W/N: I wrote this as a way to finally, FINALLY, get rid of my writer's block. I can finally start working on LELF and Chocolat, two projects I have ignored for far too long. I also wanted to work on something that I could connect with the story my friend had worked on (je suis...) so take this as a prequel? Sequel? Untold story? I'm not exactly sure but they're definitely set in the same universe/timeline. This is my contribution for the ShinoMegu ship and to ShinoMegu shippers in general, hehe.

I hope you al enjoy this little, fluffy piece~

Je veux me réveiller à côté de vous

The first thing Shinomiya felt was a burning sensation in his chest.

It started out like small enough, barely more than embers prickling his skin. Before he knew it, it spread throughout and he didn't know where it was coming from, just that it everywhere around him. The flames before him continued to rise higher and higher.

Blisters were starting to form in his skin and he could feel his throat getting dry. Faintly, he saw a figure in the distance. He caught a glimpse of dark, blue hair. Was it someone he knew? He wanted to know so he called out to it despite the smoke starting to suffocate him.

He heard it respond with a cry and he felt a rush of urgency towards the unknown person. Struggle was imminent as he continued to cry out to the mysterious being... Which he could vaguely make out to be a girl, a petite one that. When he called out to her one last time as the fires pushed him back, he was startled to find a pair of teary, amber orbs staring right back at him.

Small girl. Blue hair. Amber eyes.

Tado...koro?

The crying grew fainter as the flames began to consume him.

Tadokoro?

He had nowehere to go. What was he to do?

Tadokoro!

Shinomiya shut his eyes as he took a leap of faith and rushed deeper into the inferno.

"TADOKORO!"

"I'm here."

The chef woke with a sudden jolt, gasping for air as he tried to register what was happening while he stared at the wall in front of him. He felt a pair of arms wrap around his body as gentle hands brushed through the tips of hair.

Just a dream. It was just a silly dream.

"Um... good morning, senpai." was all she said before she started humming a small tune, her nimble fingers running through his hair.

Still not looking away from the wall, he leaned down to rest his head on her shoulder to steady his erratic breathing. He took in the scent of her hair which always had that unique floral scent he knew by heart. He smirked involuntarily at the small thought. Before he knew it, he felt his heartbeat match to the steady rhythm of her song.

"It seemed that you were having a bad dream so I let myself in. Are you alright, Shinomiya-senpai?"

The sound of horns blaring coming from passing cars grabbed his attention towards the window, where he saw the sun just barely rising over the sky. Dawn was approaching and just the thought of sunlight made his head ache already.

Pulling apart from her embrace, he hesitantly placed a hand on his forehead. Only then he realized the beads of sweat that formed on his skin. He made a small "tsk" sound before letting his head rest on the palm of hand.

"You don't need to worry. It's not a big deal."

She bit her lip. "Your face betrays your words, senpai."

Observant as ever, I see, he silently thought before he turned his head to look at the girl in front of him.

Her face wore a picture of worry and concern. Eyes wide with shock yet alert in its focus and slightly upturned lips dotted her face. She still had her dark blue locks down, he noticed, as it fell down just past her shoulders. Hands placed neatly on her lap, she was probably waiting for him to explain what was going on.

Unfortunately for her, Shinomiya had absolutely no intention in doing so.

The two stayed in silence, neither giving up in their resolve. Megumi waited for him to talk what he had dreamt about, while he, in turn, waited for her to give up.

Seconds passed. A minute turned into two. Two formed into five. Five into god knows how long they plan on continuing their little game. If there was anything Shinomiya hated more than anything, it was losing, no matter what it was in life.

But, if there was anything he hated more than losing, it was feeling vulnerable. With those piercing amber eyes trained on him and only him, right when he was rattled from an unsettling dream, he was definitely feeling more exposed at this state.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I am perfectly-"

His words were stopped as the girl in front of him wrapped her arms around him and pulled himself towards her. Her voice held no sign of impatience nor irritation, just genuine concern laced with warmth.

"I...I'm not sure if I can do it like my mother does," Megumi started to feel the heat creep up to her cheeks as she suddenly realized their proximity but started shaking it off since she couldn't stop now, "but she always used to sing to me whenever I had an unpleasant dream."

The older man wrapped his arms around the girl in response, resting his head on her shoulder once more. "Mine... did too," he whispered under his breath, just enough so that she could hear. He could feel her fingers tracing the lines on his back, a comforting sensation which he welcomed. And then in a lower voice he uttered a very quiet "Thank you."

Megumi's eyes widened when she heard him thank her, and then broke out into a contented smile. She was a little disappointed that he didn't confide in what happened in his dream, but the peaceful look on his face told her that she had done her job right... At least for today. She started to pull away from him... And failed when she realized he wasn't letting go of her.

With a little more force this time, she struggled to free herself from his arms but to no avail. "Senpai?"

Their shift in positions was all a blur to her. One moment she was sitting right by the edge of his bed, the next moment she was right underneath him. Taking deep breaths to calm herself down, she looked up to see her senior looking down at her. She was bothered at their position (definitely) with his body pressed so closed against her, his legs intermingling with hers over the sheets,, his face so up close it was making it hard for her to breathe.

But what bothered her more was the intense look in his eyes, as if they were on fire.

"Um, senpai...?" She innocently asked as she averted her eyes away from him but the fingers that cupped her cheeks tilted it back so that she could get a clear view of his visage once more.

"And where do you think you're going just right after barging into my room? Without my permission?" the older man drawled, his other hand making its way up to brush some of the hair off her face. To both of them, it felt like sparks erupted with each light touch. He took the liberty of trailing it down her jaw while she could only squirm.

"I... I thought y-you'd wanted some space after, um, all that," Megumi shifted uncomfortably beneath him. This was not what she had expected her Saturday morning to go.

"Just why did you come here in the first place, knowing full well I don't like it when people enter my room, especially without my permission?"

"I-I-I..."

Definitely not expected her Saturday morning to go like this.

"Hmm?"

Definitely.

"You...," she turned her head to the side to avoid his eyes, "You were calling out my name." Her face turned into a deeper shade of crimson as he raised an eyebrow at her answer.

Still, Shinomiya was confused as to why she was still avoiding his eyes when she already told him her secret. She was trying to look at the ceiling, at the wall, at the window, anywhere but his eyes. She was not the type of person to hide something so why was she feeling so panicked?

Unless...

"Tell me, belle ange," he leaned down to whisper in her ear, which sent shivers down her spine, "and I want you to answer me honestly with this question.

"Were you able to sleep last night?"

Almost instantaneously, Megumi's stiff posture began to relax out of relief... Or was it guilt? Though she was still blushing at how close they were pressed together, she still felt her ears ringing at her senior finding out what she was attempting to cover up.

"You used to wake me up whenever I had bad dreams, senpai," she smiled shyly, "and I realized that it messed up your sleeping schedule a bit. So I decided to try to handle it all on my own."

She closed her eyes before staring up right back at his, "In the end, I couldn't sleep from worrying about it so much."

Shinomiya felt relieved that she confided in him so easily, unlike him, but that relief turned into a slight irritation at the fact that the half-wit would stay a half-wit no matter what he did. He shifted his position so that he was lying beside the girl this time, facing her as he positioned himself by the edge of the bed.

"Sleep."

Megumi thought she heard that wrong. "Senpai?" she asked, clearly confused.

"I'm telling you to sleep and I won't leave until you wake up."

"Eeeeeh?" The bluenette was clearly panicking at the thought. She tried to look for ways to which she can squirm her way out but she had her back against the wall and her senior was blocking the edge of the bed away from her. Not only that, he had his arm secured right at her waist which indicated he was serious.

She was trapped.

"I...!"

"Sleep. Now."

"Your restaurant-"

"It's still a good while from opening time and Abel can handle the fort well until then."

"B-But-"

"I'm not leaving until you rest and that's final."

Quite persistent as ever, aren't you, Shinomiya thought, as he observed the girl take a deep breath and tried to make herself comfortable with her position once she realized fighting him was hopeless. He felt her breathing slow down, felt her snuggle up close to him, felt her breaths tickle his neck.

"Senpai," she muttered out and he realized he could see more clearly see the dark circles under her half-lidded eyes, "will you be there when I wake up?"

He pressed her closer towards him. "I will."

"Hmmm?" It seemed that sleep was starting to overtake her and she couldn't hear him well. He made a mental note to himself to scold her later about her resting habits.

Shinomiya gave out a loud sigh. And she said he was the one with the screwed up sleeping schedule.

"Sen..pai?"

Shinomiya planted one, long kiss on her forehead in response to her question and that was enough for Megumi to know that she could drift off in wonderland for a little while,

When he sat up to close the curtains by his window, he noticed that the sun's rays were hitting her face just right, giving her serene portrait an even more gentle glow. Suddenly, the thought of fire didn't seem to bother him anymore as he stared at the sleeping girl lying right beside him. For the first time in a long time, he smiled contentedly.

The last thing Shinomiya felt, as he snuggled next to the the girl beside him for warmth, was a familiar, burning sensation in his chest.

A familiar, burning sensation he highly welcomed.

Fin.