck, I never even thought about it before Akira. It was just something that happened in movies and on TV. Never gave it a second thought..."
"Echizen though... I think he's worse than all of us. Much worse." Reaching the bottom of the steps, Momo shot Shinji a curious look. "He's a mix of us all. Didn't believe in it, didn't believe he deserved it, so didn't think about it. Till you. Think that's why he's killing himself trying to get it right."
Shinji: Shinji bit his lip. “I wish he wouldn’t,” he said, softly. “He does deserve it, and I don’t care if he gets it perfectly right, because it can’t be. We’re still human, right? Even in love there’s going to be mistakes and miscommunication, so it can never be completely right, and I don’t want some perfect…love machine, I just want Ryo.” He sighed. “And I haven’t made it easy for him, I know.”
He looked over at Momoshiro. “I mean it, though. All he has to do to get it right is to just be him. And maybe he’s not meant to ‘get it right’ with me, and that’s okay, too. I’m just glad to love him while I can.”
Momo: Laughing, Momo gave a shrug, not really sure how they'd managed to get onto this topic of conversation and not sure if he should even be talking about it or not. "I'm... not the one you need to convince! Anyway, he's Echizen. He needs to get things right or he thinks he's failed or something. Give him time, think he'll work out relationships are kinda hit and miss, most of the time." It had been like that with him and Kamio during their first month or so. Even now they had a few misunderstandings and troubles. But Momo was convinced those things just made them stronger.
"You told him all that, Ibu-kun? No use tellin me, he's the one that needs to know. But... but I'm glad that's how you feel. Makes me feel better he picked you." Of all the people Echizen could have gone with, Shinji seemed to be the one most capable of dealing with the little tennis prodigy.
Shinji: Shinji glanced over at Momoshiro. “It seems like I did have to convince you, though, otherwise you wouldn’t have said that you were glad, and you would’ve kept wondering if I was the right type of person for Ryo or not,” he pointed out. “And…I thought he knew that, but I don’t know if I ever said it explicitly. I’ll have to sit him down once I’m there and in and tell him that to his face. I’m not sure if he’ll fully believe it, but at least it’ll be something I can work off of.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes, then Shinji broke it, asking a question that he’d been wondering about for some time now. “Why Akira? No, that’s not right, I know why someone would fall in love with him, there’s no mystery to that. I guess I mean….how?”
Momo: Momo shook his head as firmly as he could, mindful of the boxes in his arms and that too much unnecessary movement might cause them to topple. "No no, what I meant was, it's just nice knowing you feel that way, about Echizen! Makes me feel lots better. I mean, I know you two'll be good together. Echizen's not the type to just... randomly jump anyone. He'd have to have a good reason to like someone. I... I am so not making much sense... Sorry." He flashed a sheepish smile at Shinji, suddenly a little unsure of himself.
"Echizen... He's still a kid, no matter what. And he... worries..." Momo didn't want to say too much, it really wasn't his place to say too much. The fact the first time Echizen had ever spilled his heart to him was just a few days ago and involved a hell of a lot of Shinji talk was part of the reason Momo was holding back on saying a lot of things. "Talking to him though? Yeah... that's good. Talking. You should do that!"
Happy he'd said that much without going into details, Momo was content to walk in silence then. It didn't matter to him that they were getting a few curious looks from people on the street, they were past them and on their way before he could give them a second thought. So, lost in a world of his own for the moment, Momo almost jumped when Shinji started talking again, and flushed a deep red at the question he asked. "I... well... Honestly? It'll make me sound weird... You sure you want to know?"
Shinji: Shinji looked down at the ground, and, again, silently questioned how much Momoshiro knew, or thought he knew, and how much of it Shinji thought he should know, too. “He likes to tell me not to worry,” he said. “Which makes me worry more, and then I wasn’t in a good position to pin him down the past couple of days. I can now, though, living there and all.” He looked back up at Momoshiro. “You know that saying it’d make you look weird wasn’t going to change my mind, right?”
Momo: "Everyone says don't worry or it's not important." Frowning a bit, Momo couldn't help remembering how much he hated those last words. Kamio used to use them on him a hell of a lot back when they were first starting out. It had drove him mad, because he'd always knew that when Kamio said that, he was lying. And catching his fiancé in a lie was a painful thing. They'd gotten better since, once Kamio realised telling the truth was a hell of a lot better than getting yelled at for a lie. "Usually is something to worry about or important. Usually, anyway. Rare cases, it's actually just stupid enough to really not be important!"
"Hehe, yeah, I figured. But I had to ask, right?" He paused then for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and his courage, because he was about to make himself look rather strange in front of someone he hardly knew. "It was his smile that did it. First time he actually, honestly, smiled at me." Watching Shinji out the corner of his eye, he continued. "It... was weird for a bit. Once we stopped yelling at each other and fighting, it was actually... really nice being with him. I felt comfortable. It's hard to explain. I really liked being around him. Wasn't until I actually got him to smile. Properly smile... did I realise why I liked being around him so much..."
"As for why... That's hard to say too. There's just something about him..." He grinned. "People say I've got a thing for redheads. But Akira... he's just... different." Shrugging helplessly, Momo really wasn't sure how else to say it without waxing poetic and making a true fool of himself.
Shinji: Shinji processed all that quietly, turning the words over and over again in his mind. “Sometimes,” he said quietly, “I wonder if it’s a sign that he doesn’t trust me much, the way he wants me to talk, but not worry about him. He doesn’t talk much, true, but sometimes…nevermind. I’ll ask him about that, too, now that we’re going to be living together.” He nodded, his mind made up on that score.
“I’d like to comment on everything you said about Akira, but I can’t, not without making it sound like I have an untold passion for him,” he said instead, changing the subject. “I’m just glad that he found someone like you.”
Momo: "Give him time. That's all I can say, Ibu-kun. Akira... he was like Echizen is now. Not wanting to talk too much, downplaying things, his feelings. He'll get better. Just needs to get used to them, I think. Nothing you've done, it's not a trust issue. It's... uh... Actually, no, it's a trust thing. I think. But trust in himself. Think about it, how much did he used to talk? This must be weird for him. Heck, it's weird for me hearing him talk!" Momo was trying to keep his tone light and cheerful, despite the subject matter. Because he knew that, if given time, Echizen would adjust and get used to everything. Time was the key factor in most things.
At Shinji's next words however, Momo threw his head back and started to laugh. He didn't calm down for a good few minutes, and when he did he was grinning like an idiot. "'Untold passion'? Y'know, there was a time when I thought you two... had a thing. Guess I was wrong, huh? Did you ever like him like that though? Just curious!" Belatedly he wondered if he shouldn't have asked that, but he wasn't the type to fly into a jealous rage, even if he found out Shinji had feelings for Kamio now. It really was just curiosity on Momo's part. "... hey, wait, 'someone like you'? Like me? What do you mean?"
Shinji: Shinji nodded. “He talks with me, usually. It’s just lately he hasn’t wanted to be talking. He says it’s because it’s been hard for me lately, but I get paranoid and wonder if I did something wrong, or if it’s true that sex changes everything, but I’ll give him time, but I’m going to keep at him too, because I don’t want him to think that I don’t care, either.” He really wasn’t paying too much attention to what he was saying.
He did blush, though, at Momoshiro’s question about Akira. “No, we never had a ‘thing.’ I thought he was hung up on An-chan, so I wasn’t going to be making any moves, though, come to think of it, I thought you were hung up on her, too, but in any case, there was no ‘thing’.” He bit his lip. “Did I ever like him like that? Yes and no. I had a small crush on him at one point, but it went away, and he’s my best friend in the world, so I’m glad I never said anything to him, but no, no pining over Akira here.”
Shinji arched a brow, looking at Momoshiro. “Someone like you. Someone who’s outgoing and patient and willing to take the time to draw him out of his moodiness and not just yell back when he yells, though you did that a lot, too.”
Momo: Momo was quiet as he walked on a little more, just itching to actually spill what he knew, but knowing he would be just causing trouble and breaking the trust his bestfriend had in him. So he held his tongue for the most part. He could say some things though, that wasn't against the rules. "I think, yeah, sex changes things. And I think... you shouldn't be so paranoid. Because... Think about it. You managed to worry Akira... Echizen is, like I said, still pretty much a kid. Especially about feelings and things. So you've got a kid on your hands, confused, probably scared, and trying to be brave about it. It's... less about you, more about him thinking he can deal alone like he used to." There, he'd managed to say what he wanted without actually saying too much. Momo was feeling rather proud of himself.
Until he almost choked at what Shinji said next. "An-chan?! I... well... that was weird. She was playing us, y'know? I liked her, still like her! She's a good friend. But never had feelings for her beside that. Akira, I think he was hung up on her because she's Tachibana's sister. Big brother sort of deal. Could be wrong, never really talked about that." A pause. "Never thought you were pining, or would be. It's just something that made me wonder. Would have asked Akira, but he would have spazzed and passed out or something!"
"We... don't yell nearly as much these days. Thinking about it, I don't yell that much lately. Not even at Kaidoh! Guess I've changed too..." Shrugging, Momo somehow looked rather happy about that. "So you're... okay with us? Me and Akira?"
Shinji: “Well, that just makes me feel like a paedophile, and I’m only a year older.” Shinji scowled a little. “Next, I’ll have used candy to lure him into a van or something. Am I his boyfriend or a sexual predator?” He sighed. “He can lean on me, you know. I mean, I suck, but not that badly.”
He chuckled at Momoshiro’s description of An. “Maybe it was a big brother thing for him. I don’t know. Could have been the latent crush we all had on Tachibana-san. Or not so latent, in a couple cases.” He blinked. “Why wouldn’t I be okay with you two?”
Momo: "... Hey, that's not what I meant!" Groaning, Momo lent his forehead against the boxes in his arms and wished for a good wall to just bash his head against. He hated it when he tried explaining himself and it came out sounding worse than he'd intended. "It's not what I meant... " He repeated in a softer tone, sighing. "To me, he'll always be that cocky kid who took on Seigaku and won himself a place on the team and in their hearts. Even if he doesn't really believe that last bit. But..." Lifting his head, he looked over at Shinji and smiled. "You gotta know he sucks when it comes to people and stuff, right? His emotional range was based on tennis, not love. Not even friendship! He's only just come around to that! I've been at him since I met him and... it's only been the last few weeks, the last month, I actually felt like my friendship was returned. Y'know? Maybe you don't..."
Momo was a bit afraid he was destined to not make sense in this conversation, and tried desperately to find another topic to talk about, but in the end gave a mental shrug because he had no idea. "Just wondered, really. ... I thought that's why you didn't like me. Because I was with Akira. Maybe you thought I wasn't good enough for him or something...?" Momo flushed a little, realising how that sounded. "It worried me. Cause I... I really wouldn't know how to deal with that if you did... Think that, I mean."
Shinji: “I might not know. We know him in two different ways, so….” Shinji sighed. “I’ll work at him in my own way and understand him in my own way, I guess. As long as we’re both happy in the end, it works, right?” He blinked. “And I never didn’t like you. It’s…I think….” He groaned. “If I explain myself, I’m going to sound like a complete and total asshole, alright?”
Momo: Momo laughed and nodded. "Yeah, guess you've got a point there. Good luck with that anyway. Hope you can get through to him. I kinda like this Echizen, he's easier to talk to." Amused, Momo watched Shinji's expression do something he figured was rather smiler to what his had done only moments before.
"It's alright. Don't have to explain yourself. If you say you didn't not like me, then I'll believe you! It was just... I dunno, a feeling I got? Guess I was being paranoid or something. Didn't know you so well so... I assumed. Sorry about that."
Shinji: “I didn’t want to like you.” Shinji decided he could be blunt about it now. “In fact, I wanted to hate you. I wanted to find something wrong with you. But I can’t and now I really can’t be upset, but I really did want to hate you for awhile there.”
Momo: That... surprised Momo. He'd never actually had anyone want to hate him beside Kaidoh, but that had been because of their rivalry. When he thought about it, he'd imagined they would have been friends if it hadn't been for that. But to know someone had wanted to hate him, even if they'd not been able to, was a little scary for him. It took him a long minute to actually work up the ability to say something back.
"I... Wow. Okay, I'm not sure what to say to that. Other than... 'why'? Why did you wanna hate me?" He didn't look at Shinji this time, was actually a little nervous of what he might see in the other teens eyes. But he wanted to know the reason behind why Shinji had wanted to hate him. To clear his mind, if nothing else.
Shinji: “Why?” Should shrugged. “Because you took away my best friend, of course. Before anyone knew about you two, he was always running and sneaking off to see you, and after…well, he just had no time for anyone, not really. So, yeah, I was jealous of you because of that, and I just…wanted to hate you, but I know it had just as much to do with Akira as you, probably more to do with him, since you seem to find more time for friends, so, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, anyway, because I don’t hate you.”
Momo: "He didn't... I..." Momo stopped, shaking his head and frowned deeply, not completely liking that explanation, but knowing it was something that had happened before. Not long ago, Echizen had confronted him about the fact Momo had been neglecting him and had pretty much ordered him to go out and do something with him. At the time Momo had just laughed and agreed, but the more he'd thought about it the more he'd felt bad. So he'd tried hard since then to spend time with his friend. Shinji... it seemed, was in the same position as Echizen had been. And Momo couldn't help feeling guilty about that again.
"I'm... really, really sorry. It was just... really new to us, y'know? To him especially. He... just wanted to escape, like you do. I gave him that option and he took it and... I'm sorry he forgot about you guys. You understand that now, don't you?" Momo looked over at Shinji now, curious. "Things have settled now, so... You two can still be friends, right? I've not screwed that up for you?"
Shinji: “I don’t think you actually screwed anything up, Momoshiro.” Shinji wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted to talk about this at all, but it was his own fault for starting it. “It’s not like you were chaining him down and making him spend all of his time with you, and I probably gave up easier than I should’ve when he was always busy because I just didn’t want to know I’d be losing.”
Momo: "You didn't lose though. I mean, he's still there. He's not gone anywhere. And like you said, he's not chained down, or chained to me. Thing'll change soon, now everything's more relaxed. It was just... Those first few months, it was... It was hard to be apart. I messed up with Echizen too... Saw him at school and everything, but after? I sort of... stopped doing that. Till he made me realise what I was doing. Didn't mean to, just... got caught up in Akira." Love seemed to be blind in a lot of respects, but Momo was really convinced that things would start to change now. With Echizen making an effort to get to know Kamio, and now he was talking to Shinji, he hoped that things would be easier between them all.
"For what it's worth though... I'm really sorry it happened. Maybe we can make it up to you guys sometime?"
When: Saturday, 13th.
Where: Shinji's apartment, Echizen's house.
Summary: Momo helps Shinji to move out.
Warning/Rating: PG
Player Comments: None.
Comments/Crits Allowed: Yes.
Shinji: Shinji fiddled with one of his bags for what seemed like the fiftieth time in five minutes, glancing at the clock a little nervously. Ryoma had assured him that Momoshiro was in fact coming, and that he hadn’t had any problems with helping Shinji, but Shinji was still extremely nervous about the entire process. I don’t know him that well, and he doesn’t know me that well, and what if he doesn’t approve, that could be awkward, since he’s engaged to my best friend, and it could get awkward for Akira, then, not to mention Ryo, if his best friend hates his boyfriend, and….
He took a deep breath, making himself relax. “I’m being stupid because I’m nervous,” he muttered to himself, looking at the door again. He just hoped that Momoshiro got there soon.
Momo: Not nearly as confident in his navigation skills as he'd like to think, Momo had gotten just a little lost trying to get to Shinji's place, despite the fact Echizen had given him pretty good directions. He was a good 10 minutes late to arriving when he'd set off early to he would make a better impression. That failed, epically, he just hoped that Shinji wouldn't think any less of him for being late.
As he entered the apartment and headed up to Shinji's place, Momo started thinking of interesting and more amazing excuses and reasons for why he was so late. He was stuck on ninja's again when he knocked at the door.
Shinji: Shinji nearly fell over at the knock on his door, and he pulled it open, almost forgetting to check that it was someone he’d actually want to open the door for first. “Thank you for coming, Momoshiro,” he said, moving aside so that Momoshiro could enter the apartment. “Ryo said you didn’t mind, but he was also a little worried when you weren’t here yet, so maybe you did mind, and if you did, you shouldn’t have let him bully you into it, you know.”
Momo: Momo was ready to launch into his story about ninja's and maybe a zombie invasion, but stopped short when, as soon as the door opened for him, Shinji launched into his own little rant... Which caused Momo to grin. "I got lost." He admitted once Shinji had run out of steam. "Echizen asked me to come over, so I came over. Didn't bully me. Heck, he doesn't normally ask me for anything, so this..." he shrugged and stepped into the apartment. "I'm sorry I took so long, though. Meant to be early too.."
Shinji: “Everyone gets lost around here the first few times, which is why we try not to let anyone come over after dark. It’s frustrating, but it’s safer that way…you didn’t run into any trouble, did you?” Shinji was already looking Momoshiro over for any signs that he had been jumped or harassed in any way. “I’m grateful that you came to help, though, Momoshiro. Ryoma is, too, I’m sure. He was…nervous, about me doing this alone.”
Momo: Momo caught the look Shinji was giving him and grinned even wider. He'd seen Kamio giving him just such a look before, until his fiancé had realised he could handle himself. But Shinji didn't have that same knowledge. "No trouble, nothing I couldn't handle, anyway." Most people seemed to avoid him for some reason, which was just fine with him.
"Call me Momo, yeah?" Rubbing his hands together, he looked around for what needed to be done. "So what first? And... yeah, Echizen seemed nervous about this. Never asked him why though, Won't ask you either. Just here to help!"
Shinji: Shinji shook his head slowly, leading Momoshiro back to his room. “He had reason to be nervous, I guess, though it could’ve been a lot worse, honestly. We’re getting lucky with this, I think.”
He looked around his room, really noticing how bare it was. “I have a few bags and a couple boxes. Furniture isn’t coming, obviously, and there’s something I just don’t want to hold on to, or it’s pointless to hold on to.” Shinji rummaged in his school bag and pulled out an envelope. “And I have to remember to leave this somewhere that my father might actually see it.” He looked Momoshiro up and down. “If you think you can handle the boxes, it might only be one trip. Otherwise, just two trips, I think.”
Momo: Following the other teen into the bedroom, Momo immediately moved over to the boxes. Hefting one up, he checked the weight and then set it down to lift another, listening to Shinji talk as he did this. "Guess so." A grin. "Glad you're not taking the furniture. Don't have a car." Belatedly he wondered if he should have enlisted his dad to help him move the things, but he thought he could handle the boxes on his own.
"Nah, think it'll just take one trip. I can deal with the boxes. I can, so long as you're okay with the rest?" Straightening up he looked over at Shinji with a smile. "We'll have you outta here in no time."
Shinji: Shinji nodded. “Yeah…just my school bag, my tennis bag, and a couple duffel bags…it’s really not that much….” He sat on the edge of his bed, looking around the room, feeling almost…lost, in a way. “I’m having a hard time believing I’m doing this,” he muttered softly, clearly talking to himself, only not so much, since he was speaking aloud. “I want to, I’m happy about it, but it doesn’t seem real yet, like someone’s going to stop me, or Ryo’s going to change his mind….”
Momo: Momo looked around at the bags, wondering if he could grab a few of them too, or if he would look more like a pack horse than a guy just helping out a friend. It didn't much matter to him, really. But if something did happen on the way to Echizen's place, he would be pretty useless if his hands were completely full. Dropping everything was an option, he just hoped there was nothing too breakable in the boxes.
Then he realised that Shinji was talking, and Momo shook himself out of his strange thoughts to give the other boy his attention... and frowned. "Moving's weird, give you that much. But Echizen changing his mind? You think like that, Ibu-kun, and I'm goin to think you're nuts. Echizen doesn't do anything, anything without a reason. Don't think he'd change his mind for anything. Well, unless you didn't want to move in, which I'd understand. His families kinda weird..." He trailed off, realising he was talking a bit too much.
Shinji: Shinji looked up at Momoshiro, studying him, trying to figure him out. “I don’t really know you,” he said bluntly. “Everyone says I should know you, or, well, Akira and Ryo say it, and that’s close enough to everyone that really matters to me. What about you inspires such unwavering devotion, anyway, because I’m not sure it makes complete sense, but then, I don’t know you, so I guess it can’t make sense.”
He tapped one of his boxes with his toe, listening to it. “I need to leave that note, and I think I’m going to make sure I get any money he had left for me, because I really shouldn’t turn up at Ryo’s empty-handed…and he never even told me what I’m supposed to be paying his family for letting me stay, I really need to fix that.”
Momo: Momo flushed a bit at the look he was getting, but at the things Shinji said to him, he couldn't help looking mildly confused. "I... don't know what you're talking about." His tone showed his confusion too, he didn't know where the hell to begin in telling Shinji he was utterly wrong and must have fallen and hit his head at some point. Because he was talking crazy talk.
"You don't... y'know? Have to get to know me?" Momo didn't sound very sure of himself as he sat down on the floor, legs crossed and looking down at his hands in his lap, thinking his words through. "I...heh, I don't know what to say to you. I think you're really wrong, but..." Sighing, he finally looked up. "... Don't know you either, Ibu-kun. But Akira and Echizen like you a lot, so... guess we're both in the same boat?" Grinning brightly he just shrugged carelessly.
"Anyway... uh... we can do that other stuff before we leave. The letter, grab the money... Suppose you could call Echizen and ask? Or wait... Be careful though, yeah? Might offend his mom if you try and offer her money."
Shinji: “I wouldn’t want to offend her…” Shinji murmured, standing up. He looked around again, like he was lost in his own room, before abruptly grabbing the letter and going into the kitchen.
“How do we get to know each other?” Shinji asked, raising his voice just enough to be heard in the distance between the rooms. He began yanking open cabinets, looking for something. “Because I want to, and you’re kind of intimidating, you know? I’m not really sure what to say to you, and I don’t like that, because you seem like you’re an easy person to talk to and to be friendly with.”
Momo: Momo was quite as he watched Shinji get up and walk out of the room. He sat wondering for a few seconds if he'd somehow said something wrong. But when he heard the voice calling to him from the other room, he realised that maybe he didn't annoy Shinji, so rose to his feet to follow the other boy. Getting to the kitchen, Momo folded his arms across his chest and propped himself up against the door frame, watching the other mess about with the cupboards.
"... You're... intimidated by me?" Looks mildly amused by that, unable to completely wipe the smile from his lips. "I'm not scary, y'know? Not that hard to talk to. If you want to talk?" He shrugged slightly. "Not that hard."
Shinji: “I am.” Shinji paused and looked over at Momoshiro. “How can you not be? You mean the world to the two most important people in my life. They put a lot of faith in you, and it’s intimidating to be with you and not know you, and to be wondering all sorts of things, and I’m not good at talking anyway.”
Shinji realized what he had said, and flushed. “I mean, I’m not good at the small talk, breaking the ice thing. Once the ice is broken, it’s alright, but until then…is there even any ice to break?” He shook his head, pulling and envelope out of one of the cabinets and shoving it into his pocket. “There has to be if I’m nervous. “Hi. I’m Ibu Shinji.”
Momo: "Okay, maybe mean that much to Akira, because he means that much to me. But Echizen?" Momo gave Shinji a disbelieving look as he moveed away from the door to walk a little further into the kitchen. "We're friends, but... don't think he sees me like that. That's you who's important to him. Not me. And what're you wondering anyway?"
Blinking a bit at the blush that rose to Shinji's cheeks he started grinning, seemingly not able to stop himself. And then held out his hand. "Momoshiro Takeshi, and nothin to be nervous about, Ibu-kun. Think the ice was broken when we started dating each others bestfriends!"
Shinji: Shinji couldn’t help laughing a little. “And Ryo lets tons of people close to him, I know. Believe me, you mean something to him, too.” He shook Momoshiro’s hand. “No, the point where we started dating each other’s best friends was the point where it could’ve gotten really weird really fast, but I guess it did anyway.” He sighed, then yawned. “Sorry. Didn’t sleep well last night. Anyway…what was I wondering? Well…how much you know, mainly, about all of this.” His gesture took in the apartment and the situation as a whole.
Momo: "I didn't mean... I mean I know I mean something to the little shrimp. But important? No..." Shaking his head, he looked rather convinced that he was right and Shinji was wrong. Echizen, to his mind, didn't let anyone close, not even him. Not like he'd let in Shinji.
"... Actually, the point we started dating each others bestfriends, was the point we should have made an effort to talk to each other!" He winked, pulled back his hand and used it to run his fingers through his hair. "But yeah, we should get this thing done so you can rest." Suddenly concerned about the yawn, he almost missed what Shinji said next.
"About this...?" Momo mimicked the gesture, and smiled. "I know that Echizen asked me to come, to help you move and make sure you're okay. That's kinda about it."
Shinji: Shinji decided that it wasn’t worth the effort it would probably take to argue with Momoshiro, so instead he put his focus on arranging his letter just right on the table. “We’re going to have to make more of an effort now,” he pointed out. “We’re being brought into each other’s lives in a way that’s hard to avoid now, if you wanted to avoid it, anyway, which I don’t.”
He looked back up at Momoshiro, finally. “I didn’t know how much Ryo would tell you, or Akira for that matter, since they both know what’s going on here. I kind of hoped someone would, because it’s not fair to send you in as a bodyguard and for you to not know what you’re even guarding against.”
Momo: "Heh, yeah. No way to escape it, huh?" Turning, Momo leant lazily against the counter. "I didn't want to force things with you, honestly. Kept meaning to... make an excuse to get to know you more. Never worked out though."
Glancing up and over at Shinji, he thought through his answer for a moment. As far as he was concerned, it really wasn't any of his business, not yet, anyway. The others didn't seem to think it was either. Kamio hadn't wanted to talk about much of anything so he hadn't pushed him. "It's fair. Thing is, it doesn't matter." A smiles. "I'm here to help you move, Ibu-kun. If I have to play bodyguard too, that's fine. So long as you're out of here and with Echizen at the end of the day, I'll think it a job well done!"
Shinji: Shinji nodded, staring down at the table. “With luck, you won’t even have to see the reason why, anyway. The main one, anyway.” He tried to smile. “I should’ve known that Ryo just didn’t want to haul boxes,” he said, trying to joke. “Who would, when they could just watch pretty cheerleaders, right?”
He pushed away from the table, resolve firm in his eyes. “Might as well go collect up the stuff and see about getting out of here with as few problems as possible. There’s nothing left here for me anymore.”
Momo: Momo gave the other boy a rather strange look then, not really sure how to take his words. There was too little inflection in them, so he wasn't sure of Shinji was being serious, joking, or sarcastic. He was hoping it was all joking, otherwise he might have started to worry. "Think he's trying to make peace with Ryoga's girlfriend, so... Beside, he's half my size. You guy's would have had to make three trips to clear your stuff!"
Momo moved away from where he was leaning to follow Shinji. "Why're you thinking like that? I sorta see it like a new start." Momo looked around the almost bare room. "You'll get away from this place. Soon enough, you'll get away from that school. You've got a boyfriend who loves you, friends who care. Think you've got more going for you than you'd think." He paused, thinking over what he'd just said and then shruged with a sheepish grin. "But eh, what do I know? I'm just talking. You want boxes, yeah? I'll take a few bags too." Stepping further unto the room, Momo grabbed up a duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder before stacking the boxes so he could carry them.
Shinji: Shinji blinked, watching Momoshiro do that. “You know, I was planning on taking the bags, right? I don’t want to overburden you, or hurt you or anything like that, because I’d really never hear the end of it otherwise.” He started picking up his various bags and arranging them around himself, balancing the weight carefully. “It starts something, though, it means you have to end something else, and that’s what this in, an ending, and once I’m outside and on my way, it’ll be a new start, but until then, I’m ending something, and it might be something I want to end, but it’s still an end all the same.”
He looked over at Momoshiro again. “You know a lot more than you’re giving yourself credit for, Momoshiro.”
Momo: Glancing over from what he was doing, he leant a little against the boxes and flashed a warm smile. "Hey, I said no one told me anything. Never said I didn't make guesses. I'm not as dumb as I look. I'm not, not really. I can put two and two together." Shifting his weight he moved and turned to face the boxes he'd stacked, gauging whether or not he could safely lift them and carry them, and knew he could.
"I'll be fine with these though, no problem!" Suiting actions to words, he bent at the knees, and scooped up the boxes, standing a second later and turned to face Shinji. He could just about see over the top of them, but it was fine so long as he managed to keep the other teen in sight. "When you're ready, I'll follow."
Shinji: Like Shinji was going to make Momoshiro stand around like that so he could make a long, lingering goodbye. For one thing, Shinji wasn’t nearly that mean, for another, there wasn’t much outside his own room he had to say goodbye to. He had said goodbye to the memories of his sisters when they left, and he had spent the night before coming to peace with the memories he was leaving behind in his room. The rest of the memories in the apartment -the screaming, the stony silences, the hitting- those, Shinji was more than happy to leave behind.
He paused a moment, touching a dent in the wall that Kamio had made once in anger over…something, Shinji couldn’t even remember the event that had caused it, whether it had been something his parents or Shinji had done. Either way, it didn’t matter. “The change is good for us both,” he said quietly. “It’s proof that there’s happiness, proof of a way out, and maybe one day, neither of us will have to ever hit anything ever again. That would be a nice day.”
Shinji looked back at Momoshiro. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Momo: Momo waited patiently for Shinji to get his things together and then to get himself psyched up to actually leaving. While Momo had never had to do something this life altering, he thought he could understand a little of what Shinji was feeling. Which was why he just stood there quietly, giving the other teen time to sort himself out.
However, when Shinji spoke, Momo smiled and answered him in a softer tone than he'd ever used with Shinji. "If you're open to it, it's out there. Happiness, an escape. I think... if you give it time... You'll realise you sort of already have those things." Still smiling, at the order to go, Momo nodded and walked out of the bedroom door, stopping only when he reached the front door so Shinji could open it.
Shinji: “I know I have more of it than I had ever imagined possible.” Shinji let them out, debated leaving the door unlocked in a last act of pettiness, then was a good boy and locked it, anyway. “Did you know that, for the longest time, I didn’t even believe in love? I didn’t believe in good things. I’m not sure any of us did. Tachibana-san changed some of that when he came, but I don’t think I ever thought about good things until Ryo. And now…maybe it’s that whole light at the end of the tunnel thing, only this tunnel isn’t death.” He navigated the stairs carefully, not wanting to break his neck at this stage.
Momo: "I'm not surprised." Following behind Shinji, his nod of understanding was lost behind the boxes within his arms. "Kamio didn't think he deserved it. Still think he believes he doesn't... Hope he's getting over that." Shakeing his head and he moved a little quicker to follow Shinji down the stairs. "You guys had a hard time though, so it's not strange you didn't believe in love. Heck, I never even thought about it before Akira. It was just something that happened in movies and on TV. Never gave it a second thought..."
"Echizen though... I think he's worse than all of us. Much worse." Reaching the bottom of the steps, Momo shot Shinji a curious look. "He's a mix of us all. Didn't believe in it, didn't believe he deserved it, so didn't think about it. Till you. Think that's why he's killing himself trying to get it right."
Shinji: Shinji bit his lip. “I wish he wouldn’t,” he said, softly. “He does deserve it, and I don’t care if he gets it perfectly right, because it can’t be. We’re still human, right? Even in love there’s going to be mistakes and miscommunication, so it can never be completely right, and I don’t want some perfect…love machine, I just want Ryo.” He sighed. “And I haven’t made it easy for him, I know.”
He looked over at Momoshiro. “I mean it, though. All he has to do to get it right is to just be him. And maybe he’s not meant to ‘get it right’ with me, and that’s okay, too. I’m just glad to love him while I can.”
Momo: Laughing, Momo gave a shrug, not really sure how they'd managed to get onto this topic of conversation and not sure if he should even be talking about it or not. "I'm... not the one you need to convince! Anyway, he's Echizen. He needs to get things right or he thinks he's failed or something. Give him time, think he'll work out relationships are kinda hit and miss, most of the time." It had been like that with him and Kamio during their first month or so. Even now they had a few misunderstandings and troubles. But Momo was convinced those things just made them stronger.
"You told him all that, Ibu-kun? No use tellin me, he's the one that needs to know. But... but I'm glad that's how you feel. Makes me feel better he picked you." Of all the people Echizen could have gone with, Shinji seemed to be the one most capable of dealing with the little tennis prodigy.
Shinji: Shinji glanced over at Momoshiro. “It seems like I did have to convince you, though, otherwise you wouldn’t have said that you were glad, and you would’ve kept wondering if I was the right type of person for Ryo or not,” he pointed out. “And…I thought he knew that, but I don’t know if I ever said it explicitly. I’ll have to sit him down once I’m there and in and tell him that to his face. I’m not sure if he’ll fully believe it, but at least it’ll be something I can work off of.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes, then Shinji broke it, asking a question that he’d been wondering about for some time now. “Why Akira? No, that’s not right, I know why someone would fall in love with him, there’s no mystery to that. I guess I mean….how?”
Momo: Momo shook his head as firmly as he could, mindful of the boxes in his arms and that too much unnecessary movement might cause them to topple. "No no, what I meant was, it's just nice knowing you feel that way, about Echizen! Makes me feel lots better. I mean, I know you two'll be good together. Echizen's not the type to just... randomly jump anyone. He'd have to have a good reason to like someone. I... I am so not making much sense... Sorry." He flashed a sheepish smile at Shinji, suddenly a little unsure of himself.
"Echizen... He's still a kid, no matter what. And he... worries..." Momo didn't want to say too much, it really wasn't his place to say too much. The fact the first time Echizen had ever spilled his heart to him was just a few days ago and involved a hell of a lot of Shinji talk was part of the reason Momo was holding back on saying a lot of things. "Talking to him though? Yeah... that's good. Talking. You should do that!"
Happy he'd said that much without going into details, Momo was content to walk in silence then. It didn't matter to him that they were getting a few curious looks from people on the street, they were past them and on their way before he could give them a second thought. So, lost in a world of his own for the moment, Momo almost jumped when Shinji started talking again, and flushed a deep red at the question he asked. "I... well... Honestly? It'll make me sound weird... You sure you want to know?"
Shinji: Shinji looked down at the ground, and, again, silently questioned how much Momoshiro knew, or thought he knew, and how much of it Shinji thought he should know, too. “He likes to tell me not to worry,” he said. “Which makes me worry more, and then I wasn’t in a good position to pin him down the past couple of days. I can now, though, living there and all.” He looked back up at Momoshiro. “You know that saying it’d make you look weird wasn’t going to change my mind, right?”
Momo: "Everyone says don't worry or it's not important." Frowning a bit, Momo couldn't help remembering how much he hated those last words. Kamio used to use them on him a hell of a lot back when they were first starting out. It had drove him mad, because he'd always knew that when Kamio said that, he was lying. And catching his fiancé in a lie was a painful thing. They'd gotten better since, once Kamio realised telling the truth was a hell of a lot better than getting yelled at for a lie. "Usually is something to worry about or important. Usually, anyway. Rare cases, it's actually just stupid enough to really not be important!"
"Hehe, yeah, I figured. But I had to ask, right?" He paused then for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and his courage, because he was about to make himself look rather strange in front of someone he hardly knew. "It was his smile that did it. First time he actually, honestly, smiled at me." Watching Shinji out the corner of his eye, he continued. "It... was weird for a bit. Once we stopped yelling at each other and fighting, it was actually... really nice being with him. I felt comfortable. It's hard to explain. I really liked being around him. Wasn't until I actually got him to smile. Properly smile... did I realise why I liked being around him so much..."
"As for why... That's hard to say too. There's just something about him..." He grinned. "People say I've got a thing for redheads. But Akira... he's just... different." Shrugging helplessly, Momo really wasn't sure how else to say it without waxing poetic and making a true fool of himself.
Shinji: Shinji processed all that quietly, turning the words over and over again in his mind. “Sometimes,” he said quietly, “I wonder if it’s a sign that he doesn’t trust me much, the way he wants me to talk, but not worry about him. He doesn’t talk much, true, but sometimes…nevermind. I’ll ask him about that, too, now that we’re going to be living together.” He nodded, his mind made up on that score.
“I’d like to comment on everything you said about Akira, but I can’t, not without making it sound like I have an untold passion for him,” he said instead, changing the subject. “I’m just glad that he found someone like you.”
Momo: "Give him time. That's all I can say, Ibu-kun. Akira... he was like Echizen is now. Not wanting to talk too much, downplaying things, his feelings. He'll get better. Just needs to get used to them, I think. Nothing you've done, it's not a trust issue. It's... uh... Actually, no, it's a trust thing. I think. But trust in himself. Think about it, how much did he used to talk? This must be weird for him. Heck, it's weird for me hearing him talk!" Momo was trying to keep his tone light and cheerful, despite the subject matter. Because he knew that, if given time, Echizen would adjust and get used to everything. Time was the key factor in most things.
At Shinji's next words however, Momo threw his head back and started to laugh. He didn't calm down for a good few minutes, and when he did he was grinning like an idiot. "'Untold passion'? Y'know, there was a time when I thought you two... had a thing. Guess I was wrong, huh? Did you ever like him like that though? Just curious!" Belatedly he wondered if he shouldn't have asked that, but he wasn't the type to fly into a jealous rage, even if he found out Shinji had feelings for Kamio now. It really was just curiosity on Momo's part. "... hey, wait, 'someone like you'? Like me? What do you mean?"
Shinji: Shinji nodded. “He talks with me, usually. It’s just lately he hasn’t wanted to be talking. He says it’s because it’s been hard for me lately, but I get paranoid and wonder if I did something wrong, or if it’s true that sex changes everything, but I’ll give him time, but I’m going to keep at him too, because I don’t want him to think that I don’t care, either.” He really wasn’t paying too much attention to what he was saying.
He did blush, though, at Momoshiro’s question about Akira. “No, we never had a ‘thing.’ I thought he was hung up on An-chan, so I wasn’t going to be making any moves, though, come to think of it, I thought you were hung up on her, too, but in any case, there was no ‘thing’.” He bit his lip. “Did I ever like him like that? Yes and no. I had a small crush on him at one point, but it went away, and he’s my best friend in the world, so I’m glad I never said anything to him, but no, no pining over Akira here.”
Shinji arched a brow, looking at Momoshiro. “Someone like you. Someone who’s outgoing and patient and willing to take the time to draw him out of his moodiness and not just yell back when he yells, though you did that a lot, too.”
Momo: Momo was quiet as he walked on a little more, just itching to actually spill what he knew, but knowing he would be just causing trouble and breaking the trust his bestfriend had in him. So he held his tongue for the most part. He could say some things though, that wasn't against the rules. "I think, yeah, sex changes things. And I think... you shouldn't be so paranoid. Because... Think about it. You managed to worry Akira... Echizen is, like I said, still pretty much a kid. Especially about feelings and things. So you've got a kid on your hands, confused, probably scared, and trying to be brave about it. It's... less about you, more about him thinking he can deal alone like he used to." There, he'd managed to say what he wanted without actually saying too much. Momo was feeling rather proud of himself.
Until he almost choked at what Shinji said next. "An-chan?! I... well... that was weird. She was playing us, y'know? I liked her, still like her! She's a good friend. But never had feelings for her beside that. Akira, I think he was hung up on her because she's Tachibana's sister. Big brother sort of deal. Could be wrong, never really talked about that." A pause. "Never thought you were pining, or would be. It's just something that made me wonder. Would have asked Akira, but he would have spazzed and passed out or something!"
"We... don't yell nearly as much these days. Thinking about it, I don't yell that much lately. Not even at Kaidoh! Guess I've changed too..." Shrugging, Momo somehow looked rather happy about that. "So you're... okay with us? Me and Akira?"
Shinji: “Well, that just makes me feel like a paedophile, and I’m only a year older.” Shinji scowled a little. “Next, I’ll have used candy to lure him into a van or something. Am I his boyfriend or a sexual predator?” He sighed. “He can lean on me, you know. I mean, I suck, but not that badly.”
He chuckled at Momoshiro’s description of An. “Maybe it was a big brother thing for him. I don’t know. Could have been the latent crush we all had on Tachibana-san. Or not so latent, in a couple cases.” He blinked. “Why wouldn’t I be okay with you two?”
Momo: "... Hey, that's not what I meant!" Groaning, Momo lent his forehead against the boxes in his arms and wished for a good wall to just bash his head against. He hated it when he tried explaining himself and it came out sounding worse than he'd intended. "It's not what I meant... " He repeated in a softer tone, sighing. "To me, he'll always be that cocky kid who took on Seigaku and won himself a place on the team and in their hearts. Even if he doesn't really believe that last bit. But..." Lifting his head, he looked over at Shinji and smiled. "You gotta know he sucks when it comes to people and stuff, right? His emotional range was based on tennis, not love. Not even friendship! He's only just come around to that! I've been at him since I met him and... it's only been the last few weeks, the last month, I actually felt like my friendship was returned. Y'know? Maybe you don't..."
Momo was a bit afraid he was destined to not make sense in this conversation, and tried desperately to find another topic to talk about, but in the end gave a mental shrug because he had no idea. "Just wondered, really. ... I thought that's why you didn't like me. Because I was with Akira. Maybe you thought I wasn't good enough for him or something...?" Momo flushed a little, realising how that sounded. "It worried me. Cause I... I really wouldn't know how to deal with that if you did... Think that, I mean."
Shinji: “I might not know. We know him in two different ways, so….” Shinji sighed. “I’ll work at him in my own way and understand him in my own way, I guess. As long as we’re both happy in the end, it works, right?” He blinked. “And I never didn’t like you. It’s…I think….” He groaned. “If I explain myself, I’m going to sound like a complete and total asshole, alright?”
Momo: Momo laughed and nodded. "Yeah, guess you've got a point there. Good luck with that anyway. Hope you can get through to him. I kinda like this Echizen, he's easier to talk to." Amused, Momo watched Shinji's expression do something he figured was rather smiler to what his had done only moments before.
"It's alright. Don't have to explain yourself. If you say you didn't not like me, then I'll believe you! It was just... I dunno, a feeling I got? Guess I was being paranoid or something. Didn't know you so well so... I assumed. Sorry about that."
Shinji: “I didn’t want to like you.” Shinji decided he could be blunt about it now. “In fact, I wanted to hate you. I wanted to find something wrong with you. But I can’t and now I really can’t be upset, but I really did want to hate you for awhile there.”
Momo: That... surprised Momo. He'd never actually had anyone want to hate him beside Kaidoh, but that had been because of their rivalry. When he thought about it, he'd imagined they would have been friends if it hadn't been for that. But to know someone had wanted to hate him, even if they'd not been able to, was a little scary for him. It took him a long minute to actually work up the ability to say something back.
"I... Wow. Okay, I'm not sure what to say to that. Other than... 'why'? Why did you wanna hate me?" He didn't look at Shinji this time, was actually a little nervous of what he might see in the other teens eyes. But he wanted to know the reason behind why Shinji had wanted to hate him. To clear his mind, if nothing else.
Shinji: “Why?” Should shrugged. “Because you took away my best friend, of course. Before anyone knew about you two, he was always running and sneaking off to see you, and after…well, he just had no time for anyone, not really. So, yeah, I was jealous of you because of that, and I just…wanted to hate you, but I know it had just as much to do with Akira as you, probably more to do with him, since you seem to find more time for friends, so, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, anyway, because I don’t hate you.”
Momo: "He didn't... I..." Momo stopped, shaking his head and frowned deeply, not completely liking that explanation, but knowing it was something that had happened before. Not long ago, Echizen had confronted him about the fact Momo had been neglecting him and had pretty much ordered him to go out and do something with him. At the time Momo had just laughed and agreed, but the more he'd thought about it the more he'd felt bad. So he'd tried hard since then to spend time with his friend. Shinji... it seemed, was in the same position as Echizen had been. And Momo couldn't help feeling guilty about that again.
"I'm... really, really sorry. It was just... really new to us, y'know? To him especially. He... just wanted to escape, like you do. I gave him that option and he took it and... I'm sorry he forgot about you guys. You understand that now, don't you?" Momo looked over at Shinji now, curious. "Things have settled now, so... You two can still be friends, right? I've not screwed that up for you?"
Shinji: “I don’t think you actually screwed anything up, Momoshiro.” Shinji wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted to talk about this at all, but it was his own fault for starting it. “It’s not like you were chaining him down and making him spend all of his time with you, and I probably gave up easier than I should’ve when he was always busy because I just didn’t want to know I’d be losing.”
Momo: "You didn't lose though. I mean, he's still there. He's not gone anywhere. And like you said, he's not chained down, or chained to me. Thing'll change soon, now everything's more relaxed. It was just... Those first few months, it was... It was hard to be apart. I messed up with Echizen too... Saw him at school and everything, but after? I sort of... stopped doing that. Till he made me realise what I was doing. Didn't mean to, just... got caught up in Akira." Love seemed to be blind in a lot of respects, but Momo was really convinced that things would start to change now. With Echizen making an effort to get to know Kamio, and now he was talking to Shinji, he hoped that things would be easier between them all.
"For what it's worth though... I'm really sorry it happened. Maybe we can make it up to you guys sometime?"