Chapter Text
"...I think we should end things here."
It had been a long four hours of Sae asking questions, Akira focusing on the deepest confines of his memory for the answers, Sae dissecting the resulting answers and asking more questions, Akira thinking even longer for further, rinse, wash, and repeat. By the end of it all the table was just littered with papers adorning names and descriptions that Sae would have a field day going through and organizing. But that would have to wait until later, for she had another duty to fulfill during this meeting with Akira, her sister's boyfriend.
Perhaps a little too nonchalantly, Sae scooped up all the papers before neatly stacking them, putting them in a folder and putting said folder in her bag. She then put both of her elbows on the table as she leaned forward, hands interlocked, legs crossed and eyes focused intently on her sister's beau.
"So, Akira-kun, you don't mind if I address you by your given name do you?"
"It's... fine?" Akira replied with a little more inquisition than he intended.
"Good." Sae said with a slight grin. "So I spoke with your girlfriend, and she-"
"W-Wait, WHAT?!" Akira practically yelped.
Any hint of the Trickster within was sealed tightly away, deep within his soul, buried under what felt like several tons of fear of the smirking vixen sitting across from him.
'This is where I die...' He thought.
"Relax, I'm not mad. And neither is Makoto." Sae said while reaching into her bag before pulling out a neatly sealed envelope.
It was decorated with a black and white ribbon that upon closer inspection seemed to be a bunch of cartoon pandas - Buchimaru-kun, as Akira had come to learn of over the past 6 months. It was definitely from his beloved.
He cautiously took the envelope with shaking hands, scared that at any moment she'd grab his wrist and give him a death evoking "Syke!" look before stabbing him in the hand with a very, very large knife. To his relief, this scenario did not occur as he now held the envelope in his own hands, though the night is still young and ripe for stabbing.
His doubt of the situation was quelled by the sight of familiar penmanship he had seen so many times during their long study sessions. On the front of the envelope read "Akira💙" with a tiny heart doodled next to it. Not too big, but not too small either. Clearly she contemplated for a while whether or not to add a heart. Akira could see her now, sitting in her room having finished the letter, but looking at it as if it lacked something. 'A heart perhaps? But maybe thats a bit much. Would he like a heart? Would that be too amorous? Maybe just a tiny one to let him immediately know that this is a letter of passion.' She always did overthink such things. Oh how he loved her attention to detai-
"So... are you planning on reading it sometime soon or are you just going to stare at it?" Sae suddenly interrupted.
Akira snapped out of his daydream.
"Sorry, I just lost myself for a moment." He said before carefully undoing the ribbon.
He had learned from Makoto that you do not defile Buchimaru merchandise, as it is next to impossible to find it these days. That of course applies to stationary and decorations as well, further solidifying that she wasn't upset with him or else she wouldn't dare waste this very rare material.
He opened the letter and silently read to himself.
"Dear Akira,
Firstly, I want to start off by answering that silly question of yours: No, I don't hate you. I could never hate you for what you did. The only thing that upset me was not having you with me, and that most certainly was NOT your fault. I trust my sister will try her hardest to prove your innocence so we can be together again. Which brings me to the second, possibly more awkward, portion of this letter. My sister... knows. I told her everything. I know we planned to tell her together but I couldn't help it all just slipping out as soon as she asked me about 'Kurusu-kun's girlfriend'. Sorry... but don't worry! She was surprisingly understanding, all things considered. She even gave us her blessings if you can believe it. So please, don't worry about a thing. I'm alright, we're alright, and you will soon also be alright. I love you with all my heart and nothing will ever change that.
Always your's,
Makoto"
Akira tried his hardest to maintain his composure in front of Sae, but unfortunately couldn't keep a few tears from escaping. He removed his glasses to wipe his eyes, only to find Sae sliding a box of tissues across the table without breaking her fixation on him.
"Thank you." He said whilst wiping his face.
"Should I assume those are tears of relief?" Sae inquired.
"Yeah, something like that." He said with his first smile since spending that last evening with Makoto.
Then it hit it him. She knows. Sae knows everything. He immediately fixed his glasses and sat up straight before nervously asking a redundant question.
"So... you know that I'm... dating your sister?"
"That is correct." Sae answered, her expression unchanged.
Akira looked at her with a puzzled face.
"...And you seriously aren't mad?"
"No, why would I be?" Sae asked.
Akira scoffed. "I dated your sister for months without your knowing. Me, someone with a criminal record. Your sister was doing god knows what with some juvenile delinquent, and you aren't furious?"
He had expected significantly more yelling to accompany this revelation, and yet here sat Sae, as calm as could be while he listed all the reasons she had every right to be livid. She just listened, occasionally nodding to his proposal of the proper procedure of vetting your sister's boyfriend. It was all perfectly sound of course, except he was missing one crucial detail that negated it all. Sae placed her hand on the table in front of him, getting his attention, before kindly saying something that he most definitely did not expect to hear from her.
"I trust you."
Akira blinked several times, stunned by her words. They were warm, almost motherly. It felt bad to admit they didn't seem like her at all. He just looked at her, astounded.
Sae took this as a signal to explain. "You were there for my sister when I wasn't. You made her feel wanted when I couldn't. You made her happy when all I've ever done since becoming her legal guardian is nag and pressure her. I'm a failure as an older sister, but you? I'd be hard pressed to call you anything other than a perfect boyfriend."
Akira didn't feel like he deserved such praise from her, nor did he feel she was giving herself enough credit where it's due.
"Maybe... we're both a little hard on ourselves when it comes to Makoto." He said.
Sae gave him a half-smile. "...I suppose we are."
They talked like this for a little while longer, exchanging insight on each other's self-evaluated short comings, all the while taking solace in one thing. Should either of them ever falter again, Makoto would always have someone around to make her feel loved.