"You guys look awful." Yotsuha sniffs, and recoils a bit. "And you smell worse."
Tessie puts up his hands in surrender. "I'll be the first to admit that while we have been acting stupid, we haven't done anything bad. Yet."
Saya rolls her eyes. "Oh, well that's a relief. 'Yet.'"
"We were just headed back to Takagi's actually. We, uh, might have had a bit much to eat and drink. And we're kind of tired," Taki explains.
"Are you all right?" Mitsuha asks in concern.
Takagi and Okudera lock eyes and briefly share a wicked, conspiratorial grin.
Taki waves away Mitsuha's worries. "Yeah, I'm-"
"Not doing so well, actually," Takagi butts in. "He said he wasn't feeling well, which is why we were headed back to my place."
"But isn't that kind of far?" Okudera pretends to ask. "Do you think he could make it?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Guys, what are you-?!" Taki tried to object, but to no avail.
"Are you familiar with this area, Takagi?" Okudera prompts him.
He plays along, knowing exactly where she's going with this. "A little bit, why?"
"Perhaps it'd be for the best of Taki found a place nearby to rest up, don't you think?"
"That's a good idea," Takagi agrees. "I think there's a hotel down that way."
"Wait, a hotel?!" Taki's question is blatantly ignored.
Okudera all but shoved Mitsuha into Taki, who easily catches her. "Mitsuha, why don't you take care of him?"
"But what about the parties?" she asks.
"It's a shame," Okudera concedes, "but this'll give us a chance to get to know each other a bit more, without you two having to act as a bridge between us. It'll be fine!"
"I think the place is down at that corner over there." Takagi points in the opposite direction of his apartment.
Mitsuha and Taki both turn to look, which in hindsight is a fatal mistake. "Oh, I think I see it," Mitsuha remarks. "Is that it?" she asks Takagi for confirmation.
Only silence answers her.
Taki sighs. "Did they really just leave us here? I'm feeling fine, I'm not even that tired. Takagi's place isn't even a block away! What in the world are they thinking?! Aren't the bachelor and bachelorette parties supposed to stay separate, anyways?"
Mitsuha deflates a little bit. "Sorry. I'm sure you'd rather be with your friends right now, this is supposed to be a celebration with them after all."
"No, it's not your fault!" Taki says quickly, realizing his mistake. "And, if I'm being honest. . ."
Mitsuha waits expectantly for him to finish.
". . .it's nice, just the two of us," Taki lamely finishes.
"Well, if it's just the two of us, then what shall we do?" Mitsuha asks coyly.
"I'll be honest, I have no clue."
"Me neither.
Resigned to their fate, the couple head down the street towards the hotel. It'd be nicer to get off the street, at least, while they try to figure out their next step.
Somehow they both have made it this far without either of them chickening out. And as they sit side by side on the bed, taking great care not to make any contact, physical or otherwise, both Taki and Mitsuha begin to regret their decision.
But deep down, neither can deny the excitement they feel.
Finally, Mitsuha takes the first step, letting her fingers brush Taki's ever so slightly, the mere ghost of contact able to make him flush crimson.
"So, uh, here we are. . ." Taki says uncertainly.
"Here we are," Mitsuha echoes.
Taki raises his hands, gesturing uselessly. "I, uh. . .well. . .you. . .um. . ."
His thoughts jumbled, words spill uncontrollably from his mouth. But he can't even properly string together two words. Thankfully, his pointless stuttering is cut off when he yawns.
"Oh, you really are tired, aren't you?" Mitsuha asks, her eyes glittering with mirth. "Well. . .why don't you let me take care of you?"
Taki can feel his ears burning. He must look like a tomato right now. Once again, his words fail him in embarrassing fashion. "You don't-it's just, uh. . .I. . ."
With surprising strength, Mitsuha pulls Taki off balance, and rests his head in her lap. It's bold, and certainly not what Taki has come to expect from Mitsuha until recently, but it's definitely not an unwelcome development. As much as it irks him to admit it, Okudera's right when she says he can be a bit oblivious.
Taki decides to just enjoy the moment and shuts his eyes. "This is nice. . ." He can't see it, but he knows Mitsuha is smiling softly down at him.
"Is it? I'm glad."
"I'll be honest, I don't know what I was expecting when we actually can here," Taki says.
"M-me neither. . ." Mitsuha concurs, her voice faltering just a bit.
The companionable silence between them is comforting. Neither feels the need to try and fill it with pointless chatter, instead they opt to just enjoy each other's presence.
A hand gently stroking his cheek rouses Taki from his light slumber. He said he was fine, but it seems the combination of excessive eating and drinking, fatigue from a long day, and the welcoming comfort of Mitsuha's lap lulled him into dozing off.
His vision focuses after a second, and he finds himself staring straight up at Mitsuha, who's smiling contentedly.
"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?" she apologizes while blushing slightly. "Your sleeping face was. . .too cute. I-I couldn't resist."
Her embarrassment is endearing, especially considering just why she's feeling flustered. "Don't worry about it. In fact, thanks for waking me."
"But aren't you tired?"
"Yeah. But if I'm sleeping like this," Taki says, before getting up and enveloping Mitsuha in his arms before falling back onto the bed, "I can't go to bed with the woman I love in my arms."
Mitsuha's thankful Taki had chosen to hug her from behind. This way, he can't see her face, which she knows is burning red.
Rather than potentially spoil the atmosphere with some rambling, stuttering response, Mitsuha opts to silently make herself comfortable, relishing the sensation of Taki's warmth surrounding her on all sides.
She closes her eyes and blissfully drifts off to sleep.
Notes: I'll be honest, I've had this (and probably the next chapter) done for a while now, but I started going back and moving things around and got everything mixed up. But anyways, sorry for being so late. It's also been a bit hard to write, mainly because I have no idea what to write, but also because it feels kind of wrong to tie things up so cleanly and unambiguously. I keep saying I'll wrap this up, but then I start feeling like I don't want to even though I'm pretty much out of ideas. I dunno, but either way I hope you all enjoy and continue to read!