He hadn’t actually expected the other to cry from his words, but he wasn’t necessarily surprised either. Makoto had always been very in touch with his emotions. The natures between the two of them showed a stark difference in a time like this; Makoto who was motivated by his emotions, compared to Byakuya who let logic lead his life. There had always been a big potential for conflict between them, but so far, usually everything died down quickly as Makoto retreated every time. He was as timid as Byakuya remembered him to be.
By now, a significant amount of damage had been dealt. Byakuya acknowledged this, but he wasn’t sure how to repair the current circumstances and how to make Makoto feel better. The brunet just had a beast of negative information and language hurled at him, and Byakuya figured he was a bit more sensitive than the average person. It had hurt him. It had genuinely upset him.
Yet Byakuya didn’t know what to say. Not because he lacked any intellect or speaking skills, but because this was a situation he wasn’t accustomed to. He wasn’t a social person and he didn’t know how to deal with others’ emotions, let alone his own. This was the exact type of thing he would never deal with and let others fix instead, but he wasn’t going to avoid it this time.
“It’s fine if you understand.” He answered, coming closer to face the other again. “You may appear foolish, but time after time, you prove yourself to be worthy of my company. And like your name suggests, you hold a big potential for growth. You bring us closer to the truth.”
He paused, unsure if that was even remotely comforting. Things like these always proved to be difficult, simply because the two of them had always seem to be wired differently. Where Byakuya preferred the cold, objective facts; Makoto always seemed to prefer the things that were soft on the soul. He was a reliable people person, except when his eyes were closed to the truth, and Byakuya was fixing that latter thing right now.
Now, here was the big thing: a Togami usually didn’t apologize for their actions. That wasn’t simply because they lacked etiquette, but merely because they were used to moving through life with such grace and perfection, that they supposedly never did anything that warranted an apology. After all, a man was defined by their actions, and not their words. Excuses were not something he should rely on. Were he ever to rely on such a thing, then that better be for a much bigger goal in mind. Something that completely justified lowering his strong reputation ever so slightly.
“I…” Hesitance filled the gap. “I apologize. I was too frank with you. My flawed judgment led to this emotional disturbance I brought upon you.”
Byakuya grew quiet, and a little pained. He rarely gave a serious apology, nor did he like admitting his own bad decisions. “I brought you the despair which we always despised.” This made him no better than Junko Enoshima, and he didn’t want to be like her. Not when he had already faced the suffering she unleashed on them all, not when she was also the root of Makoto’s pain as well. “There’s no pride in crushing hope without giving it a chance to grow back stronger. So you can’t let this defeat you.”
“Naegi, the hope that sleeps within you… is fearsome because it is the real thing. I won’t allow you to let go of that.”
There are many things that Makoto doesn’t yet know how to approach. Regardless of how open-minded he is, not everything is tangible -- he doesn’t always understand the people that surround him, no matter the effort he puts in doing so. Often times, he tries to convince himself otherwise, but the truth is never far behind. It always comes right back around, surfaces and he gets one such reminder that he doesn’t have others figured out as much, or as well as he’d wish.
Byakuya Togami is one such person, one whom he’s considered to gradually come to grasp, to unravel. Yet to each layer peeled away, to each notion that began to carry some form of contour, there was more awaiting to be uncovered; he couldn’t be contained within a limited spectrum of words. Perhaps that is where Makoto has gone wrong to begin with and, maybe, he shouldn’t try to categorize people based off of finite words, not when they are infinite in characterization.
However, it seems that no matter what Makoto is inclined to think, something is bound to happen and it usually results in him questioning his own judgment. From the moment he had been reunited with Byakuya, that has happened twice already. This is beyond confusing, especially when the pattern is set once more, only to be broken again. It’s Byakuya that builds him up, only to bring Makoto right back down again. Rinse and repeat.
The space between them might be lessened, but a rift remains there. Byakuya’s words, although they now carry gentleness in them, still cause shivers to crawl down his spine. There is more for Makoto to take in as the seconds pass; words of praise, as well as remarks and reminders towards the things that he has to work on. This recurring to and fro feels more damaging than constructive and yet, the moment that the words of apology leave Byakuya’s lips, Makoto freezes. His posture shifts, arms drop limp by his sides while shoulders pull back as he straightens up. Eyes are open wide as tears start to roll down his cheeks more consistently, yet words evade him.
Perhaps… No, surely Makoto has been wrong this time around too. Erroneous judgment is all that he seems to be capable of on this evening, but there’s no point to further twist a knife into an already open wound. He’s man enough to admit that he’s misjudged Byakuya’s intentions, that this wasn’t a moment where he got chewed out for the pure sake of a reminder of how different the two of them were -- no, are. The other is saying sorry to him and Makoto isn’t even brave enough to face him; he feels the icy pair of blue eyes on his back. When did he become so cowardly? This was very unlike him.
His feet shuffle, hesitance marking his movement as Makoto turned around. Fingers latch themselves at the material of his coat, attempting to curl around it, to dig into it -- he’s left empty-handed then, too. Silently, he regards Byakuya, hazel eyes bearing a mix of emotions; fear and confusion are the most prominent that swirl and mix together. “I’m sorry… Y-You’ve only been trying to help and--” I’ve slapped you in the face like this. Tears are blinked away and, before another apology slips past his lips, Makoto blots from the spot. Arms outstretch themselves and against his better judgment, the moment he reaches close enough to Byakuya, his arms lock the other into a tight embrace. Whether this turns out to be a mistake or not, remains to be seen; if it ends up being another bullet he has to take, then so be it.
For the time being, he relishes in the contact between them, in the warmth that their bodies give off -- it’s not cold anymore, not as it used to be. “This is very little said, compared to all that you’ve told me, but…” The tip of Makoto’s nose bumps lightly against Byakuya’s clothed chest as his forehead’s brought to rest against it, “Thank you for believing in me. I know there’s a lot that I have to fix about how I look at things, I’m trying to… ground myself to reality more, be more practical. I shouldn’t have pushed any of this onto you either, it… isn’t your mess to deal with.”
His voice is quiet, slightly shaky from the previous moments. The tears have stopped, though his cheeks remain stained wet -- they are drying, slowly -- and his eyes are a bit red and puffy. That’s the only reason that he’s hesitant to look up, not wanting to risk making matters worse by making guilt surface. This is one thing that Makoto knows must be done, though; facing one’s fears. So he loosens his hold around Byakuya a slight and puts some distance between the two of them while tipping his head backward to look up. There’s a small smile on his lips, but it barely stands for a few seconds before his lips part, letting out a simple but secure statement.“You’ve changed.”
