Chapter Text
Goro Akechi wakes up, a cold december day like any other. Well, that might not be entirely accurate. Goro's apartment is colder than usual, which he quickly realizes is because Akira has left early, as he's not in bed like usual. That, or he simply hasn't come home yet, either of which would be odd for him. Akira had said he was going to spend a few days at one of his friends house, but he was supposed to return back last night. Goro taps the nightstand a few times, thinking to himself that Akira is never late. Goro sighs, getting out of bed to start his morning routine.
Goro goes through his day like usual, but when Akira hasn't returned by the evening, he decides to pay a visit to LeBlanc; the coffee shop that Akira used to work at. That shop is practically a second home to Akira, so he comes there often. Goro can't complain, their coffee is the best he's ever experienced, and the man who runs the store is quite nice as well, despite his gruff exterior.
Goro doesn't make it to LeBlanc, however, before he runs into Akira himself in Shibuya. He seems to be having a discussion with Sae, but she leaves before Goro reaches them.
"Apologies if I interrupted," Goro says, as Akira turns to face him. Goro notices the way Akira's entire body shakes, the shock on his usually hard to read face, the way he seems to lose his balance as he turns to see Goro. "Akira? Are you feeling well?" He tilts his head as he asks.
"You're... alive?!" Akira exclaims, still staring at Goro as if the moment he takes his eyes away, Goro will evaporate into the air. Goro raises an eyebrow, and places one hand on his hip, the other just under his chin.
"Alive? I would assume so, in my experience the dead aren't often seen wandering the streets," Goro chuckles, "Seeing you so surprised is a rarity, I'll admit it's not something I dislike necessarily, but perhaps you should come back and lie down," he frowns.
"Akechi, you're..." he mutters, his eyes looking distant, maybe even teary. Goro can't even remember the last time Akira referred to him by his surname. Odd, he thinks. "And... No snarky comments? Do you still remember everything?"
"I'm starting to think I remember more than you do, Akira," he sighs, putting a hand up to his forehead while he shakes his head. "We should get going. It'll be easier to talk in a more private location, yes?" Goro reaches out for Akira's hand, which Akira does take; after a moment of hesitation.
"...Your hand is warm," Akira says. "Living," he mutters as a follow-up. Goro is sure that he wasn't supposed to hear that last part, but he doesn't comment. Instead, he hums while keeping his eyes straight ahead.
"I'd sure hope so. Rather that than my hand being cold, even through gloves," Goro feels Akira's hand tense.
"Yeah... Way better than cold," Akira squeezes Goro's hand. Goro looks back, but doesn't respond.
The walk back to the apartment is quiet, and Akira isn't acting like himself. Goro considers if there's anything he can think of that could've happened to Akira to make him act so strange, but comes up empty. The cool air blows past them, but Akira doesn't seem to notice it over his clear shock at Goro's mere existence.
"Hey, Akechi, where are we going?" Akira asks as they reach the apartment complex. Another odd remark, Goro thinks. He leads Akira down the hall to their one bedroom apartment, holding the door open for Akira to go through. Akira hesitates, staring at Goro in what he assumes is an attempt to read him.
"It's our apartment, Akira, it won't bite."
"...Our?" Akira repeats. Goro raises his hand to his waist.
"Yes, Akira, our. Did you perhaps just miss out on the years we've lived here together?" Goro will admit his tone is more hostile than he intended, but Akira's behavior is more than odd enough for Goro to believe it's warranted.
"Oh, right, I guess it must've just... slipped my mind," he laughs. Goro thinks Akira isn't doing a good job at deflecting suspicion, if that is indeed what he's trying to do, but Goro supposes he will let it slide for the next few minutes or so. Just long enough to get inside and begin interrogating.
"Right, how silly of you," he smiles, one of his fake smiles that the old Akira could've seen through in a heartbeat. He doesn't know is this one can do the same. It has been awhile, though, since he's had to fake a smile around Akira. This Akira doesn't say anything, doesn't seem to question it any more than he seems to be questioning this whole situation. "If you'd like to walk inside at any moment, feel free," Goro notes the way Akira jumps when adressed.
Akira finally walks inside, Goro follows, and closes the door behind him. Akira shudders at the click of the lock. Akira sits on the couch, his entire body stiff. Goro brews some coffee, as close as he can make it to the way Akira showed him when Akira started working at LeBlanc. Goro has never been as adept as Akira at brewing coffee, but he knows the basics. He places the mug on the table in front of Akira.
"You're as stiff as a corpse, did something happen?" he asks, startling Akira.
"Huh? No, nothing happened. I'd even say I'm better than usual!" he laughs again, still just as uncomfortably, swings his arm, and snaps his fingers, perhaps trying to emphasize the point. Goro doesn't believe it. Not only that, but this is quite honestly the worst lying Goro has seen from anyone, but especially Akira.
"I'm no imbecile, Akira. You didn't show up last night, and you've been acting strangely the whole evening. You expect me to believe everything is completely fine?" Goro asks, the annoyance seeping into both his body language and speech, Akira maintains his smile, but his eyes drop in an 'Oh fuck' sort of way.
"...Yes?"
"If I had half a mind I'd slap you right now. Explain. I can't help unless you do."
"Nothing to explain, really! Just... having a few problems remembering some things!" Akira jumps up. "Anyway, I'm gonna head out for a bit, I'll uh, probably be out late!" Akira turns around, getting a single step away before Goro interrupts.
"Stop," Goro commands, leaving no room to be disobeyed. "Turn around. And sit," Akira does everything he's told, his stiff hands resting, for lack of a better term, on his lap.
"Yes, sir," Akira squeaks. Goro smirks, not remembering the last time he flustered Akira so completely. Goro doesn't comment on how red his face is, or how the color of it probably matches his heart which Goro can practically feel beating faster than what can be considered healthy. Goro touches Akira's hand, which confirms his assumption.
"Now," he leans in closer, trailing his hand to Akira's wrist and grabbing it tight, "tell me the truth."
Akira's jaw is slack, he blinks, then blinks again, before trying uselessly to get words out of his mouth. 'Um' and 'ah' is about all he can manage, until Goro lets go and returns to his previous position on the couch. Goro clenches his fist. "I dislike playing games that lead nowhere, Akira. Are you going to tell me or not?" he asks, already knowing the answer. A minute of silence falls between them as Akira recovers.
"There's... noth-"
"Nothing to explain," Goro interrupts him when he finally speaks. He stands. "Well, then, if you're really so intent on this then I'll be going to sleep. Feel free to come inform me when you're ready." Goro practically spits, not trying in the slightest to mask his anger. There's no point in masking it. He goes back to his bedroom, shutting the door with a satisfying thud. He's known Akira for three years, since he was in his darkest times, and he thought that him and Akira shared everything on their minds. He's always considered Akira to be his equal, the only person on this planet that could match up to him in every single way.
Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps Akira hasn't thought of Goro the way Goro has thought of him. Goro will admit this is childish, and that it shouldn't bother him like this. But he finds that he just can't help it. Akira seems like an entirely different person from the one he's known all this time. Thinking about the whole situation gives Goro a headache, so he resolves to figure it out in the morning.
Goro does not, in fact, figure it out in the morning. Akira is already gone again when he wakes up, which he supposes shouldn't surprise him. He once again goes through his whole morning routine noting the locked door meaning Akira still has his set of keys, Goro goes to work, comes home, and still no Akira. He spends a few days like that, until he calms down enough to actually have a conversation. But Akira still doesn't come back.
A week goes by, then two, as it gets closer to being three, Goro starts to think Akira isn't coming back. While sitting on his couch, he calls Futaba Sakura on his phone, hoping she still knows the complete going on's of LeBlanc. It takes a few rings, during which Goro aggressively taps the armrest with his finger as if that will speed up the process, but she does, eventually, answer.
"I almost thought this was a scam call," she laughs to herself, "what's up, Goro?" Goro isn't surprised she would think that, he doesn't often call people. He thinks for a moment, preparing a mental script of everything he needs to say, all the while making small circles on the armrest with his finger.
"Yes, my apologies for calling like this. It's about Akira, although I figure you could guess that fairly easily."
"Yeah, he's been spending almost all of his time sulking at LeBlanc. He's still there right now, I think. Something happen between you two?" She enquires.
"Yes, it seems so. There is something that's been bothering him, and because of it, he's been acting rather strangely as of late. I attempted to get him to tell me, but he refused, and I may have, regrettably, lost my temper a bit," Goro explains, regret already sinking over him. It's not like Futaba will be unhelpful, much the opposite, it just so happens that she enjoys 'teasing' Goro at any opportunity.
"Hm, it didn't seem to me like anything was bothering him outside of, y'know, the whole 'you' thing. You'll both probably feel better when you talk to each other," she says. Goro ponders over that for a second. Is it possible he was just overthinking things? He wants to say no, but suddenly he isn't so sure of that. Perhaps it's just wishful thinking, to hope that this was all just a misunderstanding.
"I'll consider that. Thank you for your assistance but I'll be going now."
"Laters-" she says just before he hangs up. Goro gets up, resolving to check on Akira but still not sure what to say. After their initial phase of fighting with each other, they haven't had any issues like this. Goro finds this whole situation hard to believe.
But, the decision is already made. Akira needs help and Goro will do just that. Unless Akira doesn't need help, which Goro finds the idea of to be quite preposterous given his behavior. He commits to turning off his brain until he talks to Akira, mentally chanting the directions to LeBlanc in his head to prevent any chances of thought.
The closer and closer he gets to LeBlanc, the more anxiety fills his insides. A simple argument shouldn't be this stressful, he thinks. It starts small, but just one step closer leads him to the point where he can practically see it in the distance, and this feeling becomes overwhelming. He can't explain it in any rational way. The crawling over his entire body, making him practically no better than a glorified puppet. Surely this couldn't be caused by some minor anxiety?
He realizes if he doesn't run he's going to collapse to his knees. The crawling is all over him now, taking over, he can barely breathe, but he needs to keep moving. Once he reaches the door he's almost lost his ability to stand. His vision blurs, and even fades to black at the edges.
He opens the door, it slams against the wall as the bell rings, and he goes back to normal. Out of breath, he turns around, feeling, without any logical basis, as if the thing that was causing it is just around the frame, sensing his intentions, but ready to strike at any moment. Goro turns back, trying to focus on what he came here for, only to see Akira sitting on a bar stool, staring at him with his wide doe eyes.
"Akira. Just the one I came here to see," Goro clears his throat, and straightens out his outfit. He doesn't know if he should talk about what just happens, but even considering talking about it makes him begin to feel ill, so he decides to refrain for the moment. He'll have to search later for any potential causes, although given the metaverse, the solution might not be so clear cut.
"Ah, what a coincidence! I just wanted to see you as well! As long as you aren't still mad at me," Akira mumbles his last sentence. Goro can't say he knows whether to be mad or not anymore. The year has only just begun and it's already the longest of his life. He sits on the stool next to Akira, and rests his chin on the palm of his hand.
"I don't know if you want that last comment to be acknowledged or not, but I'm not upset with you," Goro speaks softly, still not sure if his words are even true, and he feels the presence on the door retreating further. "I simply wanted to help you, Akira. It is... frustrating... when you don't allow me to. Will you give me any reason as to why you won't share?" As Goro asks, the presence creeps ever so closer. He wonders if he should avoid this topic. He did come to apologize, after all.
"I... Hey, um... Goro? I know this is a weird thing to ask, especially after I've been acting so different lately, but..." Akira looks in the opposite direction. "Will you tell me about how we met?"
Goro sucks in a breath, planning to make some snarky remark about why Akira would need that, when Akira looks back at him, and the presence creeps closer, around his throat. Akira's sweet eyes meet his, Akira's pouty lower lip sticking out slightly to add to his look of begging. It's cute, Goro thinks. Just as he mentally decides to indulge Akira, the presence backs away yet again.
"Well, if you'd really like me to recount it for you, despite you being there, I suppose that this once I will indulge you," Goro sighs. "It's been a few years, so this is just what I remember, though it should still be fairly accurate considering how much I've reminisced."
Akira's eyes go wide and his eyebrows raise, but he doesn't say anything as Goro begins their story.