Chapter Text
Ann Takamaki was a lot of things. Student, model, Phantom Thief, friend. One thing she definitely wasn't was blind.
From her angle, she got a good look at the girl's hand wrapped around the boy's, even if they tried to conceal it between each other.
Her mind started to connect the dots, but like always, her mouth fired off first: "Wait a minute, are you guys holding han-?!?"
She never finished the phrase; she didn't need to. Instead, she bore witness to how two sets of lips became one.
The tall boy embraced Futaba as they melded into each other, the girl standing on air with leg lifted and toes curled inwards.
The scene unfolding in front of her would be the cutest thing she'd ever seen, Ann thought, if she wasn't also a little jealous of the bespectacled girl (and even then, a little voice said in the back of her thoughts, it probably still was).
Too taken by the happening, it would've been impossible for Ann to register anything else around her. Naturally, she didn't acknowledge Ryuji's jaw gaping so wide it threated to dislocate, nor Makoto's splayed fingers sympathetically covering her mouth in surprise. Neither could she recognize Yusuke's popping eyes, nor Haru's comical, quizzical pout, and certainly not her own twitching eyelid.
"O-oh," the one to ruin the moment was, surprisingly, Makoto. "W-well, this is certainly unexpe-"
"TRAITOR!!" Ryuji interrupted, not to be outdone, before dashing at the couple while yelling at the top of his lungs.
The trickster, for his part, spun around while keeping his lady love aloft, evading the trajectory Ryuji's charge with adept grace. The attacker braked, the soft surface making him lose his footing and spill over, undignified. "Dang it, you owe me a noogie, you son of a gun!" Ryuji protested, face caked in sediment not detracting from either his mock indignation or his good cheer.
"Wait," Yusuke said, spectating the scene. "Why does everyone seem so agitated?"
"Uhm, Yusuke..." Ann begun, "Did you somehow miss that huge kiss?"
"...I don't follow," the artist responded bluntly and with characteristic obliviousness.
Ann sighed, hand resting on her shaking head, "Those two have a thing going...are you not even a little bit startled?"
Yusuke shook his head. "You mean, no one else was aware of their closeness?"
"Wait," Makoto stepped in, "you mean you knew?!"
"Such longing gazes those two would always share...such a passion in their eyes would've been difficult to ignore".
"Artists really are something else," Haru giggled (albeit a little forcefully), holding the camera close to her chest. "Noticing details everyone else would miss. There is one thing I don't understand, though".
"What would that be?" the painter inquired.
"Here," the heiress presented the device, the LCD screen on its back displaying that precious moment, but the couple was not the subject of Haru's curiosity. Fiddling with the controls, she instead zoomed in on Yusuke and his protuding eyeballs. "For someone who already knew, you certainly look shocked!"
"Ah, that," Yusuke smiled to himself, appearing satisfied. "That was in response to everyone's magnificent expressions. Once we return to Tokyo, I have much to paint".
Ann chuckled nervously, a little taken aback yet knowing she shouldn't be. "That's our Yusuke, alright".
"Let us fetch Ryuji, everyone," Makoto suggested, "and return to Morgana by the shade. Those two could use a little more private time".
So they did, dragging off the former track runner who had since been pestering his friend to "hook him up with a cute girl". After all, Ryuji argued, his friend was a taken man now.
They'd decided to simply gaze at the ebbs and flows of the tide, the water not quite reaching the spot where they sat on the sand. Futaba's head rested on his shoulder, her peaceful breathing filling him with longing.
The comfortable silence was eventually broken by her: "You really have to go back, don't you?"
All he did was nod.
"I know I said I wouldn't do something selfish like making you choose between me or your hometown, but..." Futaba closed her eyes and shifted, "...Right now, I kind of wish I could be that type of inconsiderate person".
"I wouldn't," her boyfriend responded, "because it wouldn't be you. You're perfect the way you are".
Futaba chuckled, her face flushed. "Gosh, you can be so very cheesy".
"You know you love it".
"Of course I do, boyfriend".
He absentmindedly caressed her shoulder with his thumb before letting out a sharp breath and turning to look at her. "Futaba. I have to go back, but...I will return to you. That's a promise".
"A promise, huh?" She closed her eyes and put her hand on his, basking in the warmth, their warmth. "I, too, have a promise I want to make. 'I will wait for you'. I'll make sure to write it down..."
Her Joker glowed. "The promise notebook, huh? I take you'll want a reward when that promise is complete?"
She shook her head. A dirty joke had come to mind, but she wanted to speak from her heart this irreplaceable moment. "It will be its own reward. Having you by my side...I can't think of anything I would want more".
"Futaba..."
Their lips met once more, but this time, it was not a bombastic, theatrical affair like before. Instead, this soft, gentle, sweet kiss told them everything they needed to know, and everything they wanted to hear.
The chime by the entrance informed Sojiro that Leblanc had visitors.
Leaning on the counter, the proprietor of the café saw a familiar face alongside a new one.
"Yo, boss!" Ryuji Sakamoto, the energetic troublemaker with a golden heart, waved. Besides him, a lovely lady stood, a black headband
wrapped around her bright, golden hair. If there's one thing that struck Sojiro about her, besides the obvious age gap between her and the high schooler and her peculiar fashion sense, it was her the color of her eyes - a deep, pure violet.
"Hey there, kid. Who's the lady? Relative of yours?"
Ryuji grinned wider than in a toothpaste commercial. "Nope! Chihaya and me are here on a date!"
Sojiro recalled that name. "Chihaya...Mifune? I remember the kid mentioning a fortune teller by that name".
Ryuji nodded fervently. "Yup, yup! I asked him for help with girls, and he told me to visit this fortune teller! At first I thought he was pulling my leg, but he kept insisting that her predictions were the real deal".
Sojiro grinned and quirked an eyebrow at the woman. "So, did he ask for a love reading or something?"
Chihaya giggled in response. "He's quite transparent, isn't he? That's exactly what he did".
"Must've gone pretty well, huh?"
"Actually," Chihaya replied, seemingly downtrodden, "his was probably the worst result I've ever seen...it said he'd never have a significant other in his life," and then she perked up considerably "but!"
"I decided to ask her out then and there, Boss!"
"To be honest, I was impressed at seeing someone defy fate so valiantly... an' with lil' ol' me, no less," she squeaked, her delivery changing towards the end.
Sojiro's shoulders shook. "Well, as long as it ends well for you. By the way, would you mind if I ask you for a favor, Ryuji?"
The boy tilted his head. "Huh, sure? As long as it ain't anything big. Got a date, after all".
"Futaba's upstairs. Can you go check up on her?"
"Sure, but in exchange, can you help Chihaya pick a blend she might like?"
After a few words of affirmation, Ryuji was climbing the stairs to the attic, which had doubled as his best friend's room, and their hideout, during those unforgettable days.
Surprisingly, the chamber was spotless. A damp mop rested against the wall near a houseplant, and Ryuji that the room had been cleaned just recently.
It wouldn't take a genius to realize that the one responsible lay sprawled on the bed, sleeping placidly. She was still wearing her glasses; perhaps her energy had run out from exertion.
In her slumber, Ryuji could tell, she spoke her lover's name.
He turned to leave, but something by the television caught his eye and he decided to get a closer look. The rectangular object soon found its way into his hand as he studied it.
"So, making sure this place is ready for whenever he returns, huh?"
The picture frame was a new addition to the room, but felt like it'd always belonged.
"Here's to you two".
He placed the photograph back down with a grin before heading downstairs, while daydreaming about others that the future may bring.