Author's Note:

I'm working on a number of stories for the summer, but I hope I'll be able to get further along with this one. :) Thank you to Ryurieri, blazblue-domo, and Xinliang for reviewing - it means so much me when you guys take time to let me know what you think. Also thank you to those who have favorited/alerted, but I would love to hear from you!

Anyway, I'm tired of writing angst (thank my Hunger Games obsession for that), so here's something a little more cheerful. Enjoy!

Twenty-Five Hours
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

The Eighth Hour

Opening Song: "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

Sometimes, Akihiko felt a little selfish.

It was natural, though, to want to spend time with Minako - after all, she was his girlfriend. They both had busy and difficult schedules, so it was hard enough trying to decide a time when both of them were free. He had his boxing and school work and college applications, and she was busy with a range of activities - and that was fine. He didn't need to be with her every minute of every day, and a little space was good when they spent hours sweating and bleeding up in Tartarus the night before. Still, sometimes he wished it was easier to hang out with her, and he didn't think that was too much to ask for.

"I think practice might get out early today. Coach is feeling sick or something." He looked up at her from his lunch when he received no reply. "So… Do you wanna do something?"

"Sorry, Senpai," she apologized, meeting his eyes as she donned a small simper. "I've got tennis practice today. I skipped last time because Bebe was having a mental breakdown, and the next day I thought Rio was gonna wring my neck… We can do something next time, I promise," Minako added when she saw the disappointed look on his face. "I promise!" She pressed a small kiss to his cheek, then jumped up.

He smiled, her cheeriness rubbing off on him (as it so often did). "Alright, you promised."

The next day, he spotted the look of apology on her face before he could even ask. "I'm so so sorry, Senpai!" she wailed, running up to meet him. "I know we were supposed to hang out today, but Saori-chan needs help in the infirmary since Edogawa-sensei is out. I'm really sorry! I mean, if you really want to, I'll tell her I can come in early tomorrow morning, but-"

He already felt like the bad guy, and he hadn't even done anything. She was so apologetic, so genuinely upset that she couldn't be with him, that his furrowed brow softened instantly. "Minako, come on," he said, trying to calm her down, "I understand. You gotta help out your friend." That's what he loved about Minako: she was always selfless, always helping others, even when she had no time. "I see you all the time, anyway. We live together, remember?"

Akihiko breathed a surprised "oof!" when she threw her arms around his waist in a tight hug. "You're the best, Aki!" His heart swelled. "I'll make it up to you! Tomorrow for sure!"

Tomorrow was definitely not for sure, though they'd gotten close. They were standing together in the hall, right outside her classroom (that was their mistake, he'd think later), when the abrasive boy from Student Council approached her. "Hey, Minako-kun," he greeted, only sparing Akihiko a second's glance. "Are you coming to the meeting today?"

The happiness on her face slipped off in half a second. "Oh my gosh, I completely forgot." Biting down on her lip, she looked up at Akihiko, whose body language betrayed discomfort. "I'm really sorry, Hidetoshi-kun, but I already promised Senpai…"

"Oh, no it's alright," the dark-haired boy intervened, though he couldn't completely conceal the disappointment. "I understand you're busy."

Before he could walk away, Akihiko nudged her with his elbow. "Hey, you can go if they need you."

"No, Senpai," she began to protest, "you already-"

"Don't worry about it. Another time." His smile was weak, but the way her face lit up fulfilled him in a way that only she could. Even if he did feel proud (of both himself and her), he couldn't help but glare at the Disciplinary Head, who placed a hand on Minako's shoulder. "He's not even her type," he thought dimly, but inwardly scolded himself almost immediately afterwards. She was his girlfriend; what was he worrying about?

On Saturday, he'd been looking forward to spending time with the S.E.E.S. leader. Before they could meet up, Junpei caught him in the hallway and slipped him a pink post-it note. "Sorry, Senpai," he mumbled, pulled down the bill of his cap, and ducked away.

Bunkichi asked for help in the store, and I couldn't say no!

Sorry, Senpai, you're the best!

A little heart was scribbled next to her name. He would have thought it were cute were not for the fact that he felt overwhelmingly stood up. "She's helping an old man and his wife with their bookstore," he reasoned, scolding himself. "Besides, tomorrow's Sunday, so she'll be free then."

Once again, he was wrong. Minako explained to him that on Sundays, she liked to spend time with a boy their age who was dying and just needed company. Sometimes Akihiko thought it was unbelievable, the array of people she'd met since transferring, but then he reminded himself she sometimes went out of her way to befriend stray cats in alleyways. Maybe keeping her as his girlfriend was selfish, considering all the people who needed her.

"You look totally defeated," Yukari observed, wearing a small smile, when he slumped down in the lounge chair with a sigh. "I thought you and Minako were going out-" She stopped when he shot her an uncharacteristically murderous look. "Oh," she said, bearing a look of sympathy, "busy again, huh? Geez, I don't know how that girl does it. If she's not going to practice, she's doing some other school activity or hanging out with someone…"

"I know." Akihiko sounded a lot more exasperated than he meant to.

"Jeaaallooouuss~!" Junpei sang teasingly, impervious (or just oblivious) to his upperclassman's glare. "Seriously, though, it took you guys forever to get together. I expected you to be all over each other all the time."

"Minako and Akihiko-senpai have more class than you, Stupei," Yukari snorted, rolling her eyes. "Not that you could ever get anyone to be all over you in the first place…"

"Hey, I resent that!"

Minako entering through the front door interrupted their conversation. "Bwaaah, I just barely got away from the rain… Ugh, it looks like it's gonna be ugly tonight… Oh! Hey guys!" She wandered over to the sitting area, and almost immediately noticed the disgruntled expression on their senpai. "Ah, um, Akihiko-senpai-"

Sensing the atmosphere, Yukari jumped to her feet and grabbed Junpei. "Hey, we should go!" Figuring there was no point in coming up with an excuse, she dragged away a curious Junpei, leaving the couple alone.

The brunette carefully sat down across from Akihiko, who couldn't quite bring himself to look her in the eyes. When he glanced at her, he saw that her smile was weaker than usual. "You're mad at me, huh?"

It wasn't so much anger as it was frustration, even if he knew that none of this was really her fault. He didn't know if he could find a way to explain it to her without offending her. "I'm not mad, Minako," he murmured, trying to keep his voice low. "I just… feel like I haven't seen you at all this week."

"But I've taken you on every expedition into Tartarus this past week…"

"Yeah, but we don't really get a chance to talk when we're fighting for our lives," he reasoned, managing a smile. "I know I probably sound…" He rubbed the back of his head, looking sheepish. "… selfish, but I just really wanna spend some time with you, you know? Like, really spend time with each other. We're both so busy these days, but it'd just be nice…" She leaned forward to hold his hands, but he shifted them so he could give hers an affectionate squeeze.

"Senpai," she began softly, "it's okay to be a little selfish sometimes. And, I need to put more into our relationship. Sometimes I forget we're finally officially together now and not just friends/Shadow fighters who hang out every now and then on Mondays and Saturdays." He opened his mouth to protest, but she quickly cut him off. "You're my boyfriend now, Sen- Aki." She flushed and his hands tightened around hers. She hesitated for only a moment before pressing her lips against his. "I'm sorry."

"You need to stop apologizing." Tenderly holding the side of her face with one gloved hand, he leaned forward and kissed her affectionately on the forehead.

Unable to hold herself back any longer, Minako latched her arms around his waist (a situation they often found themselves in, much to Akihiko's delight) and buried her face in his scarf. "I love you, Aki." The words were clear, regardless of the material that muffled them. His heart fluttered as he held her close, finally at peace.

Closing Song: "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

Oh Minako, Miss Popular. If anyone has any Akihiko/Minako requests, just shoot 'em in a review; I'll try to do the best I can. :)

au revoir, mon amour,
der kapitan