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Makoto Niijima, for all of her considerable analytical capabilities, could not for the life of her understand why Akira Kurusu seemed to derive such inordinate pleasure from teasing her. Thinking back, this behavior had begun well before they started dating, but it only seemed to have increased in frequency since they became "study partners". Whether it was responding with a mock serious "beep boop" when she became, perhaps, a little overly critical of logical inconsistencies in a movie or TV show they were watching, or reminding her of her... unfortunate phrasing regarding "doing it in the student council room" and "leaving the back entrance open" (god, why had she responded that it "seemed like a bit of a stretch" when he explained the accidental double entendre?), he seemed perpetually ready with a playful poke (don't refer to it as that around him, she mentally noted). Not that he was ever malicious about it, of course. Whenever they discussed anything of emotional importance, he was always very understanding and thoughtful, which only made it all the more baffling when he got that telltale smirk in the most mundane of circumstances, the inevitable preface to her being left blushing and flustered.
Was this flirting? Admittedly, Makoto's experience with matters of the heart was quite limited, almost exclusively consisting of novels she had read, or the occasional romance from one of her Yakuza films, but "beep boop" seemed a far cry from the type of courtship she had been led to expect from literature. In most cases, the dashing rogue (which Akira certainly was) would win over the fair lady (which Makoto still had considerable difficulty envisioning herself as, despite Akira's reassurances) with some flowery line about "the shimmering pools of her eyes revealing the incomparable beauty of her soul" (which admittedly seemed a bit overwrought for Akira's style), to which the fair lady would respond with an equally flowery line about how their love was forbidden (which, to be fair, she supposed it was. She didn't want to think what Sae would do if she found out her little sister was dating the notorious delinquent) but she would fade away to nothing like a flower in darkness without the warmth of his touch (which, again, seemed a bit extreme for either of their tastes). Was this, then, how the kids these days were doing it, or was this behavior more unique to Akira, a facet of his Joker persona manifesting in reality?
Regardless, the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed that this was, indeed, flirting. Perhaps the particular form it took was less important than the effect it had on her, which was undeniable. Even the thought of it was causing the heat to rise in her cheeks in a way that was not altogether unpleasant, if she were to be honest with herself. Maybe the idiosyncrasy of his teasing made it more effective than some cliched poetic line about summer days, caught her off guard in a way that only he could, pulling her into an intimate private joke that inevitably drew her back to him. Maybe she was overthinking it. To take him at his word, he simply adored making her blush, which he inevitably described as "irresistibly cute". Well, if that was his goal, he was certainly adept at accomplishing it. He always seemed to know exactly what to say at any given moment, and she often wondered where he obtained his seemingly effortless charm ("medicinal baths and Old Man Tora," he had cryptically replied when she asked him). She supposed that to some extent she had only herself to blame, having pushed him to improve his personal presentation to impress Eiko when they were fake dating, causing him to leave uncharacteristically forlorn, only to return quite debonair the next week.
Working on the assumption that this was, in fact, flirting, Makoto was still left with a burning question: what exactly was she supposed to do about it? In practice, she mostly just became extremely flustered, which Akira certainly seemed to enjoy, but she still felt... not powerless exactly, but as though there should be some more active response on her part. Was she supposed to tease him back, engage in some playful back and forth of double entendres leading into more directly romantic exchanges? That seemed like a probable lead. There was only one problem: she had zero confidence in her ability to tease the typically unflappable boy, especially when she was herself caught off guard and flustered. Should she simply giggle bashfully at his teasing? While an easier option, that didn't seem particularly satisfying. When she said that she wanted theirs to be a relationship of equal partners, she meant it, and simply assuming a passive role was not how she envisioned that relationship, societal expectations be damned. Maybe she was approaching it from the wrong angle, and it wasn't about what she was supposed to do, but rather Akira was giving her an opening for her to respond to with what she wanted to do.
Unfortunately, this line of thinking only opened up the much more dangerous question of what exactly she did want to do. She certainly had some ideas, many of which she was unwilling to admit even to herself. Would he think she was being too forward if she...?
"Does Makoto.exe need to reboot, or do you just like what you see?" She had apparently been staring, deep in thought, as Akira looked up from the textbook he had been studying, leaned back in his seat, and waggled his eyebrows in a way that would look utterly absurd if it weren't so damn cute.
Deciding that no amount of theorizing would substitute for a straight answer, Makoto sighed and asked, "why do you do this?"
"Do what?" He responded with feigned innocence but a deadly smirk.
"Tease me like this! You know I'm no good at the whole 'spontaneous charming banter' thing. It just leaves me at a loss for words, and a bit breathless." She could already feel the heat rising in her cheeks.
"You mean besides getting to see that irresistibly cute blush?" He stood and walked around the table to where Makoto was sitting, leaning close to her ear to whisper, "I want to see what you'll do."
If Makoto were to think about it, she may have congratulated herself on her thesis on the meaning behind Akira's teasing being correct. But in that moment, she didn't think about it. Instead, she grabbed Akira by his collar and pulled him into a long, fierce kiss. When she finally pulled back, he looked a bit shaky, a bit punch-drunk, but his smirk had been replaced with a massive grin. "That's exactly what I'd hoped you would do."
Makoto rolled her eyes with a huff, then fixed him with a smoldering glare. "Shut up and kiss me, Joker."
"With pleasure, my Queen."
Some time later, the pair lay cuddling on Akira's bed, their textbooks long forgotten in favor of studying far more interesting subjects. Makoto idly played with Akira's hair as she laid her head on his chest, listening to the rhythm of his breathing and his heartbeat. "Do you remember what you said when I asked you to be my fake boyfriend?"
With his chin resting on the top of her head, she could feel the smile forming on Akira's face. "Only if I can take it seriously."
Makoto smiled and nodded. "Mhm. I'm kind of glad you don't."
He assumed a tone of feigned hurt. "You wound me, my Queen. I assure you, I approach our relationship with the utmost seriousness."
She giggled. "If this is you taking things seriously, I don't know if I could handle you when you're joking."
They settled into a comfortable silence for a moment, then Akira began to laugh softly. "Do you remember, after we beat Kaneshiro, when we landed back in the real world, Ryuji said 'I think I cracked my ass.' Then Yusuke asked Ann if hers was cracked as well. You said 'but isn't it supposed to be?' I don't know if it was your timing, or your delivery, or just because it was you, but that was the funniest fucking thing I've ever heard. None of my jokes even come close."
Makoto shook her head with a sigh, but smiled. "You're ridiculous." She nuzzled her cheek into his chest as he bent down to kiss the top of her head.