Chapter Text
It's just out of reach. So Sho jumps. His fingers close around the plastic string, and the force of gravity acting on his body pulls the balloon down as his feet touch the ground. A small child runs up, and he assumes that it belongs to them, so he bends down to return it. The instant their eyes meet, the child lets out the loudest, most ear-piercing shriek Sho has ever heard in his life. His heart leaps into his throat and even before it’s gone back down the kid is crying and people are staring and if anyone should be in tears right now, by god, it should be him. But Sho doesn't cry. That would be pretty damn unbecoming of someone of his status.
But he doesn't know how to handle kids either. The youngest person he interacts with on a daily basis is Marco, whom of which acts like more of an adult than Sho himself. Instead of trying to actually comfort the child, he kneels there and frets internally, hoping that people don't think he's a kidnapper. Or something worse.
(He's had that happen a few times and he'd rather it not again. If only children wouldn't burst into tears whenever they looked at his face.)
“Naoki!”
Here it comes. Sho braces himself for yells of outrage. To be called a pervert or various forms of the word for what must be the tenth time this month. Maybe even for a parent or sibling or some kindhearted passerby who misread the situation to chase him off with non-lethal but nonetheless painful means. It doesn't happen that way. One hand lifts the small child with ease while another stretches towards Sho in a friendly gesture. Sho makes an assumption and moves to hand the balloon back to its rightful owner, but that same owner giggles.
“No, silly, I mean you,” he teases, waiting for Sho to grasp his hand firmly before pulling him to his feet, “The ground doesn't look like a comfortable place to sit, after all!”
Sho stammers, stunned. He just made this stranger’s kid scream bloody murder and yet he's being treated with a smile? A smile with absolutely zero threat behind it? Amazing. “I'm really sorry,” he stammers, holding out the balloon for the stranger to take, “I didn't mean to frighten your child.”
“My child? No, no, I'm just a caretaker!” The man smiles, and Sho feels like he's staring at the sun. “I work at the daycare a few blocks down. The name’s Agito.”
“Sho.” This time, he's the one to offer his hand, and Agito gives it a single, firm shake. “Thanks for being so understanding.”
Agito laughs again. “I should be the one thanking you for this-” he tugs on the string, making the balloon bob. He turns to leave, but hesitates. “You know, if you frowned less, maybe you'd look less scary. Right now? You kinda look like a dead fish. Just sayin’.”
Sho feels his face heat up and immediately moves his hands to hide his face. He watches Agito walk away. That was definitely an insult, but for some reason it didn't feel like one. Now he's just embarrassed. Sho lets out a sigh of frustration, knowing that Marco will tease him relentlessly when he gets back.
And oh, how right he was. (He wishes he were wrong.)
“What's up? Finally got yourself a girlfriend?”
Sho hates the way Marco mocks him. It's rarely completely intentional, and it's just the utter seriousness of his tone that drives him mad. Sho figures he should feel privileged that he managed to get the infamous “stone-cold Barbato” to open up to him so much, but at the moment he almost feels regret for having talked to the younger agent in the first place.
“Marco, please.”
“Or boyfriend. Significant other?” He shrugs. “Hey, I don't judge.”
“Marco.”
“It's not my fault you've been so spacey lately. Looking off into the distance and getting all red-faced isn't like you.” There's concern in his voice, which just makes the whole conversation all the more agonizing. “Unless it is my fault. You do realize I'm underage.”
Sho wants to scream. Instead, he shoves his face into his pillow and prays for the sweet release of death. There's a sudden weight on his back, compressing his ribcage and making it significantly more difficult to breathe. Marco has planted himself on Sho’s back, and it's anything but comfortable.
“Sorry, I really didn't mean to be mean. But we’re partners. It doesn't hurt to communicate.”
“To start, I would appreciate you getting off,” Sho croaks, and Marco slides his ass onto the floor. Sighing heavily, Sho pushes himself up and leans into the couch. “You're going to think its stupid. Hell, even I know it's stupid.”
“Shoot.”
“Really, it's-”
“Sho. I won't know if it's stupid or not if you don't tell me.”
Sho feels his face heat up, and a tiny part of his soul dies when Marco cracks a rare smile of amusement. He's getting a fucking kick out of this. “Look, I met this guy, okay? And now I can't stop thinking about him.”
“Oh.” Marco snorts. “That is stupid. But at least I was right about the boyfriend thing. Mana owes me twenty bucks.”
Sho groans. If the whole team knows, this week is going to be a long one.