A/N: Hello everyone. I'm EBT93. Welcome to the first fanfic I've ever written. Not really sure how to start this off since it's my first time doing something like this. This fic is based on the video game Persona 5 and assumes you have beaten the game. There are spoilers for the end of the game around December, so unless you have played up to then, please do not read further. Or do if you don't mind the spoilers. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Anyways, please read on if you made it this far, and I'll see you at the end.

Sunflower

"Then you're left in the dust, unless I stuck by ya. You're a sunflower. I think your love would be too much"

Ren lied awake in his bed. No matter how hard he wished, and no matter much he craved for sleep, it did not come. He lied there, in a puddle of his own sweat, the stress making his whole body ache. Tomorrow would be the day: the day the Phantom Thieves confronted Masayoshi Shido. Shido was the culmination of everything the Thieves fought against. He was a man with great power that forced his ideals on the masses. The only difference between him and the Thieves' previous targets was the sheer scale of the power he wielded. Not to mention, the battle would be very personal to Ren. The pressure kept him wide awake and he constantly felt like he was on the verge of vomiting. He was certain of what he had to do, but he felt something nagging at him. Gnawing at the back of his mind. He knew what the feeling was, but was too ashamed to acknowledge it, for he knew the moment it infected his mind, it would break his spirit. But it was too late. Fear had entered Ren's mind. "What if we lose? Everyone is risking their lives for the justice we believe in. What if it's not enough? Shido has almost limitless resources at his hand. He could destroy all of our lives if we fail." The thoughts assaulted Ren's mind and drowned out the once quiet night air. He thought he was going insane, but they just kept coming. "What if-AH! " Just then, Ren's phone rang in his pocket, bringing him out of his nightmare. Ren was relieved, finally having something to distract him from his thoughts. Unfortunately, the relief was short lived.

"Hey, you awake?" It was Ann, the one person Ren feared for the most. Ren cared deeply for his friends, all of whom he came to see as his family, but Ann was different. She was his girlfriend; the one person who understood him more than anyone else. Ren shakily answered the text. "Yeah. Can't sleep." Seconds after sending his reply, the phone rang again. "Damn," Ren thought. "This girl's fast". Ren looked at the screen once more. "Rounding the corner". Before Ren could fully comprehend the text, he heard a few sharp knocks at the door. "She did not…" Ren said to himself. As Ren made his way down the stairs, he was able to spot a familiar set of blonde twin tails waiting on the other side of the door. Ren scurried to the front door. "Ann, what're you doing out so late? It's dangerous to be out at night," Ren said, unable to hide his concern. "Oh, please," retorted Ann. "You and I both know that I can handle myself." Oh, Ren had firsthand knowledge about that. "Plus, if my feminine charms fail, you know I can kick some ass," Ann said confidently. Ren let out a small chuckle. And just like that, Ren's mind was no longer focused on the stress he was feeling earlier. Ann tended to have that effect on him "Oh, right. I forgot who I was dealing with," Ren said. They both let out a laugh. "Well, since you're here, I'll make you some coffee," Ren offered. It was the least he could do for her. After all, she had saved him many times in the Metaverse, and many times by just being there with him. "Could I tempt you to include some curry along with that coffee?" Ann teased. Ren couldn't turn THAT down. "Haha. As you wish, milady."

Ren secretly loved when his friends asked him to cook curry for them. Through cooking, Ren was able to show his appreciation to his friends. His reward being their smiling faces. Ren always thought that it was childish to think that way. Nevertheless, it made him happy. It also made him feel especially good when they said his curry was better than Sojiro's. Although Ren felt good, he felt a bit of sadness tug at his heart. For some reason, thinking of his friends made him think of his life back home. Ren shook the thoughts from his head before they took root and focused on the task at hand. As Ren worked the kitchen, Ann fiddled on her phone, not wanting to distract Ren from his craft. Ren was proud of his coffee and curry making skills. After all, Sojiro taught him well and stuck with him through the whole learning process. Once he finished, Ren plated the curry and set it down in front of Ann, along with a cup of freshly brewed coffee. "Bon appetite," said Ren, doing his best French impression. Ann was quick to reply in kind. "Merci beaucoup!" Ann began to dig in as Ren took a seat beside her with his own coffee and curry. "Mmm! Delicious!" Ann exclaimed as she took her first bite. Ren gave himself a mental high five. "Oh! Do I taste a bit of apple?" Ann questioned. "Oh ho," Ren said, absolutely beaming. "The lady has quite the palate." Ann's face lit up from hearing the compliment from her boyfriend. Ren continued on. "I included some in there to add some sweetness to the mix, just for you. Do you like it?". "Of course I do," said Ann. "I'd like anything you made for me." Ann said sheepishly. They were both blushing now, their faces as red as the apple Ren had added to the curry. They quickly turned to their food and began eating. They ate quietly, enjoying each other's company.

As they finished up, Ren took a sip of his coffee and then began to speak. "So Ann," Ren began. "Why did you come out here tonight? Please don't tell me it wasn't just to get me to make you food." Ann dabbed at her mouth with a napkin and her face became serious, as if someone had just given her bad news. "To tell you the truth," Ann started, "I'm worried about you." The words began to spill out of Ann's mouth. "As our leader, you've done so much for all of us. I'm amazed at your ability to be able to manage all of our personalities and keep us calm under pressure. You do so much for others, even when there's nothing in it for you." Ann looked into her cup and continued to speak. "And despite all this, everyone still thinks of you as a criminal. I know that this has to be effecting you in some way. I just wanted to be here for you in case you needed anything." Ann knew what she had to do. She had seen Ren's behavior elsewhere. Shiho. She saw what had happened to Shiho now happening to Ren. She wasn't about to make that same mistake again. Ren had been there for Ann ever since she first awakened to her Persona, and was there to guide her whenever she doubted herself. It was time for Ann to lend a helping hand to the boy who had done the same for so many others. "It's your turn to lean on me," assured Ann, her voice filled with confidence. Ren seemed to sense Ann's intent, and instead of lying to her, he told her how he truly felt. "Thank you, Ann" said with a sigh of relief. Relief for the fact that someone was willing to hear him out, and especially at the fact that it was his girlfriend. "No lies, Ren. Just the truth" Ren thought to himself.

So he began. He told Ann of all the worries he carried towards their final confrontation. How he was scared of the responsibilities he had, especially with possibly leading everyone to their doom. He also spoke of his concerns towards society. Given the initial reaction to the calling card, he wondered if the people would truly be willing to accept that this person was capable of committing such heinous crimes. Ann was quick to chime in. "So what?" Ann said with nonchalance. "Don't you remember what we said? That this wasn't about what the people thought of us? That this was about our belief in our justice." Ren simply look on, dumbstruck. "Besides, who cares if the world hates us? As long as we have each other, we'll always have a place to belong." Ann had said it so bluntly that Ren thought he was stupid for not seeing something so obvious. Of course. The Phantom Thieves were his family now, and through thick and thin, they would stick with each other. It didn't matter what anyone thought of him. As long as they saw their justice through to the end, they would be satisfied. "You don't need to worry about us. We've got your back." Ann said. Ren couldn't help but smile.

"Ann, I'm so glad I got to meet all of you." Ren's voice was filled with gratitude and his voice slightly caught in his throat. "It was so hard seeing everyone I thought I could trust turn on me." Ren continued on with tears streaking down his face. Something inside of him had broken. All of his insecurities were laid bare for Ann to see. "When the news of my assault charges reached my parents, they looked at me with disgust in their eyes. The neighbors would constantly gossip about my parents, wondering how they could've raised such a problematic child. My friends quickly turned their backs on me and talked about me behind my back, acting like they knew I was always trouble. Everything I had ever known was ripped apart in days." Ann was shocked to hear how much it had effected Ren. Every time Ren spoke about his circumstances, he was calm and quick to assure everyone that he had gotten over it. Ann was witnessing his façade cracking. Ren was at his most vulnerable, the burdens he carried finally taking their toll.

Ren began to sob. "When I came to town and saw how everyone looked at me, I thought it was going to be more of the same. Even you and Ryuji wanted nothing to do with me." Ann felt a sharp pain in her heart. It was true. Ann heard the rumors about him before he had arrived and was quick to believe them. She felt guilty about what she had done. Even though things were vastly different now, it still reminded her of how weak she used to be. Ren continued talking through his tears. "But now that I have all of you, I'm scared to death of losing everyone. I never want to feel that alone again." Ren's tears dripped into his coffee. "I'm especially scared of losing you," Ren said, his voice trembling with fear. "Ann, you're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. The way you power through any challenge in front of you inspires me to give everything my all. You've faced so much adversity, yet through it all you still maintain your smile. And on top of it all, despite everything you've heard about me, despite everything you've seen of me, you still find it in your heart to love me for who I am. If anything ever happened to you I'd-"Before Ren could finish his sentence, Ann grabbed his chin, leaned forward in her seat and planted her lips firmly on his. Ren's eyes went wide with surprise, but soon after, his eyelids slowly began to close as he gave into the soft sensation that graced his lips. Ann's lips were pleasantly warm and had a slight taste of spice and bitterness, most likely side effects of the curry and coffee. Ren's tears melted away, and the only thing on his mind was this moment. This kiss and Ann. After a few seconds, the two reluctantly broke off the kiss, their lips slightly sticking before parting.

Ann looked sheepishly down at her lap. "Stupid…" Ann said, barely above a whisper. Ren looked on, a slight smile adorned his lips. He couldn't see Ann's face, but he knew she was blushing. "As if I'd ever leave you. You're the best thing that's happened to me, too." Ren felt a warmness in his heart upon hearing this. He already knew her feelings, but hearing them again only made him happier. "You've done enough worrying. Let me worry about you for once." Ann felt like she finally understood Ren. He had opened up to her and let her see him at his most vulnerable, shared his innermost thoughts and insecurities. She was overjoyed that he trusted her that much. She got to see a side of him that no one else had seen. This boy selflessly gave himself to people in danger, just so they wouldn't have to experience the pain that he felt. Ann's eyes began to well up with tears. "Look at what you've done," accused Ann, sounding like she was going to cry. "You've gone and made a cute girl cry. How will you ever live with yourself?" Ren let out a chuckle. "I'm sorry," said Ren, apologetically. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Ann took a second to wipe the tears away from her eyes before she responded. "Just promise me," Ann gave a slight pause. "Promise me that you'll give it your all tomorrow, without any fear." Ann smiled. "Not even a little fear?" Ren joked. Ann looked up at him and pouted. "Ok, ok. I promise" assured Ren. Ann breathed a small sigh and shook her head slightly. Ann looked at Ren and smiled. "No wonder we call you Joker."

A/N: If you've made it this far, thank you very much. I was playing through P5 and really thought that the protagonist (Akira/Ren) and Ann were really cute together. I wanted to write something that I thought would match that cuteness. Originally, I was going to write a fic/novelization of P5 that would explore a bit more than what was shown in the game. In the end, I decided that it was too ambitious for someone that just started writing. Really, I just wanted to get to the lovey dovey parts, too. As for the title and first line, those are also remnants of my old fic idea. Every chapter was going to be named after a song I felt reflected the themes the chapter in either title or lyrics. The first chapter being named Joker and the Thief after the song by Wolfmother and the fic was to be named Stolen named after the Dashboard Confessional song. This part is named Sunflower after the song by Swae Lee and Post Malone that was featured in Into the Spider-verse. I still like the idea, so I might continue to use if for anything I write going forward. Since I am a first time writer, please let me know what you think. If there was anything that could use some improvement, anything you wanted to say about the fic, be it positive or negative, please feel free to let me know. Within reason, of course. Please note, I think people are free to ship whoever they want. Just don't come to me with waifu wars and we'll be ok. Thank you for taking the time to read this and maybe I'll see you at the next one.