Teeny Tiny Shots|✓

Love and London ✓

Tags: Fluff / Friends to Lovers/University

Word Count: 4k words

"Rudra," she sighs. "Please, don't make this difficult for me. I've so much to do, so much to think about and I don't even know where to start; the house rent, thousands of bills, my tuition fee, just. . . .everything! I don't -"

"I can help,"

"No! I won't put this on you, not this too." Sati declares adamantly whilst nodding her head in a determined manner.

Rudra stares at her, quiet. He doesn't say a word because he knows she isn't like this. She is a rose and it's her problems pressuring her to change into thorns.

"Do you realise the number of years we've been friends for?"

Sati asks him, he thinks its a rhetorical question but still shakes his head in a no because yes, he definitely remembers that fortunate day when she walked into his life out of nowhere like an unimaginably beautiful storm, a wave; so spontaneous yet so balmy.

He shakes his head in a no because yes, he remembers the exact amount of time they have been friends for; six years and seven months.

Six years and six months for the time he has been in love with her.

"Do you realise how much you've helped me since?" Sati questions again, and Rudra remains silent because he doesn't realise or remember when and where he ever helped her, he doesn't want to.

Sati's voice breaks as she proceeds with her argument, "I don't know how to keep up with your benevolence anymore, your favours, your kindness, your help, I don't know how to repay you!"

"You don't have to," Rudra says. "I won't ask for any kind of payment, Sati. I'm your friend," he says, pausing at the lie.

"I don't want you to be alone." He completes truthfully.

Sati shakes her head, tears of frustration pooling in her eyes.

"No! I will do this alone. It's my life and these are my problems, I don't care if I am on my own and will be for the rest of my life. The only thing I care about is devoiding you of participating in my problems. I'll fix them myself." Sati states looking at her friend in the eyes, her vision momentarily blurring from the tears.

"Sat-"

"Let's e-end this day right here, ok?" her voice is shaky, as if she's only somehow keeping her tears at bay.

"But -"

"Please,"

Rudra sighs yet again but does as he's told. With one last glance towards his friend, he turns around towards the door and doesn't look back until he reaches his own house which is directly opposite to that of Sati's.

He takes out the left out bills from his pocket once he's sitting on his couch- the bills Sati didn't even know that existed, the bills he had already paid off anonymously by bribing the official through his phone and asking him of keeping his mouth shut.

He knows it's wrong, whatever he did and whatever he is doing but then he realises that he isn't even guilty of doing that wrong. Not when this wrong will make something right in the life of his beloved.

He tears up those bills but pauses when he's about to tear another small paper with them.

'You look cute while smiling' .The note says. He half-smiles remembering writing it a month ago at one of their outings but never actually giving it to her.