You, Me & the Alter(cations) - Farmeed AU

18.

The whole morning Farjaad paced back and forth in his living, wondering if he should call Umeed. Part of him wanted to run to the hospital, but he had to be sensible. His emotions got the best of him as it is, showing any additional attention would only raise further questions.

Instead he patiently waited for time to pass, estimating when it would be appropriate to go see her. She mentioned it last night, telling him she'll be home by the afternoon, and that Saveira had some things to deal with so she'll probably drop Umeed off and leave. Farjaad planned accordingly.

-

"Savi please!" Umeed whined. "Jaao, mujhe sonay do. I promise I'll rest." She was practically pushing Saveria to leave, knowing that the overprotective persona was not going to go away any time soon. At the same time she was on call with Haya, who was scolding her after finding out about what had happened.

"Umeed agar tum aese hi kaam karti rahi tou phir se kahin giri pari ho gi. Please khuda ka wasta hai break le lo, aa jaao."

"Umeed kasam se agar tum ne na rest kiya na-"

"I promise. I promise sirf rest kaun gi, koi kaam nahi." Umeed was feeling overstimulated hearing two conversations happening at once - both scolding her into taking care of herself. She pushed Saveira to her door while the other hand had her phone pressed against her ear.

"Khayal rakhna." Saveira pointed a finger at her. "Aur agar tabiyat kharaab ho tou forun mujhe call karna." Umeed nodded, squinting her eyes and pushing Saveria out of the door.

Umeed continued talking to Haya whilst cleaning some things up on the kitchenette, a few minutes wiping the counters before she finally got done and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Haya theek hoon ab. Kaafi deir khari hui thi isliye ho gaya ye. Don't worry." Umeed walked back and sat on her couch, sighing in relief. She still had a list of things to check on, things to do before tomorrow - so they can finally wrap everything up. "Chor do ye baat ab."

"Umeed..." Umeed knew what was coming up next, trying to resist letting it cause a heartache. To her luck, the bell rang immediately.

"Aik minute. Koi aaya hai." Umeed stood up once again, preparing her speech incase she opened the door to a smiling Saveira who would tell her that after driving back home she realised she didn't want Umeed to be alone. It would anger Umeed because she was fine.

But, when she opened the door, it was not Saveira.

"Far-" She blinked, realising the phone was still against her ear. "Haya mein tumhe baad mein phone karti hoon."

"Kon hai?"

"Oho mein karti hoon call." Umeed completely ignored the question and ended the call, looking at him, a bag in one hand, his keys in the other. She could see through the big carton in a bag, it made her eyes light up.

"Wo tumne kya bola tha? Liberty market ke baahir Saleem baba ke paas jo strawberries hoti hain? Jo sirf March mein aati hain?" Farjaad asked, raising the kilo of strawberries he was holding on to, a toothy smile on his face. "Jaldi aa gayein is saal."

"Farjaad." She blinked, looking at him, his dimple, then the carton of strawberries, then back to him, then, for a brief second, at the way his bicep flexed because of how he had lifted the carton with ease. "Itni zyada?" She blinked and looked back up to him, seeing him refrain from breaking into laughter from the excitement. He was genuinely excited and looking forward to her reaction, he had thought through it.

"Aur." He sifted the bag to the other hands where his keys were, and went to the side to grab something. Before Umeed could walk out of her apartment and see what it was, she came back in front of her, a pet carrier in his hand. "Socha inko bhi le aoun."