تیرے یار بتھیرے نے
میرا تو ہی ایں بس یارا

Putting the pink peonies to the side, Maaya grabbed the motiya and gainday k phool in a tray, climbing up the stairs to place them in the lounge. The cold floor beneath her feet sent chills up her body but the loud music blasting through the air captured her attention as she climbed up in hurry.

She placed the thaals on the table and walked towards the room she was staying in when she saw the door to his room open. She knew he was downstairs so she went in involuntarily. She looked around the door, it had been a while since she had felt his presence in this room. A scent wafted through the air, hypnotising her. It was his scent. Her eyes fell on the perfume bottle on his dresser. She walked towards it, grabbing it before opening it and bringing it towards her nose. Her eyes closed when his scent went through her nostrils. Her started beating that familiar rhythm again.

Two minutes might have passed since she was standing there when she heard a soft thud outside. She quickly came back to her senses and walked out of the room after making sure no one outside, with the perfume still in her hand.

Running towards her room, she felt the kick of euphoria as she closed her door and leaned against it. She suddenly started laughing, holding the bottle of perfume again as she shook her head at her own stupidity.

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It was past midnight when her phone pinged. She was laying in the bed with a pillow smelling of his perfume, her eyes closed as she thought about him.

She opened her eyes to check her phone and suddenly got up. It was him. It was him. She quickly sae his text, it said

"Jaag rahi hain?"
( Are you awake?)

Maaya quickly texted back yes and waited with her teeth biting her bottom lip a smile threatening to come out. Suddenly he was calling her. He was calling her in the middle of the night. Maaya wanted to jump in the air.
Calming herself down, she picked the call up.
"Hello?"
" Hello,Maaya. Kab sey Saira ko call kar raha hun lekin wo nahi utha rahi. Shayid soa gayi hai. Aap aik kaam karain gi mera?"

She wanted to tell him that she would gladly spend her whole life for him but she could only say less,
" Jee. Kahain."

He told her to go to his room and take the bunch of wedding cards sitting on his bedside and give it to the guard.
" Mey thori dair mey aakay unsey ley lu ga."
( I will take them from him after a while.)

She wanted to ask where he was at this time of the night and tell him that all work could wait till the morning but who was she to tell him that?

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She heard a thud and then a crash downstairs. He must be back, she thought. She had been lying in the bed all this time, unable to sleep as she saw his eyes behind hers every-time she closed them. She got up, calming her dancing heart at the thought of seeing him again.

Wrapping the shawl around herself, she walked downstairs and to the kitchen until she could see him looking through a cabinet. He turned around when he
heard her footsteps and she watched with awe how his eyes widened a little with surprise.

"Aap abhi tak soyi nahi?"
( You are still awake?)

Maaya shook her head,
"Bus neend nahi arahi thi. What do you need, can I help you?"
( Just couldn't sleep.)

Hussain shrugged,
" Rehnay dein. Aap thak gayi hongi."
( Leave it. You must be tired.)

How could she even sleep when he was in the same house as her? And that too, when she knew he needed something.

" Khaana nikal dun aap liye? Ya chai?"
( Should I take out the food for you or do you want some tea?)

He shrugged again, closing the cabinet with a push of his hand.
" Jo marzi de dain."
( Whatever you want.)

Maaya smiled at his hesitation, trying to keep her gaze in check in front of him.

" Ab aap meri marzi ka khaana khayein gey?"
( Now you would eat what I want?)

Hussain chuckled at the mischief in her tone and watched as she took the containers out of the fridge. Placing them in the oven, she started boiling some water for the tea all the while she was very aware of his gaze until he started to look at his phone.

A while later, she placed the plates on the table in the kitchen and he sat down on the chair to eat.
" Thank you."

Maaya swallowed her words. She wanted to tell him that she wanted to spend her whole life like this, she didn't deserve his thanks.

She sat on the chair with her own cup of coffe and he looked at her surprised.
" Iss waqt coffee pi kar kesay soyien gi?"
( How will you sleep after having coffee at this time of the night.)

She was she was not going to sleep the whole night after spending this time with him, was a coffee more of a nasha than him?
He looked so sweet like that, caring.

Maaya smiled a shy smile at her thoughts.

" Aap mjhey aap kyun kehtay hain?"
( Why do you call me aap?)

He chuckled lightly at the innocence in her question. His dimples came out again as he smiled at her,
" Aap kahain tau tum keh diya karun ga."
( If you want I could call you 'tum')
Maaya became shy of the smile on his face and the way his looked at they gazed upon her.

" Nahi menay tau wesay hi kaha tha."
( No I just said it randomly.)

Hussain started eating his rice.
" Koi baat nahi. Tum kaha karun ga ab sey."
( Its allright. I will call you tum from now on.)

Maaya took a sip of her coffee as her face flushed in his close proximity. He called everyone 'aap' with respect and only called the people he was close to "tum." She wanted to be close to him, God, she wanted it more than anything in the world.

He became amused by the flush on her cheeks and the light mood.
"Wesay khairyat hai? Iss waqt tak jaag rahi hain. Koi aisi wesi baat tau nahi?"
( Is everything okay? You are awake at this hour. Don't tell me there something like that)

Maaya chuckled at the irony of it. Who was asking her that? She sighed.
" Abhi tau nahi. Hogi tau aap ko zaroor bataun gi."
( not yet. But i will tell you when it happens.)

He laughed whole heartedly at that.
" Chalain waada raha."
( it's a promise then.)

Maaya smiled before getting up, and taking the cups with her.
" Good night."

He said when she left the kitchen and she turned around to say it to him.
" Good night."

  Then she walked out with giddy feeling in her heart at spending this time with her beloved, the reflection of his eyes on hers as she tried to sleep the rest of the night.

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