This was originally posted as an one-shot but I was disappointed with the way the show ended and decided that this story needed a second part so here it is! Do let me know what you think!
Chapter 2 - Apologies
Suman Malhotra woke up with a slight smile on her face for the first time in weeks, as she slipped into consciousness she became aware of the arms that were wrapped around her tightly and the legs that were tangled with hers. She could smell the scent of his perfume, she could feel his breath against the top of her forehead and she could feel his heart beating steadily under her hand which was placed on his chest. She opened her eyes slowly only to find Shravan sound asleep in front of her, they were both turned towards each other, their limbs tangled together in a mess.
For a minute everything was perfect, that moment was everything she had wanted in her life, to wake up by his side with his arms wrapped around her like they were. For years she had wondered what it would be like to open her eyes to his face every morning, her dreams had always been more playful and lighthearted - waking him up with tickles and kisses, him pulling her back into bed and murmuring five more minutes, and lots of laughing. But she realized that even though half her dream seemed to be coming true, there was still quite some time and a lot of effort needed to make it all a reality. That ease and comfort she yearned for was still slightly out of reach, only slightly though.
Sumo sighed and stared at her husband as the thoughts of the previous night came back to her. He looked so tired and sad even in his sleep - there were dark circles under his eyes, his hair was a mess, his eyebrows were scrunched, his jaw was tense and his lips closed tightly. Sumo ran the fingers across his jaw lightly, caressing the bearded skin, his jaw relaxed under her touch and his lips slackened a bit. Her fingers moved up to his cheeks and then up to his forehead to rub the skin there gently, she smiled when the lines between his forehead relaxed.
His face looked peaceful now, but there was still a lingering sadness and she wondered how much heartbreak was in store for the two of them, mostly him now. The way he had broken down last night told her that he wasn't going to react to his father's truth too well, and she knew that his own guilt would eat him alive - that was just how he was. He blamed everything on himself and wallowed alone in his misery, just the fact that he had come to her last night told her a lot and gave her some hope. Her Shravan was still in there somewhere, the Shravan that ran to her when something went wrong and trusted her to make things better.
Sumo realized that it was her turn to run after him and put him first, teenage Sumo had failed him due to her own ego and selfishness, and Suman had failed him every time she let her ego get in the way of admitting her feelings, for always wanting him to make the first move, and by always putting someone else before him. She had a big hand in making Shravan like he was, she understood that, her ever-changing behaviour didn't give Shravan a lot to go by. She didn't get the chance to show him that she was worth his trust, that she understood him and wanted him to be a part of his life. She had realized that much lately, revelations like that usually came about when one is wallowing in self-pity, watching the man they love treat them like they don't matter and feeling alone.
She had tried to ignore him when he came back from England because of his indifference to her rather than apologizing for her behaviour all those years ago, that was her first mistake. She never realized how deeply she had hurt her friend when she was young, she realized that she had been really selfish and practically used him, she never did as much as he did for her, and when he had truly needed her she had let her ego win out over their friendship. She didn't know the severity of her actions until his first outburst in his office after she had wrongly sent him a text message and she knew the incident was way worse than she imagined because he had brought it up again when he broke all ties with her at PCT.
She realized that her second major mistake was not telling him how she felt about him, and not working to build back the friendship that looked perfect on the outside but was crumbling on the inside. On the outside they were childhood best friends that tried their best to be there for each other, but in reality they couldn't tell anyone what the other person had been up to for the past ten years. She had put all her effort into getting him to admit her feelings for him rather than spending the time to get to know each other again, which would have served them both well. And she realized that she had messed up with his mother as well, she should have given him more of a warning - she should have talked to him about it, tried to understand his side of things rather than springing his mother on him, no matter how much she thought he needed her.
She also regretted agreeing to his father's words like she did, her third mistake. It was something she had to do but it was still something that caused him immense pain and now that she thought about it she could have handled the situation in another way.
The thing she regretted the most, maybe her biggest mistake, was her behaviour towards him throughout Preeti and Pushkar's wedding. She tried her hardest to avoid him but couldn't, so she used her words to push him away, which hurt him a lot. What bothered her the most about the whole situation was that she knew he was hurting but she did nothing to help him. She made him feel horrible, she realized now that he just wanted to help her because he loved her and thought he had the right to, that is what their relationship had always been about, being there for each other and she had failed to see his side of things. She had been downright rude to him, she could have turned him down more nicely but her mind was all over the place and she couldn't tell him that she didn't want his help because it was tied to his father's help - a person that wanted to buy her love.
Her most current mistake and her biggest regret was not stepping in and obstructing his path towards self-destruction, she knew the moment things went from bad to horrible, the night Aditya announced their engagement. She could see he was hurt and she wondered why she hadn't talked to him then; it was quite obvious that he was acting out because he thought she chose Aditya over him.
Everything was so obvious now, in plain sight, but they both failed to see it in the moment. There were so many little things she could think of now, things she should have done but didn't do. Things that would have saved both of them from all this heartache. But the past was the past, and she knew that all she could do now was try to make up for her mistakes, and be there for him through this whole ordeal with his father.
A part of her was still angry with him for the words he had said to Aditya, he had devalued their friendship with his words, but she wanted to ask him why he said the words. She wanted to know what drove him to that point because it was obvious to her now that he was acting out of anger and the fear of losing her. Sumo sighed and tried to wiggle out of his strong grasp but his arms just tightened around her, a soft smile overtook her face and she caressed the skin of his forearm with her hand causing him to loosen his hold a bit and letting her slip out.
She peered back at Shravan to see that he was still sound asleep and made her way to the bathroom to shower. She took her time and let the hot water relax her tense body, she knew that the next few days weren't going to be fun for anyone, but she had to be strong, for Shravan's sake. Sumo dried her hair and put on a pink and grey salwar suit before she stepped out of the bathroom to find that Shravan was still asleep, his eyebrows were scrunched again and his jaw tense.
Sumo looked at the clock on the wall and figured that she still had time before she needed to go downstairs, and even if she didn't go down, Preeti would handle things. She sighed and walked back over to the bed and lay down before picking up Shravan's arm and placing it on her waist like it had been before. She moved back to her original position, resting a hand on his chest over his heart, her head on the pillow right next to his and stared at him.
It was almost as if he could feel her presence because she could see his eyes twitching as he awakened slowly. His eye fluttered open half way and she watched as his brain kicked into consciousness and a sleepy smile grew on his face. His eyes traced her face before locking with hers, his arms tightening around her even further.
"Good morning." She smiled.
She didn't know what hit him but she watched as the smile waivered and his eyes grew guilty and his hold loosened. "I am sorry." He whispered trying to pull away from her but Sumo shook her head and grabbed his hand and pulled his arm around her again. "Don't." She murmured.
"I am so so sorry." He whispered again as the previous night came back to him, his eyes watering.
"I know." She mumbled giving him a sad smile, her mind going back to last night as well. "I am sorry too."
"But you didn't-" He tried to speak but she covered his mouth with her hand.
"I did, I made so many mistakes too, and I am sorry as well. It takes two hands to clap Shravan." She said removing her hand from his mouth, he didn't say anything, and she didn't either, but the silence was comfortable. The two of them lay on the bed staring at each other as if they hadn't seen each other for months. His hand found its way to her hair pushing the wet strands away from her face and tucking them behind her ear, his fingers lingered on her cheeks, caressing the soft skin.
"We should go downstairs." She murmured as his thumb rubbed soothing circles into her cheek.
Shravan sighed and shook his head. "I don't think I want to see anyone yet."
"You can't run away Shravan." She whispered.
"I am not, I just need a little bit of time and you." He said with a sad smile.
"I am not going anywhere." She smiled reassuring him.
"Surprisingly." He murmured causing her to sigh.
"You're going to go shower and I am going to go downstairs to get us breakfast and then we're going to talk." She ordered.
"But don't you have to go to PCT?" He asked confused.
"I am the boss, I can take a day off if my husband needs me." She whispered caressing his cheek. She expected him to smile but his frown deepened. "What's wrong?"
"I- I messed up so bad, how are you still like this?" He let out a bitter laugh before he spoke again. "How did we end up like this?" He asked sadly.
"I think we both messed up somewhere in the middle, we spent ten years apart and we didn't account for all that had changed. Come to think of it, I don't think we know each other well at all apart from our basic likes/dislikes and our childhoods." She murmured.
"And we didn't bother talking about it either." He said realizing that they hardly had any conversations about the ten years they spent apart - he had no idea how she started PCT, what she did in those ten years and she had no idea what his life was like either.
"Something always seemed to come up." She shrugged sadly.
"Sumo, can we just stay here, just for today, just the two of us?" He asked, his voice unsure.
"I'd like that." She said reassuringly having sensed the uncertainty in his words and eyes. "Now go shower, I'll be back." She said trying to move away from him but his hold on her didn't loosen, she looked back at him with an arched eyebrow.
"I love you Sumo, I know I haven't acted like it but I do love you." He mumbled looking at her hopefully, he knew she loved him, she wouldn't have been like this with him if she didn't but he didn't miss that she hadn't said the words back to him last night.
"I think I am guilty of the same thing." She replied and watched his face fall as he nodded. "I love you too Shravan, I know I haven't acted like it either." She murmured and watched as his eyes grew wide with shock at her words. "Budhu." She giggled ruffling his hair with a smile before she rolled off the bed and made her way downstairs.
X-X-X-X-X
"Where is Shravan?" Ramnath asked stepping into the kitchen.
"He's showering." Sumo answered not turning towards her father-in-law as she flipped the cheese and spinach omelette.
"I see you told him everything." His voice was not accusing as Sumo would have expected it to be but rather like he had given up, almost grim.
"I didn't say anything to him." Sumo replied. "But you know what they say about lies."
"I just wanted to protect my son." Ramnath said forlornly.
"I understand that, which is why I complied with your request. That is what you intended to do, but that's not what happened, if anything we made it worse. He's so..." Sumo could feel the tears in her eyes as she plated the first omelette and started on the second one. "I haven't seen him cry like that since the day he thought you had passed away in that plane crash." She murmured.
"I need to talk to him." Ramnath said, the longing and sadness clear in his voice.
"He doesn't want to talk to anyone, I think it's best if you leave him alone for now." She said.
"So you can instigate him towards me?" Ramnath scoffed, his insecurity getting the best of him yet again.
Suman finally looked at Ramnath. "I can assure you that instigating him towards you is the last thing on my mind, you've done a fabulous job at that yourself. You pushed him away by your own actions because you were so afraid that he'd leave you once he found that you had lied about his mother. You pushed me away from him and I was stupid enough to listen to you and not go to him when it was clear that he needed someone. You knew he was ruining things for himself but you didn't do anything about it and you made sure that I couldn't do anything about it either. You thought that I would ruin him like Nirmala aunty supposedly ruined you but in trying to protect him you made everything so much times worse. I look at you and I see a sad father and a failed husband that has lost to his own ego, and that's exactly what you were setting up your son for, and I for one am not going to let that happen."
Ramanth stood by the counter, taken aback by Suman's words, she always had the ability to unsettle him but today he felt like she was the only hope rather than an obstruction in his life.
"So you two are leaving then?" He asked, his voice ashamed because her words rang true, his guilt was already eating at him seeing his son spiral into a pit of despair where he either drank or acted out.
"No, we're not. At the end of the day you are his father, and he loves you, and despite your misguided actions it is clear that you love him a lot too. I don't think anyone is going to be happy living apart, that's not dealing with the issue, that's ignoring it, just like the issue with his mother was ignored because he was shipped off to another country." Suman said, she didn't know where the confidence or the words were coming from, but all of a sudden she felt like she had the right to look out for Shravan like this, a right he seemed to give her when he told her he loved her, and she was going to make sure that she helped him, helped them, in any way she could.
Ramanth remained quiet realizing that Suman understood a lot more than she let on, and seemed to understand his son. Ramnath had often questioned if he had done the right thing regarding Nirmala and his son, it was quite obvious to Ramnath that Shravan's childhood still had a hold on him. He understood that his son wasn't happy - his opinion on women, his insistence to not get married, his volatile emotions, his breakdowns - all of that had indicated as much to Ramnath. But he always feared losing Shravan, maybe because he knew that he had been wrong, that his actions warranted Shravan leaving him. Shravan's words from last night still rang in Ramnath's mind - "to me it just seems like you were worried about yourself and protecting your own lies, not me."
Suman sighed as she plated the second omelette and put everything on the tray. "I think all of us just need to be there for Shravan right now, don't push him, let him come to you and please, be honest with him, he deserves as much. I am not blaming you alone, I am at fault too, his mother is at fault - everyone in this family is at fault because no one ever noticed how volatile Shravan is, no one was there for him, and it's about time that changed."
"Will he be coming down for breakfast?" Ramanth asked with a sigh as he watched Sumo pick up the tray that was set for two people.
"He says he doesn't want to see anyone yet." Sumo mumbled, it was clear to both of them that she meant Ramnath.
X-X-X-X-X-X
"I haven't had breakfast in bed since my 16th birthday." Shravan murmured as he ate the last bite of his omelette.
"That year where your mom & I made you the cake." She said with a sad smile and he nodded.
"12 years." He sighed.
"No one made you breakfast in bed in England?" She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her as he put the tray away on the floor beside the bed before picking up their steaming cups of coffee and handing her a cup.
"Who would make me breakfast?" He asked confused leaning against the headboard behind him, she was sitting across from him, her legs crossed.
"Your girlfriend?" She said as she sipped on her coffee, she could feel the awkward tension settling around them with the words.
"Uh, didn't have any." He murmured, his face took on a confused look as her eyes grew wide. "What?" He asked noticing her shocked expression.
"I just thought you did...I mean you said...and then that girl at the party-" She stopped short noticing that he stiffened at the mention of the party.
"Nothing happened with her...I - I was just being stupid to get a rise out of you, I kicked her out as soon as you left. There has never been anyone else for me." He said while looking down at the steaming cup of coffee was holding. "I know it's probably hard to believe considering the words I said before that but I was just-" He trailed off.
"Hurt." She finished off his sentence as she looked out in front of her trying to process his words.
"It doesn't excuse my actions, I was downright horrid but I just didn't know what I was doing, everything just hurt and I wanted you to feel what I was feeling." He said, his head hung low.
"You thought I chose him over you." She whispered.
"That's what I felt through all of Pushkar's wedding." He admitted. "But the thought of you agreeing to marry him was just too much for me."
"I didn't want to marry him, but I didn't exactly have a choice with Naanu the way he was, he insisted I get married and everyone wanted me to say yes. And I thought why not, I'd have to marry someone some day and after everything that happened I didn't think you were an option." There were tears in her eyes at this point and they pierced Shravan's heart just as much as they pierced hers.
Shravan put his coffee on the night table beside him and took hers and put it beside his before pulling her into his lap sideways, his back leaning against the headboard behind him. It just felt right, she buried her face into the crook of his neck and he wrapped his arms around her, resting his cheek on top of her head.
"That was pretty stupid of me, wasn't it? First I broke of all ties with you and then I got mad at you for choosing to marry someone else." He said.
"It was pretty stupid." She sniffled wrapping her arms around him. "What drove you to that?" She asked and Shravan sighed.
"I felt like Aditya was taking my place in your life and every time you took his help over mine it just made me angrier, I kind of understand why you did it now but at the time all I saw was that I offered to help you and you said no, and then you would let Aditya help you with the same thing. And all that instigation against you didn't help either, and it seemed like you were throwing me away because I was of no use anymore and someone new and more useful came along." He murmured.
"That's what I was like as a teenager wasn't I? I used you." She mumbled sadly. "I was never there for you like you were for me, especially when you really needed me. All these years, I never reached out and apologized because my ego always got in the way, I was so scared of rejection and as time passed I didn't know how to approach you. I would spend hours on your Facebook profile, my clicker hovering over the Send Friend Request button but I could never get myself to press it because if I did and you didn't accept that would have killed the hope I carried." She cried against his neck, he could feel the tears against his skin and wrapped his arms around her tighter.
"Hope?" He asked.
She took in a deep breath knowing that this was the time to leave everything to the side and just be honest with him. "When you left everything seemed so empty and I missed you so much. I know I wasn't a good friend but you were still my only real friend and dealing with losing you was difficult. It wasn't long after you left that I realized I missed you way more than friends missed friends, and soon after I realized that I was in love with you which made everything better and worse at the same time. I clung onto this hope that you would come back one day and I would say sorry and we would admit that we loved each other. It was idiotically simplistic and unrealistic but it kept me going." She murmured.
"You have loved me for that long?" He asked genuinely surprised, the surprise in his voice caused her to move away from him a little and look at his face. His eyes were wide with shock as he stared into hers.
"Ever since I figured out what love was I have loved you." She whispered with a sad smile looking into his hopeful caramel brown eyes. He sighed and closed his eyes as he rested his forehead against hers.
"All those years wasted." He murmured. "I have loved you since before I left."
"I know." She sighed causing him to open his eyes with a confused expression. "I found your letter while we were packing." She said sheepishly.
"That's why you kept asking me to give my love another try." He said as realization dawned on him.
"I was stupid back when we were young and I was stupid then. I let my ego get in the way again, I wanted you to admit that you loved me rather than telling you myself first and rather than working on building up our friendship again I set out to make you realize that you were in love with me." She said sadly.
"You succeeded at that. I spent ten years trying tell myself that I didn't love you, it was denial at its finest, I started believing it after a while but just the thought of you being in love with someone else brought everything back full force." He said pushing her hair behind her shoulder, it was almost completely dry now.
"And then I sprung your mom on you and everything went downhill." She murmured tightening her hold on him.
"I came to tell you that I love you on that day." He said sadly.
"I ruined it yet again." She said tears streaming down her face as he shook his head and wiped her tears away.
"My parents ruined it." He said shaking his head.
"It was my fault too, I didn't think anything through." She shrugged. "I expected you to trust me but I didn't realize that I hadn't earned that trust yet."
"I do trust you, I did trust you, my father was just really good at manipulating." He said angrily.
"He had his reasons." Sumo said meekly, knowing that he needed more time before he could deal with his father. She knew that if he acted now he would do something really rash, like move back to London, and then regret it later.
"The more I think about it the worst I feel. I can't believe I didn't see through the manipulations, the guilt trips, the subtle indications that I would lose him if I didn't comply, and I still fell into his traps every single time like a dumb kid." He scoffed.
"It's neither your fault Shravan, nor his. He only did what he did because he was afraid of losing you and he has been a good father otherwise, he's been there for you constantly when everyone else left, including me. You had no reason to doubt him or his intentions." She sighed while rubbing her hands up and down his back. "How did you find out?" She asked genuinely confused as to how he had discovered the truth.
"I heard you talking to Preeti last night." He sighed.
"Oh."
"I am so so sorry for hurting you so much." He said, his voice breaking, as her words came back to him.
"I am sorry too, I hurt you just as much." She responded wiping away his tears with a sad smile.
"Just hearing all of that hurt and I knew you would never lie about any of that. And then Kamini Chachi told me what happened with my parents - what you were probably trying to tell me all those months ago. When dad didn't deny any of my accusations last night I felt like the world had just slipped from under me, he was all I had and I couldn't believe he did all of that. I just don't know what to do. I still don't even know exactly what he did." He sighed as she realized why he had broken down like he had the previous night.
"Remember the day you called me to the coffee shop and I didn't show up?" She asked deciding that he needed to hear her side of the story regarding his father as well, she didn't quite remember what she had told Preeti last night so she didn't know how much he had heard.
"I was going to tell you that I love you." He said and her eyes started watering again.
"I figured as much." She said caressing his cheek before taking a deep breath and telling him what had happened that night. "Your dad told me to stay away from you and in turn he would make sure that Preeti's wedding went off without a problem. And I realized that Kamini chachi wasn't too happy with the alliance and he gave me this chance of making sure Preeti got what she wanted. He gave me a blank cheque and left. For a moment I was so sure that I was not going to listen to him, I was almost on my way to come to you and tell you of my feelings and then I started thinking about everything that my family had done for me and I couldn't pick my happiness over theirs." She cried. "So I started pushing you away, and I could see that it was hurting you but I did nothing to help. It became almost automatic to turn your help down because it was linked to your father and every time you mentioned money or him I just got so angry at myself and the situation that I lashed out at you, which was unfair. I just wasn't so sure that you would believe me if I told you after what happened with your mom, and I know how much you love your father so I didn't want to come in between that."
Shravan grasped her face between his hands and wiped her tears away with his thumb again. "I know you want me to fix things with him eventually, but you know what hurts? He went to you after I told him that I couldn't stay away from you and that I love you. I asked him if he would be willing to accept you and he agreed, he told me to go tell you how I felt. And then he went behind my back to tell you to stay away from me. All that time, he knew why you were avoiding me, he saw my sadness, he saw it all but he didn't say anything."
Sumo sighed realizing that the father-son duo had a lot to work out, but she knew that Shravan wasn't going to think things through right now so she decided not to focus on his father but rather on her own mistakes. "I am so sorry for hurting you like that." She said nuzzling her face into the palm of the hand that was still cupping her face.
"I guess I didn't make the situation any easier either, with all the harsh things I said to you." He said sadly.
"I was just as bad." She sighed.
"But you didn't walk into my workplace and create a scene, or spew lies about our relationship. I am so sorry about that." He sighed.
"The things you said to Aditya really cut deep, not because of what you said but the fact that you said it and devalued our friendship like that Shravan. I had a hard time believing that you would say something like that to someone without realizing the consequences of it." She said sadly, that was what bothered her the most.
"I wasn't thinking, I was just so annoyed with Aditya's constant questions about our relationship and my mother's pleas to stay away from you, and the fact that you were marrying him hurt so much as did your indifference, my brain thought that was the best way to get back at everyone. It was stupid, and I didn't think about what it would mean to you, but I think a part of me used it as a way to stop Aditya from marrying you - I didn't think my words were going to drive him to do what he-"
"You can't justify his actions like that, what he did and what you said are two independent events Shravan." She murmured.
"Still, I am sorry for that, so so sorry. I know I don't deserve-"
"You act like you're the only one that made mistakes, haven't you been listening Malhotra?" She sighed. "I am sorry about not doing anything even though I knew you were hurting. I am sorry for everything I've done, ever since we were kids Shravan, I took you for granted back then. And you didn't deserve that, and even now, I took your love for granted again and I promise you that it's never going to happen again. No more leaving or being oblivious, I am never going to hide anything from you again." She said grasping his face between her hands. "Shravan Malhotra is going to be number one in Suman Tiwari's life, no more games, no lies, no pushing - what?" She asked at the look on his face.
"Suman Malhotra." He corrected with a small smile causing a smile to erupt on her face. "Even though I totally messed up on this whole wedding thing, we're still married. Sorry."
"Are you apologizing for marrying me or for the way you married me?" She asked, her eyes narrowed.
"Obviously for the way I married you...although I think the quick marriage worked to our advantage, I wouldn't have put it past my father to try something to stop our wedding had it been extended." He murmured.
"Your dad is not that bad Shravan, you need to talk to him and understand his side of the story too. And your mother's as well." She sighed.
"I don't want to. I like this, just you and me." He murmured wrapping his arms around her tighter and placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Ten years ago you left for England with all these problems pushed to the back of your mind, and we both know that the results have been pretty chaotic. Running away is not going to help, and it's not going to keep you happy. So this time around I am going to be right by your side and we're going to work through this." She deadpanned.
Shravan sighed and nodded, wrapping his arms around her tighter as she went back to her earlier position, her head buried into the crook of his neck. It was comforting to both of them, and something she didn't think would have ever happened. For the first time in a long time Shravan felt like he wasn't in pain, he knew his life was far from perfect at the moment but knowing he had his Sumo and that she loved him made everything else a bit better.
"Sumooo." He said after a while causing her to hum in response. "After we've worked all of this out, will you marry me again? The normal way this time." He asked remembering her words to Preeti the previous night. He wanted to give her a proper wedding, good memories, things she had probably dreamed about for years - she deserved that.
"I'll let you know when you propose." She tried to say nonchalantly but he could feel her lips turning up into a huge smile against the skin of his neck.
"I love you." He murmured causing her to move away from his neck.
"I love you too." She smiled as his hand came up to brush her hair away from her face again, tucking the strands behind her ear, his fingers caressing the skin of her cheek lovingly as he stared into her chocolate brown eyes.
"Your eyes are red." He said.
"Yours are too." She said as she heard a loud growl come from his stomach causing her to giggle. "Hungry?" She asked and he nodded sheepishly. "Are you going to come downstairs or are we eating upstairs?"
She noticed the hesitance on his face as he tried to mentally calculate what he wanted to do. He figured that his father, uncle and brothers were probably gone to work. Kamini chachi and Vandy bhabhi were probably off to a kitty party and Preeti knew everything so running into her wouldn't be a problem. "How long are you going to be?" He asked.
"It takes time to make lunch." She shrugged.
"I'll come with you then." He said. "But first I need to wash my eyes." He said getting up with her still in his lap.
"Shravan!" She let out a loud scared squeal as he wobbled slightly getting off the bed.
"What? You didn't get off." He shrugged causing her to roll her eyes as he put her down on the floor beside the couch. She staggered a little, jostling the center table, a loud clank filled the room and she looked down to see his bottle of whisky.
Both their eyes went to the bottle and Sumo's eyes narrowed as shook her head before picking up the bottle and turning towards him. "This is going down the sink, and the rest of your supply is not coming into this room, do I make myself clear Mr. Malhotra?" She asked and he nodded.
"You take the controlling wife role really seriously." He teased and she just rolled her eyes and walked towards the bathroom before opening the bottle and sniffing it.
"This smells so bad, how do you drink it?" She asked, scrunching up her nose as she moved the bottle away from herself.
"I don't think people drink alcohol for the taste." Shravan shrugged as she tilted the bottle over the sink.
"Some alcohol tastes and smells good." She said as she watched the contents of the bottle swirl in the basin.
"You drink?" He asked surprised.
"Sure, I am a world class alcoholic." She said rolling her eyes.
"I am shocked." He said sarcastically as the bottle emptied.
"I might have tried it once or twice." She murmured before turning on the faucet and letting it wash down the whisky.
"Okay, now I am intrigued, what else have you been up to while I was gone?" He asked peering down at his wife.
"Lunch first and then I'll debate if I want to share my dark secrets." She said looking up at him with a mischievous smile.
"How about we make a deal? You tell me one thing that I don't know about you and I'll tell you one thing you don't know about me." He proposed.
"Deal." She smiled.
X-X-X-X-X-X
"You used to turn up your nose at the smell of bhindi." She said rolling her eyes as she put in a spoonful of salt into the kadai.
"I like it now." He said from his place on the counter beside the stove. He had propped himself up on the counter and said he was going to supervise like he did back in the day, she had rolled her eyes at him but he knew she liked the idea because of the smile on her face.
"I need garam masala." She said to him and he turned to his other side and picked up the right container before handing it to her. "Thank you. What other tastes have you acquired?" She asked.
"Thai food is really good. It was literally the only food you get that was really spicy. But I literally survived off of pastas, chicken and coke." He smiled.
"How are you so fit if you ate so much junk?" She asked as she mixed in the spices.
"Have you been checking me out?" He teased with a smile.
"I have eyes." She said while blushing.
"You know it's totally normal to check out your hot husband." He said enjoying the flush on her face.
"Who said that you're hot?" She said looking at him with her eyebrow arched.
"Certain people like to steal glances at me when I am shirtless." He replied staring at her remembering the incident where she had dumped a bucket of water on him and then stolen glances at him while he changed.
"If you put on free shows for people they are bound to watch." She pointed out.
"People only watch things they like looking at." He said finding a hole in her argument.
"You're still annoying." She said turning back towards the stove.
"And you still resort to calling me names when you can't win an argument." He smiled but she ignored the bait.
"I broke Danish's nose a few months after you left." She piped up sharing another thing he didn't know about her.
"The guy you went to prom with?" He asked and she nodded. "Why?"
"He called you a nerd." She shrugged.
"Like you hadn't called me worse." He teased with a happy smile.
"Yeah, but I am me, and he isn't."
"So you just punched him?"
"Yep, he had to go to the hospital to get his nose set back into place." She beamed.
"So when did your violent streak diminish?" He asked intrigued.
"Who said it diminished?" She said looking at him causing him to laugh.
"I got in trouble for vandalizing a professor's house." Shravan said.
"No way! Goody two-shoes Shravan Malhotra vandalizing a professor's house!" Sumo's eyes grew wide at the words and she looked towards him excitedly waiting for him to elaborate on this story.
"He was such an ass, gave us a study guide for the exam, and then tested every concept that wasn't on the guide. So we were all bummed when we got our marks back, and also a little drunk so we bought toilet paper from Tesco and went at his house. Of course he had surveillance on his property." He explained as Sumo giggled.
"I find it sad that law students were up to illegal activities. I should take away your license in light of this." She teased.
"Yes, the license I got to practice in India that I didn't have until a few months ago?" He teased remembering her lie to her family about him not being able to practice law in India.
"I was trying to save your reputation with my family okay." She said as she flushed.
"Thank you?" He laughed. "Your turn."
"I had surgery twice after you left." She said.
"For what?" He asked shocked.
"Wisdom teeth."
"You got those and still no wisdom." He teased causing her to whack his thigh with the spatula she was holding. "Ouch Sumooo." He whined rubbing the area she had hit.
"Stop being rude."
"Wait, how did they give you the needle?" He asked intrigued.
"Mamu and Masi had to hold me down, it was pretty ugly, I almost kicked the dentist in the face." She said and the kitchen filled with the sound of both their laughter.
"I got laser eye surgery." He said.
"So no more glasses?"
"20/20 vision." Shravan beamed.
"Aw, but the glasses looked good on you." She murmured stirring the sabji.
"Really now?" Shravan asked with a grin on his face.
"I should not have said that." She groaned.
"You promised, 100% honest confessions." He reminded her.
"The glasses were just a part of you Chasmish, and you looked really cute in them." Sumo admitted.
"I might still have them somewhere, I'll wear them, just for you." He teased. "But you have to make sure I don't fall and kill myself." He laughed.
"I told everyone that our college was going on a trip to Goa for a business conference - but there was no conference and it was just me and Anjali." She said and Shravan's eyes widened and his mouth opened in surprise.
"How did you get away with that?" He asked with a laugh.
"We printed flyers to give to our families and everything. We were just really tired of school and it was our last year so we decided to have fun for once." She shrugged.
"How was Goa?"
"It was amazing, and going there without family was a different experience, you could do whatever you wanted, no curfews, no responsibilities, no nagging - it was different." She smiled wistfully.
"Where else did you travel?" He asked knowing that she had a list of places she wanted to visit.
"Nowhere other than Goa, life got busy after. Starting PCT was equivalent to two full time jobs, and I had no time or money to spare." She shrugged transferring the bhindi into a bowl.
"Tell me about PCT, everything from how you got the idea to now." He said.
"That is a long story that can wait until after lunch." She smiled and then froze up when she saw Ramnath standing at the entrance to the kitchen. Shravan noticed her looking behind him and turned around to see his father. He turned right back to face Sumo again, effectively ignoring Ramnath.
"Shravan, I-" Ramnath started but stopped when Shravan got off the counter he was sitting on.
"I really don't want to talk to you right now, for now just be glad that I am still here." He murmured refusing to turn around and look at his father.
Ramnath noticed that Shravan had been smiling and laughing before they noticed he was looking. He felt a pang go through his heart as he realized that his son could have been like that all the time had he not tried to keep him away from Suman. Ramnath looked towards his daughter-in-law who gave him a reassuring smile, reminding him of her words this morning about giving Shravan space. Ramnath sighed and retired to his room.
X-X-X-X-X
"We are really boring people." Sumo laughed from her spot in Shravan's lap on the sofa in their room. He had pulled her into his lap as soon as they finished eating citing that it was more comfortable to talk that way. He was leaning against the backrest and Sumo was in his lap sideways, her back flush against the armrest of the couch.
"Apart from the tattoo." He said, he was still in shock that she had one.
"Apart from the tattoo." She agreed with a laugh.
"The past ten years have been pretty boring otherwise, I'll admit." He agreed when they ran out of things to tell each other. "But I am pretty sure we'll remember other random things as the days go by." He smiled as he ran his fingers through her long straight hair.
"Probably." She smiled curling up closer to him and placing her head on his shoulder with a content sigh.
"I still can't believe Preeta and Dh-se-Dhurander Singh Bhagga are married." He laughed recalling their long conversation about PCT and then subsequently Preeta.
"It was hard for me to believe at first too." Sumo giggled against his shoulder, she closed her eyes and reveled in the comfort of being in his arms and being on good terms with him after so long.
"Shravan." She hummed after a while.
"Hmmm?" He asked.
"I missed you." She whispered moving up and looking at him. He gave her a confused look wondering what she meant and she caught on. "I missed my best friend, I haven't talked to someone like this since you left, and I really missed it. I just missed you and us. I don't know if I am making any sense right now." She shrugged looking away.
"I missed you too Sumo." He whispered cupping her face and making her look back at him. "I get it." He murmured caressing her soft cheeks with the pads of his thumb as he stared into her eyes that seemed happy for once. He was sure his probably looked happy as well because he did feel lighter than he had in months.
Her eyes traced his face, she had never been this close to him and although she had his face memorized she couldn't help but notice how different everything was up close. His beard looked perfectly trimmed from far away but she noticed that the area around his mouth was shorter than his beard at the sides and that he had missed a spot on his chin where the hair was slightly longer. His skin was just as clear from close by and she figured it probably had something to do with how healthy he was.
She loved his eyes, when they were younger they were always hidden by his thick framed glasses, she had never really noticed how big his eyes were until he had come back. She definitely didn't remember that they were this light or intense, Shravan's eyes spoke a lot - something she had only picked up when he came back. And with the way he was looking at her right then she knew that the emotion in his eyes was love.
His eyes were tracing her face too, much like he did whenever he found her sleeping, but it was different while she was awake and looking back at him like she was. His eyes flickered down to her lips and back to her eyes again, asking her a silent question that made her heart lurch in its spot.
Sumo wrapped both her arms around his shoulder as a response to his question, one hand caressing the hair at the back of his neck and the other caressing the muscle at the side of his neck that always seemed to call out for her. Shravan's face tilted to the side as he closed the distance between them, he stopped a mere centimeter away from her face, giving her the option of backing out if this was too much too soon for her considering everything that had happened.
Sumo's eyes closed as she closed the rest of the short distance between them tentatively, their lips touching of the first time. It was the exact opposite of what would be expected of a couple that had been holding back their feelings for years, it wasn't frantic and hot but rather soft and warm. Their lips moved against each other's tenderly, in small pecks and caresses, his hands still cupped her face and hers remained buried in the hair at the nape of his neck. The kiss was achingly tender as they got used to the feeling of each other and kissing, this physical intimacy was a new domain for both of them.
They invaded each other's senses with soft caresses and brushing touches of their lips, and little by little the kiss deepened as they got used to the feeling. His head tilted sideways a bit more and she pulled his face a little closer using her hands as the pressure of their lips increased and they lost themselves in each other. Shravan ran his tongue along her bottom lip tentatively, causing her to pause for a moment before her lips parted to let him in. He heard and felt the moan that left her as the kiss became more heated, he could feel her quick pulse under his hands and he couldn't decide if her heart was beating faster or his.
They pulled back reluctantly, panting for air, their eyes opening and meeting each other's. They rested their foreheads against each other's, huge smiles on their faces.
"If you had read my letter all those years ago we could have been doing that for ten years." He teased with a smile, his smile only grew wider as her face flushed.
"If only we hadn't been so stupid." She sighed pulling at the hair at the back of his neck gently.
"I am going to kiss you again." He murmured, his eyes flickering between her swollen lips and wide eyes.
"Are you going to announce it every time?" She asked, amusement dripping in her voice.
"Depends on if you're okay with just being ambushed with kisses." He murmured.
"I think that should be just fine." She blushed as their lips met again, this time they moved together more surely. She felt him bite on her bottom lip this time and she let out a loan that sent tingles shooting through him as his tongue slid into her mouth, entwining with hers.
When he pulled away a little allowing both of them to catch their breath, she opened her eyes and looked into his only to be taken aback by the desire in them, her heart hammered in her chest as he whispered a raspy, "I love you" to her, his deep voice that she adored was even deeper and raspier than usual, and it did something to her. He started trailing kisses from her ear to her collarbone, and she clutched the back of his head, her fingers finding purchase in his soft hair as he wreaked havoc upon her body.
He trailed kisses down her neck, paying particular attention to area where her collarbone stuck out, where he was intent on leaving a mark again with the way he was biting and licking. "Shravannn." She heard herself moan as he ran his teeth across the spot and he groaned. All of these feelings were new to both of them, and the fact that they didn't really have any boundaries between them just fueled the fire. But they didn't let themselves go too far because even though things were better they were far from peachy, and they were still learning about each other despite the history they shared.
She smiled up at him when he pulled away and held his face between her hands, feeling the stubble she loved against her hand, his eyes closed as he tried to regulate his breathing, but they made no move to push the other away.
They spent the rest of the day in the room, there was a lot of talking, some apologizing, peels of laughter and numerous sweet kisses interspersed between the conversations. They acted more like a couple that had just met rather than two people that had been in love with each other for years. But they were slowly starting to realize that despite the fact that they had known each other for so long all of this was new to them, and they were trying to figure things out as they went.
They had a lot to deal with, they both knew that, but they were content in their little bubble and didn't want to pop it just yet.
X-X-X-X-X
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