Five Times Shinya Got Guren a Present (and One Time Guren Got a Gift for Shinya)
A/N: Welcome to my latest ficlet! Like the last 5+1 ficlet I wrote, this one is also an Owari no Seraph/Seraph of the End fic focused on Shinya (specifically Shinya and Guren, because I am GureShin trash. ;D).
This fic, so far, is turning out to be harder for me to write, but I'm enjoying the process nonetheless. That being said, if this one isn't as gripping/heart-wrenching as the previous ficlet, I'm sorry. I wanted to do a 5+1 with Guren & Shinya that wasn't as cripplingly angst-y as the last one, so this happened. It's also possible that Guren (or even Shinya) might come across as slightly out of character at various points, but that could just be me. XD
最初の贈り物/The First Gift
The first time Shinya gives Guren a gift, they're both sixteen and trying to keep themselves sane during the hell that their freshman year of high school is becoming. It's only been a few weeks, but already things have gone to hell in a hand-basket.
Guren still doesn't trust Shinya, not really. He's still mistrustful of Shinya's overtures of friendship, still paranoid that Shinya is just trying to catch him saying or doing something treasonous, still suspicious about Shinya's true loyalties.
And trust is such a foreign concept to Shinya in general (something his horrific childhood is entirely to blame for) that he can't quite make that leap himself. He's been conditioned too well by the harsh trials of his youth, and can't seem to find it in himself to trust anyone to not stab him in the back the second he's not looking.
But still, they're getting there. In minuscule increments, bit by bit, they're getting there. Shinya sits next to Guren in class, even when Guren slants him irritated looks the second he opens his mouth. Guren grudgingly allows Shinya to tag along on some of his excursions, and though he knows Guren will never say so, he seems to be grateful for the company.
Even if neither of them trust each other, it's probably the closest either of them have ever come to having an actual friendship with another person in a very long time. (In Shinya's case, it actually is the closest he's ever come to anything even remotely resembling friendship; he doesn't count the children he'd tried to befriend during the candidacy trials of his younger years, because they were 1) all very dead now and 2) most of them dead by his hand.)
In any case, Shinya is grateful for whatever it is they have between them.
And while his social skills aren't particularly top-notch (almost all his smiles are fake, after all, and half of what comes out of his mouth when talking to his peers is him lying through his teeth because he doesn't trust anyone not to hurt him with any truth he might tell), he understands enough about people and friendships to know that getting Guren a gift to show his appreciation might not be such a bad idea.
He might also feel the tiniest bit guilty for his earlier attitude of hostility towards Guren when the latter hadn't fought back against Seishirō's assault on not just Guren but also Guren's loyal retainer Sayuri. He hadn't understood Guren's reasons for acting so submissive to Shinya's supreme asshole of an adoptive brother (honestly he still can't quite wrap his mind around it), but Guren had later proven himself to be considerably more powerful than he'd led the rest of them to believe.
Guren was strong, and loyal. Perhaps too loyal, but who was Shinya to judge? It wasn't like he had any firsthand experience with loyalty; his own parents had all but sold him to the Hīragi family, and things had only gone downhill from there.
The question now, though, became what should he give to Guren? He had to be careful, because he had no idea how Guren might react to a gift of any kind, particularly a gift from Shinya, who he held in such suspicion.
Something small, then, Shinya decides. Something that won't make either us overly uncomfortable.
He settles on a can of soda. It's easy enough for him to get one from one of the many vending machines at school, and it's a casual enough gift that Guren won't respond with too much mistrust.
So Shinya buys the soda, intending to give it to Guren when the other teen arrives at school.
That doesn't end up happening as planned. Instead, he's waylaid by Seishirō, who seems to have made it his mission of the day to hassle and belittle Shinya to the point of homicide.
Shinya doesn't ever respond the way Seishirō wants, though; his adoptive brother wants him to get angry, say something stupid, do something to land himself in trouble but all Shinya ever does is smile and nod and pretend to be obedient. He's used to these sorts of tricks and games by now; they're all he's known since being adopted into the Hīragi family, and truth be told they're just a slightly less bloody version of the survival games he'd dealt with as a child.
Eventually, his ass of a brother decides to abandon his little game of torment, leaving Shinya free to go on his way...but only after taking the soda Shinya was holding and sauntering away with a sneer and a parting comment of "Thanks for the drink, mongrel".
It's such a stupid, petty thing, and Shinya doesn't know why it upsets him so much, but it does. He has a fierce desire to run after his adoptive brother and push him down a flight of stairs, but manages to hold the urge in check...somehow.
Of course, his ire only grows once he realizes that thanks to Seishirō's antics, he's now over twenty minutes late to first period.
Seishirō, of course, won't be punished for his own tardiness, and technically Shinya could avoid a reprisal as well...but still, the principle of the thing is infuriating.
Doubly so, because the soda he was going to give to Guren has been taken as well.
Shinya stands there for a minute, fuming, and then turns on his heel and goes back to the vending machine. He pops in the last of his spare change, retrieves another soda, and finally makes his way to class.
He lets himself in, barely sparing the teacher a second glance, even as she stammers and sputters and tries to (as humbly and respectfully as possible, because he's a Hīragi in name if not by blood or choice) scold him for arriving so late to class.
He pastes a bright smile onto his face, projecting an image of nonchalance and amusement as he crosses the classroom and plops down in his seat. Eventually, the teacher takes the hint, drops her attempt to rebuke him, and returns to her lesson plan.
Shinya huffs out a short sigh, and leans back in his seat.
"...You're late," a familiar voice to his left says.
Shinya blinks in surprise, because since when does Guren initiate a conversation with him? Stubborn, suspicious, never-cracks-a-smile Guren?
It actually takes Shinya a moment to come up with a response, he's so baffled by this new development. In the end, he does what he always does, though, and smiles and teases, hoping to deflect the attention. "Aww, Guren. Were you worried about me? How sweet!"
Guren reacts as Shinya expected, giving a fierce scowl that would have sent a lesser person running for cover. "Worried about you? Don't be stupid." He turns away slightly. "I was just making an observation," he grumbles.
Shinya just tilts his head to the side slightly and smirks. "Whatever you say, Guren," he replies, his voice sugary sweet. "Personally, I find your concern very touching."
"God, just shut up," Guren snaps, crossing his arms and staring very pointedly at the notebook on his desk. "You're so annoying."
Shinya's smile widens, and it's actually a little more genuine this time, because there's just something oddly endearing about Guren when he gets so defensive (Shinya has to admit to himself, as well, that pushing Guren's buttons and getting such reactions is becoming increasinly entertaining).
Shinya decides to not aggravate Guren any further for the moment, however, and instead reaches into his schoolbag and pulls out the can of soda.
"Here," he says, leaning over and setting it on the edge of Guren's desk. "That's for you."
That succeeds in making Guren look up from his notebook, purple gaze puzzled and wary. "...what?"
"Are you hard of hearing suddenly?" Shinya asks, arching an eyebrow. "I said, that's for you."
Guren narrows his eyes, looking back and forth between Shinya and the soda. "Why?" he questions, and yeah, there's definitely a note of suspicion in his voice.
"Why not?" Shinya fires back, giving Guren a too-bright smile. "Can't I bring my classmate a treat?"
Guren's scowl deepens, the suspicion practically rolling off of him in waves.
"Relax," Shinya says now, rolling his eyes. "It's just a can of soda. And it's not like I poisoned it or anything."
Guren snorts. "Why doesn't that remark make me feel any better?" he asks dryly.
"Eh, who can say," Shinya replies, shrugging carelessly. "Personally, I think you're being silly. It really is just a can of soda. No ulterior motive, no catch."
"But...why?" Guren asks again.
Shinya frowns, starting to get tired of the questions and suspicion. "Maybe I just wanted to get rid of my spare change and didn't want to drink it myself," he says, his voice coming out perhaps just a little too testy to be casual. "If you really don't want it, I'll take it back and give it to Goshi or Mito." Not that either of them will be likely to accept it from him, either; they admire his Hīragi status, but he knows that he makes them more than a little uncomfortable, too. But even so, he reaches for the can, making a mental note to either throw it away if one of the others doesn't want it or (stealthily) drop it on Seishirō's foot the next time he sees him.
Guren surprises him again, though, and snatches the can out of reach before Shinya can do much more than lean over. "I never said I didn't want it," he snaps, slipping the can into his bag.
Shinya just stares at him for a moment, and then a true grin starts to form on his face.
"Shut up," Guren tells him again, an angry flush creeping across his cheeks.
"Aw, but I haven't even had a chance to say anything yet, Guren~"
"And we're all better off for it," Guren answers churlishly, but Shinya swears he can see just the barest hint of a smile on the other teen's lips.
Shinya gives a low laugh, and turns away from Guren, focusing on the teacher instead. He doesn't want to harass Guren too much, not when he'd accomplished what he'd wanted. He'd given Guren his gift, Guren had surprisingly accepted (albeit in his typical grouchy manner), and there had maybe even been, almost, a small smile.
Shinya figures he can consider it mission accomplished, so he gives a short little sigh of both satisfaction and relief, and finally opens his notebook to start taking notes on today's literature lesson.