Previously On...
Armaan & Riddhima's engagement party' on the yacht.
Chapter 89
Kasauli was cold. Very cold. Colder than Riddhima remembered. They hadn't been there for 5 minutes, and she was already shivering. Armaan, Rahul, and Muskaan were used to the cold, but being a Mumbai girl through and through, Riddhima didn't really do well in such low temperatures. For a minute, she cursed herself for not having gone back to Mumbai with the others, but she dismissed that thought as soon as it entered her mind. Being here was really important to Armaan. So much that he had absolutely not stopped talking about it since last night. He'd missed Bi so much. It was really meant a lot to him to see her.
"Um, guys, pehle ghar chalte hain," Armaan suggested. "Saamaan dump kar denge aur thoda rest kar lenge. Phir shaam ko Bi se milne chale jaayenge. Unki help bhi ho jaayegi, shaam ki crowd ko attend karne mein."
Rahul agreed. The cafe got really crowded in the evenings. Kids from college and even from school would go there to hang out and relax. When they'd been in college, Armaan & Rahul had both helped Bi in managing the huge crowd.
They rented a car and then drove to Armaan's house. It had been more than 3 years since Armaan had left Kasauli and apart from those few days he'd come back here post his break up with Riddhima, this house hadn't ever been used, but still, Armaan couldn't bring himself to sell it off. He had many happy memories here, with his friends, with Bi, with Nikki, and they were all very precious to him. He couldn't think of someone else living in this place and sullying those memories. So, he kept the house, not even renting it out, while he stayed in Mumbai.
When they reached home, Muskaan rushed in the second Armaan unlocked the house, excited to see what was inside. Armaan & Rahul made to follow, but Armaan stopped when he saw Riddhima stare at the house, unblinking, a pensive look on her face. He gestured for Rahul to carry on and stuck behind, wanting to talk to Riddhima.
Riddhima though, was lost in memories. She remembered clearly, the last time she'd been here. Things had been so incredibly bad back then. She'd broken up with Armaan, they were both hurting so much, especially Armaan. It had been so bad for him that he'd come here, to get away from the pain. She'd never forget his sad eyes, his heartbroken face. She'd done that to him. She'd made the happy - go - lucky always laughing Armaan turn into someone who forgot to smile. As she remembered all that she'd said and done, tears fell from her eyes. The next second, she was enveloped in Armaan's arms. She looked up at him & saw her staring back at her with nothing but love.
"Oyye," he whispered softly. "Yeh kya hai?" He asked, catching a tear.
Riddhima just shook her head, unable to say anything and hugged Armaan closer, resting her head on his chest.
"Basket," Armaan reprimanded, hugging her tighter. "Tum kyu ro rahi ho?"
She still kept quiet, pulling herself closer and closer.
"Oyye, Meenakumari! Pani ki tanki kabhi band nahi hoti kya?" He joked.
Riddhima shook her head. "Nahi," she blubbered.
Armaan laughed and kissed the top of her head. "Kya hua, jaana?" He asked again.
"Pichli baar jab main yahaan aayi thi tab..." she trailed off.
"Oho!" Armaan exclaimed, shaking his head fondly. "Tum na... har cheez ko leke kitna sochti ho."
He pulled back and wiped her tears, pecking her lips and then her forehead.
"Armaan... Humaari yahaan bohot sad memories haina?" Riddhima asked.
"Hmmm," Armaan pretended to think. "Hai toh," he finally answered. "Aur sab tumhaari wajah se."
"Mujhe pata hai!" Riddhima exclaimed. "Hamesha sab meri wajah se hota hai! I'm sorry!"
"Basket!" Armaan exclaimed. "Tum bohot jaldi serious ho jaati ho! I was joking."
"Armaan!" Riddhima scolded, swatting his arm. He laughed and twirled her around, then pulled her into his arms again, hugging her from behind.
"Yeh ghar dekh rahi ho?" He asked her, gesturing to the house.
Riddhima nodded. "Pata hai... iss ghar mein... tum aur main... milkar... bohot saari happy yaadein banane waale hain. Iske baad... iss ghar ko dekhke kabhi tum woh raat yaad nahi karogi jo humne saath hokar bhi akele bitaayi thi. I promise."
Riddhima's eyes filled with tears again, but this time of happiness. "I love you," she said, turning around and kissing him softly.
"I love you," he replied, smiling. "Andar chalein ab?"
Riddhima nodded. She turned to walk into the house, but gasped when Armaan pulled her back into his arms. Within seconds, he'd lifted her up in his arms, bridal style.
"Armaan! Kya kar rahe ho?" She questioned.
"Tumhe andar leke jaa raha hu, aur kya? Kabhi kabhi tum bohot stupid questions poochti ho, Basket!" Armaan laughed.
"Main chal sakti hu, Armaan," Riddhima whined.
"I know... lekin main chance nahi le sakta. Tum ghar ke andar aane ke badle bahar chali gayi toh? No way!" Armaan replied.
"Armaan... andar Rahul aur Muskaan bhi hai. Please... please mujhe neeche utaar do!" Riddhima pleaded.
"Nope," Armaan replied simply and walked into the house, ignoring Riddhima's repeated pleas.
Once they'd crossed the threshold, he let her go, setting her on her feeting gently, but kept a firm hold of her hand in his.
"Welcome home... Mrs. Mallik," he whispered softly, making Riddhima grin widely. This was the first time he'd done that. Yes, she'd gone to his house a couple times after he'd proposed, but he'd never greeted her the way he had just now. Riddhima knew that he was doing it now because this was the first home Armaan had made for himself, and he was absolutely proud of it too. Which meant that this place meant a lot to her as well, because of Armaan. She loved that they were sharing this moment for the first time in this house.
"Welcome home, Mr. Mallik!" she replied, kissing his cheek.
Armaan held Riddhima's hand and laced his fingers with hers, pulling her inside. Rahul & Muskaan had plopped down on the sofa and were looking around the house.
"Um... ghar kisne saaf kiya?" Armaan wondered out loud. He hadn't been here for almost 2 years, but the house looked spick and span. All the covers from everything had been removed too.
"Maine Rahim Chacha se kehkar karwaya hai. Chill kar!" Rahul replied. Chacha worked with Bi at the cafe.
"Matlab Bi ko pata hai hum aaye hain? Pch! Maine socha hum unhe surprise denge!" Armaan cribbed.
"Ro mat itna. Maine Chacha se keh diya tha hum surprise dene wale hain toh Bi ko na bataayein," Rahul replied. "Tu kya chaahta tha? Hum yahaan aake saaf safaai kare?"
"You're the best, yaar, Rahul!" Armaan exclaimed, sitting on Rahul's lap and hugging him tight.
"Haan. Theek hai, theek hai," Rahul said, pushing Armaan off so hard that he fell to the floor.
"Aau!" Armaan cried, rubbing his butt. "Kya kar raha hai?"
"Meri godh mein baithne ki kya zaroorat thi? Gadha!" Rahul replied.
"Yaar, tum log apni faltu bakwaas chodo. Bohot neend aa rahi hai. Kaun kis kamre mein rahega yeh decide karo taaki main so saku," Muskaan announced.
"Dekho," Armaan said, "we're all adults here. Koi school trip par nahi aaye hain jo girls alag aur boys alag. Toh... main aur Basket mere room mein ruk jaayenge, aur tum dono guest room mein. Okay?"
He looked around and thankfully, everyone consented to his idea. "Good," he said. He then pointed Rahul & Muskaan in the direction of the guest room.
"Okay! Ab ho gaya toh main toh chali! Shaam ko milte hain," saying so, Muskaan left, followed closely by Rahul.
Armaan got up from the floor and held his arm out for Riddhima to take. "Shall we?" He asked.
She smiled at his silly antics but obliged, winding her arm around his. They walked into the room and Armaan let Riddhima have a moment to take it all in. The last time she'd been here, they hadn't made it past the living room.
Riddhima looked around the room, admiring the absolute Armaan - ness of the room. She could totally see a 20 year old Armaan living here. The basket on the wall in front of the bed was the first thing that caught her attention. Of course, Armaan had one right in front of him all the time. She could imagine him sitting on the bed and scoring basket after basket on lazy days. The bed itself was not as huge as the one Armaan had back at his place in Mumbai, but it was big enough that they would both fit in. There was a study table on one end of the room and a bookshelf beside that. Riddhima could already make the familiar titles out. They were all textbooks from college, it seemed. On the wall adjoining the study table were a couple of cupboards that obviously would have stored Armaan's clothes and other stuff. She could see that he'd scribbled stuff on the cupboard that someone had tried hard to remove, but had failed miserably. On the other end was a tv set with a video game console along with 2 bean bags, because of course, Armaan Mallik didn't partake in frivolous activities such as watching mundane daily soaps on tv, but used it to play FIFA.
"So, what's the verdict?" Armaan asked finally.
"I like it," Riddhima smiled, looking at him. "Very you."
Armaan smiled. "Good. But... I think humein very you' se change karke very us' banana chahiye, right?"
Riddhima giggled. "Awww! You're so cute, baby!" She said, hugging him.
"I know," Armaan replied smugly, pulling her close.
Riddhima pulled back, surprised. "Armaan... tabiyat toh theek haina?" She asked, checking his forehead and neck.
"Basket!" Armaan whined, pushing her hand back. "I'm fine!"
"Nahi... woh maine tumhe cute bulaya aur tumne kuch kaha nahi... Isliye check kar rahi thi," Riddhima explained.
"Ab agar mujhe itni achchi gift saath mein milegi, toh tum saari zindagi bhi cute bologi, toh no tension," he said, gesturing to their arms wound around each other.
"Paagal ho tum," she said affectionately.
"I know," Armaan replied.
"Pata hai..." he said after sometime, "mujhe hamesha se kuch try karna tha."
"Kya?" She asked.
Instead of answering, he pulled her towards the bed and climbed on it, pulling her up with him.
"Yeh," he said, jumping on top of the bed.
"ARMAAN!" Riddhima cried. "Bachche ho bilkul."
"Tum bhi karo na! It's so much fun!" Armaan insisted.
"No way!" Riddhima replied.
"Pch! Come on, Basket! It's so much fun!" Armaan told her.
"Armaan bed toot jaayega," Riddhima explained.
"Tum please mom ki tarah behave mat karo. Jump with me!" Armaan said, taking her hand in his, not stopping for a second.
"No," Riddhima stood her ground.
"Please! Armaan pleaded. "Bas. 2 minutes! Please, please, please! Come on, Basket!"
"Fine!" Riddhima agreed. "But only 2 minutes."
And, she started jumping on the bed too. Within seconds, the room was echoing with their laughs and giggles and the creaking of the bed as they jumped on it.
"Woohooo!!" Armaan exclaimed. "Bohot mazaa aa raha haina?"
"Haan!" Riddhima agreed.
"Aur dekho! Tum karna hi nahi chaahti thi!" Armaan told her.
Before Riddhima could reply, the door banged open and Muskaan entered, a murderous expression on her face. The sudden noise startled Armaan & Riddhima and they both lost their footing, falling on the bed.
"Ouch!" Riddhima exclaimed. Armaan had landed on her palm.
"Oops! Sorry," Armaan said, pulling Riddhima's hand out from under him.
"Kya kar rahe the?" Rahul asked. He'd come to check what was creating such a ruckus along with Muskaan. "Kitni awaaz ho rahi thi!"
"Woh... uh... woh..." Riddhima tried to explain, but didn't have the words.
"Kuch nahi! Bed pe kood rahe the. Aur kya?" Armaan said.
"Wow! Mujhe bhi jump karna hai!" Muskaan exclaimed.
Rahul looked at Muskaan and then at Armaan & Riddhima. A sly grin made its way to his face.
"ATTACK!" He shouted, jumping on the bed too. Muskaan laughed and followed suit. And then, it was 4 of them jumping on the bed.
"Guys! Pillow fight!" Armaan cried all of a sudden.
"PILLOW FIGHT!" The others agreed.
Armed with a pillow each, the fight began. Only a few minutes in, and some silent communication passed between Rahul & Riddhima and they attacked Armaan together. Finding an opportune moment, Muskaan joined in as well, and the three of them ganged up on him.
"I give! I give! I give!!" Armaan exclaimed finally. "Kameeno! Chodo! Chodo mujhe!"
"Nah," Rahul replied, hitting Armaan harder.
Armaan wrapped an arm around Riddhima and Muskaan each, taking them by surprise and pulled them down with him.
Gaining the upper hand, he sat up and started tickling the girls, and Rahul joined him too.
"Armaan! Rahul! Stop it!" Riddhima and Muskaan shrieked.
The tickling continued till Riddhima started coughing. Armaan immediately let them go, and started patting Riddhima's back. Her coughs subsided and she looked at the trio, looking at her with worry and started laughing. "Gotcha!" She exclaimed.
"Riddhima!" the three of them reprimanded and then all of them started laughing. They fell on the bed, still guffawing loud.
"Best day ever," Armaan declared as the four of them lay on the bed haphazardly, half on top of each other.
"Best day ever," the other three agreed. And indeed, it was.
xxx
Please koi joote chappal mat maarna for this one. Mujhe actually kuch aur dikhana tha iss chapter mein lekin phir yeh bed pe koodne ka scene dimaag mein aaya aur gaya hi nahi, toh yeh hi likh diya. :P
Thoda boring chapter hai, I think, aur zara sa short bhi hai, lekin ab yehi likh paayi. Aaj out of town jaa rahi hu kyuki ghar mein function hai. Toh pata nahi next chapter kab aaye, lekin haan, 23 ko update karne ki koshish pakka karungi! :)
And, that is it! See ya!
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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