Khushi looked at his reflection in the mirror while she did her makeup. "Maybe, but it's a sweet gesture."
"Gluing my hands to my balls? I don't think so!"
Khushi giggled. "They're so sweet."
Arnav frowned. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
Khushi stuck her tongue out and finished up her makeup. "How do I look?"
Arnav sighed and got up from the bed, making his way over to his wife. "Beautiful as ever. But I prefer you without all the junk. You're perfect, just the way you are," he smiled.
Khushi blushed. "Kiss up," she teased.
Arnav cupped her face. "More like honest man."
Khushi smiled softly and kissed him softly on his lips. "I love you."
"I love you, too," and he kissed her.
The two held onto each other, when they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Both broke away instantly when they saw Dai Ma's back. While Khushi felt death would be better at the moment, Arnav found the situation too funny, though he suppressed his laughs.
"I'm assuming you're both ready," Dai Ma said, still not facing them.
"Uh, yeah," Arnav said casually. "We'll see you downstairs."
Dai Ma only nodded and left the room. When the door shut, Khushi groaned and sat down on the bed, covering her face.
"Kill me now," she groaned.
Arnav frowned. "It's not that big of a deal."
Khushi looked up at him with wide eyes. "She saw us kissing," she stressed, blushing really hard.
Arnav smirked. "Aww, my shy, timid wife is turning crimson."
"Am not," she defended, though Arnav was correct.
Arnav chuckled. "Are too."
Khushi frowned. "You're lucky it's our anniversary today, mister."
"Hmm, bold Khushi - I like," he winked.
Khushi rolled her eyes and got up. "Shall we?"
Arnav held his arm out for Khushi to link to. The couple walked out of their room and went downstairs. They joined the others, then headed out to the reception. Upon arrival, everyone clapped their hands and cheered, congratulating the couple. Lavanya went up to them and led them to the stage, seating them down. She picked up a mic by the DJ and spoke.
"Good evening everyone and welcome! Tonight, we celebrate the first anniversary of Bhai's and Bhabi's marriage."
Everyone clapped.
"Food is being placed now, so everyone can go line up. In a few, some of our loved ones will share a story. Thank you."
Lavanya turned off the mic and the guests dispersed. She went over to the couple, as well as Akash, Payal, NK, and Seema.
"Aww, you followed the family tradition," Lavanya said to Khushi.
Khushi smiled. "Of course."
"So Nanav, you ready for me to say an embarrassing story to the guests," NK said, wagging his eyebrows mischievously.
Arnav frowned. "Shut up."
Seema hit NK's arm. "Can't you behave for once." she teased.
"NK not messing with Bhai? That would take a miracle," Akash said.
Seema sighed. "Why didn't I fall in love with a man that's as calm as Akash?"
"Hey," NK exclaimed.
"Serves you right," Arnav smirked.
Payal wrapped her arm around her husband's. "Well sorry, but he's taken."
"Why me," Seema mocked.
NK gaped at her and Khushi chuckled.
"It's okay NK," Khushi said. "You have me."
"That's right," NK exclaimed, and he sat down beside Khushi.
"What the," Arnav said.
Khushi linked her arm with NK's and everyone but Arnav chuckled.
NK looked at Arnav. "Jealous you don't have this kind of connection," he said, wagging his eyebrows.
Seema scoffed. "As if." She sat down beside Arnav. "He's got me," she said, linking her arm with Arnav's.
Payal went around and stood behind them. "And me," she said, sticking her tongue out.
"Two beats one," Arnav smirked.
NK gaped at his wife and at Payal, and he squinted at Arnav.
Khushi scoffed. "Two beats one, huh?"
Khushi reached out and took Akash's hand. He went around and stood behind Khushi.
"Two on two," Khushi smirked.
NK made a face to Arnav. "What now Nanav?"
Both sides squinted each other down, not realizing the photographer was standing in front of the stage, taking pictures of them. The two sides continued to stare each other down, refusing to loose. Then they remembered Lavanya and they looked at her. Lavanya felt scared by their stares because they looked at her like she was meat, and they hadn't eaten in days.
Lavanya held her hand up. "Don't look at me, you'll loose regardless cause I'm on both sides."
"You should be on my side cause I'm your brother," Arnav said.
"But I'm you bhabi, making me even more special," Khushi said.
Lavanya chewed on the inside of her lip.
"What's it going to be," NK asked.
"Choose wisely," Seema said.
Lavanya gulped.
"Well," Payal questioned.
"What have you decided," Akash asked.
"Okay, why do I feel like I'm suddenly in a horror movie," Lavanya said.
No one said anything, waiting for her decision.
"You know what, I don't care!"
Lavanya turned around and sat down in between Arnav and Khushi. Everyone gaped at her and the photographer raised his camera.
"Smile," Lavanya grinned.
Everyone looked up at the photographer and he took the picture, everyone but Lavanya looking puzzled in the photo.
*~*
While they all bickered, the guests ate away. Music played in the background and the little kids messed around on the dance floor. Everyone was busy with their own thing. So busy, that no one realized there was an uninvited guest. Even if they were to, they never would have expected this guest to be here at all.
*~*
"What is going on here?"
Khushi looked up. "Shyam!"
Khushi got up and hugged her brother, Arnav joining her by her side.
"How are you Di," Sham asked, letting her go.
"Happy," Khushi smiled.
"Good."
Shyam shook hands with Arnav.
"You're here alone," Khushi asked.
"I didn't say anything to anyone and came on my own."
Khushi's smile slightly dropped. "Oh."
Arnav wrapped his arm around Khushi's waist. "I'm glad you could make it."
"Of course! Anything for my sister," Sham smiled.
The photographer came and took a picture of them.
Lavanya came running over. "Time for the speeches," she sang.
"Oh lord," Arnav groaned.
Khushi chuckled. "This should be interesting."
Lavanya got the mic again and asked everyone to settle down. Everyone sat in their seats and gave their full attention to Lavanya.
"Thank you. We're now going to share some of our favorite moments with Bhai, and I think I'll go first?"
She looked back at the others and they nodded.
"Okay! So I'm Lavanya. Um, of course there's been a lot of precious moments. Growing up, I've always seen Bhai, as we used to live here in this town at the time. Like any brother-sister relationship, there's always been a lot of teasing and kidding around. I remember one time when I was just a teenager-"
"You still are," Arnav said.
"Am not!"
Everyone chuckled.
"Anyways, were was I? Oh yeah, when I was just a teenager, Bhai would be very protective. It was bad I had NK bhai and Akash bhai hovering over me, but he was something else. I remember him dropping me off to school and if any guy looked at me, he would stare them down so badly, it was like he'd have lasers shooting at them."
Everyone chuckled and Khushi held Arnav's hand with a smile.
Lavanya chuckled. "When I think about it now, it's quite funny. But at the time, it was very irritating" she frowned.
"You're welcome," Arnav smirked.
"Actually, a thank you does come in order here because I might not have found the man I truly love," she said, looking at Aman. "So thanks Bhai for being so annoying."
"You're welcome," Arnav smiled with his boy-ish charm.
"And I'm glad you found the love of your life too. Thank you."
Everyone clapped.
"Who's next," Lavanya said.
Akash came forward. "I'll go," and he took the mic.
"Hi. I'm Akash. Um, talking to crowds isn't really my thing, but when it comes down to Bhai, I have to."
Everyone smiled softly.
"Although we're only a year apart, sometimes it would feel like we were years apart. Bhai always had this thing about him that made him seem older, more mature. Growing up, I looked up to him. He was and is my role model."
Arnav smiled softly.
"Ive seen people my age do a ton of crazy stuff, but like an older brother, Bhai always helped me from right and wrong. And I guess, in a way, he's made me who I am today. And because of that, I found the woman that I love oh so very much."
Payal smiled.
"So thanks Bhai. And congrats on finding the woman of your life," he smiled.
Everyone erupted into applause and Payal took the mic.
"Hi, I'm Payal. Um, so I met Bhai only a month or so after Akash and I started dating. I was kinda nervous because I knew how important of a figure he was to Akash. In fact, I was scared to meet Bhai. Knowing how important he was, I was scared I was going to make the wrong impression. But Bhai turned out to be really sweet and very supportive. I remember when we'd go out to events, Bhai would be alone."
Khushi looked at Arnav curiously.
"He never had a woman by his side, even though a lot of women wanted to be with him. I would always wonder why, but now I know," she said, looking back at Khushi. "He was destined to be with someone else."
Khushi smiled and Arnav held her hand.
"Love you guys," Payal smiled, and everyone applauded.
Seema looked at her husband and he gestured her to take the stage. She shook her head at him as she got up to take the mic.
"Guess I'm next then," she said. "Hi everyone, I'm Seema. I met Bhai a long time ago, and I mean a long time ago. I was only in the sixth grade when NK first introduced me to him. I admit, I was pretty nervous. Besides the fact that he was family, I heard how serious of a person he was. But typical NK, he totally exaggerated."
NK frowned and Arnav chuckled.
"Bhai was totally chill and... and he was sweet like... l-like...."
Seema hesitated a bit.
"I'm sorry," she tried to laugh off. "Um, Bhai was totally chill... a-and he was like a brother to me."
Knowing how difficult it was, NK went over to his wife and held her hand. Seema glanced at him and smiled lightly as he squeezed her hand lightly.
Seema took a deep breath. "As an orphan... it's hard to imagine ever having a family. Even though I had only met at the time and knew him for only a while, he made me feel like family," she smiled lightly, tears pooling in her eyes. "It truly felt like he was actually m-my brother."
Arnav smiled lightly and so did Khushi.
"I knew NK was wrong. He wasn't as serious as NK had claimed. Bhai was very sweet and loving and I knew that some girl out there would be very lucky to have someone like him in their life," she said, looking back at Khushi. "Congrats you two on your first anniversary."
Everyone clapped and Arnav got up to give Seema a hug.
NK took hold of the mic. "He's only nice to you wifey."
Seema frowned and lightly hit him on his arm while NK chuckled. Arnav and Seema took their seats and NK turned to the crowd.
"Hey everyone, hope you guys are enjoying the party," NK said.
The crowd cheered and NK grinned.
"Good, that means we'll have a blast when the music starts," he grinned.
Everyone chuckled.
"For those of you who don't me, and I mean who doesn't know me," he chuckled, "I'm NK."
Someone whooped and NK pointed out them.
"Oh yeah! Got a fan in the crowd," he grinned. "Anyways, out of us three bros, I'm the youngest. Which obviously means I'm the cutest."
Some girls hollered and whooped.
"Sorry ladies, happily married," he said, pointing at his ring.
Some of them whined and NK grinned while Seema made a face.
"So, as I was saying: I'm the youngest bro. Which means I'm the bratty one."
Everyone chuckled.
"In all honesty, I can be annoying. Especially when it comes to Nanav.
"Ever since Nanav first called himself that, I found myself calling him that and it just stuck with me. As much as it annoys him, he knows that deep down, he loves it."
"Actually, I don't," Arnav said.
"Ignore him," and everyone chuckled.
"While I may be the most annoying person in Nanav's life," he continued, "I also hold a special place in his heart."
"Lies," Arnav said.
"Don't be in denial," NK smiled.
Everyone chuckled again and Khushi playfully hit Arnav's arm.
"When we were young," NK continued, "I used to live in this town with my family. It was like a party everyday when it came to us Raizada's. We were at each other's place basically everyday! And of all of our places to go, I looked forward to going to Nanav's place because I was crazy for Kaki Ma's cookies."
At the mentioning of his mother, Arnav smiled sadly. Khushi noticed the expression on his face sadden, and she held his hand, giving it a light squeeze. She glanced at Aryan and saw him sigh, straighten his spine, and cross his arms, looking lost in thought.
"When I think about it now, I'm pretty sure it annoyed the crap out of her," he chuckled lightly. "But no matter what, she always had a batch of chocolate chip cookies ready for me."
Aryan sighed, memories flashing in his mind.
NK took a moment before he continued. "Growing up, I always saw the tremendous amount of love she poured on Nanav. The amount of love she had... it was just... something else really. And Nanav was pretty darn spoiled," he chuckled.
Arnav frowned while everyone chuckled lightly.
"There's this one moment that's always stayed stuck in my head. I think I was about five years old when this happened. Or maybe- no, I had just turned five and Nanav was turning seven. Anywho, I was looking for Nanav to ask him if I could play on the Nintendo 64, and I found him with Kaki Ma. They were talking about stuff and one thing I remember from that conversation was Kaki Ma talking about him getting married to a beautiful woman in the future. Of course, at the time I had laughed about it, but when I think about it now, it makes me wonder how she knew," he said, winking at Khushi.
Khushi smiled lightly.
"Nanav was always good at heart and that's really because of Kaki Ma, no offense Kaka," he said, looking at Aryan.
Aryan shook his with a soft smile.
"Kaki Ma always made sure that Nanav was sweet and kind-hearted. But when Kaki Ma passed away..." He took a shuddering breath. "Nanav changed after that. He closed himself off and was always upset."
Khushi was surprised by the information and she glanced at Arnav, who only looked straight at NK.
"He wasn't the same. Akash and I tried to lighten up his mood, but he wouldn't budge. For a while I wondered what to do, when I remembered what Kaki Ma had said to him once: never change and always be the good and kind boy you are. It stuck with me and I felt that it was necessary of me to do something. So I began to annoy him."
Some people chuckled lightly and some had tears pooling.
"I made it my obligation to keep Nanav the way he was. It helped that Akash was around, though they ended up moving away to the city for about two years, but that didn't stop me from my mission. And I think me annoying him and keeping him on his toes is what brought him back to being him. So basically, if there's any reason why I annoy him, it's because I love him," he said, his throat closing up. He faced Arnav. "And if Kaki Ma were here today, she'd be so proud of you."
Arnav got up and he gave NK a hug. The two brothers hugged while everyone had tears pooling in their eyes and their throats were closed up.
Arnav let go of NK and messed with his hair, causing everyone to chuckle. NK frowned and released him, and tried to get Arnav, and the two started to mess around.
"Okay, okay, you got me," NK said, and Arnav stopped and gave him a hug. "I love you bro."
Arnav smiled. "And no one loves you."
"Hey!"
"Okay, okay," Aryan said, coming to break the two, "no fighting you two. It seems like marriage didn't even make you two grow up."
Everyone chuckled.
Lavanya came over and took the mic from NK. "Now then, why don't we bring up the mood and start this party?"
Everyone hollered. Lavanya looked at the DJ and he turned up the music. People got on to the dance floor and the Raizada clan joined. Everyone danced the night away, going crazy as they all got sweaty and makeup dissolved away.
While everyone was too preoccupied, the unknown guest remained hidden. The guest glanced out from their hiding place and watched Arnav and Khushi as they held each other and danced the night away. The guest glanced around the crowd until their eyes landed on someone.
I'm coming for you.
