˗ˏˋ heavy rains and dam breaks 'ˎ˗

➷

It's like a dam broke, or something.

Amoli doesn't know if her and Mahika were somewhat careful about touching each other before because they were unsure of how to go about it, or if they just didn't know how the other would react, but ever since Mahika kissed Amoli in her room that night and then again earlier, they must have subconsciously figured somehow that, well. There was no need to be careful. Not anymore.

Anyway. So... Mahika is touchy. Big news.

On the inside, Amoli might be handling that terribly, but she's definitely doing a fantastic job of acting normal about it on the outside, actually. She's doing so well. She's being perfectly normal about it, thank you.

Only aside from the visible blush on her cheeks. The one that goes around the tips of her ears and rushes all the way down to her neck when Mahika wraps her fingers around Amoli's wrist, of course. But that's it.

"Can't have you getting lost in the crowd," Mahika murmurs without looking at her, slipping her fingers through the gaps between Amoli's with her eyes still fixated out of the window to assess the crowd around them as their cab comes to a slow halt.

And that's... suddenly not it at all.

Amoli tries to regulate her breathing a bit and looks around the small space to gather her purse and wrap cardigan before they get off and the cab drives away, the sun casting a warm, golden hue over the bustling streets.

"Is that the reason or an excuse?" Amoli asks in a voice that doesn't shake like her heart does inside her chest, looking down at their hands and then at Mahika She no longer knows how to hide the tenderness in her eyes when she looks up at Mahika. So she doesn't try.

Mahika just shrugs, a half smile playing on her lips.

The air at the street market is alive with the scent of vibrant flowers and the murmur of the people buzzing around, and Amoli is so enamored for the first few seconds that she doesn't even know what to say.

The sight reminds her of a... well, not a conversation, per se, because it was more of a spat than anything. It's not like her and Mahika ever talked back then without things escalating into a fight.

"You remembered," she murmurs eventually, and Mahika still isn't looking at her.

"Well... I mean..." she starts, "you were pretty upset that day..." and trails off. Pauses. Looks like ninety percent of the blood in her body has rushed straight to her cheeks.

And Amoli doesn't comment on it because it's not like she's doing any better when she blinks down at the pavement. "I didn't think you were paying attention," she says in return, and there may have been something about her tone that makes Mahika squeeze Amoli's fingers between her own.

"I did pay attention," Mahika murmurs without looking at her, turning away to stroll through the labyrinth of stalls and vendors with their fingers still woven together. Then a little quieter, almost to herself: "I always have."

Amoli thinks about the time they didn't exactly get along; thinks about yet another petty argument they had over a silly tote bag Amoli had been enamored with at the mall when they were helping Naina shop for her wedding.

"You want to spend thrice as much on this when you can get it from the local market instead? These things are dirt-cheap out there."

For a split second, Amoli had been surprised that Mahika was even speaking to her directly. But the raised eyebrows had quickly come together in a frown when the words registered inside her head, the defensive response almost coming to her as an instinct by then.

"Well, how the hell would I know that?"

"Right. My bad. I forgot that you don't shop there like the rest of us commoners."

And oh, Amoli had been pissed. Why is she trying to pick a fight right now, she had thought. But for the first time, she had just turned away from Mahika and their argument — albeit a little sharply — and muttered, "Whatever. I don't care. Just stop talking."

But anyways. Amoli did not buy the bag.

"Wait, I want to talk more about this," Amoli says, tugging at Mahika's hand to stop her. "What do you mean 'you always have'?" She's mostly doing this to be a little shit, but could you blame her? She's always the one getting teased. It's rare that she gets to do it to Mahika. "You can't just say that and move on. How long have you been thinking about this? Did you feel bad about the day at the mall? Aw..." Mahika huffs at that, but there's a small smile playing on her lips. "Are you going to buy me a tote bag, Mahi?"

Mahika rolls her eyes so hard, Amoli is surprised she doesn't hear them creak.

"Not now, I won't," she mutters before she starts pulling Amoli along again, and Amoli laughs a little too hard for someone that's standing in the middle of the street between so many people.

-

Everywhere they look, vibrant colors dance before their eyes.

Brightly pattered sarees swirl around women as they haggle over prices, laughter blending with the traditional music playing somewhere in one of the stalls, marigold garlands adorning makeshift stalls...

"Don't let go, rich kid," Mahika says to her loudly, trying to be heard over all the noise around them, and Amoli instinctively tightens her hold on Mahika's hand even though her nose scrunches at the nickname as she gets dragged deeper into the market until they're walking through an alleyway adorned with strings of colorful garlands swaying gently in the breeze. "Can't have you getting lost. I have so much to show you."

Only five minutes into their walk, the scent of what looks like freshly baked homemade muffins waft towards them, and Mahika immediately bounds over to the stall (dragging Amoli with her) and buys far too many.

But when she unwraps one and holds it up to Amoli, she eagerly opens her mouth even though they ate the cookies Mahika baked on their way here and Amoli can't stomach this much sweet stuff in one day. It's fine.

Besides, she's pretty sure she would eat an entire jar of sugar without batting an eyelash if Mahika asked her to.

They wander further down the street until they're rounding up on a stall in the corner, awe bleeding into Amoli's eyes when she looks down at the array of sparkling jhumkas in front of them. "Oh, wow, these are so beautiful..."

The stall owner, an older woman with a warm smile seems to recognize Mahika immediately and offers them both a big, toothy smile. "You brought a pretty friend along this time!" The words are clearly directed at Mahika, and Amoli's head immediately ducks in abashment at the unexpected compliment.

"I sure did," Mahika chirps back, tucking the bag of sweets under her arm so she can run delicately her index finger across some of the designs. Her other hand still holds Amoli's. "How have you been? How's Aadesh doing in school?"

"Oh, good, good!" the lady replies, and her eyes crinkle at the corners with how widely she's smiling. "To both. Though I think Deshu would do even better if you were still teaching him..."

Amoli looks between them with a half-smile and curious eyes.

Mahika's laugh in response to the lady's words is light and airy. "Didi, we've talked about this. He really doesn't need me to teach him anymore. He doesn't need anyone, really. You've got a very smart kid, you know?"

"Ah, if you say so." The vendor lady relaxes back in her chair, appeased. "Well, since you haven't been here in a long time, you have to buy something extra now!" Then she looks at Amoli with a twinkle in her eye and adds, "Your pretty friend, too."

Mahika's grin softens into a smaller smile. "Of course." By then, there's a group of girls flocking to the stall beside them, and Mahika steps aside a little to make way for them. She leans closer to Amoli and when no one's paying attention, she murmurs, "Pretty, huh?"

Amoli ducks her head and slinks behind Mahika in hopes of hiding her blush.

"She also said 'friend'," Amoli whispers, and Mahika rolls her eyes playfully, letting go of her hand to curl an arm around Amoli's back instead so she can smoothly bring her forward.

It's like a damn broke, or something, Amoli thinks again, and hopes that the hand on her back stays.

"Try some on if you want," the owner says, and Amoli blinks out of her thoughts, surprised at her friendliness. Her eyes rake unsurely across the hundreds of earrings.

"I... are you sure?"

"Yes, yes, of course," the woman encourages, and picks up a floral set with tiny light blue pearls hanging off the ends. She holds them out to Amoli, who carefully takes them while still blinking owlishly. "Look, this one even matches your dress!"

"Oh, um... wow. Thank you."

"Let me help you put them on," Mahika offers gently when she sees Amoli beginning to look a little awkward despite the gratefulness in her eyes, allowing her smile to turn a little softer. A little private. "Can I?" she asks, like Amoli could have said anything but yes.

She silently reaches for the earrings she already has on to take them off, turning her head the slightest bit to allow Mahika to lift one of the jhumkas and guide it towards her ear, rolling her lower lip between her teeth because she knows she would have let out the most embarrassing sigh of longing at the first touch of Mahika's fingers on her face.

After fastening the earring in place, Mahika tucks her index finger and thumb under Amoli's chin and delicately turns her head to do the other ear. She silently brushes Amoli's hair out of the way and tucks it behind her ear to put on the other earring.

Amoli thanks her mentally for not saying a word about the little hitch in her breath or the tiny, barely noticeable shiver that goes down her spine.

"There," Mahika murmurs into the small space between them before stepping back and giving Amoli's lungs their air back. "All done. It looks perfect," she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Thank you," Amoli responds like they're the only people there, and refuses to look Mahika in the eye for the rest of the time they spend at that stall.

-

"On the phone the other day..." Mahika begins as the two of them stroll with their fingers laced together by a secluded area at the beach later, "you said you told someone. About us?"

Amoli remembers the awkward rejection she had to subject Rahil to and winces internally a bit even though most of the guilt has dissipated from her chest. He did tell her that she doesn't have to take accountability for how he feels but... it has to feel bad, right? She knows it does. "Ah... yeah."

Mahika sounds bemused when she points out, "You don't seem very happy about it now."

"I just... I half did it in response to... a confession, so I don't know how to feel about it after thinking about it some more."

"Oh?" Amoli sneaks a glance at her only to find Mahika already looking at her with a half-smile playing on her lips. "Should I be worried?"

Amoli makes a face like she finds the question itself absurd. And she does, to be fair. But she also knows Mahika is just joking around. "I should be the one asking you that," she shoots back playfully. "You're the one with your friends warding off your suitors day and night."

"My suitors....! I—"

"Yes," Amoli says with faux seriousness. "Should I be worried?"

Mahika scoff-laughs. "Like I would ever willingly give a man the time of day."

The response makes a giggle bubble up in Amoli's throat, but she pushes it back down and tugs at Mahika's hand to bring her to a stop so they're standing face to face.

Well. Face to chest, because Mahika is a whole head taller than Amoli, but that's not the point.

"That's not what I asked, though."

Mahika laughs again, like she can't believe she even has to say it. "No, you do not have anything to worry about." She does look directly into Amoli's eyes when she continues. "But you knew that already, didn't you?"

"Well..." Amoli drawls and exaggeratedly breaks off eye contact, but the corner of her lips lift in a pleased little smile that definitely doesn't get past Mahika.

When Mahika opens her mouth to say something in return, the faint, low, distant rumble of thunder makes both of them glance up to the dark blue sky.

The sun is beginning to set.

"I didn't check the weather forecast," Mahika admits with a pout.

"Sounds like a storm," Amoli says. "Should we head back?"

"Yeah, maybe," Mahika agrees. "Is that okay? Do you mind?"

"Mahi." Amoi squeezes Mahika's hands and gives them a soft shake with every few words that she speaks. "This is the best thing anyone's ever done for me. I've had so much fun today. I got to learn so much about you and it's been like, four hours. We should get home."

"Yeah, okay. Okay, you're right," Mahika agrees with a nod. "Yeah, let's—" Another rumble of thunder forces her to look up again, because it's getting a little louder. The leaves of the trees around the beach are starting to rustle more, and even the most crowded area of the beach is emptying fast.

"Mahi..." Amoli says as a warning as a few small drops of rain fall onto her skin. "Oh, it's getting windier," she muses as they speedily begin walking in the direction of the streets to catch a cab.

"It's fine, it's just rain, baby," Mahika says as the raindrops turn into a steady drizzle, glancing up to the sky with a little smile.

The term of endearment makes Amoli forget how badly she hates getting caught in the rain.

"It's not that bad," Mahika says, and it's like she just summons the worst of it even as they begin walking faster, faster, faster until they're running.

Thunder rumbles closer than before, a small gust of wind blows Amoli's hair into her face a little, and the rain begins to come down heavier. Mahika bursts out laughing when Amoli makes a futile attempt to cover her head with her arms.

"C'mon, it's just a little rain!"

"It's literally a thunderstorm!" Amoli exclaims, her hair starting to stick to her forehead. "We might have to hide inside the café across the street for a bit," she suggests as they turn onto the main road. She blinks rapidly, the rain hitting her square in the face but Mahika's laughter is like a virus.

The street lights flicker and die before their eyes, and Mahika curses.

"The power's out," Amoli grumbles. "This is absurd."

"Okay, maybe it's not a good idea to..." Mahika trails off just as they reach the café, and they stand outside amid the rest of the people also trying to escape the rain under the extended roof. She looks at Amoli and cracks a smile again. "You don't like the rain, hm?"

Amoli sighs and pushes her now wet hair out of her face. "Not when I'm in it."

Mahika hums and swipes away a drop of water clinging to the tip of Amoli's nose with her thumb. "It'll be hard to get a cab now..." she muses, and then tucks herself closer to the wall to pull out her phone.

Amoli peeks at her screen just in time to see her send a: dhruv :( help.

"The apartment he shares with Samay is super close from here," she explains before Amoli can even start worrying about having to bother him. She knows Dhruv is one of her closest friends, but it just takes one look at the heavy downpour to make her overthink everything.

Barely five seconds later, Mahika's phone rings.

"Dhruuuv," Mahika drawls in greeting, "We got stuck in the rain by the beach. Come rescue us, please?" And then she puts it on loudspeaker and leans down so Amoli can hear what he's saying.

"Are you okay? Who are you with?"

"Uh... Amo." She tells him, and looks up to meet Amoli's eyes before continuing. "And well, we look a bit like drowned rats, I think, but otherwise we're fine."

He lets out a sound between a sigh and a chuckle and it's so familiar somehow that it has Amoli's shoulders easing back in relief.

"I'm not at my place right now, so it'll take me a couple minutes extra. Is that okay? Are you guys somewhere safe?"

"Ohmygosh, we're fine, dad. But where are you?"

"Parents' house for the weekend."

"Oh." Mahika leans back with a concerned frown, Amoli matching her expression. "Shit, then you shouldn't—"

"I'll be there in fifteen," he cuts Mahika right off, and her eye roll would seem mean if the fondness in her eyes wasn't clear as day.

And then he hangs up, and Amoli is left to blink at Mahika's phone blankly. Mahika doesn't look surprised in the slightest, though.

"He's always like that," she explains when she catches the stumped look on Amoli's face, and wiggles her eyebrows. "So... how much better do you think we can get to know each other over the next fifteen minutes?"

"I think I've learned enough for the day, actually," Amoli jokes, and bumps her head against Mahika's shoulder lightly to make sure she knows Amoli doesn't mean it.

Mahika purses her lips and sighs deeply. "It's because I'm a child of divorce, isn't it?"

Amoli gasps and gives the taller girl a little shove. "That's a terrible thing to say! What the hell."

Mahika seems dedicated to keeping the façade up, though. "Ah, I promise I'm working on my problems with attachment, you know..." she trails off, ignoring Amoli's whines.

And that's how they end up spending the fifteen minutes bickering and giggling, uncaring of the people or the rain or the darkening sky.

➷

a/n

happy pride month, my loves!

i hope you're all healthy and happy and (this one's directed at my fellow desis) drinking enough water in this godawful heat! i'm recovering from a terrible heatstroke myself, so y'all better be taking care of yourselves or else.....🔪

anyways, i missed you guys so much 🥹
how have you been? what has been going on with everyone? any interesting new developments in your life that you wanna share? 

thank you so much for reading 💞