They reached Sagnik's place without either of them realizing how quickly the walk had passed.
Aanya slipped off her shoes near the entrance.
Then walked inside like she had done it a hundred times.
Sagnik watched her for a second.
"You know you don't have to act like you live here."
Aanya turned around.
"I don't."
"You just walked in."
"I've been here before."
"That's not what I meant."
She smiled.
"I know."
She dropped her bag beside the couch.
Sagnik shook his head and walked toward the kitchen.
"Do you want something?"
"Water."
"That's it?"
"Maybe food."
"Maybe?"
"I haven't decided."
"You never decide."
"Then decide for me."
He looked at her.
"That's dangerous."
Aanya laughed.
"Why?"
"Because you'll complain about whatever I choose."
"I won't."
"You will."
"I won't."
He opened the refrigerator.
"Fine."
A few minutes later, he came back with something simple.
Aanya took it.
"You're surprisingly useful."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I accepted it as one."
She smiled.
They eventually settled at the table.
Books came out.
Notes were spread across the surface.
For the next half hour, they actually studied.
Or tried to.
Aanya was reading through a topic when she felt something bump her foot.
She looked up.
Sagnik hadn't moved.
She looked down.
His foot was resting against hers beneath the table.
She looked back at him.
He was reading.
Completely expressionless.
Aanya narrowed her eyes.
"Did you do that?"
He looked up.
"Do what?"
She stared at him.
He stared back.
Then the smallest smile appeared.
Aanya shook her head and returned to her notes.
She didn't move her foot.
Neither did he.
Twenty minutes later, Aanya dropped her pen.
It rolled across the table.
Sagnik caught it before it reached the edge.
He held it out to her.
"You're getting distracted."
"I'm tired."
"You've studied for twenty minutes."
"Exactly."
He laughed.
"That's not how studying works."
"It is for me."
She took the pen.
Then rested her chin in her hand.
"Tell me something."
"What?"
"Anything."
He looked at her.
"Anything?"
"Yeah."
He thought for a moment.
Then started telling her about something completely ridiculous that had happened to him during school.
Aanya listened.
At first, she laughed.
Then she interrupted.
Then he corrected her.
Then she argued with him.
Soon the books were forgotten.
They spent nearly forty minutes talking about things that didn't matter.
Old memories.
Bad decisions.
People they had known.
Small things they had never told each other.
Nothing dramatic.
Nothing profound.
Just pieces.
One after another.
Until Aanya realized she had stopped checking the time.
Eventually, she leaned back against the couch.
"I'm tired."
Sagnik looked over.
"Then sleep."
She blinked.
"Here?"
He shrugged.
"You're reacting as if you've never done that."
Aanya looked at him.
There was no hesitation in his voice.
No hidden meaning.
Just fact.
She smiled.
"Okay."
She shifted slightly and curled into the corner of the couch.
Sagnik returned to his work.
For a while, neither spoke.
The room became quiet again.
Aanya watched him from where she lay.
His head bent over his notebook.
His fingers moving steadily across the page.
The familiar concentration on his face.
She didn't know when it had happened.
But his presence had become something her mind no longer questioned.
Something steady.
Something she could return to.
The room had been quiet for nearly an hour.
Aanya had fallen asleep without realizing it.
She had been watching Sagnik study, her eyes gradually becoming heavier until eventually she had simply stopped fighting them.
Sagnik hadn't noticed immediately.
He kept reading.
One page.
Then another.
He made a few notes.
Checked something on his phone.
Returned to his book.
Time passed.
Eventually, he looked up.
Aanya was still asleep.
Her hand had fallen loosely against the edge of the couch.
Her fingers were completely relaxed.
Sagnik stared at her for a moment.
Then noticed the tiny movement of her nose.
A faint scrunch.
He almost smiled.
He had seen her do that before.
Usually when she was concentrating.
Sometimes when she was annoyed.
Sometimes for absolutely no reason.
But asleep—
it was somehow worse.
She looked impossibly peaceful.
And, for some reason, that made her seem even more adorable.
Sagnik closed his book.
He lowered himself from his chair and sat on the floor beside the couch.
For a while, he simply looked at her.
There was nothing particularly remarkable about the moment.
And yet he couldn't look away.
His eyes moved over her face.
The loose strands of hair near her forehead.
The relaxed curve of her expression.
The way her breathing remained slow and steady.
His hand lifted almost without conscious thought.
He hesitated.
Then his fingers lightly brushed through her hair.
Aanya shifted.
Sagnik immediately stopped.
His hand froze.
She didn't wake.
He waited.
A few seconds.
Then slowly lowered his hand.
He stared at her again.
Why did even that feel like something?
He exhaled quietly.
He should probably get back to work.
He knew that.
Instead, he remained there.
Looking at her.
His gaze lingered.
And somewhere in that quiet, an entirely different thought appeared.
A simple one.
Dangerously simple.
He looked at her lips.
Then immediately looked away.
No.
He shouldn't.
He knew better.
He had spent too long trying to do things properly to throw it away now.
But after a few seconds, his eyes returned.
Just once.
He leaned forward slightly.
Stopped.
His heart was beating harder than it should have been.
He moved closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Until there was barely any distance left.
He could feel himself about to cross a line he had been deliberately keeping intact.
He stopped.
His eyes closed briefly.
Then he turned his head.
And pressed a soft kiss against her cheek.
Nothing more.
Aanya shifted faintly in her sleep.
Sagnik pulled back immediately.
He stared at her.
Then quietly shook his head at himself.
"Enough."
It was barely a whisper.
He stood.
For a moment, he considered leaving her there.
But the couch wasn't comfortable enough for her to sleep on all night.
So he carefully slipped one arm beneath her shoulders and another beneath her knees.
Aanya stirred.
Her head instinctively settled against him.
Sagnik froze for half a second.
Then continued.
He carried her to his room.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He placed her on the bed.
Pulled the blanket over her.
Made sure she was comfortable.
She turned slightly toward the pillow.
Still asleep.
Sagnik stood beside the bed for another moment.
His expression softened.
Then he quietly walked back out.
Returned to his desk.
Opened his book.
And went back to studying.
As though nothing had happened.
Except—
for the first time that evening,
He was smiling.