You and Me | ✓

17

"What if I was old?"

Roop turned to Amrit, confused by his question because he is old but she didn't say it to his face.

Both the husband and wife were sitting in the living room, eating dinner out of takeout boxes while Amrit asked her random questions, his eyes drifting off to her clothes every now and then.

Like he had said, he gave his clothes to her and it would be a lie if he said that he didn't like her in his clothes, for someone who hated sharing anything with anyone, the thought of seeing his wife in his clothes was pleasing to him.

Sitting in his oversized t-shirt and shorts, she took a big bite of noodles Amrit offered out of formality, even though he was learning to share things, food was still not on the list yet.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"What if you found out later that I was...imagine an old, wrinkly...and short guy? What would you've done then?" He asked.

"You are old..for me." She replied.

"I'm not, do you know there are men who are in their 40s and they're single?" He exclaimed, offended by her answer, sure he was going to turn 30 in a few days but still not too old for her right?

"You're..how old are you?" She asked, chewing her Manchurian softly, savoring the taste.

"Twenty-nine." He replied, his voice so low that it would've been inaudible if the television wasn't on mute.

"You'll be thirty in a few days and that makes you six years older than me! Jab aapne graduation complete ki thi tab mai highschool enter kar rahi thi." She shook her head.
(When you completed your graduation, I was entering the high school phase!)

"That sounds so wrong when you put it that way, let me change my question..what if I was jobless? What then?" He asked.

He himself didn't know where all those questions were coming from but if that made Roop talk to him, he would ask hundred more stupid questions.

"Then we wouldn't be married now." She simply replied, "You wouldn't be of any use to my parents, unka jahan fayda hota meri shadi uske saath hoti tab." A sigh escaped her lips.
(My marriage would have taken place with the person from whom they would have benefitted.)

He didn't ask anything after that, a gloomy look plastered on their faces, to escape the situation Roop decided to throw away the empty boxes while Amrit went to their room.

Wiping her hands on Amrit's shorts, she went to the room too, sleep seemed far away, her hours-long nap being the reason.

It all felt so new to her, seeing Amrit waiting for her on the bed...him just being present. Although he was taking steps in the relationship, it was still a little hard for her to grasp the new changes.

A fear of everything being a dream was always in the back of her mind, she was afraid of facing the reality when she woke up because everything felt surreal at the moment.

"Turn the lights off." He said, turning the lamps on.

She did as he said before joining him on the bed, Amrit immediately turned to her side as she sat, plopping up on his elbow as he looked at her.

If he thought she looked beautiful with makeup on, she looked even more beautiful when her face was free of any products, be it the natural redness of her cheeks or slight acne bumps here and there, it made her look more human.

The imperfections every single person has is what makes them human, a perfect person would be too good for their own good, and the perfections will kill them single-handedly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, a blush rising on her cheeks with the way he was looking at her as if nothing else felt interesting anymore.

"Just seeing how beautiful my wife is." He said, keeping his head on her lap as he turned himself on the bed.

She kept looking at him, unaware of what he was trying to do but she didn't want him to stop.

"I don't want to go back tomorrow." He sighed, playing with her fingers, "It's so much better here."

She kept silent, she knew he was just finding excuses to extend the stay, if she agreed to his statement he would surely convince her to spend a few more days at the penthouse, she knew.

"Do you want to stay here too?" He asked, trying the other way to make her say yes, knowing his tricks, she shook her head.

"Mummy ji will come back today or tomorrow and-"

"Samajh gaya mai." He made a face, going back to his pillow, he resisted an urge to not throw a tantrum like Mihir does at his ripe age.
(I got it)

Shaking her head at his childishness, she lay down on the bed, turning off the lamp from her side.

Amrit closed his eyes in anticipation, waiting for her to wrap her arms around him but that never happened, making him wake up from his fake sleep.

Scooting a little close to her, he waited for a reaction but her whole focus was on her phone, a scowl appeared on his face on getting the taste of his own medicine, that's how he used to ignore her earlier whenever they had to spend more than two minutes in a single room.

A kiss was pressed on her cheek as he closed the distance between them, his muscular arm draping over her stomach but even that didn't get him her attention.

"Did you have a boyfriend?" He asked suddenly.

"Like One? I forgot the count." She replied, scrolling through her phone.

Calm down, it shouldn't matter. Amrit chanted over and over in his mind, the thought of her sharing the things she was sharing with him was nagging him even though it shouldn't matter.

"Book boyfriends." She clarified, seeing his expressions, the poor man was going through five different stages of grief.

"I don't like you." Saying that he turned away from her, turning the lamp off from his side too.

"Roop?" He called her name after ten minutes of silence, the light of her phone was off for the past five minutes and the eerie silence was annoying him when it used to make him relaxed in the past.

"Hmm?"

"Can I hug you?" He asked.

"I um.." She wanted to say yes but she was too shy to say anything so he just wrapped his arms around her, his head resting on her chest.

A smile graced his lips when her fingers massaged his scalp.

...
Kinda short but yeah, good night!