"I Thought It Would Be Easier"
~Goro Akechi x F!Reader~ ANGST/NO COMFORT (mildly altered for plot)
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"I thought it would be easier to push you away," she whispered, her voice cracking. Her eyes flicked toward Akechi, then away, as if afraid of what she might see. "That if I hated you… it would hurt less when you were gone again." She paused "Before I knew this world was fake—just a construct from Him, a place built to tempt us into staying... I–"
"You..?" He sat upright, listening to every word she said for he knew it would've been the last time he heard her voice.
"I just… I just hoped this would be a second chance for us," she murmured, twisting the edge of her sleeve between trembling fingers. Her shoulders curled inward, like she was trying to shrink under the weight of her words.
"It's punishment for what I've done. People like me don’t get second chances." Akechi says, trying not to look her in the eye, fearing the emotions that come with it.
"Punishment? Its not just you being affected. If we do refuse his deal, we go back to reality, you go back to being dead, gone, wherever. I have to continue living, knowing what could've been. Knowing that the life we always talked about having was just within reach."
"But it wouldn't have been real"
"It would've been the closest we'd ever get."
He opened his mouth to speak, but the words caught in his throat. His gaze dropped to the floor, jaw clenched, hands curling into fists against his thighs as if trying to contain the ache swelling inside him. He then let's out a shaky sigh, not of relief, but of grief and desperatio. He looked at her finally, not in the eyes, no. Not yet. But he did see her– clenching the hem of her sleeves, slightly trembling in an attempt not to cry.
"I dont want this to be our last conversation." She choked out as if saying those words, that fear was the very thing pulling her deeper into this mess.
"Maybe in another universe it would've been you and me," he whispered.
A single tear traced down her cheek. She turned to look at him slowly, like it hurt to move— like acknowledging him made the pain more real. "But why not this one?"
The moment his eyes met hers, the walls they so desperately tried to put up came crashing down like an angel being clipped of its wings mid-air. Hearing her say that did more damage to him than any wound, any bullet, any strike, and any curse. They so dearly wanted to reach out to each other, but if they did, it would make it harder for them to let go, harder to leave this beautiful lie, and harder to accept the ugly truth.
She quickly looked back down at her shoes, still fighting tears that had already fallen.
There was no point in holding back anymore.
She swiftly took his face in her hands and pressed her lips against his. It wasn't sweet. It was painful, bitter, desperate– like she was drowning and this was her last breath.
His hands, like instinct, found their way around her, clinging to her like a life raft, afraid that he would finally fade away if he let go. That kiss alone said more things, expressed more fear and desperation than anything their words could have.
She reached her hands through his hair, gripped his arm, his jacket, his face, anything she could reach for; this could have been their last.
Their last kiss, their last conversation, their last day in this world together.
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Maruki was finally defeated, leaving the pair only a few minutes before it all went away. Just enough time to say goodbye.
She quickly ran to him, wrapping her arms around him pressing her face against his chest. He could feel her nails digging into him– it was the only thing he could feel.
"I'm not– I'm not ready for this.." She sobbed, still clinging to him.
Akechis hands found their way to her, one on her back and the other in her hair. "I know.." he whispered.
There was nothing he could say to reassure her. He wasn't going to say it would be okay, he couldn't lie to her right before she faced the truth. Instead he lifted her head up, cupping her face.
When she looked at him, she could see the tears on his face, the way his lip trembled, the way he could hardly look at her without breaking down. That's when he kissed her once more. Once more and once last.
This time it wasn't desperate. It was careful, loving, containing the feeling of both a first kiss and a farewell.
When he pulled away, his chest tightened. Looking at her, wanting to say a million things he doesn't have the time to say, things he doesnt have enough willpower to push out.
She looked at him with eyes filled with dread and despair, as if she was already grieving him before he was officially gone.
"I love you, Goro..." She wept
His breath hitched and his eyes shut, "Don't say that.. not now..."
"You'll make me want to stay."
She began to tremble again, her hands clinging to the fabric of his suit as if that would tether him down just enough so he doesn't fade away. But it was far too late.
She felt him slipping. Felt herself slipping. Separate. Apart. Nothing she could do. Both headed in separate directions. His skin felt colder, soon he felt lighter and then– felt like nothing at all. Before she was forced out of the world, before he fully faded, he looked at her one last time.
"Don't forget me.." he whispered, then gone.
She was thrown back into reality in a flash of white— and everything was too loud, too quiet, too real. Her body felt heavier than it ever had, as if the weight of grief had grafted itself to her bones and the emptiness of loss aching her heart. She stared at her hands like they belonged to someone else. Was any of this worth it, should they have just accepted the deal, should she have found a way to fade with him?
It hurts to grieve someone who isn't already gone. It hurts more when they finally are.
She would frequent all their old spots, places he would visit often– the rooftop garden where he liked to read, the narrow alley where they’d once kissed in the rain, the bookstore where he’d always get distracted in the philosophy section. Each spot felt frozen in time, untouched by the storm that had taken him. She would sit for hours, waiting for something. A sign. A whisper. Anything that could, even just for a moment, bring him back to her. Then she saw it.
Only from the back view but it was unmistakable. The hair, the long,messy, light brown strands that she loved to run her hands through; the posture, how he leaned slightly to the left with his hands in his pockets; the coat, tan with black buttons that has a warmth only the two of them know; and the gloves, the ones he always wore and never took off unless he was home. It's him. It has to be.
Tears already began to flow. Was it joy? Relief? Did it matter? He was back.
Without realizing it she was already running towards him and the moment she got close, he turned around. His eyes met hers, and she was met with... disappointment.
And in an instant, the illusion shattered. His face was wrong. The warmth in his eyes was unfamiliar. He gave her a polite, confused smile— a stranger’s smile— and kept walking.
It wasn't him. It never is. How could she have mistaken a total stranger for him? Has she already forgotten his appearance? Her knees buckled, collapsing to the ground, body aching, heart racing, tears swelling, and hands shaking. She gripped the ground to tether herself, as if she cried anymore she would float away in an sea of despair.
He is gone for good. There are no more second chances. Only her and the world in which he can only exist through faded memories.
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