Work Text
Minato walked leisurely down the sidewalk to the train. He let his mind wander to Wild Duck Burger and why they chose green, of all colors, for a duck. Why not just go with yellow? It’s a traditional duck color, Minato wondered . Maybe the CEO just really likes green? Or maybe they were trying to avoid the association with rubber duckies. I wouldn’t want customers thinking about bathrooms when walking into my restaurant. That just seems like bad business practice. Minato continued to ponder all the possible reasons why it would be green.He was so deep into his thoughts he almost didn’t notice Akihiko walking towards him. Akihiko didn’t seem to notice him either, as he was staring quite intently at his phone.Minato debated whether he should interrupt him and say hi or not. He was dressed liked he’d just come from the gym, and there was quite the trail of sweat on the front of his red shirt, starting at his collar and thinning as it got closer to the end. His face still had a faint flush to it as well.He looks good in red, Minato thought.It was at this point Minato realized he’d stopped walking and was just openly staring at his friend. He winced, thinking, This is awkward. I should just keep walking and pretend I didn’t see him. Minato continued walking, slightly faster now, staring at the ground.Unfortunately for him, the sidewalk was not that wide. As soon as Akihiko neared Minato, he looked up.“Minato, hey!” Minato jumped slightly.
Try not to stare like a creep this time.
“Hey, Senpai, I didn’t notice you,” Minato replied in what he hoped was a casual voice. “Where are you headed to?”“I’m on my way back from the gym. I try to go when we don’t plan to go to Tartarus. Gotta stay strong so I can fight those shadows!” Akihiko said, ending with a fist pump at the end.Minato smiled a little at Akihiko’s display.“Where are you heading?” Akihiko asked, lowering his fist back to his waist.Minato’s gaze once again fell on the trail of sweat on his shirt.“I’m just going to get some dinner at Wild Duck Burger,” Minato replied with only a slight delay due to his staring. “I’ll see you later,” he said, deciding that at this point a fast retreat was his only option. One had to know when it was time to flee. He started walking again towards the train. “See ya, Minato!” Akihiko called after him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Two days after the awkward staring incident, Minato walked in the dorm expecting to go straight to his room and spend the rest of the night playing Innocent Sin Online with Maya.That expectation was quickly disappearing as Fuuka walked towards him. Her smile was just a tad too sweet to be natural. She wanted something, and usually what she wanted was a guinea pig for her science experiments she called food.“Minato, could I speak to you for a minute?” she asked, smiling even more sweetly.“Sure, what can I do for you, Fuuka?” His voiced betrayed none of his trepidation.“I found a new recipe today online, and I was hoping you could taste it for me? This one only has five ingredients, so I’m pretty sure I can't mess it up.”Normally Minato would be happy to help Fuuka with her cooking misadventures. She was only trying to improve herself after all, and Minato always tried to encourage that. But after her attempt at miso soup made him throw up for two hours straight last night, he was not feeling particularly encouraging. There was only so much you could ask of a man before he broke.Minato immediately started thinking of an excuse to refuse.“I would love to help, Fuuka… unfortunately, I already have plans tonight,” Minato said, trying to edge his way towards the stairs and away from her disappointed expression. Her eyes were so wide they almost resembled a sad puppy.“Oh, the recipe only takes thirty minutes to prepare. You could eat before you leave?” she suggested, eyes sweet and hopeful again. Minato almost caved. He loved puppies—always gave Koromaru a treat when he begged. He couldn’t stand to see him looking so sad.Luckily for his stomach, Akihiko came down the stairs then with a gym bag slung over his shoulder. An idea formed in Minato’s head; he only hoped Akihiko would catch on quickly.“Senpai!” Minato called. “I was just about to change. Sorry I’m late.”Akihiko froze, not quite sure what was going on.Minato raised his voice slightly. “I made plans to go with Akihiko to the gym today. I’ll have to take a raincheck on the new recipe, Fuuka. I’ve already made Senpai wait long enough.”Thankfully, at the mention of Fuuka’s cooking, Akihiko caught on to what Minato was doing.“Uh, it’s okay, Minato. I’ll… just wait down here, while you get changed… for us to go to the gym… together,” Akihiko said as he slowly walked to the couch and sat down.He managed to keep his fidgeting to a minimum and only looked mildly constipated. Minato was almost proud. Akihiko was usually much more awkward when lying. It was kind of cute though, not that Minato would ever actually say that out loud. Then he’d be the awkward one.Minato quickly made his exit up the stairs before Fuuka could say anything. The gym wasn’t exactly the plan he had for tonight, but it was better than puking up whatever Fuuka made. Minato dressed quickly in loose clothes and headed back downstairs. Thankfully Fuuka had wandered off, so they were able to leave without any further lying.“You know you don’t actually have to come to the gym with me, right?” Akihiko asked as they walked down the sidewalk. “I doubt she’ll follow us there.”“I know,” Minato replied, and he kept walking.Before long, they arrived at the gym. The teen working the front desk, Hidemi, as his name tag indicated, greeted Akihiko by name. I guess he really does come here every day. “I see you brought a friend today,” Hidemi said. “Welcome!” “Thanks. Do I need a membership to work out here?” Minato asked. It was only just now occurring to him that you can’t just walk into most gyms and start using their equipment.“No, don’t worry about it. High school students get to use the gym for free during the school year. It’s pretty cool. Just don’t break anything.”Minato and Akihiko walked into the main room of the building. It was a typical boxing gym; there was a boxing ring in the middle of the room with punching bags along the walls, a locker room off to the side, and some cardio equipment in the back.“Are you good by yourself here, or should I stick around and show you some of the equipment?” Akihiko asked once they entered the main area.“I'm sure I can figure it out.”“Great, then I'll come find you when I’m done with my workout. Shouldn’t be longer than an hour.”Akihiko wandered off to the lockers to put his bag away.Minato looked around the gym at all the various equipment trying to decide what to use first. Most of his exercise these days came from fighting shadows in Tartarus. He didn’t have that much experience with actual gym equipment.There was a treadmill in the corner that didn’t look too intimidating, so Minato walked over and started the machine after only a little bit of fumbling.Minato was able to pass thirty minutes on the treadmill thinking of ways to help Fuuka improve her cooking without actually having to eat it before he started getting bored. It turned out there weren’t any ways that wouldn’t end up hurting her feelings, or at least none he could think of.Minato looked around the room for another distraction. He spotted Akihiko on a bag to his right. He’d seen him in action in Tartarus before, but here he looked completely different. In Tartarus there was always the underlying threat of death, even if they were just training. Here there was no danger. He still looked intense, but there wasn’t the usual sense of urgency about him now. There was though, sweat soaking the collar of his shirt. It wasn’t the red one from last time. This one was white. Pity, Minato thought. He looks better in red. It matches the flush of his cheeks well. It took about ten seconds for that sentence to register through Minato’s head.
What the hell! It doesn’t matter if his shirt matches his cheeks or not. You shouldn’t be thinking about it. And you definitely shouldn’t be staring at it!
Minato quickly looked away. Then he looked around the gym to make sure no one else saw his staring. Thankfully, the gym was pretty empty. There were two women in the ring and a guy punching a bag on the opposite wall of Akihiko. All seemed to be intently focused on their workout. Minato decided it’d probably be best just to wait in the locker room until Akihiko was finished. He got off the machine and quickly made his way to the locker room. He didn’t have to wait long; twenty minutes later they were making their way back to the dorm.“What’d you think of the gym?” Akihiko asked. “I noticed you stuck to the treadmill. You seemed to really be pushing yourself in the beginning.”“It’s fine,” Minato replied.He’d mostly recovered from the embarrassment of being a creeper at this point.
Wait.
Minato stopped walking—it was suddenly registering what else Akihiko had said.“You were watching me on the treadmill?”Minato’s reaction made Akihiko blush.“Well yeah… when I was doing my stretches. There’s not a whole lot to look at in the gym, and I was curious what your workout routine was like.” Akihiko started to fidget nervously. “I’m sorry, was that weird? I always just thought that was a thing people did at the gym.” If possible, Akihiko seemed to be blushing even harder now.
It was normal?
It’s not like Minato spent a lot of time at the gym. Maybe it was.
Akihiko would know gym etiquette better than me. Maybe I wasn’t being that weird after all.
“Oh, no… It’s not weird. I was just surprised.” Minato tried to think of something appropriate to say. “You seemed pretty focused during your workout. Akihiko seemed to relax. “Yeah, there’s something so relaxing about working out. You can join me anytime you want. It’s nice not working out alone.”Minato took a moment to think about Akihiko’s offer.
This could be a bad idea.
Even though Akihiko said it was normal, he still felt a little weird about the staring.
Maybe I just haven’t been to the gym enough for it to not feel weird?
He conveniently forgot that it wasn’t Akihiko’s workout routine he was staring at.“Let me know next time you go. I’ll join you.”Minato should have thought harder about his reasoning.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It took about a week for Minato to realize that his staring was not, in point of fact, normal. Normal was just glances around the gym—glances just brief enough to check in with those around you, make sure no one was about to faint, maybe to make sure your technique was right if you were both on the same type of machine.Minato’s staring was, well… just that. Full-on staring.At least it had started subtly.The second day joining Akihiko at the gym found Minato on that same treadmill, once again growing bored staring at the wall.He looked around to find Akihiko on a bag following some sort of punching routine. It was mesmerizing to watch. He had such an intense focus, it made his punches just seem to contain that much more power.At first, Minato tried not to stare too long—just a couple seconds at a time—still a little worried about coming off as a creep, though he could never keep his gaze away for long. But Akihiko did say it was normal to be curious about other’s workout routines. And that was all this was. Simple curiosity. Besides, Akihiko was much more interesting to look at than the wall. He looks like a force of nature, Minato thought. Like each punch channels Caesar’s lightning. He could almost see sparks of electricity flying around him. It was that which kept Minato’s focus.It certainly wasn’t the fact that Akihiko was wearing a white shirt again and that said shirt was practically see-through down the front due to Akihiko’s sweat. Not the entire front though, just a trail.It started around the collar, moving down over his chest and stomach.
It’s like a curtain opening upon the world’s most divine abs… What the hell?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
On the fourth day of accompanying Akihiko to the gym, Minato gave up completely on trying not to stare at him his entire workout.
Akihiko wore the red shirt today.
He must own more white shirts than red. It took him five days to come back to red.
He decided that this one was his favorite. The red from Akihiko’s shirt really did highlight the red flush of his cheeks perfectly whenever he worked out hard
.
Seeing him like that, all sweaty and flushed, just made Minato think about all the other ways he could see him that way…
I mean, like in Tartarus, fighting shadows and saving the world! Not… other ways.
Minato looked away guiltily.
His guilt only lasted a couple of minutes before he was once again pondering the red shirt.
He really should wear it more often. Why would he even buy so many white shirts? Were they on sale? Does he like the fact that he ends up giving a peep show to everyone in the white? Does he want his abs admired? I mean, they are really nice abs, but do they warrant flat-out admiration?
Before Minato could come to a ruling on the abs’ worthiness (and let's be real, the answer was yes), Akihiko paused in his routine to drink some water.
This in and of itself was not what made Minato panic, but the fact that Akihiko decided to look around the gym as he made his way to his water bottle on the bench near the wall, causing his eyes fall on Minato.
Minato’s entire body froze, expecting Akihiko to be weirded out that he was staring at him and to somehow know just what Minato was thinking about his abs just moments before.
Instead, Akihiko just smiled and waved before returning to his workout.
Minato let out the breath of relief, slumping over the top of the treadmill.
See, it’s totally normal… as long as no one’s a mind reader, that is. I just need to stop thinking about Akihiko’s body in weird ways, and this stops being weird. I can do that,
Minato reassured himself.
He still continued his staring though. Akihiko was training even harder today, it seemed. Minato vaguely remembered Akihiko saying he had a match coming up he had to prepare for. Almost the entire top half of his shirt was drenched in sweat.
He should definitely wear the red shirt more often,
Minato decided.
How do you go about subtly suggesting that to a friend?
“Um, excuse me, are you done with the treadmill now?”
Minato jumped. He hadn’t resumed his workout yet. Minato looked in the direction the voice came from. An older woman was staring at him expectantly.
“I don’t mean to interrupt your staring. It’s just, the other treadmill’s broken, so if you aren’t actually using it, I would appreciate being able to finish my workout. You can see your boyfriend just as well from the Stairmaster.” The harshness of her words was removed by the amused expression on her face.
Minato’s face immediately heated up. He was sure he was as bright as a cherry.
“Uh sorry, I’m done for the day actually.”
He all but ran to the locker room.
Okay, maybe it’s not 100 percent normal. That doesn’t make me a creep though, right? All it is is staring. There’s nothing wrong with admiring a well-defined bod… right? We look at naked statues all the time in museums. They’re works of art that are supposed to be admired. And Akihiko works hard for his body too! It would be rude not to acknowledge his hard work paying off… right? Just like it’s rude not to look at the statues in museums! It doesn't mean anything else… right?
Minato continued trying to console himself until Akihiko came to collect him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The next concerning incident happened at the dorm instead of the gym. So at least there was a little variety.
Minato walked into the dorm’s laundry room. It turned out he would not be doing his laundry alone that night—Akihiko was by the washing machines putting clothes in. Minato spotted his favorite red shirt in the basket.
“Hey, Senpai.”Minato walked to his own machine and started putting his clothes in.“Hey, Minato! How’s your night going?”
“This is the highlight of my night; that’s how it’s going,” Minato replied with a laugh. “How’s your night?”
Akihiko shrugged. “About the same as yours.”
But instead of laughing, Akihiko started shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He seemed nervous about something.“Since it seems both our nights are looking… would you like to… maybe—”Before Akihiko could finish the question, “PONPONPON” by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu started coming from his pocket.Minato started laughing. “Is that the default ringtone?”Akihiko looked down, a blush starting on his cheeks. “Maybe,” he mumbled as he pulled out his phone. “Um, excuse me. It’s Mitsuru.”
Akihiko walked out of the room to take Mitsuru’s call.
Minato continued laughing as he turned back to his laundry.
His eyes landed on Akihiko’s basket. The red shirt was innocently sitting at the top of the pile. He really wanted to see Akihiko in it more often.
Minato glanced at the washer Akihiko was using. The white shirts Akihiko wore to the gym were in it.
His hands were moving before the thought finished forming in his mind. Minato pulled the white shirts out of the washer and threw the red shirt in, quickly burying it under the rest of the clothes.Before he could think too hard about what he just did, a female voice startled him from his thoughts.
“Minato, I have found you,” Aegis said, appearing in the doorway.
Minato managed to keep from screaming, just barely.“Aegis! What are you doing here?”
“I was sent to find you by Fuuka. She said she was calling in a raincheck. She also had a bowl in her hands filled with some sort of unidentifiable substance. I am not sure what it has to do with the rain, but nevertheless I have found you.”
Minato paled; he could only imagine what Fuuka wanted him to do with that substance.
“What were you doing with those shirts? They looked more Akihiko’s style than yours.”
“Uh, well…” Minato floundered.
How exactly does one explain this?
“I was mixing a red shirt with his white shirts… as a prank.” He could feel his cheeks start to redden. “It was Junpei’s idea. It’s stupid, I shouldn't—”
Before he could make a grab for the red shirt, Aegis started jumping and clapping.
“A prank! I have read about these pranks! It is done between close comrades to relieve tension and promote laughter. I have never been a part of a prank before! Most exciting!” Aegis started laughing.
Minato chuckled nervously, “Yeah, but you can't tell anyone it was us, okay?”
Aegis nodded solemnly. “I shall keep this information classified. You can count on me! I am curious, Minato, why are you pranking Akihiko? Is it because of the recent change in your relationship?”
Minato felt like he suddenly forgot how to breathe.
“What do you mean change in our relationship?” Minato rushed out, “Nothing's changed between us, Aegis. What made you think that?”
Minato really couldn't handle the rollercoaster his emotions seemed to be on tonight. He felt like he was on the verge of panicking.
“Over the last several days I have noticed an increase of staring from you accompanied with reddening of the face and increased heart rate. I believe the term Junpei gave it was Goo Goo Eyes. I did not, however, notice any goo in your eyes, so I think he was mistaken,” Aegis said matter-of-factly.
“Wait, what? Junpei said what?”
Minato really was about to panic.
Junpei noticed! He’s denser than a block of cheese! If he noticed, no doubt others have as well.
“Junpei said that you were too busy making Goo Goo Eyes at your boyfriend to answer his question. He was quite upset,” Aegis calmly relayed.Minato felt like he was about to faint. He hadn’t taken a proper breath in minutes now.
“Akihiko is not my boyfriend, Aegis!” he managed to choke out.
“Oh, I'm sorry Junpei was mistaken. Is that why you are pranking Akihiko? Because he won't be your boyfriend?” Aegis’ eyes turned sad.
“No, Aegis. I haven't even asked him to be my boyfriend. Can you please just let this subject drop?” Minato pleaded.“Alright, Minato. You seem to be coming down with something. Perhaps you should avoid Fuuka’s rain check and rest tonight. Goodnight.”
Aegis turned and walked out of the laundry room.
Minato didn't have a chance to relax though as Akihiko came back in.
“Hey, sorry about that. Umm, about what I was saying before… Are you okay, Minato? You look pale,” Akihiko said suddenly, sounding concerned.
“Uh yeah,” Minato stammered out.
He suddenly felt embarrassed just being in Akihiko’s presence.
Akihiko just seemed to be concerned about his health.
“Fuuka’s looking for me to try some of her cooking again. I should go find her.”
Minato quickly left the laundry room. Instead of finding Fuuka, he went straight to bed, suddenly exhausted.
What does it say about me that I’d ruin a bunch of shirts just to see my friend in a specific one? Is he really just my friend? Do I want him to be my boyfriend?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Minato was sitting in the dorm lobby waiting for Akihiko to get back.
I can’t keep going on like this. I need to talk this out with him
.
Minato fidgeted on the couch. He just hoped Akihiko would be understanding about everything.
Though maybe I shouldn’t tell him about the shirts.
The sound of the door opening brought Minato out of his thoughts. Sure enough, it was Akihiko.
In all his red-shirted glory
.
Minato caught himself before he actually licked his lips.
“Senpai! Can we talk for a second?”
Akihiko came right over to the couch and sat down.
“Of course. What’s on your mind?” he asked.
“Well, there’s something I need to tell you,” Minato started, growing more and more nervous. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed anything out of the ordinary these past couple of weeks…” Minato paused to see if Akihiko would say anything. “Anything out of the ordinary with me,” Minato elaborated, still seeing confusion in Akihiko’s eyes. “Alright, let me try from the beginning. Since we first went to the gym together, I’ve been noticing you more… more than I should, actually. You see, I’ve been thinking a lot about why I’ve been noticing you more, and—”
“Hold that thought, babe.” Akihiko suddenly stood up and tore his shirt off. “I’ve gotta go to the gym.”
Minato stared at Akihiko’s abs, a little slack-jawed for a moment.
When Akihiko started to leave, he snapped out of it and grabbed his arm.
“Wait, I need to talk to you about this,” Minato started again.
Akihiko stepped closer.
“We can talk later.”
Was his voice getting deeper?
“Gotta keep this bod looking good.”
Yes you do,
Minato thought.
He continued to stare at Akihiko’s abs, slowly raising his hand so he could finally touch those taut, magnificent—
“Minato, do you require medical assistance?” Akihiko suddenly said in a female voice followed by a rather loud knocking noise.
“Minato, if you do not answer, I will assume you are dying and break down the door to rescue you.”
Minato jerked awake.
“I am breaking down the door. If you are near it, prepare yourself.”
“AEGIS, WAIT!” Minato shouted as he jumped out of bed.“Minato? You are okay?” Aegis asked through the, thankfully, still intact door.“Yes, just wait a minute,” Minato said as he made his way to the door to let her in. “What are you doing here?”
“It is 15 minutes after 10. We were supposed to go to the movie festival at 10. When you did not come downstairs, I came up to check on you. You looked quite ill last night; I was concerned you had worsened overnight. When you did not answer my knocking, I listened through the door for sounds of distress. I heard moaning. I became more concerned when you continued to not answer. Why is your face turning so red? Are you running a fever?”
Aegis reached forward to put her hand on his forehead.Minato felt his face heat up even more as he scrambled for a way to explain and backed away.“I… uh… I’m fine, Aegis. I just… overslept. And then I was rushing trying to get ready and stubbed my toe. Sorry, I didn’t hear you the first time… it hurt… a lot.”
Aegis continued to stare at him in confusion.
“Then why were—”“Come on, Aegis, we’re going to be late to the movie if we don’t hurry.”
Minato started pushing Aegis toward the door.
“But-”
“No time to waste, Aegis. Wait downstairs while I get changed. Be down soon.”
Minato slammed the door shut and collapsed against it, trying to regain his breathing.
Well, I can only guess what
that
dream means. What do I do now?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Minato was once again on the treadmill at the gym, watching Akihiko go at it on a punching bag. After a tragic accident turned all his white shirts pink, all Akihiko had to wear today was the red one. Akihiko was quite sad about his ruined shirts. Minato, not so much.
I should tell him how I feel, right? That's what normal people do in these situations,
Minato thought as he ran.
Then again, I've kind of been stalking him. Maybe I should just keep this quiet and hope it goes away.
For once Minato was able to keep his gaze off of Akihiko during his workout, too caught up in his thoughts. By the time Minato finished his workout, the only solution he was able to come up with was to move away, and that was definitely not going to happen, so needless to say, he was quite stressed.
The walk home was quiet and more than a little awkward. Minato opened his mouth multiple times to try and tell Akihiko how he felt, stopping just before he said anything.
This could scare him away.
He was so caught up in his own thoughts he started when Akihiko suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Umm, Minato, can we talk for a minute, before we reach the dorm?”
Akihiko let go of Minato’s arm at his nod.Minato started to tense.
This can't be good. He’s probably noticed what's been going on and wants it to stop.
“I’ve been trying to say something for a couple days now. I just don't really know how to bring this up.” Akihiko started shifting nervously. “I… well I’ve noticed something, since you’ve started coming to the gym with me. And at first I didn't know what to make of it… but I've been thinking a lot about it… About you and—”
“I’M SORRY I’VE BEEN STARING AT YOU!” Minato burst out.
He just knew where Akihiko was going with this, and maybe if he was able to just apologize first, maybe their friendship could at least survive.
“What?” Akihiko stared at him, a little dumbfounded.
“You’ve noticed me staring at you at the gym… and outside of it. I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it… at first… You're just so mesmerizing when you work out, and you look so good in that red shirt, and—” Minato snapped his mouth shut and ducked his head down in embarrassment. What the hell was he saying? He was making it so much worse. This really was not going well. “I’ll stop. I'm sorry I—”
Minato was interrupted by Akihiko’s sudden laughter.
He looked up to see Akihiko smiling at him.
What?
“Hey, Minato, do you want to go get dinner together?” Akihiko asked.
It was so unexpected it just about shorted Minato's brain out.
“I’m confused,” Minato managed to get out.
None of this was making sense.
“I'm asking you on a date.” Akihiko started to fidget. “If you want to. What I was about to say, before you interrupted with a confession of your own, was that I noticed when we started to go to the gym together that… I liked spending time with you, just you, outside of school and S.E.E.S. and that maybe I’d really like to kiss you as well. You looked particularly good in your gym clothes too.”
Akihiko was beet red by the end of the declaration.
“Had I known you've been staring at me all this time, I would have asked you out much sooner,” he chuckled. “It may have saved me a couple white shirts.”
Minato made a choked sound.
“You know that was me? I'm sorry! I don't know what I was thinking,” Minato pleaded.
“Aegis told me. She thought it was, and I quote, ‘a most hilarious prank,’” Akihiko laughed, then seemed to sober just as quickly. “So… a date? You interested?” he asked nervously.
Minato felt like none of this could be real. Akihiko wanted to date him? Minato had admitted to staring at him like a creep, and what? He was okay with it. Not just okay, but he actually wanted to date him? This had to be a dream. But who was Minato to argue with good fortune?
“I’d love to go to dinner.” Minato smiled and reached for Akihiko's hand. “Any particular place in mind?” Minato asked as they started back down the street, hand in hand.