Ren lifted his head from his pillow, just enough so he could watch Makoto resting, her cheek flush against one side of his chest. Her breaths were slow and even. It hadn't been long since she drifted off, her speech having become drowsier, more infrequent, as she tried to tell him more about the back half of her week. He didn't want to wake her, at least not yet, but he couldn't help himself from cradling her a little closer and kissing her lightly on the top of her head before relaxing back down again.

Fortunately it didn't wake her.

How long did they have before the trains stopped running?

Sojiro had cleared out quickly after they offered to finish closing down for the night. From the look on his face, either Futaba had already told him or he just knew. Probably the latter. His smug expression had annoyed Ren earlier but now he was feeling too relaxed and satisfied to care.

There hadn't been much to do anyway. Business was slow enough at Leblanc that Sojiro had finished most of the close down work early. What was left had been relatively short, even with training a newbie who was determined to help.

Ren looked down at Makoto again and smiled. He adjusted the blanket to cover the bit of Makoto's bare shoulder that was peeking out. The small space heater in the middle of the room made things livable, but it was still rather drafty.

He sighed as he supposed he really should check the time. It'd be less stressful for Makoto if she made it back home tonight. For him too. The bathhouse across the way wasn't 24 hours.

Had he left his phone in his pants?

He hoped not. Slipping out from under Makoto to find them seemed a shame.

Wait a sec. No. He had had the foresight to put his phone by the window. He suddenly felt like the smartest person in the world. Ren patted around the window ledge, eventually finding it, but not before hitting his glasses a few times. He'd have to clean the smudges off later.

Pulling the phone into his focal range, he discovered they still had about half an hour before they had to get moving. He glanced down at Makoto again. A few more minutes wouldn't hurt.

Along with the time, his phone also revealed numerous notifications. Despite his better judgement, Ren unlocked it and began scrolling through.

Surprisingly, Ryuji was rather restrained:

"Alright, you did it man!"

"Let's plan a double date!"

Well, it was more Makoto who did it. Ren lifted his head again to plant a few more kisses on the top of hers, smiling to himself afterwards in his accomplishment. This time she stirred a little, but settled quickly.

Returning to his phone, it was Futaba who had sent him the barrage:

"'Just apartment hunting together' didn't last long did it?"

"Or was that a lie the whole time?"

"How long?"

"Wait. Does this mean you ARE getting an apartment together?"

"Mona demands a video call"

"How'd it happen anyway?"

"Hey why aren't you answering?"

"Or even on your phone?"

"Are you up to no good?"

"Notifications paused? Seriously?"

"Haha omg these Makoto photos"

Ren stopped scrolling and pressed his lips together. He had forgotten about Futaba's propensity for treating his phone as her territory. Was there any way to stop one of the world's most talented hackers from accessing his files? Makoto wouldn't like this. He didn't like this. What if one day Makoto wanted to send-

His thumb tapped furiously. "Stay out of my phone. I mean it. Not cool."

Her response came quickly: "You're no fun"

He added, "I'm serious."

"(¬､¬) Fiiiiiiiiine"

It seemed safe enough for the moment, but he'd have to address it in full soon. He tapped out one more message before setting down his phone. "We'll talk more later. I'm busy right now."

Ren took a deep breath. He wanted to calm down before waking Makoto. She rose and descended with his chest as he inhaled and exhaled. Watching her, everything seemed less intense. He'd deal with Futaba later. Right now, at least for the next few minutes, it was their time.