Title: reindeer games
Prompt: aki, mitsuru, shinji, fun, gift, santa
A/N: Couldn't resist putting hints of Akihiko/Misturu. This takes place in the early days, when the three had just met and started fighting together.
Summary: Mitsuru wasn't sure how she ended up here, dressed as a reindeer.
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"This is ill-fitting." Mitsuru tugged her brown sleeves with a frown. The reindeer costume was a little loose, her petite body disappearing into the many folds, and whoever tailored it was clearly no craftsman. She could actually see the seams.
The changeroom was almost empty, the other volunteers already in the gym, and she wasn't sure who to hold accountable for this. Or even for what—for the costume? For convincing her to wear it? She should have called in sick.
"It's the best we could do." Akihio glanced at her as he adjusted his collar. When they'd first met a few months ago, he had been almost her height. Now he towered over her, a late growth spurt. He offered her his Santa hat. "We could switch."
That was hardly preferable, the suit barely looked good on him as is. On her, she'd be dwarfed, a child playing dress up. She pushed the hat back to him, shaking her head. "That will just exacerbate the problem."
Shinji approached them from behind, his reindeer costume fitting him well and maybe that was the problem all along. The costumes must have been made to his height. "There's always sexy Santa. Easy to get one of those."
Mitsuru pursed her lips into a thin line, not sure just how much of that was serious and how much was in jest. She just didn't know him well enough yet. The sly smirk on his face didn't help either.
"That could work," Akihiko agreed casually. Or at least he tried to be casual—the light blush on his face and slight stutter gave him away. Despite how suave he pretended to be, he was nowhere near that. Mitsuru made note of that for later.
"I'm fine," she answered shortly, shooting them both an icy glare just in case.
"Then we're good." Shinji plopped the deer head on her, blocking her sight entirely. "Now we got kids to entertain."
Disgruntled, she yanked the head off. Despite how tacky it looked, it was the best made part of the outfit, resembling a deer's head quite accurately. Too accurately, in fact, she was not sure if it crossed the uncanny valley from cute to creepy. "Should it be this realistic?" she asked, staring the deer in the eyes.
"It might be just a little…" Akihiko's voice trailed off as he grimaced and even Shinji had the grace to look uncomfortable.
"It's hot." Shinji tugged at his collar, guiding cool air into his bodysuit. "I'm not wearing that for an hour."
"We have to wear it for two." Mitsuru unzipped the top of her suit. Might as well let it stay as cool as possible, while they were still in here.
Akihiko's fingers tugged the ends of a thin, white rope, the fake beard now fully tied on. With his silver hair and white beard, he now looked even older than usual. "How do I look?"
"…like Santa," she answered, aiming for partial honesty.
"Old," Shinji snorted, laughing. "Ancient. You probably are Santa." He narrowly dodged Akihiko's punch, still laughing as he danced just outside of his friend's reach.
"Want to try that again?" Akihiko asked, looking more like a feral Santa now. Already he was in his boxer's stance, clearly expecting the worst response. She was working with children, it seemed.
"Only if you'll try that punch again," Shinji retorted and an imaginary bell rang somewhere.
A brawl. They were going to start a brawl in the change room and Mitsuru was ashamed that she wasn't even the slightest bit surprised. Apparently, a few months was enough to know at a few quirks, to even feel fond of those quirks. She felt her lips tug up into a smile. Clearing her throat, she rested her hands on her hips. "We're on in a few minutes."
"Got it." Shinji dodged Akihiko's last punch. Grabbing his deer head, he headed out the door. "Can't give Santa a black eye after all."
"You're lucky that suit would hide yours," Akihiko grumbled.
"Save it for later." Mitsuru picked up her own head distastefully. Maybe she could get her tailor to work on the costumes, should they rope her into doing this again. Just before she left the room, Akihiko grabbed her wrist.
"Wait." When she stopped, he let go, running a hand through his hair. "I…I got you something."
Mitsuru blinked, surprised. Now that was unexpected. Her eyes widened as he grabbed a small headband from his bag, a gift topper hastily taped to the top. Her fingers tentatively took it out of his hand. For once, she was at a loss for words. "I…I didn't get you anything."
"It's fine." He looked antsy, completely uncomfortable. "I just wanted to thank you. For this."
"For what?" Mitsuru still stared at the gift, unable to tear her eyes away from it. It had been a long time since she'd received one from anyone other than her father or his secretary.
"For the personas, for explaining all of that—"
"You might have been better off not knowing," Mitsuru interrupted, biting her lip. "In the long run, this might just be harmful."
"And let you do this on your own?" Akihiko shook his head. There was something affectionate in his wry smile and she wondered how long it took for people to become friends, to become comrades. "No, I'm glad. I feel…I don't know, focused? Better than before, at least. I…after Miki, I really needed this. Thanks."
Thanks. Gratitude. She really didn't deserve this, didn't earn this. They fought monsters in the non-existent hours, living a life that no one could know about. That didn't stop the smile creeping up her own face, the warmth that bubbled out of her hand. Mitsuru closed her hand around the headband. "No, thank you. It's nice to have someone watch my back."
The door opened, Shinji poking his head in. Or rather, poked his deer head in, having put it on. "Coming?"
"You look even stupider than my beard," Akihiko scoffed, grabbing his hat.
"Yeah." She slid off her headband, putting his on. "Let's go."