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So here it is, a lil long and slightly boring OS on PreeRan.
Just another day-2
Tossing and turning restlessly on the king-sized bed, Preeta was trying to sleep but the honey heavy dew of slumber had eluded her eyes the moment Karan had declared that he was going for a week long tour to Australia! Preeta chided herself for allowing herself to get too used to having Karan around so much so that now she couldn't even sleep in peace, without him next to her. Yes, they did bicker about sides of the bed, about how Karan would snatch her blanket in his sleep, leaving AC temperatures freezing her enough to have icicles forming on her nose tip! They bickered about not having enough space to sleep, coz Karan would gradually invade her side of the bed too in his sleep, and then suffocate her by putting his arms and legs on top of her. But her favorite moment was when Karan, despite being fast asleep, would always sense the slightest of movements when Preeta attempted to get out of bed in the morning to get ready before him. Even in his sleep, as if by reflex, he would just pull her more towards himself and hug her tight, murmuring ever so softly and sleepily asking her to not go anywhere. The funniest part was he would never ever remember this! Her mornings were always made more beautiful, all thanks to this adorable habit that Karan had of holding her tight even in his sleep.
She missed him terribly now. She missed the random hugs, the morning routine before waking up. She even missed having him snatch the blanket from her, or getting squished under the weight of his arms and legs. She missed waking up to that handsome face, or his bright dimpled smile when they had coffee together in bed, before going down for breakfast with the entire family. All her attempts to fall asleep had been futile- hugging a pillow or a teddy bear didn't help either. Yes, she had gone to the market to buy a huge teddy bear that she could hug and sleep while Karan was away, and she knew Karan would tease her mercilessly about it all her life but it didn't matter. But who was she kidding! A teddy bear couldn't possibly make up for Karan's absence right? Only her human teddy bear could make her feel happy and secure, even while he slept like a baby! She wanted to call him up right away but she knew he was busy and would have definitely called had he been free right now. It had been 3 days since she slept peacefully at night. Even if her eyes shut for a while, she would wake up with a start to realize she had dozed off for just ten minutes. She seemed tired, with bags under her eyes. Her colleague had even caught her dozing off on the chair this morning, while they were having coffee together! Preeta was definitely going crazy without Karan and she admonished herself for not taking up his offer to go with him on the tour. She couldn't possibly have ditched the team here that needed her to be present as their physiotherapist. Preeta had been so restless that she even woke up early and made breakfast for everyone for the last two days. Now as she lay staring at the ceiling, she switched on the bedside lamp and started reading the novel she had been planning on reading since ages. Tying her hair in a low bun, she scanned the pages of the book, trying hard to focus till she got engrossed in the romantic novel, imagining herself and her husband as the characters in the book...
Karan had been fidgety all this while. It was the first time he was out of the country, that too for a week, away from his Mrs. Mental as he called her now. He missed their random fights and their routine that had become so embedded as an integral part of his life. Even the coffee served at the posh hotels couldn't match the morning coffee that Preeta and he were used to drinking together, while discussing their plans for the day. The different time zones and busy schedule made it difficult for them to talk over phone for as long as they would have liked, even if they made it a point to talk for 15 minutes everyday. He missed sleeping next to her and waking up to her kiss. He was going crazy, and it had just been three days! The team's plan of an extended tour had been cancelled and he was kind of rejoicing about the fact that he could go back home to his crazy wife in a few hours.
Opening the door ever so lightly, Karan tiptoed his way into the room, using the torch of his phone to find his way. He wanted to surprise his wife and see her expressions as she registered he was back home 4 days earlier than expected. He was taken aback to see the bedside lamp switched on, which meant Preeta was awake. Preeta always liked the room to be completely dark while she slept and he had let her have her way about the lights being switched off at night when they slept. Stealthily walking towards the bed, he found Preeta's head bobbing up and down as she dozed off with a book in her hand. Smiling to himself, he carefully took the book from her hand and placing it on the side-table, wondered how to make her sleep without waking her up. Just as he was about to turn, Preeta started mumbling in her sleep, "Karan! I miss you so much!"
Karan stopped in his tracks, remembering how they had fought that one time when Karan had gone out of town for a day and finding her dozing off when he returned late at night, hadn't bothered to wake her up. Preeta had been visibly upset about it, making it clear to him that she would prefer if he woke her up rather than let her sleep, coz she always missed him when he was gone and would sleep much more peacefully once she knew he was back. He had made it up to her that day, promising to take note of this the next time.
As much as he would have liked to let her sleep, he knew Preeta would wake up with a neck pain and would obviously be upset when she realized she slept through the night without realizing he was back. He sat down next to her, tucking away the stray strands of hair that covered her beautiful face. She looked more tired than she was even after a hectic day at work, with huge bags under her eyes, as if she had had no sleep at all. She still looked gorgeous under the glow of that yellow lamp. And he couldn't stop admiring how beautiful she looked at all times. Taking her hand gently in his, he whispered, "Hey Sleeping Beauty, look who's home!" As if she could sense his touch, Preeta began stirring.
Preeta half-opened her eyes, to find Karan sitting in front of her. She wondered if her fatigued mind was playing games with her. Karan wasn't going to be home for the next couple of days, she was definitely hallucinating. As she rubbed her eyes, Karan spoke up, "Oye Miss Mental, I'm not a ghost! I'm here for real baby! Now give me a tight hug. I know you missed me as much as I missed you!"
Registering the fact that her Karan was back for real, her expression of disbelief was quickly replaced by unadulterated happiness as she pulled Karan into a tight hug, kissing his cheeks and telling him how much he troubled her in the past three days, despite not being around in person. Asking him if he needed anything, Preeta switched to her side of the bed. Karan raised an eyebrow and quizzed her about the same, to which she sheepishly admitted that she wasn't able to sleep at all without him, and in her attempts to get some sleep, she decided to sleep on his side of the bed. Karan was about to say something when he spotted the life-sized teddy bear on the sofa. Pointing at the teddy, he asked, "Is this what I think it is? Were you trying to hug that thing and sleep?" Preeta's expression was enough to confirm his doubts. Clutching his tummy, Karan fell on the bed laughing hard and even Preeta's annoyed expression couldn't tone down his amusement. Looking at Preeta now, he chided, "Miss Psycho, agar itna hi miss kar rahi thi toh ek phone hi kar deti! Ab yeh teddy bear thoda na Karan Luthra ko replace kar sakta hai! Waise I thought, now that I was gone, you would have been sleeping like a log all day, with the whole bed and blanket to yourself, all lights switched off. Par yahan toh kuch ulta hi ho raha tha! Koi baat nahin, I will just change and come. Phir tum achhe se mujhe pakad ke so jaana. Aur haan, please remove that teddy from the sofa at least. I don't want to see it in the middle of the night and get scared!"
Preeta chuckled to herself saying, "Aisa nahin hai! The teddy can give you a tough competition okay! And stop making fun of me now. Ek toh itna miss kiya tumhe aur tum ho ki mera mazaak udaa rahe ho! Khud toh miss nahin kiya aur mujhe suna rahe ho!" She sat there pouting like a petulant child when Karan came back and lied down next to her, smiling at her antics. "Acha aisi baat hai! Why don't I show you how much I missed you!"
With that, he pulled her towards himself, tickling her till she begged him to stop, and pulled her in for a deep kiss. As they lay down laughing looking at each other, Karan continued, "I missed you so much. Pata hai there was some issue with reservation but I told I would adjust. So one of my team mates and I had to share a room for the night. I was scared I would hug some team member in my sleep and get embarrassed. He even complained that he fell off the bed coz I hogged the whole bed. And he checked into another room the very next day as soon as there was a vacancy. I don't know how you put up with me but I'm glad you do. There was no one to wake me up with a kiss. Coffee never tasted the same without you. I love you so much." He turned on his side to play with her hair, as she smiled indulgently at him. Inching closer to him and placing her head on his chest and hugging him, she said, "I missed you too Karan. It felt like ages. I couldn't sleep well without you. I'm so tired you know. I would wake up with a start looking for you. I even woke up extra early and cooked breakfast everyday to kill time." Kissing him on the cheeks, she said, "Finally I will have a good night's sleep after ages. I know you're the one who has come back home, but sleeping in your arms right now feels like I'm the one who found her home finally. I love you so much!"
Neither of them knew when they fell asleep in each other's arms but it was definitely the most peaceful sleep they had had in a long time. Tomorrow morning was going to be a beautiful one, their routine back in place. And that assurance made them dream of happy things as they slept cuddling together.
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