Make Me a Drink. [Goro/Sato]

This bar, at first glance, seemed like it couldn’t be further from the type of place one would find Goro Utari. And, typically, that would be the correct assumption. Thanks to his quirk, Goro was nocturnal, and most nights he had no need of caffeine.
This was not most nights. Goro was certain he hadn’t slept for about 24 hours now, but with the new materials and technology he’d come into possession of recently, there were more productive things to do than sleep. Unfortunately for him, there were also more productive things to be doing than brewing coffee himself, and the café he currently had a love-hate relationship with, ‘decesso’, was closed at this hour. This bar was about the only place he remembered having coffee he could stomach that was open at this hour and close to his hotel.
He was glad to see the bar mostly vacant of customers, though a few of the regular drunks took up the stools. He was about to seat himself in one of the many empty boothes when someone caught his eye.
Sato Ketsujo. He’d heard the name many times, even back in England, and had only become more aware of the man’s reputation once he’d arrived in Japan. Of course, he’d done a lot more attempted digging once it had become apparent Sato was also a member of the villain chatroom Goro had discovered installed on his tablet, but he hadn’t found much.
After all that, he’d seen enough photos of Sato that he was certain he could pick him out of a crowd without a second thought, but it was strange actually seeing him in person, and in this bar no less.
For some reason, the first thing that came to mind was Nick’s mocking attempt to set Goro up with Sato, and his inability to entirely reject it. While there was no way on Earth he’d ever admit it, the truth was he found Sato to be a remarkably handsome man, and even in such a poor location that still held true.
The sight of Sato had left him suddenly far more awake than he’d been a minute ago, so he didn’t bother ordering coffee before he sat down quietly in the seat opposite Sato’s. Only then did he realise that, while he knew who Sato was, Sato may not know him.
“Ah, hello Sato. It’s nice seeing you in person, finally.” Whatever the document was on the table, it was probably not something for the eyes of others, so Goro made an effort to keep his attention off it. But he couldn’t quite bring himself to meet Sato’s eyes either, so as he spoke he wound up staring at the space a couple feet away from Sato’s head instead. “We’ve spoken in that chatroom before. I’m Goro. Utari. I offered to make you coffee sometime?” Even if the bar were completely empty, speaking his actual villain name out loud seemed very foolish.
The dress shirt and trousers Goro had put on that day suddenly felt somewhat inadequate, and he didn’t know why.

Goro sighed quietly as Sato abbreviated his prior username, obviously refusing to say the full thing out loud. Of course, he was one of the many in that chatroom who’d mocked it before, so he doubted he was leaving it unspoken simply to avoid drawing attention to the two of them. “Yes, that would be me. Though I have changed my username since then.”

“No, I… I honestly didn’t expect to see you here. I came here for a cup of coffee actually. And yes, I’m well aware the coffee here is far from what I’d call ‘acceptable’, but I’m far too busy to brew any for myself and my usual place is closed at this hour.” Lacking anything else to do with himself, Goro began tracing a circle on the tabletop with his finger. He still couldn’t meet Sato’s cold gaze.

He hadn’t really thought of what he was going to say to Sato when he’d sat down. Goro hadn’t expected the response Sato had given, but he hadn’t really expected any response at all. Doing something like this spontaneously without planning ahead just wasn’t like him, what the fuck was he thinking?

Eventually, something occurred to him that he could use Sato’s assistance on. Something he’d been thinking about on and off for weeks now ever since the news broke, that would consume his thoughts for hours on end before insecurity would drive him to inevitably abandon the idea. Then, he’d consider it again, and the cycle would continue. If he had someone else’s aid, especially someone so rich and access to so many resources like Sato, perhaps that idea could actually go somewhere.

“Yes, there is something. I’m certain you’re already well aware of what happened at Semper Fi. I may have mentioned this in the chatroom before but, I do not believe that those responsible will ever face the proper consequences of their actions if something isn’t done by us.” Goro’s finger on the table stopped, and he pushed his glasses up. “But, I’m not certain if I want to only talk about business today. While I didn’t have the time to brew coffee for myself, something for you would certainly be more important than whatever else I was doing today.”

“Of course I’m referring to the military themselves.” Goro laid his hand flat on the table, for a moment meeting Sato’s eyes before it became too overwhelming and he looked away again. “I’m sure a token few of them are being court martialed, just so the military as a whole can pretend that this was all just a few bad outliers, but just as many if not more are going to escape receiving just punishment for their actions.”

His gaze returned to the folder lying on the table. What could possibly be inside? The position he’d seen Sato in when he’d entered the bar didn’t suggest it was something particularly good. After all, he’d been sitting here a while alone, and yet hadn’t so much as opened it. Either way, it wasn’t something he was about to ask him about. Whatever it was, it was certainly confidential, and asking Sato would only anger him.

“And, if the systems in place favour the ones committing atrocities, it would fall to those who were wronged to exact revenge.” The hand that was on the table tightened slightly, not quite into a fist but about halfway there. “Not just on the individuals, but also the system that encourages their actions.”

He leaned forward a little, still not quite looking Sato in the eye but a lot closer to doing so now. “Of course, in my view, a good place to start would be demonstrating that we won’t sit idly by and allow the culprits themselves to escape unpunished.”

“I never expected anything more than this from the military, to be honest. From the moment Semper Fi opened, I had the sense that they were aiming for this. That doesn’t mean I’m at all pleased to be correct about it.” Goro’s rage wasn’t at all pronounced, it wasn’t the type of rage to froth from the inside out and consume him. It was the type of rage that sat silently within and took over his thoughts but left him silent and cold on the outside. As someone who’s usual state is silent and cold, this meant Goro wasn’t visibly upset. However, his anger was enough of a distraction that Goro momentarily forgot all about his complicated feelings toward Sato, and he finally, finally met Sato’s eyes.
Goro didn’t lean back as Sato responded, but he did briefly break eye contact to adjust his glasses as the hand on the table fully formed a fist, the only outside signal of his outrage. “I’m well aware of the potential risks of public actions like what I’m proposing, and I’m also aware that those who we would actually gather to our cause may be more interested in violence for violence’s sake. It would be foolish to move forward without thinking about the negatives of such a thing.”
Goro kept talking, his voice not wavering and his stare firmly locked onto Sato’s eyes, but his fist quivered slightly. “I have no intention of leaving it at delivering retribution to the military, either. To actually get results and not just a few riots from opportunists, we’d have to maintain a presence in the public consciousness that actually reflects our ideals.”
The light above them was just so that as Goro leaned slightly closer, the light caught the lenses of his glasses, obscuring his eyes just enough. “If my side isn’t the winning one, I’ll make it such.”
For a reason Goro couldn’t quite put into words, he hoped resolve like this would be enough to impress Sato. The older man seemed no more than amused by him at the moment, and while he was glad his presence at least seemed to still be permitted around Sato, it was not a good feeling either way.
He glanced at the drunkards in the rest of the bar, and then back to Sato. "Perhaps this isn't the best place to discuss matters like this, though." None of them had heard their discussion, obviously, but he didn't want to risk someone wandering by their table and overhearing. Plus, he still had every intention of following up on the promise to make coffee for Sato.

“I know.” He responded reflexively, to Sato’s comment about things never being that simple. Goro didn’t actually think about it, but time had taught him that was the way to respond, if he didn’t wish to appear foolish.

He watched Sato slide the folder closer to himself, and paused. He’d ignored it up until this point, but if he was intending to take it with him, take it into Goro’s hotel room, it would pay to know the contents first. Goro didn’t want to get into any more trouble than he needed to, and God knows what business Sato could be involved in.

“I may have a place in mind,” he began, studying Sato’s face for any signs of skepticism before continuing. “Perhaps some day I’ll be in the same advantageous position as you, but for the moment it pays to be careful about these things. I’m sure there was a time where you had to do the same.” Finishing his sentence, he rested his chin on his hand, the same way Sato had done earlier. The simple movement still felt unbearably foreign to him, but perhaps it would make him appear less frigid.

“But, I would like to know what business I’m inviting in before I bring you over. Specifically-” he motioned towards the folder slightly, “-whatever’s in there. I hate to pry into your business but, it could very well pry into mine.”

Normally, asking something like this of someone, Goro would feel absolutely nothing, but this time, there was far more than just a twinge of worry. He felt like he was burning up, as if his whole body had been set alite. Would this line of inquiry irritate Sato? Would that irritation lead him to swear off any possibility of associating with Goro? Why did that prospect make Goro so worried? Sure, there was the chance of slighting Sato so badly that the entirety of Ketsujo Corp’s resources would be dedicated to destroying him, but that was far from the first thing on Goro’s mind. It was the same fear of disappointing someone that Goro felt about his mother. Why?

Goro was so busy scolding himself internally for his repeated failures to impress Sato, that he only barely heard what the man had actually said. At the very least, he was still talking to him, so he didn’t seem to want Goro gone, but it was an unpleasant feeling all the same.

Sato’s association with Thunder didn’t come as too much of a surprise. He’d seen them talking in the villain chat before, so he’d have to be willfully blind to miss it. It was a bit surprising to know just how long they’d known each other though.

“I see,” was all Goro could really find to say in response. “Forgive me if it sounded like I was doubting you. That was not my intention, I just wanted to be sure.” There wasn’t anything suspicious about Sato’s answer, so there was no reason to pry any further.

Goro blinked, and his eyes stayed closed longer than he’d wanted. He could feel his wings slump behind him, not properly held up on their own strength anymore. He was still tired, after all, but with Sato there, nasty bar coffee was not the way to go. If they could go somewhere else, like Goro’s hotel room…

No, no, no, he’d never agree to that. Goro was suddenly consumed by doubt over his earlier idea. After all, he’d already fucked up their first meeting in person, why on Earth would Sato agree? Why did he even propose that in the first pl-

Fuck, Sato was asking him about it now. Goro took a moment to gather himself before replying, so that his nerves wouldn’t show through.

“Well, my hotel room is private enough. I have connections with the staff, so they don’t monitor anything I do there.” In truth, those ‘connections’ were actually Fader’s, and she’d been responsible for negotiating Goro’s living arrangements in Japan, but bringing Mother up was the last thing Goro wanted to do.

The moment Sato responded, smirking at him, all the blood rushed right to Goro’s face. He couldn’t hold Sato’s gaze any longer, and his eyes shot to his own lap. Such a small thing; why was it making him so goddamn flustered? Damn it, damn it, damn it, there was no way he was going to agree at all, especially if he was making fun of him for it. He probably thought Goro was too desperate-
Then Sato stood up, and tucked the folder under his arm, and Goro’s brain all but short-circuited. For a few seconds, he just stared wide-eyed at the other man, his mouth slightly agape, before he pushed himself onto suddenly shaky legs and moved out from the table.
All he could really do was stammer incoherently, and it was almost a full minute before he could get an actual word out. “I-I-I-My hotel room is pretty m-m-modest, I hope you don’t expect t-t-too much from it.”
He walked right out of the bar, not able to so much as look behind him to make sure Sato was actually following. He was still beet red, and the moment he stepped out the door and the cold air hit him, his wings snapped shut around him and he buried his face in them.
Goro remained in that position until he heard Sato step through the door, at which point his wings flew back and locked into position behind his back, shaking slightly. “I-It’s not too far from here. Just a few str-stre-blocks away.”
His glasses were falling off his face, when the hell did that happen? Goro pushed them up again, only to push them up again only a few seconds later as they started to tip off his downturned face.
The walk to the hotel was largely uneventful, thanks in part due to Goro’s sudden inability to speak. Every corner or so, he’d try to find something to say, but one look at Sato’s face would send him into a spiral of flustered timidity, and he’d just turn away and hope Sato didn’t notice. But, who was he kidding, Sato definitely noticed at some point. A voice in Goro’s head kept telling him that Sato was probably going to bail on him at any moment, and he just couldn’t ignore it.
Despite all this, Goro managed to make it to the hotel room, and the moment he got the door open he collapsed onto the side of his bed, leaving the only chair in the room open for Sato.
Goro had been living in there for months now, and yet the room looked as if he’d only just moved in. It was clean, almost obsessively so, with the only personal belongings present being a large pile of technological junk lying opposite the bed, and a large variety of coffee-making equipment covering the desk. A large variety of bags of coffee beans were tucked away on one end, a few clearly opened but neatly taped closed again.
He still didn’t know what to say, and just kind of looked at Sato, hoping he would start their conversation again now they had some form of privacy again.