minato | juniper

[messianic]

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[messianic]

[The phones are a marvel and a wonder, and Minato is willing to forgive all of Mitama's idiosyncrasies for the sake of being able to stay in touch with everyone. Things have calmed down a little bit (as much as things ever calm down in the Persona 3 timeline), which means... on a whim, Minato shoots Juniper a message to see if she wants to come by.

When she says yes, he feels very warm glow--which he's not going to think too hard about. Instead, he waits for her by the Iwatodai Station, hoping that that's where she's gonna pop out.

idk how the magic works, it's fine, we'll handwave it.]

[feyfound]

[ It is, of course, very easy to spot Juniper amidst the throngs of normal people, on account of the perked up bunny ears that are swiveling and twitching every which way. There's just so much to take in, so many new sounds and sights to see!

It's too bad that it's just her this time around; although it's been a little bit since Juniper's grand adventure in the Feywild to beat the Hourglass Coven, Childe has since returned to Teyvat for... um. A villain conference or something.

But it's just as well, because - perhaps a bit selfishly - she wants Minato's undivided attention for her first time visiting his home! She and Childe can come back together later (right??) and she can third-wheel (??) them then, that's fine.

Anyway, did Juniper get even more muscular during her adventure? The answer is yes. Which is only pertinent information because the very moment she finally spots Minato, she dashes towards him and wraps her arms around him tightly. ]

Mimi! I'm so excited to be here..!!

[messianic]

[Hope Childe's having a good time at that villain conference. Vilcon.

Minato, for his part, brightens up immediately as soon as he sees those bunny ears above the milling weekend Iwatodaians. He lifts a hand when they meet eyes, but before he can say anything? She's right there, scooping him up in her arms.

Yep.

Arms... muscle... arms.

He hugs her back, wheezing a little.]

Juni-chan, hey... It's so good... to see you again... [tiny wheeze]

[feyfound]

[ She hears that tiny wheezing, and. Oh. ]

Oopsie!

[ As she lets go... ]

Sorry about that! I feel like I reached an important milestone in my growth just before coming here - I've gotten stronger!

[ She leveled up a few times probably. ]

[messianic]

[Whew... he takes a moment to catch his breath, lips curving into a faintly amused smile.]

You definitely have. [And because he's a jrpg protag with a relatively meta game:] You leveled up a bunch, huh?

[feyfound]

[ Level up!? ]

No! Or— I don't think so? But I've definitely ranked up!

[ We're just going to call that the ye olde way of saying "level up."

But, now stepping back a bit but keeping him at literal arms' length by resting her hands upon his shoulder, she gives him an appraising look of her own. ]

Let me take a look at you, too!

[ How has he been? Is he eating properly? Sleeping properly? Taking care of himself? ]

[messianic]

[Ranked up, leveled up, same idea. He just smiles at her a little when she looks him over.

He's... also leveled up a bit! And he looks pretty tired. But not Oh Boy It's March tired at least, just tired because P3 Keeps Happening.

The smile is sincere though.]

Do I pass inspection?

[feyfound]

Hmmmmm...

[ She leans in to inspect his face more closely... Are those bags under his eyes? ]

You look like you've gotten stronger, too, but tired. Very tired!

[messianic]

Oh... well. A lot's happened...

[There are bags under his eyes, but even as she peers close, he just smiles at her a little... and then.

Reaches up to gently boop her nose.]

But I promised to show you around. I'm sure that'll rejuvenate me.

[feyfound]

Wha—

[ Boop! It's a direct hit!

Juniper startles, giving a little bunny nose twitch at the contact. She'd been ready to grill Minato about his eyebags, but he manages to successfully derail her (admittedly prone to derailment) train of thought. And at the idea of rejuvenating him with activities, well - she's very good at that kind of thing, so she nods! ]

O-Okay! So the quest begins to rejuvenate Mimi...! Lead the way, fearless leader!

[messianic]

[Cute... her little nose twitch.

Minato nods in response, reaching for her hand.]

"Fearless leader", huh...? It looks to me like you could be a pretty good fearless leader yourself right now.

Let's... go to the mall first, okay?

[feyfound]

[ Of course Juniper takes his hand, the moment he offers it to her. In fact, she's delighted that he was the one to reach first, as she was going to do the same in just another moment. ]

Ohh... I haven't been to a mall ever since the one I went to on the show! Are we going to go shopping there?

[ ... ]

Are we going to go to the shrine from your memory at some point, too?

[ She remembers! ]

[messianic]

[Reaching for the affection he wants to have seems to be coming a little more naturally to him right now... and he also just seems happy to have her here.]

We can if you want to. There's a cute coffee shop there, too, and the arcade...

[It's cute she remembers! He knows how her memory can be, but... she remembered that because it was about him. His heart... feels soft.]

--And definitely, we can go to the shrine. We'll have to pull our fortunes and see what the future holds.

pocky!!!

[messianic]

[One way or another, they found some pocky at the conbini on their way back to the dorm.

And, well... it sounds nice to play the pocky game without a bunch of cameras on them, or other people around.

(And... at least to Minato, it sounds nice to play it a lot more seriously.)

So they bring it all back to his room, dodging the rest of SEES carefully (Minato does not want them to ask any questions that might... uh. Be true. At least, he might be hoping--)

And when they're both on the bed? He rummages through the shopping bag.]

We have chocolate, strawberry, matcha... which do you wanna try first?

[feyfound]

[ Juniper, for one, is absolutely astonished that pocky can come in so many different flavors! She'd have thought that it would be enough to offer chocolate and strawberry as options, and she was able to try both during their weeks together on the show, but chocolate and banana in one flavor? Cookies and cream? Almonds!? ]

What is "matcha," anyway? It looks so pretty!

[ As soon as that green box emerges from the shopping bag, Juniper is leaning over with her head tipped to one side, the smile on her face as bright as ever. She hasn't been able to stop smiling ever since they kissed, honestly.

...And now they're on his bed! In his room! Perhaps it hasn't quite hit her yet how... Spicy this is - she's just thinking about how they all were sleeping (activating elven trance) in one big room back at the house! ]

Eheh, the green matches my eyes, don't you think?

[messianic]

[... Oh......... oh no. When she points out her eyes, he, of course, looks at them--which means he's looking quite closely at her face. They're on his bed... and her face is so close, and...

... Ahem. Ahem!!

His cheeks go a little red, and he dips his head to open up the box so she can try a stick.]

It does... your eyes are a much deeper and prettier green though.

[Boy's got it bad, honestly.]

Here, give it a try. It's a type of green tea, but they've sweetened it a lot for the pocky.

[feyfound]

[ Her smile broadens at the compliment; she really does think it matches her eyes, but far be it for her to shy away from such sweet words from Minato. She's been longing to hear such words from him for some time...

Needless to say, girl's got it bad, too. ]

I see... Wait! [ something occurs to her, then. ] I should have said... That it matchas my eyes, heh!

[ And with that, she will pluck a stick from the box and shove it into her mouth! ]

[messianic]

[... oh my god. He's... so glad, honestly.

He snorts vaguely in response, shaking his head.]

That's right. I hope that you're enjoying it so matcha.

[this is bad. this is not a spicy thread!!! (they're dumb.)]

[feyfound]

[ Maybe being a silly little bunny is just part of the spicy buildup for Juniper...

But Minato always manages to meet her antics so cooly, it's utterly endearing. Even if - sitting here on his bed and looking into each other's eyes - she's beginning to wonder what it would be like for him to be a little more... disheveled... ///

The first matcha pocky is consumed with enthusiasm, and she hums approvingly at the flavor. ]

Oh, I really like this flavor! I can kind of taste the tea, too.

[ Another matcha pocky is plucked from the box, and this time she holds it up between them. ]

Ah, you'll have to remind me how to play this game, Mimi.

[messianic]

[She's just going to have to be the one to dishevel him and find out, won't she.......

Minato smiles a little as she holds up the box, eyebrow arching. He highly doubts she's forgotten how to play, but... it's charming, the way that she encourages him to go for it.

So he plucks a pocky stick from the box, and puts it between his teeth, giving her the frosting side.]

... The idea's to get as close as possible, right? I'd definitely like to see if you've gotten any better at this game. I'm feeling a bit more confident myself.

[Which is Minato code for "I really, really want to take the excuse to kiss you some more".]

[feyfound]

Ah, that's right!

[ No, Minato!! It's been some time and she's a forgetful person, she really did forget, apart from the main idea of "keep eating the pocky." ]

Oh, you're feeling more confident, hm? Well, I won't back down, of course.

[ A more confident Mimi... Now that will be a sight to see! Juniper has no choice but to rise up to the challenge of course, and she's as competitive as ever.

Tipping her head down a bit so she can gaze up at him coyly, she takes the frosted end of the snack up between her lips. ]

[messianic]

[help she really did forget and he thinks she was just being coy.

But!

That coy look, and the way she delicately draws that snack between her lips naturally drags his gaze to her lips.

And the memory of their kissing before is... very fresh in his mind. He'd really... like to experience that again, but--well, but more.]

I'm looking forward to seeing what you've got.

[And with that? He takes a small bite forward. He's impatient right now, so the chances he's going to do well with this game is... slim.]

[feyfound]

[ A lot has happened for Juniper, too, since their very first day on the show together when they played this game. For worse or worst, she's learned how to demonstrate more patience when it comes to things like this... Because she's often been on the receiving end of Childe's mischievous teasing by now.

She's learned how to at least seem like she's keeping her cool, even if there are so many butterflies fluttering about in her stomach.

So, she meets his small bite with a bolder one, hoping to stoke his impatience just a bit. ]

[messianic]

[She succeeds, honestly. Her bolder bite forward gets his cheeks to flush a little. After all... now that he knows just how soft her lips are, knows what it's like to kiss her without having to worry about a TV show or if they really mean it or anything like that...

This game feels like it means a lot more.

... He leans in and... perhaps cheats a little, by taking two bites forward, bringing their noses to the point where they're practically brushing.]

[feyfound]

[ It truly does mean a lot more, for both of them, all the more so for the fact that here, they're hidden away, and her focus is on Minato and only Minato. On how cute he looks when he's blushing, on how his blue hair frames his face, how nice it is to be in such close quarters with him with no Cameraman-kun crew or show or anything to pay heed to.

Juniper leans in, too, to take another bite - a smaller one - but in doing so moves her arm to support herself with one hand firmly pressed onto the bed, beside where Minato sits. Their noses are very much touching now... ]