'Varun, wait up!' calls a girl, half running down the corridor to catch up with the boy who's stopped in his tracks. She comes to a halt in front of him and he flashes a smile, reaching out with practiced ease as she stumbles slightly, by now used to having to catch her.
'You're in a rush,' he comments, fully expecting the swat on the arm he receives.
'Was trying to catch you before you left,' she tells him, noticing as she does that he's not alone and turning to the other man. 'Oh, hey Arjun,' she greets, cheeks going pink as he chuckles.
'Hey yourself Bhatt,' he returns. 'Am I not worth noticing now?'
'No, it's not like that,' she hastens to assure, 'I just wanted to make sure I caught Varun before he disappeared because it's almost impossible to get hold of him nowadays and didn't entirely register...' she trails off, face heating as she realises how bad it sounds but Arjun dismisses it with another laugh and a wave of his hand.
'No worries, I get it. Though why the man who's permanently attached to his phone is hard to get a hold of, I don't,' he states, shooting Varun a questioning look.
The man in question clears his throat, pretending he hasn't heard his friends comment while Alia looks to the floor, fully aware of why Varun no longer answers her calls. 'So, what's up?' Varun asks, a little louder than necessary, desperate for a subject change.
'You free next Saturday?' Alia questions, gratefully seizing the opportunity to direct the conversation away from the awkward topic.
'I'd have to check, why?' he asks, discreetly stepping on Arjun's foot as the older man opens his mouth to say something - most likely about the fact that the young Dhawan's schedule is completely empty that day.
'Party at my place, was hoping you'd be able to make it,' Alia answers, expression on her face one of optimism.
'Is that a good idea? I mean, if I'm spotted at yours, media will have a field day,' he points out, all too aware of how careful they have to be about keeping their friendship quiet nowadays.
'Well, it's not an industry thing. Just some friends getting together, having a good time. You're kind of the only person from the industry I'm even telling about it,' she says, looking almost nervous.
'Nice to know I don't count as a person,' Arjun puts in, shocking both of them a little; they'd almost forgotten he was present, managing to get caught up in each other even in such a short conversation.
'No, I uh, shit-'
'Chill, I was joking,' Arjun assures, by now more than accustomed to the way his two friends can forget the rest of the world when they're in each other's presence. 'I know how you two are.'
'Sorry man,' Varun apologises anyway, aware that his friend isn't really offended but feeling slightly bad all the same.
'So, you reckon you'll be able to make it?' Alia asks after a moment of silence, hopeful expression back in place as she turns to her four-time co-star again.
'I'll try but I make no promises,' he tells her, feeling something inside him pull as her face drops ever-so-slightly.
'Alright, that's cool. I guess I'll see you around then,' she says, the cheer in her voice now fake. She doesn't wait for a reply as she walks away, muttering a short bye to Arjun as she passes him.
Varun turns to look over his shoulder, watching Alia until she's out of sight before turning back to Arjun. 'You're so going aren't you?' the Kapoor asks.
'Of course I'm going. One whole night of being around Alia and not having to restrain myself... I'd be insane to pass it up,' he answers.
'So why...?'
'Just in case. Somehow, something always comes up when I'm supposed to be hanging with Alia. It's better to let her down now and then show up than get her hopes up and then let her down,' he explains. The older of the two stares at his friend for a minute, trying to follow the logic before he decides it's better not to try and shrugs. Varun laughs, knowing that his friend has decided to give up on trying to understand the both of them and how they work, and they continue on their way out of the studios.
***
Twelve days later, Alia is playing host. Given how often she hosts parties, she's usually a brilliant host but, this time, she's more than a little distracted. She keeps checking her phone while she's talking to her friends and looks over her shoulder every time the door opens. 'Somebody special coming tonight?' Akansha asks teasingly at one point.
'Like who?' Alia questions with a laugh that's a little too airy to be convincing.
'I don't know, thought maybe you invited a certain young actor,' her friend says, casual tone countered by the nudge she gives her.
'Even if I had, he wouldn't show so I wouldn't be holding my breath,' the actress mutters.
'You never know, he might surprise you,' comes a familiar masculine voice from behind her. She turns slowly, not daring to believe her own ears until they're backed by the evidence her eyes give when she's done a complete 180. She stares at him, mouth open, for half a minute before she hugs him, letting out a small squeal that would probably embarrass her in other situations. 'I take it you thought I'd skip out on you?'
'I, well, I mean, I thought, given how generally something always comes up, you might not be able to make it,' she tells him, pulling back ever so slightly to look at him, wincing a little as she stumbles over the words and giving him an apologetic smile.
'I know. My track record is against me,' he tells her, letting her know that he understands. 'So, you reckon you can take some time off of host duties?' She looks around, spotting her sister and silently asking if she'll take over for a while, nodding towards Varun in an almost unnoticeable gesture. Shaheen nods with a smile and Alia grins in response before turning back to the man who's arms are still wrapped around her waist.
'I think I can swing a few minutes,' she tells him, smile widening as she pulls out of the hug and grabbing hold of his hand, leading him away from the crowd gathered in the centre of her sitting room to a corner on the far side that is completely free of people thanks to the dim lights.
As soon as they're alone - secluded in their dark corner in a bubble where only the two of them exist, alone in the midst of at least fifty other people - his arms wrap around her again and he buries his head in her shoulder, his mind going pleasantly blank of everything that doesn't involve the girl in his arms, body relaxing as the tension leaves him for the first time in weeks, possibly months. She feels him relax against her and her stress leaves her too, something about being held by Varun making it impossible to allow any worries to cloud her brain, as is always the case. 'I've missed you,' he breathes, not moving from his position, grinning against her skin at her resultant attempts to draw closer to him. 'God, I've missed you.' She doesn't say anything, just hums a little, one hand running over his back and shoulders almost like she's trying to make sure he's really there. 'I take it you haven't missed me then?' he asks teasingly, picking his head up from her shoulder to look at her, eyebrow raised.
'Do you really think you'd be here if I didn't miss you?' she returns. He concedes the point with a slight tilt of his head as he leans in a little, unwrapping his arms from around her so that his hands can explore a little, one coming to rest in the small of her back and the other reaching for hers. As his hand finds hers, she intertwines their fingers and leans back, resting against the wall and pulling him with her, not willing to put more distance between them than necessary.
For a few moments, they're quiet, standing there caught up in each other's presence. They let themselves fall into a sense of security, convince themselves that it truly is just them, the sounds of the party that had seemed almost deafening to her just minutes ago now seem faded, muted, as though the party is happening on the floor below instead of five feet from them.
It's that illusion of privacy that convinces Varun's brain to comply with his heart and give over, lets his feelings rule his actions. His brain is completely silent as he leans in and presses a kiss to Alia's temple before leaning his head against hers, the hand that's resting on her back beginning to move slightly, fingers tracing small patterns over her shirt. 'Don't,' she mumbles, the protest weak and defied by her actions as she wraps an arm around his neck, holding on to him.
'Why?' he murmurs in her ear.
'Because it's already going to be hard enough to let you go, you keep this up and I won't want to at all,' she tells him, still making no move to detach herself from him.
'Then don't,' he whispers; 'you could keep me here forever and I'd happily stay.'
'Uff, you and your cheesy lines,' she laughs, pulling back enough to see his face as she leans her head against the wall.
'Complain all you want but we both know that you love me and my cheesy lines,' he returns, eyes bright as he looks at her.
'God help me, I do,' she admits, not even registering what she's said until his face lights up.
'You do?' he questions, caution in his eyes despite the grin on his face.
'Yeah,' she confirms, figuring there's no point in trying to backtrack and change her meaning. The caution disappears from his eyes and his grin is brighter than the sun and the moon and all the stars put together.
There's no hesitancy from either of them as he leans in, both of them anticipating, eager even, as the gap between them closes. Her eyes flutter closed and his lips are centimetres from meeting hers when the moment is shattered. 'There you are!' Shaheen exclaims, making both of them jump. 'I've been looking everywhere for you two.'
'You couldn't have waited like thirty seconds?' Alia grumbles, turning to glare at her sister.
'I wish I could have but we've got a problem,' the elder sister says, looking thoroughly apologetic.
'Can't you sort it?' the younger asks, half whining.
'Trust me, if I could I would. I really didn't want to interrupt you two or cut your time short but it's a matter that's beyond my ability to sort,' Shaheen states with an apologetic look.
'What do you mean it's beyond your ability to sort?' Alia questions, annoyed and impatient.
'You may want to take a look,' Shaheen tells her, pointing to the other side of the room where Akansha is talking to a very impatient man, her gestures over the top as she tries her best to distract him, convince him to leave.
'You have got to be kidding me,' the young actress groans, leaning her head on Varun's shoulder.
'Unfortunately not,' her sister says.
'You know what, I am not dealing with this,' Alia states, picking her head up and looking at the two people in front of her, angry determination in her eyes. 'This is supposed to be my night to chill and be normal and not have to put on that stupid act and that's exactly what it's going to be.'
'Are you sure that's a good idea?' Varun asks, all too aware of the consequences Alia's stubborn streak can have.
'It may not be the best idea on the planet,' she admits, 'but I'm not letting him ruin my night. He wasn't invited and there was reason for that - he probably knows that there's a reason for that - but he showed up anyway. If he doesn't like what he sees, that's not my problem.'
He looks at her in admiration, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. She looks at him in question and he leans down to whisper in her ear, 'you're hot when you're angry.' She bites her lip to keep back the smirk that threatens to spread across her face at that, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he's distracted her.
'Okay, well then, I'm gonna leave you two to it,' Shaheen says, a little louder than entirely necessary, reminding them both of her presence. Alia looks to her sister with a sheepish grin while Varun trains his eyes on the wall, determined not to look at either of the girls until Shaheen has gone. 'I'll let you two get back to... whatever it was you were doing and go play host. Don't have too much fun.' And with that, she is gone, leaving the two alone in their little world again.
'So, where were we?' she asks, looping her arms around his neck with an enticing pout.
'I think we were right about...' he pauses for a few seconds while he uses the hand on her back to pull her closer to him again, closing the gap they'd created between them while her sister had been present before finishing his sentence, 'here.'
She looks up at him in anticipation, waiting somewhat impatiently as he leans down again, trying to pull him closer and earning nothing but laughter for her attempts. When she whines slightly and pouts at him, he finally relents, moving to close the gap between them faster, no longer trying to hide how eager he is.
But before he can kiss her, they're interrupted once again, this time rather more abruptly as Varun is literally pulled away from Alia, the action accompanied by his indignant cry of hey! 'What the hell?' Alia demands, looking around in an attempt to locate the intruder as her brain tries to catch up.
'Hello to you too,' comes a voice she's all too familiar with, one she'd been hoping she wouldn't hear tonight.
Slowly - reluctantly - she moves her gaze from where it had fixed on Varun's face to the face of the person holding him and a soft swear passes her lips. 'What are you doing here?' she asks, not at all in the mood to be dealing with the man stood in front of her.
'I heard you were throwing a party, thought I'd stop by,' Ranbir says with a shrug.
'And who told you about it?' she questions, sure that nobody present at the party would have told him.
'Arjun. Said he overheard you talking to Varun about it.' Realisation dawns on the actress and she laughs, shaking her head at the stupidity of the man. Varun shoots her a questioning look, momentarily pausing in his attempts to free himself from Ranbir's grip.
'And did Arjun happen to tell you why he's not coming?' she asks, a smile that is far too innocent on her face. Seeing that look on her face, Varun realises exactly what's happening and has to stop himself from laughing, figuring out exactly what Arjun's plan was.
'I, well, he said something about not being invited,' Ranbir mutters.
'Right and if Arjun, who, by the way, didn't just overhear the conversation but was stood right next to Varun when I invited him, didn't assume himself to be invited, why did you?' Alia asks, her voice sweet but her eyes steely.
'Because - because we're supposed to be seen together at industry events!' Ranbir blurts, sounding much like he's floundering for an excuse.
'At industry events, yes. But this isn't an industry event Ranbir. It's a night for me to kick back and chill with my friends, without the cameras and the media and the acts and the drama. Or at least, it was supposed to be until you showed up and ruined it!' Alia snaps, breathing deeply in the hopes of calming herself before she explodes. 'And for God's sake, let go of Varun.' As though only just realising that the younger man is still in his grip, Ranbir lets go of him, pushing him away as though he's something that he'd rather not touch.
Varun stumbles slightly before righting himself, automatically going to Alia's side, body instinctively going into a protective stance as the Kapoor lad rounds on her. 'And how the hell does it look that you threw a party and I'm not invited but he is?' Ranbir demands, pointing at Varun.
'I don't know how it would look and, newsflash, I don't care!' Alia yells, no longer able to tamp down on her temper. A few heads turn at the sound of her voice but the music is put louder and the heads turn back, everyone deciding to ignore the trio.
'If you don't care, you shouldn't have agreed to-'
'I didn't,' she says, cutting him off mid-sentence. 'I never agreed to this. It was decided without me and I was told after the stories had already been published. I had no choice but to go along with it and, in case you haven't noticed, I haven't exactly been happy about it. But tonight, for the first time in a long time, I had the chance to let go and have fun and... and be normal. And you just had to come and fucking ruin it.' By the time she's finished speaking, she's not angry anymore, just tired - exhausted.
She's quite honestly never been more thankful to have Varun at her side than she is in that moment, her body leaning towards his without her telling it to, allowing herself to accept his silent support as the rage-fuelled energy drains from her body. He holds her up, his arm around her comforting even as he turns his gaze to the man in front of him, glaring at him with all the hatred in the world. 'I think it would be best if you left,' he says, fighting to keep his voice calm and his posture relaxed when all he really wants to do is force the man to leave, maybe throw a punch or two.
'Don't tell me what to do,' Ranbir spits. 'This isn't your house or your party and she's not your girl. So why don't you back off.'
'You're right. Not my house, not my party. And, no, she's not my girl but, unless there's a barcode tattooed onto her skin somewhere that I'm not aware of, she can't be bought so she belongs to nobody but herself. Not my girl, not yours either,' Varun returns, eyes shooting fire though he maintains an otherwise perfect poker face.
'And what would you know about the marks on her body?' Ranbir questions, tone challenging.
'I'd be willing to bet I know a damn sight more than you do,' Varun tells him, unable to stop the smirk that tugs the corner of his mouth up as he watches the shock cross the other man's face as the meaning of the words registers.
The shock is closely followed by rage and within seconds, Ranbir is moving forwards and Varun is stepping to the right, putting Alia behind him. She grips his arms, partly to stop him from doing anything stupid and partly from fear. The action doesn't go unnoticed by either of the actors and the older of the two freezes, realising what he'd been about to do, the scene he'd been about to make and what the repercussions of it would be.
The three are still for a moment and then, without a word, Ranbir turns and walks away, storming through the crowd in the living room and out the front door. As the door shuts, the tension leaves Varun's body and he relaxes. Feeling his muscles ease, Alia relaxes too, leaning her head against his back as her hands move from their place on his arms, circling his waist instead. 'Never a minute of peace around you is there?' he asks after a moment, tone teasing.
She laughs, the sound tired but genuine. 'Wouldn't be fun if there was now would it?' she returns.
'Can't say it would be,' he agrees. 'But I can say that you seem tired.'
'You know, usually, I'd probably make a comment about you being a mind reader but I guess right now, it doesn't take a genius to figure that one out,' she says, her eyes closing for a moment, the comfort of Varun's warm body beneath her head, his heartbeat under her ear deepening her sleepy state.
'I think you might want to call it an early night,' he advises, taking hold of her hands so he can move them and turn his body to face her. She whines in protest, arms going back around him, head coming to rest on his chest. 'Alu, you're absolutely exhausted. You need sleep.'
'Not the type of exhaustion sleep can solve,' she mutters. He sighs, a hand running over her back. 'I just wanted one night yaar,' she whispers, her bone-deep weariness clearly audible.
'I know,' he murmurs.
'We almost had it too. But he just had to show up and ruin it,' she complains.
'Night's not quite over yet,' he points out.
'I don't think we're going to be getting back to where we were before those interruptions,' she says, clearly disappointed.
'Maybe not but that doesn't mean we have to cut short whatever time we can get. I mean, we don't usually get the time to spend together,' he counters.
'Aren't you the one who was telling me I need to get some sleep like a minute ago?' she questions, laugh audible in her voice as she lifts her head and raises an eyebrow at him.
'That was me, wasn't it,' he says, looking slightly sheepish. She nods, giggling a little at his somewhat apologetic shrug, unwinding her arms from around his waist and running her hands up his arms so they can join behind his neck once more, leaning her head back against the wall again, completely unwilling to take her eyes off of him. 'I guess, as much as I know you really do need a good rest, I just don't want to have to let go just yet,' he admits, the bashful grin being replaced by a soft look, a serious one.
'Then don't,' she says, as though it's that simple.
'Alu -'
'You said it yourself Vee, night's not over yet. No need to let go early,' she interrupts before he can properly protest.
He looks at her, takes in the part-hopeful, part-pleading look on her face, the doubt he can see in her eyes, and the words that are on the tip of his tongue, words he shouldn't even be thinking, come spilling out, 'and what if I don't want to let go at all?'
'I won't complain,' she tells him softly, fingers moving upwards into the small strands of hair at the nape of his neck. He's got no control over his emotions anymore, if he's honest, it had gone out the window when she'd hugged him earlier, and he doesn't see reason to try and reign his feelings in so, for the third time that night, he leans in to kiss her only to be stopped by her hand on his chest. He groans frustratedly and narrows his eyes at her about to ask what now? when she speaks. 'I will complain if we're interrupted again though so maybe we should take this to my room,' she suggests, fingers playing with a button on his shirt.
'That might not be a bad idea,' he agrees, moving a hand from its place on her back to catch hold of hers, fully aware of what she's trying to do and not at all planning on letting her get away with it. 'It might however, be a bad idea to attempt to undress me in the middle of your party.'
'I don't know what you're talking about,' she tells him with an innocent grin that is countered by the mischievous look in her eyes.
'Oh you know exactly what I'm talking about Bhatt,' he says, leaning in so that he's whispering in her ear, lips brushing her skin as he speaks, voice low and rough. 'And you don't need me to tell you that playing this game would be a very bad idea.' Her heartbeat quickens and the air feels much heavier all of a sudden.
'I uh, I'm just, I'm gonna tell Shaheen I'm calling it an early night,' she stutters, his proximity, his words and his tone of voice combined making it difficult to think straight. 'and then I'm gonna meet you in my room.'
'I'll be waiting,' he tells her with a roguish smile. And she'd be lying if she said that grin didn't make her insides catch fire.
***
It takes her longer to find her sister than she'd anticipated and, in her slightly - very - impatient state, the few minutes seem like half an eternity. Shaheen smirks when Alia tells her that she's going up to her room, asking if Varun's already left, smirk widening when the younger girl shrugs in a way that's supposed to be casual, looking around and noticing that the actor is nowhere to be seen. 'Well, you definitely look like you could use a rest,' she says eventually, slightly enjoying watching her younger sister fidget as she tries to hide her impatience and frustration. 'I'll make sure to keep everyone on this side of the house.'
'Thanks Shaheen,' Alia tells her, grateful smile accompanying the words. The older girl simply nods, saying nothing as the actress turns to walk away.
'And by the way,' she calls when Alia is about five steps away, 'make sure you're careful.' The actress turns back to her sister, mouth agape at the words, and she laughs, shrugging at the glare she receives and motioning for Alia to go on with her hands when the girl doesn't move.
With one last glare in her sister's direction, the youngest Bhatt turns and continues on her way across the room towards the hallway that leads to her bedroom.
***
True to his word, Varun is waiting in her room when she gets there, sprawled out on her bed looking at something on his phone, his shoes by the door. 'You know, I was starting to wonder if you actually planned to meet me here or if you'd ditched me and rejoined the party,' he quips, pushing himself into a sitting position, propping himself up on his hands. The joking tone of his voice and the teasing smile on his face only partially hides his insecurity and she shakes her head, unable to help smiling at him because his badly-hidden anxiety is cute.
He scoots forwards on the bed so that he's sat on the edge of it as she crosses the room, coming to a stop in front of him, hands on his shoulders. His head tilts back so that he can see her and his hands go to her hips instinctively, something about the action steadying him, making him realise that this is not some highly detailed dream his brain has cooked up. 'I didn't mean to keep you waiting,' she tells him, speaking softly, 'but my sister can be insufferably perceptive at times and put two and two together.'
'Sometimes your sister is a little too smart,' he says with a laugh, pulling one from her too. The laughter dies quickly though and the room is left in a somewhat weighty silence. For a moment, neither moves, they hardly even breath, both realising that this is really the moment that could change everything, their last chance to stop and pretend this never happened. And then, she inches closer so that her toes are brushing against his, watching his face for any sign of hesitancy for a second before lowering herself till she's seated on his lap.
He still doesn't move, almost scared that if he does, she'll disappear, dissolve into thin air like she was never even there. So she decides that it's on her to keep making the moves and she leans in, finally allowing their lips to meet.
His response is almost immediate. He stretches upwards just a little, hands moving from her hips to encircle her waist, pulling her closer as her arms loop around his neck. The kiss is soft, both of them still a little hesitant, neither quite able to believe that it's happening, that after the weeks, months, years, they've spent dancing around each other, both anticipating and attempting to avoid this moment, it's finally here.
It lasts a few seconds before he pulls away, eyes closed as he leans his forehead against hers, trying to commit the moment to memory. 'You okay?' she whispers, smiling at him and thoroughly enjoying the affect she evidently has on him.
'Y-yeah, I'm fine, just...' he trails off, finding no words to describe what he's feeling in that moment. Her smile grows, the affection she feels for him no longer locked up, and she runs her fingers through the short hairs at the nape of his neck, loving the way it feels.
'Feels a little surreal huh?' she asks quietly, not wanting to kill their mood by speaking any louder.
'That's an understatement,' he says with a soft chuckle, finally opening his eyes and looking at her, awe and amazement written all over his face. Without thinking about it, he leans up and kisses her again, just a quick brush of his lips against hers, just because he's allowed to and he can't entirely believe that.
'Varun... this, this is something real right?' she questions when he pulls back, the words forcing themselves out despite her telling herself not to, that it'll ruin the moment and all this will be gone, out of reach before they've even really had the chance to touch it.
'Well, as much as it may feel like one, it's definitely not a dream,' he tells her, smiling impishly.
She slaps him on the arm, laughing despite herself, and shakes her head. 'No, I meant, this, us, it's... it's not a - it's not something you'll lose interest in right?'
He smiles softly at her, a look full of understanding and, and brings his hands up to cup her face. 'I love you. I know it may not have always seemed like I care, and that things have happened between us that ended up with you getting hurt but I never meant for that to be the case. And, believe it or not, I love you Alia Bhatt and I couldn't lose interest in this if I tried.'
'A yes would have sufficed,' she jokes, unsure of how else to respond to his declaration.
'I put my heart out on my sleeve and that's all you have to say?' he asks, feigning offence, fully aware that she's processing.
'It was a simple question and you gave me a freaking essay style answer!' she exclaims, laughing at the perfect look of indignation he puts on at her words, knowing that he's only acting thanks to the happiness that shines in his eyes.
'Sorry for trying to be romantic,' he grumbles, looking down. And she realises that there is some genuine hurt there.
'You don't need to try VD,' she tells him, bringing one hand to his cheek, their eyes meeting as he leans into her touch, head tilting. 'I don't want you to do or say something because you think it's what I want. I want you to be you, all the time. And if being serious like that is something that just happens, then yeah, do it. But if you're saying it because you feel like you need to, don't. I didn't fall for some deep, always mature, intellectual type. I fell for you, the way you are, the way you've always been. Spontaneous, funny, childish, smart when you want to be, just... all around amazing person that you are.'
He's smiling again by the time she finishes speaking, hands back at her hips, tracing small shapes against the material of her dress as he looks up at her through his lashes. 'Now who's being deep?' he laughs, earning himself an eye-roll.
'Dear God, what was I thinking, falling for you?' she groans, leaning forwards to bury her head in his shoulder. He laughs, making her laugh too, and runs a hand over her back.
'I don't think you had a choice in that Bhatt,' he murmurs. 'Love's not got anything to do with thinking, it just happens.' She hums her agreement but doesn't lift her head, content to stay that way for the time being. He says nothing more either, simply continues to hold her, hand running over her back, occasionally playing with her hair.
He's not sure how long they sit there before he notices that she's fallen asleep, just that it's long enough that his leg's fallen asleep and it takes him a couple of minutes of attempting to put pressure on it before being able to move.
Gently and slowly as he possibly can, he gets up, lifting her with him and turning to the bed, placing her down and then manoeuvring the quilt out from under her, pulling it over her and dropping a kiss to her head before he turns to leave. He stops before even taking a step towards the door, her hand brushing against his as she reaches out for him. Turning back to the bed, he sees she's half-awake, looking at him with her eyes mostly closed, sleep heavy in her voice as she speaks, 'can you stay?'
For half a minute, he considers telling her it wouldn't be a good idea, that this is too new, that if anyone sees him leaving in the morning, they'll be in trouble, but the protests die in his throat and he's unable to deny her as always. So he nods and moves around to the other side of the bed, shedding his jeans and taking his shirt off before climbing under the covers. She snuggles up to him immediately, their bodies fitting together perfectly, legs tangling as she tucks her head in under his chin.
The action is familiar to him after years of falling asleep during late night movies and he relaxes into the pillows, feeling his eyes grow heavy as he listens to Alia's steady breaths and, before he knows it, sleep's claimed him too.
A/N: So, I don't think I actually know what went on there. It was kinda all over the place but I guess I just wrote whatever came to mind so... yeah. I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you hopefully soon.