Chapter Text
The train station is packed.
It's bustling with people, too many people, despite the fact that it's the countryside. Perhaps that's the reason; the station isn't very big, and with the holidays already over, everyone's well on their way back to reality---vacation is over. The same holds true for Goro, except he's about to step into the new stage of his life, lonely and far from the life he'd grown up to in this humble countryside.
...Who is he kidding. Considering his mother is fussing over him, five minutes before his train arrives, Goro has a good feeling that he'll be far from lonely in Tokyo.
Not to mention he's not going to be living in Tokyo alone. He'll be fine, he thinks.
Goro's mother is clutching his backpack so tightly, her knuckles are white. She doesn't look like she wants to let the bag go. "Do you have everything you need?" she says. "Vitamins? Your toothbrush?" Then she gasps, her eyes comically widening at him. "Sunscreen?! I heard Tokyo's sun is unforgiving to people who burns easily."
Goro burns easily, that's true, but he doesn't know where she got the whole idea from.
"I...think you meant the pollution," he quietly offers. It doesn't have anything to do with sunburns. "The pollution is unforgiving in Tokyo." He hooks a finger around one of the zippers of his backpack and tugs, to see if she'll let go of his bag. She doesn't, and he sighs. "Mom, I need that bag if I'm going to leave for Tokyo."
She looks at the bag she's clutching. "I just...," she starts, and her lips curl downwards, her brows furrowed. Whenever she makes that face, the wrinkles on her forehead and around her lips become more prominent. She looks older than she really is, but maybe that's what being a single mother does to a woman.
Still, when she smiles, she looks brighter, as warm as the summer she's named after. Goro always does everything he can just for that smile.
"Mom...," he says, and he smiles, just slightly, fingers reaching out to tuck a stray strand of chestnut hair behind her ear. Her long hair's in a messy bun, several rogue strands of hair framing her face. When Goro was younger, braiding her hair always delighted him. "I'll be fine," he assures her. "I'm not alone there. You know that."
"I know," she says, and her voice quivers. Her brownish-red eyes shine from unshed tears. "I just...can't believe you're in high school now, and you're going to be so far away. Why can't you just attend the high school here?"
"Well...," Goro says, "I guess I'm just way too good for a school in the countryside. I'll feel bad for my classmates when I'm doing far too well for them to catch up."
And there it is---that smile he loves so much. Pearly white teeth, and a dimple just below her left cheek. She's radiant like this, and looks more like her age. It makes his own smile widen, too.
"Look at you," his mother says, all cheek and smile, and she wipes her eyes, "all smug. I'm so proud." Goro laughs, and she does, too. The announcer's voice rings throughout the station, announcing the train's arrival soon, and she finally hands him his backpack. She reaches out and fixes Goro's fringe for him. "Take care, okay?" she says, and her smile is soft; unlike before, there's no hint of melancholy in her expression. Maybe Goro should be saddened at the fact she's not at all lonely to see him go, but he knows that look, and it fills his chest with warmth.
"You will be amazing," she says, unmistakable pride evident in her features and in her every word. She levels him with a fiery look. "They will be grateful they accepted you."
Then with a quiet laugh, she pulls Goro in for a hug, the last one that there will be for several months, and her arms are wrapped around him tightly. She smells of lavender and melon, and it reminds him of their backyard.
He'll miss her.
They part when the train finally arrives, and Goro slings his backpack over his shoulder before picking up his suitcase. He gives his mother one last smile and a wave before he boards the train, but then she stops him, fingers curled around his wrist. She smiles at him sheepishly when he looks at her.
"When you get to the apartment, tell Akira I said hi," she says, "and that Hana says she knows he stole all the chocolates before leaving."
Goro laughs at that.
--
Tokyo is...overwhelming, and Goro manages to get lost in the train station.
He admits his sense of direction is a hit or miss at worst, but he’s never this bad. Asking for directions is fruitless, and he always finds himself being pushed around by the people bustling around. There isn't even another glance every time someone manages to bump against him. Goro likes to think he's a patient person, but he's learning very fast that isn't the case at all.
Before Goro manages to let the last person who bumped into him know just how wrong it is to do just that, he feels something vibrating in his backpack. Quickly finding a secluded corner in the labyrinthine station, Goro opens his pack and rummages through the items there until he fishes out his phone that keeps vibrating along with a stream of messages.
Oh, right. He has a phone.
Right.
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:46 :: goro
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:47 :: where are you? you're not in the entrance
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:47 :: it's way past our meeting time
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:47 :: we talked about this last night
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:47 :: you know you're leaving today right?
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:47 :: you forgot didn't you
You | 13:48 :: No. If there's anyone who forgets about important trips, it's you.
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:48 :: that one was because mom didn't wake me up
You | 13:48 :: I don't see why it falls on Hana-chan's shoulders to wake you up for your own interschool competition.
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:48 :: it's math. i hate math
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:48 :: mom also hates math. i don't know why i got into the qualifiers when it should be you
You | 13:48 :: You copied off me and somehow got a higher score than I did.
You | 13:49 :: I'm still mad about that, by the way.
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:49 :: i know
You | 13:49 :: When did you change your name in my contacts list?
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:49 :: two weeks ago. before i left
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:50 :: and you didn't even realise until now? i'm impressed
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:50 :: then again you barely remember you have a phone
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:50 :: so where are you?
Goro blinks, and he looks up from his phone to look around. People, people, people. A stairway leading down. Food shops selling food he's never heard of. More people. It's a fruitless effort, to put it simply.
You | 13:51 :: I don't know. I'm lost.
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:52 :: hahahaha
♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ | 13:52 :: hold on
Before Goro can type out a reply, his phone vibrates again, but this time it's not because of a new stream of messages. ♡★ Aki-chan ★♡ flashes in the screen as the caller ID, and the phone's ringtone, whatever it is, mixes into the noise pollution. He answers the call and presses his phone against his ear.
“Hey.”
"Hello."
“Miss me?” Goro huffs at that, and Akira chuckles on the other end. “Okay, okay. Describe the place where you are, and I'll probably find you.”
Goro frowns at that. "Probably? That's not reassuring, Akira."
He could practically hear Akira shrug at that. “I've only been here for two weeks, and I spent most of the time in the apartment cleaning it so His Highness can come home to a pristine apartment.” Goro rolls his eyes, but Akira continues talking. It isn't as if he can see Goro making faces at what he says, anyway. “But seriously, I've been pretty busy with Shujin. I'm sure you'll be too with Kousei.”
"I figured. I still need to get my uniform, too..."
“Yeah, so describe the area you're in so we can get you home.”
So Goro does. He describes the food shops in the area---from the crepe shop to his right to the takoyaki shop just across him. He mentions the stairway he came from, and Akira admits he's not sure where the hell Goro wandered into.
“Maybe you crossed to a different dimension,” Akira says, “and I'll never find you, anymore. Find any bones jutting out from the corners?”
Goro pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "Kurusu, I'm tired from travelling."
“Sorry. Anything else to note of?”
Goro looks around once more, and when the crowd parts not too far from the takoyaki shop, Goro finds that there's some sort of a bridge connecting this part of the station to another building. He blinks.
"Ah, there's a bridge...thing...here, connecting the area where I am to another building. I think it's a mall..."
“Oh,” Akira says, “the accessway. I know where that is. Stay where you are. I'm coming.”
The calls ends there, and Goro locks his phone before sliding it into his pocket. His other hand grips his suitcase as he leans against the wall with a sigh. Well, this is tiring. Goro is positive he won't be able to unpack anything once he finally arrives at their apartment, and that's fine, now that he thinks about it. There's a week left before the start of the school year, and it's a week he's dreading. School orientations and socializations with schoolmates---the kind of stuff that drains him twice as fast as studying. He'll need all the sleep he can get.
He doesn't know how long he's been waiting, but when his phone rings again, he immediately answers, pushing himself off the wall as his eyes roam around the area and searching for the familiar messy mop of black hair.
"I'm by the vending machine," Goro says as he takes a step forward, eyes peeled for Akira. "Right in front of the takoyaki shop."
“Oh, yeah, I see you. To your left.”
Goro looks to his left, and sure enough, in the sea of people is a head sporting the messiest curls Goro's known his whole life. Akira weaves through the crowd with cat-like ease, as if he's already used to urban traffic, and Goro blinks at what he wears: white turtleneck and black blazer, complete with checkered pants and black shoes.
It's a pretty stylish school uniform.
As soon as Akira is within hearing range, he beams at Goro, none of that monotone, know-it-all schtick he always pulls off.
"Hey," Akira says, stopping right in front of him. Goro's phone echoes his greeting. He has a bag slung over his shoulder, and he ends their call and shoves his phone into his pocket. Goro does the same. "Overwhelming, huh?"
Goro heaves a deep sigh. "Is this what we have to deal with everyday from now on?"
"Unfortunately." He reaches for Goro's suitcase. "Let me carry it for you."
"Such a gentleman. I'm swooned," Goro says, and Akira snorts and waggles his eyebrows for added effect. He laughs. "So why are you in uniform?"
"Gotta run to Shujin for something." Akira shrugs, and they both walk to the direction he came from. "Uh, something about having to switch classes. I really don't know. I just kept saying 'okay.'" He puts his free hand behind his neck with a sigh. "I'm beat."
"I'd say the same," Goro agrees, and he lightly shoves Akira ahead. "Come on, lead the way, Mr. Gentleman."
Akira snorts at that, and he gestures at Goro to follow him. The pair disappears into the crowd, mingling with the people until they take the train that will take them to their new home.
--
"This isn't an apartment," Goro says. They stand in front of a small café tucked away from public view, in a small side street called Yongen-jaya. The sign above the entrance reads Leblanc, and the sign hanging on the door tells Goro that the café is closed. Akira shrugs.
"I know," he says. "I was expecting an apartment, too, but, uh, Mom says the rent is cheap and her friend's friends with the owner, and he'll be our guardian for the rest of high school."
Goro gives him an unimpressed stare. "I knew Mom and Hana-chan will never forgive us for the dumpster."
"Yeah." At least Akira has the decency to look sheepish. "I think that one greatly influenced where we're staying. Sorry."
It's not as if he can get annoyed at Akira for something he himself had a hand with, though. While Akira was the one who came up with the idea, Goro, the one who's supposed to be eighty percent of Akira's impulse control, gamely went along with said idea. It was a fiery destruction; both of them got grounded for a month.
That was three months ago.
"I'd say I forgive you if it weren't for the fact I was the one who threw the match," Goro says with a smile. At that, Akira breathes out a laugh as he makes his way to the locked door, fishing out from his pocket a key with a keychain the shape of a cup with cartoon smoke flowing out of it.
"What was it that you said when you flicked the match to the dumpster?" Akira asks. "This is our will of rebellion. Very dramatic. Which video game was it from this time?"
The door clicks open, and the pair is laughing when they stumble into the café, Goro playfully slapping Akira's shoulder. "Shut up; you said it was cool."
"People change after getting grounded for a month." Akira checks to see if the sign remains on the closed side, and when he's satisfied with what he sees, he closes the door and locks it. He turns to Goro, expression grave. "I had a lot of self-reflection during that time Mom took my phone."
Goro rolls his eyes at him, but he's smiling, and maybe this is the time where he should reach out and tug at Akira's messy fringe to tease him, but he has luggage to heave and luggage to unpack. "Whatever. So where to?"
"Upstairs," Akira says. "The whole second floor's ours."
"Really?" As they make their way to the stairs, Goro looks around, and he visibly deflates. The café is small. There are only four booths, the only walkway is the one they're walking in now, and when Goro peeks in the bathroom, he realises it's not a bathroom at all; it's merely a comfort room. If the first floor is this small, Goro can only imagine how the second floor is.
"Please tell me we have a bathroom upstairs."
Akira stops on the first step of the stairs. "Uh, yeah, no."
"Seriously?"
"There's a bathhouse across the street," he immediately adds. "Come on. I worked hard making our place liveable, you know."
"Lovely," Goro mumbles as Akira lugs his suitcase upstairs.
When Goro reaches the end of the stairs, Akira has already parked his suitcase beside Akira's own. Goro stands on the last step of the stairs, blinking at their room.
It's...oddly remarkable, to say the least. For one, there's no door; the shelf on Goro's left is the closest to a door they'll get here. The second topmost shelf holds some of Akira's own personal effects: a few mangas, a box that Goro knows contains a couple facial products for if Akira has a breakout (he never has those, much to Goro's chagrin; if anyone, Goro is the one who ends up using every single thing in that box), a small plastic plant that Akira still waters everyday (no one told him it's not alive), and...that's all. The lowermost shelf has a big box shoved in it, and a quick peek tells Goro it contains some of Akira's clothes.
A long table is parked to his right, against the railings where the stairs line downwards. Akira's school bag is messily dropped there. There's an empty shelf against the wall to Goro's right as well, where their suitcases are parked in front of, and on the far end of the room are two beds.
Each bed is placed on the opposite sides of the room. Akira is sitting on the right-sided bed, wrestling his school shoes off his feet. There's a desk between the beds that is blocking the window. The right side of the desk has books neatly stacked and a pencil holder that's empty---Akira's side of the desk---while the left side is left untouched. The left-sided bed is clean and has a pair of pillows and a blanket neatly placed on the edge of the bed, and right below the bed is a table with an old, crusty TV on top of it.
All sides of the room is crammed, but the middle of the room has a lot of space. It makes a good spot for blanket forts.
Huh. Now that's an idea. He looks at Akira, who raises his brows at him expectantly.
"Well?" Akira starts, smug grin on his face. "I did the interior all on my own. Pretty nice, yeah?"
Goro puts his backpack on the long table, besides Akira's school bag. "It's passable," he says, and when Akira makes a face at him, he adds with a smile, "the open space makes a great spot for blanket forts."
Akira stares at him, then he laughs. "You know what I like," he says. He hops off his bed, bare feet making noises against the wooden floor, and he starts tugging the sheets off his bed. Goro blinks.
"Wait, right now?"
"It's our first day of independence," Akira says. "Blanket forts are in order." Goro stares blankly at him.
"You've been here for two weeks."
"Right, because Boss breathing down on my neck to make sure I have everything in this place sorted out before you come here is independence."
"Boss?"
"He's the owner. Lives just down the street." Akira dumps everything from his bed---the bed sheet, the blanket, and the pillows---to the floor. He looks at Goro. "If it makes you happy, this is our first day of independence together." He gestures at Goro's bed. "Are you gonna wreck your bed yourself or am I gonna do it?"
Goro huffs, but there's a smile on his face as he makes his way to his bed. "You know we don't have enough blankets for this, right?" he says as he dumps the blanket and pillows to the floor. He starts tugging on the bed sheet. Akira shrugs.
"We can always borrow some more from Boss if we really need it that badly." He pauses. "Can't we just make a small fort instead?"
"You're the captain," Goro says simply, bundling the bed sheet in his arms. "Do what you want while I sit here and watch you work on your own."
"Rude."
In the end, Goro helps out with assembling their blanket fort. Because Akira likes to get yelled at by adults, he suggests bringing some chairs from the café downstairs, which Goro immediately shoots down. They make do with limiting the size of their blanket fort to only cover the space between their beds, and they tie one blanket and a bed sheet on the desk and on their beds, while everything else is shoved inside.
It's a very small and very disappointing blanket fort.
"It's hot," Goro says, voice muffled by Akira's pillow, while Akira uses him as his pillow instead. It's already evening, and instead of getting dinner, the two decided to crawl into their sad blanket fort and spend the rest of the evening there. Akira looks up at Goro from his phone, and his hair tickles Goro's exposed stomach. His constant moving a while ago lifted Goro's shirt a little.
"Take off your shirt, then."
"No."
Akira looks back at his phone. He's playing that hard but pretty rhythm game. "Too bad."
Goro shoves Akira's pillow off his face and looks down at Akira, who's completely comfortable in his position. Peeking at Akira's phone screen tells Goro that he's completely fucking up his combo, but he keeps playing anyway.
"Mom says hi," Goro says.
"Tell her I said hi, too," is Akira's reply, failing to hit a fair amount of notes in the game. The screen is full of them; Goro is pretty sure thumbs aren't enough for those. "And that I'll miss her burgers," Akira adds.
"She also says Hana-chan knows you took all the chocolates."
Akira stops at that, and the screen is now an endless stream of miss miss miss. "Oh, shit."
Goro snorts, and he pats Akira's head. "You're in trouble."
Akira swats his hand away. "We're six hours away from them, and that's why I took them in the first place!"
"Three if they take the train. But who cares; are you going to share them with me?"
Akira lets go his phone, and he rolls off Goro to lay on his stomach.
"Obviously," he says, smirking at Goro. "Time for dinner."
He crawls out of their blanket fort, and when he comes crawling back in with a big jar filled with chocolate, he shakes the jar at Goro with a mischievous grin.
"Jar one out of three."
--
You | 23:17 :: Hi, mom. I arrived here quarter to 2pm.
You | 23:18 :: I'm sorry I didn't text you immediately. Akira had a lot of things he wanted to do.
Akechi Natsumi | 23:22 :: Thats ok dear. Im glad you arrived safe. Im sure akira kept you busy. You had dinner already?
You | 23:22 :: Yeah. Akira's treat.
You | 23:23 :: He also says hi back, and that he'll miss your burgers.
Akechi Natsumi | 23:24 :: :D ill miss him too!
Akechi Natsumi | 23:26 :: Did you tell him about the chocolates?
You | 23:26 :: Yes.
Akechi Natsumi | 23:27 :: Did he share?
You | 23:28 :: He can't say no to me.
Akechi Natsumi | 23:29 :: XD
Akechi Natsumi | 23:33 :: Well thats all hana wants to know. As long as hes not keeping it to himself, shes not mad.
You | 23:33 :: He firmly believes he's in trouble.
You | 23:33 :: I won't tell him.
Akechi Natsumi | 23:38 :: Just dont let it go too far. And you should go to sleep. Arent you going to Kousei tomorrow?
You | 23:38 :: Oh, I am...
You | 23:39 :: Good night, mom.
Akechi Natsumi | 23:40 :: Gnight goro.
Akechi Natsumi | 23:41 :: I love you.
Akechi Natsumi | 23:42 :: Take care always.
Akechi Natsumi | 23:43 :: Ill miss you!!
You | 23:44 :: I’ll miss you too, mom.
You | 23:44 :: Love you too.