Will You Forgive Me? (Akechi x Akira)

Chapter 16- Crepes

The Main Street was bustling like it had been before. The human traffic seemed just as bad. It was as though they had never left. The only difference this time being the large bag swinging at Goro's side and the pair of pink flower shaped sunglasses propped on top of Goro's head. Goro had been resolutely against the idea of buying the sunglasses, but Akira hadn't been about to take 'no' for an answer when the opportunity had so readily presented itself.

With his wallet feeling 700 yen lighter they had left the store, along with a seething Goro. Although it seemed Goro had no intention of actually wearing the sunglasses for their intended purpose, he felt proud that he was at least keeping them out of the bag.
"I'm getting looks..." Goro muttered and Akira snickered,
"Thought you'd be used to that by now." Goro looked at him, thoroughly unimpressed,
"You never cease to come up with something witty do you?" Akira smiled in return.
"I'll take that as a compliment." He chuckled and tore his attention with difficulty away from Goro and to the crepe stand just a couple of meters ahead of their group.

"So many flavours! I don't know which to choose!" Ann moaned longingly with wide eyes. "The strawberry looks so good! But so does the chocolate..." Ann trailed off. Akira didn't even bother to give his own input as he knew Ann would take no notice of it. Her attention would not waver until she had decided. Instead he turned back to Goro,
"So what flavour does mr. detective like?" Goro pursed his lips at the nickname and surveyed the listings of flavours above the counter.
"I haven't much been one for sweet things, but the choc-banana looks quite good." Not much for sweet stuff? Akira personally thought there was no way that could be true, but he didn't voice it. In fact he remembered seeing a TV program earlier that year where Goro pleaded differently. Was it a publicity stunt? It wouldn't surprise him if it had been.

"It's decided then!" He turned to the counter, reaching into his bag to collect his wallet.
"I can't possibly let you do that, I should be the one." Goro held out a hand, inhibiting him from removing his wallet. Was this an act for Morgana's benefit? He couldn't expect Goro actually cared whether Akira spent some money on him. Akira shook his head with a smile,
"Don't worry. The only thing I ask is that you wear the glasses properly, yeah?" Goro gaped at him, looking like some sort of humanoid goldfish. He was sure Goro would have hit him point blank with a megidolaon if he could at that moment, but then surprisingly, a smile broke onto Goro's face, to Akira's utter astonishment.

"If you're seriously that determined, I guess I can concede this one time." Goro sighed and flicked the glasses down onto his nose with a finger, "how do I look...?"
"Amazing, they really do suit you!" Akira personally thought that it would have been worth all the money he currently had in his savings for Goro to wear the glasses everywhere. It looked so unnatural for him Akira almost laughed. Cute. "You're gonna be getting a lot more looks now you know." He jested and Goro exhaled sharply.
"Thanks for the notice." he frowned before looking away from him and over to Ann who was approaching them looking overly excited.
"I've finally decided! The strawberry cream has come out on top! I was swayed by the-" Ann stopped mid sentence to stare at Goro with ogling eyes.

"I honestly didn't think you'd wear them, Akira must have some serious sway!" She giggled and Goro blanched before shaking his head,
"Not so much Akira per say, but the promise of delectable sweets does prove quite convincing." He chuckled merrily. Akira glanced down at Morgana who was busy giving Goro an up and down look as if studying him. Surely he saw the contradiction too.
"Mhmm! I can totally agree there! Just the thought of the crepe is making me drool." Then she smiled again with a small laugh, "anyways what are you two thinking of getting?" Akira already had the answer waiting to go,
"We'll be sharing a choc-banana crepe of course," He said, attempting to keep his face as straight as he could muster. He kept his eyes off of Goro, waiting for the explosion he knew to come.

"Wh- sharing?! You never said anything about-" Goro spluttered after the words appeared to have sunk in.
"Kidding," Akira chimed in before Goro could say anything else, "that's not unless you really want to. It would save me some money." He added as an afterthought and he was glad he had. The look on Goro's face was priceless,
"I would prefer not to. My humiliation is well worth my own crepe..." Although Goro looked severely unimpressed by Akira's remark, there was an unmistakable pink tinge from embarrassment.
"I guess that's 2 choc-banana, then." He said to Ann as if he had been simply answering her question for the first time.

As he and Ann ordered their crepes patiently, Goro, now accompanied by a disgruntled Morgana, went off to find them all a place to sit down. Once they were both out of earshot Ann drew closer to him conspiratorially.
"You and Akechi seem close." She murmured, the hint of smugness in her tone.

"You think?" He responded. It felt like the opposite to him. Goro wouldn't let him get closer to him despite his efforts to bridge the gap between them. They felt worlds apart. A bit of banter back and forth didn't mean too much.
"Mhmm! He looks at ease around you... different from when he talks with the others." She smiled a smile Akira could not return.

Ann was good at reading people. She always had been. But there was something holding him back from believing her this time. If Goro did find some sort of comfort in him then why would he actively push him away. It didn't make sense...
"What do you think of him? Goro I mean..." he said changing the subject. Ann's face became rather sullen,
"Of Akechi, huh?" Her eyes drifted from his for a split moment until thy snapped back on his, "after fighting him back in Shido's palace, I don't really know... I can't deny that I've tried to forget it after we found he was still alive, I thought maybe if I didn't remember him like how he was then, all crazed and merciless... then maybe I could think of him how I used to, but I can't forget... and that's why I feel like he's faking it again... this can't be who he truly is. The person we saw in that boiler room was the true Akechi, he didn't hold anything back from us, but now..."

Akira felt his heart stop.
"He's acting the way he did when he first joined the phantom thieves. I... don't know what to believe." Ann continued and Akira bit his lip. He completely understood where Ann was coming from... he too felt this way exactly, but Goro's life was riding on her forgiving him. If she didn't forgive him in time, trust him in time, he would be imprisoned in the velvet room.
"Ann I know how you feel, but please give him a chance to show you he's different from before, that part of him we saw in the palace will always be there, it's a part of him, it is him. But that isn't all of him. From the time I've spent with him recently I can tell he genuinely wants to make things better, he's trying."

Akira felt his heart pound quietly in his ears. Did he believe those words? He would believe those words if not for the seed of doubt the previous night had planted in him. Would that be considered a lie? No. It was obvious Goro was trying. Not from his own inclination, but nevertheless. At this moment though, encouraging Ann was his top priority.

"You're definitely a convincing advocate for him!" She chuckled lightly, taking the crepes that were then offered to her by the stand attendant and handing 2 off to Akira. "Don't worry, I'd love to put all of this behind us as soon as possible. I won't be one to not give him a chance to redeem himself." Akira smiled at her words. A wash of relief flowed over him. So Ann might be able to be convinced. "Especially after hearing you speak about him, you always do have a way of bringing out the best in people. I know first hand."