Winter was a formidable force to keep at bay, and the old building style of Café Leblanc was certainly not helping there. Despite how hard it tried, there was only so much a single heater could do to keep the biting cold at bay. Said heater was sat next to the CRT screen in Ren's room, its warm glow easily eclipsed by the flickering of the screen. Ren Amamiya himself was curled up in one corner of the chair, nestled inside a sleeping bag in an attempt to retain feeling in his extremities. So far, it was working, much to his joy, because otherwise he would not be able to enjoy the presence of Futaba Sakura's body leaning on his, her head leaning on his shoulder as they watched the screen. Strands of her hair stood out against the grey of his sleeping bag, and he resented the cold for making it so uncomfortable to embrace her properly.

The credits began to crawl across the scene, and Futaba shifted, pushing herself higher up the seat using Ren as a brace. He watched her struggle before she sighed with frustration, opting to lie down with her head resting in his lap.

"Comfortable?"

"Yep."

The reflection of the screen's light on her glasses was obscuring her eyes. A shame. He wrested a hand free of his sleeping bag and placed it on Futaba's head. This was by far her favourite use of his hands to date. She closed her eyes, nuzzling into his palm. They sat in silence like that, only the hum of the fan heater accompanying the sound of their breathing.

"Hey, Ren."

"Hmm?"

"The movie's stopped."

"Very observant of you."

"Put another one on."

"After you've just gotten comfortable?"

Futaba pouted and moved again, this time managing to position herself so that she was sat in Ren's lap, her face now very close to his. Each being able to feel the other's warmth was a welcome bonus.

"Are you really going to make me stand up, in the cold, to change the movie?"

"You are making it increasingly difficult to move, so… yes?"

His smug smile was met with a playful headbutt. After a moment of wiggling, she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Change the movie."

"If thou insists."

Futaba rolled to allow Ren space to move, and he hauled himself to his feet, grimacing at the sting of cold are being drawn into the sleeping bag as he stood.

"Pacific Rim or Edge of Tomorrow?"

"Edge of Tomorrow, obviously. Who doesn't love All You Need Is Kill?"

"Well forgive me for asking, princess."

"You are forgiven. Heh."

Ren glared at Futaba. She grinned back. Her grin faded when he stepped out of his sleeping bag and began to pull her out of hers. Her laughter became yelps of protest- she tried to push him off, but those impossibly dexterous hands of his had already wormed their way inside and were firmly clamped under her arms. Her cocoon of warmth slipped away, and the goosebumps spread immediately. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around the nearest heat source: Ren. She scowled, and his victorious grin broke into a laugh. Her bare feet pushed off the ground, tackling him into the sofa- she was well aware that he let her perform such an action. She hastily pulled the sleeping bag over them. He was still laughing, pushing her dangling hair from his face while she breathed heavily with a mixture of begrudging joy and indignation.

"You know, you could have just asked for a hug."

"But now we can share a sleeping bag. Even warmer, win-win."

"I'm sure Sojiro wouldn't approve."

"I'm sure Sojiro wouldn't ask."

Futaba arched a brow.

"Well, someone sure is confident tonight- eep!" Ren's arms had snaked under her arms again and onto her back, pulling her in towards him. "Did I say confident? I meant affectionate."

The extra source of heat was very much welcome, and she settled on top of him, resting her head on his chest. He pressed play on the remote, and the pair watched their next film, their breathing having subconsciously synchronised. Despite how much she enjoyed the film, the extra warmth that Ren was providing was making her sleepy, and she could feel her eyelids growing heavy. When Ren next looked up from the screen, he saw that she was fast asleep, her glasses sitting at an odd angle on her face. He felt a small piece of his heart melt.

Moving carefully, he first turned off the screen, setting the remote down on the floor before pulling Futaba's glasses from her face placing them on the ground alongside his own. When he turned his attention back to the sleeping girl, she was quite awake, and staring at him intently.

"Hey, Ren."

"Hmm?"

"Do you miss the Metaverse?"

"Define "miss"."

"Like do you miss going there?"

"Do I miss crawling through the hearts of the corrupt and getting attacked at almost every turn? Not really, no."

She dug a finger into his right side, giggling as he writhed beneath her.

"You totally miss it."

"Nope, not at all." He managed between gasps.

"Oh my god, you actually have a power complex." She attacked his left as well.

"Oh yeah?" The inevitable retaliation came, and suddenly Futaba's sides were under attack, and she was quickly subdued and pinned on her back. "Like you can't relate. I can't name a single person who wouldn't want their own personal UFO or star."

"Oh, and I'm sure they'd be ecstatic to explain exactly why their Persona abducts them with tentacles. Top tier, ten out of ten."

The pair laughed again. Ren pulled the fabric of the sleeping bag in tighter in an effort to retain more heat.

"Why did you get abducted by tentacles though?"

"...aaaaaaaaaand that's enough of that conversation."

"Guessing it can be summed up with "the internet"?"

"I said that's enough." She gave him a cautionary poke in the chest. "Do you want me to attack you again?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny this allegation."

"Oh my god! Winning an argument with you is impossible if you just keep dropping one-liners!"

Light, playful punches landed on his chest. Ren chuckled, placing a hand on the back of her head and wrapping his other arm around her.

"...so warm." He muttered.

Fatigue was again creeping up on Futaba, and she allowed herself to relax in Ren's grasp.

"...I do miss it. I mean, despite it all, all the monsters, horrible people…" He glanced at Futaba. "Tragic pasts… it was fun. I had fun."

"That much was obvious. You really like ripping a shadow's face off, huh?"

"Quiet you." He fell silent for a moment. "It's weird. It's like, I can still feel Arsene's presence, but I can't hear him. It's like he's sat across some massive empty space."

"What about Satanael?"

Ren scoffed, holding back his laughter for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

"Not a chance. Satanael was a transformation of Arsene, remember? That and everyone believed we existed then, too."

"Hmmm, fair. It's the same with Prometheus. Well, it's Necronomicon, or at least it feels like it? I don't know. It's weird. Occasionally I'll see a green glow in my hands, but then nothing. I can't recreate it, it just happens sometimes. I don't even know if it's real. Like sometimes, it's like it still whispers in my ear, telling me things. Small things, like exactly when someone will walk through a door, or something."

"Hmmm."

They lapsed into silence again, the heater still humming away. What a diligent machine.

"You know what I think?" Ren said, his steely eyes meeting Futaba's.

"What?"

"I think…" Ren lifted Futaba, and the sudden lack of cover left her clinging to him as if she were a child. "This is a conversation best carried on tomorrow."

"You are such a useless romantic."

"Why thank you."

Ren's bed offered much more space than the sofa, a change that Futaba was thankful for. She waited for him to get comfortable before wrapping her arms around him.

"You best hope Sojiro doesn't come up here."

"Ssshhh, that's a problem for future me."

Breakfast the next morning was graced- or burdened, in Futaba's opinion- by the presence of Yusuke Kitagawa. He was the last person she needed to see on a Sunday morning when she was barely awake already. Not that she regretted it; she was a sucker for sci-fi, and Ren's collection of foreign films never ceased to amaze. How he got his hands on them was beyond her.

Yusuke was of course rambling about art. Ren, to his credit, looked as if he was paying attention. For Futaba, it was in one ear, and out the other. Early morning conversations about the fine subtleties of art did not pair well with movie marathon induced fatigue.

Ren said something to Yusuke, and the latter's eyes met hers. She snapped to attention, mainly out of concern that she would end up roped into some insane art-based scheme.

"What do you think, Futaba?"

Yusuke was holding out a photograph, and she took it, shooting a tired glare at him. There was a painting in the photo.

"Needs more colours."

She must have offended him- not difficult- because the artist's expression immediately darkened. She stopped listening as he began his rant, opting to rest her head in her arms and close her eyes.

"She isn't listening, Yusuke."

My saviour.

Some more conversation passed over her head as she drowsed, and soon she felt Ren's hand against the top of her head, stroking slowly.

"You still with us?"

"Mmhmm"

"What do you want to do today?"

"Sleep."

"Not allowed."

"Sit."

She heard him laugh. He sat down next to her, and she shifted her position from leaning on the table to leaning on him. He carried on stroking her head. Sojiro shook his head with a smile from behind the counter. Ren felt as if he could sit like this forever, but he knew he couldn't spend all day sat around doing nothing having done exactly that last night.

"I've got it."

"Hmmm? You've got what?"

"An idea of what to do today."

"Pray tell."

Ren smiled. Futaba opened her eyes and quickly recognised it not as a Ren smile, but a Joker smile. He was up to something.

"Fancy going swimming?"

The circumstance could not have been more calculated. With just three words he'd boxed her into a corner so magnificently that her amazement almost eclipsed her indignation. He knew she couldn't swim- if she said no, he'd simply bring up that fact, and no doubt Sojiro would take his side. That bastard.

Her expression did not go unnoticed. That Joker grin had vanished, and his face was the epitome of neutrality.

"I mean, you did say you didn't know how. No better time to learn, right?"

Sojiro had looked up from behind the counter.

"That's not a bad idea. Swimming is a valuable skill, you know."

Damn you Sojiro.

"I guess." she conceded. She pulled Ren down by the ear. "I'll make you pay for this."

He merely chuckled and stood up when she released him.

"Besides, I need some exercise, and I don't think even Ryuji would want to run in this cold. The water will be warm, at least."

"You lied to me! You said it would be warm!"

Futaba was currently ankle-deep in distressingly cold pool water, gripping the handrail leading into the pool so hard her knuckles were turning white. Ren was already in the water, that smug grin on his face. She was torn- remain out of the cold water, but have most of her skin in view of total strangers, or risk freezing to hide.

"The longer you wait, the worse it's going to feel."

He was genuinely concerned for her, as he always was, but he couldn't help but find some amusement in the situation. There was something about her standing there, a look of childish betrayal on her face, putting a metal bar in a death grip all while wearing a swimsuit and a pair of goggles. He couldn't help himself, it was almost too much for his heart.

He moved up the stairs, taking hold of her wrist and prising her fingers from the rail, allowing her to take his hand as a replacement. He gestured for her to take his other hand too, and after a few moments, she swallowed nervously and let go of the bar. She was now holding both of his hands, and he started to descend into the pool. A subtle squeeze of her hands relayed that he wasn't going to stop, and she may as well get the shock over with. She bit her lip and stepped down, the water immersing her shins, then her thighs. She gasped when the water reached her chest, and almost cried when all but her head was immersed.

"Start moving, you'll soon warm up."

She instead opted to grip Ren, trying to steal his warmth away.

"Seriously, you'll get cold if you stand still."

He once again guided her hands away from him, and she started running on the spot as best she could, soon feeling warmth spread through her. Ren's expression had become one of concern- an unspoken question of if she wanted to continue. She steeled her gaze, and started moving around him, pushing off from the bottom of the pool with her legs and letting her arms trail in the water.

"Y-y-you're s-so mean!"

He let her get acclimated before he guided her to a deeper section of the pool. He navigated through the least occupied water, watching as she tilted her head further and further back as the floor dropped away, before she stopped still. The water only came up to Ren's chest.

"We're going to start with the absolute basics- treading water. Do you know how to do that?"

"N-n-no."

"All you need to do is keep upright, kick your legs, and move your arms like this." He pushed his arms straight down before bringing them back out in a circular pattern. "Think you can do it?"

Once again, he guided her hands, this time to his shoulders. He walked backwards, and Futaba felt a flash of panic as the floor sloped out of reach. She began kicking, leaning heavily on Ren as she did so. He then pulled her hands from his shoulders, releasing her. She moved her arms too irregularly, and quickly began to sink, her head vanishing beneath the surface. Ren's hands were immediately around her waist, hauling her to the surface, where she gasped for air and gripped him tightly. He walked back to where she could stand comfortably and set her down.

"Your hands were all wrong there. Want me to show you?"

"Mmhmm."

He started cycling his hands in the water. Taking a deep breath, Futaba submerged herself, watching his hands intently. While he pushed down, he kept his fingers together and slightly bent inwards. Upon reaching the bottom of the push, he tilted his hands so that his fingers were parallel with the surface and straightened his fingers, quickly bringing them back up before tilting them flat and pushing down again. Futaba surfaced, a look of determination on her face.

"Okay. This time for sure."

She let Ren pull her out to the deeper water, and he let her go. This time, she mimicked the way his hands had moved, and found that her head remained comfortably above water. Her resolute expression was replaced with a joyful grin.

"I'm doing it! I'm doing it!"

"That you are."

Her laughter broke her rhythm, and she sank again, Ren's hands finding her waist again and pulling her upwards. She pouted, pointing a finger in his smirking face.

"We are not stopping."

When the bell above Leblanc's door chimed again, Sojiro had not expected to see Ren carrying an exhausted Futaba into the shop on his back. She was practically asleep, her head resting on his, strands of frizzed orange hair falling either side of his shoulders. Her arms were crossed over his chest, and he had his arms around her thighs. He set her down in a booth, watching as she moved her arms to rest her head on the table.

"Uuuuuughhh… so tiring…. I hunger…"

"What were you even doing?"

"Treading water. May as well start with the basics, right?"

Ren had to admit that he thought she'd had fared better, but it seems he had underestimated her low stamina. She had pretty much got the technique of treading water, and Ren had intended to get at least one stroke in before stopping. However, she was dead on her feet by the second hour, so he had made the executive decision to bring her arched a brow.

"Uh-huh. Maybe take it a bit easier nest time."

He set two plates of curry down on the table, watching with amusement as Futaba's head rose to look at the meal before slowly scooping forkfuls of it into her mouth. Ren sat next to her.

"You did well today."

"Why is it so tiring…."

"Because you...uh, earned a lot of XP?"

"...mmmm. Makes sense."

She yawned, pushing the plate away from her. Sojiro stepped out from behind the counter.

"I think it's time for you to go home."

"No objections." She mumbled in response.

Ren helped her stand, and watched as Sojiro guided her out of the shop, leaving the two plates for him to clean. Sighing, Ren stood, placing the used crockery in the sink, soaking them in the hot water within, scrubbing them clean before drying them and returning them to their rightful place in the cupboard. Next came the counters and tables; he took a wet cloth to them, wiping them of the day's spills before wringing it out in the sink. Following that, he locked the door, making sure to flip the sign to "closed" before turning off the lights and retiring to his room, flopping down onto his bed and sighing. His attempt to fall asleep immediately was foiled, for he was distracted by an odd chiming, a sound like thin shards of glass colliding with each other.

Upon opening his eyes again, he saw that a single crystalline butterfly had settled on the windowsill, its wings shifting rhythmically as it stared at him.

"Lavenza? How are you even here?"

The butterfly fluttered its wings.

"The cognitive world may be inaccessible for now, but it is not extinct. I bring to you a warning."

"What kind of warning?"

"Seeing as you are the Trickster that saved this world, we see it fit that we offer you this warning to heed. You play a dangerous game, for while the general population will no longer affect the unconscious world, those who were extensively exposed to its energies may yet find their distortions become reality."

"So, the Thieves could still become distorted without the protection of their Personas?"

"Precisely."

"And I should just keep an eye on them to make sure that doesn't happen?"

"As expected of the Trickster, you understand the situation perfectly. The wealth of time you now have following your release from your imprisonment should suffice. We of the Velvet Room expect the risk to diminish in little over a month. We trust your judgment, Trickster. And your discretion."

"Keep it secret. Got it."

A quiet laugh emanated from Lavenza's butterfly, and it took off, fading out of sight before it even left the room. Ren sighed, lowering his head again and closing his eyes, contemplating Lavenza's words.

Just hold it together for one more month. That shouldn't be too hard, right?