Morning came quietly.
Aanya woke without knowing what had pulled her out of sleep.
For a few seconds, she simply stared at the ceiling.
The room was unfamiliar in the way familiar places sometimes became unfamiliar after waking.
Then she remembered.
She was at Sagnik's.
She turned her head slightly.
He was still asleep.
For once, there was nothing guarded about his face.
No quiet concentration.
No half-listening expression.
No faint crease between his brows from thinking about something too much.
Just sleep.
Aanya watched him for a few seconds.
Then looked away.
She wasn't sure why she was smiling.
Maybe because she had actually stayed.
Maybe because nothing about it felt wrong.
She slowly sat up.
Her hair had probably become a disaster overnight.
She ran her fingers through it and immediately regretted checking.
Wonderful.
She looked around.
The room was still dim.
The curtains hadn't been opened properly, allowing only thin strips of morning light through.
She stood quietly.
For a moment, she considered waking him.
Then decided against it.
She walked toward the window and pulled the curtain aside.
Morning sunlight spilled into the room.
Behind her came a sleepy voice.
"What time is it?"
Aanya turned.
Sagnik was awake now, though barely.
"Morning."
"That's not a time."
She smiled.
"Seven something."
He closed his eyes again.
"Too early."
Aanya laughed softly.
"You have classes."
"I know."
"You'll be late."
"I know."
"You should get up."
A pause.
"I know."
She stared at him.
"Then get up."
He opened one eye.
"You're very demanding in the morning."
"I'm being helpful."
"You're being annoying."
"That's rich coming from you."
He smiled.
And finally sat up.
The next few minutes were strangely ordinary.
Sagnik disappeared to wash up, and Aanya was using the spare washroom at his place to freshen up, she happened to have a spear uniform at his place for situations just like these when the plan to stay back would be unexpected, half an hour has passed by, it was around 7:45 AM, Aanya was now combing her hair, she checked her phone, and stared at the messages she had accumulated overnight.
Nothing urgent.
Nothing she needed to answer immediately.
She put the phone down.
When Sagnik returned, he looked considerably more awake.
He glanced at her.
"Did you sleep okay?"
"Yeah."
A pause.
"You?"
"Yeah."
That was all.
But something about the question stayed with her.
He had asked.
Not because he had to.
Because he cared whether she had slept well.
Aanya looked down.
"Thanks."
Sagnik frowned slightly.
"For?"
She shrugged.
"Nothing."
He didn't push.
Breakfast was improvised.
There wasn't much.
Aanya opened the cupboard and stared inside.
"You have nothing."
"I have food."
"This is not food."
He came over.
"That's bread."
"Exactly."
"There's eggs."
"Better."
"See?"
"I'll allow it."
He laughed.
They ended up making breakfast together.
Or rather—
Sagnik made most of it.
Aanya stood beside him and occasionally interfered.
She stole pieces of toast.
He complained.
She stole another.
He moved the plate away.
She looked offended.
"You're starving me."
"You've already eaten three."
"Exactly."
He shook his head.
But he moved the plate back toward her anyway.
Aanya smiled.
She didn't comment on it.
Neither did he.
They ate at the small table.
For a while, neither spoke.
The morning felt different from the evenings.
Less protected.
Daylight made everything visible.
The room.
The books.
Their bags.
The small signs of two lives overlapping without either of them deliberately arranging it.
Aanya looked around.
Her eyes stopped on the corner where she'd left her bag the previous night.
Still there.
Her notebook was beside it.
Her pen was on the table.
A few of her things had begun appearing here so naturally that she hadn't noticed when it happened.
She looked at Sagnik.
He was eating.
Completely unaware of the thought passing through her mind.
Maybe that was better.
She didn't want to turn this morning into something it wasn't.
She simply wanted to remember it.
The sunlight.
The quiet.
The ridiculous breakfast.
His sleepy face from 45 minutes ago.
The fact that she'd woken up here and hadn't felt the immediate need to escape.
That mattered.
Even if she couldn't explain why.
Eventually, Sagnik looked at the time.
"We should leave."
Aanya nodded.
"Yeah."
Neither sounded particularly enthusiastic about it.
They got ready.
She picked up her bag.
He grabbed his keys.
At the door, Aanya paused.
She looked back into the room.
Nothing had changed.
It was still just a room.
His room.
And yet—
for the first time, she knew what it felt like to wake up somewhere and not immediately feel like she was intruding.
She turned back.
Sagnik was waiting.
"Coming?"
Aanya smiled.
"Yeah."
She stepped outside.
He locked the door behind them.
Then they started walking toward campus together.
Just like they had done countless times before.
Except now—
she had woken up beside the same day she'd fallen asleep beside.
And somehow, that tiny continuity felt more intimate than anything either of them had said.