(A/N: Heyas! ShuMako week is starting, and the Day 1 Prompt is "First/Milestones". These will all be one-shots, isolated from my other works, and probably all heavily fluffy. I hope to explore the different aspects of what makes this ship so great throughout the week, and encourage everyone to participate with their own works, or comments!)

Makoto knew Akira was a busy guy, but after their little 'conversation' at the Crossroads, she figured he'd be a little more available to talk. Instead, three days had gone by with nary a word from the boy.

Was he trying to drive her insane?

Three days was a whole lot of time to be left thinking without any knew information.

With Futaba's heart stolen and the poor girl in her coma-like stupor, the threat of Medjed hovering over Japan, and the regular demands of regular teenage life, she figured the young man must have a rather full plate, but would it kill him to just shoot her a text?

Makoto could have reached out to him too, but that was a different issue. Her nerves wouldn't allow it. Whenever she attempted to compose a simple request to meet up, her face grew hot, her heartbeat spiked, her blood tingled at the thought of what they'd do when they did get together. Infatuation was only slightly familiar to the girl, occasionally crushing on the characters in her Yakuza films, but she had never actually been attracted to an actual boy before.

It was a maddening, frustrating, intense sensation that she was wholly unfamiliar with. And she was enjoying it immensely.

The past couple days had her diving through books on love, articles online, Makoto pouring her attention into this strange new topic she found herself enraptured with. The topic had been broached so suddenly, she was completely unprepared for it. Makoto had only been vaguely aware that her admiration and respect for Akira held a different meaning in her heart than normal, his genuine offer to be her 'study partner' left her speechless and inarticulate. She cringed again at the awkwardness she displayed. It was so unlike how she wanted to be. She prayed the two of them could have a serious, mature discussion about their mutual romantic attraction.

Hopefully with minimum blushing from her, though she doubted that.

Makoto closed her eyes and breathed a heavy sigh. She was probably approaching this the wrong way. She HAD been able to chat with Eiko after the girl recovered from the heartbreak and Makoto's 'tough love'. That particular matter had been rather successfully settled. Perhaps Akira would be interested to get some closure on that front? She could discuss her own convictions and plans for her own future with him as well. If she ignored the whole romantic thing, maybe she could steel herself to just offer a normal invitation to meet up like she used to.

Nodding to herself, she composed the text.

Anat.

Johanna's power had been reborn inside her, Makoto's conviction and determination reshaping her persona into something even stronger than before. The change had been stirring inside her for a while, fully realized after her talk with Akira.

It was a good conversation. Easy, natural, comfortable. She was quite proud that she had managed to keep herself composed, the silly flustered girl from the past three days a mere embarrassing memory. She was confident. She could probably breach the subject now…

"S-so… you see… U-um…"

Damn it.

She had been doing so well! But the hesitation was back. She fought with herself as Akira smirked that amazing smirk.

"Do you want to study?" He asked playfully yet tactfully.

Makoto let out a long breath, drawing on her newfound strength of will with her newly awakened persona. She could face this.

"Well… I was thinking… maybe we could study some things we don't have experience in yet… Would that be okay?" She forced herself to ask. She took another deep breath, turning to face Akira with her desires. "I want to be with you."

She was drawn into a sideways hug, her face nuzzling into his chest. Her heart was racing, but she could hear his beating fast too. "You're too cute, Makoto." Akira teased with a disarming chuckle. That alluring confidence always made it so easy to envy and admire, the girl wishing she had even half of what he seemed to so naturally display.

"Please don't tease me… this is… very new to me." She asked in a shamefully small voice.

"Hey… Hey…" Akira comforted, rubbing her arm as he squeezed her tighter. "Look at me. Really look."

Confused, Makoto pulled her face out of his chest and looked into his eyes beneath the lenses. His gaze was so warm and tender, so inviting. His expression so soft, his face…

He was blushing? He was blushing too?

"It's very new for me, too." He declared shamelessly, and Makoto saw the difference. Whereas she always tried to cover her emotions, Akira confronted them head on. That didn't mean he didn't still feel them. Something lifted off Makoto with this realization, the girl able to face her own wants and desires with fresh determination.

"I find that hard to believe. You're so charming…"

He chuckled. "It's true. I've never been kissed either."

The two held the intimate gaze, Makoto unflinching as her pink face matched Akira's.

"Shall we… shall we fix that?" She found herself asking. Her hand was on his chest, the thump of his hard beat against her fingers reassuring her of his reaction to this. It was much more comforting this way. Knowing he was stumbling through this too.

Akira silently reached out and caressed her face, gently coaxing her chin to tilt up which Makoto was happy to allow.

The brief seconds before their lips met were agonizingly exciting.

Makoto's mind was not unfamiliar with being overloaded, the young woman constantly putting her mental capabilities to the test with academics. This, though, was something new entirely.

The texture of Akira's mouth against hers felt heavenly. A bit wet, very warm, quite soft, his fingers gently holding her face as they shared their first kiss with each other. She didn't know where to look, but her eyes naturally closed with this, heightening her other senses with the tender affection. Her breath hitched, and she heard his inhale through his nose too. Her heart beat in her throat and ears, drowning out most other noise. After a few blissful moments, they parted, her mind buzzing madly while strangely calm.

"That was…" She panted, discovering herself short of breath.

"Amazing." Akira agreed, just as heavily.

The two stayed still, staring into each other's eyes, sorting through their shared feelings.

"I want more." Makoto declared, the truth spilling out before she could contain it. She took the chuckle from Akira as a challenge to own up to it. "We still have some time before night falls…"

She couldn't recall a time she had ever felt lighter.

Leaving Yongen-Jaya station after Akira walked her there had the girl on cloud nine, savoring the pure giddy euphoria of her first romance. She couldn't stop smiling. Despite the nightfall, everything seemed so bright. Every time she tried to compose herself, a fleeting image of Akira passed through her mind which brought her back up.

It wasn't a bad thing per se, but she could easily see how such intense sensations could change a person. She was just so grateful to have a study partner she trusted so much to explore this with her.

She was greatly looking forward to their next lesson.

(A/N: Given Akira's silent protagonist status, most of his reactions are kept restrained to allow audience surrogating. This of course would lead to a more laid back, carefree attitude with everything, even things that would have intense reactions such as romance. Makoto has often been shown to get flustered with such things, and the dynamic between cocky/confident and demure/bashful creates an amazing chemistry to work with. Having Makoto overcome her nervousness and having Akira show a softer side of his otherwise laissez faire attitude makes for an amazingly fun scene to write. Happy ShuMako week everyone! Hope we're off to a great start!)