Work Text:
Love Like A Pizza
February Fourteenth, 2019
Valentine's Day, the day of lovers. It was evening now, the moon just starting to set above an impressive looking restaurant in Shibuya. It was filled to the brim with couples, some old, some new, and most of them happy. It was in this restaurant's waiting area that a young woman named Makoto Niijima, who was best described by her friends as strong, intelligent, and level-headed, was trying her best not to fall into shock as the maître d told her-
"I'm truly sorry, ma'am, but we don't have any reservations under the name of Makoto Niijima."
Makoto stood in front of the maître d', mouth agape and in disbelief. "That can't be. Please, please no. You- you checked correctly, right?"
"Ma'am, we have checked, double-checked, and even triple-checked but we haven't found any reservations for today booked under the names of Makoto Niijima or Akira Kurusu. I am truly sorry." The maître d' gave her a sympathetic smile.
Makoto blinked. "Right. Sorry. Ok. Got it. Could I… could I use your bathroom?"
The maître d' nodded and pointed to where the women's restroom was. Once Makoto was sure that she was alone and had locked herself into a stall, a few small tears began to fall from her eyes.
" No reservation . "
It kept replaying in her mind. "It's impossible," she kept thinking to herself. She made that reservation months ago and made sure to get the best seats in the house and everything. It had cost quite a few pretty pennies, but it was worth it so she could treat herself and her boyfriend to the best Valentine's Day dinner possible. They've been together now for years, and it was high time she blew his socks off with the perfect romantic dinner… but it was ruined now. There's no way this could be happening, and yet here she was, trying not to have a full-on breakdown in the bathroom.
Eventually, Makoto got out of the stall and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Akira, her boyfriend, kept telling her how gorgeous she looked today, and earlier, she truly felt gorgeous. She was wearing an elegant dress she received from a friend and with her hair done to perfection. She looked like… well she looked like a queen. But that was earlier, before she felt like a clown. After a few more minutes, she was able to stop the tears from flowing, fix her make-up, and leave the bathroom.
Makoto could hardly think now. She still couldn't believe it. How could the reservation just not be there? She looked around and found Akira, stylish as ever, sitting on a bench facing the restaurant. He looked so patient and calm, obviously unaware that their plans had been ruined for the night. Once he heard Makoto approaching, he got up and stretched, ready to finally enter the restaurant and eat. He smiled at the sight of his girlfriend, but his expression turned into a confused look when he noticed how upset she was.
"Mako, what's wrong? You look hurt."
It took a few seconds before she was able to respond. She put her head down and in a voice that was hardly louder than a whisper told him, "They said… well they told me that there was no reservation under my name. And yes, they checked, double-checked, and even triple-checked. I don't know how, but it's just… it's not there."
Akira sighed and gave her a reassuring look. "That's a damn shame." He put his hand on her chin and lifted her face up so they could see into each other's eyes. "It's alright, Makoto. we can just go somewhere else. The night's still young."
"I suppose that's true but… I really wanted to take you here. Make tonight truly special." Her lip quivered as she finished her sentence.
Akira grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Every night with you is special, fancy restaurant or not."
Makoto closed her eyes and sighed. "I'll never understand how you became so good at that."
He raised his eyebrow. "So good at what?"
"So good at making me feel like I'm not such a screw-up at times."
He smiled warmly. "I could ask you the same thing."
Akira looked into her eyes, and she looked into his. In his whole life, he had never seen anything as beautiful as her eyes. Gorgeous like rubies, and so brilliantly red. They were crown jewels, and even now, long after their years as Phantom Thieves had ended, she was still royalty to him.
The moment was broken when both their stomachs growled. Makoto became flustered at the unexpected reminder that she hadn't eaten anything in hours.
Akira looked at his watch. It was 6:40 PM. "Most places should still be open right now."
"How many do you think will have empty tables?"
"I never said it had to be anything fancy or that I wanted something fancy. I just need you with me."
A warm smile grew onto her face. "There you go again, Mr. Reassuring."
He bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Even before his lips separated from her face, Akira could feel Makoto's face become red and warm upon receiving his affection. "So, what do you want? The Queen's word is law tonight, and the sky's the limit."
Makoto looked around. There were so many eateries around them that it was hard to choose. Her eyes eventually settled on one with a neon Italian flag on the outside. "How about pizza?"
Akira grinned. "Pizza it is."
The pizzeria was a small family owned place. It felt properly Italian, or at least it felt properly Italian to two people who have never stepped foot in Italy. The food itself was impeccably made. Makoto was no pizza connoisseur, but she could tell this was one of, if not the finest slices she ever had in her life.
"We should go someday," she thought out loud.
Akira nodded. "To Italy? Sure, why not. Maybe in the summer. Or maybe the winter if we don't have the time."
A soft giggle escaped Makoto. "Like in that old movie we watched a few weeks back? What was it called again?"
Akira answered, "Roman Holiday. And it makes sense, I already have all the charm of Audrey Hepburn."
Makoto rolled her eyes. "You're such a dork."
Akira shot her a boyish grin. "Hell yeah, I am. Your dork."
Makoto smiled. "All these years with you, and you still haven't lost your charm."
"What can I say Queen, you keep me hot on my feet every day." Akira took her hand and kissed it, not realizing that there was sauce on his lip. As he kissed her, Makoto's cheeks turned red once more.
The two fell silent, and she took another bite out of the slice she had in her hand. Pizza had never been Makoto's favorite dish in the world, but right now, it felt like the only thing she wanted to eat for the rest of her life. "Must be some kind of secret ingredient , " she thought to herself. She was lost in thought for a few seconds until Akira finally spoke up.
"You know you're allowed to be upset over your plans being ruined. I don't think you have to be upset, but you're allowed to be."
Makoto took a sip of water before answering. "I'm not upset. Well, not as much as I could've been."
He took her hand again. "I meant what I said when I told you every night with you is special. Even the nights where we both feel like shit and look like shit and go to bed talking about how sore our backs are and that we need to buy more toothpaste."
Makoto slouched in her chair. "I know that you meant all of it, it's just… I'm so lucky to have you. Truly. Every little thing you do for me, it all comes from your heart, and it makes me love you more and more, but sometimes it feels like I'm not doing enough for us."
Akira looked confused. "What do you mean?"
Makoto sighed once more. "You know, the big romantic gestures. Like the ones you do to make me feel special. And after years of dating you… I felt like I really needed to do something. And I know a fancy restaurant isn't the most unique idea in the world, but I wanted to take you there to prove that I can be just as romantic, and then it just didn't work. It made me feel like a big idiot for trying." Her lip began to quiver again as her nose flared, and she dabbed her eyes with a napkin. "God, I bet I look stupid right now."
Akira held onto her hand. "Makoto… you don't have to prove anything. Especially not to me. Every day that you're with me is all the proof I need to know that you love me. Years ago, I never thought anyone would have fallen in love with who I was. The criminal delinquent student who keeps getting into trouble, an unlucky stray cat. Of all the people who could fall in love with me, I especially didn't think it would be the honor roll student council president with a stick up her perfectly sculpted ass."
A soft smile came onto Makoto's face. "I should've expected you to bring that up."
Akira smirked. "The thought of them brings me up every day."
Her face rapidly turned red at his not-so-subtle innuendo. "Akira! Not in public."
He laughed. "We're the only ones here! Two lovebirds dressed to the nines in a pizza parlor."
"Talking about my ass."
"Talking about your beautiful ass, exactly."
They laughed like idiots together for the next few minutes. After they calmed down, Akira started talking again. "Here I was, the delinquent, and here you were, the good girl. We really shouldn't have become friends. And then we did. Then you became my best friend, and we taught each other how valuable fighting for what you believe in is no matter how tough it is, and before too long, I fell in love with you. Can you believe that? The criminal fell in love with the girl who wanted to become a cop. And then you told me you loved me, and I felt like I won every lottery all at once, and it's never stopped."
Makoto's lip began to quiver even more, and her eyes began to well up. She took his hand. "Akira…"
"We fell in love despite how impossible that should've been. And we've been stuck together ever since. Just being with me means more than any fancy restaurant. I'll always love you. And I hope you'll always love me."
Tears began to roll down Makoto's face again for the second time that night. "I'll always be with you. Until the ends of the Earth."
Akira chuckled. "Pretty sure we've been there before once or twice."
Makoto smiled. "We have." She went silent for a moment as she analyzed his face. "It's amazing how you were able to say all that romantic mushy stuff with a massive pizza stain on your cheek."
Akira's face suddenly became flush. "Only now do you decide to bring that up? Where is it-" He was interrupted by Makoto as she leaned over and kissed him. He never saw it coming.
"I love you. Dork."
Akira grinned. "I love you too. Queen." He looked around at the empty pizzeria they were in. Not even the sole worker was behind the counter at the moment. An Italian song was playing in the background, and while Akira didn't understand a single word being sung, he could tell it was romantic. He looked over at Makoto and smirked at her. "Come on. Let's dance."
Makoto was taken aback at his suggestion. "In- in here? Really? Won't we be seen?"
Akira laughed. "Are you serious? This is the perfect opportunity to dance like nobodies watching!"
She mulled it over before getting up and extending her hand towards him. "My darling Joker… may I have this dance?"
Akira's grin grew even wider. "But of course, my Queen."
It was dark now, and the two were on their way home. Two fools in love, exhausted from their dancing, dressed all fancy with pizza stains on their clothes. Neither of them envisioned this to be how the night would end.
Akira looked up into the sky and noticed it was a full moon. "Well, would you look at that? The moon looks like a pizza."
Makoto laughed and rolled her eyes at his observation. "How poetic. You might be the next Soseki Natsume."
Akira snickered. "Be careful, with my skill set that could very well become a reality."
They kept walking in silence before he spoke up again. "You know, it's a little funny."
"The moon pizza?" Makoto asked.
"No, not that. It's just that we've been studying love for so long, I think we could teach a class on it if we wanted to."
Makoto laughed once more and then sighed. "I still can't believe the study partners line worked on me."
"Part of me can't believe it either."
"You know, I kind of want to learn how to make pizza on my own now."
"That's not a bad idea. Maybe we could open a pizza parlor of our own someday. We could call it 'The Royal Slice'."
That earned him a small laugh from Makoto. "Perfect."
As they reached the train station, Akira leaned down and whispered into her ear. "The night's still a bit young, you know? Maybe we should take a little test on love when we get home."
Makoto looked at him with a rather intense expression. "I thought that was a given. But you know that I'm expecting A+ results from you, right?"
Akira took her hand and gave it one last kiss. "Of course. Anything for my Queen."
The two walked off into the night together. The cold air meant nothing to them. Not when their love kept them so warm, and will continue to keep them warm for a long, long, long time.
Fin.