"It smells so good!" Arslan whined as he sat on the kitchen island in the Khan Mansion, the pungent aroma of cumin and coriander permeated the air, along with the sound of the sizzling hot oil as Meerab placed the kebabs she had prepared onto the pan. "Why do I have to wait?"

Meerab rolled her eyes as her cousin whined, he had been whining since she had starting shaping the mixture of spices and meat into kebabs, Murtasim's favourites. The same Murtasim who had stared at her like a man starved the previous night, and then left the house before the sun rose, and had yet to come back.

"They're not for us, they're for her Murtasim." Hamza said from where he leaned against the counter, his words causing Maryam to giggle, and leaving Meerab to wonder if her cousin could somehow read her mind. Not everyone knew that Murtasim loved kebabs, so it wasn't that Hamza was making an obvious connection, she had somehow given it away.

Meerab was distracted momentarily by the sound of laughter hitting her ears, the elders who had congregated in the living room chatting about something apparently amusing. Meerab loved how the house was bustling with conversation and activity, her two mamis and mamu had come to visit, bringing with them a plethora of gifts for their only niece as they always did.

Being the only girl on her mother's side of the family meant that Meerab was doted on and treated like a princess by them. Her mamus especially seemed to have a soft spot for her, for to them she looked much like their only sister who they had lost too early. Her mamis also doted on her for they did not have daughters of their own to dote on, the Shah Haveli was a place where they felt outnumbered by men.

Meerab knew that a part of the kindness of her mother's family towards her stemmed from her father's indifference towards her. They pitied her and had no love for her father. When she was a child, they had attempted multiple times to take her with them, away from her father's home, to raise her. But Maa Begum and her uncle had never agreed to it.

Whenever the Shah family came to the Khan Mansion in Hyderabad, the group always separated into two. The cousins found some space to occupy as the adults chatted. In their younger years they had occupied the gardens of the Khan Mansion, sneaking away to play games. In their teens, they found an empty room, chatting and giggling about things as they discovered a new world around them. And now, as adults, they seemed to have mellowed out a little and just found a place where they could be together.

That day they all happened to gravitate to the kitchen because Meerab had mentioned she was making kebabs. Everyone in the family knew that no one quite made kebabs as well as Meerab did. All the elders claimed they tasted exactly like the way her mother had made them, but even better in some way they couldn't quite explain.

She had only made them so often and perfected her craft because Murtasim loved them. He had always sat in the kitchen when she made them, on the counter beside the stove, eating kebab after kebab with a smile on his face. One serving of kebabs got her golgappas for a whole month, whenever she wished. And once he learnt how to drive, it also meant unlimited trips to wherever she wanted to go in exchange of kebabs, biryani, and kheer.

"Where is Murtasim by the way?" Hamza asked, interrupting her thoughts. She looked over to her cousin to find him looking at the watch he wore on his wrist. It was approaching dinner time but as usual, Murtasim wasn't back.

"Bhai is always working late." Maryam sighed. Meerab held back the urge to nod sadly, she barely saw him.

"Poor Meerab." Arslan teased, it seemed like she was too obvious for they picked up on everything. "She must miss him even though they're in the same house."

"Shut up, Arslan."

"Give me a kebab and I might shut up."

"In your dreams. Don't you think you eat too much?" Meerab asked, she had watched him each about four samosas and polish off two plates of aloo tikki.

"I am trying to bulk up." He said, throwing his arm up and flexing.

"The only thing bulking up is his stomach." Hamza muttered causing everyone, except Arslan, to giggle.

Meerab flipped the kebabs over, watching as the outside turned a crisp, golden brown. The soft hiss of the oil and the occasional pop of a bubble filled the air, accompanied by the mouth-watering smell of cooking meat. If Murtasim was around, he would have inhaled deeply, and then smiled in excitement while telling her to hurry up.

Or he had done that at one time. She didn't know if he would do the same still.

"My mouth cannot resist any longer!" Arslan whined causing Hamza to snort.

"Meerab's magical kebabs are hard to resist." Hamza agreed.

"You must resist." She said as she took the ones that had crisped off the pan, placing them into a glass container.

"Who's the container for? For Murtasim?" Arslan teased, and she realized her mistake. She should have put them on the plate she had prepared first rather than the container she had pulled out, wanting to save some for Murtasim in case he didn't make it back for dinner.

Maryam hummed. "Meerab has started leaving bhai all of his favourite foods. He scarfs it all down when he returns in the middle of the night. Without a word. You know what they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"Shut up, Maryam." Meerab blushed at the teasing, feeling a mixture of happiness and embarrassment, not knowing which emotion to focus on. She didn't know how else to take care of Murtasim, so she had taken to making his favourite foods when she got bored of lazing around all day. She didn't think anyone had noticed.

"Haiiiii, yeh aaj kal thoda zyada nahi sharmanai lag gai?" Arslan teased, moving his face, trying to catch a glimpse of hers as she tried to hide her flushed face. [Hasn't she started blushing a lot more these days?]

Everyone snickered and Arslan started chanting Murtasim's name, trying to annoy her. She took in a deep breath to compose herself.

"Shut up! I am going to slap you!" She threatened, turning towards Arslan and narrowing her eyes as she pointed the spatula she was holding at him.

"Imagine the headlines – a young woman kills her cousin because he teased her about being in love."

"What will it take to get you to shut up?" She sighed as she plated the cooked kebabs and lined the pan with more.

"A kebab."

Meerab rolled her eyes, picking one up and stuffing it into Arslan's mouth. She couldn't help but laugh, alongside Maryam and Hamza, as Arslan made the funniest of sounds and faces because the kebab was too hot before humming happily.

"See, this is why you should marry one of us, I could eat these kebabs forever." Arslan quipped as he chewed, making her roll her eyes.

She was about to retort when Maryam perked up. "Bhai, you're home early!" She said causing Meerab to immediately turn towards the door of the kitchen, as if her eyes needed to look at him before anything else.

Meerab's heart skipped a beat when she caught sight of Murtasim, his eyes were flickering across the space, taking everything in. He wore a shalwar-kameez that day, in a crisp black, the classic and timelessness of it making him look rather regal, especially with his hair pushed away from his face.

Her heart skipped a beat, as it always did when she saw him.

He was so utterly handsome that it look her breath away, especially when his eyes met hers.

She yearned to run up to him and hug him, to let him wrap his arms around hers and hold her, to just be close to him. But she knew she couldn't, he hadn't allowed her that liberty. So, she stared from afar after she turned the stove down, knowing that she would likely burn everything in her inability to look away from Murtasim for too long when he was around.

"Murtasim!" Arslan sang in greeting, breaking the silence.

Meerab smiled at the way the men greeted each other, with half-handshake hugs and pats on the back, saying words that she didn't quite catch but ones that seemed to be filled with kindness. Murtasim had a small smile on his face, which made her heart happy, he always seemed to enjoy Arslan and Hamza's company, Armaan's as well, but he was always quieter with the latter.

"Meerab, let me have another one." Arslan begged as he walked back over, Hamza and Murtasim still speaking quietly with each other.

"No more!"

"If Murtasim asked, he'd get one." Arslan muttered making Hamza and Maryam snicker.

Murtasim didn't say a word.

"He wouldn't either." Meerab said.

Her eyes flickered up to Murtasim to find that his eyebrow was arched at her in question, almost as if he was asking really. She rolled her eyes, they both knew the answer to his question. She would cave to Murtasim in a second. He would have eaten half of what she made before anyone else even got to smell the kebabs.

Arslan sighed, walking up to her and throwing his arm around her shoulders while leaning in. "You're mean."

"What are you doing?" Meerab hissed quietly as Arslan pulled her closer.

"Helping you, play along." He whispered.

He took a deep exaggerated breath. "We should take you with us to Lahore." Arslan said, turning to Hamza. "Right, Hamza?"

Meerab's eyes flickered up to Hamza who was grinning mischievously as he nodded. "Maa wants to take her forever, her biggest unfulfilled wish is that Meerab marry Armaan."

Meerab's eyes flew up to Hamza and she glared, wondering what he was trying to go.

She had made it very clear that she was not interested in marrying any of them. She saw them as brothers, nothing more. They all knew this. They had teased her often enough for liking Murtasim even as they grew up, they had just been teasing her about him minutes ago.

Arslan turned then, letting out a snicker under his breath before he spoke. "True, I think you're a contender too, Hamza. Anything that gets Meerab back to the haveli."

Meerab looked up, following Arslan's amused gaze, and caught Murtasim's eye.

His jaw was tense, and a frown marred his face, his narrowed eyes darting between Meerab, Hamza, and Arslan. His lips were pursed together, and as her eyes trailed down his form, she found his fists were balled up at his sides.

She tried to shrug Arslan's arm off her shoulder, the way Murtasim's eyes were narrowed on it made her heart race with excitement. It seemed that Murtasim was jealous, and that filled her with a satisfaction she didn't know it would.

Hamza laughed then causing her eyes to flicker over to him, he winked at her in a gesture that seemed to say play along. It seemed that they were all out to kill her that day, for Hamza was usually the voice of reason, not an instigator. But he instigated, speaking seriously. "Who would you pick Meerab? Armaan or me?"

Meerab couldn't help but feel a sense of unease at the words that had been uttered. She knew they were in jest, that both Hamza and Arslan knew heart yearned for Murtasim. It seemed that her cousins had taken it upon themselves to make Murtasim jealous for some reason.

She glanced at Murtasim, his eyes were fixed on her with a burning intensity.

Yet he didn't say anything. Like the banter didn't bother him enough for him to act.

And that bothered her.

"Armaan..." She skipped the bhai she usually added to his name. Murtasim's eyes shot up to meet hers, his face contorting, jaw clenching tight, eyes fixated on her as if daring her to cross the line. "...is too quiet." She continued. "I would like to know what's going on in a man's head."

She hoped that Murtasim understood that the words were for him, that she wished he spoke his mind. She yearned to be alone with him in that moment, to tell him that if he felt like he had some claim on her that he should say that he did.

That if someone teased her about marriage, he should tell them that they were already set to marry each other.

That he could have shut down Arslan's teasing with just a few words.

"Hamza is too quiet then, me? Because the silent are not your type?" Arslan continued, waggling his eyebrows.

Meerab looked at Murtasim, willing him to speak.

He didn't.

Maryam did though. "By that reasoning, probably not Murtasim bhai either because he is plagued by the same disease as Armaan bhai and on occasion Hamza bhai is. Arslan bhai, things are looking good for you."

Arslan hummed as he picked up a kebab, taking a bite. "Anything for these kebabs for the rest of my life."

She would kill them all.

"I agree." Hamza added.

Murtasim's eyes flew up to Hamza then, a glare was shot in his direction before Murtasim turned and disappeared, saying he would be back after freshening up.

"SERIOUSLY?!" Meerab yelled at her two cousins when she was sure that Murtasim couldn't hear.

Arslan and Hamza both burst out laughing, high-fiving each other. "Did you see his face when I wrapped my arm around her?" Arslan guffawed.

Hamza nodded. "You're lucky your arm is still intact."

"You're lucky you're intact." Arslan laughed.

"What was the point of that?" Meerab sighed.

"The point is that you were upset he wasn't around...and now he'll linger rather than cooping himself up in the office because he's jealous."

The possibility of Murtasim staying around and not hiding in his room filled her with glee, enough that she didn't threaten to hold back the kebabs from the two of them.

But Meerab couldn't help but wonder if it was all jealously. She knew Murtasim, with him he might as well have only been angry that Arslan thought it acceptable to touch her so casually, and talk about things so openly.

"Whatever!" She sighed as she went back to frying her kebabs, turning the stove up again.

------------------------------------

"Yaar, Murtasim, how do you eat so much and look like that?" Arslan asked Murtasim, who sat on the armchair in the living room, eating his third bowl of kheer which Meerab had helped prepare that morning.

To her utter surprise, Murtasim had joined everyone for dinner, and hadn't retired to his room straight thereafter. There were apparently no phone calls to take, no files to read over, and no important matters to ponder for once.

Meerab might have pushed the serving bowl of kheer closest to Murtasim as they all retired to the living room, the adults continued to occupy the dining room, chatting away. Watching him eat multiple helpings of the kheer so happily warmed her heart. She always wondered if he enjoyed the food she had made over the past week, and it was nice to see him enjoy it rather than wondering.

"The gym." Murtasim shrugged.

Meerab wondered when he found the time to work out, but watching the way his shirts stretched over his body, it was obvious that he did.

"Meerab is going to fatten you up nicely now that she's back." Arslan murmured.

Meerab wasn't sure that Murtasim heard him like she did, but the smile on Murtasim's face and the speed with which he was scarfing the kheer made her not retort to Arslan's teasing.

"How come I don't get anything special?" Arslan whined looking at Meerab.

"Because you're annoying." Meerab shrugged.

"This is what I get? After I stood by your side for all these years and fended off men for you, you treat me like this?" Arslan asked dramatically, causing Hamza to snicker.

"What were you doing at her university anyways?" Hamza inquired, his eyes shining with mirth. Arsalan went to school on the other side of Karachi but Meerab was sure he spent more time at her university than his own. She suspected it had a lot to do with Ajiya, but Arslan strongly denied it.

"Fending off men, duh." Arslan replied.

"Oh hello, who told you to fend the men off?" Meerab asked sweetly.

Murtasim started coughing, choking on the kheer.

Hamza patted his back a few times as he coughed, trying to breathe. Meerab pushed her glass of water over towards him, smiling as he picked it up and took a few sips, he coughed quietly a few times before clearing his throat and quietening.

"You okay there, Murtasim?" Arslan asked, a smirk on his face.

Meerab stared between the two of them feeling like she was missing something.

"Fending off men?" Murtasim finally asked looking up at Arslan, the curiosity evident in his voice and eyes. She sighed, knowing that Arslan would blow it out of proportion, but she didn't know how to stop him without making herself look guilty by being overzealous.

"Huh?" Arslan asked, Meerab wanted to whack him, she knew he was up to his tricks again.

"What do you mean by fending off men for Meerab?" Murtasim asked, her heart stuttered in her chest at the way he said his name, and the hint of possessiveness in his voice. She imagined that Murtasim would have done well fending off any man that even looked her way with just a look.

"Oh, nothing." Arslan shrugged nonchalantly taking his phone out of his pocket.

Murtasim glared at him.

"Well, I mean Meerab is pretty, right?" Arslan asked.

Meerab's heart sank to the floor and jumped back up when Murtasim nodded immediately.

She felt heat rise to her cheeks.

He had nodded in agreement without hesitation, without even pausing to think.

A wave of happiness washed over Meerab.

She couldn't help but steal glances at Murtasim, who was still looking at Arslan, hanging onto his words.

"So obviously guys like her, and a few of her colleagues really started liking her because she's-" Arslan stopped as if looking for the right word.

"Because she's...Meerab." Hamza added.

Arslan nodded, as if the only word to describe her was her name. "So, I may have had to dissuade some guys."

Murtasim looked over at Meerab finally, his eyes flickering over her face. His jaw was tense again, and his eyes burning, she wondered what was going through his mind.

"I wonder if she didn't want you to fend them off, Arslan." Hamza teased, adding to the fire.

"You two are needlessly annoying today." Meerab sighed.

"It's a talent, really." Arslan shrugged. "You know who's more annoying?"

"Who?"

"Your friend, the ladaki one."

"Ajiya?"

Arslan nodded.

"Aw, do you miss her Arslan?" Meerab teased.

Arslan scoffed. "As if."

"I love how he always pretends to forget her name." Hamza quipped causing Maryam to giggle.

"Aw, he's blushing!" Maryam gushed.

"I am not!"

"You are, Arslan." Hamza teased.

"Meerab, you should have brought Rumi with you too." Arslan said.

Then it was Meerab's turn to laugh because Hamza looked away immediately, as if he knew they were heading towards dangerous territory. Meerab thought his crush on Rumi was the cutest, he could barely look at her when they ran into each other.

As she regained her composure, she found Murtasim smiling at her with a fond expression.

Her heart raced and her cheeks flushed under the warmth of his gaze. She was glad she was sitting because she felt her knees weaken. Despite being surrounded by people, his gaze made her feel like she was the only person in the room, instilling her with a sense of comfort, one that had been missing since her return.

She smiled back at him, her eyes reflecting the warmth of his gaze.