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Chapter 1- Something had changed.
"Pakar liya- pakar liya!" She screamed in victory as she caught hold of someone, and as per Yug's instruction, didn't let go- rather tightened her hold onto the person.
The two loosened their respective black cloth from their eyes only to come face to face with each other. "Tum!?" they simultaneously shrieked, but before either could say anything more, Gungun tripped over the leg of the wooden table, and before anyone could make heads-or-tails of the situation, the next moment found Gungun's hands wrapped around his body with his hands encased around her waist. They wouldn't describe the moment with phrases like 'Time stopped', 'Violins played in the background' or 'They felt the existance of their hearts for the first time'.
However, they did lose all control of anything else happening around them- they knew what was happening around them, but willingly blocked all routes to the outside world. They could hear whispers of the soft breeze, so melodious and so soothing, beating all sorts of music they'd ever heard. And they, then, found out what it meant when people spoke of their hearts skipping a beat.
Gungun found herself lost in Anubhav's handsome features and while she hated to admit, her future husband was damn good looking. And now that he wasn't wearing his spectacles- oh God save her. His eyes, now sans the rimless glasses, looked so deep and gorgeous that she'd drown in them without remorse. The light stubble in the name of facial hair made her wonder how it'd feel against the palm of her hand if she happened to cup his cheeks. In short, her husband wasn't exactly drool-worthy- rather was the type of guy one would look at with appreciation, of his good looks, in their eyes.
Wait, did I just call him my husband?
It wasn't an entirely different matter for Anubhav either. From where she stood encased in his arms, he could make out her flawless features by inch and- and God save him, he was stunned. Her doe-shaped eyes held so much innocence and purity that it pulled him towards her all the more. Her marshmallow-like cheeks and button-like nose made him wonder how soft they'd feel against his long fingertips. And her lips- her lightly tainted lips added to her gorgeous looks. His wife was the epitome of elegant beauty.
Wait, did I just call her my wife?
Unlike those cringe-y romcoms, they did know and realise they were stuck in each other's arms yet made no effort of moving an inch away. They enjoyed the feeling of contentment that came along. They enjoyed the thrill of goosebumps gracing their skin at the contact and the slight blood rush to the tip of their skin.
Their moment, however, came to an end on hearing throats being cleared and as their eyes registered the group of notorious intruders, they widened in shock and embarrassment. The two quickly sprang apart and tried acting cool with their normal banters.
"Tum!" Gungun yelled, trying her best to hide how much this particular guy affected her. She's had two boyfriends, including the current one, and despite the lack of intimacy in her relationships, she'd hugged them but never felt anything. If any, they were more friends than anything special. Then how in the world of chocolate did this man, who was supposedly her enemy, give her boyfriend-like feelings? "Tum mujhe pakar ke kyu khare the?"
"Oye hello," he started off to retort, in hopes of Golu Chachu and his gang not catching onto the slight hue that tainted his cheeks. He'd never been close to any girl, forget having a female friend, and so despite his total inexperience in this field, he knew one felt, like what he felt now, only with someone their hearts deemed special. Special? Papa ki Pari? Huh? "Tum girne wali thi, tabhi maine pakra. Main mara nahi jaa raha tha tumhe pakarne. I always knew you were stupid, I just didn't know your stupidity passed the benchmark so much so, that you don't have the general knowledge of thanking the person who saves you from falling."
"You just didn't call me stupid!" Gungun exaggeratedly gasped, but knew she was failing miserably at her attempt of keeping the little fight going. She was good at this. They were good at this. At fighting with each other. Why does it feel like they'd suddenly lost that ability? "Aur vaise bhi, main koi 10-storey building se nahi gir rahi thi- bade aaye, I saved you. Huh!"
"You know what, tumhe physically kuch nahi hota, lekin joh thodi si bhi akal hai na tumme, voh bhi dimaag se gir jaata had you fallen. So technically, I have saved you from losing the few brain cells you posses. Now, if you don't mind." He gave a tight-lipped grin and with his left hand gestured her to leave his room.
"Listen, you can't insult me so much then expect me to leave you alone."
"Yeah. You know what, you're right. I can't expect the witch to leave me alone after testing the waters." He saw her widen her eyes at his statement and was beginning to enjoy at how her expressions changed animatedly. She is so cute.
Wait, what?
"You called me a witch?"
"Did I directly call you one?"
"No, you didn't but-"
"Oh so you assumed the witch I was talking about is you. That means you indirectly do admit that you're like a witch." He knew what he said made no sense, but Gungun was the first person who threw everything practical out of the window and... well, he liked it.
"Chachu. Yeh donon phirse lad rahe hai." Khushi remarked sadly. She expected something cute and romantic to follow after getting locked in together.
"Offo, Buddhu, lad nahi rahe hai. Dhyaan se dekha jaye, whatever they've felt now, yeh donon voh hide karne ki koshish kar rahe hai. Tune notice nahi kiya, kaise yeh donon ek doosre ko dekh rahe the? Tak-tuk, tak-tuk. This shows, dil mein kuch toh hua honga, lekin of course, batayenge nahi."
"Chachu. Mujhe sacchi mein lagta hai, Salman Khan ki jagah, aap Prem ke role ke liye perfect rehte, Partner mein. Usse better love guru aap ho." Yug said making Chanchal raise his imaginary collar in pride.
"Offo, phir se ladai?" Sargam, who came to meet Gungun, only for her eyes to be blessed with the everyday scenario, asked good-naturedly.
"Musical-Name-Wali Aunty!" Gungun ran to hug Sargam, taking her by surprise, "I missed you so sooo much!"
"Maine bhi, Beta. Ab kaisi tabiyat hai teri?" Asked Sargam as she straightened the few lose locks behind Gungun's ear.
"Ma, I'm sure uske awaaz ki volume se uska haal aapko pata chala hi honga." Anubhav interrupted. Even though Gungun ran to his mum and he loved the fact she loved his family a lot, he didn't like that she outright ignored him.
What in the world is going on?
"Really? Ab main jaghad rahi thi, Mr Jhagralu?" Gungun turned to face Anubahv, with her hands on her hips, "What about you? Tum kaunse pyaar ke gaane gaa rahe the?"
"Accha accha, shaant tum donon. Gungun, tum yahi lunch ke liye ruko, theek hai? Veg Pulao bana hua hai, aaj."
"Nahi Aunty, aaj nahi. Pukka agli baar. Voh kya hai na-"
"Ruk jao na."
Everyone turned to face the source of the voice, shock sporting their features. Aliens invading Earth, a zombie apocalypse, Bade Papa letting go of his misery in spending money- none of these would be as shocking as Anubhav telling Gungun to stay. Seeing Golu Chachu's lips tilt into a smirk, Anubhav almost facepalmed himself before going on to 'explain'-
"I-I mean, Ma ke kehne par hi, ruk jao. As it is, tumne mujhe itna bada lecture sunaya tha, jab main khaane nahi ruka. Aur-" He was stopped by Gungun who raised her hand for him to stop.
"Ruk rahi hoon main." Gungun gave a sickly sweet smile to Anubhav before turning to Sargam as her features turned into a smile of adoration, "Vaise bhi, mujhe Musical-Name-Wali Aunty ka haath ka bana hua bohot pasand hai."
"Aur hum sab ko tum bohot pasand ho." Sargam lovingly said as Gungun gave a sweet smile before planting a kiss on her mother-in-law's cheek.
"Aur voh sab mein, Anu bhi shaamil hai. Kyu Anu?" Golu Chachu raised an eyebrow and instead of giving a witty reply, the two kept still as they looked at each other, trying to decipher what the other thought.
What was it that changed between them in barely an hour?
Sargam smiled as she watched the slight exchange of words through eyes between the two, as she mentally prayed for the two to realise they were, indeed, made for each other. She'd been noticing the slight change in Anu's behaviour from the day Gungun left after having cut her finger and Anu's reaction, or rather the lack of, to what Chanchal said confirmed her suspicions of her too-practical son starting to like the girl he previously couldn't stand.
"Chalein?" Asked Sargam, breaking their eyelock and they all proceeded towards the dining area.
➳
"Wow! This is so yumm." Gungun closed her eyes in delight as the blend of vegetables and spices hit her taste buds.
"Sach mein Gungun? Actually, yeh recipe first time try kiya." Divya Chachi spoke.
"It doesn't seem to be the first time. This is beyond yummy!" Grinned Gungun taking another morsel of food, while the rest of the family smiled at her. She was the sunshine of their family, indeed.
As the others continued their meal, Golu Chachu exchanged sly looks with his gang members and as if on cue, Neeti spoke,
"Bas, bohot ho gaya. I won't be able to eat more."
"Kyu beta, tujhe pasand nahi aaya?" Badi Ma asked.
"Nahi mummyji, bas khaane ka mann nahi hai mera."
"Kya mann nahi hai? Breakfast ke baad, na hi tumne kuch khaaya na snacks- ab toh khaalo." Yug carried on the act, "Chalo, main tumhe khila deta hoon." He lifted the morsel he initially took for himself and put his hand forward for Neeti to eat from.
"Sacchi mein. Mann nahi hai." Neeti puckered her lips in a fake pout.
"Uff, khaalo na," and she gave in. A few bites later, she again stopped eating making Yug persuade her again.
"Thoda aur.... Haaan. Okay, ek aur, chalo ek aur."
"Nahi nahi, ek aur. Bas, thoda baaki hai. Haaaann."
This looked familiar. It sounded very much familiar. Both, Anubhav and Gungun, squinted their eyebrows trying to figure out why this particular scene looked so familiar. Their mind, then, took them back to a few nights ago when Anubhav fed Gungun the soup in the same fashion- the same way of persuading her, the same words said. The two raised their eyebrows and their eyes collided.
'Are they doing what I think they are?' Anubhav asked Gungun through his eyes.
'You mean, they're teasing us?'
'Yes.'
'Then, I think so to.' Gungun answered through her eyes before they turned their gaze back to the little drama on the dining table.
"Haye, mujhe koi itna pyaar se khilae, pulao kya, main toh main zeher bhi pee loon." Ankit repeated his words from the other night, while the group of notorious teasers hid their smiles.
"Main toh pheeki soup bhi peelu." Added Golu Chachu.
"Aur iss ghar mein toh kisi ko soup zyada pasand bhi nahi hai, phir bhi Chachu pee lenge. Yeh hota hai pyaar ka kamaal!"
"Nahi Khushi, Anu ko soup bohot pasand hai. Actually, it's his recent favourite dish. Kyu Anu?" Golu Chachu gave a teasing smile, making Anubhav and Gungun choke on their rice respectively.
The infamous soup incident! Oh good God, out of everyone why did You have to send them in the room that night. You could've sent a dancing monkey, a demented hyena or even a singing crow- you could've sent anyone. Why, then, did you send this merciless gang to gang up on us? Thought Anubhav.
"Tum donon theek ho na?" Asked Sargam, concerned, and Chandru was about to pour water in a glass for the two, but stopped when he saw the two take a jug from their respective sides of the table and pour water in their glasses. They expected them to drink from the glass, but what happened next left them all pleasantly surprised.
Anubhav put his glass forward for Gungun, while Gungun done the same for Anubhav. They quickly exchanged glasses and drank slowly, in order to tame their coughs. Despite choking on the food themselves, they thought about the next person first. This may have been a small gesture, but seeing the little exchange of concern (and water) between the two arch enemies, made the family really happy.
"Tum theek ho na?" Both their voices rang out simultaneously after their cough had been tamed.
"Haan," answered the two, again in unision.
And this time, they openly looked into each others' eyes as their lips tilted into smiles.
It was then they knew, something had changed.
➳
Fun fact: This story was spun during one of my evening walks.😆
Here's chapter 1! Hope you enjoyed the read.
Please do give your lovely feedback, will really appreciate it.😳
Aaf.
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