He Makes Me Laugh

Ryuji shoved his hand deep into his pocket as he walked, making sure the wad of cash was still there.

It was getting late, and the only people left in the underground mall seemed to be the shops' workers and a handful of straggling customers. Ryuji picked up his pace, realizing that the flower shop would probably be closing soon.

He had planned on coming here straight after school, but Haru had roped him into carrying some bags of soil up to the roof for her. He had been surprised by what an elaborate setup she had, and she had seemed especially pleased when he called her "badass" for having an unauthorized rooftop garden.

Before he knew it, he was helping her with the plants and asking all kinds of questions about her gardening methods. After a while of observing him, Haru told him he might have a knack for gardening, but he figured she was just being nice. When they were saying their goodbyes for the day, she promised to set aside some tomatoes for Ryuji when they were ready since he had mentioned that his mom loved tomatoes.

That's when he remembered that he was supposed to be somewhere else.

"Damn it, I need to go to Rafflesia! I'll see ya around, Haru!" he had yelled over his shoulder. "And thanks for today!"

"You're welcome?" she called to his retreating form, before giggling to herself and waving goodbye.

Ryuji rounded the corner before Rafflesia, wondering if they would even put a bouquet together for him this late in the day. The young woman he usually saw working there seemed pretty chill, but that didn't mean she'd be willing to go out of her way to help him out.

He tried to think of a Plan B just in case, but nothing came to mind.

Damn it, he thought to himself. I could call Akira? I bet he or Morgana could come up with a good idea. Actually, that damn cat never helps me unless it's for the Phantom Thieves. Guess it'll have to be Akira. But maybe he won't wanna talk? He seems pretty busy lately. He's been actin' weird. Maybe he's stressed about the Phantom Thieves? Or he's comin' down with somethin'? I should ask him…

Ryuji approached Rafflesia, but the woman who usually stood out front to greet customers wasn't there. Cursing at himself for getting distracted for so long, Ryuji stepped into the shop, only to see the back of a familiar figure sweeping stray leaves and petals into a neat pile in the center of the floor.

At first Ryuji didn't believe his own eyes, but then the boy turned a bit so Ryuji could see his profile. He looked exhausted, but he kept at his work, only pausing once to glance up at the wall clock. He appeared to be deep in thought until he suddenly frowned, looking embarrassed, and then he started sweeping harder, almost frantically.

What the hell are you thinkin' about? Ryuji wondered.

"Hey, Akira!" he greeted loudly. "Man, am I glad to see you!"

Akira jumped, and the broom slipped from his hands and clattered against the floor.

"Whoa, didn't mean to startle ya, man," Ryuji said, quickly bending to pick up the fallen broom.

Akira turned and stared blankly at his best friend, mechanically accepting the broom when Ryuji held it out to him.

"…it's okay."

"What's up? You 're actin' like a Shadow just snuck up on ya!"

Ryuji had noticed that Akira had been a bit more fidgety around him lately, but his current behavior was weird, even for him.

"I was just thinking about you," Akira stated, turning to lean the broom up against the wall. "And then… here you are."

"No way, I was just thinkin' about you too, dude! Weird, huh? Hey, you think bein' Phantom Thieves together has made us develop some sort of like, telepathy?"

Akira's serious expression finally broke, and with an amused smile, he replied, "No."

"Aw man, you didn't have to shoot it down so quickly. Wouldn't that be cool though, bein' able to read each other's minds?"

Without hesitation, Akira repeated, "No."

"Okay, okay, fine," Ryuji conceded, crossing his arms. "No mind-readin' for the Phantom Thieves."

"Not so loud," Akira scolded half-heartedly.

At one of their most recent meetings, Akira had been elected by the group to take responsibility for Ryuji and make sure he didn't blab about the Phantom Thieves in public. Ryuji believed it to be a completely unnecessary assignment, but if they had to pick someone, he was glad it was Akira. Having someone stricter like Makoto constantly breathing down his neck would have been the worst.

"Don't worry about it, there's nobody around," Ryuji assured Akira, who just sighed in response. "So ya really work here, huh?"

Akira nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"But I thought you were workin' at the beef bowl shop. Did ya get fired or somethin'?"

Akira shook his head. "I still work there."

"And before the beef bowl shop, weren't you at the convenience store?"

"I still work there too."

"For real? How many part-time jobs do ya have, man?"

"Four," Akira said, as if it was no big deal. "…so far."

"Four!" Ryuji exclaimed, wondering if that was the reason Akira had seemed a little off. "I can barely handle goin' to school, plus all the Phantom Thieves stuff on top of that. You really are amazing. But do ya really need four jobs?" Ryuji asked with a concerned frown. "Well, I guess I don't really know your financial situation. I mean, you are livin' in an attic."

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine," Akira said, scratching the back of his head.

"Psh, you would say that," Ryuji said, giving Akira an unusually stern stare. "Look, I'm definitely not loaded when it comes to cash, but if you're ever in a hard spot, you know you can come to me, right? And like, if you ever just need to complain about your jobs or whatever, I've got your back."

"I know," Akira replied warmly, which reassured Ryuji that his point had gotten across.

Starting to feel fidgety himself from standing in one place for too long, Ryuji started walking around the enclosed space, surveying his surroundings with wide eyes and occasionally poking at flowers.

He felt Akira watching him, but he didn't really mind it. That was another thing Akira seemed to be doing lately—observing Ryuji. Ryuji was very aware that he had a tendency to move around too much (his mom wouldn't let him forget it), and he had to wonder sometimes if being around Akira in his constantly calm and collected state made Ryuji look like even more of a basket case.

Ryuji moved to a small cactus, picking it up in its vase and eyeing it closely. "Why'd ya wanna work here, of all places?"

Akira shrugged. "It's a pretty average job. I guess… I feel like working here makes me a better person."

Ryuji's disbelieving gaze flicked from the cactus to Akira's face for a moment. "I mean, if ya say so. But I don't really see how somebody like you needs to become any better of a person."

Akira didn't say anything in response as Ryuji distractedly set the cactus down and moved to peer down into a vase of yellow tulips.

"So, ya workin' here all by yourself?" Ryuji asked.

"No. My manager had to go take a call. She should be back soon."

"Well, I guess you'll be the one helpin' me, then," Ryuji asserted, having completed his inspection of the flower shop.

"Helping you?"

"Ya didn't think I came here for nothin', did ya? I need some flowers. I don't really know what kind she'll like, though," Ryuji said, feeling that even the small selection of flowers Rafflesia carried was daunting.

Akira cleared his throat. "She?"

"Yeah, tomorrow's my mom's birthday. I wanna get her somethin' special."

"Oh…" Akira breathed, his embarrassed expression from before returning.

"Wait, who'd ya think I was talkin' about?"

"I don't know." Akira shrugged and then threw out, "Ann?"

"Ann? Why the hell would I get her flowers? She wouldn't even know what to do with 'em. I can't even stand her half of the time," Ryuji insisted.

That made Akira chuckle. "You do know that besides me, Ann is like, your best friend, right?"

"What? Hell no," Ryuji responded reflexively, but then he actually thought about it. "Well, maybe. I guess. Damn it! I guess it's just a good thing I have you, then."

"Yeah. It's a good thing."

"So whaddaya say? Can ya help me out?" Ryuji asked with a grin that showed he knew Akira wouldn't turn him down.

"Of course," Akira answered, propping his fist under his chin thoughtfully. "First… tell me about her."

"Tell ya about Mom?"

"Mhm. If you don't know what flowers she likes, then tell me about her. And about your relationship with her. And… embarrassing stories from your childhood. Yes. Those will definitely be necessary," Akira said, nodding.

"Heh, if you think that'll help!" Ryuji replied cheerfully. He was happy that Akira felt okay enough to tease him a little, and if a couple embarrassing childhood stories would lighten his mood even more, Ryuji was all for it.

Ryuji leaned back against the wall and began to speak candidly about his mom. Meanwhile, Akira started on an arrangement, his back to Ryuji as he experimented with different flower combinations. Ryuji couldn't really see what Akira was doing, but he trusted his judgment.

After a while, he felt like he was just rambling on and on, but he knew Akira was still listening because he would periodically smile or laugh at something Ryuji had said. Plus, Akira was still working rather intently, so Ryuji continued talking, finally launching into an elaborate childhood story.

"…and then I busted my ass on the pavement, and Mom was screamin' at me…"

Akira's hands paused in their work, and he said under his breath, "Cute."

Ryuji looked up, temporarily shaken from his reverie. "What?"

"Nothing," Akira said quickly, returning to his task. "I'm almost done. Keep talking."

Cute? I guess I was cute as a kid. That's what Mom's always tellin' people, anyway. Sheesh.

Ryuji shrugged it off and continued his story.

"… and even though my knees were bleedin', I got up and took off runnin', because I thought Mom was gonna kill me…"

Around the same time Ryuji finished his story, Akira finished his bouquet. He turned and carried the large bundle over to Ryuji, looking pleased with his work as he placed it in Ryuji's arms.

"Whoooa! Mom's gonna love this! Thanks, man!" Ryuji exclaimed, standing up straighter and looking down into the bouquet. Akira had gone with a mixture of white and light blue flowers, with touches of peach and pale yellow.

"You're welcome," Akira said plainly, but there was a distinct light dancing in his eyes.

"So that's why you wanted to work here… I get it now!"

"Get what?"

"It's because you're good at this! Is that why you didn't tell anyone? Because somebody might say it's too girly or some shit? Bein' good with flowers ain't nothin' to be ashamed about, man. Look, no one's gonna say anythin' about it, and if they do… well, they can answer to me!" Ryuji declared heatedly, raising a clenched fist in the air.

Akira appeared to hesitate for a moment, but then he took both hands out of his pockets to direct Yusuke's infamous framing gesture at Ryuji.

"Yep, that's a good one," he said, barely holding in laughter. "Definitely a keeper."

"Huh?"

"Vulgar punk boy and pretty pastel flowers… such contrast…" Akira nearly snorted.

"What're ya doin'? Don't tell me that weirdo Yusuke is rubbin' off on you! I shoulda never let you go to the planetarium with him…"

Still looking through his finger-frame, Akira said, "You do know that besides me and Ann, Yusuke is like, one of your best friends, right?"

"Shuddup, man!" Ryuji said faux-angrily, but once their eyes locked, both of them were pitching forward with laughter.

Once they had both had the chance to laugh it out, Ryuji wiped the corners of his eyes with his fist, and Akira took off his glasses so he could do the same.

"Hey, I haven't seen ya laugh like that in a while."

"Yeah, it's been too long," Akira said, slipping his glasses into his pocket and wiping at his eyes again.

"I mean, a lot of the time you'll seem kinda amused, and once in a while you crack a smile, but you don't really laugh out loud that much."

"I only really laugh like this with you," Akira admitted.

"Only with me? I guess that means there's somethin' special about me, huh?" Ryuji asked, donning that agree-with-me grin again.

"Definitely."

Ryuji laughed bashfully, not having expected Akira to agree so easily.

Somehow Akira's stare felt way more intense without his glasses on, unnerving Ryuji enough to make him want to look away.

He focused back on the bouquet, admiring the choice of colors and how the different sizes of flowers made the whole thing seem balanced, and suddenly a new rush of warmth was spreading through his chest. "Ya really are good at everythin', aren't ya?" he said, mostly to himself.

"No," Akira replied a little too quickly.

Ryuji removed his gaze from the flowers to look up at Akira. "Seriously? Don't be modest, man. You're amazing! Tell me one thing you ain't good at."

Looking anywhere but at Ryuji, Akira replied faintly, "Restraining myself."

Ryuji watched with concern as a deep coloring arose on Akira's cheeks, the kind that Ryuji had only seen after their particularly intense training sessions.

"Restrainin' yourself? You mean like, in battle?" Ryuji asked, leaning forward to examine Akira's face more closely. "Because sometimes I have problems with that too-"

"No," Akira interrupted, looking severely on edge as he turned to face Ryuji. However, the longer he stared at Ryuji, the more his serious demeanor softened. He placed a hand on Ryuji's shoulder and said breathily, "I mean like, right now."

Akira took advantage of the proximity and slowly leaned in toward Ryuji, taking the time to scan Ryuji's face as he tilted his head and moved gradually closer.

"What… the hell?" Ryuji said, his voice coming out as more of a rough whisper than his usual brash way of speaking.

Immobilized with uncertainty, Ryuji watched as Akira's gaze darted between his eyes and his mouth, each movement sending an odd pang through Ryuji's heart. Ryuji swallowed hard as Akira's hand slid from his shoulder to the back of his neck and his resolved gaze finally locked onto Ryuji's mouth.

There was a slight crinkling sound as Akira's torso came into contact with the plastic wrapper around the bouquet, and then Akira was closing his eyes and pressing his lips firmly against Ryuji's.

A tremor surged through Ryuji's entire body, causing his mouth to twitch involuntarily against Akira's. At first, his mind was pervaded by panic, but then that train of thought was cut off as he lost himself in pure sensory overload. The overwhelmingly sweet fragrance of flowers, the painful pounding of his heart, the heat that was absolutely radiating from his face—the effect was dizzying, and Akira's lips were so warm and sure…

"Akira-kun!" a female voice suddenly reprimanded. "No kissing boys on the clock!"

Akira's movements were a blur as he pulled hastily away from Ryuji, jamming his hands in his pockets and spinning around to face his manager. Ryuji fell back a step in surprise, bumping into the wall behind him.

"Hanasaki-san," Akira acknowledged, bowing. He nodded toward the wall clock and politely pointed out, "My shift is over."

Ryuji had no idea how Akira could transition so seamlessly into his casual mode, especially in light of their current circumstances.

"Oh no! Is it? I'm so sorry!" Hanasaki-san apologized frantically, bowing deeply. "I'll take care of closing up, then. Please proceed!"

Just barely remembering how to form words, Ryuji peeked out from behind Akira and exclaimed, "For real?!"

Akira nodded silently at Hanasaki-san and then wasted no time in turning his attention back to Ryuji.

"W-wait!" Ryuji said in a shaky voice, swiftly raising the bouquet in front of his face to form a barrier between him and Akira. "N-not here, man."

He lowered the bouquet slightly to look at Hanasaki-san, who was cheerfully adjusting some vases in the corner, not appearing to be paying any mind to the two boys.

In response, Akira gave Ryuji an endearing little smile and then in another flurry of motion threw off his apron, grabbed his bag, and then pushed Ryuji out of the shop, pausing only to wave a friendly goodbye to Hanasaki-san.

"Wait!" Ryuji protested again, doing a spin move and momentarily evading Akira to remove the wad of cash from his pocket and throw it on the Rafflesia counter. "Uh, thanks!" he awkwardly called out to Hanasaki-san just before Akira grabbed his free hand and pulled him away.

Even in the rush, Ryuji was sure he heard Hanasaki-san giggle and say happily to herself, "Cute."

Ryuji let Akira pull him along because his head was swimming too much for him to even ask where they were going in such a hurry. He had so many questions, but he wasn't sure where to start. Plus, he was incredibly distracted by just how tightly Akira was holding his hand.

As he glanced at the side of Akira's face, the realization struck Ryuji that he had probably felt something for him for quite some time; he just hadn't known that what was happening right now was an option.

Mildly terrified by the weight of his own feelings and temporarily giving up on saying anything, Ryuji noticed that Akira had pulled him to a completely isolated corner of the underground mall. Seeing this, his throat went dry.

Akira brought them to a stop, not letting go of Ryuji's hand as he turned to face him once again. Seeing the light blush still on Akira's cheeks, the puzzle pieces in Ryuji's mind started to come together.

Before Akira could move in on him again, Ryuji asked hoarsely, "Is this… why you've been actin' so weird lately?"

Hesitantly, Akira nodded. "I've been really restless… about you."

That's all Akira needed to say for Ryuji to feel like a gong had gone off inside him, shaking his core and sending reverberations throughout the rest of his body. Typically no one ever bothered to give Ryuji a second thought, let alone get restless over him.

Ryuji had never witnessed Akira looking so vulnerable, and he was sure it wasn't just because he wasn't wearing his glasses or his Joker mask.

He's seriously into me…

Ryuji sighed, feeling a little pathetic and wondering if Akira had noticed his hand was shaking. "Heh, and here I was all worried, thinkin' you were stressed out or gettin' sick or somethin'."

"You were worried?"

"You were bein' all twitchy and starin' off into space more than usual. And… and you weren't laughin' as much…" Ryuji trailed off. "I guess I'm just relieved you're okay."

Once again, Ryuji was realizing how much his feelings for Akira had been there all along. He would have died for this kid on the day that they met, and he would be willing to do so even more now. He would, of course, prefer for both of them to be alive for as long as possible… and by each other's sides for as long as possible. Even if the Phantom Thieves and everything went away, he would still have a place to belong as long as Akira was with him.

That familiar need to move after staying still for too long struck Ryuji like lightning.

"Hey, hold these for me," Ryuji requested, abruptly unloading the bouquet into Akira's arms.

"What are you-"

"You're the one who pulled me over here. We gonna do this shit or not?"

Ryuji was sweating underneath his blazer, but he also felt like it was now or never, and he had just decided he sure as hell didn't want never.

Ryuji impatiently tucked his hands under either side of Akira's jaw and drew his face toward himself, making Akira's eyes go wide. Careful to not squash the bouquet between them too much, Ryuji pulled Akira closer and then planted an enthusiastic kiss on his lips.

Akira reflexively drew back for the briefest moment and then released a small, relieved laugh against Ryuji's mouth before closing his eyes and kissing him back, until finally their lips were moving together.

Ryuji used all the pent-up energy inside him to kiss Akira again and again, but it still somehow felt like he was moving in a euphoric sort of slow motion. He had the fleeting thought that he could do this forever if Akira would let him.

Akira was the first to pull away, apparently not as mindful about his breathing as Ryuji. Ryuji opened his heavy lids to regard Akira as he unsuccessfully attempted to be subtle about gasping for air.

Cute, Ryuji thought helplessly, completed captivated by the flushed face he held in his hands.

"We should… we should catch probably… the train," Akira stammered, his unfocused gaze falling away from Ryuji's face.

"You should probably catch your breath," Ryuji teased. "Here, give me those," he said, reluctantly pulling his hands away from Akira's face to lift the bouquet from his arms. While they were still close, Ryuji snuck in an extra little peck on Akira's lips because he couldn't help it.

Looking flustered, Akira started to walk away in the wrong direction, so Ryuji grabbed his arm to pull him the right way.

"Hey, did ya forget where you're goin'?"

"Oh. Sorry. Just… disoriented," he mumbled, following Ryuji.

Ryuji grinned. "It's okay. I'm a little lightheaded too."

The two boys walked together in silence for a ways, close enough to occasionally brush shoulders.

Ryuji suddenly got an idea and asked, "Hey, do you wanna come over to my place?"

Akira tripped over his own feet. "Y-your place?"

"Yeah, so you can meet Mom!"

"Oh… Yes. I'd like that."

"Awesome! And then I can brag to her that you're the one who made this," Ryuji said, sticking his face in the bouquet and taking a deep whiff. "And hey, like I said earlier, it's okay for you to like this stuff. After hangin' out with Haru on the roof today, I think I might like gardening."

Akira smiled, looking far ahead into the distance. "I guess that means… when we all retire from being Phantom Thieves, we can open a flower shop of our own."

"Hell yeah!" Ryuji laughed, picturing everyone in a bright, breezy flower shop near a beach somewhere. "I can see it now. Makoto will run the whole operation, Futaba will make our website, Ann can run the front of the store and bring people in, Haru and I will grow the flowers, and you and Yusuke can do the arrangements!"

Akira added with a snicker, "And Morgana can be our mascot."

"Yeah, that'd be perfect! Oh man, he'd be so pissed if he heard that."

"What would we call it though?"

Ryuji contemplated it for a moment, and then he came up with the perfect name.

"The Phantom Leaves."

Akira turned to give Ryuji an appraising stare. They watched each other with blank expressions for several seconds, not blinking.

"What did you just say?"

Ryuji deadpanned, "The Phantom Leaves."

They continued to stare at each other until they both were about to burst. Ryuji's expression was the first to break, immediately followed by Akira's, and then they were laughing so hard they were crying.

Akira clapped a hand on Ryuji's shoulder to hold himself up as he sputtered, "Phantom… Leaves… that name is ridiculous…"

Ryuji was almost choking, saying between coughs, "No way… best name ever… we're keeping it!"

Even as they neared the platform, Ryuji was still laughing uncontrollably, unwittingly attracting the stares of passersby.

Akira nudged Ryuji in the ribs with his elbow and shushed him, even though he was still laughing too. Once they arrived at the platform, Ryuji buried his face in Akira's shoulder in an effort to quiet himself, muffling his laughter until it died down.

When he had regained his calm, Ryuji lingered on Akira's shoulder, exhausted from laughing so much and from having such an eventful day. He drew in a long, deep breath through his nose to try and stave off a yawn.

"Dude… you smell good," Ryuji suddenly stated, his words laden with drowsiness. "You smell like flowers."

Ryuji felt the vibration of Akira's laugh against him.

"Thank you," Akira said fondly, and then he lightly rested his chin on top of Ryuji's head for a moment, making Ryuji's hair flutter as he breathed in and out. "Hey, Ryuji?"

Ryuji lifted his head from Akira's shoulder to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think your mom will like me?"

"What? 'Course she will. She'll love you. She and I have the same taste in people."

Akira raised his eyebrows at Ryuji. "You… really don't realize when you say things like that, do you?"

"Like what?" Ryuji asked, tilting his head.

"Ha, nothing."

"Look, Mom already likes you. I kinda told her all about you back when she was makin' a fuss over me not havin' any friends."

"Good to know. If she's anything like you, I'm sure I'll love her too."

Ryuji sighed and dug the toe of his sneaker into the ground. "Shit, man. You're killin' me. Ya really are into me, aren't ya?"

Akira smirked. "Yeah, I am."

"Huh. You're weird, ya know that? I mean, you're way cool and everything, but you're also really weird."

"Why? For 'being into' such a loud-mouthed delinquent punk?"

"Hey! You're the delinquent here! At least I'm not on probation. And bein' a quiet-mouthed punk ain't much better than bein' a loud-mouthed one," Ryuji said, pushing Akira sideways. "Don't forget I've seen all the weird shit that comes pourin' outta your soul, man. Under that calm exterior, you're probably some kinda psychopath."

"Well, I guess you're weird for liking me too," Akira said, pushing Ryuji back.

"I must be!" Ryuji exclaimed as the train came to stop in front of them. "From now on, it's you and me—just a couple freakin' weirdos—against the world."

"Yeah, from now on," Akira said, reaching out to take Ryuji's hand and chuckling when he saw Ryuji was reaching out for him at the same time.

Beaming, Akira pulled Ryuji forward onto the train and added, "I'm glad we're on the same page."

As the doors closed behind them, Ryuji squeezed his hand and said gently, "Yeah. We're on the same page."