Chapter Text
Headaches, no matter what type or what time, are everyone’s vicious enemy that won’t leave until the end of time.
Karl just got back to his apartment room after his college class. His brain was too fried to function. Literally. Heat emerged from around the ears and onto his forehead. A repeated pound had caused Karl to feel like shit. It was unexplainable as to why he could feel as if lava got poured onto his scalp. It was like he was having a high fever.
But to Karl, this was oddly normal. He'd have this some time of the week. All he needed was some food or sleep, then his head could avert back to the normal temperature that was comfortable to him. That was what Karl needed at this time; food or sleep. But he couldn't decide between both.
Luckily, his roommate, Dream, was there. He was currently on the couch, watching a show that was streaming for this only month. He was absorbed into it, eyes wide and unblinking. He didn't even move an inch when Karl opened the door and purposefully shut it with force. It was like he was possessed by a ghost, or he had seen a ghost. It could be both.
Karl didn't care though. He headed towards the TV, stood right in front of the screen so Dream was blocked from the playing show.
"Wh—Karl! I'm watching a show—!" Dream shouted, eyeing up at the brunet only to see his gloomy expression that painted his already tired face. "Oh, Karl. Are you okay?" Dream's tone immediately shifted from rage to softness. It changed in a heartbeat, and any stranger would be surprised at how he could change his mood that quickly.
Karl was straight-forward, "I want food."
Dream would often cook for him. If not, they'd leave to order food from a restaurant or buy groceries so Dream could cook afterwards. Dream's cooking, no matter if it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner, would always be served in an irresistible presentation that would eventually quench Karl's growling stomach.
"Ah, food," Dream nodded, going towards the kitchen immediately, abandoning the show that he was once engrossed in, only to focus on Karl.
Dream was so loyal, and also boyfriend-material as well. They're not even close friends; they only knew each other's names and that they're both college students. Karl wondered why Dream hasn't gotten a partner — well Karl assumed Dream doesn't have one.
As Dream proceeded to check the fridge for food or ingredients, it was completely empty. Not even a speck of food or ingredients left.
"Bad news: we don't have food," Dream said too quickly.
He moved to the cabinets and a sigh of relief was heard when a single plastic packaging was revealed, lonely in the dark.
"What is that?" Karl asked, now sitting on the stool.
Crunches sounded from the grip of Dream's hand, pulling out the plastic packaging in order for them to get a better look. "It's instant noodles — or ramen technically."
"Oh. I haven't had instant ramen in years," Karl said, leaning to the counter to read the brand and admire the logo. "My parents said it would make me dumber or something."
"No, I’m pretty sure they were lying to scare you," Dream reassured, "Instant ramen just lacks nutrients, that's all. That's why you shouldn't eat them that much."
"Can we eat them now?" Karl asked, slightly horrified by that single piece of information.
"Well, it's the only thing we have, so it's fine. After this, I can go buy some stuff so we'd have food for days instead of just one instant ramen." Dream opened the packaging before placing it down onto the counter. “You’re okay with instant ramen, right?”
“Yeah. I don’t mind,” Karl complied, thoughts already fogged with food.
Dream began to prepare for the ramen. Karl knew that instant ramen can be easily made just by putting it in hot water — nothing new, completely boring — but Dream's movement was brisk — pulling a bowl out of the cabinet and his other arm grabbing a pair of chopsticks and scissors.
Karl was fond of Dream. Even things that don't strike people as impressive, he would still admire him with his whole heart — this included. It felt like a dance that Karl would watch in a ballroom, but this time it was just Dream in a cramped apartment room.
Once the bowl was settled onto the counter, Dream turned back to see the starstruck Karl. It made him smile. “What are you doing just sitting there, Karl? Stand here with me so if we run out of food with only instant noodles left, you can cook by yourself.”
With that offer, Karl immediately got himself out of the stool to stand beside Dream. His curious golden eyes perched towards the narrowed lime irises. Karl had seen his friends make instant noodles many times, but with Dream, there was a spark that he could not understand in his chest.
After minutes passed, Dream was finished with the ramen as presented unto Karl were noodles drowned in tangy tawny broth and chopsticks displayed at the side. Karl didn’t even notice how fast time would fly. All he did was stand there like a deer in headlights, unless Dream went around like the Flash. Whatever it was, all that mattered was that the instant ramen was completed.
The heady scent crammed into Karl’s lungs, releasing a powerful nostalgia throughout his body as a sigh of satisfaction escaped his mouth. The smell possessed him into a state of haze. God, he wanted to eat that ramen immediately. He didn’t care if it’s bland-looking or non-nutritious. He needed to shove it in his mouth as soon as possible because the fragrance was undeniably pleasing.
“Why do you look like you're blessed by the heavens?” Dream asked, snapping the famished Karl out of his thoughts.
“I don’t know! I’m just hungry; I wanna eat,” Karl defended himself, glaring, then gripping onto the scorching bowl that suddenly flamed his palms. “Oh fuck—” He jerked back out of absolute fear.
“What the hell are you doing?” Dream asked, grabbing Karl’s hurt and trembling palm. “It is hot, idiot.”
“Well, sorry I didn’t know,” Karl rolled his eyes. The pain disappeared seconds later, snatching his hand away from Dream as a faint pink emerged onto his soft cheeks.
“What do you mean you didn’t know? You saw the smoke from the broth, right? It was smoking like mad!” Dream shouted.
In truth, Karl didn’t. He was just drooling imprudently towards the instant ramen. And so, Karl didn’t answer the question. He just glanced away from him and towards his bowl of undecorated instant ramen.
This time, Karl carefully held the top side of the bowl. He didn’t have much strength, almost dropping it when lifting it over onto the table. Luckily, when it reached the table, it did not drop. Though, the almost inaudible clang when Karl was letting it go was quite worrying.
“I almost had a heart attack when that bowl almost slipped out of your hand,” Dream exaggerated.
“Well, what do you want me to do? Hold it with mittens?” Karl furrowed his eyebrows.
“Maybe I do,” Sarcasm was clear in Dream's voice.
Karl let out a scoff as his feet strolled towards the stool, his body subconsciously sitting on it. His fingers trailed to the chopsticks, eventually mixing the already mixed seasoning of the ramen to witness the practically invisible white smoke releasing itself from the broth before vanishing into the frigid air.
Thrill surged through Karl’s veins. It alarmed him to elevate the noodles for it to wait in front of Karl's mouth. Drips of hot broth trickled down the soaked noodles and more smoke emitted from the noodles as an addition.
He had suddenly forgotten how instant noodles — or specifically instant ramen taste like. He tasted it when he was younger, yes. But all he could remember was him loving the flavour, but stopped due to his parents telling him to. Now he lives independently… And with Dream. He didn’t need his mother to tell him off, and he didn’t need his father to hide the packaging. This was his choice… And Dream’s.
Without another second of his eternal stalling, he’d slot the noodles into his mouth, some dangling out like veins on trees. At first, it tasted like nothing, until his next action was to munch.
Immediately, the walls of his mouth painted with heat as the noodles exuded the broth like a sponge. As the noodles were slurped into Karl's mouth, liquid managed to stain his lips, almost dripping tears of heaven onto the table. The noodles tenderize as each bite was taken. The broth spurred in as a wave of nirvana destroyed the rest of his senses. His mind bogged onto the instant ramen with its hypnotizing flavour that hooked him into one desire and that was to finish the bowl, leaving no trace of instant ramen left.
Oh, it’s exactly how he fantasized it. The biting relish just made him want to chew on more and more, and as if he was in an eating competition, he raced to devour the ramen. Somehow, he managed to scurry all of the noodles and broth right into his stomach, not leaving a hint of liquid on the bowl just like what he needed to.
Dream watched in delight, a smile of satisfaction across his face before an incoherent chuckle left his lips.
“You look happy,” Dream commented on Karl’s fuzzy eyes and misty cheeks, face warm from the amount of heat that he just consumed.
“This—” Karl giggled almost chokingly, “—is delicious!” He finally said as a winded laugh sounded from him. “What did you do? I didn’t remember having instant ramen so delicious .”
“I didn't do anything!” Dream laughed along with him, “I just cooked. What did you expect me to do?”
“I don't know.”
Karl peeked into the empty bowl to see if more ramen would magically appear, fresh and tasty like before. It took him a while to process that the bowl was truly empty. Because of that, he let out the biggest frown on his face, kicking his feet against the leg of the stool, before huffing the windiest huff from his nose, crossing his arms at the end of the action.
“I want more,” Karl demanded as he glared towards the looming Dream.
Dream laughed, ruffling Karl's chocolate hair. “You can’t keep eating instant ramen. If you're still hungry, we can go out and buy food.” He suggested, pulling his hand away from Karl’s fluffy strands.
Going out to scavenge for food was the other option that would always be chosen when no food was provided. Of course, it would take some time and never-ending arguments for them to choose a restaurant to sit in, but today was not the day where Karl felt like going outside. To relieve his already vanished headache, he chose the simplest choice:
“But I want to nap,” Karl decided.
Dream hummed in agreement, “Then go to take a nap. You have a headache, right?”
“Mhm,” Karl lied. The headache was gone.
“All right. Go have your beauty sleep before you start bawling all over the room. I won't bother you until tomorrow morning, probably.” Dream joked, giving a short smile one last time. “I’ll be shopping for ingredients and shit. So I’ll be gone for the rest of the day. Text me if you need me.”
Karl nodded, “Okay.”
With a swift snatch of the bowl, Dream casually rested the empty bowl onto the sink before washing it up as the sound of the water running resonated throughout the entire room. Karl stood up from his seat as the sound of screaming from the TV rang in his eardrums. The TV was still on, and it was still playing the show that Dream was completely into before Karl caused a disturbance in his peaceful flow.
A downward curve on the lips from Karl, before facing back to the busy Dream. “If you’re going outside, how will you watch your show?” He asked.
“Ah. I completely forgot about that,” Dream mumbled. “But, who cares? Your health is more important.”
“Huh?” A question was breathed under Karl's mouth. “Is it really that important?”
“Of course it is,” That short sentence struck Karl’s mind into a hurricane. Dream was too friendly and loyal for him. He nearly couldn't take it anymore as the more Dream speaks, the more it felt like there was a debt that couldn't be repaid with a simple thank you still has to be returned for Dream. “Now go to bed, pumpkin. Do I have to carry you there?”
“No! Don’t call me that,” Karl flushed by the nickname, rushing off to his room so he won't sense the presence of his annoying roommate once more. The door that he shut was too loud, vibrating against the door frame as a fear of it breaking strummed Karl's heart. Then, he'd slump himself onto the mattress before covering himself with the puffy and weighing sheets.
Throughout the three hours that Karl was supposed to spend on having his power nap, he could only repeatedly lick his own lips as the zesty aftertaste continued to sojourn on his tongue. Instant ramen tasted weirdly glorious, and he'd be embarrassed to say that out loud.
Next time, Karl wanted to be the one who cooks it. He wanted to see what instant ramen possessed, what seasoning it contained, and what made the potion of that broth brew.