It was well past midnight, and surprisingly enough, the house was almost completely still, noiseless. Armaan was sound asleep in his room, lit up slightly, only by the moon, peeking through the curtains of his room, trying to look in through the balcony.

He had a soft smile on his face as he slept, sound and beautiful. It was a long, cold night and there she was.. standing at the door of his room, debating whether or not she should go inside and wake him up.

She was looking slightly guilty. Technically, she was not supposed to be here. Technically, she shouldn't have been here. She had promised Dadi sa that she would never enter this house without her permission. She wanted to be in the room with all the rights when she met him next.

Yet here she was, she felt somewhat like a stalker. She had half a mind to get out of the room, out of the house.

She glanced affectionately at Armaan and began to step back into the slightly lit up hallway. Her heart was beating erratically, hands shaking as she placed them on her face, trying to stifle a sob. She shouldn't have come here. She was walking backwards, when her foot collided painfully with something.

She let out a yelp, without even meaning to. She looked around, startled. Armaan stirred awake, switching the light on from a switch on the bedside. "Abhira?"

She looked at him, her eyes wide in fear, tears pooled her eyes from the pain pulsing through her foot. Armaan got out of bed. "Ira.. Abhira beta.. are you hurt?"

He walked over to her and held her close to his chest. Abhira gasped laboriously as she shoved her face in his chest. "I'm sorry." I'm sorry?

"What for, love?" He asked, still holding her in his arms.

"Woke you, sneaked in— midnight— I.. I didn't want to— tujhe nahi uthana tha.. tujhe.."

Armaan led her back to the bed, and made her sit as she continued to mumble her apologies softly. He sat on his knees in front of her and took her foot delicately in his hands, examining for wounds.

She hadn't woken him, the clutter and the bang had. Of course, half asleep, he wouldn't have the sense to know that she was hurt, but he was dreaming of her, she was hurt in that dream too. Armaan was not entirely sure whether he was still dreaming or not, but it didn't matter.

Dream or not, she was with him and she was hurt.

In the short few seconds that had passed, her foot had started bleeding from a deep cut.

She was hurt right below her ankle, towards her toes. "Oh, sweetheart. I am so sorry. I should have kept one of the lights on."

"Mujhe hona nahi chahiye tha yahan." Abhira sighed. "Tumhe kaise pata hoga?"

"Tumhara ghar hai yeh, mujhse poochke ghar thodi lautogi tu har baar. Mujhe yaad hona chahiye tha ki tu andhere se darti hai." Armaan caressed her face gently.

"Mai nahi aati toh?"

Armaan shrugged, "Toh bhi I should have taken a precaution. Tum ayi na?"

Abhira looked down, sucking in a shocked breath. Somehow, a hit she didn't even feel at first had left a long, deep gash on her right foot.

"I'm sorry, Armaan. Mujhse nahi hua." She said quietly. "I didn't want to disappoint you."

Armaan smiled at her softly. "You can never disappoint me, Abhira. Ek shitty dinn ke baad, sabko haq hota hai ghar aane ka. You have had one shitty day after another. It doesn't matter how long it takes you, you always come home when you are tired."

"I missed you.."

"I missed you too, princess. I was dreaming of you." He informed her.

"I couldn't sleep yesterday, or the day before." Abhira confessed quietly. "Papa ke jaane ke baad, jab tum nahi hote toh darr jaati hoon. Mujhe dadisa ki permission ke bina nahi aana tha. Mujhe nahi aana chahiye tha, but I was too alone with my thoughts and—"

"Too stubborn to come home even though you were miserable." He pointed out, while he bandaged her foot after cleaning the wound with antiseptic. "Dadi sa ziddi hain, magar iska matlab yeh nahi hai ki tum ya mai khud ko torture karenge, unki zid hamari kaid nahi bann sakti, mera baccha."

"I'm here. I broke my promise, but I am here. I should not be. But—"

"No explanations needed, Ira. Tu patni hai meri. No matter what the world says, what dadi sa believes."

Armaan smiled at her and kissed her knuckles. "Were you trying to sneak out?"

Abhira looked at him surprised, then her adorable face creased in a sad guilt. "I know you, my little lioness."

Armaan got off the floor and gestured for her to pull her feet up.

"I wanted to be better for you. I wanted to be your family's choice. I wanted to be your Dadi Sa's—"

"You are the best thing to happen to me, Ira. Even with all your demons, Dadi Sa's anger, my pain, your loneliness, your darkness, you have to know, you are everything I want." Armaan said softly. Meanwhile, Armaan sat on the bed, right next to her.

"You don't have to be better than this to be mine. Dadi Sa doesn't get to pick on your imperfections when they are what makes you perfect for me."

"I can spend my whole life telling you that, but you have to trust me at some point, at least."

Abhira wet her lips, trying to find words, any words to defend herself, tell him that she trusted him. "My mind is not usually a good place. I have never had a family like— this. It scares me that I will do something wrong and make it all— come crashing to the ground." She confessed. "I don't want to burden you with that fear. I can't.."

"If you bear the burden. So do I, Abhira. Yeh decide karne ka haq mera bhi hona chahiye." He said firmly, making her flinch. Armaan sighed, cupping her face gently.

"I'm sorry, baby. I love you and I know that your mind is not a good place for you, and I also know that myself and my own family have caused that. Toh mai tujhe wahan akela kaise chodu meri jaan, mujhe samjha? Apne hi andar ghut jayegi tu jaan, aur agar tere pas mere hote hue bhi koi nahi hoga, toh—"

"Tu hai na yahan— hamesha rahega."

"If you don't let me in, mere hone na hone ka koi faayda nahi hai." He said softly. "Tera haq hai mujhpe, Ira. Mai aata hoon na tere paas? Teri god me sar rakh ke sone? Toh, kya problem hai mujhe batane mein? Mere pas aane me? You have all the right to do it. Even if breaks a hundred rules set by a tyrant."

"Dadi sa hain woh.." Abhira chided.

"Just because she is my grandmother, does not make her any less of a tyrant. We both know, woh yeh sab ego me kar rahi hain. Ego se ghar nahi chalte. Rishte nahi sambhalte." Armaan said

Abhira didn't respond. She could not form words. It was not that she didn't know that it was the right thing to do, for her own sake and him, but what could she ever do, when all her life, she had been forced to hide herself, her traumas, her insecurities, her fears behind a perfect smile.

If she said anything to her mother, it'd throw their already complicated life in more chaos. Akshara Abhimanyu Birla had lost too much, been through hell before her. It was evident she didn't need to revisit that hell again with raising her daughter.

So Abhira became Akshu's sunshine baby. She became the support Akshara needed. She learned to fight the demons under her bed on her own and never bothered her mother about them.

Eventually the blanket forts became her coping mechanisms, and the burdens kept piling up. She hated it, but Abhira was scared Armaan would not want her burdens.

No one wanted to stick around for the hard parts. Never.

Armaan didn't interrupt her thoughts for a long few minutes. "You know— Maa ki death hui, I was just a baby. Papa mujhe ghar laaye, taaki mai pariwar me bada ho pauin. Mene inn logon ko hamesha apne upar rakha, kyon ki mere liye, woh log priority the. Unke liye mai priority nahi tha."

"My father knew that and he did what was best for me." He sighed, a few minutes later. "It didn't matter because Vidya Maa always saw me as the outsider. The other woman's kid. I grew up thinking that. I— was the outsider, I wanted to fit in."

Abhira looked up. You are not the outsider, Armaan.

"I spent more of my life achieving things to make a place in the house. I came first, became Dadi Sa ka golden boy because I thought I would belong, finally. I did well, I became the best lawyer in the city because of that— nothing else mattered."

"But it does."

"Not to me, never to me. I didn't care about myself, I cared about everyone else, most of all, about Dadi Sa and her opinion. I just— I went numb because— I could not tell anyone how it felt. No one else was the outsider. Kaun samajh sakta tha mujhe, mai Dadi Sa ke rejection ke baad, maa ke gusse, unke shun karne ke baad kaisa tha kitna rota tha, kitni baar mere bado ne mera dil toda hai, no one knew at first. Toh— I closed off, Papa se bhi baat nahi kar paya kabhi, sab kucch bottle up karne lagg gaya and—"

"The void grew. It kept growing." Abhira said in a small voice.

"See, you know." He brightened up slightly. "Woh void zindagiyan kha jaata hai Ira. Bahot baar, nikalne ka raasta dikhta bhi nahi hai."

Abhira took her bottom lip between her teeth. "You have felt it?"

"My mind is not perfect either. Abhira. No one's mind is perfect. Aur isiliye, mai tumhaare burdens ko dekh ke, tere dard ko dekh ke bhaagunga nahi. In all my senses, I offer you a home you can come to, whenever the world is too much to handle." He said gently.

"In all my senses, and with all my heart, I ask you to give me your grief, your sorrow, your sleepless nights, your trauma and everything that is too hard for you. Mujhe mere bhai behen ne haath dia tha. Void se kheech ke bahar nikala tha. Isiliye shayad mai unke liye bhi itna protective hoon, kyonki woh samajhte hain."

"They were in all senses, my first family, My second is my Abhira, You. Toh, mai bhi samjhta hoon, Abhira. Mai tumhe haath de raha hoon. Bahar nikalne ki ek baar koshish karke toh dekho.."

"Kuch nahi hua toh bhi, mera haath kabhi chutega nahi."

Abhira looked at him, he had his hand stretched out. She chuckled softly and placed her hand on his.

"Promise?"

"Meri jaan ki kasam. Koi kuch bhi kahe baby, tum meri ho, meri Abhira. Meri strong sherni."

Abhira nodded slowly and rested her head on his shoulder. Armaan smiled, "Sleepy?"

"I don't know.. Safe. home."

Armaan pulled her in much closer and kissed her head. "I love you, Abhira. In your darkest nights and your brightest mornings. There is nothing in this world that could take you away from me— or me away from you."

"I'll put that to the test. You have to know that." Abhira said softly. She closed her eyes, and Armaan kissed her head. "I will try my best not to disappoint you."

How is this one? Do tell

Love
Vinny