It started the way it always did.
Too late. Too hungry. Too tired to cook.
Noa found herself back at the same convenience store, standing in front of the same cold shelf, staring at the last tuna mayo onigiri.
And—of course—another hand reached for it at the exact same time.
She didn't even flinch this time.
"Seriously?" she said without turning.
Ren chuckled beside her. "Tradition."
She looked at him.
He looked at her.
Their hands were still both touching the plastic wrapper.
This time, neither moved.
"Wanna play rock-paper-scissors again?" he asked.
"I'll win this time."
"Unlikely."
They both smiled.
Then—at the same moment—they pulled their hands away, letting the onigiri fall back to the shelf.
"You take it," Ren said.
"No," Noa replied, "let's split it. Again."
"Like fate intended."
They walked to the counter.
—
The cashier looked vaguely suspicious as they asked for one rice ball, two sets of chopsticks, and a cup of hot tea to share.
Ren whispered, "We sound like a very cheap date."
"We're not on a date."
"Right. Obviously."
They stepped outside, standing under the same flickering sign, unwrapping the rice ball carefully like it was sacred.
He held it.
She handed him a chopstick.
They ate silently, alternating bites. It should've been weird.
But it wasn't.
It was... easy.
—
"You know," Ren said, licking a grain of rice off his thumb, "for two people who claimed not to be a thing... we're really doing all the things."
"Not all the things," Noa replied. "Just the emotionally terrifying ones."
Ren laughed.
Noa didn't.
She was too busy staring at him. Really staring.
Because something felt different now.
Not in a loud, fireworks way.
More like... a quiet, calm realization.
He made her laugh.
He made her tired.
He made her *think.*
And yet, here she still was.
Choosing him. Again. And again.
—
He met her gaze.
She met his.
Then she said, almost too softly, "This isn't nothing."
Ren didn't smile.
He just nodded.
"I know."
And in that moment, under the store lights, with half an onigiri between them and zero idea what tomorrow would bring—
They weren't strangers anymore.
They weren't "nothing."
They weren't a perfect fit.
But somehow... they still fit.
Exactly as they were.
Weird. Messy. Real.
And just maybe—something like love and Coming Soon Chapter 13 - Chapter 24