SaiRat OS || A SKY FULL OF STARS

Hello again! I was going through all my past posts on this site and came across this fic I had written a few years back on another forum. I edited it a wee bit to fit the narrative I wanted for Sai & Virat. The story of the star crossed lovers is one that makes me emotional every time I read about it, so I thought why not spread the joy? I hope you guys have fun reading this. (Before you ask, yes, Coldplay was totally the inspiration for narrowing down on this title!) 

A SKY FULL OF STARS

He was starting to lose his mind. It had to be that or he had suddenly developed supersonic hearing. He silently wished for it to be the latter because it'd be cool thing to flex about but soon brushed off such thoughts and decided to get back to the stack of files that lay before him, demanding his attention. 

"Chal beta Virat, lag ja kaam pe." He was determined to finish all his pending work even if it meant pulling off an all-nighter. 

As he sat on his bed, flipping through the pages of a file, he heard that giggle again. It wasn't just another giggle, it was 'her', he was sure of it. He'd never fail to recognize the sound of her laughter. But why was he hearing her voice at such an unearthly hour? He thought. Was it because he was missing her and was yearning for a chance to meet her? 

The work load had increased by leaps and bounds at the station and he found himself with more and more work each day, leaving little to no time at his hands to spare. Suddenly every other person in the city wanted to pay the Police Station a visit. He wasn't complaining about being of service to the general public, he loved helping people and ensuring law and order prevailed in the city, but an increase in the number of cases meant an increase in the amount of paperwork they needed to submit. 

It had to be his imagination, or why would he start to hear her laughter in the middle of the night out of nowhere? He was missing her and his mind was playing tricks on him. "Stupid medical camp" He grumbled under his breath 

"Pull yourself together and focus on your work." He said out loud, in an attempt to coax himself into immersing into work. Tomorrow was an important day, for Sai was coming back home tomorrow. He wanted to be there to welcome her back and finishing all this paperwork beforehand meant he could spend the whole day with her. 

His Sai, the girl he had fallen hopelessly in love with over the past few months She was his wife, and yet for the longest time, love eluded their union. She was supposed to be his responsibility, nothing more and nothing less. But over the course of getting to know her and sharing a roof together, he found himself drawn to her childlike innocence. 

What had he been thinking? Well clearly, he hadn't been thinking. He could picture a thousand different scenarios where all this would blow up in his face and come back to bite him but he loved her and it couldn't be undone now. Even though at times, she terrified him a little. 

"Maybe I need to get a cup of coffee and start fresh" He figured and made his way towards the kitchen. Passing by the balcony, the scene he witnessed made him freeze in his tracks. There she was, Sai, sitting on a rug, gazing at the starlit sky in amazement. He rubbed his eyes repeatedly, to make sense of what he was seeing. Was it actually her sitting there or was it his brain tricking him again? "Only one way to find out." He said and started walking towards her with bated breaths.

On reaching a safe distance, he gingerly touched Sai's shoulder causing her to scream a little. It was only after realizing that it was Virat and not a wandering ghost, did she stop her screaming.

"What were you thinking, sneaking up after on me like that, Virat sir?" Sai demanded, with her hands on her chest, trying to normalize her breathing

"I didn't mean to scare you" Virat replied, apologetically.

"Consider that a job well done." Her tone reaked of sarcasm.

"I'm sorry but it was fun seeing you scream your heart out."

He didn't foresee the repercussion of his statement and was greeted with a small punch to his right arm by Sai. "Ouch!" he shrieked. 

"That hurt" Did he mention she was childlike? Virat made a mental note to never call her childlike, ever. She could definitely pack a punch. 

"It was meant to" She announced nonchalantly

"So what are you doing here?" Virat questioned, "You're supposed to be at that medical camp"

"The camp ended earlier than expected. I was missing everyone so I came back home as soon as I could. It was honestly a last minute thing, just felt like spending the night here. I just arrived a couple of hours ago. Usha Maushi opened the door for me" 

"Why didn't you call me?" Virat enquired, "I would have come to get you" 

"Then I wouldn't be able to see this look on your face" Sai squeaked. "It was no trouble, my professor dropped me here. I didn't want to trouble you." She added 

"So it was her, he had indeed heard her laughter around the house" he thought not too enthralled by the idea of her ever being of trouble to him. 

Seeing no response from him, Sai snapped her fingers to bring him out of his reverie. "Virat Sir?!" She prodded

"Yeah" He said, "Want some company?"

Sai patted the side beside her, signaling him to make himself comfortable, which he obliged.

"So, what are we doing?" He asked

"Just look up and get lost in the beauty of these stars." Sai said dreamily

Her innocence tugged the right strings of his heart and he couldn't help but thank his gods for the luck he had chanced upon. He thought he had experienced love before, with Pakhi. For the longest time, he believed what he had felt for Pakhi was indeed love but then the girl next to him, unbeknownst to him, made him realise that what he thought he had with Pakhi couldn't be farther away from love. Love is what he feels for Sai, the butterflies in his stomach when he sees her smile, that's love. 

The sky was an inky canopy of darkness, freckled with tiny diamonds, sparkling their way into hearts. Some were dull, merely flickering into existence every now and then but there was an adequate amount of shimmering stars to illuminate the dark. At that dead hour when the whole world stood still, hushed in sleep, Virat and Sai sat there, gazing at those little diamonds of hope.

"It's breathtakingly beautiful, isn't it?" Sai asked, her gaze still affixed on the stars

"It is." Said Virat, darting his eyes towards her. "The most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

If only Sai could see, that for Virat, everything else ranked below her.

"You know Virat Sir, stars have always fascinated me. When I was a kid and missed my mother, Aaba and I would stare at the stars for hours together and it made me feel so much at ease. The thought of these tiny stars, cutting through the darkness of the night sky, filled my heart with hope."

Sitting under the starlit sky with Sai by his side, made Virat's heart explode with joy. Just sitting there, listening to her speak about stars, with a new twinkle in her eyes, made him fall more and more in love with her, a task that seemed impossible to him. He found himself admiring Sai more than the beautiful night sky.

"Virat Sir?" Sai called out

"Huh-yes?" He said, darting his eyes, away from her and towards the stars

"Do you know the tale of the star-crossed lovers?"

"No idea." Admitted Virat

Sai began," Two of the brightest stars in the sky are Altair and Vega. It is said that they were deeply in love but separated forever by the celestial Milky Way."

"That sounds sad." Virat spoke

"It is. But once every year, on the 7th day of the 7th month, all the magpies in the world fly up and create a bridge with their wings over the Milky Way, so that Vega can cross over to other side and the lovers can be together for a single day."

"Wow", mouthed Virat

 Sai said tilting her head towards Virat,"It makes me wonder if I'll ever experience love that strong."

"Something tells me that one day you will." He smiled. "You know what will make this star gazing experience even better? A hot cup of coffee. I'll go get us some."

"Wait, I'll come help you with that." Sai offered 

"Ladies first," He bows down a little making way for her, causing her to smile a little

Before going in to help Sai with the coffee, he looks up at the night sky with a lopsided grin on his face and thanks the universe for helping him find his Vega.