The Best of Things
(Ragya, Swasan) Fan Fiction Series +16
By Bubble
Chapter 79
Lakshya and Ragini lounged by the car in the airport's parking lot. Ragini had refused to stay cooped up in the air conditioning while Lakshya waited outside. Their flight had arrived in Kolkata half an hour ago, and Sanskaar and Swara's flight from Varanasi was due to land in a few minutes. They could have gone home and asked for another car to be sent for them... but they both had felt like waiting for the other two... it would be only right to join up and go home together after this fun, momentous journey. Their driver Dinesh sat on a stile a discreet distance away.
Both their phones beeped. It was Sanskaar's message on 'Hum Chaar'. They had landed, and would be out in a few minutes.
Swara waved madly as they emerged with their trolleys. Lakshya was about to greet Sanskaar when he froze at the amount of luggage they were pushing.
"Why have you brought the entire Himalayan range to Cal?" he asked.
Swara rolled her eyes and turned to hug Ragini.
"You're okay?" she said in her ear as they embraced. Ragini nodded. But even that response was unnecessary - Swara noted that she was incandescent with joy.
Sanskaar, in the meantime, had been explaining the luggage to Lakshya, who was listening with an air of exaggerated horror.
"What about those boxes?" Lakshya asked, pointing. "Is Swara planning to start a Banarasi weave business?"
"NO! You know very well they're for the family!" Swara interjected.
Lakshya turned to her with a spurious expression of worry. "You bought silk brocade for everyone?! Just how much did you blow up, Swara!?" He turned to Sanskaar. "Bhai, hamara business toh theek thaak chal raha hai na?"
Sanskaar was busy unloading the trolleys and ignored his brother, but Swara's smile drooped.
"Laksh!" Ragini said quietly. She had better intervene before his teasing got Swara seriously upset.
Swara looked over at Sanskaar anxiously. He looked back at her and gave her small wink as he moved another bag. Swara relaxed at once.
"Why didn't you stop her, bhai?" Lakshya said now, "You simply have to exert some control over her, Sanskaar, you can't let her run wild like this! Women simply have to be shown who is boss!"
"Excuse me, Mr Lakshya Maheshwari, for your information, yeh poora luggage jo dekh rahe ho, isme se at least 40 percent Ragini ka hai!" said Swara, incensed.
Ragini folded her arms in amusement.
"Oh!" said Lakshya, letting his shoulders slump theatrically. "Ragini ka hai?"
"Yes!" said Swara, putting her hands on her hips in challenge. "What do you have to say to that?"
"Agar Ragini ka hai... toh phir theek hai," he responded, evidently giving up any effort at showing his wife who was boss.
Swara gasped in indignation! "Laksh ke bachche! Swara ka tha, toh qaboo mein rakho, Ragini ka hai, toh sab theek hai!! Just you wait..." and she set off in pursuit of Lakshya who had already made his way halfway down the parking lot.
Laughing, Ragini went over to help Sanskaar. "We should have asked for two cars!" he said to her, scratching his chin.
"Nai, Sanskaar, ho jaayega! We'll work this out," she said, "We'll put these small bags at the foot of the front seat and get Swara to sit there... she's the shortest..." she started to mentally arrange their combined luggage.
Halfway up the lot, Swara had ambushed Lakshya around a car, and was now satisfactorily thwacking him with her bag.
"Oww! OWWW!!" he exclaimed. He caught hold of her flailing arms to stop her blows and then, laughing, pulled her into a tight bear hug.
"Stop, you wildcat!" he said.
"Hmmph!" said Swara, narrowing her eyes and looking quite threatening even though her arms were trapped by his, "I only forgive you because my sister looks happy!"
"What a relief," he retorted. "What about me? Don't I look happy too?"
He loosed her a little and she looked at his face carefully. "Yes. You do," she said, her face softening, "You look very, very happy! You are, aren't you?"
"More happy than I knew I could be!" he nodded, a bit seriously. "I have to thank you. Thank you so much, Swara!"
"Me? Kis liye?" she asked.
"You were the one who said life was for going forward... that you can't go back. You said you can't always have what you want... that life is about making the best of things. I took your advice," he said.
"I don't remember... but I do believe that. I'm so happy, so relieved, Lakshya!" she said, swallowing a lump in her throat.
At the car, Dinesh had strapped the bigger bags onto the overhead carrier. Sanskaar now shut the boot with a bang. He and Ragini looked over at the other two who were standing side by side some distance away, talking earnestly, their arms around each other.
"Oi!" Sanskaar yelled. "Yeh senti baatein ghar jaake karlo tum donon? We're ready to leave!"
They came up and Dinesh opened the front passenger door for Swara. "Why do I have to sit with three bags at my feet in the front seat?" Swara complained.
"Because you're the shortest, Shorty!" Lakshya said at once as they all got into the car.
"Hullo, what do you mean 'Shorty'? Now, don't you dare start with that name! Ragini, make sure he doesn't call me that!" Swara said, buckling up.
Ragini turned obediently to Lakshya. "Lakshya, don't call her that."
"You can't use Ragini for everything, you know! You have to save your 'Brahmastras' for something big!" Lakshya said to Swara, "I think we could file a case against you for this... Indiscriminate Use of Ragini to Control Lakshya..."
Swara turned to retort and noticed that Ragini's dupatta was unusually draped, lying mostly along her right shoulder instead of the left as she normally wore it. There was a suspicious lump under it... Lakshya and Ragini were holding hands under the cover of the cloth. They'd probably been holding hands all through the flight... Swara turned away.
She met Sanskaar's eyes in the rear view mirror and smiled. He smiled back lazily.
The car pulled out of the lot and nosed its way home.
The End
Edited by soapbubble - 8 years ago
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