A/N: Total AU in which Mikoto and Munakata haven't gotten their powers yet, everyone's around the same age and goes to the same high school, and Munakata has trouble articulating himself
Blood wells up from between two pieces of skin, the distance between which is no wider than a hair's breadth. Even smaller, in fact. Despite this, the pain runs much deeper than the wound itself. It's a disproportionate amount of feeling for something as small, something as trivial as a paper cut. Reisi Munakata hisses and rubs at the itch under his skin, which only succeeds in spreading the blood over the pad of his finger. The red, such a stark contrast against the blue of his hair, his uniform, his self-proclaimed 'aura', is just another annoyance.
Being student body president is also an annoyance, especially if one's vice-president is the carelessly lazy type. At least, that's how Reisi sees his counterpart, Suoh Mikoto. Just the day prior, when they had returned from Winter Break, the whimsical boy had danced in with his flaming red hair and a smile that shook the world to pieces. Reisi had never hated him more in his life than at that one moment.
No, that wasn't true. It wasn't so much hate as pain. Pain, and of course, that incessant, rubbing annoyance that despite his efforts and position, the redhead would never notice him. That was the only reason he had taken up the position of president; it was just another futile attempt to get that boy to notice him. Reisi grit his teeth together and presses his thumb against his bleeding finger, trying to get the flow of blood, of memories, to stop. But they keep on coming.
They're in chemistry class, sitting next to each other for a semester, and Reisi's working diligently while Suoh talks to some kid whose last name is Kusanagi and whose first name he can't be assed to remember. He can't allow himself to fail this experiment, because failing means not only letting himself down, but the other one down, and Reisi can't allow that-
It's sophomore year, and Suoh wants to compete in Battle of the Bands. He's got that kid Kusanagi and he's recruiting a young girl named Anna, also in their year, for vocals. Suoh's heard tell that Reisi Munakata, the A-student from Chemistry, is a drummer. And just like that, Reisi is once again sitting by Suoh. They win against unfavorable odds, and Reisi is glad that he hasn't let him down and hopes maybe once the redhead will look his way-
But Suoh is taking Anna's hand and kissing her, and the latter is laughing shyly and blushing, and there's nothing but cold, glacier-like hatred forming where once lay burning passion. The bluenette turns away, masking the glitter of tears on his eyes with a shake of his head and an adjustment of his glasses. A few spare fingers accompany the hand to wipe away that salty water as Reisi dashes off to his dorm, where he can curl up in a ball and cry since his roommate got moved out the year prior.
Now they're juniors. Reisi tells himself to enjoy this last year with Suoh, but he can't bring himself to do anything with that Anna girl around, and he doesn't want to hurt his feelings. He says 'last', too, because he's leaving high school and going to join SCEPTER4 after this summer. He hasn't told anyone that, and it's not like anyone would care much.
It's another one of those trivial things, you see. Reisi loosens his jaw before it locks into place and moves it around, still soothing his throbbing finger. The blood and the memories have finally stopped, the former clotting and the latter having nothing left to bring forth. He closes his eyes and sighs, trying to concentrate on his work but failing again.
The annoyances won't go away, even if his finger has finally subsided. They get under his skin and squirm around like invisible entities that serve no other purpose than to cause him pain and discomfort. They're like paper cuts, forever torching that icy exterior that he puts on day after wretched day, and now that Reisi thinks about it, that's exactly what Suoh Mikoto is. A paper cut.
And Reisi presses his wounded finger to his lips and kisses it, because even if it is annoying, he can't help but love it.