Stuck Voyage of 20's

It was a Sunday. One of those rare ones where both families — Dhruv's and Avantika's — were meeting for lunch at Avantika's place, a ritual they had maintained for years despite the old childhood rivalry between the two.

Back then, these get-togethers were filled with taunts and eye-rolls from both ends. Dhruv teasing Avantika about her "nerdiness" and Avantika mocking him for his "dumb jock energy."

But today… the air felt different.

Avantika wore a soft cotton kurta, her hair braided loosely. She was in the kitchen helping her mom plate the starters when she heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it," she said.

And just like that, she opened the door to Dhruv — tall, sun-tanned from practice, with a small bouquet of yellow flowers in hand.

He raised an eyebrow at her smirk.

"You brought flowers?"

"For your mom. Not you. Don't get sentimental."

She rolled her eyes but stepped aside.

He walked in, greeted everyone with ease, and settled into the living room. But as lunch rolled out, it became clear — the adults were starting to notice things.

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Scene 1: The Dining Table

"Avantika, beta, can you pass the papad to Dhruv?" her dad asked with a knowing tone.

"Dhruv has hands, papa," she said with mock annoyance, though she passed it anyway — eyes not meeting his.

He grinned and took it slowly, fingers brushing hers just slightly longer than necessary.

Her mother caught that. So did Dhruv's aunt.

Their eyes met. Subtle smile. One eyebrow lift. A silent: Did you just see that too?

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Scene 2: The Old Photos

After lunch, one of the uncles pulled out a photo album.

"Oh, look at these! From your school days!"

There it was — a photo of 13-year-old Dhruv and Avantika standing as far away from each other as possible during a group picnic, both mid-eye-roll.

Everyone laughed.

"You two used to fight like cats and dogs," Dhruv's dad chuckled. "I honestly thought you'd grow up avoiding each other forever."

"Well…" Avantika said slowly, "things change."

She didn't look at Dhruv. But her voice was softer than usual.

That made her mom pause.

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Scene 3: The Balcony

As the parents moved to the living room for chai, Avantika and Dhruv slipped out to the balcony — their safe corner during family chaos.

They leaned on the railing, watching the sky turn peach.

"You think they noticed?" Dhruv asked.

Avantika smirked. "Noticed? My mom looked at me like I just announced a wedding."

He laughed. "Should've brought sweets instead of flowers, huh?"

She looked at him sideways, thoughtful.

"You know what's strange?" she said.

"Hm?"

"I don't hate you anymore. Not even a little."

He looked at her, face calm.

"I think I stopped hating you the moment you told me you felt like an ocean inside."

She exhaled a quiet laugh.

"I think that was the moment I stopped pretending I had it all figured out."

They stood in silence for a beat. The warmth between them was steady, no longer new. Just… settled.

Inside, her mom peeked through the curtain, watching them laugh.

Her voice floated to Dhruv's mother. "Did you see them? The way she looks at him now?"

His mom smiled, eyes soft.

"I saw it. The way he looks at her too."