Arakshi TS - Stay - Part 2/2 Pg 1

After Sakshi's abrupt withdrawal that night, Arjun expected an awkwardness to creep into their friendship; but that's not what happened. During the following nights they spent together at the ETF headquarters, solving one case after the other with the team, Sakshi began to return back to her usual self. He could see her past slowly fading from her eyes each time she spoke to him. However, it didn't go unnoticed by him that she always refrained from holding his hand since that day; as if she were afraid of baring her own emotions to him by the mere touch of the lines cutting across his palm. Even though he was beginning to miss her touch and the way their skins seemed to converse when she held his hand, he was content to just have her by his side.

It wasn't long before he realised he was beginning to fall in love with her.

The day would have been marked as Sakshi's second marriage anniversary; a day she now wanted to forget with all her heart. What was the point of remembering the date of a bond being formed when the bond had probably never existed in the first place? And so for the entire day, grabbed at every opportunity to keep herself busy, be it doing the background checks of the murder suspects, or even helping out Shree with the technical stuff. She didn't think Arjun would notice; but he did. And her urgency to forget the day became his restlessness. She felt the way he tensed up every time she was around him, she heard the heightened frustration in his voice, and she saw the way his fingers curled into fists every now and then. It hurt her in a strange sort of a way; perhaps even more than the divorce had once hurt her.

By the evening, she had had enough.

Sakshi gathered the several files and pages strewn on the desk in front of her, and buried her head in her hands. The rest of the team had long since gone home and she no longer knew what to do. A sudden sound of footsteps behind her told her Arjun hadn't left either. So typical, she thought to herself, and stood up. She watched him settle into a chair at the end of the table, without a single glance towards her.

She stormed up to him and ordered, "Drive me home, Arjun."

For the first time during the day, Arjun lifted his gaze and looked into the pair of dark, kohl-lined eyes that seemed to have donned a mask of frustration. Without a word, he reached into the back pocket of his jeans for his car keys, stood up and walked to the end of the room. He paused at the door and muttered, "Usually I don't like to be ordered around, Miss Anand." When he glanced over his shoulder, his lips had twisted into a playful smirk. "But I'll make an exception."

Sakshi couldn't help but smile at his retreating figure.

Arjun stood on the balcony of Sakshi's apartment, his fingers curled around the metal rod framing the glass handrail. The sun was still lingering near the horizon, waiting for its journey to end over the city of Mumbai. In the distance he could see a golden strip of the sea, stretched out lazily beyond the network of close-knit houses and the winding roads. He felt the warmth of the sun's slanting rays fade from his skin as soon as Sakshi walked up to stand beside him, casting a shadow of her slender form over his body. He glanced beside him to find her face silhouetted against the setting sun, the dark strands of hair flapping against her eyes. Sleeves of the white chiffon top she wore, fluttered in the cool evening breeze, giving it the sudden appearance of a butterfly's delicate wings.

Sakshi placed her hands on the handrail, her gaze suddenly shifting to Arjun's fingers clasping the railing, merely a few inches from hers. She withdrew her fingers and turned around to lean against the handrail, allowing a ray of the golden sunlight to highlight the stubble lining his sturdy jaw, the mysterious dark eyes and the shadows beneath the creases on his forehead. The collar of his pale blue shirt quivered in the breeze. She longed to reach out for his hand and ease the restlessness that seemed to brew within the dark shells of his eyes; but she was afraid of what might happen if she did so. Her gaze shifted towards the pots of yellow and red rose plants that lined the edge of her balcony, and she smiled, watching the delicate petals do a little happy dance in the breeze.

"Are you ok?" she asked, forcing herself not to look at him.

He stiffened beside her. "I should be asking you that question." His voice was flat, stripped of all emotions.

"I'm fine, Arjun!" she argued. "I'm trying to let go. But why are you letting it affect you?"

"What do you mean?" he asked sharply.

She folded her arms across her chest, her eyes suddenly shutting close; she couldn't bear to see him so tensed, and especially if she were the reason behind it. "This," she replied with a sigh. "Aaj poore din tum meri wajah se..."

"Tumhari wajah se kya?" he questioned.

She kept her eyes closed; she couldn't battle with her emotions any longer, and unlike him, her eyes were the outlet to her emotions. She shook her head, not wanting to confess to him that a part of her was afraid of hurting him if he let his emotions go astray because of her. And if she couldn't return it...

Even though her eyes were closed, Arjun could sense her fear; it seemed to radiate from her like the warmth of the sun's rays. He had a feeling she would begin to walk away again like she had the other night. That's exactly what happened the next minute.

But this time, his fingers had learnt how to react; for they reached out to grasp her wrist the minute she began stepping away from him. He didn't want her to run away; not when he was beginning to chase after her. And especially not when he was beginning to feel inklings of the emotion he had never thought he could feel.

Aye Humnava Mujhe Apna Bana Le

Sukhi Padi Dil Ki Iss Zameen Ko Bhiga De

His eyes were fixed on the bright orange orb of the setting sun as he felt her throbbing pulse on his fingertips. And perhaps for the first time, a tenderness crept into his eyes as her torn gaze fixed on him. "Stay," he pleaded in a strange husky voice that sounded so unlike his own. "This time, I just want you to stay."

Hu Akela Zara Hath Bada De
Sukhi Padi Dil Ki Iss Zameen Ko Bhiga De

Sakshi winced, instantly feeling the weight of those words. He had a gentle hold on her wrist and yet, invisible strings of his anxiety and desperation seemed to bind her wrist in its invisible grip. Why did his emotions always find an outlet through their touch? And why did it bother her so to feel him so restless?

She let out a deep sigh, wishing he would let go; his touch were stirring all sorts of emotions within her. But instead, he walked closer to her, taking her hands into his and holding them in a firm grip. She winced as she felt the network of lines on his palms touch hers. "Arjun," she whispered, closing her eyes to the piercing gaze that seemed to yearn for a glance into the depths of her eyes. If only there was a way to erase the fear that lived inside her.

"You told me not to run away. So I am not," he said quietly, turning her hands over in his and pressing his thumbs to the soft centre of her palm. "You're scared," he declared after a moment. "You're scared of stirring up my emotions and then hurting me. You're scared of yourself."

Her eyes flew open at his words. Could he read her just as well as she could read him?

He nodded, as if to address her unasked questions. His gaze fell to her open palms. "You have a way of understanding me, Sakshi." He paused, struggling with the words that wanted to escape him. After what seemed like a long silence, interrupted only by the soft rustle of the plants that thrived in her balcony, he said, "Only you."

Kabse Mein Dar-Dar Phir Raha

Musafir Dil Ko Panaah De

Tu Awargi Ko Meri Aaj Thehra De

She couldn't take her eyes off him as he pressed her palm to the side of his face and his stubble began to prick her skin. Before she knew it, her fingers were trailing along his face, across the strong cheekbones, over his closed eyelids and his creased forehead. She wanted to feel him, she wanted her fingers to discover what he felt like. She didn't realise how close she was to him until he stalled her hand and brought it close to his lips. She felt a shudder pass through her as he pressed his lips to the centre of her palm and planted a kiss so tender that her fingers retracted almost instantly. Warmth flooded into her cheeks and she lowered her gaze, trying to conceal the shy smile that was beginning to creep up on her lips.

He lifted her chin to let his eyes savour the beauty of her smile and the way the rosy colour of her cheeks seemed to have deepened in the bright orange rays of the setting sun. "I am not very good at expressing my feelings," he mumbled. "But you're good at reading them." He held her hands in his once more, and slid his palms under hers. "So you know what I feel about you."

She looked into his eyes, watching a faint glimmer of the setting sun reflected in them. She smiled, realising that she didn't need to read the reassurance, the tenderness and the love that seemed to climb into her skin through the reunion of the dented rivers cutting across both their palms; she could now feel it in the way he looked at her. It seemed as if a curtain had suddenly lifted from the dark and opaque pools of his eyes, revealing the intensity of desires, the deepest of which was the desire to be loved... by her.

Ho Sake Toh, Thoda Pyaar Jata De

Sukhi Padhi Dil Ki Iss Zameen Ko Bhiga De

Her smile told him that she knew: He had fallen in love with her. He felt a sudden surge of happiness within him; he hadn't been completely built out of stone then. The love, the emotions he had once craved for had existed within him, shut within the bars he had created himself. She had found a way to squeeze through those bars by the mere touch of their hands. She had told him that those lines that ran across his palms were meant to touch hers, and they were meant to be his tongue, speaking in a language that only her skin could interpret and understand.

"I will stay," she whispered, touching her forehead to his chest. "As long as you are here to hold my hand."

The hesitance dissipated from his hands with her words. His arms wrapped around her shoulders and he pulled her against him. There was relief and contentment that washed over him as he felt the weight of her head on his chest. She placed her palm atop his beating heart, feeling its steady rhythm on her fingers. She already knew she was beginning to fall in love with him and she wasn't so afraid anymore.

***

The night sky glittered like a black chiffon cloth had been sprinkled with silver sequins. Grey cotton-like clouds sailed past a silvery smile of the moon, diminishing the misty blue light it seemed to cast over the city. Sakshi was lying on the floor of her balcony, her fingers tracing imaginary lines through the stars glimmering on the night sky above. From where she lay, she could see the bright stars forming Orion, and she didn't know why she was reminded of Arjun.

Suddenly she felt a familiar grasp on her fingers, stalling them in mid-air. She looked up to see Arjun's face appear over hers. In the pale moonlight, his dark eyes seemed to carry an unearthly brilliance, resembling that of black diamonds. A cool night breeze blew around them, ruffling the strands of his hair.

"Hi." She looked up at him with a dazed smile. "I was wondering where you were."

"Stargazing?" An amusing smile appeared on his lips.

"Maybe." She glanced at their clasped hands silhouetted against the starry sky, wondering how just the sight of his hand could untangle all the knots that formed within her.

He pressed his middle finger to the centre of her palm, while his thumb brushed over her knuckles. He smiled, feeling her throbbing pulse on his fingertips and found himself closing his eyes, trying to feel her emotions through his touch. He could sense that the hint of fear within her, hadn't disappeared completely yet, but a strange anticipation had crept into her skin; something that he liked to link with his presence. He could have stayed like that forever, without saying a word, had she not questioned him the next minute. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to read you," he replied, looking down into her eyes.

"Rehne do." She pulled her hand from his grip and sat up. "Tumhare bas ki baat nahi hai." She squeezed herself into the gap between him and the pots of rose plants that lined the edge of the balcony. The white roses had acquired a ghostly shade of silver in the moonlight, their leaves appearing almost colourless. She touched the white petals of the roses, feeling their cool, soft surface and wondering if their touch too had a story to tell. But perhaps, it only worked with him.

A sudden strange desire to feel the petals through her skin flooded through him, and his fingers followed hers onto the rose petals without a second thought. He sidled closer to her, placing his fingers atop hers as she touched the rose petals. His lips moved closer to her ears and he whispered teasingly, "Then I learn from you."

Murjhaayi Si Shaakh Pe Dil Ki

Phool Khilte Hai Kyun

Baat Gulon Ki, Zikr Mahek Ka

Acha Lagta Hai Kyun

She shivered as she felt his warm breath on her earlobes. As his other hand gently held her shoulder, the lines imprinted on his palm seemed to feel like the tip of a hot knife, etching those lines across her skin. Feeling herself being surrounded by his touch, his warmth, his comfort, she leaned back against him. Her head gently fit into the nook of his neck, and she found herself wondering how his touch could be both calming and unnerving at the same time. She only realised her fingers had frozen on the rose petals when he lifted her fingers and trailed them along the roses.

He couldn't really feel the petals; but if he closed his eyes, he could almost feel their softness through her skin. The roses which had failed to stir any emotions within him before, suddenly felt so alive, soft and beautiful. Just like her.

Un Rangon Se Tune Milaya

Jinse Kabhi Main Mil Nahi Paaya

Dil Karta Hai Tera Shukriyaa

Issi Bahane Tu Laa De

She withdrew her fingers from the roses and turned around to face him. As she pressed her palm to the side of his face, she felt the last of her hesitance fade away. The way he looked at her, with a gaze full of sudden inexplicable desires, she found herself wondering what he could read in her eyes; she didn't want to untangle the mess of emotions within her at that moment.

"Did you find my emotions?" she asked, a sudden teasing smile appearing on her lips.

He touched the back of his hand to her cheek. "They're for me," he said quietly, moving her face close to his. He lowered his forehead and let it touch hers. "I'll keep them to myself."

Dil Ka Sunaa Banjar Mehka De

Sukhi Padhi Dil Ki Iss Zameen Ko Bhiga De

Arjun didn't need her to tell him anything; he knew words wouldn't suffice what they both felt. He felt her reach for his hand and touch her palm to his, hoping in his heart that the love he had for her would be enough to make her want to stay forever. With him.

Their fingers interlocked, reuniting the rivers of criss-crossing lines that ran across both palms. Love and warmth seemed to flood from his palm onto hers, and Sakshi once again felt herself growing a little afraid of the tide of emotions that she might have unleashed from him. She let her head rest on his chest, holding their entwined fingers to herself. "I never want to hurt you, Arjun," she confessed.

He pressed his lips to her forehead and wound his arms around her. "I don't care if you do. I know how to heal the wound."

"Oh, really?" she asked, eyeing their entwined hands.

She knew the answer; but even then, she felt him lift their clasped hands to his lips and kiss her knuckles. "I'll just ask you to stay," he whispered with a smile. "Or rather, I'll let my palms do the talking."

She smiled, sinking herself into the warmth of his embrace, knowing in her heart that she trusted what she interpreted from his touch. If she had unlocked the emotions within him after so many years, she knew they had enough strength to bind her with Arjun. Or perhaps, the lines on his palm did. This time she knew she could stay.

And perhaps this time her love would last forever.

*************

Song credits: Humnava from Hamari Adhuri Kahani

There.. that's all😳

Probably was an overdose of emotions.. but I hope you liked it nevertheless. Do leave your comments🤗 and thanks soo much for reading!