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The first person to notice is Akira – perhaps before even they had noticed.
The Phantom Thieves are close to one another; they bonded in the way only teenagers could, with so much time on their hands, together at school and then together in the evening. Below the reality of the universe, deep in Mementos, unique experiences tied their bonds tight.
Though, Ann and Makoto had gotten just a bit closer – in the same way that Mona and Haru had a tight bond, or the leader himself with Ryuji, his first confidant; yet, something about the girls’ interactions were different. It was a keystroke away from the way the others had bonded. Akira had noticed, but chalked it up to Ann’s bubbly personality – she’d always been a woman who favored physical touch to show her love to friends and family.
The van rolled through Mementos, wheels spinning and engine rumbling.
“I don’t like the idea of splitting up,” Mona states, his tone high and sure of himself as always. He knew Mementos better than any of them – if one could know the twisted labyrinth filled with wretched shadows and bullet trains.
Akira nods; they’d never split up, but he knew exhaustion awaited the team at this rate. The trickster had floated a simple idea: two groups would split on each floor and meet at the exit. It would cut exploration in half, but leave teams wanting if someone needed to flee a battle and had none to replace their presence on the front line.
Ryuji was whining about his ass hurting in the back seat, and Yusuke was staring at the swirling, murky scenery around them. He was still working on that painting, Akira assumed. His eyes were glued to the window of the van, his hands holding up his painter’s frame to view the world through his artistic lens. That left the rest of the thieves focusing on strategy.
“If we sent someone with a healing persona on each team, we’d be okay, I should think,” Haru says, sipping tea from her thermos. Akira nods at the feedback.
“That’s not good for me, though. I’m great, but even I can’t navigate two teams at once. Unless I can use shadow clone jutsu,” Futaba explains.
“What if one of us just scouts ahead? I could go and clear out potential dead ends,” Makoto adds.
“By yourself? That’s crazy!” Morgana’s voice echoes through his van speakers. Ann leans over, her pink glove resting on Makoto’s thigh in the driver seat. Makoto doesn’t flinch or move away, even though Akira had always pegged the woman as the kind to keep away from physical affection. She and Ann had gotten close after their rough introduction. Now they were thick as… Well, thieves.
“I know you get riled up sometimes, but that’s too dangerous,” Ann chided the other woman. Makoto sighs, spinning the black steering wheel with her ivory glove.
“I don’t see any other way we get through this section of Mementos. Futaba said we’re not even halfway. Statistically, based on how many battles we’ve done in past visits, we don’t have enough stamina to push through every fight left,” Makoto explains. The Panther-dressed woman rolls her eyes, her sparkling blue irises always catching the attention of those around her even under a vibrant mask.
“Okay, well, not statistically, being by yourself in Mementos would be dangerous,” the blonde counters.
“Well, she does have that kick-ass motorcycle persona to drive through the floors with,” Futaba adds.
“Thank you, Futaba,” Queen says.
Akira hums quietly. Someone could go with her, though. He looks to the next seat; Haru has an idea, her eyes lighting up as she begins moving her lips. He lets the gunner speak first, smiling when he realizes they’d had the same thought.
“Could someone go with her? Perhaps a two-man scouting team?”
“I still don’t like that,” Morgana grumbles. Makoto nods.
“That could work,” she answers. “Joker, can you drive?” she asks, letting up the gas pedal of Morgana’s engine, his soft purring dying away while they rolled slowly to a stop in the caverns.
He nods, happy to help. While he liked having Makoto as their main driver, sometimes he missed steering Morgana around himself, listening to the team yap about nothing specific.
“I’ll go with you,” Ann says hurriedly. Makoto nods.
“That would be nice. Our personas work well together,” she answers, looking back at Akira while her gloved hand shifts the gear to park. The purring engine’s pitch lowers.
The leader nods in approval; it was true that Carmen and Johanna worked well in tandem. When the two girls teamed up, they could rip through entire floors in a dance of crimson and teal magic.
“Meet up at the escalators. Don’t go deeper alone,” Joker commands, and the two girls nod.
They climb out of the van, the doors to Morgana’s frame squeaking when they’re opened. Joker slides out of the passenger seat and exits also, walking over to the driver’s door.
“Be safe. Go left and we’ll go right,” he says, and Makoto nodded while Ann fiddled with her gloves.
Joker heads to the driver's seat, his black tailcoat swishing in the musty air behind him. He spares a final glance towards the women when he hears a strong voice call for Johanna.
Makoto’s Persona appears in a fit of blue flame, the rumbling cycle burning with raw power. She sits on the seat and pats the back. Akira watches while Ann giggles and jumps on the back, her red leather-clad legs hugging against Makoto’s rear and arms immediately wrapping around the driver.
He watches the way they interact – no, this isn’t just Ann being a touchy person. They don’t do this with Haru or Futaba. Ann nuzzles her head against Makoto’s neck and shoulder, wholly wrapped against her friend like a clingy cape. Makoto briefly laughs; she reaches down and pats the crimson thigh next to her before revving Johanna. Joker wonders what her expression would divulge if she wore no mask.
The persona’s tires kick up dust and filth from the floor, the image of the black rider and red panther with her striking. They shone in the convoluted miasma of the metaverse. Johanna takes off quickly, disappearing down a curving path.
He shook his head. Perhaps their relationship had evolved. It warmed his heart – they were both dear friends of his and he wanted only the best for both of them. They would work well together. Perhaps there was nothing, but Akira would wager there was something special blooming.
–
Futaba knows next – Futaba knows as they know. She was one and the same with her information systems. The woman was an extension of her network, completely plugged into her programs with their only separation being physical. Her expertise had little bounds.
Once, her fellow thieves had only known her as Alibaba, a true phantom that would appear in text only. She’d broken into their phones, hacking her way to communicating her faulty dream, only to have them rescue her from her false reality in the end.
Futaba had meant to remove the bugging after she’d awoken to her Persona. Akira had warned her about boundaries – just because the technology can doesn’t mean it should. Spying on people, apparently, was a no-go to normal relationships.
She’d taken that to heart. Her relationships with the thieves were important to her, but she’d never pulled all the bugging from their phones. She’d set the task on the backburner and forgotten about it; most of the texts were meaningless, after all. Haru sent lots of pictures of her gardens to her friends. Ryuji would text Akira almost nightly about hitting the gym. There were more personal texts occasionally, but Futaba had glazed over them, casually skimming without truly paying attention.
Ann texts the most. She texted with Ryuji frequently – they bemoaned tests or complained about teachers and snooty students. She texts Akira lots, too; just to say hey or to talk about Shiho, sometimes.
Ann and Makoto texted the most. They texted as much as they breathed. It always started with a ‘good morning’ text from whoever woke first. Little texts smattered throughout every day, sometimes important, often meaningless - contact for the sake of contact and nothing more. They’d make plans to get food after school or to sleep over every now and again.
[3:22 - Ann Takamaki] Hey, are you in the student council room?
[3:24 - Makoto Nijima] Yes. Do you need me?
[3:24 - Ann Takamaki] Yes :( can I come up and be with you?
[3:25 - Makoto Nijima] Of course.
It was simple enough. Futaba had realized quickly that they were closer to one another than the other thieves. It was just a fact, nothing that bothered her or rubbed her the wrong way. Their texts had gotten more frequent until they texted throughout the day – even during class. Not surprising about Ann, but very surprising about Makoto.
Futaba’s social skills needed leveling up, though. She should have paid more attention to the feelings behind the words.
[7:22 - Ann Takamaki] Is your sister home?
[7:25 - Makoto Nijima] No.
[7:25 - Ann Takamaki] Perf. Come let me in, I’m downstairs! I have takeout from the Thai place you like. Let’s watch a movie.
[7:26 - Makoto Nijima] I’m studying! It’s a good thing I like you.
[7:26 - Ann Takamaki] ♥️♥️
Futaba went back to playing her game – only six more daily quests to get the new armor set that just released. She couldn’t wait.
Four days later, it was impossible to miss. It was like the sun shining right into her eyes. There was no mistaking the difference in their relationship. Friends wasn’t the right word anymore.
[5:28 Makoto Nijima] Are you finished with that shoot yet?
[5:30 Ann Takamaki] Not even close. We’ve only done one round of shots. Miss me? ;)
[5:34 Makoto Nijima] Very much.
[5:36: Ann Takamaki] Hm… This should tide you over.
Futaba is only half paying attention, her information feed on the third computer monitor barely of interest. She’s grinding in her video game, a one in two-hundred chance to get a rare piece of loot. It’s a normal Saturday. Nothing was unusual, until Ann Takamaki’s near naked body pops up in her peripheral vision.
She shrieks. Why? It’s a picture from a high angle in a changing booth. The edge of the camera had caught Ann’s teasing smile, the top of her face not visible in frame. The rest of the picture consisted of Ann’s pale, sleek body, clad only in navy blue underwear, with overly decorative strapping and lacework. One of Ann’s hands has creeped towards her breast, pulling the fabric away and teasing a full view without giving it. Futaba’s face feels like she stuck it in boiling lava.
[5:40 Makoto Nijima] That makes it worse.
[5:42 Ann Takamaki] I know you love it ;)
[5:43 Makoto Nijima] I do. I can’t wait to take the last of it off.
[5:44 Ann Takamaki] Oh? I’m excited ;) Keep your hands off yourself until I’m there!
And she cut it. Futaba had never pulled a program from her feed so fast. The texts stopped and she typed a command on her keyboard to clear the current screen. She should have done that way before this moment. Procrastination had been her enemy.
“Eugh, I need to go barf,” Futaba groans.
–
Haru smiled, her mood pleasantly bubbly as she walked through the mall. Ann was at her side, idly twirling a finger in her pigtail and looking at rack of clothes.
“Do you ever get clothes from your modeling work?” Haru asks, curious. While she had started to play an active role in Okumura Foods’ board, Haru had never worked a job like modeling before – and likely never would, given the empire her father left behind for her. Ann was far from a down-and-dirty worker, but nonetheless put effort into her gigs that Haru would only ever appreciate from a distance.
“Sometimes. That’s something that happens when I’ve done multiple shoots for a certain company and they get familiar with my work,” Ann explains. “But, it’s fine. I don’t need them. Honestly, some of the outfits I’ve modeled are not very cute,” she gripes. Haru giggles.
Haru enjoyed going out with Ann. Makoto and Futaba had no interest in aimless shopping; Akira would go with her, but he only had particular stores he cared for, and Haru didn’t want to drag him into clothing stores and the like. Similarly, Yusuke and Ryuji would entertain her, but had absolutely no interest after the art and footwear stores were behind them. Both the boys would immediately beg to go get food after they’d seen their particular interests.
Ann, though, would browse through any number of stores with her. Even for things like the gardening and cooking stores which held no personal interest to the model, she would still walk through, happy to be with her friend to look at different coffee machines or flower pots. They loved to shop, irregardless of what for.
“Oh! Look at this,” Ann coos, pointing into the window of an action figure store they are passing. A small figure on display had caught her eye. It was a black-helmed rider atop a cool motorcycle. She points through the glass, “doesn’t that remind you of Makoto?” she giggles. “I’d totally buy it for her, but she doesn’t like decorative things.”
Haru nods, looking at the little figure riding on the bike. It did bear a striking resemblance to the student council president when she summoned her Persona.
“She does seem like the type of woman who prefers utility in her possessions,” the curly-haired brunette says. Ann groaned.
“Oh, totally. But if you get her something she needs she loves it,” Ann hums, looking at the little motorcycle. Haru tilts her head, looking at the way the woman slowly ran her pointer finger down the glass window, focused on the figure.
“She looks very powerful when she’s on her motorbike,” Haru continues, leaning forward to see if the blonde would look her way. The busy shoppers roamed around them, swaying away from the two women in front of the window like a river stream. Ann’s eyes didn’t move.
“Yeah, she does,” the model says, a content smile on her face. Haru nods.
“She’s quite attractive when she’s in her metaverse outfit, isn’t she?”
“Very,” Ann answers, completely absorbed in the sight. Her eyes perk up once she registers her own words. She jerks up and pulls her hand away from the glass pane. It was like someone nailed her against a plank to straighten her back.
“I-I mean, not– she’s okay,” Ann corrects herself, her pale ears reddening. Haru bites her cheek to keep herself from smiling.
“I think she’s far more enthralling than ‘okay,’” she hums. Ann runs her fingers against her bangs, pushing them back against her head. Her blonde eyebrows tilt inwards while she tries to concoct an appropriate response.
Haru continues, “And she’s so smart and driven. She’s the perfect woman, isn’t she?”
“I–” Ann sounds bewildered, blue eyes staring at her friend. It takes a moment for her to realize Haru’s trickery. Suddenly her eyebrows raise and she points at the brunette, a look of victory spilling over her face.
“Futaba told you,” she asserts, waiting eagerly for an answer from the other woman. Haru giggled; the jig was up.
“No, I went to say hello to Mako-chan before I left school yesterday, and I saw you two rather entangled on the couch in the student council room. There’s a window on the door, did you realize?”
“Oh God! That was late. Why were you still at school?” Ann groans, embarrassed someone had seen them. She shakes her head, disappointed in herself.
“My garden. Most everybody had left, so I can’t blame you… but I’m rather surprised Mako-chan would be willing to get so… handsy at school,” Haru smiles again. It wasn’t anything overboard, but Makoto had seemed a very demanding partner for the three seconds Haru had stared through the window, completely shell-shocked, before walking away.
“She gets into these moods sometimes,” Ann bites her lip. Haru shakes her head, her nose scrunching up – happy for them, but not wanting to know any more.
“Futaba-chan knows as well?” the Okumura woman asks. They start strolling to the next shop, aimlessly looking through displays and finding themselves around shelves filled with traditional Chinese wears.
“Yes, but we didn’t tell her. She said she ‘accidentally’ read our phone chats,” Ann sticks her tongue out, like the short ginger girl was there. “I don’t really know, but she promised it wouldn’t happen again. She’s not very good at lying! Makoto and I cornered her over some sushi into saying why she’d suddenly been acting weird around us.”
“I see. Am I the last to know?” Haru asks, her curiosity emboldening her.
“I think you’re the second. We haven’t really… you know, we don’t want to make it weird with the Phantom Thieves if we split,” Ann explains.
“That’s a poor way to start your relationship. I think you should consider telling the others,” Haru scolds her while the blonde stares at a massive floor vase filled with fake reeds.
“I think we will… at our own pace, though. Makoto is… well, how do I put this?” she sighs. “She’s had such a specific mold in mind for so long, she won’t admit it, but I don’t think she’s quite comfortable with dating a woman yet. It’s not that she doesn’t want to… I just want to give her some time to get used to it,” Ann hums through her thoughts.
That made sense for the student council president. Most people could care less about sexuality nowadays, but there was still a certain distaste for it. In Japan especially, it was more taboo than some of the western countries, according to Ann.
“In Finland this kind of stuff was not a big deal,” she sighs. “I didn’t think twice about it when I realized I liked Makoto.”
“I think it’s sweet you’re giving her time,” Haru consoles, patting her on the shoulder. It seems to have a positive effect on Ann, who smiles and nods at the reassurance.
“Sorry, I know it’s gross to go on and on about your relationship,” she gives her friend an empathetic look.
“On the contrary, I’d prefer to hear more about how two of my closest friends are dating. How did it start?” Haru asks, genuinely curious. The model beams, more than happy to gush about her girlfriend at great lengths.
On their way out of the mall, Haru convinces her to buy the motorcycle figurine, guaranteeing that her girlfriend would love it. Of this, Haru was sure – there was no doubt in her mind that Mako-chan would adore it if it came from Ann.
–
The thieves had taken a field trip. It was peculiar – so much was riding on stopping Shiro, but Akira insisted on taking a day trip to walk through a nearby park. Ryuji and Morgana were bickering about sushi; Ann and Futaba were harassing a street vendor for dango. The park was pleasantly busy. Enough people were milling about to make it feel lively without overcrowding.
Yusuke had taken up residence on a bench to capture an angle of the lake with his pencil. Makoto watched the artist, her legs crossed while she sat next to him. Even in the frosty November air, his slim hands moved deftly across the page, filling in the shadows on his sketch with brisk finger movements.
He was not self conscious of being watched – rather, Yusuke was used to having his work observed from start to finish at his high school. Pieces were often examined before completion by instructors and peers, so having Makoto’s interested gaze was nothing more than generally pleasant. It delighted him that at least one of the other Phantom Thieves had a passing interest in art.
Futaba and Ann came back from the street vendor, happily stopping by the duo on the bench to show off their beautiful, autumn-colored dango balls.
“Inari, can’t you take a break on our day off?” the younger girl whines, looking at the intense gaze filling the man’s eyes. He sighs, deeply, dramatically, in the way only he could.
“An artist’s soul can feel relaxation through their craft. This is a break, for me,” he explains. Ann leans over to see his work – gorgeous, as always. His technical prowess was exceptional; catching a still life was no stretch for his imagination nor talent.
“It looks good, Yusuke, but she’s right. We should row out on the lake when you’re done. You need a change of pace,” Ann says. The man nods.
“Very well. I’ll finish as fast as my muse will allow me,” he says. Ann claps in delight, and Futaba starts talking about how he should draw a mech, to the traditional artist’s chagrin.
Ann leans down and smiles at Makoto, her pigtails drooping downwards while she meets a red-eyed gaze. The woman mirrored her expression. She spins around and quickly slides on the end of the bench - it's not big enough for three people, so her thighs were pressed right against the brunette’s.
“Hey,” Ann grins, her smile even more dazzling in the autumn sun. “Want a bite?” Dangos are dangled right in front of her mouth, her girlfriend leaning against her. Makoto smiles, closing her eyes for a brief moment. It was one of the things she adored about the blonde – Ann had no limitations on expressing her love. Texts, little teasing kisses, gifts, offers to bring her food while studying were consistently offered by the woman. Ann naturally exuded care and attention onto her partner.
It was almost overwhelming, going from an overburdened student council president to having a full group of friends, a caring sister, and a loving girlfriend in just a few months’ time.
“Thank you,” Makoto says before leaning forward and eating a chunk out of the first ball on the stick. Ann grins happily, leaning over and kissing her cheek quickly. Makoto’s face turned peachy with heat; Futaba dramatically gagged and Yusuke did not seem to notice.
Makoto reached down and squeezed her thigh, not wanting the kiss to go unrequited, but it never felt quite as natural to her as she’d like it to. Sometimes it didn’t feel right that this perfect, beautiful woman liked her.
“I’m gonna go rent one of the rowboats, Yusuke. Hurry up and meet me down there!” Ann announces, standing up and skipping down the path towards a small wooden shed where water crafts could be rented .
“Wait, Ann!” He shouts, standing up suddenly and reaching after her. She looks back, her pigtails flipping with her as she turns curiously, the daylight shining in her sky-blue eyes. Makoto’s mouth felt dry.
“Can I draw you once we’re on the lake?” He continues. Ann makes a noise and rolls her eyes; the artist sighs and collapses onto the bench, a look of distraught in his eyes.
“To think I’ve met a woman who so encapsulates modern beauty and she never lets me do a portrait of her,” he laments. “Ann truly has no idea how enchanting she is.”
Makoto sighs, looking around at the trees and bushes on the path next to the lake. Children mindlessly ran past them while the man stared downwards. Truthfully, the council president couldn’t agree more. Ann was enchanting – though, she was sure the blonde knew, given her status as a model.
“Yusuke, can I ask you a question?” Makoto crosses her legs over, turning her attention to her friend. The man was bent over, elbows on his knees and holding his drawing book in his hands, staring down into the pencil sketch.
“If it pleases you,” he responds. She pursed her lips while she thought of the best way to broach the subject.
“You don’t like Ann, do you?” she asks. Yusuke’s back straightens.
“Of course I like her. She’s kind to others, and risks much to be part of the Phantom Thieves. I find her to be an admirable woman,” he explains, gesturing to where the blonde had gone. Makoto chuckles.
“No, no. I mean romantically. You just… have a penchant for noticing her beauty, is all,” she continues. Yusuke smiles himself as he understands the meant semantics.
“It is the duty of the artist to notice such things. While I would have no issue drawing anyone or anything in pursuit of my art, Ann in particular has a way of…” Yusuke pauses and thinks through his words. “Well, she commands attention – and I do not mean in just a sexual way. It is easy to be drawn to her, I think.”
“I see…” Makoto pushes her bangs back. “I’d be inclined to agree with you,” she responds, looking back out onto the lake to see Ann and Futaba had found a rowboat, and were rowing back towards her and Yusuke. Their row was an abysmal speed, with Futaba griping about the difficulty of proper technique while Ann laughed at her.
“I… is it that you would want to be the subject of my art?” Yusuke suddenly asks, bringing her attention back to their conversation. “I’ll admit, there is a studious quality about you that might fit well in-”
“No, that’s not it,” Makoto holds up her hands, stopping his thoughts in their tracks. She turned her gaze to the side; she’d never said it out loud to anybody else. In fact, Shiho, Futaba and Haru were the only people who even knew, unless Ann had told another person recently.
“I… Ann is my girlfriend,” Makoto explains. Yusuke nods his head seriously.
“I am glad. It is good to have friends. I would call her a friend too.”
“No,” Makoto pinches her eyebrows. “I mean romantically,” she explains again.
“Oh,” Yusuke closes his eyes and nods solemnly. A peaceful smile overcame his expression. “I see.” He leans back against the bench, crossing his legs as well. “I’m happy for you both. I’ll pray for the longevity of your relationship and strength of your love when next I go to the shrine.”
Makoto’s blush had died down, and her heart felt light and true, finally saying it out loud to someone.
“Hey! Yusuke!” A girlish voice called out; the two on the bench turned their attention to the lake, where the noise came from. Ann and Futaba had rowed up to a dock; the hacker shouted with glee upon leaving the boat.
“Land! Fresh, pure, solid land!” Futaba screams, running forward and patting the dirt. Makoto laughs at the younger girl’s joke while Ann beckons at the artist to come down to the dock. Yusuke strides down the concrete path.
Makoto’s red eyes follow the model in the rowing boat, her knees tucked together and her large jacket keeping her body warm. She had a cute white beanie on, too. A beaming smile covered her face, an ear to ear grin as Yusuke finally joined her and they began to row out into the lake.
Her mouth twitches with a smile white she absorbs the image of Ann, wholly agreeing with Yusuke. The woman had a way to draw attention. Makoto had no idea what she’d do if she lost her love, and so she hoped in her heart that Ann would always desire her.
–
Ryuji is a simple man. Everything that needs to make sense makes sense, and everything else he can ignore – like school, and grades, and women. Sort of, on that last one. He did have an interest in women, so making sense of them would be helpful for his happiness.
He and Makoto had just finished up a horse-looking shadow. He always felt so cool, ripping into one of the baddies with lightning and then watching Makoto’s nuclear magic decimate whatever they were fighting. Makoto was fun to fight with, too; she was the only other Phantom Thief who really knew how to let loose like he did when they fought. If nobody else, Ryuji could count on Makoto to beat the shit out of shadows with him.
Well, Haru was into it too, but Makoto shared his raw, unadultured power, where Haru was delicate about fighting. Even though Haru’s persona had gatling guns under its skirt, even though she had a unique bloodlust, she still kept her pomp on the battlefield. Makoto was more like him.
“Might want to have Mona take a look at that,” Makoto gestured to the rip on his sleeve and the burn across his skin. It didn’t hurt as bad as it looked.
“C’mon, it’s fine. I don’t wanna go bother Mona in the rear anyways,” he groans. Makoto shook her head.
“Then Panther can. I want to preserve my energy for the fights on the frontline today,” she scolds him. “I’m not healing it, but we’re not going forward until you get it looked at.”
Ryuji groans dramatically and leans his head over, staring at Akira. He nods, a quiet agreement with Makoto.
“Fine, if our leader says so, I will. But don’t go ahead without me! Maybe we should regroup in the safe room,” Ryuji adds.
They heed the idea, reclining in a safe room, all the thieves lounging about in the small, mirage-laden room that blurred the lines between reality and cognition. Haru and Mona were chatting at the table, while Joker and Yusuke played cards next to them.
Ann had laid against the couch, groaning, her pink gloves removed to fiddle with her fingernails. Ryuji sat next to her, waiting, fidgeting while the woman took her time to prepare her spell.
She touches her mask; it was a gentle summoning. Carmen’s visage glimmered behind them, half materialized as Ann calls upon her healing capabilities. Moments later, a cool feeling like aloe vera on a sunburn filled his body, stitching up the open wound across his shoulder.
“Jeez, Skull. Might want to focus on dodging the shadows for once,” Ann pouts. She couldn’t help but tease him – truthfully, Ryuji was one of her best friends. In spite of her griping words, she moved his shoulder back and forth, looking to make sure the damage was completely undone. When one of her friends was hurt, Ann felt it tenfold in her heart; she wouldn’t allow Ryuji to go back to fighting with any injuries.
“C’mon. I can’t help it if Queen doesn’t wanna heal me,” he whines.
“Well, I can’t help it if you can’t miss an obvious lunge from the enemy,” Makoto interrupts their conversation, dropping down on the other side of Ann. Ryuji makes a face like he wants to argue – but knows better than to argue with the student council president. It usually backfired for him.
“Oh, like you’re miss perfect or something,” he bemoans, slamming his back against the plush couch. He shut his eyes, wishing Joker wasn’t playing cards. Sometimes it would be nice to have another person on the team who took his side.
“She is miss perfect,” Ann giggles. Ryuji lays his head back, staring at the ceiling while focusing on the fresh feeling in his shoulder. He could hear the sounds of the sliding playing cards on the table, of Haru and Morgana giggling, and the dull hum of Shiro’s ship engine below them.
“I can’t wait for Friday night,” Makoto says. Ryuji taps his foot against the steel floor, feeling the dull roar of his bad knee while it moves.
“I wish you’d say where we’re going,” Ann’s voice replies in a pout.
“Somewhere to eat first,” Makoto answers. Ryuji opens his eyes.
“Where y’all goin?” He asks. “If it’s food, you know I’m down,” he turns to the two women. Ann was leaning her head against Makoto’s shoulder, her golden pigtails and crimson suit a stark contrast to the brunette in black, leather clothing.
“It’s a date, Skull,” Panther pouted. “But, we should go to the arcade on Saturday if you have time,” she adds. Ryuji grins at the thought of hitting some games with his friend. Makoto elbows her.
“You have a test on Monday,” Makoto chastises her. Ann frowns, looking up at the student council president with big blue eyes. That was the last thing she wanted to think about.
“C’mon, you know I’m not trying to study my life away,” she answers. Makoto sighs, shaking her head, but a small smile adorned her lips.
“Uh, guys?” Ryuji interrupted. “Food? Arcade? What are we doing?”
“No, Skull. I said it’s a date,” Ann reprimands him, lifting her head so she could stare at the third person on the couch.
“Like, you guys have got… dates?” Ryuji cocked his head. Ann nods her head, and the man laughs.
“Oh man, can’t wait for the poor fella that has to listen to Makoto cry about studying,” he chuckles to himself. It was a shock, then, when Ann leaned over and kissed Makoto’s cheek. Ryuji’s face contorts in confusion.
“I know! It’s a good thing she’s cute when she’s stressing about school,” Ann giggles; Makoto raises an eyebrow, her face a bit red, and softly caresses the crimson leather on Ann’s thigh. They were way closer than normal. Ryuji makes a face.
“Y’all are being way weird, even for girls,” Ryuji leans forward to look at them. Ann is biting her lip with a coquettish smile, and Makoto is smirking.
“I’mher date, Ryuji. We’re dating. She’s my girlfriend,” Makoto leans over the panther and towards the skull-masked face, eyes boring into the man. Ryuji’s eyebrows furrow – it didn’t make sense at first, but it clicked after a few iotas of thought.
“Ohh! Word!” Skull grins, his face pulled up to show his ivory teeth, a massive grin of excitement. “Good shit, you guys. Can I still come for the food though?”
“How about Saturday we go get some burgers?” Makoto proposes, absentmindedly slinging her arm around Ann’s slim frame. “We can go after we do some studying.”
“Or… we can go get burgers after the arcade!” Ann shouts with glee, and Ryuji joins in, with a loud whooping sound. The blondes high five while Makoto sighs in defeat.
–
One by one, the Phantom Thieves learned of Makoto and Ann’s relationship. After some time had passed, their overbearing touching and flirting died away into more modest, simple gestures that were palatable to the group. Occasionally, Ann would lay her head against the other woman while they drove. Sometimes, Makoto’s hand would rest on the blonde’s curvy back, just above the panther tail, just to feel her while they talked in a circle. The giggling and kissing had become more muted and private as the novelty wore into normal.
“Lady Ann is gorgeous in the sunset,” Morgana sighs, his ears twitching where he sat on the table. They had found a small, American-style burger joint on the road with outdoor seating.
Haru hummed next to him, leaning over and picking at Ryuji’s fries while the boy devoured a large burger.
“Their burger’s not as good as Big Bang’s, y’know?” Ryuji groans. Haru pulls out a handkerchief from her dapper jacket and wipes a spot of ketchup on his face.
“I think they’re perfect the way they are,” Haru answers.
Morgana’s tail swished back and forth, watching his object of affection from afar, where she stood across from Makoto, who was leaning against the van. Ann kept reaching forward and toying with the other woman’s jacket while the summer breeze blew through the air.
“Yeah, I guess. You’d know better than me,” Ryuji shrugs. He reaches for the fries in the paper holder on the patio table, grabbing six in one handful and horking them down. He lets out a grunt of appreciation. “Fries are good though,” he grins, nodding his head while chewing on the salty sticks. Haru giggles.
“Try them with the sauce, it’s very good!” she replies.
Morgana yowls loudly.
“Dammit! Stop yelling like that,” Ryuji snips at the feline. Black ears fold against the cat’s head, eyes watching as Ann and Makoto, down by the camper van, opened the door to climb inside.
“What are they doing? They haven’t eaten yet and they’re going to bed!” Morgana kneads his paws against the table anxiously.
“What? Chill out, I’d rather them go make out somewhere out of view,” Ryuji replies, eating another hork of fries.
“Stop impugning Lady Ann’s character like that,” Morgana gripes, turning his attention to the raucous boy. The runner shakes his head, his mouth overflowing with buns, cheese, and beef.
“That’s exactly what they’re doing, you dumbass,” he mumbles around the burger. One of his eyebrows raise up. “What do you think girlfriends do?”
Morgana took his eyes away from the van, turning on his slim paws gracefully to put a pointed stare into Ryuji. His tail flicked intermittently with spurts of energy. Haru crosses her legs and nibbles at another fry.
“You need to get your head out of the gutter – just because two women are close doesn’t mean they make out. You’ve been watching too much filth on your TV to think that, I’m sure,” Morgana says haughtily. Ryuji sticks out his chin, a look of confusion in his features.
The hot-headed boy wants to retort, but Haru places a hand on his shoulder, gently rubbing her thumb on his shirt so he’d pay attention. It was enough to assuage him. The woman shakes her head, wordlessly telling him to be quiet.
“Why’re you stopping me? He should know. I mean,” Ryuji turns his head back to Morgana and gestures, the burger in his hands dripping with sauce. “Honestly, how do you not know? It’s been going on for months!”
“Know what!?” Morgana arches his back, his anger and unsuredness affecting his form.
“That they’re kissing ‘n shit!!” Ryuji’s face is going red.
“Shut up! You pervert! ” Morgana flashes off the table, his paws moving faster than a bullet train. They watch his small, lithe frame dart down the stairs of the patio..
Haru sighs, sliding the fries in front of Ryuji.
“Seriously, does he not know?”
Haru smiles while Ryuji’s temper flickers out and he leans back against the bench. They watch the black cat tail flicker out of view, running down the sidewalk. They finish off the fries.
“Some truths are hard to digest,” Haru answers.
“This burger’s gonna be hard to digest,” he mutters. Haru bumped his shoulder.
“Now, what was the rule about deep breaths instead of fighting with Morgana?” she chastises. Ryuji groans, rolling his head back so far it’s like his spine broke. He’d promised Haru he would try to de-escalate arguments with the feline, but it was proving difficult in practice.
When he lifts up his head, he sees Morgana running off in the direction of the van. Once the feline reached the vehicle, he wiggled his legs and jumped straight up into an open window. They usually kept one cracked to keep it cool inside. Ryuji grins wildly.
“Oh, he’s about to know now. There’s no way they’re not making out in the van,” he laughs. Haru shakes her head.
Down in the van, Makoto was on top of her lover; they’d crawled inside, barely hitting the bed lofted above the driver’s seat before Ann had started touching her.
“God, I want this shirt off,” Ann whines, stretching at the white tee Makoto has on. The woman’s blush grows much wider on her face. Ann is kissing underneath her jaw, renegade hands stretching at her clothes, tugging them up and down like a tease, showing off bits of her partner’s stomach. “All that time you’ve been at the gym is paying off.”
Makoto’s eyes close in bliss, letting her love lick at her skin and tumble on top of her. When she opens her eyes, head muddled with bliss while she stares at nothing in particular, she sees another set of eyes – blue, and low to the floor. Something was inside the van with them.
Cats are silent, aren’t they?
Makoto yelps and jerks up, hitting her chin on Ann’s blonde hair. They hadn’t bothered to properly lock up the van when they’d come in, heads muddled with lust.
“Morgana!!”
The cat bolted back out the window he’d jumped in, ears flat. And, finally, months later, every Phantom Thief knew.