Take your time or I'll take your Heart

Chapter 23

~2 years~

"What should I do?" I asked Ryuji. I had the day off today and Y/N was going to be late tonight. So I had the day to myself. I decided to see the Phantom Thieves to see how they were doing. They asked me how Y/N was and I told them I had an idea with her birthday. Her birthday was coming up and I wanted to make is a special day for her.

"Don't do the normal thing that guys do with their girlfriends," Ryuji said.

"And that is?" I asked.

"Not the typical chocolates and roses ordeal. Y/N is special. So you need to do something special. Like her," Futaba said.

"I just don't know what to do," I said and took a sip of my drink.

"Have you asked her that question?" Yusuke asked.

"That question?" I asked.

"Yeah. Have you asked her about it?"

"We've never really talked about it. But there was a small mention about it a year ago."

"Then why don't you ask her. I think since you've been together for a while now, maybe it is time to ask that question," Yusuke said. "You better be romantic about it. Girls love it when the guys are all romantic."

"Not all the time," Ann said to Yusuke.

"Oh come on, don't tell me that you didn't find it romantic when I asked you out," Yusuke said to Ann.

"It was nice, but I wouldn't say romantic."

Yusuke sighed and looked at the ground in defeat, "Anyway, make it special."

"She means the world to you, so you better treat her like she is," Makoto pointed out.

"No matter what you decided to do, let her know it comes from your heart," Haru said.

I nodded my head, "Thanks, guys. It was nice to see you all again."

"Thanks for bringing me along!" Morgana said.

"Did you really think I'd forget about you, Morgana?" I asked.

"Sometimes you do."

"Not all the time," I said as I scratched behind his ear.

"Ooh, right there," he purred.

"I gotta get going. Thank you for the help. All of you."

I hugged them all goodbye and headed back towards the train station with Morgana. Once the train stopped, I walked out and headed towards a store. When I was done, I walked back to the apartment room. I unlocked the door and headed inside. I greeted Scarlet and headed towards our room. I put the item in my sock drawer and thought of something. Since her birthday would be in a few days, I would take her out to eat at a fancy restaurant. The one where she always wanted to go but couldn't due to her busy schedule. Her birthday would be a great way to ask her.

"Thought of a place?" Morgana asked.

"I do. All I need to do is make a reservation."

I called them and made a reservation three days from now. I hung up and looked at Morgana.

"I just hope she likes it."

"I think she will," Morgana said and rubbed against my arm. "Who wouldn't like to be with you?"

"I don't know."

~3 Days Later~

"Are you ready?" I asked her as I put on one of my best suits.

"I can't thank you enough, Ren," she said and pecked me on the cheek.

"It's nothing."

"It's something. I'm just lost for words."

I smiled at her and gave her a hug, "You don't need to express your gratitude through words. Come on. If we stay here any longer we're going to miss our reservation."

We walked towards the elevator and headed out towards the lobby.

"Have a fun night you two!" Jake said.

"Will do!" we both said.

I walked her down towards the restaurant and walked in. The hostess there recognized me and lead us towards our table. We sat down and looked at the menu. The waiter came towards us and we ordered our drinks. He came back with them a moment later and took our order.

"This place is so nice," she said.

"Yeah," I said and looked around. "What made you think about coming here?"

"I just always wanted to try their food. I've heard many recommendations that this place was really good and high class. My mother and father came here long before they had me and my sister."

"How is your sister doing?"

"She's doing alright. She's living with her boyfriend now. She has Icicle with her. My mother and father are no longer in the house we used to live in. They're living in a smaller home."

"Did your mother ever do anything with your father and what happened with him?"

"She did. They're still working on the legal charges. They can't get him to confess."

"I know a way of getting him to confess."

"If you're thinking of that, don't do it without me," she smirked.

I smiled, "I wouldn't. Besides, you need to find your persona. Find that inner rebel inside you. That's what it means to be a Phantom Thief."

"Sounds interesting."

"I can take you to the metaverse when you're ready to see if we can find your father's palace."

"Do you really think he'll have a palace?"

"He might. Or he might be in Mementos. Either way, he's in the metaverse."

The waiter came over and gave us our food. We ate for a little bit and Y/N went to the bathroom. When the waiter came back, I asked him something and he just winked and left. I smiled to myself and Y/N came back from the bathroom.

"The bathrooms are really nice in there," she said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. They must have paid a fortune to get something like this. And for it to still be running, that's amazing."

The waiter came back to our table. "Would you like to look at the dessert menu?"

"Wouldn't hurt to look," Y/N said.

I could feel my palms sweating. I was shaking from head to toe, but I tried to hide it. I took a sharp breath in and tried to calm my breathing. The waiter handed her the 'menu.' Once she looked at it, she was confused.

"I don't understand what this means," she said.

"What does it say?"

"'I need to ask you an important question.' Is this a joke?"

"No, it's not."

"What do you mean?"

I took her hand and held it. I hope she didn't notice I was sweating bullets now.

"Y/N, we've known each other since we were in middle school. And we've been dating for about four years now. I think it's time for me to ask something more out of our relationship. I don't know how you are with commitment, but I think I'm ready for a longer commitment. Y/N L/N, I love you with all my heart." I got out of my chair and took out the velvet box. I knelt before her and opened up the box. "Y/N L/N, will you marry me?"