It feels like forever since we came here.
The last time he stepped into the ramen shop with Minako was on the last day of summer classes, just before the festival to be exact, and he definitely missed this. The wooden counter covered with sauce bottles is one of his favorite haunts to hang out with her after school; it's an occasion to binge a large serving of delicious food, talk about their respective week and exchange about everything that involves SEES in relative secrecy.
It's comforting to sit here again, her to his right, little fingers entwined discreetly while they dive their chopsticks into their respective bowls. The restaurant is packed with students and workers at this hour, but no one seems to pay them any attention amidst the rowdiness of the crowd and they thankfully met no harpies on their way to the strip mall.
"I wanted to ask… I know it's only been a few days, but how are you and Shinji getting along so far?"
Ever since their foray in Tartarus a few days back, Akihiko keeps thinking about how important it is for him that the critical figures in his life be on good terms with each other. Well, most of them; the tension between Mitsuru and Aragaki is not something he can solve, but she did approve of his return and perhaps in time things will be back to the comfortable normalcy of two years ago.
"I like him, he reminds me of my brother. He's trying hard to keep his distances from everyone though, but at the same time, he pays attention to everything."
Now that she mentions it, Shinji has been self-effaced since he came back to the dorm. He used to be less guarded back in the day, but it might just be a habit he picked up on the streets along with his truancy. He does take his duties in Tartarus very seriously, but it seems to be driven by an obligatory sense of duty more than camaraderie.
Maybe he just needs some time.
Minako sips some broth slowly and keeps talking.
"Speaking of Min, he's fond of him, perhaps because they're both quiet. The fact that Aragaki has been adamant in protecting Ken in Tartarus might have impressed him too. I know I am, he's very reliable in the field. I'm glad you brought him back."
"I told you he'd make a difference."
Akihiko takes another batch of steaming noodles into his mouth as she bites on her egg pensively, eventually glancing at him sideways with a growing smirk.
"You know… He seems very interested in making sure you're taking care of yourself; he quizzed me about you…"
Really?
"What kind of questions?"
His retort has an amount of anxious curiosity he can't quite disguise, and she instantly picks up on it, mellowing her gaze with affection.
"It's nothing bad, he just wanted to know how you've been doing there days, and he was curious about what I thought about you... It sounds like you're on his mind a lot, he even nitpicked your meal choices in detail."
Still harping about vegetables Shinji?
He grumbles in annoyance at the thought, and Minako lightly rubs her ankle on his calf under the counter, instantly drowning his irritation with a rush of blood up his neck. That sensation sends him back to a very specific morning and his mind fills with a concert of white noise. Her murmur is all he can hear despite the kitchen's cacophony in the background.
"Speaking of caring, do you have anything planned after this?"
She's keeping her focus on the remains of her meal when Akihiko dares to turn his head her way.
"Not really, no… why?"
"I know we're not running tomorrow because of the operation, but we could stop at Naganaki shrine on the way back to the dorm… If you want."
The sky still has a splash of lighter color toward the west, but the streetlamps are already lit when they make their way to the playground. Apart from the sound of crickets, the park is very quiet and devoid of any presence. All the kids are long gone at this hour and the shrine is deserted.
"Feels weird to be here at night without Koro-chan."
Akihiko can't help but wonder if she also avoids their usual unwinding spot at the playground when she comes here without him. This is their space after all, and it has a different meaning when they're together. Minako throws her schoolbag at the foot of a tree nonchalantly and moves toward the horizontal bar, extending her arms when she speaks.
"You might want to turn around."
He drops his bag next to hers and folds his uniform jacket on top, taking two steps in her direction.
"Why?"
She looks over her shoulder at him, red irises flaring bright above an impish grin.
"I don't really mind if you look up my skirt, but I figured you might want a warning first!"
Her statement crumble his thought process and Akihiko turns bright red on the spot, turning around stiffly to stare at the gate. He completely forgot they're wearing their school uniforms right now, and in her case that includes a short black flaring number above her very shapely legs. Now that she brought it up, it's all he can think about.
The white frilly one is way shorter… wait... how come I'm so sure of that?
Breathing through his nose to chase the color from his cheeks, he simply waits until she speaks, not taking any chances. Just in case.
"All good now, you can turn around."
Probably because his face still matches his vest when he does, Minako looks thoroughly entertained from her perch, resting both hands on each side of her seat while dangling her legs playfully. The offending dark fabric rides a little too high up her tights for his peace of mind, so he puts his back to the bar next to her and stares toward the trees awkwardly.
Skirts are too distracting.
"You are so adorable sometimes. Well, no, all the time."
Her nails suddenly land at the back of his head to graze through his hair and he can't help the shivers that run up his spine. If she's trying to distract him from being weird like that, he certainly doesn't mind. Another set of fingertips join the first and he closes his eyes because he's quickly losing his grip on things.
"You never told me why."
There are too many sparks flying around his head to power through his sudden word count limit.
"That's true, but it's a bit silly really."
"I'm not going to laugh."
He can't help the shudder when her fingers skim behind his left ear, and he brushes his cheek on her warm bare knee to his right absently.
"Do you remember that early morning swim you took at the beach?"
The memory of her and her brother cuddling in a blanket on the dock vaguely comes back to the forefront of his mind as she keeps talking, but it's mostly the way her eyes were shining so vividly that stands out.
"It's that picture of you coming out of the waves at dawn... At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to be standing in the sea next to you and ruffle the water from your hair for some reason… Fix the strands sticking flat to your forehead, catch all the little stars of light glistening in it, and my fingers have been itching to do it ever since."
She sounds a little embarrassed at her explanation, still playing with said tufts of silver like she can't help herself, but his ears ring at every word coming out of her mouth.
That sounds a lot like my mental pictures of you…
No wonder he felt self-conscious that morning when he saw her staring at him intensely, and now he's blushing furiously again, very thankful she can't see his face.
"I would have liked that you know."
Her chuckle is filled with warmth and once it dies her lips flutter on the edge of his left ear with a mischievous whisper.
"Don't you lie to me; you ran off that morning and I only looked at you."
You're not wrong, but...
"That was then..."
He raises his hands to the nail dancing in his hair to hold them and turns around, admiring her fully despite the resonance at the back of his mind screaming for attention. Minako's eyes are scorching flames full of wonder, lips barely parted as if she was just about to speak, but she simply wraps her fingers around his.
Akihiko gently pulls his wrists in invite, and she lets herself slide down gracefully until her shoes disturb the sand. He guides both his palms up her sleeves until he's cradling her face in them, angling it upward to look at him.
"And... this is now."
It's just a graze of his lips on hers, but it's as soft as ever and he closes his eyes to savor the texture of it. Her nails rise to his forehead like she wants to enact what she talked about, raking his hair back in tandem with the press of her mouth on his.
"This might have also crossed my mind that day."
He chuckles against her, their breaths mingling before he kisses her again.
"Really?"
He feels the smile in the curl of her lips and leverages their parting to gently tug on the lower one with a little groan, then he distinctly hears a light scrunch of footsteps in gravel.
His eyes open wide, and she looks at him before catching on why he stopped.
"Wait. There's someone."
It's quite dark in the park, but there's a small silhouette making its way toward the shrine. Akihiko squints and spots an orange hood under a familiar mop of brown when the shadow passes under a cone of light. It doesn't look like they've been seen, but he whispers anyways.
"Is that… Ken?! What is he doing here?"
That's a weird time to visit the shrine.
"I think… he's praying for his mom. We went for a bite yesterday and he mentioned her a lot. He probably misses her terribly."
I know it was an accident, but…
Minako's voice sounds the same as usual, but there's a sheen in her eyes that betrays the mask sliding in place, making something lurch inside his chest right next to the awkwardness of Ken's situation.
"We should leave him to it then… He probably doesn't want an audience."
They retrieve their bags and slowly make their way back toward the gate in silence when he pulls her to him for a hug, saying nothing, because he needs that as much as she probably does.
It wouldn't do to come back on a sour note.
It takes her a little bit to find her voice, but she sounds almost amused.
"I don't know how you know sometimes."
"I watch you a lot."
She laughs and looks at him, cheeks a little pink, when a familiar bark resonates through the street. A dog runs toward them excitedly.
"Koro-chan?"
She kneels to greet him with a ruffle of his fur, and Aragaki slowly makes his way over, hands in his pockets. Akihiko grins at him, not very surprised at his choice of activity and Shinji scowls back, defensive. Minako scratches the dog's ears with a smile.
"It's nice of you to take him for a walk, senpai."
Shinji just grumbles, looking sideways.
"Aigis said he wanted to do his rounds at the shrine before tomorrow's operation and everyone's busy, that's all..."
Don't think she doesn't know. I do.
Minako looks toward the gate, then back to Aragaki.
"Ken's there praying, you might want to keep an eye out if you're staying for a bit, it's pretty late."
A shadow passes over Shinji's eyes for a second and he scrounges his brows before nodding.
"I'll handle the kid... Speaking of late, you got classes tomorrow. You should rest."
She pets Koromaru one last time, earning herself a lick on the cheek before straightening up. Her eyes skim over them both knowingly when she grins.
"Thanks, maybe I can even squeeze in some Innocent Sin with Junpei. G'night senpais!"
She takes off like a comet, skirt flaring, and Shinji eyes her very carefully as she leaves. Akihiko locks his steps on his friend's, intending to tag along on his outing with Koromaru, and they barely pass the gate before Aragaki turns a predatory stare on him. It's the same look he's been giving him all week in silence, every time they go to Tartarus too, and it's starting to get on his nerves.
"What?"
"…What were you two doing out here Aki?"
Can you just drop it?
Shinji barely smirks and keeps glowering at him, waiting for an answer. Grumbling, he can't help but snap.
"We were talking. Why?"
It's not exactly a lie, but the hazel eyes turned his way don't relent one bit regardless and now Shinji is grinning knowingly.
"Really…"
Akihiko blurts the first thing that comes to mind, trying to change the subject.
"When are you coming back to school?"
"Tch, screw that. So… you gonna let her walk home in the dark by herself? That's lame."
Shinji gives him a hard shove backward and keeps walking dismissively despite the stinging punch he lands on his shoulder in retaliation.
"You should start running Aki, she's fast."
Minako can take care of herself, but he takes off toward the dorm anyways because he's not wrong per say. But it's the mocking laugh in his back that almost makes him turn around and slug him again.
"And fix your hair moron, you look like you fucked around with an electric outlet."