genessia | 014 | Double Bass

Who: Shinjiro and Akihiko
Where: Genessia City, at their apartment
When: late night 11/05/2017
What: holy crap a lot happened on that Sunday, Shinjiro can't quite process
Warnings: strong language, probably a bit of impostor syndrome, insecurity, getting punched in the face for being dumb

It was almost, but not quite, midnight when Shinjiro finally stumbled back to his apartment. The key took a minute to actually fit in the lock. Damn it, he was tired.

And his mind was spinning.

Between getting bought at that date auction - because, what - and then finding out that he somehow became the co-owner to one of the best bakeries he's had a chance to -

- all right maybe the second part was throwing him more than the first one was.

Orihime did a good job. A really damn good job. The menu was great, the decor was great, she found all of these great games for guests to play, she helped out great with all the new people, and. And he. Well. He.

It was one thing when he was helping her out temporarily.

Now? Now, surely the whole business was going to fall down around their ears.

Good things didn't happen to him, not without a catch.

Finally he got the door open, and after latching it behind him, found the nearest wall and banged his head against it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It had been a long time since Akihiko got to bed at a decent hour. Those years spent fighting Shadows in the Dark Hour had basically irrevocably shifted is sleep cycle. As such, Aki was up sitting on the couch listening to the news on TV while he relaced his boxing gloves. He glances up at Shinji as he enters and gives him the same treatment he gave Arisato for so long.

"Where have you been?"

And the Dark Hour happened further in Akihiko's past than Shinjiro's. He'd already noticed that it was pretty much impossible for him to sleep through midnight, bracing for a Dark Hour which now never came, and for an angry Castor to rage against him who wasn't even there any longer. He wasn't sure how long it'd be until that instinct left.

As tired as he was, as worried as he was feeling about letting down his friend, he still couldn't help but feel a bit of lightness, seeing Aki there. This wasn't the dorm in Iwatodai, but it was still a familiar sight, wasn't it? He'd almost expect the kids to be working on their homework in the next room, arguing with each other.

"Bakery."

Shinjiro sighed. Collapsed into the armchair. Rubbed his hands over his face.

"Remember, how I toldja I'd be doin a temp job there, 'till Orihime got the place up and runnin properly, 'cause she needed extra help?"

His tone was such that - it was obviously a question, but he was going somewhere with this, leading into an explanation.

Edited 2017-11-28 14:25 (UTC)

Akihiko nods, remaining silent for Shinji to continue his explanation. Of course he knew. Shinji had a job cooking and Aki had been patronizing the store in secret for a while. He didn't want Shinji to think he was checking in on him or anything, but he wasn't going to miss out on any potential Shinji cooking.

"Well, it ain't temp work."

He sighed again. Pulled his beanie off his head. Ran his hands through his hair.

Shinjiro knew, just about, what Akihiko was going to say. How pleased he'd be, because he wasn't going to understand what a disaster this was going to be. But he had to vent anyway. And he knew Aki would listen.

"I'm not a temp. I'm the goddamn owner. Well. Co-owner."

Akihiko blinks. Then blinks again. After a moment he grins widely, obviously proud of Shinji.

"That's great news!"

He pauses, setting his gloves aside. He notices the look on Shinji's face and sighs a bit. "You'll be fine. Trust me, you can do this, Shinji."

Head bowed, so he doesn't have to see the proud expression on Aki's face right away - an expression, frankly, he both does and doesn't want to see - he mutters, "I don't even know how the hell it happened I'm not qualified to run shit."

But then he looked up, grimacing, preparing to make a sarcastic remark.

Some of that deflates, though, with seeing that expression he imagined. Something inside of him twisted. If he was so convinced he'd be screwing this up, why was he so glad his friend was proud of him?

There's an answering nudge in his brain from his Persona, but he ignored that for now.

The sarcasm came out after all, but it's less harsh than he was originally going to be. "Cause I've got sucha great track record of runnin a business."

Akihiko just shrugged. If there was one thing he'd learned over the time they'd spent fighting Shadows, its that nobody should ever underestimate any of them.

"Maybe. ...But you'll learn. Despite not coming to school all that often, when you did show up you still had good grades. You're a quick learner, Shinji. You'll be able to handle this. And you're not alone in it. Like you said, you're co-owner."

"Yeah, a co-owner," Shinjiro acknowledged, "which means that, if the place goes down in flames? Orihime's dream goes down in flames with it."

That's why the stakes were so high. That's why he was so freaked out about this. It was one thing, if he was going to screw up his own life, and his own future. It was another if he was going to ruin someone else's.

Part of him wanted to run, as he had before - but Shinjiro had changed, a bit, over the last couple of years, and since coming to Genessia. Clearly. He knew that she was relying on him, trusting him, and he didn't want to let her down.

Fortunately, he knew that Aki understood him well enough that he didn't really need to explain all of that.

"How did she get the crazy idea in her head, to think all that shit about me? Just like you do?" It was only a slightly rhetorical question. "You're the crazy idiot who believes in me. Ain't really sure why I"m findin more of 'em."

"It also means you'll have someone watching your back when the going gets tough."

Always the pessimist. "Ever consider you're finding more of us 'crazy idiots' that believe in you because there's something worth believing in? Shinji, you kept me going after losing Miki, you had my back every time I got in over my head. You were the rock I needed to keep myself from giving up. You're so much stronger, smarter, and talented than you give yourself credit for, and I get everyone is their own worth critics, but I don't get why you can't see why we believe in you. You're worth it, Shinji."

Always the optimist.

"Tch. You're worth all that, Aki, and then some. What was I gonna do - you ... you both were just as much family to me, y'know."

His eyes burned just a little, but there wasn't any moisture, so Shinjiro was still in the clear. "All this sappy shit ..."

Shinjiro looked at his friend, that confidence for him almost literally shining out of his face - and. Well. He had to give in.

This is why he largely avoided him, except for meals to check up now and then, and visiting while the idiot landed himself in the hospital - which happened too damn often - during those two years outside of SEES.

"... I already said I wouldn't let 'er down," Shinjiro agreed, grudgingly. "Maybe I won't end up bein a liar, either."

Akihiko just grinned, standing and heading for the refrigerator now that he's hungry. On his way he reaches over and ruffles Shinji's hair.

"I know you won't. You're far more capable than you know. You just gotta open up your eyes and take a look in the mirror."

"Yeah, sure." His tone was sarcastic, but he was actually touched. Shinjiro closed his eyes, didn't think about how little he'd liked looking in that mirror. Hadn't liked anything he saw there - not for a long time.

Things might be slowly changing, now.

014 | Double Bass

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