Mahika and Amoli can't stand each other, but that's not the only thing they have in common.
Mahika treats Amoli like she's childish. Amoli thinks Mahika is a stuck-up prude. But Mahika's best friend and Amoli's brother are getting married, so they c...
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˗ˏˋ warm company and not-dates 'ˎ˗
➷
It's just another day in her frenzied life when Mahika first realizes that she isn't as lonely anymore.
The jingle of her keys doesn't seem to echo inside the empty house when she hangs them behind the door. The silence wrapped around her when she comes home from the office doesn't nip at her skin. The idea of having to cook just for herself doesn't make her sigh in defeat.
"...it's funny now but it wasn't funny when Akash begged me to make up a story if mamma asked for him while he was out on his little dates with Naina," comes the voice from Mahika's earpiece, as Amoli finishes her story with a breathy laugh on the other end.
Mahika's hands shake with laughter as she tries to take her heels off. "You know what I think the best part about this whole thing is?" she asks, and Amoli hums and waits for her to continue. "The way your parents loved Naina immediately. All of that hiding and for what?" Then she laughs again, shaking her head and setting her shoes on the rack before making her way further inside the house.
"Oh, my God, I know. I think sometimes Akash forgets that he's an adult. But at the same time, with parents like ours, the fear isn't exactly intentional."
"Or irrational."
"Or irrational, yes," Amoli agrees.
Times like this, Mahika can't help but think back on how she never knew how fortunate she was to have parents that were pretty much cool with everything before she met Naina and found out how harsh her best friend's parents could be sometimes. Mahika's mother had always been the most easygoing person she knew, more of a friend to her daughter than a parent. And sure, Mahika's father hadn't been the best husband in the world, but he was still a good dad.
"You're home now, right?"
"Mhm."
The two of them had ended up making impromptu movie plans when Mahika was taking a cab home, and had settled with doing it over a video call since Mahika was too tired to go anywhere. That wasn't the only reason why they were not doing it in person, though. Not that Mahika would admit it out loud.
She was too nervous to even jokingly call it a date.
"So, uh... I'll call you in a bit then?" A small smile appears unbidden on Mahika's face at the realization that Amoli sounds just as nervous as Mahika feels. "And there's no rush so... take your time."
"I just have to shower and—" she pauses, eyeing the door of the kitchen and absentmindedly pinching her earring between her fingers. Cooking would take longer, she thinks. "And um, order some food," she finishes and then resists the urge to bite her tongue in abashment. "So... see you in thirty minutes?"
