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Akechi was alive.
Akechi was alive, and he was sat at the counter at Leblanc, and Akira had no idea whether he wanted to jump with joy or burst into tears.
Following through with defeating Maruki had been so hard precisely because he had been told he was dead in their original reality. It had taken such intense strength of will that Akira almost didn't want to believe this was real, or what did he go through all that pain for?
Goro politely sipped at the cup of coffee he was nursing. Sojiro had shut up shop early for the day and this was clearly why. After everything that happened in January, the Phantom Thieves had made the decision to tell Leblanc's owner everything that happened so he could be the best support possible for his charge. He was grateful for having that support. Losing your soulmate was a terrible time and Akira was pretty sure he would have finally crumbled if it weren't for Sojiro.
Sojiro, who had apparently decided to shut up shop hours early for Akira's sake, all for this reunion.
Several beats of silence passed as Akira just stared and stared, watching the seconds tick by as the detective drained his coffee to the dregs. Akechi sent the leader of the Phantom Thieves a withering look when he still hadn't spoken after the coffee was gone. It offered him an uninterrupted view of the complex black marking beneath his eye. The soulmate marking, twin to Akira's own. He hadn't covered it up like he used to, and that was what finally fractured something in him. Akira's internal barriers came down.
There was a shattering sound as the coffee cup hit the ground. Goro dropped it when the black-haired boy lunged to tackle-hug him so hard they both sprawled on the floor. An unhappy grunt escaped Akechi as Akira squeezed him so hard his shoulders popped. He didn't care, he was never letting this morbid, self-deprecating, beautiful soul go ever again!
"Welcome home..."
Goro's tense posture loosened a little at the whisper. It softened his edges, causing the detective to put his arms around Akira in return. They laid on the floor holding onto each other (okay, with Akira clinging like a limpet) for what felt like forever. The fact his grumpy other half allowed it was his biggest clue that Akechi was just as relieved to be reunited. All good things came to an end, though.
"Enough, get off. I didn't come back from the dead just so you could give me back problems," his soulmate grumbled, pushing lightly at his chest. Reluctantly, Akira allowed it and got to his feet, pulling Goro up with him. The detective brushed himself off with feigned irritation, a distinct lack of the emotion in his eyes.
Those red eyes slowly looked down to examine the shards of the fallen coffee cup at his feet. Akira had the decency to feel bad for breaking something which belonged to Sojiro's business. He would make it up to him, probably with some extra free labour and a new set of mugs. That didn't matter right now, though; not with his soulmate alive and breathing right before his eyes.
Before Akira could doubt himself he lifted a hand to tenderly cup Goro's cheek. In a gentle motion, he let his thumb ghost lightly over the soulmate mark below that calculating eye. There was no visible reaction in his expression, but after a moment Akechi's gloved hand rose to rest mildly over the top of his own, yet another point of contact to reassure each other this is really happening.
"Do you remember January?"
Akira didn't even realise he needed to know until he asked. So much had happened in that fateful month; their first kiss, the first time they held hands, that heartbreakingly perfect hour prior to fighting Maruki... Honestly, he didn't know what he would do if Goro didn't remember it. How was he supposed to be patient and let his soulmate drop his walls all over again if that never happened to him?
Tension coiled tightly in his chest, squeezing his heart so hard he could have sworn it stopped beating. The answer to this question would dictate where they went from here. It would completely control what Akira could do or how honest he could be with the person he had gotten used to being so open with at all times.
"Yes," Goro murmured in a quiet voice. "Every second."
It was after that Akechi surged forward to kiss Akira like it was the only thing that could sustain him. Everything was desperate pressure, Goro's soft lips pressing close to Akira's chapped ones, their teeth scraping against one another's with force whenever one of them accidentally parted their lips. At some point he had buried his hands into soft brown hair without even thinking, running his fingers softly along the detective's scalp.
When they finally separated for air it felt like a crime. How was it fair for them to not be able to continue forever after everything they went through?
"You honoured my wishes. You fought Maruki and went back to a reality where I was believed dead."
Of course, this conversation couldn't wait. It was going to be vital in where they went from here. Whether or not Akechi could be with him after everything that happened would likely depend on how Akira answered whatever questions were coming. He was unfailingly confident that he wouldn't be losing his soulmate again.
"I did."
"Do you regret it?"
His throat bobbed as he swallowed roughly, the emotions of the choice he made ravaging him all over again. Seeing how happy everyone was living their true lives, though, and knowing just how strongly Goro felt about it... No, he would make the exact same choice if he had to go through it a second time.
"Not a single bit."
"Good," Goro said in an uncharacteristically soft voice, folding his arm over his chest and shifting restlessly from foot to foot. There was a sense of vulnerability he was willing to bet the assassin-detective hadn't felt since he was a child. "In Maruki's reality... He heavily implied that I was there because your greatest wish was for me to live. Why? You have a criminal record, you could want that to go away. You could wish for a soulmate who is less...damaged, one who didn't try to kill you."
It broke Akira's heart that Goro didn't realise how perfect he was for him. Who else would challenge him? Who else would drive him to hold on to his conviction so tightly? They were opposites and yet not; the sun and the moon, the sea and the sky, light and dark. Neither of them could make sense without the other, not anymore. They were in too deep.
The leader of the Phantom Thieves raised both hands to cup Akechi's face once more, tenderly angling his head so they were gazing into each other's eyes. Looking at him like this made everything feel so simple. Goro was Akira's greatest wish, because there was no universe where he wouldn't be. Pressing their foreheads together and leaving their lips only inches apart, Akira whispered lovingly.
"You're all I ever wanted. Everything I wished for myself. Things have been so complicated, but you're my soulmate, Goro, and there will never be a time where I don't want you with everything I am."
Another lull passed over them, the silence significantly less charged and more romantic this time. Despite everything with Shido and Maruki, the two of them had made all the right choices to find each other again. This time, they would never let go.
"You're a shitty walking cliché."
Immediately, they separated from each other. Akira took Goro's prompt to lighten the mood, knowing they now had time - wonderful, precious time - to have all the necessary serious talks. The rest could come later. Right now, he was just the happiest person in the world.
He pressed a hand to his own chest in mock offence.
"I open my heart to you and this is what I get? So mean, honey!" He stuck out his tongue for good measure, and he could have sworn Goro had to stifle a laugh. Here in Leblanc, finally out of the woods from any death threat or more Metaverse bullshit, it felt like they were finally both where they belonged. A moment later, he felt Akechi's hand join with his own.
"Akira?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm staying the night."
Akira was the happiest man in the world.