She opened the door, cursing the bell above her for ringing so loudly.
"F-Futaba!" Sojiro gasped out, almost spitting out the coffee in his mouth. He set the cup down on the bar and began walking towards her. "Is everything okay? It's not like you to be out this early…"
"E-everything's fine!" She announced, a little too quickly for her own good. "I just… wanted to see him. I wanted to make sure he's okay."
Sojiro's expression changed from concern to approval. He laughed, shaking his head as he drank from his coffee.
"Just make sure you're quiet. He's still more than likely asleep."
"Oh, I know that Pops!" Futaba replied, pushing her glasses up. "Seeya!"
Before Sojiro could say anything to his adoptive daughter, she scampered out of sight and up the stairs to Leblanc's attic. He sighed, staring deeply into his now empty cup. "Geez… what a troublesome set of kids I've found."
Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Futaba lowered herself into a crouch. The attic floor was so creaky… it was going to be difficult to get to the bed without waking him or Mona up.
Seeing no other option, she laid flat on her stomach and began moving towards the bed.
"He better appreciate what I'm doing for him…" She muttered under her breath. "If I don't win 'Girlfriend of the Year' for this, I'm gonna lose my mind."
She continued her crawling, her mind running through all the variants of his response. Unfortunately, she was preoccupied with this and didn't watch where she was going…
"Ow!"
Futaba's head collided with one of the legs of his futon. The sound of her skull colliding with the metal rang out through the room. She rubbed the top of her head, her eyes locking dead with Morgana's.
"Futaba-chan?"
"Mona!" She gasped. "Shh!" She placed a finger on her lips. "Don't wake him up." Morgana sighed, jumping from his spot on the bed to the ground, tail swishing in the air as he trotted to his usual perch by the stairs.
Futaba sighed, standing up and adjusting her hair. She giggled, quietly climbing onto the futon and cuddling against the boy under the blankets.
"Joker." She whispered, poking him in the side. "Joker…" She shook him once, frowning as the sound of his soft snoring continued. She sighed, groaning and staring at the ceiling.
"Joker!" She poked his side again, her voice getting louder and whinier each time she called his name. "Joker! Ugh, come on! Get up already!"
His body moved. Futaba gasped, thinking that success had finally come to her.
Instead, he merely rolled from one side to the other, his back now facing Futaba.
"Oh come on!" She exclaimed in agony. This was slowly getting to be too much effort for the girl. "Joker!" She nagged, drawing his name out and kicking her feet against his futon.
"…What, Futaba?" He asked, his voice groggy. He turned back to face her, his dark eyes opening rather slowly. "Wait… what time is it?"
Futaba began giggling, a wide smile creeping across her face as she made herself comfortable next to him. She cuddled against him, her face getting very close to his.
"Hi."
She kissed his cheek and placed herself next to him under the blankets. He sighed, kissing her back.
"All that effort for just a 'hi'? Is that all you really value me at?"
A blush crept against Futaba's face, bright red against her pale complexion. "N-no! I didn't mean it like that!" Her eyes suddenly narrowed through her circular glasses, eyes giving an accusing glare. "How did you know how much effort I put in?"
He laughed, pulling her close to him. "I heard you hit the floor when you got off the stairs."
Her expression turned into a pout. "…It was supposed to be a surprise."
"Now I don't remember saying I wasn't surprised." He placed a lazy kiss on her forehead, watching with a small smile as the blush took over her face again.
"W-Were you really?" Her voice became rather excited, but her eyes narrowed. "You can't lie to me, Joker. I'll know! I can tell."
He sighed, sitting up in bed and stretching his arms out. "I mean, I'm quite surprised. I didn't expect to see you this early."
She cuddled against him, her face suddenly turning serious.
"…I wanted to make sure. I almost lost you for good just a few days ago, and I made a promise to myself that I won't let you go that easily!"
Joker sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You know, that whole thing was controlled. You and I both examined and accounted for any possible way the plan could go awry, and we accounted for it. The world thinks I'm dead, Aketchi's revealed himself and we can plan accordingly now."
"It's more than that!" Futaba suddenly yelled, pushing him down in the bed and placing her head over his heart. One of her hands slowly rose, visibly trembling with nerves and anxiety.
"Futaba…" He began, watching the girl with intent.
"We put your life on the line, Joker. I know the plan was a success, but every second before it did, my heart was in overdrive. Each second took an eternity, and I was so scared I would lose you at any second."
Futaba clung to his arm, closing her eyes as her hand rested over his heart.
"…I don't know what I would've done. Truly, I fear the worst…"
In a second, her whole body calmed down. His hand rested over hers, the familiar warmth and sensation of his skin on hers… In a moment's past, she felt calm and comforted in his embrace.
"…You're so warm." She blushed. "I should do this more often." She looked up at Joker, a calm smile on her face. "I love you, Akira."
He hid a smile. Whenever she called him Akira, he knew that she was serious.
"You weren't the only one, you know." He began. "My heart was racing, too. I thought we were going to lose at any moment. But we didn't, and we're here now. Thank god."
Their eyes met for what seemed like an eternity, but was really only for a few seconds. Futaba connected them by their lips, a kiss connected them. Akira's arms wrapped around her waist and Futaba's rested on his shoulders. They melted together into the kiss, the two locked in a loving bliss.
"J-Joker…" She began, her breath shortening into soft pants. "Sojiro's downstairs… and I don't think I can keep quiet enough. But I want you, Akira. I want you so much…"
"Hey!" Before the two could commit themselves to another kiss, they both looked and saw Mona, sitting causally in a ball on Akira's workbench. "I feel like I should mention that he has school today."
Futaba looked up at him as Akira sighed, placing his head in a hand.
"As much as I would love to skip… he has a point. I'm sorry, Futaba."
"Dammit, Mona!" She cursed, pulling her own hair softly. "You killed the mood! Joker was gonna make me a woman!"
Akira sighed. "You know, we can easily pick this up where we left off." He whispered huskily into her ear, sending several rapid jolts of ecstasy down her spine.
"Y-Yes, Joker…" A wide smile appeared on her face. "I'd like that a lot."
Albeit rather hesitantly, Futaba got off the bed and left Akira's room.
"She has a point, you know." Akira said as he began changing into his school uniform. Morgana sighed as he climbed into Akira's schoolbag.
"The last thing you need is to be late for school- especially because if it was due to the chief's daughter! He would never let you stay here again!"
Akira rolled his eyes, sighing as he pushed his own glasses up.
It would seem in that even after he died, he still couldn't catch a break.