Chapter Text
In the end, Akechi was right, the plan had worked out perfectly, it was the Phantom Thieves first (and Akira also hoped it'd be their last) job.
Kamoshida got so desperate without his precious medal that he had a breakdown, started being impulsive, acting aggressively and suddenly letting his anger out on some of the poor school walls and tables. The behavior made him lose his credibility with the other teachers and, not being able to take the 'pressure' anymore, he confessed his crimes.
It wasn't really a confession, the best description of it would be "a villain monologue" about how everyone's expectations were forced on him and how it was everyone's fault but his. But the message was loud and clear, Kamoshida was a disgusting, aggressive pervert that thought his actions could be justified by blaming the minors he abused.
Needless to say, he was arrested.
The other students apologized to Ann, Ryuji and even Akira (to his surprise) for accusing and spreading rumours about them. Not that this was going to make anything better, but it was nice to see that they were aware of their mistakes. Also, Mishima became an official Phantom Thieves fan. Akira didn't know how to feel about this...
The bad news came when, on their commemorative lunch together, Ann and Ryuji said they wanted to continue acting like the Phantom Thieves. And not just that, they wanted him to be their leader.
Honestly, what could he do? Steal a medal from a gym teacher in a school with no cameras was a thing, but, targeting people that they knew nothing about and not being found out? That's just impossible, and if he was the leader, the responsibility was entirely his if they failed. He couldn't do it.
"Of course. Let's steal some more treasures, shall we?" Was what he said instead.
He just couldn't say no. He could never say no to anything, could he? Being the leader to a criminal group at 16 wasn't what he wanted, he wished his first mission was his last and that they'd never talk about it again, but of course he'd be thrown into another situation he didn't want to be in just for the sake of helping someone.
Sometimes, Akira felt like he wasn't a real person. He had this pathological need to please and serve everyone and it felt like this was his whole personality.
If Ryuji needed a running buddy, he'd join him, if Ann needed a gossip partner or a shoulder to cry on, he'd be there, if Takemi needed a guinea pig, he was the best choice, if Iwai needed a spy, who better than him, right? The list goes on and on...
He never talked about this with anyone, tho, about how he just felt like an empty body with different masks to please whoever he was talking to. Did he even have a real personality? Did his friends thought of him when they didn't need his help?
He asks himself these questions daily, and kept on asking them while gathering info about Madarame, while discovering Madarame's secret atelier full of stolen art, while Yusuke joined the Phantom Thieves saying he'd help their cause...
It didn't matter, really, he was the leader, but the leader of what? The decisions were mostly made by his teammates, the plans, the ideas, the targets were all decided by them and he just went with it.
His job was to take the blame if anything went wrong, to be the one doing the most dangerous jobs and the one that's always at most risk during any operation. He actually hated that.
"Your coworker left... Can we talk now?" Akechi's voice was hesitant, worried. They haven't talked much since Akira was super busy with school, his part-time jobs (yes, jobs), helping his friends with something and, of course, being a criminal.
"There's people passing by..." He murmured, loud enough just so Akechi could hear him. "It can wait."
"No, it can't, you always find a way to dodge the subject. I've waited enough, you've been avoiding me for too long! I'm worried about you." The ghost crossed his arms annoyingly, not even bothering to hide his discontent. "Please, Akira, talk to me."
He saw the ghost's hand passing through his, trying to hold them, it only made him feel more guilty. He was ignoring the only person that was always by his side, brightening his day.
"Let's talk at home, ok? I'm leaving early today." He heard the ghost sigh but since there were no complaints, he took it as a sign that Akechi was indeed going to wait until they got home.
After finishing a few bouquets and helping with closing the shop, he rushed home, took a shower and now sat on his bed with the other standing in front of him.
"You've been really quiet... Like, quieter than usual. I know you're not a super talker like me but this is a whole new level. What's going on?"
Akira sighed, everything was really complicated and to be honest, he was avoiding thinking about it so he wouldn't feel worse.
"I don't know, I guess I'm just tired."
"Cut the bullshit, will you? I know you better than anyone else so I know you know what's wrong. Why won't you tell me?" Akechi sat by his side. "...Is it something I did?"
"No!" Akira answered immediately, louder than intended. "it's not you, it's me." He started pulling his hair softly. "Promise not to get mad at me?"
Akechi snorted, as if Akira had just told a terrible pun. "You should know by now that I won't ever do that, I'm no role model and I'm also not a hypocrite."
It may not be the best moment to point it out but Akira always found Akechi's sincerity endearing. He'd never sugarcoat something for him or treat him as if he was stupid. It made Akira feel safe around him, he didn't need to pretend to be something he wasn't, that's why.
"I... Don't want to be leader of the Phantom Thieves. I never wanted that, actually... I just- I don't know, I just can't say no to anyone and now I'm stuck with this. It's too much responsibility for me, I don't think I can take it." Before he noticed he was pulling his hair again. "Is it selfish of me?"
"Selfish?"
"Like... Wanting to stop doing something that helps so many people just because I can't take a little pressure... Because I'm afraid of failing them."
"When you put it like that, then yeah, it sounds selfish." The ghost threw himself on the bed, looking at the ceiling. "Good thing that's not the case."
Akechi sighed when Akira showed confusion to what he said. "Akira, you're not afraid because you 'can't deal with failure' as you put it. You're afraid because you're commiting crimes, serious crimes. It's only natural because if you get caught there will be serious consequences, this is not a game. No teenager would deal with this calmly, heck, the adults we know would be a mess too. I honestly don't know how you're still going, it's impressive."
"Maybe, but... It's just a game of pretend to me, I don't like to take all these risks! I feel terrible for pretending to like helping someone- I'm scared all the time but I can't show it because I'm their leader, and if the leader is afraid then who will be brave for all of them?" Akira said it all in one breath, his head hurt.
"You have some options... You can quit, I'll be there with you and if you need, I'll help you with whatever to make sure you're safe... You can also talk to them. They're your friends, Akira, they'll understand, they're there planning robberies with you, I think that's proof enough that they won't leave you that easily."
"Maybe..." He couldn't stop pulling his bangs, it was weirdly addicting. "But what if..."
"I'll be there with you. Through all of it, for as long as you need. I'm your partner, remember? Can't leave my roommate behind."
When he looked up, Akechi was already sitting in front of him. It was hard to describe but the look in his eyes made Akira believe every word, he just knew Akechi wouldn't let him get hurt in any way.
"Thank you, Akechi... I- fuck, I really needed that. I guess I've been taking care of everyone and I just needed someone to take care of me too..." He smiled, genuinely this time, not the practiced comforting smile he used whenever someone needed him.
"It's Goro."
"What?" What the fuck is a Goro and why is it ruining this lovely moment with his best friend?
"My given name... I told you I remembered it. It's Goro. Maybe you should call me that now." The ghost looked a bit flustered, crossing his arms and avoiding eye contact, like he did whenever Akira joke-flirted with him. "But whatever, you don't need to call me that, I just thought you should know."
"It's... Perfect. I can't think of anything that would suit you better." Akira tested the name, repeating it a few times, loving the feeling whenever he said it. "Goro... Thank you so much. I know it's getting boring and repetitive but, I really do wish I could hug you. And I have the feeling you'd smell really nice." He joked.
Goro's eyes widened a little. "Stop saying that out of nowhere! And yes I smell amazing, thank you."
"Can you even smell things? I need to learn more about ghosts."
"Of course I can! I can smell and feel textures, I just can't interact with things, moron! Why do you think I tell you to shower sometimes? You stink."
"Ok let's not ruin our wholesome moment by insulting my smelliness, if we're talking about worse smell, Morgana's winning this competition."
The cat glared at then with way too much aggressiveness, probably planning their murder.
So, yeah, awkward situation, he just didn't know where to put his face right now. He actually wanted to be swallowed by a black hole until his friends just forgot everything he told them. Or until the sun exploded and destroyed earth, whatever came first.
He did what Goro told him to do, the tricky part was that he wasn't used to opening up so anyone except his ghost-roommate, so talking about himself -and even worse, about his insecurities- was like torture. After letting everything out there was this suffocating silence that he swore it was killing him slowly.
"Dude... That- is that how you feel?" Ryuji -bless his soul- was the first one to speak. "We're sorry, man... I guess we didn't see how tough things were for you too, y'know?"
Akira only nodded, avoiding eye contact with all of them. He tried to ease his nerves somehow, pulling his bangs wasn't an option so pinching himself was the best he could do.
"Akira, you can count on us to ease this burden you carry. Leadership may be too much for any of us... Perhaps if we share the responsibility all of us will be at ease." Yusuke chimed in.
"Agreed, we should be equally involved in everything, and from now on if there's anything making us uncomfortable, we talk about it." Ann complemented.
Morgana meowed, he did have a lot of opinions to share.
"Yes, Mona, we also do think that our leader deserves to be acknowledged after all his hard work, especially now that he's helping me after I've been so unfair to him and his friends..." Makoto smiled.
Ah yes, Makoto, it's a long story, she's here now after blackmailing them and being a bit of a bitch, but he won't use that against her, she was just following orders, it's ok. And she was necessary, probably the only braincell the group collectively had.
"I just... I'm happy you're being so nice about this, actually..." Akira chuckled nervously, he didn't know what to say. "I don't normally talk about myself so, yeah, pretty awkward for me."
"Man, let's stop the sad feelings and shit, we should party! We have a new team member and our leader is opening up now, and Yusuke painted something today, probably...there's a lot to celebrate!" Ryuji got up, smashing his hands on the table.
Morgana, clearly bothered by how loud he was being, bit his leg.
"Yes! We should buy some ingredients and have a hot pot dinner!" Ann also got up, ignoring Ryuji's pained scream. "Ryuji's going to help me out with the groceries."
"Huh, why me!?" The blonde shielded himself from the cat's merciless bites.
"Great idea, Yusuke and I can help Akira here with preparations until you get back. Should we split up now?" Makoto chimed in, trying to put some order in the cafe.
Akechi was right. He's always right. His friends did understand him, they weren't disappointed or mad, they were ok with his insecurities, it felt like he didn't need to wear a mask now, he didn't need to disguise to please them because they were already pleased with the way he was. Who would've thought? Not him, never in a million years.
The rest of the afternoon was chaotic. Yusuke tried to rearrange the food in a pleasing way, Ryuji burned his hand trying to cook his pork, Akira's glasses became a fog wall that made him blind. It was perfect and fun. He wanted things to keep like this forever, him and his friends.
It's been almost a month since he robbed a fucking bank and leaked their contacts with the mafia with his friends. It was terrifying at the time and honestly, it wasn't any less terrifying now.
Akira thought that the "mafia" boss was the toughest enemy they'd have. And then Medjed came along. A group of hackers that threatened to expose the Phantom Thieves if they didn't do as told.
Conveniently, Akira found out (not because a ghost told him about it, of course not...) about Futaba and managed to make her join the team. All she needed was support, someone to talk to, to comfort and encourage her. Good thing being the emotional support friend was Akira's speciality.
Futaba was like a little sister to him. She's chaotic, a total menace to society and oh god was she talented when it came to hacking it was almost terrifying. The Phantom Thieves collectively agreed that she was their strongest weapon.
"So, I've been meaning to ask you this but... What's Goro?" Futaba said, looking up from her laptop. It was just the two of them here, Goro's been leaving more and more often, he's been a little distant but still helped him out with PT's stuff. Akira was worried about the ghost.
"I'm sorry... What?"
"I have Leblanc bugged, y'know? You talk to yourself a lot... So, Goro?" She looked at him as if it didn't matter that she had the entire cafe bugged and was actively spying on him. Creep.
"It's... I just talk to myself as you said it, nothing much..." Akira took a sip of his coffee, he needed to change the subject as soon as possible, but then Futaba turned her computer around, showing him a video.
It was a video of him, at Leblanc, it was undeniably a conversation he was having but there was nobody there. The way he looked at specific places as if watching someone, the way he chuckled out of nowhere, he looked happy talking to Goro.
"I mean, if it's personal I won't ask, I just thought it was funny how you act so different, like, free or something... A lot of people talk to themselves too, so... Don't worry"
"Can you search something for me?" He said out of nowhere after staring blankly at the video for a good minute. "I need you to find every possible information about a person."
"Huh? You want to blackmail someone? I can do that but we'll have to discuss payment."
"No, I... This is serious, Futaba, and you can't tell anyone about it, got it?"
She nodded.
"I need you to find what happened to this boy, his name is Goro Akechi."
After Futaba joined their group, working as a Phantom Thief got a lot easier, it felt like having a real life cheat mode, and they weren't afraid of using it.
Their new job was easy. The target was Haru Okumura's father, a new member of the team that they met because Morgana ran away and went missing for three days.
Haru actually found out about their identities (totally not because Ryuji yelled it at the school rooftop while she was there taking care of her plants...) and asked for their help.
She knew her father wasn't a bad person but he was being pulled into shady businesses and she wanted him to get out before it was to late. So of course, not being able to turn down the request of someone in distress, they agreed to help.
Futaba worked her magic leaking chat history, calls and contacts while Haru stole her father's... Spaceship toy?
Well, it was a very expensive toy and it did make him go crazy.
They decided that it'd be better to stop acting as the Phantom Thieves at least for a while, they needed a rest and wanted to enjoy some time with each other doing normal teenage stuff, not criminal stuff.
He was accompanied by his friends most of the time, they always visited or asked him to hang out, it was super fun at first, but then he noticed how everything changed.
"Are you ok, Goro? You seem... In a bad mood." Akira asked from his bed, it was almost two in the morning and he waited up for the ghost to come back home.
Goro's been acting weird lately, leaving the house every day and not coming back until very late, he was quiet and it didn't help that Akira was out with his friends most of the time. He also looked different but Akira couldn't quite pinpoint what changed about him.
"Again with this? I told you a million times, yes, Kurusu, just go back to sleep for fuck's sake..."
Oh, there's also that. He went back to calling Akira "Kurusu" again... It made him sad.
"Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?"
"Goddamnit, Kurusu, go to sleep! Don't you have an important playdate tomorrow or something better to worry about?" Goro massaged his temples, as if holding himself from charging at Akira at any moment.
"I want to spend time with you again, I miss it. You've been different lately... It doesn't feel like we're roommates like before." Akira kept himself from pinching his arms or pulling his hair. He knows Goro hates when he does this.
"And whose fault is that!? Maybe we shouldn't be roommates anymore then! You clearly don't need me around and I can go do what I need to do." Goro finally turned, facing him for the first time for what it felt like days.
"What- no... What do you mean by that?" He got up from the bed, praying that the ghost wasn't saying what he thought he was saying.
Goro looked different, Akira noticed that a few weeks back, but since the ghost's been away for too long or Akira was out all day he could never see what changed. He felt so stupid for not noticing before.
"I'm saying I'm leaving. You can have fun with your group of idiots and your cat, I'm done."
He wasn't crying anymore. The tears stopped flowing down his cheeks.
He looked angry. And it somehow just made him seem sadder than before.
Akira approached him, hoping he didn't look as desperate as he felt."Goro, please. What's happening?"
"It's over, Kurusu. This is how our justice ends. You should go back to your friends and I'll go back to-"
"You can't leave me! We're partners, remember?!" He grabbed his hand. "I can't do this without you, it's not the same."
"Oh spare me of your brainless sentimentality, you proved that you can do anything without even remembering about my existence! I'll be taking my leave now." Goro looked so angry, like he could kill Akira just by staring at him, and that was the problem, it didn't matter how angry he looked, his eyes were sad, betrayed, tired.
"Goro, please, let's talk about this, you're upsetting me..."
"Get- off of me!" He pushed Akira, making him stumble and fall on the attic's floor.
Akira stood there, wide-eyed and too stunned to speak.
"I wish we met when I was alive... We could've been great friends. Perhaps even more, who knows..." With one last, guilt-filled glance, Goro vanished.
Doing his best to ignore the annoying pain, he whispered to himself. "I fucked up..."
Goro's hands were warm.
Living without Goro as his roommate was an experience. A very unpleasant experience if you ask Akira.
The last couple weeks have been the worst. It felt terrible not hearing any snarky comments, nerdy rants or just some teasing throughout the day. It felt like things weren't as fun as they used to be, or perhaps they never were, but the ghost made it seem that way.
When he watched sci-fi movies, Goro wasn't there to comment on every little inconsistency.
When he read philosophy books for his classes, Goro wasn't there to talk about their achievements and his favorite quotes of each philosopher.
When he and Ryuji studied for tests, Goro wasn't there to make fun of the blond calling him a buffoon countless times.
And of course, now, when Akira refuses to leave his room, living like a cave monster under his blankets, you bet your ass it was because Goro wasn't there.
"Morgana, get off the desk please..." He said from his bed, not even bothering to move.
Morgana meowed, getting off the table and approaching the depressed teenager. The cat got on the bed and nudged his shoulder with his nose.
"Mona..." Akira sighed and picked up the cat, hugging him. "I'm a terrible friend..."
Morgana meowed, he started purring as soon as Akira stroke his chin.
"I just ignored him for months. I've never had that many friends before and when met them.. I just ignored the most important person in my life." The cat looked at him. "I'm such an asshole, god... I deserve to feel like this."
Morgana, being a cat, just laid down and went to sleep.
Akira sighed. "Yeah... I'll stop bothering you, sorry."
Finally, after what it felt like days, he got up from the bed and made his way downstairs, he was surprised to see Futaba in one of the booths (weather he screamed when he saw her, you will never know).
"Uhm... Good morning, Futaba? What are you doing here?" Akira suddenly felt very uncomfortable knowing he was still in his pyjamas, and it definitely wasn't "morning".
"It's almost three o'clock... You're still sad... Are you not going to tell us what happened?" She adjusted herself on the booth. "We may be able to help..."
"No, it's ok. I appreciate the concern but, it's something I'd have to do it myself." He sighed. "I'll go change into something that's not my pj's, be back in a minute."
"You might wanna hurry... I've done my research, y'know? Do you still want to know everything about the Akechi case?"
Akira changed and got back so fast you might've thought he learned to teleport. In a flash he went back to Futaba, sitting by her side looking at the laptop screen.
"Tell me all about it."
"Akira, I need to talk to you..." Goro sat on the couch, waiting for Akira to get out of the shower.
"oh, uhm... Can it wait? I promised Ryuji I'd go watch a movie with him today..." He answered.
Stupid. Stupid. He was so stupid!
"Oh, you're back... Can we talk, Akira? I wanted to tell you-"
"Goro, you won't believe this! Haru wants me to help her come up with recipes for her cafe! Isn't this awesome!?"
"ah... Yeah, that's..." Goro smiled gently. "That sounds amazing, I'm really happy for you."
"I'll tell you all about it, I just came by to grab some things, I'll use her kitchen today!"
You ignorant, insensitive, stupid-
"You proved you can do anything without even remembering about my existence!"
It was his fault. All of this.
Akira ran through the busy streets, trying to concentrate on the GPS and the location it was giving him but all he could think about right now was the number of times he ignored Goro, how he abandoned him as soon as had other friends surrounding him.
"you have arrived at your destination." the robot-like lady voice said.
He looked around, the place was almost empty, he could count on his hands the amount of people here.
Searching the platforms and all the boats parked around, it took some time but eventually he sighted a lonely ghost. Sitting on the dock staring at a massive ship, his fathers's ship, the sight broke his heart.
Taking a deep breath for courage he approached the ghost and sat by his side.
"I like to imagine it smells terrible on the inside..." He didn't know what to say, apologizing wasn't enough, the best next thing he could do was to cheer him up. "Why does he need such a big boat?"
"What are you doing here, Kurusu?" Akechi didn't look at him, just hearing his voice made Akira want to cry tears of joy. "How did you know I'd be here?"
"Well... the short version is that I wanted to help you find out about your life. The slightly longer version is that there's nothing Futaba can't hack and I used that to learn more about you..."
There was a moment of awkward silence between them. Akira felt like the first time he met Goro, a little desperate kid trying to get a sad ghost to talk only to be met with the deadly silence treatment.
"Goro, I'm sorry... I know an apology won't really do anything but still... You're the most important person in my life and I treated you like shit, it's- from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry, Goro..." He finally mustered up the courage to look at him. "And I know-"
"Shut up, Akira." Against all odds, Goro chuckled. "Ugh.. you've always been a sentimental fool, it's nauseating... Of course I forgive you. I need to apologise too, don't really want to, but... Whatever, here it goes."
He breathed in as if apologizing to someone made him physically uncomfortable. Maybe it did, Goro's always had the biggest ego.
"I'm sorry I was an asshole, ok? I just saw you and your friends and... And I guess I realised you don't need me. I got jealous and it was irrational and stupid. There, are you happy now?"
"Yeah." Akira laughed. "Yeah, thank you."
They both sat there, this time in a comfortsble silence, the atmosphere changed to something warmer around them. Goro's hair seemed to shine with the sunset's light, he looked like an angel. Akira watched him while the ghost stared at the ship.
"Your hands are really warm, did you know?" Akira said, almost whispering. "You didn't let me hold them that time, but still... I'd like to hold it again..."
Goro finally looked at him, for the first time ever since Akira got here. "I don't know if it'll work... I still can't touch anything else, I tried after I left... Maybe it was just, I don't know..." He looked disappointed.
"Goro Akechi, I'd like to try holding your hand, will you let me!?"
"Huh? Why are you talking like that out of nowhere, freak?"
"Will you, Goro Akechi, let me hold your hand?" He repeated, sounding as determined as the first time.
Goro looked like he was restraining himself not to kick him from the deck into the freezing water.
"Yeah, sure... You can try holding my hand if that's what you want..." He rolled his eyes.
It's probably because of Akira's hopeless romantic mind but it felt like the scene of a romance movie, only a thousand times better than every kind of fiction.
The way the sun set behind them, the way Goro tried not to show it but was clearly hesitant when Akira's hand approached his. The way their fingers interwined and Akira just couldn't breathe when he felt that Goro's hands were indeed just as warm and soft as he remembered. He wanted to do a lot more but just that single touch was so much, everything he wanted and wished for.
By the look in Goro's face, he felt it too. He didn't smile or punched him in the face or actually expressed anything but the soft, shaky, almost silent exhale and slightly widened eyes told Akira everything he wanted to know.
"... I think this would be a great moment to tell you how I've always wanted to hug y-" he didn't even finish speaking, Goro threw his arms around Akira, holding him as if his life -well, not really- depended on it. Akira also didn't spare a moment before hugging him back.
Goro chuckled. "If anyone passes by it'll look like you're hugging the air... You'll look like a weirdo."
"I honestly don't give a rat's ass about what they see, I'm having the best moment of my life right now." Akira sighed, the sadness of those previous weeks vanishing without a trace.
"I think you're superestimstimating my hugs..."
"Goro..." Akira got out of the embrace to hold Goro's face. "I know it sounds stupid coming from an almost seventeen year old that doesn't even know what he wants for breakfast but that's the thing... If there's one thing that I'm certain of, among all my insecurities and dumbness, is that I'm miserable without you. You're my everything. Please... Will you come back home with me?"
"You're so stupid..." Goro sighed as if he was disappointed with Akira's 'confession', but he was smiling nonetheless. "Of course I'm going back." He rested his forehead on Akira's. "It could be because no one else sees or hears me, and I hate that you make me say sappy shit like this but... Yeah I guess you're my everything too."
"Goro..." Akira thought was about to have a heart attack, the beating was so fast he was sure he'd drop dead at any second. "What you said back home... About if you were alive we could..."
"Of course you remember that..." He muttered under his breath. "Akira, I don't know what to tell you... I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable."
Akira could only chuckle at how dense he was. "... I thought you knew already... I mean, didn't I just tell you? You're my everything, Goro, do you think I'd say that to anyone?"
"You mean..?"
He caressed Goro's face. "Can I..?"
Goro only stared at him for a moment as if Akira was insane, it was easier to examine his expressions now that there were no tears in the way and Akira could say that nothing would be more precious than Goro's flustered face.
Not trusting his words, the ghost only nodded.
And then their lips touched.
A simple peck on the lips and Akira was already melting. If his heart was beating fast before, now it's on full turbo mode, he's finally doing what he's been wishing to do ever since he was fourteen (he's not proud of admitting it but it's true.)
A simple peck on the lips, and he could feel his entire body burning and tingling and everything at once. Just a simple peck.
"After almost three years of hoping this day would come... It's finally here." He ignored how his face felt like burning, saying the first thing it came to mind.
"Three- what do you mean three years?"
"It's not my fault you're the prettiest ghost I've ever met!" Akira's hands slowly passed through Goro. Losing his balance for a second, he shifted on the dock.
"I think... My, uhm, material form is pretty unstable..." Goro sighed, again, looking very disappointed.
"Ah, yeah, that seems about right." Akira got up, dusting his pants a little. "Guess I'll have to try hugging you every day until the effect comes back."
"What if it doesn't come back? It took nine years for us to be able to hold each other's hands... We can't just wait around for another ten, twenty years hoping I'll just suddenly be able to touch things again for five seconds." Goro hugged his knees.
"Goro-" Akira knelt by the ghost, offering a gentle smile. "I don't care how long I have to wait, all that matters to me is that you're here."
"I miss being alive... I miss doing things and going out and... If I were alive I would take you on a date, I guess. Would you go out with me if I asked you out?"
"Of course I would! You're a total catch, how could I say no? I'd totally be a stalker. We can go on dates Goro, we could go anywhere you want, I'm happy just having you by my side, even if it means I can only touch you once a month or something."
"Is that so..?" Goro held his chin, a pleasant smile making its way across his face. "I'm taking you on a date tonight then. Do you like jazz, Akira?"
Akira smiled and nodded. "I love jazz."
"Perfect. Let's compensate these last three years you waited for me." Goro got up, he floated closer to Akira.
"It's okay. I'd wait all my afterlife for you too."
"Y-yeah, so- anyway, about that jazz club..." Goro turned to look anywhere but Akira while they both walked back to the train station, leaving the massive ship behind.