Next morning,

The early sunlight was peeping from the window in Raavi's room and falling directly on Shiva's eyes. His forehead and eyebrows furrowed and slowly, he woke up.

He rubbed his eyes and pressed his fingers lightly on his throbbing forehead.

"Ye chai pi lijiye, uske baad dawai bhi lena padega, saar dard kam ho jayega"

Shiva looked up to find Raavi standing in front of him with all her glory.

Shiva scrunched his eyebrows and looked here and there. Then he stated,

Main yaha kaise aa gaya!, kal to apna kuch purane dost ke sath tha, waha..

Raavi : Chal ke, nahi ud ke.

Shiva glowered and said : Kya bakwas hai ye!

Raavi giggled and stated: Areh! The Great Shiva Pandya ke sath bakwas, meri itni himmat hi kaha hai! Apne hi to kaha tha, ki aap ud ke aya hai, to main to wahi..

Shiva narrowed his eyes and stated: Ha theek hai, theek hai, mazak uda rahe ho mera, karo jo karna hai.

Raavi: Achha, ye sab chodo, kal apne itna kyun drink kiya tha? Aap to aise karte nahi ho, to phir. Kaal Kuch hua tha kya?

Shiva: Jaise Main kab kya karta hoon, kya nahi, kaisa hoon, tumhe badah pata hai! Waise, itna to drink to main kabhi kadhta nahi hoon, padh pata nahi kal kya ho gaya tha mujhe, thik se kuch yaad bhi nahi hai. ( Pausing a bit) Anyway, main kal tumhe bahut pareshan kiya kya? See, I really don't remember what I did yesterday. I'm sorry, aise achanak raat mein aana nahi chahiye tha, tumhe bahut taklif hui hogi aur....

Raavi shushed him by putting her finger on his lips and softly uttered: Main theek hoon, kal apne kuch pareshan nahi kiya mujhe, aur ( pausing) aap ke presence mein mujhe kabhi koi taklif nahi hogi, thoda pareshan aagar kar bhi lete to bhi nahi hota.

Shiva smiled and gently touched her face.

He looked at her intensely with his deep hazel eyes, he could see a faint blush on her cheeks.

For a few seconds they looked silently into each other's eyes and seemed lost in themselves. Suddenly, a phone call interrupted their moment. Shiva's smile slipped on seeing the caller id. It was Aarav.

Raavi gave him a once over and pressed her lips together. Then she picked up the call. While conversing on the phone, she could feel Shiva's constant glare upon herself and she inwardly chuckled. After some time, she hung up the call and looked at a sulking Shiva who stood up and went towards the washroom.

Raavi sighed, her mouth curved into a smile recalling the previous night.

Raavi's pov

Kal raat ek sapna jaisa tha, mujhe laga tha ki hum dono kabhi ek nahi ho payenge par shayad aisa nahi hai, kahi na kahi Aapke dil mein bhi mere liye feelings hai, abhi bhi kuch khatam nahi hua, shayad...

Shiva: Itni khi khi karne ka bhi kya baat ho gaya, ha!

Raavi's trance got broken and she stared at him.

Raavi: Nahi, aisa bhi kuch nahi.

Shiva taunted: Ha, subah subah best friend ka call jo aya hai, ghumne ka planning hua, aab to duniya bhar ki khush hi to ayega hi. Sahi hai.

Raavi smirked and snapped back : Obviously, isse zyada khushi ki baat aur kya hi ho sakta hai, aaj to ek special jagah pe jayenge hum. Aap bhi humein join kar sakte ho. Achha lagega.

Shiva scrunched up his face and glared at her. He strode towards her, and the next thing she could feel that she was being caged against the window by Shiva with her hands locked with his one hand above her head.

Shiva: Mujhe kisse achhe lagega, kisse nahi, ye mujhe hi decide karne do, tumhe jahan jaana hai jao, tum dono ke bich mein mujhe waise bhi nahi rehna, mera kaam hai, main nahi aaunga.

Raavi pushed him slightly and uttered: But, aaj to sunday hai. Aur Aarav...

Shiva shushed her and said: Ha, to! ghar mein kaam hai, har waqt Aarav-Aarav, uske alawa to aajkal aur kuch dikhta bhi nahi tumhe. Anyway, tum aapne special dost ke sath special moment spent karoge, usme mujhe ghasitna ki kya zaroorat hai!

Raavi teased him : Ha special moment to hoga hi, bahut khushi ka pal hoga. Waise aap ko aane ki bhi Wajah tha but thik hai, main aap ko force nahi karungi. Par aapko Aarav se itna kyun problem ho raha hai!

Shiva again walked closer, making her little nervous, he stared at her for a while, it was looking like he was about to say something, some unsaid emotions piled up in his chest, he slid his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and whispered, being hurt : Mujhe kisi se koi problem nahi hai. Tum agar khush ho Aarav ke sath to ye to achi baat hai, mujhe isme problem kyun hoga.

Raavi ( in mind) : Ise thora jalake to acha hi lag raha tha but aab lag Raha hai zyada hi kar diya, mujhe pakka pata hai Aarav ne bhi ise tease to bahut kiya hoga aur Shiva sir ko bhi kuch misunderstanding ho gaya hai, isliye to aaj inka wahan rehna zaroori tha.

Shiva: Aab main chalta hoon. Kal ke liye, thank you.

He left.

Later that evening,

Shiva was walking along the road towards his friend's house, when suddenly his eyes got stuck on the nearby park.

Shiva: Ye to Raavi hai, yaha kya kar rahi hai!

He slowly went there to check up on her. He was shocked at the sight of the unbelievable scene in front of him. There stood Aarav hugging a guy ( it was not a friendly hug) and Raavi giggling and it seemed like she was cheering them on.

Shiva widened his eyes in shock and confusion and curiously stepped towards them.

Aarav: Areh bro! What a surprise. Mujhe laga tum nahi aaoge.

Raavi( in mind) : Wo to mujhe bhi pata tha, isliye to yaha Aarav ko aane ko boli. Mujhe to Suman aunty ne keh diya tha aaj Aap yahan se hi apne dost ke ghar jaoge.

Shiva: Main yaha se hi jaa raha tha, ye tum dono, matlab tum teeno yaha , aur tum wo...

Aarav pulled him into a hug and whispered : Maine tumhe kaha tha na, meri aur Raavi ka shaadi hone mein do problem hai, to usme se ye hi hai ek problem.

Breaking the hug, he smiled at Shiva and said : Meet Neel, he is my boyfriend.

Shiva got flabbergasted, taking a deep breath, he gave a half smile and greeted him. He was still processing the current events.

After some time, Raavi uttered.

Aarav aur Neel bahut saal se hi ek sath hai, actually Aarav ka gharwalo thoda conservative hai, to Aarav ne apne baare mein bhi nahi bata pa raha tha, baad mein pata chalne ke baad, thoda problem bhi hua tha, abhi bhi bahut log homosexuality ko accept nahi kar pate hai, jo galat hai, but ye bhi hai ki kahi na kahi kuch elder generation ke log ko thora waqt lagega ye accept karne mein, sab to ek jaise nahi hai. Aarav ka ghar mein problem hua tha, but abhi sab kuch theek hai, even Aarav aur Neel to settle hone ke liye bhi soch raha hai.

Shiva brightened and smiled widely. He congratulated the couple and wished them for their future.

After a while, Aarav called Shiva in a corner and stated: Main chahta tha ki tum bhi raho ya pein, aur kuch din hi rahunga yaha, Kolkata bhi lautna hai.

Shiva: I'm genuinely happy for both of you. Kabhi bhi koi madaat chahiye, to mujhe batana and I'm sorry for my past behavior. You both are very lucky to have each other.

Aarav: I'm also sorry Shiva, main bhi tumhe bahut pareshan karta tha.

(Then he smirked and winked at him) Waise, tumhare jaisa itna hot partner milna bhi luck ki baat hoga, I mean jisko milega.

Shiva felt awkward and embarrassed and narrowed his eyes.

Aarav: Areh! Don't worry, main bahut loyal hoon. Isliye to dil pe pathar rakh ke tumhe pehle hi "bro" bana diya tha.

Shiva ( in mind) : Ye pagal hi rahega.

Aarav: Ok, so aab chalta hoon, bahut khush rehna, and I think tum kisi baat ko lekar pareshan ho, I hope usme tumhe jaldi clarity mil jaye.

Aarav ( in mind) : Shayad mera aur Raavi ka shadi na hone ka dusra reason bhi tab samajh jaoge.

Aarav and Neel left.

Shiva: Tum pagal ho kya! Tumne ye baat mujhe pehle kyun nahi batayi, upar se Aarav, aisa baat karta tha, lagta tha ki...

Raavi: Aaj to batane ke liye bula rahi thi. Par aapko to akad dikhana tha. Waise aap Aarav ko lekar kya soch raha the? Mera to aur bhi dost hai, unko lekar to aapne kabhi kuch nahi kaha.

Shiva peered at her through the corner of his eyes and stated: Aisa.. aisa bhi kuch nahi. Wo baar baar Shaadi ke baat bol raha tha , ek sath achche lagne ki baat bol raha tha aur tum bhi to.....

Raavi: Agar aisa hota bhi to kya problem hota?

Shiva pressed his lips together and lowered his eyes.

Shiva: K.. kuch nahi.

Raavi bent her head and her lips questioned him gently at first, and then with more emotion, she said: To phir aap itne gusse mein kyun rehte the? Aarav ke sath mujhe dekkar aap react kyun karte the? Wo to ek achha ladka hi hai, to phir...

Shiva's mouth set in a hard line. Anger seized him and he clenched his fist. Then he held her arms tightly and pulled her body closer. She crashed on his hard chest and his arm involuntarily snaked around her waist.

Shiva yelled: Ha, gussa karta tha, mujhe hota tha problem, pehle wo Aarav mujhe bilkul achha nahi lagta tha , hota tha taklif, samaj rahe ho tum, hota tha gussa, kyunki tumhare sath main kisi aur ko nahi dekh sakta.

Raavi was taken aback by Shiva's reaction. She looked at him nervously and started fidgeting with her fingers. On the other hand, Shiva was completely shocked with his own words. His expression closed up, A sudden uncomfortable unusual feeling engulfed him. They were both silent for a few moments. After a moment, Shiva lifted his chin and rubbed his temples, he shut his eyes for a moment and tried to calm down.

Recollecting his composure, he muttered a "Bye" to which Raavi slightly nodded, he took a step back and turned around to leave. A flush crept up her face, and smiling a little, she kept on staring at his retreating figure.