End of the line

Akira found Futaba sitting in her cell, staring dejectedly at the floor. Her chin rested on her knees and her headphones sitting in that patented Sakura Style only she could pull off. Her glasses sat next to her, and her whole body was trembling.

Akira couldn't blame her for being scared. His knees were still a little wobbly after being erased from existence. He could only imagine what was going through the poor girls head.

He approached the cell cautiously, not wanting to startle her. A handful of cheesy lines ran through his head.

"Hey doll, come here often?" and "looks like they finally caught the gal who stole my heart." And of course, he couldn't resist the urge to make a movie reference

"I'm Akira Kurusu and I'm here to rescue you!"

But he managed to suppress the urge to be a dork and slowly got down on one knee to speak to his girlfriend.

"Hey, you." He said softly.

Her eyes darted over to meet his, she blinked several times before feeling around for her glasses, practically shoving them onto her face.

"Akira..." she whispered before her eyes went wide and she put her hands over her mouth. Morgana had drilled it into them since day one. Phantom Thieves don't use their real names. Judging by Igor's temperament, however, the Velvet room seemed like an exception.

"Its ok, we're safe here." He assured her as her eyes watered.

"I-I watched you disappear. Y-you and everyone...we're dead...you're dead...you're not really here...t-this is h-h-hell huh?"

Akira's eyes widened, Futaba's breathing was starting to become shorter and sharper. Her Exhales lasted a fraction of a second. She wrapped her arms around herself as the tears started to flow. Having seen dealt with a few of her panic attacks before, Akira reacted instinctively. He took off his crimson gloves and thrust an arm through a gap cell door bars.

"Taba, take my hand."

Her breathing was getting faster, she tried to speak but the words tumbled out of her mouth, loud at first but quieting immediately after they left her lips. She reached out with a tremoring hand and gently grabbed onto him. He interlocked his fingers with hers and held her hand tightly.

"See? It's me. I'm ok, and you're ok. We're all ok. I just finished talking to Ryuji."

The poor girl had his hand in a death grip but she needed an anchor, so that's what he would be. He scooted towards the bars to be closer to her.

"D-don't let me go." She managed to say shakily. He squeezed her hand in response.

"Never."

"I-I'm sorry about t-t-this..."

"Taba, its ok. You're scared. I was scared when I woke up here too. I thought I lost you guys. But that doesn't matter anymore, I found you and you're safe. Nothing is going happen to you while I'm around."

He stuck another arm through the gaps in the cell door bars and place it on top of her's to steady her shaking.

"Take a deep breath for me. In and out nice and slow can you do that?"

She nodded and took a long shaky breath, he squeezed her hand a little tighter while she did so.

"There you go, just like that. You're doing good Futaba. You got this. Just keep breathing."

Her shaking hand stabilized and her breathing slowed over the course of several minutes. Occasionally as she inhaled, her breath would hitch several times in rapid succession and he would give her hand a gentle squeeze to remind her of his presence. The tears still flowed, but she was slowly regaining control.

"You gotta figure out how to get this door open." She managed to say, looking right into her boyfriend's eyes.

"The only person who can get you out of that cell is you Taba." He replied.

The girl's eyebrows scrunched up and she directed her gaze down and away from him, Akira silently cooed at her. He had seen her get like this before, like when she ran into a bit of a roadblock taking down Medjed or when she was playing through an old game with him when they got stuck on a puzzle and she threatened that she would smack him upside the head if he recommended they look at a guide.

...

"I'm your navigator here!" She told him. "I'll remember what to do. I know I will!"

Half an hour later, they ended up pulling up a guide on his phone. Much to her chagrin.

"I can't believe you, you're trusting this-this-"

She squinted at the screen and shook her head in disbelief.

-DRagOnSLaYer69 over me!"

"I would like to beat this dungeon before we reset the Doomsday Clock you know," Akira grumbled.

"We would have, once I remembered how this stupid puzzle worked!" She pouted.

"Counter-clockwise. We have to go counterclockwise to the 6 o'clock position." Akira summarized, putting his phone down.

"I knew that!" Futaba grumbled as they set about completing the puzzle only for a large demon to spawn in once they locked the rotating wheel in place.

"Dammit!" Akira yelped as he started attacking the pixilated monstrosity.

"We're fucked." His girlfriend said flatly once her avatar was turned into a fine paste by the demon's war hammer.

"No, we're not I just gotta-"

"Revive me? We're outta potions love."

"Shit really?"

"Yup." She replied as the demon grabbed Akira's avatar with its free hand and crushed him to death. A sinister 8-bit laugh erupted from the speakers. The image of the Grim Reaper loomed over their defeated vessels.

"DEATH COMES FOR YOU HUNTERS...GAME OVER."

"Whelp that's two hours we're not getting back." Akira sighed. "Sorry, Taba."

"That's what you get for trusting some weeb on the internet instead of your girlfriend." She teased.

"You of all people should not be using weeb as an insult," Akira told her with a wink.

"Shut up!" She exclaimed, giving her boyfriend a playful shove earning a chuckle from him as he checked his phone.

"Oohhh that would do it." He muttered.

"Hm?" Futaba asked leaning over to see what he was looking at.

"DragonSlayer was referring to the puzzle from the Legendary Version of the game where-"

"-everything's flipped." Futaba finished. "So it would be clockwise to the 12 o'clock-HOW did I forget that its the easiest puzzle in the world!" She lamented, throwing her arms up and falling into her boyfriend's lap.

"We suck." Akira summarized.

"Yes, we do. I blame you though." Futaba muttered.

"Well I'm sorry, but look at it this way. We get to experience the joy of the water sanctum all over again!"

"Bite me."

"I sense some tension." Morgana chimed in, returning from his late afternoon walk.

"Shush you," Futaba told him.

"Don't take it out on him, I messed up. So let me make it up to you."

"Diplomacy check!" Morgana called out.

"Exactly! Alright, Mr. Phantom Thief. What are you going to do get out of the doghouse?" She asked with a playful smirk.

"Well we can go grab some fried chicken, and we'll take another crack at the water sanctum and you can wear my nice sweater I got from our Hawaii trip."

Futaba's eyes widened.

"The fuzzy one?"

"The fuzzy one," Akira confirmed with a nod.

"Hmmm, that all sounds pretty good but I think you can do better."

"Better? Better?! All that isn't enough?

" 'Fraid not love."

"You little...come here!"

Futaba yelped as her boyfriend scooped her up and carried her over to the bed, gently tossing her onto it before diving in to tickle her sides

"N-no Akira please-AH!"

The poor girl broke down into a giggling mess as she tried to fight against her boyfriend's tickle assault. Once she was riled up enough he pinned her arms to the mattress and loomed over her.

"Ready to give up? Are you gonna take the chicken!"

"NEVER!" She bellowed trying to wiggle free of Akira's grip getting one arm loose and using her legs to push Akira back onto his butt. She sprung up and tackled him wrapping her arms around his upper torso and launching her own attack on the boy's upper ribs.

"I KNOW YOU'RE WEAKNESS AKIRA KURUSU."

"H-how?!" He managed through his own laughter only to hear the distinctive MWHEHEH of a certain feline.

"Morgana you traitor-Ahh!"

Futaba pushed Akira on his back and pressed her attack until he managed to roll onto his side, getting Futaba off of him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close before ticking her belly some more.

"Nooo no please ok ok ok I give! I'll take the chicken, gimme the chicken!"

Akira ceased his attack.

"Ok." He panted before looking to Morgana.

"I'll deal with you later, I hope whatever sushi platter she bribed you with was worth it."

"Oh, it was!" The cat exclaimed defiantly.

"Sorry, Mona."

"I knew the risks when I leaked that info to you Futaba. Don't worry about me." He assured her.

Futaba rolled over to look at her boyfriend, snuggling up to him with a content sigh. Her red hair was a mess and her glasses had fallen off early in the battle but his heart still fluttered when she looked at him with her beautiful lavender eyes.

...

As Futaba sniffled and wiped her tears away, a small grin appeared on her face.

"What could you be smiling about at a time like this?" She asked.

"I was just thinking about how far we've come-how far you've come."

Futaba frowned.

"I went from a tomb to a prison, not sure I would call that progress."

"Futaba Sakura. You think too little of yourself. Do you know how strong you are, to have kept going for so long on your own before we found you?

"I locked myself in my room, I ran from my problems, I forgot what my mom was really like. I don't see how you consider that strength."

"Because you're a fighter Taba. You've been fighting longer than any of us. Even when you were fighting your own demons, you still tried to help others. That's the part of you that I admire. The part I've always admired."

"...Akira..."

"Don't even get me started on your promise list, do you know how proud I was to see you check those boxes off one by one. You kept thanking me for saving you but I don't think you realize how brave and strong you had to be to save yourself."

"I wish I could be that girl right now...I'm so scared."

"I'm scared too, just as scared as when we were trying to get through your palace."

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have threatened you guys..."

"That wasn't why I was scared Taba, although that was part of it." He explained. "There were things in your palace...your guilt over your mom was killing you. We couldn't lose you like that. You needed our help."

"You didn't even know me..."

"So?"

Futaba squeezed her boyfriend's hand and shut her eyes tightly trying to hold back more tears as she thought back to all the times he put her needs ahead of his own. One, in particular, stood out.

...

Futaba bolted upright in a cold sweat, kicking the covers off her body after several seconds of starring off into space. It had been two weeks since the Phantom Thieves welcomed her into their ranks after venturing into her palace and changing her heart yet the nightmares persisted.

The image of her mother's death played on a loop in her head throughout the day. Infiltrating every thought she had like a virus. The red-haired girl rubbed her temples in agitation after she checked her phone for the time.

It was 5 AM

Way too early for this shit.

"Get out of my head." She hissed.

She briefly considered hopping on her PC and playing one of her favorite MMORPGs until Sojiro woke up. She could hop an American server and dork around for a few hours, assuming the game didn't need to update. Even in her frustration, she knew that this was only a temporary solution. Her eyes wandered to her phone once again.

"Look Futaba, if you're ever in trouble, just call this guy." Morgana had told her after her panic attack in Akihabara.

She realized she needed a friend, but it was late. Really late and after her day at the beach Sojiro had been pretty clear about her having guys over in case she ever met someone on her adventures.

"As long as you have my permission." He had told her.

She huffed and scooped her phone up from her nightstand. She could just talk to him, but she'd hate to wake him up. She opened her messaging app and scrolled through old texts from her teammates. She hoped reading through some supportive things from them would ease her mind and let her sleep.

That's when she noticed something odd. Akira was being shown as active on her messaging system. Meaning he had been talking with someone within the past half an hour.

She opened a chat window and started to type

Hey, are you-no.

Morning, what are-no.

Yo, wazzup, buddy? GOD NO.

Futaba sighed and dropped her phone onto her bed. Maybe she should just try and go back to sleep...

BZZZ BZZZ

Her eyes darted over to her phone. The notification showed one new message from Akira.

Crap. Did she send something by accident? She picked up her phone and read the message.

Hey Futaba, I saw you were trying to send me a message. everything ok?

"How did you see that?" She replied aloud and over text.

I was looking for something you sent me earlier to kill time. Then I saw the little bubble appear and disappear like eight times. Ann does that when she really needs to talk about something, so I just assumed it was a girl thing. He replied.

She chuckled softly, eyes narrowing as her brain connected the dots.

Were you looking for that video I sent you of the ramen shop run by cats?

...Yes...

Why are you looking for that at 5 AM?

Because Morgana just had a really bad nightmare and now he's pacing around downstairs trying to relax. He keeps telling me he's fine and that I should go to bed, but I know that he's definitely not fine. So, I'm waiting for him to come back up so we can talk about it.

Before she could respond he sent a follow-up text.

Now stop avoiding my question. What's up?

Nothing's up. She replied a little too quickly.

Liar.

She huffed and put her head against the wall as another message came in.

I can't make you tell me, but if something is ever bothering you, I'm here. It's what I tell everyone. I want to help you with whatever's bothering you.

There was a brief pause.

Why do you think I set time aside during the week to make sure I spend time with you all individually?

I just thought you were trying to grind your social stats. She teased.

No XP

Its called taking care of my friends.

Futaba could only type what she felt: Awwww.

Now I'll ask one more time before I stop bugging you. Are you ok?

Futaba hesitated before answering, she felt bad. He thought he was bugging her?

Honestly, I could use a hug right now. I had a pretty nasty nightmare myself.

His reply was near instantaneous.

Come on over. I'll make us some coffee.

Are you sure?

Yes, Taba I'm sure, now make like a hedgehog and roll over here.

Aye aye, see you in a few.

...

"Futaba is coming over, she's had a rough night too." Akira told his favorite cat from the kitchen.

"I keep telling you, I'm F-I-N-E," Morgana grumbled.

"And I will keep telling you that's B-U-L-L-S-H-"

"Look I told you don't worry about me!"

"No! You're a part of this team just like everyone else, so it's my job to look after you."

"That's not our deal! I'm supposed to look after you! That's my job! I'm supposed to be the one who knows everything about the Metaverse! I have to be useful!"

"You don't have to be useful!"

"Yes, I do! I have to be more than just some stupid cat!"

"I don't care if you're just some stupid cat or God's best angel! None of that matters to me!"

"But it matters to me Akira, what if I'm not human? Then where do I belong?"

"Here! With me and Sojiro and Futaba because no matter what you were or whatever you become you will always be my best friend!"

Morgana took a step back, not used to seeing Akira so heated.

"...I always thought Ryuji was your best friend."

"Well he is, but so are you," Akira told him with a sigh, sitting down on the cafe's floor so he wasn't looming over the cat.

"...Sorry, I yelled at you."

"Sorry if you ever felt like you didn't belong here."

With the air clear, there was a content silence between the two before Morgana clambered into Akira's lap.

"You know, I just realized something. I've never taken you anywhere. You've always tagged along whenever I go have lunch with Ann or train with Ryuji but me and you have never had a day just to relax."

"You seem pretty relaxed when we make lock-picks."

"Well yeah, but me and you have never relaxed without any Phantom Thief related business hanging over our heads. So, I'll tell you what. This weekend we're going fishing. We'll catch our own sushi!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I grew up in the country. Me and my dad went fishing all the time."

Morgana let out a long happy purr.

"Can't wait."

"Me neither buddy."

The door creaked as it was opened and the two turned their attention to the red-headed girl who just walked in.

"Yo..." She muttered, still half asleep.

"Hey, there miss, come here often?" Akira said with a goofy smile, getting up and walking over to greet her. She put her head down in embarrassment and extended her arms.

"Just gimme a hug you sentient pool noodle."

Akira complied and held her tightly in his arms while Morgana snickered at him.

"Pffft...pool noodle."

"Shut up."

...

"There's the smile I know and love," Akira said as she met his eyes.

"Shush you."

There was a brief silence between the two.

"You take such good care of us."

"Well, of course, I owe you guys. You gave me a home." Akira paused.

"With my own family, I never felt like I belonged. My mom kinda disowned me after I got charged with assault. My dad and I never got along, he was a doctor, thought I was going to follow in his footsteps. Take over the family practice. That's never what I wanted though."

"I don't think you ever told me about this..."

"Yeah sorry, its hard for me to admit I'm a lousy son."

"Akira...You saved that woman, who knows what Shido would have done to her if you hadn't intervened. You're one of the most selfless people I know. That's what I love about you. When you walked over here I knew you had a plan to make things right and I will follow you to ends of the earth if it means helping you do just that."

Akira's cheeks flushed, he didn't notice the bars of the cell door fading away.

"Love?"

Futaba rolled her eyes.

"Don't give me that. You said it first remember?"

...

A few days after successfully stealing Shido's treasure, the team assembled at Leblanc to celebrate their success. Despite their concern Shido's heart might not change, Akira got everyone to realize that their methods had not yet failed them and sitting around stressing about the situation, despite the danger they faced, was not helping anything.

He put the word out two nights before via the group chat and spent the next day turning his room into a party room while Sojiro went to grab supplies from the store and Morgana advised him on how they could best use what little space they had. Granted there weren't many of them, but the last thing they wanted was to feel cramped.

"I wonder if we should flip your bed on its side and move the desk in front of it." The cat wondered aloud, sitting on the couch.

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to move the desk on my own," Akira muttered. "Too bad I can't get Arsene to help me."

"Something tells me he wouldn't appreciate being summoned for menial labor," Morgana muttered.

"Good point."

Then came a noise from the staircase.

"HRNNNGGG."

Akira and Morgana turned to see the top of a large speaker slowly rising into view.

"Akira…I require…assistance!" Futaba yelped from out of sight.

The boy ran over to the stairs and quickly helped his girlfriend get the speaker up the last few steps. The pair had been dating for just over a month now and they had been debating on when to reveal their relationship to the rest of the team. Morgana was the only one who knew they were together. The couple also knew that Sojiro and Makoto were catching on and had a bet on which one of them would ask about it first. The others had noticed the pair grow incredibly close over the past month and the pair knew they would all wise up sooner or later.

Futaba was concerned it would interfere with the group dynamic as the other girls relied on him quite a bit while Akira was concerned for how the revelation would affect his relationship with Sojiro, who he considered to be a surrogate father of sorts to him. The last thing he wanted to was ruin that. Plus, there was the future. Akira wouldn't be in Tokyo forever, and we worried about the strain a long-distance relationship would put on them. Plus, there was his criminal record, which would be difficult to erase even with Shido's changed heart. Poor girl might show up to school with some nasty labels. He knew she didn't deserve that.

"Why didn't you ask me for help sooner?"

"Well, I got this far didn't I? Plus, I know you've been getting this place ready all by yourself today, so I figured helping out in my own way gives you one less thing to worry about. Because with this speaker, we'll blow the roof off this place!"

"I feel like we should still be trying to lay low."

"Says the guy who wanted to throw a party." Futaba chided as they set the speaker down. "Hey what gives?"

"I was going to leave it here until we get the rest of the room set up," Akira replied, turning to survey the rest of the room, no doubt trying to figure out where the speaker would be placed amongst everything else.

"Ah ok, gotcha." She nodded before giving her boyfriend a curious up and down. "Looks like you decided not to dress up after all."

"No no, I'm going to dress up like Ann wanted us to, I just need to change."

"That's fair, considering you're probably all smelly from cleaning all day, but speaking of outfits. How do I look?" Futaba asked, stepping out from behind the speaker that was almost as tall as her.

Akira's heart skipped a beat. Although Futaba's new outfit wasn't too different from the norm, there were some new elements Akira definitely was a fan of. Her new grey high-top sneakers went well with black thigh high socks that had some slashes in the legs, in addition, her signature jacket was now adorned with souvenir patches from all the places she and Akira had visited together and finally, she had a black choker with a few moderately sized metal studs for decoration.

"Amazing." He breathed.

"T-thanks." Futaba blushed before shaking her head to shoo the butterflies from her stomach and looking down the stairs.

"Now uh, can you help me with the other one?"

Akira almost passed out on the spot but nodded and followed her down the stairs. After lots grunts and groans they got the second speaker up the stairs and into position next to its twin. Futaba then managed to squeeze past them so she could help Akira finish cleaning and setting up before moving the speakers into their final position in the corner next to Akira's plant. Sojiro calling his name prompted Akira to head downstairs.

"I'm gonna go help Sojiro with groceries. Need any more help up here?"

"Nah, I just gotta get my computer hooked up so we can play music but I could that in my sleep. Go help Sojiro." Futaba replied.

"Come on Morgana, let's get you some dinner before things get hectic," Akira called as he was halfway down the stairs.

"Right behind you!" The cat replied, trotting after him.

Futaba put her headphones on as she plugged in chords and went through her playlists one more time. Her music collection was too weird and too scatterbrained to just leave on shuffle for the night. They might end up with some serious mood whiplash when My Chemical Romance starts playing after a High School Musical track. So, she made it a point to make a Leblanc Dance Party Playlist that could either be played from start to finish or put on shuffle. She also had a Karaoke Playlist that was loaded with a combination of songs that were quite fitting for all of them and others that were just plain weird. The thought of Haru singing All-Star by Smash Mouth made her giggle uncontrollably. She then set about putting her plan in motion.

"What are you up to Taba?" Akira asked her warily.

"Oh, nothing." She replied.

Downstairs, Akira finished laying out groceries on one of the booth tables and set about organizing everything while Morgana ate some sushi nearby. Sojiro has decided to spoil him tonight, Akira wasn't entirely sure how Morgana could eat sushi as it would make most cats sick but then again, Morgana was nothing like most cats.

"Are you guys going to tell the others about your relationship tonight?"

"I don't know. We both have our own concerns about it."

"Don't worry, I won't say anything if you guys decide not to."

"I know buddy. I trust you." Akira paused and furrowed his brow. His thoughts turned to his future.

Morgana, now with a belly full of sushi, walked over.

"What's on your mind?"

"Futaba, you, the others. I'm worried."

"About?"

"When I leave, I'm worried we'll all drift apart. Futaba has been doing really well with being on her own, but I've always been here for her. Just down the street. Sure we have Skype and our cell phones if we ever have a bad day, but it's not the same. Then there's you when all of this is said and done. What happens to you? It's scary. I found the place I belong…and soon I'll have to leave."

Morgana got up on the table.

"Akira, that will never happen. We've all been through too much together to just drift apart like it never happened. Sure we may get busy after all Ann has her modeling, Yuskue has his art and Ryuji has…well, whatever he has and I have you."

Akira cocked his head in confusion.

"Chief and Futaba would never forgive me if I let something to you and Ryuji would never shut up about. You're my best friend and I'll be here for you as human or cat or something else entirely, for as long as I can. As for Futaba, she's gotten a little bit stronger every day since she met you and she'll keep getting stronger every day from here on out. It'll be hard at first, but that girl has a strong heart. She forgot that for a little while but now that you reminded her of that, she'll never lose sight of that fact."

Akira smiled at his friend and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well someone's sappy tonight."

"Don't get used to it." The cat teased.

"Akira!" Futaba called from his room. "We're all set up here, come up and give it a listen!"

"Be right there!" He told her, jogging upstairs. When he reached the top of the stairs, Futaba had the lights dimmed. She stood with her back to the stairs and when she heard him enter the space she looked over her shoulder with a sly grin.

"Wait right there." She told him.

"Uh, ok." Her boyfriend replied.

"Ready to see a special dance I've been working on?"

Akira's cheeks were bright red.

"Y-yeah, go ahead."

"Ok…here goes." She said, walking over to her laptop and hitting play.

"What is this girl up to?" Akira wondered as the lights suddenly came back on, Futaba whipped around and pointed at him with the goofiest grin on her face as she sang:

Never gonna give you up

Never gonna let you down

Akira's hand flew up and smacked his forehead, but he could barely contain his laughter.

Never gonna run around and desert you

Never gonna make you cry

Never gonna say goodbye

"Did you really set all this up just so you could rickroll me?" Akira managed, he was laughing so hard he was crying.

"Of course! Have you met me?" Futaba replied, now she was laughing, walking over to her boyfriend, offering him her hand.

"May I have this dance?"

Akira shook his head and put his hand in hers. The pair then engaged in an exaggerated waltz across the dance floor, laughing as they did their best to sing along to the ultimate joke song. Morgana trotted up the stairs and hopped up onto the banister to investigate, chuckling when he saw the pair's sad excuse for waltzing.

"Very elegant you two." He teased, prompting Futaba to stick her tongue out at him as the track came to a stop, now replaced with a new song.

"Sounds like a slow one." Akira managed to say with a chuckle.

"Mhmm." His partner replied, resting her head on his chest and scooting in closer towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist and he reciprocated. They stayed like that for a while, swaying to the music and enjoying the other's presence. Finally, Futaba broke the silence.

"I heard what you and Mona were talking about downstairs."

"Oh, sorry about that. I don't want you to think I'm doubting us or anything…it's just I'm worried about what people at your school would say if they found out you were dating the guy with the record or what being apart will do to us. I'm just scared of losing this, I'm scared of losing you."

There was another period of silence between them, but it didn't last long.

"Come on, let's talk." She told him, leading him to the couch

His heartrate practically doubled.

"Ok."

Did he ruin everything?

She sat down first and he sat down across from her, but she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him towards her, pulling his head into her lap. He looked up at her with a dozen emotions in his eyes. Fear, sadness, and adoration, all there. It may have only been a month, but she could read him like a book.

"I'm disappointed in you."

Shit, he might have ruined everything, he tried to apologize but she shushed him.

"I can't believe you thought there would ever be a day where I wouldn't be happy to have you in my life. I will never ever be ashamed of you because of your records. I don't care what anyone else calls me. I know you, I know that assault charge is not who you are. You're brave, you're courageous…you saw the worst part of me and yet you swept me off my feet anyways. I know you're scared, sometimes I get scared about us too. I get worried something will happen to you, I get worried my depression will come back and drive you away, but I never want you to feel like you have to hide that from me. You can't be the brave one all the time and sometimes even you're not strong enough to deal with everything on your own. That's why you have me."

She ran a hand through his signature frizzy hair, smiling at him as she did so. His eyes met hers and tears began to form.

"As long as you remain the sweet, courageous, adorkable Joker I've come to love, you will never lose me and if this past month, even with all its ups and downs, is a snapshot of what is to come, then I want to be with you forever."

Akira squeezed his eyes shut in an effort to stop the tears, rolling over onto his stomach and wrapping Futaba up in his arms. She held his head in her hands, running her fingers through his hair to soothe him as he buried his face in her chest. She could tell he was trying so hard not to cry and when he spoke, he was so quiet she was amazed she heard him.

"I love you."

She kissed him on to top of his head.

"I love you too, so so much."

They stayed like that for a few minutes until a loud sniffle drew their attention to the stairs. In the shadows they could see their teammates lurking in the shadows, watching with great interest.

"Damnit Ann…" Ryuji grumbled.

"I'm sorry, it was a really sweet moment." She grumbled.

"I knew it," Makoto whispered excitedly.

"Shit," Akira muttered as he let go of Futaba and sat up.

"Hehe, looks like you're buying dinner next time we go out." Futaba snickered.

"Yeah yeah I know."

"Mona-chan! How come you never told us about this?" Haru asked, almost sounding offended for being kept out of the loop.

"I'm sorry, I was sworn to secrecy. They didn't want to tell you guys until they were comfortable." Morgana explained.

"I wonder if Sojiro knows…" Yusuke muttered.

"For now, what happens in the loft stays in the loft. Got it Inari?"

"I understand completely." He replied, knowing well not to cross Futaba.

"Right, well I gotta go change real quick but I'll be right back. You guys get started without me." Akira told his girlfriend before getting off the couch and heading downstairs with a bundle of clothes he pulled from his storage box.

Once he was out of sight, Futaba motioned for the others to come up into the loft and over to the couch where she was sitting.

"Is he ok?" Makoto asked eyebrows scrunched up with worry.

"Yeah, I was just wondering that myself. His eyes were kinda red when he went downstairs."

"He isn't doing too great right now, I can go into some details later but for now just make sure you show him lots of love tonight, ok?" Futaba pleaded.

They all nodded in unison and when Akira came back up the stairs he was practically tackle hugged by the whole team.

"Hi!" Haru exclaimed

"You blew right past us when you went downstairs dude!" Ryuji added.

"Yeah! Not cool! Do you know how long it's been since I got a genuine Joker hug?" Anna complained

"Sorry guys, I just wanted to get out of my nasty clothes before we got this party started," Akira told them.

"We forgive you," Yuskue assured him.

"Just this once, but next time, hugs no matter what!" Makoto added.

"Ok ok, noted." He replied as Futaba broke off from the group to hop on her computer.

"Alright, let's get this party started!" She proclaimed proudly as her music started to play.

...

The bars between the two had disappeared, Futaba stood tall and proud in her signature Phantom Thief garb wearing her signature mischievous grin that Akira had come to love.

"Ready to go save the world?" She asked, pulling her goggles up onto the top of her head.

"Honestly, no... are you?"

"Hmm, not quiet. I can't let my favorite Phantom Thief go into our climactic final battle without a power-up."

She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him close, her lips crashing into his. It was all so sudden, Akira's mask fell off his face and his heart was pounding so fast he thought it was going to fly out of his chest. Instinctively he picked Futaba up and she, in turn, put her arms around his neck as blue flames swirled around the pair and a familiar voice thundered out a cry:

"WHO DARES CHALLENGE THE PILLAGER OF TWILIGHT AND HIS YOUNG WARD?!"

Arsene loomed over the young couple in a crouched battle stance, wings extended to full length, while Futaba and Akira parted and mumbled flatly in unison:

"Not now."

Arsene went stiff and stood up, his wings folding as he did so, looking at the pair before noticing Akira's mask on the ground. He grumbled something to himself before disappearing, leaving azure embers floating in his place.

Akira smiled fondly at his girlfriend.

"I love you." He whispered.

Now her cheeks were just as red as his.

"In case you didn't realize, that was for luck." She gave him another quick peck on the lips, "and I love you too but you can put me down now. We gotta get moving."

Akira nodded, setting her down gently.

"Right."

"Ready to go kick some ass?" She asked him, taking his hand in hers.

"As long as you've got my back, taking down a god will be a piece of cake." He replied giving her hand a squeeze before they started walking down the corridor.

"I love it when you get cocky." She grinned. "I bet you'll try and put a bullet right between his eyes.

Akira chuckled.

"Wouldn't that be something."