Diverted, Part 4
Rating: PG
Pairing: Akihiko/Minato
Spoilers: None
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Startled into silence by Akihiko's words, Minato let himself be led down the hallway and into his own room without complaint.
He stood in the middle of the carpet, his mind as blank as his expression. Akihiko loitered near the desk, gazing thoughtfully at his hands. He then methodically loosened and removed his gloves, setting them down on the desk.
//I don't think I've ever seen his hands before... How strange that he'd take his gloves off now.// With a concerted effort, Minato roused himself from his staring. He coughed to clear his throat.
"So um, did you...plan that?"
"No," admitted Akihiko, with the ghost of a guilty smile. He walked behind Minato and tugged at the shoulders of his blazer. Minato squinted at him in confusion, but let him remove the jacket. "I just took advantage when the opportunity presented itself."
"What, the vast opportunities presented by the question 'How was your day?'?" Minato scoffed towards Akihiko's retreating back.
Akihiko spoke clearly as he buttoned the blazer and hung it neatly in the closet. "Presented by Fuuka's question, *your* compliance, and the fact that no one else seems to be home yet?" He spun around, closing the closet door and affixing Minato with a *look*. "Yes."
"Oh," said Minato in a tiny voice, suitably chastened even though he still didn't understand Akihiko's point. His jovial mood had evaporated; now he just felt confused. His feet seemed glued to the floor.
Akihiko was walking towards him again. Minato watched his approach warily. When Akihiko stopped in front of him and raised one hand, Minato's breath caught in his throat...only to escape in a startled choke when Akihiko grasped at the left earpiece of his headphones. That shocked Minato more than almost anything else Akihiko could have done with that hand.
He wanted to say something, wanted to protest that no one touched his headphones, let alone *removed* them. Except obviously that wasn't true anymore. Akihiko set about untwisting the cords, straightening out the kinks they'd developed as Minato put his blazer on and off that day, and disentangling them from his shirt collar. He then carefully lifted the lanyard over Minato's head, his hands brushing Minato's hair against his ears. The music player dangled tantalizingly in front of his nose as Akihiko slid the lanyard past the back of his skull. Minato resisted the urge to snatch it out of mid air, even as it bumped into the tip of his nose at the last second.
Akihiko efficiently folded the cords together and set the bundle on the desk next to his gloves. It looked symbolic somehow: those two items nestled together on the otherwise empty desk, astonishing that either of them was separated from its owner. Minato felt naked without the sensation of his headphones hanging against his chest. He wondered if Akihiko felt the same without his gloves.
Akihiko was moving *again*. He started to pull the desk chair out and turn it around to face the room, but Minato was largely in the way. Feeling foolish that he'd been standing in the same spot for almost five minutes, while Akihiko flitted about like he owned the place, Minato abruptly took a big step backwards. Akihiko smiled in thanks and sat down on the chair, hands primly clasped around his knee in his usual fashion.
"So!" he asked, in an oddly bright tone of voice, "what shall we do?"
Minato's jaw nearly dropped in disbelief. //This was YOUR idea!// he thought furiously. //We didn't *need* a cover story to get out of going to Tartarus, but you gave one anyway, and now you want me to be entertaining?//
"I don't know," he said, in a carefully neutral voice. "Can't say there's much to do in here."
"Yeah, it's pretty sparse." Akihiko's neck craned as he looked around. "You should put some decorations up, personalize it a bit."
Minato shrugged indifferently. "Like what? The Kirijo Group gave me everything I need, and money from Tartarus is for stuff like medicine and new armor."
"Always so serious, you are," replied Akihiko with a twitch of the lips.
"Because you - Mr. I-Live-For-Training - are just the life of the party," Minato scoffed again. He didn't know why he was being so prickly...feeling confused just made him defensive. This was all getting too weird. Maybe he didn't understand his senpai as much as he'd thought.
"I live for my training because I like it. And I like knowing that I can rely on my physical strength when I need it." Akihiko uncrossed his legs and leaned forward on his elbows to peer at Minato. "You live for...?" he trailed off.
Minato was suddenly agitated. "I'm in charge. I take care of the team, I stay on top of my studies, and I raise my damn social links. Isn't that enough?? You think a couple posters on the wall are gonna fix anything?"
"Something's broken?" Akihiko asked softly.
"What?"
"You say posters won't cut it, but what needs to be fixed?"
"Nothing," Minato bit out impatiently. "I'm just saying I don't care about decorations."
"You're pretty fired up for 'don't care'."
"No I'm not."
"If you really didn't care we wouldn't still be talking about it," Akihiko pointed out, with a shrug.
"Why are you pressuring me to decorate?!"
"I'm not. I asked you what you live for."
Minato gave him an exasperated glare. "And how am I supposed to answer that?"
"It doesn't have to be big. My answer's *training*, but it happens to be meaningful to me."
Akihiko's calm demeanor was starting to get on Minato's nerves. "Of course," he replied with dripping sarcasm. "But training's no different than fighting in Tartarus, so your answer's no different than mine. Except mine's not good enough apparently."
"Ah, but you didn't say you lived for Tartarus - you just listed everything you do. ...Do you live for Tartarus?"
"No! I mean, it's fine. But who lives for killing things??"
"Not the act of killing, but maybe the motivation behind it?"
Minato flung an arm wildly in the air. "This is ridiculous! You stuck me in here for the night and now all you're doing is harassing me!"
Akihiko didn't reply immediately, just looked at him with his lips pressed together. Minato continued to fume internally, his resentment growing the longer the silence continued. //You're trying to make me feel immature, aren't you? I won't let you have the satisfaction!// He huffed aloud in irritation.
Akihiko closed his eyes and slowly breathed out through his nose. Minato's eyes narrowed, still trying to gauge the other boy's intentions.
"I just think you should have something that makes you happy, however small it is. A plant on the windowsill, or freaking videogames like Junpei, I don't care. Just- do something you want to do, not only things the social links want you to do."
Akihiko rose to his feet, looking away. "Life's not only about responsibility. Just think about it, okay?"
Minato's brow furrowed in consternation. //He's...not trying to yell at me? Except that I'm supposed to relax?//
Akihiko sighed dejectedly towards the wall. "I'm sorry I made you angry, and I'm sorry I lied to Fuuka. Since we hammed it up so much downstairs, you probably don't wanna leave your room, so...text me if you need anything.
"I'll leave you alone now, okay?"
For the second time in as many days, Akihiko found himself outside Minato's room, running away from the emotional fallout he'd just created. He stood in the middle of the hallway and groaned aloud. "Way to make things better. AGAIN," he grumbled.
"And *dammit* I left my gloves in there." He eyeballed Minato's door over his shoulder and pondered which was the greater hardship: going without his gloves, or walking back in there. Heaving yet another sigh, he turned around to go retrieve them.
At that moment the door popped open. Minato's eyes went round with surprise to see him standing right there.
Akihiko quirked an eyebrow. "I forgot my gloves."
"Oh." Minato paused. "I-" Something creaked down the hallway and Minato leaped back behind his door.
Akihiko scanned the shadowed lounge at the other end of the hallway. "Nah, I think the coast is still clear. Everyone must be out enjoying the weather or something."
Minato's eyes peeked back around the edge of the door. "Um. I'm sorry I yelled. Please come back?"
"You sure? I'm not pressuring you."
"Yeah. Please?"
Minato's question was simultaneously penitent and hopeful, and it caused butterflies to suddenly sprout in Akihiko's stomach. Suppressing that reaction and filing it away for later analysis, for the moment Akihiko let loose a huge, sincere grin.
"Absolutely," he replied. A moment later he regretted that he was already smiling as wide as he could, as he was grasped by the wrist and drawn back into Minato's room.
Click here to continue to part 5.
Pairing: Akihiko/Minato
Spoilers: None
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Startled into silence by Akihiko's words, Minato let himself be led down the hallway and into his own room without complaint.
He stood in the middle of the carpet, his mind as blank as his expression. Akihiko loitered near the desk, gazing thoughtfully at his hands. He then methodically loosened and removed his gloves, setting them down on the desk.
//I don't think I've ever seen his hands before... How strange that he'd take his gloves off now.// With a concerted effort, Minato roused himself from his staring. He coughed to clear his throat.
"So um, did you...plan that?"
"No," admitted Akihiko, with the ghost of a guilty smile. He walked behind Minato and tugged at the shoulders of his blazer. Minato squinted at him in confusion, but let him remove the jacket. "I just took advantage when the opportunity presented itself."
"What, the vast opportunities presented by the question 'How was your day?'?" Minato scoffed towards Akihiko's retreating back.
Akihiko spoke clearly as he buttoned the blazer and hung it neatly in the closet. "Presented by Fuuka's question, *your* compliance, and the fact that no one else seems to be home yet?" He spun around, closing the closet door and affixing Minato with a *look*. "Yes."
"Oh," said Minato in a tiny voice, suitably chastened even though he still didn't understand Akihiko's point. His jovial mood had evaporated; now he just felt confused. His feet seemed glued to the floor.
Akihiko was walking towards him again. Minato watched his approach warily. When Akihiko stopped in front of him and raised one hand, Minato's breath caught in his throat...only to escape in a startled choke when Akihiko grasped at the left earpiece of his headphones. That shocked Minato more than almost anything else Akihiko could have done with that hand.
He wanted to say something, wanted to protest that no one touched his headphones, let alone *removed* them. Except obviously that wasn't true anymore. Akihiko set about untwisting the cords, straightening out the kinks they'd developed as Minato put his blazer on and off that day, and disentangling them from his shirt collar. He then carefully lifted the lanyard over Minato's head, his hands brushing Minato's hair against his ears. The music player dangled tantalizingly in front of his nose as Akihiko slid the lanyard past the back of his skull. Minato resisted the urge to snatch it out of mid air, even as it bumped into the tip of his nose at the last second.
Akihiko efficiently folded the cords together and set the bundle on the desk next to his gloves. It looked symbolic somehow: those two items nestled together on the otherwise empty desk, astonishing that either of them was separated from its owner. Minato felt naked without the sensation of his headphones hanging against his chest. He wondered if Akihiko felt the same without his gloves.
Akihiko was moving *again*. He started to pull the desk chair out and turn it around to face the room, but Minato was largely in the way. Feeling foolish that he'd been standing in the same spot for almost five minutes, while Akihiko flitted about like he owned the place, Minato abruptly took a big step backwards. Akihiko smiled in thanks and sat down on the chair, hands primly clasped around his knee in his usual fashion.
"So!" he asked, in an oddly bright tone of voice, "what shall we do?"
Minato's jaw nearly dropped in disbelief. //This was YOUR idea!// he thought furiously. //We didn't *need* a cover story to get out of going to Tartarus, but you gave one anyway, and now you want me to be entertaining?//
"I don't know," he said, in a carefully neutral voice. "Can't say there's much to do in here."
"Yeah, it's pretty sparse." Akihiko's neck craned as he looked around. "You should put some decorations up, personalize it a bit."
Minato shrugged indifferently. "Like what? The Kirijo Group gave me everything I need, and money from Tartarus is for stuff like medicine and new armor."
"Always so serious, you are," replied Akihiko with a twitch of the lips.
"Because you - Mr. I-Live-For-Training - are just the life of the party," Minato scoffed again. He didn't know why he was being so prickly...feeling confused just made him defensive. This was all getting too weird. Maybe he didn't understand his senpai as much as he'd thought.
"I live for my training because I like it. And I like knowing that I can rely on my physical strength when I need it." Akihiko uncrossed his legs and leaned forward on his elbows to peer at Minato. "You live for...?" he trailed off.
Minato was suddenly agitated. "I'm in charge. I take care of the team, I stay on top of my studies, and I raise my damn social links. Isn't that enough?? You think a couple posters on the wall are gonna fix anything?"
"Something's broken?" Akihiko asked softly.
"What?"
"You say posters won't cut it, but what needs to be fixed?"
"Nothing," Minato bit out impatiently. "I'm just saying I don't care about decorations."
"You're pretty fired up for 'don't care'."
"No I'm not."
"If you really didn't care we wouldn't still be talking about it," Akihiko pointed out, with a shrug.
"Why are you pressuring me to decorate?!"
"I'm not. I asked you what you live for."
Minato gave him an exasperated glare. "And how am I supposed to answer that?"
"It doesn't have to be big. My answer's *training*, but it happens to be meaningful to me."
Akihiko's calm demeanor was starting to get on Minato's nerves. "Of course," he replied with dripping sarcasm. "But training's no different than fighting in Tartarus, so your answer's no different than mine. Except mine's not good enough apparently."
"Ah, but you didn't say you lived for Tartarus - you just listed everything you do. ...Do you live for Tartarus?"
"No! I mean, it's fine. But who lives for killing things??"
"Not the act of killing, but maybe the motivation behind it?"
Minato flung an arm wildly in the air. "This is ridiculous! You stuck me in here for the night and now all you're doing is harassing me!"
Akihiko didn't reply immediately, just looked at him with his lips pressed together. Minato continued to fume internally, his resentment growing the longer the silence continued. //You're trying to make me feel immature, aren't you? I won't let you have the satisfaction!// He huffed aloud in irritation.
Akihiko closed his eyes and slowly breathed out through his nose. Minato's eyes narrowed, still trying to gauge the other boy's intentions.
"I just think you should have something that makes you happy, however small it is. A plant on the windowsill, or freaking videogames like Junpei, I don't care. Just- do something you want to do, not only things the social links want you to do."
Akihiko rose to his feet, looking away. "Life's not only about responsibility. Just think about it, okay?"
Minato's brow furrowed in consternation. //He's...not trying to yell at me? Except that I'm supposed to relax?//
Akihiko sighed dejectedly towards the wall. "I'm sorry I made you angry, and I'm sorry I lied to Fuuka. Since we hammed it up so much downstairs, you probably don't wanna leave your room, so...text me if you need anything.
"I'll leave you alone now, okay?"
For the second time in as many days, Akihiko found himself outside Minato's room, running away from the emotional fallout he'd just created. He stood in the middle of the hallway and groaned aloud. "Way to make things better. AGAIN," he grumbled.
"And *dammit* I left my gloves in there." He eyeballed Minato's door over his shoulder and pondered which was the greater hardship: going without his gloves, or walking back in there. Heaving yet another sigh, he turned around to go retrieve them.
At that moment the door popped open. Minato's eyes went round with surprise to see him standing right there.
Akihiko quirked an eyebrow. "I forgot my gloves."
"Oh." Minato paused. "I-" Something creaked down the hallway and Minato leaped back behind his door.
Akihiko scanned the shadowed lounge at the other end of the hallway. "Nah, I think the coast is still clear. Everyone must be out enjoying the weather or something."
Minato's eyes peeked back around the edge of the door. "Um. I'm sorry I yelled. Please come back?"
"You sure? I'm not pressuring you."
"Yeah. Please?"
Minato's question was simultaneously penitent and hopeful, and it caused butterflies to suddenly sprout in Akihiko's stomach. Suppressing that reaction and filing it away for later analysis, for the moment Akihiko let loose a huge, sincere grin.
"Absolutely," he replied. A moment later he regretted that he was already smiling as wide as he could, as he was grasped by the wrist and drawn back into Minato's room.
Click here to continue to part 5.