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The faint sound of sniffling and hushed cursing beside him breaks him from his immersion. Had he been watching with anyone else, Goro would've already snapped at them for fussing about and fucking with his viewing experience. If they wanted to be emotional they could be emotional when they're watching on their fucking own. All this, as politely as possible, of course.
But he's reminded. He's with Ren.
"You're... crying?"
"Well yeah! Look!" Ren gestures vaguely to the direction of the TV, depicting a scene of two people amidst tearful farewells "Aren't you even a little teary eyed by that?"
"I mean..." Goro hesitates. Several expressions briefly flit through his face, as if considering carefully what words to say. In the end, he decides against mincing his words, "...No, not really."
"It's just that..." Ren wiped his tears as he sniffled. "It's--" Fuck.
What a night, huh? Imagine breaking down in front of the love of your life while watching a fucking anime movie, of all things.
Ren tries again, this time pushing through feeling of dread and embarrassment in his stomach. "It's... you know. Found family and community..." He cuts himself off once more with a sniffle, "Ever since I arrived in Tokyo... I've always been..."
Ren trails off into silence. God. He's done it. Sunk into the depths of embarrassment, and still unable to express his thoughts fully while in this state of emotional devastation. Might as well go the whole way through and cry anyway, right?
Goro, on the other hand, doesn't know what to do in this situation.
He looks away from Ren back to the harsh glare of the small TV screen where the final scene of the film happens as the dramatic music swells. Then back to Ren, who remains beside him, now weeping in silence, tightly hugging the singular pillow on the bed. Then back to the screen as the credits roll in. For a while, it's a back and forth of just this. Ren, the screen and back to Ren.
It's not that he doesn't feel anything. It was a sad movie with an even saddening ending, to boot. It's well written and it certainly pulled at the emotional heartstrings, but not enough to elicit tears from him specifically. Goro's had to deal with worse than this. The ending of Featherman Genesis is certainly a good contender, (but Ren doesn't need to know this).
It's just that now it's a bit awkward isn't it? That this boy, pretty as he is, is now crumpled and emotional and crying as the film intended its audience to do. Yes, it's an inevitability that different people have different preferences but now Goro just isn't certain what specifically to do.
If he were to utilize his Detective Prince persona, the polite thing to do in this situation would be to feign sadness as well in order to commiserate with the other party. And through teary eyes offer shallow words of affirmation as they continue on to talking about superficial topics.
But it's just him and Ren. Alone in Leblanc. Watching a sad movie. This was no place for masks, as the other boy had told him earlier in the evening. They were here to unwind and fully enjoy the evening as themselves. Without Morgana, Sojiro, Futaba or any of the others.
Just he and himself.
Goro, though still lost and clueless, feels like he has to do something. Wordlessly, he reaches out and grabs Ren in a sort of loose side hug. Okay he doesn't truly know if this is what he's meant to do here, but he's trying his best, alright?
Startled from his melancholy, Ren quickly picks up on this and adjusts, discarding the pillow to the side and positioning himself that he's lying on his stomach and on Goro's lap. He huffs as he crosses his arms and buries his face on them. His voice is muffled as he speaks, "Absolutely no tears, huh? Even while I'm out here crying my heart out?"
Goro's lips thinned into a small smile as he runs his hand through Ren's soft hair, "No, unfortunately none."
There's a long groan from Ren. His cry of despair sounding significantly drained due to how much he's cried. In a more quiet, but still audible volume, Ren mutters, defeated, "Fuck you, man."
Goro full-on smiles. "We both know you don't mean that."
And Ren hates how he can hear his grin despite not being able to see it. He hates how fucking crazy it makes his heartbeat go. Good fucking god. The effects of Goro Akechi on a man. Muffled still, he replies "No, I don't."
Ren shifts his position once more, so he's lying on his back staring directly at the brown-haired boy above him and is met by the full-force and potency of his smile. Fuck. His heart really is going crazy. He pouts anyway, in spite of how he really feels.
Goro raises an eyebrow, grin turning slowly into a teasing smirk, "I'm sorry I didn't cry over the movie, Ren. It will most certainly happen again."
Ren sighs, "It's okay, no need to say sorry." His pout is quickly replaced by a shit-eating grin. "I think it's really fucking cute. I like that about you."
Thank god for the dim lighting, because Goro's pretty sure he's flushing red. Suddenly the wooden beams of Leblanc's attic seem far more interesting to look at. Fucking hell.
"Y..." Goro inhales sharply, in an attempt to compose himself, "You really don't hold back, don't you?"
"Of course, why would I? I love you that much."
Goro buries his face in his hands and groans. Fine, Ren Amamiya, you fucking win this round.
"Just... shut up and pick another movie."
Ren's grin widens as he stands up to remove the CD from the vcr player. "Right riiiight. Coming up! Our eleventh rewatch of Featherman Genesis."
In the small room, where it was just the two of them, everything was equally too hushed and too loud. Every movement, every footstep, every heartbeat is audible in the small, intimate space between them. And though it was quiet and muffled and from a small distance, Ren hears Goro's voice behind him as loud as if he could've yelled it.
"I love you too."