They had just finished eating the Japanese curry and karaage.
The meal had been hearty, savory, and aboslutely delicious.
Wakana was already collecting the plates, but Marin was still leaning back on the couch, her hands cradling her thoroughly satisfied stomach.
"Gojo-kun, I really can't get enough of your cooking...!" she exclaimed, her eyes half-closed in bliss.
Wakana smiled, drying a bowl with a dishcloth. "I'm happy to hear that. I'll cook for you whenever you want me to."
Hearing his words, Marin's eyes shone brightly, and she sat up, startled. "Really?!"
"Of course, don't I basically feed you all the time already when you go to my house to eat?" he teased, stacking the plates neatly.
Hearing his teasing words, Marin puffed her cheeks angrily. "Wakana...!"
"Sorry, sorry," Wakana apologized with a laugh, finding her indignation adorable.
Marin gave a light hmph and turned her head away, though a smile was fighting its way onto her lips.
Wakana chuckled quietly at this, then pulled out his phone to check whether the train maintenance was already over.
However, what greeted him was not what he had been expecting.
The train will not be operational until tomorrow at 6:00 AM. We apologize for the inconvenience.
"Uh oh."
Seeing Wakana's worried look, Marin asked, "Is there anything wrong?"
Without saying anything, Wakana slowly raised his phone and showed Marin the screen.
Marin frowned, immediately looking at Wakana worriedly. "How will you get home now...?"
"There's no other choice," Wakana sighed, already resigning himself. "I'll just walk back home."
"You can't!" Marin protested instantly.
"Why not?"
"That will take hours...! And it's dangerous to be out late at night!"
"It's alright, I'm a boy anyway. I think I'll be fine."
"You still can't!" Marin Kitagawa refused to budge, her face set in a serious, protective frown that made Wakana Gojo feel a little helpless.
"Then what do you propose I should do?"
Hearing his question, Marin stayed quiet for a while, her face quickly cycling through expressions.
Confusion, realization, panic, and finally, fierce determination.
She steeled herself, as if coming to an unavoidable decision.
"You can sleep here tonight. My dad won't be home soon anyway."
"Here? But—" Before Wakana could even continue his words, Marin cut him off completely.
"No buts! Since I was the one who made you stay out this late, you are my responsibility...!" she declared, her eyes blazing with conviction, leaving Wakana utterly stunned by the sudden, intense possessiveness in her tone.
Looking at her rare, serious face, Wakana pondered a bit before finally nodding and accepting her decision.
"Okay, I'll be your responsibility then." He showed a grateful smile, touched by her concern.
Marin, however, suddenly realized that the way they both used the word "responsibility" to each other made it sound a bit more ambiguous than a simple logistics problem, and her face turned a little red.
She took a deep breath to calm herself down and nodded lightly. "Okay, first things first, I'll be showering first. Since I don't have anything that can fit you, maybe you should run to the supermarket to buy a shirt and shorts to change into after you shower. No need to buy anything other than that, I can just lend you a hoodie for comfort."
To Wakana, her idea seemed to be quite normal and practical, so he immediately agreed. "Alright, I'll go now. I'll be quick."
"Gotcha~! I'm gonna go shower too!"
As Wakana exited through the front door, the click of the lock echoing in the quiet hallway, Marin couldn't help but stare blankly at the entrance for a few seconds before her knees gave out and she plopped onto the couch.
"I can't believe a boy will be sleeping over my place..."
Marin's face was now as red as a tomato.
In her life, this was the most nervous she had ever been.
She had done some pretty bold things before with Wakana Gojo, but the thought of Wakana sleeping here was infinitely more thrilling than any other.
The composure she had managed to keep in front of him felt like a literal act of sorcery.
"Calm down," she whispered, patting herself repeatedly on the face.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
The sound of her heart was deafening.
"What if Wakana tries to do something...?" The random thought came out of nowhere as an intrusive, paralyzing question.
"N-no! Wakana definitely wouldn't try that... Would he...? He's Wakana!"
She squeezed her eyes shut. "B-but we're too young... He should at least wait another year..."
Then, she slapped her hands over her mouth. "What am I talking about?! We aren't even a couple yet..."
She grabbed a cushion, hugging it tight. "But to our classmates, we already look like we're dating, aren't we? And Wakana treats me so gently compared to the others, he's even willing to go so far for me... Surely he likes me too... right??"
"Ahhhhhh...!!!"
Marin Kitagawa's mind was in a complete mess right now.
Smoke might as well have flown out of her head; she felt like she was overheating from the cascade of conflicting thoughts.
Forcing herself to get up from the couch, she gave herself a loud pat to the face, snapping herself back to reality.
"Calm down, calm down, calm down..."
She took several deep breaths, which seemed to have worked, as she slowly stopped moving.
She gave a low smile. "I'm calm now."
Unfortunately, it didn't last very long.
"No, I'm not!"
"Ahhhhh..!!!"
While Marin Kitagawa was having her own existential situation back at home, Wakana Gojo also had his own qualms about the situation.
His face was also slightly tinted red as he continued to walk down the quiet residential street, heading towards the convenience store.
Clearly, he was not as calm as he initially showed.
"Am I really sleeping at Marin's place...?"
The idea felt monumental, a sudden leap forward in their relationship that neither of them had planned or even discussed.
"But I seem to have no other choice... I don't really want to walk back for several hours..."
He knew, logically, he could call a cab, or maybe even call his grandfather, but the idea of accepting Marin's offer of remaining around her for the entire night was overwhelmingly appealing.
The truth was, both his and her subconscious minds had blocked the reasonable solutions, leaving only their deepest desire: not to be separated yet.
Wakana took a deep breath, his heart started to beat faster and faster due to the current situation he was in.
He picked up his pace toward the glowing lights of the supermarket.
He had a few necessities to buy before he became Marin Kitagawa's official responsibility for the night.
At the supermarket, Wakana quickly grabbed a plain, dark gray t-shirt and a pair of comfortable lounge shorts, along with a new toothbrush.
He didn't waste any time.
'I need to get back before she finishes showering,' he thought, trying to remain practical despite his racing heart.
He paid for his small, necessary haul and hurried back.
The walk, though quick, felt interminable.
Every step brought him closer to the most intimate, domestic moment they had ever shared.
Despite his seemingly quick steps, though, Wakana had unknowingly spent more time walking back than he did going to the supermarket and getting what he needed.
He arrived back at the apartment, standing before the door of the home where he would be sleeping today.
Slowly extending his hand, he rang the doorbell.
...
Inside, Marin, who had already finished her shower, heard the doorbell.
The sound was like a sudden, cold splash of water, instantly silencing the internal siren in her head.
Wakana was back.
'Now!'
She scrambled to her feet, smoothing down her loose graphic tee and shorts, trying to appear nonchalant.
She was still a shade too red, but forced herself to calm down.
She first rushed to her room, grabbing a fresh, thick bath towel and her largest, black hoodie with a questionable print of a character on it, one that smelled faintly of her perfume and laundry detergent.
She flung the front door open.
Wakana was standing there, holding a small plastic bag containing his new clothes; his expression was a mixture of fatigue, relief, and deep nervousness.
"I'm back, Kitagawa-san," he murmured, stepping inside and quickly placing the bag beside his shoes.
Marin found her voice, but it came out a little too loud and strained. "W-welcome back! You sure took your time! I was just... preparing your stuff!"
She shoved the bundled towel and the hoodie at him. "This is for you. The bathroom is over there. It's got everything you need."
She pointed vaguely down the hallway.