Work Text:
For all the planning that goes into it, for the hours and hours they spend discussing the way in and the way out and all the possible ways things could go wrong, the operation itself actually starts pretty smooth.
Akira shows up as planned at the office door, lockpicking tools in hand, and finishes the job with a flourish, adjusting one of his gloves as he slides the pick into his pocket. Haru watches him shoot a bit of a smirk in Goro’s direction before he slips past, adjusting the nose of his mask and disappearing around the corner.
Then, it’s just the two of them, just like they planned. Haru fiddles with her own glove in much the same way as Akira often does. They’ve gone on heists before, but none so high stakes. Getting caught here could mean a permanent game over. She worries her lower lip and looks to Goro’s face for reassurance but finds that it is, as it so often is, impassive. His chestnut brown eyes are narrowed and affixed to a spot down the hall.
Haru takes a decisive step forward and turns the knob, pushing the door open. It creaks, the sound loud enough in the dead silence of the hall that she tenses, her breath hitching, but nobody comes running around the corner. There are no alarms, no sirens blaring, no flashing lights overhead. The door swings open with the softest of sounds and reveals an empty, normal looking office. The cabinets are all closed and locked and there is a large, ostentatious oak desk in the very middle of the room with a comfortable looking leather wheeled chair right behind.
After a moment to steel herself, Haru strides into the room, taking great care so the heels of her boots won’t click against the marble beneath her feet. Goro moves in time with her, in sync down to their footsteps, their breaths; they’ve practiced this enough times that Haru doubts he could mess up even a little bit. Whether she makes a mistake, well, that still remains to be seen—but Goro could never slip up. Even now, he’s serene, neutral face a perfect mask of all the conflicting emotions that must be battling inside of him. He approaches the filing cabinet behind the desk with a determination only he is capable of, meticulously putting in the combination on the lock and pulling it open with his index fingers.
There’s something about watching Goro work that has always appealed to Haru, whether it’s the way his brow creases or the way his dark eyes flit back and forth. He smiles easily in his every day life, but when they’re alone like this, his face rarely leaves that focused, serious mask of emotion. Haru prefers it that way, prefers him honest—it makes the smiles mean that much more—but it’s hard to take her eyes off of him when he’s doing something. Goro does everything with intention, never leaves a task unfinished or a stone unturned. Perhaps it’s that, that Goro is such a hard worker, that Goro would never let someone else do something for him, that draws her to him, knowing how much her own father’s success hinges on the loyalty of others.
Haru shakes her head and lightly slaps one of her cheeks. That’s enough staring. Goro is busy, but she has her own work to be doing. She makes her way up to the desk and powers on the monitor, drumming her fingers against the polished wood as she waits for it to turn on. This would have been easier if Futaba had been able to come in person, but leaving the house is still difficult for her, and Akira had been unwilling to let his sister risk her freedom like this. Haru understands. She’s an only child, but if she had a younger sibling… she’d surely do whatever it takes to keep them safe.
When the computer has powered on, Haru withdraws a sticky note from her pocket and bites her lip as she puts in the passcode Futaba gave her. Goro didn’t need Futaba’s hacking abilities to find the code on the filing cabinet, since his time working here already gave him a baseline of knowledge, but he never used the servers. Haru supposes that the research in the documents on this thing is too valuable to be placed in the hands of a temp, even one as hypercompetent as Goro. After the computer has finished logging in, Haru takes out the other thing Futaba gave her before she left their base; a flash drive that is supposed to collect all the information on this computer.
It takes a couple tries to put the flash drive in correctly, but once she has, Haru leans back with an exhalation, lifting her hands to cup her mouth, watching a progress bar pop up on the screen. They should have some time before Shido returns to his office, but Haru’s heart skips beats as she watches the download begin regardless. Distraction. She needs a distraction.
Her eyes return to Goro’s profile, watching as he flicks through files with deft fingers. This time, his gaze does settle on Haru; he meets her eyes, and the corner of his mouth quirks in what Haru considers to be the closest to a real smile she’s ever seen on him. She smiles back, then looks away, rubbing her neck.
This must not be easy on him though, being here. Goro is always so calm and collected when he talks about it, but she knows that it hurts him, knows that Shido’s rejection affects him a lot more than he tries to let on. He always frames it like he merely resents his father… but that can’t be all there is to it, can it? There has to be more.
“Um,” Haru starts. She glances around the room. Any bugs or cameras should be disabled right now, by Futaba, but she’s still nervous about the prospect of messing things up, of getting them caught.
Goro’s eyes have returned to his task. “Um?” he repeats, eyebrows lifting. “Are you worried about something, Haru?”
“Oh, no, not really,” Haru dismisses, shaking her head. She runs her hand through her hair. “Or, well… maybe a little bit? Not about the plan, though of course I don’t want to mess anything up, it’s more…” She trails off, shifting her weight. “Goro… is this upsetting to you at all?”
“How do you mean?” Goro sounds unaffected, but of course that isn’t much of an indicator at all as to his true feelings. Haru bites her lip.
“Well… being back here must be difficult for you, right? I know I had mixed feelings when we infiltrated my father’s company to pull the plug on him…” Haru lowers her arms to her sides to fiddle with her zipper instead, not wanting to meet Goro’s eyes while she rambles. “I know this isn’t quite the same, I’m just wondering… if you’re alright, I suppose.”
A brief silence follows Haru’s ramble. A glance at Goro’s face tells her he isn’t offended; at least, not openly. As he flips through files, he seems to be pondering the best way to respond, his head tilted just a bit to the side.
“Thank you for thinking of me,” Goro says eventually. He smiles, a broader smile that Haru can’t help questioning the validity of, before his expression goes neutral again. “I’m alright, though. Like I said before, I want nothing more than to pull the plug on Shido. That’s the only thing I’m feeling right now.” He extracts a folder from the cabinet and tucks it under his arm, then closes the cabinet with a sense of finality. “But really, it was nice of you to ask.”
Haru opens her mouth to press him, to tell him that she doesn’t quite believe he’s being honest, but the computer in front of her beeps. When she looks, she sees that the download has completed. Quickly, she extracts the flash drive and powers it off, shifting her weight while she waits for Goro to close the filing cabinet again. Once they both have, she leads the way back out of the office, though this time, Goro puts a hand on her lower back as they pass through the door. She looks up at him, eyebrows raised, but he doesn’t meet her eyes, and his hand is gone a moment later as he turns around to close the door behind them.
The escape is straightforward. When Haru and Goro return to the sidewalk outside of Shido’s office building, they remove their masks, but don’t speak until they’re a couple blocks away. The flash drive seems to burn a hole in Haru’s pocket. She wonders if Goro feels that way too, about the folder he has tucked into his jacket, or if he doesn’t care at all. If he’s as confident in their success as he acts, if he has no doubt in his mind about what they’re doing.
Four blocks away from the office, they stop. Haru exhales, perhaps a little louder than she ordinarily would, and Goro puts a hand on her shoulder, squeezing. She leans into it.
“You did well in there,” Goro says. Haru hears a smile in his voice, the only indication of his next words. “For a while, I was worried you were going to lose your cool.”
“I wouldn’t lose my cool,” Haru retorts, indignant. She frowns up at Goro, then frowns deeper when he smirks. “Really, I wouldn’t! It’s important to keep a calm head in those kinds of situations. I would have expected you to be the one losing your cool, if anything.”
“Oh, is that so?” One of Goro’s eyebrows raises.
“It is so!” Haru huffs. She shakes her head and looks down again, a smile fighting its way onto her face. “I’m… glad you were able to do that, though, really. I know you said you’re alright, and I believe that you meant it, but… I don’t know. I was a little worried about you, you know? I can’t help it.”
At that, Goro looks away. He seems more pensive than upset, so Haru doesn’t worry about having said the wrong thing. She does, however, press closer, resting her hand on top of his; even through the fabric of both of their gloves, Goro’s hand is warm.
Eventually, Goro says, “I’ve had a long time to think about it. About… how I want to take him down.” His eyes harden. “At a certain point, you stop questioning yourself. All that’s left to do is do it. You could probably learn a thing or two about that, couldn’t you?”
Haru won’t bother trying to deny it. Her own hesitation when it came to her father jeopardised the safety and the success of their last plan. Still, she senses that Goro is going to continue, so she stays quiet, studying his face.
“Still, I suppose…” Goro sighs, sounding immensely disappointed. “I suppose I could learn a thing or two from you, as well. It benefits me to have you around reminding me of my sentimentality.” He looks at Haru with an odd warmth in his eyes, one he almost never allows himself unless they’re completely alone like this. “At least, logically.”
“Right.” Haru giggles, and releases his hand to reach up and cup his face, moving onto her toes to kiss him on the cheek. When she pulls back, Goro is slightly flushed, looking at her with flustered exasperation. Haru can’t help another giggle. “Well, I’m glad to be practically helpful, if nothing else.”
Goro’s cheeks puff out. He glances away, then looks back, leaning just a bit closer to mimic Haru’s gesture with a chaste kiss to the bridge of her nose. He doesn’t need to verbalise that that’s not all Haru means to him. The kiss and the look in his eyes alone are enough to convey that much.
“Let’s go home, Goro, okay? I’m sure Futaba is itching to get her hands on everything.” Haru lowers back down onto her heels and intertwines their fingers. Now, Goro does smile, just a slightly larger version of his usual half-smile, and he nods, squeezing her hand.
“Right, we wouldn’t want to keep her waiting,” he says lightly. He composes himself remarkably quickly, all considered. Haru allows him to lead her in the direction of the hideout, perfectly content to trail just a bit behind him, their fingers connected.
After all, from how tightly Goro holds onto her, Haru knows there’s no way he would leave her behind.