OS:Arshi :: Love Knot

Arnav bound up the stairs leading to his room, a spring in his steps suggesting a faint excitement. Well, he was looking forward to seeing his wife after spending a tiring day in the office. He knew just seeing Khushi's beautiful face would soothe all his frayed nerves. He pushed his room's door open and called, "Khushi! I'm home-"

Arnav stood rooted to his spot, his hands still on the handle of the door. His eyes widened as he stared at the figure of Khushi standing straight in front of him. She too had frozen and was staring back at him as if a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. She immediately started struggling with something that was wound around her neck. Arnav raised his eyebrows watching her and he stepped closer to her.

"Khushi?" he repeated, his eyes resting on the piece of shiny black material wound around her neck which he realised with a pang of recognition to be his favourite black silk tie. Arnav raised his eyes to meet Khushi's. "Tum kya kar rahi ho (What are you doing)?" he asked. Khushi looked back sheepishly at him.

"Woh... hum aapki tie baandhne ki koshish kar rahe the (Uhm, I was trying to tie your tie)," Khushi explained still struggling with the knot. "Par... isme gaanth pad gayi. Aur ab ye khul nahin rahi hai (but it's knotted up now and I can't open it now...) ," she finished, her eyes looking downcast. Arnav chuckled seeing the innocence on his wife's face and right then he just wanted to hug her and plant kisses all over her face. Oh my poor baby, he thought.

Arnav walked in closer and studied the knotted tie. "Don't move," he warned as Khushi started fidgeting again as she usually did when she was nervous. Khushi stilled immediately. It took Arnav just a couple of minutes to figure out how to undo the knot. His experienced fingers dexterously went to work. "But what I don't understand is, tumhe suddenly meri tie pehen ne ka mann kyun hua (But what I don't understand is, why did you suddenly want to wear my tie)?" Arnav asked as he loosened the knot.

Khushi again looked up at him, this time her face lighting up. "Woh kya hai na, hum aaj din mein ek picture dekh rahe the (Actually I was watching a movie today)," she started. Arnav almost rolled his eyes. Of course, there had to be a movie involved.

"Salman Khan movie?" he asked teasingly. But Khushi sighed, not understanding the mirth behind his words.

"Nahin, Salman Khan ji to nahin the uss picture mein. Par Shahrukh ji aur Hrithik Roshan ji aur Amitabh Bachchan ji the (No, Salman Khan ji wasn't in the movie. But it did have Shahrukh ji and Hrithik ji and Amitabh ji)," she replied a dreamy look dawning on her face. "Hrithik Roshan ji kya dikh rahe the uss picture mein, hayee. Aur Kajol ji aur Shahrukh ji ki Jodi to wah wah! (Hrithik Roshan was looking amazing in that movie. Oh and Kajol and Shahrukh's pairing is so good!)" Arnav couldn't help but smile seeing her enthusiasm over a movie.

"Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham, kitna achha naam hai na (Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham, it's got a nice ring to it na)?" Khushi continued blabbering, not registering Arnav's fingers brushing her skin more than was required. "Aur Kajol ji to apne Chandni Chowk se hi hain uss picture mein aur pata hai unki bhi halwai ki dukaan thi! (And Kajol ji was from Chandni Chowk! and do you know she too owned a sweet shop in the movie!)" she exclaimed looking thrilled at the coincidence.

"Uhm, Khushi, tum mujhe tie pehen ne ke bare mein bata rahi thi? (Uhm, you were telling me about you wearing my tie?)" Arnav prodded gently, bringing her back to track. She smacked her head.

"Arre haan, hum to bhool hi gaye (Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that)," she exclaimed as Arnav continued un-knotting the tie. "Usi picture mein na ek scene aata hai, jab Jaya ji Amitabh ji ko stool pe khade ho ke tie pehenati hain (In that movie, there is a scene when Jaya ji stands on a stool and ties the tie on Amitabh ji)," she finished looking coyly at Arnav. He raised his eyebrow incredulously at her.

"To tum bhi mujhe stool par chadkar tie pehna na chahti ho? (So you too want to stand on a stool and knot my tie?)" he asked, his voice shaking with laughter. Khushi pouted annoyingly at him.

"Hum aapse itne chote thodi hain, ki humein stool pe chadne ki naubat aa jaye (I'm not that shorter than you, that I'll have to stand on a stool!)," she countered. Arnav chuckled and opened the knot and slipped the tie from around her neck.

"Done!" he murmured placing it in Khushi's hands and walked away to sit on the recliner. He started taking his shoes off. She immediately walked to him.

"To aap humein tie baandh na sikhayenge na (So you'll teach me how to knot a tie?)," she asked waving the tie at his face. Arnav looked up at her amused.

"Tum mujhe tie kyun baandh na chahti ho Khushi? (Why do you want to knot my tie for me, Khushi?) I can manage it on my own," he replied, now taking off his coat and walking to his closet to hang it up. Khushi looked riled.

"Laad Governer kahin ke! Inhe to filmon ki tarah pyaar jatana aata hi nahin hai (Laad Governer! He doesn't even know how to be romantic like in the movies)," she grumbled to herself.

A smile appeared on his lips again as Arnav heard his wife's tetchy complaints. So she felt he wasn't being romantic hmm? Hanging up his Coat and waistcoat, he walked back to Khushi who was now sitting on the edge of the bed, fidgeting with the tie, looking morose. Arnav shook his head, having recognized one of Khushi's usual tantrums taking shape.

"Acha theek hai. (Okay, alright.) I'll teach you how to tie a tie," Arnav agreed extending his hand out asking for the tie. Khushi jumped up in glee and hugged Arnav tightly making him pleasantly surprised for a moment. Quickly withdrawing from the hug, Khushi handed over the black tie to Arnav. Shaking his head again at Khushi's quick mood swings, Arnav started knotting up the tie.

"Watch carefully. Ek end chota hona chahiye, ek end lamba (One end should be short and the other long)," Arnav muttered showing the different lengths of the tie on the either side. "Phir, isko aise wrap karo, phir aise rotate karo, phir upar pull karo, phir ek loop bana kar uske andar dalo and phir pull kar do. (Then wrap it like this, then rotate it, then pull it up, then make a loop and put the longer end inside and pull it down.) Tada! Done!" Arnav extended both his hands away from his body in a sign of accomplishment. Khushi however looked at him with a frown on her face.

"Hum machine nahin hain Arnavji ki aise jaldi jaldi mein dekh kar samajh jayenge. Aap bahut gande prashikshak hain (I'm not a machine Arnavji, that I'll understand everything by watching you knot it in top speed. You're a bad prashikshak!)," Khushi complained crossing her arms across her chest pouting at him. Arnav looked confused.

"Pra- what?" he asked dumbstruck.

"Prashikshak... trainer. Trainer!" Khushi clarified. Arnav relaxed and smiled at her indulgently. He quickly loosened his tie and took it off. In the very next moment he placed the tie around Khushi's neck and pulled her closer.

"Okay. Agar main itna bura trainer hoon, to let's get you to try it (Okay, if I'm such a bad trainer, then let's see you try it)," Arnav whispered, his low voice suddenly heavy with huskiness. Khushi's pout disappeared instantly and her eyes widened witnessing the sudden change in events.

"Nahin... humara matlab woh nahin- (No, that is not what I meant-)" she started mumbling, but Arnav placed his finger on her lips making her shut up and forget what she was going to say. She stared at him her heart beats suddenly racing at the unexpected touch. Arnav slowly walked her to the mirror and moved so that he was standing behind her. Khushi raised her eyes slowly to peek at the mirror.

Her reflection stared back at her, standing rigidly still as the handsome chunk of her husband stood close behind her. Too close...

"So Khushi," Arnav whispered again this time his mouth hovering very close to her ear. A wave of thrill coursed through Khushi hearing his low baritone. "Left side wala part is shorter aur doosra is obviously longer. (The left part should be shorter and the other end is obviously longer.) " He said wrapping his arms around Khushi from behind and holding the two ends of the tie in front of her face.

Goosebumps erupted all over Khushi's arms as she was blocked in Arnav's embrace. His warm breath on the side of her neck was tickling her but she resolutely kept her eyes fixed on the mirror. Her breathing had already hiked up in mere moments.

"First you place the longer end on top of the shorter end. Then you wrap the longer end around the shorter end," Arnav murmured silkily and slowly did the same. Heat was slowly spreading all over Khushi's body, hell she could even feel her cheeks flaming up.

"Then you wrap the longer end completely around once more." Arnav demonstrated what he was doing. Khushi's long silky hair had started sticking to her back by then. Her heartbeats were racing as if she was running on Arnav's treadmill. The most helpless thing was that she couldn't move an inch as his arms were firmly wound around her body, keeping her in place.

"Oh, by the way, is this slow enough Khushi?" he asked pausing in his training for a moment, his cheek grazing against Khushi's.

She closed her eyes, her chest heaving up and down, her mind barely registering what was happening to the tie as she was getting more and more aware of the way Arnav's fingers were brushing on her chest. She nodded her head fervently. Arnav's lips curved into a smirk as he watched her closed eyes and slightly parted lips.

"And then, you bring the longer end from behind and loosen the wrapped loop. Then the longer end goes inside the loop," Arnav's voice keeps getting heavier, his hands working on their own accord, his eyes peering at their reflection on the mirror. Watching Khushi having thrown her head back slightly made his throat dry up slightly.

"Uhm, ho gaya Khushi (Uhm, it's done Khushi)," he murmured, withdrawing his arms from around Khushi and slightly stepping back from her. Khushi snapped her eyes open, looking slightly dazed and disoriented. Arnav suddenly bunched Khushi's hair to one side and slowly pulled it up so that the silk tie started slipping down her equally silky hair. She gasped again, caught unawares.

Once the tie was resting on her neck, Arnav smoothed its surface, his fingers gently brushing the nape of her neck in the process. Very gently, he placed Khushi's hair down one side of her shoulder, letting them cascade down her front, exposing her back from the deep cut of her kurta.

Arnav's breath got stuck in his lungs as he gazed at the creamy bare skin looking back invitingly at him. Khushi's heart was beating rapidly again, having overcome the moment of surprise long back.

Suddenly a loose strand of her hair broke away from the cascade of her hair and ventured down her back. Arnav's eyebrows scrunched in a frown at the distortion in the perfect image of her expanse of bare back. He raised his hand and brushed the offending strand away. Khushi closed her eyes again at the touch of his hands on her back. Her entire body seemed to be on high alert now, exploding with unexplained desires at a mere touch.

Khushi turned on the spot slowly, her head bowed down. Her fingers were fidgeting with the tie again.

"So Khushi," Arnav murmured in his low and incredibly husky voice. He held the tie in his hand firmly and pulled her closer. Khushi crashed on his chest and looked up at him with a stunned gasp. "Was I good trainer?" Arnav asked, tugging on the tie with every word, closing the distance between their lips.

Khushi gulped. How was it that every innocent idea she had ultimately resulted in this situation; him closing in the distance between and she feeling utterly helpless to protest. Her eyes were captivated with his lips which were hovering just an inch from hers. Feeling overwhelmed with anticipation, she closed her eyes. And that was all the invitation that Arnav needed.

His lips crashed on Khushi's and his mouth covered hers. A slow moan of pleasure echoed from inside Khushi, which made a shiver of thrill course through Arnav. The kiss grew deeper as Khushi kissed him back with a fervour matching his own. Arnav dropped the tie and wrapped his arms around Khushi's body trembling with desire. His hand resting on her bare back sent her into throes of passion and her hands automatically raised to wind around his neck, her fingers running wildly through his hair. Arnav moaned against her lips in response. Finally, they parted from the kiss, feeling absolutely breathless with the intensity of their lip lock.

They stood still, eyes closed, lips brushing, their chests heaving up and down, arms still wound around each other, willing their racing heartbeats to calm down.

"Aap bahut ache trainer hain, Arnav ji (you're a very good trainer Arnav ji)," Khushi whispered against his lips. Arnav slowly opened his eyes and looked at her with a loving gaze. He slowly grazed her jawbone with his fingers.

"Tum bhi bahut achi student ho, Khushi (You're a very good student as well Khushi)," he replied teasingly for he knew she hadn't at all paid attention to his instructions.

As if the same thought crossed her mind, she bowed her head shyly, her cheeks blushing a deep red. Arnav smiled.

"Koi baat nahin Khushi. Thodi practice karne se tum mujhse bhi acha tie baandhne lagogi (Not to worry Khushi. After a little more practice, you'll be better at knotting the tie than I am)," he murmured suggestively walking towards the bed, slowly pulling Khushi towards him by tugging at the tie again. "Practice makes man perfect you know," he added, a mischievous glint lighting up his eye. Khushi smiled coyly and followed him.

Well, if the practice was going to be anything like the first lesson, she knew what were the chances of her learning anything.

~ * ~

Writer's note: 😉 Feedback please!

PS - I hope the kiss was up to the expectations @asr13 (since you went all taek-wondo on me for the last OS 😆)

PPS - The title is inspired by the Algerian Love Knot Necklace that I saw in the movie Casino Royale.