Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was probably a bad idea to actually bring the entire Go-Home Club to the arcade as a "team-building" exercise. It was also probably a bad idea to agree to using the photo booth with the President.

It's not that Akira had any malicious intent — at least none that Gin could outright tell, and he often had a good sense of intuition on these things — but rather, photo booths probably weren't meant to fit two average-sized masculine-presenting adults who were masquerading as teenagers at the same time. Maybe. Gin hadn't touched one of these things with a ten meter pole since coming to Redo, so it'd been a while.

"Hey," Akira said, nudging Gin in the shoulder. "You're thinking really loudly again."

"N—nothing's the matter," Gin swallowed.

A self-satisfied smirk adorned his partner's face. "That was more of a statement, but thanks for answering honestly."

"I'm fine! It's only a photo booth… I swear that Ryuto has only been enabling you since he joined."

"Mhmm."

Gin couldn't tell if it was cramped in here or if he had suddenly developed some acute form of claustrophobia. He was keenly aware that his leg kept pressing up against Akira's and that his hands were starting to get clammy. There was also the faint scent of cologne tickling his nose, some combination of sandalwood and lavender that both soothed and agitated Gin's nerves at the same time. It certainly didn't help when Akira's arm brushed against his as the other pressed the buttons to set up the session.

The President cast him a sideways glance. "It's starting."

"I know that. Sheesh, you're making me nervous..."

How the hell did boys pose for this sort of thing again? Akira casually slung an arm over Gin's shoulder and threw a V for Victory sign with his hand, and unsure of what else to do, Gin dumbly mirrored the gesture. He wished that his heart would stop hammering so loudly in his chest. So what if they had exited the school festival's haunted house hand-in-hand? Never mind the fact that they had both accidentally confessed to the possibility of being into one another, just on the principle of gender and sexuality being a complicated mess. Besides, those intense, longing gazes into each others' eyes during class were just a byproduct of boredom. This was just dudes being bros, bros being pals, pals being a little too close to each other—

"You're still thinking too loudly," Akira noted, almost amused.

Gin hissed between a forced grin. "I'm fine."

Mentally, it was easier to pretend that this was just another fight against some Digiheads. The Catharsis Effect made him feel cool after all. In the heat of battle, Gin could read Akira's movements like an open book and predict which move to take next, which bolt to load into his crossbow, which enemy to kick into the air for his partner to skewer like a very deadly trapeze artist dual wielding a pair of equally deadly knives.

Compared to that, this was what… Cirque du Gender?

Gin let out a sharp laugh. This was only a photo booth. He was overthinking this whole thing. Imagine having a masculinity so fragile that it couldn't handle a photo booth.

The tension fell out of Gin's shoulders, which caused his partner to hum in approval. He couldn't remember why he was acting so serious about this whole ordeal. It was just a photo booth.

"Hah, I forgot how fun these things actually were," Gin sighed with relief, turning his head towards the other boy.

Akira chuckled but said nothing else, just leaned in closer until—

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

A pair of hands pushed Gin back against the interior of the machine, startling him as he bumped his head and swore loudly. By the time Gin realized what happened, his partner was already gone, leaving him in a daze.

"That was Miss χ wasn't it?"

"Did Digiheads appear here too?!"

"Sasaki! Where are you going?"

Fuck.

The Go-Home Club ended their arcade excursion much earlier than the majority of them would have liked, though Gin could have sworn he saw Ryuto breathe a sigh of relief. They decided to split up after χ's outburst to search for the now missing President as neither he nor χ would respond on WIRE.

"Akira!" Gin called out. "χ? Where are you?" When only the echo of his own voice and footsteps answered, Gin sped up. "Please don't tell me I went too far—"

"χ, shut up, shut up right now! Leave me alone!"

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING BACK THERE?"

There was no mistaking that scream for anyone's but his partner's. Gin turned the corner with a sharp skid and nearly jumped down the entire flight of stairs. His face paled when he saw his partner laying on the floor, flat on his back.

"Akira!" Gin knelt down next to the boy on the ground. "Are you okay?"

"You do not have permission to hijack my body like that ever again," Akira hissed, and it took Gin a split second to realize that his partner wasn't replying to him.

"I PANICKED!" χ jabbed her finger violently into the air, her entire face flushed. "WHAT WERE YOU DOING?"

"I'm trying to—!" the President huffed, clearly exasperated at this point. Eventually his shoulders dropped in defeat. "Gin."

"Y—yes?"

"Stop playing this stupid game of gay chicken and just go out with me already."

Chapter Text

It was innocuous at first.

Marie would bow quickly at the beginning of each break to excuse herself to some student council work. Sasara couldn't stop beaming at them whenever they passed each other in the school hallways. Shota reminded them to keep a respectable distance from each other, as per the student handbook. Niko would greet the pair in her overly cheerful voice like usual. Kiriko didn't really care. But when it came to Kobato…

"It's not fair! You already have that Musician tramp!"

Akira leaned back and shrugged. "I mean, that's your fault for going overboard."

"She pissed me off! Asking me all those damn questions about my future…!" Kobato growled, clenching his fists. "She's just as damn desperate as I am."

"If you're feeling lonely," the President began, "I'm not exactly opposed to a harem—"

"Can I pretend to be a normal teenager? Please?" Gin interrupted. "Why are you all like this?"

Ryuto sighed, tapping his foot impatiently. "Whether anyone in the Go-Home Club is in a relationship with someone else is really no business of mine. All I'm concerned about is the possibility of favoritism and performance in battle due to... unfortunate changes in the dynamic that may occur, should things go south."

"I can't tell if that's better or worse than everyone acting like we're already married."

"That's not really any of my concern either." Ryuto walked over to the whiteboard and unscrewed a red marker. "Now, may we carry on with the intelligence meeting?"

The rest of the club murmured an unenthusiastic "yes" as the middle schooler began prattling off information from his sources. Without the eyes of the entire club on them, Gin let Akira twine his fingers with his own underneath the table.

"Gin, you look so happy these days!"

"You point that out every single day, Sasara."

"Because it's true!"

Gin sheepishly lowered his cap in a failed attempt to hide his face. Was it really inevitable that he and Akira would become partners in the romantic sense of the word? All he initially wanted was one of those unbreakable friendships of legend with another boy, but maybe things didn't work that way since neither of them were actually boys.

Boy. Boy as in dude, guy, man, male. It was less jarring than being mistaken as a woman, but even then the label didn't fit as neatly as it should have. Lately, he felt like a boy in the same way one automatically assumes any dog is "a good boy" before being corrected.

"Well, I'm very happy for you and the President," Sasara repeated again for the nth time, just as sincere as the first time she said it. "If you take things slowly and talk about any issues you have as they come, I'm sure your love will blossom into a beautiful life for you both."

"... In reality, have you been in a relationship before?" Gin asked after a moment of hesitation, his blush only deepening after the words finished leaving his mouth. It was too late to take them back now.

"Oh yes!" the third year answered enthusiastically, ignoring Gin's embarrassment if she had even noticed it to begin with. "Only once, and it was a very lovely experience. I do miss him dearly."

"Do you think things will work out for me and Akira...?"

Sasara clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling with gentle excitement. "If you both work towards a relationship based on trust and understanding, then yes, I am very certain that it will."

Gin only nodded this time, concentrating very hard on a stray speck of dirt on the train station tile. Even if the rest of the club was overly nosy about his new relationship with Akira, it was better than the alternative. The support was almost overwhelming.

"Oh, my train is here!" Sasara announced. "It was nice to catch up with you, Gin. Let's spend time together another day, Mister President! Miss χ!"

Gin looked up from the ground and sure enough there was Akira, followed closely by a floating χ. The virtuadoll's eyes briefly met his before she averted her gaze, electing to watch Sasara quietly as the third year left with an innocent smile and wave. Gin kept waiting for χ to try striking up a conversation in the silence that followed.

"I don't often see you two together anymore," remarked Akira, breaking the ice after a few moments when it became clear that no one else would do it. "How many times did she say 'Congratulations' today?"

"Just once," Gin responded. "Sasara seems a little overly invested in us though. She keeps trying to give me relationship advice."

His partner chuckled to himself. "Now you have me curious. Out of anyone else, Sasara would have the most trustworthy experience."

"She told me to 'take things slowly and talk about any issues we have together,' or something like that."

"Sounds reasonable." Akira thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "You do seem like you have something you want to bring up."

Gin rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "I'm still that easy to read, huh?"

His partner nodded as a cue to continue, and though Gin was sure that was meant to be encouraging, he chewed on his next words a little longer. If he brought up what was on his mind this early on, he worried it would ruin what they had, just like with his previous relationships back in reality. It was easier not to rock the boat than risk sinking it.

"I can almost hear the cogs in your brain," Akira said, interrupting his train of thought.

"S—sorry." Gin bit his lip. "It's just um… back at the meeting, what you said to Kobato…"

The easy smile faded from Akira's face, replaced by a more serious look. "Right, that."

"I know you were trying to get under his skin and all, but… I um…" Gin looked everywhere else but at his partner and saw that χ was engaged in a staring contest with the vending machines. "... I want to know that it's just us right now. Relationships are hard enough when I'm still working on myself, you know? I don't want it to be any more complicated than it already is."

"Understood." The President nodded gravely. "Though if I can say so, I'm surprised that you're less concerned about #QP."

"I don't really care for Yamamoto, and I know you don't either."

"That's true."

Gin released the breath he didn't realize he was holding in. Relief and gratitude flooded his chest, and he pulled Akira in close for what was meant to be a quick hug. When Akira didn't let go, Gin held him even tighter.

"Can I kiss you?" his partner murmured, almost too quietly.

Gin chuckled, "You don't have to ask me permission for that."

"Be careful when you say those kinds of things. I might not restrain myself otherwise."

As if to prove his point, Akira slipped a hand underneath Gin's chin. His partner's hands were always so unusually cold, and without thinking, Gin reached up and covered it with his own, as though this gesture alone might thaw the ice. Akira kissed him softly then. It was light and chaste, sweet even, and faintly reminiscent of the red bean rolls they shared earlier at lunch. Gin leaned into his partner's touch and closed his eyes, basking in this tender moment.

"Well, gentlemen," χ interrupted with a cough. "I'm glad you two talked."

"You owe him an apology too, y'know." Akira rolled his eyes and sighed, stepping away. Gin's arms suddenly felt too empty. The virtuadoll landed on her feet next to the President, shattering any hope of recovering the mood and hammering the final nail on that coffin.

"Fine… I'm sorry…" χ mumbled at last, toying with her gloves.

"Use your words."

"I—I am!" she insisted. A snort escaped from Gin, which only made the usually spunky virtuadoll sputter in frustration. "I'm sorry for pushing you in the arcade earlier!"

"And what else are you sorry for?" Akira crossed his arms sternly. His voice was firm and deadpan, devoid of mirth. "The full apology, as we practiced."

"Do I have to say it?" came χ's muffled groan, as she dragged her hands down her face. "I apologize for getting embarrassed and ruining my Soul Partner's heartfelt declaration of love for you!"

Gin nearly choked on his spit. "Wh—"

"I got flustered, okay!?" χ cried out. "It's embarrassing to have front row seats to something like that!"

Akira ran a hand through his hair, unimpressed. "You're telling me I borrowed all of Niko's shoujo manga for nothing? I stayed up so many nights reading volume after volume aloud, hoping you'd get desensitized to it. Hell, I even watched that new Romcom movie in the theater with Shota. It was like pulling teeth convincing him to go in."

χ screeched. "Cringe! You humans are so cringe!"

Gin could not bury his face further into his hands. "Forget the trains. You keep this up and I'll just walk the entire way home."

"I love you too, partner."

Chapter Text

Sunset hit differently at this angle, the faint orange hue carving novel shadows onto the porch of the Noto household. No prying eyes would find them here; at this moment in time, this small corner of Redo belonged to them alone. And yet in spite of that knowledge, Gin tried to keep his voice down.

"Is this okay? You can always tell me when to stop."

He wanted to tell Akira to keep going but physically couldn't bring himself to, not when he was pressed up against the wall with his partner breathing hot and heavy directly into his ear, and especially not when he felt a nibble on the top of his earlobe. It took Gin every last bit of strength left not to collapse on his legs.

"A—Akira, I can't—"

"You 'can't' what? You'll have to spell it out for me."

Fuck it. He couldn't contain his moans anymore.

"M—more…"

And just like that, Gin let loose the floodgates. Akira raked his teeth down his partner's neck, planting a jagged line of roses on the tender flesh. With nothing for Gin to hold onto from behind, his hands eventually found rough purchase in Akira's hair, yet tugging only seemed to embolden him to be even harsher, more passionate, less tame. Gin forced Akira away from his neck and bit down on his lower lip in sweet retaliation, hard enough to pierce and draw blood. God, the noise Akira made next turned him on so much.

"I love you," Gin panted as they parted for breath. His entire face was already flush but he could still feel himself turn redder by the second.

"That's the first time you've said it back to me." Akira's eyes sparkled as he admired Gin in the fading sun. "Say it again. I want to hear it one more time."

"Are you really gonna embarrass me like that?"

"I'll beg if you really want me to."

"No, no… don't do that," Gin rested his arms on top of his partner's shoulders and touched his forehead to his. "... Akira, I love you."

They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, just enjoying each other's warmth as the evening sky darkened around them. Gin thought about inviting Akira inside, hoping that he wouldn't mind a few stacks of shoe boxes and comic books lining the corners of his room. Would asking him to stay the night be moving too fast? There was really only one way the night would end at this rate.

Alas, that idea was short-lived; Akira straightened his back and threw Gin into a brief panic.

"Well, I got what I wanted tonight."

"H—huh?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I do respect Shota and his student handbook." Akira adjusted his collar and tie with a smug grin. "I'll see you in class tomorrow."

Gin tried to swipe at his partner but missed completely. "Hold on, you can't just leave a guy high and dry like this!"

"Oh, but I'm doing that right now, aren't I?"

"Fuck you!"

Akira's laugh came out like a bark. "Only after we get back to reality, if you're serious about us."

"You're a fucking asshole!"

Yelling was futile. Akira was already outside the gates with his back turned, hand raised in a lackadaisy wave farewell. Gin did what he could to savor the last remnants of copper on his tongue.

He was going to need a cold shower after this.

A scarf would be too obvious. He wasn't even sure what season it was in Redo, or if seasons were even programmed into Redo to begin with, but it certainly wasn't cold enough to justify the easiest solution.

Surprisingly, and thankfully enough, applying cosmetics didn't trigger any dysphoria that morning. The techniques and methods came back naturally to him as he hid the incriminating blossoms on his neck. It wasn't his best look, but it was better than walking into school with yesterday's evidence on full display.

Fuck, what the hell was that all even about?

Gin wasn't exactly the type to be scared of commitment, but even then that comment threw him off. It was such a perverted promise to look forward to once they defeated Regret, yet at the same time…

Nope, not something to think about on the way to school.

The train ride itself was uneventful. Of the few other actual humans who took this train line to the academy, all of them minded their own business. Maybe, just maybe, the coast was clear.

Gin saw Kiriko, Shota, and Akira gathered around in a sloppy semi-circle as he neared the lockers. It seemed that the third year was berating the blonde for yet another inconsequential matter, and she seemed all too happy to see him approaching as a way to escape the situation.

Or not. Her brows furrowed deeply as she walked towards him a little too fast for his own comfort.

"Kiriko, what's wrong—"

Wordlessly, the girl grabbed his arm and yanked him towards the courtyard. Gin looked back to see Akira distracting Shota with a change in topic, but at this point he and Kiriko were too far away to hear what they were talking about.

Kiriko finally let go of his sleeve and hissed. "Did he hurt you?"

Gin blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"It's smudged. You tried to hide it." Kiriko motioned at her own neck to demonstrate. "I swear I'll kick Akira's ass in if he's forcing himself on you."

"He… what?" Gin paused, then laughed nervously in sudden realization. "Oh, this. I ah… technically asked for it."

"..."

"It was consensual."

"... That bruise on his lip then…" Kiriko quickly connected the dots in her head and scowled. "Eugh, you two are so gross!"

Gin pulled his cap down further, shrinking into himself. "Can I go now? Please don't tell anyone else."

"No. I can't let you go to class like this, you'll feed the rumor mill." The girl rummaged through her bag and pulled out her make-up kit. "I need to take it off and redo it for you."

"We're going to be late for class."

"This school is fake anyways."

"But you're worried about rumors," Gin countered.

"We need to keep up appearances or else we'll look suspicious." Kiriko rolled her eyes and huffed. "Show me your neck and hold still."

It was no use fighting her at this point, so Gin obliged. She gingerly dabbed the make-up remover cloth over his skin, frowning as she wiped off his attempts from earlier this morning.

"Oh shit, this is pretty bad… it doesn't sting, does it?"

"No," Gin replied simply. "I'm sorry to make you fuss over me like this."

"If I knew there was this much to cover, I would have just done some touch up."

He wasn't going to argue that he was trying to do that just now either. Gin closed his eyes as she finished getting the last bits off. Afterwards, the sensation of a soft brush replaced the wipe.

"Next time, start with a primer that's a little green or yellow," Kiriko instructed. "It'll compensate for the red color."

"I didn't— I mean, my sister didn't have any of that."

"You have a sister?" The girl raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah," Gin lied. "She's uh, just an NPC that Regret made for me."

"So just like my mom here too, huh." Kiriko nodded to herself. "Well, that explains how you did a mostly good job. I don't think any boys would've noticed, but the girls definitely would have if we looked long enough."

"I see…"

They lapsed into an awkward silence as she finished applying the primer while the bell to class rang. Gin's breath was shallow as he swallowed nervously, waiting for her to fish out the concealer.

"... It's um, nice to be able to do this on someone else for once," Kiriko offered in a hushed tone, sensing how tense he was. "I'm so used to other people putting make-up on me instead."

Gin opened an eye to look at her. "Back when you were still performing?"

"Yeah."

"I was a fan of yours, so I saw you pretty often. On TV, I mean. And I have some of your CDs too."

Kiriko nodded, though her expression was unreadable. "I'm done with the concealer layer. I'm going to apply some powder so it doesn't smudge as fast this time."

"Thank you. For this." Gin rolled his neck around to avoid getting stiff before letting her continue. "And um, everything you did… at your old job."

"Huh?"

"You made a lot of people happy," Gin added quickly. He was scrambling for words. "Like Sasara. She absolutely adores you."

Kiriko's eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. "The rest of you haven't been telling anyone else about who I used to be, right?"

"Of course not! I understand not wanting to be called by an old name. I can keep a secret."

The girl paused, then nodded once more. "I appreciate that, Gin."

They both fell silent again as Kiriko applied a final layer of foundation to finish the job. When the deed was done, she stepped back to admire her handiwork.

"As long as you don't touch your neck too much, that should last until the end of school."

"Thank you," Gin said. "And… please don't tell anyone about this. I'd really just like to stay low on the radar."

Kiriko sighed as she put her things back into her bag. "The President is such a puzzle to me sometimes. It's like he's super considerate but he also doesn't really care about the consequences his actions have for other people."

"That sounds about right," he admitted. "But he's a good friend at heart."

"Yeah, I suppose." The girl zipped up the bag and slung it back over her shoulder. "Do you mind if I ask you one last question before we go?"

Gin raised an eyebrow. "Sure?"

"How did Akira even do that to you with χ around?"

"He told her to spam his WIRE inbox instead."

"Oh... that's… kinda smart, actually."

Chapter Text

"Blood orange juice for you, Sasara."

"Oh, thank you very much, Gin!"

"And Kiriko ordered the strawberry calpis with a slice of lemon."

"Thanks."

"I have two cups of coffee with whipped cream here. I asked for sugar in Marie's cup but I didn't know how you'd want it, so I got you some sweetener packets you can add in yourself, Shota."

"Many thanks, Gin."

"A—ah, thank you for your consideration…"

"Ryuto, this is your milk tea."

"Yes."

"Kobato, you wanted the grape soda with blueberries?"

"I can always count on you, Ginoto."

"I have strawberry cola here, that's a classic Niko flavor."

"Niko is excited!!!"

"Then I have a whipped milk drink and pineapple boba for Prez and I."

χ beamed proudly at the group as they held their drinks, ready to tackle today's mission. "A'ight team, let's get a move on!"

The χ Express sped down the tracks aimlessly as the virtuadoll concentrated on her χ-vesdropper in an attempt to scout out intel. She chewed on her lip in frustration, shoulders tense and tight. "Auugh, those damn Musicians… they're going to have to show their faces eventually!"

Gin looked up from the comic book in his hands. "What terms are you searching for this time?"

"Right now it's 'Kudan' and 'Bluffman,' but I'm not getting any good results."

"Kudan… the Musician responsible for the propaganda campaigns." Ryuto stopped to take a sip of his milk tea before turning to the next page of his textbook. "Despite showing her face so proudly, none of my informants have seen anyone who looks remotely like her wandering around Okitama Station."

Kobato played with the straw of his empty cup, annoyed at the remaining soda trapped between the ice. "You guys notice how it's just a bunch of re-runs of her old announcements playing lately? Between that and those stupid guerilla broadcasts I keep finding, it's a shitty waste of time."

"Hah… I bet they're shaking in their boots because they realize how great I am!" χ placed her hands on her hips and puffed her chest out. "But they can't hide forever! We'll smoke 'em out eventually."

Notching the corner of the page, Gin decided to save the rest of his current volume for later. He set it down in his usual spot, trading it for his boba, and wandered across the train cabin to where the other half of the Go-Home Club had gathered. A large spread of nail polish bottles spanned the table, arranged in the order of the rainbow with various sparkling coats, stencils, detail pens, and decorative wraps to the side. 

"Damn, now that's a collection," Gin whistled low, impressed. "All of you seem to be having fun here. You painted your nails too, Akira?"

The President, preoccupied with staring out the window, raised the back of his hand in response. His nails were a deep crimson color to match the floral print of his uniform. "Courtesy of Marie."

"Ahaha, it's really quite fun to be able to do this with you all." Marie flexed her fingers, admiring her sky blue nails. "Thank you for sharing your kit with us, Kiriko. I've never seen so many nail supplies before in one place."

Kiriko smiled cheerfully and giggled, "Yeah, no problem. It's nice to be able to relax like this after everything that's happened. Almost wish we could take a trip to a professional salon, but all of us would draw too much attention, wouldn't we?"

"Don't forget that this is technically a patrol. We must remain vigilant," Shota began. "Though, even if we were not on duty, I am not sure if it's proper to have Amabuki paint your nails, Mr. President..."

"Tsurumaki." Akira's head snapped towards the third year, his expression blank. "I'm not interested in playing respectability politics with you on this matter."

"B—but, the rules—"

"Ahh Shota, lay off your handbook a little. It's nail polish, not hair dye." Gin forced a laugh, hoping to defuse the situation. He was taken aback by his partner's reaction and took a mental note to talk with him in private later. "Besides, aren't there bigger fish for you to fry?"

Shota winced. "Even the slightest deviance from the norm—"

"Ah ah, no fighting." Sasara wagged her finger in the air. "Let's just enjoy ourselves, yes?"

Niko bounced around in her seat, clasping her hands together. "Oohh, Niko has a great idea! Let's paint Slowta's nails too! If you think Niko should paint Slowta's nails, raise your hand!"

Akira's hand almost immediately shot up into the air, followed by Kiriko's and Sasara's. Shota yelped in pain, as if someone had slapped him across the face.

"What's going on over there?" χ called, a little concerned but not nearly enough to budge from her spot.

The third year opened his mouth to protest, but Niko interrupted him. "Niko needs you to raise your hands please!"

Ryuto and Kobato obeyed without further question.

"That's five out of nine in favor of painting Tsurumaki's nails," Akira mused aloud. "Niko, you have my permission to use whatever color you want on him. He'll take forever to decide otherwise."

"Niko is delighted and will do her best!"

Gin saw the panic in the upperclassman's eyes and almost felt a pang of pity. "Whoa hey, this is all of Kiriko's stuff. Shouldn't she get a say in the matter?"

"Use a different color on each nail," Kiriko answered sharply, hiding a devilish grin behind her hand. "That way he can get a better idea of which one he likes. Sample them all, you know?"

Shota shuddered and buried his face in his hands, resigned to the fate that democracy determined for him.

"Shota… are you okay?"

Aforementioned third year sat in the furthest corner of the train away from the rest of the Go-Home Club, hiding his hands in crossed arms. His entire body trembled in shame as he looked up at Gin.

"Ah… Noto… please don't look at me right now," Shota sniffed. "I must endure this punishment for my careless actions earlier."

Gin sighed deeply, shrugging his shoulders. "Here, let me help you take it off."

"It's possible to remove it right now!?"

The younger boy set down the bag of cotton balls he borrowed from Kiriko's supplies in order to unscrew the cap from the nail polish remover. Once the bottle was open, he took one of the cotton balls and applied some of the liquid to it.

"Here, rub this one on your nails," instructed Gin. "You might need a couple of these to take off all the paint… Do you want me to do it?"

"No… I can do the rest from here. I am in your debt." Shota hesitated before accepting the first of many cotton balls in his hands.

Gin watched as the upperclassman rubbed away Niko's hard work. He almost wanted to say it was a shame to take it off so quickly, but even he probably couldn't stand having a full hand of nails where one was painted neon yellow with black stripes and another avocado green with brown dots. While each individual nail was impressive on its own, the first year truly did not spare Shota from sheer humiliation.

"Noto, I must apologize to you as well for what I said." Shota threw the first wasted cotton ball into a trash bin nearby before preparing another. "It was uncalled for."

Gin looked up, slightly confused. "About how Prez shouldn't have let Marie paint his nails?"

"Yes," the third year answered. "Not only was it callous to Amabuki, but I deeply offended Sasaki as well. Even you allowed her to paint your nails."

"Ah, it's only a matte nude." Gin held up his hand in the light to examine his nails. "It's a pretty safe color. You can hardly notice it."

Shota glanced at Gin's hands as he began erasing a glittery teal nail of his own. "After giving it some thought, I realized that you two only wanted to give Amabuki the chance to… experience things she may not be able to in reality."

"... I guess that's one way to put it…"

"Considering her circumstances, it's the least we can do as her fellow club members."

Gin briefly wondered if he should bring up the fake sister excuse, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth it if Shota was assuming he and Akira were doing it solely for Marie's sake.

"This nail polish is surprisingly stubborn." Shota tossed another cotton ball into the trash and readied another one. "It's as if it's resisting my attempts to remove it..."

Gin shrugged again, taking a seat. "You do know you could have said that you didn't want them painted, right? Niko did kinda rig that vote."

"Hm…" Shota chewed his lip some as he began on another nail. "Noto, surely you've been in a position where you were expected to follow what the majority wants before, yes? Perhaps in a professional setting?"

Gin paused. "... Yeah, I guess I have," he admitted. "I was hoping to forget about all those after work parties at bars. I like drinking, but having to sit there while my coworkers get shitfaced drunk wasn't really my definition of 'fun.'"

Shota nodded. "Then you understand why we must sometimes endure uncomfortable social situations we disagree with."

The second year rubbed his temples slowly, trying hard not to smack his head on the wall. "Dude, there's a difference between a mandatory work party that involves alcohol, and a club outing where we're painting each others' nails."

"The citizens of Redo are reliant on the activities of the Go-Home Club! I would insist that our situation ought to be treated with the same level of gravity as a proper job!"

"Sure, but it's not like we were going to give you a low performance report for saying no."

"Ah…" whimpered the older boy, wallowing in defeat. "Well… what's done is done now…"

Akira cocked his head to one side as Gin stepped off the χ Express. "Hey, you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah, if that's cool with you." Gin offered his hand to his partner. "Let me walk you home this time."

The two stepped out of the train station and into the neighborhood, squinting as the sunset temporarily blinded them. Gin pulled the brim of his cap down further as Akira shielded his eyes with his free hand.

"So what's going on?" Akira asked curiously.

Gin cast his gaze towards his partner. "Back when you and the others were painting your nails, what happened? You only ever call anyone by their surname when you're upset, and Shota felt pretty bad afterwards. Are you two having some beef or something?"

"Ah, that. We have… a difference in 'opinion.'"

"You're gonna have to explain that one to me."

Akira looked down, suddenly finding both of their shoes to be quite interesting. "... I'm almost certain that if we both looked more like how we are in reality, Shota probably wouldn't have complained."

"Oh…" Gin shifted uncomfortably at the implications, starting to feel an uneasiness settle into his stomach. "Knowing how he is with the student handbook, I'm guessing he…"

"He's never personally known a queer person before," Akira stated as a matter-of-fact. "I'm sure you're no stranger to the current legislation. There are no laws protecting people like us from discrimination or acts of violence."

χ popped out of Akira's shoulder between him and Gin, grimacing. "What the hell!? You mean some random jackass can come in and beat you up and the pol— er, there's no repercussions for them?"

Akira nodded his head, sighing. "Yes, that's exactly it. A lot of times when—" He stopped himself mid-sentence when his partner's hand slipped from his grasp. "Gin? Are you okay?"

It took a couple of shakes to snap Gin out of his trance. It took him even longer to look back at his partner and χ. "Oh um, yeah. I guess. I just…" He squinted, studying their expressions. "I just don't know how we'll recognize each other once we go back to the real world."

The virtuadoll slid out of Akira's body from the back, and afterwards she placed a hand on Gin's shoulder. "You'll be fine Gin, it's not just you. Everyone else will look a little different back in reality too."

"That's not the only thing though…"

"Hey." Akira shook his head gently at χ before he turned to face his partner, taking both of Gin's hands in his again. "I'll know it's you when we meet up on the other side, I promise."

Gin glanced down briefly at their nails, then up again. "Akira, I'm nothing like this in the real world. My hair's gonna be longer. My closet is still full of skirts and blouses, and my contact lenses were already close to expiring by the time I went to Redo so I might need to wear my glasses for a while. And then my voice… god, my voice isn't like this at all."

"But you'll still be the same Noto Gin." His partner squeezed his hands and smiled warmly as the virtuadoll hovered back some distance to give them space. "The way you carry yourself, the way you talk, those things will be the same. I'll know who you are."

"But…" Gin squeezed his eyes shut, taking in a shaky breath. "Will I recognize you?"

"I'm sure you'll know it's me, I've done so much voice training that I'll sound similar enough," Akira chuckled. "Granted, I'm pretty different in reality too. Regret altered my appearance here so much and I'm not entirely sure why."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not as tall in the real world, for one. My hair goes down to my waist too."

Gin opened his eyes, wide with genuine surprise. "Really? I can't imagine that at all."

"Mhmm," his partner hummed. "It's really the only straight part of me there is—"

"AKIRA!" χ screamed, smacking the back of her Soul Partner's head. "YOU TWO ARE HAVING A SERIOUS DISCUSSION HERE! STOP BEING A DUMBASS!"

"What? I'm not being flippant here, I'm trying to lighten the mood!"

"You're a stupid piece of shit!"

The President burst into a fit of laughter as the virtuadoll berated him while Gin breathed a sigh of relief. As ridiculous as it was, seeing them go at it like this was enough to cool his anxiety and anchor his feet to the ground. Gin embraced Akira before χ could hit him again; a wordless gesture of appreciation and love. No matter how unpleasant reality might be when they finally returned, he'd be okay as long as he was with his partner.

That much he was certain of.