shuake oneshots
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Akechi raises his eyebrows. "Do you play?"
Ren shrugs and sits down on the bench, playing a couple more notes at random. "I used to." An old song he learned a long time ago suddenly surfaces in his mind and he plays the first few chords, slow and sustained, and soon the rest of it follows. It's simple enough that he remembers it mostly by ear, a graceful, melancholic melody floating above warm, somber chords that ebb and flow like a dance, lent et douloureux.
Series
- Part 1 of shuake oneshots
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"Those four stars there make up the Southern Cross. Do you see it?"
To Goro's surprise, he does see it- tiny pinpricks of light resolve themselves into the endpoints of a cross shape. "Yes, but isn't it a little absurd to apply human imagination to something so far away and then call it a connection? It's not so much discovering a meaning as just arbitrarily imposing one that you want to see."
"Sure, if you look at it that way. But I think it's human nature to try to reach out to what we don't understand." Ren smiles softly, his eyes impossibly warm and dark, and something in Goro's chest twists itself into a knot. "The stars- their light is reaching us and that has to count for something, right?"
Series
- Part 2 of shuake oneshots
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Something about the sea always felt reassuring to Goro- perhaps it's the patient, abiding push-and-pull of its tides, its unknowable depths that make him feel shallow and transparent in comparison, the violent tumult that lies beneath the surface. Or, perhaps, it's because its currents always carry him back into the past and he's just a sucker for that kind of punishment.
Do you think the ocean and the sky meet at some point, way out there? Ren had said, the last time they were here. Or do they just get infinitely close without ever touching?
Series
- Part 3 of shuake oneshots
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Akechi laughs beneath his mask, a low, dark chuckle that makes the pit of Akira's stomach tingle with something yet unnamed. "What's the matter, Joker? Don't tell me you've already reached your limit."
That stupid laugh. That deadly voice that had beckoned to Akira like a siren's song, the barrel of the gun that had eclipsed his vision, the pretense that began to crack and slip away, revealing slivers of a dangerous, tantalizing truth- it's distracting, is what it is, igniting a spark within him that he never knew existed. But he if doesn't concentrate now, Akechi will wipe the floor with him and snuff out the spark beneath his heel.
"Of course not." Akira grins, pulling a newfound confidence out of his ass and just going with it. He's Joker, he can do anything, he will not lose to someone so arrogant and self-absorbed and fascinating and infuriatingly smart and- well. He is definitely not going to lose.
Series
- Part 4 of shuake oneshots
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Summary
Ren doesn't mind the silence— it's companionable, not awkward, and it's even more gratifying that Akechi is comfortable enough around him to just let it be, but sometimes he wonders if the things they've said are eclipsed in sheer magnitude by the things they've left to longing glances, the briefest of touches, the meaningful smiles when they're alone together. The plausible excuses for their lives to overlap at the train station, in the square, at the very cafe where Ren resides, where he pours Akechi a cup of his favorite tea and only asks that he stay a little longer in return.
Series
- Part 5 of shuake oneshots
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Summary
"It's like a word puzzle game," Akira explains. "You have six tries to guess a five-letter word, and it tells you if your letters are correct and in the right spot. Interesting puzzle, huh?"
Fuck, how did Akira figure out that Goro has a weakness for puzzles? Did the chess and the detective job make it obvious? Well, either way, the intrigue isn't quite enough to outweigh his pride when it comes to which cheap mobile games he'll allow himself to indulge in.
He waves his hand. "Sure, but I doubt something like that would be my speed. I usually prefer more complex challenges."
Akira's expression doesn't change. "Bummer. I was hoping we could compare our scores and see who does better."
"What is it called?" Goro says immediately. "Where do I play it?"
Series
- Part 6 of shuake oneshots
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Summary
"What!? You're just gonna walk up and ask?" Morgana squawks.
"Couldn't hurt, right?" Maybe Akechi will let something slip about the Phantom Thieves. Maybe he wouldn't mind having another chat with Ren about his thesis or whatever.
"Alright," Morgana relents. "But don't be too direct. Remember, we can't make him suspicious of us, no matter what." He dives back into the bag, safely tucked away from prying detective eyes.
Ren steels himself. He can do this without making it weird. Well, okay, he's only spoken to Akechi twice and he's pretty sure it's already weird, but like, in a good way, so...
It'll be fine. Probably.
Series
- Part 7 of shuake oneshots
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Summary
Ren is biting his lip, clearly on the cusp of something, but Goro doesn't have all night. He has sleep to catch up on, final preparations of his own to make. A short list of things he wants to take care of while he has the chance. He gives Ren one final glance, sighs, turns around to leave.
So then of course Ren chooses that very moment to look up at him with those eyes, so sad and conflicted that he has to be faking it. No one has ever felt sad over Goro, and Ren of all people shouldn't feel like that.
He really, really shouldn't.
Ren opens his mouth. Closes it. Opens it again. "Do you wanna sleep here?" he says, way too quickly.
Goro's grand thoughts about life and death grind to an immediate halt to make way for this brand new crisis.
They stare at each other for an uncomfortably long time. Neither of them make a move. Ren has this stupid expectant look on his face, like he still thinks something good might come of this.
"What on earth," Goro says slowly, his head spinning, "do you think would possess me to agree to something like that?"
Series
- Part 8 of shuake oneshots
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Summary
Ren stares at the light-up dartboard. "This is our rematch?"
"Indeed." Akechi turns and levels a serious look at him. "Do you have a problem with that?"
There are many problems with it. "I thought you meant, like, in the Metaverse," Ren says. "Like we were going to go beat each other up."
"Well." Akechi flips his hair out of his eyes and opens up a fancy little case with his fancy little darts that let him somehow always throw bullseyes. "That's your fault for making the wrong assumption, isn't it?"
"It's your fault for being evasive and unclear," Ren argues. Rather futilely, but it's the thought that counts.
Akechi's eyes dance under the fluorescent lights—oh, Ren's definitely being laughed at now. "701. First to zero wins. I'll even be a good sport and let you go first."
Series
- Part 9 of shuake oneshots