∆fandom; persona 5

∆pairings: pegoryu (ryuji sakamoto x persona 5 protagnist), akekita (goro akechi x yusuke kitagawa)

A/N: I remember writing this a while ago bc it was 3 am and my mind was screaming p5 roommate au w/ akekita and pegoryu 

little bit of context: after high school, ryuji, akira, and yusuke decide to be roommates. a little after, yusuke meets akechi and they start dating. a bit after that, yusuke asks if akechi can move in with them, and the others say yes

--

Not being able to sleep at 2 in the morning in the same room as the man you're crushing on sucks, Ryuji thinks as he mentally groans. He turns over again, pulling his red bedsheets closer to his chin. He shuts his eyes tightly, in hope that this would make him fall asleep faster.

Alas, sleep never caught him. Sometimes, the blonde wishes he could've called dibs on the single room before Yusuke, but of course he was too late and had to share with Akira.

They only bought a two bedroom house, so when they moved into this little house, Yusuke offered the other two boys a room to share and he would take the other for himself. At first, neither Akira nor Ryuji were sure why he thought of this is as an offer. He said it was because 'his art supplies would simply take up too much space to share a room' which was explanation enough for Ryuji.

It was then that Ryuji remembered; Yusuke's boyfriend, Goro Akechi, moved in with them a while back, so at one point he would end up having to room with Akira anyways. He stuffs his head into his pillow and pouts a bit. A sound of distress hits his hears, and Ryuji sits straight up to listen more carefully. It comes again, and he notices it's from the other side of the bedroom wall, probably the side where Yusuke's room is.

Oh god...

This is a somewhat regular occurence, since their bedrooms are right next to each other. Ryuji can hear almost anything that happens in there. The boy huffs quietly, reaching over to his nightstand blindly to grab his phone and earbuds. Might as well drown them out if he can't sleep...

Ryuji turns his head, and across the room, he sees Akira sprawled across his bed, his blanket tossed at the foot of his bed without a care. One arm is draped over the side, and the other is carefully atop his chest. His breathing is even, and the sound is the only thing Ryuji could hear at that moment.

He could fall asleep to that sound... He shakes his head at the thought and continues on with his journey to his music. Ryuji knows Akira doesn't feel the same as he does, but that doesn't stop his mind from wandering every second.

Another second and finally he untangles his earbuds, plugging them into his phone. Ryuji lets the music fill his ears, suddenly finding it easy to slip into the clutches of sleep.

~

Ryuji groggily opens his eyes, taking a second to process that he's conscious. His music had stopped playing, probably mean his phone died. He groans but places it on the charger, then looks around and notices that Akira isn't in his bed. He shrugs it off and gets up to leave the room, rubbing the gunk out of his eyes in the process.

He's met with the smiling face of Akira when Ryuji enters the kitchen, which makes his chest flutter a bit.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Ryuji flushes deeply at the nickname and Akira chuckles, "Want some coffee?"

Ryuji splutters a bit, so he just shakes his head. "'M good.."

"Too bad," Akira said as he extends a pastel yellow mug to the faux blonde. "I made you some anyways."

The boy takes it and examines it a bit. "When did you make this...?"

"Couple minutes ago. I was hoping you would've been awake by now."

Ryuji laughs a bit and takes a sip as he goes to sit at the table. That's when he notices Akira is wearing short red shorts. They stopped a little past the top of his thighs. The blonde almost spits out his coffee. He didn't mean to goggle at the other, but those shorts really brings out Akira's slight curves.

"See something you like?" Akira asks, a smug smirk on his lips. Ryuji just makes a face at him and then distracts himself by asking Yusuke if Goro was awake yet.

"No. Is there something you need?"

"Nuh uh. Just have a bone to pick with him..." Ryuji muttered in response. He finally plops into a chair at the dining table, setting down his coffee mug in the process.

"'Yuji?" Akira looks at the boy in question from the fridge. "Hm?"

"Do you want to eat something?"

Ryuji thinks for a moment. At the moment, he's not very hungry, but he knows later he'll feel like he's starving if he doesn't eat something now. Oh well, he decides and shakes his head. Akira looks at him skeptically for a second, but then just shrugs and returns to the fridge.

The next 40 minutes are mostly uneventful. The only thing notable that happened is Yusuke sitting at the couch with his sketchbook and a pencil, switching his gaze from the book to Ryuji to Akira every so often. Ryuji wondered what he drew.

The sound of a door opening hits Ryuji's senses, and he looks behind him to see Goro exiting his room. His hair is an absolute mess, and he's wearing a very oversized purple, long sleeved shirt. The blonde can't tell if the shirt belongs to him or Yusuke. He doesn't dwell on it for long, though.

"About time, Akechi," Ryuji grumbles. In a matter of seconds, Yusuke is at Goro's side, kissing his cheek softly. Goro smiles at the contact. A couple pleasantries are exchanged between Akira and Goro, and then the room falls silent for a minute. Ryuji can't stand it.

To lighten up the mood, he tries to joke around by saying, "You're so loud, Akechi." A grin breaks out on Ryuji's face. "Hm? How do you mean?" "Last night," Ryuji puts a hand to his chest and throws his head back, preparing an imitation, "Oh, Yusuke, right there!" he made a couple obnoxious and high-pitched moans to accompany the show. "Yus-"

The blonde was shut up with a sharp punch to his chest.

He giggles at Goro's completely flushed face and Yusuke's equally as shocked one. Akira also falls into a fit of laughter, getting a killer look thrown in his direction from Goro. "It's not funny!"

~

Ryuji jumps as his door slams open. He looks and sees Goro standing in the doorway, a neutral expression on his face. "Jesus! Warn a guy next time!" He yells at him, and gets an eyeroll in response.

"What do you want?"

Goro walks over to Ryuji's bed and sits at the edge with the faint hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "You know, there's no better time like the present..." his voice uncharacteristically goes up a pitch at the end. Ryuji furrows his eyebrows."For?" "Oh, maybe a confession? I don't know..." a grin breaks out on Goro's face. This makes Ryuji's stomach srop with dread. What does that mean? What does he mean?

"What are you talking about?" Ryuji tries to keep his cool as he speaks. Goro chuckles. "You should tell him."

For a minute, Ryuji just splutters. But he gives up trying to deny it, so he just hangs his head. "How'd you know...?

Goro chuckles again. "Well, first of all anyone can tell just by looking at you two idiots. But also, I kinda just wanted to see if I could get a reaction." Ryuji looks up at that.

"You dick!" He shoves Goro a bit.

"Oh, whatever. Anyways, Yusuke forced me to talk to you." The brunette sighs. Ryuji also sighs, letting his thoughts slip unfiltered through his mouth. "But... Akira doesn't feel the same. How could I tell him anythin', especially at a time like this?" The blonde looks away, feeling his chest start to clam up. He suddenly didn't want to talk anymore. "You're really that oblivious, huh?" Goro replies, tucking a strand of hair behind his hair. "Huh? What are you talkin' about?" Ryuji looks at him in confusion. Goro chuckles, and then that chuckle turns into a fit of laughter. Ryuji just stares, waiting for him to quit. But his mind wanders. Why is it so funny? What is he talking about? Once Goro calms down, he's holding his stomach and his face is bright red. "You're an idiot... Can't you tell? Akira is absolutely smitten. He loves you just as much as you love him."

Ryuji's eyes widen. He thinks about it for a moment, as if it's true. But then he shakes his head. "No, you're lyin'. Someone like Akira could never love someone like me..." He tightens his jaw and stares at Goro, locking eyes with him. "This isn't a funny prank, Akechi."

Goro looks slightly bewildered at that statement. "I'm offended that you think I would stoop that low..." Ryuji just looks away again, mind blank on how to respond. Goro shrugs and stands up.

"Oh, well. But, Ryuji," Goro leans over and places his hand on Ryuji's shoulder, forcing the blonde to look at him as he continued, "you need to confess one way or another, before Yusuke and I lock both of you inside a closet." And with that, Goro Akechi leaves Ryuji's room. As soon as the door closes, Ryuji groans and throws himself back against the bed. He grabs a pillow and stuffs his face in it, closing his eyes tightly. He starts thinking of Akira, and his heart beats faster as his cheeks flush red.

He wants to confess, he really does, but doing that and then getting rejected isn't something Ryuji fancies. It's especially worse for him now that they're stuck inside. If Akira rejects him, they'd be stuck around each other, and that air, that vibe, would be hella awkward and uncomfortable.

Two sides of Ryuji's mind fight over what to do. He supposes Goro was telling the truth, and if he was, then maybe, just maybe, he can tell Akira about his true feelings. But, at the same time, Goro could've been lying, and confessing can be the worst thing to do. It doesn't help that there's a small voice in Ryuji's head telling him that Akira would be absolutely disgusted and horrified that his best friend has a crush on him.

Ryuji argues with himself for what feels like over an hour when he finally sits up. I'm not gonna tell him, he decides, settling his internal debate. His stomach growls, so Ryuji thinks it best to eat for now and keep his mind off everything else.

~

Ryuji twiddles his thumbs as he sits on the couch after dinner. They all decided to have a movie night, so Yusuke and Goro are cuddled under a blanket on one end of the couch, and Ryuji and Akira are sitting dangerously close to each other on the other. The blonde steals glances at Akira every once in a while, who is intensely watching the movie. Ryuji, admittedly, hasn't been paying attention, so he doesn't really know what's going on. But, suddenly, the credits were rolling, and Goro was groaning.

"I think we'll be turning in for the night." Yusuke says, letting Goro stand up before he does. Once he's up, he grabs his boyfriend's hand. "Goodnight." Yusuke smiles at Ryuji, then turns and leads Goro to their bedroom.

Ryuji holds a small conversation with Akira, but he doesn't retain any of what is said. Akira is getting up and walking away, while Ryuji stays back. He isn't sure why he's so out of it, but he knows he's tired, so he decides to follow Akira.

It takes another hour for Ryuji to be comfortable in his bed, but even then he still can't fall asleep. A certain frizzy-haired man keeps invading his thoughts.

"Akira...?" Ryuji speaks out, hoping he's awake. His mind is screaming at him to shut up, but he ignores it.

"Yeah?"

"You awake?"

"No, I'm asleep." Akira deadpans. Ryuji scoffs. "Oh, shuddup..."

The two sit in silence for a moment, until Akira speaks up again, "so, did you need something?" Ryuji sits upright in his bed, throwing the blankets off himself. He slowly stands up.

One part of his brain is still screaming at him, desperately trying to convince him to lay back down. On the other side, his impulses are taking over, so he makes his way to Akira's side of the room. Ryuji's looming over the other man, probably looking sort of menacing.

It's now or never, he thinks.

"Ryuji...?" Akira sits up. Ryuji's throat closes up, suddenly becoming very dry. He swallows, shaking his head. He has to tell Akira, now.

"Hrm..... Erm...... I... U-Uh..." Ryuji groans and stutters trying to speak his mind, but failing.

"Calm down, 'Yuji. What's the matter?" Akira's calming voice comes out. Ryuji looks at him, hoping he's making eye contact. He nods to himself and takes in a deep breath.

"I... IloveyouAkira!!!!!!!" the faux blonde rushes out, then tightly shuts his eyes. For a moment, all is still. Nothing is said. Ryuji thinks Akira might not have heard them. His face flushes deeply. He goes to say something else, but Akira interrupts him.

"I love you too, Ryuji."

A gasp leaves Ryuji's mouth at those 5 words. His jaw hangs open for a minute. Akira chuckles a little and shifts around, pulling Ryuji's arm. "Come closer, yeah?"

All Ryuji can do is nod along and let Akira pull him down onto his bed. The shock goes away, and Ryuji's then staring at Akira's face. "Oh. O-Oh.... Oh!"

"Y-You do??" he can't keep his voice down. Akira just nods in response. They stare at each other for another few moments. Ryuji feels his eyes well up, but he forces it down. He doesn't want to cry over this.

"W-Will this mean that you're my... b-boyfriend?" Akira smiles at him, and Ryuji's heart almost melts. "If you want to." The faux blonde nods aggressively. Akira chuckles again.

Akira takes the initiative, pulling himself closer to the other. He wraps his arms around Ryuji's waist, and in turn Ryuji wraps his arms around Akira's neck. "Is this alright?" The ravenette whispers.

"Of course..." Ryuji responds. The two lay together, trying to match each other's breathing. Ryuji still can't wrap his head around it. His crush, his crush, the perfect Akira Kurusu, feels the same way about him? So, Goro was right? He can't help but wonder if it's all a dream.

"Ryuji...?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I kiss you?"

Ryuji grins. "Y-Yeah, of course, dude."

The ravenette lowers his head, and moves one of his hands to cup Ryuji's cheek. They both slowly lean in until their lips meet. At that point, all of Ryuji's dreams have come true. He's been longing for this for so long, he doesn't care that the kiss lasts for a couple seconds. He's happy with that.

When Akira pulls away, he presses their foreheads together. "I'm tired...." Ryuji says, moving away from his face and burying his own face in the crook of Akira's neck.

"'Kay, goodnight, then. Are you sure you're comfortable with sleeping in the same bed right now?"

Ryuji just half nods. He's already almost asleep.

The last thing he hears is Akira say, "I love you," then he falls into a happy slumber.

--

A/N: the formatting messed up a little, but I'm sure it's fine.

I hope you enjoyed!!!!I

ALSO I'M SORRY IF THIS STORY KEEPS UPDATING FOR PEOPLE IN NOT REALLY SURE EXACTLY HOW THE NOTIFS WORK THEN LIKE UPDATING ALREADY PUBLISHED CHAPTERS BU T LIKE ANYWAYS SORRY IT'S JUST MY THING KEEPS GLITCHING

-rhyme