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Sunlight filtered in through the window of the Kurusu household as a tired Akira opened his eyes. The warmth of the sheets was an evil temptation, but as he became more conscious, he recalled that, unfortunately, today was not a day where he could give into that temptation. Today, Akira would be starting his job as a manager for a local coffee shop, and despite his normally cool demeanour, he was actually quite nervous. Looking to his left, he saw that the bed was empty next to him, which caused a small pang of sadness in his heart, but as a delicious scent reached his nose, he knew that the emptiness was going to be quite justified.
Tiredly pushing himself up, Akira yawned loudly and stretched, resting his back against the headboard of the bed while he reached down and grabbed his phone. The clock read 6:40, so he could afford a few minutes of lazing around before he had to actually get ready. Idly scrolling through his phone, he was surprised to see text messages from a number of his friends. He started by opening Ryuji’s text, which came in at the late hour of 4:30 AM.
Yo, wussup dude! Heard about your new gig, pretty sweet! You’ll kill it, we totally gotta all meet up there or somethin. Aight, I’m gonna go to bed, I just beat this freakin’ tough boss in a game, see ya!
Akira smiled at how carefree Ryuji always was, and it was always reassuring to know that no matter how tough life got, he could always count on Ryuji to have his back. Deciding not to answer right now, he closed out, and then opened up a text from Ann, which came in pretty early as well.
Hey Akira! I think this should come in at the right time, I’m still getting used to the time change, so hopefully this doesn’t wake you! Makoto told me that you’re starting a job today, congrats! Guess that call last week makes more sense, sorry for not having been more help! You did great as our leader, so I’m sure something like a manager will be a piece of cake for you! Oh, speaking of cake, I found this TOTALLY amazing sweets place here in America, I have to bring you all here sometime. Shoot, sorry, this is supposed to be about you! Okay, I’m gonna stop this here, so good luck, try not to be too busy!
Ann was in the process of travelling the world doing various modelling gigs, and she always raved about the different restaurants she was able to try out, and always said that everyone just HAD to go there. Next, he began reading Yusuke’s message.
Good morning Akira. I was informed you will be starting a job as of today, many congratulations, this is truly a joyous occasion. I do hope you can still make time this weekend to model for me, my latest piece is very close to completion. Perhaps we could eat at your restaurant afterwards as well. I must get going, farewell.
Yusuke was in the middle of creating the final piece for a collection he was working on. After school, he began gaining renown in the Japanese art scene, and a famous gallery owner caught wind of his work, and commissioned him to work on an exclusive collection for them, which would be debuting soon. Next was a text from Haru, short but sweet.
Hello Akira! Mako-chan told me you were starting work as a manager of a coffee shop, that is wonderful! If you would like any business tips, I can do my best to help! Have a pleasant day, and do your best!
Although she was very busy in her own work, Haru always made a point to reach out to the group at least once a week and see what everyone else was up to, which was a great way to make sure everyone stayed in contact. Finally, the most recent message, one from Sumire, and this one had a picture attached.
Senpai! Makoto-senpai texted me last night and told me you were starting a job today! I’m sorry I haven’t reached out more to keep up with what you’re doing, but congratulations! Next time I’m in town, I will definitely come by!
By the way, here’s a picture from my most recent competition! That makes 4 first place finishes in a row! Every day, my dream seems more attainable, and it’s all because you helped me find my true self, thank you senpai.
Sorry for making this a little sentimental, I’d better get going to practice too, good luck on your first day!
Attached was a picture of Sumire holding a gold trophy triumphantly over her head, face stuck in a wide smile. It filled Akira with joy to see Sumire going well for herself, and all of the hardships she’d gone through seemed to be paying off. Notably, there was no text from Futaba, but he figured that she was probably still asleep. Of course, there was one other girl whose text was missing, but before addressing that, Akira opened up the Phantom Thieves group message, and typed out a message to the whole group.
Thanks for the encouragement everyone, we’ll plan a party when everyone gets back. Group call tonight?
During their time apart, the Phantom thieves had found that group video calling was quite an effective way for them to remain in contact, and it was fun to see how everyone was doing. Finally, having read through all of the messages he received, Akira knew it was finally time to begin getting ready to face the real world.
Sliding his legs out from under the covers, he stuck his feet through the pajama pants conveniently on the floor next to the bed, and pulled them up, sliding his phone into the pocket before grabbing his glasses and sliding them onto his face.
The smell he had detected earlier had only gotten stronger, and he could almost feel his mouth watering as he walked down the stairs. About halfway down the stairs, Akira began to hear quiet jazz music, his favorite in fact, playing throughout the house, and upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, he was finally able to see the perpetrator of all of these things. Standing with her back towards him, brown hair hanging freely just above the tie of an apron, and wearing a short sleeved shirt along with a pair of Akira’s sweatpants, was Makoto Niijima, or more currently, Makoto Kurusu. After starting their relationship during Akira’s tenure in Tokyo, the two had continued their relationship while in college through a long distance relationsip, and as soon as Akira graduated, they decided to tie the knot. The marriage was basically a formality, because once Makoto got out of college, the two had moved in together, and Akira proposed to Makoto the first night at their new house, but they wanted to wait until there were no school responsibilities to hold them back from going on a week long honeymoon.
Makoto seemed quite immersed in her current craft, so Akira made his way over to her, but stopped for a moment as he got closer. Every time he saw Makoto, he felt his breath taken away, he still couldn’t believe that this beautiful woman had chosen him as her partner, but there was no one in the world who Akira would rather spend his life with. Before he could execute his plan of putting his arms around her waist, the chef turned around and let out a small gasp of surprise before her lips turned into a smile, and she quickly moved her pan off the burner before turning back around and striding at Akira, giving him a hug and kiss. No matter what mood he was in or what thoughts weighed on his mind, that simple combination of actions was enough to instantly set his heart at ease, clear his busy head, and make him wish that this little moment would never end.
“I was worried I would have to come and get you, considering how late it was getting,” Makoto slyly chided as she pulled away from the kiss, returning to her place in front of the stove and resuming her cooking.
“Sorry, I’d have been down sooner, but everyone texted me this morning wishing me good luck. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
Akira grinned as he went over to the other side of the counter, and began to prepare two cups of coffee for them - although Makoto had meticulously tried to recreate Akira’s coffee making process, she was unable to match it completely, so that task was always left to him, not that he minded at all. Although he couldn’t see it, Makoto’s smile grew as he mentioned the messages he’d gotten.
“I surely don’t know what you’re talking about at all, I’m sure they just happened to hear about it… somehow.”
With the coffee finally in its heating stage, Akira came over and planted a kiss on Makoto’s cheek.
“I hope your cooking skills are better than your lying skills, Queen. But really, thank you, it was really nice to hear everyone’s encouragement.”
Taking a seat on one of their barstools, Akira noticed that the third member of the house was just waking up now, so he waved his hand towards the luxuriously sized pet bed lying on the floor nearby. With a big stretch, and a yawn, Morgana climbed up out of his bed and hopped up onto the counter, licking his paws.
“So, ready for your big day, Mr. Hotshot manager?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be. It’s not that big a place so hopefully nothing goes too wrong.”
“No matter the size, landing a position like that is still cause for celebration! And I suggest sushi for dinner as an apt celebratory meal!”
Makoto turned off the stove burners as she emptied the contents of the pan onto a now stacked plate, and removed her apron.
“Morgana, we had sushi just last week, I don’t think we need it again so soon…”
“Nonsense! You can never have sushi too much! Especially fatty tuna su-”
Morgana’s sentence was cut off by Akira aggressively scratching the cat’s neck, which caused an initial yowl of disapproval, but was soon met with a purr of begrudging approval. The two adults of the room laughed at this scene, and following it, Makoto got out two plates and two cups, placing both their meals on the plates, and going down the counter to fill their cups with coffee. With the prep done, she finally presented her creation by placing a filled plate and full cup in front of Akira, while doing the same for the seat next to him and then promptly going to occupy that seat.
“It’s been a while since I’ve made them, but I hope you enjoy these ‘delicious pancakes’, my love~”
The stack of golden brown fluffy discs looked incredible, and the first bite confirmed they tasted even better than they looked. Without even stopping to say anything, he began to devour the meal in front of him as if it was the best thing he’d ever eaten which, at this point, basically anything Makoto made was the best thing he’d ever eaten. Makoto was initially worried about the quality of the food, but seeing Akira’s ravenous consumption of them, she considered that a victory, and began to eat them herself. As she was through her third bite, she looked and noticed that Morgana was eyeing them with jealousy, and realized she’d forgotten something!
“Sorry Morgana!”
She quickly put down her fork, and grabbed another, smaller plate, and grabbed the small pancakes she’d made and put them atop the plate, before sliding that plate in front of Morgana.
“I used the same recipe as last time, and you didn’t react poorly to those, so it should be fine for you to have these.”
The cat’s eyes lit up as he began to tear his way through the pancakes, and Makoto affectionately rubbed his head for a moment before sitting back down and returning to her meal. Somehow, by the time she’d done this, Akira was already just about finished, and wiped his lip with a towel before standing up and stretching. He then went over and quickly gave Makoto a hug to the back, and a kiss to the back of her head.
“That was really delicious, thank you! I’ll be back in a few.”
With that brief bit said, he quickly hopped upstairs and began to get himself dressed - just last week, Makoto had helped him pick out a new outfit, with a bit of help from a video call with Ann. A chuckle rose from Makoto’s lips at Akira’s hurried mood, and she casually continued her breakfast, her mind wandering to what she would do for dinner that night, as well as a few passing thoughts about her own job situation, and what’d she’d be needing to do for work the following day. Her thoughts were cut through however when she heard a voice call from upstairs.
“Hey Makoto, do you know where that pair of pants we got are?”
“Um… did you check on top of the dresser?”
There was a shuffling of feet followed by a moment of silence.
“... Got it, thanks!”
Akira was not the best when it came to the organization of things, so it often fell on Makoto to keep the house in a manageable state. As Makoto finished her meal and took the plates to the sink, she heard the tapping of shoes against the stairs, and upon turning around could see Akira fully dressed and ready for his job! Or, he would be, save for a few minor details. Makoto quickly dried her hands on a nearby towel before going to him, and starting to fix parts of his outfit. First, his collar, which was not pushed down in the back, second, a portion of his hair which stubbornly didn’t want to fall into place, and finally, the zipper on his pants, which she deftly raised all the way, making Akira’s cheeks turn red. She felt her heartbeat quicken a bit at doing that too, and placed her hand on Akira’s chest, feeling his heartbeat going just as fast as hers, causing a warm smile to spread across her lips, and she leaned her head into his chest as she let out a small sigh. Akira reached his arms around Makoto’s back and held her there softly, the two standing interlocked as the sound of music filled the air. Were there no time constraints on them, the two probably would have stayed like that together, gently rocking in unison while their two hearts pounded to the same beat. Unfortunately, the world was cruel, and time’s cruel continuation had to bring about an eventual end to this, and in this instance, Morgana was time’s arbiter.
“Sorry you two, but isn’t it getting a bit late? He’s gonna be late if he doesn’t head out soon…”
Regretfully, the two broke apart, but Makoto kept her hand on Akira’s chest as she looked up with a pained sigh.
“Morgana is right, it is… getting late.”
Placing a kiss on Akira’s lips, and holding it for a few blissful moments, Makoto stepped back and smiled, cheeks still red and heart still thumping.
“I’m fully confident you will do well today, because… you are my husband, and I expect nothing less. I will do my best to have… an adequate reward planned for you tonight, if you do well…~”
Makoto said this last part with a small wink, and Akira felt his body react quite warmly to that - she was quite pleased with this reaction. Clearing his throat, Akira took a step back, and made sure his jacket was on tightly, and gave a smile to Makoto.
“I’ll do my best to not let you down, my Queen, Mrs. Kurusu.”
He finished off this sentence with a small bow, causing Makoto to chuckle lightly and kiss the top of his head.
“Okay, now you must get going, okay? Text me when you get there, and when you’re leaving, please?”
“Got it.”
With a small wave, Akira opened the door and looked back at his companions, a sight he wished he didn’t have to leave. Makoto stood next to the counter, a wide luminescent smile on her face as she waved back at Akira, while Morgana stood next to her and waved his paw as well.
“Go get em Joker!”
Morgana’s quip filled Akira with the last bit of confidence he needed to nod back at them, and close the door, beginning his rapid walk to the train station. On his way there, he felt his phone vibrate, and he stopped for a second, thinking it may be Makoto reminding him of something. However, he let out a small chuckle when he saw it was a text from Futaba.
Akira! I have awakened just in time to congratulate you on your level up! Not only a level up, you gained a new class, now you’re a boss level character! It’s okay, the mighty Futaba won’t slay you, fear not! Now then, get out there and get that exp and gil! Kick butt! Except you probably shouldn’t actually kick anyone’s butt, but you know what I mean! Okay, gotta go now, I have a raid to catch! Later!
Now, Akira had the support of all the Phantom Thieves behind him, and nothing could stop him. Any fears which played at the back of his mind were silenced, and the anxiety in his gut was nowhere to be found. As he boarded onto the train and saw his city pass him by, he knew that the future would be great, no matter what happened, as long as he had his friends in his heart, no matter how far away they were.