TheWorld'sOldestStory!!#13|inst2 pg124|07/07/12

Welcome to thread 13 people! Pata nahi aur kitne aise threads honge TWOS!! ke.. It just doesn't end! I don't even have anything to say anymore! 😆 So you have no option but to sit back, relax and enjoy the journey that I'm desperately trying to end! But ho hi nahi raha hai..🤢 Sowwie!

Caught in a Mad Romance

Riddhima was sitting on the floor next to the foot of the bed with her laptop on her lap studying a complicated case that had come to her this morning. And since she had run off to Lonavla with Armaan mid-day, she had had to bring her work home tonight. Armaan had in fact insisted that she go home with him to watch them practice since the next day was a holiday for her. But she had to refuse it thanks to this pending work of hers. Plus she didn't want to spend any time of the evening with Payal.. Just the thought of her boils her blood. She wouldn't have been able to tolerate her in their house for more than a few seconds. And that would have been detrimental to her friends' jamming session.. Already Rahul had been furious with Armaan for being late.. They had reached back at around eight instead of seven, the time at which the rest of them had gathered for practice at Armaan's place. And they would have even reached back by seven had Armaan not been so set on that ice cream date of his. And the little ice cream date got even more extended coz Minnie over heard them talk about it and assumed she was invited. So she made a public announcement of it and ultimately all the kids ended up getting a treat from Armaan. He treated all of them to pizza and ice cream. And the look on his face when he did was something that Riddhima couldn't erase from her head. Of course they had stopped over at a small ice cream thela on their way back for their 'personal' ice cream date. That was when she had asked Armaan what he had been so happy about.. So he had told her how his mom had treated him to pizza and ice cream after his concert.. So he felt the kids deserved it. When she had asked him cheekily why she deserved an ice cream, he had just given her his best dimpled smile and said that he had been wanting to this for the longest time. The indecipherable twinkle in his eye had made her curious, but the joy on his face had distracted her enough to bring the most beautiful smile on her face. She was smiling even just thinking about it.. But then she was snapped out of it by her mom's voice, "Riddhima.. Put that laptop aside for two minutes.. Apna sar seedha rakho na..", Padma, who was sitting on the edge of the bed and oiling her daughter's hair, tugged at the long tresses that were slipping out of her hand as Riddhima kept bending her head to read the text she was reading, "And please take off your chashma.. Beech beech mein aa raha hai..", she requested in a slightly irritated tone.

"Please mamma.. This is important..", Riddhima ignored her mom's request and continued to do just what she was doing!

"Paanch minute mein kucch nahi hoga Riddhima.. Put the laptop aside.. Warna I'll just stop.."

As her mom threatened her, she sighed and reluctantly put the laptop aside and took off her glasses..

"Kitni baar kaha hai, hospital ka kaam ghar mat laya karo.. Tumhare papa ko bhi kehti rehti hoon.. Lekin meri baat toh koi sunta hi nahi hai..", Padma continued to mutter , tilting Riddhima's head backwards, now getting the much wanted access to her scalp as she massaged it expertly.

Riddhima sighed again, this time in defeat, as she tried to look up at her mom in that awkwardly backward position that her head had been tilted in, "Mamma.. I'm sorry.. But aaj main Lonavla gayi thi na.. Toh bas yeh kaam pending reh gaya.. Aur kal fund raiser hai toh kal koi kaam nahi hoga.. That is why I have to do this tonight..", she explained to her mom, whose magical fingers were busy with the oiling. No one did this better than her mom! And since tomorrow was a Sunday, she had all the time in the world to have a long bath and wash the oil off.. The thought of a long lazy warm bath made her smile. But she couldn't dwell on that thought for too long as her mom continued to converse with her, "Aise kaise bina bataaye nikal gayi tum Riddhima.. Ma ko bhi jaana tha.. Par aaj driver free nahi tha.. Tumhare papa poona gaye hue hain.. Agar tum jaanewaali thi toh you should have told us na beta.. Ma ko bhi saath le jaate.."

"Sorry Mamma.. Par everything happened so spontaneously.. Mujhe khud dopahar tak pata nahi tha ki Armaan jaa raha hai.. He just suddenly came up and said he was going.. Toh main bhi uske saath chali gayi.. I had no clue ki naani ko bhi jaana tha.."

"Accha theek hai.. Koi baat nahi.. Waise Riddhima.. Tune Armaan se uss baare mein baat ki.. I mean aaj kal wo ghar hi nahi aata.. So I thought.. ", Padma paused her massaging for a second as she asked Riddhima about the previous conversation she had had with her about Dr. Shashank and his investigative activities.

Riddhima who was enjoying the massage with her eyes closed, opened them slowly as she took in the question her mom had asked.. "Nahi mama.. He's just busy.. That's why he doesn't come.. Wo.. Meri uss se ab tak uss baare mein baat nahi ho paayi..", she replied noncommittally.

"Baat nahi hui ya himmat nahi hui?", Padma read between her daughters' lines perfectly.

Riddhima shut her eyes tight at that, then opened them as she sighed again, "Mamma I don't know.. Mujhe samajh nahi aa raha if I should tell him.. And if I do, I don't know how much I should tell him.. It's so confusing..", she confessed to her mom all her confusion that had her bothered for the last few days.

Padma resumed massaging her scalp gently as she replied calmly to her daughter, "Riddhima ismein samajhne waali kya baat hai beta.. I know I shouldn't interfere in a matter that's between you two.. But it's better you tell him.. Agar usse pata chala ki tumne uss se yeh baat chupayi hai toh usse aur bura lagega.."

Riddhima got her mom's logic, but she didn't completely agree with her opinion, "Mamma it's not that simple.. I mean.. You know.. Mujhe ab sach mein lagne laga hai ki Armaan is getting over his past.. Pata hai.. Aaj usne mujhse apne bachpan ke baare mein itne casually baat ki.. And I'm sure he wasn't pretending mamma.. He was genuinely happy.. And if he's happy, I don't want to unnecessarily bring up things that will hurt him or make him sad.."

From her daughter's troubled tone, Padma realized there was more to the story than what met her eye. And she also realized that she shouldn't be interfering in the matter any more than her husband already had.. So she decided to let it go.. "Theek hai Riddhima.. Tumhe jo theek lage wo karo.. Ultimately what matters is your happiness.. Both your happiness.. But sach kahun toh I don't know tum kab tak uss se yeh baat chupa paaogi.. He knows you well beta.. He'll realize it sooner or later.. Just be careful that this doesn't create a rift between you two.."

Riddhima nodded at her mom's advice, but her mind vehemently stood up against it. If it was for Armaan's happiness then she'd find a way to keep it from him. That much she was sure.. But first she had to make the decision whether it was right to tell him about it or not..

And almost as a sign from the universe, her phone started to buzz at precisely that moment, displaying Armaan's picture on the wide screen.. The time on the top right corner of her phone read 11:03 PM. About time.. It had become kind of a routine for them to talk on the phone after eleven every night. Today was no different. Well it was.. Her mom was sitting right behind her.. Cutting Armaan's call, she turned to her mom quickly, "Mamma.. Enough abhi.. Bohot acche se oiling ho gayi.. Thank you so much!! Ab aap jaao.. Araam se so jaao.."

"Haan haan.. Of course.. Armaan se baat karni hai toh ab meri kya zaroorat hai..", Padma mom faked hurt as she shook her head in mock defeat while Riddhima bit her tongue, blushing in embarrassment at being caught on spot!.. She hadn't missed Armaan's picture on the wide screen of her daughter's smart phone. She could only chuckle at the fact that even after everything that had happened, Riddhima still couldn't talk to Armaan in front of her. But then she also understood her daughters' need for privacy.. She wasn't a fool to intrude on the late night conversations of a couple as crazily in love as them.. It would only be too embarrassing for her.. Shutting the cap of the oil bottle tight, she kissed a blushing Riddhima's forehead softly, and trudged out of the room..

"Basket why did you cut my call!", was Armaan's first sentence when Riddhima called him back as soon as her mom had stepped out of her room.

"Mamma was there Armaan.. Sorry.."

"Toh why did you have to cut.. I wanted to talk to her!"

"So why don't you just call her?"

"I will call her.. But later.. Maine tumhe iss liye phone kiya tha ki I wont be able to talk to you tonight.. ", Riddhima's brows raised in surprise as he informed her of that, "Kyun?", she asked him, frowning, not liking what he had said.

"Coz Rahul's just realized that we don't know anything for tomorrow's performance.. Suddenly, everything we play is bullshit.. So Hitler's making us practice.. And he plans to do it all night..", Armaan spoke in an exasperated tone that told Riddhima he'd rather talk to her all night than do what he was supposed to.. That kinda erased the frown on her face, "What? Why don't you guys practice tomorrow.. During the day.. I mean.. Fund raiser toh shaam ko hai na..", she suggested to him.. But Armaan had a ready reply to that, "No we cant.. Coz Rahul is going for that painting competition..".. There was a painting competition organized for the staff on the day of the fund raiser so the paintings could be auctioned in the evening.. And Rahul was planning to participate.

Riddhima found this information extremely interesting.. "Rahul paints?", she asked him, her voice laced with mild surprise. She didn't know Rahul painted!

"Yeah.. He does.. I'm sure his painting will get the highest bid at the auction tomorrow..", Armaan told her, very sure of his friend's abilities with a canvas and a brush. Rahul had always been good at painting since school. He would always win those drawing competitions etc and always get an A grade in art class. On the other hand, Armaan would barely manage to pass the drawing exams. In fact when he had been studying for his medical entrance, his biology teacher had told him he'd never make it as a doctor if he couldn't draw a diagram of the human heart.. He needed to pay that teacher a visit now.. What was his name? Mr. Chaurasiya!

While Armaan was gloating to himself at showing his biology teacher his place, Riddhima had been busy being impressed by a very multitalented Rahul, "Wow! Rahul is so interesting na.. He paints.. He sings.. He plays the guitar.. You had also told me he writes na..", and the awe and admiration in Riddhima's voice for Raool brought Armaan back down to earth with a thud, "Yeah.. Li'l bit..", he reluctantly answered.. Then said in a very seemingly nonchalant tone, "Waise even I play the guitar.. And I can try singing.. And I'm sure if I try I could paint.. I don't think it's that difficult.."

Riddhima smiled as she heard the jealousy loud and clear in her silly fiancee's voice, "Armaan.. Don't be jealous.. I'm not falling for Rahul or anything.. ", she told him teasingly, giggling at his stupidity. Guys were so silly.. Like seriously..

And Armaan immediately brushed away that insinuation at once, "Pssht!! Puhlease!! I'm not jealous.. Not of Raaool!! Mera bhi koi standard hai.."

But his overtly supercilious remarks gave him away, making Riddhima giggle even as she reprimanded him, "Armaan stop being so mean.. And by the way I do find Rahul interesting.. Mujhe pata nahi tha wo itna talented hai.. Muskaan is so lucky.. I've heard these artsy type of people are really romantic..", she commented off-handishly, but at the same time aiming to trouble Armaan a little. He had troubled her all day. Now when she had a chance to bug him, she wasn't going to let it go..

And she hit her target spot on, "Oh please.. Where have you heard this bullshit Basket! You don't have to be artsy to be romantic!", Armaan's irritated refutation at her claim came at once..

Grinning to herself in victory Riddhima tried to ignore his arguments, "Armaan it's a general belief.. And what is your problem if Rahul is romantic.. Good for Muski na.. Everyone is not the same.. Everyone cant be a Romeo.. You know..", she put in casually with a hint of a taunt.. It was enough for Armaan to pick up.. Just what she was aiming for, "Please.. I don't even want to be a Romeo..", he defiantly muttered into the phone, clearly bothered that she was implying he wasn't her Romeo.. How dare she!

"We're not even talking about you Armaan!"

"No.. I know.. I know we're not talking about me.. But mujhe lagta hai tum yeh kehne ki koshish kar rahi ho ki I'm not romantic.."

"Armaan maine yeh kab kaha! Aur agar kaha bhi hota toh it wouldn't really be wrong..", Riddhima just couldn't resist the urge to take this to the next level.. It was payback time! If she could, she would have done the evil laugh in her head.. But she couldn't.. So she let it be..

Armaan however was flabbergasted with her comment! He was so troubled that he almost shouted when he understood what she meant, "Kya! Kya matlab.. You think I'm not romantic?!"

And that was Riddhima's jackpot.. She couldn't have asked for a better set up, "If romance meant cracking sad jokes and irritating your girlfriend instead of writing poems and singing ballads for her then I would definitely call you a romantic Armaan..", she took a sarcastic gibe at him, biting the tip of her tongue at her own cheek!

But Armaan was fuming.. It wasn't funny.. No it wasn't!, "Very funny Basket.. Hahahahaa.. Very funny!! And anyway.. Romance can't be one sided.. It goes both ways.. Whenever I say something romantic you call it filmy and brush it away as bullshit!! What am I supposed to do!"

Riddhima rolled her eyes at his lame defense as she continued to enjoy her torture tactics, "It's not what you say Armaan.. It's how you say it..", she almost explained to him in a very teacher-like tone..

"It's how you say it..", Armaan did a very irritated mock imitation of her in his frustrated state, still unable to believe she found him unromantic! What was a guy to do!!

Riddhima sniggered silently as she heard him.. Ha! It was so much fun this other way round.. "Armaan tum chid kyun rahe ho..", she asked him, pretending to be innocently ignorant about his exasperated state of mind.. Then added with a sigh, "Accha forget.. Tum jao practice karo.. Mujhe kaam hai.."

"Mujhe kaam hai..", again Armaan imitated her words mockingly.. And this time she sternly stood up to him, "Armaan I don't talk like that.. And now I have work.. So please.. Spare me! I'll see you tomorrow.."

"I'm going.. I'm going.. You keep asking me to go all the time.. How am I supposed to act romantic!", he exclaimed defiantly as she hurried him to cut the call..

"Armaan will you please let that go now.. I was just pulling your leg.."

"I was just pulling your leg..", another high-pitched irritating Riddhima-imitation from Armaan and she really got furious this time, "Armaan enough.. Stop acting like a kid.."

"Armaan.. Rahul's calling you.. And your coffee's getting cold..", had Payal's voice not interrupted their conversation, Armaan would have gone on an done another mock imitation of 'Stop acting like a kid' too.. Thankfully, his attention was diverted by his intern. "Yeah I'll join you in a minute..", he told her over his shoulder, then turned back to the French doors that led to the garden.. He had been standing there at the other end of his living room so he could talk to her without being disturbed..

"Basket.. I'm letting it go right now only coz if I don't, Rahul will murder me.. So bye.. See ya tomorrow.. Good night..", he told her matter-of-factly as he continued to frown at the conversation they had been having before his stupid intern interrupted them. But before he could cut the call, Riddhima stopped him, "Armaan!.. Was that Payal?", she asked him, her tone extremely indifferent.

Armaan raised his brows, second-guessing the carefully put up calm tones that she was enquiring about the much hated Dr. Payal in, "Yes Basket.. That was Payal..", he answered her, crinkling his nose naughtily at the thought of her getting jealous. It was amazing how it worked every time on her.. But her next question threw him off a little, "Did she make coffee in my kitchen?" Wow! Basket had sharp ears.. Even he had not paid much attention to what Payal had said about the coffee and Riddhima had heard it from miles apart.. And this time, her tone wasn't sounding very calm.. So he decided to answer this one with caution.. He didn't want to trouble her with the Payal issue.. Too much time had been wasted on it already.. So he just made up something like, "Uh.. Yeah.. Nikki and Rohan also helped her.. Kyun?"

For almost half a minute Riddhima didn't say anything.. Then put on her best casual tone and brushed off his question with a, "Nahi kucch nahi.."

Armaan smiled at her attempts at acting cool with this.. He couldn't believe she had a problem with Payal entering 'her' kitchen to make coffee.. Women! "Accha Basket.. I gotto go now.. Rahul will really get pissed with me..", he told her as he heard Rahul scream his name from the other end of the living room..

"Yeah okay..", she replied, absent-mindedly, her blood starting to boil at the idea of Payal trying to make herself home.. At their home!! She could hear that in her voice as she had called Armaan.. Her tone was so confidently authoritative.. She didn't like the casual relationship that they shared outside the hospital.. She didn't like it one bit!!

Armaan on the other hand felt bad that Riddhima was troubled by thoughts that she wasn't supposed to be troubled by.. What was wrong with using a kitchen to make coffee! "Basket.. Don't think so much.. We're really practicing.. And as far as I can see, if I don't end this conversation now, I'll have to practice till the sun comes up.. So please.. Tum araam se so jao.. Just finish your work and sleep okay.. Dimaag mat lagao.."

But Riddhima wasn't listening to all that bullshit.. Just one thought took seed in her mind, and she blurted it out as soon as that thought occurred to her, "So wait a minute Armaan.. That means Payal bhi aaj raat bhar humare ghar rahegi?", she asked Armaan, though she knew what his answer was going to be.. How had she missed it earlier!!

Armaan took his time to answer this one carefully, "Uh.. Haan.. Kyun?", he asked cautiously, hoping she wouldn't ask him to throw Payal out of the house or something..

Thankfully, his Basket wasn't that unreasonable, "Nahi.. Kucch nahi..", she answered, trying to act nonchalant again..

"Are you sure Basket?..", he asked her cautiously again.

But Riddhima just replied with a noncommittal, "hmmm.."

Armaan sighed at that answer.. But then his thoughts were drowned by Rahul's loud 'abe saale kameene phone rakh na' and he had no choice but to say, "Okay then.. Bye!"

"Bye..", Riddhima answered back absent-mindedly, her mind still on thoughts from a few minutes ago..

Armaan knew that.. But he knew he couldn't do anything about it at the moment.. So he just said, "I love you.."

But Riddhima came back with just a, "Hmmm.."

"Basket.. Maine kaha I love you..", he said a little louder this time, snapping Riddhima out of her thoughts, "Haan maine suna Armaan.. I love you too..", she almost shouted back in irritation, making Armaan chuckle, "Okay.. So.. Bye.."

"Bye.."

"Good night.."

"Armaan! Rahul's getting impatient.. Please hurry up..", Payal's voice interrupted them again from behind him and much to Riddhima's chagrin right before she could say her good night.. On the other hand Rahul was screaming profanities on the top of his voice now.. Alarmed by Rahul's impatience, Armaan hurriedly ended the conversation with Riddhima, with a, "Basket I really have to go now.. Bye.."

"Yeah.. Bye!", but before she could say that, he had started screaming, "Aa raha hoon yaar Raaoool!! Dimaag mat kharaab kar saale!", and then the line went dead.. Riddhima thought about what just happened for a moment, her face expressionless.. Then twitched her nose.. shut her eyes tight.. ran her hand through her hair.. Frowned when she realized it was oily.. Then got up from the floor and stormed straight into her bathroom!! Her head was too hot right now! She needed to cool it down first.. Then she'd go look for a few murder weapons!!

Riddhima barged into the house first thing next morning.. She had woken up early.. More like hadn't slept at all last night! All she could think of was what that Payal could have been up to.. She had tried distracting herself in a million different ways but couldn't .. But there was just one thought circling her mind.. Payal was spending the night at her house with Armaan!! And she had had the nerve to make coffee in her kitchen!!! Bicth!! And that was not the only invective she wanted to use! But more than that, she wanted to go there and make sure Ms. Payal doesn't take advantage of her Armaan in her absence! But if she went there she would definitely disrupt their so called practice. And she had promised Armaan she wouldn't let her hatred for Payal become a pain for him! So she had avoided giving into the temptation of going to check on him that night.. Besides it would have been a pain convincing her mom! They had just patched things up on that front.. And this didn't seem like a do-or-die situation.. To Riddhima it definitely was.. But for her mom.. Hardly! However, the moment her alarm had beeped at six in the morning, she hadn't wasted time getting ready and driving to Armaan's.. Very dramatically she pushed the main door of the house open after unlocking it with her key, like she was expecting to find something extremely scandalizing in there.. But when she stepped in, she found the living room deserted! Of human life that is.. It looked kinda empty due to the lack of furniture.. But the evidence of the jamming session was borne by the guitars and papers that were lying around the place.. A drum set was also there, standing smartly by one of the walls.. But what distracted her most was the condition of her house.. There were cans of coke and used mugs of coffee lying around the place.. The power cords of all the apparently cool musical instruments had created a mesh of wires on the floor as they ran from one instrument to the amps to the switchboards.. All in all the room was a mess and needed immediate cleaning! She didn't even want to imagine what the rest of the house looked like if the living room looked like this.. She had stayed away from here for a few days and this place had started looking like the bachelor pad of a junkie rocker! If this were a movie, she'd probably find cigarette butts and half opened packets of weed lying around.. Thankfully the rock-stars that she knew of were doctors by profession and knew better than to indulge in such activities! But that didn't take away the fact that they had ruined her home! She was so disturbed by the mess that it even drove out all thoughts of Payal from her mind..

"Dr. Riddhima? Hi.. Uh.. Aap yahan.. I mean..", a gruff sleepy voice disrupted her train of thought. It was coming from the entrance of one of Armaan's out-of-use rooms and it sounded rasp and sleepy.. When she turned to look who it belonged to, she found Rohan, one of the interns she knew from Sanjeevni, looking like he was trying to figure out if she was for real or just a part of his dream!

"Good morning Dr. Rohan! How are you?", she didn't know what else to say to him. It was definitely awkward interacting with him in such a personal setting.. Especially when his hair was standing up from every direction possible and his shirt was half unbuttoned, his low rise denims almost falling off his hip!

Rohan, whose sleep had been broken by a loud noise of the door that Riddhima had dramatically blasted open, became alert as he realized his senior was actually standing in front of him, "Mor.. Morning.. I'm sorry.. Good morning.. Ma'am..", his eyes widening in horror as an involuntary yawn interrupted his greeting.. He apologized quickly for that and wished her again, this time trying to fix his hair.. But that only made his shirt ride up and his pant slip a little more making Riddhima's eyes go wide in horror.. She just winced, making a face as she strode towards Armaan's bedroom.. Was there any point in trying to have a conversation with the intern at the moment! Frowning at the inappropriateness of everything that was going on in her house behind her back, she barged her way into Armaan's room too.. All of it looked like an invasion of her private haven to her and she didn't like it one bit! But her irritation faded away the moment her eyes met the sight of Armaan sprawled on the bed, his arms and legs all over the place, his blanket on the floor, as he slept sound with his mouth slightly open and half a smile on his lips.. He was still wearing the clothes from last night, clearly not having bothered to change.. The picture just made her involuntarily giggle.. But she checked herself immediately, not wanting to wake him up.. Now that she thought about it, Rahul had probably made them practice till early this morning.. She didn't want to wake him up early.. Besides she was just tempted to watch him sleep.. It had been so long since she had done that.. She tiptoed her way to the bed, picking up the blanket from the floor on her way and sat next to him carefully, trying her best to not make any noise. When she had tucked him in and settled next to him she caressed his face lightly, stifling another giggle at the expression on his face. It looked even more cutely funny up close. Her baby was shuch a cutie pie! Grinning at the reaction she would get from him if he ever read her thoughts, she ran a loving hand lightly through his hair. He turned in his sleep to face her as he felt her touch, his hand finding her waist instantly as he circled his arm around it and moved closer to her sub-consciously.. This time Riddhima couldn't stifle her giggle.. Nor could she stop herself from bending over and placing her lips on his in a light soft peck.. Not surprisingly, he smiled sleepily as he felt her kiss him and pulled her even closer.. But since she was sitting he couldn't quite manage what he was trying to achieve.. Riddhima smiled, biting her lip as she fought another burst of giggles, and slid his head up on her lap.. And he adapted to the change in position almost as if he'd been waiting for it, burying his face in her stomach while his arms encircled her waist possessively..

A shiver ran down Riddhima's spine the moment she felt his breath kissing her waist as the hosiery racer she'd worn on top of her denims had ridden up unknowingly while she was busy adoring and cuddling Armaan. But then in a moment he had buried his face right into her waist and she couldn't help but pull him closer, folding her legs a little so she could bend over and place a tight kiss in his hair..

"MMM...", Armaan's protesting moan came instantly as all the movement broke his sleep, "Basket yaar..", he whined in a hoarse rasp whisper, making Riddhima giggle as she refused to put her legs down on purpose, holding his head at a weird angle in her lap.. Mad at her for disturbing him, he dug his teeth right into her soft tummy deep enough to make her go, "Oww! Armaan!!! You idiot!!", as she rapped the back of his head hard, scowling as he took that opportunity to push her legs straight down with his weight and make himself comfortable enough to continue his slumber!

Riddhima's scowl turned into an almost shy smile as she felt his lips turn up in a naughty one on her waist.. "Armaan utho na..", she requested, but threaded her fingers in his hair, caressing his scalp with one hand while the other patted him to sleep..

Very predictably, Armaan shook his head in a no and just pulled her closer as he continued to sleep.. It seemed like ages that he had held her and slept peacefully.. It felt like he was home after a long, really long day..

Riddhima crinkled her nose at his response, even as she giggled when his nodding tickled her.. "Bohot late soye?", she asked him, knowing this was going to be another non-syllabic answer.. Armaan nodded his head somnolently, trying to block her voice as his sleep networks overtook the other obvious romantic ones that were lurking under somewhere.. Basket was home after so long.. Upar se she was in his room, on his bed! And still.. All he could crave for was some sleep..

Riddhima however was finding this whole one-side-mute conversation extremely amusing.. She chuckled softly as she continued throwing questions at him, "Kitne baje soye Armaan..", she asked him like she was asking a little kid.. And the kid gave a very appropriate response, putting up a hand and showing her all five fingers, his face still buried in her waist.. That not only made Riddhima laugh but also bend over and place another affectionate kiss on his earlobe, then nuzzled it as she teased him affectionately.. "Kitne cute ho pata hai.. Kitne.. Kitne cute ho.."

But "MMM...", and this time his moan of protest was longer and more whiny than ever.. He really needed to get some sleep!!

So Riddhima decided to take some pity and let him sleep for some time.. "Accha theek hai.. Ab main tumhe disturb nahi karti..", she promised as she leaned back against the bedpost and continued to run her fingers in his hair.. Smiling a satisfactory smile, she just watched him sleep, feeling every breath of his as it made her skin tingle.. It felt so much like a dream all this.. Not like this was the first time she was with him.. But the last few weeks had been irritatingly loud and messy.. Here, she felt the peace and quiet that she was unknowingly craving for.. It brought that feeling of wanting to be in this place forever and ever.. Nothing else mattered much when he was close to her.. Nothing at all.. Not even the reason that had brought her here in the first place.. That stupid Payal.. No.. Payal wasn't stupid.. She was stupid.. She should have come here for Armaan.. Not coz of some idiotic intern who was crushing on him.. But anywho.. She should thank Payal for making her come here.. Whatever the bahana, at least she was getting to spend a few moments with him.. After that night at their cottage, such moment had come far and few.. In fact, even that one had been followed by a huge hungama.. Thankfully all that was over now.. But another tension had taken over her now.. She recollected what her mom had told her last night.. It was better to tell him about her papa's investigative activities in his past than let him get to know it from some other source at another time.. She'd be called the liar in that case.. But then the flipside to the situation was, that so much drama had happened in their life lately, she just didn't want to bring another one.. Her life had become like that hindi proverb - aasmaan se tapke khajur mein atke.. She had just about sorted things with her di and her mom when she was attacked by this new bomb! What was she to do!! But whatever she had to do, she'd do only tomorrow.. Her friends and Armaan had practiced a lot for this performance and she didn't want to spoil it by spoiling Armaan's mood.. As far as she knew him, the news would upset him.. And he'd probably take off for a long drive on his bike or in his car and not turn up for the concert at all.. That she didn't want.. So maybe she'd do it after the concert.. Or tomorrow.. Or day after.. If she had a way she'd love not to deal with it.. Dealing with Armaan's past was one of the toughest things she'd ever done in life.. Even tougher than her medical entrance exams!! That was saying something..

"Main kya karun Armaan.. I just don't understand?", she sighed, whispering her confusion out loud, as she pulled him closer..

Armaan however did nothing to clear her confusion, answering her in a somnolent, "Hmmm..."

That made her chuckle as she shook her head in defeat at her sleepy little cutie pie.. He was sleeping so peacefully, not a shadow of tension on his mind.. That's what she wanted.. She didn't want him to burden him with all that.. So why was she giving this so much thought.. Just forget the whole damn thing.. She'd personally give standing instructions to her dad not to ever mention it to Armaan.. And her mom had already promised she wouldn't.. Ho gaya! She had made her decision.. She could see the happiness his eyes, even yesterday when he told her about his mom.. Like she had told her mom, she actually felt like he was over all that pain now.. She didn't want to bring it back.. She just wanted to enjoy life with him now.. Like the bizzare and impromptu ice cream date of theirs! Or the phone conversation that they had last night.. He sounded so cute when he was jealous.. And she had even dared to call him unromantic.. Even weirder, he'd actually taken it seriously! She didn't want this tension about his past to loom over these little moments of their life.. That was exactly why he wanted to keep his past out of their life.. Then why was she trying to bring it in.. He was happy right now.. Doing all the things he likes to do, surrounded by everyone who loved him and cared for him.. Life right now was a joyride for him that he had always wished to get on.. Now she didn't want to be the one applying the brakes to it! She needed to forget what her papa had found out.. She needed to forget he had even attempted to find.. To keep the smile up on his face, she was sure she could pull this one off.. She could do this much for him.. She would do it for him! Having made that decision, she smiled again, ruffling his hair as she did.. She felt really light now, like a burden was off her head.. With that decision she also had to make sure that she didn't push him away anymore.. It wasn't nice trying to run away from him.. It was nice when he was around.. Besides, she was looking at it all wrong all this while.. She thought she'd blurt out the truth to him by being around him.. But actually, more often that not, he made her forget her very existence.. So a few more such moment with him would surely make forget everything that ever had her worried.. Smiling at that thought, she pulled him out a little, combing back the hair that was falling on his forehead, and placed a warm soft kiss on his forehead.. She let her lips linger for a while.. But then Armaan got all irritated with her and forced his face back to the most comfortable position there was..

Riddhima giggled again, unable to get over the cuteness of it all, "Armaan utho na.. Mujhe bore ho raha hai..", she told him through her giggles.. This time he just chose to ignore her.. Either that or he was really sleeping so sound that he didn't hear her at all..

Riddhima rolled her eyes at the lack of response.. She wanted to shake him up! But then the softer side of her heart felt bad for him.. He had been working pretty hard lately and hardly got much sleep.. He really needed this snooze time.. But then she was really bored.. She had not slept for most of the night.. But that was by choice.. Even now there were so many thoughts swarming her mind, that she didn't feel like sleeping.. She felt that feeling of having finished with the last exam.. How much ever you try to sleep after the last exam, it doesn't come.. So she looked around for other sources of entertainment.. Spotting her phone lying on the side table, she checked if anyone had called.. Thankfully there were no emergencies, nor had her mom tried calling her.. Her papa for some reason had been too busy to notice what she has been upto lately.. Naani barely ever called on her cell phone.. Her Di must be busy preparing for the fund raiser tonight.. Or maybe not.. It was too early.. Rahul and Nikki were asleep somewhere in this house itself.. There was no chance they were likely to wake up for the next couple of hours.. She hoped the stupid interns had left her house by now.. If they hadn't, she wished they would leave soon! Before she has to interact with them! Especially that idiotic Payal.. She didn't want to create a scene early in the morning! Frowning at that thought, she started to look for another source of entertainment.. Unfortunately Armaan didn't have a TV in his room.. Oh.. But what was that.. Lying on the other side of the bed, was Armaan's laptop.. She had not seen it early, what with being preoccupied by the sight of its uber cute owner.. He had probably been using it before going to sleep.. Coz the screen wasn't shut and its fan was on full blast having been kept on for a few hours too many.. She reached one hand towards it and finally managed to reach it with difficulty.. Pulling it towards her, she sighed.. She could check her mail or browse through facebook till Armaan woke up.. Her online social networking was dead as far as the last year was concerned.. She barely signed into her account once in two months.. She was otherwise always occupied with one thing or another.. What else could she expect with Armaan being a part of her life.. Chuckling silently at that thought, she fingered the touchpad to get the blank screen to life.. And oh! It was already displaying an open tab of the web browser.. It looked like Armaan had fallen asleep in the middle of a browsing session.. She peered in closer to get a good view and her eyes went wide in stunned surprise when she saw what he had been browsing!

It took exactly two seconds for the surprise to settle as uncontrollable laughter bubbled inside her at what she saw. It was a google document created by him that was titled 'The Most Romantic Things to do with your Girlfriend - Where did I go wrong?'

1. Bring her flowers - check! white orchids! The day before going to Singapore with her.. Now those were fun times!
2. Candlelight dinner- check! dinner after the not-so-romantic first confession!
3. Write a Love letter - check! Shanky papa found it!! x-(
4. Take her to a Movie - check! How can I forget Shiela ki Jawaani! :P
5. Cook for her - check! Do it all the time!
6. Paint her a portrait - damn! Seekhna padega..
7. Dance in the rain - check! Lonavla! I love that one! Unhooked her 'item' for the first time! :P
8. Hold hands - check! I'm sure we've done that!!
9. Give her a piggy-back ride when she's tired of walking - Is Basket every tired of doing anything? I'll keep an eye out for an opportunity!
10. Write poetry - uh oh! But I'll definitely write one by tomorrow!
11. Random gifts - need to improve in this area!
12. Kiss her - check! I cant get enough! :P
13. Make out - check! Again.. I wish I didn't have to stop! But still stuck on Base 2! That's a little sad considering it's going to be one year next week! :|
14. Make love - I wish I had that kind of luck!
15. Tell her she looks pretty everyday and mean it - But Basket always looks pretty! Ismein bataane waali kya baat hai!?
16. Love notes - check! Leave them in her locker all the time!
17. Buy Ring - check! First thing I ever did! Kinda freaked her out! :|
18. Sing to her - Really? Am I in a bollywood movie! 8-|
19. Hold her around her hips - check! Favorite spot to hold! Any day! ;-)
20. Dance together - perform or random dance?! Oh.. We had danced at Atul and Anjie's wedding! But that was after she had slapped me! x-(
21. Make excuses to call her every 5 minutes - I'd love to! Basket would kill me though! "Armaan tumhari problem kya hai?!" or "Armaan ek aur baar phone kiya toh I'll ban kissing!! For life!!" x-(
22. Be Prince Charming to her parents - check! Padma mom loves me! Shanky papa is Shanky papa.. No comments! >:P
23. Brush her hair out of her face for her - check! Love to do that.. :)
24. Hang out with her friends - check! Kameene kabab mein haddis! Peecha kaha chodte hain! >:P
25. Dedicate songs to her on the radio - Does Basket listen to the radio?? :-/
26. Never forget the goodnight kiss - check! Never ever ever!!
27. Learn to say I love you in foreign languages - I don|

And the cursor was left blinking at that point.. Armaan had apparently fallen asleep before typing in his comment.. The list looked like he had probably copied from that random website which she found open on an adjacent tab.. But he had added his own comments next to each romantic item on the list.. It was like he was assessing himself at how romantic he was! As crazy as that sounded, she wasn't surprised much! But all the same it was the most hilarious thing she had come across in a long time now! What had started of as silent giggles had now become violent bursts of laughter as she ruffled his hair instinctively, even as she re-read the whole list one more time.. She really couldn't decide whether this was cute or funny! One thing was for sure.. Her stomach was going to hurt coz of the incontrollable laughing.. Why it had already started hurting! Owww!!

Armaan frowned as he felt Riddhima shake uncontrollably with what definitely was laughter. Coz he could definitely hear the sound of her laughing.. He couldn't mistake that crazy loud guffaw that she couldn't seem to stop.. It happened rarely on occasions when she laughed openly and dill khol ke! He loved to see that side of her. It was the best sight in the world.. And he wouldn't mind making her laugh like that all his life to hear that happiness bubbling in her voice. But right now, his subconscious was trying to block it. He just wanted to sleep! But heck! Riddhima didn't stop laughing and his conscious overruled it's 'sub'-ordinate to finally look up and find out what was making her laugh like a maniac!

"Basket.. What are you doing..", he asked her in his sleepy rasp voice as he squinted at her through one eye, rubbing the other one sleepily as he sat up reluctantly..

But Riddhima was so preoccupied with laughing that she couldn't bring herself to say what she had been laughing at.. So she just pointed at his laptop that was next to her and continued to laugh crazy, "Aaah.. Mamma! My stomach hurts.. I cant stop!!.. Laughing.. Aah..", and there she burst into another fit of mellifluous guffaws..

A confused Armaan didn't know where to look.. At the way she was laughing or at what she was pointing.. The sight of hers was pretty distracting.. Watching her laugh brought that dreamy smile on his face.. Oh she was adorable.. But then he just chanced a glance at the direction of her pointed forefinger for the sake of curiosity.. He had to thank whatever it was for giving him this sight early in the morning.. It was going to be such a wonderful day! Sigh! Only that sigh was followed by a "What the fcuk!!! Basket!!", he shouted his lungs out, wide awake the moment his slow brain processed the situation and finally realized WHAT was making her laugh so much!!!

The shocked and betrayed expression on his face only made Riddhima burst into another fit of giggles as Armaan dived to snatch the laptop away from her, frantically trying to shut it down as his face slowly turned crimson in embarrassment..

"Relax Armaan.. No point shutting it down.. Jo dekhna tha wo..", and she burst out laughing again, gesturing with her hand that she'd seen what she had to since her vocal cords were busy in another activity..

But Armaan didn't find it funny at all! He was mad! Really really mad!! "You weren't supposed to read that Basket!!", he told her angrily through clenched teeth as he turned his head to glare her down!

But that definitely didn't have the effect he desired.. Leaning back on the bed post for support, Riddhima just cruelly continued to laugh, at one point even pointing her finger, at an extremely irate Armaan who was now red with anger more than embarrassment! He couldn't believe she had done that!!! It wasn't supposed to be read by her! He wanted to go die somewhere! He'd never been more embarrassed in his life!!! He'd never ever been this embarrassed in front of her at least! He wanted to disappear from her sight.. Or wake up to find this was a nightmare! So when he felt her arms go around his waist as she hugged him from behind, it only deepened his scowl at the sense of realization of how real this was and how there was no escape! What worsened the whole thing was that he could feel her shake with the silent fit of giggles that she was trying hard to stifle!

"Riddhima please.. Just go find someone else to torture..", he told her, almost rudely, making her snort as she tried hard not to burst out laughing again..

"Sor.. Sorry..", she managed, placing her head on his shoulder as she placed a small kiss at the crook of his neck lovingly, even as she continued to laugh..

But that irritated him more than he already was, "Tch.. Please yaar Riddhima!", he raised his voice in exasperation as he tried to force his way out of her hold.. He was mad.. Real mad at her!! Firstly, the fact that she didn't think he was romantic had kept his mind occupied throughout the jamming session and led him to do such a foolish thing.. First he had just stubbornly refused to believe he was unromantic.. But then he wondered if he really wasn't as romantic as he thought he was.. When the thought wouldn't let him sleep, he turned to everybody's best friend - GOOGLE! Then one thing led to another and there he was making a list of all things romantic.. He had taken care to make an online document that would be protected by his e-mail account so there was no chance in hell anyone could ever access it! He couldn't risk having it on his hard drive.. This evaluation was meant for his benefit only and was meant to go to the grave with him! But Riddhima reading it was the last thing he had imagined when he had been writing his silly comments!! God!! What was he going to do now..

"Basket just let me go!!", he demanded his release as Riddhima kept holding onto him tight, lest he escape from her hold.. He couldn't get out of this so easily.. And she had not even started teasing him! But she just couldn't stop laughing.. Dammit! But she didn't need words to irritate him.. She had other ways and means.. Putting her plans into immediate action she pulled his cheek with one hand still holding him tight with another as she managed a, "Your cho cuuuteee!!", between her fit of giggles.. At that, Armaan's brows came together in a frown that she had never seen on him before as he tried to force her hand away from his face.. Poor guy was so troubled.. But she just couldn't stop laughing!

"Riddhima enough yaar now! It's not that funny!! Let me go..", he shouted exasperatedly, still trying to get rid of her.

But his reluctance and obvious embarrassment just encouraged Riddhima to trouble him further, "Maybe.. Maybe you should read it again Armaan.. It's hilarious!!!!!", she teased him between her laughs, holding him tight as he tried to get away..

"Ha ha ha ha.. Very funny!! Now please get off me!", he demanded angrily, his scowl worth a million dollars!

"Gussa kyun ho rahe ho Armaan.. Now that's definitely not romantic!", she teased him, refusing to let him go..

"Riddhima hato yaar.. Don't irritate me..", but Riddhima continued to do just that, giggling as she attempted to pull his cheek affectionately again..

"Basket..", he seethed in a low threatening voice through clenched teeth, glaring at her as he half-turned his face to warn her.. But she just pecked his lips and grinned at him teasingly, stifling her giggles as she crinkled her nose naughtily. And just for a moment, a fleeting smile crossed his face, as he looked at her adorable expressions.. The evil glint in her eye was just too cute to ignore.. But then he remembered what had brought that evil glint in her eye and he got back to glaring at her.. Riddhima could only laugh more at the play of expressions on his face.. She had undoubtedly been teasing him when she had called him unromantic. He was anything but unromantic.. An unconventional one, but a romantic all the same.. Like everything she said or did made a difference to his life.. Even if it was a joke, just one silly comment of hers had sent him making a list to check off!! And how could she forget the hilariously cute comments.. Just the kind of crazy thing she'd expect Armaan to do!! Most of the time, the crazy things he did gave her a headache or two.. But this time the poor guy was caught at the receiving end of his own brand of mad romance and she was going to have the last laugh..

Originally posted by: Anokhee

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