On the Beach at Night [Nagito x Reader]

Chapter 21: Dream

When (Y/N) woke up, she felt a warmth against her face. She tried moving, but her neck felt stiff and something was constricting her. She blinked a few times, trying to come to her senses. Arms. There were arms around her. Nagito's arms. The realization startled her, causing her to inhale a little too loudly. Her sudden movements must have startled Nagito too, because she felt him stir underneath her. He pulled his arms away from her, only to stretch them sleepily behind his head.

"Good...morning, I guess?" he yawned.

"Good morning." she let out a small cough, trying to get the tiredness out of her voice.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful, so I stayed like this."

"T-Thank you." She was glad her face was still against him, or else he would see how flustered she looked. "What time is it?" her eyes darted around the room in search of a clock.

"It's almost noon." he said, looking at his phone.

"Well, there goes our morning." She mimicked his yawn. "Hungry?"

"Yeah, I could eat. What should we get?"

"We could go to that ramen place again."

"We've been there twice already!" he protested, but there was still a smile on his face.

"But I like it! She fake pouted for a second before laughing. "I won't stop until I've tried everything on the menu."

"Alright, alright. Let's go then."

They sat at their usual spot in the restaurant, facing the window. The owner smiled at then when they walked in, probably recognizing them as regulars by now. It was familiar, and (Y/N) almost found it funny that she could have such a routine in this world. Nothing here was real, but did that mean her feelings weren't real either? It was disorienting to think that she'd have to return to the real world sometime sooner than later. Was it bad if she didn't want to leave? She pushed that feeling away quickly and focused on the bowl of ramen in front of her. Fake or not, this ramen is delicious, she thought to herself.

"Hey, (Y/N) ...I have a question." he asked quietly, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

"Sure, go for it."

"Is this a date?" his eyes were wide with innocent curiosity as he looked at her for a response.

"Well, do you want it to be?"

"Yes." His bluntness caught her off guard.

"Then it's a date." she smiled at him, but he still looked like something else was on his mind.

"What about the other times we went out like this? Were those dates too?"

"Hmm, yeah. I guess so."

"So does that mean we're...dating?"

"Yep, I think that's what that means." She felt the warmth flood to her cheeks as she met his gaze. His face was also tinted a soft pink, which brought color to his normally pale completion. Seeing him look happy made her heart flutter.

Will we still feel this way about each other after all this is over? Her thoughts were plagued by worries about the future. What if we forget about what happened here? She winced at an even worse thought that slithered its way to the forefront of her mind.

What if Nagito still doesn't wake up?

"(Y/N)?" she was brought back to reality by his voice gently calling out to her.