*SPOILERS for Makoto's Confidant Rankings, and some general plot stuff. If you're worried, I'd say clear the 5th dungeon and come back later, the story will still be here!*

"What! I'm to believe that not only was my sister was involved with the Phantom Thieves, but that she was dating its leader!" Sae Niijima cried out in disbelief.

"Of all the things I could lie about, why this?" Akira Kurusu replied, hardly even phased by the prosecutor's reaction.

Sae gritted her teeth, knowing he had a point. "Still, Makoto's smarter than that… She would have never…" Her gaze shifted toward the high school student in an accusatory manner. "Did you 'steal' her heart as well? Answer me!"

Akira's mouth set in a hard line. "No. Never," He declared emphatically. "Makoto got involved out of her own free will, out of her own sense of justice."

Sae's eyes widened. Her younger sister had taken more after their father. And truthfully, she hadn't been attentive to Makoto very much over the past several months. Had she really missed the signs? Come to think of it, in the months following Kaneshiro's arrest, her sister had seemed happier. Sae had naively assumed that it was because her studies were going well. How could she have been so blind? Unwilling to let the matter go just yet, she pressed on, "You may not be a murderer, but your activities still call your character into question, whether the intent behind them was good or not."

"I don't think you have any right to judge my character, especially in regards to Makoto," Akira said firmly, looking as defiant as ever even bruised, bloodied, and drugged.

Sae bristled at how casually he used her first name, not even so much as a senpai attached. There was a distinct note of possessiveness in his voice that years of working as a prosecutor made impossible to miss.

"As I mentioned before, Makoto was investigating us when the phishing scams starting happening at Shujin. She found us out, but thought we could help save the students that were being targeted. She was so desperate to help us that she got kidnapped and blackmailed by Kaneshiro. We ended up getting the info we needed to take him down because of her, but it was reckless and dangerous. She could have ended up dead, or worse." His eyes refocused on Sae, anger burning behind them. "Do you know what she told us when we asked her why she did that? That she had felt worthless. I assume you might know something about that?"

Sae flinched, recalling how she had snapped at Makoto out of frustration, saying such awful things.

"I – I never," Akira's voice cracked as his mask of composure crumbled for a moment, and Sae was struck for a moment as she recalled just how young he was. Regaining his composure he continued, "I never wanted her to feel like that again… So after we took care of Kaneshiro I started talking to her. She wanted to know how regular students spent their time. She wanted to find expand her horizons outside of just studying and student council duties." Akira chuckled suddenly. "I still remember when I took her to an arcade for the first time. She got so into one of the shooting games that some of the other regulars started giving her weird looks."

Sae let out a bittersweet smile. A part of her wished she could have seen her normally stoic younger sister act like someone her age. And inwardly, the self-loathing toward herself swelled as she recalled how she had told Makoto to grow up. It had been unfair how she herself had been forced to grow up and take responsibility for both of their lives when their mother had died, but still… Makoto hadn't deserved such harsh words.

Akira continued his recollection. "Eventually, we talked about other things. Her doubts, her hopes, her dreams. She even made a friend of her own, but Makoto found out that she got involved with an older guy who seemed suspicious. Makoto set up a double date so she could scope this guy out and… she asked me to pose as her boyfriend. It turned out Makoto's suspicions were right, and although it took a while she managed to slap some sense into her friend. After that we got… closer…"

Akira and Makoto sat in the attic of LeBlanc in comfortable silence, the brown haired girl resting her head on his shoulder. He in turn, rested his head softly on hers, filling him with an indescribable warmth. To think that a few months ago, the world had seemed so unfair, but now… If such a thing had never happened, he might have never met Makoto. Slowly, he reached out for her hand, finding her fingers and intertwining them with his own.

"Akira," She murmured softly, and Akira suppressed an involuntary shiver. She had called him by his first name before, but alone in his room, it had a newfound intimacy to it. He found himself shifting his gaze downward, meeting her auburn eyes. He shifted toward her, pressing his forehead against hers. He felt her breath halt suddenly, and he smirked, the action causing his lips to ever so slightly brush against hers. It would seem he had become fond of stealing in his time as a Phantom thief, though in these moments when they were not traversing Palaces or Mementos he was content with kisses from his girlfriend, or as he had just moments ago, her breath. Feeling a little greedy today, he decided he should have both, and he pressed his lips gently against Makoto's. The student council president returned the gesture in kind, kissing back with a quiet fervor.

After a few moments, they separated, and he was greeted with the sight of Makoto pouting, a light blush coloring her cheeks. "Geez, again with the teasing," She murmured, though she didn't sound unhappy in the slightest at his antics. "Were you always so…" Makoto struggled to find a word.

"Alluring?" Akira offered cheekily. Makoto's cheeks reddened as it seemed he had been right on the mark, and she punched him lightly in the shoulder prompting Akira to laugh softly. "I had to work on it. I had to really work at it, believe me, Eiko-senpai was surprisingly difficult to impress, but I had to get you that double-date somehow."

Makoto bowed her head lightly. "Sorry about that… I didn't really mind you as you were when we first started hanging out, but Eiko-chan was being insistent on my standards for a boyfriend."

Akira shrugged. "I'd say it was worth it in the end. After all, only I get to see just how cute the class prez is."

"There you go again," Makoto said, making a noise of embarrassment. "Don't tell me that all of a sudden you're going to start calling me princess."

"Never," Akira said firmly. His eyes softened, and Makoto's heart fluttered at his gaze. "After all, you're my Queen…"

The attic was quiet for a moment, as Makoto processed those words. Suddenly, she began to giggle, before pealing into full blown laughter. Even Akira couldn't help but chuckle.

"See though? Still a work in progress," Akira said good-naturedly.

"I don't think any amount of suaveness could have made me swoon for that one," Makoto replied after she recovered.

Akira's face turned contemplative. "Hmm, it seems I'll have to rethink my approach."

"I'll just have to devise a countermeasure in the mean-time," Makoto joked.

"You'll have to think fast," Akira replied, running his fingers through her hair, sending pleasant tingles down her spine, "I'm quite adaptable."

"I-it seems I'm out a disadvantage," Makoto replied, a little breathlessly. "What are you going to do?"

Akira gave a devilish smirk. "Press my advantage while I can…"

Before Makoto could formulate a response, Akira pulled her into his lap, prompting a squeal from her. "A-Akira?" She stuttered, but before she could manage a coherent response Akira began kissing her down her neck tenderly.

"Ah! A-Akira! Haha, stop that!"

But Akira did not stop, nor did he complain when Makoto made to launch a counter-offensive.

Ahhh! It's so fluffy I could die! Originally, I had planned to end on that 'Queen' line, but it just seemed so sappy and cheesy, I thought I could have a little more fun with this. Some might say either of these two might be OOC, but in the case of Akira, I figured that his the combination of getting speech lessons from Tora, giving scoops to Ohya, some chats with Sojiro, and his Phantom Thief (for lack of a better word) persona would translate into some real life confidence and charm. At the same time though, I think it's important to recall that he is a teenager, hence him getting emotional for a second when talking to Sae. As for Makoto, she totally has a more girlish and shy side to her judging from the scenes you can get at the school festival and taking her on a date to the Ferris wheel. Yet at the same time, she's definitely a strong and assertive character, so I'm willing to bet she wouldn't let Akira's antics go 'unpunished,' especially as she gets more comfortable with their relationship. For those wondering why the interrogation scene didn't 'come back', I intended for this to be a brief recollection during the interview, with Sae presumably telling Akira 'Hey, focus here! And get that stupid grin off your face!' shortly afterward, but it didn't feel quite right to rip right back out of the scene. Anyways, this author's note has turned quite long, hopefully you guys enjoyed the story, and I may have to write another Makoto/MC fic soon! Thanks for reading!