Will You Forgive Me? (Akechi x Akira)

Chapter 19- Rooftop Gardening

Akira would've guessed everything was completely fine if Haru hadn't thrown him a sullen look the moment she caught sight of the pristinely dressed Goro Akechi next to him. He must have underestimated her feelings towards the boy. He had been sure she had been alright about him the night they had all unanimously voted that Goro was to stay at LeBlanc for the time being whilst Shido was still a threat, but that all seemed to have been a facade.

He bit his lip, almost kicking himself for springing this on her. If he had known how she had felt, he could've delayed this.
"Is Mona not with you?" She questioned, curiously checking the bag at Akira's side for any sign of the cat.
"No, Futaba said she wanted to spend some time with him." Haru's little 'aww' made him feel even worse. With Haru's back towards them, Akira sneaked a look at Goro who seemed to have noticed himself, the magnitude of the situation. Haru covertly ushered them through the school and to the rooftop where they found Makoto already leaning over a patch of vegetables beside the radiators.

"Hello Akira- and oh Akechi, you came too!" Makoto called kindly with a small wave to the two of them, "did you come to help with the garden?" Akira saw Goro nod out of the corner of his eye, smiling sweetly,
"Yes I did, I'm hoping I'll be of help to you two." He inclined his head respectfully. Akira couldn't take his eyes off of Haru. She looked completely out of it, nothing like her normal attentive self. This hadn't been a good idea.
"An extra pair of hands is always welcome!" Makoto nodded, "Is there anything specific that needs to be tended to, Haru?" Haru blinked and gave a start,
"Oh, well I'm certain the carrots are ready for harvesting," she said with a short look towards the crops by the door they had all just entered through, "we should also probably rotate the soil while we're at it."

"Sounds good to me." Akira nodded, throwing Haru a little thumbs up. Makoto smiled at him and brought over two pairs of gloves handing a set to Goro and one to Akira. He pulled off his winter gloves and slipped on the gardening ones, securing it onto his fingers with a little tug at the sleeve. He caught Goro staring at him as though he had done something irritatingly familiar.
"Force of habit." He smiled sheepishly back at him, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Goro.
"If you two are ready could you come help us harvest these?" Haru called from the soil patch by the door. Moving away towards the pair he noticed Goro had yet to take off his own gloves.

Tending to the garden was rather fun in Akira's opinion. Especially since it wasn't as taxing with 4 people on the job. He had to admit it was amusing seeing Goro, who obviously had never gardened or planted anything in his life, try to hide his disapproval of the entire concept. He clearly wasn't one for getting down and dirty with nature. He had also seen Goro attempt to make conversation with the two girls only to be met with a similar kind facade he was using on them. One that was overly sweet and false. Akira didn't interject. Goro had told him yesterday to stay out of his way.

Once they had finished rotating the crops the group took a step back to admire their hard work.
"Thankyou everyone! I really appreciate all the hard work you put into this." Haru inclined her head to them with a sweet smile.
"Yes, I believe we all deserve some rest after that." Makoto said, stretching her arms out to their full extent and groaning. Akira was having the same problem with his legs. They had cramped up horribly from all the squatting.

"Why don't I get us some stuff from the vending machines as a reward?" Akira said mid stretch. If he left that would leave Goro to finally talk with the other two without Akira listening in.
"That would be lovely! Though are you sure it's safe to wander the school, you're not even in uniform." Haru replied, a look of concern etched onto her face.
"Remember who you're talking to." He countered confidently, though he knew full well there was no way he could handle navigating the school corridors in the same way he did the metaverse. Sojiro would be receiving a very angry phone call if he did.
"Of course." Haru giggled gently, "I should have more faith in our leader."