Work Text:
1.
Ren was certain that being this down bad wasn’t good for his health. He could probably get Takemi to back him up on it. Maruki, even.
One way or another, Akechi was going to kill him.
Ren felt dizzy whenever they were together. He felt sick whenever they weren’t. Honestly, Ren used to think humans couldn’t even get this lovestruck, yet here he was, waiting outside the door on the first floor for the slightest chance to talk to his boyfriend. His secret boyfriend, who he couldn’t be affectionate with in public because of his fanbase. Pathetic, really, what a few weeks without seeing each other did to him.
Exam season had been rough on both of them, and now that Akechi had to think about college, Ren had been getting fewer and fewer spontaneous visits in Leblanc from the detective. Part-time detective. Whatever. The distinction never stopped Ren’s heart from racing whenever thinking of it. Regardless, all they’d been able to do recently was text about their days and play darts on Game Pigeon.
So, now that tests were over (Ren’s performance on them is an entirely different question), Ren found himself here, waiting for his Akechi outside his classroom.
On the first floor. When his classes are on the second. Before even talking to Ryuji.
Actually, they were awful at keeping their whole relationship thing a secret, if Ren was being honest.
“I see you’re done with exams.”
Ren whipped around from where he’d been staring off into space to come face-to-face with Goro Akechi. The boy he’d been cursed to be in love with since they’d met back in April. Akechi smiled at him, softer and warmer than the fake grin he gave most people. It made Ren’s stomach flutter, the reminder that Ren was special to Akechi.
Ren hummed. “Finally. I thought they’d never end.”
“You did do well, right?” Akechi’s grin turned more into a smirk as he raised an eyebrow.
Ren sighed dramatically, looking up at Akechi through his lashes. “Is there any chance you could be the breadwinner in this relationship, senpai?”
Akechi laughed, his real laugh that he saved for stupid one-liners at Jazz Jin or whenever Ren was particularly bad at darts, and it damn near killed Ren with how fast it made his heart go.
And then, as if Ren wasn’t dying already, Akechi’s hand wrapped around his. It was in such a way that anyone passing by in the hallway wouldn’t see. It was for Ren, no one else, just like so much else of Akechi he’d come to uncover during the time they’d known each other.
Ren tried his best to not turn as red as Ann’s tights.
He was so screwed.
2.
Absolutely nothing could make Goro’s day better.
First, he had to wrestle with a group of first-years who for some reason decided it would be hilarious to set an octopus that was meant for observation free, then apart from third-year classes he also had to be one of the only competent people on the student council, taking care of backlogged paperwork and budget allocation. And he wasn’t even free after school: Sae had called him to work on a new case right after the final bell.
Sometimes Goro really wondered if this career path was worth it.
Sighing, he finally made it back to his apartment (alone) and all but collapsed on the couch. Making dinner was too exhausting to even think about, so Goro saw fit to just lay there for a moment, mind drifting wherever. His homework. Sae’s new haircut that she clearly hated. Amamiya. How good Leblanc’s coffee would be right now, which brought him back again to Amamiya.
Amamiya. How was he right now? Hopefully not as exhausted as he was. Goro considered asking when his phone buzzed. He almost didn’t want to look, but it’d be even more exhausting to deal with someone dying because he didn’t check a text from Sae or something.
Today 18:34:
Amamiya: sent an image
Amamiya: mona got into my cup ramen -_-
Goro blinked. Of course it was Amamiya. Leave it to that significant bother to read his mind. Beating him to the first text and having it be an adorable cat picture (Goro never thought he’d find cats adorable before dating Amamiya, but here he was)? Amamiya had won the first move.
Never one to be one-upped, Goro got typing.
You: It’s always on your desk, isn’t it?
You: Honestly, I’m surprised this didn’t happen sooner
Pathetically, Goro found himself with a soft smile, courtesy of Amamiya. The fool had somehow weasled his way into Goro’s heart over the past few months to the point where a mere text conversation got him like this.
Amamiya: booo meanie
Amamiya: are u genuinely siding w my cat
For the record, Goro and Morgana had a strictly business relationship. He went over to Leblanc, the cat went with Sakura-san to the apartment, somehow knowing he and Amamiya’d need privacy. Now that he thought about it, Morgana did seem overly intelligent, but Goro wasn’t exactly complaining.
You: Simply stating the facts
Amamiya: rude :(
Amamiya: omg honey that reminds me !!
Seeing those three dots (meaning Amamiya definitely had something to tell him) and the stupid nickname (Goro had blushed at it once and Amamiya never let it go since), Goro found himself fighting that soft smile once more.
Maybe one thing could make his day better.
3.
“—Which is why Featherman Seeker solos Sky and Wings any day.”
Akechi struck the cue ball with more force than usual. Ah. Ren must have struck a nerve, since Akechi’s ball just missed the pocket.
The detective sighed, and stepped aside. “Ignoring that god-awful take, it’s your turn.” Akechi had decided to tie his hair in a ponytail today. Logically, it was because they were boiling away at a lovely temperature of almost 25 degrees celsius in early June, which Ren didn’t even think was possible. However, Ren couldn’t help but think Akechi had done his hair in a manner specifically aimed to throw off his game today.
Unfair.
In any case, Ren hummed, satisfied with the distraction of his own: pissing off his boyfriend about Featherman.
He stepped up to the pool table, inspecting it. An equal number of striped and solid balls were left.
“We’re tied right now…” Ren looked back at Akechi. “How about this: loser pays for our next date?” He totally wasn’t taking advantage of Penguin Sniper being niche enough to talk openly about their relationship without fear of any of Goro's fangirls overhearing.
His boyfriend (currently redoing his ponytail, Miku help him) raised an eyebrow at him. “And why would I agree?”
To which Ren just gave him his most devious smile and lined up his shot. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of the competition, honey.”
He struck the cue ball. Sunk a ball. It had the desired effect on Akechi.
“Do you know me at all?” Akechi came back to his side. He leaned in.
To Ren.
To whisper.
In his ear.
“I’ll try not to wreak havoc on your wallet.”
Which was totally unfair. It was a completely normal sentence but the tone and the closeness and the gloved hand on his back that had somehow gotten there made Ren bluescreen and he just knew that the bastard did it intentionally. Akechi was awful, Ren decided, resorting to the cheapest tactics just to get out of paying for a date with the detective money that Ren knew he had.
And unfortunately it absolutely worked, rendering Ren a blushing mess who suddenly lost all of his proficiency in the game of billiards and almost ended up missing his target ball entirely.
The satisfied smirk was back on Akechi’s face when he pulled away, already looking for his next shot.
“I accept your bet,” he said, like an asshole. Pretty assholes are still assholes.
Ren looked away, still trying to fight his blush. “No shit, Sherlock.”
4.
If there was one thing Goro hated, it was being cliché.
So why, exactly, did he find himself on a summer festival date, being dragged around from booth to booth like the male lead in a cookie cutter romance anime?
Like a lot of things that had changed about him recently, it had to do with the idiot leading him around with his hand in Goro’s.
Honestly, Goro’s love for Amamiya needed to be studied. It couldn’t be natural.
But Amamiya and his troupe had gotten rained on when they tried to go together, and it was the perfect excuse to see each other on break from school, and Amamiya had made sad puppy eyes and said he’d never been to one before in his hometown, and Goro had caved.
(Which had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it was also the perfect excuse to see his boyfriend in yukata. Definitely.)
His boyfriend who was currently eating taiyaki in the relatively quiet corner they had found. It was a blessing, really, with the amount of fans that had approached him this evening alone, that they managed some peace together.
Goro sat next to him on the bench. “Enjoying yourself?”
Amamiya hummed, leaning and dropping his head onto Goro’s shoulder. Goro’s heart rate remained perfectly stable, thank you very much.
“Very much so, honey.” The fool smiled up at Goro when he met his eyes.
There was something about the smile he had. So beautifully unguarded. Nothing like the soft tilt of his lips he showed most people. Both were real smiles, sure, but with Goro, Amamiya wasn’t holding anything back.
Which was why the fact that Goro loved Amamiya so much was surely entirely the latter’s fault.
They’d never actually said it to each other either. Sure, they’d had some maybes. It almost slipped out some days when Goro lingered too long on Amamiya’s eyes before leaving Leblanc or some nights when Goro’s past seemed to suffocate him and all he could cling to was the absolute human manifestation of light that he was lucky enough to have in his life. But the words “I love you”? Never.
But tonight was beautiful, the weather was perfect and the fireflies were out, casting the perfect glow on Amamiya’s face in tandem with the lanterns and oh fuck it.
“Amamiya?” Goro hated being forward. Being outwardly affectionate. Being vulnerable. Yet he didn’t hate this. Somehow, Amamiya had made him love these things ten times more than he ever hated them. How was one person so good for him?
Amamiya looked up at Goro, something unreadable on his face, and for a moment, Goro hesitated. Why were his eyes like that?
He was about to keep talking when a bang went off in the distance and Amamiya’s head snapped up.
“Fireworks?” He looked back at him, and Goro wished he had a camera good enough to capture the sparkles reflected in those beautiful grey eyes because god he wanted to see them forever.
Amamiya took hold of Goro’s hand, ever so gently, and led him up the hill they were on to see the fireworks together. Just the two of them. And sure, they were colorful and definitely impressive, but Amamiya was standing right there. Goro would be a fool to look at anything else.
God, Goro really loved him, didn’t he?
Goro moved closer, bringing his boyfriend’s attention back to him. “Amamiya.”
“Akechi.” Amamiya still hadn’t let go of his hand.
“I—ugh—” Why was Goro getting nervous now? He laced his fingers with Amamiya’s, steeling his nerves with a breath. “Amamiya. I—”
Amamiya cut him off with a finger to his lips.
“Akechi. I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while. You should call me Ren.”
Ren.
Ren? As in his given name?
Ren. Ren. It was so beautiful. Goro couldn’t stop repeating it in his head.
Ama—Ren’s hand moved from Goro’s lips to cup the side of his face. “Sorry. I just think you should say it with my given name.”
Ah. So he had known the whole time. And he was still giving Goro this victory. Well, it’s not like Goro would pass it up regardless.
“Ren.”
A firework went off, lighting up their faces enough to see the faint pink dust on Ren’s cheeks. That clouded expression from before had vanished. He was smiling so truly, his eyes creasing at the sides, eyebrows upturned.
Another firework.
Three words.
And then Goro could taste the taiyaki left on Ren’s lips, and feel Ren’s arms rest on his shoulders, and touch the fabric of Ren’s yukata, and his whole world was Ren.
Which, perhaps, was the greatest cliché of them all, when Goro looked back on it.
Ah well. Such was love.
5.
Their evening had started off typical enough. Ren went to Goro’s apartment to make the both of them dinner. He’d been doing that more often ever since September rolled around and they both had to focus on school again. Goro, whose previous diet was mainly microwave ramen and takeout, insisted he didn’t need the help at first, but like everything, Ren just had to annoy him enough to get him to relent.
So there he was, cleaning up after cooking Sojiro’s trademark Leblanc Curry (or a sweeter variant, because his boyfriend liked it better like that but would rather die than admit it) in Goro’s 1LDK apartment while Featherman reruns played in the background. Goro himself was typing away on some detective work, sitting on the couch. He’d offered to help, but was quickly shot down by the reminder of how much work he had yet to do.
And work there was. Goro had been swamped ever since they got back to school, what with school festival preparations on top of college applications. He’d seemed tense recently, too, a sort of stress that never fully left even when he was relaxing with Ren in the few moments he got to. If Ren was being honest, he was sort of worried. Surely that much work wasn’t good for his mental health. He was even more tired than Ren. Ren, the always asleep chronically tired final boss.
So Ren wanted to help him out in any way he could. No innuendo there, though Ren would be lying if he said he hadn’t started thinking about it since he started staying over.
If he wanted it…
Ren shook his head. They’d have that conversation later. He sat on the couch, next to his extremely locked in boyfriend.
“So, should I stay the night?”
And Goro jumped. “Holy—do not scare me like that, Ren.” He sighed, putting his laptop on the coffee table. “You probably should. Stay, I mean. It’s late enough that I would worry about you getting back to Yongen all right.” He faced Ren now, allowing him to see just how tired he was in his eyes. “Sakura-san won’t mind?”
Ren shook his head. “He stopped caring, like, 5 times ago.” Honestly, Ren would have been more surprised if Sojiro didn’t know they were dating.
Goro hummed, resting his head on one arm. “Good. Your stuff’s already here, after all.”
Nodding, Ren reached his hand over to Goro’s hair, gently carding through it. It was as soft as it looked, though not as soft as it usually was, and there were tangles that he had to pull apart with care.
Goro turned pink. “What’re—”
“You seem stressed.” Ren gave all the explanation he needed, before kissing his boyfriend, because what justification did he need to help alleviate his significant other’s stress? He was being a good boyfriend. One with ulterior motives, sure, but a good one nonetheless.
Ren kissed him again, deeper this time. “Lemme help you out.”
Goro blushed even more at that. “What—what are you implying?” he asked, pulling away from the kiss, but not away from Ren.
Ren simply smirked, leading Goro via his arms looped around his boyfriend’s neck, until Ren’s back hit the cushions of the couch and Goro was directly above him.
“What do you want me to imply?”
And Goro narrowed his eyes in a way that told Ren he knew exactly what he was implying. “Ren.”
“Goro.” Ren was dead serious. Frankly, he’d thought quite a bit about what their first time together would be like. Soft and romantic? Rough? Secret third option?
His boyfriend’s eyes were still searching for something, though. “You…” He sighed, moving his knee to be between Ren’s legs and oh. Ren felt a rush he’d only previously felt, like, stealing shit.
“You’re sure you’re not just doing this for me?” Akechi’s question brought Ren back to the moment. Aw. After all the week had put him through, and while he still wanted it, he was still putting Ren first. Ren smiled, this time less mischievous and more loving.
He closed the distance between them, tasting Akechi’s mint lip balm that worked so much better than Ren’s. “‘Course not,” Ren said, dropping his head back down to the couch. “What, you think I don’t want you to f—”
“That. Is enough.” Akechi cleared his throat, very firmly red at this point. It was rather cute. “...Come to my bed.”
Ren couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, giggling a bit. “Oh, how forward of you, senpai.” He really was trying to be genuine and sweet. Goro just gave him so many opportunities to not be.
But it balanced itself out because Goro gave him a look. “Oh, shut up. I am not ruining my couch for our first time.”
Ren, with great performative difficulty, hoisted himself off of the couch. “Fine. Take me away, honey.”
Goro rolled his eyes but pulled Ren into a kiss anyway.
The rest of the night, well…went…as one could imagine.
Suffice it to say Ren was very glad the next morning was a Sunday. He was going to be sore.
+1
Back when Goro was a kid, New Years celebrations were the way he and his mother commemorated surviving another year together. A bit morbid, thinking back on it, and she didn’t say that to her 7-year-old son, of course, but it’s what it always felt like. Then Goro couldn’t commemorate that anymore, and he hadn’t done New Years since.
Ren never really did celebrations for New Years with his family growing up. It was only after Yu came to town that he had a large group to enjoy ringing in the new year with, as it turned into celebrating when Yu would come visit Inaba from the city every winter holiday. When he was sent away, a part of him thought he’d never have that group again.
Yet both of them were here, in Leblanc with the rest of their friends, talking and laughing and watching the countdown to the new year begin in Tokyo.
Ann, Futaba, and Haru were looking through the Polaroids they’d taken through the evening. Sojiro was prepping some champagne glasses (though they were regrettably filled with sparkling cider) while Makoto and Sumire were discussing plans for the new year. Sae was bonding with Mona, somehow, and Ryuji and Yusuke swore they weren’t getting emotional, but there were definitely fewer tissues in the box than before they’d arrived.
All of Ren’s friends who’d supported him through this crazy year he’d been through. Goro’s first real friend group, one he’d made unwillingly through Ren but had come to have as an integral part of his life. It was honestly the best luck both of them ever had that they found these people.
And that they found each other.
Speaking of which…
Ren looked at Goro, leaning in closer. “Honey.”
Goro looked back at him, not missing the sparkle in his boyfriend’s eyes that told him he should probably proceed with caution. “What’s up?”
“You know,” Ren said, glancing at the clock, “There’s a tradition in the west to kiss the one you love exactly at midnight on New Year’s Day.” He gave Goro a little grin. “And I love you.”
Everyone else was busy enough and they were talking softly enough for no one to notice. Though they hadn’t explicitly told anyone except Sojiro they were dating, Goro and Ren were pretty sure they were already planning carpools for their wedding. But still, explicit confirmation was a step they’d never taken before.
“Here?” Goro asked, looking around at everyone. Are you ready? was the silent question Ren was ready to answer.
“If you’re okay with it.” Ren shrugged, not trying to hide the smile on his face. “I’d like to.”
There were ten seconds till midnight. Everyone started counting down.
Goro took Ren’s hand. “I would, too.”
Eight. Seven. Six.
Five.
“Ready?”
Four.
“What do you think?”
Three. Two.
One.
Ren’s lips had the distinct flavor of Goro’s lip balm. The thief.
And yet, Goro would sacrifice his entire stock of skincare to spend this year by Ren’s side. And the next. And the forever after that.
Ren was smiling. If Goro noticed the small tears at the corners of his eyelashes, he didn’t say anything about it.
They separated after what felt like an eternity.
“Happy new year,” Ren whispered. Goro couldn’t take his eyes off him.
For a moment, it was just them.
“You guys are together? For real?!”
Then it wasn’t.
The room exploded with congratulations and Ryuji’s shock and the passing of money as some people clearly lost some bets. It didn’t really matter to Ren and Goro, though (well, maybe it was kind of concerning that Sojiro lost 1,200 yen to Futaba, but that was a problem for later in the year). They weren’t able to focus on anyone except each other right now. Physically couldn’t see anything else.
It really was a curse, to be in love.
And they wouldn’t have it any other way.