Originally posted by: sillysatchel
Thought I'd write a bonus part. So here it is!
Credits to Blisswa for helping me where I was stuck. Me lobes u😽
...
"Dinner actually jhelne laayak tha aaj. Nahi?" Gurpreet said, stretching her arms as they walked back to their room.
"That's because maine tum logo ko early birthday treat diya. Kamino!" Raavi exclaimed, exasperatedly, checking her phone.
"I know, darling! And we will wish you.... In 4 minutes." She replied, looking at her watch.
Raavi checked her phone for the 10th time in 2 minutes. He hadn't seen her message. Had he forgotten what it was in a few minutes?
"Raavi, apna phone chod na!"
"Woh mera phone nahi utha raha hai, Preetu. Tu samajh nahi rahi hai. Jaan bujhke call cut kar raha hai woh mera." Raavi tried calling him, but he declined it again.
"Bhul gaya hoga."
"What?" Raavi whispered.
"Boyfriends aise hi karte hai. Long distance mein, especially. They stop talking, then forget important dates. And before you know it, they're declining your calls kyuki koi aur mil gayi hai. It's not new, personal experience se bol rahi hoon." Gurpreet shrugged, as if it was a normal thing.
"Woh aisa nahi hai." Raavi said, defensively. "Bachpan se jaanta hai woh mujhe, har baat jaanta hai mere baare mein. And cheating? He would never do that! Tu mili nahi hai usse, isliye you don't know him. Toh kuch bhi mat bol, birthday se pehle mood mat kharab kar mera, please!"
Raavi stomped away in anger, wanting to cool herself down before her birthday. No being sad on her birthday. No one could spoil her mood. Certainly not her bhootnath.
Screw her stupid mouth for exclaiming things loudly in front of Gurpreet. Of course, Shiva was busy. He was 2 years senior to her, he had much more to do in engineering college than she did in her 3 years of MBA.
That didn't mean he didn't have time for her. He'd always call her as soon as he was free from all his assignments and exams, and they'd talk for hours. Video calls made her way more emotional than audio calls, but he always insisted on video calls simply because he missed seeing her.
6 months. She hadn't seen him for 6 months. Part of her had expected it to take this long, but she didn't expect it to hurt this much. Last time, she didn't know how he felt about her. Now, she did. And it pricked more.
There were days when he'd call her, just to see her, no talking or smiles, and she'd know those were the days he missed her the most. He'd secretly wipe his tears, but she didn't point them out to him, or else he'd just cut the call abruptly and it would take days to manaaofy him.
Sure, he had cute juniors and batch mates, but he hated if any random girl tried to hit on him. Raavi would just laugh at his stories of juniors trying to ask him out, while he glared at her through his screen.
He would not cheat on her. And he certainly would never not talk to her. Not after how they reacted when they first met after so many months. She just knew it. She trusted him.
"Maine kya kiya?" Gurpreet mumbled, unlocking the door to their hostel room.
Before she could turn on the lights, she felt a weird presence in the room. The lights from the window showed a silhouette, someone with quite a height and body, blindly finding their way around the room.
"CHOR! CHOR!" She yelled, tossing her phone at whoever it was, and a sharp yell resonated in the room.
She turned on the lights, to find a man in a shirt and jeans, ruffled hair, standing in front of her. He looked quite familiar-
"ABE GADHEDI KYA-" He yelled until he registered that the girl, in fact, was not his gadhedi.
"Tum?!" Gurpreet yelled, finally registering his presence.
"Tu?!" Shiva screeched, rubbing his forehead with his palm, retreating from the pain of being hit in the head with a brick for a phone.
Raavi came rushing in hearing the screams, and shut the door behind her in pure instinct.
The first thing she registered was his presence. He was here? At this hour? How did he even climb up three floors without being seen? She had so many questions, but she'd ask them later.
"Shiva!" She rushed to him, her thoughts all forgotten momentarily, to see if he was okay. "Tu theek hai?"
"Of course, theek hu. Isliye sarr pakad ke khada hu." He curtly replied, glaring at her friend. "Teri pagal dost ne mere sarr pe kya feka pata nahi."
"Mujhe laga chor tha. Sorry!" She apologized, grabbing her phone and standing there awkwardly.
"Thook de, gussa. Preetu ne sorry bola na!" Raavi sighed, removing his hand and checking for any swellings.
Shiva grumbled something and let it go. He came here for a reason that had nothing to do with the brick that was tossed at his head.
"Ab idhar hi rahegi ki jaayegi bhi?" Shiva gruffly said, and Gurpreet stomped her foot and walked away, slamming the door behind her.
"Hey." Raavi whispered, as he engulfed her in a warm hug.
"I missed you." Shiva whispered back, kissing her shoulders as her arms went around his neck.
"Missed you more." Raavi said, choking on her own words and tears. "Mere calls kyu nahi uthaya? Mujhe laga tu bhul-"
"Call uthata toh tujhe surprise kaise deta?" He looked at her, holding her face gently.
"Surprise?" She smiled at him slowly.
"Happy birthday, jaan." He kissed her nose, smiling wide.
Raavi flung herself back in his arms, chuckling through her tears. "Tu mere birthday pe sacch mein aa gaya? Thank you, you don't know how much this means to me, Shiva."
"I know, isliye toh aadhi raat ko, 3 maale chadh ke tujhe milne aaya. Tera birthday kaise miss karta?" He held her closer to himself. God knows how much he missed having her close to him. "God, I've missed you so much."
Raavi kissed his cheek and made him sit at the edge of her single-bed, happy he was here.
Shiva took out a small, squarish green velvet box from his pocket and handed it to her. "Le."
"Kya hai?"
"Birthday ke din raste se patthar uthake toh nahi dunga na?" Shiva rolled his eyes at her.
"Tu chipkali de sakta hai toh patthar kya cheez hai?" Raavi smirked right back, opening the box.
It was a silver charm bracelet, that had 5 different charms attached to it.
An anchor, a flamingo, a star, evil eye, and a trident. All similar except one.
"This is beautiful!" Raavi exclaimed, her fingers gingerly caressing the bracelet, as if it would break if she held it any tighter. "Par ye sab alag alag charms kyu? Usually charm bracelets mein ek theme hota hai na?"
"Custom made hai." He stated, ever-so casually, wanting to see if she'd notice the charm that stood out. "Har charm ka ek meaning hota hai. Toh isliye...." Shiva blushed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Tell me?" Raavi asked, genuinely wanting to know what it meant when he chose these specific charms.
"Ye jo anchor hai," Shiva pointed at the first charm, "safety, security denote karta hai. I mean, tere saath hota hoon, toh secure feel karta hoon, jaisa hoon, waisa tune mujhe accept kar liya. Kabhi apne aap ko itna drastic change karne pe majboor nahi kiya hai tune. But, tere liye adjustments zaroor kar sakta hoon." He chuckled at that.
"Aur ye star, koi random star nahi hai. North Star hai. Agar kabhi life mein kisi raaste mein atak jaau, toh I know tere paas aa sakta hoon, tu rahegi mujhe guide karne ke liye. My good luck charm."
"Ye flamingo? Weird hai, jaanta hu, but mere andar ke aag ko sirf teri thandak sambhal sakti hai. You know, calm to my storm?"
"Aur aakhri wala toh tujhe bhi pata hai. Mai nahi chahta ki hume kisi ki bhi nazar lage." Shiva stated, as-a-matter-of-factly, patting her cheek.
“Shiva...” A soft whisper escaped her lips before she felt her throat constricting within itself as she kept her tears at bay. Her mouth opened and closed on its own accord, trying to find her voice to thank him, but his gesture had left her speechless.
Throughout her life, she had received many gifts but none spoke to her the way what he had gotten her did. It was special because it was from him, no doubt, but the thought that he had put into getting it made for her caused a fluttering sensation to erupt within her chest.
It was the best gift she had ever received: it was thoughtful; it was reminiscent of their past; and it made her feel loved...loved like no one else had made her feel before. Her gaze blurred as it shifted to the bracelet again, her fingers gingerly reaching out to touch each charm while his words echoed in her ears.
Every echo pulled her in deeper and with every passing second, the urge to throw herself into his arms and to let his warmth encompass her devoured her whole. There was nowhere else she’d rather be than right here, engulfed in his arms and love.
"Aur ye, trishul?" Raavi asked shakily, trying to control herself, getting distracted by it. "Ye toh baaki sab silver charms se itna alag hai, golden-ish. Aisa kyu? Ye bhi matching hi daal deta na."
"Dhyaan se dekh ke bata, kuch yaad aaya ki nahi?" Shiva smiled, and Raavi gasped in realisation, the tears at bay finally streaming down her face.
14 year old Shiva and 12 year old Raavi werr bickering as usual, because if they didn't, then it would be difficult to swallow the food they ate.
"Teri chipkali waali shakal dekh. Kaun karega tujhe pasand. Koi bhi nahi!" Shiva poked her nose and she swatter his hand away.
"Apna chehra dekha hai aaine mein? Bandar se kaun shaadi karega?" Raavi huffed and crossed her arms looking away with her nose high.
"Mai toh hoon hi itna handsome, koi bhi patt jaayegi mujhse." He raised his collar, and she clutched her stomach laughing hard
"Ye agar maine bola hota, toh maanti kyuki mai Somnath ki sabse sundar ladki hoon na? Tere muh se ye baat suit nahi karti." She shook her thumb sideways in front of him.
"Chal bet." Shiva said, taking off the trident from his bracelet. "Laga apni sabse keemti cheez daav pe."
"Pehle bet bata."
"Bet ye hai, ki agar hum mein se kisiko bhi apna sahi partner mila, jisse uske saath apni puri life spend karni hai, toh woh usse ye dede," he pointed at the charm he held on his palm now, "aur saath mein haarne waale insaan ko jeetne waale ko ek treat dena padega. Bol, lagi shart?"
Raavi pondered for a moment, before removing the 'waves' pendant from around her neck, "Lagi shart. Lekin tu haarega, toh jeb khaali karne ke liye tayyar ho jaa."
Shiva took both charms, placed it in a glass jar and buried it under his tree, as they shook hands on the bet, immediately followed by Shiva pulling Raavi's pony tail and running away in glee as she ran behind him with a stick.
Raavi jumped into his arms, a sobbing mess, as Shiva hugged her, confused.
"Ro kyu rahi hai? You don't like it?" He asked. He had thought this over a lot. He didn't want her to hate it.
"No." She said, handing him the bracelet
"Seriously?" He asked, a little hurt.
"Gadheda hai kya? Bohot pasand hai. I love it. I love it. I LOVE ITTTTT!" She exclaimed, wiping her tears and excitedly asking him to make her wear it, and he complied.
"Tu mere saath apni puri zindagi spend karna chahta hai?" She asked him softly.
"Obviously. Mai koi timepass ke liye tere saath nahi hoon. I see my future with you, okay?"
Raavi scooted closer to him, and kissed him softly, her arms going around his neck as he kissed her back. He wanted to have her in his arms like this for the rest of his life.
"I love you." She whispered, resting her forehead against his.
"Mujhse zyaada nahi."
"Not fair, Shiva." She pouted, "Lekin tu ye Somnath se leke kab aaya?"
"Woh, jab mai pichle mahine camp pe gaya tha, toh chori chupke nikaal laaya."
"Mera bhi le aata! Cheater."
Shiva smiled and took out his wallet, removing her waves charm from the coin pocket of his wallet, placing it in her palms.
"Ye le. Pata tha tu mere sarr pe baith jaayegi, jab tujhe pata chalega. Toh le aaya."
Raavi smiled and adored the charm and the memories attached to it, before stretching her palm open in front of him.
"Kya?"
She wiggled her eyebrows, indicating his pendant, and he immediately clasped it in his hands, turning away.
"Ye nahi dunga. Ye mera hai!"
"Arre par-"
"Dekh, I love you, but ye mai nahi dunga, this is mine!"
"Shiva listen to me-"
"Please na, Raavi! Tu jo mangegi, dunga, par ye nahi!"
"Offo!" Raavi stomped her foot, and Shiva made a face, before taking it off and handing it to her, grumbling.
Raavi attached the charm to his locket, her charm being slightly covered by his pendant, and reached forward, clasping it around his neck.
Shiva looked at her so innocently, as if he half expected her to keep the charm to herself, for when she finds someone else.
"Tu... Mere saath-"
"Haa."
"Pakka?"
"It's always been you, Shiva. Always."
Shiva hugged her tight, peppering kisses all over her face as she giggled.
He never thought he'd find anyone who would be so sure of spending their whole life with him. Since childhood, he was always someone who was known as a rough hooligan, that has no manners and always caused trouble. No one dared to play with the fire he held.
But it was only her; only she had dared to step into the ring of fire he held all his life. Only she could rile him up to the point of annoyance, and convince just as quickly.
She truly was the calm to his storm. And he wasn't going to let her go. Not now. Not ever.
"You dare not cheat on me, Shiva Pandya!"
"What?! Abhi toh tere saath puri zindagi spend karne ki baat kar raha hoon, aur tu cheating ka ilzaam laga rahi hai mere pe? Seriously?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"I'm just saying. Woh aaj bohot bakwaas suna maine. I don't believe it one bit, lekin I just wanted to get it off my chest." Raavi shifted herself onto his lap, her arms going around his neck.
"Kisine kuch bola kya?"
Raavi narrated the whole incident, guiltily looking at him for even having let that thought cross her mind, even if it was for a few seconds.
"Mushkil se toh ek chipkali chipakti hai mujhse, aise kaise chod dunga? Tu, gadhedi, kisi ke bhi baaton mein aati hai. Aise kaise soch liya tune, haa?" He cupped her face with one hand, the other snaking around her waist, nestling her closer to himself.
Raavi gave him her puppy eyes. "Maine nahi bola, woh toh Preetu ne bola. Idiot ladki. Maine bhi suna diya usko."
"Good. Shiva Pandya ka naam roshan kar rahi hai tu." He chuckled, wiping her tears. Why did she cry so much? "Mai kahi nahi jaa raha hoon. Zindagi bhar, Chattan Pandya banke rahunga tere life mein"
Raavi chuckled at that. "I promise, Shiva. Mai tujhe chodke kahi nahi jaa rahi. Tujhse door rehna gawara nahi ab."
Shiva pulled her to himself, kissing her lightly. "I missed kissing you." He mumbled into the kiss.
"Mhmm?" Raavi hummed, pressing her lips firmly to his.
When Gurpreet came back into the room to take her charger, she was greeted with the most adorable sight ever.
Raavi was fast asleep, sleeping on one side, while Shiva had wrapped his arm around her waist. She shivered slightly due to the wind coming from the open window, and Shiva held her closer to himself, burying his face in the crook of her neck, as she snuggled into his warmth.
"I love you, Shiva." Raavi mumbled in her sleep, as he hummed in response, both asleep soundly and not consciously hearing and responding.
Inn dono ko kisi ki nazar na lage.
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