There Ain't No Easy Way Out

[joker_wild]

Gif prompt

To say Akira is exhausted by the end is to make one of the understatements of the age. He has no idea how long it's been since he slept, considering he hadn't slept that well the night before they went into Sae's palace, too busy going over the plan in his mind, making sure there weren't any holes he needed to fill to really get any deep sleep, and now, he has no idea how long it's been since his arrest. It's impossible to know how long he's been in police custody considering the lack of windows in the room and the fact that he's been knocked unconscious at least twice now between the drugs and physical abuse the officers have been dealing out. Staying awake during Sae's questioning had as much to do with normal exhaustion as it did the effects of the drugs they had injected into him, though he knows trying to fight those off hadn't made it any easier.

He had managed to pull himself together toward the end out of sheer stubbornness, the fact that the drugs were wearing off, and because he had to - but now, it's over, and when Sae comes back to collect him, he can't help but lean into her as she pulls him out of the chair.

Getting out of the police station had been harrowing, with her occasionally leaving him in corners while she went to make sure the hallways ahead were clear. He had all but collapsed when they had finally gotten to her car - which had probably been for the best, since she had thrown a blanket over him and broken a few traffic laws getting him to Sojiro's.

Sae and Sojiro had practically needed to drag him up the stairs to his room, and he barely remembers Sojiro helping him out of his jacket and shoes, of Sojiro easing him down onto the mattress and pulling the blanket up - and he had fallen asleep to the two of them whispering nearby as Sae tried to explain what was going on.

--

He has no idea how long it's been when he wakes up again. Someone's been to check on him, obviously, because there's a glass of water and cup labeled "for pain" on the ledge next to his glasses (Sae must have grabbed those on their way out of the station, because he doesn't remember having them on his face).

There are familiar voices downstairs, and he takes the meds and downs the water, realizing as he does how thirsty he is. He drags himself out of bed, wincing as he gets to his feet, as he pulls his soiled uniform off and changes into a more casual set of clothing. His ribs don't appreciate getting the shirt on over his head, though, and he's in the middle of breathing through it when he hears movement on the stairs.

Comments

[shadow_calculus]

There's a soft knock on the door, following that, and after a respectful pause, Makoto is pushing the door open, slowly. She peeks her head inside, half-expecting to find him sleeping, still, considering the strain of the metaverse and the stress of wondering what might happen if the plan didn't go, well, according to plan. Imagine her surprise, then, when she finds him awake, not to mention shirtless.

"Oh," she breathes, going red to her ears. She starts to shut the door. "I'm sorry, I didn't -- " And then the sight of him, the sight of the bruises really sinks in, and she freezes, door half-closed, to stare at his naked chest, her embarrassment gone to horror. "What -- ?"

She's going to murder someone, she thinks. Possibly her sister, for ever letting this happen in the first place.

[joker_wild]

Akira looks up as Makoto enters, pausing a beat where he looks down at the shirt in his hand and then back to her. He's too tired to be embarrassed, honestly - and for a moment, he can't figure out why she is. Her horror is easier to place, though, considering he's very aware of the bruises across his body, and he turns to his other clothes to set aside his uniform shirt and pick up a button-down shirt that he begins to pull on stiffly as he turns back to her. "Sorry. I just woke up."

[shadow_calculus]

She shakes her head, his state of undress not a problem, now, and the apology therefore unnecessary -- and then, after a pause, shakes her head again, still at a loss, still furious. Her fingers curl into fists and relax several times over before, softly, she manages, "What did they do to you?"

[joker_wild]

Akira finishes doing up the shirt, hiding the bruising across his torso, wishing for his gloves and mask to do more about the rings around his wrists and bruises on his face. Not that he really thinks hiding them will help at this point: he knows Makoto too well to think she'll let it go.

"They, uh..." he begins, letting out a wry breath. He doesn't know how to answer this. He knew this would happen, knew the police would take their frustrations out on him that they hadn't caught the others and that he wasn't giving them the answers they wanted, but he doesn't want to admit that to her, to make her feel worse that he knew what he was walking into even if he did get out without Akechi's bullet in his head, to make her blame herself in any way when it was all his choice. "They asked me questions I didn't want to answer," he says, finally.

[shadow_calculus]

"I'm going to kill my sister," she states, something cold but trembling in her voice. Never mind the fact that she knows that Sae couldn't have done anything, that she didn't even know a fraction of what was going on until then end. Still. Her sister is a convenient target, at the moment, the face of the law she still had some small flicker of faith in, if only thanks to the memory of her father.

[joker_wild]

Akira immediately shakes his head - and then hisses, reaching up to pinch at the bridge of his nose. He might have a bit of a concussion he'd forgotten about. "It wasn't her," he assures her after a moment. "She made them stop, and I'm pretty sure she was ready to kill some of them, too."

He drops his hand. "I'm okay."

[shadow_calculus]

"Barely," she shoots back. She might be less ready to kill her sister, now, Akira's assurances helping on that front, at least, but she's still not thrilled. Maybe later, she'll have to track some of the people responsible down in Mementos. If they're willing to beat a teenager, they have to have a shadow, she imagines.

Trying to let that act as a balm to move beyond her upset, she sucks in a breath, holds it for a minute, and then lets it out a huff. "But at least you're alive."

[joker_wild]

Makoto would have help with that if she decided to look into it, more than likely - and not just from Joker himself.

Akira watches her for a moment - and then nods more gingerly. "I think it went fine. I think we'd already know by now if he had caught on to anything."

Akira is pretty sure he would actually be dead already if Akechi had figured out what they were up to, but the point is that yes, he's alive and bruises will heal.

"I'm glad you're okay, too," he says softly, tilting his head to look at her.

He appreciates how worried he knows the others were about him, but he was equally worried about them, that one person turning their head the wrong way at the wrong time might mean that one of the others was spotted. Fortunately, everything seems to have gone just how they wanted it to, including all the attention ending up on him.

[shadow_calculus]

"That was ... probably the most stressful Palace we've ever done," she admits, looking a little guilty for it. She hates talking about her own experience, when his was obviously worse, and she hates that he's using it to get away from talking about his, to a degree, but. But he brought it up and it was stressful, between trying to stay under the radar of both the shadows and the real, human authorities, and the fact that it was her sister's Palace, in the first place. She's glad it's over, for all their sakes. She's glad it's over, for her and Sae's.

"But it's over," she continues, after a beat. "We made it." She's fine, in much better shape than he is. They all are.

[joker_wild]

Akira huffs out a laugh at the understatement. "Yeah, it really was. And that's saying something." Considering everything else they went through with the palaces.

"And yeah, we did," he agrees, reaching for her hand cautiously, like he's afraid she might not let him take it.

He doesn't mean to put off her worry, because he appreciates it, and he's more thankful than he can say to have her, but the simple fact remains that he's as much happier talking about how other people are than how he is himself.

[shadow_calculus]

Fingers uncurling from the fists they're still balled into, she reaches back, lacing her fingers together with his. She stands there for a moment following that, just grateful for the heat and weight of his fingers, for the fact that he's alive, and then, softly, she notes, "They're waiting for you, downstairs."

She really doesn't want to break this up, that much clear in her voice, but it's either she reminds them or someone eventually stomps up the stairs to get them. Probably Ryuji, she thinks.

[joker_wild]

Akira looks just as grateful, squeezing her hand lightly, relieved that she let him take it. He huffs out a breath at her next comment, one corner of his mouth quirking up. "You have to convince Boss to let you up here?"

They can resume this later, after he's checked in with all the others - though he's not particularly looking forward to all of them reacting to his current state, considering he expects it to be more or less the same as Makoto's.

[shadow_calculus]

"It didn't take much." Sojiro knows that they're together, after all, and despite outward appearances, he's been nothing but kind to her, nothing but respectful about their relationship.

It seems that that's not the case for everyone, however, as abruptly, from downstairs, Ryuji yells, "Yo! You done makin' out up there or what?" Makoto turns an appropriate shade of red but doesn't let go of Akira's hand.

[joker_wild]

Akira hums acceptance of that, not actually surprised considering what he knows Sojiro's like when he's not being an ass.

Akira looks toward the stares at Ryuji's outburst, huffing out a breath and reaching up with his free hand to ruffle his own hair. "You, uh... they're going to be upset. About..." He trails off, gesturing at his own face.

Help him stop Ryuji from running off and getting arrested because he tries to punch a cop or Akechi, or Futaba from hacking everyone's Facebooks, or all the other things their comrades are likely to get up to at the sight of his current state. And it's not that he doesn't appreciate it, but they have other things to worry about right now.

[shadow_calculus]

She smiles as the embarrassment gives away to something cold, sharp. Ryuji isn't the only one who's upset; actually getting to talk to Akira has helped, knowing that he's in one piece has, but she's still not thrilled. If she ever runs into Akechi in a dark alley, well, she imagines she's a better fighter than he is. All those aikido lessons weren't for nothing.

Rather than point that out again, however, instead she says, "I know. I'll try and help smooth things over."

[joker_wild]

"Thank you," he returns seriously and with emphasis, and he hopes she gets everything he's thanking her for - including her anger for and concern about him, now.

[shadow_calculus]

"You're welcome," she answers softly, some of the ice giving way to something quieter, fonder. He's welcome for all of it.

"Seriously, guys. Do I even wanna come up there, right now?" Ryuji calls again.

Makoto sighs, warmth shifting to vague amusement, and squeezing Akira's hand again, she starts to tug him towards the door. "We should get downstairs before he really does come up here." Along with the rest of the Thieves, assuming they're all in attendance, too, and she does.

[joker_wild]

Akira lets himself be tugged and then led properly, letting her lead the way down the stairs. Keeping hold of her hand on said stairs is a little awkward, but he also can't quite bring himself to let go.

As strong a face as he's putting on, he really does need her, right now. The last couple of days have been fraught - and he's well aware that's putting it mildly.

As they reach the bottom of the stairs, he braces, knowing what he's about to walk into.

[so_pissedoff]

"Holy shit," Ryuji breathes, as they reach the bottom of the stairs. From the sound of things, he was going to lead with something else, a simple hey, maybe, but seeing him changed that pretty quick. He's as horrified as Makoto was, when she first saw him. He's stalled there, not tipping towards anger yet, but he'll get there.

[joker_wild]

Haru and Ann both gasp, both putting their hands to their mouths at the sight of him, Ann already starting to get to her feet.

Akira squeezes Makoto's hand before he lets go, moving past her to join the group at their usual table. "I'm okay," he assures them.

"You don't look okay, Ann says, upset in her tone.

[so_pissedoff]

"What she said, man," Ryuji adds, something in Ann's voice catalyzing something in his. Now he's edging into anger, and it show, tightening up the lines of his shoulders as his fingers ball into fists.

"No, he doesn't," Makoto puts in, her own voice carefully level. She promised to help with crowd control and that means keeping her own upset to herself. "But he's alive. That's the important thing. The plan worked and he's alive."

[joker_wild]

Akira looks back at her gratefully, moving toward an empty chair. Ann follows after him, reaching out like she wants to help him but not quite sure what to actually do. She looks back at Makoto, nodding a little.

"At least it worked," she agrees, though she's clearly still worried about Akira, and after a moment, she turns toward the bar. "Boss, do you have any ice packs?"

[shadow_calculus]

"Already on it," Sojiro answers, ducking out of the freezer with a bag of frozen peas. He's not sure how they got in there or when, the ingredients he uses for his curry always fresh, but he's grateful for them, now. "It's not a real ice pack, but ... "

It'll do until he can get to the little grocery down the street.

"Thank you," Makoto offers, along with a short bow as she steps forward to take the bag from him. She carries it over to Akira, offering it to him once she's stopped again.

[joker_wild]

Akira looks up as Makoto comes over with the peas, taking it from her. "Thanks." He takes the towel Ann offers, balancing the peas in his hand - and then props his head up on them, adjusting a little so it's over the worst of the bruises. "So everybody else got out without a problem, right?"

He knows they did. He just wants to check in.

[so_pissedoff]

"We're fine, man," Ryuji promises, waving him off. Despite how casual he sounds in that, or how much he means it (they really are fine), however, his body language is still angry. And if that much wasn't obvious, after a beat, he continues with, "That effin' Akechi ain't gonna be, though."

He'd rather go after the police, since he knows they did this to Akira, not Akechi, not directly, but he also recognizes that's suicide. (And maybe a little stupid. Maybe. Sae's not so bad, he supposes, even if they did kinda have fix her to make that so. Maybe all the cops aren't so bad.) Finding a way to hurt Akechi, as they take him down, because they're definitely taking him down, will have to do.