The Anniversary
Summary: Raavi wishes for a wonderful romance, one that would stir her soul and make her dizzy with happiness. But she has Shiva Pandya for a husband... a man who doesn't know the first thing about romance. What is a girl like her to do on their first anniversary?
Notes: Inspired from tweets based on today's trend. Shiva and Raavi will be out of character. Their relationship is one of banter and teasing. Also, this story is completely PG... just saying. Approximately ~2,500 words with a total reading time of ~10 minutes.
***
“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.’’
Raavi sighed with a gentle smile as she hugged the book to her chest. Mr. Darcy, her heart whispered. What I would do to have you be real… She closed her eyes, envisioning a perfect romance of push and pull, of deep confessions filled with the sweetest words.
She wanted a gentleman, one that could swoop her away into her fantasies. However, she opened her eye for a second, watching her husband read through audit papers as he lazily twirled a lock of her hair with his finger.
Her husband was no gentleman. He was a bhoothnath. Through and through.
Instead of taking her out on romantic dinners, where she could dress up in her nicest clothing and eat the most delectable foods, he asked her to cook something for him. Preferably things that were sweet instead of spicy.
Instead of giving her the usual bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates, like a typical boyfriend, he gave her the usual present. A plastic lizard toy he bought for 30 rupees or less… She only let him get away with it because every time she opened the present, he would smile as if he won the universe.
He’s lucky I am such a lady, she thought smugly. I actually put up with him and stay with him.
She turned back to her book. But Mr. Darcy, she sighed dreamily. If he was a real-life man, I would have Shiva take some lessons from him.
“What,” her husband’s low voice rumbled across the room as Raavi’s lips pursed together. He would certainly scoff at her the second he learned of her thoughts. “What mischief are you up to now,” he flicked her forehead as Raavi rubbed it, slightly miffed.
“Shiva!” her lower lip jutted out in a pout as she sat up. Trust the bhoothnath to always spoil the mood. They had such a perfect and relaxing moment, her on his lap as she read a book, and him twirling her hair as he read his audit papers. All ruined by him! “What was that for?”
Shiva’s dark eyes zeroed in on her, narrowing as he moved closer to her. He gently tapped the rolled up audit papers on her forehead, “That pretty little head of yours is never up to any good. You were thinking about me weren’t you,” he leaned back against the bed frame with a small smirk.
She didn’t want to agree. Didn’t want to give him the satisfaction that she was thinking about him, lest he become too cocky. But, perhaps her silence gave it away. He laughed and ran his fingers through his hair, “I knew it,” he held his hand out towards her, “I’d like some gajar ka halwa please,” a smile danced on his lips.
Shortly after they confessed to each other, they had a small deal. If either of them were caught thinking about each other, the other could ask for a “gift.” And unfortunately for her, Shiva caught her thinking about him many, many more times. He’s asked her gifts ranging from her cooking him sweets to her giving him a kiss.
She always wanted to catch him lost in thoughts of her, because then she could wish for him to confess his true feelings for her. Not the simple, “I love yous” they muttered when they put aside their differences, but the true emotions he felt whenever he saw her in the morning.
“Shiva,” she softly whispered while tracing slow circles on his thigh. He hummed as she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, “D… Our anniversary is coming up!” It was their first anniversary. After spending months and months apart, it almost seemed like a monumental achievement that they were celebrating this special day. As such, Raavi wanted it to be absolutely perfect.
He nodded his head as Raavi inched closer to him with a soft smile. She hugged his arm, resting her cheek on his shoulder as their feet intertwined together. His toes were gently tickling her, causing a small and silent laugh to escape from her. She glanced up at Shiva, not expecting to see him grin at her. Hiding her head in his bicep, she tried to hide the growing blush on her face.
“You weren’t even this shy on the—,”
Raavi’s fingernails dug into Shiva’s bicep, silencing him. Glancing up at him, she frowned, “I want a romantic night!” she announced. Shiva glanced at her, eyes slightly widening, as he nodded his head. “No,” she shook her head, knowing that Shiva didn’t understand, because if he did, he would’ve taken her out to some exotic location already. “I want the night to be filled with chocolate—,”
“You’ll get sick,” he stated with deadpan.
Raavi grit her teeth together, “Then a night with fancy, expensive dinner—,”
He waved her off, “You cook better than anyone else I know.” Warmth blossomed in her chest when she realized that he meant those words… which means… I’m a better cook than Dhara-di in his opinion? “I mean, I hated baingan, but somehow, you made that good too,” he smiled at her. “Good enough that I want to eat it again! Can we have that for dinner?”
Raavi nodded her head, “Okay, fine, then flowers.”
“That’s too boring,” Shiva rolled his eyes. He turned to her and sighed, “Can you just trust me?”
Hmm… last time I “trusted” you, you took me to a horror movie in the middle of the night. I thought I was getting ice cream out of that deal, you bhoothnath! And then afterwards… you took advantage of that fear! Our anniversary night is probably going to be the exact same. We do something absolutely unromantic, and then you moan and whine about how much you “love” me before we go to bed.
“But—,” Shiva placed his finger on her lips as he gave her a Cheshire cat grin.
“Our anniversary will be unforgettable,” he came closer to her. Removing his finger, he gave her a slight peck. “It’ll be the day chipkali turns into aag girl.” Raavi’s brows came together in confusion as Shiva gently tapped her nose, “Get ready to light up the sky in fire, baby.”
“S-Shiva,” Raavi warned as fear crept into her heart. The last time Shiva lit anything up on fire, it was his wonderful bike. They were the talk of Somnath for months to come, and even to this day, some people whispered about Shiva lighting up the bike on fire. “We are not going to do anything criminal,” she warned.
Shiva grinned, “Oh, don’t worry. The whole town of Somnath will be envious of us. Even that Janardhan and Kamini would be jealous.”
Raavi swallowed as fear came entered her body.
***
“Fireworks?” she guessed as she followed Shiva into the forest. Instead of celebrating the “surprise” on their actual anniversary, Shiva decided to celebrate one day early. Telling her they could be in each other’s arms, enjoying their piece of “art” as the clock struck midnight.
Shiva stopped and turned back, in absolute disgust, “Fireworks?” he scoffed. “Everyone does fireworks. It isn’t even original at all.”
Yes, yes, and all your previous dates have been so “original!” Raavi thought with a slight scoff. A little part of her envied Rishita as she was always able to dress nicely, but… the second she saw Shiva’s smile… she forgot about everything. Shiva is really a lucky man! His smile is his greatest weapon!
“Well what is it?!” she whined. Because she didn’t want to be caught by the police and thrown into jail for lighting things up on fire, she chose to wear simple clothing. A plain dark blue kurta with a jacket thrown on top.
“We’re almost there,” he teased as he quickly went behind her. Before she could question his actions, he covered her eyes with a blindfold. Reaching down, he held her hands and brushed his thumbs over her palm, “And soon, you will become aag girl.”
“W-what if I don’t want to,” Raavi swallowed. It wasn’t a bonfire dinner he was planning. It wasn’t fireworks. They weren’t spending the night lighting up candles… When she asked him how long the fire would last, he told her he wanted the fire to last for hours and hours. The whole night if he had a choice.
He led her carefully. The only clues she had were that she was walking in a grassy field that was somewhat flat. Maybe… no… he already told me it wasn’t a bonfire… What if he’s planning on lighting up the bike I won from that competition?!? He always complained the bike was not up to standards, and she always ignored his words as that bike was her beloved baby. Oh no we aren’t— when her legs froze, Shiva sighed and picked her up.
“I’m not lighting up my bike, Shiva!” she announced. “I don’t care if it’s broken! I’m riding it until the last day!”
“Why would you think I would allow you to light up that piece of trash on fire?” Shiva sighed.
“It’s not trash!”
“It doesn’t even start half the time!”
“That’s because you’re incapable of treating it sweetly!” Raavi threw her hands around Shiva’s neck. “Next time you try and ride the bike, speak to it softly and gently. Treat it as though she is your girlfriend,” Raavi said with a smile.
“I already have a wife who drives me crazy,” he snorted. “I don’t need another girlfriend on top of that.”
“Yeah—,”
“We’re here!”
He gently set her on the ground, and without removing her blindfold, he gently held her hands, slowly raising them above her head. Her fingers grazed the warm metal, and Shiva moved her fingers so she held onto some sort of key.
“Turn it,” he whispered.
Even though she really didn’t want to, she turned the key, and yelped when she heard the flame ignite. Grabbing onto to Shiva’s chest, she began to whimper. Stupid, stupid, stupid Shiva! How is this romantic at all?!? I’m going to go to jail for this… this man is completely ending my career before it can even begin!
Her fear worsened when the ground shook beneath her. She grabbed onto to Shiva’s shirt, “Shiva,” she threatened as her teeth chattered. “What are you doing to me?!”
“Just a minute,” he whispered as he listened to her silent threats patiently. His hand gently rubbed her back up and down while she was swallowing her fear, hearing the flame in the background.
Strangely enough, she couldn’t smell anything burning… that was the only reassurance she had that she didn’t do anything criminal.
“Now,” he gently took the blindfold off, and Raavi immediately lifted her head, seeing a medium sized flame flickering in the night. Reds, blues, yellows, and greens filled her vision as a slow smile came onto her face.
A hot air balloon.
She turned to Shiva with a smile on her face, “I love you,” she squealed as she hugged him tightly.
“Me too,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her lithe frame. She gazed up at him with love, standing on her toes to kiss him. At least that’s what she thought of doing until he opened his mouth, “I love myself. I’m a pretty amazing if I do say so myself,” he had a smug smile and she had the urge to slap him.
So, she did. She slapped his chest and pushed him away, perhaps putting in a little more force than expected because he bumped against the basket, tilting the hot air balloon, causing Raavi to fall forward onto his chest.
She glanced up at him with narrowed eyes, “I hate you!”
Shiva grinned as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, “Oh? But you didn’t let me finish.” He leaned closer to her, until their lips were almost grazing each other, “I love you more, Raavi,” he murmured. His eyes searched hers, and when he saw her calmness, he pressed his lips against hers in a slow kiss as his fingers tangled themselves into her hair.
When they broke apart, Raavi shook her head, “That won’t make me forgive you,” she whispered.
“Then what will?” his finger grazed her face, slowly caressing her cheek and moles.
“Confess to me,” she reached for his hand and intertwined their fingers before resting her head on his chest. “Properly this time,” she glanced up at him as he leaned down to kiss her forehead.
The night sky was painted a nice navy blue. The brightest stars were visible with the rest being drowned out by the flame lighting up the hot air balloon.
“Well, exactly a year ago, I knew of this girl,” Raavi listened with rapt attention, “an annoying girl, someone I wish I could’ve tossed into the ocean,” Raavi’s nails dug into his chest. “I thought it was bad enough that this girl was becoming my bhabi… but somehow that annoying chipkali became my wife. I can’t even explain the disappointment I had that day—,”
“This is supposed to be a confession!” she frowned.
“And this is a confession,” he promised as he kissed her nose. “You wanted sincerity, so I’m delivering.”
“I was disappointed, angry, horrified by everything that happened,” Raavi bit her lip, not liking any of the words he used. “My family was responsible for your pain… and we did nothing to help you.” She glanced up at him in surprise. “I really wanted to pull you aside that day to ask you how you felt about everything, but then I saw your anger and immediately became angry myself.”
He leaned against the basket, “For some reason, everything about you was annoying. You were the exact opposite of me. Always had your head in the clouds. Always saw the good in people. Always forgave people without ever getting revenge… I tried so hard to distance myself from you. I didn’t want your… happiness to touch me.”
“But somehow… somewhere, I was already too far in. You pulled me into your madness, showing me a world that was worth living… You made me realize there was nothing more joyous than throwing my head back in laughter with no inhibitions. You made me realize it was better to embarrass myself than to bottle all my emotions within… somehow you changed me. Turning me into Shiva Pandya, Raavi’s husband,” he smiled at her as he slowly stood them both up.
“You always had your head stuck in the clouds,” he pressed his forehead against hers as he held onto her hand, swiping it through the air, allowing Raavi to feel the cool mist, “And instead of disturbing that peace, I decided I would join you… be a part of that sensible madness you claimed as your own… now both of us can be stuck in the clouds where the sky and Earth can be ours.”
“Happy anniversary, Raavi,” he whispered. “And here’s to many more days of madness to come,” he kissed her gently as she threw her arms around him, understanding exactly why she loved her bhoothnath so much.
The world can twist and tumble, be full of suffering and grief… but I know, that right in front of me, you’ll always be there. Holding your hand towards me, and anchoring me to my present. I love you, Shiva Pandya. Forever and always.
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