The morning sunlight spilled through the half-drawn curtains, warm and relentless.

Nandini stirred awake, still tired. Yesterday had drained her — unpacking, setting up her room, arranging, rearranging, and then arranging again.

By the time she was done, the walls felt a little less foreign, but her body had given up long before. And if that wasn’t enough, the jet lag had decided to join the party too.

She finished her morning chores and was making a loose bun on her hair, just then she heard a faint clatter of a pan from the kitchen. For a moment, she froze but at last with a deep breath and exhale she stepped out of the room.

She found him at the kitchen counter, his back turned making a smoothie. He froze for a second when a familiar scent - vanilla and cocoa butter - drifted through the air. It had been years since he'd smelled it, yet it hit him like a memory he didn't know ke missed it.

He turned their eyes met for barely a second, quiet, awkward, distant yet enough to make both of their heartbeat to stumble. "Good morning" he said too casually, looking fresh as if he hadn't spent half the night thinking about her, as if he'd actually slept peacefully before his alarm went off. She gave him a brief look and muttered a small, “Morning,” pretending his presence — and that slightly disheveled hair — wasn’t drawing her in.

Her eyes flicked to the table. An omelette. A couple of toasts. Typical. He cleared his throat, catching her attention and said “Uh… I made breakfast for—” “I’m vegetarian,” she cut him off before he could finish, her voice calm but sharp enough to slice through the air.

He gave a small, awkward chuckle. "I know that's why I made Besan cheela for you". She blinked, caught off guard. He remembered? But instead of answering she simply said "No thanks, I'll manage my own breakfast" with a fake smile.

She moved toward the coffee machine — it was right beside where he stood making his smoothie. Her eyes searched for the coffee jar. Without a word, he reached for it first and handed it to her. Their fingers brushed — just a second of contact, soft and accidental, yet enough to send a spark through the air. Her breath hitched; his ears flushed a faint red.

Nandini grabbed her coffee mug and turned to leave for her room. Arjun sighed, glancing at the cheela he had made for her after watching several YouTube videos. A pang hit him when she’d refused it.

But just as he was about to clean up, she appeared again in the kitchen. Without meeting his eyes, she said while grabbing the plate,

“I guess you won’t be able to eat all this alone. And it’s not good to waste food. So… I’ll eat it. But don’t do anything for me next time.”

He looked at her, half amused, half surprised.

“Uh… okay?” he said, still not sure what just happened.

As she started to walk away, he added, “Sunno… the owner texted me. She’s coming to meet you in half an hour. Said you weren’t picking up her calls.”

“Okay,” she muttered, not turning back — but that Sunno lingered in her mind longer than she wanted to admit.

Arjun couldn’t help but grin like a fool as he watched her walk away with the plate.

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