How would Lynn and Juan react to seeing younger versions of themselves?
"I'd beat the absolute fuck out of myself."
It was something he thought about often, actually.
There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't wish he could go back, rewind time by just a few measly years...Junpei longed for those hot, late summer days when the most he had to worry about was getting beaten to a pulp by bullies...
He missed being soft, missed the bruises and bloody noses every single week, if he could go back he'd take it all with a smile knowing it was better than how things were now.
His life was perfect and he didn't even fucking know it.
No matter how badly he was beaten or harassed it would all be worth it just to sit on the couch next to Lynn at the end of the day.
But he had been an idiot. He threw it all away, any chance he had at happiness was squandered beneath kept secrets, hiding the truth with his contusions.
Never in his life had Junpei been impulsive, but that one day in the theater lead him to make the biggest mistake of his life.
He had been greedy. Just avoiding his bullies wasn't enough...His animosity and desire for revenge had damned him...
If Junpei could go back, he'd go back to that exact moment he was chasing after Mahito. He'd slam his younger self to the cement and beat the breaks off of him like nothing he ever had and that'd be letting him off easy.
He fantasized about unleashing every bit of hatred he had for himself on that moment, slamming his fist into his double's face over and over and over until he couldn't anymore, then kick and stomp him until he could hardly stand, until he felt bones snap and then keep doing more. Junpei would demolish that stupid fucking idiot for what he did, for throwing away everything good about their life trying to be something he wasn't.
And after he'd finished, he'd tell himself to go cry to Lynn like he should've months ago and send his other self running in the opposite direction of Mahito and the horrid, short path he would've lead them down...
At least one of them could be happy...
"Like, as a baby?? Or a little kid??"
A more practical, and less brooding, approach.
Lynn held her chin, looking to the clouds as if they had the answers written in the sky. Her eyes shimmered and she beamed to the stranger.
"I'd tell myself to be myself more!! And not to worry that others think of me!" It was her wish to have been free earlier in her life, and not to be dimmed by other's expectations. "I'd also tell myself that when I grow up I'd have a great friend and a handsome, sweet husband! And that we go on adventures all the time!"
Lynn crossed her arms, nodding proudly. She could feel the little girl in her heart squealing with joy, having obtained things she never thought she'd have. Her life was like a twisted fairy tale of sorts, and her prince charming was a monster! Yes, she couldn't imagine a better life for herself. She had her best friend (and disaster curses) to hang out with and a dashing spouse who loved her fully for who she was! He swept her off her feet and saved her from how horrible and scary the world was!!
Lynn's smile sharpened, her eyes pinning on Junpei's back. She snuck up behind him, throwing her arms over his shoulders to glomp him. "I'd also help little me find little you!!" she proclaimed, her eyes sparkling up to her friend. "The sooner we'd become friends the better- I'd protect you and make sure you'd never have to go through what you did!"
Junpei smiled weakly at the thought, his stomach a mix of knots and dead butterflies. It was a bitter sweet, hopeless daydream, the idea of him and Lynn meeting when they were younger, and growing up side by side...
If only that were the reality they were blessed with...Maybe if Lynn saved him sooner they wouldn't have ended up like this, tangled up in Mahito's bullshit...Junpei was left only feeling heavier thinking about it...Knowing that even if he and Lynn had been childhood friends Mahito still would've found a way to worm into their lives somehow..And that Lynn would choose him again...
