THE ZOESTERY

Zoey × Mystery | Accidental Bed Sharing | Late Night Tension | Spicy-Soft™

It was supposed to be a nap.

Just a quick break between missions.

Just a quiet moment at the Saja Boys' HQ while the others grabbed food.

Mystery's bed was technically the comfiest.

And Zoey was technically exhausted.

And technically they both fit.

But what technically made sense did not prepare Zoey for waking up face-to-face with Mystery, their legs tangled, his arm loosely around her waist like he'd always meant to hold her like that.

She blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Then froze.

His eyes were still closed. His breathing calm. His shirt slightly pulled up at the waist, revealing a line of skin that did not need to be that perfect.

Her heart immediately betrayed her.

Thump. Thump. THUMP.

She tried to slip out of his grip silently—

"Don't."

His voice was husky, low, still rough from sleep.

She froze mid-escape, eyes wide.

"I didn't mean to wake you—"

"You didn't."

He slowly opened his eyes.

Gold. Sharp. Drowsy.

"Then why—why are you holding me like this?" she whispered.

Mystery tilted his head, a half-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Because you pulled me in, Moonchild."

"I did NOT—"

"You sleep like a starfish."

Zoey covered her face with both hands and groaned.

"This is embarrassing."

Mystery's voice dropped a little more.

"I don't mind."

She peeked between her fingers. "What?"

His hand brushed her waist, barely touching.

"I like waking up next to you."

Silence.

Flames.

Her brain short-circuited.

"I—I didn't mean to make it weird," she mumbled.

"You didn't." His eyes searched hers. "Unless you want it to be weird."

Zoey narrowed her eyes. "What kind of weird?"

"The kind where you kiss me to make it go away," he murmured.

She inhaled sharply.

"Mystery..."

"You're too close," he whispered, brushing his nose against hers. "And I don't want to move."

Her lips parted. The space between them shrank by the second. The weight of every unspoken moment between them crackled in the air like lightning before a storm.

And then—

The door opened.

"GUYS, I GOT NOOD—"

Rumi froze.

Zoey SHRIEKED.

Mystery calmly closed his eyes again like nothing happened.

Rumi stood frozen with two bags of ramen.

"Mystery. I swear to the heavens—"

"We were sleeping!" Zoey panicked, falling off the bed.

"You were sleeping on his soul," Rumi deadpanned.

Mystery sat up, completely unbothered. "You should knock."

"I live here!"

"You should still knock."

Later that night, Zoey texted him:

Zoey: I still can't believe you said "kiss me to make it go away."

Mystery: You didn't, though.

Zoey: ...

Mystery: Next time, maybe?

Some fires start in battle.

Others start when you wake up too close to the person you've been denying your feelings for.

Zoey? She's burning.

And Mystery? He's waiting for the match to drop.