Hello! So I haven't seen much written on Ayaan and Humeira so far. And their love story seems to have officially taken off. So I decided to write a short story on them because I absolutely love them! I find them both so adorable. Please read it and leave any comments/suggestions!
1: White Lies in a Black Sari
Humeira lay on her bed, trying to think of some way to leave, to hide, to go anywhere else but here. Everything had come back to her in a jolt and although some parts of her memory were still fuzzy, she knew from the whisperings of Nikhat and Nuzat that she had some kind of psychological disorder.
Humeira remembered the evening when her mother rushed her out of the house, where she hopped on the bus and met Rajni Shukla. She was so unlike her, yet similar in many ways. Rajni had a husband who loved but didn't ever say it. She said he was a hard working man and a bit reserved. Somewhat like the new Ayaan. She sighed deeply. The Ayaan that flirted with her, teased her, and was always around her had disappeared somewhere. She couldn't understand why she didn't see it before. He doesn't love me. He never did and never will.
Humeira got up, fixing her black sari for the third time. "Ek toh yeh sari'I dunno how people wear this everyday." Humeira looked at herself in the mirror, hesitating to put the red sindoor on her maang. How could she wear it when she wasn't married? She wasn't Rajni and she knew that now. But she had to. Until tonight. She would leave quietly without telling anyone. Nobody could ever force Ayaan into marrying her that way. If he didn't love her, then she would never force him to marry her. She heard a knock on the door and quickly put the sindoor between her hair's partition.
"Rajniji?" Ayaan's head poked through the door.
"Ayaan-ji?" Humeira had to remember to add the "ji" to his name now. She was pretending to be Rajni.
"The rain's caused flooding all across the city. My bathroom's electricity isn't working. Do you mind if I take a shower here?" He explained.
"Uh - haan. Kyun nahin?" Humeira gave him a weak smile and looked away, pretending to fix her sari's pallu.
Ayaan stood there, waiting for her to say something else. Anything else. But she ignored him. He entered the bathroom and began to strip down. He turned the hot water on, placing his head right under the shower. Humeira - When will you come back to me?
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Ayaan stepped out of the hot shower, wiping the mist on the mirror with his hands. Oh crap. Where are my clothes?! He realized he left them in his room. He looked at the wet floor and saw the clothes he had been wearing were soaked. He grabbed his old pants and put them on hurriedly. The damp cloth felt cold against his skin. Maybe Humeira wasn't sitting outside? He poked his head outside and breathed a sigh of relief as he found nobody there. He walked outside quietly, leaving Humeira's room, still shirtless. Only to find a group of women sitting in the living room, chatting away with Razia. Oh, hell. If they saw him coming out of Humeira's room half-naked, Razia would murder him.
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Humeira walked out of her closet as she heard her door close. Ayaan must have left, she thought. And as always he left the bathroom's light on. She shook her head as she walked in the bathroom. "Eww. Ayaan!" She muttered to herself. Everything was wet everywhere! And she could barely see anything from all the mist. She tried lifting her sari but it was wet near the ends already.
Ayaan walked back into Humeira's room stealthily, trying to make as little sound as possible. He opened the door to Humeira's bathroom and walked right in, only to see Humeira bent down, wiping the floor. Even in the layers of silky fabric, she looked so petite. She had her hair out and brushed off on one shoulder, the way Humeira always did when she was cleaning. Ayaan couldn't help notice her bare back and her slim waist as he looked at her. Small beads of water had formed on her back. He stepped closer to her.
Humeira turned abruptly, terrified to see a half-naked Ayaan. She opened her mouth in shock. Ayaan took a step towards her, scared that she would scream to see him like this.
He pressed his index finger on her lips. "Shh! I-forgot-my-clothes. There's-old-aunties-outside. I- promise-to-leave-as soon-as-they-go!" He said all too quickly in one breath. Humeira had her eyebrows scrunched up. Her face was damp from the mist in the room. There were tiny droplets right on the corner of her pink lips. Ayaan wanted so bad to just wipe it off. But he stopped himself. This wasn't Humeira. This was someone else in Humeira's body. Humeira shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.
"I'm sorry. I thought you were going to scream." Ayaan stepped back. Humeira smiled lightly, her cheeks becoming a crimson colour as she became aware of Ayaan's shirtless-ness. How would Rajni react in this situation? She'd probably leave, Humeira thought. Humeira inched towards the door, keeping her eyes lowered as she got a whiff of Ayaan's favourite shower gel. It was zesty and so full of life like her Ayaan. It had a citrus smell that she loved. Huemira shivered as a single droplet from his wet hair trickled down Humeira's face. She looked up at him slowly, biting her bottom lip as she felt her heart rate go crazy.
Ayaan's eyes widened. What was she doing? She didn't know if it was entirely the wet floor or Ayaan standing beside her that made her lose her balance, but she felt herself slipping down. Humeira gasped as Ayaan hands grabbed her bare waist but she was already falling. Tiny goosebumps formed where his hand had held her.
"Oww!" Ayaan screamed out. Humeira looked up to see Ayaan's right shoulder bleeding. The towel bar's iron edge had scraped Ayaan's skin as he tried catching her. Humeira got up quickly from the wet floor and put some toilet paper on it.
"Hush. Go outside and sit on the bed. I'll go get the first aid box." Humeira knew of Ayaan's aversive fear to blood. He would cry at even the littlest of wounds as a child if he saw blood. As she suspected, Ayaan's eyes widened as the the blood oozed out.
"Oh.My.God."Ayaan clenched his teeth. "I'm going to - " Humeira applied pressure to the area fast.
"Go sit outside, Ayaan! You're not going to die. It's just blood." Humeira pushed him out, rolling her eyes at him. Ayaan made a face at her and walked outside.
"Biggest cry baby ever when he sees blood." He heard Humeira mutter as he left the room. "Bachpan se." She giggled. Ayaan stopped walking, his eyes widening in shock. Did she just say, "bachpan se"?
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He knew it was his Humeira as he observed her carefully. The way she rolled her eyes at him, the way she smiled at his stupid shayari, the way she put her hair and kept tripping over her sari. But why was she pretending? He promised himself he wouldn't reveal her secret to anyone until she told him herself. Humeira walked out of her closet, carrying a small first aid box. She even knows where that is! Ayaan smiled to himself.
"Daath mat dikhao. Aur pehle koi shirt pehno." Humeira shot at him.
Ayaan cleared his throat and pretending to be in pain as he lifted his shoulder up. "Can you please help me?"
Humeira sighed. It was becoming harder and harder to be Rajni now. She took out a oversized kurti from her dresser and walked up to him. He was still shirtless and it was hard to look at him without staring. He sat at the edge of her computer chair with his legs spread out in a V. Ayaan had carefully placed himself so that Humeira would have to look right at him. There was nowhere for her to sit but stand right in front of him and face him.
She dabbed some dettol on a cotton swap and carefully stayed as far from Ayaan as she could as she applied it to the wound.
"Ahhh - It burns!!" Ayaan yelped out.
"I'm sorry!" She came closer to him and blew gently on the wounded area. Ayaan smiled. Humeira dabbed some more dettol and blew again. This time, Ayaan yelled louded, pulling Humeira closer to him by grasping her waist with his free hand.
"Ayaan!" Humeira cried out in shock. Ayaan closed his eyes as if he was still in pain. This was the second time she'd skipped the "ji" in his name. You suck at acting, Humeira. He pulled her closer until she was right into front of him between his legs. He moved his hands from her waist to her shoulder and touched her soft, dark hair which she had tied to the side now. He put his index finger through her hair-tie and slowly pulled it out of her hair. Humeira could feel butterflies in her stomach, almost as if they were fluttering to her heart. He knew, she thought. Ayaan ran his hand down her shoulders, smiling slightly as he knew his Humeira was back.
Humeira closed her eyes, trying to focus on how to get out of here. What was he trying to do? She tried to move back but his hand was still firmly placed on her waist. Her skin felt hot everywhere and she was sure her face was red by now.
"Rajni!" Humeira's eyes opened wide as she heard Nikhat's voice. She grabbed the oversized kurti and threw it at Ayaan. "Wear this and don't let anyone see you leaving my room!" She forced Ayaan to let go of her and turned to leave, so thankful of Nikhat right now.
"I'm not wearing your kurti, woman!" Ayaan sat there smiling like an idiot to himself. His Humeira really was back.
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So would anyone be willing to read more? Please let me know! I hope other people adore these two as much as I do! đ
I've also written another SS on Ayaan and Humeira. Please do read it if you're interested:
Arjun
Cricket
Indian Mythology
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