N&

The mall had a plan. Seven stores, three floors, a lunch break. The plan did not account for Nagi. By the third store he was on Reo's back. By five pm he was tired — despite not having walked since noon, despite Reo having carried him for three hours. These facts coexisted without apparent cognitive dissonance. Can we sleep when we get back? At five in the afternoon. Reo said fine after the appropriate moment of resistance. My bed, he specified. Nagi's grip around his shoulders tightened. Settled. You're still carrying the bags.