Page 13 of A Lab Rat’s Guide to Fated Love

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Koala on a Eucalyptus Tree

Nori

N ori stirred awake with her cheek pressed into the snug warmth of her pillow. The new mattress was a little too firm for her taste, but she didn’t feel like getting up just yet.

With a throaty hum, she buried her face into the sheets, inhaling a deep delicious fill of the earthy notes and the woody musk and coffee and soap. She hadn’t known they made laundry detergents that smelled this good. Or that pillows now came installed with heartbeats.

That didn’t sound right. Why would pillows have… Seconds ticked by before realization hit. Her pillow had a heartbeat… WHY DID HER PILLOW HAVE A HEARTBEAT?!

Please, don’t be awake yet. Please, don’t be awake yet.

She’d been smushing her nose into Dr. Vir Varma’s chest. HIS CHEST. And because that wasn’t enough, she also had her limbs wrapped around him like a clingy koala on a eucalyptus tree.

Please, don’t be awake yet. As slowly as she could, she lifted her cheek off his sternum— please, don’t be —only to find his very awake, very rounded eyes staring back at her.

With a startled whelp, she pushed herself off the floor and ran inside.

She couldn’t recall falling asleep there with him.

But even if she had, did she have to crawl under his blanket, too?

She cursed under her breath, slamming the bathroom door shut and considering calling it her new home for the next few months.

She could sneak in her laptop and some chips, maybe.

It wouldn’t be that bad. She could totally do it.

What she couldn’t possibly do, however, was step outside and look Vir Varma in the eye. Ever.

It was a while before she confronted the only flaw in her otherwise perfect plan and left the haven of her white-tiled hideout.

The cottage had only one bathroom. She’d have to vacate it at some point so her guest could use it, too.

Unless she wanted him to shit outside in the garden. She was mortified, not cruel.

She proceeded to avoid Vir’s gaze like the bane of her existence it now officially was.

But to his credit, he didn’t prod the subject of last night’s sleeping arrangements.

In fact, he didn’t say anything at all. Except for when he insisted on looking at her stitches, only to give a satisfied nod before returning to his preferred seat on the couch with his e-reader.

It had left her baffled how her shin hadn’t split open once more with her hauling a whole-ass man all the way from her car to the living room floor.

Relieved, Nori took the dining table as her preferred spot and got to work on her laptop, scrolling through and tweaking lines of code.

She resurfaced hours later, her stomach gurgling in protest. Was it lunchtime already?

Would Vir mind if she fed him a cheese sandwich again?

It was either that or ramen noodles. Otherwise, cooking food fit for human consumption wasn’t one of her strengths.

Her eyes moved tentatively in Vir’s direction, as she braced herself to ask.

But one glance at his frail—but alive—form on the couch had her brain throwing vivid imagery of last night’s events at her.

She sprung to her feet, mentally cursing the lump in her throat as it threatened to climb up and spill out of her eyes again.

Vir’s head whipped in her direction, almost as if she’d called him by name.

“I’m going for a walk.” She cleared her throat, rushing to the front door with her jacket. “Call me if you need anything.”

She slipped out without waiting for a response, shutting the door behind her before Vir could witness her dissolving into an embarrassing mess. She needed a clear head to function like a person who had herself and her work together, and rage-walking was the best way to achieve that in her books.

But she didn’t understand. She was aware of all the risks. She was aware of the very real possibility that her first human subject might not make it out alive. She’d known right from the start. And so had Vir.

Then why? Why hadn’t she been able to stop bawling her eyes out last night? And why were they wet again just remembering the incident?

She marched faster, shoving her tightly wound fists into her too large pockets. The jacket fit her like a tent. She looked down and realized why. She’d grabbed Vir’s by mistake.

And it smelled good. Same notes as earlier. She frowned.

Vir probably smelled terrible. Like stinky feet or gross old sweat. She didn’t want to know. This, however, this earthy, soapy—she snuggled her nose into the collar and took a long whiff—this was definitely just the fragrance of her shampoo that he’d likely borrowed.

With a satisfied nod, Nori shoved her hands back into the roomy pockets and resumed her walk.

“Ow.” She paused after a while, unable to ignore the pain in her shin any longer, and hobbled a bit further down to lean against the rocky hillside. She didn’t want to go home just yet, but pushing her luck wasn’t a good idea with the state her leg was in.

She wrapped her arms around her torso and let out a deep wistful sigh at the scene before her. Shoja was a breathtaking place. Peaceful. Mostly untouched and away from the touristy chaos and crowds that most nearby hill stations had too much of .

She missed her grandma and their leisurely walks together. Grandma always had the best stories to tell. And the best advice to offer.

“What do I do, Grandma?” she whispered into the breeze as it caressed her crusty, puffy face while she imagined the warmth of Grandma’s palms on her cheeks.

Vir

V ir leaned against a purple wrought iron gate, one hand clutching the phone inside his jeans’ pocket, while he resisted the urge to call Nori. She’d told him to ring her if he needed anything. He needed to know she was okay.

Maybe he should’ve asked about the clashing spikes of worry and shame he’d been sensing from her all morning. But he’d thought it better to not pry.

She might hurry back if he told her he was sick again…

Brilliant . He must’ve grown some special, genius level brain cells overnight.

“What are you doing?” Nori’s voice called out from a few feet away, catching Vir mid eye-roll with his irises drawn so far back, he must have looked possessed. Or in the middle of a particularly nasty stroke.

“Nothing.” He ducked his head.

As they walked back inside the house, Vir felt for shifts in Nori’s mood. She seemed better already. Calmer. There was almost no trace of the earlier turmoil.

“How are you doing now?” Nori asked.

“Seems weird, but I feel a lot better than yesterday.” Vir shrugged. “No surprise bruises or fever either.”

Nori nodded, pensively. “Fortunately, yesterday’s incident didn’t set us back. Instead, the p-biotics epinephrine cocktail seems to have shocked the mites into nesting with your cells faster. This wasn’t a possibility I had considered; I have to admit.”

“So, everything’s good?”

“Everything’s good.” The tiniest of smiles peaked through her stoic features. And as it grew into the most magnificent grin Vir had ever seen, it pushed her eyes almost fully closed .

He was staring again, for far longer than he should have, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away. He wondered what her laugh would look like.

“The data is still being transmitted with a fifteen-minute lag, but the acclimatization is complete. The mites are settled in, and they’re sending all your data directly into the algorithm. The chip’s functioning optimally as well.”

Vir nodded, impressed.

“And now, let’s discuss sleeping arrangements,” Nori said, padding towards the bedroom and motioning for him to follow.

“We should’ve talked about this first thing, but…

anyway. This place used to have two bedrooms, but Grandma had one converted into her study a few years ago. Now this is the only one left.”

“We’re not that close, Nori.”

Nori rolled her eyes before she pointed to the storage above the closet. “I said only bedroom, not only bed. There’s a spare mattress up there. And extra blankets and stuff. We can set it over there. Unless you prefer the couch? I don’t. It nearly destroyed my back the night before.”

“Mattress is fine, thank you.” He reached up and slid the storage door open.

“There’s a ladder out back. Let me bring”

Before she could finish her sentence, Vir pulled down the rolled mattress, before promptly unzipping the polyester cover it was stuffed in. She helped him push the bed to one side and set up the mattress in the remaining space beside it. Complete with sheets, a blanket, and spare pillows.

“When I said there’s a mattress, I didn’t mean you’ll be sleeping in it. I’ll take it. You get the bed, since you’re the patient.”

“The patient,” he repeated, tightly. He hated being called that after having been one for well over two decades of his life. “I’m not the one who tripped and nearly bled out and has seven stitches down his leg, am I? Technically , you’re more of a patient than I am.”

Two bright spots of pink rose high on Nori’s cheeks. “So, you don’t like the word, do you? Well, you’re in luck, because technically , you’re not my patient, you’re my lab rat.”

There was a moment’s pause where they stood glaring at each other in silence while the air between them crackled.

Of course, Nori didn’t seem to be aware of it at all, but the charge simmered and glowered and rolled off Vir’s chest, making him hyper aware of the gap, and how easy it would be to close it with just a small step to—warmth rushed to the back of his neck.

Vir took a hasty step back and crossed his arms against his chest. He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could figure out a single word, Nori burst into ripples of uncontrollable laughter.

“I—I’m sorry,” she wheezed in-between. “I—I pictured you—as a mouse. With the—ears and a—a tail.”