28. pancakes

The morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a soft glow over the living room. I stirred, slowly realizing I was still wrapped in Hamzah's arms on the couch. His breathing was steady, warm against my hair, and for a moment, I just lay there, letting the weight of last night settle in.

We had fought. We had kissed. We had fallen asleep tangled up together, as if neither of us had wanted to let go.

I shifted slightly, and Hamzah's hold instinctively tightened. "Where do you think you're going?" His voice was groggy, thick with sleep. I smirked, tilting my head up to look at him. "You're awake?" His eyes blinked open slowly, still heavy with sleep. "Kinda. You keep moving." I rolled my eyes. "I was trying not to wake you." He hummed, his hand lazily running up and down my arm. "Failed."

I laughed softly, relaxing back against him. Neither of us said anything for a while, just lying there in comfortable silence. It was dangerously easy to stay like this-to pretend there weren't still questions lingering between us.

Eventually, a small thump from the hallway broke the moment. Then another.

A tiny meow followed, and then suddenly, two balls of ginger fluff came bounding into the room. Red and Blue, our new kittens, wasted no time in hopping up onto the couch, their tiny paws kneading at the blankets draped over us.

Hamzah groaned as Red immediately climbed onto his chest, staring him down with big, unblinking eyes. "Bro, I just woke up." I giggled as Blue curled up beside me, her purring loud and content. "They don't care." Hamzah sighed dramatically before scratching behind Red's ears. "Fine. But only because you're cute." I raised an eyebrow. "Talking to the cat or me?" He smirked, finally meeting my gaze. "Both."

My face warmed, but before I could respond, Red jumped off Hamzah and onto my lap, shoving Blue out of the way. The smaller kitten let out an offended squeak, and suddenly, they were wrestling right on top of me.

"Guys," I groaned, trying to push them apart. "Not on me!" Hamzah chuckled, watching in amusement as I tried-and failed-to separate them. "This is your fault for bringing home tiny menaces." I shot him a look. "Excuse me, we got them together." He shrugged, stretching lazily. "Yeah, but you're the one who said, 'oh my god, Hamzah, look at them, we have to take them home.'" He mimicked my voice in a high-pitched, exaggerated way. I smacked his arm, laughing. "I do not sound like that!" "Debatable."

The kittens finally settled down, curling up between us. I absentmindedly stroked Blue's fur, my gaze drifting back to Hamzah.

"What happens now?" I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it. Hamzah didn't look away, didn't try to dodge it. "What do you want to happen?" I hesitated, my fingers stilling against Blue's fur. "I don't know." He studied me for a moment before reaching out, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "We don't have to figure it all out right now." I exhaled, some of the tension in my chest easing. "Okay."

Another silence settled between us, but this time, it wasn't heavy. It was just... easy.

"Hungry?" he asked eventually. I nodded. "Starving." Hamzah grinned, sitting up and stretching. "Pancakes?" I beamed. "You read my mind."

With that, we untangled ourselves from the blankets (and the kittens), making our way to the kitchen. The morning felt light, like a fresh start. And maybe, just maybe, that was exactly what we needed.