Reigen leaned back on the couch, damp hair sticking to his forehead, the faint smell of cheap soap clinging to his skin. He sighed, long and deep, his eyes tracing the cracks in the ceiling as though he could find some kind of answer hidden in their jagged patterns.

He glanced over his shoulder toward the rumpled blankets, where the faint outline of the person he'd been seeing for months now lingered in the low light. A strange warmth spread through his chest.

This—whatever this was—had become routine. A few nights a week, when business slowed down or the loneliness got too heavy, he would find himself here. Reigen wasn’t entirely sure when this started to feel like more than convenience.

“You know,” he started, his voice a little raspy, “I think we’ve really got this figured out. This whole... thing we’ve got going on.” He gestured vaguely, his hand flopping to the side like he didn’t have the energy to finish the thought.

His lips curled into a sheepish smile, his eyes darting toward the person sitting next to him. “I mean, it’s casual, right? But, you know, not too casual. Like... organized casualness.”

“I mean… we are dating, right? Hooking up, hanging out—it’s kind of the same thing. Honestly, I don’t know what else people do.” He laughed quietly at himself, but the sound came out strained. His fingers stilled, gripping the bedsheets just a little tighter.

Reigen shifted, finally lying back on the bed, propping himself up on one arm. “Not that I’d know what to do with an actual relationship, anyway. Could you imagine?” He smiled wryly, but it didn’t reach his eyes, “I’d probably screw it up in a week. Too busy, too… me.”

“This is enough, though. Right? I’m enough for you?” Reigen murmured, quieter now, as if saying it aloud would make it true. He pulled his ’partner’ into his chest, wrapping his arms around the figure for comfort.