"So we're boyfriends now, right?"
Makoto's voice was light, teasing—but there was an unmistakable thread of genuine hope woven through it as he blinked up at Saiki, chin resting in his hands, feet kicked lazily in the air behind him on Saiki's bed.
[System] Ding! Congratulations! Host has finally unlocked a love life
Saiki, who was sitting stiffly on his desk chair like the weight of gravity had suddenly increased tenfold, looked at him, expression unreadable. He could still hear the echo of Makoto's confession in his ears like a bell that refused to stop ringing.
"…I suppose," he said, voice flat.
Makoto immediately beamed. "You suppose? Saiki, you can't just suppose your way into boyfriendhood. This is a serious commitment!"
Makoto ignored the system. Barely.
Saiki, who was sitting stiffly on his desk chair like the weight of gravity had suddenly increased tenfold, looked at him, expression unreadable. He could still hear the echo of Makoto's confession in his ears like a bell that refused to stop ringing.
"…I suppose," he said, voice flat.
Makoto immediately beamed. "You suppose? Saiki, you can't just suppose your way into boyfriendhood. This is a serious commitment!"
"You confessed five minutes ago and then tried to reenact a Broadway show in my room."
"It was a dramatic retelling of my internal suffering," Makoto corrected. "And if I'm going to suffer, I'd rather do it as your boyfriend."
[System] Romance levels surging. Host's shamelessness levels also surging.
Makoto didn't even blink. "You're blushing."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm experiencing mild physiological discomfort due to your volume and proximity."
Makoto cackled. "You're so cute when you're in denial."
"I regret agreeing to this."
"No, you don't."
Saiki didn't respond. That alone was damning.
They stayed there like that for a few moments—Makoto lounging like a cat on the bed, Saiki pretending to be unaffected while telepathically trying to recalibrate the temperature of his face. It didn't work.
"Hey," Makoto said suddenly, propping his chin up higher. "Can we go on a date tomorrow?"
Saiki blinked. "What."
"You know, a date. Like people in a relationship do."
"…Why?"
Makoto gave him a look. "Because we're dating?"
Makoto reached across the bed and poked Saiki's arm. "C'mon, it'll be fun. We can do something low-key! No helicopters. I promise."
"Define low-key."
Makoto shrugged. "Just us. A walk. A movie. Coffee jelly. Whatever you want."
Saiki considered it for exactly three seconds. "…Fine."
Makoto lit up again, brighter than the ceiling light. "Great! I'll pick you up at ten."
"You're going to show up uninvited again."
"Correct."
Saiki sighed and stood up. "I'm walking you home."
Makoto blinked. "Really?"
"You came over. It's dark. You'll get kidnapped and it'll be my problem."
[System] Ding! Host is delusional enough to think that Saiki's being Romantic
Makoto grinned and hopped off the bed, ignoring the system's statement. "Awww, Saiki, you care."
"I care about avoiding complications."
"Uh-huh."
They left Saiki's room, Makoto humming cheerfully under his breath. Saiki's parents were in the living room; his mom waved enthusiastically.
"Oh, Makoto-chan! Walking home already?" she asked.
"Yup!" Makoto grinned. "Thanks for dinner! It was amazing!"
Saiki's mother positively lit up. "You're such a sweet boy, Makoto-kun! Come over anytime. Maybe next week we can all do a hotpot night!"
"Or a game night!" Saiki's dad added with a grin.
Makoto turned to Saiki, voice low and teasing as he leaned in close. "I think your family likes me more than you do."
"Statistically accurate," Saiki muttered.
The street was quiet, the kind of quiet that made every rustle of leaves sound louder than it should. The wind whispered through the trees as Makoto walked beside Saiki, a barely-contained bounce in his step. His hands were tucked into his coat pockets, though from the way his shoulders kept twitching with excitement, it wasn't for warmth.
He filled the silence effortlessly, voice bright under the dim glow of the streetlamps. "So I was thinking—what if our date has coffee jelly as a theme? Like, every stop we make involves coffee jelly somehow. A dessert tour. We'd be pioneers, trailblazing through sugar and caffeine."
Saiki made a soft hum of acknowledgment.
Makoto kept going, undeterred. "Also, we're kind of in a super exclusive club now, you know? Psychic and Celebrity. That's some niche romance genre stuff."
Saiki's eyes twitched. "I'm not a psychic."
Makoto stopped walking, turned to look at him, and raised both brows.
"You're not?" he said, mock-incredulous. "That's crazy. Because it really felt like you read my mind when I was about to confess—oh wait, and all those other times you responded to things I definitely didn't say out loud."
"Coincidence," Saiki said flatly.
"Right," Makoto grinned. "And I'm just a regular civilian with a totally normal brain and definitely not an incredibly powerful system living in it. Super average."
[System] you can't just expose us-
Saiki gave him a sharp side glance. "What."
Makoto blinked innocently. "Nothing."
He flashed a mischievous smile and kept walking, whistling like he hadn't just said something borderline reality-breaking.
They resumed walking. Makoto practically hummed with amusement, the smug satisfaction of someone who wasn't buying a single word—but enjoyed the game too much to call it out.
"Are you sure you don't mind walking me home?" he asked for the third time, though the grin on his face betrayed how pleased he was. "You're not gonna just teleport the second I blink, right?"
"I considered it," Saiki said, deadpan. "But you'd probably show up at my window again."
Makoto gasped in mock betrayal. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
They walked in silence for a few steps before Makoto peeked at him from the corner of his eye. "So… tomorrow. Date."
Saiki didn't respond right away.
Makoto elbowed him lightly. "You're not gonna forget, right? I'll be very hurt. Like, emotionally scarred. Deep-rooted trauma. Lifetime of abandonment issues—"
"I'll remember," Saiki interrupted.
Makoto beamed. "Great! I even have a plan."
"That's what I'm worried about."
When they finally reached Makoto's place, he paused at the gate. The lights were on inside, and the faint sound of music was heard from Kokomi's room.
Saiki turned as if to leave, but Makoto grabbed his sleeve.
"Wait."
Saiki stilled.
Makoto leaned in, quick and smooth, and pressed a light kiss to his cheek. "Thanks for walking me home, boyfriend."
The word sent a minor electrical surge through Saiki's brain, but he said nothing despite the way his ears went red.
"…Night," he mumbled.
Makoto disappeared behind the gate with a wave.
Saiki stood there a second longer before sighing deeply and floating straight up into the night sky.
He was doomed.