A/N: The events of this fic occur between Chapter 9 and 10 of From Ashes to Diamonds.

July 12th

Ryuji slurped up the last of his noodles. "God DAMN! Great stuff as always, Ai-chan!"

The elderly chef at Ogikubo, a ramen shop that Ryuji frequented, looked at her customer fondly. "Oh, you're just saying that to be polite in front of your girlfriend."

Said girlfriend, one Makoto Nijima, blushed at being publicly called Ryuji's girlfriend. It wasn't that she was embarrassed, far from it, but it just sent butterflies in her stomach every time.

She said, "I'm sure he's completely genuine, ma'am. He really does love your ramen."

Ai-chan pointed a ladle at her. "And what did I say about calling me 'ma'am'? Any friend of Ryuji's calls me 'Ai-chan', and that goes double for you."

"Y-Yes, m—I mean, yes, Ai-chan."

"She's right, anyway," Ryuji told Ai-chan. "No one beats your ramen, Ai-chan!"

"Oh, you flatterer," Ai-chan said, waving him away. "Finish up and hurry on your way home, it's getting dark out. I'm sure your mother is worried sick."

Makoto suppressed a giggle as Ryuji's face blanched. He checked his phone, then sighed. "Nah, it's fine, Ai-chan. Ma knows I'm with 'Koto, and she trusts her to keep me safe!"

"I take our safety very seriously," Makoto proclaimed a little bit more quietly than Ryuji, but no les resolutely.

Their date at the ramen shop wound down as Makoto finished the last of her ramen (Ryuji had long since inhaled his), and they bid their goodbyes and made their way to the train.

Makoto wrapped her arm around Ryuji's and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Any more plans for tonight?"

"Well, I think I got one, my Queen," he said, flashing her a shark-toothed grin.

Her cheeks reddened, but a small smile crossed her face. "Lead the way, my Skull."

The chime of Leblanc dinged as Ryuji entered. "Yo, Boss! How's business today?"

Sojiro looked up from his newspaper. "It was quiet until you showed up." He perked up when he saw Makoto following the blond loudmouth. "Ah, Niijima-san. Keeping him on a tight leash, I hope."

Now there's an idea, she thought to herself. She chose to say aloud, "Don't worry, Boss, I'm making sure Ryuji isn't causing too many problems."

"Eh, you like my problems," Ryuji said, throwing an arm around her. He looked around the café. "Hey, Boss, is it cool if we hang here for a little bit after close?"

Sojiro looked back towards his paper and turned the page. "Just keep it up in Akira's room. I don't need people thinking I let homeless people stay here after I close up."

Makoto blushed, but Ryuji recovered quickly. "No problem, Boss! Think you could whip us up something before you head out?"

"Needy brats," Sojiro muttered as he set out to do just that.

Once their drinks had been dished out, he left them his key. "Just leave it in my mailbox."

It was a routine at this point.

A few weeks ago, they had asked if they could use Akira's room for their first time. Sae would probably murder Ryuji if she ever caught him in bed with her sister, and Ryuji's mom would most likely have a heart attack. They were both nervous wrecks asking him something like that, but Sojiro was surprisingly accommodating. He told them he knew what that they were going through and that as long as they cleaned up after themselves, they were welcome to use the room upstairs.

He even took the time to make them drinks before he left.

"Have you ever thought about making spare keys?" Makoto wondered, grabbing the key and putting it in her pocket.

"And let random children take over my café every night?" Sojiro asked as if that wasn't what he was doing at this very moment. "Don't forget to lock up when you leave, okay?"

"Of course."

"Night, Boss!"

With that, Sojiro headed home for the night.

The couple sat at the bar, quietly sipping on their drinks. It was nice and quiet, leaving them time to just think about their relationship.

Makoto gently set down her cup and turned to Ryuji. Ryuji looked over to Makoto.

They practically lunged for each other, their lips meets and hands exploring each other's bodies. Makoto eagerly let Ryuji's tongue into her mouth, sucking on it a little. He groaned at the suction.

He picked her up, letting her wrap her legs around him. He made sure to grab her butt to give him the best grip on her as possible. That's why he did it, honest.

The make out session continued as Ryuji carefully carried his girlfriend up the stairs and into the attic. He fell forward onto the bed, which made Makoto giggle in glee. "I think I like it when you're a little rough," she whispered in his ear, bringing a growl from his throat.

"I'll be as rough as my Queen demands," he said, gripping the front of her blouse.

He pulled it open, a few buttons popping off. Based on Makoto's supremely pleased squeal, she didn't seem to mind. He smiled, bringing his lips down between her breasts, placing soft kisses down towards her skirt.

She moaned, running her hands along his hair, her tits, the sheets, anything. She felt her skirt pulled down along with her panties. She didn't know why, but it excited her that she still had her ripped open blouse on.

Ryuji was about to explore more of her personal areas, but she gripped his hair and pulled his lips up to hers. He hastily began to unbuckle his belt until his eyes went wide.

"Shit, hold on," he said between kisses, digging into his pockets. He struggled for a second before pulling a condom out. He held it up in the air and exclaimed, "A-ha! Can't forget this."

"Mmm, good boy," Makoto said, giving his face a few pats. God, she couldn't wait until they didn't need to worry about the damn condom, but she did appreciate the forward-thinking on Ryuji's part.

As Ryuji took off his pants and planted more kisses along her collar bone and neck, she couldn't help but think that there wasn't anything that could ruin this.

Tae stretched her shoulders in her chair. It had been a long day. A lot of people in Yongen-Jaya seemed to be experiencing allergies, so she'd been kept busy throughout most of the day. Hell, the past few weeks were busy. She hadn't even had time to stop by Leblanc to get some midday-pick-me-up-coffee.

So, she felt a little grumpier than usual.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the work, far from it. She loved hearing about her patient's day, or the day before, since they typically weren't having the best day when they came in, but her day was always brightened by the genuine gratitude towards her regulars.

But damn, was she exhausted. She checked the time.

It had been a bit since she unwound in Akira's room, what with how busy things got. The past few weeks were straight to her apartment and into her bed.

Tonight, though, she figured she would hop over and maybe play the old game system he left behind. She'd developed a taste for games, apparently. She blamed her boyfriend entirely for that.

She began locking down the store, throwing her lab coat onto the coat hanger, and then headed out for the night.

The streets of Yongen-Jaya were quiet at night, only some stragglers left on the street still talking amongst themselves. This was easily her favorite time of the day, not having to deal with any crowds, as small as they may be in this part of the city.

She walked down the street and rounded the corner and noticed that Leblanc was closed. It must have been a slow night for Boss, Tae mused to herself, digging the key out of her bag. Hopefully he had saved some curry in the fridge.

Sojiro had given it to Tae as a show of faith before Akira had left for his hometown, and she'd been deeply touched by the gesture. "You basically live here as it is," he had said. "This will make it easier for you to skedaddle before I have to open."

She unlocked the door and began to head directly up the stairs. If she wasn't so exhausted and running on autopilot, she might have taken the time to realize that noises were coming from upstairs.

Noises like a bed shaking, floorboards creaking, a woman giggling, a man huffing and panting. It wasn't until she had fully gotten into the attic and a good look at the very much occupied bed did she freeze in place.

On Akira's bed, a new one put in by Sojiro a month back, were two of his friends. Two very naked friends.

She recognized them both as Ryuji Sakamoto and Makoto Niijima, currently having sex. In the attic of Leblanc. Where Akira and her had had sex before. Many times.

Tae could count on one hand the number of times her brain had short circuited before this moment, and this was added to the list.

"Oh, God! Yes! Ryuji! Harder!"

"Yes! My! Queen!"

"Yesyesyesyesye—OH MY GOD!"

Makoto's head had rolled to the side and finally noticed the stunned Tae standing there. She pushed the very much confused Ryuji off of her and scrambled to cover herself.

He looked to see what the commotion was about and let out a high-pitched scream and went to join Makoto in covering himself.

"The fuck?!"

"T-Takemi?! What are you doing here?!"

"How'd you even get in here?!"

Their reaction and questions knocked Tae out of her shell-shocked state. She held up a hand and shouted, "Enough!"

The two young lovers were silenced by that one word.

Tae took a few deep breaths before saying, "You two have questions. I have questions. Get dressed and we can discuss this downstairs while I have dinner. Deal?"

Ryuji and Makoto nodded sheepishly, still covering themselves.

"Good. I'll be ready when you are."

Ten minutes later, Tae had taken out some curry and heated it up. She occupied one of the booths and gestured for a freshly dressed and incredibly embarrassed Makoto and Ryuji to sit across from her.

She took a bite of her curry and shook her head. "It's not as good when you have to reheat it." That didn't stop her from taking another bite.

"Um, Takemi-san?" Makoto raised a hand. "I really don't think now is the time to be talking about curry."

Tae considered that, and then nodded, still chewing. "Fair." She swallowed the curry. "So, based on that scene upstairs, I'm assuming you two are an item?"

Makoto's face darkened to a shade not unlike her eyes, while Ryuji scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, kinda, yeah. We haven't exactly gone, y'know, public or anything, but…"

Tae hummed thoughtfully. "Is there a reason you two were doing… that in Leblanc?"

"Hey, I don't think it's very fair that we don't get to ask any questions," Ryuji spoke up, leaning forward. He tried to give his best thuggish scowl but backed down when Tae turned a withering look to him. "Y'know, just putting that—putting that out there."

Tae let the silence hang in the air for a moment before shrugging. "Good point. Here's how this is going to work; I ask a question, then you ask a question. I've asked mine, so now it's your turn."

"What were you even doing in Akira's room this late?" Makoto asked.

"I went up to play video games."

Makoto blinked. "That doesn't—"

"Nope, that was your question, now answer mine. Why were you having sex in Leblanc?"

Makoto opened her mouth to say something but closed it and rubbed her arm. Ryuji placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well, we can't really do it at her place, what with her sister being there, and I'd rather not have my mom walk in on that kinda stuff, so…"

Tae cradled her chin before nodding. "That would be pretty awkward…"

"Why are you so calm about this?" Ryuji asked, bewildered.

"When you've been in the medical business, it takes a lot to surprise you," Tae said casually. "Besides, neither of you have anything I haven't seen before. Now, for my question—"

"Hey, that question didn't count!" Ryuji complained.

"It's a question, so it counts."

Makoto threw a glare Ryuji's direction, who could only groan and fall back into his chair in response.

Tae ate some more of her curry. "Alright. Does Boss know about your little escapades? Or Akira for that matter? I can't imagine he'd be thrilled about you doing it in his bed."

"'Akira'?" Makoto said, raising a brow.

Crap, Tae mentally chided herself, but she kept an even expression.

Thankfully, Makoto shook her head and waved the slip-up off. "Sakura-san is well aware of our arrangement. So long as we keep it clean and do laundry, it's fine. As for Akira… some things it's best to keep secret."

She leaned forward. "Now, Takemi-san, why did Sakura-san give you a key?"

"After Kurusu-san was tortured half to death, he decided it would be easier if the medical doctor can come and tend to his Phantom Thief wounds after he closed up for the night."

Makoto clicked her tongue and shook her head. It wasn't as if that was entirely inaccurate, Tae told herself, Sojiro really was concerned about Akira's health. If they inferred that she was given the key then and there, who was she to argue?

"Then why do you still have it?" Makoto asked, growing frustrated.

"When were you planning on telling people about your relationship?"

"When we're good and ready. Why do you still have the key?"

"Boss forgot to ask for it back. Who all knows about you two?"

"Sojiro, clearly, and Futaba probably already knows. Why were you going to Akira's room specifically? Surely you could purchase your own system."

"Kurusu-san said it was fine if I played it. Now, for my next question—"

"Oh, to hell with this crap!" Ryuji suddenly shouted. He stood up and slammed both of his hands down on the table, startling both Tae and Makoto. "Are you dating Akira or not?!"

"What?!" Makoto exclaimed while Tae's eyes went wide and her face turned a deep red.

When Makoto looked back and saw Tae's face, her jaw nearly dropped. "Oh my God, you are dating Akira, aren't you?"

Tae felt her left eye twitch. Shit, this was bad. When did Ryuji find out? How did Ryuji find out? Was he jumping the gun? Granted, there weren't a whole lot of ways this situation could be interpreted.

"D-Don't be ridiculous," Tae said uneasily, but regained her composure soon enough. "What could possibly have made you think that?"

"We saw you and Akira at the park," Ryuji said. His eyes shifted. "Uh, sorry about that, by the way, was really cute."

"We?!" Tae nearly shrieked. Nearly, she told herself.

"How long have you known about this?!" Makoto asked, utterly baffled.

Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, since March?"

Without warning, he was grabbed by the front of his shirt and pulled down to come eye-to-eye with Tae. For such a short woman, she was very imposing. "Who. Else. Knows."

"M-Me and Ann, that's it!" His eyes flashed towards the still stunned Makoto. "And, uh, so does Makoto now, I guess. I mean, I don't know if the others know or not, but I wasn't the one to tell 'em!"

"Why didn't you tell us?!" Makoto demanded.

Ryuji held up his hands. "Hey, it wasn't my place to say anything!"

"But it was your place to spy on me and my boyfriend?!" Tae growled.

"It was Ann's idea!" Ryuji did his level best to defend himself, but when two very angry women were bearing down on you, the effort was in vain.

"And believe me, I'm going to have a long conversation with her about privacy." Tae let Ryuji's shirt go, and he dropped back into his seat away from the piercing glare of both his girlfriend and the doctor.

Makoto took a few deep breaths. "So. You're dating Akira?"

Well. Shit, she thought. Tae clicked her tongue. "Yes."

"How long?"

Tae looked over to her. If she were a lesser woman, she would have shrunken in on herself. Makoto knew how to glare with the best of them, helped along wonderfully by those crimson eyes of hers.

Tae was not a lesser woman, however. She stood her ground.

"Since early October of last year," she answered coolly.

"You pursued a minor," Makoto said evenly.

Tae grimaced. She knew where this was going. She wasn't surprised at the connection drawn between her and that asshole gym teacher, but it didn't make it feel any better.

"Actually, I didn't do the pursuing. That was all Akira. He had been helping me with testing a new medicine in exchange for providing you all with supplies. After I perfected the medicine and got my reputation cleared, I figured that would be the end of it."

"So, what happened?" Ryuji asked.

Tae smiled. "He told me he loved me."

Ryuji and Makoto both blinked. "Just like that?" she asked.

"Just like that. I didn't believe him at first. But you know how stubborn he is, so he didn't let it go. I told him to give me some time."

"Time for what?" Ryuji asked.

"To figure out a way to turn him down with hurting him," Tae replied. "I know our relationship isn't… It's not normal. Some would even say it's wrong, so I couldn't not take that into account. But the more I thought about the words he said, and the way I felt about him, I realized I just… I couldn't say no."

Makoto still looked doubtful, however. "Did you think about waiting a year? That would have eased a lot of our concerns."

"We could've," Tae admitted. "And that's a valid point. But the way I saw it, he was turning eighteen in a little more than half a year. What difference did a few more months make?"

"Going to prison," Ryuji replied casually, leaning back.

Makoto nodded. "Ryuji's right. A prison sentence would be assured if you both were caught."

"Again, a valid point. We were willing to take the risk, though." Tae smiled at the memory of their first night together. She looked between the two. "So, now what?"

"Huh?" Ryuji blinked.

"Well, you both know the whole story." Tae glanced at Ryuji. "You haven't told anyone yet, so I think the secret's safe with you."

Ryuji felt himself sweat and looked away.

Then she turned to Makoto. "But what about you? You don't look entirely convinced."

Makoto didn't waver under Tae's gaze. "I don't know. I would like to say I'm fine with it, as I can see you clearly care for him, but… I just don't know. I need to get Akira's side of the story first."

Tae chuckled. "Then you'll have to tell him how exactly you found out."

Makoto's eyes widened and she blushed heavily. "I… will figure that out when the time comes." She coughed and fought to bring her blush down. Her face hardened as her crimson eyes bored into Tae's soul. "Rest assured, however, if I find out you are taking advantage of Akira in any way, I will do everything in my power to destroy you."

Ryuji didn't add anything to Makoto's statement, but he clenched his hand into a fist, cracking a few knuckles.

That was a hell of a way to protect your friend.

A grin crossed Tae's face. "I can see why Akira likes you guys so much. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell him about what I saw. That's a can of worms I don't want to go anywhere near. I'll leave that to you two."

She picked her empty plate up and brought it over to the sink. She grabbed a sponge and started to wash it. "Listen, I have no problem if you guys want to use Akira's room. I get wanting to stay away from prying eyes. Just let me know, alright? So we can avoid this situation?"

Makoto and Ryuji each exchanged embarrassed glances before they both nodded to her.

"Of course."

"No prob, Doc."

Tae smiled at them. "Good." She checked her watch. "Well, I can imagine you two have things you need to discuss. I'll leave you to it."

As she began to walk out of the café, she stopped and pointed to Ryuji. "You. Blondie."

"Y-Yeah?"

"Send that Takamaki girl my way. I need to have a long talk with both of you."

Ryuji shrunk in on himself. "Yes, ma'am."

With that, Tae left the couple behind.

Ryuji let out a breath. "Holy shit, that was tense."

"You certainly didn't help matters," Makoto said. "Honestly, what were you thinking, just shouting that out?"

"Well, she was being all evasive and shit, so I did what I do best and thought on the fly!" Ryuji shrugged. "I mean, it worked, didn't it?"

"Sure, but I was trying to be a little more subtle than that."

"Babe, I love ya, but we both know subtlety ain't exactly your strongest feature."

Makoto pouted. She crossed her arms and stuck her chin in the air. "Hmph. I can be subtle."

Laughing, Ryuji leaned back and threw his arm around Makoto's shoulder. He was eternally grateful that she still leaned into the embrace. "I trust her," he said.

Makoto grunted. "That's because you're happy Akira got a hot girlfriend."

"Nah, that ain't it! I mean, that's mostly not it." Ryuji shook his head. "You didn't see them. I ain't an expert in love and shit, but what I saw? That shit looked real to me. 'Sides, it weren't just me who didn't tell you guys."

Makoto raised her eyebrows. That was true. Ann remained completely silent on the matter, which spoke volumes.

"Ann saw the whole thing, and you know her experience with this kind of shit. If she was fine with what she saw, I think Akira's safe."

Makoto sighed. "I suppose you're right. I still want to talk to Akira about this, though."

"That's fine. Just, maybe when he gets back? Y'know, face to face? Don't want to ambush him with this kinda thing when he's not even here."

A comfortable silence fell on the two. Neither of them were expecting a confrontation like this when they went out for their date earlier tonight.

"So, now what do we do?" Ryuji asked. "I imagine you're not in the mood to pick up where we left off."

"On the contrary, I could really use a good fucking right about now."

If Ryuji was drinking anything, he would've spat it out. It was extremely rare for Makoto to use that kind of language, and even more rare for her to be so blunt about their sexual activities. Not that he was complaining, mind. It actually turned him on a little. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm still kind of stressed, so I could use the relief." Makoto winced and looked up at Ryuji. "If that's alright with you? I mean, we don't have to if you don't want to."

"No! I mean, uh, no, I could- Yeah, distraction sounds good right now."

That moment was the fastest either had ever climbed those stairs.

At the Sakura residence, Sojiro laid his book down on his lap as a sudden thought came to his head.

"Crap, maybe I should warn them about Tae-san…"

He thought about it for a second.

"Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine."

He went back to reading without giving it another thought.

A/N: I'm gonna level with you all, I didn't put as much effort into this as I did with FAtD. This is a silly one-shot and I enjoyed writing it.

But if you already made it here, that means you read the fic! HA! No take-backs!