Heeeey, been a while. At least, for those of you who read this story exclusively. Let's welcome a new year together.

"Ever hear of Hatsuyume?"

Makoto had to admit in some small part of her mind that Akira wouldn't let her go to sleep that easily. The best response she could muster as she turned her head to gaze at him was, "Mm…?"

Akira smiled and brushed some hair off her cheek, letting his thumb linger to gently stroke her skin. "The first dream of the new year. I almost forgot to ask you about it."

Makoto couldn't find it in her to be mad at him. Instead, she scooted closer and looped her arms around his shoulders. "Mmf, I'm sure I have. Tell me anyway."

Akira chuckled and pulled her snugly against him, letting her rest her head against his chest and throw her legs over his. "Serenade me with your dulcet tones."

"Well, at least you know I like to hear my own voice."

They shared a little laugh at that before Akira continued. "So yeah, first dream. It's good luck to dream of Mt. Fuji, a hawk, or an eggplant. And I already dream of you pretty often, so...lucky me."

Makoto scoffed, shifting to straddle his thigh and fixing him with a lazy stare. "Are you calling me an eggplant?"

"Well, you're good for me. Always have that shine in your eye…"

Makoto grinned and sat back down, tracing lazy circles on his chest with her finger as she countered, "They're also rumored to cause insanity. Do I drive you crazy?"

Akira took her hand in his own, gently pulling her close enough to press a light kiss to her forehead. The leisurely purr in her tone as she posed her question made his heart skip a beat, but there was no way he would tell her that.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a hawk," He said, purposefully dropping the half-serious question. "Smart, tough as nails. Ooh, and who can forget that glare - ow, haha!"

Makoto's elbow dug into Akira's stomach as she turned and sat back against him, letting out a small, happy sigh as she felt his arms circle around her. She bit back a gasp as she felt him dot a kiss along her nape, whispering, true to form, about something completely unrelated. "We should go for hatsumōde in the morning."

Makoto figured he would keep going if she played along, if the way he was working his way to her ear was any indication. "Can we draw omikuji?"

"Sure. For now though…"

Makoto smiled, planting a kiss on his hand in turn. "Mhm...something about this being so much more interesting, no?"

"You read my mind. It's a new year, have to make some resolutions."

She giggled happily as he pressed her down into the sheets, taking her chin between his fingers and finally giving her the kiss that she was waiting for. "What's the first?"

"Take you to Destinyland again."

She laughed, once again unsurprised by his purposefully poor sense of humor. "That's awful."

"For a resolution? Maybe."

Makoto hooked her leg around his side and forced their positions around, leaving Akira stunned into momentary silence as she sat on his chest with a self-satisfied smirk. "Let's hear number two."

"I'll teach you how to make better coffee than that machine I saw you looking at."

"Oh, how sweet."

Akira planted his hands on her thighs and flipped her onto her back, adding another step to their little fight for the best position. "I have one more. Still working on the details, but I think you'll like this one."

"Enlighten me."

Akira smiled as he loomed over her, ducking down to lift her top slightly and kiss her stomach. Makoto shivered at the contact, only to feel her face heat up dramatically when she heard him murmur, "I want to love you as much as humanly possible throughout this new year. And the next. And the one after that."

"That's a lot of love."

"Mhm."

Akira caught her hand as she tried to grab his hair, kissing the back and gently pinning it to the bed. He let it go right afterward, but the gauntlet was thrown. Makoto decided to play her trump card to even the scales. She smiled, warmly, and said, "I love you."

Akira faked a groan and reached over to pinch her cheeks playfully. "See, it's not fair when you say it. Now I feel like I can do anything, you crazy, killer Queen."

Makoto grinned and batted his hands away, pulling him down and locking her legs around him. She sealed the contact with a kiss, only breaking it to chirp, "I can't help it, I love~ you."

"Makoto."

"So much love."

"Makoto."

"Yeees, love?"

"I love you, too."

Hm, people probably don't move around this much in bed when talking 'bout stuff like this. OR maybe they do. I dunno. Ah, and Makoto may very well be OOC. I prefer to say it's further in their relationship. Character development.

On another note, I'll be sticking with Akira as a name for...well, Akira. Ren is fine. Amamiya? Not so much. If Ren becomes the canon name, that's cool. Souji isn't the canon name and that's fine by me. That just means these characters are mine. I'm attached, you see.

Been around for almost three years. Eesh. When I think about it, I started writing because I had read pretty much every story that had Souji/Naoto as the main pairing. I was on a tear for Persona then, so I just...really wanted to add to the archive. I gathered up my guts, and I published. Now I'm here.

It's been fun. I'm not the best nor the most consistent, but I write what I enjoy, and I hope you, as a reader, do as well.

Anyway. Enjoy the start of the new year, yeah? See ya soon.