As sunlight streamed through the window, bathing Parwati's face in a warm glow, she scrunched her eyes and slowly blinked them open. The sensation of a hard, warm surface beneath her registered, and she realized with a start that she had slept on Vikram's chest throughout the night. Alarmed, she sprang up, inadvertently waking him in the process.

"Paro?" Vikram groaned, rubbing his eyes as he propped himself up. His voice, thick with sleep, held a comforting gruffness.