8:30 PM.

The dining table was set.

Steam curled softly from the hot rotis. Daal's aroma filled the room. The kind of meal you wait all day for, the kind of meal you eat with your people.

But one chair was still empty.

Aziza sat down, her fingers gently circling the rim of her steel glass. Naina peeked into the kitchen, "Rohan, call him again na."

"Calling..." Rohan said, already irritated with the number of times he had tried. "Switch off hai yaar."

"Uncle ka phone kab se switch off ho gaya?" Naina muttered. "Who switches off their phone in this era?"

Aziza didn't respond.

She just looked at the clock. 8:37.

"Abhi tak aaye nahi..." she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else.

Naina slumped into the chair beside her. "Maybe he's stuck in traffic. You know how he is."

Aziza's hands tightened on the glass.

"Nahi pata. Actually, mujhe kuch bhi nahi pata," she said, her voice low but laced with a sharp ache. "Mujhe bas yeh yaad hai ke unhone promise kiya tha aaj 8 baje dinner karenge saath."

There was a pause.

Ayaan walked in, quiet as always. He had heard the last line.

He didn't say anything. Just took the empty chair across from her.

He didn't look at her. But he saw her.

The way her eyes stayed fixed on the door. The little way she smiled like she was pretending not to care. The way her plate remained untouched.

8:52 PM.

Finally—keys turned in the lock.

The door opened.

Their father stepped in, loosening his tie, carrying his bag in one hand and a plastic folder in the other.

"Sorry, sorry," he said casually. "Meeting lamba ho gaya. Tum log kha liya?"

Naina stood up. "Nahi, wait kar rahe the."

"Arre, kyun? I told you not to wait. Main khud le lunga baad mein."

Aziza didn't move.

He didn't notice.

He walked straight to his room. "Fresh ho ke aata hoon," he said over his shoulder. Aziza's fingers unclenched from the glass. The steel had gone warm.

Silence.

Naina looked at her helplessly.Rohan opened his mouth to say something, then shut it. Aziza stood up slowly, folded her napkin, and walked to the sink.

She didn't eat that night.

But this did not ruin their fun...

10:43 PM

The living room looked like it had been hit by a tornado
Pillows everywhere.
One sock was on the ceiling fan (still unexplained).
Rohan was trying to wrestle the remote from Naina,
“Give. Me. The. REMOTE!” Rohan growled, one leg on the couch, the other stuck in a blanket.

“No! You’re gonna put on that same sad ‘existential crisis’ playlist again!” Naina shouted, holding it over her head.

“It’s called ‘Rainy Mood + Pain + Soul Regret Vol. 3’ and it helps me think!”

Aziza, sipping juice like she was watching a wrestling match,
“Your playlist makes me want to walk into traffic.”

“Oh hello, Miss I-write-poems-about-air,” Rohan shot back.

“It was a metaphor,” Aziza scowled.

“GUYS. I SWEAR TO GOD.” Ayaan stood up from the corner. “Say one more dramatic line aur main Dhinchak Pooja ke gaane + TV par naadaniya chala dunga.”

Everything went silent.
Even the fan slowed down in fear.

“…you wouldn’t,” whispered Aziza.

Ayaan stared directly into her soul. “Try me.”

Rohan collapsed onto the sofa in fake trauma. “Tum log sab paagal ho. Mere alawa koi emotionally stable nahi hai yahan.”

Aziza raised an eyebrow. “Tu pichle hafte aalo ke pranthe ko dekhkr rooya tha kyuki usse kissi ne nashte ne khaya nhi.”

“Usse bura laga hogaa!!”

Then she looked at Ayaan. “Movie chalu karo warna Rohan vapas shuru ho jayega"

Rohan was already mid-rant:
“Main sochta hoon… ki hum sab is duniya mein ek broken version hai and voh aalo ka parantha bhi..."

“NOPE,” Ayaan cut him off and turned the lights down.

“Movie time. And no one talks unless it’s to quote SRK.”

Movie Starts: “DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE"

Aziza pointed at SRK’s entry and said, “If anyone ever slow-mo runs through mustard fields for me, I’m marrying them. No questions.”

Ayaan muttered, “I’ll run through Gobhi fields  if that counts.”

Aziza snorted. “Very romantic. Gobi ke phool utha ke propose karna?”

“Aloo bhi lunga,” he offered.

“ Esse to pakka tumhari Shaadi cancel,” she said, crossing her arms.

Naina whispered, “This is the worst love story ever but somehow I want ten seasons of it.”

Rohan threw popcorn in the air. “I WANT A SPIN-OFF"

SRK entered the frame agaib, arms wide open.

Raj: “Bade bade deshon mein aisi chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain, Senorita.”

Rohan paused the movie.

“Okay but WHAT does this even mean? Why is this man giving life advice like he owns Switzerland?!”

Aziza, whispered dramatically, “Because he’s SRK, Rohan. He can say ‘mera toothpaste khatam ho gaya’ and I’ll still fall in love.”

Ayaan nodded. “Facts.”

Raj: “Main ek Hindustani hoon, aur main jaanta hoon ki ek Hindustani ladki ki izzat kya hoti hai.”

Rohan fell to the floor in slow motion.
“BROOO why is Raj so sanskaari and yet still so… hot?!”

"Everything about SRK is hot" Naina announced

Ayaan raised a hand. “Petition to rename this movie: Main Sanskaari Hoon, But With Rizzz."

“Bade bade deshon mein aisi chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hai, Senorita!” Rohan screamed, lifting Naina’s hand like she was Kajol.

“Raj, agar yeh tujhe pyaar karti hai toh yeh palat ke dekhegi!” Aziza announced, standing up like a filmy Pandit.

She turned.

Naina stood behind her, confused. “Main toh bas bathroom jaa rahi thi—”

“PALAT!” everyone screamed.

[12:00 AM]

Movie still playing.
Rohan and Naina?
Snoring. Heads slumped on each other like soft toys from a carnival.

Aziza and Ayaan sat side-by-side, whisper-laughing.

"Abhi kitne pyar se soo rahe hai aur vese puraa din ladai ek dusre ke dushman hai sachhi!"

“Dekh na,” Aziza said, nudging Ayaan. “Inke shakal pe drawing karte hain?”

Ayaan smirked. “Ek ko panda banaate hain, dusre ko Joker.”

Aziza rummaged for a pen. “Perfect. Naina ki naak pe banana. Wahan already slope hai.”

He leaned in close.
Their shoulders brushed.

Soft pause. Eyes met.

Aziza whispered: “They look so peaceful.”

Ayaan smiled. “Uth gaye toh humein uthakar patak denge.”

Aziza nodded solemnly. “Waqt kam hai. Drawing fast.”

They laughed quietly, doodling mustaches and hearts on cheeks.
Naina now had “I 💔 logic” on her forehead.
Rohan had "Mai NONSENSE aadmi hu.”

Ayaan glanced at Aziza,“You still didn’t eat.”

Aziza shrugged. “Didn’t feel like.”

He stood up. “Chal. Kitchen.”

“Main khud bana leti hoon…”

“Nope,” he cut her off. “Tum gas jalate hue bhi shayari karti ho. Mujhe zinda rehna hai.”

Aziza followed, giggling.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

I'm really sorry sweethearts but the updates now are going to ge slow, the study pressure is finally kicking in and I rarely get time but writing is still my escape from all this madness and I will continue to write... but the updates might be slow.

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