"Do you really love Neha?" asked Virat, which confused Rohit, as he had never really thought about it before.
It was always her company that Rohit liked, maybe her nature too, but love? What is love?
"I think so. She is my girlfriend, so yeah, I love her," answered Rohit, but he didn't know whether he was trying to convince himself or if it was the answer he gave to Virat.
Virat removed his head from Rohit's lap and lay down on the pillow. Rohit covered him with a comforter.
Virat turned his back and closed his eyes, letting his silent tears soak the pillow.
What was I thinking? thought Virat to himself. Why did I ask that question?
"Vi?" Rohit called after a minute of his own thoughts. But all Virat did was bury his head deeper into the pillow.
After half an hour, Rohit lay down next to him, seeing that Virat had fallen asleep.
What is love, exactly? thought Rohit after a while.
Virat turned towards him and leaned closer to Rohit. His head rested on Rohit's arm, pulling Rohit out of his thoughts.
Rohit saw how, finally, Virat was sleeping without any worry, but he didn't forget that it was thanks to the painkillers. It made him sad again— how he couldn't help Virat.
Rohit couldn't help but caress Virat's forehead, smoothing out the frown.
His cheeks were still warm. Sensing the touch, Virat felt cold and leaned in closer.
Rohit removed his hand from Virat's head and put it around his shoulder, pulling him closer so that Virat's head rested on Rohit's chest.
Virat put his hand on Rohit's waist and snuggled into his embrace, even in his sleep.
He didn't know why he liked it—Virat so close to him. Without him, it just felt so lonely every single time.
But he's just like Jaddu and Shikhar to me. Why would I feel differently? Maybe because he is my best friend.
"Do you love Neha?" Virat's voice echoed again in his head.
Before he could think more about it, he felt Virat shivering, and Rohit pulled him closer, covering them both with the comforter.
Now, he could feel Virat's warmth, and it was so comforting that he didn't want to think about anything else. He just dozed off with that.
Next morning:
Rohit didn't know what woke him up. It was the loud voice of someone.
"Rohit! Wake up, Rohit!"
He felt someone moving against him. He opened his eyes and saw Virat trying to bury his face in his chest to block out the noise.
"Rohit, what the hell?" Neha yelled, seeing their position.
It was Neha. He saw her when his vision cleared. He was going to get up to question how she came into their room, but he saw that Virat was still trying to sleep.
Rohit patted his head and gently detangled himself from Virat's hold, making sure he was properly positioned to continue sleeping.
He then held Neha's hand and dragged her out of the room.
"What are you doing here?" Rohit asked, clearly annoyed.
Neha looked at him in shock.
"Are you for real? You're asking me what I'm doing here? What are you doing, Rohit?" Neha asked, shocked and annoyed by his behavior.
