ILYLTF #5 (Chapter 145 - Page 110) - Page 55

Previously On...

Armaan has dinner with Nani. They talk about Smriti Maa.

Chapter 104

The rest of the week passed by in a blur. Armaan got busy with the surprise he was planning for Riddhima and hanging out with their friends, and she was busy with the long hours she kept at the induction ceremony and then spending time with her other set of parents. That is to say, the two of them didn't get much time to speak to each other over the week, and somehow, it was fine.

When Riddhima boarded the plane to Delhi, she was afraid that spending less time with Armaan would affect their relationship badly. But in the week they'd been apart, she'd discovered that not spending every minute with him made the little time they did get together even more special. They hadn't had time for long phone calls or Skype sessions, but they did make it a point to talk to each other for a few minutes everyday. And despite not having enough time to actually talk about something in detail, thus having to be happy with a little small talk, she found out that it wasn't awkward with Armaan, the way it was with others.

She didn't cringe when they spoke about things like the weather, or what they'd had for dinner the previous night. In fact, she even laughed at Armaan's descriptions of the silly, mundane things he'd gotten up to in her absence.

She still felt a part of his life, and he was very much still a part of hers, exactly in the way they'd been when they were together all day long. While this was a different thing altogether, it gave her hope that once she was back in Mumbai, things would remain the same. It wouldn't get awkward or strenuous. Their relationship would continue to flourish in the same way.

Riddhima had never been too equipped with change. It had taken so long to realize her feelings for Armaan, and then to acknowledge them, and even longer to admit to herself and Armaan, that this was it, that this feeling would never go away and he was it and she wanted him forever. All of it because she’d been so scared. But, she’d finally done it and after all the ups and downs this choice had brought her, Riddhima had finally been a place where she was completely secure in her relationship with Armaan when suddenly they were going their separate ways, in a manner of speaking. And she was scared once again. It had taken her almost 3 years to get where she was - completely happy and assured - in her relationship, and now, she’d have to adjust again.

It was not easy, not something she’d ever wanted. She’d thought that her & Armaan would always stay like this - always be the best team at Sanjeevani. But, she’d also always known that though they worked phenomenally together, they both had very varied interests. She’d always wanted to be a gynaecologist and he’d always been more keen towards neurology and cardiology. She’d known that he’d choose one of those in the long run. It hadn’t been a surprise when he had.

She could’ve chosen the same field as him, had she wanted, or maybe persuaded him to choose hers, but that was not what she wanted. Neither of them would have been happy with their professional life if they did that. And she could not make herself, or worse, Armaan, compromise in such a way. So, she’d chosen her field and he’d chosen his, and suddenly, everything was different. She went from spending almost her entire day with Armaan to barely seeing him.

It had been so difficult to adjust, and though she didn’t talk about it, she knew that Armaan knew. He’d tried to make things easier in any way he could. But, before this week, nothing had reassured her much. She didn’t know why. Maybe it was listening to Mom & Dad keep talking about how much Armaan had changed, how happier he was since she came into his life. Maybe it was the little things he said while they talked - how he missed her, how he’d hoarde stories for her because he thought she’d like them. Maybe it was Mumma telling her about how Armaan had visited them in the time she hadn’t been around just to hang out. Maybe it was because distance really did the heart grow fonder. Whatever it was, she was just happy things were looking up now.

It wasn't all perfect. It wasn't like someone had waved a magic wand and now Riddhima had no fears, that she was as well adjusted to this new routine as she had been to the old one, no. But it was a start. For the first time, this difference wasn't crippling her, wasn't making her second guess everything. It was just the start. But she knew that now that she'd started, she wouldn't back down. She'd reach a stage where she would be as secure in her place in Armaan's life as she had been before.

"You're chipper," Rahul commented, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Excited to go back?"

They were at the airport, waiting to board their flight. Both Mom & Dad come to drop them off, and while Riddhima was sad to be parted from them, she was extremely happy to go back home. Back to her friends, her family, her job. Her Armaan.

“Obviously,” she replied.

“Me too. But, I’m sorta gonna miss this,” he told her, squeezing her tight. “Just you and me. Like the old times.”

And that was true. Before, in London, where she had had no one but Rahul at first, and when she was hesitant to open up in front of her other friends unlike with Rahul, and even later, when they were all good friends but Rahul was still her best friend, it had been the two of them.

The two of them against the world, Rahul liked to joke. Now, they were back home and they had all their friends and she had Armaan and he had Muskaan, and in the midst of it all, there was never enough time to be Rahul & Riddhima, the way they had been before they’d come back home. Riddhima was so grateful for everyone and especially Armaan, but at times she did miss Rahul. There was just something about having spent the most difficult months of her life with Rahul that made him privy to her and her emotions in a way no one else was, not even Armaan. There were days when all she wanted was to hug Rahul and watch some trashy movie, or go out with him for some ice-cream, or even a walk around the neighbourhood, the way they did in London, but they were both so busy and it hadn’t happened. But, being in Delhi had given them that time. They’d made good use of it too. Riddhima was so glad that Rahul had come with her because as much as she’d missed Armaan, as scared as she’d been about everything, she would never trade these few days with Rahul for anything.

She just hoped that once they were back home, they would continue to make time for each other like this.

"Rahul, waapas jaane ke baad, I don't want ki hum phirse sabke beech yeh bhool jaayein. Promise kar we'll keep hanging out like this," she demanded.

Rahul chuckled and hugged his best friend. "I promise. I don't want to go so long without this either."

"Good," Riddhima muttered. "I really missed it."

Rahul just hugged her tighter, not saying anything. But he didn't have to. They both knew how much they'd missed the other.

______________

"Soooo, it's Valentine's," Rahul drawled as they sat on the plane. "What plans?"

"Armaan mujhe kabhi yeh sab batata hai kya?" She muttered. "Jab bhi poocho bas ek jawab hota hai uske paas… 'Surprise hai, Basket!'"

Rahul laughed. "I'm sure usne kuch ajeeb sa hi plan kiya hoga. You two will have fun!"

Riddhima shrugged. As long as she was with Armaan, she knew she'd have fun. They could just sit at home doing nothing and it would be okay. Well, it would be okay today, because she'd missed him so much and couldn't wait to see him.

"Tu bata mujhe," she demanded, looping an arm around his and getting comfortable with her head on his shoulder, "tune kya plan kiya hai Muskaan ke liye?"

"Main tere fiance jaisa creative toh hoon nahi, sadly, so I think I'll just cook for her and spend time with her. Aur uske liye woh shoes liye the na, 2 ghante dhoondke, woh usse present mein de doonga. She'll love it," he explained.

"That's so cute, Rahul! Muski ko tere haath ka khana bohot pasand hai. She'll absolutely love, love, love it!" Riddhima promised.

"Hopefully," Rahul agreed. "Ahhh! Mujhe kabhi kabhi lagta hai inn sab cheezon ke liye Armaan se classes leni chahiye. He always has such out of the box ideas every time."

"You do well on your own, Rahul. I know for a fact that Muskaan loves the time she spends with you. Tujhe woh kuch nahi kehti, lekin mujhe toh batati haina. Trust me, she's very happy. Aur waise bhi… yeh sab kuch matter nahi karta. It's the thought that counts. And you're very thoughtful yeh jaan'ne ke liye toh mujhe Muski se poochne ki bhi koi zaroorat nahi hai," Riddhima assured him.

"If you say so," he murmured.

"I do. Ab itna mat soch. Just have fun with Muski. I know tune usse bohot miss kar raha hai," she instructed.

"Aye, aye, cap'n!" Rahul joked. His best friend was the absolute best and he was so grateful for her, every single day. He didn't even want to imagine what his life would be like without her in it. She was such a great friend but she was an even greater person in her own right. He was awed by her everyday and thankful that she chose to let him be a part of her life. Ever since that first day at Sanjeevani, when he'd developed that frankly very ridiculous starry eyed crush on her, he'd never regretted knowing her and was grateful that she felt the same.

_____________

Riddhima dressed in a pretty red salwar kameez for the evening. Armaan was supposed to pick her up from the airport itself, but he'd gotten roped into assisting Dr. Shubhankar in an important surgery and hadn't been able to get away. So, now the two of them were meeting at a restaurant that Armaan said was really amazing. He wouldn't even be picking her up because it would take too long as the restaurant was closer to the hospital, and he wanted to stick around for a while to make sure the post-op care was done properly. It made more sense to meet directly at the restaurant and while Riddhima understood that in theory, she was still mad that she hadn't seen Armaan yet.

Be as it may, she would not let anything ruin today. She would see Armaan after a week apart, and she was determined to be happy about the fact that they were back in the same place together. Nothing else mattered for tonight.

Which is how she found herself arriving at the restaurant earlier than they'd decided on without an Armaan by her side. It suddenly felt so reminiscent of their official first date that she couldn't help but laugh. She couldn’t believe how nervous she’d been then, so doe-eyed and conscious of herself and their new relationship. Looking back, it seemed funny that she was ever intimidated by Armaan, but then, he’d seemed so larger than life, so much more experienced than she was, in everything, but especially when it came to relationships, and she hadn’t been able to help herself. Now, she knew her fiance was just one huge dork who fancied himself as a smooth, suave ladykiller, when in fact, he’d just gotten lucky most of the time. Well, she wouldn’t have him any other way, though.

“You’re early,” Armaan’s voice accused, as arms wrapped around her, bringing her out of her thoughts. Riddhima grinned brightly and turned around, hugging him tightly and burying her face in his neck. With Armaan’s perfume surrounding her, their arms around each other, she finally felt at home.

“I missed you,” she murmured into his skin, making him hold her tighter.

“Main hoon hi itna amazing! Of course, you missed me!” He joked, making Riddhima whack his back.

“Basketttt! I missed you itna saara! Pata hai, tumhaare bina na main bilkul bore ho gaya tha!” He whined. “Next time toh main Gabbar se ladke tumhaare saath aane ke liye chutti le hi loonga.”

Riddhima just laughed, not knowing what to say. She was just so happy to be back with him and there weren’t enough words to express just how much.

When they were seated, Riddhima insisted Armaan sit across from her this time, instead of sitting beside her like he always did because she’d missed him and needed to look at him some more. Armaan only cackled and teased her, saying his cheesiness was rubbing off on her.

They took longer to get done with dinner than was normal for them, because there was so much to catch the other up on. Armaan mainly spent his time whining about how Muskaan had decided to move in with him for the week for the heck of it and how she made him watch a different Bollywood movie every night. And of course, how Nikki made him drive all the way over to her house at 2 in the night once, just because she was craving ice-cream but didn’t want Abhi to leave the house to go get it. But, he also told her about everything that went down at the Guptas’ recently, what with Nishank Chachu falling sick and Papa making 2 trips to Pune just within the week.

In turn, Riddhima told him about all the shopping trips Mom took her out to, and how Dad insisted on spending an exorbitant amount of money to buy anything and everything that she just laid eyes on. She told him about their threats to buy the house they’d been meaning to if Armaan & her didn’t start renovating their house soon, which made Armaan smile weirdly, but she didn’t give it much thought because Armaan always became a mushy pile of goo whenever the wedding was even remotely mentioned.

Once done, Armaan insisted on taking Riddhima home with him, to which she readily agreed.

“Tumhaare liye surprise hai,” he told her, once they were home.

“Kya?” She asked eagerly.

“Pehle aankhein band karo,” he instructed. Knowing he’d win and that it was pointless to argue, she immediately closed her eyes. Armaan grinned and dropped a kiss to her eyelids before lifting her up in his arms, making her shriek, and walking inside.

“Okay, ready?” He questioned. She nodded frantically.

Armaan set her down to her feet and clapped his hands, making the dark room light up brilliantly. Riddhima couldn’t hold back her gasp when she opened her eyes.

“Tum Dad se keh dena ki humne renovation start kar di hai,” he joked.

“This is so beautiful, Armaan! Tumne yeh sab kab…” she trailed off.

“Anjy and I worked really hard this past week, you know. Isliye main itna busy rehta tha. Sorry for that, by the way. I know humein zyada baat karne ka time nahi mila. Aur Skype toh ek baar bhi nahi kar paaye,” he apologized.

Riddhima just shook her head and hugged him. “This is perfect. Thank you, baby.”

“I know ki tum pichle kuch time se iss baat ko leke bohot pareshaan ho ki ab hum hospital mein pehle ki tarah saara din saath mein nahi rahenge. But, I just… I guess main prove karna chaahta tha ki isse kuch nahi badlega. Hospital mein saath kaam nahi kar sakte toh kya hua, ghar pe toh kar sakte haina?” He joked. Riddhima nodded into his chest. He pulled away from her and took her hand, taking her to the bookshelf that was already full of texts.

Running his finger over the spines, he removed one old textbook and gave it to Riddhima who opened it to see, ‘Property of Dr. Smriti Malhotra’.

“Yeh?” She asked, shocked.

“Maine Papa se baat ki thi and he was very happy to give me Maa’s old books. Ab tum bhi toh gynaecology mein aage badh rahi ho toh unke puraane notes bohot helpful honge na?” He murmured. Riddhima nodded and hugged the book close to her chest, tears falling continuously. She hugged him once again.

Smriti Maa’s books. Her books. Riddhima didn’t even know how to tell Armaan how much this meant to her. She’d always looked up to Smriti Maa as a role model, had decided to become an OBGYN to honour her memory - the first mother she knew, the one who had raised her as a child, who’d loved her so endlessly, who had made her childhood happy and beautiful. This was the woman Riddhima had always wanted to be when she grew up, and she’d finally taken a step in that direction, only for Armaan to surprise her with something so beautiful. Of all things he’d done for her in all this time together, this moment made it in her Top 5 Most Thoughtful Things Armaan Has Ever Done list on a very high spot. She never wanted this to end.

A few moments later, Armaan pulled away only to make her sit on one of the chairs and sit on the floor beside her, his head in her lap. “Basket, I know ki humaari life mein bohot changes aa rahe hain, aur sab badal raha hai. You’re scared. Aur mujhe bhi darr lag raha hai, lekin jab tak hum dono saath hai toh sab theek hai. Tum hona, toh mujhe kisi cheez ki tension nahi hai, kyuki chahe jo bhi ho, at the end of the day, main waapis toh tumhaare paas hi aaunga. Aur tum mere paas. Bas, mujhe aur kuch nahi chahiye.”

“Mujhe bhi,” she replied, bending down to kiss him. Armaan was right. What was important was that they were together. As long as they were, nothing would go wrong. She knew Armaan would never let it. And she wouldn’t either. Not ever. They’d go their separate ways professionally, but come home to each other everyday, still just as madly in love, and make a life together.

____________________________

Yaar, ab toh kuch bolungi hi nahi. Tum log bhi sorry sunnke thak gaye hoge aur bologe yeh ladki toh kabhi sudharti hi nahi hai.

So, iss baar toh kuch nahi bolungi. Bas, I hope sabko chapter achcha lage! And of course, SORRY! :(

Its awesome..love the chapter and ofcourse finally AR are is back where they belong..

Thanks for this and now please update soon now..

After a long tym pragsss

Awesummm update

Wow awesome part.part ki liye bohot sukriya.love the part.ridzy bapas aygaya wow.armaan ridzy part bohot miss kiya.love armaan ridzy meeting.armaan ne ridzy ko bohot accha surprise diya wow😍.part read karke dill khush hogaya.beautiful story.pls post the next asap.give more armaan ridzy moments😍.eagerly waiting for next part😍😘❤️

Why would Riddhima even feel a need to specialize in the same field as Armaan? Just being doctors would give them enough in common.

Their life is finally on track. Lovely dinner and a surprise.

Finally AR are back together!

just love them together .. <3

Continue soon

Hellooooo!!! I am so so so glad to have you back and am also sorry for the super late comment but nonetheless let’s just get to it :D

I think the best part of this story is how you dive deep in every relation...Like I absolutely adore how you show Ridhima’s bonds with the Maliks specially with billy and even the Rahul and ridhima moments are so so well described...Too good!

However the heart stealer for me ought to be the AR moments...Yaar how is Armaan so damn good, matlab your story to by default makes me fall in love with him again and again and again (if that’s even possible)!

I loved his surprise and specially how he got Smriti’s books for ridhima and of course the way he explains to Ridz that their relation will never change irrespective of work schedule...matlab tooooo gooddd!!

Pls pls pls update soon (a full on AR episode would be immensely loved :p) but until then I hope you and your loved ones stay safe :)

Heyy..

I have jst cam across ur ff 2 days ago. Firstly i m shocked y i hvnt seen ur ff before. i was missing dmg so thought of reading some ffs n come across ilyltf i jst loved it. I jst loved ur writing plzz do pm me whn u update now i m going to read ur another ff the distance between us

Previously On...

Riddhima & Rahul come back from Delhi. Armaan surprises Riddhima with a home office.

Things got busy after Valentine's. It was as if suddenly everybody in Armaan & Riddhima's life realized just how close they were to the wedding and how little they'd actually got done to prepare for it.

Very quickly, all their days were a whirlwind of choices and decisions, for both the wedding and their house. Both Armaan & Riddhima went on multiple shopping trips both together and separately, in order to plan for their big day.

The gang was all super excited for the wedding, having waited for it for so long, and they'd thrown themselves head-first into helping very enthusiastically. Somedays Armaan was very irritated with how opinionated they all were, because it wasn't their wedding, thank you very much, and the girls seemed to be able to talk Riddhima into things he definitely knew that she did not want, and neither did he, just because they thought it'd be cute.

"Basket, do we really need a dog at the wedding?" Armaan asked one rare night that they'd wrapped up early and he'd managed to whisk her away for a quick walk.

"Di really wants them, Armaan," she replied.

"Anjy ki shaadi nahi ho rahi hai, Basket. Humaari ho rahi hai. And… Agar tumhe yeh chahiye, toh it's okay, but mujhe definitely nahi chahiye," he told her.

"I mean… Whenever I thought about us having a dog, it was definitely after the wedding, not during. But Di was showing me these pictures and the couple did a photoshoot with a dog and she just kept gushing about it. And I guess… I just gave in," Riddhima explained.

"I know," Armaan murmured. "And I agree. That photoshoot was really cute. But that's not exactly us, is it? Ab agar tum kehti ki tumhe basketball ke saath photoshoot karna hai, I'd have understood. But dog?"

"You're right. You're absolutely right. Lekin main… you know that Di and Nikki and Muski are very important to me. And they've waited for the wedding for so long, just like we have. Main unhe disappoint nahi karna chaahti. At least Rahul has been able to reign Atul in, warna mujhe pata hai ki woh yeh suggest karne wala tha ki hum kisi jungle type jagah pe saari ceremonies kare kyuki woh sab nature ke paas hain," Riddhima giggled.

"Well, thank god for that!" Armaan exclaimed. He wrapped his arms around Riddhima and pulled her close, taking a moment to push stray hairs out of her face and tuck them behind her ear before hugging her. "But… you know yeh humaari shaadi hai, right? Anjy, Nikki, ya Muski… unhe bohot excitement hai, I agree. And woh humaari itni help kar rahe hain uske liye I'm very grateful, par… Basket yeh unki shaadi nahi hai. Aur woh iss tarah ke final decisions nahi le sakte. I think humein ek baar unse baat karni chahiye. What do you think?"

Riddhima nodded into his neck, making Armaan smile. "Done then. Kal sabse baat karenge, okay?"

__________

"Dr. Armaan Mallik?" A pretty girl asked at the nurse station, making Sister Lovely look up.

“Hello ji,” Sister Lovely replied. “Dr. Armaan? Ji kya kaam hai aapko unse?”

“Milna hai unse. Unse kehna ki Diya aayi hai,” the girl, Diya, said.

“Oh! Ji woh toh iss waqt surgery mein hain, ji,” Sister Lovely replied after checking the roster. “Kuch urgent kaam tha?”

“Mujhe unse milna hai,” Diya repeated. “Abhi.”

“Oh ji, aap toh nahi mil sakte,” Sister Lovely repeated. “Maine kaha na, woh surgery mein hain.”

Before Diya could say anything else, Rahul had walked up to the nurse station and demanded Sister Lovely’s attention. “Good morning, Sister Lovely,” he greeted. “Shoaib ke reports aa gaye honge? Children’s ward, bed 56?” He asked.

“Ek minute ji,” she told Diya and Rahul both, turning away at her desk to find the file that Rahul had asked for.

“Yeh lijiye ji, Dr. Rahul ji,” she said, producing the reports a minute later. “Ji Dr. Vicky ne kaha hai ki sab reports normal lag rahi hain ji, aur hum Shoaib ko jaldi chutti de sakte hain.” Rahul nodded and opened the file to study the reports.

Impatient, Diya huffed. “Dr. Armaan, Sister Lovely?” She asked.

“Ji main keh rahi hoon na. Aap abhi nahi mil sakti. Unki surgery bas aadhe ghante mein poori ho jaayegi,” Sister Lovely informed her.

Rahul perked up at Armaan’s name and turned to see Diya standing there, obviously irritated.

“Dr. Armaan?” He asked her. “Unse kya kaam hai aapko?”

“It’s personal,” Diya replied. Rahul nodded, but prepared himself for the worst. If this woman turned out to be some ex of Armaan’s, they were gonna have a day™. Riddhima was pretty okay with the long parade of exes Armaan had, all things considered, but it seemed like these days it was Armaan who didn’t like reminders of his colourful past.

“Ummmm,” Rahul fumbled before replying. “Right, of course. Hi, I’m Rahul. Armaan is a friend of mine. Woh thode time mein surgery se free ho jaayega and then you can meet him.”

“Diya,” she introduced herself. “Ugh! I can’t believe ab mujhe usse milne aur wait karna padega. I’m really busy! He hasn’t replied to my messages for ages aur phone pe bhi baat nahi ho rahi!”

“I’m sorry,” Rahul replied, genuinely feeling bad about this. He knew it was difficult to get in touch with any of them these days and it seemed that she had borne the brunt of it. “Why don’t we wait at the cafe? You can have some coffee, and I’ll page him to come see me.”

“That… sounds nice,” Diya replied. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem,” Rahul replied, hoping he was not making a huge mistake. Was it a sign that she’d been trying to get in touch but Armaan had not given in to her attempts? Was it bad or was it good? He didn’t know. Generally when someone texted Armaan and he didn’t want to interact with them, he’d tell the person point blank that there was no space for them in his life. He didn’t know if Armaan not responding to Diya was a good thing or a bad thing, but it was too late now. He’d just have to wing it. He was good at winging it with Armaan. He’d had years of practice. He could handle this.

So, he took Diya to the cafe and bought her a coffee and some sandwiches. They made polite conversation for a while, talking about each other’s jobs and such till Armaan came running in.

“Diya!!” He cried, looking positively jubilant. So it was a good thing then, Rahul concluded. He was glad. He did not think he’d be able to handle an Armaan Mallik meltdown today.

“Armaan!” Diya matched his enthusiasm and was immediately pulled into a hug. “It’s so good to finally see you! Mujhe laga ki tum ab mujhse next birth mein hi miloge!”

As if a light bulb went off in Armaan’s head at that, he immediately pulled back and turned away. “Okay. Yes. That’s right. Main tumse gussa hoon,” he reminded himself.

“Armaan!” Diya whined. “This is not fair. Isme meri koi fault nahi hai.”

Armaan made a face. “I don’t care about the specifics. I’m mad.”

“Armaan! Don’t be like this. Tum messages aur calls ka bhi reply nahi kar rahe aur ab jab main yahaan aayi hoon toh bhi tum gussa ho. That’s uncool,” she told him. “You can’t be mad at me now.”

“Of course I can be,” Armaan fired back. “I can be so mad.”

“What are we mad at today?” Riddhima asked Rahul, taking a seat beside him. She’d just walked in with Nikki. Rahul just threw his hands up in the air. He had absolutely no clue about what was going on.

“Armaan!” Diya moaned. “Let it go na, yaar. Please!”

“Diya?!?!” Riddhima asked, surprised, delighted to hear a voice she hadn’t in years.

“Riddhima?” Diya turned to look at her, just as surprised.

“OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD!” Diya screeched. “Riddhima!!!! I can’t believe it. Hi!!”

Riddhima just grinned widely and pulled her into a tight hug. “Hi,” she murmured. “It’s so nice to see you! Wow. Hi. Tum yahaan iss tarah, achanak. Wow. I can’t believe it. It’s been like 6 years. Wow!”

“Tum dono ek doosre ko jaante ho?” Armaan asked, surprised.

“Of course, Armaan!” Diya replied, rolling her eyes. “You think main aise kisi ko bhi hug karti hoon?”

“Wow, Diya. So smart. I meant… tum ek doosre ko kaise jaante ho?” He clarified.

“But iske pehle tumne yeh toh nahi poocha tha. Tumne poocha ki hum ek doosre ko jaante hain ya nahi and it’s obvious ki hum jaante hain,” Diya answered.

Riddhima, Rahul, and Nikki all burst out laughing at that. “That is actually correct,” Rahul piped in. “Tune yehi poocha tha na. Armaan, it’s so obvious ki woh ek doosre ko jaante hain.”

“Shut up, yaar, Rahul!” Armaan whined. “Tu apni sidey commentary do minute ke liye band nahi kar sakta kya?”

“Nahi,” came Rahul’s pat reply.

“Saare kamine dost mujhe hi mile hain,” Armaan cribbed. “Tum sab jaise dost ho toh dushman ki toh zaroorat hi nahi haina.”

“Isliye toh hum dost hain, Armaan!” Nikki pitched in. “2 in 1. Tujhe dushman dhoondne ki mehnat karne se bacha rahe hain.”

“Hahaha, so funny,” Armaan replied sarcastically.

“I know,” Nikki answered smugly.

“Inn sabka aise hi chalta rahega. Coffee?” Riddhima asked Diya. Diya shook her head. “We just had coffee before you stopped by.”

Armaan continued to bicker with both Rahul and Nikki while the others stumbled in, one by one within minutes of each other. It was surprising that everyone in their group had a break at the same time. It was a very rare occurrence these days.

“Diya!” Anjali exclaimed. “Hi! How are you? Such a pleasant surprise!”

“So good to see you, too!” Diya replied, pulling Anjali into a quick hug.

“Anjy!” Armaan cried, breaking away from his fight. “Tum bhi Diya ko jaanti ho?” He asked.

“Tum bhi matlab kya? Aur kaun jaanta hai?” She questioned.

“Main,” Riddhima told her sister.

“Of course tum, Ridzy!” Anjali commented. “Hum sab ek hi college mein the!”

“Ohhhh, classmates, huh?” Armaan said, throwing an arm around Diya.

“Not exactly. Riddhima aur Anjali mere seniors hain, Armaan,” Diya replied. “Any problems?”

“Umm… no,” he answered, but then remembered he was supposed to be mad at her. “Actually, not no. No, matlab, yes… Matlab… yes… I mean! Haan. Problem hai. I’m still mad at you!”

“Armaan tum aise bachchon ki tarah kyu behave kar rahe ho?” Diya whined. “I said I’m sorry! Isme meri fault hai ki tumne itni jaldi engagement karli? I was in the US, Armaan! How was I supposed to reach on time?”

“Woh jo bhi ho,” Armaan muttered. “I got engaged and my favourite cousin was not there. So, mujhe gussa hone ka full right hai!”

“Isliye toh main aayi hoon,” Diya replied. “My favourite cousin got engaged and main ab tak uski fiancee se nahi mili hoon! That’s not fair!”

“Agar tum engagement pe aati toh you could’ve met her!” Armaan told her.

“This is so not done. Tumhe pata hai, Annie Masi aur Billy ne bhi mujhe yehi kaha. They didn’t even share pictures, Armaan! Mujhe dekhne toh do!” Diya cribbed.

“Well, at least Mom & Dad are on my side about this,” he murmured. “Shocking.”

“Please don’t start whining about how I’m their favourite now,” Diya told him. “Like I’ve said a million times before, not my fault I’m such an angel!”

“Ahhh, I’m so sorry, Diya,” Armaan replied, not sounding sorry at all. He was all sorts of smug, actually. “But did you not hear? Tum ab Mom Dad ki favourite nahi ho. That spot has been taken.”

“Really? Please, there’s no way!” Diya said. “Everyone knows Annie Masi likes me best.”

“Sorry, can do, sweetie. Ab woh spot meri fiancee ka hai,” Armaan announced proudly. “Which, you would know already agar tum engagement pe aati.”

“Armaan! Don’t be so mean!” Diya cried. “You’re such a pain in my a**!”

“And proud of it,” Armaan answered.

“Can you please just stop for one second?” Nikki pleaded. “Kitna chillate ho, yaar.”

“Oh, sorry, Nikki!” Armaan immediately apologized.

Armaan had been getting increasingly protective over Nikki as the pregnancy progressed. With just a couple months left for the baby to get here, he was in his overbearing mode, and Nikki’s word was the law. While the others found him annoying at times, Riddhima was just about to burst with affection. It was so nice to see Armaan this way. In all the time Riddhima had known him, he’d always been insanely protective of Nikki, but this was different. The way he always got soft and happy around Nikki was such a joy to witness. Whenever she saw him like that, she couldn’t wait for it to be her he’d be fussing over. Granted, at the time, she might be just as annoyed by his placations as Nikki was right now, but she still could not wait. Armaan would be the best father. She knew he would.

“Diya tumhaari cousin hai?” Anjali asked Armaan, now that they’d all settled down.

Armaan nodded. “Yes! Diya ki mom mom ki behen hain,” he explained.

“You know what?” Anjali replied, remembering the few times she’d met Diya’s mom and the time she’d spent with Annie Aunty, “That makes 100% sense.”

Armaan laughed at that. “Yeah. Sukanya Masi aur Mom bohot zyada similar hain.”

“Annie Masi is cooler, though,” Diya pointed out.

“Woh tujhe cool isliye lagti hai kyuki tu unke saath rehti nahi hai. Just like mujhe Sukanya Masi zyada cool lagti hai,” Armaan countered.

“Yaar, tum dono kitne cute ho!” Muskaan commented, pulling Armaan’s cheeks. “Hero! Tune kabhi bataya nahi ki teri cousin hai! Main tujhe apni family se milwana Patiala tak leke gayi, lekin tujhse itna bhi nahi hua ki mujhe bataye ki teri itni cute si cousin hai?”

“Tu Patiala ki yaad mat dilaa, Muskaan ki bachchi. Abhi bhi daraawne sapne aate hain mujhe woh din yaad karke. Sapne mein bas lassi aur paraanthe ghoom rahe hote hain. Aur thaali aur chamach, woh silver wali, jaisi teri mummy ne bheji thi mere liye,” Armaan cribbed.

“Itni achchi plate thi, yaar! Uske baare mein bura kyu bol raha hai?” Muskaan complained. “Tujhe na… kisi cheez ki value hi nahi hai. Meri mummy ji ne itne pyaar se bheji tere liye lekin tujhe bilkul kadar nahi hai!”

Armaan just made a face at her.

“You two are so cute together!” Diya exclaimed, making everyone turn to her.

“What?!?!” Armaan burst out.

“You and your fiancee are very cute, Armaan,” she repeated.

Muskaan started laughing at her words, and slowly everyone else did too. “Oyye! Tujhe lagta hai main iski fiancee hoon? Main? Tu mujhe lottery ke 25 lakh bhi laa degi na, toh bhi nahi!”

“Muskiiiiii,” Armaan whined. “Itna bura thodi hoon main?”

“Exactly,” Nikki cut in. “Tum usse bhi zyada bure ho.”

“Eh Nikki, yaar! Tu kyu jabse mere bhai ko pareshaan kar rahi hai?’ Atul jumped to Armaan’s defense.

"Atul, tu beech mein mat pad," Muskaan said. "Waise bhi tu aur yeh Rahul bas Armaan ke chamche bane rehte ho poora din!"

"Ab main kahaan se beech mein aa gaya?" Rahul moaned. "Tujhe bas mauka chahiye hota faltu mein mujhe taana maarne."

"Aur waise bhi apne bhai ki side lena chamchagiri thodi hoti hai! Tum girls abhi toh hamesha ek doosre ki side leti ho," Atul complained. "Bas hum logon ke time tumhaari baatein banti hain."

"Exactly! Champ is right," Rahul agreed and Armaan nodded furiously.

"Aur yeh kya tu unn dono ko chamcha bol rahi hai?" Armaan asked. "Bhai hai mere. Toh meri hi side lenge na. Aur waise bhi itna cool hoon, agar main tera fiance hota na toh tu kitni lucky hoti!"

"Kitni lucky hoti yeh toh main dekh chuki hoon, Dr. Mallik. Babaji, thank you, aapne mujhe iss idiot ki biwi ban'ne bacha liya," Muskaan looked up and sent a prayer. "Warna mera kya hota?"

"So mean, Muskaan!" Armaan cried.

The girls all laughed while Armaan made faces.

"Lekin phir, Armaan, who's your fiancee?" Diya asked, bringing them back to the original topic.

Riddhima blushed and looked away, making Armaan grin wide. "Right. My fiancee. Mujhe nahi milwana tujhse," he teased.

"Armaan!" Diya exclaimed. "Tum itne annoying kyu bann rahe ho? Stop this useless teasing. Mujhe milna hai toh milna hai, bas."

"Armaan, don't be an a**," Anjali chimed in. "Diya specially tumhaari fiancee se milne aayi haina cause she wasn't at the engagement. Toh milwa dona. Stop playing your stupid games."

"But Anjy…" Armaan whined.

"Shut up, Armaan," she cut him off.

"Anjali ki baat suno, Armaan! She's smart," Diya told him.

"Okay, okay. Fine!" Armaan relented. "No masti."

He turned to Riddhima, who was sitting beside him and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side. "Riddhima is my fiancee," he told Diya, his voice unbearably soft, a very happy smile on his face.

"Oh my gods!! For real?" Diya asked. At Armaan's nod, she squealed and jumped out of her chair to hug Riddhima.

"This is the best news ever!! Aaahhhh! I'm so happy!" Diya exclaimed, hugging Riddhima tightly and then pulling Armaan into the hug as well.

"You know what? Mujhe hamesha pata tha. That you two are perfect for each other," Diya said once they were all seated again. "I'm so glad that you finally decided to date!"

"Ek minute, what do you mean hamesha se pata tha?" Armaan asked.

Diya rolled her eyes. "Of course, Armaan! Tumhe yaad hai, jab tum Kasauli mein the, for medical school, I'd tried to set you up with a friend of mine, who was also studying medicine in Mumbai?"

"That was Basket?" Armaan exclaimed incredulously.

"Basket?" Diya questioned, confused.

"Riddhima," he explained impatiently. "Are you saying you tried to set me up with Riddhima?"

"Haan, Armaan. I tried. Lekin phir tumne kaha you don't want a long distance relationship, and Riddhima ne mujhse kaha ki she wanted to concentrate on studies, toh maine force nahi kiya. But I always knew you would be great together," she replied, all smug and happy.

"Lekin Diya…" Riddhima said, "why me? Main Armaan ki college girlfriends ki tarah bilkul nahi hoon. Tumhe yeh idea aaya bhi kaise?"

"Exactly kyuki tum unki tarah nahi ho, Riddhima," Diya answered. "Tumhe pata haina, college mein Armaan ki sabse lambi relationship was… I don't know, 2 months? He was clearly not happy to be with any of those girls, toh maine socha, if the girl was not anything like them, he'd be in it for the long haul. And dekho! I was right!!"

"I can't believe this," Rahul murmured. "Of course yeh stupid coincidence tum dono ke saath hua."

"I mean, Diya's right," Anjali added. "About everything. Socho, if you two had agreed, you'd have met years earlier."

"I mean… yeah," Armaan agreed reluctantly. He wasn't sure if they'd have made it if they'd tried to be together then. At least now, he knew they were forever. The Armaan from back then might not have appreciated Riddhima. It could have ended extremely badly. Maybe he'd never fall in love with Riddhima and he'd break her heart, not wanting to be tied down. He could have destroyed the best thing that had ever happened to him without thinking twice about it. And then where would he be? A shudder passed through him at the mere thought of a life without Riddhima, a life he was pretty sure would be his reality had he dated Riddhima in college. It was a good thing he'd said no then. He didn't wanna think about those what ifs. He just wanted to concentrate on Riddhima and their life together now.

"But, kya farak padta hai?" Riddhima asked, taking Armaan's hand and squeezing it. "Hum tab mile toh kya hota kya pata? Yeh sab sochke kya faayda? What's important is, ki hum ab mile and everything is great."

Armaan smiled at her gratefully and she nodded her head in understanding. She knew what Armaan was thinking. She was very aware of the kind of person Armaan had been before he'd joined Sanjeevani. He was still the happy-go-lucky, jovial, best friend Armaan that he was today, but he'd also been somewhat of a commitment phobe who enjoyed not having a serious relationship. The timing then might not have been right. She couldn't be certain. Maybe they'd have fallen in love back then too, like they had now, because she firmly believed neither of them had been that different as people back then, but it wasn't worth the risk. They could just as easily have broken up instead as well. Riddhima's scary dedication to her studies, as well as Armaan's own need to perform well, coupled with Riddhima's fears of a relationship and Armaan's commitment phobia thrown in together in a long distance relationship did not seem like a story with a happy ending. She was so happy that they'd not gone down that route. And she was sure Armaan was too. What they had now was perfect, and they didn't need to change it for anything.

"Tu bilkul sahi hai keh rahi hai, Ridz! Ab toh tumhaari shaadi hone wali hai, and woh zyada important hai!" Atul exclaimed. "Iss occasion ke liye mere paas ek gaana hai, gaun? Main gaata hoon, okay?

Aaj mere bhai ki shaadi hai,

Aaj mere bhai ke shaadi hai,

Bhai ki shaadi, bhai ki shaadi,

Mere bhai ki shaadi hai!"

He was joined in soon by an exuberant Muskaan and Nikki, who also pulled in Rahul to dance with them. Armaan laughed at his friends' antics and hugged Riddhima closer to him, who pressed a quick kiss on his neck before settling in.

Atul was right. What was important was that they were together now, and that they were getting married.

______________________

Yay! New chapter!!

Hope you liked it! Just some more cutesy fluff. I've been wanting to introduce some family for both Armaan and Riddhima for so long and we are finally there. With the wedding approaching, I hope to have a few more characters, but let's see how it pans out.

For Diya, I do picture Diya from MJHT to be Armaan's cousin. And that's a fun thing because it opens scope for a DMGxMJHT crossover, though no commitments! It would be fun and I would like to have that possibility, which is why I put this in. If it pans out, yay, if it doesn't, well this is cool in it's own rights, so no regrets!

Anyway, please comment and let me know how you like the new chapter!

Love, Prags