Hello everyone!
I know I know I have two FFs pending just lying around. But I’ve had zero time or inspiration to write. I desperately missed writing though so I needed a boost and @sillysatchel very very graciously provided me prompts on preggo Raavi to get my creativity going again.
I hope I live up to your expectations, @sillysatchel!
P.S. This will have an epilogue that I’ll put up some time soon!
|| ShiVi OS The perfect husband||
“Arey waah, Raavi, you are glowing! Pregnancy suits you,” Richa said, pulling Raavi into a hug, followed by Priya, Soumya and Ruchika.
“I know! Aur aise nazar math laga mujhe aur meri nanhi pari ko,” Raavi said, settling carefully into the chair, one hand resting over her prominent baby bump.
“Tujhe kaise patha ki ladki hogi?” Priya plopped into the chair next to her as the waiter came over to hand them the menu.
“Mujhe tho chotu Shiva chahiye. Bilkul uske jaise jungli baalon waala, thoda gussail sa par duniya ka sabse pyaara. Par Shiva ko yakeen hai ki ladki hi hogi. Usne tho naam bhi decide kar liya hai, Pari,” Raavi replied, her smile almost reaching her ears.
“Awwww.. itna cute sa naam usne khud socha?” Ruchika asked. If the heart-eyed emoji could be a person, it would be Ruchika when it came to anything and everything about Shiva and Raavi.
“Woh ek din maine usko bade attitude mein bola tha, “ki of course main Pari hoon”. Tho usne kaha agar main Pari hoon tho obviously hamari beti nanhi Pari hi hogi na? Ab itne sweet argument ke baad main kya hi bol sakthi thi?” Raavi said, a tinge of a blush staining her cheeks.
“Awwwww,” the ladies gathered cooed in unison.
“Waise ek baath batha, yeh teri pregnancy planned thi ki surprise?” Soumya asked. “Mujhe laga tum donon ki itni tumultuous love story rahi hai, tum aur time loge bachcha plan karne ke liye.”
“Arey humne at least 3-4 saal ka socha tha wait karne ke liye lekin phir ek din Baroda se waapas aate waqt toofan ki wajah se hum kahin phas gaye aur phir... cheezein ho gayi.. bas bina cover ka ek ball aur mera wicket gir gaya,” Raavi explained, giggling at the end and her friends joined in laughing at her description of getting knocked up.
“Tu yeh batha tujhe kaisa lag raha hai?” Priya chimed in. “On top of the world. Yaad hai main bachpan se hi kehti thi ki mujhe bade hokar Princess banna hai? Aisa lag raha hai ki main sach much ki koi Queen hoon. Mere saare nakhre, saare mood swings, saare cravings - Shiva har ek cheez ka itna khayal rakhta hai ki kabhi kabhi mujhe yakeen hi nahi hota, ki yeh wohi Shiva hai jiske saath lad ladke maine apna saara bachpan guzara hai.”
“Sahi hai, Raavi. Hopefully woh delivery ke time bhi tujhe aise hi support karega,” Priya stated, as she leaned back in her chair. “Kya matlab?” Raavi asked. “Arey, meri delivery ke time pe na, end moment pe jaake Vikram behosh ho gaya. Ullu ka pattha, yahan mein dard mein itna tadap rahi thi aur woh behosh hoke bagal waale room mein leta tha! Koi nahi tha mere saath. Itna daravana experience tha ki kya bathaoon. Sab bas chillaye jaa rahe the ki “push karo aur zor se push karo”. Baap re! Maine tabhi decide kar liya tha ki main sirf ek hi bachcha karoongi,” Priya said, shuddering from the recollection of the time. “Tera Vikram tho at least andar aake behosh hua na, Sunil ko tho jaise patha nahi, saanp soongh gaya. Usne tho andar aane se mana hi kar diya. Aur bachcha hone ke baad? Bachcha hone ke baad woh mujhe aise social distancing kartha tha jaise ki mujhe COVID ho gaya ho,” Soumya complained. “Arey, main tho khud Rahul se door bhaagthi thi delivery ke baad,” Richa chimed in. “4th degree tears hue the mere aur 14 stitches lagi thi. Doctor ne kaha ki stitch nikalne ke baad waapas hum ek doosre ke paas aa sakthe hain par itne dard ke baad na, main koi chance nahi lena chahthi thi. Maine Rahul ko apne saath appointments pe lekar jaana hi band kar diya aur poora ek saal usse jhooth bola ki abhi meri stitches poori tarah se nahi nikli,” Richa laughed.
Raavi listened to her friend’s stories and felt panic rise within her. Would it be that bad? Would Shiva faint? Would he start avoiding her? Or would she start to come up with excuses to avoid him? Would their relationship suffer? When the waiter brought their food, Raavi found her appetite strangely missing.
***
When Shiva came back from the store that evening, he found his Chipkali sitting quite forlornly on the bed, munching on the candy he had got her for her midnight cravings and mood swings.
“Kya hua, Chipkali? Kis soch mein padi hai?” he asked, settling in next to her, kissing her forehead and then bending to kiss her baby bump. “Aur meri nanhi pari kya kiya aaj poora din? Mamma ko zyada thang tho nahi kiya na?” he asked, softly caressing her baby bump and placing more kisses. He was rewarded with a kick and his face broke into the biggest smile ever. “Dekha Chipkali! Woh ab meri awaaz pehchaanne lagi hai,” he said, placing even more kisses where he’d felt her tiny foot kick against his palm. Hearing no response from Raavi, he looked up at her. He noticed the lines of worry on her forehead and her eyes looked swollen like she had been crying. Which wasn’t uncommon given her crazy hormones driving massive mood swings.
He leaned back on to the bedpost and pulled her into his side. “Kya baath hai, Chipkali? Tu itni gumsum kyun hai? Kya hua? Tu tho aaj apne friends ke saath lunch pe jaane waali thi na? Kuch hua kya wahan? Kisi ne kuch kaha tujhse?” Ever since her pregnancy, Shiva had consciously made efforts to control the extremity of his rage, treating life, this happiness and most especially Raavi, like a fragile glass doll, afraid that if he even breathed too strongly, this beautiful dream he was living would shatter. But the thought of someone upsetting his Chipkali seemed to awaken the old Shiva within him.
“Shiva,” she fiddled with the top button of his shirt, staunchly refusing to meet his gaze, as she asked in a choked voice, “Hum.. yeh.. I mean.. Yeh sab kuch jaldi nahi ho raha? Kya hum ready hain?”
“Jaldi? Yeh tu kya bol rahi hai, Chipkali? Main tho kabse wait kar raha hoon apni nanhi Pari ka. Mujhe tho yeh nau mahine kuch zyaada hi lambe lag rahe hain,” he replied.
“Aur agar Pari ke aane ke baad hum ek doosre se door ho gaye tho? Humare beech ka pyaar khatham ho gaya tho?” Her lips wobbled as she said the last part and she flung herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Aye Gadhedi! Tujhse kisne kaha ki Pari ke aane ke baad hum dono ke beech ka pyaar khatham ho jaayega? Aisa thode hota hai!” he tried to reassure her, running an arm up and down her back as she continued to sob.
“Aisa hota hai!” she argued, moving off his chest to finally look at him. “Woh Soumya ka pati hai na? Sunil? Soumya batha rahi thi ki bachcha hone ke baad Sunil usse 6 foot ki doori pe rehta tha. Aur Richa.. Richa ne bathaya ki usse delivery ke baad 14 stitches lagi thi aur itna dard hua tha ki poora ek saal usne Rahul se jhooth bola ki abhi uski stitches nahi nikli kyunki woh nahi chahthi thi ki Rahul uske paas aaye..” She sniffled adorably as she continued, “Vikram tho labor room mein behosh ho gaya aur Priya ko sab kuch akele hi karna pada. Koi nahi tha uska haath pakadne ke liye itne painful process mein. Mujhe darr lag raha hai, Shiva? Agar mujhse nahi hua tho?”
Shiva sighed as he reached over for the glass of water by their bedside. “Tu pehle yeh rona band kar aur paani pee.” Raavi gulped down the water in one go like she had been thirsty for ages and handed him back the glass. He noticed some of the chocolate smeared on the corner of her lip. He leaned in and licked the chocolate off the corner of her kiss before pulling her into a gentle, tender kiss that tried to convey in some miniscule proportion just how much he loved her.
Raavi felt herself relax as his lips moved over hers in a gentle, coaxing manner. The whole world could be burning down around her, but when Shiva kissed her, Raavi would forget everything. All she could focus on was drawing more of his musky, masculine scent into her skin, giving all of herself to him in the most artless way possible while trying to absorb all of him into the very essence of her being.
It was so easy to lose himself in her, Shiva thought as he forced himself to pull away from her. He knew that nothing calmed his Chipkali the way his love did. Now that she was in a better frame of mind to listen to him, he tucked a wayward lock of hair away from her forehead and cupped her cheeks lovingly.
“Dekh Chipkali! Main nahi jaanta ki tere doston ne kaunse antar-pantar logon se shaadi ki hai, pann tu tho mujhe jaanthi hai na? Tujhe lagta hai tujhe aise mauke pe main akela chhod doonga? Tu hi bulati hai na mujhe Chattan Pandya? Tujhe lagta hai tera Chattan Pandya aise hi behosh ho jaayega aur tujhe akela chhod dega?” he wiped her tears even before they could make it out of her eyes. His kissed each of her eyes in turn as he whispered, “Kabhi nahi. Agar apne parivaar ke liye main Chattan Pandya ban saktha hoon tho meri biwi aur beti ke liye main XXL wala Chattan Pandya hoon,” he explained, his eyes roaming over her adorably pouty face. All the sobbing had turned her nose into an adorable shade of red that he could not resist so he pecked her nose.
“Aur rahi baath hamare beech ke pyaar ke kam hone ki,” he pulled her onto his lap and she gasped in surprise. “Pari ke aane se hamare beech ka pyaar kam nahi hoga, aur badhega. Tujhse dur tho main kabhi reh hi nahi paoonga. Marr jaunga agar tujhse dur ho gaya tho..” Raavi placed her palm over his mouth and shook her head vehemently. “Tu na, yahan basti hai,” he pointed to his eyes, then his heart, “Aur bina dil aur dhadkan ke kaisa insaan?” “Haan, yeh baath sach hai ki tujhe takleef hogi hamari nanhi Pari ko iss duniya mein laane mein aur main isme shayad kuch nahi kar paoonga. Par tera saath? Woh main ka hi nahi chodoonga. Ek aur baath hamesha yaad rakhna, hamara yeh jo pati-patni ka rishta hai na, uski dor hamesha se tere haath mein thi aur rahegi. Yaad hai hum jab pehli baar ek hue the, thab bhi dor sirf aur sirf tere haath mein thi. Jab thak tu ready nahi, kuch nahi hoga. Delivery ke baad tujhe jitna waqt chahiye le lena. Par haan, mujhe khudse dur math karna. Hamara rishta dil ka hai, Chipkali. Bas apne dil ke darwaaze mere liye kabhi bandh math karna,” he said. Unknown to him, his eyes had teared up too. Raavi flung herself into his arms and hugged him like her life depended on it.
“Aayi baath samajh mein yaa aur samjhaoon?” he asked. “Aur kaise samjhaane waala hai tu?” She asked, cheekily, wiggling her bottom on his lap. Shiva held her still and laughed, “Tujhe.. tujhe darr lag raha hai ki Pari ke aane ke baad hamare beech dooriyan aa jaayengi? Mujhe tho apni izzat ki tension ho rahi hai. Patha chala tera mood hospital mein hi ban gaya aur Pari ko sulaake tu Pari No. 2 ki taiyaari mein lag gayi. Soch raha hoon, apne saath protection lekar hi chaloon.” Raavi swatted his arm, offended by his suggestion that she would behave like that. “Pehli baath.. Pari no. 2 nahi chota Bhootnath No. 1. Aur.. aur.. Tu mera mazak uda raha hai? Ab tu dekh, delivery ke baad do saal thak tujhe mujhe chhune nahi doongi,” she pouted. Without missing a beat, he responded, “manzoor hai.”
Raavi looked up at him with wide eyes. How had she gotten so lucky? Why did he love her so much? Having no answers, she leaned in to kiss him. “Tu duniya ka sabse perfect husband hai,” she whispered into his ears. “Nah,” he clicked his tongue. “Main duniya ka sabse lucky husband hoon.”
She snuggled into him tighter and felt like the entire world was in her arms. “I love you,” she muttered into his chest. “I love you too,” he replied, kissing the top of her head.
“Ab chal mujhe ice cream khila,” she hopped off him and stood smiling at the foot of the bed. “Kya?” Shiva asked, surprised by the sudden change in topic. “Mujhe Ben and Jerry’s ka chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream chahiye, abhi ke abhi!” She declared as she opened the door to their room and marched off, still in her kaftaan nightwear. Shiva shook his head and chuckled as he followed her out.
***
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