Silence | Book 1

2-5: Debate Union

The Debating Room was one of the fancier ones they had; meant to host international debates and sometimes televised debates or interviews. The majority of the colour in the room was the dark, wooden tone of the panelling, ceiling, desks and viewing benches, finished with hues of green in the curtains and seats. For this week's debate, the first half had been filled by a speaker on the topic of neuroscience and what it meant for free will, while the second half was a mock debate between the first and second team to further work out the arguments made in the first half.
As Tristan looked over his notes and listened to the opposition, he threw a quick glance over the viewing benches. He noted the familiar faces of members who were particularly invested, or those who hoped to make the teams one day amongst outside spectators – but his eye couldn't help but fall on one very out of place Hibiki, who was writing notes while flanked by his bodyguards on either side. Tristan was glad to see him there, the idea of being supported leaving him with a soft, nearly glowing sensation of contentedness. Yet he couldn't help but wonder what he was writing about so intently, and had been for the entirety of the debate.
Tristan realised that he was staring only when Hibiki glanced up from his notes and looked back at him. A slight smile played around his lips, as if amused that he'd caught him in the act. Immediately Tristan's gaze darted back to his notes, pretending that he'd never looked at all.

A second later he felt a soft buzz in his pocket, and although he already feared what it would be, Tristan still discreetly checked his phone under the desk while actively continuing to listen to the arguments made. He unlocked his phone, only to find a single message.

(^_-)-☆

Despite his best efforts to focus on taking notes and summarising the opposition's arguments, he could feel his cheeks get warm. The embarrassment flared red like an ember in his chest, and he wasn't sure if it was because he was getting toyed with, or because a small part of him enjoyed it even if he knew he shouldn't. There was a strange element of having attention paid to him that resonated within him, despite that it wasn't the right kind of attention.
Is he flirting with me? That can't be... he's just pulling my leg... I'm reading too much into this... he probably didn't mean it that way. There's no reason he'd flirt with me... I'm just overthinking a joke.

The sound of chairs scraping made him realise that he hadn't even caught the last part of the opposition's argument, his pen hovering over the paper but not writing. Shite. Knowing he shouldn't get distracted now of all times, he instead looked at Sam, who was on summarising duty as their closing speaker. In quick writing he jotted down her statements, so he wouldn't miss anything again for later comparisons.
From the corner of his eye he occasionally caught Hibiki looking, but he wasn't sure if it was at him or Sam. He just tried his best to ignore it, sure that he was just imagining things and looking too much into what had been little more than messing about.

Once the opposition had made their own closing arguments, the debate was over, and the "winner" decided on through public vote from the members present. The vote was quick, and in their favour. While Liz and Killian celebrated with a quick fist bump below the desk, Tristan stood up and quickly spoke a few words on the topic before thanking the second team. He caught James, their Prime Minister, bite his lip rather displeased at their loss, but a moment later he too politely applauded.
Afterwards, Tristan prepared his own closing statements to address the audience, recapping very quickly the lessons to be taken from this debate, before thanking them for their time, and to come again the next week for a debate on the impact of economic thinking.

As the hall slowly emptied again, he walked up to Hibiki and raised his hand in a greeting.
"Hey, I'm glad to see you made it." He said with a rather reserved smile, afraid to somehow appear too excited or eager.
Meanwhile Hibiki laid down his pen and leant on one elbow, his head resting in his hand. His other hand made a quick gesture with two fingers held up together as a greeting, before he smiled too, far more confident than Tristan as if to take the lead and say it was alright.
"I hope you liked today's topic? I saw you write, did you get anything from it?" Tristan asked, a bit more at ease and leaning onto the barrier of the first viewing bench with both hands. Since Hibiki sat one row higher, he had to look up, and he couldn't help but shift his gaze between his bodyguards – one being Kazuya, and the other he hadn't seen before. Their stares made him feel scrutinised, like a little kid being monitored for when he'd inevitably fuck up.
Hibiki simply smiled and nodded, then took his notebook, turned it around and handed it over so he could read. As Tristan took a quick glance at it, he saw that the paper had been divided in two halves; on one side arguments and fragments of what he had said had been penned in, with Hibiki's thoughts written on the other side. His handwriting was surprisingly straight and neat, without a trace of cursive.
A slight smile peeked through on Tristan's face as he took in the opinions, offering him a valuable insight into someone else's thoughts on his speaking. Meanwhile Hibiki typed on his phone, but before he could write a reply, Killian barged into their conversation. The tall med student put both his hands on Tristan's shoulders, causing him to jump up not expecting it. In the moment it took Tristan to recover, Killian had peeked at the notebook.
"What are you fawning over?" He said, reading the first few lines while at the same time squeezing Tristan's shoulders. The latter just squirmed a little from the sensation.
"Why are you so handsy today?" He complained, "We divorced, remember?"
"Well, I'm filing for custody then." Killian said, as he plucked the notebook from Tristan's hands.
"Hey! That's not even mine."
"You'll have to fight it in court." Killian said, holding the notebook above his head and far out of reach of Tristan, who still tried to grab it. Instead he was blown off with a grin and a ruffle of his hair, causing him to cross his arms and decide he wasn't invested enough to make a scene out of it.
"Fine, have it then." He said, rather miffed when Killian did just that, looking through the notes and walking back to share them with Liz and Sam.
Tristan turned around while trying to fix his hair, only to see Hibiki look at him with an amused smile.
"Sorry, he always does that." He mumbled, apologising for behaviour not his own. Hibiki simply shrugged that it wasn't a big deal, and leant on one hand, while gesturing with the other for Tristan to come closer. Not sure what he meant, but unable to reject a request, he leant in. He felt Hibiki lightly pluck a few strands he had missed, putting them back into place.
"Er... thanks." He said, still not sure if he was fine with being that close after getting manhandled by Killian a moment before. Instead he got a soft, yet rather patronising pat on his head, causing him to look up at Hibiki and frown. Hibiki just stuck out his tongue, then finally picked up his phone to show what he had wanted to say before.