Miyagi leaned her shoulder against mine, but she didn’t take my hand. So I reached over and laced our fingers together myself.

         She didn’t complain, and we stayed like that, holding hands while the movie played.

         Part of me wanted more—another excuse to touch her somewhere else—but if I pushed my luck she’d probably pull away, and I didn’t want her to let go of my hand. So I kept my eyes fixed on the screen like her.

         The movie was one of those predictable romance flicks. Not boring, but not exactly gripping either. Still, Miyagi watched without a word, so I did too, letting my gaze follow the characters on the tablet. At some point the thunder outside had faded, leaving only the quiet ticking of time.

         「Do you want to watch something else after this?」

         I asked as the movie neared its end.

                  There was no reply. I turned and found Miyagi’s eyes closed—too long for a blink. It was no wonder. Two hours of sitting through a movie would make anyone sleepy.

         Maybe I should let her go to sleep.

         But the only place she could sleep in my room was my bed, and Miyagi would never lie down there without protest. If I told her to go to sleep, she’d probably head back to her own room.

         If it were up to me, I wouldn’t say anything. I wanted her to stay in my room a bit longer.

         Still, I couldn’t ignore how sleepy she looked.

         「Miyagi, if you’re tired, you can sleep.」

         I reached out with my free hand and tapped the tablet’s screen, freezing the main character in some awkward pose. Beside me, her drowsy voice slipped out.

         「I’m fine.」

         「You’re basically half-asleep right now.」

         「No, I’m not. I’m awake.」

         「Do you think you’ll make it until the end of the movie?」

         「… I’ll go back to my room, then.」

         Getting the answer I’d expected, I tightened my grip on Miyagi’s hand before she could get up.

         「I haven’t forgotten the promise I made you, so you can have my bed.」

         「It’s fine. I’ll just sleep in my own room.」

         Miyagi, who looked so sleepy, said firmly.

         I understood her reluctance to fall asleep in my room, but I didn’t want her to leave either. Not knowing how to convince her to stay, I tightened my grip on her hand once more.

         「… Sendai-san, when you said you’d keep your promise “for now,” how long is that?」

         I’d sworn on her earrings that I wouldn’t do anything weird “for now,” but Miyagi wanted to know exactly how long that meant. If I answered incorrectly, she’d leave the room, so I chose my words carefully.

         「Until you leave my room.」

         She pulled her hand away.

         But she didn’t stand up.

         「I’m going to watch some more movies.」

         I said, and Miyagi spoke quietly beside me.

         「For how long?」

         「All the way until morning.」

         「… I’ll sleep in your bed, then.」

         Miyagi mumbled and went to lay down on the bed we’d been leaning against.

         I turned off the lights and turned on a night light.

         I plugged my headphones back into the tablet and pressed play. The main character, frozen before, began to move again and the story continued toward its end. But I couldn’t follow along very well—I was incredibly conscious of Miyagi right behind me. The movie played on, but most of my attention was on my back. I couldn’t even bring myself to move.

         I shouldn’t think too much about it.

         I told myself that, but it was easier said than done.

         Suddenly I flinched.

         Just as I was about to take a deep breath, something brushed against my back. I took my headphones off and turned around; it was my own pillow that had been brushing me. Miyagi, whom I’d expected to be asleep, was sitting up on my bed.

         「Sendai-san.」

         「What is it?」

         「You swear you’ll keep your promise?」

         Miyagi asked, as if double-checking.

         「Yeah, I swear I will.」

         I answered firmly, hoping it would help her fall asleep. She replied quietly with,

         「… I’ll let you use half the bed.」

         「You’ll “let” me use it? But in your own words, my room is my territory, you know?」

         「But your bed is my territory.」

         「How does that work?」

         I couldn’t help but argue, and Miyagi hit me with my own pillow.

         「You’re the one who said I could have your bed, weren’t you, Sendai-san? So the bed is my territory, and I’m letting you use half of it.」

         Somehow, Miyagi had claimed ownership of the bed I’d offered her, but that didn’t matter as much as the fact that she was letting me sleep next to her.

         「Are you really letting me use half the bed?」

         「If you don’t want to, you can keep watching your movies.」

         Miyagi replied coldly as she turned her back to me and lay down.

         「No, I’ll go to sleep too.」

         I turned off the tablet.

         Miyagi took the half of the bed closest to the wall, and I crawled into the remaining space.

         「It feels a little cramped.」

         I heard her dissatisfied voice next to me. It was so like her to complain despite offering the bed, but more than anything, I couldn’t believe she’d suggested this at all.

         「Well, it is a single bed. Should I buy us a double bed?」

         「You don’t have to. I’m not sleeping here again after this.」

         Her voice sounded a bit clearer, as if she were now wide awake.

         「Oh, really? What if I told you scary stories every night from now on?」

         「If you do that, I’ll never speak to you again, Sendai-san.」

         「I was just kidding.」

         I quickly took back what I’d said, but Miyagi curled up and pulled the comforter with her, leaving me uncovered. It wasn’t very cold tonight. In fact, it was pretty warm, so I didn’t mind being without it. But I didn’t like that Miyagi’s back was buried under the covers, hidden from view.

         I’d much rather be staring at Miyagi’s back than at the comforter, and more than that, I wanted to touch her. If I could have it my way, I’d pull the covers off completely, lift her sweatshirt, and touch her bare skin.

         But I couldn’t break my promise. If I broke the vow I’d sworn on her earrings, Miyagi would actually get angry with me.

         Still, I couldn’t resist the urge to touch her somewhere, so I lifted the comforter slightly and tugged on her sweatshirt.

         「Are you not sleeping yet, Sendai-san?」

         Miyagi asked quietly.

         「No, not yet. Can you turn this way, Miyagi?」

         「Why?」

         「Because I want to kiss you.」

         I decided to say something I knew Miyagi would never allow.

         「Not now.」

         The words I’d expected came immediately, but her rejection was softer than I’d imagined. I brushed my hand gently across her back over the fabric of her sweatshirt.

         「You’re so stingy, Miyagi.」

         「It doesn’t matter if I’m stingy, does it?」

         She showed no sign of turning toward me. I tapped her curled-up back with my fingers, and in return, she called my name in a serious tone.

         「Sendai-san.」

         「What is it?」

         「… These earrings…」

         Her words trailed off.

         「What about them?」

         「Is there some kind of special meaning behind them?」

         She asked, her voice so quiet I might have missed it if I weren’t listening closely.

         「A special meaning?」

         「You gave me earrings with a plumeria design, right?」

         「Yeah, what about it?」

         「I looked up what plumerias meant in the language of flowers¹.」

         「What’d you find out?」

         「… They represent elegant and bashful maiden.」

         「Seems like it suits you perfectly.」

         「You say that, but I know you don’t mean it.」

         Miyagi sounded displeased. I pulled my hand away from her back and sighed.

         I had already guessed Miyagi might look up the meaning of plumerias, so I’d chosen them precisely because the flower didn’t really mean anything in the language of flowers.

         「Those earrings are just so I won’t forget the promises I make you. There’s really no deeper meaning behind them. Or did you want there to be one?」

         「… No.」

         Miyagi mumbled, then fell quiet. I was relieved she didn’t press further.

         But she was right.

         There was a deeper meaning.

         To be precise, it had nothing to do with the language of flowers, but with what plumerias symbolized in general.

         It meant “to wish happiness upon a loved one.”

         That was the true meaning behind Miyagi’s earrings.

         I’d always liked small-flower designs, and while researching, I’d come across the meaning of Hawaiian jewelry with a plumeria motif. That was why I chose them for her.

         But I didn’t want Miyagi to know there was any meaning behind it.

         「Just think of them as a good luck charm or something.」

         I shrugged it off and tugged the comforter back over myself.

         The meaning behind those earrings was something only I needed to know.

         If Miyagi found out, she might never want to wear them again. And even if she did discover it someday, I could always feign ignorance.

         「Aren’t you sleepy, Miyagi? You should go to sleep.」

         「You should sleep too, Sendai-san.」

         「I was going to do that even if you didn’t tell me to.」

         I’d thought about it after learning the meaning behind those earrings.

         I could forgive Miyagi if she didn’t like me back, but I couldn’t forgive her if she liked anyone else.

         It didn’t seem like there was anyone she liked right now. But if she ever did, that someone should be me.

         And if, one day, Miyagi fell in love with someone else?

         My heart wasn’t big enough to wish her happiness. In that case, I wanted the earrings to wish it for me. At the same time, I hoped that, like the plumeria’s meaning in the language of flowers, Miyagi would be too shy to confess her feelings to anyone else.

         I tugged gently on her sweatshirt.

         「Good night.」

         I whispered, and she quietly replied, “Good night,” in return.

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1. Hanakotoba (花言葉) is the Japanese form of the language of flowers. The language was meant to convey emotion and communicate directly to the recipient or viewer without needing the use of words.
   (I stole this description from the Wikipedia page). ↩︎

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