Tere Hawale - TereBin Fan fiction (OS)

14. And walls came crumbling down

Context: Meerab waits for Murtasim to come back so she could talk about Mariam. But she falls asleep in an uncomfortable position.

Scene.

Meerab wakes up as her alarm blares at 5am in the morning. She feels something hard under her head, opening her eyes, the view almost making her rub her eyes again. She had slept on his right arm.

Murtasim's face was only inches apart as he balanced his head on his arm. Her left arm close to Murtasim's face. She couldn't resist but run her hands through his hair, slow strokes across his scalp. Running her fingers tips through his forehead and his worry lines. She carefully gazed at him, admiring his rugged features, his moustache, the best part about his face.

She continued as Murtasim lay in slumber, the calmness on his face was like a perfect picture. She couldn't help stare at him unabashedly. She got up to get a better look at him to see how he positioned himself next to her. Concern and worry storming her head. Her movement was constricted by the corner of her dupatta stuck under his left arm that rested on top of his arm that had nestled Meerab's head.

The movement caused Murtasim to stir and finally open his eyes. His eyes opened suddenly and then shut because of the bout of light that pieced into his eyes. Then he opened his slowly, his eyelids adjusting to the light and the figure infront of him.

"Meerab" he spoke huskily and grunted as the immediate ache filled his body. His right arm quickly coming over his left. Rubbing the arm to soothe the pain. His eyes only a half an inch open, looking drunkenly at his wife, gracing a concerned look on her face. Didn't he love her occasional worried look for him. And this time she had clearly fallen asleep waiting up for him.

But the ache over took him, making him acutely conscious of the pain in his lower back from bending his shoulder, for remaining slumped for hours. Hours. How long had it been? He thought.

"What time is it? " He asked her. Forgetting he still wore the wrist watch. She picked up on that and funnily lifting his wrist to look at the time. "5:05 AM" quickly responding.

"Oh god, I think I'll just take a shower and go to the gym" He spoke standing up. But an "aaahh" left him, as he left a sharp pain in his back. "Zyada dard ho raha hai" Meerab enquired looking at him concerned.

"Nahi maza aa raha hai" He looked back irritated, but instantly softened when he saw effect of his harsh response on Meerab's expression. Shifting from that of concern to looking hurt. "Mera wo matlab nahi tha" He said.

"Sure." She responded crisply. Her monosyllabic answer was enough for him, to take the cue and leave, but as he made his way just around the corner of the bed he could feel her eyes on him, piercing his back. Stopping in his steps he looked at her gazing into her reverie eyes, a silent conversation, loud enough for them to understand. Her concern for him etched on her face. "Tum mere aane ka intezar kar rahi thi" is all that he could say and only received very faint nod from her. A few seconds passed before she huffed & looked at him from top to bottom.

"Idhar ao, aur apni shirt utaro" Meerab ordered and then bent over to the drawer of her night stand shuffling through the items, she took out an old plastic container. "Meerab i am going to take bath, I'll be fine, I am not sure what you are..." He could hardly finish before she patted to the space in front of her on bed "Baithoge ya tumhe kheech ke le aun?"

Well that was an order aur biwi ke hukum sarakhon par he chanted under his breath as he fiddled with his shirt buttons, while scrutinizing her expressions and analysing what she had planned. Folding his shirt three times, he placed it neatly on the sofa and then lifted his vest from the back and with one pull taking it out. She could see Meerab's eyes wandering through his chest freshly sculpted, hard work at the gym paying off. He took a mental note to increase the number of daily push ups. One upping himself, using only one of his hands he pulled the hook of his belt and pulled it around his trouser, swiftly arranging it rolling it up in circle and placed it next to his shirt and opened the button to his trouser to let him sit in ease. "Just the shirt was fine" Meerab spoke in a robotic tone, gulping, her cheeks turning a shade of red, darker.