"I ain't holding back any more."

Well, that heavily implied something. Why didn't he ever just get to the point? Not being able to read Shinjiro as easily as she could other people was almost becoming an inconvenience. Sure, it was fun and interesting - but difficult.

"You're not what?" All the questions that had built up in Minako's mind started pouring out. "Why...? I never know what you're talking about, Sempai! I don't know what you want, I don't know if you're trying to push yourself away from what you want, or if you somehow don't want what you want, what is it? Why did you even talk to me? What about the night you gave me the watch? What is-"

Shinjiro gently took Minako by the shoulders, and kissed her.

It was over in a moment.

"Will this get you to shut up?" he murmured.

His lips were so close she could feel him talking. Their foreheads were touching. His hands were placed on her. They'd just kissed a little.

Holy shit.

"...I'll take that look you're giving me as a yes."

"Sorry!" Minako stuttered. "I... yeah! Okay!"

Shinji smirked, and carefully leaned towards her again. He seemed hesitant. Apparently, despite her literally telling him she loved him earlier, he was still unsure. What a dork. Still, Minako didn't want his confidence to waver; he needed to be comfortable for this experience to be a good one for either of them.

She wrapped her arms around Shinji's neck and pulled him towards her to let him know she was content. Their lips met again.

Minako didn't want to do anything too intrusive now, such as removing his beanie. He could do that himself, if he wanted to. She could feel him under his clothing. He had one arm around her waist, supporting her, which was causing her to lose focus a little. Not that she minded - the feel of his firm support was both reassuring and sublime - but she didn't want to disappoint Shinjiro by having him do all the work.

Their mouths briefly parted, their heads angled, then they continued.

Minako had no clue if she were a good kisser. She knew Shinjiro was. His lips were thin, and shockingly soft and smooth. He may have used that trick; where one brushes their lips with a toothbrush to make them less dry. Such a lovely texture they had. He was using them so gently; no tongue; as if Minako were delicate, and would tear if he made a sudden move. He'd seen her in battle, he knew she was pretty badass; but still, here he was being so cautious and treating her like she was something dainty.

What a gentleman.

He smelled great, too. Freshness from his mouth; and breezy aftershave - probably sandalwood - from his skin. He must have been very hygienic. Understandable, considering how high his standards for himself were when it came to cookery. Man, he made a good curry.

Okay, was this really what she should have been thinking about whilst kissing? Curry and toothbrushes?

Minako then realised her eyes had been closed for a while. She blinked them open, a strange mix of apprehension and excitement stirring inside her chest for some reason. And as if he sensed it, Shinji opened his eyes too.

They paused and looked at each-other for a few moments, lips still locked. Minako spotted some light brown flecks in his grey eyes.

The pair snorted and pulled away from each-other. Shinji didn't even attempt to hide himself chuckling, which left Minako feeling strangely light; resulting in her laughing a little too loud. Right in his face. How charming.

"You are such a moron," he reminded her.

"Yeah yeah, I know."

There was really no need to be so self-conscious around someone she trusted so much. Minako supposed it was since she didn't have much romantic experience. Shinjiro was likely to be the same. He was confused by his own feelings – there was a chance she was his first crush. He seemed to be one of those people who could only fall for someone once he had formed a strong bond with them.

Their hands intertwined, and they grinned at each-other.

Minako stuck out her bottom lip and blew her auburn fringe away from her eyes. Thankfully, the rest of her hair was tied back; unable to cause her any trouble. Shinjiro continued to grin at her childlike demeanour and took a step backwards, still holding her hands.

"Hey, I'm sorry if-"

"Wait." Minako found herself interrupting him. "No, it's okay. Whatever it is, it's alright. There's nothing you could say right now that would make me change my mind."

Shinjiro watched his feet with wide eyes, blushing.

He was still hiding something. She knew he had been. But he didn't want her to know for now, and that was okay. Minako was fully aware her sempai was a good person, despite how much effort he put into hiding it.

She dropped her tone, and the suffix. "Shinjiro."

He looked at her.

"I mean it."

Two pairs of shoes lay beside Shinjiro's bed.

Minako's school jacket had been thrown over the railing at the end of the bed. Her headphones, MP3 player and hair accessories were lying on the desk. Shinji had put his beanie hat back on; but his coat hung from a hook nailed to the door.

The buttons on Minako's blouse had been done up wrong, but she didn't bother fixing them. She enjoyed lying peacefully. She enjoyed feeling the cool air against her bare arms. She enjoyed the feel of Shinjiro's breathing and heartbeat underneath her most of all. They were slow and steady; probably because he exercised regularly.

Without his coat on, Shinjiro was dressed entirely in black. The jumper he wore hugged his figure and displayed how exceptional his body was. It was a privilege to use it as an enormous pillow. His chest and arms boasted power, and his legs were long and solid from muscle. Understandable, as he did wield an axe.

If Minako had woken up that morning knowing just how closely she'd have encountered Shinjiro that day, she wouldn't have been able to concentrate in school. She wouldn't have been able to eat her lunch, the excitement would have been too much. Yet there she was, lying on top of him like it was nothing. She had closed her eyes, happily letting herself have only Shinji to regard in her clouding thoughts. She was comfortable, despite lying on her stomach on a Shinjiro-shaped lumpy cushion. Her breathing was deep and quiet, and she enjoyed the feeling of him gently fiddling with her loose hair.

"You moron," he said, his words injecting into the silence. Minako could feel the vibration of his voice whilst she lay on him.

She was happy relaxing. She didn't respond.

"You're a little shit; you know that?"

Minako didn't even twitch. This was pretty funny.

"Look what you've done. I can't think straight..."

Nah, never mind.

"That's normal," she murmured. She felt Shinjiro's slight surprise when he realised she was awake. "You're a stranger to this sort of thing. It's normal to be confused. I'm kind of confused too, you know. Just do what feels natural."

He considered this.

"Good," he said, "because that's what I've been doing so far. You moron."

Really?

"What's natural is mean nicknames...?"

"That... among some other things." He held her close and kissed her forehead. "There's an example."

Minako curled up in delight at that. She would have loved to stay with him in their own little world for an exceptionally long amount of time. Too bad it wouldn't last forever. There would hopefully be similar sessions in the future though.

"What time is it?" she asked him.

He lifted up his wrist.

"The time is... I am not wearing a watch."

"My MP3 player displays the time, I'll have to get up..."

"Tch... You're not wearing it."

"The watch you gave me is super pretty! What if I lose it or break it or let it get stolen? It's precious, you gave it to me! This is stressful business."

"Minako, it was made to be worn."

It wasn't hard to convince her. "Okay... Yeah, I'll wear it. I'm sorry in advance if something terrible happens to it. I mean, the effort both of us put into finding it..."

Minako swung upwards, and Shinji tensed slightly at the sudden pressure. She padded over to the desk in her tights, clicked a button oh her music pod, then turned around.

"It's a bit past ten o'clock," she told him.

"I wasn't the one who asked."

Minako flopped back onto the bed.

"Shut up," she grumbled, pulling Shinjiro's hat over his face. He was smiling beneath it.

"We have a little under an hour 'til we should probably start heading out for training," Minako went on. "You wanna be on the team? It's a full moon in two days, it definitely wouldn't hurt to fit as much work in as possible."

"Yeah. Uh, please."

He was embarrassed to admit even that?

"Okay then!" Minako grinned. "Just don't tell anyone I'm very biased." She winked and crawled onto Shinjiro for more cuddling.

He stiffened. Only ever-so-slightly, but she felt it.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Shinjiro, whatever the problem is, I want to solve it."

He laughed without humour.

Minako frowned. What was that for?

He immediately became apologetic. "I... I'm sorry. Look... I said, I ain't a nice guy. I don't... I don't deserve this."

Her expression softened.

"Shinji..."

"And, you should take care of Aki, not me. He needs someone for... he needs someone."

Minako was well within her right to choose who she spent her time with romantically. It wasn't like she had abandoned her other sempai, anyway. She looked after everyone. Still, Shinji cared about Akihiko to a great extent, more so than he did himself. Why? What caused all this? All three of them had a similar orphaned childhood, but neither Minako nor Akihiko had experienced similar self-negligent issues. And it seemed like Shinji wanted her to know whatever the problem was, but he didn't want to go through with telling her.

"Shinjiro," Minako explained, "you care. You're thoughtful as heck. You even said you didn't visit the café often because you don't want your coughing to make any of the employees uncomfortable! I mean, come on. You're completely filled with nice little things like that."

"I-I wasn't trying to be nice."

"And that's because you're a naturally nice guy. You try your best for everyone, all the time, and you don't even notice. Especially for Aki."

"Did you just call him Aki?"

Minako let him change the topic. "Oh my gosh. I did. Your fault."

"You moron." He seemed to really appreciate masking his obvious feelings underneath insults which ended up sounding affectionate anyway.

Shinjiro took a deep breath, and sighed it out. "There's something about you... and... I hate how much I like it, I think. It's probably contributing towards the confusion..."

"You luuuurve me."

"Th-That's not... shut up." He covered his face with one hand, poorly hiding his flushing red cheeks.

"We're going to need to get ready," Minako informed, changing the topic herself this time. "Considering that you are Shinjiro, you probably do not want the dorm knowing what happened this evening. I'll have to sneak out whilst nobody is looking, which will be difficult. But regardless, I shall try!"

Minako clambered off the bed, the mattress rumbling slightly under her weight, and began fitting on her shoes. Shinjiro sat up and observed.

"Thanks," he said. The word flew out of him like a bullet from a gun. He really disliked showing gratitude, huh?

"You're welcome, Shinjirio."

"Never call me that again."

"Good!" said Minako. She jumped upright, shoes tied, and redid her buttons. "Get in-character, act like nothing ever happened. Shinjirio."

"Idiot."

"That's it!"

"You're such a pain in the ass..." He smiled to himself and shook his head.

Minako smiled too, grabbed her uniform from the railing and took her things from his desk. "Mirror?"

"Bathroom."

"Thank you a-very much."

"Grow up, dimwit."

"As your team captain, I order you to take that back."

Shinjiro grunted.

Minako smirked and headed into the bathroom, pulled the switch and begun doing up her hair in the mirror above the sink.

"Don't you need a brush or some shit?" Shinji called from the bed.

"Ih's more diffcult wiffout one, sure," Minako called back, bobby pins in her mouth, "buh I can manage."

"I see. Perhaps I should look into managing my hair better."

"Why not? It'd be handy to keep it out the way whilst in battle."

"That's... a good point. But I think my hat does that anyway."

"Ah, indeed. You suit your hat. Plus, the forehead protector is great for head-butting ominous people on the street."

"Why do you need to bring that up?"

"It's an example of your hat being practical!"

Minako winked at her reflection in the mirror and hopped out the bathroom, looking good as new. She gave Shinji a thumbs-up, peeped out the door's peep-hole on her toes, and nodded to herself.

"I'm gonna sneak out now. See ya!"

"See ya."

She quietly turned the handle, and flipped the lock. She flung open the door in a dramatic Mission Impossible act, and could sense Shinji's delicious embarrassment as she entered the hallway and hooked her foot around the door to swing it closed.

It clicked shut, and caught the attention of a nearby silver-haired boxer.

"Shinji! Hey! You coming to Tartarus?"

Minako could hear him from the second floor seating area.

Shit.

She dived back, only to find the door had locked behind her.

Shit shit shit.

She couldn't call for Shinjiro to let her in; her only hope was for him to notice her frantically rattling the handle. Had Akihiko considered that she'd stayed with him for that long? What would he think? Would he know immediately? Would he learn later? Would he judge them? What if he liked her and became insanely jealous?! She desperately needed to get back inside-

"Minako? What are you doing there?"

Too late!

She abandoned the door and stood up very straight. It probably looked a little strange. "OH! Hello! Akihiko-sempai! I didn't see you there! Hi!"

"Wh-"

Shinjiro stood in the doorway. He was wearing his long coat.

"We've been discussing battle tactics," he said firmly.

Akihiko looked at him in disbelief. "I-"

Shinji gave him no room. "We. Have. Been. Discussing. Battle. Tactics."

Akihiko gave his childhood friend a very fed-up look. "Okay, fine. Yes you have. I'll talk to you later, when you're not... busy."

He awkwardly departed once more.

Minako watched him go, then turned to Shinjiro. He was giving her his usual dead-serious look that he gave everyone; yet she knew he was concerned.

"I'm fine," she told him. "I feel better, after this evening. Thank you."

He nodded.

She gave him one last smile, then too left down the hallway, resisting the urge to skip.

Thank you so much for reading my first fic! If you wish to let me know where I can improve, don't be afraid to critique with brutal honesty! Also if you leave even the tiniest of comments I will love you forever.

I hope to write more stuff soon!