Disclaimer: This is purely a fanwork and I own nothing

Ren's mouth went dry as he stared down at his phone, and it wasn't from the hot, early-August weather. And it wasn't from the nerves the Phantom Thieves had as they waited for Futaba to wake up from sleeping off her whole change of heart. No, it was the contents of his phone screen that was sending him into a spiraling crisis.

"Let's do it in the Student Council Room. I'll leave the back open for you." The message read.

He read it again. And again. And once more, for good measure. And after sliding his phone in his pocket, he pulled it right back out and glanced it over one more time, just to be absolutely sure he read it correctly.

Do IT? What it? THAT it?

Morgana looked over his shoulder, and the two exchanged glances with the same expression plastered on their faces.

"She's...she's talking about Eiko, right?" Morgana asked. "Talking to that Eiko girl and her future?"

"I mean, I t-think so?" Ren replied, wincing at his own stutter. He always managed to play it cool in Palaces, Mementoes, hell, even in conversations that had his heart racing. But when it came to spending time with Makoto, his shot nerves won out and brought the full dweeb out of him.

"What if she's not?!" Morgana said, almost sounding as panicked as Ren felt. "I think she might like you, Ren! You're growing up too fast."

"S-stop," Ren cleared his throat. "Stop. I'm sure it's nothing like that. I've just been getting to know her, just like with the others."

He decided to leave out a few small details to Morgana, like how his chest tightened every time Eiko referred to him as Makoto's boyfriend. Nope, he wasn't indulging that information.

"Well, either way, it's a good thing you took that medicinal bath last night," Morgana smirked, as much as a cat can. "Hard to charm a girl if you smell bad."

"Cut that out!"

Still, as he walked to the school, alone - Morgana insisting he wanted to be scarce on the chance Ren might, "become a man," - his heart wouldn't calm down. He opened the back entrance to the school - sure that this was the only back entrance she could be referring to - and walked up the stairs. He scrunched up his eyes, trying to forget how her form looked in her Phantom Thief gear.

He opened the door to the Student Council Room, just in time to see Makoto straighten herself up. "Oh, there you are!" She gave him her warm smile, the one he got used to after straightening up Kaneshiro's Palace yet still threw him off his guard. "Thanks for agreeing to meet me here."

Ren just nodded and smiled back. "Any time." He must thrive under pressure, for that stutter to clear up like that.

She looked behind her. "I cleared off the coffee table here. I think this is the perfect place."

Ren almost dropped the book he was carrying. "Here?" He gulped, swallowing hard. "You want to do it here?"

"Well, yes, right here on the couch and coffee table." Makoto smirked. It was the smirk she liked to give him when she had the upper hand on him, although Ren knew she could be easily flustered herself. "It's too hot to do this outside, right? Where else would we do this in here?"

Ren's eyes traveled over to a desk and his mind began to drift various ways they could incorporate that, but he adjusted his glasses, forcing his thoughts back into PG-13 territory. Outside...? Maybe she was more adventurous than even her rebellious spirit eluded to.

He opened his mouth to answer, when the door slid open behind him. Eiko walked in, looking bored. "Okay, Makoto, I'm here."

Oh right! This! Ren realized. It was about Eiko after all.

Equal parts relieved and disappointed, he sat down at the couch, next to Makoto. He hoped neither of them noticed how embarrassed he felt. Thankfully, no one but him and Morgana knew what Ren thought was going to take place that day, and the misunderstanding went unspoken.

Two days later, the day before being a run through Mementos, Ren went to his job at the flower shop, looking for information about a case Mishima had tipped him off about. With no such luck that day, he took his meager pay - I can get more than this after ten minutes in Mementos - and bought some plant nutrients to take home. But he gave pause at a bouquet by the register. It was a mix of soft and vibrant colors, and for whatever reason, he was struck with the thought of Makoto when he looked at it.

It was the contrast, he decided, of the soft-spoken and considerate student council president to the fearsome and commanding warrior he knew as Queen. Yes, this arrangement of flowers reminded him very much of the two sides of Makoko. She was very multi-faceted. Complicated, even, though in all the best senses of the word.

Ren was a guy who still fist-pumped after getting out of the tub and feeling refreshed.

Still, as if on impulse, Ren spent the money on it, and smiled broadly as he walked towards his train line.

"I think I know who those are for," Morgana teased from Ren's bag.

Ren rolled his eyes but ignored his friend, thankful that at least no one else was going to grill him.

"HEY! REN! REN A-MAMA-MIA!"

"Ryuji, it's been months, that joke is so old now..." A second, exasperated voice followed.

Or so he thought. Ren froze up at the familiar voice, turning his head and trying not to panic as he saw Ryuji and Ann waving him down as they charged towards him. He glanced down at the flower bouquet in his hand. It was almost in slow motion he saw the two look down at it as well as they walked over to him.

Deciding to play dumb, as he usually did when confronted with a subject he didn't want to disclose information on, he simply said, "Oh hey guys, what's up?"

"Just shopping," Ann replied, voice dripping with an eagerness to gossip. "Who are those for?"

"Who is what for?"

Ryuji and Ann exchanged bemused looks. "Uh, dude?" Ryuji said, "the flowers?"

Ren tried his best not to sweat. "What flowers?"

"The hell?" Ryuji asked, confused.

"In your hand, Ren?" Ann continued, not amused.

"Oh, THOSE flowers!" Ren laughed, more nervously than he meant to. "Just a little bonus from work. You know. For working good. Well. Working well. You know what I mean."

Oof. He cringed at his own response.

"They're really pretty!" Ann squealed, apparently satisfied with the answer. "We're on our way to visit Shiho. Do you think we can take them? They should really brighten up her day."

Ren froze up, his friends giving him confused looks at this expression. He'd been caught in his own web of lies; if he refused, they'd know he meant to buy them and want to know for who.

Ren knew being a Phantom Thief came first. If Ann and Ryuji knew about this, they might distract the team with rumors and teasing. So he kept his mouth shut, nodded, and handed the flowers to Ann. "Give her my best, okay? I'd go but I need to help Boss at Leblanc tonight."

His two friends cheerfully walked away, promising to fill him in later. Ren was left, sighing and disappointed, in the Underground Mall.

Morgana stuck out a paw and pat him on the back. "It's probably too early for you to give Makoto flowers, anyway."

"You think so?" Ren asked, mood brightening slightly.

Morgana nodded. "I think you need to win her over a bit more, buddy. That'd probably be awkward at this stage of the game."

The words gave Ren pause. "Yeah...yeah, you're right."

"That was really kind of you though!" Morgana offered, a more chipper tone. "You're a good guy, Ren."

"Get away from her," Ren growled. The words jumped to his throat automatically when Eiko's scumbag boy friend stepped towards Makoto. He surprised even himself with his ferocity, wondering if this had overcome him last year when he had gotten himself arrested. Likely not, he figured, as this was much more personal.

Makoto seemed surprised as well, judging from the way she was looking at him. It wasn't a bad look though.

Eiko returned, and while the situation smoothed itself off, they were drawing a crowd. People were whispering about what happened, and Ren could feel panic in his chest. This wouldn't turn out like before, he hoped. "We should get out of here," he suggested to Makoto.

She nodded, but she still had that look on her face. What was it? "Let's," she agreed, and the two took off quickly, ducking into Crossroads for safety.

"So hon, is that the lady you've talked about?"

That feeling of panic returned to Ren's chest, though for a totally different reason. Makoto was walking over to the bar when Lala-Chan pulled him to the side.

Ren went to stutter a reply, when Lala just laughed. "Oh dear, look at how red you look. It's her, isn't it?"

"How'd you know?" Ren asked, defeated.

"Whenever you work here and some drunk flirts with you, you bring up some smart girl at your school."

"Me and my big mouth," Ren muttered.

Lala just laughed. "Well, don't keep her waiting." But before he did, Lala added, "Look at how she's looking at you. I think you should go for it."

Ren examined Maokoto's face as he approached, and noticed she looked a bit nervous herself. Could she...have felt the same way?

He wasn't sure, but it was the extra push he needed to offer to be Makoto's study partner in the matter of love. And when the two walked out of the bar, holding hands, he tried to ignore the very obvious thumbs up he was getting from Lala Escargot and Ichika Ohya.

"You know such interesting characters, Ren," Makoto told him with a soft giggle, and he thought he'd melt into a puddle.

"You need me to do what?" Futaba asked, baffled, as she crouched on one of the stools.

Ren loved having the younger girl on the team and to joke around with, but she was a bit of an odd duck.

"I need you to just look at Makoto's music history and see what sort of music she likes." Ren asked, straight-faced as possible. "Can you do that?"

"Of course I CAN do that, but WHY would I?" Futaba asked, trolling in her voice. "I'm a busy girl, Ren A-Mama-Mia."

"You spent yesterday night watching Crack Meme Compilations in your weird mask."

"That counts as busy, Mama Mia."

"I don't quite get them, but they're pretty funny," Morgana chirped from Ren's backpack.

"Just...please? Or will take that mask and fill it with guac." Ren's look turned deadly serious. "I make some great guac."

Morgana nodded from the backpack.

"You wouldn't." Futaba replied with narrowed eyes.

The two exchanged glares for a half second before she caved. "Okay fine."

His empty threats paid off the next night, a few nights before their trip to Hawaii, Makoto say in his room for the first time of their budding relationship.

"You keep your room surprisingly clean," Makoto said, leaning into him slightly. She became slightly nervous that she had misspoken and added, "n-not that you seem like the messy type."

Ren briefly thought about mentioning that he had hired his homeroom teacher to come clean the place the night before, but decided it would be more tactful not to disclose that information. For a number of reasons, actually.

"I grabbed you something after my shift the other day," he said, somewhat amazed at how calm he kept his voice. He produced a compilation of classical music he had grabbed from record store, and handed it to his new girlfriend, trying to keep his hands from shaking.

Makoto's eyes lit up as she smiled. "Ren, I love classical music! How did you know?"

Definitely not convincing Futaba to scope out your most recent playlist. He shrugged. "Lucky guess, I suppose. I just...wanted to show you I appreciate how hard you've been working for us."

He thought his heart would explode as Makoto leaned against his shoulder. "Thank you, Ren... You're really sweet." She sniffed a bit. "You smell nice too. Like coffee and a warm bath."

His tongue seemed to stop working, so we merely gave her a gentle squeeze with his arm.

If he lost the ability to wield Personas, if he somehow could no longer be a Phantom Thief, Ren figured it would be worth it, because at the very least it had led to today. The last day of their trip.

Having gotten the two offers - babe hunting with Ryuji and a day on the beach with Makoto, it was an easy choice on the latter. It had been a simple day to be sure, but magical. A few people had taken her off guard by asking about the Phantom Thieves, but it was mostly spent just walking and talking along the shoreline, taking in the sea breeze and feeling the waves gently wash against their feet.

Now, at sunset, the two sat on a bench eating garlic shrimp.

"Bubba Gump," Makoto said, reading the logo. "I wonder if this is some sort of local delicacy."

Ren laughed. "I don't know if cart food is a delicacy, even in America."

She smiled back at him, making his chest flutter. She still had that effect on him. "You're probably right. Still. It's amazing." She shuffled her feet, a bit flustered. He glanced at her, a bit surprised. Despite how composed she usually was, he loved moments like this. "I um...got something for you, Ren."

She produced a small tiki charm she must have snagged when he wasn't looking. "I know it isn't much, but I thought it would always remind us of the memories we made today."

Oh she's good. Ren thought, allowing a big, goofy smile to sprawl across his face. "They were great memories, Makoto." He slipped the charm over his neck. "I love it!"

She beamed back at him. "I think so too." The smile faltered a bit as she looked back to the ocean. "It's already getting late. We should probably head back..."

As she began to stand up, Ren felt almost panicked. He couldn't let the day end yet. This was probably the most romantic opportunity he had and he hadn't even...

What could he say? No, he decided it was better to act. As she stood up, he rose to meet her, and in a swift motion that surprised even himself, he wrapped his arm around her, resting his hand on the small of her back. She looked up to meet his gaze in surprise, but was met with his lips pressing into hers, instead, for a soft but loving kiss. Their first.

After a few moments, the two broke apart, and met each others gazes, both wearing expressions of surprise.

"Just...a little longer?" Ren asked, quietly.

Makoto melted into his arms and rested her head against his chest. "Okay...a little longer."

The two slowly sat back down, and Makoto rested against his shoulder once again. "You have such a way with words, Ren. I don't know how you do it."

Usually, he would have kept his thoughts to himself, but he liked opening up to her. "Hell if I know. To be honest, the stuff just kind of comes out of my mouth."

She giggled softly. "Well...I don't mind."

"Where were you yesterday, man?" Ryuji asked, grumpily, as they all gathered with their luggage. "Mishima and I coulda used you...we totally struck out."

Despite his throat drying up, Ren just smirked. "I was with someone."

Ryuji's jaw dropped and Ann's eyes lit up excitedly.

"What the hell, dude?!" Ryuji cried. "You had a girl already?! And you didn't tell me!"

"Who is it?!" Ann squealed excitedly.

Ryuji immediately rounded on her before Ren could even answer. "No man, I don't want his secret lover coming after us or something!"

As the two began to bicker, Ren and Makoto exchanged glances and smiled. Yes, some things were best left unsaid.

I used the Ren version of the name solely for the Mama Mia jokes. No regrets.