Chapter Text
August 3rd
It started almost immediately after they met. The dreaming that is. Ren was no stranger to weird dreams of course, but these were clearly just dreams, not some mental portal or doorway. He was almost more used to that, at this point.
He was quite coherent in them, that was the odd part. And they always followed the same setup. He slipped through the window, the one Ren didn’t even know could open until just recently, and alighted softly upon the small bed. Or sometimes Ren rolled over from his sleep to find him already there.
When they were awake, Ren found the other boy to be somewhat elusive despite his popularity. In the dreams, he was always there. Him and no one else. Ren didn’t know what drew him to Akechi so much, every waking conversation they had was something of a test. Perhaps that was the appeal. But they were clearly living a friendship built on lies, at least lies of omission. Something was off about him, something was wrong. Something he could not quite place his finger on, not yet.
Despite that, Ren couldn’t help but answer his messages the second they arrived, forgoing other plans to meet him for coffee or whatever he desired that day. He was often unable to find him otherwise, or he claimed to be busy. He wasn’t sure how much of that was true or if Akechi was just trying to mess with his brain. Their relationship seemed to be entirely on the other boy’s terms but Ren couldn’t bring himself to mind.
If he knew who you really were, you know he’d hate you.
A voice in his head repeated that phrase every time he so much as thought of Akechi. But the version of him in the dream only ever looked at him, sitting primly on the edge of the bed. He never spoke, though Ren wasn’t sure what he would have wanted him to say.
Maybe I don’t know him well enough to imagine what he’d say. Maybe he’s silent in my dreams so I don’t put incorrect words into his mouth.
When Ren tried to start a conversation in the dreams he only shook his head, light brown hair falling around his face. For someone so prominent in the public eye he really let it grow out. It fit the charming boy detective performance but not as much the appearance of a proper intellectual. Ren admitted that such a fine performance was hard to ignore. If he tried to talk again, the dream always ended. Akechi faded from his spot until he woke up, Morgana reappearing in his place at the foot of the bed instead. What would he have said anyway? All the things he really wanted an opinion on were not to be shared, for one pressing reason or another.
He was an interesting person.
Ren didn't dream of him every day. He had many other things on his mind, after all. He almost looked forward to them, though. Looking at Akechi. It made him uncomfortable to think about when he was awake but he didn't mind in his dreams. Why was that? Surely it was only the circumstances of their newly forming friendship. Something was off, he reminded himself again, they were both lying. That was all there was to his fascination with the detective. That and nothing more.
As he laid down to sleep that evening he stared at the window. I know they're dreams because Morgana is never there. My mind removes him, leaving only us. No interruptions. I wouldn't be so lucky in real life. Not that he had anything against him, of course. Why was he thinking like that? He rolled his eyes internally and tried to reset his brain before finally starting to drift off.