Baby, just do the dishes
Persona 5 - Goro Akechi x Ren Amamiya
A/N: I wanted to make some domestic shuake, but it got so domestic akechi got into his wife beater tickler era aaaa
Summary: Akechi arrives at Leblanc a tad too late and they are already "out of service". Or so Ren thought.
Word count: 1492 words
[Also on Ao3]
Was it anxiety? Stress? Burnout? Or was it something else entirely? Akechi didn't know. He couldn't really think about it, even if he tried really hard to. He was tired.
Work, media, studies, repeat. He was trapped in this cycle for god-knows-how-long and it was really starting to get to him. If it wasn't for a thing here or there, he'd have lost it quite a while ago at this point. Thankfully, Akechi's favorite coping method was just around the corner: a nice meal, a warm cup of coffee and his favorite companion. Just walk down another quarter and call it a day, Akechi repeated inside his head.
For most of his path towards the cafe, the young man was on his own. The streets were surprisingly empty — not that it was unexpected by this hour, but it still didn't feel like the usual amount for a Friday night. Maybe the cold was to blame for the lack of life in the streets, the deduction crossed his mind.
Akechi burrowed his hands deeper into his pockets, trying to shield himself from the gusts of wind in the last bits of his walk. The more he thought about it, the more excited and eager he seemed to get. He wasn't usually the one to shower Ren with compliments and praises, but he could kill for a plate of his curry right now.
Akechi sighed, he couldn't wait to arrive and —
…
"Sigh," Akechi shook his head, pushing the door. It was open, unlike the eyes of the staff currently in charge of the place. "Hey."
"Ah!" Ren sat back up, nearly jumping off the seat with the startle. "S-sorry, we are c-clos— G-Goro?!"
"Mr. Sojiro must have a lot of faith in the neighborhood, hm?" He teased, a confident grin in his lips as he made himself at home. He had already been at the Leblanc far too many times, he deserved some special treatment from the house. "You should at least lock up the place if you're going to be this reckless on duty."
Ren rolled his eyes, then watched Akechi take the seat next to his. He shifted slightly, resting his head on his hand. "No one comes here at this hour, not even thieves," he muttered, giving Akechi an once-over. "Even if they did, I know someone who can catch—"
"Well," Akechi interrupted, tilting head up a little, avoiding making eye contact with Ren. "That someone isn't working right now. I came here for dinner," 'since you won't ask me out', he wanted to say, but finished the sentence only inside his head. "Aren't you going to offer me anything?"
Ren chuckled softly, crossing his arms over the counter before laying his head on top of them. His eyes were still fixed at Akechi, admiring the slightly flushed skin, bitten by the cold outside; the way the detective's gaze was filled with expectancy; and how his lips curved into a small pout. Ren inhaled deeply, waking himself up from the daze.
"So?" Akechi insisted.
"I'm not working either. We're closed."
"The door was open," Akechi answered fast, a bit too fast. "And the lights are on."
Ren's smile grew bigger. If he let the silence settle in for long enough, he probably would hear Akechi's stomach growling. "I was about to go upstairs, actually. You can come along if you want," Ren purred, daring to reach for Akechi's hand.
"…I would rather have you cooking me something first, then I can think of it."
"Mhm, right," Ren's hand stopped moving, knowing better than poking around a hungry beast. "I think we still have some microwave—"
"Ren," Akechi sighed, seemingly more impatient than before, "I want you to cook something for me. If I were to eat microwaved food, I'd go home after work."
There was a shift in his tone. A slight, subtle one, but one that Ren learned to tell apart from his usual way of speaking. Akechi wasn't requesting it. That was an order disguised as a request. Still, Ren couldn't just go back on his word, could he? What if he got in trouble for using the kitchen past Leblanc's closing hour?
"It's… too late for me to cook you something," Ren repeated, a little quieter this time. He wanted to pull his hand back, but Akechi reached for it and held it by his wrist. "That's why I suggested the—"
"Ren," Akechi interrupted and shifted in his seat, getting back on his feet and cornering Ren against the counter. Ren tried to follow Akechi around, but only ended with his back pressed against the wood as the detective inched closer. A predatory, hungry gaze lingered in Akechi's eyes. "Are you sure you can't? As an exception? For me?"
"Goro, y-you… you're scaring me," Ren chirped, swallowing whatever other words were left inside his throat.
"Why?" Akechi hummed sweetly, too sweet. Sickeningly. "I just want my favorite cook to prepare me a meal after a hard, exhaustive and tiresome day of work. What's wrong with that?"
"That it's also past my working houhAHA—!" Ren widened his eyes, his free hand immediately reaching for Akechi's and trying to dislodge it from his side. "G-Gohohoro, dohohon't! A-AHahah, i-it tihihickles!"
Akechi arched his eyebrows at the statement, barely feigning surprise. Of course it did, he knew it would. He pressed his fingers down, kneading gently just below Ren's lowest rib. It didn't take a lot of effort to tickle Ren, a fact that Akechi learned quite soon after they started getting… close.
"Gohoro! S-stop it, g-gehehet off meheh!" Ren protested, squeezing Akechi's body with his legs in the renewed laughing fit. He pulled at his pinned hand and tugged harder at Akechi's clothes, but none were fruitful. "I-I dohon't want to wohohork!"
"Then I don't want to stop," Akechi answered, his tone cold and sharp, while he clawed at Ren's stomach. "The kitchen is right there and I bet you're not out of ingredients. I'm not even asking for it for free, but I might as well at this rate."
"THAHAT'S WOHOHORSE!" Ren squealed, wrapping his free arm around his torso when Akechi suddenly targeted his ribs. He pressed his elbow against his side as much as he could, hoping it would make it tickle any less, that it would help him bear it just long enough so Akechi grew tired of tickling him. "T-thahat's theheft!"
"It's not," Akechi shook his head, granting Ren a brief moment to catch his breath, "if anything, it's closer to a robbery," he wiggled his trapped fingers, prodding at Ren's ribs to emphasize his point.
Ren groaned, his body stiffened up with tension. Just having Akechi's hand so dangerously close was enough to make him giggle and feel ticklish, he felt like all of his nerves were on their edge. "Y-yohou ahare so mean! Agh, let me go!"
"That depends, are you going back to the kitchen?" Akechi grinned, finally meeting Ren's gaze again, his eyes glaring at Akechi over the glasses that had tipped down his nose. "Or are you planning to run away?"
Ren opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again before saying anything. He felt his jaw tightening, knowing very well where this conversation would take him. Ren felt his quickened pulse and the heat starting to gather around his cheeks. Damn it, it was always hard to think properly when Akechi was around, he thought.
"I-I'm gohAHAH— w-wahAHAit, I dihihdn't ahahanswer!"
"You hesitated long enough," Akechi chuckled, now with both hands latched onto Ren's body, tickling him again. "I know you were going to lie."
Whether Ren was actually going to try to deceive the young detective or not wasn't at question anymore. He needed to bail himself out of that situation before Akechi turned the Leblanc into a murder case scene.
He held onto Akechi's shoulders, thrashing his head with laughter as fingers dug into the soft spots between his ribs. His feet kicked and he nearly fell off the seat twice, but none of that was enough to convince Akechi or appeal to him.
Ren whined, tugging at Akechi's clothes as hard as his weakened hands could. "F-FIHihihine! Fihihin, I-I'll dohoho it!"
"Really?" Akechi said, barely audible through the cackling and barely able to hide back his own excitement. "But aren't you tired as well? I'll understand if you are ~" Akechi giggled, his fingers still slowly moving along with each word just to make Ren squirm.
"Y-you wohon't! Goroho— agh, d-dahamn it, stohhop it, please!"
"Alright, since you insist," Akechi nodded, managing to move his hand to help Ren adjust his glasses back in place. "Then… about that offer you made earlier."
"O-offer..? Oh, you mean going upstairs?" Ren sighed, already standing on his own feet next to Akechi and tying the apron behind his waist again. "What about it?"
The detective smiled, taking back his seat. "I'll accept it as well — once you're done, I mean."