A whole month mouth without an update, wow, it's been a while since that happened...
When Ann managed to successfully convince the group that they should camp in the mountains, get away, and enjoy themselves for a bit, she wondered if she might be able to maneuver herself into being able to sleep next to Ren.
She has no idea that he hasn't even given her, a second thought.
No, Ren is making sure he has everything and Makoto have everything they'll need, for their camping trip,
Yes, him and Makoto
Makoto - I can't find a sleeping bag anywhere, do any of you have a spare?
Ren - I've tried everywhere but I can't find any either
Yusuke - It appears to be peak camping season I'm afraid
Futaba - Nowhere, huh?
Ryuji - Aw man, this sucks, we don't wanna leave you guys behind
Ren - I'll ask Sojiro if he has a spare
Finally, Ren asks his father-figure, and Sojiro eyes furrow
"I think I have something you and Niijima-san can use!" Sojiro says, and Ren smiles in relief.
"Great, it's the last thing we need for our trip." Ren says, and Sojiro disappears from LeBlanc.
When he comes back, Ren only sees one sleeping bag.
"It's a bit old but it'll do the trick" Sojiro tells him
"We need another one." Ren told him, but Sojiro just smiles.
"This one comfortably fits two people" Sojiro tells him, and Ren turns bright red. "I've had some good times in this bad boy in my youth, hoo boy"
"I can't sleep in this with Makoto!" Ren argued back at the top of his lungs, and Sojiro snorts.
"Why not? It's not as if it hasn't been washed. If you're going to be like that, then you shouldn't eat at the counter either." Sojiro tells him with a smirk.
Futaba overhears him and nearly gags, while Ren's mouth drops open
"The counter?!" Futaba gasps in horror.
"That's not why! What makes you think Makoto would be okay with this?! She'd kick me out of that, and I'd shiver all night long!" Ren argues with Sojiro loudly enough that they don't realize that Makoto has entered LeBlanc and has quickly grasped the situation.
"Ren! I would never do such a thing to you! If there's only one, then I will happily share with you!" Makoto says, causing Ren to collapse to the floor while Sojiro laughs triumphantly.
"See! Niijima-san will share!" Sojiro proclaims happily.
Does she even know what we're talking about?!
"We've been walking for hours…don't you think we should find a place to camp?" Ryuji asks, and Ann looks towards the mountain. She had been hoping to make it to the slope before they stopped.
"Yeah, remember we have to walk this far back in two days, too." Ren says, and Makoto rolls her eyes.
"My legs aren't even tired." She says, and Ren grins.
That's my Makoto…wait did I just think she's mine? Why in the hell would I think that?! Then again…we will be sharing a sleeping bag later…
"Come on, I want to go a bit further." Ann pushes, and the guys relent. If Makoto and Ann aren't tired, none of them are going to admit to being ready to stop.
"Why did you bring so much stuff?" Ren asks, as he stares at the tent, sleeping bag, and clothes bag that Haru has strapped to her back.
"Because I don't like the idea of snakes or other creatures slithering over me as I sleep." Haru responds.
Ann shivers in disgust. She hadn't thought of that. She doesn't want anything slithering over her either.
"So tell me more about camping. We're looking for a spot to stop, but what will we do once that happens?" Futaba asks, and Yusuke lets out a soft laugh
"Well, we're going to live in the wild for a couple of nights." He says, and Futaba simply nods her head.
"So once we get there, we're just going to start living?" Futaba asks, trying to understand, and Ren laughs.
"I guess you could put it that way, but don't explain it that way. It sounds weird." Ren tells her, and Makoto raises an eyebrow before a sudden realization comes over her.
"Oh no! I didn't bring any pajamas!" Makoto exclaims suddenly, as she looks down at her tee-shirt and cargo pants. "Damn it!"
"It's cool, I brought a few pairs, you can borrow mine." Ren mutters to her. Makoto immediately gives him a look of relief
He doesn't intend to tell her now, that his pajamas consist of shorts, and a thin top since it's the summer. That's what makes it twice as embarrassing that they're sharing a damned sleeping bag. Makoto begins to pick up her pace and soon she's ahead of him
"And why do you only have one sleeping bag?" Ryuji asks Ren, getting a blush from the Phantom Thief
"It's all we had, and Makoto agreed to share." Ren mutters, even though Makoto is not in earshot.
"Are you serious?" Ryuji asks, and Ren blushes harder.
"Yeah, I was shocked too. I'm not even sure she knows that that means." Ren tells him in a low voice, and Haru who hears the whole thing, looks like she's just been shot in the heart.
Ren-kun and Mako-chan are sleeping together?!
It's dark outside, and the guys are trying to build a fire in the old fashioned way. Makoto's sitting against a tree, watching them try very hard, but if they're not having a whole lot of success.
Ren starts to get very frustrated, and Makoto just ignores him. She dozes against the tree, waiting for them to get the fire started.
Once the fire is roaring, Ren looks to the tree at Makoto who is sleeping. He wakes her up, and she looks down at the fire, before smiling.
"You finally got it going." Makoto says, and Ren nods his head.
"It took awhile, we should have just accepted your help." Ren tells her.
"Did Ryuji bring a house with him?" Makoto asks, as she stares down at his tent.
"Looks like it. Though I wouldn't expect anything less of him." Ren's says, as he shakes his head.
"I suppose. What do we do now?" Makoto asks curiously, and Ren gives her a look.
"Want to go for a walk?" He asks her, and she nods her head.
"Sure." Makoto says, and they both hop up. Ren collects a flashlight out of his bag. When Ann sees him grab it, she steps forward.
"What are you doing?" She asks with a smile, and he glances at her.
"I was about to go on a walk with Makoto." Ren says, and Ann gulps, before suddenly Haru tries to push her way in on that.
"Why don't we join you?" She asks, and Ryuji shakes his head.
"We have to keep an eye on the fire. I can always stay here, if you want to go." Ryuji says, and Yusuke nods.
"I also don't feel comfortable leaving the fire unattended." Yusuke says, and Ann and Haru looks back and forth. They don't want Ren and Makoto going off alone together, but they also doesn't want to be a third wheel.
"Just stay here." Ren says, before he nods his head at Makoto, to follow him.
Ren and Makoto walk off alone together, with Ann and Haru staring after them wistfully.
Ren and Makoto stay on their walk for so long, that Ann accepts Ryuji's offer to share his tent, and Yusuke and Futaba falls asleep by the fire.
Ren and Makoto are lost. It's so dark, and they've gotten themselves turned around.
"We can just use the Metaverse can't we?" Ren asks.
"I don't know." Makoto says, as they've made their way to the mountain slope where Ann originally wanted to stop to camp.
"I would say we can stay here, but we don't even have the sleeping bag, and I don't want to sleep in these clothes." Ren mutters, and Makoto grins at him.
"Give me a minute. I'll climb that tree, it should be high enough to see the fire, and we'll head back." Makoto says, and Ren shakes his head.
"Let me do it." He says, and Makoto nods her head.
"Be my guest." She tells him as Ren begins to clamber up. He quickly spots the camp, and goes back to the ground.
"We have to go that way, until we run into them." Ren says confidently, and Makoto grins.
"Come on." She says, and they hurry to make their way back to camp. It takes awhile, since they don't want to trip over branches or anything, but finally they spot the glow of the campfire.
Ren immediately pulls out their night clothes, and he throws his's pajamas at her. She catches them, and then looks up at him.
"There." He says, and Makoto looks at Yusuke and Futaba on the ground.
"Where are we supposed to change?" She asks, and he blushes.
"Out in the woods, it's like this." He mutters, before he pulls off his shirt, and turns so that his back is to her.
Makoto's mouth drops open, as he undresses down to his underwear, and throws on his sweatpants. A tee shirt is next, and then he stays put.
"You just changed in front of me." Makoto says in a low voice, and he blushes.
"Where else was I supposed to do that?" He asks, and Makoto frowns.
Would he have done that if Ann or Haru were out? Where is she anyways? In Ryuji's tent? Did she change in front of the guys?
"So what would I do if the others were awake?" Makoto asks, and Ren glances at her.
"I guess you could hide behind a tree or something." He says, and Makoto nods, before she walks over to a tree, to do just that.
While she's changing, Ren unrolls the ridiculously huge sleeping bag, and he wonders what she'll have to say, when she realizes just what their proximity will be.
She comes out from behind the tree, with her clothes folded in her arms. She's still trying to figure out why people would want to do this, rather than to stay in their cozy homes.
"Now what?" Makoto whispers loudly, and Ren blushes.
"Now we go to sleep." He says, before he gets inside the sleeping bag.
Makoto just stares at him.
"Where?" She asks him, and he rolls his eyes at her.
"Get in." He says, motioning the bag. She drops her clothes and turns bright red.
"What?" Makoto asks, in a near squeak.
"I'm too tired to argue. Get in." He tells her, and Makoto gawks at him.
"But wouldn't I be imposing on you?" Makoto asks, and he scoffs.
"You were the one who offered to share it with me, when Sojiro lent it to us." He reminds her, and Makoto looks like someone just gave her the shock of her life.
"You don't mind?" Makoto asks in a low voice, as she stares at the sleeping bag.
"It's fine." He tells her in a tight voice.
She picks up her clothes, and slowly walks over to him, before she gets into the bag with him. She lays on her back, completely rigid, staring up.
At first, she doesn't realize what a beautiful portrait that mother nature has put in front of her eyes. Ren turns on his back, and stares up, then he hears her sigh in awe.
"Wow, look at all of those stars." Makoto says softly, and Ren nods.
"Some people just love to sleep under the stars." He tells her, and Makoto smiles.
"It's beautiful." She agrees, and they're quiet as they stare up together.
After a long moment of silence, they see a shooting star, and Makoto points it out.
"Look at that!" She says excitedly.
"A shooting star. When you see one, you're supposed to make a wish." He tells her softly, and Makoto blushes.
I wish Ren would hold me in his arms as we sleep tonight.
"Okay. I made a wish." Makoto whispers, and Ren nods.
"Don't tell anyone, or else it won't come true." He tells her, and Makoto nods. Not like she'd tell anyways.
"Ren…we're a bit too close to the fire, would you mind dragging us back a bit?" Makoto asks, and Ren doesn't say a word.
He simply gets out of the sleeping bag, and drags her back a few meters. He gets back into the sleeping bag, and within minutes, she's snoring. He is now cold though. She doesn't seem affected by it, even when he starts to shiver a bit.
Ren is about ready to get out of the sleeping bag, and pull them closer to the fire again, when Makoto suddenly turns and throws her leg over him. Her body is pressed up against his now, and the shivers quickly die down. How such a tiny girl can provide him with such an immense amount of body heat is a mystery to him, but he puts his arm around her, and pulls her closer.
The next day and night, Makoto is in a particularly happy mood, even though she doesn't tell anyone why. They had also been the last ones to wake up, so they didn't see the heartbroken expression on Ann or Haru's face, when she saw them cuddled in each other's arms as they slept. Yusuke, Ann, and Ryuji were all hunting for fruit when Ren and Makoto finally woke up.
The day was spent hiking. Ren shared a couple of candy bars with Makoto, that he'd brought along, which she had stared at with an expression of true happiness.
When the sun started to set, the guys started to gather sticks and large pieces of wood for the fire, while Ann changed in Ryuji's tent. Makoto sat against a tree, and dozed off.
She only half woke up, when Ren lifted her into his arms
"You have to get changed." Ren is urging her, but she's not really with it.
"Help me." Makoto mutters, and Ren blushes.
"You can change by yourself." He tells her, and he sets her on her feet, only to have her start to topple over. He catches her before she hits the ground.
He stares in amazement at her.
She's still sleeping!
He gives in, and helps her change, an activity he's sure he'll never forget, because of how it affected his body. He goes to sleep feeling a bit of pleasure and pain, at the same time.
When Makoto wakes up in the morning, she's even happier than she was the night before, and doesn't even question how she got into her pajamas.
So you really can wish on a star, and have it come true! I think I loved this camping trip!