The scent of roasted cumin and garlic wafted through the once-lifeless kitchen.
Hiya stood barefoot on the cool tile floor, sleeves rolled up, her hair tied in a soft bun at the nape of her neck. A little smudge of turmeric marked her cheek, like a painter's stroke left behind by carelessness. Or love.
Dev leaned on the doorway, arms crossed, mesmerized. "Are you trying to feed me or seduce me?"
She glanced back, lips curling. "Can't it be both?"
He walked to her slowly, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "If you keep cooking like this, I'll never let you leave."
Her hands stirred the pan with practiced ease, but her heart raced at the heat of his touch — so natural now, like he belonged at her back, holding her through the sizzle and spice of life.
"You're getting clingy, Dr. Basu," she teased.
"Only with you," he murmured, pressing a kiss beneath her ear.
That night, they ate cross-legged on the floor, plates between them, laughter echoing off freshly washed walls. There was no television, no playlist — just the clink of steel cutlery and Dev stealing bites from Hiya's plate when she wasn't looking.
After dinner, they shared chores. Hiya wiped the counter, Dev dried the dishes — but both paused often for a brush of fingers, a stolen kiss, a lingering glance that burned quietly through the ordinary.
When the night deepened, they curled up on the floor mattress. Still temporary. Still theirs.
Hiya rested against his chest, tracing idle circles on his arm.
"I have something to tell you," she whispered.
Dev blinked, then kissed the top of her head. "I'm listening."
She sat up slightly, her voice nervous, but her eyes gleaming.
"I didn't come here just for vacation. Or because I missed you — though I did. Desperately."
He stared at her, brows drawn, heart pausing.
"I applied to your university," she said, voice soft but certain. "And… I got in."
His eyes widened, his body still.
"I got accepted to the graduate program. I start next semester."
She searched his face. "I wanted to walk beside you. Not behind. Not hidden in your shadow. I wanted people to see me as your equal. Not just the girl you loved. But the woman who chose to grow, just to reach you."
Dev blinked hard. "You did all that… for me?"
"I did it for us," she said, brushing her fingers down his cheek. "So no one ever questions why you chose me."
He pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her shoulder, voice trembling.
"You didn't have to prove anything."
"I know," she whispered back. "But I wanted to."
He pulled away just enough to look into her eyes. "You're insane."
She grinned. "You love that about me."
And then he kissed her — not out of hunger, not out of need — but out of something fuller. Deeper. A gratitude. A pride. A knowing.
Their lips met slowly, like poetry.
That night, they didn't sleep early.
They talked. Laughed. Kissed again.
They held each other like the house was listening, like the walls now had stories to tell.
In the corner of the room, the wind chime clinked softly — the first music that space had ever known.
And in Dev's heart, something shifted.
She wasn't just his home.
She was his future.