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"Come on, Ann!"
She let out an exhausted grunt but tried her best to keep up with you regardless. Her already dewy skin was drenched in sweat as she pushed herself the last couple of yards, finally ending at the tree you had designated as the finish line. The moment she halted to a stop, her legs gave out from under her and she collapsed on the ground, her chest rising and falling with heavy pants. You crouched next to her and brushed her hair away from her face, unable to keep a cheeky grin from spreading across your lips. She opened her eyes and gave you a withering glare, but accepted your outstretched hand and pulled herself into a sitting position.
"Never again!" she announced, her face flushed from exertion. "I swear, you and your damn track legs are too fast for me to keep up with. How can you still run like that? You haven't done track and field for, like, a year!"
"I run this route about three or four times a week," you explained, swinging your small backpack around and grabbing the two water bottles you had brought with you. You handed one to Ann and the two of you downed your water in quick succession. "It's a good run, isn't it? It's still early too, so the heat isn't that bad. Imagine having to run this after school."
She shuddered. "Well, I'm glad we don't have to worry about that. Is this all we have to do, or are you going to try and kill me again?"
You giggled. "We don't really have anything else to do resistance training with. If you're concerned about slimming down your thighs and stuff like that, we can always try stretching. I got a routine from a first-year that's good for flexibility and balance. Do you wanna try it?"
Ann wiped the water and sweat away from her face with the collar of her shirt and stood up. "Of course! What do we start with?"
The two of you went through a few sets of push-ups and sit-ups before starting the stretching routine. As you stood on one leg and pulled the other behind you, you took the moment of reprieve to watch Ann as she murmured the counts under her breath, her gaze focused on the pond that made up the majority of Inokashira Park. When she finished counting to twenty, she glanced over at you and flinched when she made eye contact. "What's up?" she asked, moving onto her other leg and using you as her focal point as she started counting.
"Just watching my beautiful girlfriend," you replied easily, grinning when she flushed and hopping back as she tried to hit you. She lost her balance and stumbled forward. You caught her easily and held her by her upper arms. "Aww, are you falling for me all over again?"
"Shut up!" she whined, hitting your chest without much force. She straightened herself and mumbled something that sounded like a "thank you," giving you another withering glare when you raised your eyebrows. "Ugh, you're so irritating sometimes."
"But you love me regardless," you sang.
She rolled her eyes, but a gentle smile came across her face. "I guess I do. We're not gonna be able to focus on anything else, are we?"
You looked around. You and Ann had gotten to Inokashira early in the morning, around eight o'clock to beat the crowds and heat. It was around nine-thirty and people were starting to come in, either to do the boat rides or just take a stroll around the park. "Yeah, probably not. You said you didn't want to work out while there's people to watch you, right?"
"Nope," she replied. "I don't want any creeps watching me while I work out."
"As if anyone would watch you when you're wearing that ugly Shujin gym uniform," you teased.
"H-Hey! It's not my fault I don't own any gym clothes. Jeez."
"Guess I should count my blessings then. You'd be the center of attention if you wore typical gym clothes and I don't think I'd be able to stand some jerk watching you like that."
She murmured your name, her eyes wide. "Y-You mean that?"
You scoffed and linked your arm through the crook of her elbow. Almost immediately, she sank into your side and grabbed your hand. "Of course. I've been meaning to tell you this, but I'm so proud of you for trying to put in work to become a better model. This kind of fire and energy was what made me fall in love with you in the first place, and I'm glad it hasn't died down. Whether you're Panther or Ann, you've always been a diamond to me and I'm glad I caught you before someone else did."
She bowed her head, but you could still see the big smile on her face and the telltale reddening of her cheeks. "W-Well, it's not like you haven't been amazing as well. The fact that you didn't give a shit about the rumors surrounding me and stayed by my side as long as Shiho did...I don't think I would have made it this far if I didn't have you. So, thank you for giving me a shot."
"I'd never forgive myself if I didn't," you replied. You squeezed her hand and started heading out of the park. Without much effort, her strides fell into step with yours, and she stayed pressed up against your side the entire time. "Are you hungry? We should get something to eat at Leblanc. I haven't seen Boss in a while."
"About that..." She looked up at you and pursed her lips. "When are we going to tell the others about us?"
You slowed to a stop. "That's a good question."
You and Ann had been together for a little over two months at this point, starting your relationship after stealing Kamoshida's Heart and officially becoming the Phantom Thieves along with Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana. You still weren't certain what pushed you to keep your relationship a secret from the others (aside from Morgana's fairly obvious crush on Ann) but you had to admit, you enjoyed the thrill of a secret relationship. Ann seemed to think the opposite; you had seen her frown every time you released her hand from your grip when the others came to talk to you, and there had been a few times where you had to hastily pull away from a kiss as Ryuji burst into the room without warning.
"If they're at Leblanc, do you want to tell them today?" you asked, resuming your leisurely stroll over to the subway station.
She hummed and let out an awkward giggle. "I'm not sure why I'm worried about telling them. I know they're not going to be weird about it, except for maybe Ryuji, but..."
"...that's just how he is," you finished, and she nodded.
"We can tell them," she finally decided after a minute of walking in thoughtful silence. "How should we do it?"
"I think a blunt 'We're dating' should be fine," you said. "There's no real reason to draw it out for any longer. Ryuji, Yusuke, Makoto, and Akira appreciate straightforward answers, and Morgana will finally get the hint."
"Huh?" She frowned. "What do you mean?"
You stopped again, this time turning fully to her and gawking. "A-Are you serious? I thought you were observant about this kind of stuff."
"What kind of stuff?" she asked.
You sighed and shook your head. "You're telling me that you haven't noticed." When she gave you a blank stare, you had to laugh at how oblivious she'd been ever since you met Morgana. "Babe, Morgana's had a crush on you ever since he first saw you in Kamoshida's Palace. That cat's been trying to get your attention."
Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "Wow...That's kind of weird."
Her unexpected bluntness made you laugh in surprise. "A bit, but none of us really questioned it since we didn't want to offend him. Actually, I'm surprised Ryuji didn't call him out on it at all."
"Yeah, they have some weird animosity," she agreed, grinning as you headed through the turnstiles and boarded the train to head to Yongen-Jaya. It was starting to approach ten o'clock, so you figured that Morgana and Akira would be awake by now. The others had said they were going to drop by soon as well, which meant that today would be the perfect opportunity to tell them the big news. You understood why Ann had been strangely worried about telling them; there was a certain anxiety creeping up into your head as you pondered what might go wrong, but as the train pulled into the Yongen-Jaya station and the doors opened, you resigned yourself to whatever outcome may occur.
The path to Leblanc was a familiar one at this point, and before you knew it, you were entering into Leblanc and greeting Sojiro at the front. Ann trailed behind you, close enough to where you could see her out of the corner of your eye. "Good afternoon, Boss!"
Sojiro looked up from the coffeemaker and smiled. "Oh, hey. Akira and the others are upstairs doing...whatever. You can head up there if you want."
Ann gave him an awkward smile. "A-Actually, there's something we need to tell all of you."
"Oh?" Sojiro raised an eyebrow, but looked over to the stairs. "Hey, Akira! Get down here, your friends need to tell you something!"
There was a little bit of movement upstairs before Akira came down, followed closely by Ryuji, Yusuke, Makoto, and Morgana. Akira waved and Ryuji yammered about something as they both sat down. Yusuke and Makoto were far calmer about it, taking their seats and turning to you expectantly. Ann took in a deep breath, and even with the distance between you (which was maybe an inch or two at the most) you could feel her shaking a little.
"What's--"
"We're dating!"
Ann's face flushed as she practically yelled her part of the conversation. Ryuji's words died in his mouth and he gawked at you, but before you could say anything, he began laughing so hard tears rose in the corners of his eyes. "You guys really thought we hadn't figured that out by now? Holy shit--"
"Ryuji!" Makoto scolded.
"--we're a bit dumb sometimes--"
"I think you mean you," Yusuke said with a quirked eyebrow.
"--but it was so damn obvious."
It was your turn to grow flustered. "What?"
Akira's laughter wasn't nearly as rambunctious as Ryuji's, but you could see his shoulders bouncing up and down slightly and the smile lighting up his face. "You two were pretty obvious about the whole thing. We didn't say anything because we didn't want to out you before you were ready, but 'friends' usually aren't caught inches away from kissing. It was hilariously bad acting, even coming from you, Ann."
"Hey!" Ann scowled and put her hands on her hips. "My acting is not that bad."
Yusuke hummed. "I think my experience with your acting could beg to differ." He turned to Sojiro and held up a hand. "Excuse me, could I get some of your coffee?"
Sojiro smiled. "Yeah. It's on the house for everyone, to celebrate these two finally coming out with the truth." As he turned back to the coffee maker, he paused and looked over his shoulder. "To be honest, they're right. Even I could tell, and I've been told I'm pretty damn oblivious about those things."
Ann buried her face in her hands. Even the tips of her ears were starting to turn red. "This is so embarrassing...."
Makoto smiled. "Cheer up, Ann. There's something good that comes out of this, after all."
Ann lowered her hands, looking hopeful that Makoto might have some words of comfort for her. "What is it?"
"Ryuji and Akira owe us 100 yen now," Yusuke said with a similar smile on his face, turning to the two in question.
Ryuji's face fell. "Aww, for real? I forgot about that!"
"You guys bet on our relationship?" you asked, too surprised to even consider being angry.
"Well, it was more 'betting when you two would come clean,'" Makoto replied, accepting the 100 yen coin from Akira with a pleased nod. "These two said you wouldn't tell us until after everything with Kaneshiro was said and done. Yusuke and I had a little more faith and said you'd tell us by the end of June. It's June 26, therefore..."
Ryuji sighed and placed a 100 yen coin on the table in front of Yusuke. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Dammit, all you guys had to do was wait for five more days!"
Ann scoffed. "You're such an idiot."
Morgana butted your leg with his head and glared at you. If you were in the Metaverse, you'd have been more intimidated, but since he was just a cat in the real world you weren't very scared. You crouched and raised your eyebrows. "What's up, Mona?"
"I can't believe you would even consider stealing my beloved Lady Ann away from me," he rambled, pacing angrily back and forth in front of you with his tail flicking around behind him. "To think I would be stabbed in the back by one of the Phantom Thieves! I won't forget this atrocity and betrayal by my so-called friend, and you will rue the day you ever decided to court her--"
"God, what kind of sushi do you want? Tuna? Eel?"
He froze in his movements and looked up at you. Finally, he sat down and started licking his paw. "W-Well, since you asked so nicely, eel would be nice..." He trailed off and looked off to the side with his chin raised. You didn't think it was possible for a cat to look so snobbish. "Fine, I guess I'll forgive you, since I trust you to treat Lady Ann better than anyone else here. You'd better live up to my expectations, otherwise I won't hesitate to steal her away from you the moment you make her cry!"
You sighed and picked Morgana up around the torso, ignoring him as he let out a wail and struggled in your grip. You dropped him in the seat next to Akira and moved to wrap your arm around Ann's waist. Much like before, she molded against your side and gave you a kiss on the cheek, braver now that you had told the truth about your relationship. Ryuji began making kissing noises, only stopping when Makoto and Yusuke both gave him glares. Akira laughed and winked at both of you, while Morgana watched you with a withering glare that didn't match the oddly human smile making his mouth curl up at the corners.
"What's with the sudden affection?" Ann murmured into your ear, her warm breath washing across your skin and making you feel even more at peace.
"Just wanted to let you know that I have every intention of making you happy and protecting you while we're together," you whispered back, letting the gentle chatter of the other Phantom Thieves drown out your murmured affections. Ann's expression shifted from surprise to contentment, her lips curling up into a soft smile that lit up her features and made your heart skip a beat.
"Well then, guess you're gonna be doing that for a long time," she replied simply. "And I'm gonna make sure the same happens to you. Nothing will hurt you as long as I'm around."
You giggled and pressed a chaste kiss to her temple. "I wouldn't have it any other way."