A/N: Because it's been 5 years of this book today and I couldn't let it go without writing at least on more.
Basic info about this OS: it's set some years in the future. Varun is single (whether he was every married or not is up to you to decide)
He's sat on his sofa, head in his hands, when she walks in to his trailer. From the slump of his shoulders, the disarray of his hair, the way his fingers are still wound through it, it's clear to her that he's more than a little worn out.
He heaves a sigh, the sound so very weary that she almost decides to turn around and walk straight back out the door, not wanting to add to the weight that's clearly crushing him.
But, as she turns to go, she hears another sound, this one leaning more towards broken than simply weary, and she can't help but remember a time when she'd felt that way. A time when he'd been there for her to pull her out of the depths of her own darkness, to help her shoulder the weight. And, despite the fact that she came here for a very different reason, she decides that it doesn't matter; what she needed when she walked in the door seems insignificant when she's faced with her obviously distressed best friend.
So, without giving herself more than the time it takes to breathe, she speaks. 'Varun,' she calls, keeping her voice soft.
'What?' he snaps without looking round, making her wince.
'Uhm, you know what? Never mind. I uh, I think I'll just come back when you're in a better mood,' she says, immediately regretting her decision to stay, to try and help. It's pretty damn apparent to her that she's not the right person to help him.
'Wait, no,' he calls, his head shooting up, his body following seconds after.
'Look, this clearly isn't a good time and I don't want to add to that.' He opens his mouth, the expression on his face making it clear to her that he's about to argue, probably to say something along the lines of don't be silly Al, you could never add to it, and she holds up a hand. His mouth snaps closed again and he simply looks at her, waiting for her to speak. 'I can tell when I'm not wanted V-Varun;' she stumbles over his name, having to force herself not to use the nickname that comes so easily to her tongue. 'I'll just go.'
'Come on Al, don't be ridiculous,' he says, a smile that is far too easy coming to his face. 'You know that I always want you around.' She gives him a look that clearly says she doesn't believe him and he sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. When his hand drops, so does the smile and she can see all his emotions written on his face, plain as day. And for someone who knows him as well as she does, it's easy to tell that he's telling the truth, he really doesn't want her to leave. Looking beyond that, she can see that there're things he wants to say but doesn't know how, that there's so much weighing on him he might just break from the load. That he needs her to stay, needs to talk to her, just as much as she needs to talk to him.
But, despite being able to see that, there's a part of her that's telling her she needs to go, that she can't be his pillar if he doesn't want her to be. And his reaction to her presence made it clear that he doesn't want her to.
She opens her mouth to tell him so but he speaks before she can. 'Look, if you're about to leave because of me snapping when you walked in here, don't, please. That... it had nothing to do with you, honestly, I've just been-'
'Oh please don't,' she all but groans, cutting him off before he can finish. 'I've already had one it's not you, it's me speech today; I don't think I can take another one.' For a moment, he just stares at her, unable to comprehend the meaning of her words.
She can pinpoint the exact second the meaning clicks, can tell that the penny has dropped from the way his expression goes from confused to understanding to disbelief before finally setting on a quiet kind of anger, the kind that only shows in his eyes while the rest of his face stays calm - in her opinion, probably the most dangerous kind. 'Seriously? Today of all days?' he questions, arching an eyebrow.
'Apparently he "didn't want to do me the disservice of spending Valentine's together while planning to end things anyway." Which is a bunch of horse shit if you ask me but whatever.' Her words are accompanied by a shrug and a smile that's more bitter than careless.
'Want me to go beat him up for you?' he asks, reclaiming his seat on the sofa as she sits as well.
'As... sweet as it is for you to offer, no,' she declines; 'That's probably the last thing I need you to do.'
'Then what can I do?' he asks, settling back against the cushions.
'Honestly? Right now I just want my best friend to hold me for a bit.'
'I think I can arrange that,' he tells her with a grin that she returns. Though her grin fades a little as he speaks again. 'Just give me a couple minutes, let me call Kanchi and tell her to come get you.' She lets out a huff of air and reaches out to slap him on the chest, repeating the action when the only response she gets is a chuckle. 'What? You said best friend.'
'Kanchi isn't the friend I was referring to and you know it,' she mutters, turning away from him and pretending to sulk.
'She wasn't?' he asks, feigning shock. 'But she's your best friend.'
'And what? A person can't have more than one best friend?'
'Sure. But the last time you said you have more than one didn't end too great for me,' he reminds, mirth audible in his voice. At the reminder, she has to laugh, unable to keep up the act of being annoyed with him as she remembers how Kanchi and Varun had argued about it for an age and, eventually, Kanchi gave up with trying to use words and decided to chase Varun in circles around the room.
'Yeah well, then I guess it's a good thing Kanchi isn't here right now,' she points out, turning back to look at him pointedly.
'You make a good point,' he concedes. 'I guess that's my argument crushed.'
'So, do you think you could still arrange that hug?'
'I reckon I can do one better. I'm about done for the day, just need to get back into my own clothes,' he starts, tugging at the outfit that clearly belongs to the character he's playing; 'and then how about I take you home and we spend the night eating ice cream and junk, binge watching whatever show you feel like.'
'Are you sure about that?' she questions, raising an eyebrow.
'I mean, I probably shouldn't have offered to watch anything,' he states, realising how bad of an idea that was. 'But I'm gonna guess I can't take it back now?'
'Yeah, no, not happening. I'm holding you to your word Dhawan.'
'I expect nothing less Bhatt,' he says with a laugh. 'Just give me a few minutes to change and then we can head out okay?' She simply nods and settles herself back into the sofa, gesturing for him to go ahead. He gets up and heads to the other side of the van where his clothes are, glancing back over his shoulder when he realises he can still feel her eyes on him. He tilts his head in question and she just shrugs, not bothering to avert her eyes.
He gives her a suit yourself kind of look and turns back around, pulling his shirt up over his head. His actions are slow, intentional, and she knows that he's most definitely enjoying having her attention focused on him.
Of course, they both know that they shouldn't be doing this, that this is one of those lines that they should try not to cross. But they've never really been very good at staying within the boundaries they've set, especially when she's just got out of - yet another - unsuccessful relationship.
Which is why she doesn't bother to act like she's not enjoying the show and he doesn't bother to act like he's not enjoying the attention. Her eyes stay trained on him and the smirk stays firmly on his face the entire time he's changing.
And then he turns around, gestures towards the door with his head and she gets up from the sofa, following him to the door and taking the hand he offers as they walk through it.
***
Her apartment is empty when they get there. 'Shaheen not in?' he asks as he notes the lack of light in the flat.
'She's over at Rohan's. Apparently they're going to try and binge as many Marvel movies as they can in two days.'
'Sounds romantic,' he comments drily.
'I mean for the two of them, it kinda is.' She sheds her jacket and toes off her shoes as she speaks, waiting for him to take the hint and do the same before she heads off in the direction of the kitchen. He copies her actions, putting his shoes and jacket in their places before following after her.
He gets into the room to see her rummaging through the cupboards, reaching to the very back of them like she's searching for something. 'Maybe we should have stopped on the way, had Manoj pick up some snacks or something.'
'Nah, no need. I've got some around here somewhere.' But despite the words, she comes up empty-handed as she looks through another cupboard.
'You sure about that? I mean, last I checked, being a health nut doesn't generally include keeping junk food in the house. Unless you count fruit snacks as junk food. Which, just to be clear, I don't.'
'Ha-ha,' she snipes, opening the next door. 'You know I gave up on that health nut crap ages ago. I mean, I have Shaheen hide the junk from me so I don't go eating all of it at once but I do have some. If only I could find it.'
'You realise Shaheen probably wouldn't have hidden it anywhere you can easily reach, right?' he questions, barely stifling a laugh.
'Yeah well, in case you haven't noticed genius, Shaheen isn't exactly the tallest either.'
'No, but there's this little invention called a stool that she probably used.' Alia pulls her head out of the depth of the cupboard she's currently searching to shoot a look at him; a look that would probably have had him backtracking under any circumstances that didn't involve her squatting on the floor of her kitchen, looking for snacks.
Given the situation though, he finds himself cracking up and she stands up with a huff. 'Why don't you find it then smartass.' He glances around the room, looking at all the cupboards and considering their contents, mentally debating over which one it's most likely Shaheen would have hidden the snacks in.
And then, without a single word, he crosses the room, walking directly up to where Alia is leaning against the counter. He puts a hand on the counter beside her and reaches up, his body inches from hers as he opens the cupboard above her head.
He feels the way she tenses, hears the way her breath hitches as he stretches up even further, moving aside the batteries on the top shelf and finding a bag full of sweets and some chocolate bars. He closes his hand around them but pretends to search for a moment longer before he pulls them down, revelling in the reaction it pulls from her.
Despite the fact that they are both fully aware his actions were purposeful, he's careful to hide his smirk as he withdraws his hand and pulls back, showing her what he's discovered. 'Told you,' he murmurs, unable to make himself truly gloat when they are so close, when he can feel her breath fanning across his skin.
She hums but doesn't say anything - which is only partly because of the way his proximity makes it hard for her to think straight. More than that, she doesn't want to say anything, doesn't want to ruin the moment. It's been a while since they've been like this, a few months at the least, and she knows that they aren't going to let themselves give in just yet, not till they've spent a few more hours trying to act like they won't, she wants to let herself sink into the moment, into every moment.
Like he always does, Varun reads her thoughts as clearly as though their his own.
Dropping the sweets, he brings his other hand to rest on the counter as well, effectively caging her in, and steps closer, leaving little space between them. She pushes herself further back against the counter even as her arms go around his waist, hands slipping into the back pockets of his jeans, pulling him closer. The corner of his mouth tugs upwards and he moves his hands to her waist, letting them rest there lightly for a moment before he tightens his hold and lifts her up onto the counter.
She lets out a squeak of surprise, her hands scrambling to find purchase again as they're pulled out of his pockets with the action. Her surprise is short lived, quickly replaced by another - extremely familiar - feeling. Her hands find their way to his arms, wrapping around and holding on as he dips his head, letting his nose run along her jawline in a gesture that she thinks shouldn't be nearly as enticing as it is.
And then she loses the ability to form coherent thoughts.
His lips find the spot under her ear, the one that makes her arch her back and tilt her head to give him better access, her toes curling as shivers shoot down her spine. She gasps out his name, hands running up along his biceps and shoulders, around the back of his neck and into his hair, winding through the soft strands.
He chuckles and repeats the action, delighting in her reactions. She wraps her legs around him, draws him in, and he thinks maybe they should skip the pretence for once.
But, just as he's about to suggest as much, they're interrupted by the patter of paws against tile and the soft sound of a bell as her youngest cat pads into the room.
They pull apart, both of them breathing a little harder than normal and turn to look at the little feline. He spares them a glance, not caring at all that he's just interrupted something, before he heads over to the food and water bowls on the other side of the room. 'I forgot how much of a kebab mein haddi your cats can be,' he mutters, leaning his head on her shoulder. She laughs, the sound throatier than usual, and runs a hand through his hair, tugging a little to get him to lift his head.
'Considering the cat kinda killed the moment, why don't we take our snacks, go to my room and binge watch something like we were planning on doing?' He lets out a groan but nods, pulling away from her and helping her down. 'Chale?' she asks, gesturing towards the door.
'Uh, why don't - why don't you go ahead, settle in and pick what show you wanna watch? I'm just gonna go to the bathroom real quick.' She quirks an eyebrow and he gives her a sheepish look, glancing downwards quickly.
'Okay then,' she giggles, 'I'll uh, I'll go get something queued up.' He nods and gestures for her to go ahead, waiting till she's out of the room before he moves. Once she's no longer in his line of sight, he lets out a breath slowly, feeling some of the tension seep out as he does.
Of course, he's nowhere close to relaxed and he knows it. He is fully aware that spending the next few hours with Alia curled up next to him on her bed is going to be nothing short of torture - a sweet form of torture, sure. But torture all the same.
Trying to resist the pull that exists between the two of them has always been futile. They tell themselves that they try their best but they both know that it's mostly lies. They try, sure. But not as hard as they can.
They had, at one point. They'd really tried to resist it. But they've never been able to; so, eventually, they decided why even bother.
And now, they play their little games, flirt and banter and push each other until one of them breaks, until they give in to the pull, let themselves drown in each other.
It's nothing short of torment, this game of theirs. The push and pull, the teasing and the waiting. Sitting there, both of them trying half-heartedly not to give in, sitting by and hoping the other will be the one to make the first move.
Yes, it's nothing short of torment.
But he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy every minute, every second of it.
A/N: The plan was to finish the whole thing and post it today because I wanted to get it up before the end of the day (for me at least). But, unfortunately, today turned out to be a busy day and I didn't find the time to finish it. So there will be at least one more one shot in this book. I hope you'll stick with me till then.
So peace out and see you next time.