Dissonant Harmony [G. Akechi x Reader]

AU Oneshot: Too Little, Too Late

Akechi faked his death to escape the fallout of Shido's downfall. Now all that remains in his life is his dead-end job and any updates posted about your successes. He had fallen into a comfortable rhythm of this sad life. Well, until news of your engagement spread like wildfire through the gossip columns. (Inspired by Laufey's Too Little, Too Late )

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Akechi's phone buzzed softly against the hardwood table. As if annoyed by his lack of interest in picking it up, it buzzed again, and then a third time for good measure. It lit up as he used to when he saw your smile.

Even though it had been years since he had seen you, you were never far from his mind. You were the only reason he kept the notifications sounding on his phone.

Sighing in the quiet of his apartment, he lifted the device to see one news article with your name in the headlines and two emails: reminders of bills he had yet to pay. Ignoring the threats from adulthood, he clicked on the gossip column.

"Japan's Groundbreaking Pianist Announces Engagement," he read aloud, heart clenching at the words.

He had no right to care. Not since he disappeared off the face of the earth to escape the fallout of Shido. Not since he faked his death, watching the one person who ever took the time to love him mourn him.

Skimming the rest of the article, he found the answer he knew deep down would lie at the end. Akira Kurusu had stepped in when you needed it most and won the long game he didn't know he'd be playing.

He always won, though, didn't he?

Akechi thought himself a fool to think he could have ever competed with a man who seemingly had nothing, but in the end had it all. The cards had turned on his fate, though had they ever truly been in his favor?

No, he couldn't say that.

You had once cared for him, after all, and that mattered more than any societal achievement he gained in his façade as the Detective Prince. You used to make him think he could be more than a slave to society's standards.

Clicking off his phone, he watched it darken to show a tired face.

He needed some air.

The crisp January air helped settle his thoughts until they were a dull buzz in the back of his mind. Few adults were out braving the cold, but children still weaved around the playground as if immune to the wind's bite.

If only one could keep that immunity against the harshness of reality forever.

Akechi hadn't kept track of where his feet were carrying him until he stood a few rows away from the grave that carried his name. The only reason he had realized was because of a set of voices that had the power to cement his feet to the ground.

"I," your voice warbled as you squatted in front of the slowly rising incense. "I wish you could be here with us to celebrate. Hell, we might have been celebrating you and Akira... You two were the perfectly foiled enemies-to-lovers."

Akechi watched Akira place a hand on your shoulder, a maneuver he was sickeningly sure had become frequent between the two of you.

"He kept your glove, you know... In case you ever come back." You lower your head, fidgeting with your fingers. "If that isn't a sign of devoted love, I'm not sure what is."

"Well, I can think of a few more," Akira dryly joked, hinting at the news they likely came to deliver.

He listened as they shared the details the news articles would never have. Your favorite meal, followed by a walk along the water, lit up by street lanterns. Softly exchanged words and one question that would change the trajectory of both your lives forever.