16+ content.

.....

Ring ring

Ring ring

Ring ring

Raavi groaned and reached for her phone by her bedside, wondering who was calling her for the 5th time and disturbing her sleep.

"Apna ye sasta alarm clock bandh kar na, Raavi." Shiva mumbled irritatedly, his arm around her waist pulling her closer as he adjusted his face in the crook of her neck.

"Kar rahi hu na, muh kya sada raha hai!" Raavi retaliated sleepily, the brightness of her phone and darkness of the room allowing her to open one eye only to accept the video call.

"Hello?" She asked, not even bothering to see who was on the other side.

"Raavi, kabse phone kar rahi hoon tujhe!" Dhara chimed from the phone, "phone nahi utha sakti kya?"

"Bolo na, kya hua?" Raavi mumbled, rubbing her eyes, slapping Shiva's arm as he mumbled for her to keep the phone and sleep like a normal human, yet cuddling closer to her.

"Shiva kaha hai?"

"Yahi hai. Kyu?" She answered sleepily, still not registering who she was talking to.

"12 bajke aadha ghanta ho gaya, hum sab usko wish karne ke liye ruke hai, aur woh phone hi nahi utha raha!"

Raavi blinked her sleep away, and saw Dhara's face on her screen, Suman in the background trying to peek into the phone, and everyone else surrounding her, waiting to see Shiva.

"Kya bol rahe ho?" She clicked her tongue, and groaned, "Maine 12 baje ka alarm lagaya hai usko wish karne, abhi aadha ghanta hai. So jaao. Goodnight. Aadhe ghante baad phone karo aap."

"Aye dobi!" Dhara said, exasperatedly, "12 baj gaye. Shiva so raha hai ki jaag raha hai?"

"So raha hai chipkali ko pakad ke, aap apne waale ko pakdo, jo bhi ho, mujhe baksh do." Shiva mumbled, throwing a leg over Raavi's, causing Dhara to frown.

"Kya? Tere baju mein koi hai?"

Raavi's eyes shot open, the time reading 12:30 indeed, panicking at the thought of their families finding out over a stupid phone call. The first thing she did was turn off the video and audio of the video call, reaching for the lights and punching Shiva's arm.

"Kya hai tujhe!" Shiva yelled, getting up with a scowl, "Beech raat dauhre padte hai kya tujhe?!"

"Shiva, Dhara di ka phone hai! Sab log hai phone pe!" She exclaimed worriedly, as Shiva's eyes widened.

"Iski-" He sat up, ruffling a hand through his hair nervously. "Ab kya? Ek kaam kar-"

He pushed her off the bed, hearing her fall with a thud, as she got up glaring at him, her hair all over face.

"Sorry." He stuck his tongue out guiltily, pointing towards the door. "Tu udhar se aa, it should seem like you are entering the room jab camera chalu ho, okay?"

"Kya kya karata hai-" She grumbled, walking out of the room to the centre of the living room, turning on the camera and audio.

"-pata nahi. Arre! Kaha chali gayi thi?"

Zameen pe padi hui thi, thanks to Shiva Pandya. "Sorry, woh signal weak that isliye I was changing the network." Raavi said, giving some nonsense reason, entering the room, handing her phone over to Shiva.

"Happy birthday, Shiva!"

"Happy birthday, mere bhai!"

"Happy happy birthday!"

"Aye Siva! Heppy janamdin to you!"

"Baar baar din ye aaye-"

Shiva chuckled, as his family wished him through the phone, his friends entering his room with a bottle of whiskey and cake, hiding the bottle behind their back immediately when they saw his family on the call.

They lit the candles and cut the cake, feeding each other cake through the screen, Gaurav and Shashank smearing some of the cream on his face, Raavi holding the camera for everyone, as Suman warded all evil off from where she was, seeing her son so happy in a long time.

"Aye Siva. Tere liye ek gift bheja hai maine. Woh Raavi koi doctor se milne aayi this Somnath, toh uske haatho bhej diya. Theek che?" Suman informed him, as Shiva smiled.

"Kya bheja hai?! Bata na!"

"Woh tujhe milega toh mai phone karungi. Tujhe tere janamdin pe bohot khushi mile, beta. Kabhi apne maa se milne aayega ki nahi?" Suman dabbed at her eyes, suddenly emotional at the absence of her son.

"Kya Maa, tu bhi!" Shiva said, trying to cheer her up. "Aaunga na! Ye semester khatam hote hi chuttiyon mein bhaag ke aaunga ghar, tere paas. Promise! Aankhon mein aansu nahi dikhne chahiye mujhe, theek hai?" He warned her through the screen, and she put on a smile for him, asking him about his college, his studies and whether he had a girlfriend or not.

Shiva shook his head. He had been meaning to tell his mother about him and Raavi. But he didn't want to do this over a simple phone call, they were both 2 very important people in his life, and he was just waiting for them to go back to Somnath for vacations so that he can tell them.

But his mother was smart enough to guess that he had been hiding this, because she had caught him with a very prominent lipstick mark one day, not telling anyone in the house, and since then she had been pestering him to know about his girlfriend, promising not to tell anyone.

So far, she had kept that promise. And Shiva knew she intended on doing so. He just didn't want her to know from a third person, and wanted to tell her himself, waiting until they went back home to tell her.

After spending half an hour talking to his family, cleaning up the mess from the cake, getting the classic 'birthday bombs' from his friends who apparently never grew out of it, Shiva finally settled back in bed after washing his face to get rid off the cake.

"Happy birthday, my love." Raavi whispered, looping her hands around his neck from the side, and kissing his cheek.

"Sabse last wish karte hue sharam nahi aati?" Shiva whispered playfully, pulling her onot his lap, swooping in for a kiss. "Meri chipkali."

She chuckled, caressing his beard. "Chal, kya gift chahiye, bata?"

"Jo mangunga degi?" He asked, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Haa."

"Pakka?" He pointed at her, smirking. "Soch ke bol rahi hai na?"

"Tu bol ke toh dekh." She raised the invisible collar on her t shirt, in confidence.

Shiva pulled her closer, ghosting his lips over her skin, from her cheeks to her ear lobes. "Woh green, low-cut, backless dress pehen sakti hai mere liye?" He whispered in her ears, his baritone causing shivers to run down her spine.

Raavi's eyes widened at his request, how had he seen that dress? That was supposed to be a surprise outfit for their first anniversary date. "Tune kaha se dekhi woh?!"

"Bas dekh li." He replied, toying with the ends of her t-shirt, actually, his t-shirt that she had stolen from him, which he had made tersm with, he was never getting back. "Bol. Will you wear it for me?"

"Bas itna gift chahiye?" She asked, her hands creeping under the sleeves of his shirt, caressing his biceps.

Shiva nodded, and Raavi chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Okay. Done. Dinner ke liye jaayenge, I'll wear that for you."

"You'll look so hot in it." He murmured against her hair, tickling her ears, koi toh mujhe roklo.

"I know. Isliye toh khareeda tha." She kissed his cheeks and forehead, "Now sleep. Kal college jaana hai."

"Warden kyu bann rahi hai?"

"Because I can, and I will. Goodnight, happy birthday, love you." Raavi said, reaching for the lights, and burrowed herself in his arms, hearing his laughter rumble through his chest.

Iss ladki ka kya karun mai, hey bhagwaan!

.....

Raavi styled her hair into a flower crown, strands of hair pulled back as the rest flowed freely down her back, smoothening her dress and looking at herself in the mirror before turning around to look at Shiva.

"Kaisi lag rahi hu?"

Shiva looked up from his shoes, folding the sleeves of his yellow shirt, and kept looking at his chipkali in front of him, stunned, as she twirled twice for him.

The green backless dress in question was knee length from the front, gliding on towards the back to touch the floor, held together by thin straps that merged into a deep neckline, curving into a 'U' to frame her back. Paired with her styled hair, make up that he couldn't even name and that look of anticipation on her face, she looked utterly gorgeous.

"Raavi," Shiva said, stepping closer and closer until he was close enough to qrsp his arms around her waist, "check kar, mujhe fever hai ki nahi?"

Raavi frowned, placing her palm on his forehead and neck, "Nahi toh."

"Toh itni garmi kyu lag rahi hai?" He whispered, nuzzling his cheek with hers, and she pushed him back a little.

"Pagal hai kya, AC chalu hai!" Raavi pointed at the AC, and Shiva facepalmed internally, giving her a look and patting her cheeks in rememberance of her common sense.

2 seconds later, the light bulb went off in her head and she pulled him close, making him wrap his arms around her. "Normal logon ki tarah compliment nahi kar sakta tha kya?" She asked, smiling, poking her finger into his chest.

"Mai? Normal? Hum normal hai?" Shiva scoffed, and she slapped his arm, "Ekdum hot lag rahi hai. Bilkul jaise maine socha tha." He whispered, cupping her face and kissing her over and over again, each kiss for the number of times he felt like ripping that dress off her, "Bas ek cheez ki kami hai."

"Kya?" Raavi shrugged, looking at her dress and touching her face and ears, while Shiva emerged with a ribbon.

"Tere sarr pe baandh deta hu, meri best birthday gift." Shiva said, tying the ribbon over her head and under her chin. Raavi narrowed her eyes at him, and crossed her arms, watching Shiva reach for his phone and click a picture of her, in an elegant green dress and then a baby pink ribbon around her head.

"How funny. Ha ha!" Raavi untied the ribbon and tossed it away, turning away from him, "Remind me why I love you again?"

She felt herself being spun around and backed into the wall nearest to her, Shiva's piercing gaze on her, one arm pulling her close, the other on the wall behind her.

"You want me to start reminding you, now?" He whispered huskily, his nose tracing the outline of her features, causing her breathing to go haywire.

"Maine haa bola, toh?"

Shiva growled, pulling her into a soul-searing kiss, arm wrapped tightly around her, pulling her flush against himself. He reached for her hair and tugged in it slightly, angling her head to kiss her deeper, as she sighed into his ministrations.

Raising herself on her toes, she flipped them over, so that he was trapped between her and the wall, causing him to smirk, letting her take control.

She trailed kissed along the side and under his jaw, and stopped right near the crook where he hissed.

I'm getting better at this.

She gently bit the skin, soothing it with her tongue, grazing lightly enough to not need makeup to cover it, but enough to show that he was hers, all hers.

Raavi pressed a harder kiss, and he practically growled again, his hands grabbing at her scalp a little too harshly, causing her to yelp.

"Sorry." Shiva whispered, loosening his grip on her hair, his hands moving to the straps of her dress.

He slid them down gently, peppering kisses along the lengths of her shoulder, her collarbone, and the swells of her chest, making sure not to leave too much of a mark.

A knock on there door and a harsh 'CHALO!' broke them apart, and Shiva sighed in frustration, muttering curse words under his breath.

Every time the two of them wanted to take a risk, to take a step further, someone or the other would interrupt them; be it a phone or a person or the fact that they sometimes went to sleep without seeing each other due to schedules.

So far, they had managed to touch second base with each other, and just before third base was when they'd always get interrupted, frustrating them quite a lot as a result.

"I'll make it up to you when we're back, okay?" Raavi patted his cheek, keeping that in mind, kissing him a few more times before straightening her appearance and hair.

Which had loosened up from all the tugging, so she decided to let the flower crowns loose and pinned few strands of her hair back instead.

"Arre wait, my watch!" Raavi touched her wrist, and opened the drawer in their cupboard to search for it, taken aback by something else.

Raavi inspected the rectangle Durex box in the drawer, which was at the back of all the items in the drawer.

"Shiva, ye kya hai?" She asked, holding the box in her hand.

Shiva looked over his shoulder, not noticing what she held, shrugging it off.

"Puch rahi hoon kuch."

He turned around and saw her holding the blue box, and immediately up at her. She didn't look pissed, but she definitely looked hurt.

"It's not what you are thinking-"

"Maine toh kuch kaha hi nahi." Raavi whispered, tossing it on the bed and fidgeting with the bracelet on her wrist.

Shiva sighed and walked towards her, holding her hands in his. "It's unopened."

"So?"

He kissed her hands and looked at her doe-like eyes, that looked like they would glaze over very soon.

"I love you." Shiva said, with utmost honesty, "It's just that, aaj mera birthday hai. And I kept this with me because-"

Shiva gulped, looking at his feet before looking at her again. "Because if you decided to take that step with me, mai nahi chahta tha hum unprepared rahe."

Raavi looked at him, admiring the man in front of her, for thinking about them and for them. All she wanted to do was tell him that-

"Shiva-"

"I need you to know that I'm ready. God knows I have been." Shiva caressed her knuckles with his thumb, his expression giving away a sense of unsurety. "But I know you aren't."

Raavi was taken aback, surprised at his answer. Whatever made him think that way? She was a willing participant in all their amorous activities, not backing out, or more accurately put, not WANTING to back out when it came to him.

The level of comfort that they shared, she knew she would never feel that with anyone else. He meant the world to her, and he was feeling this way?

"Shiva meri baat-"

"And it's okay agar tu ready nahi hai. I understand why." He said, and Raavi nodded her head.

"Mai intezaar kar lunga. Or if you think I'm not the right guy, mujhe woh bhi manzoor hai. Mujhe bas tujhse kehni thi ye baat, hmm?" Shiva smiled, kissing her forehead and swiftly moving out of the room, leaving Raavi in confusion.

"Kaise batau isse ki-" She clicked her tongue in irritation, not knowing why this bhoothnath wouldn't listen to her. She had made her decision long ago, when simple touches and sensual kisses caused a straining pit to form in her belly.

Her decision to be with him. If he would just listen, once, he wouldn't have to be like this on his birthday, of all days.

No matter, Raavi determined. She'd make her decision known to him in the best way possible.

On their anniversary.

....

"Choti, sunn na." Shashank folded his sleeves and smoothening his shirt. "Kaisa dikh raha hoon."

"Ekdum amazing!" Raavi smiled, dusting off his shoulders. "Kisi ko patane ka iraada hai kya, hmm?" She teased, and he shook his head

"I do have a date," He scratched the back of his head, and Raavi gasped excitedly, "Leke aau aaj club mein?"

"OF COURSE!" Raavi shook him harshly, excited at the prospect of this eternally single man finally having someone! "Who is the lucky babe? Is it the same one you were naughty texting that day? You need to up your game, you can do better!" She excitedly blabbered.

"Ae, tujhe kaise pata!" Shashank gasped in horror, and Raavi clicked her tongue. "Tune apna phone khula chod diya tha, I took it to pick up Shiva ka call toh dikh gaya galti se. But you need to do better, I would rate it 6/10 because the key is to focus on-"

"Shut up!" He went all red, nudging her slightly.

"Bata na, who's she?!" She excitedly tugged his arm, wanting to know everything. "Mujhe bataya kyu nahi, who's the chick?!"

"It's not...." Shashank shook his head and looked away, "It's not a chick."

"Hein?" Raavi said out loud in confusion until the gears clicked in place, "Oh..."

"Yeah..." Shashank bit his lip, fidgeting with his fingers, unsure how Raavi would take this.

Raavi looked at him for a few seconds, before breaking out into a huge smile, "WHO'S THE LUCKY CHAP!? Photos dikhaao mujhe, I demand to see!"

She forwarded her hand and beckoned for his phone excitedly, and Shashank showed her a few pictures of his date.

"Ooh that's a 10. A straight 10!" Raavi fanned herself, stopping midway, "Maybe not straight-"

Shashank rolled her eyes as she giggled at her own joke, "So we're cool?"

"Obviously!" She exclaimed, punching his arm 2 seconds later. "Why didn't you ever tell me!? I'm so excited, I've never had a gay best friend before!"

Shashank raised his eyebrow at her, and she bit her tongue, "That came out SO wrong." Raavi smiled embarrassingly, "But mai bohot khush hu tere liye!"

Shiva walked past them, reaching for his keys and Raavi excitedly turned to him. "Shashank has a date!"

"Sahi hai, finally!" Shiva thumped his back and proceeded to search for his phone.

"Kya thanda reaction tha ye." Raavi pouted, "Isse pata hai?"

"Dono ko pata hai." Shashank tucked his hands into his pockets, "2 ladke roommates hai, inhe hi batana tha pehle."

"Haww. Mujhe hi last mein bataya. Besharam." She wriggled her nose in annoyance, which melted instantly, as they all dragged each other out of the house.

"Waise, you never told me if you were bi or-"

....

"The club was fun! Good music and accha khaana tha, na?" Raavi asked, changing into a loose shirt and pair of shorts, sitting down on the bed. "Oye, tujhse bol rahi hoon."

"Haa. Accha hi tha. Aur kya bolu?" Shiva shrugged his shoulders, arranging his clothes.

Raavi stood up and held his hand. "Accha, sun na. I didn't give you your gift yet."

"Gift? Pehen toh liya green dress, sab aise ghoor rahe the tujhe bar mein, mann kar raha tha muh tod du ek ek ka." Shiva grumbled, as she made him sit down in front of her.

"Proper gift, Shiva." She clicked her tongue, watching Shiva shake his head.

"Rakh apna 'proper gift' apne paas. Buddhu!" He nudged her head with his fingers, which made her roll her eyes.

Raavi held his hands, her thumbs tracing his knuckles, chewing on her lips nervously. "Do you trust me?"

"What?"

"I said," She looked at him, clutching his hands in hers, "do you trust me?"

"Khud se zyaada." He replied, with a look that was reserved only for her.

"I want to show you something. Just trust me, okay?"

Shiva nodded, and Raavi unbuttoned the first 4 buttons of his shirt that she was wearing, turning around so that her back faced him, as she slid the shirt off, half-way down her arms. Reaching up to her open hair, she slid all of it across her shoulder to one side, revealing something Shiva saw for the first time today.

At the base of her neck, where her neck meets her back and shoulders, was a small tattoo with a name that had already been engraved on her heart; Shiva

Inked in black, was a trident placed behind his name, a small damroo hanging by the spear end of the trishul, waves of a river accompanied at the bottom of the trident, just below his name.

Shiva was speechless, his hands reaching out to caress his own name inked on her skin, forever, until they grow old together.

He noticed every aspect of the tattoo; his name that resonated with Lord Shiva, oddly realising he had always had similarities to Lord hismelf. The Lord's weapon of choice, and the locket he wore around his neck, the trishul; representing the ability to remove troubles of past, present and future. Shiva was, is and always will be the protector of his family.

The damru, propagator of sound, the damru naad symbolising vibrations that can create or destroy the universe; if angered, Shiva had the power to make or break a person, object or entire living body.

The river, that the Lord took upon himself to ensure safety of the planet, the powerful River Ganga that rests upon his head; his Raavi, a form of a river, that he has been destined to be with, someone that only he has the power to handle, the one person that challenged him like no other, the one that matched his fire, his energy, his existence.

Their destiny depicted in just a few symbols, which embodied their whole story, all at once, in a single glance, in a single moment.

"When?" He whispered, his fingers tracing the letters of his name, and the river below it, overwhelmed with emotions, not knowing what to do with them.

"A few weeks back. Bohot mehnat lagi ye chupane mein." Raavi smiled, bending her head down, feeling Shiva's soft caresses on her skin. "Tujhe meaning samajh aaya?"

When he didn't respond to her question, she looked over her shoulder slightly and found him just looking at the inkings intently, unable to read what his eyes were depicting.

"You..." Raavi faltered, absolutely sure that this was the right choice, until now, judging by his expressions, "You don't like it?"

Shiva didn't reply, simply asking one question, "Is it healed?"

"Kya?" She whispered, feeling his fingers on her skin, caressing the tattoo.

"Has it healed?"

"Yes." Raavi replied, and she felt his lips on the back of her neck, softly kissing the tattoo and the skin around it.

"I love it." Shiva whispered, keeping his hands on her shoulders and turning her around. "It's beautiful, I love it. Lekin, dard nahi hua?" He asked, his palms on the sides of her neck, caressing her skin.

"Thoda sa. Par utna nahi." She tucked her hair behind her ears, looking at Shiva, who looked at her with all the love he could muster.

"Par kyu?" He asked, and Raavi clicked her tongue, smiling, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Kyuki Shiva ki Raavi toh mai humesha se hi thi, bas samajh nahi paayi." She smiled, and was pulled into a hug exactly 2 seconds later, her body almost moulding into his.

"I love you. So much. So damn much. You don't even know." Shiva whispered, kissing the skin of the curve near her neck, causing her to giggle.

"Mhmm. I do."

Shiva pulled back from the hug, and let his eyes wander over her features, as if he hadn't memorised each one until now.

There she sat in front of him, hair undone, shirt unbuttoned, in the tiniest shorts she owned, no make up, with the most loving smile that made her cheeks look like cherry apples; raw and unfiltered like she had always been, marked by him, his name, for a long time to come.

He could not be more grateful to the forces of the universe that conspired to have this moment exist right now. It wasn't the fancy moments or cliché moments he craved, it was moments like these; uninterrupted, untampered, that he would always cherish, and he could not imagine himself loving her more than he did right now.

Which was impossible, because the love he had for her, was infinite, and accelerating every day that he spent with her, waking up to her in his arms, what she called 'her home', coming home to his 2 best friends and the love of his life; she made the worst days better with just that damn smile.

"-and I also sat for at least 45 minutes deciding the design, the guy who did my tattoo was really helpful aur pata hai-" Raavi blabbered on, which brought Shiva out of his train of thoughts, leaning in to kiss her, with every ounce of adoration he had for her.

Raavi was interrupted mid-rant by the feel of his lips on hers, and she placed a hand on his cheek, kissing him back, until they parted for the need of air, while he buttoned up her shirt or else he'd lose it right now.

"I love you." Shiva repeated, and Raavi reached for the side drawer, taking out a small, square-shaped velvet ring box, twirling it in her hands.

"I love you more." She chuckled, handing him the box, while he looked at her confused. "Kaki ne bheja tere liye. Birthday gift."

Shiva grinned, looking at the box for a few seconds, before opening it to reveal what he hadn't seen in so many years.

A gold signet ring, with the initial 'P' engraved on it, slightly worn out, indicating that it had been worn before and hasn't been restored.

The letter P.

P for Pandya. Darshan Pandya.

"Ye...." Shiva whispered, overwhelmed with emotions, recognising the ring in an instant. "Papa ki ring."

"Suman Kaki phone karne waali thi, par unki tabiyat theek nahi thi, toh unhone ye voice note bheja." Raavi said, scrolling through her phone and playing the voice note.

Aye Siva! Tujhe janamdin mubarak ho! English mein kya bolte hai... Haa! Heppy birthday to you. Tujhe saari khushiyan mile, teri saare ichaayein puri ho. Bohot yaad aati hai teri, kab aayega apni maa se milne? Tu aata nahi, isliye kaagdi ki bhatiji ke haathon tera 'gipht' bhej diya maine. Phone karne waali thi, par tabiyat kuch theek nahi hai, maa buddhi ho rahi hai na. Isliye ye awaaz waala message bhej rahi hu, Raavi ne sikhaya mujhe.

Tere papa ki aakhri nishaani. Unka khaandani angoothi, unke aur mere taraf se tere janamdin pe tera 'gipht'. Tere papa ne aise 3 aur angoothi banayi thi, apne 4 beton ke liye. Ye unki angoothi hai, jo woh pehente the, unke aakhri dum tak. Tune pehchaan liya hoga abhi tak. Ab ye teri amaanat hai, woh chaahte the ki unke sabse laadle bete ko ye angoothi mile.

Isliye, sambhal ke rakhna isse. Pehenne ki zaroorat toh nahi hai, par agar tu pehenna chahta hai, toh koi aasman toot nahi jaayega. Jaldi aana ghar, haa beta? Chalo, rakhti hu, bye.

Arre isko bandh kaise karte hai. Ae patrani-

The voice note stopped playing, and Shiva chuckled, wiping the little tears at the corner of his eyes, twirling the ring box in his hands.

"Mere papa ki angoothi, unki angoothi." He took out the ring from the box, and looked at it fondly, outlining the engraved initials over and over again.

"You want to wear it?" Raavi asked softly, taking the velvet box from his hand and setting it aside, watching him slip the ring onto his finger, raising his hands to kiss the top of the ring, admiring the ring as Raavi took his hands in hers, caressing his knuckles.

"He loves you," She said, leaning in to kiss his nose, "He always will. Okay?"

Shiva nodded, pecking her cheek, before adjusting the ring on his finger, and pulling her onto his side on the bed, curling up and falling asleep almost immediately in her arms, just like she would, always and forever.