The moment the car door shut, it was like a dam broke inside Shriya.
She didn't wait.
She didn't think.
She grabbed MK by the neck and pulled her in, kissing her so suddenly and so deeply that MK's hands flew to the seat for balance. Shriya kissed her like she'd been holding her breath for two years and finally reached the surface.
When she pulled back, MK had to drag in air like she'd run a mile.
"You— you did that on purpose," MK managed, voice shaky and accusing. Her chest rose sharply, her body already reacting, betraying her. "Shriya… don't leave me like this. Please."
Shriya smirked and tipped her chin toward the hotel across the street.
"Do you want to go take a cold shower?"
"Damn it, Shrii—"
Shriya froze.
The nickname hit her like a physical touch — sharp, warm, deep. It reached a part of her that had been locked, starved, refusing to feel. And suddenly she forgot how to breathe.
'She gave me a nickname,' she thought. 'And it sounds like, home.'
MK, still fighting the storm Shriya had stirred in her, was making a dozen frustrated faces while driving— which Shriya would normally tease her about. But this time, she didn't laugh.
She simply watched her.
And in that watching… everything she'd been running from washed through her again.
The love. The fear. The memory of waiting alone on rooftops. The ache of seeing MK walk away.
She reached out slowly and placed her hand on MK's free hand.
A simple gesture.
But for Shriya, it felt like surrender. Saying,am done being scared.
"Are you okay?" she whispered.
MK scoffed. "What do you think? This AC isn't working— and you—"
But when MK turned to look at her properly, she froze.
Shriya wasn't wearing her usual expression — not the iron-faced authority she used for the world, not the teasing smile she gave MK, not the sarcastic bite.
She looked fragile.
Soft.
Weightless, like one wrong breath would shatter her.
"Are you okay?" MK repeated, voice gentler.
"Pull over," Shriya said.
MK blinked. "What? Why—"
"Just pull over."
MK obeyed.
The moment the car stopped, Shriya got out, walked to MK's door, opened it — and held out her hand. MK took it, confused but trusting. Shriya led her to the passenger side, opened the door again, and gestured.
"Sit."
MK sat, baffled.
Shriya leaned in and buckled MK's seatbelt herself, then quietly fastened her own.
MK watched her like she was seeing something unfold she didn't yet understand.
"What… what are you doing?" MK asked softly.
Shriya looked straight ahead, hands gripping the wheel, breath steadying.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"Thank you for fighting for us… even when I didn't."
MK blinked, stunned.
Shriya's voice softened further.
"From now on, I'm taking the lead. I won't let you carry this alone anymore."
MK shook her head, overwhelmed. "Shriya… what does that even—"
"You can be a lady," Shriya said gently, almost shyly. "Let me pursue you now."
And with that, Shriya turned the car away from MK's apartment.
MK didn't protest.
Shriya's apartment door opened with a soft click. MK stepped inside, placing her bag down — or trying to. She didn't get far.
Shriya's hand caught her waist, pulling her back.
"Let me fix you," she murmured.grabbing MKs waist gently.
Her other hand reached behind MK and shut the door. Then she pressed MK against it, bracing a hand behind her head so she wouldn't hit the wood.
MK's breath hitched.
She had waited two years for this — even after returning, she hadn't felt the old connection, not fully.
But now?
Now it surged through her so powerfully her knees weakened.
She tugged at Shriya's coat. Shriya immediately let her arms fall, the coat slipping to the floor. MK had taken hers off in the car; she was burning too much to keep it on.
Shriya leaned in and kissed MK again — deep, giving, surrendering. MK felt the emotion more than the heat. Shriya kissed like she was handing MK her heart and asking her to keep it safe.
MK pulled back slightly, afraid of brushing against Shriya's chest, afraid of ruining the moment somehow. But the memories tugged at her, and she reached with trembling fingers for Shriya's shirt.
MK fingers blushed Shriyas chest, sending a reaction to Shriyas body,.
Shriya gasped — a sharp, uncontrolled moarn.
Both of them stopped.
"Sorry," Shriya whispered immediately, embarrassed.
MK stared at her, lips parted.
"Did you just…?"
It was the first time MK had ever heard Shriya let a sound slip like that — unguarded, raw, loud enough to break her composure. It sent a tremor through MK's whole body.
She was shaking.
Slowly, she placed her hand on Shriya's chest — on her old favorite spot. The beat beneath her palm was rapid, uneven, disconnected from her own.
Still out of sync.
"I forgave you, Shriya," MK said softly, leaning forward to kiss her again. She turned them gently until Shriya's back met the wall. "You don't need to take the lead for me.
I want to hear you again. I want to know you still feel this."
Shriya swallowed hard, breath trembling.
MK slipped her fingers under the fabric of her shirt and Shriya let out another suppressed sound, biting her lip, eyes fluttering shut.
"Let go," MK whispered.
Her voice wasn't commanding — it was pleading.
"Shrii… I'm glad you were my first."
Shriya's eyes opened, glassy, hopeful, terrified.
"You mean that?" she breathed.
MK brushed her thumb over her jaw.
"Shrii… I love you."
And in that moment —
right under MK's palm —
something shifted.
Her heartbeat synced with Shriya's.
Slowly.
Then fully.
As if two rhythms that had once been one finally remembered how to find each other again.
They both felt it.
MK looked up sharply.
Shriya exhaled like she'd been holding her breath for years.
Neither knew who moved first after that —
who closed the distance,
who touched who,
who whispered what.
All they knew was that something broken had finally cracked open…
And something long-lost had just found its way back.