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Goro Akechi was not having the best day. He had only 2 hours of sleep last night (he tried to stay on top of his large workload), some fans pestered him at school (when will they get the memo he's not interested), and then he got a call from Shido (never failed to bring down his mood). He had decided to stop by Leblanc and grab some coffee to cheer himself up, but then it started raining. Sorry, not raining. Pouring. It was coming down hard, but he couldn't head home now. He was almost to the cafe.
Goro finally spotted his oasis amongst the torrent and burst open the door. After struggling to shut the door, he surveyed the situation. He was completely soaked to the bone, slightly shivering, and Kurusu was standing there, mouth open. Kurusu flapped his lips for a couple more seconds before he jumped into action, grabbing towels.
"Akechi, are you ok?" He asked, handing Goro a towel.
"Oh, I'm just fine." He gratefully accepted the towel and started drying off his hair. "I just forgot to bring an umbrella, though I doubt that would do much against the storm out there." He grimaced for a second before composing himself and flashing his trademark smile. "Could I get a cup of coffee?"
"I'll get you that and a change of clothes. It looks like you're about to catch a cold just standing there. Come on upstairs." Kurusu tugged Goro towards the attic.
"No, I'm fine. I just need to warm--" His sentence was interrupted by a sneeze. The fluffy haired boy gave him a look and he sighed.
"You told me once we looked to be of similar builds, so it's no problem at all to borrow some of my clothes. Besides, you'll be warmer once you're out of that." He pointed to Goro's dripping coat. Seeing he had no choice, Goro reluctantly nodded and followed the boy to the attic.
He hadn't ever been in the Leblanc attic. It felt off limits, as this was basically Kurusu's home. The first thing he noticed was how dusty and run down the room was. The walls were cracking in places and he swore he felt a draft. There were bags of coffee beans stacked along the back wall and various other things scattered around the room. Was that a lock picking set on the desk? He decided to pretend he saw nothing, since Kurusu was being kind enough to lend him a change of clothes.
Kurusu's cat was sitting on the couch and looked startled by his entrance.
"Morgana," Kurusu said in that tone of voice people reserve for their pets. "Akechi is going to be staying for a little bit, just until the storm dies down. It's ok for him to stay right?"
If looks could kill, the glare that cat gave Kurusu would have put him six feet under. It's tail slapped unhappily and it seemed to roll its eyes. Could cats even roll their eyes? It got up from its position, turned a couple times and then laid back down.
"I'm so glad we have your permission!" Kurusu proceeded to make kissy noises at it. He was rewarded with a claw to the face. "It's ok," He said, turning back to Goro. His glasses were slightly askew. "He loves me, he's just shy."
Somehow, the cat looked more murderous than before. Goro decided he would try to avoid it for the rest of the night. He really didn't want to get clawed.
"So, what do you have for me?" Goro asked. That seemed to get the boy back on track as he realized his guest was still standing there, sopping wet.
"I can lend you my PE uniform. It's pretty comfy and warm. Here." He pulled out a red jersey from his closet. Goro took it and did his best to keep it dry. His gloves were still wet though, so even the uniform wasn't completely safe. Oh boy, he'd have to take off his gloves…
"You can change in the bathroom downstairs," Kurusu said. He started pulling out clothes hangers. "Once you're done, you can come back up and I'll hang your clothes up."
Goro headed back down the stairs and into the small bathroom. It was cramped, but he had changed clothes in public bathroom stalls before. This was roomy compared to that. He pulled off his jacket and was unsurprised his shirt was soaked through as well. He hoped his jacket would have kept him a bit more dry, but it really didn't help at all. He peeled the shirt off and took a second to look at himself in the mirror. Scars crisscrossed around his torso, battle trophies from the metaverse leaving lasting marks in reality. It was ugly. He chuckled humorlessly, wondering what those same girls who were fawning over him just today would think if they saw him like this.
He tugged Kurusu's jersey on, hiding those red lines from his line of sight. It was a surprisingly close fit, Kurusu only being a bit smaller than him. He could feel the jersey was a tad too tight around the arms. He pulled off the rest of his clothes and replaced them with Kurusu's gym uniform.
Finally there was just his gloves. At this point, they were a comfort item more than anything. Goro sighed and carefully removed them. There were some scars on his hands too, making them look slightly mangled. He moved the sleeves of the jersey down until they were covering his hands. Feeling like that was enough, he gathered up the wet remains of his uniform and left the bathroom. Kurusu was at the counter, fixing what he assumed was his coffee.
“I’m done changing,” he announced. Kurusu looked up and smiled.
"You look cute like that," he said. Goro felt his face grow hot and he grumbled.
"Where do you want me to put my clothes?" He asked, pointedly ignoring Kurusu's comment. It was probably just done to rile him up, like everything Kurusu did. That bastard managed to make pissing him off an olympic sport. And yet he kept coming back.
"Upstairs," he replied. "I put some hangers up for you. I'll have your coffee ready when you come down."
Goro headed back up to the attic and hung his clothes up. He saw Kurusu had a few towels out, so he laid those underneath to catch the dripping water. The entire time, Kurusu's cat watched him. It was unnerving feeling those eyes on him. It reminded him of mementos and the constant feeling of being watched, even when he never sensed anyone nearby. He hurried down the stairs, eager to return to Kurusu's welcoming presence.
“Here you go,” Kurusu said, setting a glass down on the counter. “One coffee, nice and hot.”
Goro walked over and sat at his usual seat. He wrapped his sleeve covered hands around the cup and enjoyed the heat of the cup for a second. It was relaxing. He brought it up to his mouth and took a sip. He felt the warmth travel down his entire body and he let out a pleased sigh. Muscles he didn’t even know he was clenching began to relax.
“Does it taste alright?” Goro looked up to seeing Kurusu fiddling with his hair.
“It’s acceptable.” The fluffy haired boy’s posture immediately untensed at Goro’s words. Was his opinion that important? He hadn’t even said it was good. How annoying. He closed his eyes and went back to enjoying his drink.
Something warm wrapped around his shoulders and his eyes flew open. A blanket had been put around him. As if hearing Goro’s unspoken question, Kurusu spoke up.
“I thought you might like a blanket. Um..” His hand went back up to his hair. Goro wanted to grab it and shove it back down. “Do you want to sit up in the attic? The couch is probably more comfy than the bar.”
Goro mentally weighed the pros and cons of going upstairs. On the upside, the couch did look a lot better than where he was sitting currently. But that was also where Kurusu’s cat was, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to face that beast again. Like hell he’d let some animal boss him around though, and he agreed to go.
He heard the door open and rain pour in again as Kurusu tried to flip the sign. Goro turned around and saw the boy soaked through. He couldn’t help but chuckle at his soggy state. Kurusu pouted at him and he let out a full blown laugh. He grabbed one of the towels that was still by the door and tried to dry off.
“Great, now I’m going to have to change.” He grumbled.
They made their way upstairs and Goro carefully sat down on the couch. He tried to leave as much room between him and the cat, which was eying him again. He cradled his coffee and wrapped the blanket closer to him. Kurusu grabbed some clothes and left to change. It was now only him and that cat. He couldn’t understand why that thing was watching him so closely.
“Stop that,” he said, giving the cat a glare. It glared back at him and stood up. He was a bit worried it would try and attack him, but instead it hopped off the couch and moved to Kurusu’s bed. It curled up, watching Goro the entire time.
Kurusu thankfully came back. He was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt and sweatpants, which was probably his sleepwear. He watched the boy hang his clothes up next to Goro’s. He then sat down on the couch. Why he didn’t sit on the bed was beyond him.
“Did you bring any work or anything to do while you’re here?” He asked.
“Hm, I brought my briefcase but I left that downstairs. It’s fine, you don’t need to get it,” Goro said as he saw Kurusu getting up. “I think I’ll just read. Do you have any good material?”
“Oh, I got material,” Kurusu said, waggling his eyebrows. Goro gave him a withering look. The boy just grinned and reached into his bag. He pulled out a copy of Robin Hood. He jumped for a second, wondering how Kurusu could have known that was his persona, when he realized it was probably just a wild coincidence.
“Thanks, Kurusu.” He took the book and examined it. It was a library book and the due date was coming up soon. It felt like it hadn’t been checked out in years and a faint smell of junk food and dust lingered on it. He cracked open the pages and began reading. He felt the couch dip beside him as Kurusu sat down again.
Goro lost track of time while they sat together. A few minutes, an hour, multiple hours could have passed while they enjoyed their little bubble of sanctuary. It was an atmosphere Goro had trouble placing, but it was tantalizingly pleasant. It would wrap around him like the blanket on his shoulders every time he stepped into Leblanc. Perhaps that was why he kept returning. His miserable day from earlier had already washed away with the rain outside, and in its place was the warmth Kurusu’s little attic provided.
“I think our clothes are probably dry by now,” Kurusu said after a while. He felt his weight leave the couch. Goro tore his eyes away from the page and saw the boy feeling the clothes. “Yup, they’re dry.”
Kurusu turned to Goro wearing a smug smile and a mischievous glint in his eyes. “What are you planning?” He asked.
“Well, you fit fine into my clothes. I wonder how I’d look in yours.” He reached for the detective’s jacket. Goro felt his face heat up.
“Wait just a second!”
“Aw, why not? You’re already in my clothes.”
Goro grumbled and folded his arms. He supposed it was fair, but it was still embarrassing. “Fine. But only for a little bit. I’d like to change and leave soon.”
Kurusu smiled brightly, grabbed the boy’s clothes and scampered off to the bathroom. Goro sighed and went back to reading his book. Kurusu returned shortly and showed himself off. His clothes were pretty tight fitting on himself and they looked only slightly too big for the other boy.
“Well, do I look like an ace detective?” He said, striking a pose.
“You look like a hobo that stole my clothes. When was the last time you brushed your hair?” Goro asked, pointing to his head.
“Rude, I take a long time to make my hair neat.”
Goro snorted. “Sure, whatever you say.”
“Come here,” Kurusu walked over and grabbed Goro’s sleeves. “I wanna get a picture of us.”
“Huh?” He let himself be pulled up and stood awkwardly next to the boy. “Why?”
“To treasure this memory,” Kurusu said. Goro could have puked at how sickeningly sweet he sounded. “And because I want to show Ann cause she’d love this shit.”
“Fine, I suppose.” He wouldn’t be posing or looking cute for the camera though. He did enough of that for his job. Kurusu pulled out his phone and wrapped an arm around him. Was that really necessary? He didn’t want to admit it, but it felt nice. He couldn’t remember the last time someone touched him like that.
“Say cheese!” Kurusu snapped the pic. “Heheh, I think we look good.” He showed the screen to Goro. They didn’t look too bad, actually. The lighting in the attic wasn’t that terrible surprisingly. “Want me to send this to you?”
“Sure, if you want.” His phone vibrated seconds later. “Um, may I have my clothes back?”
“Yeah! Sorry, I got carried away didn’t I?” Kurusu did that thing with his hair again. It was so annoying.
“It’s alright. To be perfectly honest, you were right. This jersey is comfortable.” For some reason he couldn’t look the other boy in the face. He could feel his eyes on him though.
“I told you! Alright, I’ll change back so you can have your uniform again. Honestly, this thing is kind of stuffy, how do you do it every day?”
“You get used to it. Besides, I prefer looking nice.”
“Of course you do.” And with that, the boy retreated downstairs. After he got back, Goro retrieved his clothing and went to the bathroom. He was changing out of the jersey and putting his shirt back on when he realized Akira hadn’t said anything about his hands. He was grateful. He wasn’t sure how he’d explain that, so he was glad it was never brought up.
“Thank you for having me,” Goro said, gathering his things.
“Thanks for coming over. I had fun tonight.” Kurusu said, handing Goro an umbrella. He had insisted Goro take it with him. “Text me when you get to your place, ok?”
“I will. I’ll see you later then,” Goro said. He headed back out into the storm. The rain had let up significantly, and now an umbrella would actually be useful. He pulled out the one Kurusu just gave him and walked to the station.
As the rain fell steadily above, the word for the soft feeling Leblanc gave him came into his head. It felt like home. He hadn’t thought of that since he was a child. Why Leblanc of all places gave him those feelings confused him. He decided not to think too hard about it. After all, nothing would come about, even if it was true.