Morning message.

Saturdays started later than usual in their building. It was 10:00 am when Will woke up, alone in his bed for once. The girls had their night out while he was at his fight. Will showered, got dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt and began to prepare breakfast.

‘Make it for six. Nanami is in Reina’s place and Ruth in Anna’s.’

‘Yeah, I noticed. I hope they had fun last night.’

The alarm system they had set up was useful in many ways. It alerted Will when strangers tried to get in, but it also recognized those with explicit permission to be inside the barrier and let him easily feel their presence.

The entire group arrived on time. Breakfast was served at 10:30 at Will’s place, and all the girls were happy to comply with the schedule so long as it meant they didn’t have to cook or wash dishes.

“Morning,” Ruth greeted while unable to stop her yawn.

“At what time did you go to bed?” Amelia asked her exactly what Will was about to.

“We ended up watching a movie at my place until 3:00 am,” Anna said, chuckling.

“S-Sorry for the intrusion,” Nanami said, walking stiffly and awkwardly while looking around. Will chuckled, set the spatula down and went to her.

“I’ve told you, no need to feel so awkward here. Make yourself at home.” Will tenderly kissed her cheek.

“But I’m coming over for breakfast without asking…”

“You’re free to drop by whenever you want. You’re always welcomed here, no matter the time or day.”

Nanami smiled, relieved. She looked as cute as always, so Will leaned in again to kiss her lips this time. Yet it was Nanami who first slid her tongue inside his mouth.

Will regretted that he had to keep it short, otherwise he’d burn the pancakes.

The bread was toasted, the water heated, the mugs ready at the table along with the butter, jam, sugar, tea, coffee and milk.

‘You’re becoming a better househusband by the day, aren’t you?’

‘I have to bring something other than sex to the table, don’t you think?’

‘And you decided to take that literally?’

‘Kind of.’

Will didn’t mind. He also made dinner for them most nights. He always knew his way around a kitchen, but he felt he was slowly getting better at it. It felt nice to hone a skill. A normal skill, for once.

The group of six sat around the table. Reina drank her coffee from her mug and looked revitalized. She smiled and looked at Will. “So? How did it go?”

“Oh, right.” Amelia swallowed her bite of toast. “Did you win?”

Will nodded. “I did, but I’m not satisfied with it. I still have too much to learn.”

Nanami chuckled. “My aunt started training when she was 10 years old. That you can keep up with her is already impressive.”

Will rubbed the back of his neck. “I try not to compare myself to her or I risk always coming up short. No, I’m just thinking of all the things I did and how I probably could’ve performed better.”

Anna chuckled. “That’s what training is for, right?”

“Yeah. I’m not training today, though, and all my assignments are done, so I have a day off for once.”

“Then let’s go somewhere,” Ruth said, smiling. “Let’s go watch the ducks at the park.”

“There are ducks in the park!?” Nanami asked, eyes sparkling.

“And a pond of koi fish,” Anna added.

“Koi fish!”

Amelia cleared her throat and smiled wryly. “I don’t mean to be a killjoy, but… No, at least wait until noon to decide if you’re going out, okay Will?”

Will tilted his head. “Until noon? Why?”

“By the way, what were you doing last night?” Reina asked Amelia. “I invited you to come with us, but you said you had plans.”

“I… needed to have an important conversation with a friend,” Amelia answered. “I’m hoping I was able to make her see some sense.”

As if on cue, Will’s phone rang in his pocket with the sound of a text message. His hand twitched and he almost reached for it before stopping himself. He knew he was getting into a bad habit. He sighed and slowly took out his phone to check it, throwing away all expectations. So of course this time it had to be what he was waiting for.

-Cynthia: Good morning, William. I apologize for not contacting you earlier. I should have, but I’ve been hesitating. I would like to talk, face to face. If you don’t want to see me, I’ll understand, and we can work out the details of your job at the magazine through Anna. However, I do want to see you. There’s more I’d like to say, but I don’t dare unless I see you in person. I’m free today, if that works for you. If not, we can set another date. I look forward to hearing from you.

Will finished reading the message for the third time and set his phone on the table. His hands shook and he began to rub his face.

“Huh. So Cynthia decided to message you. Good,” Amelia said, taking a satisfied sip of her tea.

“Wait, Mrs. Evans is the friend you were talking about?” Anna asked, shocked.

“Yes. I called her, asked her if we could talk, she said yes. Told her to get off her ass and talk to Will regardless of what she wanted to do.”

Reina nodded in approval. “Thank you. I was considering going to her office to do the same.”

“You’re going today, right?” Ruth asked him.

“E-Eh? B-But… you wanted to…”

“The park’s not going anywhere,” Ruth told him. “Go. She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”

Nanami chuckled. “He risked his life for her. Of course she does.”

“A-Are you sure?” Will asked them. His heart was pounding hard, his hands felt cold.

“You made plans with her, didn’t you?” Reina asked, smiling. “If she wants to end things, you need to see it through. If she wants to be with you again, then we’ll just have to put up another chair at this table.”

Will swallowed. Everyone was supportive, and they were right. Regardless of what happened, he needed to see it through.

He replied, telling Cynthia he was able to meet her at any time she was available. She told him to meet her at 2:00 pm and sent him a map location. According to Amelia, that was her penthouse.