Safe Room { Reiyu x Akechi }

     The presence of a safe room was hard to miss.

     In the Metaverse the air felt different than it did in the real world. It was lighter, in a sense, like gravity was just another subject of a palace’s rule. Dove wasn’t sure if it was the presence of their persona, or rather the lack of a shadow anchoring its user to the floor– but movement was easier. They could run faster, they could jump higher, they could attack with the utmost precision.

     When a safe room was near, the air changed. If it was cold outside, Dove could feel a chilly breeze poke at their fingertips. When it was hot, the breeze was warm, like sunshine nustled onto the skin. It was very gentle, and never unpleasant, despite how extreme the weather outside could be. Still, it was always noticeable. The Metaverse was not exactly known for its lack of temperature, but it wasn’t known for its presence of it either. When the cognition shifted and the distortion eased up, Dove was reminded of the person behind their mask. And the saferoom where Dove could be Reiyu without the worry of what lurked in the shadows.

     “Ah,” their partner piped up. “There seems to be a safe room nearby.”

     Crow could feel it too, but his cognition of it was… slightly different. For him, it was a pull of some sort. Safe rooms toyed with him, pulled at the edges of his mask and holster of his gun as if inviting Akechi Goro to drop his facade. Misguided and misinformed, but well-intentioned all the same. Not that it mattered, really.

     “So?” Crow asked, that princely tone remaining smooth despite his battered appearance. The fight had started to take a strain on both thieves, so the safe room would not go unexplored. “Shall we?”

     Dove nodded. Crow opened the door for them, and they both went in.

     The inside kept fazing in from the cold and sterile halls of the palace into the comfy space of a hospital waiting room. Not necessarily the spot where anyone would like to be, in or out of the Metaverse, but safe nonetheless. Here the light was just a tad warmer, the air felt even the slightest bit thicker, and to top it all off, there was a two-person couch calling their names.

     Rei was the first one to be charmed by the siren song, melting atop the furniture.

     “What time do you think it is?”

     “Well,” Goro dug through his pocket, fishing out his phone. The screen always acted weird when in a palace, but the clock was somewhat accurate. “Nearing seven pm, I presume?” At Rei’s unexpected groan, he let out a chuckle. “Got somewhere to be?”

     “Not really,” they closed their eyes, and it took a second too long to reply. Was this couch really that comfy? “I have an exam tomorrow. I wanted to get back before eight, but we’re not even close to getting that ID card yet.”

     Yet another chuckle, a purring type of sound. Goro made his way onto the opposite side of the couch but didn’t make an attempt to sit, choosing to lean into its edge and simply hover. Even in a safe room, he usually opted for staying sharp on his feet.

     “We can leave if you so desire,” he simply stated.

     “No, no,” as they mumbled, Rei was fighting the urge to become one with the couch. Yeah, it was really that comfy. “The more those shadows talk about the emergency room, the more I want to go down there.”

     “You look like you’ll fall asleep at a moment’s notice,” Goro sounded amused.

     “You’re wrong,” as much as they tried, Rei’s eyes did not open. “I will not fall asleep, promise.”

     Point had been made, but the detective wasn’t keen on gloating. Instead, he opened the bag of materials he had attached to the hoop of his belt, looking through the items: Chewing Soul, Wide Eye Drops, Revivadrin–

     “Here,” Akechi placed a small bag onto Rei’s lap, and the movement finally brought them out of his coma.

     “Ooh, moon dango?”

     “I have been spending some time over at Yongen-Jaya” Akechi explained, “turns out that their supermarket has some pretty nice deals on the weekends.”

     Rei was already tearing the packaging open. “Yongen-Jaya?”

     “Yes. There’s a spot there with excellent coffee,” Goro chose that moment to sit down on the couch, merlot gaze staring right into Rei’s. “Maybe I’ll take you there someday?”

     “I’m not really a coffee guy,” they mumbled absentmindedly, biting onto the snack. Chewy, soft, and delicious, perfect to bring life back to him.

     “Well…” the detective trailed off under the false pretense of thinking it over, “they sell some pretty good curry. Is that more your speed?”

     “Yeah, that’s more like it,” they weren’t really experienced in the world of a good curry, but the idea sounded more appealing than a cup of joe.

     “Excellent,” Akechi’s voice went softer, lower, smoother. “Then it’s a date.”

     Flop, Rei almost swallowed one of the little dango balls in one go. They coughed, once, three times, to make sure it hadn’t gone through the wrong pipe. It hadn’t, but Goro reached out to hand the boy some water.

     “Easy. Please, don’t swallow without chewing.”

     “Yeah,” Rei took a couple of sips as if the water could put out the heat burning on their cheeks. “Yeah, that’s… yeah.”

     “Did I speak out of line?” the brunette asked, and his voice had softened if only just a bit.

     “No, no!” It was hard to keep a level head. Rei thanked whatever Metaverse gods were listening for the mask partially obscuring his expressions. “I just… a date?”

     Goro had been watching Rei unravel in front of him. His stance up to that point had been the one of a cat ready to pounce– and that word on Rei’s lips did it. In one swift motion, his knee was on the empty space on the couch next to his partner, weight pushed subtly in order to lean as far he could go. His right hand ghosted under Reiyu’s chin, Goro’s thumb warm on skin-to-skin contact.

     “May I ask an intrusive question?” He asked, voice velvet smooth.

     Rei’s heart was thumping inside their ears, the sound like a drum giving into a singer’s melody. The touch, so faint they could barely feel it, felt so much more personal than he was expecting from the detective. The feeling was dizzying, but addictive, just in the way that Goro managed to drive them mad. It was hard to speak, so they didn’t. A nodd.

     “I expect an honest answer,” a warning from the man in front of them. Playful but equally as heavy. And then, there was the question, “do you like me, Shirogane-san?”

     That was it. Rei’s whole word seemed to be imploding into itself. Every feeling, everywhere, all at once. Of course, they liked Goro Akechi. There was not a single person in Tokyo that didn’t—a pleasant boy with a charming smile, a sharp wit, and that dangerous gaze. When Rei was around him, they felt the sort of thrill that happens in adventuring movies, a couple paired up to fight monsters and without fail come out victorious. Goro’s whole demeanor was the one of a dream man, the type of perfect partner that you could look up in the dictionary for the term and find a portrait of. Of course, of course, they liked him.

     But Rei wasn’t willing to spill his secrets all that easily.

     “I don’t know if that’s intrusive or just personal,” they tried, suddenly desperate to change the subject. They felt the need to put some distance between them, but the couch (now more curse than blessing) had their body weight sinking into it enough that standing would require a good push. One that they could not exactly muster without swinging Goro’s hand out of the way– which they would do if found uncomfortable, but uncomfortable wasn’t the right emotion. Then what was it?

     “Are you embarrassed?” Goro purred as if the bastard could read Rei’s thoughts. Worst of it: he was correct. Rei was embarrassed.

     “What makes you say that?” They answered, fighting a question with a question. Or two: “are you?”

     Goro’s hand closed the distance, finally making contact with Rei’s skin. His fingers cupped the boy’s chin, then went up and cupped their cheek. Rei held back a breath, while Goro stared down with that gaze of his.

     “You haven’t answered my question,” he simply said.

     Rei looked down at their hands, still dressed up in Metaverse attire. Black gloves, open for fingers. There, the skin was dusted pink just as much as they assumed their cheeks to be blushing. Goro, not knowing where to let something breathe (or actively choosing not to), chuckled in a short breath. The detective opened his mouth to say something, but in a fit of adrenaline, Rei spoke first:

     “If you want to go on a date,” they blurted out, “it better be a good one. Let me tell you how.””

     “Oh?” Rei’s eyes were still fixed on the black gloves, but for the tone of voice, they could imagine the look in Goro’s eyes: a pleasant kind of surprise. Rei pressed forward.

     “Aquarium,” the scene was being painted on their head, of how this day would look. A Sunday, or maybe a day in Summer, where they had no other responsibility but each other. “You need to pick me up, and we need to go early in the morning. To avoid crowds, right?”

     “Mhm,” Goro’s hand sneaked past his partner’s cheek and towards the back of the student’s neck, where his hand started playing with their hair.

     “We can spend a couple of hours there,” Rei continued, leaning into the touch. Very slowly, their eyes traveled up from the gloves and onto Goro’s shoulders. Still not his face, but progress was being made. “Take pictures, look at the penguins, all the cute stuff. You need to get me a plushie, too.”

     Pushing himself against the couch’s headrest, Goro got closer to Rei, even more so than before. At one point in the way, Crow had removed his mask: Rei caught a glimpse of it abandoned on the cushions behind Goro. Better without the stupid red beak, their mind said absentmindedly, but they were quickly pulled away from that train thought.

     Goro was taking Dove’s mask off.

     “I’ll get you anything you want,” he hummed. Their faces were closer than ever before, with no masks in the way. “It’s your call.”

     “Okay then,” Rei breathed. Their lips were hovering only an inch away from each other, like magnets drowning in magnetic pull. Despite his better judgment, Rei finished the sentence: “after, you will take me out for sushi.”

     Silence. Goro retreated out of nowhere, so fast that Rei’s whole expression paled into worry– only to be molded into surprise. Goro was laughing, harder than Rei had ever heard him do, the kind of sound that was honest, loud, and utterly unapologetic.

     “What?” Rei croaked out, so, so confused.

     It was hard for Goro to speak, giggles and snorts bubbling up from his throat. His effort at speaking was valiant all the same, “you want to be staring at fish for four hours and  then eat them?”

     Rei wanted to be mad, but the boy’s laugh, the silliness of the situation, it was all too contagious, and they found themselves laughing. Together they stayed like that, glued to the couch and drunk off of laughter, the sound slowly faded from snorts to chuckles, to the occasional giggle. Rei let out a long breath, finally looking at those sharp eyes. This time, they were gentle.

     “I prefer to stay at home, anyways,” they said with a shrug. There was heat in their cheeks, but the tension from before seemed to have faded.

     With a swift reach, Goro grabbed Rei’s right hand, lacing their fingers together. Then, he reached them up, bringing them to his lips for a quick kiss over Rei’s knuckles.

     “The aquarium sounds lovely,” he said. “It’s a date, then.”

     “Yeah,” Rei replied. They couldn’t stop smiling. “It’s a date.”