#lee!ren

For most of his path towards the cafe, the young man was on his own. The streets were surprisingly empty — not that it was unexpected by this hour, but it still didn't feel like the usual amount for a Friday night. Maybe the cold was to blame for the lack of life in the streets, the deduction crossed his mind.

Akechi burrowed his hands deeper into his pockets, trying to shield himself from the gusts of wind in the last bits of his walk. The more he thought about it, the more excited and eager he seemed to get. He wasn't usually the one to shower Ren with compliments and praises, but he could kill for a plate of his curry right now.

Akechi sighed, he couldn't wait to arrive and —

…

"Sigh," Akechi shook his head, pushing the door. It was open, unlike the eyes of the staff currently in charge of the place. "Hey."

"Ah!" Ren sat back up, nearly jumping off the seat with the startle. "S-sorry, we are c-clos— G-Goro?!"

"Mr. Sojiro must have a lot of faith in the neighborhood, hm?" He teased, a confident grin in his lips as he made himself at home. He had already been at the Leblanc far too many times, he deserved some special treatment from the house. "You should at least lock up the place if you're going to be this reckless on duty."

Ren rolled his eyes, then watched Akechi take the seat next to his. He shifted slightly, resting his head on his hand. "No one comes here at this hour, not even thieves," he muttered, giving Akechi an once-over. "Even if they did, I know someone who can catch—"

"Well," Akechi interrupted, tilting head up a little, avoiding making eye contact with Ren. "That someone isn't working right now. I came here for dinner," 'since you won't ask me out', he wanted to say, but finished the sentence only inside his head. "Aren't you going to offer me anything?"

Ren chuckled softly, crossing his arms over the counter before laying his head on top of them. His eyes were still fixed at Akechi, admiring the slightly flushed skin, bitten by the cold outside; the way the detective's gaze was filled with expectancy; and how his lips curved into a small pout. Ren inhaled deeply, waking himself up from the daze.

"So?" Akechi insisted.

"I'm not working either. We're closed."

"The door was open," Akechi answered fast, a bit too fast. "And the lights are on."

Ren's smile grew bigger. If he let the silence settle in for long enough, he probably would hear Akechi's stomach growling. "I was about to go upstairs, actually. You can come along if you want," Ren purred, daring to reach for Akechi's hand.

"…I would rather have you cooking me something first, then I can think of it."

"Mhm, right," Ren's hand stopped moving, knowing better than poking around a hungry beast. "I think we still have some microwave—"

"Ren," Akechi sighed, seemingly more impatient than before, "I want you to cook something for me. If I were to eat microwaved food, I'd go home after work."

There was a shift in his tone. A slight, subtle one, but one that Ren learned to tell apart from his usual way of speaking. Akechi wasn't requesting it. That was an order disguised as a request. Still, Ren couldn't just go back on his word, could he? What if he got in trouble for using the kitchen past Leblanc's closing hour?

"It's… too late for me to cook you something," Ren repeated, a little quieter this time. He wanted to pull his hand back, but Akechi reached for it and held it by his wrist. "That's why I suggested the—"

"Ren," Akechi interrupted and shifted in his seat, getting back on his feet and cornering Ren against the counter. Ren tried to follow Akechi around, but only ended with his back pressed against the wood as the detective inched closer. A predatory, hungry gaze lingered in Akechi's eyes. "Are you sure you can't? As an exception? For me?"

"Goro, y-you… you're scaring me," Ren chirped, swallowing whatever other words were left inside his throat.

"Why?" Akechi hummed sweetly, too sweet. Sickeningly. "I just want my favorite cook to prepare me a meal after a hard, exhaustive and tiresome day of work. What's wrong with that?"

"That it's also past my working houhAHA—!" Ren widened his eyes, his free hand immediately reaching for Akechi's and trying to dislodge it from his side. "G-Gohohoro, dohohon't! A-AHahah, i-it tihihickles!"

Akechi arched his eyebrows at the statement, barely feigning surprise. Of course it did, he knew it would. He pressed his fingers down, kneading gently just below Ren's lowest rib. It didn't take a lot of effort to tickle Ren, a fact that Akechi learned quite soon after they started getting… close.

"Gohoro! S-stop it, g-gehehet off meheh!" Ren protested, squeezing Akechi's body with his legs in the renewed laughing fit. He pulled at his pinned hand and tugged harder at Akechi's clothes, but none were fruitful. "I-I dohon't want to wohohork!"

"Then I don't want to stop," Akechi answered, his tone cold and sharp, while he clawed at Ren's stomach. "The kitchen is right there and I bet you're not out of ingredients. I'm not even asking for it for free, but I might as well at this rate."

"THAHAT'S WOHOHORSE!" Ren squealed, wrapping his free arm around his torso when Akechi suddenly targeted his ribs. He pressed his elbow against his side as much as he could, hoping it would make it tickle any less, that it would help him bear it just long enough so Akechi grew tired of tickling him. "T-thahat's theheft!"

"It's not," Akechi shook his head, granting Ren a brief moment to catch his breath, "if anything, it's closer to a robbery," he wiggled his trapped fingers, prodding at Ren's ribs to emphasize his point.

Ren groaned, his body stiffened up with tension. Just having Akechi's hand so dangerously close was enough to make him giggle and feel ticklish, he felt like all of his nerves were on their edge. "Y-yohou ahare so mean! Agh, let me go!"

"That depends, are you going back to the kitchen?" Akechi grinned, finally meeting Ren's gaze again, his eyes glaring at Akechi over the glasses that had tipped down his nose. "Or are you planning to run away?"

Ren opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again before saying anything. He felt his jaw tightening, knowing very well where this conversation would take him. Ren felt his quickened pulse and the heat starting to gather around his cheeks. Damn it, it was always hard to think properly when Akechi was around, he thought.

"I-I'm gohAHAH— w-wahAHAit, I dihihdn't ahahanswer!"

"You hesitated long enough," Akechi chuckled, now with both hands latched onto Ren's body, tickling him again. "I know you were going to lie."

Whether Ren was actually going to try to deceive the young detective or not wasn't at question anymore. He needed to bail himself out of that situation before Akechi turned the Leblanc into a murder case scene.

He held onto Akechi's shoulders, thrashing his head with laughter as fingers dug into the soft spots between his ribs. His feet kicked and he nearly fell off the seat twice, but none of that was enough to convince Akechi or appeal to him.

Ren whined, tugging at Akechi's clothes as hard as his weakened hands could. "F-FIHihihine! Fihihin, I-I'll dohoho it!"

"Really?" Akechi said, barely audible through the cackling and barely able to hide back his own excitement. "But aren't you tired as well? I'll understand if you are ~" Akechi giggled, his fingers still slowly moving along with each word just to make Ren squirm.

"Y-you wohon't! Goroho— agh, d-dahamn it, stohhop it, please!"

"Alright, since you insist," Akechi nodded, managing to move his hand to help Ren adjust his glasses back in place. "Then… about that offer you made earlier."

"O-offer..? Oh, you mean going upstairs?" Ren sighed, already standing on his own feet next to Akechi and tying the apron behind his waist again. "What about it?"

“Cool it, kid, I know exactly what’s going on up here.” Both teens were mortified, but for different reasons. Sojiro’s mischievous smirk was not helping, either.

“On paper, it’s my job to keep that one safe and out of trouble,” Sojiro started, pointing at the raven-haired boy.  “But just keep it down while I have customers, and I can allow for trouble of the “revenge of a sore loser” variety.”

“Whew, okay, thanks-HEY!?”

 “And I’m sure he still has a few secrets we haven’t found yet.”

Ren and Ryuji’s hearts leaped simultaneously, and the latter glared back at the former. “Oh yeah?”

Sojiro looked at Ren’s betrayed eyes. He sometimes forgets Ren was just a teenager, still very much a kid in some ways. But he took on so much more responsibility; a responsibility that most adults couldn’t handle. If they could, the Phantom Thieves may not exist in the first place.  Then he remembered how hard of a time he gave the boy after coming to Le Blanc and not believing his story.  He could go on a guilt trip about it, but he’d rather see Ren’s tension replaced with mirth at the moment.

“We haven’t tried his knees or feet yet.  Do with that what you will, I’m going to shut the door to the staircase, though,” Sojiro told Ryuji as he made his way back downstairs. Ren, having never seized the opportunity to stand, released an “Oomph!” as Ryuji pounced on his waist, facing away from him.

“Ryuji, please, doohohon’t, NOHOHO AHHAHAHA!”  Mercilessly and with a wicked cackle, Ryuji squeezed the soft area above Ren’s knees, causing an absolute explosion of laughter.  He reflexively brought up his knees, which did nothing to deter Ryuji’s ticklish grip, and brought his hands to grab futilely at his assailant’s shirt, unable to move much more than that.

“Ryhehehujihehe!” Joker cried, attempting to twist out from underneath his teammate.

“Nuh uh uh!” Ryuji scolded, pinching his calves. As it turns out, Ryuji found a not-quite-ticklish spot. Ren, still giggling, took the opportunity to hook his fingers into Ryuji’s hips, a recently discovered weak point of his.

“WaitwahehetWAHAHEHET NOHOHO! I KNEHEHEW YOU WERE A CHEHEHEATER!”

“You wound me, Ryuji,” Ren started, “I’m defending myself!  Why would I need to cheat?” He asked as if he was truly hurt by the accusation.  He continued to knead and tease his friend's hips, holding strong against every attempt Ryuji made to try to stand.

“Toohoo beheehat meehehehe!” Ryuji cried out, desperately trying to free his hips from Ren’s hands.  Ren, swiftly and cruelly, wormed his fingers under Ryuji’s waistline, just enough to contact the taught skin covering the hip bones.  Trading kneading for scratches with his dull fingernails nearly sent Ryuji into hysterics.  His cackle jumped up to a full-blown, unhindered belly laugh.

“Clearly, I don’t need to cheat to beat you. I’m just a natural at most things, it seems,” he teased.  He didn’t know exactly why, but he enjoyed antagonizing his friend this way, especially while he was coaxing out the most unabashed giggles from him. 

“Imagine if Shadows fought this way.  You wouldn’t have a chance,” Ren started, “All they would have to do is this,” and spidered his fingers along not just the hip bones, but up his sides and across is belly.  Ryuji screeched, trying to grab the offending hands while enduring a barrage of ticklish jolts that were turning his mind and muscles to mush. 

“YOHOHOU’RE ASKING FOHOHOR IT!”

“Even if I was, you aren’t so scary right now.  You’d think someone with the name Skull would be more of a threat.”  

That did it. Ryuji, mind still fuzzy, lunged forward, breaking out of Ren’s “lethal” grip.  He grabbed one of Ren’s ankles.  He scribbled all along his socked sole, hoping to throw his leader off guard.  Sure enough, Ren’s head was thrown back in a surprised yelp before devolving into bubbling, boyish giggles.

“Dohohohon’t! Quihihihit, Ryeeehehehujii!” Ren spat through his cackles, hoping not to hurt his friend with his spastic kicking. Ryuji, on the other hand, was glad to be catching his breath.  And while he regained breath, he also regained his deviousness.

“Don’t quit? Didn’t plan to, chuckles.”

“Nohoho nahahame calling!” Ren retorted.  He couldn’t reach Ryuji’s hips again from where he scooted forward to sit closer to his ankles.  Smart, so now he wouldn’t get kicked in the head, but it put Ren in a position without many options. 

“You want scary? I’ll give you scary!” Ryuji, fired up now that he had the upper hand again, shifted slightly so his wiggling fingers were in plain view, slowly descending toward Ren’s captured foot. Despite himself knowing this tactic, he couldn’t stop himself from giggling at such anticipation.  He yelped when Ryuji just barely grazed the tops of his toes, and the blonde assailant shot his hand back up to repeat the maddening process.

“And you want to talk about me! The Shadows would only have to think about tickling you and you’d be a mess!”

“Ryeehehehujihehe, pleeheheease!”

“Please what, fearless leader?”

“Geehehet on wiheheth it!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, dude. I’m not even touching you.” Though he tried, Ryuji couldn’t keep a straight face through the whole interaction.

Ren groaned, and ultimately resigned to his fate, however long that would take. But then he found his assailant’s own socked foot and grabbed his ankle.  Ryuji paused, and Ren took in several breaths, keeping his other hand poised for attack on Ryuji’s sole.

“Ihi’ll make your life reheally hard, don’t you dare,”  Ren smirked, noting the preliminary giggles lacing the threat. He twitched his fingers and Ryuji jumped.

“Another bad spot? You make a lot of threats for someone with so many weak points.”

“HA! You’re one to talk. At least I don’t deny it as it’s happening.” Ren only rolled his eyes and felt the blush that finally started to settle come back.

“Don’t be embarrassed or anything, dude. I’m not.  Makes us human, ya know?” Ren met his eyes and smiled genuinely, but twitched his fingers again on Ryuji’s sole, causing another jolt.

“Okay, bro moment’s over, you’re deHEHEHAHAHAD!” Ren, knowing he was instigating and still pinned, made sure to get the first move in.

“Don’t you mean a bro-ment?” Ryuji’s cackles, like Ren’s earlier, picked up at the pun.

“Yooohoohou deheheserve this!” Skull claimed, haphazardly tearing off Ren’s sock, skittering lightly from heel to toe. He immediately relented his own attack and squealed before his giggles came bubbling over. 

“You like that, huh?”

“NOOOHOOHOO I DOHOHON’T!” he denied, a little too vehemently. He didn’t understand how just a few well-placed swipes on such a small part of the body could render him to such a state. Whether Ryuji was aware or not, Ren wasn’t sure, but every time those malicious fingers wandered too close to his toes, his laughter kicked up an octave. Ryuji snickered.

“Dude, yoohoou make the best noises.  I could do this aaaaallllll day!”

“PLEHEHEASE DOHOHON’T!” Ren spat, tapping the couch, trying to signal he had enough.  Ryuji obliged immediately, finally removing himself from on top of his friend and sat on the floor to allow him to recover.  Ren, still catching his breath, shot up and put his sock back on, catching Ryuji’s glance.  Chuckling, Ryuji reached and patted Ren’s back reassuringly.

“*pant*... asshole... *pant*,”

“Ready for another round?” Ryuji asked.

“NO!” Ren boomed, already curling in on himself.  Ryuji was startled, but then laughed at his poor friend.