The cupcakes sat on the corner of Rudra's desk, wrapped neatly as if waiting for his permission. He ignored them at first, diving into contracts and reports. Numbers, graphs, percentages—his world.
But the scent lingered. Soft, sweet. Not like the sterile air of the office or the bitter tang of black coffee he lived on. Something different. Something warmer.
Finally, with a slow, deliberate motion, Rudra set his pen down. He unwrapped one cupcake, the paper crinkling in the silence of his office.
The frosting was simple, light. He took a bite.
Sweet. Too sweet, by his usual standards. And yet… he didn't stop.
As he chewed, his thoughts betrayed him. Ayaan's shy smile. The ghostly hug. The way his hand had trembled slightly when he'd touched Rudra's sleeve. The boldness of sending a delivery to his office, disguised as something ordinary when it was anything but.
Rudra leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing slightly—not in annoyance, but in quiet thought.
He doesn't know who I am outside that café. Doesn't know what people call me. Doesn't know the weight I carry every day.
And yet… Ayaan worried for him. Sent him food. Coffee. A note telling him not to stress.
Rudra finished the cupcake, brushed his hands clean, and reached for the coffee again. The warmth of it spread through him, easing something tight in his chest he hadn't realized was there.
A small, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of his lips. The kind that would send shockwaves through the entire office if anyone ever saw it.
But no one did.
Because this moment—this softness, this sweetness—was his alone. A quiet secret between him and the boy who had slipped into his world without permission and refused to leave.
Rudra picked up the second cupcake and set it carefully aside. Saved.
Not for later hunger. But because, in some unspoken way, he wasn't ready for the moment to end.
To be continued.....