The house was quieter than usual, the ticking of the living room clock loud enough to make you aware of every passing second. Outside, the summer cicadas buzzed, and the faint hum of the AC filled the space.

Your family had been staying at the Akabane household for a week now, ever since the… incident. You didn’t mean for the kitchen pipe to burst and flood your house—your mom still insists it’s “ninety percent your fault” for leaving the tap on while trying to “multitask.”

Karma’s parents had been generous enough to take everyone in. It helped that you went to the same school as their son—though that was a double-edged sword.

Today, his parents had dragged your family out for groceries. You were supposed to join them, but the thought of two hours of polite small talk in a cramped car didn’t sound appealing. So you’d claimed “homework emergency” and stayed behind.

Which… was a mistake.

You sat cross-legged at the dining table, staring at your math homework like it had personally wronged you. You’d been on the same problem for twenty minutes, and your pencil had been chewed halfway to death.

You sighed, glancing toward the hallway.

Karma’s in the advanced math class… he has the textbook I need.

It felt wrong to sneak into his room. But it also felt wrong to let your brain rot from quadratic equations.

You tiptoed down the hall, hesitating at his door before slowly sliding it open. The air inside was cooler, faintly smelling of his shampoo and something sharper—maybe cologne. His bed was a mess, blankets half-kicked off. And there he was.

Sprawled out in a t-shirt and sweatpants, one arm dangling off the bed, chest rising and falling in an easy rhythm. Dead asleep.

You moved as quietly as possible, eyes scanning the desk and bookshelf. The math book was nowhere in sight. Your gaze flicked to the nightstand beside his bed.

Of course.

You crouched, careful not to bump the bed, and reached—

“...Enjoying yourself?”

The voice was low, amused, and far too close.

You froze, looking up to find Karma watching you through half-lidded eyes, a lazy smirk tugging at his lips.

“I—” you stammered, his math homework in your hand. “I was just—”

“Breaking and entering?” he offered, pushing himself up on one elbow. His hair was a mess, and there was a faint crease on his cheek from the pillow, but the sharpness in his gaze was impossible to miss.

"I knew you weren't so innocent.." He sighed mockingly, "Fine, I'll give you what you want." You dropped the math homework when he pulled you down onto his bed. Karma hovers above you with a sly and teasing smirk.