One Shots #VariaSquad

Laayi re Humein Zindgani ki Kahaani Kaise mor Pe

Not even a whole week after the party, Varun and Alia meet again. This time, it's not at a friend's house but an airport, two hours before they're to board a plane to take them to Australia for their outdoor shoot.

Given that nobody's supposed to know they're working together again, they have to make sure to arrive separately – and more than an hour apart.

As per Shashank's instructions, Alia gets there first, and spends the next two hours waiting for Varun to turn up with nobody but her security detail for company. And as much as she likes the guys, they aren't very good at making small talk – especially when they're busy watching their surroundings for possible dangers. So she takes out her headphones and spends the time scrolling through social media, playing games and watching videos on YouTube.

Of course, given that her headphones are of the noise-cancelling variety, she doesn't notice the slight increase in volume that accompanies the arrival of he co-star. And, of course, because her co-star happens to love messing with her, he takes full advantage of that fact.

Slowly, he makes his way up to her, almost silently dropping into the seat next to her and tapping her on the shoulder.

Alia starts, literally jumping out of her seat as she pulls off her headphones and turns in his direction. 'Why do you always do that?!' she exclaims, lifting a hand to her chest as if to help calm her rapidly beating heart.

'Why do you always make it easy for me to do that?' he counters with a laugh, gesturing to her headphones and then in the direction of the entrance to the lounge they're in – which happens to be behind them.

'Maybe because I'm still hoping that someday you'll stop doing that,' she shoots back, 'but by now, I guess I should know better than to hope that you might actually grow up.'

'Grow up? Where's the fun in that Als?' he asks, not missing a beat.

'Not everything's about having fun Varun,' she tells him, turning away from him to tuck her headphones back into her bag.

'When we're together, yeah, it kinda is,' he says, slinging an arm around her shoulders and drawing her as close to him as he can without sending them both toppling off the bench they're sat on.

***

The flight to Australia is long but – as it tends to when one is in the company of friends – the time passes quickly.

The two and a half months that follow pass in the same way. Between shooting their scenes, they explore the country as much as their schedule allows.

A fair bit of their free time is spent with the rest of the cast and crew, doing the 'typical tourist' things – the main attractions, if you will. But mostly, they strike out on their own, finding local haunts that are far less crowded but far more enjoyable to them.

When they aren't out trying to experience the local culture, they spend time in one of their hotel rooms, watching movies and talking, teasing each other, arguing a little and laughing a lot.

When the time comes to go back home, they both make promises to keep it up, to go back to having the hangouts they used to have – way back when. Neither of them really knows if they'll be able to keep to it but they do know they'll try their best and that's all they can hope for really.

***

Despite their promises to meet up more often, Alia doesn't expect to be seeing Varun again for a while after they get back to Mumbai. They haven't got any shoots scheduled for a few weeks – having to fit a highly secret project around their other endeavours isn't exactly easy – and she's sure he'll be too busy with other people to make time for her.

Which is why, when there's a knock on her door at quarter past ten one night, barely a week after they get back, the last person she expects to be on the other side is Varun.

One look at his face tells her there's something wrong, and her first thought is that Natasha's told him already. Preparing to console him, she gestures for him to come inside.

He walks in, barely looking at her as she leads the way through to the sitting room, pausing for a moment as he toes off his shoes and sheds his jacket, before silently continuing.

It's only once they reach the living area that he finally raises his eyes to meet hers. 'You wanna sit?' she asks, waving a hand in the direction of the sofa. He shrugs but remains standing, rocking on the balls of his feet a little. 'I'll take that as a no then.' His only response is another shrug as he shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans. 'Okay, what's wrong?'

Though she tries her best to anticipate what he'll say – is sure she has a pretty good idea of what it might be – she's nowhere near prepared for the words that leave his mouth. 'Natasha's pregnant,' he says, voice devoid of the joy that should accompany the words.

Her stomach drops and her heart plummets, but she does her best to plaster a realistic smile on her face as she congratulates him. 'That's great! Congrats!' When he fails to muster even the slightest hint of a smile in response, she lets her own drop a little. 'Vee, this is good news, right? I mean, you've been ready to be a dad for ages now.'

'Yeah, I have,' he agrees with a nod, looking away from her again.

'Then why aren't you happy? I mean, you're having a kid. You're going to be a dad.'

'Except I'm not,' he mutters, tone bitter.

'What? What do you mean?' she asks, though this time she's sure she already knows the answer.

'She's just about two months along Alia. Two months ago, I was in Australia, with you.' Despite knowing what he means, she finds the need to ask for clarification anyway. 'Oh come on Als, you know what I'm saying,' he tells her with a humourless laugh. 'I'm not going to be a dad, Alia, because there's no way that baby is mine.'

A/N: Happy Christmas guys!!!

I know I said last time that the next one would hopefully wrap things up but I've had a very hectic couple of months and then started a new job at a school – which is both a very satisfying and tiring job XD.

Anyways though, I hope you enjoyed this instalment and hopefully see you soon.