Realization - A Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani fanfic

1. Realization [Bunny's PoV]

Note - Set after the kiss but before he tells her he loves her and they break up. Bunny reflects on his moments with Naina.

A lot of the lines in italics are dialogues directly lifted from the movie and translated into English.

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"But, you know, with Taran... How do I explain this... You know, it's like, before I met him, I was fine... everything was fine... But when I met him I realized I could be happy too.

It's simple. With some people, you feel better by just spending time with them."

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He didn't know why it took him so long. 

He should've realized it that day when they toured the city together. Or before, during the sangeet ceremony when he ended up performing with her because he couldn't see her upset. Or... well, come to think of it... it had been clear even all those years ago that they connected. He remembered talking to her of things he had never even told Adi or Avi, and they were his best friends! He had told her of his dreams of seeing the world; and later confided in her about his fears... About wondering what his Dad would say, his friends not being happy with his decision...

Heck, as much as he loved teasing her and annoying her with crude jokes, she brought out that softer, more "sentimental" side of his that he rarely displayed. Like when he convinced her to come to that party. What had he said? Something about how he would've fallen for her smile ages ago if he had a heart...

Huh. Talk of foreshadowing.

He'd left everyone behind when he went abroad. It had been too much of a hassle for him to keep everyone updated about his whereabouts. And it decreased even more after dad... left. Just the occasional Skype chat. No wonder there'd been so much tension the day they'd arrived, especially with Avi.

And yet, with Naina... it was like he'd never left. They picked up right where they'd left off. He tried a cheesy pickup line on her ("Have you always been so beautiful, or is this the magic of time?" He wasn't completely joking either, that quiet girl with that adorable smile had turned into an elegant and really hot lady), she laughed and retorted back. And used the cold water thing to tell him that he just needed to give things time, and everything would be okay... Like she knew what was troubling him, and told him exactly what he needed to hear. It had left him feeling all warm and fuzzy, in spite of what had happened earlier. He should've known then, how much she meant to him. How well she understood him; how much he needed her.

And things truly did start looking up after that night. There was the mehendi ceremony where he tried to sneak off but she somehow convinced him to stay -- even to change into some "wedding-appropriate" clothing! And slowly, some fights and shouting matches later, Avi and he were getting back on track. He pulled a Bollywood move when Naina got upset at the sangeet, then toured the city with her the next day (their first, unofficial date, even if they didn't know it).

Where all those years earlier he'd been the one to push Naina out of her comfort zone, now the tables had turned, and she was the one who was opening him up to changes, to a different lifestyle -- one that didn't involve rushing into everything; one that involved simply sitting and enjoying the sunset instead of trying to check off everything on his "list".