Goro Takemura x Reader

Thirty-One

The evening turned into night and the lights of the city became brighter. Everything was drowning in a sea of blue, purple and yellow. Signs wrapped themselves around buildings.

You did not know what time it was when you opened your eyes for the first time that night. You could feel how stiff your limbs had become. Every breath felt like your lungs were filling with water.

Your eyes wandered through the dull darkness.

Ra had curled up between your legs. Her small head appeared between the folds of the blanket as she lifted her head and cradled it. Small, pointy teeth flashed. Then she turned and curled up again. Her purr felt the silence. The vibration sank into your bones and made you exhale quietly.

With heavy eyelids you glanced out of the window. The Arasaka Tower was visible from your room. It was like a constant reminder of who had taken you in and the price that privilege now demanded. It was like a whisper in the back of your neck, a warning to always be obedient.

You couldn't help but sigh heavily at the thought. You would have loved to return to Japan.

But why?

You rarely asked yourself this question. And when you did, the answer was usually impossible to find. But now that you were lying in your bed and forced to occupy yourself with your own thoughts, you believed that you did not miss your homeland as much as you let yourself believe.

It was the carefree days of your childhood that you longed for. Days before you were given a task and made demands.

It would never be like that again. Instead, people praised your name and followed the progress of your work. And yet there would never be recognition.

Outside of Arasaka, what you did was taboo. Artificial immortality. Even this lawless place like Night City was not fond of the idea. Maybe they even doubted it was possible.

You knew.

And Saburo firmly believed that it could be done.

At that moment you remembered Yorinobu. You had wanted to meet him. It was already late, too late to visit him inconspicuously at that time. There would be no good explanation why you dragged your brother out of his bed in the middle of the night.

Although it was quite likely that he was still awake. If there was something important to him or a favour asked of him, he was always the last to go to bed carelessly and then blame others. Surely you could still visit him.

If only your body wasn't so numb.

Your lips pressed together in a thin line as you tried to turn gently enough not to startle Ra from her sleep. But it was not the cat that made you stop.

A head full of long, soft hair bumped against the back of your hand. Surprised, you pulled back only to realise that it was Goro you had accidentally hit.

He frowned wearily, a low murmur escaping his closed lips before calm returned to his face. He had rested his head on his crossed arms, half his upper body resting on your bed while he sat with the rest of his body in the armchair.

Long hair fell over his shoulders. His bun must have come loose during the night. Silver shimmered in the light of Night City while black made it look as if he was ensnared by shadows.

He was handsome, there was no denying that. Even the stubble of his beard looked like little fireflies of silver.

Much too late, you caught yourself twitching your fingers and reaching out to him. There was this desire inside you. You wanted to touch him.

No, not only that.

The curiosity inside you drove you to explore what his body would feel like. Not just his face or the silky hair that fell from his head. You wanted to know what texture the cables in his neck had, wanted to slide your fingers down his neck and find out if the bones of a human were growing in his back or if it would be metal.

How much human and how much Arasaka was he?

What had your father given him to be worthy of him?

Goro would certainly not answer that. It was not proper to speak of one's master, whether it was true or one's own feelings. He was so loyal, surely he wouldn't even dare to breathe in your father's presence if he demanded it.

All at once, something tightened in your chest. No one would ever love you the way Saburo's bodyguard loved him.

No, you had to smirk, amused at your own stupidity.

This was not love. It was a relationship that served only purpose. A gradient of power. Master and subordinate. One so flawless and untouchable while the other had no choice but to fend off the attacks on his master. No matter how high the price.

Tired, you let yourself fall back into the pillows. There was no point in trying to sneak out of the room. Takemura may be older, but his senses were sharper than any sword.

A deep breath caused your chest to flatten. It felt like an indescribable weight was pressing down on you.

Without thinking, you raised your hand once more and began to caress Goro's hair gently.

He had the loyalty of a dog, but the way his eyes moved, the precision of his steps, reminded you of a cat.

Again you had to smile.

"Tell me, Goro...", your eyes found him in the darkness. "If you had a choice. What would you choose?"

Overcome by tiredness, your eyes fell closed and a restless sleep dragged you under its spell. If you had stayed awake just a few minutes longer, you might have been able to elicit an answer from him.

Rigid as a rock, he remained lying on the edge of your bed. He felt the weight of your hand on his head and could not contain the beating of his heart.

If he had had a choice, he would have been killed for his decision. For it was not his place to choose a child of Saburo Arasaka.