Chapter Text
The phone rung twice before she picked up.
"Hiii! You've reached Enoshima! What's up?
"Junko, I have my first date in 5 hours and I don't know how to look anything above presentable."
Junko gasped over the line. "Oh my god, good thing you called me, Mako! This is an emergency! I'll get Mukuro and we'll be there ASAP!"
Makoto nodded, before realizing she couldn't see him. "Thank you so much."
"Don't thank me! This is my duty! See you really soon."
Before he could say goodbye, she hung up. He supposed it was okay, since she was rushing.
He stared into his closet once again, his casual wardrobe mocking him for his lack of foresight that he may one day need to look nice. He sighed in weary defeat.
After a few minutes, the door was frantically knocked on. As he opened it, Junko nearly bowled him over rushing in. Mukuro helped him resteady.
"Okay! What are we working with?"
"Uh-"
She rifled through his closet, slowing down gradually as she realized he had nothing even a little formal.
Junko slowly turned around, glaring at him like he was a criminal offender. He squirmed under her eyes.
"Mako, what time is Togami getting you?" she asked slowly.
"Uhh... around 5?"
"And what time is it right now?"
"12."
Junko once again rushed out, nearly bowling him over. However, this time, she grabbed his collar and forced him out.
"We don't have any time to waste! We gotta go emergency-shopping!"
They picked up Sayaka and Kyoko on the way to the mall, and Makoto played dress-up for an hour or so. Junko, bless her heart, was doing her best to make him look nice while still looking like himself. He truly appreciated it.
They settled on a very beige outfit. Junko had said if he insisted on his wardrobe being primarily green and various shades of brown, then a beige outfit would be the least offensive. He was content taking her advice.
Once the outfit was fully paid for (plus a few extra things the girls found for themselves), they were back on their way to Makoto's dorm. Junko made adamantly sure that he knew she would be helping him look presentable.
She bent him over his kitchen sink to wash his hair, only waterboarding him once or twice.
"God!" she exclaimed, aggressively scrubbing at his head.
"Ow- what?"
"Did you like, use spray superglue on this ahoge?"
He snickered. "No. It's just like that. Has been for my whole life."
"What the hell?" Junko scrubbed a bit more. "Every time I think its tamed it just pops back up! While wet!"
"Sorry, Junko," he giggled. She groaned.
"I give up!" she cried, rinsing out his hair finally. He nodded. That was always for the best when it came to his hair.
Mukuro came back at that moment. Junko had sent her to their shared dorm to get her hair products and hair dryer.
She got to work, idle comments being made here and there by the girls about how he should look. He felt many products being put in his hair, his hair getting blown every which way. Once she was satisfied with that, she moved on to grab his chin and tilt his head up. Her tongue was slightly stuck out as she very carefully put a very thin layer of eyeliner on his waterline.
Junko stepped back to admire her work, and Makoto felt vaguely like a customized fashion doll.
"Go look in the mirror, make sure its okay," she instructed. He got up, and went to his bathroom to look.
Makoto stared in the mirror, turning his head to truly look at himself. He looked different. He'd never looked so put-together. He just hoped Byakuya would like it.
"What time is it?" he asked. He turned his head to the group gathered outside.
Kyoko looked at her phone. "4:50," she said.
"We're outta here then!" Junko said, smiling at Makoto. She offered him a big hug, which he took happily.
"Good luck on your first date, Mako! Give us aaaaaalllllll the juiciest details!"
He chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, I'll text what happens to the group."
Junko nodded, and let go of him. She waved, as did everyone else. The group filed out, leaving Makoto alone to rot in his nerves as he waited for Byakuya.
There was a knock on the door exactly 10 minutes after they left. It was 5:00, on the dot. He supposed Byakuya was always on time.
He rushed to get the door. Standing there was Byakuya, of course, looking nicer than ever. He smiled up at him.
"Hi, Byakuya. You look..."
"Save your breath, I know I look good," Byakuya teased, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. Makoto laughed softly.
"I was going to say handsome, but maybe I won't now."
"Good, I don't need your praise."
"How foolish of me to want to compliment my date."
"Well, naturally," Byakuya smiled. "You are a fool, after all."
Makoto chuckled and shook his head. He stepped out of his dorm, locking the door behind him. He smiled up at Byakuya, who tried to hide the smile he was about to give in return. Makoto shook his head playfully, and they made their way down the hall together.
"So, where are you taking me?"
"Somewhere nice. You'll see."
Makoto sighed. Nice meant expensive, and he knew Byakuya wouldn't let him pay.
They made it out to the car, and chatted on the entire ride there. It was quite the long one, too, as they drove into a part of town Makoto was wholly unfamiliar with. A glance at Byakuya's face told him he was entirely comfortable here, which reassured him greatly.
"I see you let Enoshima get her hands on you," Byakuya said after a moment of comfortable silence. Makoto glances over, and smiled awkwardly.
"Yeah..." He scratched the back of his head. "Is it too much?"
"I didn't say that. I think you look nice."
Makoto's smile softened, finally reaching his eyes. "Oh. Thank you."
Byakuya nodded, and looked out the window. Makoto also looked out the window, thinking for some reason that maybe copying Byakuya would help his own nerves.
When he looked back, he saw Byakuya staring at him and smiling. Clearly, his copying did not go unnoticed. He felt his face heating as Byakuya had to cough to cover a laugh.
He buried his face in his hands. First date, and he's already embarrassing himself so much Byakuya just has to laugh. He was fucking it all up and it had barely started.
Byakuya seemed to sense his embarrassment, and tapped his hands to make him lower them.
"No need to hide," he said, not teasingly, but not softly. Something in between. It settled Makoto's nerves a bit, and he uncovered his eyes.
Byakuya shook his head and tsked. Despite this, he was still smiling at him. It made Makoto smile back, just behind his hands.
They stared at each other like this for a bit, before Byakuya groaned and rolled his eyes. "What am I supposed to do with this, hm? How do I communicate with someone I can't see? Hmmmm?" He copied Makoto and covered his own face the same way he was, but more exaggeratedly. It started him so much he dropped his hands to laugh. Byakuya smiled triumphantly.
"There you are. Finally, your face is back. I wanted to see it."
Makoto laughed softly. "Is that your attempt at flirting?"
"It's working, is it not?"
"A little."
Byakuya smiled smugly. "Exactly."
Makoto rolled his eyes. "A bit less now."
"No, no, no, you can't take it back."
Makoto gave a shit-eating grin, and Byakuya crossed his arms and looked away. Makoto giggled.
"Pouting?"
"Shut up."
Makoto laughed again, and settled back into his seat. They pulled into the parking lot of a very ornate looking restaurant, and Byakuya looked up from his pouting.
"Ah, here we are," he said. Makoto leaned over to look out his window. His brow furrowed, and he leaned back. Byakuya looked over with a cocked eyebrow, and quietly took Makoto's hand. When he noticed and looked up at his face, he was already looking away. He looked down at their hands again, and smiled, just slightly. He was happy to keep his hand in his own.
The car parked, and they got out. Makoto walked around the car to meet Byakuya halfway, and they silently interlocked hands again as they walked inside.
Makoto hadn't stopped looking around since they entered, and they had been seated and given beverages. It was just... so big. And fancy. He'd never been in such an extravagant place.
Of course, it was nothing to Byakuya. He could see it on his face that this was where he was most comfortable, and it made him a bit more comfortable himself.
He apprehensively opened the menu and started looking for the least expensive things, which... wasn't much. He knew it'd be suspicious if he ate a salad and nothing else, since Byakuya had eaten with him multiple times and knew that wasn't something he'd do much. But everything was so expensive...
It wasn't like Byakuya couldn't pay. He knew he could. He probably could've bought everything twice if he truly wanted. But Makoto was irrationally afraid that he might assume that, if he got something expensive, that was all he wanted from him, which was the farthest thing from the truth. He didn't ever want to give that notion, so he decided to be the most affordable person Byakuya would ever take out.
Giving the menu another good once-over, he noticed the pastas were the least expensive real food on there, so he picked the one for the least amount of money and set his menu down.
He took the quiet in-between time of Byakuya not having decided yet as time to look around the restaurant. It was chock-full of people fancier than him, of food he couldn't hope to afford, and status he couldn't hope to achieve.
In all honesty, he stuck out like a sore thumb. There was dirt under his fingernails, and scars on his hands. He was about the least belonging person to be in a place like that.
The waiter came to take their orders. Byakuya asked for something Makoto had never heard of, and he just asked for the cheap-ish pasta dish he'd found. He had to do his best to ignore the weird look the waiter gave him as he took their menus and left.
Byakuya was giving him a look as well; it was the look he gave him every time he did something to try and save Byakuya's money. He had to try and ignore that one too.
Makoto struck up a casual conversation about plans and classes for the week, which distracted Byakuya enough to stop giving him the look. He had to say, he was glad they had been friends before this. It made it much, much easier to talk to him.
Their food came soon enough. They thanked the waiter, and paused their conversation to eat. It was a nice meal, Makoto would say. It tasted as expensive as it was.
The meal was nice. Any meal with Byakuya was. He always loved the banter, always thought it was cute how Byakuya would just steal a bite of his food and then shove a bite of his own at him.
After they finished their dinner, Byakuya forced Makoto to get a desert. He agreed, but only if Byakuya promised to split it. They ended up splitting a very nice slice of cheesecake.
They fought tooth and nail on who would pay. Byakuya gave the waiter his card before Makoto could, so Makoto shoved two ¥5,000 notes into his pocket. They were glaring at each other as they walked out, and it was very clear they were in a battle of who'd break character first. It was Makoto, as he snickered right as the door closed behind him. Byakuya's frown twitched into a smirk, and he boasted his victory all the way to the car.
Byakuya instructed his driver to drop them off at a nearby park so they could walk around a bit. Makoto felt his heart flutter. They hadn't gone much, but Makoto would ask Byakuya to go on walks with him sometimes. It flustered him slightly that he remembered.
They got out of the car, and started off on their leisurely stroll. It was very nice out; it was a cool, late-spring evening, the sun just starting to go down. The entire park was bathed in orange, and the breeze blew cherry blossom petals in the air. Byakuya caught a flower that floated by, and put it in Makoto's hair. He had to ignore the warmth in his cheeks to keep from giggling like a girl with a crush.
"It's really lovely out here," he said softly, his eyes drifting across the park.
Byakuya hummed. "It's alright. I don't come too often."
"I'd come with you," Makoto offered, smiling up at Byakuya. He was met with a quick glance in his direction, before he looked ahead once again.
"I will consider that."
Makoto smiled. He was starting to speak Byakuya, and he was noticing that "I'll consider it" meant "yes" a lot of the time.
They walked in comfortable quiet again, until Byakuya broke it. "It's not as lovely as you."
Makoto stopped in his tracks. He just stared at Byakuya, who kept walking until he noticed Makoto had stopped. He looked back at him.
He searched Byakuya's face for a good moment, blinking a few times to try and fully register the comment. "Did you... mean to, uh, say that? Out loud?"
"Is it a problem if I did?"
"No! No, no, not at all, of course not, I just-"
"You're blushing."
Makoto stopped his stammering. Byakuya was looking at him with a smug sort of softness on his face. It was...
...cute. So cute.
He jogged up to be back at Byakuya's side, and turned his face away slightly. "You sure know how to talk to a guy," he mumbled. He heard Byakuya huff a soft laugh, and that was that.
The topics of conversation veered away from Makoto's alleged loveliness after that, and back into the things they usually talked about. Byakuya told him a story of something his friends did, Makoto told a story of how Sayaka did something similar. He enjoyed that Byakuya seemed just as interested in what he had to say as he was in him.
It was well after dark when they returned to Hope's Peak. Byakuya, like a gentleman, walked him to his dorm.
"I would invite you to mine," he explained on the way, "But it's a slight mess, and I'd rather fix that before I have you there."
Makoto was tempted to say how Makoto's dorm was messier than Byakuya's, even when it was clean, but he chose not to. It wasn't that pressing. He was sleepy anyway.
They stopped at his door, and Makoto smiled up at him.
"Thank you," he said, "for tonight. I had a really good time."
"Likewise," Byakuya nodded. "I wouldn't be opposed to doing this again sometime."
Makoto's smile grew at the insinuation. "Text me a date, then. I'll work on my schedule."
"I as well."
Byakuya took Makoto's hand in his own, and before he could ask what he was doing, he felt Byakuya's lips ghost against his knuckles. He could do nothing but stare at their intertwined hands as Byakuya stood up.
"Good night, Makoto," he said, gently dropping Makoto's hand back to his side. Makoto finally looked up to see the most genuine smile he'd ever seen on Byakuya's face. "I'll see you again tomorrow, I presume."
Makoto nodded absently, and Byakuya nodded back. He turned on his heel, and started down the hall.
Makoto watched until he turned the corner, when he finally entered his dorm.
He nearly missed the bed trying to sit down. With shaking hands, he pulled out his phone.
four bad bitches and also makoto <3
XXXX/XX/XX
[eggi]
he kissed my ahnd
hand
[JUNKO FUCKIN ENOSHIMA !!]
WHAT
WHAT
WHAT
WAHTWH
WHAT
WHAT
[sherlock]
Junko, this isn't a surprise
They went on a date
They've made out
[JUNKO FUCKIN ENOSHIMA !!]
OK YEAH BUT
STILL
MAKO
CONTINUE
[eggi]
it was kinda more
idk
flustery
than actually kissinf him
my hands are shaking
[JUNKO FUCKIN ENOSHIMA !!]
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
OMGGGGG
THATS SO CUTE LIKE HOLY SHIT
[lowk miku but real]
ohmigod im so happy for you makotoooo!! (˶ˆᗜˆ˵)
[eggi]
he like
wants to go out with me more too
guys do i actually have a boyfriend
did i do it
[JUNKO FUCKIN ENOSHIMA !!]
BROOOOO YOU BAGGED BEFORE ME
UGH.
no but thats really cute im so happy for u
who would think togami is capable of
like
romance
and affection
[fenrir]
Personally, I have never seen him say so much as one kind word
to anyone he's publically friends with
I suppose Makoto is lucky
[JUNKO FUCKIN ENOSHIMA !!]
duhhhh thats been established
wait
idea
JUNKO FUCKIN ENOSHIMA !! renamed eggi to lucky egg
[lucky egg]
oh joy
[JUNKO FUCKIN ENOSHIMA !!]
HELPPP
awwwwww the egg <3
[lowk miku but real]
awww i like it!! (♡ˊ͈ ꒳ ˋ͈)
[lucky egg]
great ill never stop being tortured by my name
anyway
im tired so im getting off for the night
ill tell you all what happened tomorrow
[JUNKO FUCKIN ENOSHIMA !!]
YAYAYAYYAYAYAYAY
NIGHTTTTTTTT
[fenrir]
Good night, Makoto
Sleep well :)
[lowk miku but real]
nightiessss! (ㅅ´ ˘ `)
[sherlock]
Good night.
Makoto shut his phone off and put in on the nightstand. He considered a quick shower, but decided just to put on pajamas and go to bed, which he did.
He laid awake for a while, just replaying the date in his mind. It was nice. It was so nice. He couldn't wait to go on another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another...