The next morning didn't feel normal.
Nothing had changed on the surface.
The building was still the same. The corridors still quiet. The classroom still arranged in its familiar order.
But Kabir felt it immediately—
something was off in him.
He stood at the front of the lecture hall longer than usual before starting. Not because he was unprepared, but because his thoughts weren't settling the way they normally did.
And then Dev walked in.
Kabir noticed him the moment he entered.
He always did now.
But today, that awareness felt sharper.
Dev took his seat, as usual. Opened his notebook. Looked up once.
Their eyes met briefly.
Dev smiled faintly—automatic, soft.
Kabir looked away first.
Too quickly.
He started the lecture.
But his voice didn't feel entirely steady to him.
Not to the students either, perhaps—but Kabir didn't care enough to check.
Because his attention kept drifting back to something he didn't want to name.
Rohan's words.
He's pretty.
He looked interesting.
Kabir's grip on the marker tightened slightly as he wrote.
He erased a line unnecessarily.
And continued.
Dev noticed.
Not the details.
But the shift.
Kabir felt it.
The way Dev's focus would occasionally pause longer than usual when Kabir turned toward the board.
As if observing something unspoken.
That alone made Kabir more aware of himself.
Which made everything worse.
After class, the room emptied faster than usual.
Dev stayed.
Kabir knew he would.
But today, Kabir didn't immediately turn toward his desk like he usually did.
Instead, he stood facing the board a moment longer.
As if delaying something.
"Sir," Dev's voice came gently.
Kabir turned.
"Yes?"
Dev hesitated.
A fraction longer than normal.
"You seem… distracted today," he said carefully.
Kabir's expression stayed neutral.
"I'm fine."
Dev didn't accept it—but he didn't push either.
He just nodded slightly.
Silence followed.
That familiar space between them returned—but today it felt different.
Heavier.
More aware of itself.
Kabir finally capped the marker and walked toward the desk.
"You should revise yesterday's topic," he said.
Dev nodded.
"I did."
A pause.
Kabir glanced at him.
"Then revise it again," he said automatically.
Dev blinked slightly.
A small, almost amused exhale escaped him.
"Yes, sir."
But Kabir didn't smile back.
And that was new.
Dev noticed that too.
Later that evening, Kabir returned to the building earlier than usual.
He didn't plan it.
He simply… came back.
As he walked down the corridor, he heard voices near Dev's door.
He stopped.
Rohan.
Kabir recognized the tone before he even saw him.
Light. Familiar. Too comfortable in a space that wasn't his.
Kabir stepped closer.
Rohan was leaning casually against the wall outside Dev's flat, speaking to him.
Dev stood near the door, slightly guarded.
Not uncomfortable.
But cautious.
"I'm just saying," Rohan was saying, smiling faintly, "Kabir doesn't really let people in easily."
Dev nodded politely.
"I understand."
Rohan tilted his head.
"But with you it seems… different."
Dev didn't respond immediately.
Kabir's hand tightened slightly at his side.
Rohan continued, softer now,
"He doesn't usually offer help like that. Or space. Or time."
Dev looked down briefly.
"I'm grateful for it," he said simply.
Rohan smiled.
"I can see that."
A pause.
Then Rohan added, almost casually,
"You're lucky."
That word—
lucky—
landed differently.
Kabir stepped forward.
"Rohan."
Both of them turned.
Dev immediately straightened slightly.
Rohan, on the other hand, looked almost entertained.
"There you are," Rohan said.
Kabir's voice was controlled.
"You should leave."
Rohan raised an eyebrow.
"Did I do something wrong?"
Kabir didn't answer immediately.
His gaze shifted briefly to Dev.
Dev looked between them, sensing the shift but not fully understanding it.
Kabir spoke again, calmer but firm.
"You've spoken enough."
Rohan smiled faintly, as if he already understood more than he was admitting.
"Alright," he said lightly. "I'll go."
But before leaving, he looked at Dev once.
Just once.
And said, quietly enough that Kabir still heard it clearly,
"You take care, okay?"
Dev nodded politely.
"Okay."
Rohan left.
Silence returned.
But it didn't settle this time.
Not properly.
Dev looked at Kabir.
"Sir… did I do something wrong?" he asked again, softer now.
Kabir immediately shook his head.
"No."
A pause.
Then—
"You didn't."
Dev seemed slightly relieved.
But Kabir wasn't.
Because the feeling inside him hadn't gone away.
It had only become clearer.
Rohan talking to Dev didn't bother him logically.
It bothered him somewhere else.
Somewhere deeper.
Somewhere he hadn't learned how to control yet.
Kabir turned slightly.
"You should go inside," he said.
Dev nodded.
But before he closed the door, he hesitated.
"Sir."
Kabir looked at him.
Dev paused.
"You seem upset," he said gently.
Kabir didn't respond immediately.
Then, quietly—
"I'm not."
Dev didn't fully believe that.
But he nodded anyway.
"Okay."
And the door closed.
Kabir stood there for a moment longer than necessary.
Then finally walked away.
But the thought stayed with him all night—
not of Rohan.
Not even of what was said.
But of how easily someone else's attention toward Dev had felt like something being taken.
And Kabir didn't like what that meant.
Not even a little.