Epilogue- Princess in Shining Armour

Prompt and Title Idea credits: Tiara(tournesol)

Has homophobic slurs, sorry about that.

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Risha was very happy. After 5 long years, her Mamu was coming back to India from the U.K. Mumma had officially lost her head. She and Nanu were baking and cooking since who knows what time in the morning and Mumma had taken a break! The last time she took a break from the office was when Risha had fallen from the fence and broken her arm, that was a year ago.

"Rish, Dadda will pick you up and you better not be late," Mumma told her as she braided her hair.

"Uff Mumma, even I miss Rajeev Mamu, of course, I won't be late," She kissed her mother's cheek, grabbed a few sandwiches from her Nanu and settled herself in the car.

"Let's pick Rajeev Mamu from the airport first and then I'll drop you at school, Shona," 

Dadda went alone to receive him, not wanting her to be in a crowded place early this morning. She watched in fascination as her Mamu walked by her Dadda's side, he in his sober black shirt and white pants and Rajeev Mamu in a floral printed shirt and a white blazer and white pants, even from distance she knew her Mamu had applied a bit of eyeliner and his nails were painted. 

She ran out of the car and hugged her Mamu and he picked her in his arms, even though she was eleven and a big girl.

"I am a big girl, put me down,"

"As you say, your highness," He kissed her cheek and helped her stand on her feet.

"Let's rush, or we will be late for school," Dadda said as her watch glared a sharp 7.45 at her.

"Where is Jai Mamu?"

"He had a business meeting, honey, but he sent you gifts, loads and loads of gifts! But the airport uncle took them away, so I sneaked these for you,"

He pulled out a bar of chocolate from his pocket.

"Rajeev, it's 8 in the morning,"

"Congratulations Rishudi, your Dadda can finally read the time,"

Rajeev Mamu always said funny things to her Dadda, which made no sense to her but made Dadda blush. She asked him why and he said

"He is my hero, Rishudi," Again, Rajeev Mamu never made sense.

Rajeev Mamu stepped out of the car, kissed her cheek, and waved her goodbye as she ran to her friends and pointed them to him.

"His clothes are so colorful, and he has makeup!" Ishita smiled in fascination.

"They are from London, Rajeev Mamu promised me he'd take me there this summer holidays,"

"Wow, so you'll be in London, that is so cool!"

In the break, Risha shared the chocolates Mamu got for her with her classmates. Mumma always said sharing is caring and Mamu had given her so many chocolates that she knew her tummy would hurt if she had them alone.

"Oh, look who is showing off!" Advait called out from his seat. 

"Would you like a bar of chocolate too, Advait?"Risha sneered at him.

"I don't take chocolates from fr*aks"

"But there is no freak here?" Risha replied innocently.

"I see a big fr*ak here, it's you, Risha,"

"I am not a freak, I am a girl, a human," Risha lost her patience and decided to be sarcastic. Her dad said that fools may understand any language, but they do not understand sarcasm.

"Well, if you aren't a freak, that man you came with, is one. Did you see his clothes? So girly!" He turned to his friends and laughed.

'"Mamu has the best sense of fashion, Jai Mamu says that he looks good in his clothes!" Risha stamped her feet on the ground.

"Oh, so he is p*of, huh?"

"What's a poof?" Ishita asked her and she shrugged.

"A p*of is when a man loves a man," Advait replied.

"You are wrong, when a man loves a man, he is a human,"

"Then why isn't your dad with another man? Or maybe he is, and hiding it from you," Advait sneered at her. Tears pooled in Risha's eyes and she ran away from the class and went into the girls' loo.

Her Mamu wasn't a poof, he wasn't a freak, her Dadda loved her Mumma and wasn't lying to her.

She said to herself but Advait's harsh words returned to her. She spent the break there, her tummy begging her for food but she couldn't go to class and face her classmates. In the end, the head girl forced her to go attend her classes, but she sat quietly in her seat, not bothering to pay any attention to the teachers.

Rajeev was having an amazing day. After sleeping for about 3 hours like a log because of jet-lag, Maya and Maa fed him his favorite Chicken Biryani and other Indian dishes that he missed so dearly. When it was time for Risha's school to finish, he decided that he would pick her up and texted the same to Rudra.

"Hey kiddo," He smiled brightly at his niece who walked with her friend to the car, looked at him and then sat in the car without any reply.

"You made her sad," His friend said to him and walked away to her mother.

Rajeev stood there confused. He looked at the people around him, who were staring at him, more precisely at his clothes. He shrugged and sat in the car and started the car.

"So, what are your plans today? Jai said he will video call you,"

"I don't want to talk to anyone! I want to go home!" Risha nearly yelled at him, surprising him.

"I don't want to be anywhere near you or Jai Mamu!" She whimpered and shuffled in her seat.

Rajeev looked at her as his father's "You aren't my son!" rang in her ears, somewhere from the memories he has pushed away, all those years ago. Even the words "f*g" that still were passed on the streets of London at him didn't hurt, as much as Risha's one small statement did.

"Did we do something wrong, Rish?"

He mumbled.

"Yes, because of you, my friends are saying my Dadda doesn't love my Mumma and if they do love each other then you and Jai Mamu are wrong!" 

Something broke in Rajeev, something that had broken when Maya and Maa had tried to stop Papa from beating his 15-year-old self.

He knew he should speak to Risha, one because he couldn't see the hatred in her eyes for him, and two, in a few years, she, herself might end up in his place, and if that happens, he didn't want her to feel the self-loathing he had felt until he had met Jai in the cafe in London where Maya had forced him to go to complete his MBA.

"I am taking you to your Dadda, maybe you will feel better seeing him, if you don't want to be with me," He mumbled and took the next U-turn and ordered Google to message Maya the same.

Rudra stepped out of the cafeteria and looked at his upset daughter and more upset brother-in-law in confusion.

"I thought you were taking her home,"

"I don't want to be with him," she cried and ran to him. Rudra was confused because apart from him and Maya, Rajeev was everything Risha ever needed.

"Rajeev, is everything ok?"

"I'll be outside," he ran out of there.

"Shona, did someone say something to your Mamu?"

"I told him that he and Jai Mamu were wrong," Risha looked at the ground, sadly.

"Why did you do that, Shona?" Rudra tried to keep her shock and disappointment in check.

"Because Advait said a man can't love man,"

"And what do you think?"

"I don't know," She looked at him and tears trickled down her cheeks.

Rudra sighed and wiped them.

"Shona, whatever Advait said was wrong, you can love whoever you want, it's wrong to say you have to love a particular person,"

"And then he said that if a man loving man is right, then you and Mumma are wrong,"

Rudra looked at her in shock. How could an eleven-year-old say such things? How messed up were we that we taught such young kids such things?

"Do you think I don't love your Mumma?"

She shook her head.

"Do you think your Mamu can ever do anything wrong?"

She shook her head.

"Then first, go say sorry to your Mamu and bring him in," She looked at him, wanting to protest, but then followed his orders.

Rajeev pulled the phone out of his pocket, read the caller ID and put his phone on silent. Jai had been calling him, but he couldn't talk to him, not when he was having a breakdown. Suddenly he felt arms around his legs. He turned to look at his niece and bent to her eye level and waited for her to speak.

"I am sorry Mamu, whatever I said was wrong," She whimpered as tears trickled down her cheeks.

"Baccha, you do need to apologize to me, I am your Minister, remember?" He smiled softly.

"I don't think you are wrong; you are the best Mamu and I am so sorry I said you and Jai Mamu were wrong." She looked at his ring, the ring that Jai had given him some 2 years back after proposing to him.

"It's a pretty ring," She smiled at him.

"I am glad you think so," He kissed her head.

"Dadda wants to talk to you," He nodded.

"I'll just call Jai Mamu and be there in a jiffy,"

After speaking to Jai, lying to him that he was fine and teasing him about missing Indian food, he went back to the cafeteria.

"Rajeev, I am so sorry,"

"It's ok Rudra, I know someone at the school said something to her,"

"I want you to talk to her,"

"Rudra, are you serious? You are her father,"

"Rajeev, she has hurt you without realizing how much off the track she is, God forbid there comes a time when she continues with these thoughts in her head and does something way more aggressive, hurting someone or herself. A straight person cannot explain the trauma you will feel with such words, even if they are said innocently."

Rajeev looked at him in surprise and sighed. But he felt thankful for Rudra and hugged him.

"I knew I was right in bringing her here and not take to her to Maya, she would have blasted the house by now," Rudra rolled his eyes. 

They walked to Risha who was having her lunch.

"Rishi, can we talk?"

She looked up from her Aalu paratha and nodded.

"Risha, when people become your Dadda's age, or even before that, they fall in love and no, not the love you feel for your Nanu or your best friend or anyone, it's special and it looks like the kind in the movies when hero and heroine fall in love,"

"Do people play the violin in the background?"

"What? No!" He chuckled, despite himself.

"This special, yes, but I am pretty sure violins didn't play when your Mumma threw the sword at your dad,"

Rudra rolled her eyes thinking of the day where they duelled at the fencing club and the chuckles that he received from his daughter only made him blush.

"Anyways, so when people fall in love, it may or may not happen in the first meeting, and may not happen between people of opposite genders."

"You can love whoever you want," Risha looked at Rudra who smiled proudly.

"We shouldn't judge people of whom they love, same-gender and different religion relationships aren't accepted by people, but when you can, you must learn to accept them, it won't hurt you, you will learn about falling in love a little more," Rajeev smiled.

"Shona, your Mamu loves Jai Mamu, just like I love your Mumma," Rudra smiled softly at her as she nodded.

The next day, Risha walked up to Advait’s desk, tapped his shoulder and when he turned, placed a chocolate Mamu had got for her and said loud and clear for the whole class to hear "Yes, my Mamu has a BOYFRIEND and yes, my Dadda has a WIFE, but it is their choice who they want to love, and I will not let you make me hate anyone for falling in love!"

She turned on her heels and went to her desk, and smiled as she occupied her seat. Her Mamu was the best and she would not let anyone tell her otherwise.

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