Chapter Text
Akira was sprawled out on the floor of Ryuji’s apartment in the shape of a starfish.
“Man, this can’t be for real!” Ryuji sighed, closing his laptop and looking at his friend.
“Almost every single place we found is either too big for one person or too pricey for you. Like, why did Boss even tell you that? It’s not like you’re not helping him!” his best friend said, a little too loudly.
Sojiro had suggested—maybe even insisted—that Akira should move out and start living on his own. Since he would be turning 20 in a few months, Sojiro thought it was time for him to live closer to his university rather than spending over thirty minutes on subway trains every day.
“Yeah, but having my own apartment is a kick-ass idea. Like, no more old attic floor and everything,” Akira said, turning his head to look at his friend. “Imagine all the parties we could host at my place then.” He grinned mischievously at his own words.
“Then why don’t you just, like, move in with me? I mean, maaan, we’ve known each other for years. I wouldn’t turn you down if you asked, you know,” Ryuji said, shoving a handful of chips into his mouth.
“You and Morgana in one place, every day? Every night? Bro, I love you, but I’d prefer my cat alive,” Akira laughed, snatching the bag of chips from Ryuji’s hands and eating a few.
Ryuji ignored his comment. “Where’s Yusuke, anyway? He should’ve been here an hour ago. No way he got lost again.”
As if summoned by their words, a knock sounded at the front door. Ryuji lazily walked over and let their friend in.
“I sincerely apologize for being late, but on my way here, I found—”
“If you brought a fucking live lobster AGAIN, I’m kicking you out man" Ryuji threatened.
Yusuke raised an eyebrow. “Why would I do that? No, Akira, I found a poster for someone looking for a roommate and thought you might be interested.”
He pulled the neatly folded paper from his pocket and handed it to Akira.
Akira stared at the poster for a moment before standing up, flashing Yusuke a dumb grin. “Thanks, Yusuke. I’ll message them for info.”
They spent the evening playing games and laughing so loudly that Ryuji’s neighbors almost called the cops on them for disturbing the peace.
When Akira returned home, he found himself staring at the poster again. He took out his phone, dialed the number, then hesitated and decided to text instead. It was already late, so he didn’t expect a response right away.
“Are you still looking for a roommate?” — 2:37 a.m.
“Hello, indeed, yes, I am looking for one. Are you perhaps interested?” — 2:42 a.m.
Akira blinked twice at his screen. First of all, why was this mysterious person texting like they were 40 years old? Second of all… what if they actually were 40 years old??????
“Yeah, could we meet tomorrow? I’d like to see the apartment in person, and, well, meet you :)” — 2:50 a.m.
“Is 3 p.m. working for you?” — 2:53 a.m.
“Sure, see you then :))” — 2:53 a.m.
He tried to at least get a little bit of sleep, but Morgana was constantly shifting on his chest. He couldn’t close his window, and it was too cold for him. Maybe he was stressing himself out just a little bit.
He hoped he’d get along with his potential roommate and that they were not, in fact, a grown man.
Morning came surprisingly quickly, and just when he thought he had a few more minutes, Sojiro called out to him for breakfast.
He ate while eagerly telling Sojiro about the potential apartment. Sojiro was like a dad to him—he cared when Akira’s own father had despised him and sent him away. Akira didn’t keep in contact with his biological parents anymore, so he considered Sojiro and Futaba his closest family. He would never trade that for a good relationship with the people who had abandoned him. He was happy with how things were and enjoyed the simplicity of his life.
After washing dishes, Akira excused himself to get ready to head out. He had begged Sojiro for the day off earlier, and Sojiro had only agreed because it was for his move-out plans.
He combed his fingers through his raven curls and dressed casually, as always. He didn’t care that much about his appearance—as long as his breath didn’t stink and his hair wasn’t too long, he was fine with how he looked.
He still had two more hours until the meeting, and just as he was about to relax and scroll through twitter Ann called him.
He let out a sigh. Whenever Ann called, everyone knew it would be a never-ending conversation because she never shut up.
Akira didn’t even have a chance to greet her before she cut him off.
“YOU are really going to meet up with someone you’ve never seen ALONE??? IN HIS APARTMENT???”
He had to pull the phone away from his ear—it almost fell out of his hand.
“I mean… yeah? What else am I supposed to do?” He often didn’t understand Ann’s mindset about very specific things.
“I don’t know! I could go with you? You wouldn’t be alone, at least.”
“Won’t he think I have a girlfriend? I mean, that could be weirdly off-putting.”
There was silence for a moment, and Akira had to double-check if she had hung up on him. Then he heard a deep sigh, followed by another rant.
“Well, right… but AT LEAST share your location with me. I don’t want my best friend to be killed by some random creep guy, you know? AND let me know when you’re done with the meeting, alright??”
Akira nodded, but obviously, Ann couldn’t see that, so he quickly added, “I will, Ann, but you know I can handle myself.”
“I know, but can’t I worry about my friend?” She huffed, then smoothly changed the topic. “Anyway, later I’m hanging out with Ryuji and Futaba. You coming with us?”
Akira spent the next hour gossiping with Ann on the phone and almost missed his subway train to Kichijoji. He swore to god he was lucky today—he actually managed to grab a seat for the 20-minute ride.
Kichijoji, in fact, wasn’t too close to his university either, but it was certainly closer than Yongen-Jaya. He often hung out with Sumire there, so he wasn’t too worried about getting lost. He checked the location of the apartment, and after a short walk, he was already there.
He was a few minutes early, so he used the time to calm himself down. It’s alright, Akira, the guy won’t be a creep, and you’ll finally find a place for yourself, he thought.
When the time hit 3 p.m., he rang the doorbell to the apartment. He waited a second, and a voice came through the intercom.
“Hello?”
He didn’t sound like a 40-year-old guy. That was a good sign. A very good sign.
Akira cleared his throat before he spoke.
“Heeey, I’m here for the apartment?”
Silence???
Then, the door just opened.
The apartment was on the second floor, and he quickly made his way up, knocking when he reached the door.