A faint knock broke through the stillness of the night.

Guru stirred in his bed, one eye half open, grumbling under his breath. He lazily reached over, flicked on the dim yellow bulb, and dragged himself toward the door. His legs moved like they weighed a ton.

He opened the door slowly, expecting soori or jai.

But instead—

There she was.

Avni.

Standing barefoot, in a saree . Her skin glistened with sweat, hair clinging to her neck and forehead, lips parted slightly as she tried to catch her breath. Her eyes — wide, annoyed, and tired.

Guru blinked hard, rubbing his eyes once more like maybe he was hallucinating.

“Kya…”

["What…"]

But she didn’t wait.

With a frustrated grunt, Avni pushed him aside with her shoulder and marched straight into the room. The moment the cool air from the ceiling fan brushed against her overheated skin, she let out a soft, exaggerated groan of relief, tilting her head back, arms lifted slightly.

Guru closed the door behind them, watching her with a mixture of surprise and… something else.  Her city confidence still hadn’t worn off, clearly.

He scratched his head, eyes narrowing.

“Tu—” he started, unsure.

["You—"]

She spun around sharply, eyebrows furrowed in fury, lips quivering with irritation.

“Mujhe pata hai tum mujhe pasand nahi karte,” she snapped, her voice sharp and shaking slightly from exhaustion,

["I know you don't like me,"]

“Par iska matlab yeh toh nahi ki tum mujhe garmi se MAR Do?!”

["But that doesn’t mean you’ll KILL me with the heat?!"]

Guru blinked. Her words echoed in the still room.

“Wahan ka fan bandh hai, HIL BHI NAHI RAHA,” she continued, pacing like a mad woman.

["The fan there is off, it’s not even moving,"]

“Aur upar se — khidkiyaan bhi seal karwa di tumne… jaise main koi prisoner hoon!”

["And on top of that — you’ve sealed the windows too… like I’m some prisoner!"]

"Waise toh hu..." she realised.

["Well… I am."]

She gestured wildly.

“Tumhe kya lagta hai? Main hawa ke bina zinda rahungi?”

["What do you think? I’ll survive without air?"]

She stopped, placing both hands on her hips, chest rising and falling with every annoyed breath.

“Maarne ka IRADA hai kya tumhara?!” she shouted finally, voice reaching a dramatic pitch like she was in some daily soap climax.

["Do you actually intend to kill me?!"]

Guru stood frozen for a moment, lips twitching slightly. It wasn’t just the absurdity of her midnight outburst — it was the whole picture. Sweaty, furious, dramatic Avni in front of him, accusing him of attempted murder by heatstroke.

And for some godforsaken reason, he found it… funny.

Avni sat down at the edge of Guru’s bed, her hands nervously clasped in her lap. She could feel his eyes on her, but she didn’t dare look up. The room was dimly lit, the old fan creaking above, casting slow-moving shadows on the wall.

He was still standing near the door, his posture rigid, arms crossed over his chest.

Avni looked at the bed for a moment, then shifted her eyes to Guru, who was still standing there with an irritated expression, clearly not ready to back down.

Without meeting his gaze, Avni spoke quickly, her voice low but steady.

"Tum kahin aur jaake so jao…!! Bahar so jao, zyada hi garmi ho rahi hai tumhe toh…" she said coolly, almost like a challenge.

["You go sleep somewhere else…!! Go sleep outside, since you’re feeling so hot…"]

And before he could throw back a retort or escalate the argument, she lay down on the bed and turned to the other side, giving him her back like a full stop.

There was a pause.

Then came his voice, loud and absolutely done with her antics—

"Ayeee!!!"

["Heyyy!!!"]

He stomped towards the switchboard, muttering something under his breath, and with one dramatic flick, turned off the light. The room sank into darkness.

Avni shut her eyes tightly, pretending to be fast asleep, though her heart was still racing from the brief standoff. Then, she heard it — the soft creak of the door opening… then closing.

Silence.

She waited a moment, then let out a long sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing into the mattress.

So he actually left.

That surprised her more than she expected. No argument, no comeback, no taunt. Just… left.

But she was too tired to dwell on it. Her body gave in to the heat and exhaustion, and slowly, she drifted into sleep — unaware that somewhere, in the shadows of that house, Guru wasn’t quite asleep either.

......

The morning light filtered in softly through the curtain slits, casting a warm, golden haze across the room. The fan above groaned in lazy circles, stirring the stillness with its rhythmic creaks.

Avni stirred, eyes fluttering open slowly.

For a brief moment, she smiled — that gentle, sleepy kind of smile that comes with waking up without chaos. Her body felt light, the air cooler than last night, and for once, she wasn’t sweating buckets. Bliss.

But then… she felt it.

Something heavy… resting on her waist.

Her brows knit together, and her hand instinctively moved under the thin sheet, brushing against something warm, firm—

A hand.

Her eyes snapped fully open.

Her hand paused, gripping the intruding limb, slowly tracing it back—fingers, wrist, knuckles… definitely a hand. A man's hand.

Her heart skipped a beat — no, more like tripped and faceplanted.

In one swift motion, she turned her head—

And there he was.

Guru.

Fast asleep. Lying on her bed. His face turned toward her, the soft morning light illuminating the sharp angles of his jaw, the unruly strands of his hair falling onto his forehead. His expression, for once, was peaceful — almost boyish.

His arm was draped over her waist like it belonged there.

Avni stared at him, stunned.

Last night flashed back in fragments — the heat, the shouting, the door closing behind him.

He left. Didn’t he?

But clearly… at some point in the night, he came back.

She blinked, heart thudding now for entirely new reasons.

Slowly, carefully, she tried to lift his arm off her. It didn’t budge.

She hissed under her breath, “Utho…”

["Get up…"]

Nothing.

His grip tightened slightly in response, like his body was subconsciously trying to hold on.

Her eyes widened.

“Oh hell no,” she whispered.

When he didn’t move a bit, Avni’s patience snapped.

“GURUUUUUU!!!”

She shouted so loud, it could’ve woken the entire village.

Guru jolted awake with a sharp gasp, eyes wide in alarm. He looked completely disoriented, like someone had just poured cold water on him. His gaze darted around until it landed on her — standing on the bed, wild-eyed and furious, shouting like a mad woman.

She pointed a shaking finger at him.

“Main tumhare upar case kar dungi!!!”

["I’ll file a case against you!!!"]

Her voice was shrill with outrage.

“Court! Supreme Court tak ghasitungi!!!”

["I’ll drag you to court! All the way to the Supreme Court!!!"]

Guru just blinked at her, still half-asleep, clearly trying to figure out what crime he’d committed in the last five seconds.

Guru just stared at her for second.

He looked at her then to bed then to him.

He realized.

He licked his dry lips, opened his mouth to explain, to say something — anything — but she was already too far gone, high on the fuel of her own imagination.

Eyes blazing, arms flailing, she took a dramatic step forward on the bed like some courtroom warrior.

“Sab evidence hai mere paas! Meri kamar par   haath tha TUMHARA!”

["I have all the evidence! Your hand was under the blanket!"]

He blinked and looked at her bare waist.

That's why it was feeling so soft.

She pointed to the crime scene — the mattress — then her waist. Shyly.

Guru raised a hand weakly, , sun toh—”

just listen—"]

“Tumhara toh bail bhi nahi milega!” she snapped, pacing now.

["You won’t even get bail!"]

Getting utterly frustrated, Guru suddenly reached out and pulled her down mid-rant.

With a startled yelp, Avni tumbled and landed on the bed on her knees, wobbling slightly as she tried to regain balance.

His face was inches from hers now — eyes sharp, jaw clenched.

“Raat mein bohot garmi thi, toh apun yaha aagaya,” he snapped, voice low and firm.

["It was too hot last night, so I came here,"]

“Jagah nahi thi, toh apun tere side mein so gaya.”

["There was no space, so I slept on your side."]

He leaned in a little more, brows furrowed.

“Isse zyada apun ne kuch bhi nahi kiya hai… toh yeh khichdi banana band kar.”

["I didn’t do anything more than that… so stop cooking up nonsense."]

Avni froze, eyes locked with his, breath caught somewhere between defiance and disbelief.

“Tumne mujhe kyun nahi uthaya?” she asked suddenly, her voice quieter this time — not angry, just… confused.

Guru paused near the basin, his shoulders rising and falling as he took a deep breath.

“Uthaya tha tujhe,” he said flatly, turning slightly to glance at her,

“Par tu ghode bech ke so rahi thi. Toh apun kya kar sakta hai?”

["I did try to wake you, but you were sleeping like the dead. What was I supposed to do?"]

Avni's eyes widened.

Still on her knees, she turned, staring straight at him, hurt flickering beneath the sarcasm.

“Accha…” she said slowly, voice rising with every word,

“Phir zameen pe so jaate… ya mujhe zameen pe fek dete…”

["Then you could’ve slept on the floor… or thrown me on the floor…"]

She blinked rapidly, jaw tightening as her voice sharpened.

“Par nahi  'Guru bhai' ko toh apni not-so-pyaari biwi ke saath hi sona tha, hai na?”

["But nooo — Guru bhai just had to sleep next to his not-so-beloved wife, right?"]

Silence.

The sarcasm burned. The word “biwi” hung in the air like a spark ready to light a fire.

And Guru... finally turned around fully, eyes locked on hers — unreadable.

Avni and Guru sat in complete silence, their eyes locked like two warriors in a standoff, each daring the other to make the first move. The tension was suffocating — the kind that didn’t need words to burn.

A sudden knock at the door shattered the stillness.

Without breaking eye contact, Avni shot Guru one last glare, then jumped down from the bed and walked to the door, swinging it open without a second thought.

“Kya hai?”

[“What is it?”] she snapped, only to find Soori standing there.

Soori’s eyes widened in disbelief. His gaze flicked past her and into the room, noting where she’d come from . His mouth opened and closed, unsure of what to say. He swallowed hard and quickly turned his back, flustered.

“Sorry, bhabhi... Apun galat time par aa gaya...”

[“Sorry, bhabhi... I came at the wrong time...”]

He paused, his words stumbling awkwardly.

but then he stopped altogether, his eyes catching on something Avni followed his gaze, confused — until her eyes landed on Amrita, walking toward them. Her presence, especially this early in the morning, felt out of place.

Questions flooded Avni’s mind. But when she noticed the awkwardness and hurt glistening in her eye... confusion turned into unease.Avni opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a word, the weight of realization crashed down on her.

“Amrita, aisa—[“Amrita, it’s not—”]

“Me tumhe apne sath lejane aayi hu, meri help kardo shopping me .”

[“I came here to take you with me, help me in shopping .”] Amrita cut her off, her voice sharp and trembling.

Avni blinked, taken aback by the interruption. Amrita’s eyes drifted behind her, and instinctively, Avni turned around.

Guru was standing just behind her.

Avni closed her eyes and cursed herself silently for his sudden appearance.

“Guru i hope tum dono ko disturb nahi kiya ho mene .”

Amrita finished, her voice barely a whisper but a warning.