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It’s not even evening yet when Akira comes back home, holding a bag behind his back so Goro can be kept unaware even few second longer. Even if the ravenette already informed him of being back earlier, Akira bets the brunette doesn’t suspect a thing. He creeps inside his own kitchen, spotting Goro busying himself with his phone while snacking on the leftover sushi they ordered a day before.
Goro doesn’t even have a chance to greet him properly before Akira exclaims with the voice of an announcer, “Goro Akechi, are you ready?”
The brunette freezes, his head turns around slowly to look at his boyfriend, a piece of food still stuck in his mouth. He swallows the sushi but remains silent, staring at Akira with wide eyes unsure of the reason for his strange behavior. It’s fine, Akira will make sure this expression stays with Goro for the rest of the evening.
“For what…?” the brunette finally asks, not moving even an inch from his previous position. Oh, the horrors that are about to unfold Akira can’t even imagine.
Goro might have dealt with Metaverse for years, might have dealt with fame and its repercussions, with the political world and its intrigues and schemes, but it pales in comparison to what Akira has planned for him.
“For the gauntlet of terror, the one which makes many cry the tears of misery, the ultimate friendship ender!” Akira exclaims dramatically, seeing how with every word Goro’s face looks progressively more unimpressed. It’s clear the brunette isn’t going to take this seriously, but it will only make destroying him so much easier for Akira.
“Go on.” Goro says nonetheless, humoring the ravenette. His face is as blank as it can be.
Akira sighs, finally walking up to Goro and placing the bag in front of him. “Futaba kept bugging me several days in a row to play Mario Kart with her, so I thought we can try it out. What do you say?”
Akira never took Goro for someone even remotely interested in games, and the confusion on his face gives him away even without Akira’s suspicions. Sadly, what Goro lacks in knowledge, he will make up with abruptly changing the subject to his advantage. “Akira, I told you not to sacrifice the time you can spend with others for my sake.” he shakes his head with concern. He does it anyway, but the brunette doesn’t need to know that.
“No no no, listen. I had some time to spend with her today, but she sent me off telling me she has a ton of homework to catch up on. So…” Akira takes a controller out of the bag, “I thought we can knock ourselves out, hmm?”
Goro looks unsure, frowning slightly and saying quietly, “I’m… not sure… I was about to-“
“Alright, it’s settled then! Come on, let’s set it up.” Akira interrupts him before Goro has a chance to decline completely. There is no way the ravenette will miss an opportunity like this. Besides, there is a catch Akira hasn’t explained yet.
He takes the bag and puts it on the table in the living room, Goro following him reluctantly. Their TV isn’t exactly an ideal size for an occasion like this, but it’s the biggest one they could afford, and one Akira is certainly not going to complain about. He puts the console next to the TV, the rest of the bag’s content still hidden away while Goro observes from the side.
“Have you ever played Mario Kart?” It’s more of a rhetorical question, but Akira hopes he can at least ease Goro into the world of games this way.
There is no response, so Akira turns around to see the brunette frowning with disappointment. “Oh wait!” Goro suddenly perks up, “Are you by any chance talking about the gauntlet of terror and the ultimate friendship ender?” he mimics Akira’s tone from before.
It’s Akira’s turn to frown, “Alright nerd, let’s see if your gaming skills are as good as your sassiness.”
The ravenette turns on the console, quickly switching the games on the main menu to reveal the one he’s looking for. Once they’re greeted with the main screen, Akira pats the seat next to him, prompting Goro to sit down. When the brunette reluctantly comes closer, Akira hands him the joystick. “I’m sure I don’t have to explain the rules of a racing game.”
When Goro slowly nods, Akira goes on and explains the basic controls, seeing how his boyfriend’s expression gradually changes from hesitance to concentration. Akira watches with amusement how Goro’s eyes begin to gleam with a competitive spirit slowly rising to the surface. “But! Since the basic rules are boring, I thought we can spice them up a little.” Akira says at the end of his explanation.
He reaches for the bag, taking out few bottles of beer and placing them on the table. He really hopes Goro won’t mind it too much, but their life became so boring as of late that any change in their routine should be a welcomed sight. Besides, a chance to see drunk Goro is way too tempting. Akira just hopes he’s not going to end up wasted after just one bottle.
“I see you’ve been hanging out with Ryuji recently. Talk about a good influence…” Goro sighs.
“Come on, you didn’t want to go to the party last week so I brought the party to you.” The brunette seems unconvinced. “And you get to have the best company for that one too!” Akira leans closer to Goro, nudging his side lightly until the brunette smiles softly and shakes his head.
“Alright. I suppose it won’t hurt.” He grabs one bottle and places it in front of himself. “I should warn you, though. I’m not the nicest person under the influence.” That’s certainly good news.
“If I can’t handle you at your worst, then I don’t deserve you at your best.” Akira grins at him.
Goro frowns, “Keep talking like that and you won’t get to handle me at all.”
“Oh ho! We haven’t even started drinking and you’re joking like this already. This is going to be fun.”
Akira decides it would be better not to throw Goro in at the deep end and start with a simple track, so once they choose their characters the race starts. Surprisingly, even with Akira’s expertise Goro is a fast learner, catching up to him even despite few slip-ups. They’re still in the middle of the race and Akira already regrets choosing Goro as his opponent, watching with horror how the brunette chuckles darkly every time he shoots the shells at Akira to see him spin out of the track. Still, no matter how natural Goro is at Mario Kart, he ends up in the second place.
“One more.” He announces after the final results show up on the screen. Akira agrees, there are still some power-ups Goro didn’t pick up and it would be unfair of him to start their tournament without him not understanding the game fully.
Despite his previous reservations Goro seems to enjoy himself more than he lets on. Akira smiles with delight every time the brunette laughs at the misfortune of his opponents, grateful that he’s too far in the first place for anyone to be a real threat to him, but scared of how formidable player Goro is going to be during one-on-one race. The second run ends with Akira being the winner again, and Goro finishing on the seventh place after a close encounter with a Chain Chomp.
“One more.”
Akira supposes there is no harm in going again, even if the next race will probably end up with him losing, seeing how fired up Goro is after his last defeat. So Akira’s not entirely surprised when he takes the lead, only to see Goro grinning mischievously from the corner of his eyes and noticing the blue shell the brunette picked up. When the last lap is nearing the end, Goro sends the game ender Akira’s way, swerving to the side to avoid explosion and winning the race, Akira not quite catching up to the rest and finishing on the fourth place.
“Why do we need the alcohol for this?” Goro asks, conveniently sparing Akira from his gloating over the victory.
“Now that you got the hang of it, it’s time for the real challenge.” Akira opens the bottles. “We’re going to play one-on-one, and we have to finish the whole beer during only one race.” Akira ignores the daring spark in Goro’s eyes. It seems he’s going to get more than he bargained for.
“You can’t finish the race before finishing the bottle, and you can’t drive while drinking. If you want to take a sip you have to pull up.” Akira ends the explanation.
“I thought it’s a crime to drink and drive.” Goro smiles at Akira but the smile turns sour after noticing the ravenette’s grin.
“Then handcuff-“
“Finish that sentence and I’m going to pour this whole bottle on you.” Goro says with an edge to his voice.
Akira stays silent, proceeding to choose the next track instead, seeing how both of them are more than ready to take the challenge. But he’s not going to go easy on Goro anymore. Now that he knows just how natural the brunette is at Mario Kart, it’s time for the true fight.
The rainbow road shines from the screen, Akira laughing quietly at Goro’s obliviousness.
When the race starts, Akira feels confident he can beat the brunette even without their extra task. He doesn’t want to pull up yet, the sight of watching Goro fall endlessly on every turn too much of a treat to miss. And yet, when they finish the first lap and Goro is turning and sliding with a grace of a pro, stubbornly staying on the track, Akira can’t wait anymore. He pulls up, quickly taking a few big sips from the bottle and going back into the race.
But Goro still shows no sign of stopping any time soon.
“You think that maybe… you can stop for a few seconds, hmm?” Akira tries to persuade him.
“I can’t pull up, I’ll fall out of the track otherwise.” Liar.
During the second lap Akira tries to finish the bottle, still having few sips left when the third lap comes around. Unfortunately, while he’s worried that Goro is blatantly going to ignore the bottle in front of him, Akira can’t overlook the fact that he’s losing by a long shot. When he was busy drinking his beer, Goro stayed focused enough not to fall out of the track even once, and even if he’s going to cheat Akira has to admit he’s impressed enough not to get mad over it.
He already accepted his defeat when Goro makes the last turn with the finish line in sight. What he didn’t expect is Goro stopping right before the end, taking the bottle and drinking the beer in few quick swigs. He stops midway, taking a deep breath and glancing shortly at Akira, the ravenette so shocked by the sight he loses his focus and falls out of the track. Goro laughs, and not taking his eyes off the screen finishes the bottle. He only needs one quick push to secure his victory after this.
It’s useless for Akira to try and finish the race, but not wanting to give Goro more satisfaction out of this than he needs to, the ravenette finishes the bottle and reaches the end several seconds after Goro. Something tells Akira that he’s going to be the winner in the end, racing or not.
“Alright, I suppose I can accept defeat this time.” Akira says, already feeling the fuzziness slowly taking over his mind. He can’t imagine how bad it will be for Goro after gulping down an entire bottle in one go.
Despite looking smug only few seconds ago, Goro looks confused. Akira can’t stop the snort that escapes him when instead of speaking Goro hiccups a little, quickly covering his mouth.
“Think you can manage another one?” Akira asks, taking more beer out of the bag. It’s not that he wants them to become alcoholics, it’s just that no one ever got drunk on only one bottle.
“Bring it.” It seems that Goro is either feeling adventurous or the alcohol is already clouding his brain enough not to keep him from making stupid decisions. Akira won’t complain either way.
During their second race it’s getting increasingly more obvious that the both of them are getting worse with each lap. It’s also getting increasingly more obvious that it’s the second time that Goro will use the same strategy, seeing how the bottle in front of him remains untouched. Despite the plan working out for the brunette the first time, Akira isn’t going to be distracted during another race, so he makes sure to stop as rarely as possible and drinking as much as he can during the breaks.
No matter how much Akira wants to win, the sound of Goro’s laughter after each of his falls is enough of a reward. Every time Akira hears it, it distracts him enough for his car to swerve the wrong way and vanish into the space as well, causing Goro to double over and giggle even more. At this point Akira starts to wonder if the second bottle is really a good idea, but before he can voice his concerns the beer disappears of the table, and Goro drinks the entirety of it in few swigs again, winning the race once again and leaving the ravenette to finish his own bottle as well.
Fortunately, that’s all the alcohol Akira had to offer, but even that is not enough of a challenge for Goro, the brunette demanding another race this time with the rest of the players present. Soon enough Akira finally discovers why Goro might not be the nicest person when drunk.
With only the two of them on the track, bumping into each other wasn’t much of the problem, but with all 12 players on the map and the possibility of falling on every turn, the road rage is a valid issue that Akira didn’t take into consideration. The name, however, is as fitting as it can get in Goro’s case, seeing how the brunette throws profanities left and right, stunning Akira into silence.
When the race ends with the both of them too dazed from the two bottles of alcohol flowing in their systems, resulting in less than desirable ranking, it takes all of Akira’s energy to stop Goro from throwing the controller at the screen and explaining that none of their opponents broke the rules.
He’s in the middle of his rant of how Bowser couldn’t have hacked the system and slow Goro’s car down, when Akira is grabbed by the shoulder and silenced with Goro’s lips against his own.
While normally Akira wouldn’t mind the sign of affection, the growl that forces him into compliance is enough to know that the kiss isn’t entirely based on that feeling. He has enough common sense to realize that Goro probably isn’t all that aware of his actions at this point, but Akira himself is feeling way too tipsy to even try and stop him, letting Goro take the lead.
His mind is considering his options while the brunette becomes even more aggressive, nipping at Akira’s lips and drinking up the ravenette’s gasps. There is a distant thought telling him that he shouldn’t take advantage of the situation, agreeing to end their fun there and letting Goro sleep it off. Akira never suspected that he isn’t much of a drinker and the alcohol will hit him so hard after not even an hour passing. All these doubts fly out the window when Goro presses his body against Akira’s, pushing him to lay down on the couch with the brunette towering over him.
With how much force Goro puts into the kiss, Akira is getting uncomfortably aware that the blood from his head is being directed somewhere it definitely shouldn’t be going, but with how little reason remains in his head he doesn’t bother entertaining the thought of stopping anytime soon. Until Goro grinds down against him and Akira’s eyes fly open, pushing the brunette back and sitting up to the best of his abilities.
“Goro, we should-“ He can’t even finish the sentence, Goro’s lips latching onto his own, trying to push him back down.
Akira fights against wanting to surrender to the brunette’s advances, sobering up just from realizing how wrong of him is to lead Goro on. With another gentle push he breaks away from the kiss, “Goro, you’re drunk.”
While he stops struggling against Akira’s grip, his expression shows he isn’t entirely happy to see the ravenette fighting against him. With a low scoff Goro backs away, Akira holding him steady seeing how his balance isn’t trustworthy enough to leave him on his own. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
It’s evident that even just few steps are going to be problematic, so Akira decides to pick Goro up and carry him bridal style to their bedroom. It’s hard enough with his own muscles feeling lighter than they should be, but the brunette isn’t making it any easier when he rests his head on Akira’s collarbone. The ravenette could stay like this a while longer if not for his arms screaming for a break.
It seems that Goro lost all his fighting spirit during their short trip to the bedroom, immediately curling up on the bed when Akira puts him down. He remembers about the game they left running, but when he turns around to walk back and turn it off, Akira feels a hand grabbing his arm and gripping it tightly.
Apparently all Goro manages to say are whimpers and mumbles when Akira tries to free himself from him, making the ravenette chuckle quietly.
“Don’t go.” He finally says. While it’s not a good idea to leave the TV turned on and risk their electricity bill rising higher that it should be, it won’t hurt to humor Goro at least few minutes longer. So when it’s clear that even in his drunken state Goro is capable of mustering up enough strength to hold Akira in place, the ravenette sits down next to Goro, taking his hand in his own.
“I love you.” The brunette manages to slur out, making Akira smile and lean over him to place a gentle kiss on his cheek.
“I love you too.” And while Akira isn’t entirely sure if Goro will remember his words, the brunette smiles and buries himself further into the pillow, his breath evening out soon after.
When Akira is finally free of Goro’s grip, heading to the living room to turn off the game, he wonders if it’s not a bad idea to repeat their little party someday in the future.