Work Text:
"Stupid Junpei, stupid bet" you muttered under your breath.
Your body teetered on the edge of the couch, eyes wide and focused on the TV screen flickering only a few feet away. Your fingers gently tapped the buttons of your controller, ears jumping up to your shoulders at the ambient sounds drifting through the speakers. You really shouldn’t have turned off the lights and drawn the curtains to better immerse yourself in the horror game. It was working a little too well. You jumped in your seat as Akihiko spoke up beside you, his shoulder gently bumping into yours as he cleared his throat.
"You can stop, if it’s too scary" Akihiko said. "It’s just a stupid bet."
A small smile graced your lips as your eyes flicked to Akihiko before focusing back on the screen. You shook your head, a small noise bubbling in your throat.
"No, I can do this" you asserted. "I wasn’t raised a quitter."
A small chuckle breezed past Akihiko’s lips, his eyes shimmering in amusement as the bright lights on the TV screen bathed both your bodies in an array of colours that bleed into your skin. Akihiko was here mainly for moral support. Junpei thought it would be fun to make a bet that you couldn’t sit through a horror game. You vehemently denied his bold claim and set out to prove your friend wrong. It was a bit of a stretch to call you a scaredy cat, but it was obvious that the atmosphere of the horror game was slowly starting to get under your skin. Akihiko was proud that you seemed to be holding it together fairly well.
Just when you were starting to feel a little bit of confidence in yourself, the first official jump scare of the game decided to rear its ugly head. You were suddenly frightened by the images and loud noises flashing and ringing in your ears. You jumped so hard Akihiko thought you were about to go through the roof. You almost threw your controller across the room as a startled noise was wrenched from your parted lips, your body flailing on instinct as you jumped and landed into Akihiko’s lap with a dull thud. He grunted loudly, his warm breath tickling the shell of your ear as he instinctively threw his hands out in front of you like he was trying to shield you from an unknown assailant.
"Holy shit" you hissed through clenched teeth, throat bobbing as you swallowed around the lump in your throat.
It took a moment for your body to stop trembling, heart still feeling like it was lodged in your throat as you took a deep breath. Akihiko placed his hand on your back, fingers gently rubbing soothing circles against your shoulder blade.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
A groan fell from your mouth but you nodded in response, pinching the bridge of your nose as you tried to ease the strain you felt behind your eyes. You couldn’t believe how much that cheap jump scare had actually struck a nerve in you. You were now mildly pissed that you had reacted so hard to such a little fright.
"Stupid Junpei" you cursed again.
Akihiko laughed as a small pout tugged at your lips, hand still rubbing along your back as a grin tugged at his lips.
"Though I have to admit, that startled noise you made was quite endearing."
You groaned loudly; the sound followed by a small huff of laughter as Akihiko nudged his nose against your cheek.
"I think the noise I made wasn’t even human" you commented.
Once you felt you had calmed yourself sufficiently, you turned your attention back to the TV. Somehow you had managed to press the pause button during all your fumbling so you didn’t lose any progress. Not that you would have cared much anyway. You adjusted yourself in Akihiko’s lap, shuffling around until your back pressed against his chest. You could feel his soothing heartbeat dance along the ridges of your spine as you nestled further against his alluring warmth, head resting back on his shoulder as you gave him a casual glance.
"I think I’m gonna stay here for the rest of the game" you decided.
Akihiko smiled softly, lips brushing against your temple as you hummed softly in response. He secured his strong arms around your waist, giving your waist a reassuring squeeze as he rested his hands on your stomach.
"I’ll be here if you need me" he promised.