Chapter 4A - Qubool Hai (I do)

As the sunrays pierced his eyes, Kabir groaned and got up, yawning. That was when he registered that he was not in his makeshift bed. He blinked and the events of last night came rushing back to him, leaving a small smile on his lips. That was when it hit him that he was lying on the sofa alone, Ruhani was not next to him. Puzzled, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Was she gonna run from and avoid him again? No, not this time, he decided. Determined, he hurriedly freshened up and when he didn't find her in the cabin, went out to look for her, thinking she must have ventured out to collect wood.

When he came out, he saw that the white snow shone gold with the sunrays penetrating it, oddly reminding him of diamond studded gold. He chuckled inwardly and told himself to stop being whimsical. He kept looking for her here and there and that was when a voice reached him. 'Yoohoo! Up here!!' Puzzled, he squinted towards the direction and almost staggered when he saw her. Ruhani was perched almost as high as the cabin's roof on the branch of the apple tree situated there, happily munching on an apple she held in her hands. He was shocked.

'What the!? Ruhani what are you doing up there!!??' He screeched. She laughed heartily, hair tumbling around, cheeks flushed red and he swore to himself, determined not to get distracted. 'What does it look like? I'm eating breakfast!' She giggled. Kabir bit back an oath. 'Ruhani, it's not that funny and it's not safe. Climb back down. Now.' She narrowed her eyes at him. 'Fun police at it again. Here, take a chill pill. Or in this case, a chilled apple.' she said and tossed one at him. He caught it with one hand out of reflex and she clapped heartily, a big smile on her face. He now smirked challengingly. She arched a brow, confused. He looked down at the apple she had thrown and back at her, still smirking. 'Qubool Hai.' He said, giving her a wink and a cheeky grin. She was befuddled. 'What?' He now threw back his head and laughed richly, and her heart felt oddly warm and thumped erratically in her chest. Still laughing, he said 'You just proposed to me. In Greek mythology, giving someone an apple is considered proposing. So, I am accepting it. I do. Qubool hai!' She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. 'I DID NOT propose to you. Please shut up.'

Because he still kept grinning at her, she made a strangling gesture with her hands which caused her balance to tilt a bit. His smile disappeared. 'Careful, Ruhani. You might fall.' He said softly. She steadied herself and looked at him, and their gazes locked, and held. A tense moment passed. 'I will not fall. I never fall.' she said quietly. He looked at her then, committing her face to memory. 'I might.' He whispered to himself. Ruhani stared, wondering what he said. 'What??' she strained to hear. He shook his head and muttered 'Nothing. Get down NOW. Bandariya kahin ki.' He said and turned around, not meeting her gaze. When she heard that, Ruhani fumed. Determinedly, she climbed back down gracefully and hopped on to her feet. Ready for revenge, she got into action.

Kabir had no time to register what happened, leave alone dodge the big snowball that hit his back. When he turned around in absolute shock, sputtering, he saw her victorious, satisfied smirk. He glared. She shrugged. 'You called me a monkey!' she accused, pointing a finger at him. He started walking towards her. She took cautious steps back. He increased his pace. She increased hers. When he looked ready to chase her she turned with a shriek and started running. That gave him the time to collect his own snowball and hit her back. Because he had a good aim, it hit her smack in the middle of her back. He laughed now, head thrown back. She narrowed her eyes and declared war. They started chasing each other with snowballs, hitting, yelling, shrieking and laughing hard. Finally when she jumped on his back in her vicious attack they both tumbled down on the ground, her on top of him. They lied there, linking their foreheads as they struggled to catch their breaths in between their pants and laughs. Tears of laughter now streamed down their faces.

She looked down at him, shaking the snow out of her hair. He grinned. 'This is comfortable.' And yelped when she pinched him. She laughed. When she stopped, she noticed that he was staring at her, intensely. She gulped and started to get up but his hands on her waist held her in place. 'We need to talk.' He whispered. She raised an eyebrow. 'And this is clearly the best position to talk in.' He grinned and nodded. 'Look..about last night..' She cut him off. 'I wanted to thank you for that. For everything you did. I..I told you. I had never felt this safe in my life. So thank you. I hope neither of us withdraw back into our shells for the rest of the time we are here together. I would like this..newfound equation to stay for that long. I feel like I can talk to you about everything. I want that to continue- I want to know you and I want you to know me - inside out.' She stated, staring deep into his caramel brown orbs. His breath hitched. His heart pounded. Was she suggesting what he thought she was...?

She continued. 'We can continue this as long as we are here..in Kashmir. As soon as we get out it's not like we are gonna see or contact each other again. So it's a win win for both of us.' And just like that, those words brought him back to earth from his floating dreams like a thud. She just wanted to share a novel chemistry kind of experience with the advantage of unburdening her emotions with a stranger she wouldn't have to see ever again. He would do well to remember that. It's not like he wanted something more or different, he told himself defiantly even as he felt a hollow, sinking pain in his chest and a big lump in his throat. His eyes were also starting to gain some moisture. Must be because of all that vigorous snow fight exercise, he thought determinedly and rubbed a palm over his aching chest absent-mindedly.

Ruhani looked at him, a bit warily and tried to decipher his reaction. His eyes seemed to flicker with an emotion she couldn't name but he recovered quickly and gave her a quick smile. 'Done deal. Just to make it clear, because we ARE treating all this as a deal, where do we stand on physical intimacy?' She gasped, and her eyes narrowed. Giving him a light push she stood up. He stood up as well, hands in pockets. She glared. 'You want to..hook up with me and take adv.." His icy glare made her stop in her tracks. He looked furious. A quiet, deadly sort of furious. "Mind your words, Verma. I dont take this type of disrespect, even from pretty girls. I asked you a legitimate, direct question. There is no question of any advantage taking. If you assume i am interested in you, you are also very much attracted to me." The words, tone and glare made her flinch. For the first time, she detected the hint of inner steel in him and his languid exterior. It thrilled her insides even as it scared her a bit. She also knew that he was not wrong here and had a right to be offended. She sighed. "I am sorry I didn't mean it..not like that. I just..anyway as for physical intimacy I.." Her cheeks heated up. "Let me spell it out then- it is NOT on the table, at least not in this situation though the temptation is there.' He winked at her at the end. She looked puzzled. "Honey, no matter what you think of me or men in general, I am not that kind of guy. I don't take sex this lightly or treat it as a deal. So we are not indulging in that. Pure and simple. Rest, we can enjoy each other's company, talk and cuddle or whatever u want, I am game. Just not going the whole way." Taken aback, she stared at him, blinking rapidly. She had not, in her life, come across a man of this sort. As her eyes glowed with genuine, heartfelt respect, he shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. "Come on in now. I doubt you ate anything apart from those apples. I will fix u breakfast and then we can talk or whatever.." He murmured, turning away, holding out a hand behind him for her as a natural action. As seamlessly, she put her hand in his and let him pull her in, interlocking her fingers reflexively with his, unconsciously placing all her trust in their linked hands.

A/N- Hope u guys liked it. Because this chapter turned out long, I am dividing it into two parts. Part B will be up soon. Much love.