entranceway | 13; video

Entry tags:

13; video

[Souji's MIA since Sunday morning. He hadn't thought to warn anyone about where he was going, since it wasn't supposed to take this long.

Now, Souji's lying on his back on his futon, on top of the blanket and fully clothed. The device is on the floor to one side, capturing a very boring feed of Souji not moving.

At all.

Then he gasps, the sound strangled, his chest heaving like he's never breathed before. He opens his eyes and stares at the ceiling for a minute before sitting up, moving as though his whole body aches. One hand goes to his head and he sits there, disoriented for several minutes before getting up and walking out of frame.]

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I'm starving.

[Minato was about to say that he could bring Souji something, but he changed his mind. He looked up at him.]

... Did you want to go out or stay here?

Let's go.

[Souji hauls himself to his feet. Not a huge selection from the closet. Gotta go to the dining room.]

[Minato watched as Souji moved, but kept his hands in his pockets per usual when he got up too.]

... Thinking of something in particular?

....Nanako's pudding.

[A beat.]

...Food tastes better when it's stolen.

[That and when it's shared. The dining room might not have that exact pudding and it wouldn't exactly be stolen, but they could try.]

... I'll try it some time.

[And down the stairs they go to get to the dining room. Thankfully no one else was there when they went in.]

[Souji smiles a little.]

There were always weird things in the fridge.

[Minato smiled a little too.]

You ate them anyway?

Yeah.

[A beat.]

It wasn't always a good idea.

[No kidding. Like that glue tasting. That half-eaten cookie. Things like that.]

... Why did you?

....Insatiable curiosity.

[But curiosity killed the--Never mind. Minato sat down at a table with Souji. He hadn't thought of anything to eat just yet, letting Souji go ahead and pick something first before bringing up something else he wanted to talk about.]

[Pancakes. B|b]

[Minato smiled a little since Souji seemed to be enjoying himself and eating. Souji needed to eat after what he had been through, anyway. The smile somewhat faded after time, however, with what he wanted to bring up.]

... There's something else that you're good at.

[Souji glances up. He had a feeling Minato would bring up...things...again. He waits for Minato to go on, raised eyebrows inviting him to.]

[After that look, half of Minato didn't think he should, while the other half was just as adamant in that he should. The latter half won out, but just barely.]

Coming to see you was about you. But you turned it back on me.

...Sorry.

[He means it. It's a habit, something of a defense mechanism, and most of the time he doesn't realize he's doing it.]

[Minato shook his head.]

It's okay, don't apologize. ... I wanted you to know.

Do you want to go back to it?

[Minato was about to answer that they could and use a collective plural pronoun, but he stopped himself.]

Do you?

I will.

[It'll probably be uncomfortable for him, but he's willing to. Minato's one of his closest friends--close on a level no one else ever can be. If he's going to talk to anyone about this, Minato is the best choice.]

Okay.

[Minato thought of a small slice of blue velvet cake and pushed it gently toward Souji.]

When you do that, it's like you're hiding or protecting something.

[Souji smiles a little and thinks up tea for them both.]

That might be why I started doing it.

[Minato nodded as thanks for the tea. He brought his hands out of his pockets to cup them around the warm beverage.]

But what are you hiding or protecting then?

[Souji digs into the cake and considers his answer before he speaks.]

Myself. I was a kid and I didn't know what else to do.

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