Mumbattan is simply beautiful. Something about the energy; the noise; even the weather. It just brings you to life, y’know?
At least, that’s what tourists tend to say. Gayatri was plenty used to it by now. Troubles of being a local? If one could call them that. Whatever.
It was Saturday morning. Gayatri wouldn’t exactly call it early anymore, but the sun was hardly halfway past rising. She hadn’t wanted to make a habit of climbing up to rooftops, but this was the fourth Saturday in a row that she’d decided to lean on the chest-high wall making up this roof’s edge.
And frankly, she planned on it being the last time.
There was a little chorus of voices from the balconies below. That was the first signal. Gayatri stood up straight, eyes on the other buildings in hopes of catching—
A white string suddenly coiled around the bars of a balcony across the way, and a blur of color flew up past the rooftops, seeming to hang in the air as it twirled a few times. Show off.
Gayatri giggled to herself, smiling as she raised her hands. “Spiderman!” She shouted, and that graceful twirl turned into a slightly panicked flail. The strand of white looped around the signal tower in the corner of the rooftop, and Spiderman swung down toward where she stood. His feet landed eerily silent on the ledge, and he pulled down the rope he’d been using as she approached him.
“Ah, good morning, Gaya—uh, Gayatri, right?” He had stepped down from the ledge and reached for a hug as he spoke, only to pull back to a handshake toward the end. “I’m so sorry; we meet like this so often, and I haven’t gotten your name down yet…”
The effort it took not to roll her eyes felt like enough to reverse gravity. That voice was awful. …He was so cute though. She was really biased, but still.
“It’s fine!” She assured him, shaking his hand with both of hers before stepping back. She picked up the backpack she’d brought with her, reaching in to pull out a bottle of water.
Such had become their little ritual. She’d wait for him right here, since it seemed to be where he usually finished his morning patrol, with not much more than a cold water bottle and some snacks from the corner shop where they went to school.
…Where she went to school. Herself. Obviously. Yeah, no; it felt dumb pretending.
Today, though, she’d prepared something a bit different. She turned away and pretended to rummage, knowing by now that he wouldn’t even open the bottle if he thought she could see him moving his mask. When the cap clicked back onto the bottle, she just so happened to pull out the little box she’d been looking for. It was tied shut with a handkerchief patterned with a fluffy yellow mouse and lightning bolts; she’d been meaning to return it to her boyfriend anyway.
“Here you are.” She said casually, and she could tell from the gasp he let out that he was ecstatic. She tried desperately not to smile too much at the way he struggled not to grab the box too fast.
“Oh, miss, you shouldn’t have!” He said brightly, only to clear his throat when his voice came out completely undisguised. “I-I, um… Thank you.”
She let out a bit of a snicker at his panic, gently motioning to the box. “Well, go on; you can open it.”
He sort of pawed at the knot on the cloth, touching it gingerly. Somehow, she could picture the look on his face from the way he rocked on his feet. “This, uh, it’s that monster game, right? It’s so cute; where’d you get it?”
“Oh, I just borrowed it from a friend.” She bit her lip on a grin when his gaze snapped up to her.
She rested her hands behind her back, smiling coyly. “Well, we are very close. And he is kinda cute.” She moved closer and bumped him with her shoulder. “Just open it, please?”
He paused and glanced between her and the box before finally pulling the fabric loose, catching it between his fingers as he lifted the lid. Once again, she was purposefully looking away, but she grinned brightly at the excited noise he failed to catch in time. Inside the box were a few slices of khaman dhokla, each cut into the shape of the sun and decorated with sesame seeds.
“I-I, you—This is amazing!” He had snuck a bite of one of the slices, and Gayatri snuck a glance over her shoulder just after.
“Yeah, that ‘friend’ of mine has an auntie with the best recipe. I thought you might like it.”
Spiderman’s act had been thoroughly broken down, and Gayatri couldn’t help being a bit captivated by the smile on his lips as he finished the slice. He did a slight double-take when he noticed her watching him, pulling his mask back down and stammering.
“I should—I should go, miss. Yeah, um, thank you so much, really, but I—yeah...” He clutched the box and started to step away, glancing between her and the edge of the roof.
Gayatri’s face fell, a tiny bit of panic rushing through her as he tried to flee. “W-Wait, please! I’m…sorry.” She said softly, stepping forward and grabbing his arm gently. “Would it be okay if I, um, if I hugged you, Spiderman?”
She kind of expected him to run off, but he leaned just enough to set the box on the rooftop before spinning around and hugging her almost too tight. She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes as she hugged him back, letting her chin rest against his shoulder.
“I really don’t like pretending anymore…” She murmured after a moment.
She could feel him hesitate as he moved his hand, and he pulled her in tighter by her shoulder. “Yeah… I know the feeling sometimes.”
“N-No, I…” She took a breath, and when he started to pull away, she held him tighter. “I’m done. Pretending, I mean.”
He was about to say something; about to use that stupid voice again, too. Before she could even stop herself, her hands had squeezed at his sides, thumbs pressing right at the base of his ribs.
He squeaked, his hands tensing for a moment. “H-Hey!”
She couldn’t help the smile that caught her lips, and she threw her arms around him again while her fingers sought out a certain spot along his back. “Oh? Are you ticklish?” She asked gently, trying not to smirk when he didn’t pull away from her.
“Only a little—EEK!” He yelped as her nails slipped up between his shoulders. “Gayatri!”
“A little, huh?” She teased, realizing he seemed to be making an effort not to push her away. Suddenly, so many moments made so much more sense. “You were hiding the super strength. Aw, घाम…”
He didn’t even seem to notice her murmured comment, giggling into her shoulder as she let her fingers crawl up and down his back.
“You’re amazing, Pavitr.” Her hands had slowed to gentle scratching, raking away the phantom tingles that always drove him crazy when she tickled him.
He went still. He stood up straight and stared into her eyes.
She smiled at him, resting her hands on his sides. “Pavitr. If you do that voice again, I’ll destroy you.” She joked, prodding his ribs gently.
He prickled, but he didn’t take his eyes off of her. “Gayatri… I…How?”
“How?” Gayatri blinked, a part of her appalled that he would even ask. She brought one hand up, running her fingers through the hair that flowed over the top of his mask. “How?!” She started to laugh, leaning into his chest and shaking her head. “How did I ever miss it?! Pavitr, you—You’re…I don’t even know!”
Her hand had fallen to his cheek, and he didn’t stop her when she slipped her thumb under his mask. He moved his own hand over hers, finally pushing the mask up and off of his face. She laughed excitedly, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek as he hugged her tightly.
“Y-You, um, you won’t tell anyone, right?” He asked softly, catching her lips in a kiss before looking away.
“Of course I won’t. You know I can keep a secret.” She ran her thumb across his cheek, and she watched his smile brighten as he leaned into her palm. “Just promise you’ll be careful.”
“I know; I already am.” Pavitr let himself chuckle, cradling her hand against his face. “Oh! I just thought of something!”
“You know now. So, guess what~” He laced their fingers together, his free arm slipping around her waist.
She tipped her head, and she giggled as he pressed a few kisses to her temple before whispering:
“I’m not going to hold back as much.” Pavitr’s grin turned playful.
Gayatri realized instantly, but somehow, it still wasn’t fast enough. His hold was like iron, and his fingers crawled like spiders up her back. He laughed right along with her giggles as he nuzzled into her neck.
And despite that, she still seemed to win more of their tickle fights than he did.
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