"Um, I haven't told my sister yet," Makoto said as she and Ren walked through the park surrounding Meiji Shrine. It was a peaceful getaway. Unfathomably tall trees lined their path, blocking out the city surrounding them. The expansive walkway kept even weekend visitors from crowding, though, perhaps some were putting off their trips for Wednesday.

"Oh?" Ren's tone implied no judgment.

"She might have noticed I didn't come home on Tuesday…" Makoto looked down at the white gravel beneath her feet.

"Oh." A breath of a laugh was almost swallowed by the wind.

When she looked up, he had such a goofy smile, she couldn't help but smile in return.

"We are adults," Ren continued, his cheeks still bunching at the corners of his mouth. "I don't think Sae-san can complain, especially given what you've told me about her and her partner."

"Yes, but…" Makoto sighed. "I think she treats me like a child more now that they're together. I'd rather just avoid the discussion."

"I'm sure she's going to have some objec-, er, concerns once we tell her," Ren took a deep breath. "And I don't think we'll know exactly what they are until we do."

Ren was right. Sis could be hard to predict.

"If you're really worried, we can tell her together, when we go for dinner," Ren added.

"Hmm." Makoto could see the benefits and drawbacks of the approach. On one hand, it would be nice to have Ren there. It also meant Sis wouldn't go into their dinner meeting prepared for an interrogation. On the other hand, it wasn't very considerate of Sis and it didn't allow Makoto to tend to whatever more subtle reactions her sister had. Fortunately, she had time. They hadn't even set a date yet. "I'll think about it."

Ren nodded.

There was a lot to think about, to talk about… now that Sis was around more.

"They know you've been apartment hunting with me though," Makoto tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "It came up when I mentioned I was nervous about a two-year lease. They brought up staying again."

"Are you considering it?" Ren asked.

"Maybe." It was best to keep all options open. While she'd rather give the happy couple their space, two years seemed like a long time now that furthering her own relationship was a possibility. Of course, that was probably still a long ways off... but two years off? Bringing it up only a few days in seemed clingy and aggressive though. In fact, thinking about it only a few days in, was that really healthy?

When she got home, she had a lot of questions to research online.

They walked a few more paces in silence. Makoto found her thoughts bouncing back and forth between relationship questions, apartment decisions, and how they were or were not entwined.

"I suppose when I do tell them, then we could…" Makoto looked around, wondering if the other visitors could hear what she wanted to say.

She slipped a few of her fingers around his.

He looked over to her, seemingly surprised at first, but quickly relaxing into a content smile.

"We could at least have some privacy in my room," she finished in a hushed tone.

"I've been thinking the same thing about Leblanc," he said, keeping his face forward. "We should tell the others."

It'd be nice to tell the old team in person… but that wasn't really feasible. Makoto wondered who was even in the country, much less within visiting distance.

"I'll draft a message for the group chat," she said. Exactly how to word it was one more thing to look up online.

Ren chuckled. "I could just write 'Makoto and I are dating now.' Isn't that enough?"

Hearing it so plainly, she thought she might stumble, but fortunately kept both her footing and her cool.

Ren's eyebrows raised. Maybe her reaction wasn't so concealed after all. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Or would you prefer it coming from you?"

"N-no," said Makoto. "That's perfect."

Ren took out his phone with his free hand and began tapping. As he did, he kept glancing over to her, smiling.

"Send," he made an exaggerated motion with his thumb, followed by a few more subdued taps. "Aaaand pause notifications."

"Eh?" Makoto looked up at him.

"I suspect we'll have some questions, but they can wait," Ren grinned. "We have an evening to plan for, don't we?"