When I woke up, Miyagi’s face was right in front of mine.

         Last night, when I tried to cancel the sleepover and go back to my own room, Miyagi stopped me. In the end, I was the one who chose to sleep in her bed. I remembered she’d turned her back to me when we went to sleep, yet now, I was looking straight at her face.

         I didn’t know when she’d turned to face me—but seeing her like this made me happy.

         I gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

         She didn’t react. Miyagi seemed to be fast asleep. Usually, when we slept together, she was always the first to wake up, so it surprised me to find her so still.

         Maybe she was tired from spending the day out with Utsunomiya yesterday.

         I stroked her hair gently.

         I knew I shouldn’t have done what I did yesterday.

         It had all started with something small—inviting her to work a part-time job with me over winter break. I’d wanted to spend time together watching movies, TV shows, playing her favorite games. But that small wish had grown into something much bigger.

         I reached out and touched her earring.

         It would be a stretch to say I kept my promise last night. If I looked only at the result, technically, I hadn’t broken it—but when I thought about what I’d actually done, it was a miracle Miyagi hadn’t kicked me out of her room.

         It was a miracle—but one that left me feeling suffocated.

         Normally, I wanted to be by her side, and I wanted to sleep in the same bed as her. But after what happened yesterday, it would’ve been better if I’d gone back to my own room.

         Trying to fall asleep as if nothing had happened took a fair bit of effort. Feelings didn’t just switch off that easily, and forcing me to make that effort was cruel of Miyagi.

         But I also knew it meant she trusted me, so I held back the part of me that wanted more of Miyagi and eventually drifted off without doing anything else.

         And yet, when I woke up, the first thing that came to mind was everything that had happened yesterday.

         I could still remember the feeling of touching her chest—the warmth of her body, the sound of her unsteady breathing, the way she’d pulled me toward her.

         All of it had felt like acceptance, and in that moment, I believed nothing could stop me. If I’d kept whispering into her ear, touching her wherever I wanted, and let my emotions take over, I was sure Miyagi would’ve let me continue. But if I had done that without giving her time to process what was happening, it wouldn’t have ended well. If I’d kept touching her without her consent, and without turning off the lights, Miyagi—who’d run away from home the first time we did this—wouldn’t still be here now.

         And if she disappeared again, I wouldn’t even know where to start looking for her.

         She probably wouldn’t go to Utsunomiya’s place like last time, and now that she knew Utsunomiya and I were in contact, she’d likely go somewhere even Utsunomiya couldn’t find her. If that happened, I’d never be able to bring her back.

         Still, I didn’t think I’d been wrong for trying to get her to talk yesterday and for wanting to hear what she really felt.

         And choosing to give up and fall asleep beside her without doing anything else… I believed that was the right decision too.

         But now, seeing Miyagi—who’d seemed to accept me last night—sleeping right in front of me made it hard to hold myself back.

         She was always so vague, yet sometimes she felt so close that it was suffocating.

         I let out a quiet sigh and brushed back her bangs.

         As expected, she didn’t stir.

         「Looks like someone’s sleeping well.」

         ― If only she’d think about my feelings.

         If she really wanted me to stop, she should’ve rejected me with stronger words.

         “Stay roommates with me a little longer.”

         That was the half-hearted line Miyagi had come up with, but it only made me want to touch her while she slept even more.

         I wasn’t sure how long “a little longer” was supposed to be. Maybe she wanted it to last forever—or maybe it wouldn’t be long before we became something more than just roommates.

         At the very least, she didn’t seem to dislike living together. That much meant she must’ve had some kind of positive feelings toward me, and there was a good chance that those feelings could one day match mine.

         I couldn’t say with confidence that Miyagi liked me back, but I felt like she cared about me more than she used to.

         The words “a little longer” gave me so much hope that it scared me. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep my feelings hidden anymore.

         If I were to tell Miyagi how I felt—when she’d made it clear that she didn’t want our relationship to change yet—she might never look at me the same way again.

         I wanted to whisper “I love you” to her while she slept, but I had a feeling she’d wake up at just the wrong moment and hear it.

         For better or worse, nothing ever went the way I wanted when it came to Miyagi.

         I swallowed the words that threatened to escape my throat and replaced them with something else.

         「… Shiori.」

         Surely, she’d let me get away with this much.

         Even if she woke up, she might get a little grumpy, but it’d be nothing I couldn’t smooth over later.

         I ran my fingers through her black hair and stroked her cheek.

         「Shiori.」

         I whispered her name again and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

         I brushed my hand along her still arm and took her hand in mine. I kissed her fingertips a few times, then returned to her lips. Miyagi stirred. Her hand almost slipped away from mine, but I held it firmly and pulled her close by the waist. Her eyes slowly opened.

         「Good morning.」

         I said.

         「… Sendai-san?」

         Miyagi looked—and sounded—still half-asleep.

         I placed a finger against her lips and coaxed her to say what I wanted to hear.

         「It’s “Hazuki.”」

         「Huh? Hazuki?」

         「Yep. Now say it again.」

         I spoke softly to the half-awake Miyagi, but even in her drowsiness, she quickly regained her composure and stopped humoring me.

         「… What are you staring at me for?」

         She muttered, brushing away my hand and pulling free from my arm around her waist.

         「Looks like you’re awake now.」

         Miyagi really was stingy.

         She’d cut that dreamlike moment short.

         I wished she’d stayed sleepy and dazed just a little longer.

         「Don’t make me say weird things when I’m still half-asleep.」

         Miyagi said, kicking my leg under the towel blanket.

         「Isn’t it kind of cruel to call my name weird?」

         「No. And it’s way too hot, so move.」

         She said while pushing at my shoulder, so I grabbed her hand—but instead of letting go, she pulled it toward her mouth and bit down on my finger.

         It hurt.

         She was holding back, but it was still strong enough that I felt like I needed to pull my hand away.

         「You’re so stingy, Miyagi. What’s wrong with clinging to each other a little?」

         「I’m getting up now.」

         Miyagi sat up and tried to get out of bed, so I tugged on her T-shirt.

         「Come on, just stay here with me a little longer.」

         「What about breakfast?」

         「I can’t be bothered to make anything right now, so let’s just skip it and have lunch together.」

         「No, I’m hungry. I’ll go make something, then.」

         I tightened my grip on her T-shirt.

         It was the complete opposite of yesterday.

         Last night, Miyagi was the one trying to stop me from leaving, and now this morning, our roles were reversed.

         「Sendai-san, you’re going to stretch my shirt out.」

         「If you don’t want it stretched, then stay with me a little longer.」

         「How long do you plan on laying around for?」

         「Until noon.」

         There wasn’t any special reason for it, but I just wanted to stay in the same bed with her a little longer. I wasn’t asking for much—just to feel her warmth beside me.

         「… Fine, but only if you make us lunch, Sendai-san.」

         Sounding a little grumpy, Miyagi lay back down on the bed—but she turned her back to me.

         「Sure. All I’ll need to do is boil some water anyway.」

         「So we’re having instant noodles for lunch?」

         「Yeah, because it’s simple.」

         「Cook us an actual meal.」

         「Maybe I’ll consider making something good if you turn to face me.」

         「What are you going to make?」

         「Why don’t we decide that together?」

         I said, tugging gently on her arm, and Miyagi turned around.

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