April 23rd.

That had been her birthday.

In recent years, birthdays had just been another day for her.

Another day of relentless studying.

With no connection to her peers, and the strained relationship between her and Sae, her only living family member, she supposed that was only natural.

But this year had been different!

The bonds that she had formed over the past year with the rest of the Phantom Thieves had not faded now that their powers were gone.

Although she supposed that risking their lives on numerous occasions, culminating in taking down some enraged God together did tend to form some fairly close bonds.

And through her time as a Phantom Thief, she had even managed to repair her relationship with her sister.

So for her birthday, all of her friends had come together to throw her a small party for her at Leblanc, and her sister had taken her out for dinner.

That had been a few days ago.

It had been an absolutely wonderful time, and yet…

She wished Ren was here to celebrate it with her.

Her boyfriend had gone back to his hometown a little more than a month ago.

He had wished her a happy birthday, of course, but she was happy for it, but still…

She sighed, flipping through the pictures on her phone.

Pictures of them at Destinyland, Hawaii, the Ferris Wheel…

She had formed the strongest bond of all with Ren, and seeing the two of them so happy in these pictures reminded her of that.

The buzzing of her phone interrupted her thoughts, and her university work.

Ren: Say, did you ever get my gift?

Gift? He never mentioned a gift before…

Makoto: What do you mean? You got me a gift?

Ren: Shoot, did I not mention it? Yeah, I sent you a gift for your birthday.

Makoto: You did?

Ren: Yeah, didn't you get it?

Makoto: No, I didn't. When was it set to arrive?

Ren: Today, actually. Maybe check outside?

Makoto: Ok. Love you.

She put her phone away, heading towards the door, a smile on her face.

It was certainly nice of him to send her a gift, even with how far away he was from her.

She opened the door to her apartment… and gasped at what she saw.

"Love you too, Queen."

"You're back!" she cried, immediately embracing him.

Ren smiled, returning her hug.

She nuzzled into his chest, closing her eyes at the blissful feel of his embrace.

Even if he only been gone for little more than a month, she had missed him so much.

Eventually, the fact that Ren was here truly dawned on her.

"Wait, why are you back?" she asked. "N-Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but…"

"I'd be a pretty bad boyfriend if I didn't even show up for your birthday, right?" he smiled. "Sorry I couldn't be here for the party, though."

"Don't apologize." she said. "You had school, right? That's important."

"Makoto, is someone at the door?"

Her sister exited her room, her eyes widening when she saw who was there.

"Good to see you, Sae-san!" he grinned.

"Ren-kun?" Sae said. "When did you come back?"

"Just today." he told her. "I'll have to leave soon, but I wanted to be here."

"Well, make yourself at home." Sae nodded, offering him a smile.

"Ah, well, I'm afraid that I'm a little preoccupied at the moment." he chuckled, his arms still around her.

She gave him a kiss before taking him by the hand and leading him into the living room.

"Everything been going ok with you?" he asked. "With university and all?"

"It's been fine so far." she told him. "University… is very different than high school in some ways, but it was still similar enough for me to transition smoothly."

"Good to know." he nodded, before letting out a sigh. "Can't be as stressful as entrance exams, that's for sure."

"You'll do great on them." she assured him. "I'll make sure of it!"

"Well, at the very least, I got the best exam scores at my school." he grinned. "The competition isn't as stiff, but my scores are around what I got at Shujin, at least."

"That's wonderful!" she beamed. "See, I told you, you'll do fine!"

"Well, having a great study partner helps."

"I'll bet."

"Oh, I did actually get you a gift, by the way." he told her, digging into a bag he had carried inside. "First, I got you some candy." he told her.

"What kind?" she asked.

"This kind, sweetheart." he winked, holding out a box of… sweethearts.

She let out a giggle. "You only got those so you could use those lines on me, didn't you?" she playfully accused.

"Well, that was one reason." he grinned.

She reached into the box, pulling out one of the heart-shaped candies to see what it said.

Kiss me.

"And that would be the second." he smirked.

She laughed again, pulling him into a kiss.

And so began their silly little game, where one of them would take one of the pieces of candy, and do whatever was listed on it, from hugs, to kisses, to sweet talk...

Perhaps it was a little silly, but she was enjoying herself too much to care.

"I got you one more thing." he told her, giving her a present from his bag.

"You didn't have to." she whispered. "Just you being here is worth more than any gift."

"I wanted to." he smiled, holding out a square, wrapped present.

She could feel his eyes on her as she carefully unwrapped her present.

Inside was a small box that she slowly opened…

"WHERE?! WHEN?! HOW?! She yelled, astonished by his gift.

Is was a coffee mug, but not just any coffee mug…

It was a Buchimaru coffee mug, complete with a lid and a spoon that all has his face on them.

"I got it back in my hometown." he told her. "I know all the out of the way stores that sell all kinds of obscure things. As soon as I saw that, I knew that I had to get it for you."

She wrapped him into another hug, a toothy grin on her face.

"I love it." she expressed.

He gave a gentle kiss to her hair. "I'm glad."

They lied on the couch for a while longer, catching up some more.

"So, are you busy today?"

She glanced over at him. "No, why?"

"I was hoping to bring you out to dinner." he told her.

"Where to?"

"Anywhere you want." he told her. "It is your birthday, after all."

"Then… could you take me to Leblanc?" she asked.

"Leblanc?" he asked. "Sure, that's fine, but don't you go to Leblanc often?"

"I do, but…" she trailed off. "But I want to have your curry and coffee."

He smiled at that. "Well, if that's what you want, then I'd be happy to bring you."

"Do Boss and Futaba know you're back?" she asked.

"They do." he nodded. "I stopped over for a bit before coming here. Dropped Morgana off with them too."

"Well, speaking of Leblanc… do you have a place to stay?" she asked.

"I was going to ask Sojiro if I could stay in the attic again." he mentioned.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "That can't be very comfortable."

"It'd only be for one night." he shrugged.

"Well… maybe you could stay here?" she shyly suggested.

"Would that be ok?" he asked, his faint blush on his face.

"I'll ask my sister." she offered. "Just wait outside, ok?"

He nodded, heading outside.

She slowly peeked her head into her sister's room, where Sae was tapping away at her laptop.

"Hey sis? I'm going out to dinner with Ren, ok?"

Sae glanced up from her laptop, giving a small smile.

"Have fun." Sae said.

"Yeah… um… actually..."

"Was there something else…?" Sae asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well…" she trailed off. "Ren and I were talking about him having a place to stay, so I was wondering…"

"No."

"Eh?"

"I said no." Sae frowned. Absolutely not."

"I promise we won't do anything!"

"Two dating teenagers sleeping in the same home, and you expect me to believe nothing will happen?"

"I mean… we won't do that..."

"It could easily escalate into-"

"N-Not while Buchi-kun is watching!"

"Makoto, for the last time, it's a stuffed animal!"

"He's too innocent! The last time we just put him in your room with headphones on!"

"That doesn't… wait." Sae muttered, before narrowing her eyes. "What do you mean by 'last time'?"

"Ummmm… ohwaittimefordinnerbyeSis!" she hastily yelled, running off.

"... Fine."

"Huh?"

She turned towards her elder sister, who gave a loud sigh.

"I suppose… since it was your birthday, that I'll allow it." Sae muttered. "But I trust you to be responsible. I don't want any Niijima babies crawling around anytime soon."

"S-Sis!"

She watched him carefully prepare their coffee and curry from behind the counter, an enamored look on her face.

"It was nice of Boss to let us have the cafe to ourselves." she mentioned.

He nodded, pouring the coffee into her new mug. "Guess we had some good timing. He was about to close up shop anyway."

He placed the curry and coffee on the table, sitting down next to her.

A flood of memories came back to her as she sipped her coffee.

Memories of all the little study dates and intimate moments they shared.

"It's just as wonderful as I remember." she smiled. "I could drink this every day."

"I'd be happy to prepare it for you then." he grinned.

He slowly took a bite of his curry, relishing the taste.

"I missed this too." he sighed. "I haven't had curry since I left."

"Really?" she asked. "I'm sure you could make some at home."

"I was thinking about it. Still, I think the atmosphere makes it taste better." he said. "That... and the company."

"Yes… I agree." she beamed, a hint of a blush on her face. "Food tastes better in good company."

She continued eating her curry, savoring the taste.

"I'm glad that you came." she whispered. "I… was worried when you first left. About how hard it would be to manage a long distance relationship. Don't get me wrong, I know we still talk every day, but…"

"I understand." he nodded. "It's tough, but… we'll get through it."

"You're right." she whispered. "We've both waited so long…"

"I'll try and see if there's any other times that I can visit." he offered.

"I'd like that, but… I know it must be really hard for you too." she said. "So, I wanted to come over to visit you."

"I… would really enjoy that." he said. "I'd like to show you around my hometown."

"This summer, then." she promised, pecking his cheek. "I'll visit you this summer. Err… that's ok with your parents, right?"

"My dad wouldn't mind." he shrugged. "And my mom keeps asking when you'll come visit again."

"Really?" she asked.

"Oh yeah." he grinned. "I think she likes you almost as much as I do. You made a pretty good impression when you and the others dropped me off."

"I'm really glad." she whispered. "I was a little nervous when I first met them."

"I knew they'd see how great you were." he smiled.

It was quite the relief to know that she had made a good impression.

Still… summer was a few months away…

They'd simply need to make the most of the little time they had.

She shifted her hand, placing it on his thigh.

"Were you really considering spending the night here?" she asked.

"The attic is kept dusted." he shrugged. "And the bed and the couch are still there."

"I see…"

She began lightly tugging on his belt with her fingers.

"W-Wasn't I staying at your place?" he asked, clearly flustered.

A smirk on her face, she got up from her seat, her fingers brushing his thigh as she did so.

She walked towards the stairs, wriggling her hips a bit as she did so.

"Well… sis won't expect us back for a while." she cooed, glancing over her shoulder. "So why don't we... celebrate a bit more upstairs."

As she figured, he was completely under her spell.

"Not until I help you into your birthday suit." he chuckled, following her up the stairs.

…

…

…

"WAIT!" she yelled.

Seeing his shocked expression, she quickly began to explain herself.

"I forgot something. Be right back!"

She quickly rushed downstairs, seeing what she had neglected.

"There you are." she said, giving a sigh of relief. "I almost forgot."

She carefully picked up her new Buchimaru coffee mug, putting a nearby towel over it before storing it in the cupboard farthest away from the stairs.

And turning the T.V on, just in case.

With Buchimaru's innocence preserved, she eagerly ascended the stairs once more…