#shinjimitsu

Not just because it's ridiculously attractive– which, yeah, of course it is. Holy hell is it ever. 

But it's also just so damn good to see Mitsuru having fun. With everything that she's expected to carry on her back, whether it was put there by someone else or she chose to shoulder it herself, she deserves every chance she can get to be a little mischievous, a little un-serious and carefree.

He's glad to be able to give that to her. And if his reasons for being glad about it aren't completely selfless, well– it’s not like he was ever going to make it as a saint, anyway.

He plants his other hand against the wall, caging her in.

"No, I don't think you’re goin’ anywhere, actually."

"Weren't you just saying you were concerned for my reputation?" Her head tilts by a degree or two, her lips twitch slightly. It is completely insane how she can barely move and it's still one of the most alluring things he's ever seen.

"You got it twisted, Miss President. I said you should be." He tilts her face up by the chin. Her eyes darken, but he's pretty sure it's not anger he can see in them. How far is she going to let him push his luck, he wonders?

"Whatever you're planning on doing to tarnish my name,” she says, voice so quiet and yet still enough to make Shinjiro’s ears ring. “You should do it soon. You have heard that it's rude to keep someone waiting, haven't you?"

Pretty damn far, apparently. He is the luckiest son of a bitch on the face of the earth today.

He kind of wants to draw the moment out a bit more, though. See how high he can tune up this anticipatory charge, and also– just hold onto it for a little longer. He only gets to do this for the first time just once, after all. He ought to savor it.

So he shifts his weight onto his elbow, leans down and in– but not quite all the way. Not yet. He gets close enough that he can feel Mitsuru's breath on his lips, though, and even just that makes chills crawl up and down his back.

"Sorry, manners ain't exactly my strong suit. But I'll try to make it up to you."

"Yes," she breathes. At least he's not the only one feeling stupefied. "See to it that you do."

Well, the gentlemanly thing would be to give the lady what she asked for, wouldn't it? He's no gentleman, that's for damn certain, but he'll gladly play the part for her. So he finally– god, finally– closes the last of the distance between them.

It only takes the span of about three perfect seconds for Shinjiro to start reconsidering his stance on certain overwrought poetry words– shit like 'sublime' and 'euphoria'. Words that only someone like Mitsuru could get away with saying without sounding completely ridiculous.

Those three seconds are all he gets. Mitsuru's jaw stiffens in his hand, her mouth tightening almost imperceptibly under his.

Ah, he thinks as he pulls away. Right.

It's not like he wasn't expecting this to happen at some point. He's known from the start that sooner or later Mitsuru would realize this wasn't really what she wanted with him. She's too smart not to.

Damn it all, though– he had kind of been hoping that the moment wouldn't come this soon. It would've been nice to kiss her at least twice.

And damn him in particular– he'd known that when it happened it wouldn't exactly be pleasant, but–

He still hadn't anticipated just how bad it would hurt. It feels like someone's stomped down hard right in the center of his chest.

That's as far into self-pity as he manages to sink before Mitsuru grabs a fistful of his coat to hold him still.

There's no mischief in the look she's got in her eyes now. Instead it's all defiance and dead serious sincerity.

“Akihiko held back at first, too. I told him as well–" Her eyes narrow and her chin juts up. "I know you can do better than that.”

He thinks maybe his heart might have stopped for a second, hearing that. 

He knows for a fact that his face does something embarrassing before he's able to pull his shit back together.

If that doesn't set him straight on every single thing he'd gotten wrong a second earlier, he'd have to be brain-dead. He's never been more glad to feel like an idiot.

Mitsuru's never been the type to go into something without her eyes wide open. Shame on him, honestly, for ever doubting that she knows exactly what she's getting into, and exactly what she wants.

“That an order or a challenge?” It’s kind of surprising that he even manages to get the words out.

“Take it however you like.” She’s clearly aiming for nonchalance, but instead she sounds breathless.

Both, then. Shame on him again for keeping her waiting.

So Shinjiro wraps an arm around her waist to drag her close, and this time when he kisses her he does it like he fucking means it.

Mitsuru sucks in a sharp breath through her nose and he can feel her ribcage swell with it. She must not even register the sound she makes on the exhale, because if she did it'd probably embarrass her enough to pull away again. He's sure as shit not complaining about it, though. He could definitely stand to hear her sound like that again. A few hundred more times at least.

She snakes her arms around his neck and clings hard. He tightens his hold on her in return, cushioning the back of her head with his palm.

It's not at all like kissing Aki, who’d been very enthusiastic but had also followed Shinjiro's lead– which he shouldn't get too used to anyway, because once Aki feels like he knows what he's doing, he'll be just as argumentative in his kisses as he is with everything else. Mitsuru, though, starts tugging on the lead right away.

So Shinjiro tugs back.

Rolling her bottom lip between his teeth makes her shudder and sag against him. She tries to nip at his tongue when he flicks it experimentally against her top lip, and lets out a huff so sulky when she misses that he can't help but laugh into her mouth.

She bites him for that.

He swears he can feel it all the way down to his bones.

She has one foot dangling a little off the ground, half popped behind her black-and-white movie style. It’d be real easy to nudge her leg aside enough to fit one of his in the space between, wouldn’t it? Just the idea is making his head spin.

…Really spin.

Not all of that head spinning is the pleasant kind, actually.

He breaks away with a sharp, dragging breath, suddenly very aware of what feels like every single brain cell he’s got to his name screaming for oxygen all at once. He has to plant a hand against the wall again to keep himself upright.

"Are you alright?" Mitsuru touches his forehead like she's checking for a fever. When he looks down at her, her face is open and concerned. He balks, suddenly feeling shy.

Twenty seconds ago he'd been contemplating pressing his knee between her thighs just to find out how she'd sound, and now he's getting bashful about this? It’s not even the fact that he got too winded to keep going even faster than he had with Aki, it’s just–

God, he really is beyond help.

“'M fine,” he says. “You just gotta be gentle with me, you know? I’m a delicate blossom.”

"I'm being serious," she pouts up at him, plucking at a knot in his hair.

Cute, is his first thought. Immediately following it: she would be mad as hell if I said it out loud. He files the idea away to experiment with later, because her concern really is genuine.

So he doesn't tease her. Instead he rests a hand over hers and murmurs reassurance against her skin, then presses his mouth to the delicate flicker of her pulse. 

He's still too out of breath for anything more strenuous than that, but the temptation to kiss her again somewhere is just too much for him to win against. This'll have to be enough of an IOU for now– and judging by Mitsuru's full-body shiver, he's gotten his point across just fine.

Her hair is kind of a mess, although ‘kind of a mess’ on Mitsuru Kirijo is still almost too stunning to seem real. She looks like she belongs on a movie poster, but she also looks like–

Well. Like she’s been up on the school roof necking with some delinquent. What would the press say? He runs his fingers through it, tidying it back up as much as he can.

Mitsuru laughs softly. Shinjiro raises his eyebrows at her.

“Akihiko did the very same thing the other night,” she explains. Alright, so Shinjiro had clocked that energy between them, after all. He wonders which one of them had made the first move.

“Hm. Well, Aki was probably doin’ it just to be nice. Me, I’m getting rid of the evidence.”

She laughs again and pushes up on her toes to peck the corner of his mouth.

“You know, your practicality has always been something I’ve admired about you, Shinjiro.”

He has to look away, his ears burning.

“So.” He clears his throat. “You have a reason to come up here or was it just for, y’know. This?”

“I came up simply to spend time with you.” Her eyes are so goddamned soft, and there really is just no hope for him at all, is there? He’s done for.

He spends another few seconds combing her hair back into place before she turns and makes herself comfortable tucked close against his side. They watch a pair of birds squabbling in mid-air around the observation tower, and she treats Shinjiro to more of her laughter as he shares a little of the rain-swift soap opera that Aigis continues to update him on.

Eventually though, she does have to go. Shinjiro will follow later– if people see them coming down from the roof together, there really will be gossip.

Just as she makes it to the door, he calls out to her.

“Hey, Mitsu.” Maybe the pink glow over her face as she turns back to look at him is just from the afternoon light, or maybe it’s something else. Who’s to say? “See you at home, yeah?”