(Set in my Life Will Change universe. Takes place in-between the two games.)

Begin!

~Normal POV

Ann was sitting comfortably on the train awaiting her stop. She could see the countryside passing by out the window. It looked quiet and pretty. She liked it well enough- but the city was more her style. Despite living in Japan for some time, she'd spent very little time outside the city area. She knew Yusuke liked to travel to mountainous areas for art inspiration, but she never had a reason to go herself. This was a first for her. She looked down at her phone. Akira had sent her a text saying he would be waiting for her at the station. Good. She had no idea how to get to his house from there, so the help was appreciated.

This was going to be a fun weekend. She had made plans to visit Akira in his hometown and stay over at his family's house. On the condition that she has to sleep in the guest room. His parents weren't that lax. They knew what letting a teenage couple sleep together could lead to. Of course they didn't realize there was a different reason why that wouldn't have happened anyway: it was because Morgana slept in Akira's room too. His parents didn't know that Morgana could talk. Ann giggled to herself imagining what it must look like when Akira can just casually have full conversations with his cat.

Naturally, Akira was just as excited about this visit. He'd love to relax with his girlfriend in person. Talking all the time through texts, and sometimes video calls, could only get you so far. He wanted to be near her again. But he did tell her that she might get bored out here. It had far less to offer in the way of activities, so it might not be too interesting. But he dropped the subject when she reminded him that she didn't care as long as they were able to spend some time together.

The train's intercom announced that they were nearing their stop. Ann pocketed her phone and grabbed her bag. She didn't need to pack much since it was only one night. The train slowed to a stop at the platform. She stepped outside and looked around. It was a small station, and there weren't many people, so it didn't take long to spot Akira waiting nearby. He greeted her with a bright smile as she ran over to hug him.

"Hey! I didn't keep you waiting too long, did I?"

"Nah, we basically just got here," Akira said, happily.

As if right on cue, the bag on his shoulder shuffled and Morgana poked his head out to greet her. "Hi, Lady Ann!"

Ann petted the little cat's head, making him purr. It seemed they decided to keep up their habit of Akira carrying him around when he went out. Or at least for the moment. He probably tagged along just to see her. Morgana may have gotten over his feelings for Ann a while ago, but he was still her friend too.

Akira took her hand and led her out as the three chatted happily. Mainly they talked about updates on everyone else back in the city. Akira kept up with the groupchat regularly, but sometimes it was better to hear it said aloud. Makoto and Haru were having fun at college. Ryuji's physical therapy for his leg was going well, and he and Haru were still going strong, despite the distance issue. Yusuke had won a few recent art contests, and was getting better at managing his cash. Futaba had adjusted well to being in public school again, with Ann and Ryuji around to help her out. Akira had some initial concerns about her choosing to go to Shujin, with its generally awful reputation, but it was nice to hear she was comfortable there.

~...

It took a while, but they made it back to Akira's house. Ann had only been here once before. It was when the team drove him home at the end of his stay in Tokyo. When they arrived at the time, his parents were very welcoming and kind to them. They let them stay for dinner and made an effort to get to know everyone. And Akira was proud to say that he called the team his family too. Ever since they heard him say it aloud that one time in Shido's Palace, they had adopted the title. It sounded much better than just saying they were a team or a gang.

Upon reaching Akira's house, Ann shared a short conversation with his mom before following him up to the guest room to put away her things. Morgana left the couple alone to join Mrs. Kurusu in her office. (Akira quietly told Ann that the cat likes to beg for treats, and will usually get them if he tries hard enough.) After dropping off her bag, Ann decided she wanted to see Akira's room.

"So this is what your room normally looks like, huh?" Ann said, looking around.

"Yeah, a bit more full than the one at LeBlanc," Akira said, smiling. "And the bed's more comfortable."

Akira's home bedroom was a good-sized room. And it was immaculately clean. She recalled him saying once that he can't sleep in messy rooms, so unlike lots of boys his age, his room was always kept clean and orderly. There was a bed in one corner against the window. Across from the bed was a big tv on a shelf, with a couple game systems plugged into it, and a dvd player. Multiple games and dvds lined the open parts of the shelf. Along the wall beside the tv were two bookshelves, filled up with all of his neatly kept hardcover novels. A little way's next to the bed was a desk with a computer. On the floor against the wall was a small cat-sized bed that belonged to Morgana. It had a little blanket, and a pillow on it for a makeshift mattress. On the other side of the wall was a dresser and a closet. But Ann's favorite part of the room was lining the wall behind the desk.

There were a bunch of framed pictures hanging up there. She recognized every one of them. They were all pictures of their thief family, either all together or in groups. There were several of her and Akira on various dates. She had the same pictures on her phone and hung up around her room.

Akira noticed her looking at the pictures. "I had them printed and framed. Couldn't let them just sit in my phone all the time. What do you think?"

"I love it," Ann answered, warmly. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, unable to hold herself back from saying it any longer. "I missed you…"

"I missed you too, Ann…" Akira replied, hugging her close. "You have no idea how hard it was to get used to not seeing you in class every day."

"Same! Even after getting into third year classes, there's still an empty seat behind me. Like some weird coincidence or something."

"Oh, yeah? Must be karma for you."

"What did I do to deserve it?"

"Probably being too cute. It's really not fair," Akira said, playfully.

Ann laughed. "I don't think that's a crime!"

The two shared a much needed kiss. This was the part they missed the most from their current living situations. The ability to be affectionate with each other. It was so relieving to be together again. Akira planned to go to college in the city so he just had to spend this last year in high school before he could move permanently. Sure, Ann was still planning to go to college abroad, but she'd always come back. The important thing was being where he felt he belonged, and that place was in Tokyo with his family.

When they pulled apart, the two settled into their plans for the day. They would hang out here for a while; then go out for dinner by themselves later. Apparently, there was a popular restaurant that had great cake desserts, and Akira knew that was the perfect place to take her. ("Ok but you're gonna have to make sure I don't eat too much, diets suck…") Then afterwards, they'd go on an evening stroll. Ann thought it all sounded great for their first proper date in over a month.

~...

"Ha! I won again!"

"No way!" Ann argued, pouting a little. "You've had time to practice- I haven't played this in weeks!"

Akira set aside his controller. "I do online matches against Futaba, and she's better than me. So I gotta practice a lot to keep up. Are you mad?"

Ann kept pouting. "A little…"

"But you won the first three rounds," Akira said, smiling.

"Yeah, and then you started kicking my ass."

He chuckled, and checked the time on his watch. "It's almost dinnertime. You want to head out now?"

Ann admitted that she was getting kind of hungry; since she had a light lunch. So Akira turned off their game and grabbed his wallet and keys. The two said goodbye to his parents and Morgana before heading out into the cool spring air for their dinner date.

~...

The place Akira chose was actually pretty good. Sure, Ann had been looking forward to the dessert part the most, but the rest of the food was rather tasty too. They had a table near the back where they chatted happily about anything that came to mind. Ann told him a couple stories about her recent modeling gigs.

"Sounds like Mika hasn't changed then?"

"Nope, she's still as competitive and bratty as ever." Ann sighed, "It'd probably have been better if they fired her after that fake email stunt. She just tries to get on my nerves nowadays. She's been especially testy after hearing the news about that idol getting married."

"An idol getting ma-" Akira blinked in realization, "Oh yeah! I saw that online too. The wedding that broke the internet. Her poor fiancé. He's getting hate comments out the ass."

"I'm sure they were expecting something like that to happen when they went public with the engagement…" Ann gave him a thoughtful look before turning pink and looking back down at her food.

Akira noticed how quiet she'd suddenly gotten. "What's up?"

"Uh… nothing. Just thinking about… stuff…"

His observant nature let him correctly guess what she was thinking. Akira had a knack for reading people. (It was a very helpful tool to them during their days as Phantom Thieves.)

"You're worried about that happening when we get married, huh?"

Ann blushed deeper. "M-Married?!" She squeaked out embarrassedly.

He snickered at how flustered she got at the idea and casually added. "I ain't worried about that part. It comes with the territory of being with a gorgeous fashion model."

Ann grumpily pouted at him. It wasn't fair for him to just say stuff like that. She thought for a moment before getting a sneaky idea.

"Oh- are you proposing to me now?"

She got the reaction she wanted when Akira's eyes widened and his face went red. "No- that's not-! You know I was…" He sighed and quietly added. "Ok, you win…"

Ann smiled cheerfully to claim her victory. She loved it when she could make him lose his composure. Even with how long they'd been together at this point, she still found ways to sneak up on him. They changed topics and settled back into finishing their meals. Akira got them each a slice of cake for dessert. Hers was chocolate, and his was a lemon frosted cake. He smiled as she enjoyed her sweet treat. She even asked to try a bite of his cake too, which he didn't mind sharing a little.

~...

After a little walk around the town, mostly to walk off the calories, they made it back to Akira's house. It was still a Saturday night, so they could stay up a bit longer. They went back to his room to watch a movie. Morgana was doing his usual "vegetating in front of the tv" downstairs with Akira's parents. Likely to keep up his promise of letting the couple have plenty of alone time for the night. They left the bedroom door open so he could come up later.

"Which one do you wanna watch this time?"

Ann looked at the options thoughtfully. Spending so much time with Akira had let her get into some of those mystery stories he loved so much. A lot of his film collection consisted of adaptations. She actually ended up liking them too. Which surprised her more than she thought it would. She normally watched romantic dramas. (Turns out, mysteries had more than enough romantic drama going on in a lot of them to satisfy her- even if it was sometimes there as motivation for the crimes.) She even once requested him to read the books to her so she could see what they were like in their original form.

She plucked one off the shelf. "This one!"

He gave her a curious look. "Ya sure? It made you cry before."

"I know, but that's cause I loved it so much!"

He smiled and put it in for her. The two sat on the bed, with Ann sitting comfortably in his arms. They enjoyed their choice. Though as predicted, it did make Ann cry a little. (That was ok, Akira did too.) Once it was over, he switched off the tv.

Ann snuggled into his side. "…I have to go to the other room now, huh?"

"Yeah, but I'll be sure to wake you up early so we have plenty of time to spend the day together tomorrow."

"Mmm… That sounds fun." Her voice was getting softer from being sleepy. "You can show me around more. I can see why you don't mind living here. It is peaceful."

"It has its perks, but you know us…" Akira said, smiling fondly.

Ann giggled softly, "Yeah, we're city people all the way. But it's nice to come out here every once in a while."

"True… Alright, you'd better get up before you get too comfy and fall asleep."

Ann merely snuggled closer to him in protest. "I don't wanna."

"Ok, I guess I can just carry you down the hall then-"

She blushed deeply and sat up. "No way! What if your parents see?!"

"They wouldn't care really. But it got you to get up." He finished with a teasing wink.

"Oh, you jerk…" Ann said, but her smile made it hard to believe she was really that annoyed at him.

They got up and walked down the hall to the guest room. After making sure no one was around, they shared a good night kiss in front of the door.

"I love you, Ann…"

"I love you too Akira… Good night."

"Good night," Akira leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Make sure you have good dreams about me."

Ann covered her mouth to hold in her laughter. "I'll try…" She replied, teasingly.

He pulled back, smiling warmly. "If you need anything, you know where I'll be."

He turned and walked back to his own room for the night. Ann shut the door to her room and sighed happily. She was so glad she came out here to see him. She quickly got dressed in her pajamas and got into bed.

They had an early day tomorrow. She didn't want to miss a single moment of her limited time with her man by sleeping in!

~The End!

It's not much but I hope you liked it. I just wanted to write something simple and wholesome for them. Thank you for reading! :)