Poles Apart

Chapter Sixty-Three

Arvi

A week later, Arjun watches me pack my bags to go back to Hyderabad. He switches between glaring at my suitcase, as though blaming it for allowing me to travel back home, looking off into the distance, and going back to working on his laptop.

"Junnu," I sigh, unable to keep up with his unsaid torment anymore. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he says, his lips curling in distaste as he involuntarily stresses on the second word, his eyes unfocused but glaring at the laptop screen now.

"Do you want to come back home for a bit?" I offer. "Like, two or three days?" I tuck my hair behind my ear, hoping he'd take the bait. What are the chances?

Arjun looks up at me, his features falling, and I know his answer before he says it. "I wouldn't want to come back so soon—"

"It's alright," I force myself to smile. "I understand."

Arjun opens his mouth to say something, but shakes his head, holding back from expressing himself. "Never mind," he murmurs, going back to glaring at his laptop.

I walk over to the couch where he sits and seat myself next to him. "It's okay if you're not okay with me leaving," I encourage him to validate his feelings, reaching out to hold his hand.

Arjun lets me hold his hand, resting his head on my shoulders and snuggling into my neck as he murmurs petulantly, "I don't want you to leave."

I chuckle lightly. "But it's been a week already."

Arjun looks up at me, his lips turned down pitifully. "Do you have to leave?"

"I don't have to do anything," I let him know. "Sometimes, you need to do some things."

"Do you need to leave?" He rephrases.

"Not really, no."

Arjun moves away to look at me. "Then why are you leaving?"

I shrug. "Why do I have to stay?"

Arjun narrows his eyes at me, but his features relax, just a second later. "You don't have to do anything," he repeats my words to me. "Sometimes, you need to do some things."

I laugh lightly. "Do you need me to stay?"

"I want you to stay," he says, laying down on my lap and wrapping his arms around my waist. Arjun presses his face into my stomach, as he often does, in accordance to his love language. "Can you stay?" he murmurs hesitantly. "I know your work is important too, but if you can stay, I want you to stay."

"Intha muddhu muddhu ga adigithe, how can I leave?" I pinch this cutie's cheek before kissing it. "I can postpone by three days. That okay?" [(Telugu) if you ask as cutely]

Arjun's hold tightens around me. "Whatever works for you."

I run my hands through his hair. "Just like it was okay for me to not want you to leave, it's okay for you to not want me to leave," I whisper to him. "It doesn't mean you're making me prioritise you over myself."

Junnu presses a kiss against my stomach and nods. "Now, make your calls, send your texts or emails or whatever and tell everyone you're going to stay with me for longer."

~.~.~.~.~

Two months later

"When are you coming back?" Arjun whines on the phone. "The house is so empty and quiet without you."

I laugh at his upset face. "Everyone here misses you, maybe you should consider coming back for a few days."

Arjun pouts. "I will think about it."