I’ve been reading the Log Horizon light novels today and I’m feeling like ShiroNao, so I thought I’d write their get-together scenario. If anyone wants to see some more from this verse, send me an ask and I’ll be happy to oblige!
So, it happens while they’re preparing for the creation of the Round Table.
It’s the night before the Crescent Moon Refreshment Stand is supposed to open, and Shiro is busy finishing up some paperwork.
Marielle is trying to get him to take a break and actually eat something, but Shiro isn’t really paying attention.
And one thing leads to another, and somehow they learn that Shiro is so focused on his work that he’ll just absentmindedly (and completely truthfully) answer just about anything they ask him, even if it’s something he’d normally be too embarrassed to answer.
And Naotsugu, being the Worst Best Friend Ever™ decides to take full advantage of this, asking him embarrassing questions like “as a child what did you want to be when you grew up” (a werewolf) and “what’s your greatest fear” (his grandmother).
Everyone else is trying really hard not to laugh, because that might accidentally get Shiro’s full attention and they’ll lose their fun.
In the end, the question that really gets everyone’s attention is when Naotsugu asks, “Do you like anyone?”
“Yes,” answers Shiro, and there’s stifled gasps around the room.
Marielle, ever the jokester, pipes up, asking, “Is it me?”
“No,” answers Shiro absently.
Snickering, Hien asks, “Is it me?”
“No,” is the reply, once again.
“Is it Henrietta?” asks Shouryuu.
“No,” replies Shiro. (Henrietta tries not to look too down at that.)
“Is it me?” asks Nyanta, amused with the game and wanting to get in on the fun.
“No.”
“Is it my darling Akatsuki?” asks Henrietta.
“No,” replies Shiro.
On the surface, Akatsuki seems indifferent. Naotsugu, having traveled and fought alongside her for more than a month now, can see that she’s close to tears.
And he may like to tease her, but he doesn’t actually like seeing his friend upset. So to lighten the atmosphere, he decides to make another ridiculous guess.
Putting on his best mock-confident voice, he gets up and declares, “Obviously it must be me!”
The others have already started snickering, but Shiro’s absent “yeah,” immediately shuts them all up.
There’s a moment of dead silence.
Naotsugu wonders if his own wishful thinking made him hear wrong.
“EHHHHHH????” they all exclaim, and Shiro jumps about a foot in the air, startled at the sudden noise.
“W-wha-?” he asks, looking around in confusion.
He notices everyone staring, dumbounded, between him and Naotsugu.
He turns a quizzical look on his friend.
“Y-y-y-you like me?” he squeaks.
And maybe, at this point, if Shiro had had his wits about him, he might have been able to just play it off as a joke.
But instead, he just turns a very alarming shade of red and refuses to answer.
Nyanta, being the responsible adult that he is (and so infinitely relieved that they’re finally talking about it) herds all their flabbergasted friends out of the room, and then goes to stand guard in front of the door so that none of them to come back to eavesdrop on the private conversation.
Once everyone else has left the room, Shiro finally drops his face into his hands and says a very quiet, “I’m sorry.”
Naotsugu, still very dazed and half convinced he’s dreaming, is confused. “Sorry for what?” he asks.
“Sorry if it makes you uncomfortable,” Shiro explains with a shrug, not looking his friend in the eye. “I wasn’t going to tell you about it. I mean, you’ve already made it abundantly clear that you’re straight. And I promise I’ll get over it soon-”
(That’s a lie. Shiro’s been head over heels for him since they first met years ago.)
And this time, it’s Naotsugu’s turn to look embarrassed.
“Bi, actually,” he corrects, his face flaming red.
“....huh?” asks Shiro, his brain grinding to a halt.
“I’m bi,” he repeats. “But. Uh. Y’see. There’s this guy I like, right? And he’s like, super smart and mature and successful. He’s the one with all the brains, the one who’s going to fix Akiba and I’m just a dumb musclehead who doesn’t know how to do anything except get hit, and there’s no way he’d ever like me back and I’m the worst person ever at lying and I always make jokes about how much I love panties and boobs because if I don’t then I just know he’s going to find out that I’m kinda completely in love with him but he’s my best friend and I don’t want to ever lose him and-”
Naotsugu is talking so fast at this point it’s getting almost difficult to understand him - like a dam somewhere has finally broken and all the words he’d kept locked up all this time are finally spilling out and there’s he can do to stop them.
Finally, Shiro gets up from his chair, and Naotsugu finally stops his nervous rambling. He keeps his head tilted down, looking up at Shiro through his eyelashes, shyly.
Shiro has an exasperated expression on his face as he approaches the guardian, and leans his forehead against Naotsugu’s.
“You ridiculous man,” he chides gently.
Naotsugu laughs, slightly breathless.
“But I’m your ridiculous man,” he replies quietly. “Right?”
People can only go missing for so long in a village this small, and soon enough people are bound to stumble across whoever they may be looking for. In this case, it seemed to take no more than fifteen minutes.
A scene similar to the one before, but significantly more VIOLENT.
On the side of the library, carelessly left in the open air, one could see a blonde boy laying on his back. His shirt soaked in long dried blood and ruined from a visible knife wound upon his chest.
Goodness, another body, and this one too seems to have been automatically updated onto the SCROLLS in everyone's possession.
Yet, the youkai sage made no announcement over THIS corpse did she? Not that it matters, the victim is CLEARLY dead right?
No pulse, body long gone cold, body having too much blood lost, yes certainly they are a goner.
In all honesty, it had been pure impulse on his part, reaching out to her like that. It had been a long time since he’d seen her- he could count the times on his two hands since the LMB Festival, and each time made his heart skip a beat or two. Still, though, he’d devoted himself to his job almost entirely, so standing here with Naoto in a rare free moment out and about Tokyo, he allowed himself a sober smile as their eyes locked.
He let his hand linger for a moment before lowering it back, being caught by Naoto’s hand before he can slip it back into his pockets. He smiles as his eyes drift down between the look on her face to the way she held his wrist in her hand, a soft chuckle leaving him as he looked back up to her eyes, brilliant blue and shining with pure emotion.
“It’s- It’s a long story. I don’t wanna keep you from anythin’ you need t’be doin’, Naoto. I’m just... You... ‘Sgood to see you again.”
“I'm not saying that you were wrong in trying to gather information, but there is such a thing as tact.” Of course he’d give her a piece of his mind. After what Leaf had to do to prove her innocence, Lucas felt it his duty as her ‘brother’ to step in at some point. He was miffed, but he knew that it was simple information gathering.
“Ibuki was asking if the coffee is ready.” Ibuki asked from her half-dazed stupor. Her dependency on high amounts of sugar was a bit of a drag, and she often found the best way to get in the amount she needed was by mixing it into her coffee.
She already had a ton of sugar cubes ready to go, all she needed was her drink. “So what were you reminiscing about?”
