Keep your hands to yourself, idiot.

Gautham went into the kitchen and stood beside her. He could see the guilt and regret eating her up. He could feel her barely holding on. He felt as if one wrong move from him and she will break to pieces.

Gautham carefully rubbed her head first and he tucked a few stray hairs behind her ears. He took the vessels from her hand and closed the taps. He gently pulled her so that she would face him. What he saw tugged at his heart. For once Sindhu seemed vulnerable. It seemed like she was showing her true self to him. The person she had hidden behind cold stares and cheeky grins.

"Hey... look at me," Gautham said softly.

When their eyes met, her eyes told them all -her pain, her despair, her guilt, her regret, and her insecurities. Gautham knew he cannot be careless so he chose his words carefully.

"I am not going to stand here and trivialize your mistakes to make you feel better because frankly, I don't really know half of it and I have not been in your shoes. But I can tell that you are strong enough to overcome it. And it's going to be such a pleasure watching you do it. So stop beating yourself up so much. Okay???" Gautham asked softly still looking at Sindhu intently.

Sindhu simply nodded. Gautham's words tugged at her heart in all the right places. If Gautham had said something typical to console her like 'it's going to be alright' or promised something like 'I will be there for you and you don't have to be alone' - she would have just scoffed at his ignorance.

But what he said made her feel warm for some reason.

The fact that he had such conviction on her strength did something fuzzy to her. The trust he had in her when she herself is struggling with it made her think, "Maybe the future with him won't be soo bad after all".

The television was running very softly. The mattress that was in the bedroom earlier was now in the living room. Gautham was sitting on it with his legs stretched and Sindhu was sleeping soundly snuggling into his laps. And now he was struggling to get Sindhu off of him without waking her up. But man! She was not making it easy. She was holding his hands with a death grip. After some time he gave up. Gautham knew he had to wake her up. But seeing her sleep so peacefully, he couldn't make himself. So he let her be for now and stared at her face running her hands through her hair. Sindhu leaned into his hands and snuggled closer to him.

Gautham was baffled with himself. He was not exactly known for his patience. He was not proud of it but he was in fact very short-tempered. But everything he did today screamed otherwise. And he knew the reason was the person sleeping on his lap right now. He couldn't reason it or explain why. This actually scared him to a degree. He never got attached to a person this deeply in such a short period of time. He was not an impulsive person but everything he did today was out of impulse. Even now he can't reason as to why he said "yes" to marriage and why he was so disappointed when Sindhu didn't accept it readily.

They knew each other for only two weeks for crying out loud!! But somehow Sindhu had successfully knocked him out of the park without him even realizing it.

Gautham came out of his thoughts when Sindhu started struggling in her sleep. And next second Sindhu sat up with a start. Sindhu didn't talk about anything. She kept blinking for a while and seemed a bit disoriented.

"Hey... you okay??", Gautham asked softly. He made her face him and tidied her messed-up hair. Sindhu nodded lightly but her eyes were barely open. She was sleeping again in a sitting position. Gautham let out a chuckle and said to her, "Hey... I need to leave. It's getting late."

Sindhu suddenly woke again, though barely, and said, "Even I need to go home. I didn't inform mum and dad." Right after saying that, her head started to sway. Sindhu looked absolutely adorable. Gautham barely resisted the urge to let her sleep there. He quickly dragged Sindhu out of the house and onto his bike.

When Gautham stopped outside Sindhu's house, to his surprise, Sindhu was actually awake. She got down and stood in front of him.

"I see the sleeping beauty is finally awake", Gautham teased. Sindhu blushed slightly in embarrassment and said, "Sorry. I don't know how I fell asleep. I know I asked to watch the movie."

"Hey... It's okay I was just pulling your legs", Gautham said gently, while ruffling Sindhu's hairs. There was a hint of indulgence in his voice that Gautham himself didn't realize. It was as if he would do anything in his power if Sindhu was the one asking.

Gautham's gentle voice and gesture eradicated the sense of guilt and Sindhu flashed Gautham a bright cheeky grin that left him slightly dazed and breathless.

"Thank you for today. It's been a long time since I last went out and was not lost in my head. It’s been forever since I actually just let myself be…", Sindhu said bringing Gautham out of his daze.

"It's okay. Go on inside and get some sleep", Gautham replied, and before he can stop himself his hands were already tugging some loose strands of hair behind her ears.

Sindhu simply nodded and went inside her house.

Once he was sure Sindhu was inside, Gautham swatted his own hand and murmured to himself, "Keep your hands to yourself, idiot". He was baffled by his urges to touch Sindhu. It was as if suddenly his hands had a mind of their own and they just kept creeping towards Sindhu. Gautham let out an exasperated sign by his own antics and drove back home.

The only positive side was probably the fact that Sindhu did not find it creepy or saw him as if he was some pervert. She seemed comfortable with his touch.