Mahika and Amoli can't stand each other, but that's not the only thing they have in common.
Mahika treats Amoli like she's childish. Amoli thinks Mahika is a stuck-up prude. But Mahika's best friend and Amoli's brother are getting married, so they c...
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˗ˏˋfeather-light touches and what ifs 'ˎ˗
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When Mahika had stood back up and said, 'We should make a list', Amoli had only regarded her with muted amusement in return and assumed she was joking.
"Of what?" Amoli had asked, looking up and leaning into Mahika's touch when she had softly brushed away the wisps of hair on Amoli's forehead to tuck them behind her ear with such tenderness, Amoli almost let out the most embarrassing whine at the loss of warmth once Mahika pulled away. "People around me that might be homophobic?"
"No, the opposite, silly."
But it hadn't been a joke, apparently, and here they are a couple hours later in Mahika's room again, fleeing the dining table immediately after dinner with some lousy excuse thrown over their shoulders at their friends that Amoli can't even recall anymore.
She's also pretty sure Keerti was staring confusedly at their backs until the door shut behind the two of them, but Amoli's trying not to think too much about it. It's not that hard to forget about it anyway, in this room; adorned with Mahika's scent and her cherished mementos.
Barely two days in, Amoli has come to recognize the room as an oasis of comfort. Amid soft hues of warm beige washed over the walls and large windows standing tall behind delicate curtains, she feels surrounded by a gentle whisper of tranquility.
Or perhaps, it's not the sanctuary itself but the woman it envelopes in its soothing embrace every day.
"Okay, so..." Mahika starts, waving the two markers she's holding in either hand. "Green for people who you think would be chill with..." she trails off for a second, vaguely gesturing between herself and Amoli who is sitting on the bed and looking up at Mahika mirthfully, and eventually ends her sentence with, "Y'know. This."
"And what would 'this' be?" Amoli repeats just to mess with her, leaning back on the bed on her palms like she had the other night, except it reminds her of the words, 'When I do try to get you into bed, you'll know' and kisses so thorough they make the world transition into slow motion, so she quickly straightens back up before all thought abandons her.
"And red," Mahika adds a little louder, pointedly clearing her throat and ignoring Amoli's words to turn towards the whiteboard and write 'Naina' neatly on one side with green, successfully distracting Amoli from her own thoughts, "for people who might... not be." And then much to Amoli's surprise, Mahika ducks her head with a wry little smile and then scribbles Dhruv's name under Naina's. "We can start with people that already know."
Amoli feels her eyebrows shoot up, her mouth falling open in astonishment. "Wait, when did he —" She stops mid-sentence when a memory sneaks out of her subconscious, slipping inside her mind like a breeze through an open window. "Oh."
