Work Text:
“A first date to the movies, huh?” Ryuji asked, pausing to take a large slurp of his ramen. “I mean, you can’t really go wrong with that, but I don’t know…I kind of expected you to go for something bolder.”
“What you fail to take into consideration, Ryuji, is that cinema can indeed be bold!” Yusuke said. “What better way to express your feelings to your beloved than to immerse them in a world of color that reflects the emotions your heart is yearning to let loose?”
“It’s a first date, man,” Ryuji said. “I’m no expert, but that seems a little intense.”
Akira stared across the table at his two friends, feeling a little more on edge than he usually would be in such a casual situation. That was probably due to the fact that he had an agenda for once when calling a “guy’s night” when he usually was the type to just enjoy the moment and listen to the woes of Yusuke and Ryuji –– the former, usually about an art piece or supermarket sale he’d missed out on, and Ryuji, romantic troubles.
Akira felt a little out of his element confessing to the others his nerves surrounding the date he had scheduled for the next day, at 7:00 pm. But it was a little exciting too, getting to share the news that he could be on the precipice of a new relationship with them before anyone else.
…before anyone else but Futaba, who was apparently reading his text messages for fun.
“I told you that you should have asked Lady Ann for advice,” Morgana mumbled from underneath their table. “She’s an expert on love.”
“What, cuz she’s the only one of us who has a girlfriend?” Ryuji asked, shoulders dropping.
“Well, yeah,” Akira said. “I could have gone to Ann, but it’s been too long since we had guys night. And back in high school, you were always trying to rope me into talking about crushes and stuff, so I figured I owed it to you, Ryuji.”
“But it appears we are missing one ‘guy’ from our ‘guy’s night’,” Yusuke pointed out. “Was Akechi unable to make it?”
“I didn’t invite Goro,” Akira said. “That’d make talking about my date tomorrow kind of awkward.”
“Why’s that?” Ryuji asked. Akira looked at him pointedly. Ryuji stared back, raising his eyebrows and just looking more confused. Then, finally, his eyes went wide. “Holy shit, you’re going out with Akechi?”
“Is it that surprising?” Akira asked.
“I mean, I guess not,” Ryuji said with a shrug. He paused to take another heaping bite of noodles before continuing. “But I so can’t picture that dude just…on a date to the movies.”
“He does seem to keep himself occupied most of the time with his work,” Yusuke mused. “That’s understandable since I imagine juggling university classes with the occasional consultation at the police department takes a lot of work. I don’t believe I’ve seen him in person in months.”
Akira knew Goro well enough to know that his self-isolation was very much of his own making, but Akira knew better than to try to tear down those walls just to bombard Goro with affection. Akira wanted to respect Goro’s boundaries as he healed from his troubled past and did his best to move on, while still making sure that Goro knew Akira would still want him around and care about his well being no matter how much Goro sneered at him and blew off plans with half-baked excuses.
When they did spend time together, it was usually when Akira was working a few hours a week at Leblanc. That, if nothing else, validated the fact that Goro didn’t hate Akira at all and didn’t want to be left alone, since Sojiro had confirmed that Goro only stopped by on the nights Akira was there. Goro just had to reach out to people at his own pace, which was understandable.
But after getting frustrated after waiting so long for Goro to ask him out, Akira took initiative, suggesting something simple and practically infallible. A movie –– a classic first date. Ideal for a conversation starter, a set beginning and end to their time, and of course…kissing.
Akira had been thinking about kissing Goro Akechi since he was sixteen years old. Even as he sat, tuning out Ryuji, Yusuke, and the chatter of the restaurant, he let himself picture what it’d be like to sit in the very back row of the dark theater, the light of the projector streaming above their heads. Akira would shift in his chair and turn his head slightly, only to notice Goro looking back at him, ignoring the movie entirely. And then, with everyone around them oblivious, their lips would gently brush…
“Dude, he’s not even listening to us.”
“Yes, I am,” Akira retorted, despite having missed a good chunk of the conversation.
Ryuji rolled his eyes, grinning knowingly at Akira. Yusuke slid over a napkin to Akira, which bore a sketch of him. Despite the simplicity of the drawing, even Akira could see the far-off, lovestruck expression on the little Akira on the napkin.
“Behold!” Yusuke said, flipping his hair. “This is the expression of a passionate love that has only just begun to bloom. Such longing! It’s absolutely beautiful, don’t you think?”
“I think it’s impossible to make me ugly,” Akira said.
“What are you guys going to go see?” Ryuji said.
“Probably a graphic slasher, knowing Akechi,” Morgana mumbled. Akira nudged his bag with his foot, earning him an annoyed hiss in response.
“Perhaps a romance?” Yusuke asked.
“We’re watching the new live-action Featherman movie,” Akira said. “It’s not really my thing, but I think he’ll enjoy it.”
“Cool, cool…” Ryuji said. “So uh…” He dared a glance around the restaurant and leaned a little closer. “Is he coming to your place after?”
“I suppose that would depend on if they can make it through the movie,” Yusuke said.
“Enough out of you two,” Akira said with a laugh. “We’re just going to try to have a good time. Stakes couldn’t be lower.”
Akira practically sprinted through Shibuya with the movie theater in his sights, heart pounding with all the force of an industrial machine. He didn’t think he’d ever been more nervous in his life. Even facing a god was a challenge dwarfed by his current goal –– to impress Goro Akechi. Or, more specifically, to impress Goro enough that he’d consider a second date, so they’d be able to make out and hold each other whenever they pleased, and then get married, adopt two cats, and live happily ever after.
He decided he’d settle for a first-date kiss. That seemed enough of a challenge on its own.
Goro was already standing outside the theater when Akira stopped in front of it. He had his phone out, his stance indicating that he’d been kept waiting for a while. Akira gave him a quick look from head to toe, wondering if Goro had dressed up for the event, or if his makeup and sweater were just typical uptight nerd chic.
“Hello,” Goro said. His voice was a little stiff, his eyes never quite meeting Akira’s. He was frowning, but then again, Goro was almost always frowning. He almost looked a little nervous, which eased Akira’s mind, just a bit. Even though watching a movie together could hardly be classified as an exclusively romantic activity, they both knew that they were cautiously treading new ground.
“Hey,” Akira said. “You look nice. Though, Futaba did tell me that Featherman films are black-tie events, so we might both be underdressed.”
Goro cracked a half-smile, his shoulders finally relaxing a little. Akira’s heart fluttered at the sight. They quietly walked side by side into the building, purchased their tickets, and found their theater. Akira followed without a word as Goro led the way up the stairs, all the way to the very back row of the theater. The previews were just starting, and below them, there was a fair amount of people scattered among the seats. There were some families with smaller kids, but also a lot of young adults about their age. Akira supposed being a fan of the series at an older age than the target demographic wasn’t as rare as he’d thought. As Akira sat down next to Goro in the completely unoccupied back row, he reached into his bag and pulled out what he thought was quite the impressive horde of snacks, courtesy of Futaba.
Goro rolled his eyes but accepted a matcha KitKat that Akira handed him.
“Ever the thief, I see,” Goro mumbled under his breath.
“Excuse you,” Akira said, holding a hand against his chest in mock offense. “I bought these with my hard-earned money, and even cleaned out all the Mona hair from inside this bag so I could share my snacks with you.”
“Hm,” Goro huffed. “All you’ve done is demonstrate that you’re a cheapskate on our first…outing together.”
Just say “date”, Akira thought. We’re on a date.
Though, to Goro’s credit, it didn’t feel much like a date. But that could be fixed easily. After the previews ran their course, the lights in the theater dimmed, and the room was dark for just a few seconds. Akira held his breath, waiting for the first image of the film, the start of his allotted time to make the date count.
And there it was. The opening scene. Red Hawk stood with the other Featherman as they buried their fallen enemy, Gray Pigeon. Light snow was falling over the dark gravesite as each member of the team passed the shovel around, quietly adding dirt to the top of the coffin. But then the camera pulled back to reveal…Gray Pigeon watching the scene unfold from a distance. Akira was already confused. He figured he could have taken up Futaba’s offer to catch him up on the series lore, but a small part of him was hoping that he’d get to hear Goro talk about what the film meant as they left the theater.
There was absolutely nothing cuter than when Goro infodumped, and if all went well, maybe they’d head to Leblanc or Jazz Jin to continue the evening and Akira could just listen to Goro for hours. Goro was watching the screen at full attention, his brow furrowed in concentration. Akira waited for the right moment to move all throughout the opening credits, until the pace of the first act slowed and the Feathermen stood around in their headquarters, spouting exposition.
Akira faked a stretch, letting his arms reach high above his head, then brought them down slowly, aiming his left arm to rest behind Goro’s seat. He pulled the move off successfully, then let his eyes flicker to the side to check Goro’s reaction, which he discovered was…nonexistent.
Goro’s attention was fully dedicated to the scene on the big screen and hadn’t reacted at all to Akira’s attempt to get closer. Akira figured that meant he just had to be a little bolder, while still not going so far as to push Goro’s boundaries. It was a thin line to walk, but Akira was up to the task. He snaked his arm off the back of Goro’s seat and inched it forward so his arm was ghosting against the back of Goro’s neck, his hand resting softly on Goro’s opposite shoulder.
Once again, Akira watched for a reaction, but Goro still didn’t move.
Is that good? Bad? Does he want me to stop? He’d say something if he wanted me to stop, wouldn’t he?
If Akira had overstepped, he had to rectify the situation, so he carefully removed his hand from Goro’s shoulder, only for Goro to grab it and stick it back into place firmly, his eyes never leaving the screen.
Akira stared dumbly at Goro as he continued to watch the film intently, still not really reacting to Akira’s touch. He clearly didn’t mind Akira’s arm being around him, but he wasn’t fully relaxed against his seat, and he wasn’t reciprocating. He was just sitting and watching.
It was probably just another one of Goro’s games. He was acting aloof on purpose to make Akira do all the work so Goro could judge his performance…or something. Just some strange form of playing hard to get. But Akira wouldn’t be deterred. He trusted Goro to be honest with him about boundaries, and the fact that Goro had quietly confirmed to him that his touch was accepted and actively desired by repositioning his arm, Akira was spurred on into the second phase of his plan.
Akira slowly nudged his legs to angle left, bringing his foot next to Goro’s. Then, watching once again for Goro’s reaction, Akira brushed his foot against Goro’s. When he thought back to the first year they’d known each other, Akira realized that it wasn’t the first time he and Goro had “played footsie”. It was a common occurrence when they went to Jazz Jin together, something they did without prompting and that they’d never spoken about.
After a few seconds, Goro's foot brushed back against his own. That was promising. Akira looked up from their feet with a smile hoping to see a matching one, but was met, once again, with Goro’s stone-face side profile.
Weird. So goddamn weird.
Would it be a good idea to keep going? Goro clearly wasn’t opposed to the contact. Or, maybe he was? He wasn’t initiating anything, only reciprocating. Akira couldn’t help but wonder if he was going a little insane. He looked back up at the movie screen and realized that a lot of time must have passed, as Gray Pigeon and Red Hawk were having an intense heart-to-heart, both of them beaten bloody as they prepared to go face the villain, who Akira realized he knew nothing about.
Akira looked down at the other audience members beneath them, and though it was hard to see anything in detail in the darkness, he saw one couple fully leaned into each other, and another young teenage couple making out, despite being in full view of many other audience members.
God, he really wanted to kiss Goro. In the empty back row, under the curtain of the darkness, they could share a private moment together, and Akira would finally know what those lips tasted like. Judging from the snacks Goro had accepted, matcha or roasted seaweed.
Akira was nothing if not a risk-taker, so there was no way he wasn’t going to at least try to kiss his date. But, since that uncertainty was still there, he moved slowly and purposefully. He leaned over to Goro, making sure to make it conspicuous, so Goro had the opportunity to shove him away. Then, he carefully reached out a hand and tucked Goro’s hair behind his ear.
Still no reaction.
Holding back a huff of frustration, Akira continued. He leaned in close, his face hovering near Goro’s cheek, leaving just enough room for Goro to turn his head and meet his lips. There was no way that Goro wasn’t aware of what Akira was doing, but he made no move to turn his face. Figuring that meant a rejection, Akira began to pull away before he heard Goro mumble out a simple phrase.
“Do it,” he said.
Akira waited just a moment to see if Goro was going to turn his face to meet him, but it didn’t appear that way. But for once, Akira was sure he understood what Goro wanted him to do. Akira leaned in close and gently pressed his lips against Goro’s cheek, indulging in the small shudder he felt at the contact. Goro's foot brushed up against Akira’s again –– an encouragement to continue. Akira kissed Goro’s cheek again, lingering for a bit and indulging in the warmth of his companion.
Akira pulled away slightly and saw that Goro was smiling a little, and took that as even more encouragement. He moved his arm from around Goro and sandwiched Goro’s cheeks in between his hands, taking a moment to just hold his face and feel his breaths. Then, he slowly coaxed Goro’s head around to face his…
Only to immediately be shaken off.
What the hell.
“Goro,” Akira whispered. “What do you––”
“Shh!” someone in front of them interjected.
Goro finally, finally looked over at Akira, but it was only to give him a harsh side-eye that echoed the sentiment of the person who had shushed him.
“Unbelievable,” Akira mumbled, quiet enough so only Goro could hear. Goro didn’t say a word, but reached for Akira’s arm and practically tugged him back over so they were leaning against each other. They stayed like that as the movie finished up, and Akira really couldn’t complain. Goro was a very comfortable pillow, and every time Akira would lift his head up so he could kiss Goro’s cheek, he was rewarded with adorable little shivers.
Before he knew it, the credits were rolling, and in the midst of his frustrations, Akira realized that he had no idea what the plot of the movie he’d just seen was. After the theater was entirely vacated, Goro finally stood up, gently pushing Akira off of him.
“Well, it’s perfectly clear they just don’t know what to do with Gray Pigeon as a character anymore,” Goro said. “Bringing him back just to kill him off again…is it so much to ask for him to stick around long enough to grow as a character?”
“Wait, so he died?” Akira asked. He’d completely missed that, somehow. Goro glared at him, looking less than impressed.
“Were you not paying attention in the slightest?” Goro asked.
“I’m positive I saw him in the last scene, though,” Akira said.
“I believe that was simply a manifestation of Red Hawk’s guilt.”
“Or, it was totally Gray Pigeon, pulling the same shit from the first scene.”
“Well, in any case,” Goro said. “The fact that the creators are unwilling to commit fully to one or the other disrupts the integrity of both the ending and the themes of the film.”
It was only then that it clicked for Akira.
“Were you ignoring me because you were that focused on the movie?” he asked.
“Obviously,” Goro said. “I wanted to see this film, not experience disjointed scenes from it because I allowed myself to get distracted.”
“First date movies are never about the movie!” Akira said. “They’re for…” He cut himself off and gestured vaguely.
“Akira,” Goro said. “If you want to kiss me that badly, I suggest you try it any time except when I’m trying to watch a movie. I can’t very well do that if I split my attention, now can I?”
“Well…I guess you have a point there,” Akira said. “I missed most of the plot, I think.” He took Goro’s empty snack wrappers, combined them with his own, and threw the trash in the nearest bin as they exited the building. As they walked away from the entrance and found a place to stand that wasn't too crowded, Akira was pleasantly surprised when he felt Goro reach for his hand and lace their fingers together.
“In that case,” Goro said. “I’ll just have to explain it to you. Would you care to continue this at Leblanc?”
Akira couldn’t help the stupid grin that spread across his face.
“I’d love that,” Akira said. “I’d really, really love that.”
Goro rolled his eyes, a tinge of pink dusting his cheeks. Then, in one stuttered motion, he reached for Akira’s head and yanked him into a kiss. Akira smiled into the motion and kissed him back, taking a moment to savor it before pulling away.
Definitely worth the wait.
“So, originally, Gray Pigeon was an experiment. A human artificially infested with Infabugs in order to create an unstoppable Aberrant to defeat the Feathermen.”
“And an Aberrant is…the same thing they were fighting in the movie?”
“No, he was a general of the Vyrym Party, a group that wanted to abolish all Aberrant life across galaxies, even the planets full of Aberrants. Now in the light novels, that general used to work with Dr. Alya, the researcher who created Gray Pigeon, and the lore from that arc really enhances the character of both those villains and Gray Pigeon himself…”