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Living in the attic above Leblanc, for Goro Akechi, is an arrangement born out of simple necessity (having nowhere else to go, it had made sense after being taken on as Sojiro Sakura's new ward for the duration of his probation), but once he'd 'served his time' (so to speak), he continued to stay here for convenience's sake (the rent is more than reasonable, all of his things are already here anyway, and moving is a hassle for most people, let alone ones as busy as Goro usually is).
And, of course, he would be lying if he pretended that he didn't also hold at least a modicum of affection for the place.
Then, just over a month ago, Ren finished his third and final year of high school, and it would only be a minor exaggeration to say that he'd been on a train back to Tokyo before the ink had even dried on his diploma. Slipping back into their lives, and this attic, with all the grace and ease that could be expected of the leader of the Phantom Thieves.
There had been no discussion between the two of them — no formal conversation in which they both agreed to, essentially, move in together — but here they are all the same, several weeks into (mostly) comfortable cohabitation.
On top of the bureau, Ren's toothbrush is in its obnoxiously red, mascot-covered cup beside the charger for Goro's electric one, and in the drawers beneath them, Ren's clothes have joined his too. Although, perhaps unsurprisingly, the entirety of Ren's minimalist wardrobe probably only occupies a single collective drawer's worth of space. Even less of a surprise is just how much of Ren's luggage had actually been dedicated to hauling every ridiculous trinket and souvenir he's collected over the last two years back to Tokyo — and then how (even though they were supposed to be kept in storage until they could both agree on an appropriate place to display them) they've started to slowly but surely creep onto any available surface. The desk that Goro is currently trying to work at, for example, is now under the watchful eye of not one, not two, but three sickeningly cute plushies. The squat, crude approximations of a Pyro Jack, Jack Frost, and Black Frost staring down from the bookshelf above him with their frozen stitched grins and beady little button eyes.
And of course, despite them working out a sort of 'split-custody' arrangement with Futaba, Morgana has still managed to coat the entire attic in a fine dusting of white and black fur.
The entire affair has been an adjustment, certainly, but overall, not an unpleasant one.
If Goro has any complaints, they would be mostly rooted in how Ren's return seems to have also resulted in their door (a barrier between their room and the café below that is only figurative, unfortunately) being thrown open, and the welcome mat rolled out for literally anyone that wants to just drop in without prior warning.
Case in point — and for the fifth time in what feels like as many minutes — Goro jolts in his seat at the jarring bray of another honking laugh, accidentally mashing the wrong key on his laptop, and fucking up the line spacing on the report he's attempting to write.
The twin sources of his misery (Ren and Ryuji) are sitting on the couch only a handful of feet away from his desk, hunched over some obnoxiously loud game on the handheld console Ryuji brought with him. They break down into laughter again, with Ryuji, of course, being the louder of the two (and by a wide margin), but at this stage, even Ren's quiet chuckle is starting to grate.
"Could you perhaps," he starts, trying to remain as calm as he possibly can, "take that downstairs to the café? Or turn down the volume at least? It's incredibly distracting, and I'm working against the clock here."
Ren looks up, already grimacing apologetically, and opens his mouth as if he's getting ready to actually put the sentiment into words. Ryuji, however, starts speaking before he has the chance.
"Sorry, man…" he says, turning the console off and tucking it so haphazardly and carelessly into its carry case that if Futaba were here, she would almost certainly pitch a fit. "Battery's low anyway… n', uh, Renren, I actually wanted to talk to you about somethin'…"
As he trails off, his eyes slide away from Ren and back to Goro again.
It's with a kind of vicious disbelief that he realises that not only is Ryuji implying that he wants to speak with Ren privately — he is, specifically, expecting Goro to leave so that he can do so.
"Might I remind you, Ryuji, that you are literally sitting in my fucking bedroom—"
Ever the mediator, Ren jumps in before he can really get going (and, given the already-mulish expression rapidly forming on Ryuji's face, it's probably for the best).
"Ryuji, Goro's right…" he starts, and the width of the smile that spreads across Goro's face is almost directly proportional to just how spectacularly Ryuji deflates. "If you want to talk — sure, that's no problem. We can go downstairs if you want… though, uh, I think there are still a few customers down there… or we can just do it here. Goro's pretty busy, after all… he probably won't even be paying attention."
Goro is, in fact, almost always paying attention, regardless of whether he actually wants to or not, but that's an unnecessary (and actually downright counterproductive) detail, so he keeps it to himself. "Indeed, I am so engrossed in my work that I'm sure I wouldn't even notice if you were to spill your guts in a far more literal sense — provided you do so quietly."
Ryuji frowns, scrubs both of his hands through his hair, and then sighs. "Nah, man, I shouldn't have — I was bein' dumb… and this is kind of embarrassin', yeah, but you guys — both of ya — are the only ones I could even ask… Since, y'know, you're in a real, uh, relationship…"
Ah, Goro thinks, as he turns back to his work, this is about Makoto. He should have guessed, really. There are few things in Goro's experience that make Ryuji terminally-oblivious Sakamoto so awkward and uncharacteristically self-conscious as this little crush.
"Well, we're not the only ones," Ren chuckles, clearly trying to lighten the mood with a little humour before tackling the task at hand. "Futaba and Sumire are—"
Ryuji squawks a disbelieving laugh. "I can't talk to Futaba about this!"
"Yeah, okay, fair point."
"I just don't know what to do, man… It wasn't this big deal when I was still in high school — and still on the other side of the city mosta' the time, y'know? But I'm back now! I thought things'd be different! But I already feel like I've tried everything — it's like Makoto doesn't even notice me!"
Everything other than telling her how he feels, of course.
Ren, evidently, is thinking the same thing. "Yeah, but have you tried actually asking her out?"
"No! What if she turns me down?!"
"Uh…"
"Look, man… I don't know what I'm doing, but there's gotta be something — wait! How'd you guys do it? How'd you know that you actually liked each other before you, y'know, made a move?"
Unable to help himself, Goro laughs and spins his chair back around to face them. "Well, that's simple enough," he starts. "Have you tried making veiled threats about how much you want to kill her? Or, no, wait, I feel as if I would be Makoto in this hypothetical — has she ever threatened you with violence?"
Ren's laughing now, too. "But, like, in a sexy way."
"Naturally."
"Okay — okay, I get it," Ryuji groans, hiding his face in his hands. "S'not the same…"
Ren reaches out to pat his friend reassuringly on the back. "I think you've just gotta shoot your shot, Ryuji."
"I agree," Goro says. "Though if I might make a suggestion — it would probably be best for everyone involved if you avoided going about it in the way I did."
***
-Makoto Niijima-
09/05/2018
11:03 a.m.
Ryuji: sup
Makoto: Good morning, Ryuji.
Makoto: Is something the matter?Ryuji: nah its good news
Ryuji: got my paper backMakoto: Oh! How did you do?
Ryuji: way better than I thought I would
Makoto: That's wonderful news! All your hard work paid off!
Ryuji: all thanks to you
Ryuji: never woulda passed without you tutoring meMakoto: I think you might be surprised, Ryuji. You're far more capable than you give yourself credit for.
Makoto: You just need someone to help keep you on the right track.
Grinning so hard his face hurts, Ryuji takes a deep breath, and starts typing again.
Ryuji: I was thinking
Ryuji: to celebrate
Ryuji: wanna go to the arcade this weekend?
Ryuji: we can try get that panda plushie you like in the crane game
Those little dots that mean she's replying appear at the bottom of the screen right away, but a couple of minutes pass, and they just keep disappearing and reappearing. He can't tell if that's because she's actually writing something really long, or if she keeps changing her mind and rewriting her reply over and over again.
He feels like there's suddenly a shittonne of ants in his pants, so he hops up off the bed, does a couple of laps around his room, and is just about to start doing some actual squats when his screen lights back up again.
Bellyflopping back onto the mattress, he goes down harder than he meant to, and has to scramble to catch his phone as it bounces away from him and nearly gets lost down the side of his bed. Once he's finished laughing at himself for being such a dumbass, he unlocks his phone again.
And then spends a couple of confused seconds staring down at it.
11:19 a.m.
Makoto: Just the two of us?
Why would that take so long to—? Wait, shit — what if she's worried about being alone with him? This one time. For some reason. Ann's always chewing him out for having his head up his ass about this kinda stuff, and just because he doesn't think he did something the last time they met up that would have made Makoto uncomfortable, that doesn't mean he didn't, right?
Ryuji: I was gonna ask some of the other guys too
Did he — did he just call her a guy? Holy shit, why is he so bad at this?!
At least this time, her next reply pops up after only a couple of seconds.
Makoto: That sounds like fun. Let me know what time you all want to meet up.
Okay — alright, he fixed it. Kind of. They're still going to the arcade together. He just needs some of their friends to come too, and then, maybe (if Makoto seems okay, and he can also stop being such a chickenshit), he can get them to scram after a while…
-Ren Amamiya-
09/05/2018
11:24 a.m.
Ryuji: dude
Ryuji: I need helpRenren: Sure, man
Renren: What's up?
***
Saturday afternoon comes around, and Ren is all ready to go.
The thing is, he might have forgotten to mention to Goro that he signed them up for this (kind of) double date with Ryuji and Makoto.
"As much as I enjoy watching your friends dance awkwardly around each other, Ren," Goro says, in the same kind of way he'd probably say he enjoys having his teeth pulled out one by one, "I really do have a mountain of paperwork to catch up on."
What else is new? Ren almost asks, as he pulls one of the spare chairs they keep in the attic up to the desk that Goro's been basically tied to (and not in the fun, horny kind of way either) all morning.
But that would be pretty shitty of him (and also an almost-argument they've already had this week), and Ren feels like there are probably better, more convincing, ways to approach this problem, anyway.
So, naturally, the first thing he does is reach out to poke his boyfriend, right in the cheek. "They're your friends too, Goro, don't be a dick — ah!" Ren yanks his hand back, making a sound that's as much a gasp as it is a laugh, as sharp teeth almost close around the tip of his finger. "See, this is what I'm talking about! You need to get out and do something other than sitting at this desk — it's making you crazy—"
"Oh yes, what was I thinking?" Goro sneers a mean little laugh (one of Ren's absolute favourites) and rolls his eyes. He still hasn't stopped typing, though, or actually properly looked away from the screen in front of him, and that means Ren needs to up his game. "It's clearly the height of lunacy to not want someone to jab you in the fucking face with their fingers while you're trying to concentrate."
"Okay, point — but, c'mon, it'll be fun! Ryuji just needs us to hang around for a little while anyway, and then we can go somewhere else — just the two of us — maybe catch a movie, or go get something to eat? And you'll still have plenty of time to stare at your laptop afterwards, I promise." Goro's not convinced yet, but he's getting there. Ren can tell. It's time to play his trump card. "Unless you're actually just trying to get out of our Gun About rematch? I guess I did come pretty close to beating you last time…"
And yeah, there we go; now Ren's got his full attention. "That is a pathetic and transparent attempt at manipulation—"
"I dunno…" Ren grins. "Looks like it's working pretty well to me."
Biting his lip against the beginnings of his own smile, Goro exhales loudly through his nose and, most importantly, closes the laptop.
"Get your coat, you fucking menace."
***
White-knuckled and intense, Goro mashes the buttons on the arcade machine like he's trying to murder it.
"You know you have to actually press these in a specific order, right?" Ren teases, as he easily pulls off the ten hit combo that Futaba always used to destroy him with. "You can't just try to jab the game to death."
"I know that," he growls, still hammering away like he does on his keyboard when he's typing a passive-aggressive email to someone from work who really pissed him off. "Don't be so condescen— fuck!"
"K.O!" the machine says.
Ren's character is currently doing the little victory dance that he'd never risk breaking into in real life. Not when there are so many young children around to witness what would happen afterwards.
"You wanna go again?"
Goro's already angrily digging in his pockets for more change and swearing colourfully under his breath.
Beside them, Ryuji and Makoto are playing the same game, although at a slightly more relaxed pace.
"I'm surprised at how realistic this is," Makoto is saying. "My character has an impressive and extensive range of moves, and the controls are actually quite intuitive, once you get the hang of them."
"Yeah, Akechi," Ryuji laughs, and then yelps, completely messing up the dodge-roll he was trying to do in the game when Goro kicks him.
***
After finishing another couple of rounds of Tokken, and once Goro's ego has been thoroughly massaged and re-inflated by decimating all three of them at Gun About, they find themselves over near a couple of those test-your-strength games while they wait for Makoto to come back from the bathroom.
A little punching bag is dangling from the top of the machine next to Ren, and he'd be tempted to suggest that they give it a go next (thoughts of Goro rolling up his sleeves so he can really go to town on it already dancing in his head), if it wasn't for the big 'out of order' sign taped to the side of the case. Which sucks, but hey, it's not the end of the world — not when he's just realised that the next one over seems to be working just fine, and is, interestingly enough, also more than a little different. Apparently, it measures your grip strength specifically and uses a very, uh, conspicuous-looking metal rod to do so.
Seriously, that has to be intentional, right? It just looks like a—
"What's with the robot dick?" Ryuji laughs, draping one arm over his shoulder so that he can lean in and get a proper look, and then cracks up even harder when Ren grabs hold and gives it a few theatrical pumps.
Ignoring them both entirely, Goro peers at the instructions displayed on the screen. "Hmm, I see… It's an endurance test, essentially. You hold on as tightly as you can while the rod vibrates with increasing intensity, in a way that's intended to induce fatigue."
"Oh? That sounds interesting. I'd like to give it a try," Makoto says — having reappeared at the tail end of Goro's explanation, thankfully, instead of when Ren was still, y'know, jerking the machine off.
Sure, acting like a dumbass is one of the easiest ways to get a laugh out of Ryuji (with the added bonus of usually also annoying his boyfriend), but it probably would have just flustered and embarrassed Makoto, and Ren's supposed to be here to help. He doesn't want to completely torpedo Ryuji and Makoto's date before it's even started.
Already focused single-mindedly on proving himself, Goro drops a coin into the slot, and looks back over his shoulder. "Shall we?"
…
And wow, Goro wasn't kidding when he said it was an endurance test. The muscles in Ren's hand and arm seriously feel like they've been put through the wringer — like he's been doing pullups for hours, or just wrote an entire year's worth of essays by hand and in one go. Still, even though it was tough, he and Ryuji managed to place pretty high (almost neck and neck), and Goro finished just far enough ahead of the both of them to be happy about it without being too smug. So yeah, soreness notwithstanding, Ren's not feeling too bad about the whole thing.
But Makoto? She smashes it. Blows the last high score so far out of the water that they should probably be hanging a framed picture of her on the wall or something.
"Oh dear…" Ren hears Goro whisper to Ryuji. "I'd be careful if I were you — if you don't want her to just break it right off, that is."
Wide-eyed and blushing so hard that Ren can still see it, even under the dim arcade lights, Ryuji gulps. "Holy shit…"
Okay, it's now or never. Time to rip the bandaid off.
"You got this, man," Ren says, clapping Ryuji on the shoulder, and turns to tug Goro towards the exit without looking back.
He needs to get out of here before his friend can break out the puppy dog eyes and try to convince him to stay.
***
In the arcade's slightly dingy bathroom, Makoto dries her hands and takes a moment to try to psych herself up before she goes back out there.
Grateful for the fact that she's the only one in here, and feeling supremely foolish, she runs through some breathing exercises and thinks about how it's probably been nearly three months, give or take a week or two, since Haru sat her down and told her that Ryuji has feelings for her.
She remembers sitting there, on the couch in their small apartment, and feeling like the only possible explanation for how suddenly hot her face was must have been down to how the gears in her head were suddenly spinning at such a speed that she was nearly dizzy with it.
"I'm only telling you because, well," Haru had giggled, delicately, "I think that Ryuji-kun might need for you to be the one to make the first move."
She'd been so flustered she hadn't even known how to begin to respond. Ryuji was her friend, of course — one that, given their many shared interests, had quickly become one of her closest friends — and the idea that he was looking for them to be something more had, honestly, left her completely and utterly dumbfounded.
"You do like him too, don't you, Mako-chan? You're both always spending so much time together, even though you're both busy, and Ryuji-kun lives so very far away—"
Makoto hadn't let her finish, nearly tripping over their coffee table instead as she scrambled to her feet and made some excuse about needing to be up early before she literally fled — retreating to hide in her room, and even pretending that she was asleep when Haru knocked on her door half an hour later, trying to apologise.
Running from Haru was one thing, but escaping her own thoughts on the matter was another entirely. Every tiny interaction — every single moment — between herself and Ryuji had been suddenly and irreversibly re-contextualised.
Every time they'd gone to see a movie together, every run, every tutoring session, every trip to the gym — every single inside joke they'd shared that none of their other friends would have understood, simply because they hadn't been there.
And, of course, she's always been aware that Ryuji is attractive (she had, in fact, caught herself looking far longer, and far closer, than she really should have when he would stop to stretch after one of their runs), but, in fairness, the same could be said for Yusuke, and Ren, and Ann, and — and most of their friend group.
She'd never stopped to consider it seriously, is the point. But, all of a sudden, on that late February evening, she found herself being forced to do exactly that.
Unfortunately, even now, months later, neither knowing that Ryuji apparently has feelings for her, nor realising that she feels the same way, has actually made it any easier to do something about it.
It's… difficult when she keeps finding herself running into the same roadblock.
Because while she trusts her friend's intuition, Haru doesn't actually know how Ryuji feels — not with one hundred percent certainty — having only made the assumption based on how he acts around her. And, for Makoto, the idea of putting herself out there, when she might not only be shot down immediately but also could potentially damage their existing friendship in the process?
Well, it's nothing short of terrifying.
Still, she has spent weeks trying to gather her courage — telling herself that she just needs to wait for the right opportunity — only to then end up being frustrated with herself afterwards when she lets another one slip by without acting on it.
This trip to the arcade is just another example, isn't it? She could have pushed and insisted that they come here alone, even after Ryuji said he was planning to invite other people too, but she'd been far too afraid, and, well…
Sighing, she smooths out some of the creases at the hem of her skirt, takes one last deep breath, and steps back out of the bathroom.
The pessimistic cloud hanging over her head follows her closely until she catches sight of her friends again, the three of them crowded around a machine nearby. Ryuji and Ren are shoulder to shoulder, snickering together the way she remembers them doing (more times than she can count) on the other side of one of Leblanc's tables. Back when the two of them were still second years, and she was trying (almost always in vain) to get them to focus on the material they'd asked her to go over with them.
Finding an echo of her own affectionate exasperation on Goro's face as he finishes reading through the instructions on the machine, she's all too happy to dive right in and pretend that everything's normal.
That is, until she finishes inputting her initials into the game's leaderboard — a giddy mixture of pride, something slightly more self-conscious, and simple happiness bubbling in her chest — and turns to find only Ryuji waiting for her. His eyes are wide and nervous, the small beads of sweat at his hairline illuminated and turned technicolour by the strobing lights from one of the many loud machines around them.
She opens her mouth to ask if he's feeling alright, but before she has the chance, he speaks up. "Ren n' Akechi had'ta split," he laughs, panicky and high-pitched, "y'know, like always!"
Ren and Goro disappearing together is a common enough occurrence to have become a running joke in their friend group — one that is usually followed by bets being hastily placed on whether they'll stay gone, or turn up again looking tellingly, um, rumpled.
A nice, safe topic. Makoto latches onto it immediately.
"Yes, unfortunately…" she says, rolling her eyes and laughing too, trying to play into it. Trying to make the atmosphere feel less strange and charged.
An awkward silence settles over them instead.
Still with that panicked smile on his face, Ryuji's eyes skitter away from hers, searching what he can see of the arcade over her shoulder, before they catch and settle on something. "Hey, the crane games're over there! Let's go get you that panda!"
***
"It's fine, Ryuji, really…" Makoto sighs, and wrings the crocodile plush she accidentally won from the machine on her last attempt in her hands.
"This shit's rigged," he huffs, pressing his face close to the glass so he can get a better viewing angle as he pushes the button to move the claw forward. "S'gotta be…"
"We wouldn't have been able to win the ones we already have if that were the case, Ryuji." She gestures at his shark with her crocodile, even though he's far too focused on his current task to see her do it. "Buchimaru isn't so popular that they would have made it impossible to get him specifically…"
Though, she thinks, as she watches the claw release again just as it should have closed securely around the bear's head, maybe Ryuji has a point after all.
***
An hour, and several more unwanted stuffed animals, later, Makoto checks her phone and frowns when she sees the time.
"Ryuji, I'm sorry, I'm supposed to be meeting my sister for dinner, and it's later than I thought it was…" If she leaves now, she should still make it in time, but it's probably going to be close.
Ryuji looks up at her from where he was, somewhat bad temperedly, pulling a plush elephant through the hatch at the bottom of the machine. "Oh, for real?" he asks, seeming genuinely surprised. Makoto notices (though it doesn't happen with anywhere near the frequency it used to) the way he winces slightly as he comes back up out of the squat, his knee obviously bothering him. "I can walk you—"
Of course, she should have realised. After all, hasn't he been standing here with her all afternoon? "No — no, it's fine. I appreciate the offer, but it's really not far."
"Uh, okay, if you're sure…" His eyes slide away from her and down to the multicoloured carpet under their feet for a second, as if he's trying to find something in the confusing, frenetic pattern of it. Then his posture shifts, and when he looks back up again, his eyebrows are knit together, his mouth set in a determined line. "I had a lotta' fun today — I always do when it's — when it's jus—"
They both jump when Makoto's phone suddenly goes off in her hand, Sae's name flashing on the screen.
She doesn't think she's ever come so close to hanging up on her sister. "I-I'm sorry, Ryuji," she stammers. "I need to take this."
Without waiting for a response, she steps away, pressing a finger against one ear as she brings her phone up to the other. "Sis? Is everything alright?"
"What's all that noise?" Sae asks, direct, no-nonsense, and ignoring her question entirely.
"I'm in an arcade — I was just getting ready to leave, actually — is something the matter?"
"An arcade?" Sae sounds like she's smiling, as if she finds the idea quaint, or maybe endearing. It's a stark contrast with how she would have reacted only a couple of years ago to finding out that Makoto was doing anything in her spare time other than work or study. "Nothing's wrong. I was just calling to remind you about our reservation, but it seems like you didn't need it. I'll see you soon."
"See you soon, Sis…" Makoto taps the red button to disconnect the call, and then squeaks embarrassingly when she turns, almost runs directly into Ryuji, and finds herself apologising to him for what feels like the hundredth time today.
Whatever energy was in the air between them before her sister called is gone now, and honestly, Makoto isn't sure, all of a sudden, if it even was there to begin with. She still thinks, for a moment, about asking him to finish what he was saying earlier, but she really will be late if she doesn't get moving now…
And she shouldn't get her hopes up over what was probably nothing, anyway.
"Thank you for inviting me today, Ryuji."
He smiles back at her. (Is she imagining the stiffness around the edges of his usually easy grin?) "Sure, s'no problem."
***
That night, she's in the bathroom, getting ready for bed (and also feeling very, very sorry for herself), when she hears Haru's key in the door, followed by the sound of her friend speaking with someone.
"Mako-chan! I'm home!" Haru calls out. "Are you still awake? Ryuji-kun is here with me!"
"Hey, Makoto! Sorry for dropping by so late!"
Makoto freezes.
Then she panics.
Spitting out her mouthful of toothpaste, she hurries to look herself over in the mirror above the sink. Pretending, while she does, that her heart doesn't feel like she's been running, full speed, on a treadmill, for hours. However, as she takes it all in — how pale and slightly blotchy her face is after removing her makeup, her oversized, raggedy sweatshirt with the old ketchup stain over her left breast, and even the mismatched, threadbare socks on her feet — her hammering heart slows down, and a dim, grey feeling settles over her instead.
How she looks shouldn't matter.
If nothing happened today, then Haru really must have been mistaken. Ryuji doesn't feel the same way she does after all.
But out in the apartment, he's smiling, bright and triumphant, and Makoto forgets every gloomy, glum thought that was weighing her down when she sees the Buchimaru plush he's holding over his head like a trophy.
(Along with a carrier bag near his feet that's so full of other stuffed animals it's nearly bursting at the seams.)
"You got it?!"
"Yep! Had'ta pretty much empty the machine, but here it is!"
She reaches out, and he pushes it into her hands excitedly. "Th-thank you, Ryuji," she almost whispers. Running her fingers over the bear's cheeks and pinching its ears. "You really didn't have to go to all this trouble—"
"S'nothin'," he grins, somehow even brighter. "You wanted it, right?"
"I-I," Makoto starts, and then jumps as a finger jabs her in the ribs.
"Oh, sorry, Mako-chan!" Haru chirps, walking briskly past them both, towards the door that leads to their kitchen. "Goodness, I'm so clumsy!" Using one hand to shield it from Ryuji, she mouths 'You can do it!' at Makoto before she disappears inside.
Leaving the two of them still standing near the door.
Alone.
"Uh… I guess I should go?"
And he's already moving to leave. Makoto opens her mouth before she can think better of it.
"Ryuji, wait!"
"Huh, what's up?" he asks, turning back around, and also looking more than slightly worried (which probably has something to do with the fact that she just yelled after him).
But, in his eyes, along with the concern, there's also something else — something that might be… hopeful? Makoto will lose the tiny scrap of nerve she's managed to gather up inside herself if she stops long enough to focus on it.
"Do you — do you want to go see the new Like a Dragon movie with me t-tomorrow?"
His expression smooths immediately back out into something that's more relaxed, but also, maybe, resigned. Again, she's not thinking about it. "Oh? Sure — I forgot that was out… d'ya wanna ask if any of the others—"
"No! I — just shush for a second, okay?" His mouth snaps shut so quickly that she wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that he actually bit his tongue. "I am asking if you would go on a — if you would go with just me tomorrow."
"Jus' me 'n you?" he asks, carefully, and they've already seen plenty of movies alone together, so it shouldn't mean anything, but this time it does, and finally, it seems like they're on the same page. "Like a — like a date?"
"Yes, like a date."
As if there are springs in the soles of his feet, he jumps straight up and punches the air. "Hell yeah, I do!" he cries, and bounces right up out of the entryway. First, he holds his fist out to her like he wants to touch knuckles, and then moves like he's going to give her a hug, before switching back again.
It's ridiculous — he's ridiculous — but his enthusiasm has always been infectious, and she's grinning right along with him as she reaches out to bump their fists together.
Haru's voice comes from the kitchen (so close to the door that there's no way she wasn't eavesdropping). "Mako-chan, Ryuji-kun? Can I come out now?"