Today was Valentine's Day. The single-most romantic day of the year. Yet somehow, the former Phantom Thief leader found himself all alone today. One would be inclined to believe that such a charming guy would be constantly surrounded by a dozens of different girls, but Akira wasn't exactly interested in any of them. Every single girl who had confessed to him, he turned down. This may or may not be because of his crush on a certain Phansite admin.

Akira sat at the counter finishing his breakfast when he was suddenly overcome with the urge to invite Mishima over. Would that seem too forward? Would the other boy realize his intentions? Perhaps his biggest concern was whether or not the teen would be disgusted by this or not.

He wrote and rewrote the message several times, unsure of how to word the critical question without scaring off the other boy, before finally deciding on a simple, yet straightforward approach.

Akira: Want to come over later?

Akira hesitated, thumb hovering over the 'send' button.

"Just send it already, will you!" Akira jumped. He almost forgot that Morgana had been sitting beside him, peering over his shoulder at his phone screen the entire time. After a long period of silence, his phone beeped. Morgana let out an amused snort.

Akira nearly choked on a mouthful of curry as he noticed that he had accidentally sent it.

"Fuck." Akira cursed himself while his mind raced with different ways to play it off. 'Maybe I can just play it off as an accident. No, wait, that's a terrible idea! That'd just make him feel worse, wouldn't it?' Before he even had time to think over his possible actions, his phone chimed, alerting him of a new response.

Mishima: You mean it? Then I'll be there!

What had he gotten himself into?

*

Akira spent most of the day helping out Sojiro downstairs in the cafe. As the day began winding down, and fewer customers came in and out, Akira finished up the dishes while Sojiro saw the elderly couple out. After a long pause, Sojiro sighed and looked up from the counter.

"Oh right, today's Valentine's Day. No wonder there were so many guys bringing girls in here." He turned to the messy-haired barista with a sly smirk.

"Don't you have anything exciting happening? I mean, you've been here nearly a whole year. Y'know, when I was young,hoo boy..." Just then, the bell chimed as someone entered the cafe. Sojiro and Akira turned to see a teen with dark blue hair standing rather awkwardly by the door.

"Um, h-hello..." Mishima mumbled, looking anywhere but at Akira.

Sojiro blinked back and forth between the two teens for a brief moment before turning to the door, waving a hand dismissively.

"Nah, I was just about to head out for the night," he turned back to Akira once more, flashing him a knowing smile, "I'll leave the place to you. Have fun." Then he was gone, Morgana following behind him, muttering something under his breath about not wanting to witness this 'dorky scene'.

Akira nearly sighed in relief and pulled off his apron, draping it over the counter.

"So, you want to head up?" Akira motioned towards the stairs, internally cringing at the unintended innuendo.

'Good Lord, Akira, don't ruin this...'

*

"So, the Phantom Thieves disbanded, huh?"

Once the two settled in and started talking, the atmosphere gradually improved, and Akira thanked every possible deity for it. They talked about everything and nothing, and eventually, their conversation fell upon the conversation of the Phantom Thieves. Akira had expected it to go this way, but it didn't make it any easier to tell his biggest Phanboy that they were no longer heroic vigilantes. Surprisingly, though, the other boy took the news relatively well, besides a slightly disappointed look.

"Yeah, but it was all for the best. Now that we've defeated Yaldabaoth and we don't have to worry about the police anymore, there's no need for us." Akira nearly missed the slightly confused look upon mentioning the God of Control, but he didn't say anything of it, so Akira didn't elaborate on it. It would take way too long to explain, anyways.

"So I guess that means that the Phansite won't be needed anymore either..." Mishima gave a strained, meek laugh, but it was betrayed by the way his shoulders sagged. Akira's heart ached at the sight.

"That's not true. Up until now, the Phansite helped us a lot, and even if we won't be able to change people's hearts anymore, the Phansite will always be a place where people can go and talk about their problems without the fear of being judged." Akira placed a hand on Mishima's shoulder in reassurance, and the boy looked up at him in disbelief, a hint of a blush starting to color his cheeks.

"Really? You think so?" Akira smiled warmly.

"I know so. We couldn't have done it without you, too."

Mishima ducked his head down, and Akira could clearly see that even the tips of his ears were red now. Akira bit back a chuckle and resisted the urge to tease the skittish teen any further; he really was too cute.

Well, maybe a little more...