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“This is the last time I'm letting you do this, alright? Don’t make a habit of this.”
“Hmhmhm, you’re so mean to me.” Akira chuckles drunkenly as he makes his way slowly to the passenger side of Akechi’s car with his help. Akechi attempts to place him down gently in the passenger seat but the attempt falls flat, much like Akira does when he slips out of Akechi’s arms and plops onto the passenger seat with a thud. Like some sack of potatoes.
“Are you okay?” Goro asks out of reflexive courtesy and maybe even some concern of his own. Akira just grunts back an “mhm” and that’s enough to ease Akechi of his worry. He stares at the sight in front of him for a moment because he didn’t really get to take it in much but he can now. There’s Akira Kurusu, his … friend of a few years now, drunk in his car. Of course, it’s not wrong that he's drunk when he is the legal age to drink so it’s well within his right. But in Akechi’s mind, Akira hasn’t aged a day mentally since they were in high school. He almost wishes the law was based on your mental age, just to keep fools like Akira from dragging him into situations like this.
“Are you going to keep ssstaring at me?” He slurs out, eyes closed and yet still right about what’s happening around him. Akechi frowns momentarily at the audacity he has in a situation like this. Then he smirks back with a huff.
“Sorry, it’s just not every day I get the chance to observe you so vulnerable and so stupid. It’s quite amusing. If you’re capable of sassing me, I'm sure you’re quite capable of putting on your own seatbelt.” He says, beginning to close the car door before a long leg sticks out and stops it halfway. Akechi whips his head around and looks back at Akira’s scrunched up face, eyes still remaining closed. Those damn reflexes.
“I don’t think I can do that, detective. Can’t you be nice to me just this once?” The drunkard pleads. Akechi’s nose twitches in tamed fury. The audacity to imply that the “just this once nice gesture” isn’t simply being here for him to start. Were Akira not as inebriated as he is, Akechi wouldn’t have thought twice to give the ungrateful man a piece of his mind.
“Aren’t you something, Kurusu.” Akechi grunts and he proceeds to reluctantly open the door and lean into the car. He yanks the seatbelt in one swift motion and squints as he searches past Akira for the buckle. He glances back up at the drunken man momentarily to confirm his eyes are still closed as he leans too close for comfort into his body in order to reach the buckle.
Akira finally opens his eyes in an opportune moment to find Akechi’s face a few inches away, red eyes peering at him observantly before darting away from his grey eyes and back to the seatbelt.
“You stare too much. Detective thing? Or something else?” Akira mumbles out, not speaking too loud as it’s not needed given their current positioning.
Akechi tuts. “Leave it to you to have shit timing to open your eyes. I was simply making sure you hadn’t fallen asleep. Stop observing my actions and drawing conclusions.” As if to punctuate his words, he manages to finally click the seatbelt in place after struggling in dim lighting.
“I’d say the timing was perfect, wouldn’t you? Not everyday someone like me gets to look at the Prince Detective so closely.” He smiles. It’s a charming one to anyone but Akechi, who finds it taunting.
Akechi pulls back in disgust. “Silence.”
“Can you recline the chair for me while you’re at it? I'm tired.”
“Clearly not tired enough…” Akechi mumbles to himself. “No, I won’t. You can keep yourself awake until we’re home. We have things to talk about in this car ride.” He says firmly, as if he was giving orders. He doesn’t wait for a response before he closes the door again, this time finally succeeding in closing it. He walks around to the driver’s side, not hesitating to get situated and begin the— what he assumes will be torturous— drive home.
“Things to talk about? Am I in trouble with the law now, detective ?”
Akechi pulls the stick shift back sharply, pulling out the parking spot and getting back onto the road. “Will you stop calling me that? You can call me Goro, or you can call me Akechi. We’ve long passed the need for that level of formality. And no, you’re not in trouble with the law, if you were seriously asking.”
“Ooookay, Goro .” Akira follows, emphasizing his name to show further compliance. “What are we talking about then?”
“What happened tonight. I want to hear the details of your night that led to this moment.”
Akira lets out a snort. “Oh okay. Weeelll, today is Ryuji’s birthday! He uh, wanted to celebrate with all of the gang today. So we went out and did a few thingsss… we went out to dinner at this verrry nice place, nice enough for you to like it I’d think… and then we ended up at the bar. Things happened, fun things, and now I’m here in your car.”
Akechi takes it all in, and he knows it’s Akira saying it, because who else would it be. Yet he still can’t believe this is the same Akira Kurusu in his passenger seat that he’s known for such a long time. He’s so different when he’s intoxicated; The way he speaks is more emotive and his demeanor has changed. Such is the way alcohol affects people. Akechi knows this well enough, but it’s different to see it in someone he's close to.
“I wouldn’t have thought you to be someone who drinks themself into a stupor. I guess you learn something new every day, truly.”
“ Stupor? ” Akira asks incredulously, like the use of that word was absolutely absurd. “I wouldn’t say I'm that bad, am I?”
“I guess it’s up to interpretation. I’d say you’re quite bad.”
“Well, that’s you. What’s your opinion on this worth, anyways?” Akira grunts, turning to face Akechi.
Akechi’s mouth falls open a bit before pursing his lips together. He hears a gasp from the passenger side. “Sorry, sorry, sorry!” Akira rushes out apologetically, the regret of his drunken words kicking in instantly. Worry that he hurt his feelings washes over him as he leans forward in his chair, trying to read the detective’s face in the darkness of the car.
Akechi lets a small smile across his face as he shakes his head. “It’s all good. Maybe you’re right. You know, I’ve never been fond of the idea of alcohol. I can drink a little bit when the occasion calls for that, when I need to to look sophisticated and classy, but being drunk is not my idea of fun.”
“I’m sorry for bothering you then.” Akira says sulkily, leaning back into his chair.
“No, don’t apologize to me, please. After all, we are …” He stops, the next word to say becoming a multiple choice question, then continues with, “You can trust me. I’d much prefer this for you than to go home drunk alone or with someone else.”
Akira perks up a bit. “So you are enjoying this car ride with me, hmmm? Tease.”
Akechi spares a quick glance of confusion for Akira before slowing down for the red light. “Tease?” He fully stops the car. “I’m not teasing anything. Maybe I’d enjoy this car ride if you were as quiet as you used to be.”
“Heh. I’ve changed quite a bit since high school, wouldn’t you agree?” Akira asks, getting a hesitant nod in response from Akechi, a sign to continue speaking. “It’s been a looong time since we’ve seen each other, Goro. You’re always sooo busy, it’s sad. Don’t be sooooo… cold. Speaking of cold, I’m getting hot. Is it hot in here?”
Akechi quickly adjusts the fan speed in the car before the light turns to blue, forcing his attention back on the wheel and the road in front of him. “Better?”
“Mmm, yeaaahh…” Akira throws his arms behind his head and soaks in the cool air. He finally takes a moment to glance outside the passenger seat window and admire the fluorescent lights and the bustling streets of Shinjuku. It’s all fuzzy and moving too fast for his brain to truly process it all but the colors are so vibrant and the lights are so bright, he can’t imagine it couldn’t be beautiful!
“I have a question for you. It’s about what you said.” Goro speaks up, his voice coming out softer than he wanted. Was it showing that he was nervous to even ask?
“What did I say again?” Akira mumbles out without moving, unable to peel his eyes away from the glowing view of the city.
“You mentioned it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. And you’re right, it has. So then why did you call me of all people to come out here and get you?”
“Huh? …Oh! Because you’re my close friend. And with close friends, it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since you’ve seen each other or how often you talk… you’re still friends! Like you said, I can trust you, and so I do. Not much to it.”
Not much to it. Akechi hangs onto the words he said as he drives in total silence. The way Akira spoke it all was so genuine; There wasn’t a hint of doubt in his voice. Is this truly how friendship worked? Embarrassing to admit but before Akira, Akechi didn’t have many friends or much company in general. Nobody who understood him or tried to if they couldn’t. Life was a competition where he was yet to meet his match. He learned to welcome the loneliness of being the only one who he could enjoy. But then Akira was there and for once, someone didn’t cower down and bend to his will.
The most charming antithesis he could’ve imagined.
Charming? It’s okay to call a friend charming, right? A friend? That’s what Akira is. That’s all he could be. Right?
Ugh. Why is he thinking about these things again? But it’s been eating away at him for quite some time. This thing happening with them, it doesn’t feel like friendship. And maybe it’s just Akechi’s lack of experience with friendship that he could be confused with nothing to compare these feelings to, but… But something in him is telling him that this isn’t just friendship. These feelings are something bigger and he can’t help but wonder if it’s the same on the other end.
“Akira, do you… mind if I ask you another question?” He asks, eyes still on the road as they begin entering Shibuya. This must mean they have a half hour or less until they’re home. Thankfully, since Akechi is starting to feel the effects of being up past your regular bedtime weighing on him.
Akechi waits for an answer that doesn’t come. He turns to the passenger side to check if he’s being ignored only to find the drunken Akira is asleep, curled up in the passenger seat that has somehow been reclined. When Akira managed to do that without Akechi noticing it was beyond him. Akechi lets out a puff of laughter at the sight, childish and sweet in a way that brings a pain to his chest and a bit of flutter too. He turns back to the road and continues his thinking, turning up the radio loud enough to hear the jazz music playing but not to disturb Akira’s peace.
Peace. Akira is at peace. The music is peaceful. I’m… peaceful? Here. With Akira by my side. He brings peace wherever he is. Maybe that’s what drew me to him to start…
—————————————————————
“Akira? Hey… Akira?” Akechi asks, tapping on the deep sleeper. Gosh, it’s getting cold outside. Akechi pulls the jacket tighter around him and shakes Akira’s shoulder with a tad bit of force. Akira finally starts to come back to life, slowly shifting his body towards the passenger door and opening his eyes. He’s greeted with the view of Akechi standing a foot away, bent over in the passenger side doorway, hand still on his shoulder.
Akira groans out a noise of questioning and Akechi lets a laugh slip out. “Seems like someone slept well.”
Akira rubs his eyes under his glasses before stretching his legs out slowly. “Hmm.. I waasss until someone woke me uuuup.” He whines out groggily, sass still detectable in his tone even when barely awake. Impressive.
“I’m sorry for the disturbance, but I can’t in good conscience leave you to sleep in a car all night. I hope you can forgive me.” Akechi jokes, watching Akira get up from the seat, cautiously watching to make sure he even can.
Akira adjusts his glasses and looks around, confusion spreading across his face slowly. “Wh… this isn’t my… where aaare weee?”
“We’re at my apartment complex. Can you stand on your own or do you need a minute?”
“I… I might need your help. Is that okay?”
“More than. Here, put your legs out the car, I’m going to wrap my arm around your waist.” Akechi instructs, positioning himself to grab his friend.
Akira shifts away from Akechi with a face of offense. “Woooah there, detective. Take me out for a drink before you start getting haaaandsy, alright? This waist… is excluuuusive.” He says defensively before bursting into laughter on the last word, terribly amused by his own joke.
Akechi, however, is not. The tired man rolls his eyes so hard he thinks he’s going to see his brain back there. “Are you… Now is not time for your games! Some of us were wanting to be asleep by now because we have adult things to do besides play taxi for drunk people. Now quit the comedy set and listen to me.”
“Alright, alriiiight.” Akira shoos the complaints away with his hands before swinging his legs out the car and planting his feet onto the ground. He climbs out the car before feeling Akechi’s arm clutch onto his upper waist like he said, reaching to close the door with his other arm. They start walking in silence through the parking garage until they reach the elevator. Akechi pushes the elevator button to his floor and watches as the door slowly closes and they begin ascending.
“You don’t have to keep holding onto my waist so hard now.” Akira blurts out, slumping against the wall. “I have this nice wall to keep me up.”
Akechi softens his grip at the mention before ultimately deciding to let go. Akira gives a satisfactory told-you-so smile to Akechi, proud of his ability to keep his balance just enough to hold out for the elevator ride. The smile fades when it comes time to take a step out the elevator and he trips on air. Were it not for Akechi’s foresight predicting this and being ready to grab Akira, he might have just shared a kiss with the floor.
Then it was Akechi’s turn to smile, the energy of the grin matching Akira’s earlier one in a more twisted way. “You need me.” He says in a voice that could only come off joking to himself.
“I truly do.” Akira says honestly, being led down the hallway by Akechi. “I don’t know where I’d be without you tonight. I don’t know if I said it, but thank you, seriously. You being here for me means a lot.”
Akechi is perplexed and it shows, and when he looks at Akira’s face and sees the genuine sincerity in those drunken red and grey eyes, hears the way he’s trying to keep his voice serious and clear when he says all this, it only furthers the confusion. Words are entirely lost on him. What would be appropriate to say or do? To think? Is it worth it to get hung up over the words of a drunk person, even if they are one of your closest friends, one of the only people you’ve ever truly trusted?
“No worries.” That's all he can say.
“Maybe I don’t tell you that enough, hmm? Maybe I don’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me all these years.” Akira continues.
“What's gotten into you now? You’re acting quite emotional.” Akechi questions, coming to a full stop in front of his door and fiddling in his pockets for his door key before opening the door and stepping in slowly.
“Maybe I just want to appreciate you. Is it really so wrong?” Akira closes the door behind him before giving a long stare at the interior of the apartment. “How come I’ve never been invited over?”
If Akechi was to be honest, which isn’t happening, he was far too flustered from the earlier question to focus on the current one. But he’s thankful that moment is forgotten. “I don’t know”, he answers quickly, “I guess I’m just too busy these days to have over any company.”
“Ah. Well! I’m sorry to be company in… these circumstances!” Akira laughs. He finds a spacious couch and takes the liberty to free himself from Akechi’s hold and flop onto it unceremoniously, stretching across it in a starfish pose. Akechi simply lets out a laugh that leads into a yawn as he walks into his bedroom for a spare throw blanket before re-entering the living room.
“Tired?” Akira calls out to Akechi, who is making his way towards the kitchen.
“Yes. I’m not usually up at this time.” He calls back as he searches his fridge, grabbing at a spare water bottle before walking over to the couch Akira’s laying on and handing over both items. There’s no hesitation from Akira’s side to grab the blanket and get comfortable before he opens the water bottle and practically chugs it halfway.
“Akechi, you’re a lifesaverrrr!” Akira says with a big grin. “Are you going to bed now?”
“Yes, I think it’s well past time for me to be asleep. Will you be okay on your own?”
“Mmm, well if you’re asking, no! Maybeeee… I don’t want to be on my own out here…”
Huh? I sort of meant that as a rhetorical question…
“Ah, I see. Is there something I can do to help you with that? Do you need medications?”
“Could you sleep here with me?” Akira asks with an exaggerated pout, patting the empty space on the couch next to him.
Akechi’s face comes back alive from its sleepy state and tenses up at the suggestion. “I, uh, can’t do that. Anything else I could do to make up for that?”
Akira lets out a long dramatic sigh, flinging his arms wide open. “Fiiiiiine. Theeeen, can I get a hug?”
A… hug?
“Y-yeah. Sure…” Akechi stutters hesitantly. To be honest, he’s not really sure how to give a good hug, but he’s not going to shy away from something so simple. He comes closer to Akira and leans down as his arms slowly open up to hug.
Before he knows it, Akira’s hand shoots up to Akechi’s forearm and grabs him with a strength quite impressive for someone drunk and yanks him forward onto the couch and, more importantly, on top of Akira. Escape is quickly out of the picture when he feels the same force that threw him down weighing on his back in a tight embrace.
“A-Akira! Let … me … go! Akira!” Akechi gasps out, the pressure on his back making it hard to breathe normally. His face starts burning up with a pink flush against his will. His protests do nothing to stop the situation. Akira laughs in Akechi’s ear as he attempts to squirm away from the torturing yet beautiful sound.
“I got you noooow! So, pretty boy, how do you wanna sleep? On top of me? Ooor…” He pauses before flipping them both on their sides, effectively knocking the air out of Akechi’s unsuspecting lungs, “on our sides like this?” Akira loosens his grip enough to let Akechi lean away in another futile attempt to escape but not enough to make it possible. They stare into each other’s eyes for a few moments, Akechi’s eyes telling of his fight or flight struggle and Akira’s dazed and happy.
“Mmm… Actually, no choice for you. I think I like sleeping on our sides more. Gives me a better view of your face. You have pretty eyes, Goro, did you know? I bet you’ve heard it a million times before from the ladies. Speaking of, how come you’re single? You have alllll the girls in Japan dying for you!”
Akechi’s blush burns deeper as he struggles with more force to get out of the bombardment of idiotic questions. “Let me go, you buffoon.”
“No can do,” He responds with a big yawn, sitting his head under Akechi’s chin and close to his chest, “I’m actually very comfortable right now. And I’m… awfully sleepy. Good niiight Goroooo.”
What the actual fuck. What the hell? What the FUCK?
Akechi’s lost all ability to think rationally as his heart thumps loudly against his chest, worked up for more reasons than one. He kicks Akira’s legs lightly to no avail. “There is no way you are seriously asleep already!” Akechi whispers angrily.
“Im… trying to if you could stop kicking me.” Akira responds tiredly, his voice muffled slightly against Akechi’s chest. He throws a leg around both of Akechi’s and hooks it, Akechi immediately flailing around to get them out of their captivity with no results. “Hey, Goro. I'm trying to sleep here!” Akira groans angrily, not lightening up on his hold.
It becomes obvious to Akechi at this moment that he isn’t getting anywhere. In fact, he’s just made his situation worse for himself in terms of escape. On every other level, this was more enjoyable than Goro would ever admit, to the point where he started to think that maybe, just maybe, he could stand to lose.
Lose to Akira. An awful thought.
But is it truly losing when it feels so good?
He knows what it’s like to lose. Defeat is a bitter taste that lingers in the back of your throat and never goes away with every gulp of success that you take from the winner’s chalice. And never has such a dark thing, a feeling that invokes a fear so deep that every corner he turns leaves him holding his breath at its premeditated attack, felt so warm. Felt inviting, begging him to stay. Second place was never arms holding onto you tightly and legs tangling with yours. Loss was never the head of a beautiful man close to your heart, and hair curly and long enough to tickle your chin, holding you on your living room couch in the dead of night. It was many things, but it was never this.
Never this moment. This moment is new, unheard of to him and unbelievably true. It’s a success he never thought he would earn. So he will relish in it, greedily drink up every second of this.
Is this what it means to love?
Such a peculiar thought. That this moment right here might be the very love he's been longing for from the person he’s been wanting it from. He wants to ponder it more but he can feel his consciousness slipping… and… man is it so warm and cozy being like this.
This will surely be a long discussion tomorrow morning if Akira isn’t suffering a massive hangover. Akechi thinks he could take the day off tomorrow to tend to him if so. But that’s a discussion for the morning, and now is now.
So here’s to living in the moment . That’s the last thought he can form as the soft sounds of Akira’s breathing fade out and his eyes close.
And for the first time in what might be a long time, Goro Akechi had a good night’s sleep.