Previously On...
Armaan & Riddhima's reception
Chapter 130
Something was tickling Riddhima's ear, disturbing her slumber. She slapped it away and turned her face, trying to get some more sleep. A moment later, the buzz was back, this time along her arms. "Mmmmm," she moaned in protest. "Sone do na!"
Saying so, she tried to pull the blanket over her head but was unable to. Fed up, she opened her eyes to see Armaan grinning down at her. She glared at him, but that only brightened his smile. "Good morning, Basket!" He greeted her, bending down to press his lips to hers in a quick kiss.
The kiss was meant to be chaste, but as things were, it got heated quickly, Riddhima's arms around Armaan's neck as his tongue made its way into her mouth. He ran his hands along the side of her body, reminding Riddhima of her nakedness. As their bodies pressed closer, she was very aware of the fact that Armaan didn't have any clothes on either.
All their guests had left the morning after the reception, giving them some much deserved privacy. And they'd put it to good use. They'd spent the day at home, away from the entire world. They had kept their phones on in case there was an emergency, but had given strict instructions to everyone to not bother them unless no one else but they could help. Thankfully, their phones had not rang even once in the past twenty or so hours, their friends recognizing their need for time alone for a change. Even Nikki hadn't called.
After getting the house to themselves, they'd spent their time together, watching some cute romcoms in the morning, at Riddhima's demand. They'd cooked together, and then gone to bed after a sumptuous dinner, where they'd finally consummated their relationship in every sense of the word.
Riddhima blushed as she remembered the finer details of the night before. It was even better than she could have ever imagined. Armaan was generous and attentive, making her feel comfortable throughout the whole thing. He'd soothed her pains and had held her close the entire time, not letting her feel anything but ecstacy at what they were doing.
And now, here they were, early in the morning, when Armaan seemingly couldn't get enough and had woken Riddhima up, not that she was complaining, especially now as he kissed her as if she was the most precious thing in the world. She tugged him closer and kissed him back with just as much ardour, wrapping her arms and her legs around him, urging him in. Armaan did not disappoint, understanding her intentions immediately and giving her what she wanted. It did not take long for them to settle into a rhythm slowly becoming familiar to them.
Later, they both showered together, at Armaan's insistence, of course, before dressing for the day. They had plans for breakfast with the rest of the gang at Nikki's place. Armaan had been unnecessarily worried, it seemed. With the birth of the twins, everyone had decided that they needed to gather at Nikki's house to make it easier for her. Since Nikki had brought the twins home, Armaan & Riddhima had visited at least once every day. It was quickly becoming clear that Abhi had been right. Riddhima was the twins' favourite. Whenever they saw her, both siblings would kick their legs excitedly, wanting to be picked up. No matter what Riddhima said about them being too young to recognize people, Armaan was firm on his belief that they recognized her.
As they did the moment they spotted her this morning as well. Nikki rolled her eyes. "Here you go, Riddhima Mami!" She exclaimed, passing Nibha on to her. Riddhima grinned brightly as she hugged the baby close. Abhin whined at not being picked and Armaan laughed, taking him from Alka. "Hey, Mr. Wow! Thoda time apne favourite Mr. Supercool ke saath bhi spend karlo!"
Abhin looked up at him, listening intently. Seemingly satisfied, he dropped his head, to snuggle into Armaan's neck. Armaan patted his back softly, humming a soft tune that put Abhin to sleep within minutes. "Should I put him to bed?" Armaan asked in a whisper sometime later when he was sure that the baby was in deep slumber. Abhi nodded and guided him inside. He was surprised to see Riddhima already there, putting a sleeping Nibha into the cot. He'd been so focused on Abhin that Armaan hadn't realized when Riddhima moved from the living room to the bedroom. When Riddhima looked up, he winked at her, making her roll her eyes. She went back to patting Nibha. Armaan placed Abhin in the cot as well.
They both stepped back a moment later, admiring the sleeping babies. "They're so beautiful," Riddhima whispered lowly. Armaan nodded in agreement, placing a kiss to Riddhima's temple, pulling her close.
When they came back to the living room, Anjali and Rahul had arrived. "Di!" Riddhima exclaimed, rushing to her elder sister and hugging her tight. "Ridzy!!" Anjali cried right back as she returned the hug. Armaan laughed at what was slowly becoming their daily ritual as he took a seat beside Rahul.
"Good morning, Daddu!" Armaan greeted his best friend, who harrumphed in response.
"Abbe, itna attitude kya de raha hai?" Armaan whined.
"Rehne do, Armaan," Anjali came to his rescue. "He had a night shift aur ab seedhe yahaan aaya hai after picking me up on the way."
Armaan hummed thoughtfully and settled back. It niggled in the back of his brain how he hadn't already known that Rahul was on night duty. Before, even when any of them had been on leave, they'd know the others' schedule thanks to the text chain they'd had since their first day of internship. But now, they were growing up, and apparently their friends didn't think to disturb them with these details. He didn't know if that made him happy or sad. But, he had no time to dwell on it as the doorbell rang, signalling the arrival of Atul and Muskaan.
The girls gathered in the kitchen, all offers from the boys to help rejected because they need some girl time. "Arree, hum help kar dete haina," Armaan said. "Waise bhi Nikki should be resting. And Anjy…" He trailed off, scared when Anjali glared at him.
"Oyye, Hero! Chup-chap yahaan baitha reh, samjha? Waise bhi Nikki aur Anjy sirf humein company denge. Main aur Ridzy hi sab arrange karenge."
"Aur kuch zyada nahi karna hai," Nikki assured. "Breakfast toh moms ne already bana diya hai. Bas thoda kuch re-heat wagerah karna hoga aur kuch nahi."
"Fine," Armaan pouted.
"Don't pout," Anjali instructed. "And don't whine. Sab pata hai humein kitchen mein kyu aana hai tujhe."
"Jab pata hai toh aane do na!" Armaan whined louder just to piss Anjali off.
Anjali, Muskaan, and Nikki shouted a loud, "NO!" in tandem, making Armaan jump. He nodded dutifully and stopped talking. The girls ushered a blushing Riddhima inside.
"No excuses this time, Ridzy," Anjali declared as she took a seat at the breakfast island along with Nikki. "Hum sabko pata hai what you and Armaan were doing yesterday and ab toh bas hum teeno hain toh tujhe batana padega!"
Riddhima stuttered and blushed harder if that was possible. "Uh… Woh… Main… Di…"
"Chal na yaar, Ridzy! Humse kya sharmaana?" Muskaan added. "It's just us!"
"Ab tu humein nahi batayegi toh kisse batayegi?" Nikki asked rhetorically. "Itna conscious kyu feel kar rahi hai? I mean… This is normal. It's just s*x. Almost everyone does it!"
"Come on, Ridzy!" Anjali pleaded. "Bata naaaaaaa!"
"Achcha chal itna hi bata de… Did you like it?" Muskaan asked.
"Muskaan!" Riddhima shouted, scandalized.
"Oh, she enjoyed it," Nikki smirked at that. "I knew it," she scoffed. "Yeh kamina Armaan… He gives that vibe, doesn't he?"
"That he'd be great in bed?" Anjali questioned. "Oh, definitely."
"Di…" Riddhima wailed. "Stop it!"
"But we're right, right?" Muskaan asked. "Armaan was great and you had fun!"
"OH MY GOD YES!" Riddhima finally burst out. "YES! Ab khush? Can we please talk about something else?"
"I KNEW IT!" Anjali crowed. "I have been so curious since the day I met him. Now I know."
"Di, that's so creepy. Armaan is practically your brother," Riddhima replied, incensed.
"Practically doesn't mean actually," Anjali replied, shrugging. "And he's my brother-in-law, not brother. But, anyway before that, he's my best friend. And more than anything else, he is very hot. So naturally, I was curious."
"Amen," Muskaan and Nikki chorussed.
"Who do you think is the hottest out of all 4 of them?" Nikki wondered out loud.
"What?" Riddhima asked. "Yeh kaisa sawaal hai?"
"I mean… I thought we just agreed Armaan is super hot?" Muskaan wondered, confused.
"Haan, but… Armaan mein aisa kya hai jo Abhi mein nahi hai? They're actually very similar when you think about it," Anjali replied, giving it some thought.
"Armaan is more good looking," Nikki declared decisively.
"Agreed," the other two nodded.
"But Rahul dresses the hottest," Nikki added.
"Oh, for sure. His wardrobe is better than all of them combined," Anjali replied. "I take tips from him on how to dress. He's very good."
"But being hot is more than just your clothes," Muskaan protested. "Armaan kinda carries that whole two-shirt wardrobe so well. Koi aur hota toh bohot stupid lagta ek saath do shirt pehenke."
"Oh, 100%!" Nikki cried.
"But don't you think Atul is the sweetest? Sweetness is hot," Muskaan stated.
"It is a parameter of hotness," Anjali agreed. "And in that way, Atul is very hot, but also… have you seen how sweet Armaan is to Ridzy? I will melt from the sweetness one day."
"Truer words have not been spoken," Nikki agreed sagely as Riddhima blushed once more.
"So, we agree then?" The girls all looked at each other.
"We agree what?" Riddhima asked, already knowing the answer and dreading it.
"That your husband is the hottest!" Anjali declared. "Keep up, Ridzy!"
"Why are you all so weird? Aise apne friends ko kaun rate karta hai?" Riddhima probed. "And… Agar karte bhi hain, toh aap sabko apne partners se zyada hot kyu lagta hai Armaan?"
"Facts are facts, Ridzy," Nikki explained. "Ab Armaan hai hot toh hai."
"Aur kya," Anjali shrugged. "Just because we're in a relationship doesn't mean we're also blind."
"Waise bhi kaunsa isse kuch badalne wala hai?" Muskaan asked. "Just because we find Armaan hot iska yeh matlab thodi hai ki hum Rahul, Atul, ya Abhi se pyaar nahi karte!"
"Right!" Anjali and Nikki agreed.
"You're all weird," Riddhima repeated, but didn't argue further knowing it would be no use.
She didn't stop thinking about it however. When Armaan was driving them back home, she blurted out, "Do you think Di is hot?"
"What?" Armaan looked at her, startled and confused in equal measure.
"Do you think Di is hot?" She repeated.
"Yeh kaisa sawaal hai?" Armaan fired back.
"Basic sa toh hai. Aisa kya pooch liya maine?" Riddhima questioned.
"But tum pooch kyu rahi ho?" Armaan enquired. Riddhima shrugged, feeling a little hesitant to tell him about the conversation they'd had in the kitchen.
"Basket," Armaan murmured softly. "Kya baat hai?"
"Kuch nahi," she replied, a little too quickly.
"Rightttttt," Armaan drawled. A moment later, he said, "Seriously… Kya baat hai? Aisa kya kaha tumhe Anjy ne ki tum yeh pooch rahi ho?"
Riddhima remained mum, not uttering a word. "Basket," Armaan probed. "Come on! Tumhe pata hai tum mujhe kuch bhi bata sakti ho."
"It's embarrassing," she finally admitted.
"Maine tumhaare saamne kam embarrassing harkatein ki hai kya?" Armaan questioned rhetorically. "I embarrass myself in front of you at least thrice every day."
Riddhima laughed. "That is true!"
"Toh phir… Kya baat hai?" He asked once more.
Sighing, Riddhima told him about how the girls had discussed who they found the hottest amongst their partners and how Armaan had emerged victorious. And then, she added how she found it odd that they would find him hotter than their own partners.
Armaan laughed. "Well of course tumhe koi bhi apne husband se zyada hot nahi lagta, Basket!! Have you met me?"
"Armaan!" Riddhima moaned, whacking his arm, making him laugh.
"Achcha, baba. Sorry!" He apologized. "But… Tum itna kyu soch rahi ho? Dekho ab aisa thodi hai ki ab kuch badal jaayega."
"Haan, but mujhe thoda weird lagta hai!" She insisted.
"Basket, ab tumhe bhi toh Shah Rukh Khan mujhse zyada hot lagta haina," he laughed.
"But that's different," she replied. "He's a celebrity."
"So what you're saying is… there is no reason that he'd ever propose to you, because if he did, you'd leave me for him," he concluded.
"Absolutely," Riddhima answered without batting an eye.
"Wow!" Armaan cried. "Chann se jo toote koi sapna…" He started singing in a purposely off tone key.
"Shut up!" Riddhima threatened. "Mujhe irritate mat karo!"
"But mujhe bohot achcha lagta hai!" Armaan argued.
Riddhima hmphed and looked away. "Whatever."
"Baskettttt," he called after a moment of silence. "Chodo na, yaar. Tumne bhi toh kaha tum mujhe Shah Rukh ke liye chod dogi. Maine kuch kaha kya tumhe?"
"Woh isliye kyuki tum jaante ho main sach mein nahi chodungi. Woh bas kehne ki baat hai," she answered.
"You're right," he agreed. "Toh main bhi toh mazaak hi kar raha tha na!"
"Hmmmm," she hummed but didn't make any other indications that she had "forgiven" him.
"Jaanaaaaaaaa," Armaan sang. "Come on! I love you na! Kyu faltu mein footage kha rahi ho?"
"Main… Main footage kha rahi hoon?" Riddhima questioned. Then, answering it herself, she said, "Haan, haan. Main hi footage kha rahi hoon. Woh bhi faltu mein. Tum kyu mujhe entertain karoge? Rehne do!"
"Mera woh matlab nahi tha!" He exclaimed. "I didn't mean it that way. You know that! Basket, please na. I'm sorry!"
"Mujhe tumse baat karne mein bilkul interest nahi hai," she replied.
"Tum abhi bhi mujhse hi baat kar rahi ho," he replied cheekily.
Riddhima made a face at that and then made a motion of zipping her lips shut. No matter how much Armaan pleaded, she did not talk to him on the entire drive back home. When they reached, he wasted no time in reaching out to her and lifting her up in his arms, catching her unaware.
"ARMAAN!" Riddhima cried, holding onto him for dear life. She glared at him in contempt of his actions, but he just shrugged carelessly.
Once they were inside, he took her straight to their bedroom, setting her down on the bed. Kneeling on the floor in front of her, he played his final card. "Agar tum mujhse baat karogi toh main tumhe yeh bata paunga ki hum honeymoon pe kahaan jaa rahe hain," he said, very casually.
"Excuse me, what?!" Riddhima shrieked.
"Haan… Tumhe jaan'na haina… Main bata sakta hoon. But uske liye tumhe yeh stupid ladayi chodni padegi," he bargained.
"Promise?" She asked.
"Tumhaari kasam," he vowed.
"That was so cheesy, Armaan," she laughed. "But okay. I believe you! Fine… Nahi ladti tumse. Batao na ab!"
"Nahi, pehle prove karo ki ladayi khatam," he demanded.
"Prove… Kaise?" Riddhima asked, confused. Armaan arched a perfect eyebrow at that. As if she didn't know. It didn't take Riddhima even a second to understand what he was saying. Shaking her head fondly, Riddhima surged forward, pulling Armaan into her arms and bringing their mouths together in a passionate kiss.
After a few minutes, they parted for a breath. Armaan buried his head in Riddhima's neck and she opened her eyes to realize that she had somehow fallen flat on the bed with Armaan over her.
Grabbing a fistful of Armaan's hair, Riddhima pulled him back after a moment of silence. "Ab batao," she ordered. "Kahaan jaa rahe hain hum?"
"Sach mein bata doon?" Armaan teased her.
"Ab tum footage mat khao! Tell me!!" Riddhima whined.
"Okay, okay," he agreed. He sat up on the bed and pulled her up too. "Are you ready?" He asked.
"So ready!" She exclaimed. "Bataoooooo!!"
"We're going to…" He drew out. "Drumrolls, please…"
All the time, Riddhima looked at him with wide eyes, her mouth parted in anticipation. She looked so cute. He couldn't help but bend down to press a kiss to the corner of her mouth. Riddhima mewled, using her leverage on his hair to push his face back once more. "Abhi batao!!"
"Amalfi Coast!!" He finally shouted.
"Am— Amal— Amalfi? We're going to Amalfi?" She stammered.
"Yes!" Armaan answered, smiling brightly.
"Armaan, agar yeh tumhaara koi prank hai, toh it's not funny. I swear main abhi divorce le lungi!" Riddhima warned him.
"Pch! Main jhooth kyu bolunga? We're really going there!" Armaan assured.
"Really?" She probed.
"Really, really!" He confirmed. "Tum hamesha se jaana chaahti thi na?"
"HAAN!" Riddhima burst out. "OH MY GOD. THANK YOU, ARMAAN! YOU'RE THE BEST. I LOVE YOU!"
Saying so, she threw herself into his waiting arms and kissed the breath out of him one more time, their laughter echoing through the entire house as she did so. They'd never been happier.
____
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!!
Finally, a new chapter, yay! I'm sorry about the delay. I've been trying to write this for months, but life has been so busy. I've been attending weddings back to back and as a result, the time I'm not at a wedding is very busy at work. I've been working 10-12 hour days at the minimum, along with working weekends too. So, I hope you understand.
Please, please, please let me know if you like this chapter! Also, I'm not a smut writer, so I've skipped that bit but yes, it has finally happened OMFG!
In other news, a very not humble brag about how SRK replied to one of my questions during the #AskSRK session today, so I'm floating on cloud nine!
But, other things aside... Please vote and comment to tell me how you liked this chapter!!
Love, Prags
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