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Goro Akechi was, above all else, a liar.
This, he reasoned, was not his fault. He blamed it in its entirety on his deadbeat, son of a bitch father.
But, in all fairness, he lied to everyone; he lied to his father, he lied to his coworkers, he lied to his teachers, and- the worst sin of them all- he lied to Ren Amamiya.
Ren Amamiya. Phantom Thief. Attic trash.
Ren Amamiya: currently asleep on Goro’s shoulder.
Ren Amamiya, who insisted on seeing this movie together and now snored just loud enough to grate on Goro’s nerves.
Ren Amamiya Ren AmamiyaRenAmamiyaRenAmamiyaRENAMAMIYA.
Ren Amamiya, who made Goro’s heart skip too many beats. Who made Goro want to reach into his chest, into both of their chests, and rip their hearts out with his bare hands, to squeeze them until they stopped beating so loudly, until they stopped beating so agonizing for each other. He wanted to crush their hearts under his polished boot heel, to end their miserable suffering together.
He’d tried, of course, to see, to know, to destroy Ren’s heart. But, go fucking figure, Ren Amamiya was, by all means, perfect. He didn’t have a shadow- at least not one that Goro had ever managed to find. He’d spent hours running himself ragged in Mementos after their first few meetings, trying so desperately to find all of his deepest, darkest secrets. He’d wanted to know him, to see the truth behind his guarded expression and everything that was wrong with him. He’d wanted to see him for what he was: delinquent trash, a pathetic waste of space whose own parents didn’t even want around. Someone Goro could relate to, in that regard.
Goro craved the worst of him, he wanted to tear him down with his own two hands. He wanted to eat Ren’s heart raw. He needed it.
That was before he’d connected the dots, of course. He knew now that there was no shadow wandering around Mementos wearing Ren’s face like a mask. Instead, there was only Ren. wearing it in the real world, workshopping himself behind his glasses. There was, and possibly never would be, no knowing him as he truly was.
But that didn’t mean that Goro was simply going to roll over and give up.
Sure, it was unfamiliar territory. It made his throat tighten and his brow sweat with the thought. It was awful work, lying and needling the real Ren out of his many personas, but it was worth it. He wanted to know every inch of Ren, every detail of his past, every horrible thing about him. He wanted them to be the same, to share a cursed, rotten core. And he would put in the work to find it.
How pathetic he was. Obsessed with this boy, needing to know him like he needed to breathe, knowing that he was going to put a bullet in his head in only a matter of days. Knowing that he would be watching the blood pour from his head and that he’d probably be smiling about it. And, if he was being truthful, knowing that he could very well be killing both of them with one shot.
But Goro Akechi was, above all else, a liar.
And so he lied to Ren and he lied to himself. He played his role in the Phantom Theives with ease, playing pretend in his ridiculous prince costume while Loki roared in his mind, begging to be let free.
He lied to Ren to break down his walls, to learn his deepest, darkest secrets, whispered under the cover of night and never spoken about in the morning. And then he lied to his bastard father, in the days after, relaying nothing of weaknesses shared in the cafe attic.
He needed to get a grip. Ren was an obstacle. A bump in the road. An annoyingly persistent email scam in the grand scheme of Goro’s plan. And besides that, he’d be dead in less than a week.
He’d be dead and Shido would be next. Goro’s concave, decrepit chest could finally rest.
He’d be dead in a week, but for now, the fool was asleep on his shoulder, while Goro’s heart tried to beat its way out of his chest.
Go figure.
It wasn’t even a good movie. But when Ren asked, he would lie and say that it wasn’t so bad. A small lie, another friendly acknowledgement to gain his trust. To gain his heart, his mind, his lips. All of him, falling for Goro’s lies.
He only had so many days left to shatter the glass between them.
Ren finally shifted as the credits began to roll, having managed to sleep through every poorly shot explosion only to be woken by a bad cover of an old rock song. He shifted off of Goro’s shoulder and Goro tried not to long for the warmth he took with him.
Ren blinked at him lazily, covering his yawn with the back of his hand. Goro wanted to grab it, to rip it out of its socket and hold it forever.
He picked at his gloves absentmindedly.
“Want to get coffee?” Ren asked.
“You won’t be able to sleep tonight,” Goro pointed out as the theater lights slowly started to glow back to life.
Ren yawned again. “I think it’s too late for that.”
“Sleep is important for your health,” Goro reminded him cheerfully. As if it Ren wouldn’t be dead in a few days anyways. “Besides, Morgana will give you an earful.”
“Just get coffee with me,” Ren laughed, his nose scrunching under his glasses.
Goro wondered what secrets he would learn tonight. What pieces of Ren he could collect, to remember him by after he bleeds out in the interrogation room.
To be the last person to see Ren Amamiya alive would be Goro’s consultation prize as his heart bled in time with Ren’s head wound.
He knew better than to lie to himself about that. He had to be so particular about everything: his looks, his public image, his fake personality. He had to be aware of himself at every moment. And he knew that he would be chasing Ren’s ghost for the rest of his life.
But there was no other way.
“Fine,” he finally agreed. “Let’s get coffee.”