[Formerly known as 'Trinkets']
Mahika and Amoli can't stand each other, but that's not the only thing they have in common.
Mahika treats Amoli like she's childish. Amoli thinks Mahika is a stuck-up prude. But Mahika's best friend and Amoli's brother...
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Mahika wakes slowly, surfacing from sleep like she's floating to the top of a still lake.
The world around her is quiet, wrapped in the leftover hush of rain, the air thick with that post-storm freshness. She registers warmth first; the solid weight of someone curled against her, the soft rise and fall of breath against her shoulder.
It takes her a few more seconds to remember why.
Amoli.
Mahika's lips curve without thinking.
She blinks her eyes open, vision still a little blurry from sleep, and finds Amoli exactly where she left her last night—pressed close, hair spilling across the pillow, one hand tucked under her cheek, the other curled loosely near Mahika's collarbone. Her face is slack with sleep, peaceful in a way Mahika doesn't often get to see.
Mahika barely dares to move, not wanting to wake her just yet. Instead, she lets herself linger, just for a moment, taking it in. The slow, steady warmth of Amoli beside her, the way their legs are tangled beneath the blanket, the quiet that feels heavier in the morning light.
Her phone buzzes from somewhere on the mattress and shatters the moment.
Mahika fumbles for it with sluggish fingers, squinting at the bright screen. A single notification from Dhruv glares up at her:
rise and shine, lovebirds. aunty made parathas. don't make me come drag you out of bed.
Mahika makes a face.
omg stop do NOT come here !! we'll be right there.
Beside her, Amoli stirs.
She makes a small noise, somewhere between a sigh and a groan, pressing her face deeper into Mahika's shoulder.
Mahika bites back a grin. "Morning, sleepyhead."
"Early." Amoli grumbles. "Too early."
"You don't even know what time it is."
"Don't have to." She cracks one eye open, squinting at Mahika like she's personally responsible for waking her up. "Feels too early."
Mahika laughs softly, brushing a strand of hair from Amoli's face. "Dhruv says if we don't get up, he's coming to drag us out of bed."
That earns a reaction. Amoli groans, flopping onto her back dramatically. "Menace."
Mahika smirks. "Tell me about it."
Amoli stretches lazily, arms above her head, the borrowed hoodie from last night slipping off one shoulder. Mahika does not let her brain short-circuit over that. Not right now.
Instead, she props herself up on one elbow, watching as Amoli blinks sleepily at the ceiling.
