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many days had passed since the last time goro had made this commute — the one he used to make every day during his high school years — the one that he dreamed of while he was away. goro was currently sitting in a train that had seen many more people than he would ever meet, traveling to a place that was so familiar and yet so foreign. he fidgeted with the bottom of his button-down, staring nervously at the floor of the train car as his thoughts began to consume him.
what had happened to the phantom thieves while he was away?
what had changed in the time that he had spent isolated from his childhood?
would his former companions even recognize him, after all this time?
most importantly, goro began to think of him . the boy he hated the most, the boy he was the closest to — the boy he loved. he had gone back to his hometown after that hectic year at shujin, much to the chagrin of those he left behind. goro wondered where he was, and if they would ever meet again. his twin flame — gone in an instant, all because of things that were outside of his control — even with how much he thought he was responsible.
“yongen-jaya, this is yongen-jaya!”
that nostalgic voice from so long ago pulled goro out of his daydreams, as people stood and shuffled towards the opening doors. he followed the mindless crowd, tracing in the footsteps of those in front until he found himself standing in the middle of the subway platform. even though he was really only a city away, goro found this place so different from kichijoji. suddenly, his eyes landed on the advertisement board directly in front of him — “ leblanc: best coffee in tokyo! ”
goro imagined himself to be as pale as snow or as red as a tomato as memories came flooding back to him. all those drinks that sustained him through every school day, all the moments he shared with someone who had long since moved on. at least, he hoped so — because in that moment he made up his mind as to his first stop: a small little café, tucked into the stores of yongen-jaya.
but wait, no, that couldn’t be a good idea. he had no clue of the terms he and sojiro were on when he left, and he didn’t want to purposefully antagonize him. who knows whether or not sojiro had kept in touch with him after he got off probation. but at the same time, what was there to lose? he had already lost touch with everyone who had supported him, as well as everyone who had rooted against him from the start. what more did he have to lose by walking into a coffee shop that he’d visited time and time again? it’s not like there was anything important about the place now that his closest friend had returned home. so, goro decided to throw caution to the wind as he climbed the stairs out of the yongen-jaya subway station.
goro was lost. so very lost, which surprised him given how adept he used to be at navigating the streets here. he had passed the second-hand shop, the clinic, the bathhouse, all multiple times. yet somehow, he had not once seen the three-paneled awning with leblanc’s name on it. goro, after much frustration, decided to pull out his phone and open the maps app (which would have helped much earlier if he wasn’t so stubborn). finally, the foreign familiar aroma of coffee and curry wafted in his direction, and goro walked into the café with no regrets — nothing to lose — not at all expecting what would happen in less than a few short moments.
goro took not one, not two, but three steps into leblanc before—
oh, god.
he was there. HE was there. standing in the doorway of the bathroom, holding cleaning supplies, was the boy that goro expected to run into the least. the boy that goro had spent many of his dreams chasing, only to convince himself that their paths were forever diverged. their eyes had met the moment the bell rang on the door; the moment that akira’s habitually looked up to see who the latest customer was. goro’s heart skipped a beat before he felt that familiar pit of dread in his stomach that appeared every time something unexpected happened. he opened his mouth to speak, but he wasn’t the first one to get a word out.
“... hi .” akira sounded almost breathless, his eyes wide open and the bucket of cleaning supplies an ounce of energy away from being dropped on the floor. goro needed to rely on something he hadn’t used in a while, something that worked perfectly for these situations: a placid smile and a shitty joke.
“...it’s been a while since you last made me coffee, huh?” his voice shook (hopefully not at a noticeable level) as he spoke to someone he never thought he would see again.
the eye contact that ensued between the pair lasted for quite a long moment, as they tried to gauge the other’s feelings and perception from a simple glance. goro saw no hate, no fear, nothing he would have expected — instead, he thought he saw joy . but that couldn’t be it, could it? he had left akira in such a way that would have surely scarred him, something impactful in such a manner that the way he thinks would be forever changed.
in reality, akira was very shocked by goro’s sudden appearance, but the electricity that shot through his veins was a positive force. he felt the warm and fuzzy feeling he hadn’t gotten the pleasure of experiencing since his second year in high school. the only person who could ever challenge him the way goro did, the only person who ever made him feel the way goro did; the boy akira adored was standing less than four meters away from him. in goro’s eyes, he saw apprehension and fear, but most importantly a concealed sort of hope . that masked truth behind his eyes was something that akira could always adore.
they broke out of their trance as akira rushed to put the cleaning supplies back in the bathroom, a smile forming on his face. he closed the door to the bathroom, turning to face goro and ushering him towards the nearest table. confused, goro sat down on the booth seat, placing his bag down next to him.
“so.. what brought you here?” akira asked, sitting down across the table.
“...i was just feeling a bit nostalgic.” goro lied between his teeth.
akira smiled, almost as if he knew. “i’m glad that nostalgia brought you here of all places.”
the silence was palpable as goro fidgeted nervously with his hands. he glanced around the room and at the coffee siphon, at the tv, at akira — he was looking back at goro — and then quickly looked away.
“today’s been pretty slow, y’know,” akira said. “maybe you would consider hanging around for a while after my shift ends?”
goro blinked, as a sly grin appeared on his face. “oh, so you work here full-time now? what happened to being the part-timer?”
“what can i say? da— sojiro appreciates my coffee-making craftsmanship.”
“...did you almost just call sakura-san dad ?” goro asked, chuckling.
akira’s expression faltered for a moment, as if goro had managed to break through his charming facade. however, the barista quickly regained his composure. goro worried for a moment, was the question too personal? did he already manage to hurt akira within the first five minutes of seeing him again? did akira hate his invasive nature? did he—
“yeah. yeah, i did.” a soft smile had taken its place upon akira’s lips — almost like a butterfly to a flower — just right, goro thought. “he’s like a father to me, and honestly? he does a better job than my biological dad, so he might as well have the title.” akira spoke softly, almost as if he was trying to earn back respect for such a trivial matter. then, his face lit up as he remembered something.
“anyways, you never answered my question! it’s almost as if you were trying to steer us off topic.. only joking, of course.” that confident tone and that smirk upon his lips came back within an instant. what a flirt.
“well, to answer your question,” goro paused, watching the anticipation build in akira’s expression before finally answering. “sure. i did come here for nostalgia, so this will be effective enough.”
before akira could continue his playful banter, another familiar voice erupted from within the kitchen. “hey kid, what’s going on out there? you’re serving our customers, right? because you better be—” sojiro had emerged from the back of the café, dish and rag in hand as he locked eyes with goro. he froze, eyes wide as he faced one of the things he had worried about when he stepped off the train just half an hour ago.
sojiro burst into a grin, a wistful expression settling into the various wrinkles and creases the man had on his face. “well, look who we have here! never thought i’d see you again after you up and vanished like that.”
goro let out a sharp exhale, glad that sojiro showed no signs of anger or hostility towards him even after abandoning who the man practically considered to be his son. “well, i seem to have made my way here just the same. it surprised me greatly that akira was here again after all this time.” he shared a look with akira from across the table, who seemed to be going through the same nervousness at the interaction as goro was despite not being actively involved.
sojiro cleared his throat, drawing the boys’ attention back towards him. “well, today’s been a slow day, right akira?” the boy nodded gently. “how about you close up early so you two can catch up? i know it’s been a while.” goro swore he saw sojiro wink at akira from across the room, as the tiniest of smirks danced across his face. “and don’t worry about cleaning up, i’ll take care of it. you guys can hang out upstairs in akira’s old room, yeah?”
akira quickly nodded and began to stand up, but goro stilled him with his hand. “thank you so much for your hospitality, but would you mind if i asked for one more tiny thing?”
“go for it.”
“do you think i could get a cup of the house blend before we head upstairs? i could smell it as i was walking in the door and it’s too irresistible not to ask about.”
sojiro let out a raucous laugh, the man having a jovial expression not seen too often on his stubborn features. “of course you can! why come to leblanc if not for coffee, eh? akira, come behind the counter and help me get akechi his coffee before we close up. you stay right there, detective.” akira stood up and shuffled behind the counter, sharing a look with sojiro before turning around to the coffee grinder.
goro flashed the father-son duo a thankful smile, pulling out his phone to pass the time while he waited for the best coffee he’d ever had. as he cleared all the pings from muted group chats and news companies, he heard hushed voices from the other side of the counter.
“...i know you missed him…” some indecipherable speech filled the gaps, most likely sojiro. “...make the most of your time together, okay?”
“i know… i will.” goro caught himself eavesdropping and went back to his device, at this point having resorted to mindlessly scrolling through the social media apps he never uses. all he had to do was wait.
“coffee’s done!” akira called from behind the counter. “house blend, made specially by yours truly.” goro stood up from his seat, grabbing his bag absentmindedly and making his way towards the counter.
“you can take that upstairs, akira can wash it later after i clean up.” akira sighed in disappointment. sojiro heard this and retorted, “it’s a cup, kid. you’ll live.”
goro grabs the handle of the coffee cup carefully, and akira joins him at the end of the counter as they make their way towards the stairs. “be careful, they’re still as rickety as they were last time you came here.” akira warned, causing goro to let out a laugh.
akira motioned for goro to go first, smiling at sojiro before heading up the stairs himself. as the two arrived in yet another place — akira’s old room in leblanc’s attic.
“i always forget how dusty your room was,” goro quipped. “glad to see it still maintains its.. rustic charm.”
akira scoffed. “for your information, this attic is very spacious and luxurious. plenty of room for whatever crap i wanted to do when i was too tired to leave the house.”
goro drew a long sip from his coffee cup, sighing at the familiar taste of the delightful coffee brew. he set down the cup on an old table that propped up an old CRT TV and a DVD player, shifting towards akira’s bed before he sat down on the mattress — the surprisingly thin mattress. had akira slept on this mattress for the entire time he was here? goro could almost feel the empty crates serving as a makeshift bedframe.
“so, this is your old room? where are you staying now?” goro hoped akira was at least sleeping on a good mattress and a real bedframe.
“there’s an apartment complex down by sojiro’s house that had a vacancy when i came back here,” akira explained, sitting himself down next to goro. “the rent seemed cheap enough, so i signed the lease without hesitation and got my job here at the café. dad already knew i was coming, so he took me on pretty much as soon as i got here.”
“well, i’m glad you’re not sleeping on this thing,” goro said softly. “did you really sleep on this mattress the entire time you lived here?”
“yep. it actually gets pretty comfy after the first week or so.” akira grinned, despite his attempt at a joke being more sad than funny in goro’s eyes. “better than what i had back home.”
“...this thing is better than what you had in your hometown?” goro softened the tone of his voice, aware that the topic of the conversation was shifting to something more tender. he stood up and moved across the room to his coffee, taking a sip to steady himself.
akira seemed to shrink a bit in stature, something not going unnoticed by goro. the boy sitting on the bed took a deep breath, his hands clasping together.
“i had a normal mattress when i was a kid — but when i got too tall for it, my parents didn’t really care enough to spend money on a new one… when they could buy a new TV for their room, or a modern sofa for the living room… i asked my mom a few times for a new mattress, but she always said that she slept on the floor when she was a kid and i should be glad i had a mattress in the first place.
“so this,” akira motioned to the poor excuse for a mattress he was sitting on, “was honestly a huge upgrade.”
goro had managed to finish his coffee in the time it took for akira to get that out, with the many long pauses and nervous glances at the floor in between sentences. the tension in the room had built with every word spoken, so taut that not even the likes of damascus steel could have cut it. no sharp jabs or snide remarks would leave goro’s lips at this moment, not a single thing that could hurt akira after what he’d just said. goro was compelled to contradict himself, and so he did.
“akira… you do know that what your parents did was absolutely unacceptable?”
“yeah. not the only thing they did, either — they’re the reason i’m back here in yongen-jaya.” akira took a deep breath before continuing, as goro’s heart nearly stopped. “the moment that i turned eighteen, they gave me the boot and told me to take care of myself. as if i hadn’t been doing that even in their house.”
at this point, akira had stopped trying to put on his confident and suave facade, leaving only a boy who was battered and bruised — by time, and by those who should have been there for him all along — a boy who was currently sitting much too far away from goro. he set his empty cup down and made his way towards akira, proceeding gently in the wake of akira’s past.
“i know i’m not the only one in this room with shitty parents, and you honestly had it worse so i shouldn’t be complaining—” akira started before goro quickly sat next to him and placed a finger on akira’s lips to silence him.
“akira. there’s no point in comparing things that can’t be taken back. what happened to me was terrible, and what happened to you was just the same. all that matters is that we’re both here, and we both survived the challenges we faced.” the two had gotten impossibly close in that moment, the tension in the room had gone from that of fear to that of an innate trust. another moment passed where the two peered into each other’s souls, past any walls or boundaries. nothing could hide how the other felt in that moment, as goro dropped his hand towards the point where akira’s was waiting.
electricity sparked through goro’s body as their palms met, and as he gave akira’s hand a reassuring squeeze. he backed up slightly, giving akira some space to decide for himself whether—
akira had intertwined their fingers together, and goro felt as if the world outside them had ceased to exist. he looked at akira, then at their hands, then back at him again. sometimes he wished akira wasn’t the bolder one, because holy shit was he taken by surprise.
goro was beginning to face an internal panic, his trains of thought colliding and the tracks they were on twisting through one another. despite everything he had done, everything he had put akira through, he was right here holding goro’s hand like nothing was wrong. everything was wrong, goro was wrong, for abandoning akira not once but twice and leaving his fate unknown to someone who clearly cared about him so much. he should have someone who deserves this, someone who deserves akira—
“goro?”
he snapped out of his spiraling thoughts, and met akira’s eyes once more. was that.. concern ? confusion ? goro’s usually sharp skills were muddled by the present at hand, dulled by the warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest as akira squeezed goro’s hand like he had done earlier.
“you look like you have something you want to talk about.” akira correctly guessed. the common thread tying all of goro’s thoughts together, what made him feel the worst and confused him the most: his abandonment of akira.
“...do you ever think about what happened in the engine room, or maruki’s false reality?” goro posed the question with bated breath, his unoccupied hand balling up into a fist at his side. akira’s expression had softened, an image of wistful nostalgia mixed with.. pain . “you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to… i know the topic seems rather uncomfortable.”
“no,” akira answered immediately, “we should talk about this. it’s important to both of us. but what specifically do you mean by ‘what happened?’ there was… a lot going on there, to say the least.”
“i… was quite a selfish teenager. i never thought about how you felt until things had already transpired— until i was long gone from your life. i can’t imagine how much i hurt you, i just.. want to know your side of the story, after all this time only thinking about myself.”
“oh. i— this might be a lot. are you.. do you want me to tell you right now?”
“i think there would be no better time than the present.”
akira took a long pause, withdrawing his hand from goro’s as the warmth faded away. his hands came to rest on his lap, as he looked down at them before he started to speak.
“it hurt a lot, to tell you the truth. there were a lot of aspects to it though, so you can’t be blamed for everything that i felt. first, the engine room. i felt.. betrayed at first, enraged even. you had abandoned the cause, completely disregarded the reason why we did what we did. i was so… mad that you had left that for a while i would spend my days and nights fighting in the metaverse, training, or at the batting cages, or doing challenge battles — anything that i could do to burn off steam. i don’t think i’ve ever been as angry as i was then.
“then, i started to get this pit of… of guilt in my stomach. i started to think that it was my fault you did all of that. my fault that you felt so much self-hatred that you would fight yourself to death. i didn’t really talk to anyone that much, except morgana. he had to deal with the nightmares i started having, the panic attacks, all of it. i guess it was a long time coming, but i visited maruki and he recommended me to a psychiatrist. i got diagnosed with ptsd — not just because of that incident, but because of really, everything i had been through up to that point — and i started spending more and more time in the counselor’s office after school.
“and then, after i had confided so much in maruki, he revealed his… sick plan. the phantom thieves weren’t even the phantom thieves anymore, and suddenly you were back. i didn’t know how to feel, after hearing the gunshots and having assumed you were dead all this time. maruki’s false reality made it a lot worse for me, and i couldn’t even go to him anymore considering it was his fault that this was even happening. all i could think about was you, and how you were there when you shouldn’t be, and how much i had missed you. and then i realized.
“...i loved you, goro. what happened in the engine room ripped me apart— and after i had been put back together with the weak glue of the false reality, beating maruki broke me into pieces. i was completely, totally lost without you by my side; to argue for the opposition, to provide a fresh perspective outside of my own. i loved you since the day i met you, i—”
akira’s eyes had been brimming with tears since about halfway through his speech, and he couldn’t contain the tears any longer as he let out a sob . he buried his face in his hands, hunching over in an effort to obscure himself from goro’s vision. of course, goro wasn’t having that.
goro moved as close to akira as he could, and grabbed his wrists, pulling akira’s hands away from his face. he looked into akira’s eyes, seeing fear and sadness but most importantly the truth . akira had confided in him something that he probably hadn’t shared with anyone else, and he very obviously needed comfort. so, goro let go of akira’s hands and opened his own arms as an invitation – and akira accepted.
he quickly buried himself in goro’s shoulder, as goro wrapped his arms around akira’s back and held him as close as he possibly could. he felt akira’s hands grabbing at the fabric on his back, and he felt the moisture seeping into his sleeve as akira cried. goro’s thumbs began to rub circles on akira’s back, in an effort to help soothe him. after a few minutes, the sobs had become much quieter and infrequent, and goro just had to ask about what he had heard—
“akira?”
the boy sniffled before responding. “..yeah?”
“do you… do you still—” goro’s heart was beating as fast as his mind was racing in that moment, and he couldn’t hold himself back any longer. “do you still feel the way you did? do you still love me?”
he felt the tension in akira’s body diminish as akira raised his head to look into goro’s eyes, his hands moving to goro’s shoulders in a ‘ look at me ’ grip.
“i’ve never stopped loving you, goro.” the determination in akira’s eyes was so poignant, the truth so evident that goro questioned for a moment whether he was in a dream. the warmth and fuzziness came rushing full force at him, hitting goro with the intensity of a hurricane. he felt as if nothing else existed in this moment besides him and the boy who he loved — the boy who had loved him in return all this time.
“...we seem to have something in common, despite our many differences.” akira’s eyes widened, as goro’s hands traveled up his shoulders and down his arms to meet his hands in a tender grasp.
“i may have acted like i hated you, but — akira — i am, and have been in love with you for a long time. when you came into my life, everything in my vision seemed to gain color, things that i heard became less muted — everything became so much better. and yet, i still treated you the way i did… i guess i didn’t know how to handle it. you were the first pang of warmth in my heart, the first comfort to the bitter cold i had gotten used to. and when i made the dumb decision of leaving you not once, but twice — each time, i felt nothing but regret and confusion. we were the best of rivals, perhaps even good friends when we worked in tandem. after the engine room and maruki’s palace, i only wished that i had been brave enough to abandon my stupid vendetta — and perhaps we could have become something more .”
goro let down any walls he may have put up through the tough conversation that he and akira had been through, and akira did the same as they looked into each other’s eyes for the umpteenth time that evening.
“you know, we could still do that if you wanted. we could still be something ‘more’ than just rivals, or friends. i would like that, as long as you were willing, of course.” akira’s boldness came through again, as goro breathed in as if he had never been able to before.
“you would still do that after everything? everything that i put you through?”
“i would do anything, if it meant that i could have you.”
“...then do it.”
nothing could have kept the two apart even a second longer, as suddenly hands were grasping at shoulders and lips were moving closer until they finally made a connection. the warmth exploded within goro’s body as his arms settled around akira’s neck, and akira’s hands moved down to goro’s lower back in a (successful) attempt to pull him as close as possible. two separate lives intertwined in that instant to become one, as two boys finally had what they wanted, even perhaps needed for years — each other.
akira’s hands traced the mere inches to goro’s hips, and goro had forgotten just how strong akira was because suddenly he found himself lifted onto akira’s lap as the kiss broke momentarily. they looked at each other, in admiration, and in love . their lips met once again, as goro felt one of akira’s hands in his hair and the other wrapped around his waist. the moment felt so long, like time had stopped entirely in the interest of a love that might never have come true if it weren’t due to pure circumstance and fate. they were lost in each other, completely enthralled by the warmth that sparked at every moment they were united. eventually, the moment passed, and the two broke apart — goro moving off of akira’s lap to sit down on the bed next to him.
“so, are we..?” goro trailed off, leaving the obvious end to the sentence unspoken.
“goro, will you be my boyfriend?”
“yes.”
“then i’m yours.”
goro couldn’t believe that this was happening, that one glimpse of the advertisement at the station had led to him reuniting with the love of his life — and confessing to him within hours. the world, which had been painted in a muted palette as he had stepped off the train, was so bright and vivid that he could have sworn he was seeing it through a filter. he felt content for the first time, satisfied with all that had led him to this moment. but he wanted to promise one more thing to the boy who had risked it all for him.
“akira.” goro commanded his attention with his tone.
“goro,” replied his boyfriend, with a tender smile on his face.
“i promise that i won’t ever leave you again, for as long as i’m alive. i’ll be here no matter what happens, no matter what challenges we may face — i’ll always be here for you, from this moment onwards.”
akira beamed, and there was no need for goro to even look into his eyes to know that hearing this had eased his spirit.
“well then— won’t you come to my apartment and stay the night?”
“i’ll stay as long as you want me to.”
the two got up from akira’s old bed, making their way towards the stairs as goro grabbed his coffee cup. sojiro had long since gone home, and as akira scrubbed the cup in the sink (at much of his own insistence), goro wanted to ask him just one more question that night— one much less loaded than those before it.
“...do you think you could make me some more of the house blend tomorrow?”