Hey everyone! I thought I'd start the QOTD thing again because I'm super bored and it'll be fun to read your answers.

QOTD: What is one thing you want to learn during quarantine?

I personally want to get more into cooking. So far I only know how to make a few dishes but I want to try out many more recipes, and obviously I have a lot of time to do that right now! I just find it a very therapeutic activity. 

--

It was the eve of Surbhi's birthday. In a matter of a few hours, she would turn 24, and Nakuul was definitely excited. However, he currently sat with a gloomy expression after practice, the reason being that he had no idea how to make the day special for his girl. Last year on her birthday, their relationship had still been on its initial stage. They had gone for a movie and ended the day with a romantic dinner. But then on Nakuul's birthday, Surbhi had gone ahead and thrown him an amazing surprise party, so Nakuul really wanted to do something special this time around. He was throwing her a surprise party, but he was really bad with surprises and so was sure that by now, Surbhi knew what he was up to. Regardless, their friends were coming over to his apartment the next day for a celebration. Amidst India's series against Australia, Nakuul had barely managed to string together this party. If it weren't for her friends, he would have been at a complete loss. Thankfully, they had stepped in and taken charge. Technically, then, it was they who were throwing her a surprise and not him.

"So, what's the plan for tonight?" Virat asked Nakuul as they freshened up in the changing room after practice.

"No idea," Nakuul mumbled. He felt like a terrible boyfriend for not being able to do anything extraordinary on his girlfriend's birthday. "I guess I'll go over to Surbhi's place with a cake at midnight."

"Nice. And what are you gifting her?"

Nakuul shrugged. That was another problem. He had no idea what gift to give her. Jewelry seemed too overrated, and none of them had time for a vacation now. He just couldn't think of anything special enough.

"Oh damn," Virat whistled, "You're really in a pickle."

"Tell me about it," Nakuul said as he pulled a clean t-shirt over his head. "I feel like such a useless boyfriend. Do you remember how much effort she had put in for my birthday? And here I am, throwing her a surprise party without the element of surprise, and without anything to gift her."

"Well, you can always give her a gift later," Virat shrugged. "I'm sure I still owe Anushka a birthday gift." That managed to get a smile out of Nakuul.

"Look," Virat continued, "Surbhi isn't the kind of person who'd want a lot of things. You and I both know that. So just spend time with her, and make sure she has a good day, yeah?"

Nakuul nodded. What Virat said did make sense. As it was, with both of them so busy with work, they barely got to spend a lot of time together these days. With a little more spirit than before, Nakuul set off for his apartment. Tonight, he would bake a cake for his girlfriend himself.

--

True to his word, Nakuul was at Surbhi's house before midnight with a freshly baked cake in hand. Her parents and sister welcomed him warmly—after their trip to Mussorie a few months back, Surbhi's dad had warmed up to Nakuul and he barely found the former scary anymore. Mrs. Chandna gave him a hug and informed him that Surbhi was in her room. Nakuul placed the cake on the living room table and made his way to her room.

"Hey there, almost-birthday-girl," Nakuul greeted as he walked into her room. Surbhi was standing by her window with her back to him. She jumped a little as she heard his voice, and composed herself before turning around.

"Hey," She gave a small smile. Her voice was a little raspy and one look at her red eyes and tear-stained cheeks told Nakuul that she had been crying.

"Surbhi, baby," In a couple of strides, Nakuul was next to her and cupping her cheeks, "What's wrong? Were you crying?"

Surbhi shook her head.

"No," She mumbled, burying her face in his chest, "Why would I be crying?"

"Don't lie to me," Nakuul said, his heart beating fast with worry. "Tell me what's wrong."

Before Surbhi could reply, they heard her mother from outside.

"Jinni, it's almost 12! Come cut the cake."

"Coming mom," Surbhi called out. She held Nakuul's hand and gave him a smile.

"Nothing's wrong," She assured him. "Let's cut the cake?"

Before she could walk out, Nakuul tugged at her hand.

"This discussion isn't over."

--

After Surbhi had cut the cake, everyone helped themselves to a slice. Despite this being Nakuul's first attempt at baking, the chocolate fudge cake hadn't turned out half bad. In fact, Mr. Chandna even helped himself to a second slice; his wife usually wouldn't let him consume sweets, but of course she wouldn't dare deny him her favorite Nakuul's hand-made cake. After they had all but scraped off the frosting, Surbhi decided to call back her friends whose calls she had missed while cutting the cake. Nakuul looked at her apprehensively as she went to her room. She really was a good actress, and if Nakuul hadn't walked in on her wiping her tears, he wouldn't have been able to tell that she was crying a while back.

"Um, aunty," Nakuul started as he helped Mrs. Chandna clean the table, "Is everything okay with Surbhi?"

"What do you mean?" It was Mr. Chandna who asked this.

"Well," Nakuul cleared his throat, not wanting to worry them, "I'm not sure but, I think she had been crying earlier, when I went to her room. I asked her what's wrong but she wouldn't say."

Mr. and Mrs. Chandna looked at each other, clearly worried.

"I told you guys something is wrong," Pranavi let out. "She's been trying to act normal but ever since she came back from work, she's been looking gloomy. I mean, she's usually so excited before her birthday!"

"If you guys don't mind," Nakuul said, shuffling his feet nervously, "Can I stay over tonight? I don't want to leave knowing that she's upset..."

None of them had a problem. Before retiring to bed, Mr. Chandna placed a hand on Nakuul's shoulder.

"Make sure she's alright, okay? I don't want my baby to be sad on her birthday." Nakuul nodded and made his way to Surbhi's bedroom.

"Hey," Surbhi smiled as he walked in. "I just got off the phone with Jyoti. I was worried you had left."

"Well, I'm not leaving before morning, so no need to be worried," He said as he sat beside her on the bed.

"You're staying here tonight?" Surbhi asked excitedly.

"Yep. I can't leave without knowing why you were crying, now, can I?"

Surbhi looked away at that.

"I wasn't crying."

"Surbhi," Nakuul held her shoulders and pulled her to his chest, "Will you please stop lying? Since when did we start hiding things from each other, anyway?"

"I'm sorry," Surbhi mumbled, "It's just..."

She couldn't finish the sentence, however, as she broke into sobs. Nakuul wrapped his arms tight around her, his own heart clenching seeing her like this. He didn't know what was wrong yet, but he knew he would murder the person who had done this to her without blinking. Without coaxing her to talk, Nakuul peppered light kisses on her hair and let her cry it out. She finally calmed down after a few minutes.

"I'm such a loser for crying on my birthday," She sniffed, a small smile on her face as she looked up at him. Nakuul wiped her tears away.

"No you're not," He replied softly. "Are you ready to talk?"

Surbhi nodded and took a deep breath.

"They're going to cancel the show," She said. "Star Plus said that our trp is too low and we either end the show or, well, revamp the whole thing. Gul chose the first, so we're going to finish things up in the next month."

Nakuul took a minute to process it all. Ishqbaaaz had seen a fall in trp in the past couple of months, a result of some bizarre ideas the writers had come up with. He had thought things would get better with time but clearly, he had been wrong.

"I'm so sorry, baby," He mumbled, pulling her closer against him. "I'm really sorry. I know how much Ishqbaaaz means to you."

Surbhi nodded against his chest.

"I know it's kind of stupid to cry about this. I mean, Ishqbaaaz had to end someday or the other. But this show has given me so much. It brought me recognition, fans, life-long friends. In a way, Ishqbaaaz is the reason I even met you!"

"Hey, it's okay," Nakuul placed a kiss on her forehead. "It's completely normal to feel this way."

"I guess the fact that I had to hear this news right before my birthday just made it worse. I didn't want to tell you guys and spoil your mood as well."

"You're an idiot," Nakuul said, making her smile. "You need to know that I'm always here for you, okay? Next time you try hiding something like this from me, you see what I'll do."

"What will you do?" Surbhi asked, grinning.

"Unthinkable things," Nakuul kissed her cheek. "But listen, baby, everything is going to be alright. Ishqbaaaz was an important part of your life, but it was just a part of it. You're going to go on to do some incredible work after this. Maybe this is all for the good, you know? After this show ends, you'll be able to take on more projects, have more experiences, meet new people. It'll bring you so many new opportunities."

"I really hope so," Surbhi sighed. "It's just that, I can't imagine that a month from now, I won't wake up to go and shoot for Ishqbaaaz. I won't shoot emotional scenes with my best friends and play pranks on them the very next minute. I won't be Annika anymore."

"Hey," Nakuul breathed out softly, caressing her hair. "Just because the show is ending doesn't mean that you won't be Annika, alright? Annika will always be a part of you, as you will be a part of her."

--

Nakuul had been worrying needlessly. Surbhi ended up having a great birthday, despite the sadness that still lingered in her heart about the end of Ishqbaaaz. It would take a while to get over it, given that she had been a part of this show for over two years now. But it was her birthday, and this was no time to be sad. Her surprise party was a success. Surbhi had had an inclination that Nakuul was planning something like this, but she was truly surprised by the number of people who were there. Her friends from work especially made sure she had a blast, because they were privy to how upset she had been by the news. They all had been, of course, given how much like a family they had become. Gul was apologetic that she had conveyed this news to her right before her birthday, but Surbhi just gave her a tight hug. Nakuul's friends were also here, all of them bearing exciting gifts. Surbhi loved presents and as much as she was enjoying the party, she couldn't wait to unwrap everything later.

"Enjoying the party?" Nakuul asked her as she took a break from dancing. They had turned his living room into something of a night club.

"I love it," Surbhi shouted over the music. "I love you."

"I love you more baby," Nakuul kissed her lips. "You're not still upset, are you?"

Surbhi shrugged in response.

"I guess I will be for a while, but I won't let it affect my birthday. After all, you turn 24 only once." Nakuul laughed at that. "And besides," Surbhi continued, "As you said, everything's going to be okay."

Nakuul wrapped his hands around her waist and kissed her forehead.

"Everything will be okay," He said as the music changed to a romantic number. "Happy birthday, my love."

--

I've started a new book on Shivika called "Love in the Time of Corona". Do check it out if interested!