Few days later,

At Shiva house,

Shiva was strolling on the balcony when he noticed a lady on the road feeding ice cream to a little girl, supposedly her daughter. Her husband arrived with a balloon and joined them.

Shiva admired the lovely scene before him. Leaning over the balcony, he saw the couple playing with their little girl.

A silent tear escaped from his eyes but he quickly brushed it away with the back of his hand.

Looking at his and Ishanvi's wedding picture, he said,

"Kash, tum yaha hote Ishanvi, mere pas, humare paas, sab kitna alaag hota na!, hum bhi ye couple ki tarah humare Rudra ke sath enjoy kar pate, mujhe kaise akela karke chali gayi tum!".

After sometime a sudden knock on the door broke his trance. He sighed and went to open the door.

Shiva widened his eyes in shock to see Raavi. She was fully covered with mud from head to toe. He gasped, then he examined her features carefully and took a deep breath. He chuckled and said,

"Apni asli roop mein aane se pehle ek warning to dena zaroori hai na Raavi! Aise to tum kisibhi achha khasa aadmi ka heart attack karwa doge."

Raavi rolled her eyes and said: Aap kaisa insaan hai!, aise halat mein bhi mujhe taana mar rahe hai!, ek to main aise keechad mein gir gayi. Apka file lene ke lie hi to aa rahi thi. Puchku ko bhi dekhna tha. Aur ye musibat ho gayi.

Shiva's gaze softened, he said: Tum thik ho abhi, koi chot to nahi ayi?

Raavi nodded negatively and said : Par pura dress kharab ho gaya, aab kya pehungi?

Shiva thought for a moment and said: Tum andaar ayo, main kuch jugar karta hoon.

Shiva : Waise tum giri kaise!, Aankh band karke chal rahi thi kya!

Raavi pressed her lips with a slight frown and said: Wo baas jaldi jaldi mein chal rahi thi aur ek patthar tha…

Shiva: Aur tum usme fisal gayi, har waqt serial ki heroine ki tarah kaise girti padti rehti ho tum!

Raavi murmured: Aap bhi to serial ki hero ki tarah hi pakad lete ho.

Shiva furrowed his eyebrows and said : Kya boli, kya boli?

Raavi bit her lower lip and said: Kuch bhi to nahi! Yaha khare khare kya kar rahe hai aap? Main aise rahungi kya?

Shiva nodded and then took out one of Ishanvi's saree and forwarded it to Raavi.

Shiva: Nahalo, phir change karlena.

Raavi started fidgeting with her dupatta and peered at him.

Shiva asked confusingly: Ab kya hua!

Raavi said innocently: Wo... blouse aur petticoat bhi to chahiye, uske bina saree kaise pehnungi.

Shiva scrunched his eyebrows and said: Tum mere kamre mein chale jao, waha wardrobe se jo chahiye hoga, le lena, main idhar wait kar raha hoon.

Raavi nodded her head and went to Shiva's room to get ready.

After 1 hr,

Shiva: Kya hua?, ek din mein hi har janam ke liye naha loge kya!, aur kitna waqt lagega?

Raavi : Main naha chuki hoon, wo bas aise hi…aunty hai kya ghar pe?

Shiva: Kya aise hi? Kuch madad chahiye?, abhi to maa ghar pe nahi hai.

Raavi : Wo mujhe saree thik se pehnna nahi aati. Matlab pehen sakti hoon, kabhi kabhi problem hoti hai, aur yaha to saree ke alawa aur kuch kapra nahi hai. Bass ye pleats mein thori problem ho rahi hai.

Shiva crossed his arms over his chest. He shook his head and hesitantly asked: Kya main andaar aa sakta hoon? I mean tum chaho to main help kar sakta hoon.

Raavi lowered her gaze and slowly uttered: Ha, a jayiye.

Shiva entered the room and slowly advanced towards her. She had pressed a safety pin between her lips and was trying to get the pleats of her saree.

"Ye to thik hi nahi ho raha hai", she sighed, with a cute pout while pointing towards the piece of cloth, which was wrapped around her and the rest one fourth of which was spreading over the floor.

He walked in towards her and slowly bent down to pick up the saree.

"Main pleats fixed kar deta hoon", said Shiva.

Raavi shivered when his warm fingers brushed against her bare stomach. Shiva arranged the pleats and Raavi tucked them inside her petticoat.

Suddenly, Shiva's eyes fell on the suitcase over the wardrobe which was about to fall on Raavi.

He pulled her close towards himself. In a blink of eye, she got crashed on his hard chest and his arm involuntarily snaked around her waist. Shiva stumbled and fell on the bed with Raavi hovering on top of him. A faint shade of pink spread across her cheeks and she held onto his shirt tightly. His presence was driving her crazy, and so was his touch. His hot breath fanned over her face. When his hands came in contact with her bare waist, Raavi felt butterflies in her stomach. She felt herself getting hot in the close proximity. She looked into his eyes slowly with an unknown emotion. Her hair fell on his face and he gently tucked it behind her ear. She had never been this close to any man. The moment was broken by a shrill crying sound. Raavi took a deep breath and turned her face away. Shiva stood up and went towards Rudra's cradle to pacify him.

He hastily went forward and delicately picked him up. He held his little angel cuddled in his arms, close to his chest and Rudra held his finger by both his hands and kept his head on his shoulder. Tears rolled down his pretty eyes. Shiva kissed on his forehead and tried to soothe him but Rudra was actually in his "rudra avatar" for not getting enough attention of his papa. Well, his papa was busy with other "things". Raavi came towards him and gently kissed on his knuckles. Rudra peeped at her with his teary eyes and pulled her wristband. Raavi gently removed his hold over her hand and chuckled at his cute antics. Rudra puffed his cheeks and again bursts into tears. Raavi thought of an idea and a smile crept on her face. She went to the closet and took out a mini teddy bear and started singing,

Itti si hansi

Itti si khushi

Itta sa tukda chand ka

Khwabon ke tinkon se

Chal banayeinn aashiyaan.

She took Rudra in her arms caressed his head slightly and moved down near his hands, he calmed down on hearing the song, he held her finger tightly and gaped at her with her little round eyes.

Itti si hansi

Itti si khushi

Itta sa tukda chand ka

Khwabon ke tinkon se

Chal banayeinn aashiyaan

Rudra slowly pulled her cheeks and giggled. She laughed with tears, holding him close to her heart.

Shiva also joined her,

Dabe dabe paaon se

Aaye haule haule zindagi

Hothon pe kundi chadha ke

Hum taale laga ke chal

Gumsum tarane chupke chupke gaayein

Aadhi aadhi baant le

Aaja dil ki ye zameen

Thoda sa tera sa hoga

Thoda mera bhi hoga apna ye aashiyan

Itti si hansi

Itti si khushi

Itta sa tukda chand ka

Khwabon ke tinkon se

Chal banayeinn aashiyan

Taking this as a good opportunity, Shiva picked him up and positioned him on his lap. Raavi adored them through her eyes. She took it as a cue to capture this moment forever. Raavi kissed on Rudra's face and nose. Rudra pouted cutely and then smiled at her.

Raavi : Itti si hansi

Itti si khushi

Itta sa tukda chand ka

Khwabon ke tinkon se

Chal banayeinn aashiyan

Naa ho chaar deewarein

Phir bhi jharokhe khule

Baadalon ke ho parde

Shaakhi hari pankha jhale

Naa ho koi takraarein

Are masti thahaake chale

Pyaar ke sikkon se mahine ka kharcha chale

Shiva gazed down adoringly at the tiny fluffy ball who was watching Raavi with eyes that were nearly identical to his along with the same intense and thoughtful look.

Shiva took a baby boy toy intentionally, and kissed it, singing.

Dabe dabe paaon se

Aaye haule haule zindagi

Hothon pe kundi chadha ke

Hum taale laga ke chal

Gumsum tarane chupke chupke gaayein

Aadhi aadhi baant le

Aaja dil ki ye zameen

Thoda sa tera sa hoga

Thoda mera bhi hoga apna ye Aashiyan

Rudra shifted his gaze towards Shiva. He loved his papa's singing. But what he saw, pricked his poor heart. Knowing that he only had the right of his papa's unwavering attention, he began to squirm and whimper, making it very clear that his papa should only kiss him and not any other baby (soft toy). Shiva tried to muffle his laughter seeing his cute jealous son and picked him up. Shiva and Raavi both smiled at each other and brought Rudra into the middle and sang together.

Itti si hansi

Itti si khushi

Itta sa tukda chand ka

Khwabon ke tinkon se

Chal banayeinn Aashiyan (x2)

Rudra patted his tiny hand against his papa's cheeks and starting giggling.

Raavi leaned forward to place a kiss on his forehead and softly pulled his puffy cheeks. Shiva leaned forward to kiss on Rudra's cheek when Rudra bend down to hold the little teddy, he accidentally kissed Raavi on her cheek. Raavi's breath quickened and he squeezed her eyes shut on feeling his soft lips on her skin. Shiva's smile slipped and his eyes narrowed. He felt awkward and started looking here and there. He immediately pulled away and mumbled a "sorry" to Raavi. He gently held Rudra in his arms and patted him to sleep.