They returned to studying, but the atmosphere had shifted. Lighter. Easier. Cheon found herself explaining concepts with less rigid formality, and Mera asked questions without performing her usual I-don’t-care routine.

An hour passed. Then another. The sun shifted across the windows, painting the walls in amber and gold. Somewhere around page forty-seven, Mera’s stomach growled loud enough to interrupt Cheon’s explanation of quadratic functions.

"Food break," Mera announced.

"We should finish this section first."

"Panda. I’m dying." Mera clutched her stomach dramatically. "Starvation is imminent."

"You just ate chips twenty minutes ago."

"That was a snack. This is actual hunger." Mera stood and pulled Cheon up by both hands. "Come on. Let’s make something."

"Make something?" Cheon stared at her. "You can’t cook."

"I can boil water."

"That’s not cooking."

"Then you cook and I’ll provide moral support."

They moved to the kitchen together. Cheon opened the refrigerator and frowned at the contents. Rome had stocked it properly after his grocery run, but most of what remained was expensive ingredients neither of them knew how to prepare.

"There’s pasta." Cheon pulled out a box. "And sauce."

"Perfect. Carbs solve everything."

Cheon filled a pot with water and set it on the stove. Mera hopped onto the counter beside the burner, swinging her legs and nearly knocking over the sauce jar.

"Don’t sit there. You’ll get hurt."

"I’m fireproof." Mera gestured at her red skin. "Perks of being part demon."

"You’re not actually part demon."

"Might as well be. Look at me." Mera spread her arms, tail swishing. "Red skin, horns, tail. If it walks like a demon and talks like a demon..."

"It’s a Root-Type modification from your mother’s spatial Essentia." Cheon stirred the pasta mechanically. "We covered this in Biology."

"You’re so boring when you’re being accurate."

"I’m always accurate."

"Exactly."

Cheon threw a dish towel at Mera’s face. Mera caught it with her tail and tossed it back. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The pasta water began to boil. Cheon added salt and dumped in the noodles, then turned to the sauce. Mera watched with genuine interest as Cheon heated the marinara in a separate pan, adding garlic powder and dried herbs from the spice cabinet Cheon had reorganized two days ago.

"You’re actually good at this." Mera sounded surprised.

"My mother taught me." Cheon stirred the sauce, watching it bubble. "Cooking is just chemistry with edible outcomes."

"That’s the saddest description of food I’ve ever heard."

"It’s accurate."

"Still sad."

They fell into companionable silence while the pasta cooked. Mera scrolled through her phone, occasionally showing Cheon memes about school that Cheon didn’t understand. Cheon focused on not overcooking the noodles, checking them every minute with scientific precision.

"So." Mera set her phone down. "You and Aurora."

Cheon stiffened. "What about her?"

"She kissed Rome yesterday."

"I know. Rome told me."

"And you’re okay with that?"

Cheon drained the pasta with more force than necessary, hot water splashing into the sink. "I signed the contract. I knew what this was."

"That’s not what I asked."

"Then what are you asking?"

Mera hopped off the counter and moved beside Cheon, her expression unusually serious. "I’m asking if you’re actually okay or if you’re just being okay because you think that’s what you’re supposed to be."

Cheon gripped the pot handle. The metal was still hot, burning against her palm, but she didn’t let go.

"I don’t know," she said finally.

"Yeah." Mera’s tail wrapped around Cheon’s waist in what might have been a gesture of comfort. "Me neither."

They plated the pasta in silence. Cheon added sauce with mathematical precision, dividing it exactly in half. Mera grabbed forks and napkins, carrying them to the couch where they settled side by side with their food.

"It’s good." Mera spoke around a mouthful of pasta. "Like, actually good."

"Don’t talk with your mouth full."

"See, this is why you need me." Mera gestured with her fork. "To teach you how to be a normal person."

"I am normal."

"You color-code your underwear drawer."

"Organization is efficient."

"Organization is sad." Mera pointed her fork at Cheon for emphasis. "Normal people just shove everything in there and hope for the best."

"That’s chaos."

"Exactly."

Cheon ate her pasta and tried not to smile. Failed.

They finished eating and cleaned up together, falling into an easy rhythm. Cheon washed while Mera dried, though Mera spent more time using the dish towel to snap at Cheon’s backside than actually drying dishes.

"Stop that."

"Make me."

"I will break your tail."

"Kinky."

Cheon’s face burned but she kept washing. Somewhere between the second bowl and the serving spoon, she realized this felt comfortable. Natural. Like they’d been doing this for months instead of days.

Once the kitchen was clean, Mera grabbed the remote and flopped onto the couch. "My turn to pick entertainment."

"We should study more."

"We studied for two hours. That’s enough education for one day." Mera patted the cushion beside her. "Come on, Panda. Time for your real education."

Cheon hesitated but sat down. Mera navigated through streaming services with practiced ease, finally landing on a show called Euphoria.

"Absolutely not." Cheon recognized the title immediately. "That’s completely inappropriate."

"It’s perfect." Mera hit play on the first episode. "You need to learn how normal teenagers live."

"We are teenagers."

"We’re superhero teenagers who spend weekends having threesomes with our shared boyfriend." Mera gestured at the screen. "This will be wholesome by comparison."

The show opened with immediate drug use and graphic imagery. Cheon covered her eyes.

"I can’t watch this."

"Yes you can." Mera pulled Cheon’s hands away. "Just pretend you’re studying human behavior."

"Human behavior doesn’t look like this."

"It does in California."

The episode continued. Cheon gradually stopped protesting and started actually watching. The production quality was exceptional despite the disturbing content, and the acting carried genuine emotional weight.

By the second episode, Cheon was fully invested.

"I can’t believe she did that," Cheon breathed when a character made a particularly terrible decision.

"Right?" Mera bounced on the couch. "Everyone in this show makes the worst possible choices."

"It’s stressful."

"That’s the point."