You, Me & the Alter(cations) - Farmeed AU

13.

"Sameer Pasha." Farjaad thought it sounded familiar, of course it did. It was her surname too.

But what are the chances that they are related? It was a fairly common name.

Yet now he wondered. Looking into Sameeer'e eyes, they resembled her. They oddly resembled her. Or was this Farjaad connecting things for the sake of it? But he knew her eyes, he knew them very well, and these were similar.

But the accent. No, it did not make sense. Of course they weren't related, Farjaad needed to stop making things up his head.

"If there's anything I can help you with I'm here sir, enjoy." Sameer said and excused himself, walking back to the counter and opening his desktop screen. Farjaad shook himself to reality, to the situation he was actually present in, and focused on his task.

-

"Kaam kesa chal raha hai?"

"Sab bilkul theek"

"Abhi bhi trading tou kar rahe ho ge, ache khasay stocks hain tumhare paas." It was not a sly remark, but Farjaad refrained. He convinced himself that this was a testament to his patience, and he had to prove himself the stronger one. Strings were going to be pulled and he had to refrain from letting it let to him.

"Ji chachu, chalta rehta hai." The dinner table was not as tense, but it was quiet, everyone wanting to be involved with the main discussion. Farjaad did not even feel like eating, he'd have a bite every few minutes just to show his aunt that he was.

Reena, sat beside him, would ask if there was anything he needed, to which he had to politely decline every time. Something as simple as the seating placement gave him the exact idea of the subjects that were about to be brought up.

"Aur aage ka kya plan hai?" Another question, a heavier question. And a question which had two answers: Farjaad's honest answer and the answer everyone on the table wanted to hear.

He was put in a tight situation once again, not knowing how to play about it in a way that will satisfy everyone but also not be a lie from his side. It was agitating, he cleared his throat quietly, getting ready to work around it.

And the universe had done a wonder on him.

He pulled his phone out, expecting many people, many people except the actual caller. And he had to bite his inner cheek to hide the smile that was blooming on his face once he saw who it was.

"Excuse me." He looked around, getting off of his chair and walking out of the dining, through the living out to the backyard, swiping onto his phone and trying to control the expanding smile.

After contemplating so many times on whether it was appropriate to call her, she decided to take the first step and make it easier for him.

"I hope mene disturb nahi kiya." Was the first thing Farjaad heard, a chuckle unexpectedly escaping his lips as he shook his head to himself. He didn't even know this was how much he had missed her. His heart felt lighter, hearing her voice was relieving.

"Bilkul bhi nahi." Farjaad strolled back and forth on the concrete by the grass. "Kesi ho?"

"Mein theek... Tum sunao?" Umeed scratched her head with her index finger, wondering if her decision was sensible or she made a mistake.

She had tried multiple times to look for excuses to text him, to call him, ask him if he was fine, just attempt to have a casual conversation as an excuse to hear his voice and be satisfied. But it was impossible to think of a valid excuse.

She would get annoyed, wanting to talk to him, hoping that maybe he would call for something, to ask about something with relation to work, to maybe tell her he's coming back earlier. Umeed found herself wishing for extremely stupid things just so she could talk to him.