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Goro hadn’t set foot in a diner in years – he’d never had a reason to, and he much preferred cafés and the jazz bar in Kichijoji anyway. Diners had too much noise, and the lighting was too yellow, reminding him of muddy torchlight. It was jarring, ultimately. And yet now, he finds himself in one of the booths of the cheap diner on central street in Shibuya, stirring his tea recurrently and sitting across from Takamaki Ann, of all people.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like Ann; it’s just… Why him? Why is she talking to him about fashion? He cannot fathom why she would invite him here. Maybe Akira put her up to it.
“Look at this one! It’s totally giving detective, don’t you think?” She takes a bite of the ridiculous cat cake pop she bought (it looks a little like Morgana) before thrusting her phone in his face. It’s a photo she took in front of a mirror, wearing a loosely fitted white shirt, with a blazer and trousers in matching colours. Goro assumes she’s showing him an outfit she’s worn in a previous photoshoot.
Before he can give whatever mediocre comment he was going to give about her outfit, she swipes to the next photo, but not before swiping past a picture of what was undoubtedly Akira. “What was…” He starts, the words coming out of his mouth before he can think about it.
“Hm?” She exclaims, still chewing her bite. She turns her phone back to look at it and swipes to the previous photo. “Oh! That’s from when I met up with Akira and ‘Yuji a few days ago.” She places her phone on the table and slides it to Goro before he can say anything further.
It’s… Yeah, it’s Akira. It’s a photo taken from the side - he’s wearing his blue scarf and black coat, Morgana tucked into the front of it with his head popping out, expression as annoyed as possible as can be for a cat. Yet, Goro barely even notices Mona at first, too focused on Akira. He’s beaming, sporting a wide grin, not a flashy Joker smile, no - this one goes all the way to his eyes, and he looks… Fucking radiant. God, he looks so cute, which makes Goro’s blood boil. And for whatever reason, he decides to voice that thought out loud.
“I like him so much it infuriates me.” He states plainly, unable to tear his eyes from the photo.
Ann barks out a laugh, though it’s a little choked as it is halfway through a sip of tea. “Yeah. You and me both.”
That, for whatever reason, piques his interest. He lifts his head up and stares at her with an eyebrow raised. Ann looks at him with wide eyes as if her mind has gone completely blank. Only for a few moments though, before she seems to realise something.
“Oh no, that’s not what I mean. I don’t like Akira if that’s what you’re thinking. I mean, I definitely used to, but… Eh, whatever. That’s in the past.” She picks her phone up, does something on it, and then slides it back to Goro, revealing what looks like a whole album filled with photos of Akira. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s beautiful – might even make a better model than me; hell, I’ve watched people try to scout him before. But like I said. It’s in the past.”
Goro, in absolute bewilderment, flicks his eyes back and forth. Ann. Her phone. Back to Ann. At his reaction, she seems just as confused as he is.
“Why are you looking at me like I’m speaking a different language? You have to agree that he’s photogenic as hell, right?”
Goro takes a minute to gather his thoughts, looking down at the digital photo album before him. The first few photos are of Akira posing on what is presumably the Shujin rooftop. “I… Yes, sure, but…” He glances at her warily. “You liked him?”
She narrows her eyes. “I mean, yeah? For a bit, when I first met him. But that was before I realised how much I wanted to date Shiho.” She smiles at the thought of her girlfriend before continuing. “Akechi. You know pretty much all the Thieves had a crush on Akira at one point, right?”
“No? How the hell would I know that?”
Ann drains the rest of her cup of tea. “Well, by using your eyes for one, detective.” Goro scoffs at her lightly before letting her continue.
“Let me see… Akira was pretty much Ryuji’s bisexual awakening, from what he’s told me. You know he awakened to his Persona in front of Ryuji? God, I wish I’d been there to see that. Pretty sure even Yusuke had a thing for him at one point. And Haru, god. She followed him around like a lost puppy for weeks when she joined the team. I felt so bad for her that I was tempted to tell him to stop being a dick and reject her or whatever. But, well, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway…” She trails off her tangent, holding her head in her hands with her elbows on the table, grinning at Goro like a cat. Panther ready to pounce.
Goro feels like he’s been led right into a trap, but he steps into it regardless. “And why is that?”
“Because he only ever had eyes for you.” And there it is. Trap activated.
“What? That’s ridiculous.” He hisses, looking away.
“It’s not!” Ann tries to assure him, vibrantly talking with her hands in exasperation. When Goro doesn’t turn to look back at her, she waves them in his face. “Hey! Akechi, you have to trust me on this. I’m no Akira expert, but I do know what a boy in love looks like.” She stares at him confidently as she says that last part, and he’s convinced she is talking about someone other than Akira.
He glares daggers at her. “Go on.”
She winks at him and mimics zipping her mouth shut. “Nope! I would like to leave this diner alive, thank you very much.” She picks up her and Goro’s empty cups of tea and her cake pop stick, rising from her seat. “I’m gonna get more tea, want some?”
Ah, a clever escape. Goro really doesn’t want to let her get away that easily but finds he’s all too tired to do anything to stop her.
“Sure.” He mumbles, conceding. Ann walks away, her phone left in front of him, still unlocked. He taps the screen, so it doesn’t turn off, though he doesn’t know why (He knows exactly why).
He taps on a random photo. It’s of Akira sitting on a picnic bench, sticking his tongue out and holding a plastic cup of what is most definitely coffee. Strange, he’d never have thought Akira would ever buy coffee from elsewhere with all his perfectionism in making it himself.
He swipes to the next photo. Akira, wearing a green apron, leaning over with Morgana stood on his shoulders. He’s holding a bouquet of yellow flowers. Goro remembers the multitude of part-time jobs Akira picked up during that year as a phantom thief and wonders if he still works at that flower shop.
He swipes to another photo. Akira sitting on the sofa in the attic of Leblanc, tilting his head and smiling softly-
Goro releases a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. God, he’s fucked. Extremely so.
Before he can swipe to another photo, a mug of tea is plonked on the table next to Ann’s phone. He jolts slightly, and to his relief, Ann makes no comment as she slides back into the booth. She doesn’t take her phone back either.
Goro places his hands underneath the table, holding them together, unsure of what to say, how to act. “Thank you for the tea.” He decides to go with.
“No prob!” Ann sing-songs in reply, adding so many sugar packets to her own cup to the point where the drink must be more sugar than anything else. Afterwards, her eyes flick across to him expectantly.
“Takamaki-san, why did you invite me here?”
She groans. “Please just call me Ann. Jeez.”
Goro opens his mouth to protest, but the look in the girl’s eyes advises him against it. “Okay. Ann. Why did you invite me?”
She finally reaches across and picks up her phone, sliding it into her coat pocket. “I dunno, so we can hang out?” She offers weakly. He can tell she knows that the answer doesn’t explain anything. Goro knows that he should probably just leave it and that she’s only trying to be nice, but something about this scenario is bugging him.
“Okay, but… Why me?”
Ann bites her lip and sighs. “Because you’re our friend, Akechi. And you don’t seem to realise it.” The use of the word our doesn’t sit right with Goro. He’s confident that a generous handful of the Thieves would definitely not consider him a friend. “I’m just trying to get it into that stubborn head of yours.” Ann continues, huffing out a breath. She flicks him lightly on the forehead, and he barely manages to stop himself from flinching. “And well, I thought we could talk about boys. Or, one boy in particular.”
Goro rolls his eyes. Does a double take. “Do you even like boys?”
Ann dramatically throws her head back in annoyance. “That’s not the point! Just-” She cuts herself off, clenches her fists and slams them together as if she’s trying not to explode. “Alright. I didn’t want to have to do this, but you’ve left me with no choice.” Goro is a tiny bit taken aback by that statement, wondering what other ways to torment him she could have in store.
“You need to get with Akira, seriously. He adores you, and you obviously like him too, and it’s driving the rest of us crazy. Especially me – if I have to deal with any more 3am ramblings about how pretty you are, I’m gonna lose it.”
“You-” Goro stutters, because how is he supposed to respond to that? Akira likes him? Thinks he’s pretty? It’s nonsense. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I do! Like I said, you have to trust me on this! Listen, I’ll literally break friend code and show you my messages with him if you don’t believe me.” She’s already reaching into her pocket for her phone and Goro panics. He’s unsure if he does believe her but doesn’t want to see those messages. If they exist.
No, that’s not right. He knows she’s not lying. He just doesn’t think he can handle actually seeing the truth.
He screws his eyes shut. “Okay. I believe you, don’t show them. I believe you.” He falls forward, head resting sideways on the table. “Ugh.”
Ann makes a ‘pfft’ noise. “You’re overthinking it you know. Just ask him! What’s the harm?”
Part of Goro wants to run away from this whole situation, but another part of him realises that Ann is unexpectedly easy to talk to. “It wouldn’t work.” He mutters into the grimy wood of the diner table. “There’s no way in hell.”
“Akechi…” She begins, considering it. Then, she clicks her fingers behind Goro’s ear. “Hey, come on. Drink your tea or it’ll get cold.”
Goro huffs, rising up to sit up straight. He picks up his cup off its saucer, takes a sip then slouches backwards into his seat in the booth, trying his best not to come across as a child having a sulk.
“Listen to me,” Ann announces clearly, commanding his attention. He peers at her over his teacup. “if it were anyone else, I’d agree with you. There’s too much baggage; you’ve been through too much together. Normally, there’d be no way a relationship like that could be healthy.”
Goro winces.
“But that’s just the thing.” She points at him, almost accusatory. “You guys are not normal. I’m pretty much convinced that the only reason you’re alive right now is because of Akira wishing you’d come back to him so hard that the universe itself listened.”
Goro sets his cup back down, pondering that statement. It’s fruitless.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
Ann waves her hand in dismissal, then flicks her hair. “Whatever. When has anything ever made sense.” She reaches into her pocket, pulls out her purse and places some money on the table. “I gotta run, I have a shoot nearby soon. But Akechi. Goro? Can I call you Goro?”
Goro can’t help but be a little taken aback by that. Akira’s the only one of the Thieves who calls him Goro. It quickly fades, however. “Sure.”
She flashes him a sweet smile. “Take my advice. Call him. Take him to that fancy jazz bar he won’t invite anyone else to or something. You got this.”
Goro can only stare at her, lips parted in mild shock.
“Bye! Don’t be a stranger, okay!”
And with that, she does her coat up and zips out the door.
-
A few hours later, Goro’s phone buzzes on his bedside table.
It’s a message from Ann containing a link. No other text. When he clicks on it, it opens to her album of photos of Akira.