Marionette(My Strings Are Titanium, You Cannot Cut Them)

Akira glanced at the time as he finished wiping down the tables. Akechi should be there before long. He knew it was late, hence why he was closing up Leblanc, but the message had been on pure impulse.

After arriving home from Mementos, something had felt off. Akira couldn't quite describe it, but he had a feeling something bad was going to happen, or had happened, the same as he did in the Metaverse when he saw a particularly strong shadow they'd have to face.

Akechi had suggested a café, one Akira had never heard of, and he'd followed up asking if they could meet at a different one. That one was probably closed by now anyway, or would be soon.

Akira couldn't say for certain that inviting Akechi to Leblanc when it was technically closed was a good idea. Not because Boss would have a problem with it, but because he wasn't quite sure how Akechi would feel being alone with him. A poorly thought out plan, yes, but it was better than doing nothing. He'd tried doing nothing already, but he only felt more anxious.

He heard the sound of a bicycle outside. Due to how cut off Leblanc was from the main street, it was easier to identify. Akira rushed to open the door, not wanting Akechi to just leave when he saw the closed sign.

The detective was just approaching the door when he saw Akira, crossing his arms with a frown. "This place is closed."

Akira laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, I know. I work here. And live here, technically." He smiled sheepishly when Akechi just raised a brow.

"Why exactly are we here, Kurusu-Kun?" Akira could feel the distrust seeping off him. This was a bad idea, wasn't it? Well, he may as well be honest.

"I was worried about you." He shrugged, feeling a bit better when Akechi's defensive stature seemed to soften, if only out of confusion.

"You were worried about me?" Akechi echoed. "Why in the world would you be worried?"

Akira smiled. "Intuition?"

Akechi rolled his eyes. "Your intuition was wrong, it seems. As you can see, I'm perfectly alright."

Akira didn't quite believe him. The pit in his stomach remained, but he didn't want to scare him off completely. "In that case, can I offer you some coffee? I'm not as good as Boss, but he says it's acceptable."

He could sense Akechi's hesitation, but the detective relented and walked into the café, sitting at the bar.

Akira took his order and got to work preparing the coffee, all of Boss's advice running through his head to make sure he got it close to perfect as possible.

Neither spoke until he handed Akechi the cup, to which he was thanked with a smile.

There was that bad feeling again.

Akira tapped his fingers on the counter. "You don't have to do that with me. Fake a smile."

"What makes you think I'm faking?" Akechi's voice sounded strained, same as it did on TV, forcing himself to sound happy.

Akira frowned. "It doesn't reach your eyes, and you look tense."

Akechi finally let it drop. "Observent as ever, I see. It's simply habit. I have a reputation to maintain, after all, and very few people care to see past it."

Akira leaned against the counter, staring at Akechi past it. "Are you okay, honestly? Just humor me."

Something flashed through Akechi's eyes that Akira would almost call fear, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. "Of course I am."

Akira didn't believe him. He didn't know why he couldn't accept that answer, but somehow he knew it was a lie.

Akechi didn't have the usual tells. He maintained eye contact, didn't answer too fast or too slow, didn't seem nervous. It just seemed too rehearsed, too fake. Akira saw the way the detective's lips pressed together, held the cup of coffee a bit tighter in his hands, how his breath seemed to catch on emotion he refused to reveal.