Renewed Vows (Tere Bin)

9. Apologies & Sparks

She turned to leave the room and said "Tum nahi samjhoge Murtasim"

Murtasim caught Merrab's arm and laughed. "I was just teasing you Jaan. Come here."
He pulled her closer and her heart started beating fast. As Murtasim's face came near Meerab's he asked. "Is this how much you want me huh? Ke mujh se naraz ho ke ja rahi thi. You should be thankful that I know you enough to understand your Little Hints."
He then pecked at her lips. "Happy now?"
Meerab shook her head.
"Meerab if i kiss you like I was doing before it would go way further than just a kiss. Do you understand what I mean?" Murtasim tried his best to explain.
She nodded.
"Aur abhi ghar me sab jag rahe hain. The house staff, Maa Begum, Haya.." Murtasim continued.
"Abhi gao nahi ja sakte?" Meerab interrupted him.
He chuckled at her impatience then shook his head. "Maa ki tabyat theek nahi hai Meerab. Marium agar hoti tou mei shayad soch leta but mei unhe Haya ke hawalay nahi chor sakta."
She nodded understandingly.
"Wese bhi we need to talk first before we take things further. It's better for both of us."
Meerab nodded at that too. He was right.
"People should make soundproof rooms." Meerab muttered under her breath hoping he had not heard it. But Murtasim's sharp ears caught her words.
He laughed and said, "Are you that desperate Jaan?"
Meerab gave him a gentle push. "Nahi. I'm not desperate. But your presence is making me." She admitted sheepishly.
"Chala jata hu mei phir?" Murtasim suggested.
Meerab shook her head and sat on the sofa. He sat beside her.
"I'm desperate too Meerab but we do need to wait. Jaha itna kiya hai waha thora aur?" he said gently.
She nodded and closed her eyes leaning against his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Murtasim was a little worried now.
"Hmm I'm fine." She smiled.
Murtasim put an arm around Meerab's waist. He felt her shift a little.
"Uncomfortable?" he asked.
"Nahi it's just.... new" she said trying to calm her nerves.
Murtasim nodded. "See? That's exactly why a talk is important."

---

A wave of emotions was bubbling inside Meerab. All she wanted to do then was hug Murtasim and let it all out. From the day she found out that she was Meerab Khan to the day he left her on the street in Karachi, Meerab wanted to share her pain with him that she had been bottling inside her but now it had to come out.
She knew that this wasn't the right time to do that. She still wasn't sure about how Murtasim would react to her outburst so she collected herself before getting up.
On her way from Maa Begum's room, she had asked the kitchen staff to send soup for Maa Begum and breakfast for Haya. She needed to check if they had done that.
"Kahan ja rahi ho Meerab?" Murtasim asked as she saw her leave.
"Bas ek do kam hain. Give me a few minutes." She replied.
He nodded and opened his laptop. There were a lot of emails from the past few days that he needed to reply to. Due to Marium's wedding he hadn't been able to focus on his work too much.
Meerab went towards the kitchen. Fena was there.
"BibiJi mei ne Bari Begum Sahiba ko Soup de diya tha. Aur Haya bibi ko nashta bhi." Fena said as she saw Meerab.
"Bohat acha kia Fena. Yeh batao Haya Bibi ne nashta kiya?" Meerab asked.
"Nahi BibiJi wo tou kafi gusse me thi humesha ki tarah. Mera nahi khayal unho ne kuch khaya hoga." Fena told Meerab.
"Acha chalo mei khud dekh leti hu usse." Meerab started to walk out of the kitchen.
"BibiJi kuch poochna tha ap se..." Fena stopped her.
"Han kaho Fena?"
"Roz khane ka menu Begum Sahiba bata deti hain. Aj unho ne kuch nahi kaha hai. Dopehr ke liye kya bana lu?" Fena asked her.
Meerab went into deep thought. "Meethe me tou Kheer bana lo Khan ko bohat pasand hai." Meerab said smiling. "Baki khane ke liye... Nihari bana lo aur sath me koi chawal ki item..." She trailed off.

~~Flashback~~

Meerab was at Waqas Ahmed's house and her mother was asking her father. "Kal khane me kya banau?"
"Fish Pulao bana lo Anila meri beti ko bohat pasand hai. Kal uss ka result bhi hai wo khush hojayegi."
When Meerab heard her Baba say that all the nervous jitters for the result were gone. Fish wasn't made regularly in their house as no one liked it very much except Meerab but Baba always made sure it was made on her Special Occasions.
~Flashback ends~