Archive of Our Own ^beta

Goro’s not entirely sure why they end up doing this. Perhaps Makoto had reminisced on yet another sacred childhood experience her mental health barred her from in her sister’s presence, or perhaps Sae simply heard that it’s a thing families are supposed to do – who knows? Either way, all four inhabitants of the Niijimas’ apartment somehow end up sprawling over the sofa on a nondescript Saturday evening with the goal of having a siblings’ sleepover.

(Siblings and not-cat, that is.)

Being included in such a thing – even after all this time – makes a part of Goro feel squishy, vulnerable, like a block of ice thawing in the sun. Unfortunately, it turns out he’s definitely not the only one fundamentally unprepared for an evening of hypothetical family fun.

"... So, um, what do people normally do at these?" Makoto asks.

Silence fills the apartment. Everyone's eyes slowly drift towards Sae, who in turn, suddenly seems to find the wall very fascinating.

"You should probably Google it." Morgana sighs, the voice of reason (if not for long).

With a shrug, Goro plucks out his phone, lips curling into a frown at what he finds. “It seems like most people use these events to gossip about trite things such as love, relationships, and most disgustingly of all, celebrities.”

(Halfway across the city, Amamiya Ren sneezes.)

“I wouldn’t call them trite, necessarily – well, except for that last one.” Sae muses, rubbing her chin. “At the same time, securing a good future for yourself is far more important than trivial summer flings.”

Makoto’s gaze flicks towards her sister, curiosity in her eyes as she glances between her and Goro. “Perhaps, but I’ll admit I am kind of curious. Neither of you two talk about crushes or that sort of thing.”

“What about me?!” Morgana yowls.

Goro rolls his eyes. “You’ve made your romantic proclivities extremely clear, Morgana.” If he never went another day hearing about Lady Ann again, he’d die happy.

(Hopefully, said death isn’t going to happen before the end of the month, but Goro’s trying not to think about that.)

“Sorry, Morgana, but he has a point. Besides, Sis can’t hear you.” Makoto’s expression is sympathetic. “How about you start, Goro? What’s your… uh, type?”

A flash of wavy black hair, grey eyes that sparkle with a cunning light, and a subtle smirk flicker into his mind, and Goro instantly shudders. Absolutely not. He refuses to think about Amamiya tonight – especially not like that – given the boy is a mere few weeks away from blowing his brains out (and not in the fun way).

“Someone intelligent.” Goro blurts out before his mind can take him down any more inappropriate rabbit holes.

“I feel the same way.” Makoto nods, a slight blush dusting her cheeks. “My ideal partner would be someone smart too.”

"Really? What sort of vague, half-assed answers are those?" Sae scoffs, crossing her arms. "You might as well have said you're into people who breathe."

Makoto arches a brow. "Well then, why don't you tell us what a satisfactory answer would be, Sis?"

"... Only if you elaborate first."

"... Seriously?" Makoto sighs.

"Very mature, Sae-san." Goro drawls. "A 'you first'? At your age?"

Eyes narrowing, Sae makes an aborted reach towards a cushion, before clearly thinking better of it. Whether it's because she realised starting a pillow fight would confirm she's behaving like a ten-year-old, or because Sae got it into her head chucking something at the foster child with trauma is a bad idea, Goro doesn't know or care. Because unlike her, he's got nothing to prove. As he grabs a cushion with feline grace Morgana should be proud of, a wicked grin crosses his face. Sae's eyes widen in alarm as she realises her fate, but she's too slow to stop the pillow biffing her in the face.

"Hey!" She splutters, chucking it back at Goro with slightly more force. "And you're the one acting like I'm being immature."

Goro throws it back at her. "An interesting statement coming from the mouth of the one who started this."

"No, I didn't! I thought better of it because unlike you, I'm an adult."

Makoto groans, cradling her head in her hands, but the war only comes to an end when Morgana's voice rings out across the living room. "I know Sae's type."

Instantly, Goro and Makoto's attention snaps to the cat. A look of confusion crosses Sae's face, but as she processes the intense gleam in both teenagers' eyes, her expression changes to wary.

 "... What did the cat say?"

"Oh, nothing." They answer simultaneously.

Sae, alas, isn't a moron, and if alarm bells weren't ringing in her mind before, they certainly are now.

Morgana opens his mouth. "It's-"

The prosecutor lunges before the not-cat gets anywhere near finishing that sentence. Scooping him up in her arms, she slams a hand over his mouth, a triumphant yell escaping her. Sae's victory is short-lived, however, as Morgana whacks her chin none too gently.

"Ack!"

"Gerroff me, numbskull!"

As Goro watches his guardian get into an all-out brawl with his pet cat, he hums contently. Enforced family bonding time is certainly shaping up to be more interesting than he expected.

"... Do you think we should stop them?" Makoto bites her lips as Morgana unsheathes his claws.

"No – this is far too entertaining."

Unfortunately for Sae, strength is nothing but a disadvantage in this battle. She can barely do anything that won't actually hurt her foe, and considering she’s above animal abuse, her options are very limited. Morgana, on the other hand, has no such restrictions and is well aware of that fact. Alas, Sae eventually realises she’s fighting a losing battle, and ends up resorting to diplomacy over violence.

"Don't tell them anything weird about me!" She hisses, pointing at the cat.

"Only if you get me sushi - the good stuff too!"

"He wants sushi." Makoto sighs as she translates.

"You can take him, Sae." Goro states, full well knowing she can't. "I believe in you."

The withering glare she shoots him makes this entire evening worth it. Sae turns back to the cat. "Fine, we can get sushi."

Morgana purrs, victory in his paws.

"... Perhaps we should just watch a movie instead." Makoto concludes, shaking her head.

"Let me guess - you want to watch Like a Dragon again." Sae smirks.

"It's a good film! The choreography of the fight scenes is top-notch, and anyway, Goro and I are up to Like a Dragon 3, so I don't actually-"

Sae cuts her off before she can continue rambling. "It's fine - we can watch it."

The evening's calm restored, the prosecutor orders their dinner for the night - fatty tuna rolls, as Morgana requested - while Makoto withdraws a well-worn DVD case from under the TV.

The movie is an entertaining enough romp - while Goro finds the interpersonal plot about the return of the lead character’s long-lost father far too melodramatic for his tastes (and judging by the way her eyes roll, Sae does too), Makoto isn't wrong about the fight scenes.

"Would you like to watch another one?" Goro asks as the credits come to an end. It's late, yes, but somehow, he doesn't feel tired at all.

"I have an idea." Sae lights up, eyes sparkling. "Have you seen Fatal Destination before?"

Makoto bites her lips, wary. "... Aren't those horror films?"

"They’re more dark comedies, honestly." Sae states, clearly believing she’s telling the truth at the very least. “Besides, after the week I’ve had, I need something brainless.”

Goro shrugs. "I have no objections to trying it."

In hindsight, he probably should have had some. Makoto spends the entire movie quivering anxiously, flinching whenever one of the extremely unlikable main characters dies in the most ludicrous, contrived manner ever conceived. Morgana slowly but surely loses his wits at how implausible it all is, a sentiment Goro very much agrees with, though after half an hour or so he finally manages to let go of his irritation and enjoy the - admittedly very unintellectual - fun.

(Sae spends most of it holding back snorts of laughter, most of it very much at Makoto's expense.)

"That was the most ridiculous thing I've seen in my life." Goro declares with full confidence once it finally ends.

"I think I need a palette cleanser after that." A shudder runs down Makoto's spine.

"One more movie, then?" Sae suggests. "Is there anything you'd like to watch, Akechi-kun?"

"Please not another horror film." The younger Niijima sighs.

Holding back a yawn, Goro blinks sleep from his eyes. Truthfully, he’s hardly the most versed person when it comes to movies. He’s seen a few with the other Phantom Thieves and surreptitiously watched a couple at some of his foster homes when his guardians weren't paying attention, but none of them holds any appeal to him at the moment. Instead, a memory from an entirely different lifetime grips his heart, the pain that usually accompanies all thoughts of his mother nothing but a faint ache.

"... There was actually this old sci-fi film I enjoyed a fair bit when I was a child. I'm not sure if it's stood up to the test of time, but..."

"We might as well give it a go." Sae graces him with a gentle smile. "I'm sure we can find it online somewhere."

Eventually, they do. A familiar tune hums from the TV, and Goro relax back into the sofa, a nostalgic smile on his face. The movie is corny, dreadfully so, but as the hero unlocks his powers standing up against an evil space tyrant in a ridiculous robe, he finds it doesn't bother him one bit. As his eyes slowly flutter closed, sleep holding him in its embrace, he feels at home.

.....

Goro’s eyes flicker open, drowsiness still holding him in its iron grip. The harsh, fluorescent light of the TV’s screensaver is the only source of illumination in the otherwise dark room, but even then, it’s enough to rouse him from his grogginess. Shuffling, a blanket Goro definitely didn’t drape over himself falls off his shoulders as he scans the room.

Sae is slumped on the other end of the couch, mouth slightly ajar as she drools, with Morgana – the traitor, he thinks with a note of affection – comfortably nestled on her lap. Goro catches a glimpse of something resembling a cushion on the floor, and assuming Makoto’s made herself comfortable down there, he glances her way only to jolt in shock as he meets her crimson eyes.

“Oh, I didn’t realise you were awake.” She whispers carefully.

Goro gives a muted shrug in return. “I haven’t been for long. Do you know what time it is?”

“Three in the morning.” The brunette smiles with a sigh. “I woke up, and now I can’t fall back asleep.”

“My condolences.”

They lounge in comfortable silence for a moment, the quiet only broken by Morgana’s gentle snoring.

“… Say.” Makoto speaks up eventually, fidgeting with her fingers. “What is your type? I could tell you were thinking of someone before.”

Wincing, he looks away. “Was it truly that obvious?”

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think either Sis or Morgana noticed.” Her frown deepens. “… It’s not someone I know, is it?”

“… It’s stupid.” Goro sighs, shaking his head. “Nothing was ever going to come of it, even if they weren’t…”

Alert, Makoto sits up from her nest of pillows. “It’s not Ryuji, is it?”

He can’t help grimacing, shoulders tense. “No. Fuck, I wish it was Ryuji.” Sighing, he runs a hand through his hair. Goro’s not sure why he told her the truth – barely several hours ago, it would have been something he took with him to his grave, but now, under the TV’s glow, it doesn’t feel like much of a secret at all. “My first thought was of Amamiya.”

“Oh.” Makoto’s face wrinkles as if she bit into a lemon. “I’m sorry, Goro.”

“Don’t be.” He shrugs, unable to hide his misery. “I knew there wasn’t an insignificant chance he was a murderer from day one. It’s my fault for approaching him like a puzzle I could solve, and not…”

And not the sort of person who would kill him without a moment’s hesitation.

For a moment, she’s quiet. “You know, I understand why you like him.”

At that, Goro arches a brow. “Really? After everything he’s done to your family?”

The brunette shrugs, her frown deepening. “I can’t look past his crimes, but I’m not blind. Amamiya-kun’s intelligent, handsome, and good at pretending to be kind. In another lifetime, I might have been a fan of his.”

“I didn’t like him because he was kind.” Goro snorts, the slightest smirk crossing his face as he reminisces despite it all. “No – he was exciting. Dangerous. He kept me on my toes. It wasn’t just the constant game of cat-and-mouse we played – I wanted to prove myself to him, and I suppose I wanted him to prove himself to me too.”

“I can’t say I understand the appeal, but that answer is very you.” Makoto muses, her frown lifting into the slightest of smiles as she rubs her chin. “I think… I think my ideal partner would be someone who could support me, and someone I could support in turn - a relationship that brings out the best in both of us.”

“I can see why you didn’t want to say that in front of Sae-san.” He quips. “That’s the sappiest possible answer you could have given.”

“Careful.” Makoto warns. “Right now, I’m the one with the most pillows.”

Goro can’t help but let out a quiet, breathy chuckle, and Makoto’s amused grin is the last thing he consciously remembers seeing as he drifts back to sleep.

…..

Morgana is having a perfectly pleasant morning, totally not daydreaming on the couch next to Goro as he snoozes, when he feels the tell-tale prickle of eyes drilling into the back of his head. Glancing over his shoulder, the not-cat meets Sae’s piercing stare.

“… This is getting ridiculous. If you can actually talk, it’s unacceptable that I can’t hear you.” Grabbing her handbag, Sae dumps half the contents before gesturing. “Get in. We’re going to Shibuya.”

For a moment, Morgana hesitates. Taking Sae to Mementos – even just the surface – is risky, especially with Amamiya prowling around. At the same time, it would be really nice to be able to talk to someone who isn’t a fellow Phantom Thief.

“Alright, fine! Let’s go!”

Being in Sae’s bag is a weird experience, though with her heels she’s fairly close to Goro’s height, so at least it’s not quite as disconcerting as being ferried by Makoto is. Sooner rather than later they find a quiet corner in the bustling metropolis, and Morgana closes his eyes, focusing on the soft hum of the Metaverse seeping into the city air before tugging at it mentally. On cue, reality warps as they move to the cognitive world.

Sae blinks, eyes widening momentarily as she takes in his appearance before they narrow to slits. “What on earth were you going to say to Akechi-kun and my sister yesterday?!”

Oh. So that’s why she wanted to talk to me. Morgana lets out a deep, pained sigh, his awful week alone with Sae while the others went to Hawaii resurfacing to the front of his mind despite the way his heart screamed in protest.

"… Do you really want me to answer that?”

“Of course I do!”

“Are you sure? Are you really, really sure?”

“Stop stalling.”

Morgana sighs, aging half a decade in a single second. “I was going to say your type is well-endowed goth bunny girls."

Sae reels back, and if words could score a critical hit, they would have right then.

A deep, red flush covers the prosecutor’s face (and some of her neck) as she grips the not-cat’s shoulders, desperation shining in her eyes. “I’ll get you sushi every week if you never mention that to anyone.”

… Huh. It looks like the week of hell was worth it after all!

“Nyahaha, deal!”