When We Fell Again...

Tea for Thought

Hey friends, sorry for the late post, but here it is! For Shivika fans, this one's a treat!

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OS: Tea for thought

Om sat on the sofa opposite Pearl as she stared at him head to toe without flinching. Her ears were taut with tension as she tried to decipher Om's 'attack' on her precious little owner. After all she had dug her nails into him and warned him a couple of times, but he was dead set on attacking the pretty brunette who had taken her in. And even more confusing was the fact that the 'pretty brunette' seemed to like the attack. Pearl squinted at Om again and then gave up and yawned before lying back down to go to sleep.

Om sat upright when the cat stared at him, but when it stretched and then cuddled into a white puddle at the end of the couch, he relaxed and stretched his legs to fit the entire three-seater cushion in front of him. He wouldn't admit that he was scared of the cat, but he wasn't exactly as friendly with it as Gauri seemed to be. Besides, it kept poking him and digging its nails in him whenever he tried getting close to his girl.

Speaking of, Gauri walked out of the kitchen with two steaming mugs of lemon tea which was exactly what he needed to wet his throat before the long winded conversation that he was about to have.

"Here." she said forwarding a cup to him as she bent to pet Pearl before settling down on the couch beside him. After a strong gulp of the beautifully flavored tea, Gauri began to speak in a rush.

"How've you been doing?" she asked, knowing right then that that was a futile question. He looked worn out and tired.

"Not too well for the past few weeks, especially with Shivaay's surgery last night."

Gauri scooted closer on the couch and touched his hands. "Anni told me that he was doing fine with his meds and that he could resume work in 6 weeks."

Om nodded rubbing his forehead. "I know. That woman calls me every single day for two reasons. One, to update me on Shivaay and two, to harrass me about you."

Gauri chuckled. "Sorry about that. She's just worried about me."

"I know. Some kind of friendship you two share." he said chuckling.

Gauri chuckled too before sighing.

"Om, I know you have every right to be mad at me about what happened, but I couldn't tell you without Shivaay's permission."

"I know, Gauri. I was pissed because you hid things things from me, but now I understand why."

"Thanks." She said heaving a sigh of relief.

"Gauri, I hate when people lie to me. It's one of the things that really make me upset."

"I know, and I hate keeping things from you. You don't know how terrible these past two weeks have been."

"I wish it wasn't." he whispered cupping her face. "I wish I didn't find out about Shivaay's surgery the way I did."

"I'm sorry." she said tearfully.

He shook his head. "It wasn't your fault. I understand now. But you have to promise me one thing."

She nodded her head eager for him to continue.

"That you will never hide things again. If it's something that you can't share with me immediately, its okay, just tell me Gauri."

"Promise."

"Pakka?"

He had a faint smile on his lips and she smiled too, nodding her head. Below them the cat purred in response and Gauri reached down to pet it back to comfort.