madimpossibledreamer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
madimpossibledreamer) wrote2024-04-28 08:30 pm
madimpossibledreamer) wrote2024-04-28 08:30 pm
Entry tags:
Paths Reconverge
Main Points:
Persona 4 Past Will Tell AU (protag swap + Average AU)
Second person, Souji POV
Chapter Summary: Yosuke welcomes Souji to the team.
Word Count: 980
Rating: Teen
pre-yosuke/souji
Yosuke pinches his nose. He looks embarrassed…no, not embarrassed. Nervous? “Eh, that’s fine, but, ah, not here. Let’s go to the roof. Less chance of being overheard.”
He’s strangely serious about this. And he’s not panicking. Well, no more than usual, at least. Then again, there was no repeat of the incident in the tent (thank goodness; that had been very uncomfortable). He’s more mature than the Yosuke you knew. It had been terrifying, knowing something was going on but not how to approach this or help, but also…you think you like Yosuke like this.
“Okay, my head’s just a bunch of jumbled up words about this, so just…let me talk, okay? I need to get all this out, and you’re…” He flails his hand a bit for a minute, trying to find a good word, and eventually settling on, “…Distracting.”
You try not to smirk at this despite the huge ego boost it gives you. “Maaaan, just like that,” he whines, and it seems you were unsuccessful. You try to school your features into a more professional, non-triumphant look.
“You don’t talk about our past selves too much. I mean, we got what your Shadow said, which gives me some clues, but. At first I wondered if our past selves were really that terrible, and given some of the looks you’ve given me, particularly when Kanji’s around, I guess I wasn’t completely wrong, because I was still being an ass about things.” You open your mouth. He glares it closed. “No, don’t defend me, or give me specifics. I don’t deserve either. But even more than that, you feel like you failed us, yeah? Like everything that went wrong right up until the very end was your fault.”
You swallow, smile dying on your lips quickly, and look away. You don’t like to think of such things.
“It’s not like I needed a clue for the next bit. Your Shadow spelled it out. You thought the loss of your Persona and status as Leader was punishment for that. Hey, look at me. I don’t think it’s right, okay?”
He shakes his head, smiling, as you look up so quickly you threaten to give yourself whiplash. There’s something gentle in his face and tone—the same kind that he uses with Nanako, now that you consider it.
“If anything, I’m the one who messed everything up. If I were still hung up on trying to keep up appearances, if I was so insecure I was trying to impress you—and don’t get me wrong; I’m still insecure, but I know I could be a lot worse, because I’ve been a lot worse—if I was trying to avenge Senpai, then I’m sure I’d get all hot-headed and do something that we all would regret, right?” It’s shocking, really, how good he is at this, even if you privately suspect they recall traces of the previous loop. Still, Yosuke’s pretty good at putting together clues; he’s invaluable to the case, and he’s learned much about predicting how people will act through his customer service experience. “The main person who deserves to feel guilty here is me. And I’m being punished. Bet the other me would never have thought how difficult it is to play top dog, just would’ve been jealous. It’s exhausting and sometimes I hate it, but you know…I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
He rubs at the back of his head. “I used to think I was pretty unlucky, you know. Clumsy Yosuke. I don’t know if I’m just super sensitive, so I remember all this stuff when other people would forget it, but it always seemed like my bike would break more often, or I’d stain my clothes, or break that glass. You know, stuff like that.”
Wisely, you keep to yourself that some of that is certainly explained by clumsiness, and some of it, like his bike, is probably bullying. He probably already knows this.
“Not to mention my love life, in which either happens to be nonexistent or the people I’m interested in are being thrown into another world to get killed, which isn’t good for my heart. And don’t get me wrong—I still think I’m pretty unlucky, with pretty much everything else, but…it’s not all bad, either. The Investigation Team is still a pain in the ass, but I love it. If I had to luck out somewhere, I did it with my friends. We’re a good group of people, and I’m proud of how far everyone’s gotten, and…”
He takes another deep breath and looks up at you, warm brown eyes meeting your own, a shy smile on his lips, cheeks dusted with pink. “And you. I’m proud of you. Maybe this wasn’t a punishment, but a lesson. That we don’t have to try to do everything ourselves. That someone out there understands what you’re going through, and all you gotta do is ask.” He holds out a hand for you to shake. “I’m asking. Souji, would you do me the honor of being my Second?”
You’re really, really tempted to act like it’s a marriage proposal and tease him for it. You’re really tempted. You should be better than this, but also...you’ve had to go through part of the year as a complete nobody unable to change a single thing, and even now you’re not the responsible leader trying to make a good example, so maybe you don’t need to worry about it as much. You shake his hand solemnly and swear you could hear an echo of the sound of a Social Link forming. You wait until you won’t have ruined the moment before you verbally respond. “Absolutely. I actually kind of miss helping out. And maybe one of those things I could help you with is your love life.”
“Ass,” Yosuke responds, but he leans in for a kiss anyway.
Persona 4 Past Will Tell AU (protag swap + Average AU)
Second person, Souji POV
Chapter Summary: Yosuke welcomes Souji to the team.
Word Count: 980
Rating: Teen
pre-yosuke/souji
Yosuke pinches his nose. He looks embarrassed…no, not embarrassed. Nervous? “Eh, that’s fine, but, ah, not here. Let’s go to the roof. Less chance of being overheard.”
He’s strangely serious about this. And he’s not panicking. Well, no more than usual, at least. Then again, there was no repeat of the incident in the tent (thank goodness; that had been very uncomfortable). He’s more mature than the Yosuke you knew. It had been terrifying, knowing something was going on but not how to approach this or help, but also…you think you like Yosuke like this.
“Okay, my head’s just a bunch of jumbled up words about this, so just…let me talk, okay? I need to get all this out, and you’re…” He flails his hand a bit for a minute, trying to find a good word, and eventually settling on, “…Distracting.”
You try not to smirk at this despite the huge ego boost it gives you. “Maaaan, just like that,” he whines, and it seems you were unsuccessful. You try to school your features into a more professional, non-triumphant look.
“You don’t talk about our past selves too much. I mean, we got what your Shadow said, which gives me some clues, but. At first I wondered if our past selves were really that terrible, and given some of the looks you’ve given me, particularly when Kanji’s around, I guess I wasn’t completely wrong, because I was still being an ass about things.” You open your mouth. He glares it closed. “No, don’t defend me, or give me specifics. I don’t deserve either. But even more than that, you feel like you failed us, yeah? Like everything that went wrong right up until the very end was your fault.”
You swallow, smile dying on your lips quickly, and look away. You don’t like to think of such things.
“It’s not like I needed a clue for the next bit. Your Shadow spelled it out. You thought the loss of your Persona and status as Leader was punishment for that. Hey, look at me. I don’t think it’s right, okay?”
He shakes his head, smiling, as you look up so quickly you threaten to give yourself whiplash. There’s something gentle in his face and tone—the same kind that he uses with Nanako, now that you consider it.
“If anything, I’m the one who messed everything up. If I were still hung up on trying to keep up appearances, if I was so insecure I was trying to impress you—and don’t get me wrong; I’m still insecure, but I know I could be a lot worse, because I’ve been a lot worse—if I was trying to avenge Senpai, then I’m sure I’d get all hot-headed and do something that we all would regret, right?” It’s shocking, really, how good he is at this, even if you privately suspect they recall traces of the previous loop. Still, Yosuke’s pretty good at putting together clues; he’s invaluable to the case, and he’s learned much about predicting how people will act through his customer service experience. “The main person who deserves to feel guilty here is me. And I’m being punished. Bet the other me would never have thought how difficult it is to play top dog, just would’ve been jealous. It’s exhausting and sometimes I hate it, but you know…I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
He rubs at the back of his head. “I used to think I was pretty unlucky, you know. Clumsy Yosuke. I don’t know if I’m just super sensitive, so I remember all this stuff when other people would forget it, but it always seemed like my bike would break more often, or I’d stain my clothes, or break that glass. You know, stuff like that.”
Wisely, you keep to yourself that some of that is certainly explained by clumsiness, and some of it, like his bike, is probably bullying. He probably already knows this.
“Not to mention my love life, in which either happens to be nonexistent or the people I’m interested in are being thrown into another world to get killed, which isn’t good for my heart. And don’t get me wrong—I still think I’m pretty unlucky, with pretty much everything else, but…it’s not all bad, either. The Investigation Team is still a pain in the ass, but I love it. If I had to luck out somewhere, I did it with my friends. We’re a good group of people, and I’m proud of how far everyone’s gotten, and…”
He takes another deep breath and looks up at you, warm brown eyes meeting your own, a shy smile on his lips, cheeks dusted with pink. “And you. I’m proud of you. Maybe this wasn’t a punishment, but a lesson. That we don’t have to try to do everything ourselves. That someone out there understands what you’re going through, and all you gotta do is ask.” He holds out a hand for you to shake. “I’m asking. Souji, would you do me the honor of being my Second?”
You’re really, really tempted to act like it’s a marriage proposal and tease him for it. You’re really tempted. You should be better than this, but also...you’ve had to go through part of the year as a complete nobody unable to change a single thing, and even now you’re not the responsible leader trying to make a good example, so maybe you don’t need to worry about it as much. You shake his hand solemnly and swear you could hear an echo of the sound of a Social Link forming. You wait until you won’t have ruined the moment before you verbally respond. “Absolutely. I actually kind of miss helping out. And maybe one of those things I could help you with is your love life.”
“Ass,” Yosuke responds, but he leans in for a kiss anyway.