Chapter 1

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H for Hamesha

| Mad(ly) in Love Series |

"Are you liking it here, Khushi?" he asked tentatively looking at his companion as they sat in a comfortable silence at a bench overlooking the peace and quiet of the bay which twinkled as the fading sun's ray threw across it hues of orange.

She looked at him and smiled that beautiful, angelic smile and nodded lightly, her eyes lighting up, "Ji! I love it here! Maloom hai mujhe Australia aane ka hamesha se hi bahut mann tha! Duniya mein humein jo jagah dekhne ka dil hai, uss list mein sab se upar Australia tha! Shukriya, Arnav!"

"Really?"

"Haan!"

If you told Arnav that he was a bigger designer than Dolce and Gabbana, he wouldn't have been happier than he was at the moment, listening to her honest gushing and a heartfelt thank you' and he mentally thanked his good sense to start a branch here a few years ago - a business deal which had unexpectedly yielded its most lucrative profit at that moment.

Her smile.

His most dearly earned profit.

Hamesha.

"Mujhe hamesha se kangaroos dekhne the...aur koalas...hum kangaroos kab dekhenge, Arnav?" ("I have always wanted to see kangaroos and koalas! When will we see the kangaroos Arnav?") she looked around as if expecting a kangaroo to jump out from behind the sparse greenery and he let a light laughter rumble through him, fighting the urge to kiss the cute pout on her lips.

"Kal."
("Tomorrow.")

"Sach?!"
("Really?!")

Her lips were now fully curved upwards, her eyes wide and shining with excitement, her hands cupping her face - as if she just couldn't believe that one of her dreams was about to come true and in that moment Arnav Singh Raizada realized the one thing that he had over and over again in all the time he had known the woman sitting in front of him - he would do anything to see this ridiculously endearing expression on the face of his wife every day of his life.

But like a man who preferred a silent admission of love rather than a proclamation of his feelings, he could only nod while she clapped her hands excitedly and started muttering to herself about all that she would do and the next words escaped Arnav just like that, "We can come and stay in Australia, you know...Akash can look after the India offices aur hum yahan shift ho sakte hain..."

And pat came her reply, subconsciously, as she remained drowned in her thoughts, "Nahin...Nani aur Anjalidi aur baaki sabko chodkar kaise aa sakte hain? Woh sab aapko, hum dono ko kitna miss karenge...aur waise bhi hum yahan chutti manaane ke liye aa sakte hain, hai na?" ("No...how can we leave Nani, Anjalidi and everyone else behind? They will miss both of us so much...and in any case, we can always come here for vacations, cant we?")

And Arnav Singh Raizada knew that he had fallen in love with his Lucknow nymph all over again - her concern for his family, for his relations which had now become such an integral part of her own being and he wondered, not for the first time, just how big was his Khushi's heart.

She just had to meet you once to let you imprint yourself on her heart, in her life, figure in the list of people she would care about always. And just how lucky he was to not just have imprinted his stubborn and arrogant self on her heart but to actually have been entrusted with its responsibility in its entirety. Her heart was his, it had staked that claim over her and surrendered itself to his hands...and made sure that he did the same too.

Her heart was his...just as his was hers.

Fighting back a strange urge to almost cry at the poignancy of the moment, Arnav cleared his throat and changed the subject with all the subtleness he could manage.

"You know kal hum jahan jaa rahein hain wahan tum kangaroos ko khaana khila sakti ho and also pick up and touch Koalas and all..?"
("You know you will be able to feed and touch kangaroos and koalas at the place we will be visiting tomorrow?")

And he knew he had chosen the right change of subject as Khushi all but jumped with excitement and with wide eyes sparkling with happiness she shook her head vigorously asking him silently if such a wonder could indeed happen and he nodded, smiling widely - her happiness infectious.

"Uff! Kitna mazaa aayega na, Arnav?! Hum apne haathon se kangaroos ko khana khilaayenge! Wah! Aapne khilaya hai khana unhe, Arnav? Kaise khaate hain? Matlab hum jaante hain ki mooh se hi khaatein hain par kya woh pyaar se kha lete hain khaana? Aur kya wahan Mamma aur Baby kangaroos bhi hain?! Kya hum Baby kangaroos ko bhi khaana khila sakte hain? Aur woh Koala bears...humne sunna hai woh har waqt sote rehte hain...kya yeh sach hai, Arnav? Aur wahan kya kya hai?" she unleashed a barge of questions at him and Arnav patiently answered each of her queries, his heart singing each time her eyes would widen and a gasp would leave her and she would wonder whether all that he described was actually possible!
("Uff! It will be so much fun, wont it Arnav?! We can feed kangaroos with our own hands! Wah! Have you ever fed them, Arnav? How do they eat? As in I know that they eat with their mouths but do they create any fuss? And can we feed baby kangaroos who are still in their mother's pouch? And koala bears...I have heard they sleep a lot...is it true, Arnav? And what else is there to see?" she unleashed a barge of questions at him and Arnav patiently answered each of her queries, his heart singing each time her eyes would widen and a gasp would leave her and she would wonder whether all that he described was actually possible!)

Titular OS from this series - Mad(ly) in Love

More from this series, please visit index (Link below)

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985 words
*Not proof read

Just a lil moment between our Arnav and Khushi makes the second entry in this new series of mine - Mad(ly) in Love - which will encompass OS', drabbles, Mutiple-shots etc about the crazy love shared between these two. Hope the inclusion of this little piece in this series makes sense :)

Another thing, I am confused about what song I identify this one with...what do you think? Is it more Jagjit Singh's Ek Pyaar Ka Nagma Hai or is it more Muskuraane Ki Wajah from 'Citylights' or is it more like something else entirely? Please do share your views :)

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