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Ryuji didn't realize how late it was until he got up from Akiren's lap and looked out the window in Akiren's room. "Shit," he yelped, "It's so late. My mom's gonna kill me if I don't go home." Akiren put his book down and looked out the window. He frowned. He really didn't want his boyfriend to leave. This was one of their "study dates" where Akiren was the only one studying. Sometimes he'd convince Ryuji to do some of his work, but he mostly just accepted that he would never get his work done. Plus, he kind of liked when Ryuji cuddled him as he did his work.
"Well," Akiren sighed, "Will you come back over again tomorrow?" Ryuji laughed and smiled. "Duh, dude." Akiren just nodded his head as he stood up. Ryuji had Akiren help him up since his leg was acting up and used the opportunity to pull him in for a quick hug. "What's this for," Akiren asked. Ryuji sighed happily, "Just because." When they pulled away Akiren lead Ryuji down the stairs and towards the door. "Please promise me you'll do at least some of the homework," Akiren sighed, "I can't keep calling these study dates when you don't do any work." Ryuji scoffed, 'I will! I- uh- I just need time to go over the material. I'm doing well anyway, I just finished reading about the Edo period for history." Akiren looked at him dumbfounded. "Ryuji, that lesson was three months ago." Ryuji gulped. "Oh..."
Akiren managed to crack a smile and laughed. Ryuji was certainly not a strong student, but he was trying. Kind of trying, anyway. He pulled Ryuji in for a goodbye kiss. Unfortunately neither boy checked to make sure nobody was watching, and Sojiro caught them in the act. He cleared his throat which startled both of them. Akiren looked at him in terror, unable to react. 'Oh god,' he thought, 'This is it. Sojiro's gonna kick me out for sure.' Ryuji awkwardly said goodbye to Akiren and left. Akiren stared at Sojiro, still afraid to move or do anything. Sojiro sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"So when were you gonna tell me," he asked. He didn't sound angry, but he didn't really sound happy either. It was hard to read him. "I-" Akiren tried to say something but realized that he couldn't really say anything. Sojiro finally realized how scared his adopted son was. "Come, sit," he motioned to him to sit in one of the booths. Akiren looked at the floor and made his way to one of the booths. He made sure that the cafe was closed before sitting across from Akiren. He waited to see if his son would talk, but clearly he had nothing to say, so he decided to start the conversation. "Look," he sighed, "If you're worried I'm mad at you or anything, I'm not." Akiren looked up at him and he continued. "And... I'm sorry if I made you feel like I would be." He saw Akiren's eyes get glassy. "I'm sorry," Akiren whispered. Sojiro wasn't big on handling other people's emotions, but he wanted to try and help his kid. "Do you want to talk about this over a cup of coffee?" Akiren nodded before burying his head in his arms on the table in shame. This wasn't how he wanted Sojiro to find out. Part of him was hoping Sojiro would never find out. This was the closest he's felt to ever having a positive father figure in his life, and even if he never said anything he saw Sojiro as his family. The fear that he'd be out on the streets subsided but he still didn't want to disappoint Sojiro.
Sojiro put on a pot of coffee and watched Akiren looking despondent. He impatiently waited for it to finish and brought over two mugs full. He slid one over to Akiren, who lifted his head up. Akiren grabbed the mug and stared at his reflection in the liquid. He knew he had to say something to Sojiro. Luckily, Sojiro lead the conversation again. "Young love is really something," he chuckled, "I can't say I really expected you to end up in love with that delinquent though." Akiren sighed, "I didn't really expect it either. When we first met he was pretty vulgar, but I guess the more I got to know him the more I saw in him." He was feeling pretty bashful and looked off to the side. Sojiro took a sip of his coffee. "Well luckily Tokyo is a little more welcoming to this sort of stuff than other cities here. Although I would still be careful about showing off, not everyone is ready to accept these kinds of things." Akiren looked at him surprised. "You're not bothered by this?" Sojiro laughed, "Kid, I've been alive much longer than you have and I've seen a lot in my life. Not to mention what I've seen working at a cafe for most my life. All types of folks have come in here, and when you serve different types of people you get used to everyone's differences real fast." Akiren felt a little more relieved, but was still anxious about being out to Sojiro. "I guess that's true." Sojiro downed the rest of his coffee. "All I ask is that you don't give up your studies for him or sacrifice your future. Don't let him do it either, he's already a troublemaker as it is." Akiren laughed and perked up a bit.
"Alright," Sojiro said as he got up from his seat, "I suggest you get to bed. You have school in the morning." Akiren got up and nodded his head. "Okay, dad." His face went red as he said it. He definitely did not mean to make things any more awkward than they already were. Sojiro, meanwhile, didn't really know what to say to this. Akiren was his son in his eyes, but he never really made that clear. He figured Akiren was too old for that sort of stuff, plus he hadn't known him more than a couple of years. But just like Futaba was his daughter, Akiren was his son. Wanting to get the conversation over with so he could go home for the night, he let out a quick, "Better get to bed, son," before closing up Leblanc for the night. Akiren headed upstairs to his room and flopped on his bed. Way too much has happened in the past hour, and there was nothing he wanted to do more than sleep. He slept better for the first time in a while. Perhaps it was relief from not needing to keep it a secret anymore. Or the comfort of Sojiro confirming he feels fatherly towards Akiren. Either way, he was glad to be able to relax a little more with Ryuji around Leblanc.