Work Text:
"You can't be serious."
Goro stared at his therapist in clear disbelief, mouth agape and brows furrowed as he suppressed the urge to scoff at her suggestion.
As a past media star, Goro had certainly heard his fair share of nonsensical ideas – neat little "life hacks" that had about as much credibility as his cases did. He'd seen the videos in his spare time between murders, from fixing glass screens with toothpaste, applying foundation with inflated condoms, to the moon landing being faked and the Earth being flat.
Dr. Uehara simply nodded, a click resounding through the small room as she retracted her pen. She looked down at her clipboard once more, quickly skimming over her notes, before placing the purple plastic rectangle away.
"Akechi, I can assure you that I am not jesting here." She began, and he internally groaned, knowing a tangent was soon to begin that dug deep into his psyche and somehow hit the mark despite having only said four words. "Do you think you may distrust my words due to the actions of adults in the past?"
The cinnamon candy in his mouth broke in half from the force of his jaws clenching shut. God. Not everything had to be about how shitty he'd been treated before. Even if she was a little right (like she always was).
He cursed both himself and his annoying roommate for ever convincing him this would ever be a good idea, and proceeded to give her one of his most show-stoppingly practiced fake smiles before taking a pointed drink of his water.
"No, Ms. Uehara, I don't believe this relates to that. I was simply surprised by your theory, is all." He lied through his teeth, accompanied by a little tilt of his head. Based on the unamused look she was giving him, it seemed his attempt was ineffective. How unfortunate "improvement" was.
" Goro. Therapy is a mutual relationship, in order for this to be successful, I need you to work with me here. That includes being honest with me," she stated calmly, not once faltering in her eye contact.
Goro twitched involuntarily at the use of his given name, still unaccustomed to hearing it even after all these years. Once his mother had passed, he had asserted himself as Akechi , digging his bare hands into the dirt and burying it along with the rest of the good parts of his childhood, only allowing his mother's name and his will of hatred to carry him on into adulthood. Goro was the name of a child – pure and untarnished by the sins of what he'd done in his adolescence. Separating the two into distinct entities brought him a sort of peace of mind, even if it made a trivial difference on the surface.
It wasn't until Akira had come along and drove his stubborn red gloved hands into the ground, peeling back the metaphorical layers of mud and grime and ripped his name free from its sarcophagus that someone had finally been allowed to say it again. His two halves merged into one, erupting a feeling like the agony and breathtaking moment of awakening to his personae, power and weakness uniting to form his true self. And Akira accepted every part of it without hesitation.
(Still didn't make it any less jarring when others said his first name, though.)
"I understand, sorry." He grumbled petulantly. Goro glanced down at his watch, a sleek silver and rose gold trinket with the first initial of his surname engraved into it.
(It was a gift courtesy of one Kurusu, who'd surprised him with it last June 2nd, despite him telling him not to get him anything. He had grinned up at him through his mess of curls, sliding over the red box and cup of coffee with such a fond little look as he leaned over their counter, giving him a frivolous excuse of "Look! It has a little 'A' on it! It can stand for Akechi, or Akira!" which successfully halted any venomous response his mouth could form, instead stirring up a warm and possessive feeling close to his heart. He'd never thanked him for it. But given how he wore it every day, he figured Akira already knew how grateful he was.)
"It's quite alright–" she replied sweetly, before startling as her alarm went off. "–and it appears we're out of time for today! Please do think over what I told you, and I hope to hear about the results in our next session!"
And he left the office without another word.
Goro arrived home to his shared apartment with his best friend and perpetual mother-hen half past six with fresh curry and coffee awaiting him at his designated seat at the island. It only took a quick glance to tell Akira's other friends had been over earlier, or a tornado had spawned in their living room in the form of scattered monopoly houses, potato chips, empty gatorade bottles, and pastry crumbs.
Akira grinned sheepishly at him when he dropped his bag by the door, toeing off his shoes before planting himself in his stool with a grunt.
"Rough day?" Akira asked, untying and tossing aside his stupid 'Kiss the Cook' apron into the bin and taking a seat beside Goro.
He grumbled something unintelligible between spoonfuls of curry, taking a long sip of coffee and sighing.
"You have no idea."
"Then tell me about it." He said, leaning over into Goro's space and patting on his back when he choked from eating too fast.
"I will if I can manage to without dying from your food," Goro griped between coughs, glaring at his friend as he tried to coddle him more.
Akira, ever the comedian even with the metaverse gone and his moniker of Joker long since retired, pouted, feigning a hurt expression. "Oh.. sorry honey, I thought you loved my food, especially since you're shoveling it in so fast… but I can take it away if you'd like–" His fingers barely grazed the edge of Goro's plate before he was hissed at and nearly impaled by fork prongs.
" Don't you dare ." he growled, then flushed and turned away with instant regret.
Even without facing him Goro knew he had screwed up, and had lost some unspoken contest between the two of them. However now that loss no longer made him want to incinerate Akira inside and out, nor made him want to step on his feeble lithe form baring down his heel repeatedly with the crunch of his bones and prove to him that he was better, that his place was here, beneath him, and that he'd do best to memorize that. No, instead, their little games were simply that– a thrilling competition between friends – nothing more than playful banter.
… and the occasional flirting.
That was another development (improvement? Goro wasn't sure what to call it.) in their relationship since he'd stumbled back into the ex-leader's life in Now You See Me fashion and opened up the new chapter of his life conveniently titled 'Fixing Shit' . There seemed to be an invisible line drawn between the two of them neither ever crossed, but toed viciously. Like how they had started a routine of yelling "Honey, I'm home!" whenever either of them arrived home. Or how Akira had bought that stupid apron instantly when they had gone shopping together, telling him how it was a necessary investment. In reality both of them were acutely aware Akira just wanted free kisses, and Goro never was one to back down from a challenge.
But still.
They were perfectly normal platonic best friends that occasionally greeted each other with kisses on the cheek, called each other pet names, and sometimes slept together.
And sure, sometimes Goro wondered what it would be like to kiss his best friend.
(Not just reluctantly on the cheek in order to get rewarded with food.)
Sometimes, without warning, his mind drifted off to spaces he wasn't proud of. Imagining running his fingers through those messy black curls, pulling and tugging at them, relishing in the little sounds Akira would make from the feeling of it. Wondering how soft his pink lips would feel upon his own, how Akira would kiss him. Would he be gentle and soothing, with butterfly light touches that fluttered through his skin straight into his bloodstream and replace the beating of his heart with his name? Or would he be cocky and demanding, with a fierce passion like he wanted to meld Goro to him until their marrows mixed and he could no longer tell where he began and Akira ended?
Goro felt like he could do either, but it's not like he'd ever find out without risking everything good in his life he has. So he kept those thoughts to himself.
Yet on nights where they have impromptu sleepovers when Akira wakes up screaming from nightmares of needles and handcuffs and blood and bruises, or of engine room doors slamming shut, Goro holds him in his arms like he's his. They're few and far between, but he both thanks and curses himself for every night Akira stumbles into his room with puffy red eyes and curls up beside him with his head on his chest until he falls back asleep to the steady sound of his heartbeat.
He was seconds away from falling into yet another fantasy when Akira's chuckle snapped him back to reality.
"Goro? Were you listening to me?" He grinned cheekily, knowing damn well Goro had spaced out for the entirety of whatever grand tale his roommate had been telling.
He deigned not to respond, pushing his half-eaten curry away and lying his head down on the counter, sighing blissfully at its coolness. If his dignity would allow it he could've slept right there.
Goro felt rather than saw the shift in the room as Akira switched out of joking mode into his concerned friend role, and shoved down the accompanying grimace when Akira bent down and began running his long fingers through his hair, nails lightly scratching at his scalp in a soothing matter.
It was nothing special , Goro reminded himself. Akira was just an affectionate person, and Goro wasn't ignorant enough to believe that the way he treated him was anything different.
"Goro? Talk to me. What's wrong?" Akira whispered into his hair, continuing his soft strokes.
It was stupid. Really stupid. It wasn't something he should need help with, it wasn't even something he believed would work—
"Video games.." Goro muttered back in an aggravated tone, shaking his head.
Akira paused his hair-petting, likely confused from the lack of context. He tilted his head like a dog hearing a whistle as Goro willed himself to sit back up. "What about them?"
He sighed exasperatedly. "Today, in my appointment, Dr. Uehara made a new suggestion that she thinks may help with some of my issues.."
Playing video games . Just thinking of her suggestion again made him want to scowl. He wasn’t some.. some fucking child that needed the pointless entertainment of a fictional world. He was above that, well past it, actually. He had lived a life befitting a best-selling horror game. Seeing the metaverse itself and its infinite variety of palaces was like a game in itself, one he was done playing.
He also didn’t even have time for games growing up – as a child, his mother could hardly afford to put food on the table or keep a roof over their heads, let alone take him to an arcade or purchase him a console. After her passing, he was a bit too occupied with rage and revenge plans to even consider using his money on anything that didn’t make him appear more likable to the public. The first time he had even really played a game had been because of Akira, because of course it was always Akira, making him branch out, making him try new things that they could compete at, making him want to live .
"She wants you to try playing video games to improve your mental health?" Akira guessed correctly, because of course he did, always knowing and understanding what Goro meant even with the slightest amount of words.
" Yes! And I despise the idea! How in the actual fuck will wasting my time on some trivial bullshit game help me?" he finally yelled, letting the anger that had been building ever since she’d first uttered the words boil over.
Akira paused for a moment, bringing a hand up to his chin before his eyes lit up.
"Are you busy tonight?" he suddenly asked, baffling Goro for a moment.
".. Excuse me..?"
Akira rolled his eyes, and gently grasped Goro’s hands in his. "I said, "Are you busy tonight?""
"I heard what you fucking said, Kurusu–" Goro glared at him, yanking his hands free.
"–then you must know what I mean, right? One way to find out if it works or not, hm? Or are you afraid?"
And realistically, Goro knew he was getting goaded. He’d known Kurusu for long enough now to know when he was playing one of his little games (not of the video variety) that would result in Goro following right along on the leash. He shouldn’t fall for it.
… he really shouldn’t.
But the thought of turning Akira down, the thought of passing up another competition between them felt like admitting defeat. And Akechi Goro did not admit defeat easily.
He smirked, “You’re on.”
Goro was introduced to one of his first video games that night. At first he thought Akira had given up trying for the night when he resigned to his room, leaving him sitting on the couch anxiously. But of course Goro was wrong, something he's gotten very used to occurring, especially whenever Akira was concerned in the equation. Akira returned minutes later, carrying a dust-covered console he vaguely recognized as an N-64. He watched with great amusement as Akira struggled to figure out how to plug the console into their television, cackling as he managed to plug the RCA cable in incorrectly for the third time in a row, despite the colors being clearly labeled on the side. Akira shot him with a withering glare that lacked any real heat, flipping him off once he was successful on the fourth attempt.
The screen blinked to life with cords finally plugged in correctly, displaying an outdated opening screen. He blinked at the ‘M’ shaped controller that was passed into his hands, staring at it as if it were a foreign object.
“... What do I do with this..?”
Akira laughed, a gentle and light symphony of sound that quickly developed into a myriad of snorts and cackles as Goro’s confusion deepened. Goro felt his face growing warmer by each passing second, and threw his blanket over Akira’s head to spite him.
“It’s not funny!”
“It kinda is!” came the muffled reply as Akira struggled to fight his way out of the weighted cover, once again making Goro wonder how he ever lost to such an endearing idiot.
Akira freed himself from his heavy prison seconds later, pouting at Goro before sticking his tongue out obnoxiously. He stood, tossing the blanket back to his roommate with relative ease and walked off to the TV, unplugging the console with a quiet groan and inaudible mutterings.
“What are you doing?” Goro asked, setting the controller down.
“Grabbing something else. On second thought I should really start you out with something at least semi-relaxing. And it would be nice if we could play together rather than me just watching,” he explained, leaving the room and then returning with two rectangular devices. “Here, I’ve already got the game pulled up, actually. I've been meaning to do another playthrough for a while now..”
Goro hummed as he held the much newer-looking device in his hands, looking down at the screen in mild interest. The console had Futaba written all over it, with a protective green casing and various lines of code printed onto the plastic. On the backside was a collection of Featherman stickers, mainly featuring Black and Red. Akira reclaimed his seat at the end of the couch, Goro’s legs drawing in before stretching back out, effectively leaving his socked feet in Akira’s lap. If Akira minded he didn’t voice it, pulling some of the blanket over into his lap and bracing an elbow on his calf.
He booted up the console with little issue, finding the power button and then clicking the 'A' button in quick succession. His theory was instantly proven correct as he looked at the homescreen, a custom background installed and Featherman games galore. Per Akira's instructions he clicked on the game titled Stardew Valley , loading into a quaint main menu screen.
"That switch is Futaba’s, or, uh, was , but she got another one and left that one over here. I threatened to start charging her child support and she gave me full custody of it. No telling what she's named her farms though, so don't blame me for those."
With that in mind, Goro clicked his way through running off instinct of what did what alone, and turned scarlet as he saw the name of the three save files present. The first file, with 140 hours, was creatively titled Femboy Farm. Beneath that was Ram Ranch that brought on a shudder at the memory of that video he'd been forced to listen to. He figured it couldn't get any worse than that. The third and final farm proved him wrong. Enumclaw .
"Your sister is a degenerate ."
"You're just now figuring that out?"
With Akira's assistance, he begrudgingly made it to the character creation screen, scowling at Akira as he tried (and failed) to withhold a fit of laughter. Akira seemed to forget what a vulnerable position he was in, with Goro's feet in his lap, and was brutally reminded of the fact seconds later.
" Ow! What was that for?!" Akira hollered, as if he didn't know exactly why he'd been kicked. Goro wasn't falling for it.
He gave him a knowing look.
" Pancakes Farm ? Really? Couldn't come up with anything else in that head of yours?"
Akira shrugged. "I could've called it Crow Farm ."
"If you would've done that I'd have murdered you again, for good this time."
"You wouldn't dare! You looooove me!" Akira teased, unknowingly landing a critical hit on Goro's heart.
He looked away so that his roommate couldn't see the pink dusting his face, hoping his hair hid his ears that were no doubt just as affected.
"Nonsense. I tolerate you."
"I tolerate you too, honey!" Akira winked, and Goro slowly felt his soul leave his body.
As with most things, Goro picked up the mechanics of the game rather quickly. He planted his parsnips, cleared weeds, chopped down pesky branches and stones that dared to obstruct his path until he was left with a sliver of energy, having to do the dreaded slow walk of shame home before ending day one in Akira's bed, using the excuse that "it was closer". Day two he remembered there was an entire town to explore and people to introduce himself to.
Akira took to the townspeople like a sponge in water, because of course he did. Of course his idea of a fun game would be one in which you ran all over to spend time with people and increase their friendship. It was basically his life! Goro however, glared at his screen as he made an effort to try and speak with one of the characters, only to end up insulted.
He'd discreetly asked Akira afterwards if murder was an option in the game, and was disappointed to learn no, it was not.
Despite the annoyance of having to track everyone down and that one incident with an alcoholic, Goro was admittedly having a good time. The fishing minigame was a challenge at first, but he soon got the hang of it and came to enjoy it. They made a competition of who could catch the most fish in a day, resulting in Akira passing out on the docks and their shared funds taking a hit. Goro considered the win his.
Yes, everything was going just fine, Goro was beginning to understand why people enjoyed video games, and then he met him .
Goro had few people left to meet on his list, tilting his screen to the side to show Akira an emo-looking black-haired male with three question marks above his head. His rival lit up immediately at the sight of the boy, stirring up a feeling in Goro's chest he didn't have a name for.
He followed Akira's character through the town, passing by a fountain and a run-down building, heading up until they entered the carpenter's house left of the mines and lake.
"This," began Akira, greeting Robin cheerfully before walking downstairs to a presumably basement area. "is Sebastian's room! He's one of my favorite marriage candidates, actually. I.. uh, usually end up with him every time. Oh, but you can't go in yet, you're not good enough friends with him to enter his bedroom."
Marriage? Marriage was a thing in this game? And Akira has chosen and admitted to his affections for this… basement trash ? Akira was above him! No one was good enough for Akira, especially not this pathetic hermit boy who wouldn't even deem Akira worthy to enter his bedroom.
That weird feeling coiled in his stomach again, warming his insides.
"So how am I supposed to talk to him, then?" Goro was careful not to let his fuming vitriol for the basement dweller slip into his voice. It was nonsensical to be annoyed over a fictional character. He knew that. He did.
Akira grinned. "You wait outside his bedroom, of course!"
Goro clutched his joycons tighter.
He'd spent hours of in-game time, just waiting outside this guy's bedroom?? Not once, not twice– multiple times by the sound of it. "Every playthrough" he'd said. Just how many times had he married this fool? How long had he wasted his time, standing out his door, just to talk to him or gift him an item?
Goro reluctantly joined him in waiting until 2:00pm when the boy finally decided to get off his computer and exit his room. He introduced himself as Sebastian, immediately followed by him asking why in the world Goro would want to move to Pelican Town. He felt himself seethe. Why was it any of his business why he decided to leave the city? Who was he to judge them– to judge Akira? He knew nothing about his life, nothing about his motives, his accomplishments, his hardships, his heroism, his…
Goro hated the hopeful look in Akira's eyes when he turned to him saying, "So, what did you think of Sebastian?"
He'd just met him. He knew next to nothing about him, besides that he resided in his mother's basement. There was nothing to dislike, nor nothing to like yet either. A neutral opinion was a fair assessment, however—
"I think he's kind of a prick." Goro found himself saying instead, regretting and surprised by his own words immediately after they left his lips.
Akira let out a dreamy sigh.
" I know."
"I don't particularly see the excitement here.." Goro grumbled from his place sprawled out on Akira's bed, raising his head from where it'd previously been pressed into his friend's thighs. How they ended up laying like that was a mystery to Goro— not that he was complaining.
Today was the 13th of Spring, meaning the Egg Festival was set to begin within the next couple of hours. Goro hadn't a clue what the event entailed, but could see that Akira was excited for whatever it was. He had restrained himself from going onto the wiki and learning everything he could about the game, partly not to spoil the surprise and also due to wanting to beat Akira fair and square. Not that there really was a way of beating one another in the game, but Goro was nothing if not creative.
Akira took a moment to respond, delegating himself to hoeing and watering the soil in 8 tile circles, leaving the center tile untouched. Goro could've assisted him, but it was more fun to watch him waste away his energy.
"Remember all that mining we did?"
Ugh. There was no forgetting that, no matter how hard Goro tried or wanted to. As soon as the mines unlocked on Spring 5th and Akira noticed their luck was at the highest level their agonizing journey began. His roommate declared they needed to reach Floor 80 of the cavern as quickly as possible, a task that proved to be quite arduous with a limited food supply and only the shittiest of weapons. Goro chanted colorful strings of curses as he was swarmed over and over by cave bugs, nearly succumbing to their wrath too many times to count. Akira saved his ass multiple times, entirely too smug about it.
"Unfortunately, yes, I do."
"Well, there was good reasoning for your suffering. With all the ore we farmed and smelted we can now craft…" Akira paused, presumably opening his menu. "...this!"
He placed a bronze plus sign shaped object with silver ends in the center of one of the circles he'd made, excitedly explaining that it was a sprinkler that would water crops for them.
"Great! And just what crops do we have that need watering?" asked Goro sarcastically, his character running around the seedless land as if to further prove his point.
Akira huffed at the same time a message appeared in the corner of the screen, signifying it was time to head to town for the Egg Festival. They left in tandem, characters shuffling forward to see who could get to the loading zone first. Goro beat him by a second, but only due to Morgana jumping down from the headboard to Akira's pillow and scaring him. The cat was beginning to grow on him a little.
"See? Strawberry seeds! And they have multiple harvests, so we won't have to replant them!" Akira ran forward to Pierre's stand, sinking almost all of their funds into the seeds.
Goro raised a brow as he watched their shared money plummet even further, "Are you sure we'll need that much..?"
They had amassed a total of 17,850 gold to invest. Goro hadn't known the reason they were saving at the time, but he had assumed it would be going towards some type of upgrade, not… this.
In the next moment they were down to just 50 gold. Dammit. Goro was going to have to do a lot of fishing again. He wanted that chicken coop.
Curious, he walked up to Pierre's stand once Akira's spending spree had apparently ended and the raven began to make his way around town, gawking when he saw the prices.
"They're a hundred gold each? Did you buy 178 of them?!"
Jesus Christ on a bike . They were going to be watering and planting for hours once the festival ended. Akira had hoed a large area, but had he really cleared that much space on their poor little river farm? He admittedly hadn't paid it any mind how far he'd gotten earlier, but now the realization stung. They had to all be planted tonight. Goro wouldn't have it any other way— he was not about to have their farm growing disproportionately.
Looking over the list of items, it was possible he hadn't spent everything on strawberries, but the possibility was a probable one.
"Nah, I didn't buy that many," he reassured him, smiling deviously at Goro. "I bought 170, and two flamingos!"
"What the hell do we need two flamingos for?"
"Goro, honey, it's for the aesthetic ."
Well, he couldn't argue with that.
He ceased his griping, trusting Akira knew what he was doing and that their investment would pay off. He then began the process of conversing with the town, enjoying some bits of dialogue and button mashing through the rest.
Sebastian was standing near the bottom left of the town, with his friends right beside him. Goro hadn't really formed an opinion on the other two yet, aside from the blond somewhat reminding him of Sakamoto. Akira perked up at the sight of him (as he always did) and Goro felt his mood inversely decrease.
Akira then cheered.
"Hell yeah! I'm at two hearts now! I might be able to get a partner for the flower dance afterall!"
Flower dance…?
"What's that?"
Akira walked over to Lewis, about to start the festival events.
"If you win the festival I'll explain."
Game on. The town mayor began explaining about the Egg Festival, an annual tradition celebrated in the valley. It was basically Easter— with an egg hunt for the children, the players, and some of the marriage candidates joining in. Sebastian stayed off to the side, seemingly disinterested in doing anything rather than watching. Goro was determined to win, not just to beat Akira, but to also... show a fictional character he was better than him.
…Yeah . Maybe this was something he'd need to bring up in his next therapy session.
The timer began and Akira sprinted off to the right, following a path unbeknownst to the brunet. Right. He'd played the game multiple times now, likely had already memorized the best route. He was at a disadvantage, but that would make his victory even more thrilling.
He had stopped himself from reading up on the game online, but nowhere in his head had he promised not to play dirty. If that meant stealing eggs from children, or tickling Akira on his sides where he knew the boy was ticklish, well, some things just had to be done. All is fair in love and video games.
Akira cackled as Goro relentlessly attacked him, writhing on his bed and kicking his feet. His only mercy given was whenever Goro spotted another egg and had to remove a hand to pick one up.
" H-hey! Stop! Stop!" Akira rasped, and oh god , was he a sight to be seen. Maybe he had played too dirty.
The timer dinged, signifying the hunt was over. Goro had collected 13 eggs to Akira's measly 4, but neither paid their consoles any mind.
Instead Goro's attention was entirely captivated by his crush: red-faced and chest heaving, curls running wild, lips parted on the cusp of another whine. A hand was strewn across his face, completing the wanton look.
Goro had won, but at what cost?
"I, uh, um—" Goro mumbled intelligently from atop Akira— wait, when did he move?
He was now sitting in Akira's lap, legs splayed on either side, effectively straddling him. Both men stood (or rather, lay ) motionless, in a standoff of sorts until Akira reached for the pillow to his right, promptly smacking Goro with it.
" Ugh— !"
Before Goro could even understand what happened, their positions were reversed. Akira thrusted forwards in an impressive display of strength, releasing his fluffy weapon in exchange for his body. His back hit the mattress with a thump , arms flailing out until his roommate caught his wrists, pinning him.
It was his turn to be breathless now, with Akira laying above him, face inches apart from his and bodies pressed together in an intense heat. It was everything he'd ever wanted— something that had been haunting his dreams for as long as he could remember, possibly before they had even met. He'd been longing for this, touch-starved and pent up from a desire born from one trickster. A whine escaped his lips involuntarily, hips stuttering upwards begging for more. He only had a single moment to realize Akira was hard as well before lips crashed against his, sucking away all his thoughts like a yearning black hole.
Goro wondered if he had died and went to heaven.
Akira, his crush, his rival, his best friend, was kissing him. Kept kissing him, like a drowning man finding its first taste of air. Restrained from pulling him impossibly closer and marking up his back, he rutted against him, chasing the pleasant friction and relief mindlessly. Akira licked into his mouth at that, teeth gnawing at his lower lip to obtain entrance. This was nothing like any of the kisses they'd shared before. It felt like something truly intimate.. like something real.
" Akira.. " he moaned in a voice that definitely didn't sound like his yet unmistakably was. He felt Akira smile against his lips, placing one last chaste kiss to the corners before pulling away.
"I've been wanting to do that for forever, " Akira sighed, removing a hand to swipe across his mouth and sitting up slightly. Saliva coated his hand from their rendezvous and Goro felt his insides coil as Akira made a spectacle of licking it off.
Words felt like a foreign language to Goro in that moment, leaving him only able to stare up into stone eyes making him harder by the second.
A beat passed of them staring at one another, silence weighing heavy in the air. Akira grew tense as the moments passed, backing away slowly. Had Akira.. not meant to do that? Was he regretting it now? Goro frowned, puzzled. Akira's distress visibly doubled at the expression. Oh.
"Shit. Fuck. I'm so sorry, Goro. I misread you, didn't I? Fuck, fuck, fuck! I'm sorry, just.. forget about this. I just saw you and I thought— I thought you might have felt..–" he rambled on, tremors wracking through his body in a panic. He was terrified. Terrified of... hurting Goro? Of him not feeling the same? Also known as: the same fear Goro had?
Oh. He would have to rectify that.
Effective immediately.
"Akira."
His voice was lost in the storm taking over Akira, clouding his senses from realizing. He huffed, once again unheard to the onslaught of backpedaling raining down upon him.
"—I'm really sorry, please just don't leave, we can talk this out, o-or never mention it again! Just don't go, I can't lose you again—"
If he'd just shut up for a second—!
"Akira!" He yelled this time, lunging forward to grasp his cheeks, forcing him to look at him. Akira's jaws slammed shut, obeying immediately despite the raging fear still present in his eyes. Goro noted the submission for later use; now was not the time.
They'd both suffered long enough, Goro decided.
He leaned forward, gently pressing his lips to the raven's temple, kissing his way down from the edge of his eyes, the tip of his cheekbones, his jaw, stopping as he reached the corner of lips. Akira melted under his actions and relaxed in Goro's arms, finally where he was meant to be.
His eyes blinked open slowly, full of adoration. And though Goro couldn't see his own eyes, he was sure his expression matched.
"I feel the same, you idiot. Now kiss me again before I get impatient."
And Akira complied, meeting him halfway.
Later on, after a night filled with passion and the release of feelings finally out in the open, Akira rolled over, tugging Goro with him and brushed the messy hair out of his eyes. He'd tugged on it. A lot.
"Hey Goro?" he whispered into his newly claimed partner's ear. Goro stirred with a grumble, yawning. They'd worn each other out well.
"This better be important, or I'm breaking up with you already for interrupting my beauty sleep."
Akira laughed, the melody rumbling between both of their chests. He'd never let him go. Both were aware of that. "You don't need beauty sleep, honey. If you get any prettier, I'd be worried you were out of my league."
Goro hummed, urging him to get on with whatever he had to say. Right. God, he was adorable.
"Anyways.. I was wondering if you'd go to the flower dance with me? Don't know if I explained this, but you can dance with other farmers."
"What about Sebastian?" Goro teased in a half-mocking tone.
"I think I can make an exception for you."
And every time after.
"You'd better ."
The next week, Goro walked into his session with newfound confidence. He felt lighter than he had in, well, forever .
"So," greeted Dr. Uehara with a small smile. "How did playing video games go?"
God . Goro was going to have a lot to explain in this session, but he found no dread from it. Instead, he grinned, giddy with excitement, and said:
"Best thing I've ever done."