"Oh, MC!" Monika called out as she began to walk down the stairs. "How do I look?"

MC rose from the couch and turned to find Monika dressed in a beautiful green tank top and black short shorts. Her trademark bow was conspicuously absent. Instead, her curly brown locks draped freely behind her shoulders. Her toes, painted the color of her eyes, wiggled freely in a pair of sandals. In terms of makeup, she only wore a little red lipstick that seemed to accentuate her smile all the more. She was the epitome of a summer beauty, and MC felt his heart skip a beat at the mere sight of her.

"You made yourself pretty, alright," MC commented, flashing her a smile of approval.

Monika blushed as she walked over to him. "I did it all for you," she reminded. "So, what are we going to do today?"

MC shrugged. "I thought we could do a few different things today. We could have breakfast together, or maybe visit the park later today, or just do whatever sounds good to you.

Monika thought about it for a moment. "How about we visit the park, first? We can watch the sunrise, breathe in the fresh morning air, and spend a wonderful morning together in a little slice of nature. After that, we could get breakfast at that coffee shop downtown. Sayori tells me they have great bagels. Then, we could-"

The way Monika's eyes lit up as she fantasized about how to spend the day was enough to make MC smile. She's so cute when she's happy.

Wait. Did I just think she was cute?

Well, she is. You can't deny it, me.

I guess I never really thought about it, before.

You're dense.

That also means you're dense.

I know. You should really stop arguing with yourself, by the way. Even if it's just in your head, it's weird.

"MC? Earth to MC, are you there?"

MC shook his head, snapping back to reality. "Oh, yeah! The park idea sounds great. I don't know if we can make it before sunrise, though."

Monika wagged a finger. "You forget that I can bend the world to my will," she reminded with a wink. "I'll just teleport us there. That will give us plenty of time."

With those words, Monika brought up the mod menu and typed in the coordinates to the park. In the blink of an eye, the two of them were soon standing on the sidewalk at the entrance. The sky above them was already considerably brighter than it had been when Monika woke up, though the last of the morning stars still twinkled against the backdrop of an orange predawn. In regards to people, the park was essentially empty. Monika imagined that the generic inhabitants of the world were either still fast asleep or too busy with other things to enjoy their day. Not that she was complaining, for it meant that the whole park was open for the two of them to be alone together. The sun would be rising soon, and Monika glanced around for some place where they could watch together.

"Look, MC!" Monika exclaimed as she pointed to a hill a little way's off to the west. "We can watch the sunrise from over there! Please?" Monika begged.

MC smiled. "That's a great idea, Monika," he declared. "Let's go!"

With those words, he took her by the hand and walked with her up the hill. It was a slow walk from Monika's perspective, as she was blatantly aware of the fact that MC was voluntarily holding hands with her. It was almost like they were a real couple, though she knew that was still not the case. Still, it brightened her day considerably. If only he would just wrap her in his arms and kiss her gently on the cheek, then it would be a day unlike any other.

They soon arrived at the top of the small hill, and Monika brought up her mod menu to drop a little blanket for them to sit on together. They took a seat just in time to see the first rays of the sun peak out over the horizon. The final throes of night faded from the city around them as skyscrapers, trees, streets, and grassy fields were showered in the rays of a golden dawn. It served as a reminder to the both of them that their world, however "fake" it might be, was no less beautiful than other realities.

Monika sighed deeply. She turned to MC, offered him a smile, and then turned back to gaze at the serene world around her. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it? I didn't even have to tamper with the weather; it just worked out like this. I love it when things just happen to go the way we need them to. It's like destiny is pulling us together, don't you think?"

Unbeknownst to her, however, MC's attention was not on her words, but the way she carried herself as she spoke them. As if he was gazing upon her for the first time, MC became explicitly aware of how beautiful Monika looked in the morning glow. Her hair floated about gracefully in the gentle breeze, the dawning sunlight illuminated her happy face, and her laughter was like the melody of songbirds. He could not decide, however, if it was her eyes or her loving smile that was her best feature. Surely, her eyes were captivating, bright, and colorful, and her smile was definitely warm and welcoming, but both were far too precious for MC to be able to choose. She was like an angel, an angel that he had spent far too long taking for granted. Every day that she was with him, however, was truly a precious day.

He loved her. There was no denying it anymore, and he wouldn't make her wait any longer.

"MC? Is there somethin-"

Monika gasped in surprise as his mouth met hers. For about two seconds, her brain was thrown into a state of absolute confusion. She tried to say something, to interject some astonished word, but all that came out was a muffled moan. That's when it hit her:

She was being kissed. She was being kissed by MC! On the lips! Without provocation! Oh, happy days!

Her heart jumped with so much joy that it nearly leapt into her throat. She sank back, only to be caught in MC's tight embrace. Tears began to roll down her face, though she had never been further from sadness in all of her life. For the first time in her brief existence, Monika didn't feel at all like she was alone. She felt safe, adored, cherished, and wanted. She wished with all heart that the moment would last forever, but alas, MC's lips eventually parted from hers.

MC noticed Monika's astonished face, intense blush, and tear-stained cheeks. Her mouth was agape, and for a moment, he wondered if he did something wrong.

"Monika, I'm sorry. I just-"

Monika pounced on him, kissing his face all over with playful pecks. He could feel her lipstick smudging up against his face with every kiss, but he didn't care. In fact, he laughed with joy. This was different from the forced love he had to endure back when the game was running its course, for he had only been an avatar for a different person at that time. This love, however, was his and only his.

When that realization crossed his mind, he vowed that he would never, ever let it go.

Monika eventually sat up, her cheeks burning with intense passion as the tears fell once more. She grinned from ear-to-ear.

"It took you long enough," she teased lovingly. Then, she lowered herself onto him until they were embracing tightly on the dew-stained grass. "I think I'll need a lot of kisses to make up for lost time."

MC placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He could faintly smell the traces of her strawberry shampoo as he did so, and he laughed with her. "Then how about we start right now?"

Monika answered with another deep kiss. Neither of them would make it to the literature club meeting that day, for the happiness they found in that one special morning could not be justifiably quantified through a simple poem. Also, the club would still be there tomorrow, but days like this only came once in a lifetime.

In a technical sense, you could count this as the end of the story. The main "conflict" has been resolved, Monika and MC are finally together, and all seems right with the world. If this is where you want off the ride, then it's a good place as any.

However, this is not going to be my last chapter for the story, and I am not counting this as the end, myself. I believe firmly that Monika, at least in the way I've written her so far, wouldn't stop her daily shenanigans just because she won MC's love. Indeed, if you won the love of your life right now, wouldn't you still want to go the distance to let them know how special they are to you?

Expect more fluff and even a little more conflict in the future. Though Monika's love for MC is true, she is still immature in how love works. They will learn and grow together, along with their friends in the literature club. Thank you to everybody that has left a review, guest or user. I couldn't have taken myself this far without the comfort that people are enjoying this.

~UglyTurnip