Devon: Hey guys. Its my first Persona 3 fanfic! Lets see how this turns out!

Warning: There is swearing. This is AU-ish. There are still some "fantastical" (?) aspects to the story but the dark hour doesn't really exist. Minato (male protagonist) and Minako (female protagonist) both exist in this world as twins. Neither of them die...Maybe. Lastly, this takes place in the "future" per say so...they're all older. Its like 12-ish years in the future. So yeah.

Disclaimer: I don't own Persona 3 or the characters or a playstation2/3/portable or any Persona 3 game. Just the idea for this story. :)

Rating: T. Hopefully it won't need a higher one but if it does, I'll change it. Promise.

Sweet Escapes in an Earthly Shop
Minako x Shinjiro/Akihiko x Mitsuru/I'm not really sure x On the other couples yet ;D

Chapter One

Minako Arisato cupped her bare hands around her mouth and blew hot air onto the pink, chapped skin. Her teeth were chattering and she shivered as she trudged forward in the harsh wind.

This was all Minato's fault. That dumb brother of her's had to go and get a job in the stupid city where it was almost always cold, windy, rainy, or snowing. And his damn puppy dog eyes get her every time. So now she's stuck here, working a part-time job she hates and living in a two-bedroom apartment with three other people. Stupid Minato.

A loud crash distracted the shivering brunette as someone threw trash into an overflowing dumpster and the sound of glass breaking could be heard. She had stayed in one place for too long as a large truck came barreling down the slick road and rounded the bend with a large spray of dirty, melted snow. Minako was soaked to the bone in seconds.

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." Minako chanted her mantra, hoping through twin-telepathy, Minato would feel her hostility over in his warm, dry, cozy office. A door opened in front of her and the smell of coffee and warm air taunted her too much to continue on and she slipped inside, a small tinkling bell echoing behind her.

The warm air of the small coffee house swirled around the dirty, wet, freezing woman as she dripped muddy water onto the welcome mat. The shop was dimly lit with interesting pictures and newspaper cutouts spread across the walls. Only three customers were seated, one on a overly-plush couch, reading a worn paper back novel, and two at a high-seated table, gossiping about who-knows-what over coffee and some type of muffin. Minako thought she might cry. This was just what she needed. How did she not find this place earlier? The past six months wouldn't have been so miserable if she had discovered this before.

Shinjiro Aragaki swore to himself as he looked around the messy kitchen. Where the hell had the vanilla gone? This was all Aki's fault. If that stupid boxer hadn't come in to pester him about who-knows-what all the time, these stupid cookies would be done already.

"Damn you Akihiko. Can't you just call me when I'm done with work or wait until later like a normal person?" Shinjiro tugged off his dark beanie and ran a calloused hand through his messy hair. He should really cut it but he liked wearing it long. It was such a pain to deal with though. And his boss certainly didn't like it as Shinji was the only one to ever deal with the food in the small shop.

Sweet Escapes in an Earthy, commonly known as SEES because only the owner thought such a long name was a good idea, was a small coffee shop depressing poets and wanna-be writers usually came to moan and complain and drink coffee. It wasn't the most popular place but there was a good number of regulars who the owner, and unfortunately Shinji, knew by name. There weren't many employees but as the owner of the shop had helped Shinjiro when he was younger, he worked there whenever they needed help. And he was responsible for all the foods they served there.

The familiar tinkling of a bell warned Shinjiro that a customer, most likely Hidetoshi Odagiri who came in everyday at exactly five-thirty for coffee and a raisin scone, had come in. Holding his head in hopes of removing his forming headache, Shinjiro left the kitchen to greet the regular.

Shinji froze when his brown eyes clashed with auburn-red eyes staring up at him. That definitely wasn't Odagiri. He cleared his throat and looked away. To his dismay, he felt heat bloom across his cheeks. A young woman near his age stood at the counter, soaking wet. Her brown hair was plastered to her pale, thin face and she looked much like a kicked puppy just brought in from the rain.

"Can I help you?" He asked, looking at the old, worn cash register on the counter. The woman sighed dreamily and a faraway look came over her as she smiled.

"I'll take a large coffee and the biggest, most chocolately-est thing you have." The woman replied and Shinji almost wanted to smile at the childish way she ordered. Instead he just scowled and punch in her order.

"Anything in your coffee?" The woman shook her head quickly and cold droplets of water sprayed around her head, leaving her shrouded in a fantasy-like mist for a few fleeting seconds.

"Black." Shinjiro hid his grimace and went to get her order. He grabbed her baked good first, his own creation that was much like a less messy version of a chocolate lava cake and then poured her coffee. The strong aroma rose from the cup with steam and seemed to settle on him, leaving him smelling like the bitter drink.

"Here you go." He muttered curtly, pushing the goods towards the woman. "720 yen."

An almost depressed sigh escaped the woman now but after a few minutes of searching she handed over the money and took her things.

The strange woman sat in the darkest corner of the shop in a position that shielded her entirely from the two large windows in the front of the shop. She sipped her coffee gingerly and looked around the shop as if she couldn't believe she was really sitting there, in the coffee shop. Though only two other customers came in, one being Hidetoshi Odagiri, Shinjiro stayed in the front of the shop, behind the counter and watched the strange woman. After an hour and a half, she still hadn't left and he decided the cookies could wait until tomorrow.