Day 7 Post-Impact
The pattern established itself quickly.
Every morning, Sarnav traveled to the school. Every evening, he returned to the courthouse. The hours in between belonged to Nisha.
They told themselves it was about integration. About building the alliance. About coordination and logistics and all the practical necessities of merging two survivor groups.
It was partially true. Real work was getting done. Supply chains were established, defense protocols synchronized, communication systems implemented. The Harmony Sect and SMK Taman Melati were becoming one cohesive unit.
But mostly, it was about them.
"Tell me about your awakening," Nisha said.
They were sitting in the school's courtyard, sharing lunch away from the crowded cafeteria. A small pocket of privacy in the chaos of community building.
"It happened during the impact," Sarnav said. "The building collapsed on me. I was dying. Crushed under rubble, bleeding out, everything fading to black."
Nisha's hand found his. She'd been doing that more often, small touches that felt natural and necessary.
"And then the system activated."
"System?"
"That's what I call it. The thing that powers my cultivation." He hesitated, weighing how much to share. "It's different from normal awakening. More structured. It gives me information, guidance, abilities that other cultivators don't have."
"Like what?"
"I can see people's power levels. Sense threats before they arrive. My cultivation speed is accelerated." He paused. "There's more to it than that, but it's... complicated."
"You keep saying that. Complicated." Nisha squeezed his hand. "I'm not going to run away, Sarnav. Whatever your abilities are, they're part of you. And I want to know all of you."
The sincerity in her voice made his chest tight.
"Eventually," he promised. "When I understand it better myself. When I'm sure it won't change things between us."
"Nothing could change things between us."
"You say that now."
"I'll say it then too." She shifted closer, her shoulder pressing against his. "I've known you since we were fifteen. I've seen you at your best and your worst. Whatever secrets you're keeping, they're not going to scare me off."
Sarnav wanted to believe her. Wanted to tell her everything about the Harmony System, about dual cultivation, about the path that required multiple bonds. But the words stuck in his throat.
Not yet. Let the foundation get stronger first.
"Tell me about your awakening instead," he said, deflecting.
Nisha accepted the redirect gracefully. "Mine was less dramatic than yours. Day Two, a pack of void creatures attacked the school. People were dying. I was hiding in a classroom with a group of kids, and one of those things found us."
Her grip on his hand tightened.
"It was going to kill them. These children, eight and nine years old, crying and screaming. And I just... snapped. Something inside me broke open, and suddenly there was light everywhere. Green light, pouring out of me."
"Nature magic."
"The vines grew from the floor, from the walls, from everywhere. They grabbed the creature, held it down. I didn't even know what I was doing. It was pure instinct."
"You saved them."
"I saved some of them." Her voice dropped. "Not all of them. Not enough."
Sarnav put his arm around her, pulling her close. She leaned into him, her head resting on his shoulder.
"You did what you could. That's all anyone can do."
"I know. It just doesn't feel like enough sometimes."
They sat in silence for a while, drawing comfort from each other's presence.
Day 8 Post-Impact
"Why IT?" Nisha asked.
They were walking the school's perimeter, ostensibly checking defenses but really just finding excuses to be together. The guards had long since stopped pretending not to notice their leader spending all her time with the Harmony Sect's representative.
"My father's idea," Sarnav said. "He thought I needed to 'learn the value of work' or some bullshit. Couldn't just give me a position in his company. Had to start from the bottom."
"That doesn't sound like the Vikram uncle I remember."
"He changed after you left. Or maybe he was always like that and I was too young to notice." Sarnav shrugged. "Either way, I ended up fixing printers and resetting passwords for middle managers who thought 'IT support' meant 'personal servant.'"
"That sounds awful."
"It was. I was miserable." He laughed bitterly. "Spent most of my time reading novels on my phone, fantasizing about being somewhere else. Someone else."
"What kind of novels?"
"You'll laugh."
"Probably. Tell me anyway."
"Cultivation stories. Power fantasies. The kind where some nobody gets a magical system and becomes the strongest person in the world." He shook his head. "And then the apocalypse happened, and I actually got a magical system, and now here I am."
Nisha was quiet for a moment. "Do you ever feel like the universe was listening?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like all those stories you read, all that wishing for something more... maybe it wasn't just escapism. Maybe it was preparation."
"That's a very optimistic way to look at it."
"I'm a very optimistic person." She smiled at him. "Besides, if reading trashy novels was secretly training for the apocalypse, I have a lot of catching up to do."
"They weren't all trashy. Some of them were very sophisticated trash."
She laughed, and the sound made everything else fade away.
That evening, something shifted.
They were in Nisha's office, reviewing tomorrow's schedule. The sun had set an hour ago, and Sarnav knew he should leave soon. The drive back wasn't safe in full darkness.
But neither of them moved to end the meeting.
"You could stay," Nisha said quietly. "It's late. The roads are dangerous at night."
Sarnav's heart rate spiked. "Stay?"
"We have spare rooms. It would be practical." She wasn't looking at him. "Unless you need to get back."
The offer was innocent on the surface. Just practical concern for his safety. But there was something underneath it. A question neither of them was quite ready to ask.
"I should probably..." Sarnav started, then stopped. "Actually, you're right. It is late."
Nisha looked up, surprise and pleasure mixing in her expression. "Really?"
"Really. I'll radio the courthouse, let them know I'm staying over."
"I'll have someone prepare a room for you."
"Thanks."
They stood there, the air between them suddenly charged. The office felt smaller than before, the walls closer.
"Well," Nisha said. "I should... show you where..."
"Yeah. You should."
Neither of them moved.
Sarnav was acutely aware of every detail. The way Nisha's hair caught the lamplight. The slight flush on her cheeks. The rise and fall of her chest as her breathing quickened.
She was so close. So beautiful. So right.
It would be easy. Just lean forward. Just close the distance. Just—
A knock at the door shattered the moment.
"Nisha? There's a supply issue in the cafeteria. They need you."
She stepped back, the spell broken. "Coming!"
She shot Sarnav an apologetic look and hurried out.
He stood alone in her office, heart pounding, wondering what would have happened if that knock had come thirty seconds later.
[ROMANTIC TENSION: ESCALATING]
[INTERRUPTED MOMENT DETECTED]
[BOND DEVELOPMENT: ACCELERATING]
[NOTE: ANTICIPATION INCREASES EVENTUAL PAYOFF]
The guest room was small but comfortable.
A converted classroom with a cot, a desk, and privacy screens. Spartan by pre-apocalypse standards, luxurious for the new world.
Sarnav lay awake, staring at the ceiling, his mind replaying that moment in Nisha's office. The way she'd looked at him. The way his body had leaned toward hers without conscious thought.
He'd almost kissed her.
Part of him wished he had. Part of him was glad for the interruption. It was too soon. Too fast. Their relationship was rebuilding beautifully, but the foundation wasn't complete yet.
Patience, he reminded himself. Do it right.
A soft knock at his door made him sit up.
"Sarnav? It's me."
Nisha's voice, quiet and uncertain.
He got up and opened the door. She stood in the hallway, wearing sleep clothes, her hair loose around her shoulders. She looked vulnerable in a way he'd never seen before.
"I couldn't sleep," she said. "I kept thinking about... earlier."
"Me too."
"Can I come in? Just to talk?"
He stepped aside, and she entered.
They ended up sitting on the cot together, side by side, shoulders touching. The privacy screens blocked them from outside view, creating a small bubble of intimacy.
"I almost kissed you," Nisha said.
"I know. I almost kissed you back."
"Why didn't we?"
"The interruption."
"Before that. We had a few seconds. We could have."
Sarnav thought about it. "I think... I was afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"Of rushing. Of ruining this by moving too fast." He turned to look at her. "You're not just anyone to me, Nisha. You're not some girl I met during the apocalypse. You're my childhood best friend. The person who knows me better than almost anyone. If I mess this up..."
"You won't mess it up."
"You don't know that."
"Yes, I do." She shifted to face him properly, her knees brushing against his. "You know how I know? Because I feel the same way. This terrifies me too. You terrify me."
"I terrify you?"
"The way I feel about you terrifies me. It's so much. It's always been so much." Her voice cracked slightly. "I spent years convincing myself I was over you. That the feelings were just nostalgia. Teenage crush stuff that I'd grown out of."
"And now?"
"Now I know I was lying to myself. I never got over you, Sarnav. I never even came close."
The confession hung in the air between them. Raw and honest and absolutely terrifying.
"I never got over you either," Sarnav said. "I dated other people. Tried to move on. But there was always this voice in the back of my head comparing everyone to you. They never measured up."
Nisha's eyes glistened in the dim light. "So what do we do?"
"I don't know. What do you want to do?"
"I want to stop being afraid." She reached out, her fingers brushing his cheek. "I want to stop waiting for the perfect moment. I want..."
She trailed off, but her eyes said everything.
Sarnav covered her hand with his, holding it against his face.
"Not tonight," he said gently. "Not because I don't want to. But because I want our first kiss to be something we choose deliberately. Not something we stumble into because we're tired and emotional and caught up in the moment."
Nisha's expression flickered with surprise, then softened with understanding.
"You really have changed," she said. "The old Sarnav would have just gone for it."
"The old Sarnav would have done a lot of things differently. That's why he missed his chance with you the first time."
She laughed softly. "Okay. Not tonight. But soon?"
"Soon," he promised. "When we're both ready. When it's right."
She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek, lingering longer than before. Her lips were warm, soft, tantalizingly close to his mouth.
"Goodnight, Sarnav."
"Goodnight, Nisha."
She left, and Sarnav lay back on the cot with a groan.
Soon, he'd said. He just hadn't specified how soon.
At this rate, he was going to lose his mind before they ever got to the kiss.
Day 9 Post-Impact
Morning was awkward in the best way.
They met at breakfast, neither quite able to look at the other without blushing. Their conversation was stilted at first, painfully aware of everything that had been said the night before.
But gradually, the awkwardness faded. They fell back into their comfortable rhythm, the easy banter and shared understanding that had always defined their friendship.
Except now there was something more underneath it. A current of anticipation. A promise of things to come.
"Tonight," Nisha said quietly as they walked to a morning meeting.
"What about tonight?"
"Stay again. And this time..." She glanced at him, her cheeks flushing. "This time, no interruptions."
Sarnav's heart skipped.
"Are you sure?"
"I've never been more sure of anything." She took his hand, squeezing it briefly before letting go. "No more waiting, Sarnav. No more being afraid. Tonight, we stop holding back."
The promise hung between them all day. Electric. Inevitable.
Tonight, everything would change.
[BOND STATUS: NISHA RAMACHANDRAN]
[ROMANTIC TRAJECTORY: APPROACHING CRITICAL MOMENT]
[EMOTIONAL FOUNDATION: STRONG]
[TRUST LEVEL: COMPLETE]
[ANTICIPATION FACTOR: EXTREMELY HIGH]
[NEXT MILESTONE: FIRST KISS]
[ESTIMATED TIMELINE: TONIGHT]