Dark Sun: A Goro Akechi x Amamiya Ren Romance (Persona 5/Royal)

4: Illusion

(Cheers to a new chapter! I've been writing like crazy recently ^^;
Enjoy! :) )

To say I was embarrassed was beyond an understatement. Not only had I been caught, but I trashed the entire collection of coffee the shop had. And not just any coffee, but the coffee of the caretaker of my current rival.

Shame, Akechi.

The electric gaze of a naive, exhausted Ren stared down at me curiously. As his hand swiped away my hair from my face, my heart instantly doubled its rhythm - to which I grew even more confused, and therefore, more angry.

Forshame.

The demeaning voice of my abusive stepfather rang in my ears, shaming me for waking my host and making a mess of the place. I could feel the ever familiar tightening of my chest, and the heavy burden of failure resting on my shoulders. My mood instantly soured.

Stupid. You never know when to quit, do you?

I averted my eyes from Ren's gaze, unable to keep my embarrassed blush to a minimum.

"Here..let me help you.." My host held out his hand and took hold of my elbow, attempting to offer support as I rose to all fours. But as soon as I got to a kneeling position, I jerked my arm away.

"I don't need your help." I scoffed venemously, using my coffee stained hands to support me as I leant against my one good leg. I slowly stood.

Ren followed suit and got to his feet infront of me. His confusion was clear on his face, because not only did he tilt his head to the side slightly, but he also began twiddling the longest portion of his bangs between his fingers.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" I could hardly stand his questions any longer. It was only a matter of minutes before he surely threw me out, now that I'd ruined about 85% of his caretakers prized coffee. I grit my teeth and lowered my gaze, covering my eyes with my bangs.

"Can you stop asking me that? I'm.fine." My tone was short and irritated. I needed to leave, before I ruined my chances of ever getting closer to Ren. In a single frantic move, I stepped forward and passed by him, squeezing between his body and the bar to leave, limping all the same. I didn't dare look him in the eye.

"I'll pay for all the damages--"

"Wait, Akechi-san."

A sudden bright warmth cascaded across my stomach and around to my left side. It stopped me in my tracks, and I looked up to my right. Ren had slipped his arm across my front and was holding me by the hip, preventing me from leaving.

My face lit up as I stared at him in both surprise and annoyance. I felt even more stupid because I knew I had coffee smudged all over my face.

But oddly enough, Ren wasn't mad. His face was still gazing at me with utter worry, and his eyes were as soft as ever.

"It doesn't matter about the damage. What I'm worried about is your leg. Are you okay?"

His consistent questions annoyed me to no end. Am I okay? Am I hurt? Those were questions you only asked if you were preparing to beat someone even more senseless than you already had. A technique I was much too familiar with by now.

My anger lit up like a fuse. I grit my teeth and shoved him by the shoulder right into the shelving.

"Don't touch me." Ren stumbled backwards and I used that time to begin limping away. I rounded the outside of the bar and took out my wallet, counting out as much yen as I could afford before slamming down ¥21,000 on the edge of the coffee bar. I came to the door and grabbed the handle.