A/N: Hi guys!
I know that I haven't updated my FF for some time and the prompts updates have also been sketchy. I have had absolutely no time to myself lately and sadly, it is going to continue to be like that for a while.
I have a lot of papers and presentations that need my complete attention and I have procrastinated as long as I could. Sigh.
I looked at my folder of random ramblings that I never bothered to finish and found this almost finished little story. So, I fixed it and here it is!
Asad sat hunched over scribbling notes on various pieces of paper and rough drafts of his latest project. He was sitting in his home office. After Asad and Zoya had their kids, he had transformed what had been Zoya's room into his office so that he could spend more time at home with his family. Aside from the rolls of charts that were occupying Asad's focus at the moment the desk contained a few carefully placed pictures, a messy birthday card from his children, and two paper weights. The room in which the desk was placed was cluttered to say the least. There was one wall dedicated to shelves of books. A second wall was home to a fireplace and an ornate mantle filled with more pictures. The third wall was the large window of the room. Looking out of the window for a brief second Asad frowned. The weather was dreary and the night was extremely dark save for the lightening that illuminated the room frequently. After one particular flash of lightening a loud clap of thunder which seemed to rattle the windows caused Asad to knock over some of his pens. But only seconds later, the sound that followed brought Asad running at full speed through the door and up the stairs to a sight that made him forget his previous five hours of paperwork.
His baby boy.
Standing in the doorway to a dimly lit but empty bedroom was a small figure with disheveled hair and positively howling for his Ammi who was nowhere to be found. Asad picked up his son and swayed gently with him, rubbing soothing circles on his back. "Shhh, Abbu's here, sweetheart."
"Abbu."
Asad's heart nearly broke at the shaky voice in which his two year old son spoke to him. That one simple word had not been a question but an affirmation to himself that he was safe. Asad felt Zain's small arms slowly relax their hold around his neck and his breathing became less ragged.
A small noise caused Asad to turn and he couldn't help but grin at the small boy with untidy hair shuffling into the room with a look of concern on his face. "I heard Zain crying."
Four years older than his brother, Mehtab had taken the role of big brother very seriously.
Asad nodded, "He just had a bit of a panic because of the weather."
Mehtab nodded as well, apparently finding his Abbu's explanation as satisfactory. "I brought his blanket, and Mr. Snuggles."
At the mention of his favorite toy, a small ragtag toy Zain lifted his head and reached for the toy, "Mr. Snuggles!"
Asad brought his sons downstairs to his room and then sat Zain on his bed and looked at Mehtab, "Can you watch your brother for me so I can brush my teeth and change?"
Mehtab nodded his head vigorously and climbed onto the bed next to Zain handing him Mr. Snuggles and helping him scoot away from the edge and closer to the squishy pillows.
Asad watched for a minute as his two youngest children chattered quietly with each other before closing the door so he could change for bed. As he brushed his teeth he wondered how Zoya was doing. Asad had taken a couple of days off of work to stay with the kids while Zoya traveled to Indore with his Ammi. They had gone for a charity event for a big orphanage. Asad knew that Zoya wanted to go the event, but at the same time she did not want to leave their kids behind with Dilshad. So, Asad had volunteered to stay home with the kids while Zoya and Dilshad took some days to themselves and attended the event.
Asad had just started to really miss his wife when another clap of thunder shook him from his daydreams. The thunder brought with it the sound of someone running down the hallway and it wasn't long before the oldest Khan child came barreling through the door slightly out of breath, "Abbu!"
Mahek abruptly stopped as she saw Zain and Mehtab sitting on her parents' bed. She seemed to try and compose herself before she started talking, "I was just coming out of the bathroom and noticed that Mehtab wasn't in his bed, and neither was Zain, and I got worried and thought someone tried to kidnap them and then I went downstairs to see if Mehtab went to get water, because Zain is too little to that for himself and he wasn't there either so I came to tell you."
Asad tried hard not to laugh at his firstborn's jumbled explanation knowing full well it was the thunderstorm that had sent her here and not her worry for her siblings. Instead he grabbed Mahek and swung her onto the bed next to Zain, "Well it's a good thing I've got you to help me look after your brothers."
The kids began laughing as Asad took it in turns to try tickling each of them as they scrambled around the bed and out of his reach. Finally out of breath, Mehtab scooted in between Mahek and Zain, "Can you tell us a story Abbu?"
Asad frowned, "It's late and you should all be back in bed."
Mahek jumped a bit as the thunder rolled on outside, "Please Abbu, just one story?"
"Aren't you getting too old for bedtime stories, angel?" Asad teased his twelve-year-old daughter.
Mahek blushed at her father, but shook her head.
Zain had crawled into Asad's lap at the sound of thunder and clutched his shirt. He looked at Asad with teary eyes and a trembling bottom lip, "Story please?"
Asad caved. Even if his elder babies couldn't persuade him, the sight of his youngest, frightened of a thunderstorm and close to tears would convince him that a story was the only option available. It didn't help that Zain resembled his mother down to deep chocolate eyes. Asad ruffled Zain's hair, "Ok, but one story and then it's back to bed ok?"
All three children nodded enthusiastically but four stories later Asad noticed that finally all of his children were sleeping peacefully and the raging thunderstorm was now a distant memory. Asad gently kissed Zain's forehead and drifted off to sleep as well.
The Next Morning
Zoya and Dilshad walked into the entrance next morning. Zoya stood there and took a deep breath. Home. Even though she had a great time and she had only been gone for three days, she was always amazed at how much she loved coming home. She glanced around and noticed that the house was unusually quiet for a Saturday morning and so close to breakfast. Zoya and Dilshad shared a confused look. Dilshad went upstairs to freshen herself while Zoya set her bags down and headed up the stairs as well to look for her family. She noticed none of the kids were in their rooms and then made her way back down the stairs to her room thinking that maybe Asad took them to the park for the day. Zoya opened the door and stopped. The sight before her melted her heart. The king sized comforter and sheets were in jumbled pile on the floor. Mahek was laying at the foot of the bed with Zain's blue blanket draped over her. Asad was precariously close to the edge of the bed with Zain snuggled comfortably against his right side, his right hand clutching Mr. Snuggles and resting across Asad's chest. Zain's small head was tucked against his father's shoulder and Asad's chin just rested against his forehead. As for Mehtab, he was an exact replica of his father. Both Asad and Mehtab slept stretched out to the fullest with arms and legs as far apart as possible.
Zoya moved to pick a pillow off the floor when Asad opened his eyes. "Hey," she whispered to him as their eyes connected.
"Hi," Asad whispered back with a smile.
Zoya dropped the pillow on the floor and sat on the bed next to Mehtab and carefully adjusted his arms. She grinned at her sleeping children then looked back to Asad, "So what happened in here?"
Asad shrugged, "Thunderstorm."
Zoya laughed, "I wish I could have been here. Those are my favorite moments."
Asad watched as she ran her fingers through her son's unruly hair. Every thunderstorm brought the same reaction from the Khan children. Zain would scream, terrified of the noise and the rapid lightning flashes. Mehtab would follow in concern knowing Zain would miss his blanket and toy, and as the dutiful older brother would bring them without complaint. And lastly, Mahek would come running as soon as she had a plausible excuse to check on her siblings. Those moments always ended with all five Khan's asleep and snuggled together in one bed.
Zoya sighed, "Did they give you any trouble?"
Asad thought back to Wednesday when Zoya left. Zain had cried for several hours each day agonizing over his Ammi's departure. Mehtab and Mahek had to be separated on several occasions for fighting. Asad had managed to burn more than one meal. And when Ayaan had stopped by with her sons, all five children had managed to get as grimy and dirty they could in the rainy weather, transform the living room into a nightmare so that even Zoya's messiness would seem clean.
Now, Asad looked at his sleeping children and then back to Zoya with a smile, "They were perfect."
At that moment Mahek began to stir and sat up, "Ammi!" she lunged forward and into Zoya's arms.
The outburst woke up both Zain and Mehtab and what followed was a scuffle for a coveted spot in Zoya's lap.
Later that night
Zoya snuggled next to Asad with a contented sigh as he whispered in her ear, "I've missed you Mrs. Khan."
She smiled and turned to kiss him, "I've missed you too Mr. Khan."
Asad rolled on top of Zoya and deepened their kiss. He placed a trail of kisses along Zoya's jaw and down her neck. He allowed a small groan to escape as he felt Zoya's hands under his shirt. He sat up and allowed her to pull off his shirt and slowly lowered himself again. Her fingers traced a path along his back, up and down his arms and finally found their way to his untidy hair.
Asad felt Zoya shiver as he traced his own paths along her skin with his lips. He grinned against her neck and gently kissed his way to her earlobe. He felt her body lift to meet his as he nibbled on her ear and his left hand teased the skin just below the bottom of her shirt. Asad felt his own body shiver in response as Zoya's hands moved from his hair, her fingers lightly tracing the curves of his back, the muscles in his arms, over the contours of his chest, across his back once more and then the teasing touches around the waistband of his pajama pants.
Zoya felt herself being lifted from the bed as Asad pulled her into his lap. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and his hands were now tangled in her hair. After the years of being married the couple always found they reveled in the first night together even if it was only one night apart. Their movements were slow and deliberate, memorizing every detail as if they would never see each other again. Zoya was wearing a faded t-shirt that had once belonged to Asad and a pair of lacy underwear that Asad knew he had never seen before.
Asad lifted Zoya's shirt off and pulled her against his chest. The warm skin of their bodies touching was like a current of electricity. They locked eyes and it was as if time stood still. Zoya felt Asad's hands against every inch of her back replaced by cool air as they moved to rest along her waist.
"Asad," Zoya said his name softly. It was almost a sigh but almost a whisper and it was repeated as his hands moved from her waist to the contours of her breasts. The third time Zoya spoke his name Asad leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was gentle but filled with longing and desire. Zoya's breathing became ragged as Asad kissed a trail of fire from her jawbone, down her neck, and finally to her breasts.
"Ammi? Abbu?" Mahek knocked at her parent's bedroom door.
Asad and Zoya became still in their movements. Asad sighed and groaned with frustration as he heard all of his children outside his bedroom. Zoya chuckled at his pout and quickly pecked him. Moving out of his embrace, she pulled on her discarded clothes and threw a shirt at her husband.
"AMMI!" now it was a rather impatient Zain.
"Just a moment, munchkins!" she called out to them and then looked at her disgruntled husband and whispered to him, "I was away for three days, Asad and what can I say? I am a hot commodity" she winked at her husband as she let her kids inside their room.
-end-
A/N: Sometimes I really cannot believe how I forget about these stories lying around. LOL!
You know what to do if you liked the little family story!
Cheers,
Simi
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