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Teruhashi lay on her bed, curled up under a blanket that smelled faintly of vanilla and floral perfume. The room was dim, bathed in a soft blue glow from the moonlight filtering through her curtains. The only sounds were the faint rustling of the night breeze outside and the steady, rhythmic ticking of the clock on her nightstand
3:52 AM
She should be sleeping. Any reasonable person would be. But instead, she was wide awake, staring at the ceiling, her mind spinning with a completely ridiculous dilemma
Should I wake up Saiki... Just to eat cereal with me?
The thought had come out of nowhere, sneaking up on her like an intrusive whisper in the silence. Maybe it was boredom. Maybe it was the strange thrill of having him under her roof for the first time, a secret guest in her home while the rest of the world was asleep. Or maybe it was just the soft glow of the night making her feel sentimental
Whatever it was, the idea had taken root in her head, and now she couldn’t shake it
Logically, it made no sense. Saiki wasn’t even a breakfast person, let alone someone who would appreciate being woken up at an ungodly hour for a meal that wasn’t necessary. He’d probably just stare at her with that unreadable, half-lidded expression of his and—
No, no, no, I shouldn’t! She buried her face into her pillow, her brows furrowing, That would be so weird! He’d think I’m crazy! I can’t just wake him up for something so pointless—
But the idea wouldn’t leave her alone
She liked the thought of it. The two of them, sitting together in the quiet kitchen. Their only company the soft hum of the refrigerator, the occasional clink of spoons against ceramic and the occasional sip of milk, the sleepy haze between them making everything feel a little more dreamlike. It would be… intimate. Just them, sharing a moment. No school. No classmates. No pressure to be the Teruhashi Kokomi.Just Saiki Kusuo and Teruhashi Kokomi, awake before the rest of the world
Her heart fluttered at the thought
She turned onto her side, hugging her pillow tightly as if that could smother the ridiculous warmth blooming in her chest. Ugh! Why am I even thinking about this? I should just go to sleep!
…But what if she did wake him up? What would happen?
Would he be annoyed? Probably. Would he say no? Most likely. But—what if he actually agreed? What if he just sighed, got up, and followed her downstairs, as if it was the most normal thing in the world?
Wouldn’t that be nice?
Her fingers curled into the fabric of her blanket
Okay, but how would I even do it?
If she suddenly shook him awake, that might startle him. If she whispered his name, that might come off as creepy. Maybe she could text him? Wait—no, that’s stupid. He’s literally right here on the floor
Should she just—
'Teruhashi, I can hear you, you know'
She froze
Her breath caught in her throat, her body stiffening like a deer caught in headlights
For a split second, she entertained the idea that she had imagined it. Maybe she was just so deep in her own thoughts that she had hallucinated his voice. But no—she had heard it, deep yet flat, laced with the unmistakable weight of sleep
Slowly, slowly, she turned her head toward the futon laid out in the corner of her room
Saiki was awake. And worse—he had been awake this entire time
Her entire face flamed
“You—you—how long have you—”
'The entire time,'he deadpanned, propping himself up on one elbow. His pink hair was slightly mussed from sleep, and in the dim lighting, his ever-present limiters caught the faint glint of the moonlight, 'You’ve been debating this for seven minutes and thirty-four seconds'
Teruhashi wanted to die
Heat rushed to her face, her mind scrambling for damage control, but there was no coming back from this. She had spent almost eight minutes internally obsessing over waking him up—flailing, panicking, practically swooning—and he had heard all of it
She sat up abruptly, gripping the edges of her blanket like a lifeline, “You were reading my mind?!”
Saiki gave her a look that clearly said Did you forget who I am? but answered anyway, 'I couldn’t help it. You were practically screaming in your head'
Oh, God. She wanted to disappear. This was mortifying. Her hands curled into the fabric of her blanket as a fresh wave of mortification crashed over her. He had heard everything. The ridiculous back-and-forth, the emotional spiraling, the part where she got flustered imagining him saying yes—
She wanted to cover herself up with her blanket and stay there
“I—forget it!” she blurted, her voice rising slightly, “It was a stupid idea, I wasn’t actually going to wake you up, just—just go back to sleep!”
She hastily flopped back down, yanking the covers over her face as if that could erase the past eight minutes of complete and utter humiliation
For a moment, silence stretched between them
And then—
A sigh. Soft, quiet, resigned
'…So what kind of cereal do you have?'
Teruhashi’s breath hitched
Slowly, she peeked out from under the covers, eyes wide with disbelief, “Wait… you’re saying yes?”
Saiki shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck, 'You’re not going to fall asleep until you get this out of your system, are you?'
That—he was right, but—
“I mean, yeah, but—”
'Then let’s get this over with'
He pushed back his blanket and sat up fully, his movements sluggish, hair adorably rumpled from sleep. His pajamas were slightly wrinkled, the faintest trace of warmth still on his skin from where he had been resting
And the sight of him like that—just barely awake, unguarded, agreeing to humor her ridiculous whim—made something warm and tight settle in Teruhashi’s chest
Oh.
Oh, no.
She had it bad
Teruhashi was still trying to process the fact that this was actually happening
Saiki Kusuo is in my kitchen at 4 AM, actually agreeing to eat cereal with me
Her thoughts were a chaotic mess
She had expected him to grumble, to refuse, maybe even to throw his blanket over his head and ignore her. Instead, he had sighed, sat up, and followed her downstairs. Like he wanted to be here with her
That realization alone was enough to make her heart stutter
Her hands trembled slightly as she reached for the coffee maker, deciding that if she was already awake at an ungodly hour, she might as well make them something to drink
This feels weirdly domestic, she thought absentmindedly, pouring water into the machine. Like a married couple waking up early together to start the day…
Teruhashi froze mid-motion, fingers tightening around the coffee pot
Wait, what?!
Her brain, as if sensing weakness, immediately took off at full speed
Oh, no.
Oh, no, nonononononnononononoono—
She had not just thought about them being married
Heat crept up her neck, her grip tightening around the coffee pot as her mind spiraled. She tried to shake the thought away, but it was too late—her brain had already gone full throttle
She could see it so vividly. Waking up next to him every morning, his hair a mess from sleep, his expression groggy and unimpressed as he reached for his glasses on the nightstand. She’d stretch, yawn, and tease him about being grumpy in the mornings, and he’d just blink at her, unimpressed but affectionate—Wow, what a vivid imagination—
And then—oh god, she’d get out of bed first and make coffee while he sat at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper like some kind of husband straight out of a romance novel. He’d probably sigh every time she did something ridiculous, but it would be one of those fond sighs, like he was used to it
Oh God, we’d even have matching mugs!
Her stomach flipped at the thought. One with his name, one with hers, sitting side by side in their kitchen cabinets. Hers would be something cute, maybe pastel-colored with little hearts, and his would be plain, because of course it would be—You know me too well, It's scary—
And—and then they’d eat breakfast together, just like this, sitting across from each other at the dining table. Except it would be their dining table, in their house, because they’d be—
Oh god!
I’m imagining us married. I’M IMAGINING US MARRIED. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME—
Her thoughts spiraled further into insanity. Wedding invitations, picking out a dress, walking down the aisle while he just stands there with that same blank face, probably thinking about something completely unrelated like the structural integrity of the ceiling—
Our honeymoon? Oh my god, where would we go? Saiki probably wouldn’t want to go anywhere crowded.—Yep, that's right— Maybe a quiet getaway somewhere with nice weather. He’d just sip coffee on the balcony while she rambled about how beautiful everything was, and he’d act all indifferent but secretly enjoy it
And our house! Would we live in a modern apartment or a cozy house with a little garden?—That does seem nice—
Would she get to decorate?—Maybe—Would she have to fight him to put up cute decorations?
Would he let her pick the couch?—probably not—
And kids—
Her brain short-circuited
WAIT. NO. TOO FAR. TOO FAR!!
She slapped a hand over her mouth, mortified by herself. What am I even thinking?! We just started dating!! We’re not even married! We haven’t even kissed yet! I can’t be thinking about—
'Too soon.'
Teruhashi nearly jumped out of her skin, almost dropping the coffee pot
Her entire body tensed as she whipped around, eyes wide, only to find Saiki standing by the counter, pouring cereal into two bowls with the same deadpan expression he always had
Her brain blanked out completely
She knew what just happened. She knew he had been listening the entire time
Her worst fears were confirmed when he casually looked up and repeated, 'Too soon'
Teruhashi wanted to die on the spot
“You—you—stop reading my mind!” she hissed, face burning
Saiki raised an eyebrow, “You’re making it really hard not to”
Teruhashi smacked her palm against her forehead. Of course he could hear everything. She should’ve known. She did know. But that didn’t make it any less embarrassing!
But then—
She caught it
A flicker of something barely there. A tiny, almost imperceptible movement. The faintest curve of his lips—so small that anyone else would have missed it
He was smiling
Her brain stalled
Saiki Kusuo, the boy who acted like everything in the world was an inconvenience, was smiling because of her stupid, ridiculous thoughts
She wasn’t sure if that made her want to melt into a puddle or combust
In a desperate attempt to distract herself, she busied herself with the coffee again, forcing her attention away from Saiki’s tiny, devastatingly adorable reaction
“C-Coffee?” she blurted, mentally cursing at how flustered she sounded
Saiki gave her a blank stare, “It’s four in the morning”
She huffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder, “yours is sweeter”
Saiki blinked. He looked down at the cereal box in his hands, then back at her, as if trying to figure out how he ended up here in the first place
“…You do realize you woke me up for cereal, right?”
Teruhashi stubbornly avoided eye contact, focusing on pouring their drinks, “And now we’re having coffee, too. Deal with it”
Saiki sighed but didn’t argue. Instead, he grabbed the milk from the fridge, pouring it over the cereal that made Teruhashi feel way too soft
They sat across from each other at the small dining table, a comfortable silence settling between them. The soft clinks of spoons against ceramic filled the room as they ate
It was… nice
Saiki humored her thoughts as they came, not commenting on every single ridiculous thing she imagined, but acknowledging them in his own way
When she thought about how nice it was to sit here with him, without school or distractions, he reached for his coffee and took a slow sip, like he was settling into the moment
When she entertained the thought of them doing this more often, he tapped his spoon against his bowl, as if considering it
And when, despite herself, she briefly imagined him pulling her hand across the table and holding it just because—
Saiki didn’t react
Her heart did a weird little flip
Maybe he’s pretending not to hear that one
She felt strangely grateful
The minutes stretched on, slow and peaceful, until her cereal was mostly gone, and her coffee had cooled just enough to sip without burning her tongue
She let out a small, content sigh, “This is nice…”
Saiki hummed in response. He wasn’t much for words, but she knew him well enough to recognize that he agreed
Maybe this was what love felt like
Quiet. Easy. A little ridiculous, but warm all the same
She smiled to herself, deciding she wouldn’t mind waking up like this a little more often