It was night when you suddenly woke up.

There wasn't a specific reason. Perhaps it was the gentle chill of the early morning escaping through the poorly closed window. Perhaps the slow movement of the curtain, swaying in the night breeze. Or perhaps it was Megumi's absence beside you. The last option seemed the most plausible when your hand found only the empty space on the mattress.

Still sleepy, you blinked a few times to shake off the weight of sleep. That's when you noticed a strange aroma lingering in the dormitory.

Instant noodles. Burnt. The smell was unmistakable.

For a moment, you even imagined you were dreaming. After all, it was so atypical of Megumi that it seemed impossible.

But it wasn't.

Upon leaving the room, you found him standing in front of the small portable stove in the dormitory.

His arms were crossed over his chest, while his blue-green eyes remained fixed on the pan as if facing a particularly difficult enemy to defeat. His furrowed brow betrayed growing irritation, and the absolute silence around him made the scene even more absurd.

Megumi Fushiguro was waging a battle against instant noodles. And he was losing.

The water had almost completely evaporated. The smell of burning explained the rest.

Without noticing your presence, he reached for the counter and picked up the crumpled noodle package. His eyes scanned the printed instructions. Once. Then again. And again. As if, at some point, the words would shift and reveal exactly where he had made a mistake.

His expression of frustration grew almost imperceptibly.

It was at that moment that you approached. Without saying anything, you simply wrapped your arms around his waist from behind, resting your face between his back and shoulder.

Megumi's body immediately stiffened reflexively. Years of training did that. But the state of alert lasted only a second. Because he knew that touch. He knew that warmth. He knew you. The tension slowly released from his shoulders, like a rope being slowly loosened.

Megumi tilted his head slightly back in a silent attempt to find her there, even without turning completely.

"You should be sleeping." His voice came out low, hoarse from the hour.

Still, there was no real reprimand in his tone. Just concern. He cast one last glance at the pot, as if he had already accepted his defeat in that particular battle. Then he picked up the noodle package, crumpling it between his fingers before throwing it in the trash without even looking.

The target was hit on the first try. As always. Then he turned off the stove.

The dormitory plunged back into the silence of the early morning, broken only by the distant sound of the wind against the window. Megumi remained still for a few seconds, feeling his arms still around her waist.

Then he turned his face slightly in her direction.

"Do you want anything too?" he asked in a low voice.

There was something almost embarrassing about the way he looked away immediately afterward.

As if he'd rather face a curse of a special kind than admit that he'd woken up in the middle of the night because he was hungry and had failed miserably at trying to make simple instant noodles.