Work Text:
Sae was very happy to get Ren Amamiya out of juvenile hall. She owed a lot to the young man. Not only did he stop the mental shutdowns and save all of Japan from a corrupt ruler, but he had saved the Niijima sisters as well. Makoto had become a much freer, happier person. Somebody who still did well in school, but had real life goals and a stronger sense of self now. And it’s true that there was a time when the new Makoto would’ve bothered Sae, but Ren Amamiya had also saved Sae from her own worst impulses. Ever since the death of her father, she’d been lost in darkness reinforced by the most ridiculous of society’s standards, and it made her a worse person. The Phantom Thieves hadn’t truly stolen her heart like they had so many others in the past, so being a better person was still something Sae had to actively work towards every single day, but she did feel that it was for the best. She felt like she had a better sense of direction now. She was actually considering quitting her job as a prosecutor and becoming a defense attorney instead. She knew all too well how rigged the court system could be in this country. And while she didn’t want to get scumbags off the hook, she did want to give a fighting chance to innocents in a bad situation.
Indeed, Ren Amamiya was an upstanding young man. A rare breed among teenagers and, if Sae was being honest with herself, people in general. Ren cared. Society had put him through hell and he still wanted to help. He was just a good-natured kid. And he was full of so many surprises. For instance, his being outside her apartment door when she was coming home from work.
“Good evening, Sae-San” the boy said said.
“Hello, Ren-Kun.” Sae smiled at the young man. “What brings you here?”
“Makoto was helping me study. I have some trouble with higher-level mathematics.” Ren held up a trigonometry textbook. “I’m not sure how useful this kind of thing is in the real world, but doing well in advanced subjects will look good once I start applying for colleges.” Those words felt bizarre coming out of Ren's mouth. Half a year ago, he never would’ve thought he could actually get into college. He wanted to do well in school just to prove to people he was more than they labelled him as, but figured his criminal record would prevent any university from accepting him, even if he completed his probation. Now that he was acquitted, his life had potential again.
“It’s good that you’re thinking about your future.” Sae moved past Ren and put her hand on the door handle. “I realize that you’re leaving, but would you care to stay for dinner?”
“No thank you. Futaba and I are going to try and force Boss to learn to cook something besides curry tonight.”
“Are you trying to expand LeBlanc’s menu?”
“Not exactly. We just figure that a self-described ladies’ man ought to know how to cook more than one dish.” Ren put his textbook away in his bag. “You’re a modern working woman, Sae-San. Would you bother wasting your time on a guy who can only make one thing?”
“Sakura-San’s more than a little old for me, but if we’re speaking in hypotheticals…” Sae stood in quiet thought for a moment. This wasn’t the kind of thing she dedicated her mental energy to. Romance hadn’t been a factor in her life since middle school. It had been years since she had seriously considered things like marriage, dating, or even sex as something she’d like to pursue. Her drive for career success had long sublimated her personal desires. “I suppose I’d want a partner who possessed a wide range of talents that I lack.”
“Exactly! He can’t be good at just one thing, it’ll get stale!” Ren headed down the hallway, waving to Sae as he got further away. “I’m off to try and teach an old goat new tricks! Later, Sae-San!”
Sae waved back and entered her apartment, chuckling at Ren's description of Sojiro Sakura. If any animal encapsulated his essence, it was certainly a goat. He was stubborn and grumpy, and then there was that beard of his. As Sae stepped through the threshold of her home, she saw Makoto at work in the kitchen, loading up the rice cooker.
“Welcome home, Sis!” Makoto gave Sae a quick glance before returning her attention to the rice cooker. “I’m afraid it’s going to be some time before dinner’s ready. I was just helping Ren with some schoolwork.”
“I know, I ran into him in the hall.” Sae put down her briefcase and took off her shoes. “It’s very kind of you to help him like that, Makoto.”
“Well, it’s not like it’s a burden or anything.” Makoto pulled some raw fish out of the fridge and set a grill pan on the stove. “You know how much he means to me.”
“Yes, well, it’s good that you have somebody you’re so close to.” Sae sat down at the kitchen table and watched Makoto at work. “I just hope this new behavior of yours continues in college.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it took you a long time to form any meaningful bonds at Shujin Academy. I’d like to see you make friends quicker once you start at Tokyo University. Ren-Kun’s great, but he’s still going to be in high school. Shouldn’t you spend some time with somebody who’s in the same situation you’re going to be in?”
“I’m confused, Sis.” Makoto turned away from the stove and looked at Sae with displeasure. “Are you telling me to cheat on Ren?”
“What? No, I’m talking about friendshi- ’Cheat’?” Sae’s eyes widened. “Wait, are you and Ren-Kun dating!?”
“Yes.” A bizarre smile started to form on Makoto’s face. There was some suppressed laughter in her voice too. “Did you not realize that?”
“You never mentioned it!”
“I thought it was fairly obvious.”
“I thought you were just friends!” Sae jumped out of her chair. “How long has this been going on!?”
“Let me think… It’s March, so…” Makoto counted out the months on her fingers. “About seven months, I believe.”
“What!?” Sae grabbed the back of the chair and leaned on it for support. “You two have been dating behind my back this whole time!?”
“It isn’t like we were hiding it from you.” Makoto realized that wasn’t entirely accurate. She had definitely been keeping her involvement with Ren a secret while Sae was still her old self. Not only would Sae never tolerate Makoto dating, but if she learned Makoto had been dating a convicted delinquent, she would’ve done everything in her power to get Ren thrown in jail. “Well, not since you learned about the Phantom Thieves, at least.”
“I see…” Sae's voice became calm very suddenly. Her face became neutral too. Makoto couldn’t get a read on her.
“Sis? You’re not upset by this, are you?”
“No, I… Hm…” Sae started to walk out of the room. “I need to process this. How long until dinner’s ready?”
“Not for half an hour at least” Makoto said, turning back to the stove.
“Alright. I’ll be in the bath until then.”
Sae didn’t wait for the tub to fill before getting in. She just sat on the hard surface, letting the warm water slowly rise over her skin. Right now, everything was very stiff, including her thoughts. All she was thinking was “Makoto is dating Ren Amamiya” over and over again. She needed to get past the shock so she could form an actual opinion. As her body became submerged in the warm water and loosened up, the blockage began to clear from her mind as well.
“Makoto has been dating him for seven months.”
“That is not an insignificant amount of time” Sae’s inner-prosecutor joined in.
“Kaneshiro turned himself in eight months ago. So that means Makoto started dating Ren-Kun AFTER joining the Phantom Thieves.”
“That’s assuming Makoto is telling the truth.”
“There would be no point in lying about it now. It also tracks with when her behavior started to change.”
“Why didn’t Ren-Kun mention any of this when we were interviewing him on the night he was arrested?”
“He was drugged and in a rush to save his own life. It was hardly relevant to the matter at hand.”
“He turned our sister into a Phantom Thief! If they were dating on top of that, it was extremely relevant!”
“Makoto makes her own decisions. And they’re usually good ones. I shouldn’t concern myself with this.”
“This is her first boyfriend! And he’s a teenage boy! They’re all balls of hormones who only want one thing!”
“What, sex? When would those two have had sex?”
“They’ve had SEVEN MONTHS to do it!”
“Makoto’s not that kind of girl.”
“Makoto’s been full of surprises lately. How well do we really know her?”
“I just can’t see my baby sister doing that kind of thing.”
“She’s not a baby anymore. Didn’t she go to see that boy on Valentine’s Day?”
“That hardly proves they did anything inappropriate.”
“What about Christmas Eve? Makoto came home very late. And Amamiya wanted one more night to enjoy his freedom before turning himself in. Who’s to say he didn’t want one last romp to remember?”
“Makoto didn’t exactly come back either of those nights in a disheveled state.”
“Then what about Hawaii? Makoto and Amamiya both went to another country for half a week, far away from our sight.”
“It was a school trip! There were chaperones!”
“Makoto WAS the chaperone! And she was in a swimsuit!”
“I’ve seen Makoto’s swimsuit. It’s not exactly the most scandalous thing in the world.”
“It’s more than enough to excite a teenage boy!”
“Ren-Kun isn’t like that. He’s an earnest, respectful young man.”
“He called his guardian a ‘goat’.”
“He was joking around. That’s the kind of relationship he has with Sakura-San.”
“Exactly. He’s been under the wing of a smarmy caffeine-peddling lothario for nearly a year now.”
“All of my investigations into Sakura-San suggest he hasn’t been in a romantic relationship since adopting that daughter of his.”
“A daughter Amamiya spends a great amount of time with.”
“From what Makoto has told me, they consider each other family.”
“What about those others girls he spends time with? The heiress and the supermodel?”
“Boys and girls can be friends without there being anything untoward going on between them.”
“That’s what we thought about Ren and Makoto, and look where we are now!”
“I know Ren-Kun. He’s a good person.”
“He was a Phantom Thief.”
“A Phantom Thief who saved Japan.”
“A Phantom Thief who roped Makoto into his dangerous lifestyle! He could’ve gotten her arrested or killed!”
“He didn’t. The Phantom Thieves accomplished their objectives and safely disbanded. Makoto is going off to college soon.”
“To become a police officer! She didn’t want to do that before she started dating Amamiya!”
“She’s always admired Dad. It makes sense that she’d want to follow in his footsteps.”
“That’s just great! She can follow his footsteps all the way into an early grave!”
“I know that! But Makoto is her own woman now. This is her decision.”
“You’re her older sister! It’s your job to look out for her! You’re all she has!”
“That’s not true. She has all of her friends now. And Ren-Kun.”
“You barely know the boy! Just because he stopped Shido doesn’t mean he’s a good match for Makoto!”
“Then I’ll talk to him. Find out what he wants from her.”
“An interrogation? Excellent idea! We’ll make that rat squeal and kick him to the curb!”
“That might be a bit harsh. Ren-Kun is not a criminal.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
That Sunday, Ren was standing outside the door to Makoto and Sae’s apartment again. He wasn’t really sure why he was here. Makoto wasn’t home. She was teaching Yusuke how to plan out a budget that he likely wouldn’t stick to. All Ren knew was that last night Sae had asked him to stop by so they could discuss something in private. He feared it may have something to do with Shido, that one of his rich friends may be getting him out of jail or something. Yes, it was true that with his distorted desires stolen, a free Shido was probably just as harmless as a caged Shido, but Ren didn’t like the idea of the guy getting away with his crimes. Just because he couldn't hurt people anymore didn't mean he shouldn't pay for all the hurt he caused.
“Well, whatever Sae-San wants, worrying about it isn’t going to accomplish anything.”
Ren knocked on the door. Sae opened it almost immediately. It seemed that she’d been waiting on Ren's arrival for a while.
“Hello, Ren-Kun.” Sae sounded anxious. This did not allay Ren's fears. “Thank you for coming.”
Ren simply nodded and entered the apartment. Sae closed the door behind him and walked over to the living room and stood next to a large armchair. She gestured to the couch.
“Please, make yourself comfortable.”
“Um, sure.” Ren left his shoes by the door and moved to the couch. He sat down, looking up at Sae, who was still standing. He felt strange being in the Niijima home without Makoto. It wasn’t that Ren disliked Sae, but there was an awkwardness to this situation and he wasn’t really sure why. “What did you want to talk to me about, Sae-San? Is it something to do with Shido?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s…” Sae dropped down into her armchair with a notable lack of grace. It was as if something was weighing her down and the pressure was too great for her to keep up appearances. “I’m just going to come out and say it.” Sae propped her elbows on the chair’s arms and laced her fingers together, allowing her head to rest on the bridge her hands created. She looked Ren dead in the eye. “I have recently learned that you are Makoto are seeing each other romantically.”
Ren spaced out for a moment. Nothing was really going through his head, he was just experiencing changes in his state of being. The two most notable changes were the quickened pace of his heart and the sudden rising of his line of sight.
“Sit down.”
Sae’s voice brought Ren back down to Earth.
“Huh?” Ren realized that he’d gotten up and begun to turn towards the front door. He returned to the couch. “Sorry about that. I just kind of went into autopilot.”
“Yes, well, this is not quite the start I was hoping for.” Sae straightened her posture. “I want you to know that I am not upset.”
“You’re not?” Ren looked at Sae in confusion. Her tone was calm, and her words were civil, but Ren felt like he was back in that underground interrogation room. Ren wasn’t really sure that he believed Sae wasn’t upset, but he did believe she was going to great lengths not to show it. However, just like Makoto, Sae wasn’t the most skilled at hiding her animosity.
“To be candid, I’m not sure.” Sae leaned forward. “I want to be okay with this, Ren-Kun. On a logical level, I realize this isn’t any of my business. Makoto is a responsible young woman with a good head on her shoulders and I trust her to keep good company. And from our interactions and your accomplishments as a Phantom Thief, I have some level of admiration for you and want to believe that you are a good person. But emotionally-“
“You don’t trust some sneaky punk from the countryside who’s been rebelling against the system for the entire time you’ve known him anywhere near your precious sister.” Ren's tone was normal, but his face was tired. It was clear to Sae that he’d been dealing with this kind of treatment for nearly a year, and he just didn’t have the energy to get angry about it anymore.
“No, that’s not what I’m trying to- Well…” The older woman let out a sigh. “I suppose there is a part of me that’s thinking like that, yes.”
“Well, this is fun.” Ren slouched back into the couch, wishing the furniture would just absorb him so he didn’t have to continue this conversation. “So what, do you want me to break up with Makoto? Are you going to give me the Niijima glare until I break down and call it off?”
“No, I wouldn’t do that. I just want to know what this relationship means to you.”
“‘Means to me’?” With great effort, Ren moved his neck just enough so his eyes could meet Sae’s again. “That’s a vague question, isn’t it?”
“I’m certain that you’ve noticed for as smart as she is, Makoto is still very naïve in a lot of ways.”
“Yeah.” Ren remembered the Kaneshiro debacle. To this day, he still failed to understand what Makoto was thinking trying to talk down a mob boss by utilizing all the authority of a high school student council president.
“Makoto is inexperienced with relationships, so I can’t begin to imagine how she’s processing being in one. But I want to know how serious you are about this. After all, you’re leaving Tokyo soon, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, we’ve already talked about that.”
“Have you, now?” Sae straightened her posture. “And what conclusion did you come to?”
“Well, I’m planning to return to Tokyo for college, so we figured we’d just do the long-distance thing until then.” Ren decided to lay on his side, propping his head up with his arm. It probably wasn’t the most appropriate pose for this situation, but relaxing any way he could was the only way he’d be able to get through this.
“So you’re interested in a long-term relationship?”
“I mean, yeah. I don’t get those guys who want to sleep with a bunch of different women. It’s like, sex is sex no matter who it’s with, isn’t it? Why make it this messy web of all these different people with weird feelings between them when you could just be intimate with one person and get to know them really well?”
“That’s an interesting perspective. So tell me, Ren-Kun…” Ren found himself sitting up straight automatically. The air in the room changed. Ren felt like he’d just kicked a beehive. Sae was glaring at him. “Have you and Makoto been… ‘intimate’?”
“Well, I mean, that’s…” Ren's forehead started sweating. “I guess it kind of depends on your definition of ‘intimate’, doesn’t it?”
“Perhaps you should define it for me.” From Sae’s tone, Ren could tell it was not a suggestion.
“Well, there’s been, you know…” Ren started mumbling. Sae couldn’t make out anything he was saying.
“Speak up!” she barked.
“Kissing!” Ren felt like he was about three seconds from death. “There’s been some hugs, kissing, hand-holding, resting against each other, that kind of thing. Nothing most people would consider lewd, but…”
“But what?” Ren couldn’t help but notice one of Sae’s hands had balled up into a fist. If she was half as skilled at martial arts as Makoto was, that was a bad sign.
“Oh, it’s not that interesting, really. Not even worth mentioni-“
“Out with it, Amamiya!” Sae was still sitting, but Ren was pretty sure she was looking down at him from a mountaintop, ready to throw lightning at him like mighty Zeus.
“Well there was that thing where I had my head on her lap. That’s kind of intimate, I guess.”
“Her lap?” Sae’s jaw wasn’t moving. All her words were coming out through clenched teeth. “Just what was your head doing there?”
“It was her idea!” Ren blurted that out quickly. “I guess you could call it therapy?”
“‘Therapy’?” That seemed to chip away at Sae’s anger a bit. Or at least balance it out with some curiosity. For the moment, Sae was more puzzled than mad. Ren decided this was the best chance to reverse the conversation’s tone.
“Yeah. I don’t really want to get into all the details, but I was dealing with some demons after you got me out of juvenile hall, and Makoto helped me get over it.” Ren relaxed his shoulders. “Look, you’re worried that I’m just some horny kid taking advantage of your sister, right? Don’t be. Makoto and I really care about each other. After everything we’ve been through together, that’s going to remain true even if we break up someday.”
“Do you think you’ll break up eventually?” Sae seemed pacified by Ren's response.
“I hope not.”
“I see.” Sae smiled at Ren. Her initial appraisal of his character had been correct. Ren Amamiya wasn’t some teenage horndog ready to hit it and quit it. He valued Makoto as a person. “Thank you, Ren-Kun.”
“Oh thank god, it’s over.” Ren let out a huge sigh of relief. “I thought you were going to shoot me or something, Sae-San.”
“Of course not. I don’t even own a gun.” Sae gave Ren a half-playful, half-menacing look. “Besides, I don’t need one to deal with you if you ever hurt Makoto.”
“Well, that’s about what I’d expect from a Niijima.” Ren laughed nervously and stood up from the couch. “And on that note, I think I’m just going to use the bathroom and then leave. So if you’ll excuse me-“
“Sit back down.” Sae crossed one leg over the other. “I have more questions for you.”
“About what!?” Ren plopped back down on the couch, frustrated.
“Your future. What are you planning on doing after school?” Sae looked at Ren sternly, but not in the same way he was used to. It was hard to peg, but there was some strict kind of caring in her expression. A kind that he didn’t really get from his friends or even Makoto ever.
“Why do you want to know?” Ren crossed his arms and leaned back into the sofa. “Are you worried about me not being able to provide for Makoto or something?”
“It’s interesting that your mind would go there immediately.” A half-smile formed on Sae’s mouth.
“Well what else am I supposed to think? This has been a weird conversation, you know.” Ren started to blush. It was way too early to be thinking about marriage and stuff like that. It’s not that he was against the idea of one day marrying Makoto, but he wasn’t even finished high school. And sure, he wanted their relationship to go on for a long time, but it was just completely ridiculous to be planning for that kind of thing when you hadn’t even been dating a year, right?
“I'm not worried about Makoto. She’s planning on pursuing a career that would allow her to take care of herself. But I’m curious about you now, Ren-Kun. You mentioned attending college here in Tokyo. What school are you thinking of going to?”
“I haven’t really thought about it yet.”
“What do you plan to major in?”
“Um… I don’t really know.”
“Well, what do you want to be after college?”
“I mean, I’ve considered a few things, but-”
“What kind of things?” Sae’s eyes remained locked on Ren's. Even if he closed his eyes, he could feel their piercing gaze. It was more than a little unnerving. And then there was this sudden deluge of questions about Ren's future. He felt completely disoriented, like he didn’t even know which way was up anymore. Ren hadn’t felt this way since before he came to Tokyo, not since his mother would-
“Oh shit.”
Sae Niijima was mothering him. He had passed whatever test she had in store to deem him worthy of Makoto, and now she was concerned for Ren's wellbeing. In the course of one pants-wettingly-terrifying conversation, Sae Niijima had begun thinking of Ren Amamiya as family. She was nagging him the same way she nagged Makoto.
Ren eased up at that revelation. Sure, it was weird, but nothing about his life was normal anymore. Before coming to Tokyo, Ren had been an only child. Then he found a younger sister in Futaba. Having an older sister probably wouldn’t be so bad. Plus if he and Makoto were to get married, theoretically of course, that would make Sae his sister-in-law, so it’d be good to know what that was like ahead of time, right?
“I think I want to do something that helps other people.” Ren stared at the ceiling. “Like a social worker or a doctor or something.” Ren looked back at Sae. “Maybe even go into politics.”
“Politics?” Sae stared at Ren in surprise. After everything a certain politician had done to him, she figured he’d want to stay away from that world.
“Yeah. Become like, the anti-Shido. Use my power and influence for good.”
“You want to run for Prime Minister? That’s ambitious.”
“Well, I-“
Ren was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening.
“Sis? Are you home?” Makoto’s voice came from behind the opening door, followed soon after by Makoto herself. She stepped into the apartment and saw Ren sitting on the couch. “Huh? Ren?” The next thing she noticed was Sae in her armchair. It was clear that the two had been talking about something right before Makoto came in, but now they were both staring at her awkwardly. “What’s going on here?”
“Welcome home, Makoto” Sae responded cooly.
“Hey Makoto” Ren said as if nothing strange was happening. “How’d Yusuke’s budget go?”
“Poorly.” Makoto shook her head as she took off her shoes. “He understands the need for budgeting, but he just doesn’t seem to actually care about it at all. Every art-related cutback I suggested was met with a monologue’s worth of resistance and- Hey!” Makoto put her hands on her hips and scowled at her sister and boyfriend. “Neither of you have answered my question! What’s going on here!?”
“It’s quite simple, Makoto.” Sae stood up and turned to her younger sister. “I was just asking Ren about-“ Sae’s phone began ringing. She looked at the caller ID and her eyes widened. “I’m sorry, this is urgent.” She answered her phone and walked out of the room.
“Wow.” Ren snickered as the elder Niijima disappeared around the corner. “That is some good timing for her.”
“Why?” Makoto stomped over to the couch and stood menacingly over Ren. “What are you doing here? What happened?”
“Ok… Um…” Ren scratched his head. “This is kind of hard to explain.”
“You’re not unintelligent. I’m sure you can find the words.” As Makoto looked past her nose with those red spotlights in her eye sockets, it dawned on Ren what a horrifying prospect having two Niijima sisters in his life was.
“So, the best way I can think to word this is…” Ren looked up at Makoto with a confused grin. “I think I just became a Niijima?”