Stars | completed

36. Home Again

"I'm hurt Nandini," he made a fake sad face. I chuckled, then looking at what he had got.

"You made cheese toasts, at 2 a.m.? Seriously, Manik?" I had to ask.

"So what?" He shrugged, "I'm a growing man. I get hungry sometimes."

"You sure do," I laugh.

"Eat with me," he ordered.

I hadn't eaten anything since hours now. Actually, I had barely eaten anything all day. Although I was hungry, I felt like puking.

"Nah, I'm good," I smile, and he shrugged.

"You've got beer in your fridge," he pointed.

"It's not beer, more like a cocktail. Just 9% alcohol," I say, "And I usually don't drink that, it's Zubin's."

"How did you and Zubin first meet, again?" He said as he got up and pulled out a breezer bottle from the fridge while I glared at him.

"What? It's my brother's," he shrugged, pulling out another one, "And this one's for you," he said, passing me one.

"Like the old days," he smiled.

"No wait," I bite my lower lip, "Come with me."

He knits his brows, but doesn't say anything and follows me upstairs.

"Nandini, if you wanted to take me to your room, all you had to do is ask," He teased.

"Manik!" I scolded, opening a door in my room.

"You're taking me inside your cupboard?" He joked, "You're kinkier than I thought."

"Hold the bottles steady, and come up," I ignore what he said, rolling my eyes, heading upstairs.

"What? You want to murder me?" He scoffed, but followed me up nonetheless.

"Wow," he said in a moment as we reached up, breathless, "This... it's awesome."

I look proudly as we stand on the roof. We were on the roof of my house, literally. My father loved star gazing, and he made this exit from their room upstairs to the roof of the house (because we didn't have a terrace) when I was a kid. I took over on their room now, and this has been my favourite thing to do all night sometimes– to sit on the roof of my villa and watch the city below ahead and the stars over head.

"I know," I said, closing the way that let us up as I sit, gesturing him to do the same.

"I– I might fall," he said, hiding behind a nervous smile.

"You won't," I promise, shifting a bit to make place for him.

I almost forgot about his acrophobia.

"Trust me Manik, you won't fall," I say softly.

"But it's steep and leads directly three floors down, what if–," he was really trying to hide his nervousness, "–what if we stumble and break our bones."