˗ˏˋ warm company and not-dates 'ˎ˗

➷

It's just another day in her frenzied life when Mahika first realizes that she isn't as lonely anymore.

The jingle of her keys doesn't seem to echo inside the empty house when she hangs them behind the door. The silence wrapped around her when she comes home from the office doesn't nip at her skin. The idea of having to cook just for herself doesn't make her sigh in defeat.

"...it's funny now but it wasn't funny when Akash begged me to make up a story if mamma asked for him while he was out on his little dates with Naina," comes the voice from Mahika's earpiece, as Amoli finishes her story with a breathy laugh on the other end.

Mahika's hands shake with laughter as she tries to take her heels off. "You know what I think the best part about this whole thing is?" she asks, and Amoli hums and waits for her to continue. "The way your parents loved Naina immediately. All of that hiding and for what?" Then she laughs again, shaking her head and setting her shoes on the rack before making her way further inside the house.

"Oh, my God, I know. I think sometimes Akash forgets that he's an adult. But at the same time, with parents like ours, the fear isn't exactly intentional."

"Or irrational."

"Or irrational, yes," Amoli agrees.

Times like this, Mahika can't help but think back on how she never knew how fortunate she was to have parents that were pretty much cool with everything before she met Naina and found out how harsh her best friend's parents could be sometimes. Mahika's mother had always been the most easygoing person she knew, more of a friend to her daughter than a parent. And sure, Mahika's father hadn't been the best husband in the world, but he was still a good dad.

"You're home now, right?"

"Mhm."

The two of them had ended up making impromptu movie plans when Mahika was taking a cab home, and had settled with doing it over a video call since Mahika was too tired to go anywhere. That wasn't the only reason why they were not doing it in person, though. Not that Mahika would admit it out loud.

She was too nervous to even jokingly call it a date.

"So, uh... I'll call you in a bit then?" A small smile appears unbidden on Mahika's face at the realization that Amoli sounds just as nervous as Mahika feels. "And there's no rush so... take your time."

"I just have to shower and—" she pauses, eyeing the door of the kitchen and absentmindedly pinching her earring between her fingers. Cooking would take longer, she thinks. "And um, order some food," she finishes and then resists the urge to bite her tongue in abashment. "So... see you in thirty minutes?"

When Amoli replies, there's a smile in her voice. And Mahika has to resist the urge to groan in embarrassment.

"I'll see you then."

"... Yeah."

Mahika is pretty sure she hears a split second of smothered laughter before Amoli eventually hangs up, and this time Mahika does squeeze her eyes shut and lets out a mortified groan.

This isn't like her at all. But for some reason, she doesn't really mind.

Or maybe she'll process the humiliation later.

Usually, everything that Mahika has to do after she comes back from work feels like a chore. But today, she hums in the shower, and then moisturizes her skin in front of the mirror with a smile on her face. When her food arrives, she tips the delivery guy a little more than she usually would, and thanks him a little too loud. There's a skip in her step when she makes her way to the kitchen to grab a spoon, and goes straight to her room.

Her body might be tired, but for once, her mind isn't.

-

"No way," Mahika repeats for the third time with a shake of her head, shoving another spoonful of fried rice inside her mouth as she watches Amoli put a hand on her chest and let out an offended gasp on the screen.

"I totally guessed it. And the fact that you don't believe me... I'm hurt, really."

"All of these white lies in front of my Manchurian," Mahika counters somberly, making Amoli's expression twitch in amusement. "You're going to hell."

"I don't think that's how the line goes, Mahi."

"I don't think you guessed that First Class was my favorite from the entirety of X-Men, Amoli."

Amoli's eyes widen and then she laughs, almost falling to her side as she covers her face. "I did!"

"Naina told you. You were so asking her about me behind my back. Admit it."

"I was not!" Amoli is still laughing, but her cheeks color endearingly at being called out, and that's all the confirmation Mahika needs before she can tease her more. Amoli tries to hold on to her denial, though, clicking her tongue for effect. "Look at you being so full of yourself."

"You wanted to befriend me so bad."

"Oh, my God." Amoli breathes out a laugh.

"I don't blame you, though," Mahika continues, raising her fork in the air and feigning seriousness. "You probably thought I was too cool for you."

Amoli resorts to just sitting back in silence now, crossing her arms across her chest and horribly failing at staring Mahika down with an unimpressed look on her face. Except the corners of her lips are quivering, and she obviously finds this funny.

Despite the fact that they originally got on a video call to watch a movie together, they haven't actually got to it and it's been an hour already. Mahika doesn't mind, though. And she has a feeling that Amoli doesn't either. They've both newly realized that they never run out of things to say to each other, anyway.

"You joke about this, but you'd be surprised by how true everything you just said really is."

Mahika takes a pause at the sudden words, mouth parted in the midst of more faux self-praise as she blinks in surprise. After a moment of silence between them where Amoli looks ather through the screen with a disarmingly honest expression on her face, she finally manages to squeak out a, "Sorry?"

Amoli sets her elbow on what Mahika is assuming is the arm of her chair, and then rests her cheek in her palm. "You are the coolest person I know, Mahi."

Now it's Mahika's turn to be silent, because she was just playing around. There was no way she meant any of the things she just said, and being put on the spot like this makes her brain wipe itself out from the inside.

"When I first met you," Amoli continues when Mahika doesn't say anything, "I immediately knew that you were everything that I wanted to be."

"I—"

"No, hold on. Because I don't think I'm going to be brave enough to admit this another day," Amoli interjects, and Mahika listens, pulling her lips in between her teeth and beginning to feel the first few traces of her blush rising all the way from her chest to the nape of her neck. "I don't... see, I don't like thinking about this, because it reminds me of how stupid I was to let a little bit of insecurity grow into two years of... well, whatever the hell that was."

Mahika can't help but let out a little chuckle at that, although it sounds a bit strained.

"You... you were so intimidating, Mahi. I don't think you realize how intimidating you are. Or, well, was, in that sense. If someone had asked me to try and strike up a normal conversation with you two years ago, I would probably... I don't know. Cry or something?" Amoli throws her hands in the air. "You still kind of are, to be honest, but... not exactly in the same way." It comes out like a question, and Amoli looks like she's trying her best to go for a better set of words. "You're... well, assertive. In the best way possible. You have a job that you love at twenty-three years of age, and you just seem so... put-together. All the time.

"At first, I was like, 'Oh, wow, I wanna be her', but then it somehow also turned into, 'I wanna be with her' and that's... precisely when I began to panic and... allowed myself to be dumb enough to decide that acting like a total brat was the only way to get through this, apparently."

Amoli takes a deep breath and seems to force herself to stop after that, and Mahika stares at her for a long, long moment. Even when the other girl lowers her head a little, Mahika can't bring herself to look away.

Eventually, Mahika settles with pulling at the hem of the sleeve of her nightshirt, and with hesitance and a hint of remorse in her voice, says, "I... never knew you felt that way."

Amoli sighs, but it melts into a laugh under her breath. "I know."

"I'm—"

"Don't apologize." Amoli narrows her eyes. "Don't say you're sorry. It wasn't your fault."

Mahika presses her lips together but fails to hold back the sheepish smile that slips past. "Are you going to keep interrupting me?"

Amoli scoffs. "If you continue acting like you have to be the bigger person in every situation ever, then yes."

Mahika pinches the bridge of her nose and laughs at that, but in all honesty, she does truly believe that the animosity between them could have been avoided simply if either one of them had taken a step back to re-evaluate what the hell they were doing. The entire situation was petty, and Mahika would be lying if she said she doesn't regret wasting all of that time the two of them could have spent getting to know each other.

But again, neither of them have any way of knowing where and how they would have ended up if they had effortlessly become friends right off the bat.

"Can I ask you something?"

Amoli raises her head, big eyes regarding Mahika with utmost attention. "Hm?"

"That day at the... uh, wedding," Mahika starts, pointedly waving away the voice at the back of her head that seems hellbent on reminding her of what point exactly at the wedding she's talking about. "What did you mean when you said I always treated you like a child?"

Amoli covers her face with her hand again. "Oh, God."

Mahika shakes her head, trying to hold back a grin at Amoli's reaction. "What?"

"Do I have to? Talk about this, I mean," Amoli says quickly. "Can I not just open the nearest window and fling myself five floors down?"

Mahika giggles despite the nervousness from what could possibly be the reason behind why Amoli said that to her back then. "No, actually, you don't have to answer anything if you don't want to."

"Ugh, do you have to be this nice? Whatever. I'll tell you. I'll probably feel bad if I don't."

"That was the plan."

"Oh, shut up."

Mahika shoves a Munchurian ball inside her mouth and raises a thumb at the screen.

Amoli rolls her eyes, but starts talking either way. "Don't make fun of me, okay? I'm humiliated enough already. Or... do it. I kind of deserve it. Well, anyway." She breathes out a laugh after the mini ramble, nervous and embarrassed but sounding just as lovely as her other laughs, and Mahika is so painfully endeared that she doesn't know what to do with herself. "I just... it's simple, really. Let's start with the fact that back then I kept pushing your buttons because I just... wanted you to look at me."

Mahika stops chewing.

"Keep eating, I swear to God, Mahi. Or I'll stop talking."

Mahika continues chewing.

"Okay, so. I swear it wasn't in that weird pulling-at-a-girl's-pigtails-in-the-playground-to-get-her-attention way. That's messed up as hell. I just. Ugh. I hate myself. Please. This is so embarrassing."

Mahika watches her struggle for words for a few seconds; distractedly playing with her hair and leaving it messy.

"Do you remember how you dealt with me getting on your nerves?"

Blinking a few times, Mahika says, "I thought you wanted me to keep eating."

"Oh, my God, Mahi."

"Sorry," Mahika says with a wheeze. She recovers quickly, wiping her mouth with the napkin she had set aside on the table before she started eating. "I, uh... avoided talking to you. Sometimes."

"Yeah," Amoli's voice is soft as she looks up at Mahika from beneath her lashes. "You went out of your way to dodge arguments between us."

"See, I still think you're giving me too much credit here."

"Shh, eat more. Talk less."

"You have to stop changing your mind about this."

Amoli ignores her. "I always thought I couldn't make matters worse for myself after we couldn't get along, but then you started to distance yourself from me and I realized that was the worst thing that could happen." Mahika is thinking back on those days, and how hard it had actually been to pretend like she didn't care about what Amoli had to say. But she thought it was the only way to keep the two of them from fighting. "And I just... it made me feel childish but I've come to realize that I was, you know? You weren't making me feel like I was a petulant little kid, I was actually acting like it."

Mahika stays silent. It doesn't mean she agrees with Amoli on this, but she wants her to finish. She has a feeling that the other girl needs to get this out of herself, too.

"I didn't understand this back then. So all I did was convince myself that annoying you would be easier than having to deal with admiring you."

"Amo..." The nickname slips past Mahika's lips without intention, but the way it lights up Amoli's eyes tells Mahika that it's okay. "I never... I didn't see you that way, you know?" She tries to lighten the mood by rolling her eyes and tilting her head from one side to the other before jokingly adding, "Well, you were a complete brat at times, I guess..." Amoli does chuckle at that, and Mahika deems herself successful. "I never thought you were childish. Or anything like that. But I didn't understand why you were so distasteful of me so I just... assumed you didn't want to be around me."

Amoli sighs at the words, tipping her head back to stare at the ceiling in exasperation. "I should just paint my nose red."

"Paint your nose red?" Mahika repeats in confusion.

"Because I'm a clown!"

Mahika bursts into laughter. When she recovers—after half a minute of unstoppable giggles spilling from her mouth— she says, "Maybe we should both do it."

Amoli shakes her head, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Maybe."

After another round of laughter, the two of them grow quieter. The silence isn't uncomfortable though, and in the peace amidst them, Mahika meets Amoli's eyes and hopes that the other girl is as okay with where they are right now as she is.

➷

a/n

hello, lovely people :')

i have missed this story terribly and getting to work on it again after so long feels like i was drowning this whole time and finally managed to come up for air. 

i am . so incredibly happy to be writing this again and i hope all of you have been well <3

thank you for reading!