MK left the hospital in a hurry.
She didn't wait for the nurse to finish explaining the discharge instructions. She didn't look back at the white walls that still smelled of antiseptic and regret. She simply made a call—short, clipped, urgent—asking someone to handle the paperwork. Then she was already moving down the corridor, her footsteps echoing against the polished floor like the ticking of a clock she could no longer ignore.
She needed to find Shriya.
Not later.
Not tomorrow.
Now.
---
Shriya, meanwhile, never made it to work.
She went straight home instead, her hands shaking on the steering wheel the entire drive. The city passed her in blurs of color and sound, but she barely noticed. Her mind was trapped in one place—the hospital room, the quiet beeping machines, the way MK's lips had felt against hers.
What am I supposed to do?
I can't be with her.
We can't be together.
Her thoughts kept circling the same words, over and over, like a prayer she didn't believe in anymore.
"Why can't you be together?" her own mind whispered back.
"Because… because…" She searched for reasons, excuses, anything that would keep her away. But every argument collapsed under the same truth.
Her body remembered.
The sensation still burned on her lips, soft and electric, refusing to fade. She threw her keys onto the table and sank onto the edge of her bed, pressing her palms against her face as if she could physically hold her thoughts still.
The hospital scene replayed again—this time slower. MK's trembling voice. Her eyes filled with pain. The way she had leaned in, trusting her completely.
Shriya dragged her hand down her face and licked her lower lip unconsciously, then froze, realizing what she had done.
"Get a grip," she whispered to herself.
She stood, paced the room, then turned in circles like a restless storm. Her heart thudded in her chest, loud enough to drown out reason.
She was still restless when the evening came.and she knew she couldn't stay like this.
She grabbed her jacket and headed for the door.
---
The door opened.
And the world stopped.
MK stood right there, her hand raised mid-knock, eyes wide in the same shock that hit Shriya like a wave.
For a second, neither of them moved.
Shriya's stomach twisted painfully as her breath hitched in her chest. The sight of MK—standing there, real and close—undid her instantly.
"H… MK," Shriya breathed, her voice barely more than a sigh.
MK didn't answer.
She stepped forward slowly, as if afraid one wrong move would shatter the moment. Shriya swallowed and stepped back, her lungs working overtime as her heart began to race like she had just finished a long sprint.
MK kept walking.
Shriya kept retreating.
Until her back met the wall.
The soft thud echoed louder than it should have.
MK placed one hand against the wall beside Shriya's head. Not trapping her—just close enough to make the air between them feel heavy, charged.
Shriya swallowed so hard her throat made a sound.
For a moment, MK leaned in—her breath uneven, her lips close—but she stopped herself. She didn't want to push. She didn't want to force anything.
Instead, she lifted her hand and placed it gently over Shriya's chest.
Shriya gasped.
The sound slipped out of her before she could stop it, her body reacting faster than her mind. A rush of warmth spread through her, lightning in her veins.
MK felt it too.
A jolt ran through her the moment her palm touched Shriya's heartbeat—strong, fast, alive. Her hand lingered there, trembling slightly, as if afraid to move.
After more than a year apart, her body still remembered.
The rhythm beneath her palm matched her own heartbeat perfectly.
MK was moved and her eyes filled before she could stop it.
Tears slipped down her cheeks, and her head fell forward, resting against Shriya's chest as a sob escaped her.
She was crying—but not from pain.
From relief.
From love.
From happiness.
"I love you, Shrii," she whispered between tears. "I love you so much."
Shriya closed her eyes.
I love you too, MK. I love you too.
The words screamed inside her, but she couldn't let them out. Not yet. Not when fear still stood between them like a wall.
Instead, she wrapped her arms around MK tightly.
They stayed like that for a long time—MK pouring her heart out in quiet sobs, Shriya holding her as if letting go would be letting go of a part of herself. MK's tears soaked into her shirt, warm and real, proof of everything they had been trying to deny.
---
Later, MK fell asleep in her arms.
It happened slowly—her breathing evening out, her grip loosening just a little. Shriya guided her gently to the bed and lay beside her, keeping her close.
She watched MK sleep.
There were still traces of tears in the corners of her eyes. Shriya lifted her hand and wiped them away with her thumb, her touch careful, reverent.
She stayed awake, watching every breath MK took, memorizing the rise and fall of her chest, the peaceful way her face finally looked without pain.
"I love you too, MK," Shriya whispered into the quiet room.
MK stirred slightly, as if she had heard her, and moved closer, burying her face against Shriya's shoulder. She didn't wake—but she smiled faintly in her sleep.
Sometime later, exhaustion claimed Shriya too.
---
Morning came softly.
MK woke first.
For a brief, terrified second, she expected the bed to be empty. Expected to find herself alone again, surrounded by memories instead of reality.
But then she smelled her.
Shriya's familiar scent wrapped around her like a promise.
She was still there.
MK smiled to herself and leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss against the curve of Shriya's neck. Then she closed her eyes again, just for a moment, savoring the closeness.
Shriya stirred.
Slowly, she opened her eyes—only to find MK already awake, watching her.
Their eyes met.