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Ren is always the one who has to pay for the group's ramen. Yusuke is perpetually broke, Ryuji is Ryuji, and Ann is… Ann. Look, his friends are great, but they don’t like emptying their pockets, and Ren can’t blame them. Today he doesn’t mind. Not at all. He’s too happy to mind, his grin splitting his face. Ann notices right away.
“Woah! You should smile more often, Ren, it really makes you look nice.”
Yusuke studies his face as they walk. “Huh. You are correct. Could we perhaps stop? His face is captivating, truly. I feel compelled to draw this moment.”
“Hell no, dude, we’re almost there!”
Yusuke frowns but continues to follow. Thankfully they don’t press why he’s so happy. It would be… awkward to explain. Surprise, guys, I’m suddenly dating the detective who, just yesterday, said he wanted to arrest the phantom thieves. That’s not a topic he would like to pursue. Nope. He’d rather keep his sense of hearing. And his life.
The ramen shop comes into view, the streets surrounding it busy enough to tip them off to the fact that this is their dining place of choice. It’s new and it’s delicious, but most of all it’s expensive. It was Ryuji’s idea but it’s Ren’s bill to foot. Sometimes he mourns the cash he dumps on his friends, but after seeing their faces it’s hard to stay in grieving. The smiles that appear as soon as they step into the ramen shop are worth a billion yen.
They grab a table and order, Ryuji ordering two because he was going to “savour it while it lasted”. His wallet cries as Yusuke does the same. Ann pats him on the back and tells him that it’s okay, she’s only going to be ordering one. But of course it’s the most expensive.
“You guys know I need some money for myself, too, right?” He asks as their food arrives. Ann pushes at him. He pushes right back. “I’m serious! I’ve got priorities now!”
“Now?” Ryuji says through a mouthful of noodles. “Oh, is this about the maid service? Dude, I can’t believe that.”
He blinks very slowly. “Uh, no? I forgot that existed.”
Ryuji shrugs and Ann starts to giggle, Yusuke casually chugging the rest of Ryuji’s soda. “I dunno, man. Hey-- Yusuke! Dude! Get your own drink!”
“That costs extra,” Ren pipes up. “Just… economically share the drink. Pretend you’re just a bunch of crows fighting over the last fry on the sidewalk, ya know?”
“Dude, the hell are you talking about…?”
“It’s quite a familiar image,” Yusuke says, thoughtful. “Though, I’m not sure how I would translate this to canvas. Give me a moment.”
“Oh my god, guys, can you just eat?” Ann says-- but it’s through a mouthful of noodles, so they can’t understand dick. She clarifies after swallowing. They all grumble but start to eat, their conversation limited to Morgana asking for a piece of beef, Ryuji refusing, and then him getting angry when Morgana swipes a piece. He should have expected it. Amateur.
“We should totally bring some of this back to Leblanc and just go to town.”
He bites his lip. “Ryuji… please, my wallet.”
“Oh, come on, dude! The metaverse gets you bank! We can afford a little bit of splurging.”
“A little bit? This isn’t a little bit!” He points furiously at the prices. Ryuji starts to cackle at his expression, because apparently it looks funny when he’s angry. “I’m gonna die on the streets because of you guys.”
They all burst out laughing at that one. He huffs as Ann slaps at his shoulder, wheezing, trying to catch her breath as she giggles. Her efforts are in vain when she cracks her eyes open and looks at his face again. He wonders what the fuck he did to deserve this. Was it punishment for asking Goro out?
“Don’t give me that!” Morgana pops his head out of his bag. He shifts to hide him from view as a patron walks by. “Yesterday this guy spent a bunch of money on flowers! He didn’t even put them in a vase.”
He drags his hands down his face as Ann turns her surprised gaze to him. She grins. He shares a silent moment of regret with the counter of the ramen shop, stained already despite being so new and so shiny, and readies himself for Ann’s brigade.
“That sounds like a gift! Ooh, who for? Oh my gosh, this is so exciting.”
Ryuji turns towards him, scandalized. “You have a secret girlfriend?! And you didn’t tell me first?!”
“Or me!” Ann cries.
“What are we talking about?” Asks Yusuke.
“Or me?! Seriously, Ren…” Morgana shakes his head. Whips his tail at his nose. It cracks like a whip despite being so furry and adorable. “Who is it? Is it the shogi girl?”
He busies himself by taking a drink of their community drink. Apparently Ryuji doesn’t like that, because it’s snatched out of his hands right away. So he turns to the bowl in front of him and starts shovelling food into his mouth. They all stare, disappointed and mildly uncomfortable, as he adamantly refuses to make eye contact, his glasses fogging up from the steam of the bowl as he eats. And then, because someone up there hates him, he takes on much more than he can handle and ends up choking on a stray noodle. He coughs, banging the table with a closed fist.
Ryuji is pounding him on the back. Eventually the noodle dislodges itself, landing right on the floor beneath their table. He kicks it underneath with his foot. He’s still trying to get his breath back as he speaks.
“It’s not the shogi girl--” he wheezes. “You guys are gonna kill me. I’m actually dying today, and it’s not from choking to death on my ramen. I should clarify—“ Ann offers him some water and he graciously takes it. “Thanks. I meant you guys are going to kill me because of my choice of romantic partner.”
“We would never!” Ann gasps, mildly offended. He stares at her. She twirls her hair around her finger and pouts. “Okay… well, if you were dating, like, a murderer…”
Ryuji has an epiphany, then. “Or that annoying Akechi guy! God, he bugs me so much.”
He is sweating. It’s not the ramen this time. The silence feels like it’s going on forever. Ryuji is looking at him, now, accusations in his eyes. Quick, think of something!
“This ramen is really good.” He chokes out. Ryuji’s face gives the impression that he just killed and ate a baby in front of him. “Wow, it is hot in here. I’m going to take a breather. Outside. Not here.”
He swings himself out of the chair before Ryuji can grab him. Months of training in the metaverse grants him the swiftness needed to escape the deadly grasps of his friends. Not even Morgana can catch up to him. He ducks around a corner and holds his hair out of his face as he takes in gulps of air. Why is he so scared? When did dating someone he likes become illegal?
His phone is filled with cute photos of them together. Him and Goro in a cafe, them in the jazz club, them playing billiards, Goro with whip cream on his face and Ren giggling so hard that the photo is shaky and blurry. A smile crosses his face as he stares at his phone in the dusty dark alleyway behind the ramen shop. He must look real sad, because people are giving him looks as they walk by. It’s fine, though. He’s reminiscing.
He’s been reminiscing for ten minutes. He half expects Morgana to jump out of the dumpster and assassinate him when he walks past it. Maybe he should just stay here and look at Goro’s face until his phone dies and he has to pitifully drag himself back home.
...
Alright. Enough of that. He puts his phone in his pocket and gives himself a pep talk through the means of whispering at a brick wall. He slaps his face up a bit. “You’ve got this. Your friends love you.”
As he opens the door to the ramen shop, he finds himself face to face with all three of his friends and one pissed off cat. They grab his arms and clothesline him out of the building, the ramen shop’s door swinging closed as he is dragged to the station. Not a word is said between them until they’re tucked in a dark corner in the station. They’re looking at him, but he doesn’t know what to say.
Ann reaches forward and flicks his nose. “Idiot! You worried us!”
“Ow.” Is all he responds with.
“We thought you went and died or somethin’!” Ryuji is punching him in the shoulder now. “I didn’t wanna tell your weirdo boyfriend that you died outside a ramen shop.”
“Ow.” He so eloquently says again.
“It would be rather unbecoming of the leader of the Phantom Thieves…” Yusuke regards him with his hand on his chin. Finally, he grabs at his wrist and tugs him towards the ticket gate. “We are going to miss our train. We shall talk about this once we secure our transportation.”
“So you approve of my choices?” He asks, because there is nothing but questions in his mind.
“Well… um...” Ann shuts her mouth and averts her eyes. She giggles and twirls her hair around her finger. “I gotta say! I’m jealous! Akechi is very handsome. Haha. Please stop looking at me like that.”
He looks at her like that harder. She thunks her head onto his shoulder.
“I’m not saying I approve completely, but whatever makes you happy! I think we can all agree on that.”
Ryuji’s hand occupies his other shoulder. “Yeah, dude! You’ve gotten enough bullshit from all those freakin’ adults. Everyone’s such a dick towards you! You deserve to have somethin’ good… even if that’s Akechi.”
They all await Yusuke’s interjection. It takes two minutes for him to stop lining up the angle for his sketch. He nods wisely, a true sage, and then says, “I agree.”
They all share a laugh and then suddenly everything is okay. And what a thing it is, to be okay. Ren hasn’t felt that in awhile.