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It has only been five months since Ren’s — or, more accurately, Joker’s — encounter with Wonder. Even still, Ren considers him an important friend and an essential piece to the new era of the Phantom Thieves, despite being obviously less experienced with personas than the original group.
What he absolutely did not expect from Wonder, however, was to hear from both Lavenza and him directly that he had broken the seal to revive Makoto Yuki, one of the most remarkable guests of the Velvet Room and a fellow Wild Card that sacrificed himself for the world. In moments like these, at least Leblanc’s environment comforted Ren a little.
— You could’ve asked me for help, you know? — Ren complained. This seal was considered one of the biggest accomplishments from any persona user, according to Igor. It contained the entity of death itself, Nyx, a being so powerful that it’s strength was on par with Yaldabboth’s. Ren feels kind of disappointed that he wasn’t there to, at least, witness it. The seal, he means. Though, he feels as if he still needed to be there for Wonder, to assist him, to watch him.
No matter reminiscing about it now, what’s done is done, Ren convinces himself. Still, he needed to know:
— Was it even safe for you to do that basically on your own? I can’t imagine that breaking the seal of a being as powerful as Nyx was easy, much less carrying Yuki’s body afterwards. — Ren wanted to worry less, Wonder pulled it off anyway, right? But he just didn’t feel right leaving that unresolved, even if the feeling probably was just born out of his ‘leader paranoia’.
— Igor told me it had to be done and that the mission needed to be confidential. I understand your concern, Joker-san, but Nyx had been significantly weakened by the effectiveness and willpower of the seal and of Makoto Yuki-san. There was barely any risk at all. — Wonder explains, his tranquility spreading across the room. Ren feels his shoulders relax and a deep exhale makes it way out of him. There was something bothering him, though.
— Confidential? Why would Igor want to keep this confidential? — Ren inquired impulsevely. Sure, the Phantom Thieves had committed slip ups about secrets before, however, none of them were really big deals and they managed to get around it most of the times. And even so, Igor could have at least told Ren about it.
— According to Igor, Makoto Yuki has been declared dead ever since he became The Great Seal, and so, he decided it would be best to keep it a secret between the most recent Wild Card, aka me, and his Velvet Room attendant. — Wonder responds, still calm. He proceeds, seeing that Ren notices that that wasn’t all the information he has. — The Kirijo Group and Yuki-san’s ex group members were the only other ones informed, to guarantee his safety and give him a place to stay while he finishes his final school year. —
Finally, that’s the information Ren needed, that both Wonder and Yuki are now safe and sound. He should take it as a sign to dial down his ‘leader paranoia’, but that will have to wait until he stops thieving. Although Ren doesn’t say it out loud, he really wants to meet Yuki in person, to see him, to talk to him, to understand him. He was also a leader, someone that went through the same struggles as Ren in that regard would be everything he needs right now.
Ren wonders if Yuki is angel-like. Merely a silly thought that he throws away immediately, it’s absurd to think a human could be as gentle and heavenly as an angel. But maybe, just maybe, Ren starts considering if Yuki is beautiful.
Wonder takes a final sip of his coffee and begins to speak, snapping Ren back into reality. — Joker-san, I’m really glad you worry about me, but… — he smiles softly before continuing. — … if I’m gonna become as strong as you, then you need to abandon these worries. I know what I can handle. — Wonder finishes, sounding soft and confident at the same time. Since when did Ren deserve such comforting words, from a Kouhai nonetheless?
Ren grins. — Will keep that in mind, thank you. — Wonder starts getting up to leave the café, seeing that their chat was over. Ren calls for his attention one last time. — I believe in you, don’t forget that. — Ren affirms in the sweetest voice he could pull off, who would have guessed that he could be a sweet talker when he wanted to comfort someone? He sure wouldn’t.
— Thank you, Joker-san. I’ll live up to your expectations. — Wonder smiles, then leaves Leblanc, leaving Ren alone with his thoughts.
What type of person could Makoto Yuki be?
——————————[🌀]———————————
Ren wakes up as usual, puts on his uniform, eats his breakfast curry, and heads to school. On the way there, and even when he sits on his desk, he thinks about contacting the Kirijo Group to ask about Yuki’s whereabouts, in a way that didn’t seem awkward and that didn’t give up his identity as the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Though, none of them seemed effective.
His mind continued to wander off to whatever solution he could find, until he hears the door to the classroom open, and immediately sits up to pay attention — or at least try to — to class.
However, something was different. The teacher entered with someone else, someone with blue hair and grey eyes, and asked them to introduce themselves. A transfer student?, Ren thought.
— Hello everyone, my name is Makoto Yuki, and I’m transferring to this class. I hope we can be friends. — the boy introduces himself, artificially. He immediately proceeds toward his desk, which is right behind Ren’s.
In a moment of shock, Ren pinches himself. And he did not wake up. This wasn’t a dream, this was real.
The Makoto Yuki he had fantasized about meeting just yesterday was now here, in the same school as him, in the same class as him, sitting literally behind him. Ren couldn’t help but bite his lip to contain his excitement.
And suddenly, he realizes that Yuki is actually angelical, he looks so soft, yet so… firm? Would that be the correct term? Ren doesn’t really care at this point. He just felt his chest and face grow warm at Yuki’s sight and knew that this will probably ruin him forever.
In another surprising event, Ren hears a whisper from behind him, right beside his left ear. — Ren Amamiya, right? Igor told me about you. — now Ren feels his ears grow warm, too. He turns to look at Yuki, who has the softest tired face Ren has ever seen.
— Yes, that is me. We can talk about it after class, Igor has told me a lot about you as well, Yuki. — Ren tries to keep the formalities by calling him by his last name, which leads to Yuki making a ‘cut the formalities’ face, in a cute way, of course.
Ren hopes that his glasses were hiding his flushed skin, as he turns around to look at the board again. It doesn’t last long, since he starts hiding his very-obviously-blushing face in his hands.
The hours go by smashing Ren in the head with every second they lasted. Nothing he’d never dealt with, he affirms to himself.
Finally, it’s lunch break, and he and Yuki get their, very needed, time to talk.
— No need to call me Yuki, just Makoto is good. — Makoto starts. Ren nods in agreement, then, he proceeds. — So, Leader of the Phantom Thieves, huh? That’s quite the title you’ve got there. — the blue haired boy comments, a light smirk on his lips. The rush of emotions take over Ren again, and he tries to, discreetly, blur his fake glasses with his breath so that Makoto couldn’t see him blushing.
— It means a lot coming from you, Yu- Makoto. Sealing a god for almost a decade is an accomplishment I could never dream of achieving. — Ren compliments, doing his best not to stumble between his words. His smile, shaky and nervous, is so painfully obvious that Makoto definitely has noticed it.
— There’s no need to be so nervous, Ren. — Makoto assures. God, his name sounds so nice on Yuki’s voice, he could listen to it forever, Ren thought. — I’m actually very interested in hearing more about the Phantom Thieves, if you’ll indulge me. — Makoto suggests, laughing sweetly. Ren is now a hundred percent sure that Makoto is angel-like.
— Of course, I would love to. — Ren fakes normality. Makoto darts his eyes directly onto Ren’s and now he thinks he can’t fake anymore. Doesn’t hurt to try though.
Stumbling a bit through his words, Ren recalls the facts related do Kamoshida’s and Madarame’s cases. Makoto listening attentively to Ren’s every word, having the cutest — in Ren’s opinion — reaction to their triumphs.
Right when Ren is about to start ranting about Kaneshiro’s case, the bell for their second period rings, and the duo groans as their little moment gets interrupted.
— Ren, would you mind if I come over to your place after school? Since you mentioned it was a café… — Makoto asks and stops himself, so that Ren could answer. With an embarrassingly large grin, Ren flutters a little before doing so.
— Yes, for sure! I would like to hear your stories too, Makoto. — Makoto lets his smile loose to match Ren’s.
— It’s a deal, then. — Makoto finishes, as they proceed to enter their classroom.
Ren spends the rest of his class thinking about Makoto. He seemed so genuinely interested in Ren’s stories, but most importantly, he often would start intensely looking and observing Ren’s facial features as he was some sort of painting from the renaissance, all the while paying attention to Ren’s infodump.
Ren never felt like he had received this much direct attention before, especially not from someone as amusing as Makoto. And he could start feeling himself wanting more. This was definitely going to kill him one way or the other.
The bell rang, making Ren snap out of his little world. He barely paid attention to class, but that wasn’t important right now, he can catch up.
Now, all he wanted to do was spend time with Makoto again.
Makoto looks at him, serene and excited at the same time. They were actually going to Ren’s house. Together. All of a sudden Ren cannot stop thinking about the romantic implications of this, although, he’d rather not voice these thoughts.
Once they step out of Shujin together, Makoto initiates the conversation again. — So, the next target was? — his curious eyes gaze at Ren. And Ren was eager to answer.
They spent the rest of their trip commenting about the Thieves’ targets, their triumphs and their losses, without pushing each other too much, especially Ren, who lost someone precious to him. The amusement and delight in Makoto’s reactions made everything worth it, though, Ren dreams.
As they reach their destination, Ren lets Makoto step inside first, so that he could take in as most of the environment as possible. Which works, since Ren hears him inhaling the smell of coffee and curry all around the place, with that, Ren gives a satisfied hum and steps in as well.
— What would you like to order? — Ren asks, somewhat jokingly. He definitely can’t contain his smug smile when Makoto turns at him with an interested look.
— You’re the barista? — Makoto questions softly. Ren responds him with a proud nod, getting a giggle out of Makoto. — All right, then. I would like a black coffee, please.
— It’ll be done in a jiffy! — Ren dashes to get his apron on, then immediately gets to work. Who would’ve guessed someone so angelical would enjoy their coffee black? Not that it surprised Ren as much though, he did seem like the antisocial type with that dry introduction earlier.
Makoto watches Ren’s every move, completely dazed by his skills and caution with Makoto’s order. Ren gets that fluttering feeling in his chest again.
— All done! — Ren announces, leaning onto the counter to better see Makoto’s reaction.
Makoto blows the hot vapor out of the coffee, then takes a sip. Putting his cup back on its saucer, Makoto gives a warm smile that Ren believes will blind him. Mission accomplished.
— So, your turn to tell me your stories, Mr. Leader of SEES. — Ren demands in a light tone. Makoto hums and begins his part of the show.
Ren couldn’t believe at what Makoto and his friends went through, it was just so much. Still, Ren never pressured Makoto to talk about anything he didn’t want to, and offered words of comfort whenever needed.
It felt nice, to hear and be heard like this, to be with someone like Makoto, to understand his feelings and share experiences as leaders. Ren eventually finds himself only supporting his head and arms on the counter, while sitting on his knees at the side opposite to Makoto’s.
Makoto notices this motion, and, after telling Ren what was essentially his life story, he reaches out to Ren’s hair, slowly caressing it. Ren cannot tell what Makoto is thinking, but he gladly accepts it, feeling his face flush not many seconds later.
— As I suspected, your hair feels nice. — Makoto points out, like he just finished a investigation. Ren can’t help but laugh. Since when has he felt this bubbly and sweet before?
— Your hands also feel nice. — Ren affirmed amidst his chuckles, leaning his head closer to Makoto’s side of the counter. He could feel himself wanting to melt on Makoto’s touch like butter, and for this to last forever.
— Your laugh is also pretty… — Makoto murmurs to himself, loud enough for Ren to hear, however. Ren thinks he’s going blank for a few moments, then comes back to the real world where his most recent crush is caressing his hair and looking slightly flushed about it. Ren can’t help but think about how pathetic he must look right now.
— Also? — is the only thing Ren can manage. His head is practically above the highest clouds in the world right now and doesn’t have the physical and mental strength to formulate phrases.
— Yeah, I mean, are you not the prettiest boy in our class? — Makoto inquires, genuinely. Ren thinks his heart might stop then and there. How is Makoto such a sweet talker while being this genuine at the same time? Ren, honestly, is not able to reach a conclusion.
— Am I? — Ren asks, starstruck. Still feeling Makoto’s hand on his hair, he lets himself be taken over by this overwhelming bloom of emotions.
— Of course, I mean, I got to look at everyone in the class, but none of them were as beautiful or interesting as you. — Makoto responds, soft and genuine. Ren cannot for the life of him tell if Makoto knows what he’s doing to him or not, though, there’s no way he hasn’t noticed Ren’s totally red face. — C’mere sit by my side, Ren. You can’t stay on your knees forever. —
Ren obliges, going around the counter and immediately missing the touch of Makoto’s hand on is hair. He sits beside Makoto like a cat pleading for attention, and who is Makoto to deny him?
— Needy, aren’t you? It’s okay, I’m enjoying this, too. — Makoto assures, teasingly. Yeah, he knows what he’s doing, for sure, Ren realizes. But it doesn’t matter, and if Makoto needs something, someone, Ren will be here to fulfill that role.
— Yeah. When you’re needy, you can always call me. — Ren says as to reaffirm it to Makoto, and he gets it. He laughs as Ren is fully taken by his embrace, now basically sitting on his lap with Ren’s head on his shoulder. Ren definitely starts melting.
Makoto pulls back a little, and then presses a soft kiss on Ren’s forehead, as both an invitation and a ‘thank you’. Even with his brain barely working, Ren asks for permission, to which Makoto whispers him a ‘yes’.
Ren pulls Makoto into a slow, serene, soft kiss. They feel as if they’re on another plane of reality, as Ren carefully tastes Makoto’s mouth, while Makoto explores Ren’s tongue. Makoto, of course, tastes like the coffee he just had, while still being a bit sweet. It’s a flavor Ren could easily get addicted to.
After a couple moments, they part lips. Ren can feel sparks inside him and all around them, and he can tell Makoto feels the same, too.
— Understood. I’m counting on you, then, Joker.