Bhargav's POV
Before I could stop Indu from launching into another round of teasing, a dramatic voice sliced through the buzz of conversation like a theatrical thunderclap.
"Holy moly, what in the multiverse of madness am I witnessing here?"
We all turned toward the gate.
Rakesh.
Dressed in a crisp white shirt and navy trousers, holding a sweet box like a peace offering—or a bribe. He stood frozen in the doorway like he'd just walked into a plot twist.
I blinked. "Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"
"I have! A suspiciously well-dressed, smiling ghost couple," he declared, pointing at Siri and me with exaggerated horror. "You two were ready to bury each other alive last I checked. And now what? Joint prayers? Holding hands under divine chandeliers?"
Indu snorted, clearly enjoying the spectacle. "Why are you here, drama queen?"
"I came to see my bestie Indu, my honorary sister Siri, and my formerly loyal gym partner Bhargav, who seems to be sneaking around in emotionally significant silence."
Siri chuckled softly. "Anna, you're still too much."
Indu folded her arms and cocked her head. "Why aren't you with your bro Abhi then? You guys were inseparable."
The air shifted. Subtle, but immediate.
Rakesh's grin faltered. His posture stiffened. "Abhi's not my bro anymore."
Silence.
My shoulders tensed instinctively. Siri's brow furrowed. She asked gently, "Why?"
Indu, being Indu, pushed further. "Didn't you two rub shoulders so close you could've sparked a forest fire?"
"Gross, akka," I muttered under my breath.
But Rakesh didn't flinch. He slowly pulled out his phone and held it up. "You really want to know? I've got proof. This was the last conversation I had with him. A month ago."
He tapped a few times, scrolled, then read aloud:
Abhi: I messed up.
Me: What happened?
Abhi: Siri caught me… with my boss. At the party.
Me: I thought you changed. For her.
Abhi: I did. But I don't know what's wrong with me. Help me, bro.
Rakesh looked up then. Voice quieter.
Me: You're a bastard. Don't ever call me bro again. You're dead to me.
"And then," Rakesh added, holding up the screen for us to see, "I blocked him. Right there. Done."
Indu let out a low whistle, her teasing now replaced with a rare seriousness. "Well then. Guess that's sorted. Come in."
Rakesh exhaled like he'd been holding it in all month and stepped inside.
Amma spotted him from the hallway and lit up. "Rakesh! You always come with sweets and storm clouds, no?"
He grinned sheepishly and handed her the box. "Storm clouds carry rain, Aunty."
She chuckled and took it, muttering something about blessings in disguise.
Soon we were all gathered in the living room—Indu, Amma, Siri, and me—with plates of modaks and laddus being passed around like festival currency. Laughter followed in waves, but beneath it all, I couldn't ignore the subtle way Siri looked at Rakesh. Like she hadn't expected him to choose her.
And he had.
Without hesitation.
I caught her looking at me once, when Rakesh was recounting a stupid gym story. She wasn't smiling. Not exactly. It was softer—like gratitude wrapped in disbelief.
And for the first time in a long while, I didn't feel like the only one carrying the weight of the past.
We weren't alone anymore.
---
Siri's POV
Rakesh kept glancing between Bhargav and me, his brows furrowed, eyes flicking back and forth like he was watching a tennis match and waiting for someone to confess a scandal.
"Okay... real talk," he said at last, leaning forward with dramatic intensity, resting his elbows on his knees. "What happened to the two of you? Where are the insults? The glares? The patented Bhargav-Siri Cold War silences? This—" he gestured between us "—is suspicious. Borderline magical realism."
I laughed, trying to sound casual even though my heart did a tiny summersault. "We're just friends now, Anna."
Bhargav shifted next to me. Barely. But I felt it. The slight stiffening of his shoulders, the twitch of his fingers against his jeans. Like the word 'just' was too sharp and didn't sit well in his chest.
"Just friends, huh?" Rakesh narrowed his eyes like a detective in a low-budget thriller. "Could've fooled me."
From the other side of the room, a chorus rang out.
"Exactly!" said Indu, Amma, and Bhargav's father—in perfect sync.
Bhargav and I groaned at the same time, our voices overlapping like we were one of those old sitcom couples everyone roots for.
"There's nothing like that!" I said, waving my hands for dramatic effect.
"Yeah," Bhargav added quickly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Stop imagining things."
"Fine, fine," Rakesh said with a playful shrug. "We'll stop. For now." His wink was so exaggerated it could've been seen from space.
Laughter exploded around the room. Amma was shaking her head, pretending to be scandalized, while Appa chuckled into his cup of coffee like he knew something the rest of us didn't.
"Bhargav," Indu said, nudging him with her elbow, "remember how you used to complain to me that Siri had a personal vendetta against your existence?"
"I did not!" he said, clearly embarrassed.
"You did," she grinned. "You called her the 'Queen of Eyerolls' and said if looks could kill, Siri would've been in jail for serial murder."
I burst out laughing. "Only because you kept telling me I had no idea how to exist quietly."
"You didn't!" Bhargav shot back. "You used to hum loudly during exams!"
"And you used to chew gum like you were punishing it!"
"Oh my god," Indu giggled, "you both kept tallies on each other?"
Bhargav groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Why am I here?"
"To suffer," Rakesh declared solemnly. "To face the music of your fate. Which, clearly, is Siri."
Bhargav peeked at me through his fingers. I arched a brow. He quickly looked away.
"Honestly," Amma said, handing me another sweet, "I don't care what's going on as long as I get to see Bhargav smile like this. It's been too long."
He looked up at her, startled. "Amma…"
She waved him off, but her eyes shone. "Don't Amma me. Look at you—sulky boy turned softie."
Appa jumped in, eyes twinkling. "First time I saw you this red in the face was when you accidentally called your maths teacher 'Amma' in tenth grade."
"Appa!" Bhargav's face was now officially tomato-level flushed.
"And then," Indu added with relish, "he went home and cried because his friends teased him for a week."
"Okay, I'm leaving," Bhargav stood up dramatically. "This house is toxic."
Siri and I were both laughing uncontrollably now. I could barely breathe.
"Sit down," I tugged his sleeve. "Be a man."
Rakesh hooted. "Oof! That's going in the quote hall of fame."
"I should start writing these down," Indu said, pulling out her phone. "Bhargav and Siri: The Documentary. Episode One—From Mortal Enemies to Festive Favourites."
"You're all insane," Bhargav muttered, but he was smiling. That small, reluctant smile he wore when his heart was full but his mouth didn't want to admit it.
"Beta," Amma said to me gently, "you really do look beautiful in that saree. It's like it was stitched with sunlight."
I blinked. "Thank you, Aunty."
Bhargav looked sideways at me. And then, in a quiet voice, said, "You really do."
Everyone pretended not to hear it. Or maybe they did and just let it be.
Because in that moment, the room softened.
Laughter faded into warm conversation. Indu passed around more sweets. Rakesh sank back into the sofa, already telling a ridiculous story from college. Amma chuckled as she brought extra water for Appa. Bhargav and I sat close—shoulders not touching, but barely apart.
And somewhere between a teasing remark and the clinking of sweet boxes, I caught Bhargav's gaze again.
He wasn't smiling this time.
Just looking.
Soft. Quiet. Open.
Something passed between us. Not a declaration. Not a confession. But something real. Something new.
We weren't enemies anymore.
Not quite lovers yet.
But something was there.
Something forming.
Something worth holding on to.
To be continued...