Hey! I wrote a thing for this post since a bunch of people seemed interested in it the other day
~
After their temporary defeat at Maruki’s hands, Goro bids Kurusu a farewell and takes the train back to his apartment. He steps inside and sees the living room exactly the way he remembered it.
As if he’d never been gone. As if nothing he did on that boat mattered. Goro takes a deep breath and shoves the books back onto the shelf haphazardly. He takes the mug off the newspaper and puts it in the sink, and frowns when he sees that the newspaper is from back in December.
Then, Goro decides he might as well try to relax with a hot shower. It does help him relax a little, but it’s cut short by the front door opening and someone cursing. Goro switches off the water and wraps himself in a towel, then peaks out the door.
Yusuke’s in his living room, angrily muttering to himself as he takes out the books Goro put away. His face is locked in concentration, the way he gets when he’s putting together the final touches of a painting, as he arranges them in the same haphazard manner Goro had found them in. Then, Yusuke walks over to the garbage and pulls out the newspaper.
Yusuke lays it out on the counter and smooths it as best as he can, before finally placing it and the mug next to the books. Yusuke steps back to examine his handiwork, clearly not satisfied.
“What are you doing?” Goro asks.
Yusuke is rarely caught off guard, but this causes him to stumble backwards. “Goro, I didn’t realize you were home.”
“Yes. What are you doing, I just cleared the table.”
Yusuke looks from Goro to the coffee table, and frowns. “I… I guess I’ve just gotten used to having it look like that.”
The way it’d been when he’d died, Goro realizes. It wasn’t Maruki, it was Yusuke. He hadn’t touched anything.
“Ah.”
“Do you want to get dressed while I get dinner ready?” Yusuke asks, prompting Goro to realize he is, in fact, still in a towel.
Goro nods, returning to his room to throw on a long sleeved shirt and some yoga pants.
He returns to find Yusuke making rice on the stove.
Goro drums his fingers on the table. There are many ways to broach this topic, he just needs the right plan of attack. “So, you still live here?” Goro asks.
Yusuke turns to face Goro and smiles. “Of course I do.”
“I just thought you were still studying under Madarame.”
“Well I can’t be expected to live under my teacher’s roof forever, now can I?” Yusuke laughs. “I believe it was you who called me ‘woefully unprepared to survive on my own’?”
“Yes,” Goro says, remembering their first week under the same roof. At the time it had been a convenient way to keep tabs on one of the Phantom Thieves, but now they were joking about it. “It’s fortunate the school arranged for you to stay with me.”
“Don’t be modest. You offered.”
“I suppose I did.” Goro hums. “It’s odd such a well-connected man as Madarame couldn’t arrange something for you himself.”
“Well…” once again, Yusuke trails off, a far away look in his.
He’s so close.
Yusuke shrugs. “I mean I’m glad he didn’t,” Yusuke says and Goro resists the urge to groan, “I don’t think we’d be dating otherwise.”
Goro stares at him. “We’re… dating?”
“Yes. For about two months now. Are you alright?” Yusuke reaches out to put a hand to Goro’s forehead, but Goro grabs it and looks Yusuke directly in the eyes.
“We’re dating.”
“Yes.” Yusuke says. “Goro, would you please let go of my wrist?”
Goro drops Yusuke’s wrist like it burned him and backs up until he hits a wall.
“We’re dating.” Goro can’t help laughing at the thought. “Damn you, Maruki,” he mutters.
“Maruki? Goro, you’re not making any sense,” Yusuke says, taking a step forward.
“Don’t!” Goro snaps, and Yusuke backs up quickly. “Don’t come near me.”
Yusuke looks crushed at that, but walks backwards until he’s at the other end of the room. “Alright, I won’t do anything. Just, please, tell me what’s wrong. I can leave, I can call Akira if you’d prefer to talk to him.”
“No.” Goro says.
“Ok, is there someone I can call? Ann? Makoto? Sae? Or I can simply leave you alone,” Yusuke offers and he looks so upset that Goro’s stomach churns.
“No, shut up!” Goro snaps. “Stop that.”
“Stop what?”
“Caring!” Goro slams his fist into the wall. “You don’t actually care.”
“What?” Yusuke says. “Goro, of course I care, I love you.”
“No you don’t.” Goro growls. “You’re only saying that because of Maruki and his damn actualization.”
“But-”
“You don’t feel that way about me,” Goro says. “I just wish you did.”
“I don’t underst-”
“Yes you do. There has to be some part of you that knows this reality is wrong Yusuke. Please.”
“I…” Yusuke stumbles and clutches his head. Goro’s quick to catch him, and part of him is screaming that he shouldn’t be this close while Yusuke thinks they’re dating. “I… I don’t want to run from the truth,” Yusuke says firmly, more to himself than to Goro.
Suddenly, it’s like something’s shattered.
At Leblanc, Akira runs downstairs to see the Sayuri back in its usual spot.
Yusuke looks up at Goro, eyes wide. “You’re alive.”
Goro helps him over to the couch, then quickly steps back. “Yes, it appears so.”
“And you mentioned Maruki, as in the Shujin counselor?”
“You’re familiar with him?”
“I met him at the Shujin school festival, I thought he was nice.”
“He’s a megalomaniac who forced everyone into a false reality under the premise of granting their wishes,” Goro says. “Kurusu, Yoshizawa, and I attempted to confront him earlier, but we couldn’t defeat him.”
Yusuke looks like he’s about to say something, then winces. “You’ll have to explain that later,” Yusuke says. “I have a splitting headache.”
“Yoshizawa wasn’t great after retrieving her true memories either,” Goro says.
“Alright, then we can meet with Akira in the morning. For now, I’d like to clear something up.” Yusuke looks up. “You think I don’t care about you?”
Goro stiffens. “Well obviously you care enough not to disturb my things, which I appreciate, but I know you don’t do that because you have feelings for me.”
“Goro. I’ve been in love with you for some time now.”
“I was dead until a week ago.”
“Even before that.”
“There may be some lingering effects of the false reality-”
“Goro.”
“But you can’t!” Goro says. “I mean, why?”
“Because I’ve seen you let your guard down when we watch movies or when I make one of your mother’s old recipes. Because you’re insightful and talking to you makes my mind and my heart race. Because Goro Akechi, the angry child who became an assassin to prove to a father that threw him away that he is good enough, is a little too similar to a child who poured his heart and soul into the painting after painting to get his father’s approval.”
“You’re a fool,” Goro says finally.
“Then so are you.”
“Yusuke, you’re saying things I’ve wanted to hear you say for a while. You can see why I can’t exactly believe it given the current circumstances, right?” That isn’t how things work for him, usually.
Yusuke’s shoulders fall, but then he nods. “Then I shall simply have to tell you after Maruki’s been defeated and we’ve escaped this reality. Do we have a deal?”
It’s not even a week into the new year and I’m already having a meltdown after almost a year without them💔sigh brain why must you work this way. I have to go home and watch Andy’s Funhouse to recalibrate myself…🤕
absolutely hate when people say something is “problematic” instead of just saying racist or sexist or whatever it is they actually mean like be more specific please that is nonsense
