Saisha's pov:

The bus finally entered the city. My heart was pounding so fast, I swear it was louder than the engine.

"Saishaaa! Stop checking your phone," Priya teased from behind.
"I'm not!" I defended, tucking it away quickly,but who was I kidding? I'd already checked the signal five times in the last two minutes. No new message. No missed call.

My fingers gripped the handle of my tote bag. Inside were all the little  I had gifts ollected for him. One from every place. 

As the bus slowed near our stop, my breath caught. There he was. Pranu. Leaning on our car, arms crossed, sunglasses on, looking effortlessly handsome in a plain white T-shirt and jeans.

I didn't even wait for the bus to fully stop. I rushed down the steps, half-running.

He looked up,and that smile. That smile that could melt a mountain.

"Aishu..." he breathed.

"Pranu..." I nearly tackled him in a hug.

His arms wrapped around me so tightly I thought I might disappear into him. We didn't say anything for a while. Just stood there, breathing each other in.

"You smell like bonfire and temple incense," he murmured into my hair.

"And you smell like... home," I whispered back.

He pulled back, cupped my cheeks gently. "You okay?"

I nodded. "More than okay now."

His eyes searched mine. "I missed you like crazy. The house was too quiet, the bed too cold, and even my coffee was extra bitter without you."

I smiled, my eyes prickling. "You're such a dramatic baby."

He pouted. "You're mean."

I stood on my toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Better now?"

He grinned. "Almost."

I reached into my bag and handed him the gifts. "One from every place. I picked them with your face in my mind."

He opened the little packages like a child, each one making his eyes widen and lips quirk up.

"A dimple mug  and a hand-knit woolen muffler from Shimla?"

 "A tiny marble replica of the Taj Mahal?."

"A paperweight with your photo in it from Delhi?"

"an embroided kurta from haridwar?"

He looked at me with tears in his eyes. "You're insane. And perfect.No one has gifted me anything till date,god you're so precious aishuuu"

I laughed. "yes,i am too precious you know?"

He dropped everything gently back into the bag, pulled me close again. "Let's go home."

As soon as we stepped into our home, everything felt... right again.

My slippers were in the same place. The photo frame on the table with our grinning faces. The aroma of my favorite candle he must've lit just before leaving.

I turned and threw my arms around him again. "I really, really missed this."

He held me tighter. "I didn't sleep properly a single night without you. I tried. Even cuddled your pillow. But it wasn't the same."

I giggled. "I knew it. I caught you red-handed in your messages."

He picked me up and twirled me gently. "You're not leaving me for more than 24 hours ever again. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," I whispered into his neck.

We sat under the fairy lights on the balcony, my head resting on his shoulder, his fingers tracing soft circles on my palm.

"You know," I said, "the trip was amazing. But it made me realize something."

"What?"

"Every beautiful thing I saw... I wanted to see it with you."

He kissed the top of my head. "Someday, we'll travel together. Same cities. Same laughs. But with you beside me."

I turned to look at him. "Promise?"

"Promise," he said, sealing it with a kiss.

And as we sat there, wrapped in silence and stars, I knew , this wasn't just home. He was.

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