Butterflies [Nino Nakano x Male Reader]

Chapter 22 - Arrival

Y/N POV:

The question persists: How do I one-up what happened this evening? My plan is already set out and awaiting execution. If everything goes right, the last day of the trip will be a night to remember. But will it be enough?

That doubt kept me awake at night, unsurprisingly. Sharing a room with six people isn't the most comfortable situation to sleep in. And even though I'm right next to Nino, the futon just isn't large enough to accommodate us both comfortably. An excellent excuse to cuddle, no doubt. But while that may work to make Nino fall asleep, it does the exact opposite to me. Maybe I'm just not accustomed to cuddling, but neither is her, and she's sleeping like an angel.

Those two factors, coupled with the slightly unpleasant surprise that Itsuki snores a bit, made it almost impossible to get shuteye until it was late in the night. It was cute at first, and not loud at all, but considering how light my sleep has been lately, it just ended up being a nuisance.

According to my internal clock, I got about four and a half hours of sleep. Oh well, if push comes to shove, I'll just drink my entire body weight in coffee to stay awake.

I was the first one to wake. Very silently, I got up and covered Nino with the blanket, proceeding to get a new set of clothes from my backpack and make my way to the inn's common area. Not five minutes after I had sat at a table, I noticed out of the corner of my eye someone taking a seat to my side.

"Good morning." A sweet voice said.

It was none other than snores, aka Itsuki. She was still in the Yukata she wore to sleep, and even though she looked well-rested, her expression still had something a little off about it.

"Sup."

"Why are you up so early?" She asked.

"Couldn't sleep. You?"

"I'm hungry."

Why am I not surprised?

"I see. So you're gonna grab a snack and head back to bed?"

"That was my original, But seeing that you're also awake, I think I'm going to keep you company."

"Oh, cool. Well, you're welcome to do so."

"I'll just get something from the breakfast buffet. I'll be right back."

On cue, Itsuki got up and made her way to the hotel's restaurant. I was seated on a table by the window, catching up on some reading as snow fell outside. The lounge was completely empty, which was expected from this hour of the morning. Still, it feels odd to have a public space be so devoid of life.

Speaking of odd, something's up with her. Is she still trying to make up for the fight we had on the day of the exams? I thought we were fine, so why is she still feeling guilty?

More importantly, is she still feeling guilty? She didn't look completely serene from the time I saw her just now, but that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with our fight. Something's got her conflicted, that's for sure. The only question is what.

A few minutes later, she came back to the lounge with two lattes and a bagel.

"This one is for you." She placed the latte in front of me, "Do you drink coffee?"

"When the occasion calls for it." I said, "Thank you, Itsuki."

"Ah, don't mention it. Today is going to be a long day, so you should probably get your energy for it."

I took a sip of the warm latte, taking the opportunity to warm my hands a little. Hopefully, she didn't pull a Nino and put sleeping pills on this, cuz if that's the case unless the caffeine and the melatonin cancel each other, this day is going to get a whole lot tougher.