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Ren let out a loud yawn as the lunchtime bell rang out through the school building.
"Geez... That's, like, the fifteenth yawn you've done today! Could you not do that so close to my ear? Please" Ann snapped, half jokingly.
"Sorry..." Ren mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.
"Seriously... I've trying to take a nap here." Morgana butted in with a sigh, tapping his tail against the desk.
"Yeah, well, at least you can take a nap during lessons without worrying that the teacher will throw chalk at you." Ren retorted as he pulled his bento out of his bag.
"...Okay, that's fair enough."
Ann giggled lightly at the banter between the two.
"C'mon, you two. Everyone else is probably waiting for us." She spoke up, pushing herself out of her chair and slinging her bag, filled with sweet snacks, over her shoulder.
"I'm right behind you, Lady Ann!" The cat cheered, his eyes sparkling as he cheerfully trotted after her. Ren smiled softly. He loved seeing his friends happy.
As he placed his bag bag onto the hook on his desk, the fluffy haired boy let out yet another yawn. He quietly groaned to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose with a frown. He had a pounding headache and he could barely keep his eyes open. His whole body ached and he had an irritating cough that had persisted for the past week. He just felt like shit.
But, he'd just have to deal with it. He had a lot to do, and he considered those tasks a lot more important than his health. After shaking his head in an attempt to shake the throbbing pain in his forehead, he quickly jogged after Ann.
Lunchtime was as lively as usual. However, Mishima had joined them today after being invited by Ryuji. Everyone was happily chatting amongst themselves, apart from Ren who was silently munching on his lunch.
"So, this cat can actually talk and you guys can understand him, right?" Mishima asked, staring intently at the black cat perched in between Ren and Haru.
"I'm not a cat!" Morgana protested with a pout.
"Now, now, Mona-chan..." Haru giggled, gently petting him to sooth him.
"Yyyyyyup..." Ryuji huffed as he took a huge slurp of his ramen.
"Lucky! I wish I could understand him..." Mishima gasped in astonishment.
"Well, if you hear him meowing, just assume that he's either: Calling Ryuji a dumb monkey, demanding sushi, insisting that he is NOT a cat, or hitting on Ann." Ren finally spoke up with a sarcastic tone.
"Y-You... You're joking, right?" Mishima stuttered, completely baffled by the raven haired boy's statement.
"Nope. He isn't." Ann butted in, her mouth full of sweets.
"...Huh. Well, he sure sounds like an... interesting little fella...?" The blue haired boy mumbled, not entirely sure how to respond.
"Yes! He's adorable, isn't he?" Haru cheered with a big smile as she picked Morgana up and carefully placed him on her lap.
"Yeah, and he's very helpful in the Metaverse. His knowledge about shadows and palaces is invaluable." Makoto added, softly scratching Morgana on the chin.
The cat didn't say anything; he just purred and smirked smugly. Ryuji just scoffed and shook his head while rolling his eyes. Ren just carried on eating silently. The blond frowned slightly as he turned his attention to the glasses wearing boy.
"By the way, Ren, you doing okay? You've been pretty quiet..." He asked, concerned about Ren's wellbeing.
"I'm fine." The raven haired boy replied instantly.
"Are you sure? You've got some pretty big bags under your eyes..." Makoto interjected, knitting her eyebrows together anxiously.
"And you've been yawning all day." Ann added, frowning worriedly.
"And you've been acting quite sluggish recently." Haru tacked out, patting Ren's shoulder lightly.
"I'm fine." He insisted.
"Really? I could have sworn I saw you buying medicine in Shibuya yesterday... You sure you're okay?" Mishima recounted, furrowing his brow.
"I told you guys, I'm fine." Ren huffed, shoving a large mouthful of rice into his mouth. Everyone fell into an awkward silence.
"Hey, what've you been doing lately?" Ryuji eventually asked. Ren thought back to what he'd been doing over the past few weeks:
Lead the Phantom Thieves through Okumura's palace.
Pulled off the heist and stole Okumura's heart.
Taken care of all the Mementos requests Mishima had given them.
Studying for exams.
Keeping up to date on all his homework.
Helping Yusuke find inspiration to overcome his art block.
Helping Makoto find evidence against that sketchy host.
Trading information with Ohya and dealing with her drunken antics.
Assisting Iwai with his Yakuza related problems.
Attending Yoshida's speeches every Sunday.
Buying all of the Thieves' equipment and medical supplies.
Helping Chihaya figure out how to handle the ADP.
Acting as Takemi's guinea pig for her new medicine.
Checking up on Shinya to make sure that the bullying or his mother's behaviour wasn't getting out of hand.
Helping Futaba with her promise list.
Tagging along to Ann's modelling gigs with Ryuji to give her support.
Working out with Ryuji.
Making infiltration tools.
Balancing five different part time jobs.
"Not a lot." He lied, keeping a straight face. No one seemed to believe him.
"Then, why the hell do you look so tired?" Ryuji pushed with a scowl on his face.
"I didn't sleep very well last night. That's all." Ren sighed, rubbing his eyes again.
"Is that true, Mona-chan?" Haru asked, staring carefully at the tired boy.
"I wouldn't know... I was with Futaba last night. She had a minor panic attack, so I thought she'd probably want some company." Morgana answered, flicking his ear as he spoke.
"Was she alright?" Makoto enquired, taking a dainty bite of her egg roll.
"Yeah, she was fine. It was nowhere near as bad as other attacks she's had and she fell asleep pretty quickly." Morgana informed her. Makoto just smiled and let out a relieved sigh.
"Just... don't push yourself too hard, Ren... And don't forget to eat!" Ann huffed, puffing out her cheeks.
"...What?" Ren asked. He was genuinely confused by that order. He was eating right now, wasn't he?
"She's right, dude. Have you already forgotten what you were like when we first met? You barely ate anything! I always had to remind you to eat more at lunch!" Ryuji spoke, backing Ann up.
"Yeah, you'd only ever seem to eat, like, one bun. That's it." Mishima added.
"Fine, fine..." Ren sighed exasperatedly. He took a large swig of his drink before quickly wincing, thanks to the pain pulsing through his head.
'Note to self: don't tilt your head that far back.' He thought to himself as he massaged his forehead.
"Oh? Ren doing as he's told? That's a first." Makoto hummed with a smirk.
"Well, of course! It's Ann-chan and Ryuji-kun telling him what to do! He's... What was it again? Oh! Right! 'Whipped'!" Haru chuckled light-heartedly, clapping her hands together. Makoto choked on her drink as she began laughing.
"Shaddup..." Ren whined, pouting childishly.
"Awwwwww, you really love us that much, babe?" Ryuji asked mockingly, taking the opportunity to tease his boyfriend.
"Shaddup..."
"Awwwwwww, aren't you adorable? Who's a good boy?" Ann joined in, ruffling Ren's fluffy hair.
"Shadduuuuuuuup..." The fluffy haired boy wailed shyly, blushing a bright red. This was the one thing he hated about having a boyfriend and a girlfriend: the tag team teasing.
"Oh! By the way, Amamiya, Takamaki, have you done the Biology homework due for next period?" Mishima spoke up, suddenly remembering.
Ren blinked casually. Ann froze up.
"Yeah, why?"
"Wait, we had homework?"
The duo stared at each other in complete silence. The rest of the group glanced between the two in anticipation.
"Sweeeeetiiiiiiieeee...." Ann eventually sung out in a pleading voice.
"Fine." Ren replied bluntly.
"Thank you~!" The blonde cheered, flinging her arms around Ren's shoulder and giving him a peck on the cheek. The fluffy haired boy just grumbled bashfully.
"No, Ren... Don't... She should have done it herself..." Makoto huffed, glancing over at Ann with a strict gaze. Ann decided to play dumb.
"Yeah, but it's due in about fifteen minutes and she doesn't have time to do it by herself now." Ren justified, yawning yet again.
"Seeee? Ren gets it!" Ann giggled in relief. Makoto just let out a defeated sigh.
"Anyway... Why do you ask, Mishima?" Ren changed the topic, focusing back on his blue haired classmate.
"Oh, well, I've done most of it but there were a few questions that I didn't quite understand, so I was wondering if you could help me with them?" Mishima explained as he pulled the sheet out of his pocket.
"Sure thing. I just need my sheet... Yo, Mona, take a look at Mishima's sheet. Could you get the sheet like that from my bag and bring it up here?" Ren asked tiredly.
"Fiiiiiine..." Morgana huffed as he memorised the title of the homework sheet before sprinting off towards the classroom.
"Wait, was that set by Hiruta-sensei?" Ryuji asked, reading the sheet over Mishima's shoulder.
"Yeah.... Wait, Sakamoto, doesn't your class have Biology after our class?" Mishima asked cautiously, glancing back at the punkish boy. Ryuji froze as his eyes shot wide open.
"Ren-Reeeeeeeeen..." He pleaded with a nervous grin.
"Fine." Ren answered, not even looking at his boyfriend.
"Yaaaay! Thank you~!" The blond cheered, nuzzling his cheek against Ren's. The raven haired boy just grumbled bashfully again.
"Ren-kun's so nice, isn't he?" Haru giggled sweetly.
"Too nice..." Makoto huffed as Morgana came trotting back with the sheet of paper and a pen in his mouth.
"Thanks, Mona." Ren cooed, petting the cat's head as he took the pen and paper from him.
"Why do you call him 'Mona'?" Mishima asked, tilting his head.
"It's his code name for thief stuff." Ren informed him as he unfolded the paper and placed it in front of the three people who required it. Ann and Ryuji began furiously scribbling down answers on their own sheets.
"Ooh! That sounds cool! What're everyone else's code names?!" He questioned, his eyes sparkling excitedly.
"Joker."
"Skull!"
"Panther."
"Queen"
"I'm Noir!"
"So cool! Hey, hey, there's two other members, right? What're their code names?!" Mishima persisted with a huge grin on his face.
"Yusuke's code name is Fox" Makoto informed him.
"And Futaba-chan is Oracle." Haru joined in, stroking Morgana's side.
"That's so cool! All of them sound so badass!" Mishima cheered, growing more and more excited.
"I thought you wanted some help with the homework?" Ren asked sarcastically.
"Oh crap, right! Sorry!" Mishima gasped, quickly turning his attention back to the sheet in front of him. He flicked his eyes across the page to find the questions he had trouble with.
"Ohhhhhhhh! So, that's how you're supposed to answer it! I get it now. Thanks, Ren!" Mishima said, nodding his head thoughtfully.
"No problem." Ren replied with a small smile, finishing off the last few bites of his lunch.
The second year trio finished off/copied their homework while Ren and the two third tears chatted quietly amongst themselves. This continued until the bell for next period rang.
"Saaaaaaaaafe!" Ann cheered, holding up her sheet triumphantly.
"Finished just in time..." Ryuji sighed in relief.
"I suppose we should start heading back to class now..." Mishima mumbled as he stretched his back.
"Yes... Hey, Ren? Could I take Mona-chan with me for the final lessons of the day, please?" Haru requested politely.
"Sure, if you want..." Ren quietly replied, holding back a yawn as he picked up his homework sheet.
"Yeah! Time with Haru!" Morgana cheered, leaping into Haru's arms enthusiastically.
"Now. Ryuji. Ann. This is the last time you copy Ren's homework. From now on, you do all of your homework by yourselves. Is. That. Clear?" Makoto commanded with an intimidating glare as she crossed her arms. The two blondes flinched and glanced over at each other nervously.
"Yes, Queen..."
The entire class breathed a sigh of relief as the final bell of the day rang.
"Alright, pack up, and don't forget the homeworks due in next Tuesday." Kawakami announced as she picked up her books and exited the classroom.
The raven haired boy yawned yet again as he organised his books into his bag.
"Hey, Ren. Ryuji and I are gonna go work out in the gym in Shibuya, you wanna come with?" Ann cheerfully asked, jumping out of her seat.
"Sorry... I promised Yusuke that I'd help him with his new art piece today..." Ren apologised as he sluggishly shoved himself out of his chair.
"It's okay! Besides, you're still going to Shibuya, right? We can go together!" Ann suggested with a bright smile.
"Yeah... Okay." Ren replied, forcing a smile onto his face to hide how tired he was.
He honestly just wanted to go home and nap for the rest of the day, but he had already promised Yusuke that he'd help him today, so he had to. He didn't want to appear rude, after all...
"See you tomorrow, Amamiya! Takamaki!" Mishima called out to them from his desk.
"See ya."
"Bye!"
The duo called back, waving at the blue haired boy as they exited the classroom. Ryuji was stood next to the flight of stairs, waiting for the two of them.
"Yo!" He called out with his signature grin.
"Hey!" Ann cheered, linking her arm with Ren's and dragging him along. Ren's head pounded with every step.
"Hey, dude, you working out with us?" Ryuji cautiously asked. He didn't think that Ren really looked like he was in any shape to exercise at the moment.
"Nah, he's meeting up with Yusuke in Shibuya, so I said we should get the train together." Ann answered for Ren. Ryuji nodded in agreement before glancing over at his boyfriend's bag.
"Hey, where's Mona?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"I got a text from Haru. He's gonna be staying with her for a little while as she tends to her garden." The raven haired boy informed him.
"Aight... So, should we get going?" Ryuji suggested. His two partners agreed instantly.
"Ladies first." The blond said, gesturing for Ann to go down the stairs first.
"Thank you~" Ann cooed as she patted Ryuji's cheek jokingly. The punkish boy just rolled his eyes and smirked before following her with Ren trailing close behind.
"Hey, so, the three of us haven't been on a date in quite a while, huh?" Ann brought up a new topic.
"Huh... I guess we haven't... Been real busy with Phantom Thieves shit..." Ryuji mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"We should do something when everything's calmed down, don't you think?" Ann suggested, smiling sweetly at her two boys.
"Yeah, I'd like that." Ren quietly responded.
"But, what do we do?" Ryuji muttered thoughtfully.
"That's a good question... I'd say go to an amusement park, but the weather's starting to get cold again... Ooh! We could get crépes!" Ann pondered enthusiastically.
"C'mon... You know Ren don't like sweets..." Ryuji groaned.
"Fine. Then, you come up with something!" The pigtailed girl puffed, pouting childishly.
"We eat Ramen at Ogikubo!"
"You always say that!"
Ren giggled under his breath at their antics, but the laughter made pain pulse through his head again.
"Okay, okay... Sooo, we eat somewhere that has food that all of us enjoy..." Ryuji muttered.
"God... I wish we could go back to Wilton Hotel buffet... And you know, actually take time to enjoy the food instead of cramming it all in, thanks to the time limit..." Ann mumbled wistfully.
"Theeeeennnn.... Why don't we do that?" Ryuji asked.
"But, it's so expensive!" Ann whined.
"Yeah, but, we've been making a lotta money from Mementos recently, right? We just save some of it up and go when we have the time? Sounds good, right?" The punkish boy suggested.
"Yeah... Yeah, that could work! All we gotta do is save the money and pick a date! You're a genius, Ryuji!" Ann cheered, giving Ryuji a thankful kiss on the cheek. The blond boy just chuckled and wiped his nose bashfully. Ren smiled softly at the sweet scene. He loved those two so much.
'God, my head is killing me...' He thought to himself, clutching the side of head as a particularly bad wave of pain pulsed through it. He slowed down, falling behind Ryuji and Ann as he grasped his head and grimaced.
Why was it getting worse? He ate lunch, that should help, right? As the other two continued walking, Ren noticed that his hearing had gotten kinda weird. Everything suddenly sounded muffled and echoey. A concerned frown made its way onto Ren's face as he noticed that his vision had become blurry as well.
He took his glasses off and cleaned them. It didn't help. He rubbed his eyes. It didn't help.
'That's... weird... Why's my vision... getting... blurier...?'
THUD!
The loud noise caused Ann and Ryuji to flinch and stop in their tracks.
"The hell?" Uttered Ryuji, confused as the duo turned around to find the source of the noise.
The sight that greeted them was Ren, collapsed face down on the floor, the contents of his bag spilled everywhere and his glasses on the floor next to him.
"Ren?!" Ryuji yelped, rushing over to the raven haired boy.
"Are you okay?!" Ann gasped, dropping to her knees next to him.
"Whoa, whoa! What's going on here?!" Chouno, who happened to be passing by, questioned frantically.
"W-We don't know! We didn't see!" Ryuji anxiously answered as he gently shook Ren's shoulder in an attempt to rouse him while Ann gathered up his belongings.
"I-I saw him walking along, holding his head, and then he just sorta... passed out." A girl spoke up. Ann recognised her as the president of the Newspaper Club.
"I see... Sakamoto, could you carry him to the nurse's office? We'll get the nurse to give him a quick check over." Chouno instructed the blond.
"Y-Yes, Ma'am..." Ryuji obliged, carefully shifting Ren's body.
Ann helped him by softly lifting Ren up onto Ryuji's back. After making sure that he had a firm grip on Ren, Ryuji slowly stood up and began carrying the raven haired boy to the nurse's office. Ann slipped Ren's bag onto her shoulder and his glasses into her pocket before jogging after them, ignoring all of the confused and intrigued murmurings of the other students.
Ren groaned as his eyes slowly fluttered open. His vision was blurry, but he could see an overwhelming amount of white. It unnerved him. He clearly wasn't at Shujin anymore. There was a weird feeling in his arm, too... Anxious to figure out what the hell was going on, Ren tried to push himself up but stopped after seeing a yellow blur.
"He's awake!" He heard a familiar voice gasp. A boy's voice.
"Ren! Oh, thank god, are you okay?!" Another familiar exclaimed. A girl's voice this time.
"Ryu...ji? Ann? What the hell's... going on?" Ren moaned, leaning on his hand and trying push himself up. Ryuji quickly helped him up into a sitting position while Ann slipped his glasses onto his face.
"You passed out at school. Doctor said it's thanks to you overworking yourself... You had to be taken to the hospital!" Ryuji explained with a huff as Ann ran off to tell the doctor.
"What time is it?" Ren asked, still feeling quite disorientated.
"Quarter past five." Ryuji informed him.
"Is Yusuke alright? I promised to meet up with him..." Ren mumbled.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" growled Ryuji.
"What...?"
"You're in the goddamn hospital 'cause you've been working yourself half to death, and you're STILL more worried about everyone else!" The blond snarled, glaring at his frizzy haired boyfriend.
"They're my friends! Of course, I'm gonna help them!" Ren protested weakly.
"To the point that you fucking pass out?! That's bullshit!" Ryuji barked, gritting his teeth to hold back his rage.
Ren fell silent and stared down at his lap with a worried grimace. It was at this point that Ann had returned with the doctor. She could instantly sense the tension between the two boys and let out an exhausted sigh.
"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked Ren, plucking up the clipboard from the end of the bed.
"A little lightheaded..." Ren answered honestly.
"It's because you've been overworking your body, not eating enough and not getting enough sleep." The doctor explained bluntly.
Ryuji just shot a glance at Ren that said 'I told you so'.
"You're fine now, you'll just have to stay here until that IV has finished and then you'll have to rest for... I'd recommend about three days, maybe more." The doctor continued, pushing up his glasses. Ren glanced down at his arm and, sure enough, there was an IV hooked up to him.
'So, that's what that weird feeling was...' Ren thought in realisation, fidgeting his arm slightly.
"Anyway, this young lady informed that your current guardian is one... Sojiro Sakura. Is that correct?" The doctor questioned with a small gesture towards Ann, who was now sat beside the bed again.
"Yes." Ren answered.
"Alright then, we'll arrange for him to pick you up. In the meantime, just take it easy, okay?" The doctor sighed, flashing a sweet smile at the raven haired boy before leaving the room.
Ann looked at her two boyfriends. Ren was frowning at his lap and Ryuji was staring at the opposite wall with an irritated scowl.
"So..." She awkwardly huffed out, gaining the attention of both boys. "Are you two gonna stop sulking, orrrrrrr...?"
"I'm not sulking!" They protested in unison.
"Sounds fake but okay." Ann sighed, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.
"What? He's the one who worked himself to the point of collapsing!" Ryuji refuted.
"He's acting like it's completely wrong for me to be helping my friends!" Ren huffed.
Ann sighed in exasperation, placing her hand against her forehead.
"Okay... Ren, I know you have the best of intentions and you're doing your absolute best to help everyone... But, you're doing it wrong." She eventually stated, struggling to find the right words to use.
"What?"
"Sure, it's good to help the people you care about, but you've gotta prioritise yourself sometimes..." She explained softly. Ren opened his mouth to protest, but the pigtailed girl quickly continued.
"Besides, how do you think these friends of yours would feel if they discovered that you collapsed 'cause you overworked yourself helping them?"
Ren froze and sat there in a stunned silence.
"Seriously... Like, you worry about us, so it's just obvious that we'd worry about you, right?" Ryuji puffed, his irritation slowly fading away.
Ren remained silent. He gently gripped at the blanket covering him as his brain worked hard to process the information his partners had given him.
"I'm sorry..." He whispered, so quietly that the other two could barely hear him. They exchanged a concerned glance before focusing on Ren again.
"I'm so sorry..." He choked out, his shoulders beginning to tremble slightly as small droplets fell onto his hands.
"Hey, hey, there's no need to cry...!" Ryuji gasped softly as the two blondes lunged towards their boyfriend and wrapped their arms around him.
"We know you didn't mean to make us worry... Just keep it in mind in the future, okay?" Ann pleaded, patting Ren's back soothingly.
The raven haired boy couldn't bring himself to say anything. He just nodded tearfully and nuzzled his face into their chests.
Ren couldn't really remember much about what happened after that. Sojiro came to pick him and gave Ryuji and Ann lifts back to their homes before taking him back to Leblanc, and then he pretty much passed out the moment he got home. He was pretty sure that Morgana was back, too…
Those thoughts crossed his mind as his eyes slowly opened, letting the sunlight flood into his vision. The fluffy haired boy squinted and lifted a hand to shield his eyes as he reached for his glasses. Looking away from the way too bright window, Ren grabbed his phone to check the time.
7:30AM.
"Shit!" He hissed, realising that he was late. He leapt out of his bed and began hurriedly changing into his school uniform.
As he clumsily hopped around, trying to get into his school trousers, Sojiro entered the attic holding a cup of coffee. The bearded man froze in place when he saw the teenager.
"The hell're you doing?" He asked, raising a concerned eyebrow.
"Getting ready for school?" Ren answered awkwardly.
"No, you're not. Get back in bed." Sojiro replied bluntly.
"But, I-"
"Did you listen to a damn word the doctor said? You are resting for the next few, now go on, get." Sojiro commanded him with a stern gaze, pointing over the bed.
Ren opened his mouth to protest, but Sojiro just raised his eyebrows expectantly. The raven haired boy just sighed in defeat as he slipped out of his school trousers and grabbed a nearby pair of tracksuit bottoms. After watching Ren plonk himself back down onto the bed, Sojiro carefully handed him the cup of coffee.
"There anything you want for breakfast? You're probably getting pretty sick of curry, huh?" Sojiro asked with a knowing smirk.
"Umm... I guess some bacon and eggs would be good...?" Ren suggested, taking a sip from his coffee.
"Heh, alright then. Give me a little while." Sojiro chuckled lightly as he travelled back downstairs to the cafe.
'Isn't he the guy the said he didn't give a damn if I got myself in trouble and wouldn't take care of me if I got sick?' Ren thought to himself with a fond smirk on his face.
"Wait... Sojiro! Where's Morgana?" He called out to his guardian.
"He's with Futaba. Since you fell asleep as soon as you got back, she decided to snatch him for the evening." Sojiro shouted back.
"Oh, okay." Ren replied. Yeah, that sounded about right. The fluffy haired boy just chuckled softly at the thought and continued drinking his coffee.
After eating a delicious breakfast, Ren had difficulty deciding what to do. He tried to read a book but he couldn't focus on it for some reason. Checking the time, he noticed that it would be breaktime if he were at school, so he decided to send a message to Yusuke.
[Ren: Hey, I'm really sorry about not being able to meet up yesterday. I hope I didn't cause any trouble for you. If you still need some help with your art, I'd be happy to help once I'm allowed to actually leave the house again. :3]
Just as he was about to place his phone back down on the bed, he got a message notification.
'Oh damn, that was fast.' He thought as he quickly picked the phone back up.
[Yusuke: Why on earth are you apologising? If anything, I'm sorry for not noticing your fatigue. I'd appreciate your help, however I'd much prefer if you'd focus on recovering for the time being. Now, I have to discuss something with my art teacher, so I'm afraid I have to go. Get well soon.]
[Ren: Okay, talk to you later.]
The fluffy haired boy sighed as he chucked his phone back onto his bed.
"So bored..." He huffed under his breath, flopping backwards and staring at the ceiling. He was gonna do some homework, but Sojiro said that counted as work and stopped him. So, now he was just kinda stuck with nothing to do.
"Saaaaaaalutatiioooons!" A voice suddenly screamed causing Ren to nearly jump out of his skin. His head snapped over to the stairs in a slight panic. He was greeted by the sight of Futaba beamed widely as she held a thoroughly unimpressed Morgana above her head.
"Goddamn..." He gasped, clutching his now wildly beating chest.
"How ya doing?" The short girl asked, letting Morgana leap down onto the floor.
"Bored outta my goddamn mind..." Ren sighed back as he stretched his back.
"To be fair, it's your own fault." Morgana pointed out, jumping onto the bed and perching himself next to the tired teenager. Ren just tapped the back of the cat's head.
"Well. It's a good thing that I'm here, huh?" Futaba snickered, pulling out a large handful of games from her small bag. Ren stared at the game cases with excited eyes.
"You're my saviour..." He whispered, smiling at the headphone wearing girl. Futaba let out a sinister chuckle as she pushed up her glasses.
"Yes, yes, praise me. But, anyway, you get to choose which one to play first. 'Cause, y'know, you're gonna be stuck with me for next few days!" She declared with a playful smirk as she spread the cases on the bed, in front of the raven haired boy. Ren just rolled his eyes and laughed quietly before focusing his attention on the cases.
"This one looks interesting." He remarked lightly, holding up a fighting game.
"Ohhhh, I see... I'm gonna kick your ass." Futaba replied, nodding her head thoughtfully before glaring at Ren with deadly determination. Morgana sighed as Ren burst out laughing before glaring right back at Futaba with a smirk.
"Bring it."
"Goddammit! You suck at this!" Futaba yelled, slamming her controlling into her lap again.
"I'm sorry! But, I did say that I've never played this before!" Ren protested childishly.
The duo had been making their way through the pile of games throughout the hours and were now playing a co-op puzzle solving game. However, they had already gotten several game overs due to Ren's multiple mistakes. In his defense, Futaba hadn't done the best job of explaining the rules and controls…
"How are you having this much trouble?! It's only level four!" Futaba exclaimed in disbelief.
"I don't know?! How am I supposed to know?! I didn't exactly have a good teacher, y'know!" Ren snapped back, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh boy..." Morgana sighed, turning his body around in an attempt to block out the argument. He just wanted to have a nap.
"Okay, you know what-!"
"Ren! You got company!" Futaba was cut off from her rant by Sojiro shouting up to Ren.
"Hm?" Ren hummed curiously as he turned his attention to the stairs.
"Yoooo!" Ryuji cheerfully announced as he emerged from the cafe with his usual bright grin.
"Hey, hey!" Ann sung, waving sweetly at the raven haired boy.
"Oh, hey Futaba. What're you doing here?" Ryuji asked, noticed the headphone wearing girl's presence.
"Keepin' this loser company." She replied bluntly.
"She's been laughing at how shitty I am at games..." huffed Ren with an unimpressed expression.
"C'mon, Futaba... It's not his fault that he sucks!" Ann chastised Futaba.
"Thanks..." Ren muttered, ignoring Ryuji's snickering.
"Anyway, how are you doing?" Ann asked as she carefully dropped her school bag onto the sofa.
"Spent half the day bored shitless... Spent the other half of the day getting my pride massacred by this gremlin... So, yeah, I'm doing fantastic." The fluffy haired boy remarked, sarcasm dripping from every single word.
"Hang in there, dude. 'Sides, you got us now!" Ryuji chuckled, slinging his arm over Ren's shoulder.
"Oh goodie..." Morgana puffed, nuzzling his head deeper into the bed.
"You got a problem with us, cat?" Ryuji growled.
"I was trying to sleep... Futaba made it hard enough, and now you've come barging in." Morgana snapped with an irritated glare.
"Then, why don't you just nap somewhere else?" Ryuji hissed, scowling at the cat.
Ren just sighed. He never thought that he would ever have to say that his boyfriend and his cat squabbling with each other was a regular occurance, but apparently he did.
"Aww, crap!" Ann suddenly groaned.
"What's up?" Futaba asked, rocking backwards and forwards on her chair.
"I was gonna buy some snacks on the way here, but I forgot to!" She complained dramatically.
"I'll go buy them for you." Ren offered as he pushed himself off his bed.
"No, you won't." Ryuji and Ann quickly refuted.
"But, everyone else has been doing stuff for me all day and I feel guilty, so it's the least I can do, right? C'mon lemme buy the snacks for you." The raven haired boy pleaded.
"You really haven't grasped the reason why you're on bedrest yet, have you?" Futaba sighed, baffled by Ren's insistence of working himself to the bone.
"Seriously..." Morgana huffed, shaking his furry head.
"What? I just wanna help..." Ren questioned, genuinely confused by everyone's reactions.
"You're not doing anything." Ann insisted, placing her hands on her hips.
"But-"
Ren was cut off by the exasperated sighs of his partners. The duo glanced at each other before suddenly grinning cheekily.
'Oh god... I don't trust those grins...' The fluffy haired thought to himself worriedly.
As he tried to figure what they were planning, the two lunged towards him and began smothering him with kisses all over his face.
"Ack! No! Stop! Get off! Get off, goddammit! Why?! Futaba, help!" Ren protested, flailing about wildly in an attempt to shake off the blondes.
"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... Nah." Futaba hummed in response before grabbing a nearby manga and began reading it, feigning ignorance to the scene in front of her.
"Whyyy?! C'mon! Please! Morgana, get these morons off me! I'm begging!" Ren shrieked as the duo moved onto phase two of their plan: tickling.
"Yeeaahhh... I'm really not getting involved." The cat denied his request, leaping off the bed to avoid getting hit by one of the many flailing limbs.
Ren couldn't do much else but giggle uncontrollably and beg for help. After a few minutes, the duo showed him mercy and stopped their attack. Exhausted, Ren collapsed back onto the bed in a crumpled heap, still breathing out a few final tired laughs. His hair was an absolute mess and his glasses had fallen off during the struggle.
"You assholes..." He gasped, feeling around for his glasses.
"Welp, that's what happens when you don't do as you're told." Ryuji commented lightly, a huge beaming grin on his face.
"Yep! Now, we're gonna go to the shop and get some snacks. Futaba, you keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, okay?" Ann instructed the headphone wearing girl as grabbing her purse from her bag.
"Roger!" Futaba complied, saluting at the pair as they wandered down the stairs.
"Hey, I'm not a kid!" Ren protested with a pout.
"You sure about that?" taunted Futaba.
"...Shut up."
The blonde pair only took a few minutes to buy their snacks and return to the attic. The group quickly resumed their prior activities, playing games together and munching on their newly acquired snacks. They did get scolded by Sojiro a few times for being too loud, but they were having fun, so it didn't really matter to them.
"Damn, Ann! How the hell are you kicking my ass?" Ryuji exclaimed, frantically pressing every button he could.
"Maybe you just suck at the game?" Ann suggested, grinning smugly.
"Shaddup!"
"Well, Ren? Who're gonna support?" Futaba asked with an amused smirk.
"How dare you make me choose?" Ren let out an offended gasp.
"Theeeeeen, how about this? The winner gets a smooch on the cheek from Ren!" Futaba suggested, her smirk growing even bigger.
"I'm gonna win." Ryuji announced with a new found determination.
"Guess again, loser." Ann snickered.
Ren just sighed and shook his head as a fond smile made its way onto his face. He couldn't believe that he fell in love with these morons. After several rounds, the victor was Ann.
"Dammit..." Ryuji huffed, gently tossing the controller away.
Ann just giggled and threw a quick peace sign at her defeated boyfriend. Ren just chuckled as he positioned himself next to Ann. The pigtailed girl closed her eyes contentedly and tapped her cheek. The glasses wearing boy smirked as an idea popped into his head. He pulled Ann's chin in his direction and planted a kiss right on her mouth, completely catching her off guard.
"Congratulations, Miss Champion of... whatever game we just played." He said as he pulled away, holding back his laughter at the girl's stunned face.
Hearing Futaba scoff in disgust, Ren turned around, only to discover Ryuji pouting disappointedly. He smirked once as he leaned forward and planted a kiss on Ryuji's lips. The blond boy hummed happily against Ren's lips and leaned closer. After pulling away, a lovestruck grin was plastered on Ryuji's face.
A scheming smirk made its way onto Ann's face as she quickly leaned forward and gave Ryuji a sweet peck on the cheek.
"There. Now do you feel loved again?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I feel loved..." Ryuji sighed contentedly. Ren just giggled at his two adorable partners.
"Ugh... Get a room..." Futaba groaned with a look of complete and utter disgust on her face.
"Hey, it was your idea that the prize was a kiss..." Ren pointed out, playing innocent.
"Besides, we do have a room: we're in Ren room." Ryuji rebutted, smirking cheekily at Futaba. The small girl just scowled at him.
"In that case I'm leaving. Ren, keep the games, I'll collect 'em tomorrow. Later." She huffed as she pushed herself off her chair and meandered down the stairs, Morgana padding swiftly after her.
"Byyyeeeee~! We'll miss you while we're smooching!" Ann called after her in teasing tone. Futaba just responded with another grossed out grunt. The trio burst out laughter.
"That's cruel, Ann." Ren choked out between his giggles.
"Sorry, couldn't help it." She snickered back.
"Ohhhh my god..." Ryuji gasped out, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Wow, it's gotten pretty dark outside... What time is it?" Ren enquired after finally calming down. The punkish boy grabbed his phone to check.
"8:30... Damn, we're gonna have to leave in about an hour..." He sighed, displeased by the realisation.
"Awwwww.... You know it's really boring at school without you..." Ann huffed as she leaned herself against Ren's shoulder.
"Really?" Ren asked, quite surprised by that news.
"Yeah... There's no one to annoy during class..."
"...Gee, thanks..."
Ryuji snickered at the exchange. "Lunch was really quiet too without you and Morgana... It's kinda weird eating and not getting pissed off at the lil fuzzball..."
"Sounds to me like you missed Morgana more than me..." Ren pondered, tapping his finger against his chin.
"Aww, dude, hell no!" Ryuji protested.
"You sure?" Ren persisted, finding Ryuji's reactions hilarious.
"Oh, shaddup!" The blond boy snapped and pushed Ren down onto his back, causing Ann to fall with him.
"Hey!" She complained.
"Oh shit, my bad." Ryuji awkwardly muttered as he noticed Ann glaring at him.
"C'mon, you're joining us!" She decided, grabbing Ryuji's shirt and yanking him down so he was lying next to them. His head collided onto Ren's chest, 'causing the raven haired boy to cough.
The trio just lied there, slightly stunned, before exchanging looks with each other. After a few seconds of silence, they burst out laughing. After everything they'd been through during the past few months, it felt great to just goof around. So, they just snuggled up to each other and laughed as hard as they could.
"Hey, Ren, have your friends-" Sojiro called out before quickly cutting himself off.
He was greeted by the sight of the three teens curled up next to each other, fast asleep. The bearded man chuckled softly at the adorable sight, despite the fact that he was checking to see if the two blondes had left yet, especially since the last train for the night had left ten minutes ago.
"Guess I'd better let their parents know..." He whispered to himself as he stepped towards the bed, picking up all three of their phones and placing them on the nearby desk. He also plucked Ren's glasses off of his peaceful face and placed them on the windowsill. The man froze as he heard one of the three groan quietly.
Ryuji fidgeted slightly before nuzzling against Ren's chest and wrapping his arm around Ann before letting out a contented sigh. Making sure that the three of them were still asleep, Sojiro tiptoed carefully to the end of the bed and covered the trio with the duvet. Glancing back at them one last before going back downstairs, Sojiro chuckled softly to himself and turned off the light.
"Sleep well..."