#aro!amon

Gori didn’t believe in superstitions.

She had caught Yoriko’s bouquet at the younger woman’s wedding, and it was an exhilarating thing to experience, but Gori hadn’t taken it seriously. As much as she would love to be married, she wasn’t currently in a steady relationship and didn’t even have a crush. There was no way that she would be getting married anytime soon.

“You never know.” Her coworkers would tell her with a wink.

She would always smile and agree, because it was so much easier to let them think whatever they wanted, than take the time to explain her complicated and unheard of sexuality to every single person from scratch.

Even if it had been someone else who had caught the bouquet, it would still be quite unlikely for them to be the very next person to marry. But especially since it was her who caught it. Her sexuality wasn’t like most people’s. She felt romantic attraction only very rarely, and whenever she did happen to crush on someone, it was always because that person expressed an interest in her first.

And that hadn’t happened in quite a while. The last person she crushed on was Koutarou Amon. She had noticed him staring at her one day, unable to look away from her in the middle of a dangerous battle, and that’s all it took for her to begin to fall for him.

Unfortunately, as much as she had tried to work up the nerve to ask him out, she never got the chance to. Amon had been killed in the Anteiku Raid. She tried to move on, and eventually she did, but even now she remembered him with fondness and romantic feelings.

Gori hadn’t believed in that wedding superstition. It was a neat experience, and she felt special and lucky that she was the one to catch it out of everyone at that celebration, but that was all.

That is, until a mere few weeks later, when a new enemy appeared and in order to save Tokyo, that delivery boy from years ago, Hideyoshi Nagachika, brought an army of ghouls — as well as Koutarou Amon seemingly back from the dead.

It had only been a few days since the victory of that battle, and Gori was still adjusting to the fact that Amon was alive. That he wasn’t back from the dead, but that he had never died in the first place. That he spent years in Aogiri before he was finally broken out and lived in hiding. And that, most shockingly, he had been transformed into a half-ghoul.

Gori was a bit uncertain and nervous at first, but Amon quickly proved that he was still the same kind and brave man he was years ago.

And Gori still had a crush on him.

She began to wonder if that superstition really would be true. Anything seemed possible after Amon came back and humans and ghouls negotiated peace. And with her romantic feelings strengthening, she wondered if maybe she really would be the next one to marry.

---

“Hey, Amon-san, would you like to go out to dinner?” Gori asked.

Amon glanced away nervously, then looked back at her. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline.”

Gori opened her mouth to ask why, when the answer hit her.

Crap. I totally forgot. He’s a ghoul now.

She flustered at her mistake. “I am so sorry! I completely forgot! I didn’t mean to— I’m sorry!”

“It’s quite alright.” Amon said gently, putting his hands up placatingly. “I’m sorry that I can’t accept.”

He wasn’t mad at her. He seemed to understand that him being a ghoul would be a big adjustment for everyone.

Gori quickly tried to salvage her plan. What would be an okay date for a ghoul? Food was out, which inherently removed all the date ideas she could think of.

“Coffee.” She realized. Ghouls could have coffee. “Would you like to go out for a coffee, instead?”

Amon smiled and nodded. “Sure. That sounds wonderful.”

---

Gori made sure to get there early. She couldn’t afford to screw up anything else. She made sure that there would be no problems with the café or the table, no matter how minor, and that everything looked nice. She also placed a vase with a few roses on the center of the table for a romantic atmosphere. She smiled as she wondered if they would smell even better to his new ghoul senses than they did to her.

Amon arrived on time, and their date began. They caught up and talked and laughed as they sipped on their coffee, and continued to chat even long after they were done.

“This is a lot of fun.” Gori said, unable to stop smiling. “We should go on another date sometime.”

“Wait, this was a date?” Amon asked.

“Huh? You didn’t think it was?” Gori replied.

There was a tense moment of silence.

“I thought that you simply wanted to catch up.” Amon said cautiously.

“Well, yes.” Gori said. “But I know you liked me, and I liked you, so I thought—”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“I think I’m misunderstanding something.” Amon said. “I don’t remember ever confessing to you?”

“Oh, you didn’t.” Gori said. “But I could tell.”

“Tell what?”

“Tell that you liked me.”

“How, exactly?”

Amon looked confused, but not flustered. It was a bit strange.

“Well, I caught you staring at me that one day. I’m sorry I yelled at you. I didn’t actually mind it.” She chuckled sheepishly.

“Staring at you?” Amon asked. “When did I do that?”

Gori blinked. “...At the Aogiri Raid.”

“...”

“We had just gotten to the scene and started fighting ghouls.”

“...”

“I shot down my first batch of ghouls and looked over to see you staring.”

Amon’s eyes finally lit up with realization. “Oh. That.”

Something felt wrong. And this was just confirmed when Amon ducked his head and scratched the back of his neck.

“You never liked me, did you?” Gori whispered. She glanced down and could feel herself getting flustered, but this time from embarrassment and not romantic love.

“Er, no. I’m sorry.” Amon replied. “I wasn't staring at you. I was admiring your weapon. A long-range ukaku. You took down many ghouls very quickly. It was a very capable weapon.”

Gori remembered that Amon had been partnered with Kureo Mado — the quinque fanatic — before she properly met him. It made a lot of sense that he was checking out her weapon and not her. She should have realized it sooner.

“I’m very sorry.” Amon added.

Gori shook her head. “No, no, don’t be. I should be the one apologizing. Both for assuming your feelings and not being clear that this was a date.”

“I didn’t intend to lead you on. Especially for this long.”

Gori again shook her head. “It’s not your fault. Please don’t apologize. You’re not at fault for not falling in love.”

Amon’s eyes widened. “I’m… not…?”

“Of course not.” Gori smiled sadly. “I know what it's like to be shamed for what you don’t feel. No one should be made to feel like that.”

Amon looked like he was thoughtfully digesting those words. Then after a few moments, he said, “I’m actually aromantic.”

“Oh really?” Gori’s eyes lit up. “I am too!”

“Huh? You are?”

She nodded. “I’m recipromantic! I’m only attracted to people who are romantically interested in me first, or in your case, seem like they are.”

“Interesting.” Amon said.

“Despite getting crushes sometimes, I know what it's like to be unable to feel romantic attraction. Back in school, my friends always got upset that I didn’t crush on that many guys and that I couldn’t see the appeal of all their boyfriends. It took me a long time to understand and accept my recipromanticism.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So please, don’t feel sorry for not liking me. I’ll get over it. But, would you mind if we finish our date? Platonically?”