Being in a secret relationship was hard. Ren was eternally grateful that Ryuji was gawking at Anne so blatantly. It let him drink in the sight of his girlfriend in a bikini. Thanks to Ryuji, his appreciative looks went unnoticed.

Her bikini matched her personality—colorful and bright. It hugged her figure perfectly.

Ren knew that Anne was absolutely gorgeous… but damn.

Anne's eyes flicked over to Ren for a moment, a teasing smile tugging at her lips. Mischief glinted in her eyes. Then her gaze moved to Ryuji, who was still gawking. She then walked over, teasing him and poking him in the side.

They were then quickly distracted by Futaba making her appearance… her head tightly wrapped up in a towel. After Makoto unveiled Futaba and started to fuss over her—asking if she had applied sunblock, telling her that she doesn't have to hide her face—Anne pounced.

She shoved a bottle of lotion in Ren's hands. "Could you get my back please?" she asked sweetly. "Since Makoto's kinda busy with Futaba right now."

Their eyes met and Ren couldn't help but crack a smile at the sparkle in her eyes. Hiding in plain sight, huh? But then again, they were Phantom Thieves. He popped the bottle open, pouring a generous amount of lotion in his palm.

They've been dating for a few weeks now. They were taking things gradually, as Ren hated the idea of pressuring Anne or rushing her. It'd be a cold day in hell before he pushed Anne into anything.

Anne seemed okay when he ran his fingers through her hair when they kissed. He occasionally cupped her cheek when going in for a kiss. Anne let out a soft hum as he massaged the lotion into her skin. And he had thought Anne's skin was soft before. She seemed to really enjoy this though. Maybe he should offer to give her a back massage sometime?

…He had to watch himself though. They were with friends after all. Maybe they could sneak off for some alone time later. Might be tricky, but he was used to challenges.

He handed the bottle back to Anne. "I've always got you covered, Anne," he said with a wink.

Anne just giggled, winking back at him as she put a hand on her hip. "I've known that for a long time."

Ryuji made a face at Ren. Back in June, he had admitted to Ryuji that he found Anne breathtaking. Since then, Ryuji has made a couple clumsy attempts to wingman.

During one trip in Mementos, shortly after they stole Kaneshiro's Treasure… Anne had remarked that she found coffee sophisticated and that it paired well with sweets. Ryuji quickly added that Ren always smelled like coffee.

That night, Ryuji had sent him a text saying: you're welcome, bro ;)

(Thank god that Morgana lost interest in the message when Ren had said it was from Ryuji.)

And there was how Anne joked about going on a date with Ryuji so he'll make up an exercise regiment for her. Ryuji immediately turned her down, but flashed Ren a thumbs up when Anne wasn't looking.

"Seriously, RenRen?" Ryuji whispered to him, as Anne joined Makoto in fussing over Futaba. "When are you gonna make a move already?"

Ren just shrugged at him. "Don't know what you're talking about, Ryuji."

"I really should have Yusuke draw you some time when you stare at Anne," Ryuji grumbled.

"It's not like I was the only one," Ren calmly deflected.

"Hey, can you blame me?" Ryuji protested. "She's hot!"

Makoto coughed. "If you two are done…" She shot them a look, as if she was a teacher catching two students whispering to each other instead of focusing on their schoolwork. "We should find a spot to set our things down."

So after Anne and Makoto set down the blanket, Ryuji and Ren opened the beach umbrella that Ryuji had brought with him.

Futaba was quick to sit down. "Ugh, there really should be an AC here."

"Come on, Futaba, we're at the beach!" Anne sat next to her. "It's nice, isn't it?"

Futaba grumbled, tilting her head up before inhaling the salty sea air. "…I guess," she admitted grudgingly. But then she huffed. "It's still really hot though…"

"We do have a cooler for this purpose," Yusuke said. He popped it open, pulling out two cans of soda. He passed one to Futaba. He opened his can, taking a sip. "I must say… as busy as it is, this is rather picturesque."

"There is a reason why people enjoy going to the beach so much," Makoto chuckled. She then tucked her legs underneath her. "Now then… What should we do first?"

"Let's get something to eat at the stands," Ren suggested. "Then we can figure out what we want to do."

Makoto nodded. "That sounds like a good plan."

"Okay… so what do you guys want?" Ren asked.

Ryuji, Yusuke, and Anne all called out what they wanted immediately. Futaba ignored them, digging through the pack that she and Ren had put together, pulling out a bowl of instant udon.

"Futaba… you shouldn't eat that so much," Makoto chided.

"It's my staple food!" she protested, before beginning to pout at Makoto.

Ren coughed before Makoto could scold Futaba further. "I'll just grab something for her, don't worry Makoto." He then turned towards the food stands, looking over his shoulder back at them. "I'll go get the food now. You guys can pay me back later, okay?"

"Ren, wait!" Anne shoved on her sandals, before she leapt to her feet. "I'll help you carry the food!"

Ren flashed her a smile. "Thanks."

Anne looked over her shoulder as they walked away from their friends. Once they were far enough, she snagged his hand and tugged him further away. She pulled him to the side of one of the food stands.

"Should've known you had ulterior motives," Ren teased, slipping his arms around her waist. He drew her close for a quick kiss, rubbing circles on her back with his thumb. "You look gorgeous, by the way."

"Mm…" Anne sighed contently against his lips, running her hands down his back. She then pulled back, her eyes sparkling once more as she looked at him up and down. "You don't look half bad yourself, Ren." She then pulled him in for another kiss.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see some people giving them side glances and judgmental looks, but he didn't care. He was going to kiss his girlfriend, dammit. He was used to the side-eye anyways.

But… they couldn't linger for long. Their friends would be wondering where they were. So Ren reluctantly pulled away from Anne.

Anne pouted at that, making Ren chuckle. He snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her close. "I'll make it up to you later, okay?" he murmured. "We'll find some time to sneak away."

There was still a pout on her face. Ren couldn't help but snicker a bit at that. She was too adorable. "That better be a promise," she grumbled out.

Ren chuckled again, before leaning down and kissing her temple. "When have I ever let you down?"

Ren should have seen this coming.

Girls in bikinis. Add his hormonal best friend and that just equaled a disaster in the making. He loved Ryuji, he really did. Ryuji was like the brother he never had growing up. But this… this was just begging for trouble.

All because the girls left them to get their rental banana boat.

Ren had to admit that he was a bit disappointed that they wouldn't be doing something as a group, but it didn't mean that they should run off and hit on girls.

Though Anne catching his eye when she claimed that they—as in him, Ryuji, and Yusuke—could steal treasure but not girls' hearts made him nearly lose his poker face. Anne could really dish out the teasing when she wanted to.

But with what Ryuji was saying… and if Anne ever found out… Ren couldn't help but shudder. He felt a shiver run up his spine, just thinking about Anne's reaction to this. She would go Panther on his ass if she ever caught wind about this.

Besides, Anne had held his heart for a while now. Any other girl? Paled in comparison to her.

Ryuji then sidled up to him, nudging his side. "'Sides, it wouldn't be a bad idea to practice before laying the moves on Anne, amirite?"

"Ryuji…" Ren shook his head. "I don't need to do that."

"You were totally flirtin' with her earlier!" Ryuji exclaimed. (Thank god they had stepped away from Morgana already. He still wasn't sure how to break it to his friend that his Lady Anne was someone else's lady now.) "Seriously, man, you've got the hots for her since June—prolly even before! If you keep sitting on it, she'll be gone! Poof!"

"Don't worry about that, Ryuji," Ren said. "It's fine. Really." Then he cocked his head at Ryuji. "And poof? Really?"

"Aw, shuddup!" Ryuji scowled at Ren, but then shook his head. "For someone who managed to get into the top ten last exam, you're so dumb 'bout Anne," he grumbled. "What's stopping you?!"

"Nothing," Ren said smoothly. It was hard keeping a straight face with all of this. "I didn't know you were so invested in my love life, Ryuji."

"I just want you and Anne to be happy, a'right?" Ryuji huffed. "But you can do that later!" He rolled his shoulders. "Let's go find some babes to charm!"

And so Ryuji dragged them around and around to find girls to hit on. It was honestly… a mess. Yusuke was rather oblivious and sometimes aggravated the girls and Ryuji just… tried too hard. Essentially the opposite of Ren, who barely tried. Because if he did… Anne would kill him. Nothing but cinders. Then she'd probably bring his ashes to the Metaverse and have Morgana use Recarm on him so she could kick his ass all over again.

"That was a bust…" Ryuji whimpered out, before hanging his head. "Where did we go wrong?!"

"What is this we?" Yusuke asked, quirking an eyebrow at their friend.

"Shut up!" Ryuji grumbled. "We're all in this together. We went in as a group!"

As they approached their spot, Ren frowned. "Um… I hate to break this pity party, but… the girls aren't back."

"That's… peculiar." Yusuke dug out his phone from his hoodie. "It's been nearly an hour…"

"Let's go look for them, then," Ryuji said. "Just to check up on 'em."

Ren nodded firmly. "Agreed."

So they went to search for the girls. And it wasn't long until they could hear Anne's indignant voice.

"We told you already, we're here with friends!"

The only thought that ran through Ren's mind was: Uh oh. He should have expected that someone would hone in on Anne and try to hit on her. And either Makoto or Futaba had been dragged into it.

"Come on, babe, we just want to have fun with you and your friend…" a voice drawled out. "Why don't you come with us on our yacht? It'll be loads of fun… we've invited several celebs!"

Ren's blood began to boil. Two older men with deeply tanned skin were talking to Anne and Makoto. And one of them had his hand around Anne's wrist.

Anne slapped his hand away. "What part of no don't you get?!" she seethed, her hands clenched into fists.

"And we told you before that we're here with friends…" Makoto said with a frown. "We shouldn't keep them waiting-"

"Sorry for the wait," Ren quickly interjected, stepping into view. He was quickly followed by the other two boys. "How was the banana boat ride?"

"Ren!" Anne's eyes lit up.

"Huh. So you weren't lying about being with friends…" one of the two men mused.

"At least one of us weren't," Makoto said coolly, staring down the two men.

"And are you deaf or something?!" Anne spat out, her eyes smoldering with anger. "We said that—several times!"

The second man shrugged. "We just thought you could have some fun… Loosen up."

Anne scoffed. "Yeah, like I haven't heard that before," she muttered.

Ren looked to her in surprise.

Anne…Of course. It wasn't just Kamoshida. There were so many vicious rumors about her being… easy.

"But if you want to play with children… fine. Let the children play with their playmates." The first man turned to his friend. "Let's go."

"You were the one who came up to us!" Anne shouted at them. "Good riddance!"

"I swear we should call the cops on them," Ryuji grumbled. "Are you two okay?"

"I don't know, they seemed to be holding on their own, right…" Ren turned to look at his friend, "…Yusuke?" He looked around, bewildered. "…Where did he go?"

Makoto coughed. "But anyhow, we're all right." But then she took Anne's wrist, holding it gingerly. "I hope he didn't bruise anything…"

"I'm okay, Makoto," Anne reassured her. "He barely squeezed."

"He still manhandled you," Ren hissed out, unable to keep the anger from his voice. His hands clenched into fists. "What the hell?"

"Ren…" Anne winced. "I… I'm okay, honest." She then flipped her hair over her shoulder. "We should look for Yusuke. And Futaba for that matter."

"Inari, let me seeee!"

As if Anne's words had summoned them both, Yusuke and Futaba slipped from the crowd, bickering as usual. Futaba had Morgana in her arms. And Yusuke was holding… a pair of lobsters?

…Then again with all the weird stuff Yusuke got into… maybe this was tame.

Maybe.

After Makoto settled down Futaba and Yusuke, they decided to try and push that little incident with a game of volleyball. They had to talk Futaba into participating. Between Makoto's athleticism and Anne occasionally distracting Ren, the girls handily beat them.

But after that, they broke into groups. Yusuke had wandered off to try and sketch a bit. Ryuji dragged both Makoto and Futaba to the ocean… leaving him alone with Anne. They were free to wander the beach. They couldn't hold hands, for fear of being caught, but still… it was nice. Really nice.

Anne sighed happily, gazing out at the sky. "I really do love the beach."

The now setting sun painted orange streaks into the sky. It was really gorgeous… but it didn't hold a candle to Anne.

Ren quickly gave her a one armed hug. "This beach isn't too special though. You probably have been to more exclusive ones with your parents."

"I mean, sure…" Anne shrugged. "But there's just something about going to the beach with your friends… you know?"

"I'm glad that you're okay, you know," Ren said quietly. "I wanted to punch the guy for grabbing you like that."

Anne frowned. "I can take care of myself, you know."

"I know." Ren took her hand, before lightly kissing her palm. "…I still worry. Even though you put that guy in his place. Almost as good as Kamoshida's Shadow."

Anne laughed softly. "Well, I can't exactly go Panther on him. I don't think that's a fair comparison."

"I dunno, you had your claws out," Ren snickered. "But still, you're right. This beach trip has been a success. Futaba has shown that she's doing okay with crowds now…"

"You got to see me in a swimsuit," Anne teased.

"Hey, it's not like you weren't doing your own looking," Ren quipped. "But yeah… this was fun, Anne."

Anne rested her head on his shoulder. "…This was nice but…" She turned to look at him. "…Let's have a proper beach date some day. Just the two of us!"

Ren chuckled before leaning in for a quick kiss. "I have no complaints about that. Let's do that soon, then."