The knock on the door broke Rohit's sleep. He noticed Virat was still sleeping, holding him tightly.
"Rohit, Virat... come downstairs for lunch. Why is the door locked?" Jaddu's voice called from the other side.
"Yeah, coming," Rohit replied, listening as Jaddu's footsteps faded away.
"Oh no, now we can't lock the door anymore," Rohit thought. "I'll have to come up with something."
"Vi, get up. Mahi bhai is calling us for lunch," he said softly.
"Two more minutes, Ro, please," Virat mumbled, burying his face into Rohit's chest.
"Love, please get up," Rohit said again, knowing that if they were late, it would surely raise suspicions. He didn't want that.
Virat stirred and opened his eyes, rubbing them as he looked up at Rohit's face.
Rohit leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Go and freshen up," he said.
"You know, you treat me like a baby," Virat said, noticing how gentle Rohit always was with him.
"You are a baby—my baby now," Rohit teased, pulling his nose and earning a playful pout from Virat.
"I love it, though," Virat admitted. He really did love the care and affection he received from Rohit.
"I love it too. Now, go quickly," Rohit urged, and Virat finally went to freshen up, with Rohit following after.
"Virat, you go first and say that I made you late. Tell them I got up late, as usual," Rohit suggested.
"Umm, okay," Virat agreed hesitantly.
"And if Jaddu asks why the door was locked, just divert him somehow, okay? He already mentioned it when he came to call us for lunch," Rohit said, giving him a heads-up.
Virat's expression fell, and Rohit noticed immediately. He stepped closer. "What happened?" he asked gently.
"I'm sorry. Because of me, we have to hide this from others. I just—"
Rohit cupped Virat's face, stopping his rambling. "Vi, it's completely okay. Don't feel guilty about it. This is my choice too. I also want to keep this just between us for a while," he said softly.
Virat nodded, his heart easing at Rohit's words.
"Besides, you know, keeping it a secret has its own fun," Rohit added, kissing Virat's cheek and winking.
Virat couldn't help but blush at that. He opened the door and headed downstairs, his heart feeling a little lighter.
"Cheeks, how much did you sleep?" Mahi asked as Virat and Rohit arrived late for lunch.
"Bhai, I was really tired. And besides, Rohit got up late," Virat said, grabbing his plate.
"Bhai, he's lying. I didn't," Rohit countered, walking in from behind.
"Rohit, we all know who the sleepiest one in our group is," Jaddu said, siding with Virat.
Virat took a seat beside Mahi, while Rohit sat down next to Jaddu.
"Why was your room locked, though?" Jaddu asked curiously.
"We didn't want a certain Rajput disturbing our sleep," Virat quipped, earning a scowl from Jaddu. Rohit couldn't help but chuckle.
"Bhai, see? They've ganged up on me!" Jaddu complained dramatically.
"Okay, enough, you three. Eat your lunch," Mahi said, putting an end to the banter.
