Morning light filtered softly into the café. 🌤️
Blankets everywhere. 🛏️
Medicine smell. 💊
Silence broken only by weak breathing. 😮💨
Mochi lay still.
High fever. 🌡️
Eyes closed. 😴
No strength to argue.
No strength to explain.
Mother sat beside the bed, wiping Mochi's forehead with a damp cloth. 🤍
Then she looked at Laddu.
Her eyes were gentle.
But sharp. 👀⚠️
"What were you two talking about outside last night?" she asked.
Laddu blinked.
His voice was hoarse.
Feverish.
But clear enough. 🤒
He didn't joke.
"Mochi wants to live together," he said simply.
The room paused. ⏸️
Candy stopped moving. 🍬
Maya froze mid-step. 😳
Cousin slowly turned around. 👁️
Mother didn't react immediately.
She just looked at Mochi.
Sleeping.
Burning with fever. 🔥
Unable to defend herself.
"…Is that so," Mother said quietly.
Mochi stirred faintly, lips parting, but no sound came out. 😵💫
Laddu noticed.
He shifted, trying to sit up despite the fever. 🛏️⬆️
"She can't talk right now," he said.
"So I'll say it."
Mother looked back at him.
Calm.
Serious. 🧊
Laddu swallowed.
"She didn't say it lightly," he continued.
"She said it like someone who's tired of being alone."
Mother's hand stilled. ✋
"She didn't ask," Laddu added.
"She trusted."
Silence settled. 🌫️
Mother sighed slowly.
She stood up, adjusted Mochi's blanket carefully, then turned back to Laddu.
"You both are foolish," she said.
"Very foolish." 🤦♀️
Laddu nodded.
"Yes."
Mother continued,
"But you didn't speak nonsense."
She looked at Mochi again.
"When she wakes up," Mother said,
"I will ask her myself."
Laddu didn't smile.
"That's fair," he said.
Mother placed the cloth back on Mochi's forehead.
"Until then," she added softly,
"you rest. Both of you."
Laddu lay back down.
His hand reached out instinctively. 🤝
Mochi's fingers curled around his, even in fevered sleep. 💫
Mother saw it.
She said nothing.
But she didn't pull them apart. 🤍
Medicine smell. 💊
Two fevers. 🌡️🌡️
One dangerous mouth still working. ⚠️
Mother adjusted Mochi's blanket and looked at Laddu again.
"…And what else were you saying outside?" she asked carefully.
Laddu, half-dead from fever, answered immediately.
"Mochi wants to eat me."
THE ROOM STOPPED. 🛑💀
Candy dropped the spoon. 🥄
Maya choked on air. 😵
Cousin stared. 👁️👁️
Mother slowly turned. 🧊
"…Eat you."
"Yes," Laddu nodded weakly. "Direct words."
Mochi stirred.
"Mm—" she tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
High fever won. 🔥
Mother leaned closer to Mochi.
"What were you trying to say, dear?"
Mochi struggled again.
"…No—"
Laddu interrupted, very confidently.
"She also said she wants two babies."
THE ROOM EXPLODED. 💥💥💥
Maya:
"WHAT."
Cousin:
"HE IS LYING."
Candy:
"I WANT BABY HIPPO FIRST." 🦛
Mother closed her eyes. 😑
Mochi finally forced her eyes open.
Her face was red.
From fever. 🌡️
And murder. 🔪
She tried to sit up.
"…I—"
Cough. 😷
Fail.
Laddu smiled proudly. 😌
"See? Confirmed."
Mother hit Laddu's arm lightly with the cloth. 🧻👋
"You will rest," she said firmly,
"and you will stop talking."
Maya laughed so hard she had to sit down. 😂
"High fever unlocked imagination mode."
Candy nodded seriously.
"He translating wrong language."
Mochi finally managed one word.
"…Liar."
Laddu grinned. 😏
"Love liar."
Mother tucked Mochi back in, shaking her head.
"When you both recover," she said,
"I will ask again."
She paused.
"And you," she added, pointing at Laddu,
"will not be allowed to speak."
Laddu closed his eyes happily. 😴
"Worth it."
Mochi turned her face away, embarrassed. 😳
But her hand still found his sleeve.
Fever or not. 🤍
Some truths hide behind very bad jokes. 😮💨
☕ Cold Logic & Warm Coffee
Night settled gently over the café. 🌙
Not dramatic.
Not loud.
Just quiet enough to hear the spoon hit the cup. 🥄☕
Laddu and Mochi sat side by side on the long sofa, wrapped together in one thick blanket like a badly planned winter alliance. 🛋️🧣
Steam rose from their coffee cups. ☕♨️
Ben lay near their feet, enjoying heater privilege. 🐕🔥
Both were still weak.
Both stubbornly awake. 😤
Laddu took a slow sip, then sighed.
"You know," he said casually,
"whenever I try to sleep on a bench, I get cold."
Mochi hummed.
"Yes. Because it is cold."
Laddu turned toward her, offended. 😤
"No," he said. "That's your fault."
The room paused. ⏸️
Maya stopped scrolling. 📱
Candy looked up. 👀
Mother raised one eyebrow. 🤨
Mochi blinked.
"…What?"
Laddu adjusted the blanket dramatically. 🎭
"You see," he began, like a lawyer,
"before you entered my life, benches respected me."
Maya snorted. 😂
"Now," Laddu continued,
"whenever I sit near you, wind becomes aggressive."
Mochi stared.
"So… weather changed because of me?"
"Yes," Laddu nodded.
"You are very tall. You disturb air circulation."
Cousin burst out laughing. 🤣
Mother shook her head.
"Drink your coffee."
Mochi narrowed her eyes. 👁️⚠️
"Then why were you sitting outside?" she asked.
Laddu didn't hesitate.
"Because you were outside."
Candy clapped. 👏
"POINT."
Mochi opened her mouth, closed it, then tried again.
"You could have gone inside."
"Yes," Laddu agreed.
"But then bench would miss me."
Maya lost it. 💀😂
"This is the dumbest argument I've ever heard."
"And yet," Laddu said, sipping coffee,
"it gave me fever."
Mochi leaned closer, voice low.
"So let me understand," she said.
"You got sick because you chose to sit outside, on a bench, in cold, because of love… and that's my fault?"
"Yes," Laddu smiled. 😌
"Shared responsibility."
Mother laughed softly. 😊
"He's blaming romance now."
Mochi shook her head, but her lips twitched. 😏
"Next time," she said,
"we sit inside."
Laddu nodded seriously.
"Agreed," he said.
"Bench is dangerous."
The family laughed again. 😂
Candy pointed at them.
"They look like old couple."
Maya added,
"With bad logic."
Laddu leaned slightly into Mochi, careful, tired. 🤍
"But warm," he said.
Mochi didn't reply.
She just pulled the blanket tighter around both of them. 🧣🫂
Outside, the night stayed cold. ❄️
Inside, no one complained. ☕🤍
And for once—
Laddu didn't argue back. 😌