yumemigaoka | October is Theater Kid Season (Catch-all!)

[His pout takes on a mocking edge, sensing blood in the water as she blushes. Oh, he's definitely not gonna drop it now!]

I can't believe it. You guys probably held hands and wore matching accessories and stuff too. Scandalous.

[As if he wasn't always shamelessly holding Nene's hand whenever they happened to go out together.... smh!!

He sobers up a little at her apology, though, shrugging a shoulder in response. It's not like he'd outright told her his relationship with Nene, either, but... to be fair, that was a bit less cut and dry compared to what she had going on with Lisa.]

It's fine. I mean... I guess it is a weird thing to bring up out of nowhere, too. [Birthdays, relationships... why were mundane things like these the hardest to casually talk about?] I just was surprised, y'know? When Lisa-san brought it up to me, I thought I was missing something.

Wh--held hands, yes! Matching accessories would be cute, but... no. [She sighs, with a slightly loud 'huff.' And then... Junna smiles. Yeah, she knows he's kidding; she knows there's nothing for her to be angry at. Instead, she looks at hm.

And the smile is a bit more serious when he shrugs. And explains. She glances to the side, then, and shakes her head.]

It's all right. I can see why you did. I, ah...

[There's a moment of awkwardness. Her expression softens; her eyelids half-lower, even, as she looks thoughtful. Distant. It's not a pleasant thing to think about. And less pleasant to bring up.] ...I don't mention it much. My parents don't... know.

[About Lisa. But... more generally, too, about Junna.]

Edited 2024-12-17 23:52 (UTC)

[The urge to continue to tease her was strong-- especially about the matching accessories, he's sure Lisa could probably whip some up for the two of them if asked-- but the pensive look that crosses her face as she mentions her parents draws him up short. Come to think of it... he didn't really know much about Junna's background, did he? Perhaps that was his own fault-- he was more guarded than others when it came to his personal business, and therefore didn't feel all that comfortable prying other's pasts, either. Still... as her Mentor, he should know more about her, shouldn't he? In order to help her out? Not that he could do much about the big things, like school or jobs, but...

He leans forward a bit, propping his chin up with his hands, face cautiously curious.]

How come? Are they the anti-dating type?

[Granted, Junna seemed a bit too old for that sort of restriction, but some parents were super strict!! A more grim option passes his mind, however, and he pauses, trepidation in his voice as he adds:]

Or... the anti-dating-girls type, even...?

[Yumemigaoka was a fairly progressive city compared to some places in Japan (understandable, when the venn diagram of Being Queer and Being a Dreamer was almost one big circle), but even Amane knew that wasn't the case everywhere else. If that's the sort of thing Junna was dealing with...]

Well... I don't think they're excited about dating, but...

[But... but he figures it out.

Junna hesitates for a second, then she glances to the side. It's... complicated, suffice to say. She resists the urge to pull her knees up to her chin, like she does when she's worried. Then she looks back at Amane, and she nods.] They're... they've never said it outright. I don't think they would just... do or say something blatantly awful.

[There's a 'but' there.]

But there's little things. Jokes about when I bring home a boyfriend. About if their grandkids would have glasses, too. And...

[She exhales. But it doesn't really get the tension out of her. Because the tension is always there, it's been there since she figured herself out, and sometimes she thinks it will always still be there. Her expression is distant.]

...I don't know what would happen if I tell them.

[He looks at her, utterly speechless for a few moments, before he finally lets out a small:]

... oh.

[... well, shit. Here he was, being so careful beforehand not to pry into her business too much, and now he straight up stumbled into a sensitive subject by accident. And what was he even supposed to say to that...?? Amane hadn't given his own sexuality a ton of thought aside from "girls cute" and "boys also maybe cute", but his family hadn't seemed concerned one way or another about whom he might bring home someday. In fact... they seemed to be operating more under the assumption he wasn't going to bring home a partner in general, which was a whole other thing to unpack...

So to say he was a bit out of his depth here was an understatement, honestly. But... he doesn't really like seeing that look on Junna's face, either-- that tense, faraway expression is too painful, too familiar, and certainly not one she should be wearing on her birthday, of all days. Quietly, he reaches over to pat her gently on the head, hoping to ease that tension a little. To some, it could come off as a condescending gesture, but in reality... well. It was just what he was most familiar with when it came to cheering others up.]

It's fine. Nobody says you have to let them know. As long as you and Lisa-san are happy together, that's all that really matters, right? If they're gonna be weird about it, then that's on them, not you.

[LEAVE IT TO AMANE TO SUGGEST HIDING THINGS FROM OTHERS......... but then he adds, tone blithely casual:]

Besides, you really could do a lot worse than dating another girl. At least you're not seeing a washed up middle-aged divorcee or something!

[Junna has that brief feeling of guilt -- maybe she shouldn't have said anything or pushed her problems on someone else -- but it fades when he pats her on the head. And the tension eases a little, at least; she smiles,after a moment, and then she nods. Funny, he's still her Mentor, even given the age and other differences between them. It's comforting because of that.]

...Yeah. I want to let them know one day. But... even if they are weird about it... you're right. And it wouldn't be good for me or Lisa if I'm always worried about what they might say or do.

[Maybe hiding it for awhile isn't such a bad idea. Let her be happy, first -- and let her and Lisa get things figured out. The temptation to dive into every problem, right now, and tackle all of them at once is there. But... it's also not a very constructive temptation. It risks making everything go topsy-turvy.

Then, she blinks at his joke -- and that gets a laugh out of her.]

God, you're right. I could certainly do a lot worse. For me and for them. [She laughs, then she shakes her head.] ...Thanks. I'm, ah, I'm sorry if I made it awkward for a second there.

[He can't help but grin a little when she laughs, happy to see his dumb joke had lightened the mood just a bit. Even if he felt short as a Mentor in a lot of ways, at least he could cheer up his trainees up when they needed it! At her apology, however, he waves a hand, as if he was casually batting it away.]

Nah, that's alright. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for prying into things. Some things are harder to talk about than others, y'know?

[And... well. She was there for the heart of his Disturbance, so she should know better than some that he's speaking from experience.]

Besides, this sorta subject should be the last thing on your mind on your birthday of all things, don'tcha think? You should be watching a vampire getting literally dogpiled with werewolves, not worrying about what your parents would think about your dating life.

[Was he purposefully dodging an uncomfortable and sensitive line of conversation? Maybe. But it wasn't out of disinterest to Junna's problems-- if anything, it was good to know more about what was going on with her! But even he knew that discussing this sort of stuff during her birthday movie marathon was probably a bad idea.]

[She smiles again -- even if there's a little bit of an impulse to try to apologize again.]

Yeah. But... it did help to talk. I probably should try to do that more often.

[She shifts a little -- and when he brings up that it's her birthday, and she should maybe watching movies. She laughs, then, and she nods her head. Yeah... yeah, he's right about that. She shouldn't spend her birthday thinking about her problems.

There's every other day for that.]

You're right. Well, then! Shall we?

[Talking about it more probably would help her in long run-- but Amane was neither Zeke nor Nikki, and he'd be a hypocrite if he recommended it. Even now, months after his Disturbance, he still hasn't quite learned his lesson about opening up to others; he's improved at it, of course, but he has a way to go yet in that respect.

So instead, he grins brightly at her question, settling himself in more comfortably on the couch for Maximum Cheesy Movie Enjoyment.]

Yeah! Bring on the Dracula!

[He's quiet for a good few moments as he watches whatever she needs to do to get the movie going, mulling a little in his own thoughts. She had asked him something before, but he had gotten too wrapped up in teasing her about her dating life to properly answer. Normally, he would have been content to let it go, with none the wiser, but after she had opened up to him like this...

Finally, he clears his throat a little, face slightly flushed and eyes entirely too focused on the cushions beneath him.]

... um. It's November 25th, by the way. My birthday, I mean.

I meant to tell you earlier, but...

[Junna, too, isn't Zeke or Nikki. And knowing she should open up more and reach out more... it's different than actually doing it. It's hard to put her feelings out there like that. Sometimes, saying them out loud is hard. It makes them feel more real.

She looks sideways at him and grins, before she starts setting everything up. It's a DVD, so there's menus and whatnot to navigate. She's getting ready to hit play, when...

Oh. Oh, right. She almost forgot she asked. But, she's glad he said.]

November 25th? [Then she smiles.] I'll remember it.

October is Theater Kid Season (Catch-all!)

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tw mentions of homophobia

ditto!

continued cws!

we'll ping when they're past the topic!

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