The first time Tanaka sees him is – where else – the pet store. Tan, with messy brown hair sticking out in all directions, the stranger is cooing over the puppies. A store assistant lifts one into his arms; it licks his face and he laughs.
Tanaka moves before he thinks. This isn't the first time he's confronted people in pet stores ("How else will the fools learn the consequences of these institutions?"), but he's sure he'll never get used to the ignorance he meets during these encounters. Hopefully this won't be one such time, Tanaka thinks.
The stranger looks up at Tanaka as he approaches, clear confusion on his face. The puppy snuggles into his arms.
"Are you considering making a pact with this beast?" Tanaka asks, nodding at the dog.
"Um.. What?" the guy replies.
"If what you are seeking is a companion of the animal world, I suggest you look elsewhere. There is a dimension in which older beasts live abandoned.. I believe you mortals call it a 'pound'. They are.. worthy of being reborn under a new master."
Silence grows between the trio; Tanaka stares into the pale green eyes of the stranger, aware of but not caring about the assistant staring at him. We shall see, Tanaka thinks. We shall see if this human is fit to commune with beasts..!
After a long moment, the puppy yaps, wanting attention. The sound snaps the three out of their concentration. The stranger breaks his gaze from Tanaka's face and drops it to the puppy. He pauses, then passes it back to the assistant, saying, "You know, I think I'm going to look around some more. Thanks."
He nods at Tanaka and makes his way out of the store. The bell above the door chimes.
"Hm," Tanaka says to himself. He smiles, ignoring the harsh glare of the assistant, and sweeps through the door.
The second time they meet, Tanaka is sitting on a bench at the dog park, watching one of his kingdom frolicking with the other dogs. A large golden retriever streaks past.
And then, a minute later, so does the owner.
"Hey, Hana! Heel! Heel!"
Tanaka turns his attention to this new spectacle; the canine doesn't seem to be listening, and the owner, out of breath, is doubled over, unable to chase anymore. Amateur, Tanaka scoffs to himself. Standing up, he takes a few steps forward and inhales deeply.
"Stop, energetic one!" His voice resonates across the park. At his words, the retriever pads to a halt, turns, and trots over to him, wagging its tail. Tanaka kneels down to pet it.
Footsteps approach. Looking up, Tanaka sees the stranger from the pet store, clutching at a stitch in his side.
"Thanks," the stranger pants. "She got excited when she saw all the other dogs and went wild." He crouches down too, balancing on the front of his feet. Scratching the dog absentmindedly behind the ears, he turns to Tanaka. "I'm Hinata. Hinata Hajime."
"I see you heeded my advice," Tanaka says.
"Yeah, well, what you said made sense," Hinata says. "I decided to check out the pound, and this one bounded up to me the second I was in the door. They told me no one wanted her because she was too energetic, and it would be hard to keep her inside all the time."
"With a canine of this size, you will need to release her to the wind at least twice a day," Tanaka tells him, patting the dog. "...I expected you to return for the young one."
"The puppy? It was cute, but.. I kind of got attached to Hana."
"Hm," Tanaka hums. He doesn't show it, but he's pleased; older animals often go unloved when so many flock to newborns, he thinks.
Tanaka spends the afternoon watching Hinata play fetch with his dog. When his own dog returns, he introduces him to Hinata – "Behold! 'Champion Blue Wolf' Rib-N!" – and lets the two dogs play together. Hinata plops onto the bench beside Tanaka.
"You're really good with dogs," he says, smiling at Tanaka.
"My expertise is not limited only to the canine family," Tanaka replies. "My kingdom is expansive! Rib-N is one of many creatures who live in my domain."
"You must love animals, huh, Tanaka," Hinata says. Tanaka turns abruptly.
"You..! How did you... know my name...?" Tanaka recounts his memories; he's sure he's never mentioned his name in front of this human. Could it be possible.. he possesses powers unforeseen..?
"Well, we go to the same school, and I've seen you around. You're.. kind of hard to miss."
"You also attend Hope's Peak?" Tanaka is surprised. He can't recall having seen Hinata outside of the pet store.
"I'm in the reserve course. It's not nearly as impressive as being a SHSL, of course," Hinata says.
"Hm."
The two lapse into silence again. Tanaka vaguely watches Hana and Rib-N rolling around on the ground, but offers nothing more in the way of conversation. He's not used to his company responding back; at least, not by using words. Few have hung around him willingly, and communication doesn't come easily to him. When Tanaka sees the sun beginning to set, shots of gold across the cotton-candy sky, he stands, pulling a leash from inside his coat.
"Rib-N!" he calls, and clips the leash to the dog's collar. He's aware of Hinata getting up behind him and calling his own pet; Hana comes bounding along, and Hinata needs Tanaka's help in calming her down again long enough to attach the leash.
"So.. I guess I'll see you at school?"
The question catches Tanaka by surprise. He had assumed that Hinata would deny knowing him, or else ignore him when next they met. But the, Tanaka muses, this one hasn't been much like the rest.
"If such our paths may cross," Tanaka replies, covering a small smile in his scarf.
Tanaka Gundam is a man who prides himself on understanding the minds of animals. Unfortunately, however much humans are classified as mammals, he had never been able to grasp their inner workings; too many hidden motives and feeling-based actions.
Animals are easy: consume, reproduce, survive. Instinct built over thousands of years.
Humans are hard.
When Hinata Hajime shows up with a dog adopted from the pound after a word of advice, Tanaka is aware that he is not dealing with a mortal as he had ever known. Even more so when Hinata calls his name cheerfully, without rolling his eyes or laying on sarcasm like a blanket.
"Hm. Hmhmhm," Tanaka mutters to himself. "This may become.. interesting.."
"Who is that guy?"
"Tanaka's been talking to him a lot lately, don't you think?"
"Look at that weirdo on our campus! What's a SHSL doing over here?"
"They really don't have anything better to talk about, do they?" Hinata says, watching the gossipers pass by with boredom. "I mean, I can understand people from your school talking about me, but -" he looks over at Tanaka, "- okay, I guess I can see why people would talk about you over here, too."
Tanaka looks at Hinata for a moment.
"Their words do not phase me, concerned one," he finally says. "They would have to find much more aggressive spells in order to cause harm to someone of my calibre."
"...Sure."
Whispers follow them as they walk back towards the buildings at the chime of the bell. They part ways near the doors, as has become their usual since the day at the dog park.
"I'm taking Hana for a walk later. Want to come along?" Hinata asks.
Tanaka nods. The retriever had been learning obedience under Tanaka's guidance – most noticeably the command 'heel' – and he's eager to spend more time with her.
And Hinata, he supposes.
Hinata flashes him that rare grin, the one Tanaka has come to learn means that he's done something right. A smile like that's never been for Tanaka – until now. He's not sure what he's done this time, but, Tanaka thinks, he would do anything to see it again. Silence and callousness? Only recently did he learn there's more to be found beyond that, things to which he doesn't need to resign himself.
Things that Hinata Hajime has brought him.
"Do not get ahead of yourself, mortal," Tanaka says. He smirks. "I am only agreeing so to be with your canine."
"Yeah, yeah," Hinata says, rolling his eyes. But a ghost of that grin is still on his face, around the corners of his mouth, and Tanaka wants to drag its spirit out into the light, bright-white and shimmery, as if seeing it through a haze. Hesitantly, he lifts his bandaged arm, slowly bringing it closer to Hinata's face.
The warning bell rings.
"Shit," Hinata says. "I'm going to be late if I don't go now!"
He tears off into the reserve course building, waving behind him as he goes. Just inside the doors Tanaka can hear a teacher telling him off for running in the hall.
Dropping his arm, Tanaka waits on the step for another minute; then, turning, he walks back into his campus, ignoring the gossip. Of course, silence and callousness have their place.
Hinata is already sitting on the bench when Tanaka arrives. He says nothing as he sits down beside Hinata, their meeting place solidified from the first time they had met there. Only a few are in the park at this time of day; Hana plays alone, occasionally bringing sticks over for one of them to throw. Nothing passes between them.
Finally, Hinata speaks up.
"People at school seem to think we're dating," he says, laughing a bit.
"Hm."
"Yeah," Hinata says. "Isn't it ridiculous?"
"..How is it ridiculous?" Tanaka asks.
"What?"
"That is, what is so baffling about their claims?"
Tanaka isn't sure why he's questioning it. He's well aware of how rumours spread in institutions, having been the target of them for as long as his memory serves. This is no different. And yet, it grates at him, frustrating him for reasons he can't pinpoint.
"Well, I mean.. We aren't dating, for one thing. That much should be obvious."
Tanaka turns to watch Hana romping in the grass. It's a long while before he says anything in return.
"Then, what gives them the impression we are dating? Is it that we spend time together?" Tanaka asks. "Is that not a normal activity?"
"I don't know, people spread stuff like that all the time," Hinata says. "I guess there isn't really a logical reason behind it."
"Are you so opposed to them misunderstanding our relationship?" The words tumble out of Tanaka's mouth before he can stop them, before he can give them the thought and facade he normally does. He's not entirely sure what he even means by them. But when he says them, that smile from earlier bursts into his mind, almost blinding.
The quiet expands between them. Tanaka can almost feel it, tangible, like a balloon about to pop. And then –
"What were you going to do earlier?"
"What?" It's Tanaka's turn for confusion.
"Before I ran off. You lifted your hand up."
Oh.
"...I had no purpose in doing that." Tanaka doesn't want to admit he doesn't know what he was planning on doing. Surely it was something he would've regretted; surely it would've ended in disaster. But Hinata is staring at him now, steadfast, as if he knows it's a lie better than Tanaka does. It reminds him of when they first met, and he had stared into Hinata's eyes to determine his capabilities. There's something in them reminiscent of how Hinata had looked at the puppy.
But when nothing more is said, Hinata breaks his gaze. The grin no longer lingers on the corner of his lips.
"Hinata."
It's the first time Tanaka's ever said his name.
Hinata turns, surprise widening his eyes, and watches as Tanaka places his bandaged hand gently on his cheek.
"It is safe for me to touch you with the barrier of the wrapping," Tanaka mumbles. "There is no need for you to worry about being poisoned by my toxicity."
Are you that opposed to them misunderstanding our relationship?
And, just like that, there it is: that grin grows across Hinata's face as he realises he's the one who misunderstood.
"Hey, do you want to make those rumours true?"