Siddharth was half lying on the couch in Shehnaaz's apartment while she sat next to him, leaning slightly against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Siddharth ran his fingers through her hair, quiet and calm. There are times when silence does what words fail to do. There are times, when wordlessly, someone understands you much better than words ever could. They breathed perfectly in unison with each other. "Do you want to stay here tonight?"

Siddharth straightened up, causing Shehnaaz to groan in protest. She frowned at him, pouting cutely. Siddharth held his ear, mouthing a sorry to her and pulled her back on himself. "To answer your question, Yes, I'd love to stay here." Siddharth mumbled quietly

Shehnaaz smiled, cuddling to him, her eyes shone in happiness while she looked at him.

"It's a good look on you." Siddharth complimented her, taking her face between his huge hands. Shehnaaz smiled wider, her eyes shining brighter. "What look?"

Siddharth pulled her closer, kissing her nose. Shehnaaz giggled, "The 'happy you' look. It's my favorite look on you." He told her, sincerely.

Shehnaaz blushed, "You know what's my favourite look on you?" She asked him, raising her eyebrow at him in question.

Siddharth shook his head, "Well, you tell me."

"It's the look that you give me when you're- you know-- trying to be stern with me. You look at me all angry but there's a tiny bit of fondness somewhere in there and it makes me.." Shehnaaz stopped abruptly, looking at him innocently. "It.. makes me.."

"It makes you..?" Siddharth looked like a little child in that moment, bursting with excited curiosity. Shehnaaz blinked, "-makes me want to tell you how beautiful you are. It makes me want to make all the anger go away so that only the fondness, the love stays. It.." Shehnaaz sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Oh.. god. I didn't.. I didn't just say that."

When Shehnaaz opened her eyes, she saw Siddharth watching her intently. His eyes stared into hers, unblinking. His lips were turned ever so slightly upward. She tried to avert her eyes, to look away, but failed. They were both silent, unblinking, caught up in a spell. Siddharth reached for her hand, still not breaking eye contact. Their hands brushed, sending the sparks flying everywhere. The room dissolved into nothing around them, their hands fitting together like missing pieces of a puzzle. Siddharth moved closer, in perfect synchronization with her and they both leaned in. Siddharth tightened his hold on one of her hands, with one of his, while the other reached for her hair, Shehnaaz closed her eyes, as he pulled her in, and their lips touched.

Shehnaaz gulped, a tear escaped her eyes as Siddharth caught her lower lip between his teeth and gently nibbled on it. His touch was so sure, yet so gentle that it made her tear up as she grabbed onto his shoulders. She kissed him back, slowly, mimicking his actions. Their lips moved in perfect synchronization with each other. Shehnaaz's left hand was still locked with Siddharth's left one. His other hand was now cupping her cheek. A few seconds later, he broke the kiss, looking at her like she was the one thing he needed more than life itself

And was it not true?

Shehnaaz was still not completely out of the spell that he had somehow casted around them. She stared at him, still dazed, still unblinking and with a smile on her face. She reached for his face and touched it, as if making sure that she was not dreaming. Siddharth smiled at her, but before he could do anything more, she hesitantly brushed her lips with his, unsure of how to proceed, she looked at Siddharth who immediately took the hint and led the kiss. It was still slow, it was still dream-like but it was what she had asked for, what she had wanted. It was the kiss that he would remember for the rest of his life.

Minutes later, when they broke the kiss, they were both breathless, their eyes closed and their bodies entangled with each other. Shehnaaz's head rested on Siddharth's chest, her rugged breathing barely controlled. He held on to her tightly, protectively caging her in his arms wherein she nestled like a child. Siddharth kissed her head, awed at the miracle that she was.

"I love you." She almost sobbed, overwhelmed with the sheer affection that she felt coursing through her veins, like adrenaline. "I.. love you so much."

Siddharth sighed, not yet returning the confession, for he knew she didn't need an answer.

She hadn't confessed because she wanted a confession in return, she had confessed because the realization was so overwhelmingly beautiful that it was unfair to not tell the whole damn world about it.

Shehnaaz clutched at the front of his shirt, and sobbed. It was all just like a dream, she was happy, she was in love and she was in his arms.

"It's not a dream." Siddharth whispered to her, as if he had read her mind. "It's the truth.. It isn't a dream."

Shehnaaz looked up, surprised. "How.. did you--?" She asked, raising her wet lashes to meet his eyes.

Siddharth smiled, "How did I know what you were thinking?" He completed her question for her, and then cupped her face. "Because I dream of it everyday and yet the reality.. the reality is far.. far better than anything that I could've dreamt of."

Shehnaaz smiled, "This.. is real." She whispered, her eyes shining brighter still with every passing moment.

"Every second of it is, I promise." Siddharth said softly. Shehnaaz nodded, her lips stretching into a wide, breathtaking smile.

"I love you Siddharth." Shehnaaz whispered quietly. Siddharth smiled, finally returning her confession. "I love you too mera baccha.. I love you too."

***

A few hours later, Shehnaaz was sitting on the swing in her balcony, watching the stars shining in the vast, beautiful sky. Siddharth was sitting next to her, watching her glow silvery due to the moonlight washing over her face. Shehnaaz was telling him something, which, by the looks of it, was very important but Siddharth was hardly following, as he was busy gawking at her pretty face, the way her lips moved, her eyes crinkled or her nose folded when she talked.

"Are you even listening to me?" Shehnaaz asked, waving her hands in front of him, causing him to snap out of his trance.

Siddharth blinked, "I.. yeah- I was." He said cutely. Shehnaaz raised her eyebrows at him, amused.

Siddharth sighed, "Okay.. I wasn't." He looked sheepishly at her. Shehnaaz chuckled, watching his expression.

Siddharth looked away, embarrassed. "What were you saying?" He asked

Shehnaaz breathed out a merry laughter, "I was.. telling you that I was hungry." She repeated herself, as if on cue her stomach let out a loud grumble, making them both chuckle. Siddharth stood up from the couch and scooped Shehnaaz in his arms, carrying her towards the kitchen and made her sit on the slab in the kitchen while she slapped him playfully on his chest.

"Kya khayega mera baccha?" He asked softly, while he opened the fridge to look for something that he could cook for her. "We have paneer, capsicum, and cauliflower. Potatoes, instant noodles, and nutella."

"Grocery shopping is long due." Shehnaaz pouted. Siddharth smiled, "Mine too, we'll go together."

Shehnaaz smiled brightly, "Sure thing."

Siddharth pecked her lips, "Now what do you want to eat?"

"Paneer ke paranthe?" She suggested, looking confused up at him. "You got it."

Siddharth got to work, assembling all the ingredients on the work surface. Shehnaaz watched him, with a smile on her face. "I'll help-"

"No. Don't get off the slab, just watch. Today's dinner is my treat." Siddharth said sternly. Shehnaaz frowned, pouted and hopped off the slab, much to the annoyance of Siddharth, who watched her antics with a sigh. She walked towards the fridge, took out the jar of nutella and hopped back on the slab where Siddharth had earlier placed her. Siddharth bit back a chuckle at the cute annoyed expression on her face. She made a face at him and opened the jar of nutella. Siddharth handed her a spoon from the utensil rack and kissed her nose.

Shehnaaz giggled, dipped the spoon into the jar and licked the chocolate off the spoon, smudging her lips with the chocolate. "Baby aise karegi toh mein kaise khaana banaunga?" Siddharth whined cutely. Shehnaaz made an innocent face, "Mene kya kiya Siddharth?"

Siddharth grabbed her face in his hands and licked the chocolate off her lips, smirked at him and raised his eyebrow at her. She pouted. "Nutella has never tasted better." He said softly.

He left her and went back to cooking. For a few minutes, shehnaaz sat there, glued to her spot, blushing like a tomato and watching him work with a soft illuminating smile on his face.

She felt her heart beating just a little faster, as butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

She couldn't believe it, but she was sitting in her kitchen while her longest crush/boyfriend of a few hours was cooking her dinner.

It was epic.