Chapter Text
As Phantom Thieves, they were supposed to be well-versed in staying under the radar. It had already been however many months of masquerading as ordinary high schoolers without fantastical powers, how hard could it have been to keep a relationship under wraps?
"Yo, Ren! What's..."
As it turns out, it's remarkably difficult to keep a relationship secret when Ryuji barges in and catches you making out (or at least, both participants' best improvised attempts at figuring it out). Ren doesn't have a clue how he managed to slip into Leblanc undetected — they never bothered to turn the movie they were watching off, maybe the front door's bell flew under the radar with all the action-packed commotion on the screen? However he'd done it, Makoto was far too busy burying her beet-red face in her hands to offer any hypotheses.
"...bonkin'," Ryuji eventually finished after what felt like an eternity of silence, first to break the ice with all the grace of a jackhammer. He was coming over to show Ren a game he'd scrounged from the discount store that was probably maybe compatible with the retro console he'd picked up, but suffice to say, that was suddenly the least of his worries.
It had taken a lot of flustered back and forth from both parties, but Ren eventually managed to convince Ryuji not to say a word to the other members of their inner circle. They weren't out to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, Ren carefully assured him while Makoto clung to her old breathing exercises like a lifeline, they were just... shy.
"Sssshhy," Ryuji repeated skeptically. "Ren 'Runs Into Mortal Danger Weekly' Amamiya, and Fist of the Phantom Star over here. Shy." He was suddenly half-convinced Japanese had completely changed the meaning of the word overnight.
Makoto's shoulder tensed just enough to imply she'd happily show him exactly how shy she is if he calls her that one particular nickname one more time. Her irritation is immediately quelled the second she feels Ren's hand on said shoulder, grounding her in an instant. Right, breathing exercises, she'd nearly forgotten.
They got their own secret lover's language and everything! Ryuji scoffs to himself in his head. Can't believe they didn't even invite me to the wedding. What'm I, chopped liver?
"Okay, look. Obviously, it means that much to you guys, so... I've got your back. Won't hear a peep out of me, honest." Ryuji raised both hands in open surrender, for lack of a nearby bible to swear on.
"I owe you," Ren sighed in relief, giving Ryuji grateful nod.
"Hey, after everything you've done for me, s'the least I can do. Smell ya later lovebirds, have fun suckin' face." Ryuji offered a lazy wave before heading back for the stairs, stopping a few steps down to turn back and ask: "Oh, uh, you guys are like... using protection, right?"
"Goodbye, Ryuji!" Makoto huffed with flaring cheeks, grabbing the nearest pillow and throwing it squarely at his head.
"Alright, alright, just lookin' out for you! Sheesh." Ryuji's reflexes were sharp enough to catch the stuffed projectile right before impact, tossing it back at the pair to save them the trouble of recollecting it. They can't ever say he doesn't do nothin' for 'em.
The two lovebirds sat in stunned silence as they listened for each and every step Ryuji took down the stairs. They then heard Leblanc's door open, then close. Makoto slowly reached for the remote to stop whatever yakuza bar fight was playing on Ren's crappy CRT.
Ren knew, deep down in his heart of hearts, that Ryuji would do his best to keep his word. Loyalty was practically his middle name, through thick and thin. Problem being... keeping secrets was never really his strong suit. Makoto in particular knew this from experience, seeing as how his blabbermouthing about their secret identities was what kicked off the domino chain that led to their relationship in the first place.
Still, he was no liar. They could at least rest assured he'd do his best to keep it low-key and enjoy before their cover inevitably crumbled before them.
He just didn't expect their peace to last two days.
Ren was forcefully ejected from his time spent dreaming in the Velvet Room thanks to the sound of his phone buzzing damn near hard enough to fall off his dresser. That can't be his alarm, it's a Saturday. Did something happen...?
"Reeennnn," Morgana meowed groggily in complaint, curled up on his chest. "Can't you shut that thing up?"
Ren didn't bother responding vocally, simply blindly swiping for his phone with a sleepy hmghh to investigate what all this hubbub was about in the Phantom Thieves group chat. His lock screen was practically filled top to bottom with notifications. Could be important.
Makoto, 07:13
I swear, there isn't any deep conspiracy here.
Ren hangs out with a lot of us after school, myslef included.
It's not a big deal.
*myself.Futaba, 07:13
MAKOTO making a typo????
oh shes SO unable to deny it theyre totes hooking up (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)Ryuji, 07:14
People make typos all the time! Whats the big deal
If she says their not dating their not dating end of story!Ann, 07:15
But YOU implied they were making out in ren's room tho? 🤔Ryuji, 07:15
Yeah well
That was a typo
obviouslyYusuke, 07:16
What exactly did you misspell, if I may be so inquisitive...?
"Ryuji..." Ren groaned quietly, phone-holding hand falling limp at his side in disbelief. Whatever topic of conversation it was that led to him blurting that out, he wasn't sure he wanted to read for himself just yet.
Sure, he could put his phone on silent, roll over and go back to sleep, but he couldn't just leave Makoto and Ryuji alone to fend for themselves. It just wasn't in his nature.
Still, what exactly could he say? While he and Makoto had wanted to keep their relationship on the down-low to avoid any unnecessary drama (and again, he reiterates, shy), it wasn't absurd to think the rest of the team ought to know eventually. Maybe now was as good a time as any to come clean; it certainly beat denying the obvious for the next several weeks every time they had a meeting or shared a class. Besides, he'd been dying to tell literally anyone about this for weeks — not even Morgana knew, unless he was playing coy.
As much as his logical side was telling him to check with Makoto first, it had unfortunately lost the tug-of-war with his flair for the dramatic. He had the chance to make an entrance, how could he not make use of it? As he started typing his response, Morgana finally padded over to peer at his phone screen over his shoulder, sleepy eyes quickly popping wide open as he caught up on the topic of discussion.
Ren, 07:20
We wanted to feel it out for a bit before announcing to the group.
Though there's no real point in hiding it now.Makoto, 07:20
Ren!?Futaba, 07:20
LFGGGG!!! knew they were going out ( ꈍ◡ꈍ)Haru, 07:20
Oh my! 😲Ryuji, 07:20
Ok i get how that sounds but what he MEANS is the TEAM is going out
To dinner
As a surprize
Right??Ren, 07:21
It's fine Ryuji, you're off the hook. We had to come clean at some point.
Thanks for trying anyway.Ann, 07:21
SHUT UPPPPP OMG 😱😱😱
How long have you 2 been hiding this from us??Ren, 07:21
It's only been a few weeks.Makoto, 07:22
Two and a half, if you want to be specific.Ren, 07:22
A very rewarding two and a half weeks at that.
For all her experience with nuclear energy, none of it was any help when it came to the nuclear meltdown her face was currently blushing up. Her personal favourite Buchimaru-kun pillow was once again, in what seemed to be a worryingly growing pattern as of late, seeing her at her flustered-feet-kicking-est and embarrassed-face-hiding-est. How could Ren just storm in guns a-blazing and drop a bombshell like that with such composure? What was an earth-shattering event to her was calmly announced by him like the local weather. She... assumes he's composed, in any regard. It was hard to tell over text, but she could perfectly envision him now, casually eating curry for breakfast with one hand and unveiling life-altering revelations with the other hand.
His nice, warm hands that are so noticeably bigger than hers. And his unruly bedhead. And his stupid, enchanting, gorgeous eyes.
She doesn't know if she wants to smack him or jump into his arms like a romance novel. She briefly wonders if she can accomplish both before a new text shatters her concentration.
Haru, 07:25
Why don't we then?
Have dinner I mean
To celebrate! 🎉Makoto, 07:26
I don't know if that's necessary?
I'm certainly glad you're all happy for us but it really doesn't need to be a big deal.
It's not like he's proposed to me yet or anything.Ann, 07:27
"yet" huh... 👀👀👀
In her flustered frenzy, Makoto had only narrowly avoided pressing the send button after summoning the arcane word "Sjfjjdkslskdkl" from her phone's keyboard.
Yusuke, 07:27
I for one feel this occasion absolutely warrants celebration.
Especially if our leader intends to treat us.Futaba, 07:28
ofc YOU would be down for a free meal :PHaru, 07:28
Don't be such a silly billy Yusuke!
Dinner's on me 🙂Ryuji, 07:29
Hell yeah! Im inAnn, 07:29
I'm so there!
I wanna see how those dorks flirt irl 😘Makoto, 07:30
You're all impossible.Ren, 07:30
Morgana's in too.
That just leaves our two votes before it's unanimous.
What do you say, Makoto? Want to make it a date?
The silence in the group chat was deafening to Ren. Had he gone too far? Was Makoto genuinely uncomfortable with his teasing and prodding? He was going more for "charismatic romcom protagonist" and less "jeering audience member," but the jury was out on whether he succeeded (it was so, so incredibly fun to make her blush). He couldn't handle the suspense of staring at his screen and watching those ellipses appear and disappear to signify a response being typed — his nerves had him set his phone face-down on his mattress to wait for a new text chime to sound out; and his other nerves had him peek at his screen every few seconds just to double-check.
He's halfway through typing an apologetic text to Makoto in private before a pop-up from the group chat slid into view at the top of his screen.
Makoto, 07:37
I wouldn't get anyone's hopes up for any public displays of affection, but it would be nice.
To spend more time together as a group, I mean.
Just... behave yourselves, okay?
Please?
In spite of what seemed, to Makoto, to be a very reasonable request, the group chat was taken up for the next twenty minutes by "Ren and Makoto, sittin' in a tree," and several parodies of questionable quality thereafter. Yusuke gets bonus points for sort-of rhyming budding relationship with nothing predates this bliss, but that's the most leeway she's willing to allow.
Besides, it was hard to pay attention to the blazing messaging speeds of her friends when she had her boyfriend suddenly calling her. So what if she pressed the answer button immediately? That's her business and nobody else's, thank you very much.
"Morning, Makoto," the voice on the other end of the line innocently greeted, an octave too high to mask his slight nerves.
"You are in so much trouble, mister." Even if her words were serious, her tone was just playful enough to clue Ren in that she wasn't going to break up with him on the spot over this.
Still, it didn't do much to assuage the swarm of butterflies in his stomach, and his heart, and pretty much every other organ he had. Ren had already had to go through the hype cycle of realising he had a girlfriend, but now he got to relive that excitement with the round of uproarious applause — this is possibly the first morning in a while where he didn't feel the urge to pep himself up with a cup of coffee. He could at least keep his hands busy with the plate he was soaping up in the sink downstairs, phone tucked against his shoulder as he responded to her joking declaration.
"In my defense, we clearly weren't fooling anybody. Haru might be polite enough to pretend not to notice, but Ann's a bloodhound when it comes to this stuff."
"And yet, Ryuji was the first to figure us out." She honestly didn't mean to sound so dumbfounded by that idea, but it was hard to deny what the tone of her voice suggested.
Ren grinned in amusement, rinsing his dish off. "And you people call me the wildcard. Still, I wanted to check in — apologise for breaking the news so suddenly. I kind of got a little carried away back there."
Makoto sighed quietly on the other end of the line, Ren waiting patiently for her verdict. "You're certainly not wrong, nobody was buying it for a second. Still... a little warning, next time...?"
"Promise. Sorry, Makoto." Even though she couldn't see his face, it was no mystery to Makoto that he meant every word. A part of her felt bad for taking up space, for asking someone else to cater to something as silly as her own boundaries. It was primarily because of him that she'd been learning to temper that self-deprecative instinct.
Just as she's relieved he relents, Ren is relieved she spoke her mind in the first place. As Ren dries his plate, Makoto sifts through her wardrobe for her Saturday-designated outfit. She can tell he's washing dishes from the subtle clink of dinnerwear in the background. He can tell she's getting dressed from the specific sound of that sliding door. Even physically apart, the two move in perfect sync.
Makoto then realises she was perhaps focusing a little too much on the image of her boyfriend with his sleeves rolled up and exposing his forearms and elects to change the subject. "Well, it sounds like we're getting a free dinner out of it, so that's certainly one pro, anyway."
"Our first date..." Ren mused wistfully, failing to fight a cheeky smirk.
"We've been on two dates already, I'll have you remember." That didn't even count their "double dates" with Eiko — she has no idea what the etiquette is for "pretend dates" and whether or not she's expected to consider that their true anniversary.
"I know, I know. It's just..." Ren trails off dramatically. No amount of expectant silence from Makoto pulls the end of that sentence out of him.
"Just?" she asks, fully prepared for the worst.
"It's just that it always feels as magical as the first time when I'm with you, Queen." Critical hit. Judging from the way she's floored, it was Psy damage, too.
"Wh— I— You can't just— You are incorrigible, Ren." Thankfully for her, her flustered reaction earned her that familiar laugh of his that she adored, deep as molasses yet light as the wind. He really knew how to make her feel like a queen.
Unfortunately, Leblanc's door had opened with a now-noticeable chime of its bell (seriously, how had he missed Ryuji coming inside the other day?), with Sojiro hanging his hat up on the rack near the door and giving Ren a silent nod and a knowing look; halfway between morning, champ and you better not be on that phone all day.
"Well, this incorrigible gentleman needs to start brewing some coffee before he gets fired. Talk to you soon."
"Until next time." ♫ Doo-doon. ♫ Makoto had clearly never really understood the concept of no, YOU hang up first, which Ren found simultaneously extremely charming and extremely refreshing.
"Talkin' to that president of yours, were ya?" Sojiro inquired with a quirk of his brow.
"You could hear her?"
"Nah. You just don't tend to drop words like 'incorrigible' unless she's with ya." Oof. Ren tenses for half a second, before cocking his head and returning fire.
"Maybe I'm just reading more, you never know. Ms. Chouno's been laying the English homework on thick lately."
"I'll believe it when I see it, you little punk." With his apron now tied around his waist, Sojiro settles this morning's paper on the counter and retrieves the pen tucked behind his ear to start tackling today's crossword. His minion employee adoptive son "volunteer" was more than capable of handling prep at this point. Besides... he wanted to see if he'd drop anything when he asked, "so when were you gonna tell me you two started goin' out, anyways?"
It was very fortunate that Ren wasn't in the middle of eating breakfast, or he may well have choked to death. It's adorable, the kid thinks he's so sneaky. Sojiro didn't even have to give him any advice, either — he did that all on his own. Atta boy.