A/N: Always liked the idea of Akutsu and Mikage being good friends. Wanted to try something about how it started; to practice Akutsu. Let me know what I did well and what I need to work on. I tend to explore characters, and sometimes forget that things make sense to me while others may not get where I'm coming from. If that happens, let me know and I'll try and explain it to you the best I can.

Constructive criticism only.

Shaking hands took hold of a Styrofoam cup filled to the brim with steaming black coffee, the owner mustered up a smile that graced the one who had given him the hot beverage. Blue eyes tinted orange by glasses lowered themselves to stare back at his distorted reflection in the cup. "Thank you, Mikage." Said woman smiled back as she took a seat beside him on the bench outside the lab.

"You don't have to thank me, Akutsu, I wanted to." She mewled lightly before she took a sip from her own cup. The man threw a side glance over at the girl seated beside him, ten years his junior. He raised a brow when he noted how stiff she appeared as well as the worry etching across her features. "Mikage, are you alright?"

The contents in her cup splashed but kept confined within it. Her honey eyes peered over at the brunet with curiosity in her eyes. "I'm quite alright. Why do you..." Mikage blinked before a girlish laugh fluttered past her lips as she held her cup with both hands in her lap. "I look tired, don't I?"

Akutsu began to shake his head before seamlessly moving his head up and down. "Just a bit…" Mikage gave him another sweet smile before sighing. "I've just been working many hours the past few weeks. It's been hard with the filing and—" Her cheeks grew red as she quickly hunched over in embarrassment.

"Eh..Mikage?"

Looking up, Mikage smiled sadly up at him. "I'm sorry." Akutsu's confusion had been increased tenfold; she had done nothing wrong in his eyes. Tilting his head to the side, the man frowned. "For what?"

The young woman straightened out her back before shifting in her spot so her upper half faced him. "For what I said… My job is nothing compared to what you do." Was her reply while her fingers tapped against the cup's sides. "You do so much more; you build and create machines that help the city. While all I do is file and do the coffee runs…" She added, with the latter of her sentence in a bitter tone.

"Well…the coffee runs are important," Akutsu teased lightly before his tone shifted, "but what you do is important Mikage. You keep everything organized and easily findable. Without you, this building would be in chaos!" He felt joy and relief by the look on the girl's face that was a mixture between surprise and happiness.

"You're very sweet, Akutsu." Mikage said softly, smiling now. Her eyes trailed from her companion to the clock that read 3pm. "Umm…shouldn't you be in the lab now?"

Her answer was given silently as the man turned away with his head hung low. "Akutsu…what's wrong?"

"Nothing…I'm just taking a break." Rolling her eyes, Mikage set her cup down as she moved closer to the male; placing her hands onto either shoulder, the woman lowered her head to meet his. Akutsu's body stiffened at the new touch, but made no effort to push her hands away. "Akutsu, what's wrong? You're not yourself today; you're usually so charismatic." She wasn't trying to butter him up for it was the truth.

The older man had always been a whirlwind of energy since she met him; she watched him speak many times where he emphasized on certain syllables while keeping everyone in the room entertained with his antics. But beyond the boardroom, she had seen him work hard on his inventions diligently. And that would mean he would be in the lab at all times. "Please tell me?" Mikage already knew she was walking dangerously along a tight rope by begging him to tell her.

She didn't mean to badger, she just wanted to help in any way she could and that includes simply listening to his plights. "I want to help you."

Akutsu turned his head a tad to meet the woman's gaze. "It's nothing really…" He sighed, "I'm just tired…of being ridiculed." Mikage was taken aback by this as she pulled away, gazing at the man in confusion. "Who has been ridiculing you?"

"The head scientist, Dr. Fujimori." The man's name left a bitter taste on Akutsu's tongue; he whipped his head to the doorway and narrowed his eyes. "He acts sooo superior, but he does nothing other than bark orders! God, it's disgusting!" Crossing his arms, the brunet scowled out the grandiose windows.

Mikage's lips tugged into a frown as she voiced her thoughts. "Couldn't he be reprimanded for his actions? Does the director know?"

Akutsu shook his head whilst rolling his eyes. "No, he could not. And it's not because he's buddy buddy with Godwin. Again…disgusting!" His arms uncrossed themselves before falling to his sides as his shoulders dropped. "He treats me like a dog. Says I can't do anything right, and that anything I create will blow right up in my face."

His eyes widened as he felt a pair of soft hands grab hold of his shoulders. "Mikage?"

"You shouldn't listen to a word he says. After all, you did say he does nothing other than order. You built the machines, not him." Mikage gave his shoulders a squeeze. "He will get what he deserves…someday. Akutsu, you're a brilliant man. Don't forget that, alright?"

Not knowing what to say, the scientist nodded. Mikage smiled warmly at him. "Good."

Akutsu couldn't help but to smile back lightly.

The sound of ringing echoed throughout the hall, cutting their moment short, with Mikage reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out her phone. "Oh, it appears the director wants me. Says I have a new assignment?" She tilted her head to the side, curious as to what her new assignment could be. Her eyes blinked a few times. "I didn't know the director could even text… Hm…" Shrugging, she slipped her phone back into her pocket before rising to her full height.

She gave him a swift and low bow. "It was nice talking to you, Akutsu. Thank you for listening to me, well, complain." She said as she shot him another sunny smile as she pulled herself upright.

Akutsu smiled back. "Nooo problem." His smile widened at the girl's laughter; it was a nice change of pace from the usual barking he was accustomed to. Turning on her heel, Mikage was about to rush off when Akutsu snatched her wrist into his hand. "Mikage?"

Looking over her shoulder, Mikage raised a brow. "Hm?"

"I want you to know that you can talk to me anytime about anything, okay?" The woman was quiet for a moment before she nodded her head. "Likewise." Releasing her, Akutsu watched the girl run off down the corridor and make a right before disappearing completely.

"Akutsu!" Startled, Aktusu spun around and took a swing who had ever called him. Luckily for him, the man ducked. "Jaeger, I'm soooo sooorry!" He squeaked while the elfin man rolled his eyes. "Forget about it, you missed…barely. Get back in the lab, you have work to do!"

"O-Oh, right!" And with that the man rushed through the double doors leading into the lab.

Jaeger raised a brow before shifting his gaze onto the bench. Walking over to it, he inspected the two cups; one having been spilled on the floor and the other with contents in it. The purple haired man picked up the fuller cup and inspected it, seeing remnants of pink lip gloss on it. He only knew one woman who wore it in the building. "Mikage…"

Peering up at the clock, Jaeger frowned. "3:45…. She's probably meeting with Godwin now about the boy." He sighed softly as he took both cups and threw them into the trash. After barking at a janitor to clean up the spilled drink, Jaeger prowled down the hall.

Unbeknownst to Jaeger, Akutsu had kept near the door as he had been curious why the man had come to this part of the building. He was usually at the top. "Boy…what boy?" Akutsu murmured to himself as he moved away from the door and towards his station. Part of him hadn't believed Mikage's tale of being tired, there was more to it than that. She was a young woman, just turned eighteen. There was absolutely no reason for her to be so stressed. There was more going on than what meets the eye. But what?

He never thought his idea of them talking on a daily basis would come to surpass so quickly, but working under a man like Godwin…he was happy to have a new friend and he hoped she felt the same.

A/N: Not exactly what I had in mind, but I went with it and needed to get it out. Thank you for reading; I usually write longer stories than this but haven't had the energy to do that as of late. And again constructive criticism only.