i couldn't help but fall for you || Takuto Maruki x Reader

odaiba's summer festival

About a month following the first research session, a mafia boss by the name of Junya Kaneshiro turned himself into the police on the accords of the Phantom Thieves. You stumbled upon one of the many calling cards posted around Shibuya on your way to your meeting with Maruki; when you proudly displayed it to him, he fully supported you enthusiasm. You didn't get much research done that night—instead, you discussed the Phantom Thieves, your experience with what came to be the Kaneshiro thug from the previous month, and ended the evening with a heated debate on what the best fruit was. Those types of sessions became commonplace as you grew more comfortable being around each other, much to your elated surprise. Maruki was not only a great listener, but an excellent conversationalist despite being something of a wallflower—he was wise beyond his years, often providing great insight to the many social grievances plaguing young people such as ourselves. An especially compelling dialogue ensued after you elected to walk around the streets of Shibuya over sitting inside Big Bang Burger, as you usually did. One night, you stumbled across a man giving a speech on these very social issues—apparently, he was known as 'No Good Tora' to many of the onlookers—but his speech captivated you both. The weight he carried behind him when he spoke seemed to inspire you regardless of his tarnished legacy; in several ways, his oratory skills reminded you of Amamiya's.

Your heart could hardly keep still around the bespectacled man. Maruki has, for all intents and purposes, captured you in ways no one else even came close to doing. Daydreams of him filled your imagination as he was all you could think about; it was a distraction in all facets of your life, much to the detriment of my schoolwork, but it was something you no longer had control over. You were wholeheartedly in love with Takuto Maruki, and you would keep my feelings under wraps for as long as you conceivably could. At the very least, however, you took solace in the fact Maruki considered you a close friend.

We're good friends, aren't we? He once asked you as cheerful as ever, our relationship doesn't have to be that of researcher and subject.

If only that were the case, Maruki.

In any case, you framed Kaneshiro's calling card next to Kamoshida's. They hung above your desk at home, serving as your treasured reminder of the Phantom Thieves' heroism. First, your mother; then, that Kaneshiro lackey Maruki saved you from...your fate seemed entwined with that of The Phantom Thieves.

· · ·

While a remarkably brutal heatwave tore across Tokyo, Maruki rang as you sought refuge in the many fans of your small Yongen apartment. Wiping off the sweat beads that formed on your forehead, you reached for your phone which buzzed on the table adjacent to you. Whenever he called you, you made sure to stare at his icon—the picture of him you snapped at Inokashira Park—for just a moment. Mainly it was because you never liked answering the phone the second it rang, but you also loved admiring his handsome features: his tender, slightly down-turned brown eyes, his long eyelashes, his scruffy hair, his stubble...you got lost in his eyes as he spoke to me more times than you'd like to admit.

"Hello, Maruki?" you softly started as you laid down on the floor, "Is everything alright?"

"Hey!" the man replied, "I'm glad you're doing well. Are you free tomorrow?"

Tomorrow was Sunday the 17th if you recalled correctly; you generally didn't have much on your schedule on Sundays thanks to your habitual studying at work and Leblanc. It was the only true day of the week you were freely available. "Um, yes, I should be. Did you want to reschedule our session on Monday to tomorrow instead?"

"Not at all, (L/N). Quite the opposite, in fact." It appeared as though Maruki had a surprise for you. "You see, I found out about a summer festival in Odaiba from one of the students today at lunchtime." You didn't know why, but you could hear him strain ever so slightly at the mention of Odaiba, "Would you be interested in going with me tomorrow? No research or anything—I'm interested in sampling the food there, but just didn't want to go alone!" A day out with Maruki, without the pretense of research or work or professionalism; more simply put, it was an outing with Maruki as your friend rather than as your 'researcher.' You were so elated your mind was completely scrambled, and anything you wanted to say wouldn't form in your throat. "Ah...are you still there?" the doctor spoke again, this time timidly as your face ran hot.