Persona 5 - Toast to the Queen

Akira/Makoto

Day 5- Kissing

xxx

A/N: These first 5 chapters actually flow together really fuckin' well, i'm mad I didn't do this for Lovers in Fragments xD After this, things start to get a little bit more off the wall, so expect me to fuck around with chronology at that point aha. Also, i'm sorry for no update! I promise i've always got this fic in the back of my mind even when it's not updating on the reg aha. Regardless, Enjoy :)

xxx

Makoto had started to feel a great sense of familiarity just being in LeBlanc. The cozy atmosphere, the aromatic smell of the coffee beans, the way the entire building creaked when you walked around. All these things were just small ways she'd started to fall in love with the coffee house. Her father would have said the building had "character". She'd started to relish the sight of it, thanks in no small part to the young man behind the counter brewing coffee for her.

Her relationship with Akira had been progressing well as of late. While her inexperience could often leave her flustered at times, she'd started settling into it well. She'd started picking up on his little habits, for one. For instance, before, she often took note of him spinning his phone around on top of his finger when he was bored (much to her chagrin, she was sure he'd drop it and it looked expensive). Now however, she realised he did it whenever he was anxious, too. Another one of those little things was something he was doing now, he'd hum to himself as he brewed coffee. The song was always different, but without fail, if Akira was at the coffee grinder, you'd hear him before you saw him. It was a rare sight for Makoto to see her usually stern Joker so carefree.

It was of course a sight she couldn't just let go by without teasing.

"Which song is this, maestro?" she giggled as Akira placed a coffee in front of her

"Huh?" Akira asked, blinking with genuine surprise.

"Wait…" Makoto paused, her face matching Akira's "Do you really not know you're doing it?"

"Doing what?"

"The humming! You do it all the time" Makoto enthused. "You change up the song a lot but you do it whenever you make coffee. It's nice, it makes the place feel…" Makoto paused as she searched for the right word before settling on "Homey."

Akira simply beamed.

"I didn't think you were picking up on that kind of stuff" he said, with admiration in his voice. "It's really sweet"

Pride swelled in Makoto's chest at his words. Despite feeling more comfortable in their relationship, Makoto still often felt anxious that she was making too many missteps. For instance, they hadn't even kissed yet. They'd come close, but every time something meant they had to cut their time together short, and neither of them wanted to rush it. It had to be special. Hell, she wasn't even sure if she was his girlfriend or not. They were dating, definitely, but neither of them had said anything that concrete. Apparently sensing this doubt, Akira piped up, to try and take her mind off such things.

"Speaking of stuff we should be doing" Akira started, a look of concern on his face

"We weren't talking about that" Makoto smirked "And I don't appreciate your tone"

"You wound me" Akira said, acting like Makoto's little barb had physically injured him "I would never joke about such things" he continued, his cheshire grin stretching from ear to ear. Makoto's expression matched his. Akira's smile was very infectious. "You should really get that paperwork finished" he said, pointing towards the pile of forms next to Makoto's coffee cup. All of them to do with the student council and all of them, very boring. Makoto could get them done in twenty minutes if she got in the zone, but the young barista was very distracting. Makoto often found that to be true. She could easily get lost in their conversations.

"I can't do them if you keep distracting me" she laughed softly, taking a sip of coffee.

Akira's face then changed. He was thinking, no, plotting something.

This can't be good Makoto thought, though she was at the very least intrigued as to where he was going with this. Finally, his expression became resolute.

"I'm gonna make you a deal" Akira said, flashing his winning smile at Makoto.

"Oh really?" she asked, curiously

"Finish that section" he said, as he gestured towards the end of the document Makoto was currently writing up. It was something to do with a club budget that needed approval. It basically just required a signature. Makoto looked it over, dated and then signed it, before looking expectantly at Akira.

"Now what?" Makoto said, putting the sheet to one side.

To her surprise, Akira took her hand in his, and raised it up to his face before planting a kiss on it, just like dignitaries or princes would do to a queen in a movie or something. Needless to say, Makoto felt the flush rise to her cheeks, she sat there speechless, while Akira explained his terms to her.

"Every time you finish one, you'll get a kiss like that, only i'll make it more…" he paused. Makoto wasn't sure whether that was so he could find the word or for dramatic effect. "...Intense each time. Sound good?" Akira asked, still holding her hand

"What do you mean intense?" Makoto said, barely able to get the words out without tripping over them. She knew he was bold, but this?

"Wouldn't you like to know, Ms. President?" he said, his voice once again dripping with self-confidence.

"Promise you won't go too far?" Makoto asked, worried that he might be thinking a little too far ahead.

"Hey, honor among thieves right?" Akira joked before following up with "Promise. Now get to work if you want your next reward."

Akira leaned back against the back wall so as to watch Makoto work, which she now did with more speed and perhaps a little bit of nervousness. But even now, still clearly flustered by his advance, she worked through the paperwork at a remarkable rate. Her eruditeness was something that he truly admired.

Makoto began to work in silence, focusing almost completely on her work, the only thing besides the stack of paperwork she was aware of were Akira's eyes watching over her. The next document was again another club budget sheet. Wouldn't take long, she just had to make sure all the numbers added up and sign off, which she did so in record time. Makoto had long since abandoned her need for a calculator, she found it much easier to do all this in her head. The moment her pen left the paper after signing her name, she looked up at Akira, with a little trepidation but mostly expectation

"That was fast" Akira chuckled. "I should have remembered how good you are at this stuff before I cut this deal"

Akira leaned over the counter and cupped Makoto's face in his hand. She was always surprised just how soft his hands were… As she was focusing on this detail, however, she felt Akira's lip on her forehead. And, once again, she felt a deep blush rise up. She largely ignored it

"At this rate" she said, bragging just a little in an attempt to keep herself calm "You're gonna have to bust out your endgame in about ten minutes"

"Sure, Prez" he laughed "If you can keep time"

Another document. This one was a bit longer. Makoto skimmed it. A proposal for a new club. This one would need a bit more time. She still worked quickly through the proposal. After she finished, she waited patiently for Akira's next move.

"You promise you're not skipping stuff just to be done faster?" He teased, taking her face in his hand once again. This time, Makoto steeled herself for the kiss. She knew if she blushed anymore she'd look more like a tomato than a person. She closed her eyes and waited. Half of her was nervous, wanting to call the whole thing off. The other half, however, was about to die from anticipation. She couldn't wait to see where he was going with this.

She felt his lips press up against her left cheek. She didn't realise at first due to her surprise and nerves but his lips were softer than she thought they would be, much like his hands. Maybe he has a skincare routine? That would be surprising. She could also feel just a little bit of stubble on his face. That thought excited her just a little bit. The contrast of textures was a bit weird, but this felt right. That said, she couldn't help but want more.

"Don't rush now" Akira said with a wink.

"I'm not rushing" Makoto said

"Oh really? Cause your handwriting is looking a little shaky there"

Makoto laughed the boy off as she reached for her next bit of paperwork. Something something club something. She wasn't really paying attention to it anymore, she just wrote out a placeholder response, the council would have to discuss it together anyway, and signed off on it, practically throwing her pen onto the counter and looking at Akira expectantly.

"I'm not going anywhere you know" Akira chuckled

Makoto said nothing, but did smile at his little joke.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but feeling his lips on the tip of her nose was right out of left field. It was almost enough to make her laugh out loud. Just like with his humming, it was odd to see him so carefree. If you'd met Akira for more than five seconds you'd never expect this kind of behaviour from him. Makoto felt somewhat honored that he was so comfortable sharing this side of himself with her.

"Hey would you look at that?" Akira exclaimed as he pulled away "Looks like you're all done"

Makoto blinked in shock. True enough, all of the paperwork she was working on had been set aside in her "Done" pile.

"Oh…" Makoto whimpered, more than a little disappointed. She wanted to keep going with this "activity". Akira's method of motivating her definitely worked. Apparently Akira noticed this, as once again, he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, since you managed to finish so quickly, i'm gonna sweeten the deal" he said, barely able to mask the confidence in his voice.

"Sweeten the Deal?" Makoto asked, her curiosity piqued.

Akira's smile got even broader, if that were possible, as he held one of his fingers up to Makoto

"You may give this humble Joker one command, your majesty!" he exclaimed, completely deadpan. He was committing to the bit completely.

"What are you talking about?" Makoto laughed at his theatricality.

"Whatever you want, i'll do it" Akira said. "And I can't back out"

"What if i make you do something gross?"

"The Queen's Orders are absolute" Akira said with another wink.

Makoto's mind started to race. She could just ask him to do something ludicrous, she was enjoying seeing this side of him so maybe she could indulge that? She could ask him to keep kissing her… she definitely wanted that. She'd been wanting to kiss him properly for a while.

Then Makoto hit her mark.

"Ok" she said, resolutely, her face a mask of calm despite the nervousness now building in her chest. She couldn't believe she was about to do this. "I've made my decision"

"Your wish is my command, majesty" Akira continued to joke, even bowing a little.

"I'm gonna just say this" she said, matter of factly. "I want you to be my boyfriend".

Akira blinked in shock, his facade dropping completely. Makoto had to hold back a smirk. She'd never seen this boy completely lose his composure before. If she wasn't waiting with baited breath for his reply, she probably would have teased him for it.

After a second or two, Akira blinked hard and picking his jaw up off the floor.

"OK" he said, his smile broad, warm and gentle. "Let's do it. You can call me your boyfriend"

Makoto's heart soared. All her previous anxieties about where this was going had melted away as he spoke, replaced instead with excitement, joy and hope.

"You promise?" Makoto asked, one more time, unable to keep the smile off her face.

Instead of answering, Akira reached over and leaned in for one more kiss, just like before. However, this time, he wasn't going for her head or nose.

As the young couple's lips touched, the world seemed to fade away completely around them. They were alone here, in this moment. As she felt him press against her, she kissed him back. A delicate back and forth dance played across the two of them. His hand came up and once again cupped her cheek. Normally this wouldn't be so bad but in her elated state, his mere touch was electric. After what seemed like an eternity, and even that wasn't nearly long enough, he pulled away, but leaving his head resting against Makoto's and spoke three words in almost a whisper, a promise made just for the two of them.

"Honor among thieves"