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It starts, as most things do, with a challenge.
Even though they’ve made up now from their little spat, Junpei still has an obsession with one upping Makoto at anything he possibly can. It mostly ends up being Mario Kart matches in the common area, with Kotone acting as referee.
Sometimes, some of the others will join in. Junpei didn’t expect Fuuka to be so good at Mario Kart, but given that she seems like she was born with her hands attached to a laptop, he probably should have guessed. Yukari is similarly decent, but that’s probably because Junpei made her play with him constantly when they were kids. Kotone is extremely bad. There is no sugar coating it. That’s why she's a referee. If she plays, a Wii remote would likely end up inside the TV, and that would be hard to explain to Ikutsuki. Aigis, unfortunately, has a lot of trouble trying to play with her gun fingers, but she claims that she is perfectly content to watch.
Even Mitsuru and Akihiko join in sometimes. Mitsuru is… just as bad as one would think, and Akihiko tends to throw the controller more than he wins, but hey. At least it’s fun.
Junpei never thought he would make so many friends. For a while, it was just him and Yuka-tan, and he wasn’t even sure if she liked him half the time. But now, he lives in a lively dorm, with people he can consider friends. And a dog and a robot. Details.
And there’s Makoto, too. Junpei isn’t quite sure where they stand. Junpei would happily call him his best friend, but he isn’t sure if the feeling’s mutual. And considering how much of an asshole Junpei had been to him the past month, he definitely wouldn’t be surprised if Makoto would call someone more pleasant his best friend.
Makoto hasn’t acted upset with him at all, which only serves to make Junpei feel worse. He was just ragging on a guy who refused to fight back. And when Junpei apologized, Makoto just nodded and asked if he wanted to hang out again.
Makoto is a freak of nature. But Junpei is incredibly happy to have him back.
They’re laying on the floor in Junpei’s room, with a portable fan blasting air at their faces so they don’t overheat. They had started out playing Mortal Kombat, but the game was paused and the controllers tossed aside as Makoto started to poke around Junpei’s room. Nosy bastard.
Makoto had already found some of his manga collection, but Junpei’s smarter than people think, so all the more… inappropriate manga is hidden away. Ever since Mitsuru had called the police to his room, he’s been on edge.
Makoto yawns from his spot next to Junpei, and when Junpei turns to look at him, he’s wiping his eyes.
“Gonna go into a heat coma?” Junpei asks, flipping his baseball cap over his eyes. “I could use a nap right now, too, not gonna lie.”
“It’s hot,” Makoto agrees.
“That’s because your hair is always in your eyes, man. I don’t even want to think about how sweaty you get. You should get a haircut.”
“I like my hair just fine, thank you,” Makoto says, “Or do you think I’d look good with the Junpei special?”
Junpei snorts. “No one looks good with the Junpei special, dude. Why do you think I always got my hat on?”
“Bad barber?” Makoto asks.
“Nah, did it myself. Turns out my hand-eye coordination is kinda shit.” Well, and his arm was kinda broken, but details.
Makoto doesn’t ask why he gave himself that haircut, and Junpei’s grateful. It’s a can of worms he’d rather not get into right now. It would just make everything depressing.
“Well, should we?”
“Should we what?” Junpei asks.
“Take a nap,” Makoto says casually. Junpei hears him turn on his side. “We don’t have anything better to do.”
Junpei takes his hat off his eyes and is immediately jumpscared by Makoto extremely close to his face. “Jesus, man,” he says, startled. And Junpei must be the biggest fucking cliche in the world, because his first thought beyond shock is that Makoto’s so close he could count his eyelashes.
“Sorry,” Makoto says, not sounding particularly sorry. But that may just be his monotone voice. “But what do you say?”
Eh. What the hell. “Sure, why not?” Junpei shrugs. “Like you said, we got nothin’ better to do.”
“Cool,” Makoto says, then adds, “Let’s cuddle.”
Junpei sputters.
“What, are you scared?” Makoto asks dryly.
Junpei wills himself not to blush. “No!” he says, and his voice only cracks a little bit, thank you very much. “It’s just… um… it’s too hot for that!” Nice, a good excuse.
As always, Makoto sees right through him. “No, I think you’re just scared.” And he sounds smug, the little shit. “You’re too chicken!”
“I am not!” Junpei snaps back. He knows that Makoto is trying to rile him up, but goddamn it, it’s working. “Fuck you, I’ll cuddle you right now! I’ll be the best damn cuddler you’ve ever had!”
“Yeah?” Makoto says, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah!” Junpei says, then grabs Makoto and yanks him so that his arms are wrapped around him. Makoto doesn’t pull away, and neither does Junpei. They stare at each other, and Junpei tries to ignore the way his stomach flips at Makoto’s intense eye contact.
What are they doing? What is going on? Makoto had just been teasing him, and Junpei just did this? What the fuck is wrong with him? But Makoto still doesn’t pull away. In fact, Junpei swears he almost shifts closer, so close that their faces are almost touching, and oh god Junpei really hopes that his breath doesn’t smell like shit. He brushed his teeth this morning, right? He’s trying really hard to remember, but with Makoto so close to him and so warm, it’s hard for him to focus on anything else.
They stare at each other for another moment of silence, before-
Makoto slowly smirks at him. “Bet you you’ll back out first.”
Oh, it was on.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Since then, their game of gay chicken has certainly escalated. Makoto had meant his bet, and Junpei had meant it when he said that he was not going to lose. In fact, they had stayed laying there on the floor in Junpei’s room, for at least a half hour, until Makoto had to go to the bathroom. So Junpei got round one. But Makoto wasn’t giving up that easily.
He had been extremely touchy with Junpei ever since then, brushing against him as they walked downstairs, sitting right next to him whenever he could, holding onto his arm a little too long in Tartarus. Junpei returns in kind, ruffling his hair, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, pulling him into side hugs. He likes the newfound affection between them, if he’s being honest, but he will go with that information to his grave.
The others have to have noticed, but nobody’s brought it up yet. And thank God for that. Junpei does not want to think about having a conversation with Yukari or, even worse, Mitsuru about this.
It’s not like anything is happening, though, of course. It’s just a game. A competition. Seeing who will back out first. And Junpei is not going to lose, even if it means sacrificing his dignity and his sanity. Iori Junpei will not lose!
So that’s how it ends up that at one of their game nights, Makoto tries to sit in his lap. It’s just the two of them, since Kotone and Yukari are having a girl’s night, Fuuka is out with Natsuki, Akihiko and Mitsuru are being good students and studying, and who knows where Aigis is.
They’ve just put in Smash Bros. and had barely even gotten through the first game before Makoto decided it was time to begin the official round 2. Makoto turns to him, suddenly, right before the timer runs out in the game. He looks at him, seriously, like he’s about to say something important- then he just crawls into Junpei’s lap and wraps his arms around Junpei’s neck.
Junpei does NOT blush. He doesn’t! “Dude!” he exclaims, hands instinctively going to Makoto’s waist.
“What?” Makoto asks, and Junpei can practically hear the shit-eating grin in his voice, even as he keeps a perfectly straight expression. Ha. Straight. Irony.
Junpei knows that he should probably be, like, having some sort of sexuality crisis over what they’re doing, but honestly? Been there, done that. Once he’d gotten over himself and understood why he was so angry at Makoto, it had been as easy as admitting that, hey, maybe it wasn’t just jealousy. Or maybe it was, but not in the way everyone assumed. He was jealous of everyone else around Makoto, because Makoto just radiates charm, in the way that people like Junpei could only hope to even come close to. Kotone’s like that as well, so Junpei figures it must be some sort of genetic thing. Or something.
He’d lived almost his whole life forcing himself to be like the other guys he knew, to talk about girls and look at them and flirt with them. It never felt quite right, but he always pushed that aside. He had just wanted to be normal. But now he’s anything but normal. The average guy doesn’t fight demonic monsters every night.
Anyway, Junpei’s already had his sexuality breakdown, and he’s more or less accepted that he finds Makoto attractive- even if he still isn’t sure just how deep his feelings actually go. The game they’re playing isn’t helping, either. Every time Makoto touches him, he feels like he’s accidentally set himself on fire with Agi.
Junpei can’t lie, he does wonder what Makoto feels about all this. Makoto isn’t usually one to initiate one of their challenges. He would just go along with whatever Junpei came up with. Makoto’s always been pretty hard to read, but Junpei’s finding himself unable to figure out what exactly Makoto is getting out of this. Had he been asked a couple months ago, he might’ve thought Makoto was trying to humiliate him. But he knows now that Makoto isn’t like that. Junpei was just attributing malice where there was none.
Now, with Makoto sitting in his lap, it appears they’re at a standstill. Because Junpei doesn’t know how far he can go without making it weird, and Makoto doesn’t seem willing to move any further either. They’re quiet.
“Hey, Junpei,” Makoto says, voice low, and Junpei almost shivers when he feels Makoto’s breath against his neck.
“Yeah?” he manages, forcing himself to look down at Makoto. Makoto stares up at him, eyes almost fluttering shut, as if he’s about to fall asleep. Makoto always looks tired, but he never lets himself look almost passed out. Honestly, he’s getting pretty tired, too. He thinks for a moment about what it would be like to-
“Time!” the game shouts, and Makoto and Junpei both jump. Junpei had completely forgotten about it, and Makoto seems to have as well, as he turns to look at the TV in confusion.
“Oh,” Makoto says.
“That’s what you get for playing as Meta Knight,” Junpei says, but his heart isn’t in it. He can’t help but feel frustrated. Who knows what would have happened if that stupid game had interrupted.
“Yeah, yeah,” Makoto says, rolling his eyes. He looks back at Junpei, eyes flicking back down to his lips. He licks his own. And maybe Junpei is a little crazy, because he starts to lean in, and maybe Makoto is a little crazy, too, because Junpei can see the way he relaxes and starts to move forward in response, and…
“Hello,” says a voice, and Junpei does not shriek. For the second time in two minutes, Junpei and Makoto jump away from each other in guilt like kids with their hands in the cookie jar.
“Aigis?!” he exclaims, as the robot tilts her head at them curiously.
“That is me,” she confirms. She looks at them intently. “What are you doing? Are you initiating… romantic interactions?”
Junpei sputters. “It’s not- we’re playing a game!” Why would she say that?? Junpei knows she’s a robot and doesn’t have a filter, but god, can’t she just read the room every once in a while?
“I see,” Aigis says, nodding slowly. “Is this a human thing?”
“Sure,” Makoto says. He slowly slides out of Junpei’s lap, and Junpei forces himself to not feel disappointed as he does. “It’s a human thing.” Makoto sounds remarkably calm, but Junpei can tell by the way he lowers his face that he’s embarrassed.
“I see,” Aigis says again, “Fascinating.” She continues staring at them, and Junpei feels oddly exposed. He is unsettlingly reminded of the fact that Aigis does not need to blink, and in fact she doesn’t for a whole minute, until she seems to decide she has seen enough.
“Did you need something?” Makoto asks her, breaking the awkward silence.
“Ah,” Aigis says, “Kotone-san asked me to wish you a good night." She nods with intention. “And I have now completed my mission. Good night, Makoto-san. Junpei-san.”
She bows at them, formal as always, and turns back to walk upstairs.
“Why couldn’t Kotone do that herself?” Junpei mutters, irritated. He’s still annoyed that they were interrupted. Twice! By Smash Bros. and then a robot! What the fuck!
Makoto rolls his eyes. “She and Yukari are probably busy, if you catch my drift.”
It takes Junpei an embarrassingly long amount of time to figure out what Makoto is implying here. That Yukari and Kotone are…
“Wait, is that why Yukari and Kotone always kick me out when they have girls’ night?”
“Yes?” Makoto raises an eyebrow. Probably raises both of them, but Junpei wouldn’t know, because his stupid luscious and fluffy blue hair is in the way. “Are you really that surprised?”
Well, if Junpei thinks about it for more than a few seconds, no, he isn’t, actually. It was almost comical how obvious it was if he thought about it. Kotone and Yukari are extremely close, always cuddling with each other, and spend practically all their time together. It’s not too much of a stretch to assume that they’re a thing. And, hey, it’s kind of comforting to know that Junpei isn’t the only non-straight person here.
“Huh,” he says, unsure of what to do with his newfound knowledge. “I guess I thought girls’ night meant, like, make-up and not, I don’t know-”
“Make-up and not making out?” Makoto asks with a sly grin.
Junpei almost gags. He loves Yuka-tan and Kotone, but he has his limits. “Dude, I don’t wanna think about that. Yuka-tan’s like my sister, man.”
“Kotone is my actual sister,” Makoto reminds him.
“And you’re over here spilling her shit.”
“Well, she tried to expose me, so it’s only fair that I do the same,” he says matter of factly.
That piques Junpei’s interest. “Expose you for what?”
Oddly, Makoto blushes. Faintly, and if Junpei didn’t know him so well, he wouldn’t have noticed. “Nothing,” he says quickly. “Hey, wanna get back to our game?”
Junpei doesn’t know if he should feel insulted that Makoto thinks that will distract him or if he should feel impressed because it does, in fact, almost distract him. Whatever. Makoto’s business isn’t his business. Even if he does have an odd, tight feeling in his stomach.
They reset the game, picking their characters (Makoto still picking Meta Knight, the tryhard) and start their match. But they sit apart from each other, not touching anymore, and Junpei won’t lie and pretend that he doesn’t miss the contact. In fact, the lack of contact is making him eye Makoto even more than usual.
He’s attractive, obviously. His hair is always luscious and fluffy, even though he spends like 10 minutes in the bathroom at most every morning. His eyes are piercing and bright, even when his insomnia hits him and eyebags appear underneath. He doesn’t smile often, but god, when he does… Junpei can definitely understand why Makoto gets so many love letters in his shoebox every day.
Makoto’s fingers are long and slender, like the rest of him. For a moment, Junpei wonders if- No no no no no, bad. Bad brain. No. Stop. Junpei tears his eyes away from Makoto’s hands as he tries desperately to tell his brain to shut the fuck up.
They are playing Smash Bros, for fuck’s sake. It’s fucking Smash Bros. It’s probably the least sexy game he could possibly think of. What is he even doing? He gets the smallest amount of attention from a guy and immediately starts drooling over him? What the fuck is his problem? God, maybe he is messed up.
He’s distracted enough that Makoto manages to take another stock from him, just as the last few seconds are up. The game announces Meta Knight as the winner, and Junpei doesn’t even have it in him to complain.
“I should go do some of the summer homework,” Makoto says, voice quiet and monotone like he is when they’re with other people. His eyes flicker over to Junpei’s face for the briefest of moments before he looks back at the TV. “It’s pretty late.”
“Yeah,” Junpei says, and then cringes.
Makoto stands up, awkwardly, and turns the TV off. “Good night, Junpei,” he says, stubbornly keeping his gaze away. He turns and runs up the stairs before Junpei can respond, leaving him alone with his stupid Wii remote.
“Good night,” Junpei says, stupidly, and tries to ignore the feeling that he’s massively fucked up.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Junpei can’t stop thinking about it.
After that night, Makoto is acting like nothing ever happened, and it’s driving him crazy. Junpei had been worried that Makoto would be avoiding him, but this is almost worse somehow. It’s like- it didn’t mean anything to Makoto, not like it did to Junpei. Like it really was just a game. If Makoto were avoiding him, then it would mean that it at least bothered him. But he’s just acting like nothing happened.
Junpei groans and rubs his hands over his face. Maybe it’s for the best- if he pushes this, Makoto might end up hating him, and their friendship would fall apart again, for good this time. More than anything, Junpei wants to keep his friendship with Makoto. He’ll do anything to keep that.
They’re planning on going to Tartarus tonight, so they’re taking today easy. Junpei isn’t sure where the others are, because after receiving the email from Kotone about going to Tartarus, he’s done nothing but lay on his bed in his room rereading some of his manga. Well. “Rereading.” After about the fifth time of attempting to read the same line and still not comprehending it, Junpei gives up and flips the manga onto the floor. He sighs and pulls his hat over his eyes, deciding to just take a nap.
There’s a knock at the door, startling him.
“It’s unlocked,” Junpei says, not willing to get up from his oh so comfortable bed. It’s probably just Kotone wanting to tell him something about their mission tonight.
“Junpei?” comes a voice that is definitely not Kotone, and Junpei definitely doesn’t almost fall off his bed in shock.
“Makoto! Hey!” Junpei says, flipping his hat back up and attempting to look nonchalant.
Makoto is looking at him, curious. Juniper realizes that he’s got a shit ton of open manga and food wrappers surrounding him on the bed, like some sort of depression horde. He coughs and stands up, attempting to cover it with his body.
“So, uh…” Junpei suddenly feels very awkward, like he had back when they weren’t speaking. Back then, they had only interacted when forced to, when Makoto gave orders in Tartarus or they accidentally bumped into each other in the dorm. Then, even seeing Makoto had filled Junpei with a sense of envy, and anger, and sometimes a little bit of wistfulness. Why wasn’t Makoto chasing after him? Was he not good enough?
That was over now, though. There was no need to think about it.
“What’s up?” He immediately cringes. Why is so terrible at this.
“We agreed to hang out tonight, remember?” Makoto says.
Oh fuck, they did, didn’t they? Junpei has been so focused on his own self pity that he completely forgot. He and Makoto always hang out on Wednesday evenings, usually waiting for the Dark Hour so they can go to Tartarus. Junpei likes spending time with him the most out of all of his teammates, and he likes to think that Makoto enjoys his company the most too. Maybe he’s being delusional, but Junpei’s always been good at that.
“Yeah, totally!” Junpei nods hurriedly, trying not to show that he did, indeed, not remember. In his defense, he was busy worrying about Makoto for other reasons. So it’s like he didn’t actually forget. If you think about it hard enough.
Makoto gives him a small smirk. He definitely sees straight through Junpei’s lies. Dammit.
“Oh, really?” He drawls, “For a minute I almost thought that you were just so caught in thinking about me that you forgot.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, dude,” Junpei says, a little snappishly, and starts to pull his hat over his burning face. Makoto always knows the right buttons to push, doesn’t he? Always hits right on the mark.
He hears Makoto click his tongue. “Why are you hiding? Embarrassed?” he taunts.
Makoto’s hand reaches for his hat, and Junpei panics. He grabs Makoto’s wrist and yanks it away. Makoto balks, startled, and Junpei quickly lets go of his wrist. They stare at each other, Junpei feeling his face slowly turn pale.
“Fuck,” he says, “I’m sorry.”
”No, it’s okay,” Makoto says, “I didn’t mean to… startle you?” He seems confused, which Junpei understands. He usually isn’t so jumpy when Makoto tries to embarrass him. It’s just… it’s different with….
”Not your fault.” Junpei coughs into his fist. “Sorry. Um. You just… well…”
Junpei doesn’t like thinking about it, really. But he doesn’t like sudden movements towards his head or neck. His dad always used to grab him randomly, and even now, being touched in the wrong place freaked him out. He doesn’t like talking about it. He would bet that nobody even knows, simply because he always felt like he couldn’t tell people. His dad was all he had when he was younger, after his mom had left him behind. He just sucked it up and kept quiet to avoid drawing any attention to himself. It was always easier that way. But…
He wants to tell Makoto, he realizes. Makoto might be able to understand. He doesn’t have parents either.
“My dad, uh…” Junpei grimaces. “I’ve never really told anyone this, but my dad is… kind of a shithead. He just spends all his time getting drunk and angry. He would take it out on me constantly… That’s why I was so excited to move to the dorm. Just to get away from that asshole.”
Makoto is watching him, face blank as always, though Junpei can see a small downturn in his eyebrows, indicating worry.
“So…” Well, he may as well just do it. He takes his hat off. Makoto’s eyes widen slightly.
That chunk of hair is still missing, even after all these months, he knows. “Last time I saw him, he was pissed off for some stupid reason so he…” Junpei mimics grabbing himself by the hair. “Threw me down the stairs and broke my damn arm. Ripped some of my hair out, too.” Junpei sighs. “That’s why I had to get this stupid haircut. I couldn’t stand looking at myself in the mirror.”
“I see,” Makoto says, then doesn’t say anything else. Junpei appreciates that. It pisses him off when someone tries to apologize for something they had no part in. Like when his mom left. It isn’t anybody’s fault that Junpei’s dad is a shithead except for his.
“Wow, sorry about that,” Junpei says, laughing self-consciously. He quickly puts his hat back on. “I really ruined the mood there, didn’t I?”
“I don’t mind,” Makoto says, shaking his head. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll try not to do it again.” Junpei feels his stomach do a funny flip. Wow, Makoto really does just always know the right thing to say, doesn’t he?
“Wanna play something?” Junpei asks, to change the subject. He begins moving over to his TV and switching it on so that he doesn’t have to keep looking at Makoto’s stupid beautiful eyes. Stupid beautiful blue eyes. He’s fucked.
“Sure,” Makoto says, easily. “Or we would watch a movie? We still have a few hours before the Dark Hour.”
If they watched a movie, they could cuddle- No. Bad Junpei. Bad Junpei. No. “Sure, whatever you want, dude,” Junpei says, trying very hard to make sure his voice doesn’t crack.
In the end, they decide to watch a movie. Some shitty budget horror movie that Makoto rented. The effects are bad, the plot is incomprehensible, and the actors are horrible. It’s a damn good time.
After laughing at the fifth shitty death, Makoto leans his head back onto Junpei’s shoulder, who almost spontaneously combusts. Thank God he hasn’t figured out how to summon his persona outside the Dark Hour yet. He’s sure that Hermes would set him on fire.
They continue like that, and Junpei tries to allow himself to relax. He can’t shake the guilty feeling here that he’s being manipulative, using this game to get what he wants, so he doesn’t wrap his arm around Makoto’s shoulder as much as he wants to.
After what feels like the longest movie ever, the clock strikes midnight, and Makoto stands up, placing his hands on his hips. The others will be going downstairs any time now, for their excursion into Tartarus. Even in the heat of summer, the shadows still roam throughout the city, looking for those unfortunate humans who remained conscious.
“Well, we better get ready, babe,” Makoto says.
Junpei makes an odd face. “‘Babe’?” he asks, trying not to blush.
“Yeah? What, are nicknames too far for you?” Makoto gives him a smirk.
No matter how much being called babe by Makoto may fluster him, Junpei will NOT admit it. “I don’t know, I guess I thought gay people would call each other shit like ‘hot cock’ or something. ‘Babe’ is a straight guy word.”
Makoto gives his soft laugh, and Junpei’s stomach does that funny little flip again, and he pulls his cap down, trying to hide his red face.
He’s screwed.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Tartarus goes as it usually does.
They had already made it to the end of the block, but Akihiko and Mitsuru insist they must keep in shape. Junpei certainly won’t complain about an opportunity to kick some shadow ass. It’s a great way to get stress relief, and oh boy does he have a lot right now!
It’s him, Makoto, and Akihiko in one group, while the girls are split into another. Junpei thinks of Mitsuru being the third wheel in the Kotone-Yukari affair and almost starts laughing in the middle of a fight, which would have been very hard to explain. Not like Akihiko would really get it, either.
But that’s not all that distracts Junpei. Every so often, he can’t help but look over at Makoto, who always moves so gracefully and tactfully, despite what his tired and slow appearance in everyday life might suggest. Makoto uses one of his personas to dispatch a shadow and flips his bands afterwards, before catching Junpei staring at him and blowing him a kiss. Junpei’s stomach flips and he hurriedly turns around and quickly stabs the shadow behind him, trying to stop his face from burning. Stupid tease.
Thankfully, another shadow successfully distracts him, and Junpei summons Hermes to burn the fucker alive.
Unthankfully, after the shadow is down, Makoto makes sure to catch his attention again by coming around and right up in his face, blue eyes looking up at him smugly. Junpei blushes again.
“You’re getting pretty good at this, Junpei,” Makoto says, batting his eyelashes at him. Two can play at that game.
“It’s all thanks to you, Leader. You’re just so inspiring,” Junpei says, voice low, placing his hands on Makoto’s arms. Makoto actually falters for a moment, which Junpei internally pumps a fist at. Victory!
“Iori, Yuuki!” Akihiko calls, tearing their attention away from each other. He has an odd look on his face, but quickly smooths it out and gestures towards the stairs. “Mitsuru and the others are waiting on the next floor.”
“Right, yeah,” Junpei says, nodding, before realizing that he’s still holding onto Makoto’s arms and quickly lets go with a cough. Makoto doesn’t seem to mind, though, and sticks close by him as they walk up the stairs to regroup. Makoto’s hand brushes his and Junpei, before he can stop himself, brushes back, intertwining their pinkie fingers. He very pointedly doesn’t look at Makoto, even when he can feel Makoto’s head snap to look at him. His heart is almost beating out of his chest. Will Makoto pull away?
Makoto doesn’t pull away.
The Tartarus run ends relatively fast compared to other ones. Kotone managed to convince Mitsuru that the heat combined with the Tartarus accident rate was enough to go back early. How she did that, Junpei has no idea.
But either way, it means they get to go back to the dorms even before the Dark Hour ends. Yukari announces that she’s going to bed and Kotone quickly follows her for one of their “girl nights,” Junpei bets. Mitsuru and Akihiko go wherever they go when they’re not in the common room, and Aigis and Fuuka both retire to their rooms as well, leaving Makoto and Junpei alone in the common room.
Junpei’s blood is pumping far too much to ever think about getting to bed right now, so he flops down on the catch, slightly surprised when Makoto joins him after a second.
“Staying up, too?” Junpei asks.
Makoto nods and fully flops down on the catch with a groan, tossing his sword on the ground next to him. “I don’t know why, but those shadows were tougher than usual.”
“Dude, I know,” Junpei rolls his eyes. “What was with all the multi targeting spells? Fuckin’ cheaters.”
Makoto laughs lightly, making Junpei grin stupidly. He would never get tired of that laugh.
“So, what should we do?” Junpei asks. Makoto shrugs.
“I’m not really feeling anything,” he says, “Just wanna sit here and stare at the wall for a few minutes.”
“Sounds good to me,” Junpei agrees, then gets a spark of evil genius. “Or we could stare at each other. Romantically.” He means it as a joke, so he definitely isn’t expecting it when Makoto blushes and quickly looks away.
Oh shit. He’s made things awkward. Makoto’s hair falls into his eyes as he bites his lip, the dorm lighting making him look almost ethereal. What is happening? Junpei was just joking, why is it so…. He swallows.
Think unsexy thoughts. Unsexy thoughts. Fuck.
Makoto turns to look at him, eyes dark, and he licks his lips.
Unsexy thoughts. Unsexy thoughts.
Makoto’s hair brushes against his nape as he leans closer.
Fuck, uh, Edogawa in a sexy bikini calender, Ikutsuki wearing lingerie, Edogawa and Ikutsuki- this isn’t working.
Makoto’s mouth brushes against his, and Junpei is suddenly hit with the realization that this isn’t a game anymore. This isn’t a game anymore for either of them. And Junpei couldn’t be happier. Makoto kisses him softly, and Junpei almost melts when Makoto’s hands find the side of his face. Junpei wraps his arms around Makoto’s waist, relishing in the little sigh the other lets out as he’s pulled closer. God, Junpei can’t believe they wasted so much time dancing around each other. They could have been doing this all along. It’s fucking amazing. They could have-
“Oh my god.”
They spring apart, and it's the fastest Junpei has ever seen Makoto move outside of Tartarus. They’re met with the shocked expression of one Yukari, wearing her pajamas like she just got out of bed.
“Oh my god,” Yukari repeats, sounding slightly hysterical. “Oh my god, there’s no way.”
“What are you doing awake?” Junpei says, somewhat accusingly.
“Don’t you try that,” Yukari says, pointing at him. “I just caught you two making out, I am not the important one here!”
Junpei flushes even more. “We were not making out-”
“Not yet,” Makoto says, “You interrupted us.”
“Dude!” Junpei says, voice a tad high.
“Don’t call me ‘dude,’ you just had your tongue in my mouth-”
“It was not-!”
“Guys,” Yukari says, voice a little strangled. They stop bickering instantly. “Are you just not gonna explain what the hell is going on here?!”
Junpei winces. “It was… just a game.”
“A game,” Yukari echoes.
“Yep,” Makoto says, nodding seriously.
Yukari stares at them for a moment, crosses her arms, and then rolls her eyes. “Boys,” she mutters under her breath. “Look, you guys are driving us crazy with all this nonsense! Even Akihiko’s noticed!”
Junpei and Makoto look at each other in surprise, then back at Yukari. If even Akihiko has noticed, it must be pretty bad. Have they really been that obvious and obnoxious with it?
“So either get your shit together and start dating or just knock it off,” Yukari says, scowling.
“Start dating?” Junpei asks, voice going impossibly even higher. He looks at Makoto again, and Makoto is blushing like crazy.
“Yukari,” Makoto hisses.
“No, I’m done with this shit,” Yukari says, “I just caught you two kissing, I don’t want to hear any excuses! You guys better get it together by tomorrow and or I’m setting Kotone on your ass!”
Both of the boys shiver.
Yukari gives them one last scowl, then turns on her heel and stomps to the kitchen.
“...sorry,” Makoto says, quietly, at the same time Junpei says, “So-” They both cut off at the same time and just stare at each other.
“...what was that all about?” Junpei asks.
Makoto blushes deeper. “She… may know something about… me and…” He trails off. Junpei frowns. Why is he so embarrassed? Why is he blushing so hard? It’s almost like… almost like…
Oh. OH.
“You… actually have a crush on me?” Junpei blurts in disbelief.
Makoto may be embarrassed, but he still manages to level Junpei with a flat look. “I just kissed you,” he points out.
Now it’s Junpei’s turn to blush because, well, yeah, it should have been pretty obvious, he supposes. “I thought you were just, like, really competitive,” he says defensively.
“He thought I was just really competitive,” Makoto says in disbelief, almost to himself.
“Well-” Junpei says, huffing. “I don’t know, I’ve never seen you be interested in anyone before. You never read all those love letters you get. Half our class has a crush on you, and you’ve never once acknowledged it. I thought you just weren’t… interested.”
“I’m not,” Makoto says, “in them, anyway.” He leans forward again.
Junpei swallows, feeling hot all of the sudden.
Makoto smiles at him. “But I am interested in you, Junpei.”
“You aren’t, like, joking?” Junpei asks, mouth dry. “Playing a joke on me?”
“Nope,” Makoto says, “I’m not that type of guy.”
Junpei suddenly feels giddiness spread throughout him, and he almost laughs. He can’t believe it. He had thought that… their stupid game was the closest he would ever get to having Makoto. But Makoto actually wants him? Makoto wants him? The great, popular, adored-by-all Makoto wants forgotten little Junpei?
Junpei does laugh now, pulling Makoto into his chest. “I can’t believe it,” he says, “you actually want me.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Makoto asks, looking up at him, eyes soft and fond. “You’re wonderful, Junpei. I wish you could see that.”
“You’re so cheesy, dude,” Junpei says, laughing again. But he can’t deny that his words worked. Damn, who knew Makoto could be such a romantic? “So, like. Are we… a thing now?”
“We better be,” Makoto says, seriously, “Because otherwise Yukari will set Kotone on us, cus she can’t mind her own business.”
Suddenly, Junpei realizes something. “That night when we were playing Smash, and Aigis came down… that was Kotone fucking with us, wasn’t it?”
Makoto sighs and nods.
Junpei snorts. “Too bad she and Yuka-tan are already sucking face, we could’ve gotten ‘em back.”
Makoto shakes his head. “Too bad indeed.” He just sighs and leans against Junpei’s shoulder, who, somewhat hesitantly, wraps an arm around his friend- boyfriend???- and leans against him as well. They sit there, together, just calm and enjoying each other’s presence. Junpei can’t remember the last time he’s been so happy.
…..then Makoto opens his mouth and ruins it. “...I totally won, by the way.”
Oh, it’s on.