The Scenic Life

Chapter 23

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We delve deeper into the what ifs and whys of the plan, into the base of the plan and how everything should unravel.

Everybody is into it, everybody wants justice and for the first time in a while, everybody believes me.

My image had been tainted black and muddy with all the stares and guilt trip I used to have everyday. My heart had been hurt and betrayed, but this small feat of having that sliver of respect back has turned that cold heart into molten gold.

But even though everything was going way smoother than I thought, my brain couldn’t quite figure out if this was real, if this really did happen.
The sun is now a pretty shade of yellow and orange with maroon mixed in it just like when a brush filled with colour is dipped in the water. The colours scatter into an abstract form, but still manage to look beautiful. That’s the thing with nature, it never fails to be beautiful.

Khan had decided to let the plan unfold after our project is complete, Which means we still have a few days in rajasthan.
Which means we have to spend time together, my mind is blotched into two, one is excited and eager of what will happen now, but the other is just dreading about the same thing.

The thing with this relationship was, that everything happened so fast. For months, we ignored each other, sent each other glares and stares and what not. But one week with just us together and no one from the studio, our mask started to crack, we started to laugh together not at each other, we glared together, not at each other.

When we suspected that we were going to get attacked , this instinct of protectiveness came from nowhere. At that moment, all I wanted was for us to be safe, not just me, but him too. The moment I realised I didn’t want him to get hurt or have anything bad happen to me, I was sure that this freight train of emotions of love and possession was going to take me over.

It had frightened me then, but now I feel a little brave, a little more open, and a little more acceptable of the freight train of emotions.

When he sits back next to me after stuffing his laptop and charger in his bag, I look at the way his curls hang over his forehead and the way his eyes have been more open and strongly vulnerable towards me since these past few days. I like this change, I love it.
He sighs and rests his elbows on his knees, turning his face towards me, “that was a long video call, eh?”

I chuckle, “I know right.”

He straightens his back, “are you happy?”

“Not until those bastards are punished,” I shake my head.

He grins, and then nods his head. I look down at my hands resting on my knees, a little smile forming on my face.

When I look up, his eyes are already on mine, and I feel this magnetic pull towards him, but fortunately I don’t act on it. I need to figure out what to do about all these feelings before I combust and garb him by his neck And kiss the hell out of him.

But to my surprise, he grabs my hand from my lap and holds on to it, tightly like he's afraid to lose me, like I am going to drown any second now.

I gather the courage to address the elephant in the room, “I need to talk to you about something,”

His eyes are very expressive, so when I say that I am able to see that he knows what I am going to say before I even say it.

“hm?”

“I think-,”  I hesitate speaking but then he squeezes my hand and I feel like I am filled with courage. “I think we shouldn’t act on,..on our feelings yet,”

“what do you mean?”

“I mean, we shouldn’t, um, we shouldn’t act on our feelings in the middle of this mess. It would be better to wait for a while.”

Understanding floods his face, and he gently removes his hand form mine.

“oh. Okay.”
“I mean, there would-,”

He interrupts me, “no no, I understand, you don’t need to explain. I think that it would be better if we,..continued whatever this is after the plan gets completed.”

“yeah.” I nod, and he nods back. My hand is missing his hands warmth, but I control myself and stand up, and wring my hands around me nervously. He stand up too, and when I start to head towards the door of the room, I feel his hand tugging mine, wrapping it around my wrist, and stopping me.

It feels like a moment from a movie, or fanfiction that I read back when I was fourteen.
He mutters something, along the lines of for the last time or something. I couldn’t hear his whispering.

But then he does something completely unexpected. He snakes his arm around my waist and hugs me. his other arm around my upper back.

This hug is so unexpected that I am confused for the first few seconds. But when the confusion wears off, I snake my arms around his waist and hug him closer to me.

His chest flush against mine, his chin resting on top of my head, and my hands clutching at the ends of his curls, if feel eerily calm and, in love.

It’s a while before we let go of our hug, but when we do, Vihaan raises his hand and moves the hair away from my face behind my ear. Its such an intimate moment that I feel my heart thundering against my chest loudly.

I see his throat go up and down as he swallows nervously.
But then suddenly he sighs strongly, like a strong force has come upon him, like he isn’t afraid of what will happen anymore and I am jealous of it. I am jealous of feeling so brave so openly.

Interrupting my speed my thought, Vihaan bends down a bit and gives long intimate kiss on cheek, a peck, a kiss so beautifully conserved but so provocative at the same time. His hands wander my face, his finger gradually tracing the outline of my face so softly that I could scream.

His nose traces the path his fingers travelled and I am literally sent to heaven.

I am over driven with some of my own courage and so I kiss his hand, which rests on my left cheek.

Our breaths are heavy and so intertwined with each other, our eyes don’t leave each others, and I keep thinking of all the words I can compare his eyes too, all the planets and stars I could name for the way his skin glistens in the sunlight, all the ways I can devour him.

But he takes his hand away my face, and my waist. Following his actions, I do it too, but I take my time leaving them from his body, because I know it will be weeks before any of this can happen again. And deep inside I have a little fear that this might not happen again at all, so I savour the little touches, the little shivers that run down his spine as my fingers through it.

When we are respectable distance away from each other , Vihaan whispers, “this mess will be over soon.”

“promise?” my voice is a quiet whisper amongst the loud beatings of our heart.

He nods, with determination filling every ounce of his body and says, “promise.”