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"Aaaaand send" Ren said for the 18th and final time that night, as he finally gathered up enough courage to text Goro. It was a little bit past 3am, and he knew for sure the detective was already sleeping, and that he would not answer right away, which didn't stop him from being awake until 5am thinking about what the answer would be. Every 10 minutes or so he would check the nav chat only to see his last message, "I think that's all I had to say… Hope it wasn't too much jdkdj", still unread, the knot in his chest getting tighter and tighter as he got progressively anxious thinking about Goro's answer in the morning, when he would normally answer the many texts Ren said in the late hours of the night.
The morning came and before doing anything else Ren pulled his phone from the charger and immediately went for the nav app to see what Goro had said.
There was no answer, but the message had been read.
What the fuck.
"He's probably busy, right? He must be doing an interview or something…" Ren said to himself. He checked the clock, it was 11am. Morgana had already left the room and was probably wandering about Yongen Jaya. Ren felt his stomach asking for food so he rose from the bed and walked towards the staircase after changing his sleeping clothes.
"Hey… God, how late did you go to sleep?? You look terrible" was the first thing Sojiro said, looking at the bags under Ren's eyes.
"Good morning to you too", Ren said as he sit by the counter. There was no one at Leblanc yet, but he knew some people would start stopping by for lunch so he wanted to get his breakfast as soon as possible.
"Today i have something special for you… Ta-da!! It's a.. different kind of curry", Sojiro said as he handed Ren a plate of what was very clearly rice and beans.
"Uhm… Thank you?", Ren replied, not sure why the change or why Boss was chuckling watching him eat, as if it was some kind of very funny joke or a prank. He looked at the TV, and the usual news reports were on: weather, traffic, blablabla. Nothing about Goro. A police operation coverage started, which made Ren get a bit tense and attentive, but his boyf- i mean his… friend… was nowhere to he seen.
"You should eat faster", said Sojiro, "some clients should be coming for dinner and Futaba said she had something to tell you".
"Oh, okay. Sorry, i got lost in thought". Ren wondered what could it be that Futaba wanted to talk to him about. Maybe a new Feathermen figure she bought? "Hey Sojiro, did you see any news about Akechi this morning?"
"I don't think so… Why? Did he say something?"
"Uh… It's nothing…" Ren wondered if Goro was doing important police work, and that's why he couldn't answer. God, he probably shouldn't have sent any of that. It would only make the detective distracted. Oh my god what if he was having trouble focusing on his chores because of what Ren had said?? "I… Should go… Thanks for the beans? I guess?"
Ren was so anxious he didn't even see the disappointment in Sojiro's face when he didn't realize his beans instead of curry April Fool's dad prank. Worst of all, Ren's head was so full of Goro thoughts he didn't even realize today was April 1st.
He left LeBlanc and headed to Sojiro's house to meet Futaba. He checked his phone a few times on the way, and still no answer.
He knocked on the door a few times before she opened it, with a desolate look on her face. "Hey, I need to tell you something…". For a few minutes Ren stopped thinking about Goro out of concern for his little sister. He followed her into the house to her room, and she pointed to her collection of Feathermen figures.
"Oh no… Did you lose one of them?? Did any of them break?? Did... Yusuke mess them up again?" he said, trying to see what the problem was. Apparently they were all in place and fine. Ren really liked that collection and he even wish he had four or five of those figures, so if anything happened to them he would also be sad.
"No… It's not that… I… Think I stopped… Liking Feathermen to be honest… You can have my collection, it's yours… I know you wanted some of these so now you can have all of them"
"WAIT REALLY??", Ren said with a mix of excitement and concern for Futaba, as he guiltly quickly grabbed his phone to take a picture of his new acquired collection and send to the Phantom Thieves group chat.
But before he could do that, his mind went blank and the world stopped spinning as his eyes only focused on the notification of Goro's reply.
He didn't even hear Futaba shouting "APRIL FOOLS YA DUMMY", or the notifications of her sending pictures of him being completely still and wide eyed looking at his phone, and Ryuji and Ann respectively saying "He must've received a nude or something" and "Earth to Ren!!".
The only things Ren's brain could process was the notification of his private message with Goro, saying that there were 3 unread messages, the last message being the app saying the detective prince had sent him an image.
The first message went like this:
[12:15] "Oh my… Amamiya, I had no idea that you felt like this towards me… I have to say… I'm... quite flattered if I'm being honest. I'm happy to know that I'm such an important person in your life, and I would like you to know that you're very important to me too. If you really have feelings for me please know that I feel the same. I like you, I like spending time with you. I like it very much. I wanna spend more time with you… As your boyfriend, if you would want that."
The second message followed:
[12:21] "Haha, these April Fool's pranks are so funny :D You got me for a second! I hope mine was as convincing as yours haha"
And the third one was a picture of a cat he saw on the street.
"REN WAKE UP!!" Futaba screamed, waking Ren from his stasis. "What happened????"
"Futaba what day is it?"
"DUH IT'S APRIL FOOLS DID YOU REALLY THINK I'D GIVE YOU ALL OF THESE?"
"Futaba i think i kinda fucked up", and right after he said that he did the most impulsive thing he could do and picked one of Futaba's 2L bottles of Mountain Dew and drank the whole thing.
"Oh NOW you really fucked up", she said as she watched her brother drinking the whole thing, in shock.
Ren checked his other notifications, and it was right. On the Phantom Thieves group chat there was nothing but little pranks:
-PHANTOM THIEVES-
[9:47] YUSUKE: "Good morning everyone, I would like to announce that I'm quitting the arts world to become a gaming streamer"
[9:50] RYUJI: "WAIT, FOR REAL??"
[9:52] YUSUKE: April Fool's! Haha :)
[9:54] RYUJI: Damn, I thought we could stream together someday :(
[9:55] YUSUKE: I mean, we could do that regardless, it might give me some inspiration
---------------
-PHANTOM THIEVES-
[10:20] ANN: (picture of Morgana) "Guys i'd like to announce… I'm getting married to Mona-chan"
[10:21] FUTABA: Ever since I saw that your Phantom Thief name was Panther i knew you were a furry…….
[10:23] ANN: (audio message) "*Morgana voice* DON'T CALL LADY ANN A FURRY!! But if she was one… There would be nothing wrong with that!! Anyways APRIL FOOL'S IT'S JUST A JOKE… We're not… Getting married for real… *crying cat noises*"
[10:25] YUSUKE: "Oh that's a shame… I would offer myself to draw a commission of your fursona if you'd like."
---------------
-PHANTOM THIEVES-
[11:15] MAKOTO: "Guys, what's a furry?"
[11:17] HARU: "Oh, Mako-chan… Baby…"
[11:18] MAKOTO: "GUYS I WAS JOKING, APRIL FOOLS, I KNOW WHAT A FURRY IS"
[11:18] MAKOTO: "No one has faith on me :("
[11:19] MAKOTO: "Also Haru you showed me your fursona already!! It's cute by the way…"
[11:20] YUSUKE: "Painting a sheep's wool proved to be a challenge, but I'm to this day happy with the result of that drawing! Thanks for commissioning me, Haru :)"
[11:21] HARU: "Thank YOU for making it so fluffy and cute! I'll commission another one when you open commission slots again ^^"
-------
-PHANTOM THIEVES-
[12:18] ANN: "Guys Akechi-kun believed my prank!! I love him he's so funny"
[12:18] ANN: "ALSO HE ALMOST MADE ME BELIEVE YOU TWO WERE DATING, REN"
[12:19] ANN: "I said 'oh i love april fools' and he said 'oh' 'me too, haha'"
[12:20] ANN: "He's a sweetheart"
-----------------
"I'm a fucking idiot" Ren said, with both hands on his face. "I forgot about April Fool's and confessed to Akechi"
"YOU DID WHAT?", screamed Futaba, "The one time you don't come for us to help with your crush THIS happens… I can't believe it"
"WHAT THE HELL DO I DO NOW? Wait I know, I'm just gonna stop talking to him forever and going out and I'll just hide in your room forever now you have a new roommate congratulations Futaba"
"Seriously if you don't shut up right now I'm gonna assemble everyone to have a Joker Crush Therapy Session is that what you want?"
"Oh no… Please I can't survive any more of those"
"Good, now cease this gay panic and go talk to him to make it all clear"
"Wait do you want to make me cease the gay panic or make it skyrocket?"
"REN YOU HAVE TO TALK TO HIM"
"You know I can't do that… What are you doing??"
"Calling Ann… She's better at this than I am… Oh she was already coming to bring Mona back. Good. Meanwhile I'm gonna get you some water cause you seem like you need it."
"Me??" he said, shaking, "Why would i need that? I just need Mountain Dew"
"OH NO YOU DON'T THAT'S MINE"
-----------------
"Where's Ren?" Ann said, as she and Morgana followed Futaba into the house. Futaba put a finger over her lips demanding them to be quiet, as Ren was acting like a scared cat and would just parkour out of the bedroom window to escape with any sign of their presence.
Futaba quietly opened the door of her room, but Ren was nowhere to be seen. "Oh my god did he escape?", she asked, but Morgana, sniffing the air, quietly walked towards the closet and pointed at it with his tail. Ann didn't wait a single second and opened the closet with full force, revealing a curled up Ren inside it, who just let out a single gasp before admitting defeat.
"Ren this isn't like you!!", Ann said, visibly disappointed.
He mumbled something.
"SPEAK LOUD"
"I… know...mmmmmhh"
"Why are you so nervous you talk to him every. Day."
"What if he hates me"
"I JUST SAID YOU TWO TALK EVERYDAY"
"Yeah but like… What if I'm just annoying him?"
"Oh my God i thought we were over this already, Ren!", she points at Ren's phone, "have you replied yet?"
"WELL OF COURSE NOT I'M BUSY HAVING A GAY PANIC CRISIS ALSO IT'S NOT LIKE HE-", Ren pauses, just like he did before.
"IT'S NOT LIKE HE WHAT?", Futaba, Ann and Morgana scream at the same time.
--------
-GORO AKECHI-
[13:12] GORO: "I apologize if my prank was not funny. Please know that you're very dear to me."
[13:15] GORO: "What do you say about going to that nice Jazz place we went to last week? It's okay if you don't want to or can't go, no problem. I just wanted to talk to you to make sure it's all right between us."
---------
"Oh my god", Ren says, "Guys I think I'm in love".
"Oh you THINK?", Futaba says as she opens her room door, "Now get out and get ready for your date"
"And also reply his texts!!", Ann said, "You get all anxious when he doesn't reply to you but now it's the other way around!!"
"Why would he be anxious?? I'm just…"
"Just a what, Ren?", Ann says, very upset.
"I don't know… He's like, a cool detective… Everybody loves him… I'm… Just a nobody I guess"
----------
-PHANTOM THIEVES-
[13:26] FUTABA: "Guys Ren just said he's a nobody"
[13:26] RYUJI: "Wait is he playing kingdom hearts again?"
[13:26] FUTABA: "No he's not kinning again, he's self deprecating"
[13:27] RYUJI: "TELL HIM TO SHUT THE EFF UP AND THAT HE'S GREAT"
[13:27] FUTABA: "okay"
[13:27] HARU: "Ah it was nice when he was playing… He kept talking about Soriku everyday it was cute"
[13:27] HARU: "Also yes tell him to shut the fuck up and that he's great"
[13:27] FUTABA: "Telling rn"
---------
"How can you call the leader of the mighty Phantom Thieves a nobody?", says Morgana, jumping off the bed and walking towards joker, still on the floor.
"Yeah! You're so cool! And stylish!! And you lead us towards changing the world!!", Ann says, and points to Ren, "You're the light that guides us through the shadows!"
"Oh god that was so poetic" Ren says, looking down, "I don't know, like… What if being in a relationship with me slows him down or something?"
"I'll interrupt your self deprecation to bring a message from Ryuji! He says you should 'shut the eff up' and that you're great! Also Haru says you should 'shut the fuck up' and also that you're great!", says Futaba, typing on the phone, "also they both mentioned when you were playing Kingdom Hearts and Haru said it was cute how excited you were about it"
"Really? Oh God I thought I was just annoying everyone with Soriku…"
"Ren, we literally recorded a full cover of Simple And Clean for your birthday… And Haru also started playing it and she loved it! Yusuke drew lots of fanart for you just to see you happy… Do you see where I'm trying to get with this?, Ann asks.
"That I have no self control and that you guys have no choice but to go with my obsessions cause I talk about it all day and annoy you?"
"You fu- Calm down Ann…", she says as she starts silently counting down from ten, "Okay… No, I mean that you don't annoy anyone, and that we love when you talk to us about the things you like, and Akechi feels the same!"
"How can you know that?"
"How many times did he invite you to get coffee together and talk about Feathermen?"
"I dont know… Five? Four?"
"THAT'S A LOT"
"Yeah but we disagree on a lot of stuff…"
"YEAH BUT HE KEEPS INVITING YOU BECAUSE HE ENJOYS SPENDING TIME WITH YOU!!"
"Which is something that you should be arranging to do with him right now!", Morgana added.
“God, how do you kick bad guy’s ass with such confidence but when it’s your crush you become like this??”, Futaba said.
“Cause… I don’t care if bad guys hate me… That’s kind of my job!”
“GORO WON’T HATE YOU HE LIKES YOU!!”
"Uuuuhhh I still think y'all are wrong but… Okay I'll try…", Ren says as he starts typing, "I hope it's not late for h- WAIT HE SAW IT!!..... HE REPLIED!!!"
"SEE?" they all say in unison.
----------
-GORO AKECHI-
[13:57] GORO: "Oh I'm happy that you saw my text!"
[13:57] GORO: "I'm free around 7pm… Is that good for you?"
[13:58] REN: "Yeah let's go"
[13:58] REN: "That same Jazz place right?"
[13:59] REN: "Also the cat you sent is really cute"
[14:00] GORO: "I'm glad you liked the cat! It reminded me of you."
[14:00] GORO: "Yes, that same place."
[14:02] REN: "Wait how did he remind you of me?"
[14:03] GORO: "I don't know for sure… It's just the same… As Futaba would say… Vibe… I think."
[14:03] REN: "A good vibe or a bad vibe?"
[14:04] GORO: "A very pleasant vibe… I wanted to spend the whole morning taking pictures of him"
[14:04] REN: *crying emoji*
--------------
"Oh my God he's so cute", said Futaba.
"I know", said Ren, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"And he finds you pleasant", said Morgana.
"I know"
"The vibe thing was so awkward I loved it", said Futaba.
"I KNOW RIGHT??", said Ren, looking at her with a very clearly happy smile.
"AANND… He totally wants to go on a date with you!!", said Ann, confident.
"IT'S NOT- It's not a date… We're just gonna talk for a bit"
"Oh honey you got a big storm coming", said Ann, stepping out of the room, "C'mon let's get you all ready to meet your prince"
------------
-PHANTOM THIEVES-
[18:52] RYUJI: "GOOD LUCK MAN YOU GOT THIS!! GET THAT DETECTIVE DICK TONIGHT!! ROOTIN FOR U"
[18:52] FUTABA: "OMG RYUJI WTF i was gonna say that >:(( ANYWAYS GOOD LUCK JOKER"
[18:53] MAKOTO: "Guys, please… Keep it civilized… But yeah Ren if you have the chance go for it :)"
[18:54] REN: "GUYS NO WTF IM NOT GONNA GET NOBODY’S DICK DONT MAKE THIS WEIRD"
[18:55] HARU: "GOOD LUCK ON GETTING THAT DICK REN"
[18:55] REN: "HARU PLEASE NOT YOU ANYONE BUT YOU"
[18:55] YUSUKE: "Good to see that we all know what's happening tonight… I wish you the best of luck, Joker :)"
[18:56] REN: Thanks… I guess… That was weird Yusuke please let's not talk about dicks anymore okay"
[18:56] REN: Maybe I'll invite him on a date tho
{{{Ryuji, Makoto, Futaba and Haru are typing…}}}
-----------------------
-ANN TAKAMAKI-
[18:57] ANN: "Hey, good luck! <3"
[18:57] REN: "Thanks… I'm almost there… He might me waiting by the entrance as he always does"
[18:58] ANN: "And don't forget what I told you!!"
[18:59] REN: "Yeah… No more 'what ifs'... Got it…"
--------------
Turning the corner, Ren saw Goro standing at the entrance of the Jazz Bar. The detective saw him, and waved.
"Hi… Did I make you wait?" Ren asked, looking at his phone and seeing that he got there a few minutes late, and also that his friends were now flooding the group chat with questions about the possible date.
"I mean, considering that I always look forward for our next opportunity to meet, I'd say yes. But no, you're only 3 minutes late, it's not a problem", he said, making Ren blush, which Akechi picked up on and chuckled. "Shall we go inside?"
"Yeah, let's…", said Ren, wishing that he could do like an ostrich and hide his face in the ground.
They climbed down the small staircase at the entrance, and were greeted by a waiter, who led them to a table where they sat down.
"Do you wanna order anything? I think I’ll have a cup of coffee for now.”, Akechi said, handing the menu to Ren.
“Nah, I’m good…”, and Akechi gave the menu back to the waiter, “So, what did you want to talk about?”
“Oh, no problem. So, about… Our exchange this morning…” and with that, Ren’s heart started racing even more than it already did. “You… Did think that my confession was a prank, right?”
“I gotta say… I thought it was real as I was reading it…?”
“And what would you say if it was real?”
“If what was real?”
“...My text.”, Goro said, visibly confused.
“What text?”
“The… Confession… Is something the matter?”
“No, no… If it was real huh?... Hmm…”
The waiter arrived with Akechi’s cup of coffee, and he offered a bit to Ren, who refused. The songstress started to position herself on the small stage, as the band checked out their instruments. “I gotta say… I was… Kinda…”, and he stopped for a second, unsure if he should keep talking.
He looked up to Goro’s face, who started to look visibly concerned. “Sorry… If that made you uncomfortable… We can discuss something else, no problem!”, Goro said as he took a sip from the coffee.
“Oh, no… Sorry I just have to think this through… My head is all… Weird…”
“I’m… Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that. I have to confess I’m also feeling a little odd about this… Did you see the news ab-”
“I think… I think I’d be happy”, Ren said, interrupting him, his thoughts still hazy but at least his mouth was saying things… He just hoped he wasn’t saying anything weird. “I think it would be… As you said… Pleasant!”, Ren said with a smile.
“Oh…”, this was Goro’s time to blush, “I… Found your ‘confession’... Very pleasant too.”
“I think I’m gonna order some coffee… Hi!”, Ren called the waiter and asked for the strongest coffee they had. The songstress started singing, after the first few notes of a bossa nova came by.
People come and they go
Some people may stay with you though
I’m all alone tonight and I kept on
Asking myself questions
“Actually, I have to say I kept smiling while I was reading it... It was very sweet”
Ren’s coffee arrived, and he took a big gulp of it. “Yeah… Same here!”, he chuckled.
“It was nice… To know that you appreciate so much. I sometimes worry that you might not enjoy our meetings, since we disagree so much on so many things.”
Ann’s voice echoed in Ren’s head, but he was gay panicking too much to understand what it was saying.
“You… Worry?”, Ren was very surprised with that information. He never saw that coming.
“Does that surprise you? Does my detective prince posture make me intimidating to talk to?”, Akechi said, a bit disappointed as he looked down into his coffee.
“Actually, yeah! Like, when we see you on TV and such… You talk with so much confide- Oh my God.”
“Is… Something the matter?”
“No no, I just remembered something that Futaba said earlier… About confidence”, he said that, and his eyes went up to meet Goro’s again, “Do you… Do you fear that I’ll stop going out with you?”
Goro’s eyes went back to his cuyp, his face got red. “Yes, I’m afraid that’s the case… Sorry to disappoint you… I’m not- I’m not as confident as I like to sound on my interviews and public speeches”, and he let out a shy and sad laugh.
“Ake- Goro. Listen to me. Look me in the eye.”, and as he did, Ren could feel his heart beating even faster, he noticed his own sweat coming down from his hair, which was probably sticking to his forehead. But he had to ignore all of that. He had a heart to steal and it was time to send the calling card.
But I can’t let fear get the best of me
Someone once said burn my dread, babe
“I get scared of that too. All the time. I fear- I fear that you won’t want me to be by your side. I fear that you will hate me. That every time we disagree, you just won’t invite me again. That when i text you at 3am I won’t see your reply when I wake up. That… I’ll bother you and be a nuisance. That I will get in your way.”
No more what ifs.
“That I won’t have another opportunity to confess to you, like I did this morning.”
Goro picked up his coffee and drank the whole thing in one go.
“What??”, and he started fidgeting with his tie, while looking down at the table. “That would never happen I- I’ll always invite you I love- spending time with you and talking to you and I-”
“I love you”
What fills up my soul is passionate
Music that makes me want to sing
My story will be starring me just like yours
Who knows when it will end
What matters most is how you bring joy to my life so
“Me too… Ren”
“Wait, is this a date??”, Ren asked.
“I… Don’t know honestly? Do YOU want it to be?”
“Nah… I mean, I like this, but… We should… Set another date… A proper one.”
“So this is… An improper date?”
Ren blushed.
“NO I’M NOT GETTING ANY D- I mean, I just wanna get to brag to my friends that I called you to a date, that’s all”.
Goro laughed audibly, putting his hand on Ren’s. “Was that Ryuji?”
“Yeah of COURSE IT WAS HIM!! CAN YOU BELIEVE HARU SAID IT TOO??? AND YUSUKE!! I hate them”. Goro laughed even more.
“Can’t believe I’m gonna be able to finally meet them as your boyfriend”
“Wait what?”
“It’s what we are, right?”
“I guess so… Can I ask you out officially though?”
“Please, be my guest”
“No, YOU’ll be my guest”
He sat up from his chair and kneeled at Goro’s side, grabbing his left hand.
“Will you go on a date with me?”