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“You know, it's kinda sweet how Aragaki-san always wants your heals,” Yukari says as she leans down into the fridge, pulling out a can of cold coffee.
“What do you mean?” Akihiko asks, his brows furrowed in a mixture of confusion and concentration. He's cooking chicken again, wanting to get the seasonings right for his next cooking session with Minato. He sighs, thinking something's still missing.
“You should season the chicken a little more,” Yukari says as she peeks over his shoulder, before popping the tab on her soda. And then a sly little smile forms on her face. “Wait a minute… you haven't noticed?”
“Noticed what?” Akihiko asks with a sigh, even as he moves to follow her instructions, picking out a few of the spices from the cabinet and leaning over the steamy water to add them to the chicken, satisfied with the smell. “I have no idea what you're talking about, Yukari.”
“About how Aragaki-san always, always is calling your name when he asks for heals, and when we're out of battle, he goes straight to you for them,” Yukari says as she takes a drink of her cold coffee before leaning her elbows down onto the counter to watch Akihiko cook. “I thought at first he just didn't like me, but… I don't think he realizes he does it.”
“He really does that?” Akihiko asks as he leaves the chicken to steam for a moment, lowering the lid. He turns to Yukari, his natural curiosity about all things Shinjiro biting him in the butt.
“Yeah, all the time,” Yukari says, rolling her eyes with a hint of amusement behind the expression as she takes another drink.
“I guess I never noticed, but… when it was only Mitsuru, Shinji, and I, I was the only one who could heal,” Akihiko says as he thinks back to those days, chuckling as he scratches his cheek. “It kind of used to piss me off, how Shinji would always demand heals…”
“You should look out for it, next time we're in Tartarus,” Yukari encourages him with a light laugh. “It's adorable. Even Fuuka thinks so.”
Akihiko can't help but frown. “Did everyone notice this except for me…?”
Yukari straightens up, her smile a little too wide as she hurries to correct him. “Not everyone…? Just Fuuka and I. And, well, Aigis maybe but she even tracks our sleep cycles.”
Akihiko sighs and moves back to check on his chicken, grateful it's looking a little less plain and boring. “Great.”
Yukari, sensing a dip in his mood, finishes her cold coffee and tosses it in the trash. “I better get started on my homework,” she says with a nervous laugh, stepping out of the kitchen.
Akihiko stares down at the chicken intently, wondering what else he's missed about Shinji. He quickly gathers the food up before thinking about Shinji can summon him, not wanting his cooking scrutinized by his eyes.
---
Back then, there hadn't been extra healers and figuring out Tartarus was a messy, stumbling affair into its luridly green puzzle-piece walls.
“Stay back in battle, Akihiko,” Mitsuru says in a clipped tone as she leads them through the latest floor, trying to sound stern but not quite hitting the mark. “And I mean it this time.”
Shinjiro chuckles, axe resting over his shoulder as he ambles along behind Akihiko, taking up the back end. “Aki's never gonna listen, least not for the whole trip. He's too pumped up for it.”
“I will,” Akihiko assures Mitsuru as he walks between them, adjusting his gloves. The tips of his ears burn. “I know I messed up running in last time. I'll focus on heals.” The word tastes bitter on his tongue, but he's beginning to accept his fate, for now at least. “Though it wouldn't kill one of you to learn some…”
“You hear that, Castor?” Shinjiro calls to his Persona, who floats at the ready at his shoulder. He's got this lazy grin on his face, all smug satisfaction, like he knows it burns Akihiko up inside. “Guess we better get learnin’.”
Mitsuru rolls her eyes at them both, her rapier striking out before them. “I sense a Shadow nearby. Shall we strike them down?”
Akihiko and Shinjiro both quiet down at once.
“I'll move in and hit ‘em first,” Shinjiro offers, stepping to the front of the group and swinging his axe in an arc to strike the nearing Shadows.
“Understood.” Mitsuru steps in once the Shadows are disoriented from his harsh blow, ice curling at the edges of her rapier as she deals them sharp cuts.
Akihiko hangs back, like he's meant to, and tries not to feel frustrated, as Polydeuces hovers in wait behind him. He tosses out the occasional Zio spell, but it's still not enough.
And then one of the big, lumbering Shadows strikes out and claws up Shinjiro’s side, a spray of blood coming out quick, covering the two front-liners in it.
It's automatic, the way Shinjiro calls out, “Fuck… Aki! I need healing!”
“Shit! Dia!” Akihiko pushes his Evoker to his head, calling for Polydeuces, and feels the way his healing expands out from them into Shinjiro. And it feels good, no matter how embarrassing it is to think.
Shinjiro’s side knits back together like it's nothing and he shakes it off to shoot Akihiko a shaky, half-feral grin, before he's calling for Castor and really making the whole damn area bloody with his Theurgy.
Akihiko holds the Evoker in his hands, fingers trembling around it, and some small part of his brain says oh as he realizes how much he likes that feeling, like he's a part of Shinjiro, connected.
---
Akihiko decides maybe, just maybe, he'll see what Yukari’s talking about tonight, as he slides on his gloves outside Tartarus. He sneaks a glance at Shinjiro, knowing he's in the lineup tonight.
“Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Shinjiro, it's your turn tonight,” Minato says as he gestures them onto the glowing platform.
Akihiko takes his place next to Mitsuru, offering her a quick glance and a nod as he prepares himself, knowing he'll be doing more heals tonight.
Fuuka activates the platform with her hands held in prayer fashion before her face, speaking in their heads as she says, “The Shadows are a little rowdy on this floor… Be careful.”
“Stick close together.” Minato takes the lead with Mitsuru at his side, their long weapons held out at the ready to strike nearby Shadows from a distance.
“Wonder what's got ‘em so riled up tonight,” Shinjiro says from where he walks half a step behind Akihiko, axe slung over his shoulder. He always prefers taking up the rear of the group, after all. “You think it's cause of that typhoon that blew past?”
“Might be,” Akihiko says, considering it as he glances around the walls of Tartarus. He can't help but feel excited at the challenge. “Think you can keep up?”
“Nah,” Shinjiro says, slow and relaxed as he shoots Akihiko a smirk. “Thought I'd let you do all the work tonight. You look like you could use a little less energy.”
Mitsuru glances back at them, trying not to smile and keep up her stern expression. “Less chatter, you two. I sense three powerful Shadows ahead of us… and close by.”
“I think it might be another floor boss,” Minato says, leading them up the glowing green stairs to a large, round room where the three Shadows seem to be in wait for them. “You all ready?”
There's nods of agreement all around, and Minato steps forward to start the fight, his sword at the ready. “Mitsuru, Shinjiro, you're our main attackers. Akihiko, you'll heal and provide magic coverage. I'll fill any cracks.”
“About time we got fighting around here,” Shinjiro says with a click of his tongue, moving in with his axe and swinging it out at the Shadows.
The Shadows rear back in pain but push forward still to try to hit him, as if raging.
“I can't help but agree,” Mitsuru admits as she throws out a spray of ice to coat the enemies, freezing one in place.
Minato steps in to strike the frozen enemy hard, grunting as he's pushed back after. “This might take a while… at least until we build up a Theurgy.”
“These Shadows are strange though,” Akihiko mutters as he keeps a close eye on Shinjiro fending them off. He presses his Evoker to his head, casting magic to lower their defenses. “Really rage-y.”
“The Shadows seem agitated… like they've been influenced in some way,” Fuuka calls over their heads, her worry clear. “Be careful.”
“Damn, they're persistent as hell,” Shinjiro mutters as he swings his axe hard at one before hurrying out of the way of another, wincing when he's not fast enough and the Shadow slashes him hard with its claws. “Aki! Healing!” he calls without a thought, resting a hand against his bleeding side as he tries to keep the Shadows at bay.
“Diarama!” Akihiko calls as he presses his Evoker to his head, feeling the answering call from Shinjiro as their magic links together, connects, and a wave of his magic soothes the hurt.
The fight presses on like that, slow and difficult and bloody, but finally it ends as Minato deals the last blow with his Theurgy, and they all take a moment to rest on the now empty floor, catching their breath.
Shinjiro drops down next to Akihiko, holding his side with a grimace. “Think you got a little left to heal me up again, Aki?” he asks, blood spilling out messily through his fingers in a trickle.
Akihiko feels for his magic, as if testing it, but he's far from tapped out these days because he watches it like a hawk. “I've got you,” he says as he leans forward, pulling Shinjiro's hand from the wound and replacing it with his own, pushing the healing spell and feeling it enter the wound, his closeness to Shinjiro suddenly more in every sense. He lets it trickle out slowly, finally removing his hand. “Better?”
“Much,” Shinjiro says with a sigh as he stretches out, head leaned back and eyes half-shut.
Akihiko watches him, unable to help thinking about what Yukari said, how Shinjiro's always coming to him for heals, never anyone else. He laughs and says, voice hushed, “Must be. What, are my heals just better or something?”
Shinjiro pulls off his beanie, running a hand through his hair. “Just feels better, coming from you,” he says, his eyes fixed on Mitsuru and Minato chatting quietly across from them. He looks almost embarrassed. “Why? You gettin’ tired of it?”
“Huh,” Akihiko says quietly, more an exhale than a real spoken word. He's looking at Shinjiro, really looking, and wondering if that feeling between them goes both ways when he heals him.
“Aki?” Shinjiro presses, shifting to rest a hand on Akihiko's shoulder, looking all too unimpressed with his distraction.
“Oh! No, no, it's- it's fine,” Akihiko says quickly, maybe a little too quickly, and he feels himself flushing warmer. “I used to mind, but lately, I don't mind healing as much. I don't want to see you in pain, and well- I can help.”
Shinjiro looks at him, thumb swiping across Akihiko's cheek to get a little speck of blood off. “So you don't mind now, huh?”
“Not even a little,” Akihiko says, looking back into his eyes and hoping Shinjiro feels it too.
Shinjiro chuckles and leans away to pull back on his beanie, a thoughtful look on his face. “Good,” he says, and then a comfortable silence falls over them until the call of Tartarus takes them up another floor.