Author's note:
This is my first Bollywood fan fic, so I'm hoping to get some helpful feedback from you all! Veer-Zaara was a film that I liked alot, but I always felt that the love story in the first half was rushed. I kind of wanted to see more light, romantic scenes, and so I've tried to write such a scene here, which takes place after the Lodi song in the film. Veer and Zaara may seem a tad bit out of character, but like I said, I wanted to experiment a little by writing a less dramatic scene between the two of them. Hope you like it:-)
Veer heaved a huge sigh of relief.
Finally, the elaborate Lodi celebrations were over. He couldn't believe all the fuss his Maati and Babuji had created throughout the entire evening.
First, it was that stupid game where all the men slam a wooden stick down on the ground as a declaration of love to their sweethearts. (To this day, he still failed to see how an act like that could be considered romantic).
Then, there was the dancing and singing, which he took part in only to avoid an hour-long lecture on how he should respect his heritage and family traditions.
And now finally, after all the guests had left,, they had come to the inevitable. He could already hear his Maati flying around the kitchen trying to clean up as fast as possible, while simultaneously screaming her head off at her husband after discovering the empty bottle of rum inside an unused cupboard.
Veer listened to the dramatics between the two of them with a half-smile on his face and shook his head, while walking out onto the porch. Babuji could never seem to find a good enough hiding place for that bottle.
He then turned to his left and saw Zaara standing in the corner, but couldn't quite make out what she was doing.
He walked a little closer, and saw that she had taken off the scarf that she had been wearing and was carefully trying to loosen a knot that had formed in it. She was wearing one of Maati's old dresses. In fact, he still remembered when she used to wear it during the Lodi celebrations years back when he was just a young boy. It was the outrageous colors that he had always stared at back then – a mixture of hot pink and lime green. Paired together, they were a torture to the human eyes. The extremely bold, orange scarf only added to the clash, and he had often wondered why his Maati was so fond of the dress.
But now as he watched Zaara in that same outfit, he thought to himself how perfect and charming the colors looked. As cliched as it might sound, they seemed to blend together so wonderfully and brought out her complexion and features in such a beautiful manner.
"Need some help with that?", he asked, walking up to where she was standing.
Zaara immediately looked up and seemed to be embarrassed and confused at the same time.
"Um, well…no, I think I got it…it's just this part right here on the left, and it kind of got stuck with this other part when I was taking it off. So then I tried to pull it apart, and ended up making a huge knot instead…but now I just have to…well…actually, um…yeah, could you help me?", she stammered, looking around uncomfortably.
"Sure", said Veer, trying not to laugh, as he took hold of the extremely tight knot that had formed in the middle of her scarf.
All he could see were bits of orange woven around one another in an extremely intricate formation.
"Wow, this is bad", said Veer, examining it closely. He looked back up at Zaara with a smirk. "You really must hate this thing a lot to cause it this much harm".
Zaara looked straight back at him and returned the smirk.
"Hey I'm not used to wearing these kinds of outfits, OK? They're so complicated and they're too...flowy…", she said, trailing off.
"Flowy?", asked Veer, with one eyebrow raised. "Is that even a word?"
"Yes, it's my word. Flowy.", repeated Zaara, with a smile.
Her smile was gorgeous, and her dimples even more so. Veer stared at her for a few seconds, before returning his attention to her knotted scarf.
"Well, I'm going to have to go at this with my teeth – that's the only way it'll loosen up", he explained. "Do you mind?"
"Go ahead. Just don't tear it, otherwise your Maati will kill me", replied Zaara, handing him the scarf.
Veer took hold of both sides and pulled on one end of the knot with his front teeth. Zaara watched as he struggled with it and tried to keep her laughter suppressed. He looked incredibly funny and resembled an impatient little boy trying to accomplish a very important task.
Veer tugged at it for a few more seconds, and the knot finally loosened. He smoothed it out and then draped it around Zaara's shoulders, just as she had been wearing it earlier.
"All done", he exclaimed, with a smile. "But now you owe me, because my tooth is really starting to hurt", he said, putting his finger in his mouth.
Zaara laughed. "Sure. I'll do whatever you say."
"Really? Because the last time I asked you to do something, you ended up having to come here and witness this whole spectacle", said Veer, his arms outstretched.
"I guess you've completely forgotten our conversation earlier. I never break promises, remember? Go ahead...try me", she said, challenging him.
Veer folded his arms across his chest and put one finger to his lips.
"Well, since you seem to be ready to do anything…" he said slowly, watching the expression on her face carefully.
Zaara's eyes widened, and she started fidgeting with her scarf again when she saw the rather mischievous look on Veer's face.
"On the other hand, if what you're thinking involves heights in any way, I won't do it...so any ideas like those need to be ruled out immediately", she said quickly, before looking down at her feet.
Veer laughed and came closer to her.
"Relax, I was only kidding", he told her, reassuringly, "I just like to see that confused and shocked look on your face that seems to reappear almost every other minute. It's quite amusing actually".
Zaara looked up at him, only to see his big, brown eyes looking straight into hers. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about him that she found so intriguing. And there was an undeniable attraction that she had felt even when she had first seen him. She recalled the memory of the two of them hanging in mid-air and the drama that she had created when she dropped her bag. Veer had been so angry with her. His words were like daggers and a tad too harsh in her opinion. But what she had appreciated even then was that he had meant every word that he said, and he didn't hide behind a persona that wasn't his. He was so incredibly real, unlike so many other people in her life.
"Look, can we go back to being formal with one another? You know...like when we first met and you couldn't stand me? I liked you better then", she said firmly.
"And why is that?" asked Veer, curiously.
"I don't have to have a reason. I just do", she stated, matter-of-factly.
"Well, unfortunately, I like you better now, so this is the way it's going to be", he replied, with a shrug of his shoulders.
"What way? We've only known each other for two days", said Zaara.
"Well, sometimes that's all that it takes to form a special bond with someone", said Veer, looking at her, "I feel comfortable talking to you now. I've showed you around my village, I've introduced you to my family, and I think even you noticed how you just completely blended in with us, despite the fact that you've never even been outside of Pakistan before".
Zaara nodded in agreement. She had felt it too. It was heartwarming to find such love and happiness in a home so far away from where she had come from.
"I do feel comfortable here", she admitted, "It's strange, but I can imagine having grown up here, even spending my future here...its just a really nice place, and you, especially, have made this little trip even more special for me", said Zaara, looking directly at him.
The words were barely out of her mouth and suddenly Veer was stepping closer in her direction, his hands behind his back and a smile on his face.
Zaara backed up against the wall behind the porch, but he was still continuing towards her.
"What are you doing?", she asked abruptly, her heart starting to race.
Veer stopped and looked at her skeptically.
"Well, I was actually going to go back inside to go to sleep, seeing that it is really late and you have an early train to catch in the morning. But if you want me to stay out here and talk….", he said, trying to read her face.
"No, no…I mean, that would be great, but it is late, and we should go to sleep.", she said hurriedly, trying to appear calm.
"Ok, well lets go back inside then", he said, motioning for her to go in first.
Zaara walked inside and proceeded to go to the extra bedroom where all her things were. Veer followed closely behind and stopped in the doorway to his room. He watched Zaara walk on ahead of him, her anklets on her feet making a very distinct sound with every step that she took.
"Hey, can I ask you a question?" he said, quietly.
Zaara turned around to face him.
"Sure, what is it?", she asked.
"Do you always wear those?", he asked, pointing towards her ankles.
Zaara looked down, smiled, and folded her arms across her chest before replying.
"These are my most prized possessions", she said proudly, "I got them when I was about twelve or so, and I wear them all day and all night. Thankfully, my ankles haven't plumped up like the rest of my body, so they're still a perfect fit".
"What?", said Veer, surprised. "You look fine to me . In fact, you're just right".
"That's just a nice way of saying that I'm fat", said Zaara, giggling, "Besides, these anklets go with any outfit, even something outrageous like what I'm wearing now. Unfortunately, your Maati didn't have anything else in my size, and she was very keen that I wear this.".
Veer's eyes lit up.
"What do you mean?", he asked, "You don't like the outfit?"
"No, the dress is nice, but just look at these colors," said Zaara, walking up to him. "Hot pink and lime green? It's a disastrous combination", she said, shaking her head.
Veer leaned in closer to her, and tapped his finger on her nose.
"It's not as bad as you think", he said, staring into her eyes.
Veer continued to keep his gaze on her, and Zaara stared back at him, wondering what he was thinking. The moment seemed to go on forever until Veer quickly whispered goodnight and disappeared behind his bedroom door.
Zaara turned and slowly walked away to get ready for bed, completely oblivious to the fluttering in her heart and faint smile on her lips.
Good?...Bad?...Please review and tell me what you thought!...thanks:-)