How long had it been since Vikram had been walking in the sun? Two hours? Four? He had no idea. The camera lay dangling around his neck as he stepped further under the scorching heat. He had been travelling through the sites for some time now and he had just entered the main city when his phone rang.

Vikram fished his phone out of his bag and saw that it was Ruvee.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Ruvee asked. "I called last night and you didn't answer."

"I was tired." Vikram said. "Was out shooting all day."

"You know you've gone on a vacation, right?"

Vikram laughed. "A photographer never goes on a vacation. There are always photos to take and people to meet."

"So where are you now then?" she asked. "Still in Paris?"

"No I took the train out in the morning. I'm in Lyon."

"Ah, finally" she said. "I've seen you cry over going there for ten years now."

Vikram laughed. "Don't you have work to do or something?" he asked. "Your subordinates will start slacking when they see their boss is on the phone all the time."

"They wouldn't dare." Ruvee said. "For all they know I'm calling a client to get a draft. Besides, it's only 7 in the evening here, I am about to leave."

"Already?" Vikram asked. "You used to work till midnight in your last company."

"That's why I changed my job." Ruvee complained. "Book publishing is so different from print media but I am glad I shifted. The timings are flexible, there are always new things to learn, new people to torture, new clients to threaten and I get a proper air conditioned side office that overlooks the entire city."

"I wish I was in an AC cabin that overlooks the entire city." Vikram said. "It's the middle of the afternoon here and I was in the countryside since morning, only to realize that I forgot my bottle of water at the hotel."

"Who asked you to visit Lyon in peak summer?"

"I had been here once during winter, I wanted to see what French summers were like."

"Well... find a restaurant and get something to drink."

"Yeah I've just arrived in the city. I will call you when I get back to the hotel."

"Okay, don't forget to call your brother. He's been hounding me since he couldn't get through to you. Talk to you later." Ruvee said and hung up.

Vikram had spent a good part of his day in The Ancient Theatre of Fourviere and he still had a few more places to visit before he had to go back to Paris in the evening. He knew he needed to eat before he could resume. Walking into one of the streets that was full of bouchons, traditional restaurants that served Lyonnaise food, Vikram found himself pleasantly surprised by old memories.

A wave of nostalgia hit Vikram as he remembered this street in bits in pieces. He had been here before, with his family- with this dad, almost over a decade ago. Vikram passed the street and restaurants that had outdoor seating arrangements as well as indoors. This was what Vikram loved about France. The restaurants were always so open and approachable by everyone. The street was packed, and so were the restaurants. Vikram didn't know which one to go to. He passed a couple more restaurants before his eyes fell on one particular one which had a unique name which loosely translated to 'Here Lies Home', not that Vikram's French was any good but he could understand basic words.

Deciding to check it out, Vikram went in.

A man, in his early twenties, who was standing behind the bar greeted Vikram as he entered. Vikram smiled and returned the greetings before he was directed to the only table at the far end corner of the restaurant.

He asked Vikram something. It was probably either 'How can I help you?' or 'What would you like to order?'

"Umm, do you understand English?"

"Anglais?" the man said and shook his head. And then he probably asked Vikram to wait while he disappeared.

Vikram brought his attention to the menu and picked it up. He glanced at the dishes and everything looked so fancy. He didn't even remember how his father had managed to order food for all the last time they were here.

He was still engrossed in the menu when he heard a voice.

"What can I help you with, sir?"

Vikram's senses suddenly went numb. He knew that voice. He knew that voice more than he knew his own.

Slowly, he raised his head up.

And there he was, Aditya. Still familiar but still very strange. Why was he in Lyon?

"Vikram?" Aditya asked, looking at him like he had seen a ghost. "Oh my god, what are you doing here?"

Where were all the words when Vikram needed them the most?

"I... This..." Vikram began before he realized that Aditya stood with his arms open, to greet Vikram.

Vikram immediately got up, tipping the table a little in the process. But he still went in to hug Aditya. Vikram closed his eyes. He still smelled of musk, but he also smelled of variety of spices right now.

"Hi." Vikram said, pulling away and sitting back down.

"Do you mind?" Aditya asked, pointing at the empty chair and Vikram shook his head.

Aditya pulled the chair and took a seat. "God" he said. "It's been so long. How have you been?"

Ten years, Vikram thought. Ten years and three months.

Vikram couldn't believe this was happening. Aditya had become a history in his life since he had left for Paris all those years ago. Vikram wanted to ask him why he hadn't returned. Why he hadn't called once after he left. Why hadn't he ever tried to contact him or Ruvee but deep down, Vikram already knew the answer. It was no one's fault and it took Vikram some time to get over the anger he had felt towards Aditya when he had left. It took him some time to realize that it was himself that Vikram was most angry at and it had taken him some more time to understand that neither of them was actually at fault. It was just that they were never meant to be.

Was it just Vikram or was it starting to get really, really hot inside the restaurant? He adjusted the collar of his shirt and loosened it up a little. No one else seemed to be bothered by the temperature. Then why was Vikram the only one sweating? And what was this heavy settlement that Vikram felt in his chest?

His eyes drew over Aditya's face. He looked happy. Vikram had noticed that. Aditya was smiling and glowing. He was clean shaved while Vikram harbored a long stubble that he hadn't trimmed since the five days that he had been in France. Aditya also looked so much more muscular than Vikram last remembered him to be. He was wearing a fitting black t-shirt and faded jeans and Vikram was sure a lot of eyes must have turned his way when he had walked to Vikram.

"I am good." Vikram said, answering Aditya's question. "How are you?"

"I am great too." Aditya beamed. "Do you like this place?"

Vikram looked around slowly. "Yes. Is it yours?"

Aditya nodded.

Vikram was genuinely impressed. "Congratulations." he said.

"Thank you." Aditya said. "Would you like to drink something?"

Yes, Vikram was parched. "Beer." He said softly and Aditya was suddenly a little surprised.

He stared at Vikram for a second too long and Vikram adjusted himself on the seat nervously.

"What?" Vikram asked, trying to find his voice as Aditya's eyes bore down on him. "You don't have beer?"

Aditya shook his head and laughed. "No..." he said, trying to gather his words. "No it's just that... You're twenty eight."

"Yeah, so are you."

A laugh escaped Aditya. "No what I meant was, the last time I saw you, we were eighteen. I guess I didn't realize you're not a teenager anymore."

Vikram raised an eyebrow but then he understood what Aditya meant. Watching someone grow old with you is different from meeting someone after a decade. In Vikram's memories too, Aditya was just eighteen.

Clearing his throat, Aditya called someone named Theo. The boy from the bar surfaced again and Vikram made a mental note of his name. Aditya spoke to him in French and ordered a few things, Vikram could only make the words beer out of all. Once he was done, Theo disappeared again.

"Do you want to sit here or do you want to go upstairs?"

"Upstairs?"

"My apartment's on the floor above. We can sit and talk in peace."

Vikram shook his head. "I'm here just to eat something quick and leave. I have to take a train back to Paris tonight. I have an early flight back home tomorrow."

"So?" Aditya asked. "You can eat something quick and leave from my apartment too. Plus, it will be quieter. I can't even hear myself think out here."

Vikram hesitated.

"Come on, just for a few minutes."

Vikram nodded. Why was he even defensive when he knew it would all break down eventually now that he had seen Aditya again?

"Great..." Aditya said, getting up. "Follow me!"

On their way up, Aditya asked Theo to bring everything up to his apartment and Theo nodded diligently.

Aditya's apartment was on the floor just above so Vikram didn't have any issue climbing the stairs, even if he was so tired he felt he could barely walk.

Aditya opened the door and Vikram was immediately met with something absolutely different. This wasn't a traditional French house. Aditya had renovated it to modern style walls and furnishing. And not even a shoe was out of its place. It reminded Vikram of his room back at his uncle's place and how the only thing that stood in contract of the whole mess of the house was Aditya's room.

"Come on in." Aditya said and placed the door key on a bowl in the foyer. Vikram's hand involuntarily reached his neck before he shook it off.

"This is a beautiful apartment." Vikram said, walking in.

"Thanks." Aditya said.

Vikram noticed that even though the place had a modern setup, there was nothing that screamed of home inside. Nothing that would tell Vikram that it was Aditya's house. There were no photos, no plants inside and nothing that Vikram could look at and say that yeah, this is Aditya's.

Past the foyer was the living room with two doors right ahead and one door straight down the hallway, next to which the kitchen rested. Even the kitchen didn't have any touch of Aditya. Did he really live in this place?

"Have a seat." Aditya said and Vikram followed.

"Beer?" Aditya asked and Vikram nodded.

Aditya came back from the kitchen with two bottles of beer and handed one to Vikram. He took the beer from Aditya and only then did he realize that he was more parched than he'd care to admit.

Pulling the tip of the bottle to his lips, Vikram took a haul so long, that he emptied the bottle in one go.

"Whoa!" Aditya said, "Slow down."

"Sorry..." Vikram said, letting a deep breath out along with a burp. "Sorry!" he said again. "It's just that I've been in the sun all day and I was thirsty."

"I can tell." Aditya suddenly said and Vikram didn't know whether he was talking about the sun or the thirst. For some reason, Vikram wanted to check a mirror to see if his freckles had darkened.

But he snapped himself out the moment he heard a knock on the door. Aditya asked them to enter and in came Theo with food and more beer.

Aditya thanked him and gave him some instructions in French which Vikram did not understand at all and in no time, they were alone again.

"Your French is really good." Vikram said.

"Has to be." Aditya answered. "I am a citizen now."

Vikram looked at him in surprise. "No way. Really?"

Aditya nodded. "Really. Got my citizenship two years ago."

"And the restaurant?" he asked. "How long have you been running this?"

"About a year now." Aditya said. "After my studies I visited this place, because you had asked me to..." He paused and cleared his throat. "So I was visiting when I came across this place. I was immediately drawn to the name. Did you know it means 'This is where home is'?"

Vikram smiled. He had been close.

"So I came in and there was this old married couple, Eloise and Leo." he said. "I sat and I ate and they asked me various types of questions and I told them everything. Turned out, they were looking for a chef themselves because Leo was getting too old and couldn't cook anymore. So I started working for them and soon, I became a part of their small family. Leo died a year after I joined and then last year, so did Eloise. They didn't have any children so they left the restaurant to me."

"That was really nice of them." Vikram said, "So sorry they passed away."

Aditya smiled. "Three more years and Eloise would have hit a century."

Vikram smiled after him. This was incredible. He had no idea Aditya had done so well for himself. But then, how would he have any idea. Aditya had left him and everything else behind.

"How is everyone back home?" Aditya asked. "Everyone in your family?"

Vikram nodded. "Everyone is fine. Mom's taking care of dad's business and Vaibhav is about to start his Junior residency at a hospital back home soon."

"And your dad?"

Vikram froze. Aditya didn't know. He still didn't know. "He passed away a long time ago." Vikram said in a low voice.

"Oh... I am so sorry to hear that." Aditya said and Vikram noticed that he was genuinely sorry.

Vikram nodded and turned his attention to food. "What's this?"

"Ah..." Aditya said, "This is a traditional food I had learned from Leo. It's called..."

All Vikram heard was a series of random syllables.

"What?"

"Cardon a la moelle." Aditya said again and Vikram tried to copy but he didn't get the pronunciation right.

"It's okay." Aditya laughed. "Just don't the people outside here you."

Vikram followed the laugh, suddenly realizing that the last time he had a light moment like in Aditya's company was over a decade ago.

"Wait." Aditya said and walked to the kitchen to bring cutlery.

Vikram thought they'd move to the table but they didn't. Instead, Aditya brought the plates with him and arranged them on the floor, just in front of the sofa.

They were going to eat on the floor, just like they had done at Aditya's place. The memory was still fresh in Vikram's mind like it had happened yesterday.

Vikram sat down on the rug and Aditya served him on the plate.

"Bon appétit!" Aditya said and this, Vikram understood clearly.

It did not take Vikram even ten minutes to eat whatever he could and be full. He only realized how fast he ate when he saw Aditya's plate was almost untouched.

He looked up and suddenly, found Aditya staring at him with those hauntingly beautiful eyes and something inside of Vikram churned.

Aditya looked away immediately.

"When was the last time you ate?" Aditya asked, trying to change the atmosphere.

Vikram shrugged. "I was tired when I went back to the hotel last night so I skipped dinner. Then I had an early train to Lyon today so that makes it..." Vikram counted. "Over twenty hour hours since I last ate."

Aditya's eyes wavered. It looked like he was about to say something but decided against it.

"Well then you need to eat more." he said, taking the pot and pouring more food onto Vikram's plate.

"No, wait" Vikram protested. "I am full."

Aditya shook his head. "Eat!" he said which sounded more like a request than a command.

Vikram sighed but began eating again. And he only stopped once he was done.

"I am like a container today!" he complained after finishing the plate again. "I'll keep hogging if you keep serving."

"Well good!" Aditya reached out to the pot again but this time, Vikram stopped him, by gently holding his hand.

Aditya suddenly stopped midair and it also seemed like he had stopped breathing. So Vikram immediately let his hand go.

"Sorry." Vikram said. "I didn't meant to... I... I've eaten more than enough. So it's okay."

Aditya withdrew his hand back, slowly. He cleared the area of the food and the dishes but for some reason, went back to sitting on the rug on the floor, resting their backs on the foot of the sofa.

Aditya cleared his throat. "Are you going to carry that camera everywhere?"

Vikram looked down and realized the camera was still around his neck. He laughed. "I forgot I had this on."

Vikram held the camera in his hand and pulled it over his head to let himself be free of the strap but just as he was going that, the chain around Vikram's neck got stuck in the strap and by the time Vikram was free from the camera, the key on his neck lay hanging over his shirt.

Vikram looked at Aditya and noticed that he was looking at him.

He looked down again, and this time, realized the horror.

Vikram immediately proceeded to hide the key back in but Aditya's hand reached his, stopping him mid-way.

"That... that key." Aditya said, blinking as tears formed in his eyes.

For a second, Vikram saw something familiar in Aditya's eyes. He saw the promises of yesterday and a home he had left far behind. Vikram saw their time together and the love that they shared. Vikram saw hope.

Aditya blinked and pulled his hand away, regaining his composure. He sat back down. "That's the key to my the house, isn't it?"

How Vikram wished he could lie. But Aditya had clearly seen the key, there was no point hiding it anymore. Slowly, Vikram nodded.

"Why do you still have it around?" Aditya asked, suddenly sounding bitter.

Vikram didn't know what to say. How to explain the many nights he had taken the key in his hand and thrown it across the room only to wake up the next day and wearing it around his neck again? He wondered how he could tell Aditya that just like Vikram had promised, he had gone to that house. That he hadn't been able to sleep for days after his dad passed away. That whenever he tried to sleep, he would dream of that horrible day over and over again. That one day, after twenty nights of insomnia, Vikram had driven to Aditya's house in the dead of the night. Vikram wondered how he would tell Aditya that on that day, when he had lied down on the bed, their bed, Vikram had finally been able to sleep without nightmares. How could he tell Aditya that the key around his neck had become a part of him, like his limb and that he needed it to be able to function.

But Vikram knew he couldn't.

"Just a habit." he said and hid the key back in. "Nothing else."

"Nothing else!" Aditya repeated in a low voice.

He then turned his attention to Vikram and smiled. "I haven't been there since I came to France."

Vikram nodded. He was starkly aware. "Do you miss it?" Vikram asked, when in fact he wanted to ask if Aditya had missed him.

"Sometimes." Aditya said. "I was homesick for a long time after I came here but then... I guess I just got used to it."

"How's Ruvee by the way?" Aditya asked suddenly.

"She's really good. She's joined a book publishing company as Senior Editor a month ago."

"You guys still keep in touch?"

Vikram nodded, aware of the fact that Aditya hadn't kept in touch with any of them.

"And you?" Aditya asked Vikram in a sigh. "What have you been up to?"