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
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