Summary: After Goro got dragged to the beach, he meets an interesting person.
Note: beach fic-ish out of season? Beach fic-ish out of season.
Warnings: Author Never Stops To Consider Season-Fic Theme Compatibility, Makoto On A Mission (Kinda), Sae The Traitor (Also Kinda).
Disclaimer: Don't own P5.
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"A beach trip?" Goro blinked as he raised his head from the document in his hand.
"Yes." Sae sighed, "Makoto insisted, said that we've been overworking ourselves way too much, lately."
Goro hummed, suddenly more aware of the tension in his shoulders and neck, the strain around his eyes, and the heaviness of his eyelids, "Well, I-"
"She's not taking no for an answer."
Goro snapped his mouth shut, "Oh?" He almost squeaked out, knowing full well how terrifying a Makoto on a mission could be.
"Yes." Sae nodded, sharing a commiserating look with him.
"When?" Goro's shoulders slumped.
"Tomorrow."
Goro groaned.
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Goro didn't need a beach trip, he needed a back-breaking massage that would leave him a puddle of goo, but he found himself at the beach along with Sae and Makoto the next day anyway.
"My friends will be joining us today," Makoto said, not looking any bit like she successfully yanked two workaholics away from their offices and to the beach, and was about to shove them head first into Socializing.
"Your friends?" Sae inquired, looking wary, and Goro wondered what it was about Makoto's friends that could cause such a reaction.
Makoto merely nodded, "Aren't you always complaining about Goro-kun not having enough contact with people his own age? Here's the chance to fix that!"
Sae carefully avoided Goro's pointed stare.
"Oh, there they are." Makoto raised her hand to wave to a loud group of people who appeared to be around his and Makoto's age; once the group saw her, they all headed towards her and the two standing near her, and Goro had the urge to run and not look back, but Makoto clamped a hand tightly around his arm.
"Don't even try," She whispered, sending him a terrifying stare, and Goro sighed in defeat. Sae patted him on the shoulder.
"There, there," Sae said, "At least you're not alone. We'll deal with this together."
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At least you're not alone, Sae had said, we'll deal with this together, she'd said!
She clearly did not account for Makoto and her friend, who introduced herself as Okumura Haru, to drag her off for something or the other, and leave Goro all alone awkwardly and stiffly sitting on a towel under the shade of one of the umbrellas the group had brought with them.
"Hey," A quiet voice called out to him, and Goro slowly turned his head towards the voice to see one of Makoto's friends, the one with the messy, dark hair, and gray eyes. The cute one.
"Hi," Goro stiffly responded, and the other smiled slightly.
(Dang, did his smile have to be so adorable? Goro was not equipped to deal with someone he found attractive.)
"My name is Amamiya Ren."
"Akechi Goro. It's nice to meet you, Amamiya-kun."
"None of that, please." Amamiya fiddled with a curl of his bangs, "Just Ren is fine."
"Ren-kun, then."
(Goro wanted to shove his face into the sand and act like none of this was happening, nu-uh.)
Ren dropped his hand to his side and gracefully dropped down to sit next to him, "Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Of course!" He practically chirruped, "It's the beach, after all, sunshine, sand, and fresh air! Why wouldn't I be?"
Ren raised an eyebrow, and quirked his smile into a faint smirk, "You're obviously not enjoying yourself," He noted dryly.
"Whatever gave you that idea?"
"Call it a hunch, but I figure you're the type to stay at home curled up with a book and a cup of coffee to relax instead of going on a trip to the beach with people you don't know."
Goro chuckled, "I can't deny that."
Ren hummed as he stared at Goro, "I know a café in Yongen-Jaya that serves excellent coffee, and it doesn't have a lot of customers, so it's quiet and a good relaxation spot."
"Do you spend a lot of time there, then?"
"Yes. I live in the neighborhood, actually, and it was the first place I got to know after I moved in back in high school."
"Oh?" Goro knew his curiosity always got the better of him, so he wasn't surprised that he wanted to know more about Ren, but what he was surprised about, was how comfortable he was starting to feel in Ren's presence. "Why did you move to Tokyo, if you don't mind me asking?"
Ren shrugged, one hand going to rub at the back of his neck, self-consciousness slipping into his body language, "Ah, I wanted to stand on my own two feet on my own, and things back in my hometown were getting a bit restless. I was quite the troublemaker." Ren sent him a crooked grin that made Goro's heart beat just a little bit faster; in that moment, Goro had no problem picturing Ren as the troublemaker he claimed to be, despite his initial first impression of being a gentle, soft-spoken person, "My parents agreed, and contacted a friend of theirs who lives in Tokyo, and that's how I ended up here."
"It seems you liked it a bit too much to leave it now?"
"Yes." Ren chuckled, "But enough about me, what about you?"
Goro almost pouted at Ren due to the topic change; his curiosity wasn't satiated yet, dammit.
"There really isn't much to say about me. I'm just a simple detective who works a lot with Sae-san, with a simple life and simple tastes, just like you pointed out a few minutes back."
"I wouldn't say that, Detective Prince, Akechi Goro," Ren said, eyes glinting mischievously, and Goro blushed slightly.
"Ah, so you know about that…"
"Of course I do. You were, and still are, quite famous."
"I don't think I'll agree with you on that point; I highly doubt I'm an interesting topic."
"You'd be surprised," Ren murmured, causing Goro's blush to darken, "I'm very much interested."
"Ahaha, you flatter me, Ren-kun." Goro tilted his head away from Ren as he tried to regain his composure.
"There was something Makoto mentioned before she went to drag her sister off," When Ren spoke up again, his voice held a curious tone, and Goro turned his head towards him back again to observe Ren, catching the other staring at him intently with a glint in his eyes that made Goro feel like he should either get closer to Ren or try to run for the hills.
"What is it?"
"She said that you looked like you needed a good massage."
Goro blinked; Makoto noticed that? Huh, color him impressed, but then again maybe he shouldn't be surprised, given how she was the closest he had to a rival back in high school even when they didn't attend the same school, "She did? Let me guess, do you miraculously know a place that gives decent massages?"
Ren sent him a wicked grin showing off too many teeth, and a pleasant tingle spread across his body.
"You can say that, Tantei-san," Ren purred, "I personally took lessons from a professional, and I have glowing recommendations."
"Oh?" Goro felt a genuine grin stretch across his lips as his interest spiked, "I guess I'll have to take you up on that offer."
"I assure you." Ren leaned close, grin still in place, "You won't be disappointed."
This break may end up being better than he expected it to be.
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End
And so today marks the day my first P5 fic hits 1 year mark :D