Farmeed Oneshots

10. Feverish and Emotional

"Umeed" Nighat stopped Umeed who was on the staircase. "Aik baat sun lo" Umeed was dubious to her antics. Nighat had begun accepting them, mainly because both of them were unaffected by her opinion of them and would not stop seeing one another, but Umeed would occasionally feel skeptical whenever she'd cross paths with her soon-to-be saas. They were on better terms, but the flame had not extinguished yet.

"Ji" She marched down a few steps, coming closer to Nighat who was looking rather sunny and calm.

"Wo na... jab Farjaad ko bukhaar ho jata hai, to wo zara sa emotional hota hai. Us ke saat zara gentle rehna, wo bohot fragile ban jata hai. Bachpan ki aadat hai" She warned her, but Umeed couldn't help but grin at the thought of an emotional Farjaad. She was familiar with his grouch and fragility whenever he would get upset with her, but she's yet to see a version of him which would classify as emotional. "Har baat dil pe le leta hai, pata nahi kiya ho jata hai" Farjaad was occasionally a diva, but never emotional where he'd let things get to him. Umeed was curious and excited to see this version of him.

"Theek hai, mein khayal rakhun gi" She nodded, a firm hold on her purse as she turned around to walk up to his room.

Farjaad was coughing distressfully, lying on the bed with a fluffy quilt covering his body. His face was pale and eyes swollen, he had overslept yet was still fatigued. His eyes were focused on the ceiling, he was feeling frigid even after layers of clothing and a warm quilt. He was feverish and did not feel like doing anything, which was killing him because he was aware that emails were stacking up on his laptop which was looking lonely on the table. A day off from work was much worse than this fever; only one of the two had agitating long-term consequences.

"Farjaad." His door opened, the voice forcing him to turn his head. A smile instantly made its way on his face, watching her enter and gently close the door and walk towards him with concern. "Kiya ho gaya?" She saw his state, her heart wrenching at his discomforted demeanour.

"Marne wala tha, ab tum aa gayi ho, ab bilkul theek hun '' His hoarse voice managed to word out a sentence. Umeed rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she reached out to feel his forehead. Nighat's words repeated in her head, as she examined her emotional mess lying down with his eyes closed, enjoying her hand on him. He had a melodramatic touch to him. Umeed had yet to see him in that state, but was surprised that he was exactly how Nighat had described - dramatic and emotional.

"Itna tez bukhaar hua wa hai, fazool bote jaa rahe hain '' She shook her head, unimpressed with his smirk that was only getting wider. She glanced over at the side table and saw the pile of silver packs of medicines, reaching out to them and examining the back. "Dawaiyan kha lee?"

"Aa to gayi hai meri dawai, ab kisi aur ki nahi zaroorat" Umeed sighed, he was truly in another dimension, his fever really was high. "Wese agar tum na aati, aur mujhe kuch ho jata-"

"Tobah karo Farjaad, bukhaar hua hai khaali" She smacked his shoulder, terrified of the words that were leaving his mouth. He hissed and reached out to his arm, rubbing it whilst his sunning smile appeared again. Umeed was taken aback by his disturbing words.

"Haan to sahi ko raha hun. Tumhare baghair mein kuch bhi nahi hun Umeed '' He reached out to her hand, holding it. As commended Umeed felt by his warm words, she was slightly concerned. She was feeling as if she was witnessing a new form of him, a form that was much more emotional. She was always wary of his soft side, but this was levels ahead of that. His theatrical behaviour itself was a sign to how high his fever was, and the warmth surrounding him was not helping. She pulled her hands away and yanked the quilt off of him, causing him to jump as the cold wind hit him. "Umeed!"

"Bukhaar sar pe char gaya hai, utaarein ye razai." She scolded, pulling the quilt far away from him. "Aur, itne garam kapray kiyun pehne hue hain. In ko bhi utaarein" She demanded without a second thought on how Farjaad would approach her words.

His arms were wrapped around himself, but a sly smile immediately appeared on his face as he listened to her. Umeed watched him, hands on her hips as his expressions transitioned.

"Jo hukum" He reached for the hem of his sweater, ready to pull it off of his body.

"Farjaad!" Umeed could not believe him and immediately covered her eyes. She felt like she was dealing with a drunk man. A blush appeared on her face as she warily moved her hands away from her face, praying that she wouldn't be met with a sight that would lead her into a rush of sensual chemicals too. In all fairness, this wasn't very abnormal of him, this was something he would do on a normal day too.

"Kiya? Tum hi ne to kaha hai ke kapray utarun." He defended himself, oblivious to her demands and feeling perplexed by her conflicted instructions. "Aur tum mere pe itna ghussa kiyun kar rahi ho? Aik to meri tabiyat kharaab hai, upar se tum daanti jaa rahi ho'' He leaned his back against the headboard, his legs touching his torso as he wrapped his arms around them. "Bas samajh aa gayi hai mujhe, tumhe nahi hai mera khayal." Umeed took a deep breath, composing herself to his emotional dilemma. He turned his head to the other side, no longer facing her.

She did not mean to pull his strings, but could not help herself when she saw how extra he was being. But she was aware of it beforehand, so she recomposed herself and walked up to sit beside him. It was unfair to be rational when he was in an unthinking state. And his sentence sunk her heart, because she would never want him to think that way about her, even if he was being irrational. She realised she should not play with them, his vulnerability was valuable to her, even if it's influenced by a fever.

"Acha, I'm sorry" She spoke softly, noticing how he was looking the other way and not accepting her presence. "Farjaad, naraaz to na ho" She was feeling guilty. Farjaad is someone who would never be mad at her, even when she is in the wrong - which is an invariable scenario. His ignorance was a punishment she prays she never faces, even when he is not in his right senses.

She reached out to him, firmly gripping his arm. "Acha tum let jao, mein kapra aur thanda paani laati hun, aur phir ye bukhaar utaarte hain. Hm?" He turned his head to look into her eyes, softening at her sincerity. She sighed as she watched his eyes light up, grateful that he was not angry with her anymore. He nodded, holding her hand and pulling it towards his mouth and pressing his lips against the back of it.

"I love you" He spoke against her hand, glancing up to meet her eyes which were fixed on him.

"I love you too." She watched him, her heart beating at his continuous love for her. She stood up, her hand still in his. She pulled her arm away and reached up to fiddle with his already messy hair, before leaning in and kissing his forehead. His hands made their way up to grip her wrists.

"Aur mujhe khayal hai, aap ki soch se bhi ziyada." She spoke against his forehead, moving away and seeing the smile that lights up her world.