Dear

 Someone leaned against my desk very familiarly. I tore my eyes away from my screen with a frown. Who dared to take this liberty?

"Oye", he smiled down at me. 

"What are you doing here?", I asked him, turning my frown upside down.

"Attending the AI bootcamp. They gave us a few mins respite. I ran up here to surprise you, and gotta run back in a minute. Can we catch up over dinner tonight?" 

"Of course" 

"Text me your favorite restaurant and the time, I'll see you there"

"Yea sure", I nodded and waved as he jogged away. 

-

An hour or so later, my phone pinged with his reply, 'Thank you dear'

'The hell?' I thought to myself and responded with an angry emoji. As expected, there was nothing more from him.

-

I entered the restaurant and found him waiting with a smile. His hug was warm but I was still smarting from his message. It didn't look like he noticed my coldness. 

To be honest, however hard I try, seeing him in the flesh, I couldn't stay mad too long. That smile he reserves for me will always melt me quick and today was no exception.

But I still had a few unmelted icicles left whenever I was reminded of-

"So... It's been a while since we met. How's it going?", he asked me as we took our seats. 

"Yup, two whole years", I was getting salty, "is that why you've forgotten what to call me?" 

"What? What did I forget?", he looked confused but was there a twinkle in the corner of his eye?

"Thank you DEAR? What the hell was that?", I was steaming now. 

He chortled. "Oh that was just me making sure you hadn't changed" 

I stared at him, incensed, "You-" 

"I...", he cut in smoothly, "will never forget". His special smile was back. 

I huffed and looked away to hide my blossoming smile. 

"Fine, I won't call you 'dear'. I know you hate it. But ... can I call you something else instead?", his voice was a caress.

"What?", I looked back at him. 

"Can I call you... mine?"

All the icicles melted in a heartbeat.