The colour theme of the party was pink and white. Naina and Sameer had bought clothes for themselves accordingly. Ramdhari was given a new kurta pyjama in white, with delicate thread work in pink around the neck. Naina couldn't help but smile when Sameer fretted over what to buy for him, and took a long time choosing the outfit, rejecting one after the other saying that he wouldn't like it. The two argued like kids all the time but there was no denying the fact that they had enormous affection for each other.

Since Sana had woken up early, now she slept longer than her usual time of afternoon nap. Naina decided to get dressed while she was still sleeping.

The moment she stepped out of the washroom, Sameer's eyes glittered at the image in front of him.

"Sameer, dekho, abhi kuch nahi... mujhe taiyar hone do aur tum bhi ho jao. Dekho, main bata rahi hun, main gussa ho jaungi..." Naina kept stepping back as he took slow steps towards her.

When her back touched the dresser, she looked behind abruptly.

"Iss kamre ki ek ek cheez mujhe tumhare paas lana chahti hai." He said in a low voice, his lips curved in an impish smile.

"Sameer... nahi..." Her words lost the threat as he closed the distance between them.

"Waise tum hamesha hi bohot sundar lagti ho lekin pink mein... Naina, pink mein toh meri jaan hi le leti ho." His eyes slowly travelled over her frame, taking their own sweet time to linger wherever they wanted.

Her hand shot up to cover his mouth, "Aisi baat kyon bolte ho?"

His lips puckered to place a quick kiss on her fingers. She pulled her hand down. He placed his hands on her shoulders, looked intently into her eyes, and his fingers started to inch behind her neck, towards the zipper.

"Sameer kya kar rahe ho... Sana uthne wali hai." Her shoulder hitched up.

Smirking, he continued till his fingers reached the center of her back... and he pulled the open zipper up.

Naina jerked at the hissing sound.

"Khol nahi raha, band kiya hai." He winked.

Her hand went behind her neck... the zipper was secured.

"Waise tum kaho toh khol bhi sakta hun." He leaned to brush his lips against her nose, his voice deep and throaty.

She trembled as he pinned her between the dresser and himself, feeling the goosebumps erupt on her skin.

His lips didn't leave her skin, moving over her nose, cheeks, ear, jaw, corner of the mouth... agonizingly slow.

The coiled nerves in her stomach kept getting tighter till Naina could take it no more. Her hands, that were grabbing the edge of the dresser till now, wrapped around his neck and she pulled his head down, meeting her lips with his. She could feel the stretching of his lips in a complacent smile before he crushed her in his arms and took over the kiss from her, hungrily darting into her mouth.

"Pari lagti ho pink mein." He whispered, breaking the kiss for a moment to get a breath, then claimed her mouth again.

When he lifted his head second time, his ears buzzed with the roaring blood in his veins at the sight in front of him. Her face was as pink as the dress, long lashes resting on her flaring cheeks... her open hair tousled around her face, creating a halo... her breath was ragged, fanning his neck... her swollen lips were still slightly apart, making him crave more for them.

She lifted her eyes... and he saw the flecks of similar longing in the brown orbs that darkened at the rim. Unknowingly, his fingers moved to the zipper that he had secured earlier.

As she arched at the feel of his fingers on her nape, her eyes fell behind him... on the wall clock... and her fogged mind cleared up a bit.

"Sameer, sabke aane ka time hone wala hai." She squirmed, pushing at his chest.

Sameer straightened, looking back at the clock. With a swoosh, he let out a long exhale, realising that they were already getting late.

"Tum aise achanak pink pehenke mat aaya karo mere saamne... ya ek ghante pehle ready ho jaaya karo... jisse main achhi tarah tumhari tareef kar sakun." He murmured, resting his head on her shoulder.

Her face broke into a smile, "Jaise pink ka hi kasoor hai. Red pehen ke aati toh bhi aisa hi kehte tum."

He lifted his head, his eyes glittering again at the memories of red... the long sleeved nighty, and what she had worn during their honeymoon.

"Uhh, Naina... aaj kya tum... matlab abhi nahi, baad mein... party ke baad..." He licked his dry lips.

"Red pehnu?" She stifled a smile.

He nodded.

"Red hi pehna hai." She winked.

Before he could comprehend , she pushed him, and ran to the other end of the room.

His eyes widened slowly, as the meaning of her words settled in.

"Naina." He ran behind her, his heart thudding in excitement.

She dodged him, moving around the bed. He climbed over the low footboard of bed, and lunged to wrap his arms around her waist, holding her from behind. She giggled, elbowing him in the chest to free herself. Before he could make use of the opportunity, they heard Sana's mumbled voice, implying that she was awake.

"Hato. Sana uth gayi." She rushed ahead.

He moved along, not letting her go out of his hold.

Sana sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes with fisted hands. With soft curls falling over her forehead, she looked adorable.

"Aa jao baby. Ab party ke liye ready hona hai na... aaj sab log tumse hi milne aayenge toh meri doll sabse pyari lagni chahiye." Sameer lifted her from the bed, gently moving her hands away from her face.

With sleepy eyes, she smiled at him, "Papa."

She had called him that numerous times but each instance was like a new experience for him... his heart swelled up whenever she addressed him... and he took immense pride in it.

"Main iska baby food laati hun, Sameer, tum yahin ruko warna bahar yeh fir se khelne lagegi. Ek baar kha legi toh hi taiyar karungi nahi toh sab kapde gande kar legi." Naina knew from experience by now that after every meal time Sana needed a proper clean up.

After her food and freshening up, Naina dressed her in a soft, pink frock with frills around the waist. To match the colour theme, Sameer was also wearing a pink shirt with white trousers. He clicked a few pictures before setting up the camera on self mode and taking some of three of them together.

Sana seemed to be obsessed with Naina's pink dress, rubbing her hands on the silk material to feel the rustle.

"Lagta hai isse bhi tum pe pink pasand hai." Sameer chuckled, seeing his daughter laying her face on Naina's shoulder.

Rolling her eyes, Naina flicked her head at him, "Dono baap beti ek jaise ho. Ab lo isse... main zara khane ka dekh lun."

The moment Sameer tried to take Sana, she turned and wrapped her arms around Naina's neck, mumbling something.

Naina's eyes went wide in amazement.

"Itni hairan mat ho. Meri beti mere saath zyada khush hai... woh toh aaj tumhari dress usse shayad achhi lag rahi hai isliye." Sameer twisted his mouth, speaking to convince himself more than her.

"Sa... Sana... kya bola tumne?" Naina tugged at her daughter's shoulder to make her look at her, not paying attention to Sameer's jealousy.

"Kya bola?" Sameer furrowed his brows.

"Sana?" Naina narrowed her eyes while Sana stared back innocently.

"Kya hua, Naina? Sana toh sirf papa bolti hai. Tum aise kyon pooch rahi ho?" Sameer gave her a puzzled look.

Naina let out a sigh... maybe she imagined it. She bent a little, to let Sameer take the little one.

"Mumma." The voice was louder this time as Sana repeated what she said earlier.

Both Sameer and Naina were thrilled... the much awaited word was finally spoken.

"Fir se bolo." Sameer leaned to look earnestly at her.

She hid her face in the crook of Naina's neck.

Naina wanted to hear her say it again, but she knew Sana would say it only when she wanted. Sameer, however, had another idea. He wrapped his hands around Sana and tried to take her from Naina.

"Mumma." Sana tightened her hold around Naina's neck.

Sameer kissed his daughter's head, his initial disappointment at her refusal to come to him taking a back seat.

Naina was elated, "Birthday Sana ka hai aur gift usne hi mujhe de diya."

Sameer placed a kiss on her forehead, keeping them both in his arms, "Isse achha kaun sa mauka ho sakta tha... aaj ke din hi tum maa bani thi aur aaj ke din hi Sana ne tumhe pehli baar mumma kaha hai. Main kitna khush hun tumhe bata nahi sakta."

When they went out to the living room, Ramdhari had arranged everything as planned. The room looked like a part of some fairytale, covered in white pink and silver decorations of balloons and other things. All table covers were in white, and pink flowers filled up the vases.

A big pink cake sat in the center of the table. White plates were neatly stacked on the side board, along with silver cutlery in tall stands. Covered containers of food items waited in the kitchen for guests to arrive and relish them.

"Aaj toh tune saara kaam time pe khatam kar liya, Ramdhari." Sameer praised him for once.

Ramdhari gave him a shocked look, them smiled smugly, "Dekha Naina bhabhi, aakhir Sameer bhaiya ne bhi tareef kar hi di. Ab ek na ek din sach ko saamne aana hi tha."

"Sameer, tum dekho zara bahar, mujhe gate ki awaaz aayi hai." Naina held his arm, stopping him from retorting.

The loud jabbering of Munna Pandit soon reverberated in the room, along with Preeti's chirpy exclamation and Swati's soft voice.

They wished Sana and showered her with gifts. The colourful wrappers made her pounce at them, trying to pull off the cover. Her morning experience had raised her expectations from such packages. Naina asked Ramdhari to put away all gifts in the library for now, diverting Sana's attention by showing her the balloons.

The house was abuzz with laughter and incessant chatter in no time. All three boys and all three girls were together after a long time. Sana and Harsh were added to the group.

"Hayee jijaji, aapne itne saal pink pink ka pahada sunaya ki aaj mujhe yahan sab kuch pink nazar aa raha hai." Preeti danced her eyes dramatically.

"Arre Preeti, yeh sab pink hi hai." Pandit patted his wife's shoulder, waving his hand towards the room.

When everyone laughed aloud, he narrowed his eyes, "Isme hansne ki kya baat hai... pink hai toh sahi."

Munna smacked him on the back, "Bhai tu shukar manaa Preeti ne tujhe pasand kar liya warna tera kuch hona mushkil tha."

Preeti winked at him, and Pandit gave a perplexed look to everyone, wondering why they were teasing him.

Anand and Bela arrived shortly, and blessed Sana.

"Beta, yeh tumhari gudiya ke liye hai. Pehle janmdin ki tumhe bhi bohot bohot badhai." Anand gave a small velvet pouch.

Naina opened it to find a gold coin.

Sameer looked at Anand, "Chachaji, itni choti bachhi ke liye aap itna mehenga gift kyon laaye?"

Anand gave a loving smile to Sana before replying, "Jabse yeh paida hui hai, mujhe teen nayi companies ke audit mil gaye hain. Hamare ghar ki Lakshmi hai yeh... iske liye toh Lakshmi hi laani thi na."

Naina took the coin and kept it safely in her cupboard.

Bela took Naina aside and asked in a worried voice, "Beta, Vishakha ji kyon nahi aayi? Aur baaki ke ghar wale? Sab theek hai na? Kahin fir se Sameer ke saath..."

"Nahi chachiji, sab theek hai. Woh log aana chahte the. Lekin Dilli mein iss waqt bohot dhund hai jiski wajah se unki flight cancel ho gayi. Unhe bhi bohot dukh hai lekin sardiyon mein aisa aksar hota hai wahan. Jaise hi mausam theek hoga woh log aayenge." Naina assured her.

Sana wanted to sit on the table to cut the cake but Naina asked Sameer to keep holding her, lest she jumped over the cake. They both held her hand and cut the cake after blowing the candle. Sana was ecstatic with all the attention she was getting. Harsh, who had recently learned to clap, continued to do so even after everyone stopped.

Naina cut a small piece and took it to Sana's mouth. She bit into the cream. As the soft and sweet taste melted in her mouth, she lapped up more, holding Naina's hand within her palms. It was the first time she was given something that wasn't made at home.

"Khaane mein apne mausaji pe gayi hai." Preeti chuckled, seeing Sana not letting Naina move her hand away.

Pandit lifted his collars, "Meri taraf mat dekho, main toh chachu hun."

Preeti growled, "Chachu nahi mausaji ho. Maine pehle hi bata diya tha tumhe. Tab maan gaye the toh ab kyon palat rahe ho?"

He quickly looped an arm around her shoulder, mumbling in a low voice, "Sabke saamne mat daanto na, yaar. Humne yeh bhi tay kiya tha na ki sabke saamne tum mujhe gussa nahi karogi, ghar jaake chahe double kar lena."

Munna smirked, "Humse kya sharmana, Pandit. Jab tu college ke shuru ke dinon mein Preeti se maar khaata tha tab se jaante hain hum log tumhari kahani."

Bela widened her eyes at Preeti, who shook her head quickly.

"Nahi nahi mummy, shuru mein toh hum sirf ek hi school se aaye hue dost the. Tab kuch nahi tha." She clarified.

Bela stroked Pandit's head, "Lekin tu mere hone wale daamad ji ko maarti thi yeh sunke mujhe gussa aa raha hai tujhpe."

Pandit grinned, finding a supporter, "Haan mummyji, first year mein Preeti bohot jhagda karti thi. Aur haath toh aise saaf karti thi mujhpe jaise hawaldar banne ki practice karne college aati ho."

The hand that was on his head, slipped down to pull his ear, "Tab bhi tumhe do saal lag gaye samajhne mein ki itni maar khilane wali ladki achanak se shaant kaise ho gayi."

Pandit scratched his head while Preeti blushed.

Anand let out a soft laugh, "Ab samajh aaya daamad ji yeh maarne ki training kahan se mili hai aapki biwi ko... meri biwi se."

Bela swiftly left Pandit's ear, as others sniggered.

Ramdhari cut pieces of the cake and served to everyone, along with other food items. Sana and Harsh sat on the floor, playing with toys and balloons. When Sana called out to Naina as 'mumma' everyone cheered, making Naina feel even more proud.

After a while, Bela and Anand left, after blessing Sana once again.

Happy birthday solemnly_sarcastic 🎂 tera birthday yahan bhi celebrate kar liya 😂

Next update tomorrow evening