Maari leans in closer. He's going to kiss her! Devi closes her eyes but turns her head away in the wake of an upcoming sneeze. Sensing what's coming, she shoves Maari aside and turns her back on him, covering her nose and mouth as she sneezes.

"S- sorry!" Feeling embarrassed, she can't look at Maari, only hears his amused laughter.

Turning around and facing him, she finds that he's not laughing in a mocking way. The fondness in his eyes melts her heart and she smiles at him sheepishly.

"Sorry, Maari, I..."

She doesn't know what she's supposed to say. Should she say kiss me again? She shakes her head, laughing at her own stupidity.

Maari strides towards her, cupping her cheek. "It's fine ma. It must be the cold. I shouldn't have let you sleep outside."

Devi shakes her head, trying to reassure him but regret colours his deep, raven eyes. He sighs, running a hand through his hair. This is all new to him. He doesn't know how to care for someone, let alone for a lady, but he will do his best! And he will get better. This he vows to himself.

"Anna! Where are you?"

Sani and Adith are here and now they are banging on the door! With a shake of his head, Maari opens the door for his henchmen.

"Anna! You! Ohhh! Anni is here with you!"

The teasing grins on Adith and Sanni's faces and their words fluster Devi but Maari only feels irritated. He mutters, "why are you here?"

"Anna, we are here to wake you up!"

"We brought you breakfast! But if Anni is with you then... maybe we shouldn't come around too often!"

Maari is further irritated hearing his henchmen's dramatic words. Devi, coming out of her embarrassed state smiles at the duo.

"Why is that? Why can't you come around?" she asks, hands on her hips, now facing Adith and Sani. "You are always welcome! And coming to breakfast, if you two would be on board and Maari is on board, I can cook something every day for you all!"

Maari smiles to himself while witnessing this scene. It's so sweet. This woman is making him feel all kinds of emotions. His heart feels so warm. Who knew simple things like sharing a meal would appear special just because your loved ones are with you!?

He has Sri Devi now. And he's always had Adith and Sani. His henchmen are just as dramatic as him. Look at them weeping their eyes out, moved to tears by Anni's words.

"Anni, we're blessed! Maari anna too! He's so lucky!"

Maari smiles again. He never believed in luck. Always wanted to snatch things for himself but, yes, maybe he's got lucky. As far as he can recollect he's done no good deeds so why would God bless him with good fortune? He's always lived his life, drifting every way the wind pulls him, but maybe it's time to steady his feet. Live his life in a way that everyone who loves him will benefit from it.

But then as his mentor said. A gangster can't slack off too much. Changing paths is a risk, but here, he's willing to try! For himself, for Sri Devi and for Adith and Sani. Yeah, they'd all make one sweet family.

He chuckles. "I never thought I'd have a family but..."

Devi, Adith and Sani are too busy discussing dishes for breakfast that they don't hear him, even so, he has no complaints. This is his family, they are his family.

He glances at the sky, at the white fluffy clouds and the bright sunshine spreading across the skyline. In his heart, he prays that this day's brightness will continue to shine throughout their lives.

***

Sri Devi waits until Mari, Adith and Sani freshen up. Then the four of them head to her boutique. The guys loiter in the front, inside the shop. This gives her a chance to go to the lodgings in the back, freshen up and then prepare breakfast for all of them.

Minutes later after she announces breakfast is ready, Adith, Sani come running. Maari trails along with a slight smile on his face.

She serves them piping-hot dosas with peanut chutney. Adith and Sani all praise her cooking while Maari remarks it's 'tasty'. Well, he can't be the guy to give out big compliments so this here is something.

She smiles, digging into her own breakfast. Dosas did come out well and the peanut chutney — not as good as made by her mother's hand but... Mother! Just the thought she had now brings to mind the conversation she had with her mother. Tears gather in her eyes but she keeps them at bay. Adith and Sani are cracking their usual jokes. Maari is smiling at them, eating his dosas at his own slow pace. She doesn't want to ruin the happy mood by moping and she doesn't want them to know what happened.

She slaps on a smile, but without her noticing, Maari has observed it all. Why is Sri Devu upset? What's moving her to tears? Is it being with him? Did he hurt her in any manner? Emotions swirl in his chest and he feels desperate to wipe away all her sadness. He wants to ask her right away, right now and clear his doubts but... he knows he must wait for a chance.

***

The chance comes later that evening when Devi is done closing her shop for the day. It's only 4 pm but she closes the shop early because there aren't many customers.

Sri Devi raises one eyebrow at him when he asks her to join him for a walk in the park.

"Is this a date?" she smirks at him.

"Date? Today is..." Maari isn't sure what the date is. He wracks his brain and is on the verge of pulling his phone out, but pauses hearing her laughter.

"Haha! Not that date! A date is usually a... thing that couples do. Like they hang out together and..." Devi trails off, suddenly feeling shy.

Despite the questions and doubts in his mind, Maari smiles. Looking at her acting like her usual, witnessing her shyness and eagerness, he's reassured that he isn't the cause of her sadness. So who is?

"I just thought we should talk, ma."

She looks at him suspiciously hearing those words. He corrects his phrasing with a smile. "I mean, spend some time together and hang out, as you said. And the park would be nice, don't you think?"

The smile is back on her face and she nods. The two of them then walk out of the boutique towards the local park.

***

The locals inside the park smile at him. Before they used to be scared and flee, but now they leave him alone and distance themselves out of respect.

His heart feels a little warm. Sri Devi is the reason they have warmed up to him.

He finds them a secluded spot next to a pond in the park, plops down on the bench and pats the space next to him.

Devi grins at him and sits next to him.

"Would you tell me what's bothering you, ma?"

Devi is confused by his question, so he elaborates. "You cried when you drank my liquor. And even in the morning, you looked somehow sad."

Devi is astonished but also touched. Only a true loved one can tell when you're faking a smile and Maari is doing that for her now. It's true she'd been agonising over that phone call and cutting ties with Amma but how can she leave this man?

Your parents and the man you love. When asked to pick one, it's a tough choice.

She swallows hard, smiling again. Her smile may appear strained but it's still accurate. She's happy to be with Maari and happy that he'd care so much about her.

"Maari..." she hesitates. Should she tell him what's bothering her? Yeah, couples share everything but she wouldn't want Maari to feel guilty or blame himself for what happened.

"Yes, ma." Maari smiles, giving her silent encouragement. He wasn't patient before but it would be apt to say love changed him. He could wait for an eternity for this woman to open up to him but the urge to free her from her anguish as quickly as possible is the strongest.

"Will you not tell me ma...?"

Devi's eyes fill with tears following that question. Just as he wonders if he did the wrong thing by asking, she hugs him.

For a while, they sit on the bench embracing each other. With clumsy hands, he offers her as much support as he can.

Having calmed down, Devi looks at him. "Maari... I talked to Amma and...."

Though it pains her she explains to Maari what happened.

Pain reflects in Maari's eyes. He contemplated what he heard before finally speaking.

"Maybe your mother is right ma. Maybe I'm not the right man for you..." he trails off with a bitter chuckle. "What am I saying? Clearly, I'm not the right man for you! I knew that and yet.."

"Maari please!" Devi slaps him on the arm and pouts looking more pained than before. "Don't ever say that again. I choose you. I chose this love and don't you even insult either of them."

Maari smiles despite the pain he feels. He's never had a family but he knows cutting ties with your family could hurt you a lot. She's choosing that pain just to be with him?

"Maari, I want to be with you. And coming to my parents... I think they will come around. They will understand..." Devi doesn't look confident but nods, smiling. "All I ask is that you never leave me... that's all I want at the moment. Because I can't be happy when I'm away from you. Parents do love their kids and want them to be happy... so I'm sure my parents will understand and one day be happy with my decision."

Maari smiles again. His chest aches but yes there's no way he can back off now or let Devi go. She stood against all hurdles between them, fought against Munna, even put her life in danger. Heck, she fought with him when he pushed her away, fought for her love. She's brave, valiant and she's his light. No one event can love him as she does and he'd be a fool to let her go. And not to mention he'd hurt her again if he pushed her away. So he won't.

"I won't ma. I will be with you until my last breath." He whispers his promise solemnly, and tears gather in his beloved eyes. "We'll always be together. I promise you that. Let's fight this battle together and let's build our life together."

"Maari..." Overcome with emotion Devi hugs him. A few people call this man a heartless monster but he has got such a beautiful heart. She knows he's being honest at this moment. They'd be together no matter what. She'd like to build that life with him.

Maari wraps his arms around her in kind, vowing to himself again — he'd figure it out. He'd figure out what needs to be done and strive hard to make her happy. He was alone all this while which was probably why he'd been as reckless as he wanted, but now he changed. This woman changed him. They both have been through a lot to arrive here but he's feeling content now that they are here. Nothing can change that feeling. This love is so precious. He'd protect it at all costs.

***

That night. Maari is on the terrace of the building he calls home, seated on his charpai. Adit and Sani are hanging out next to him.

It's a chilly night. They all probably should sleep now. A while ago Sridevi brought dinner for all of them and just went home. It relieved him to see her smiling again and it seemed like their talk in the park helped her harden her resolve. Maari smiles, turning to Adit and Sani.

He's been thinking nonstop about what he must do so he and Devi can lead a happy life and arrive only at one conclusion.

"We'll close shop." He announces. "I mean shut our business. No more pigeon races. No more pestering people and squeezing out protection money."

Adit and Sani's eyes widen. "Anna then what we'll do now."

Maari shrugs. "I don't know but we are starting a new life. We must ensure nothing befalls us though. Now that there's someone in my life and... both of your lives are important to me. Which is why I must cease the petty crime life of mine."

Adit chuckles. "Petty? You're calling it petty, Anna? You've changed. But we're with you."

Sani nods. "Yes. This is a good change. We've been wondering if we all can live in peace too, Anna. There's so much violence around. Our lives should. free of it."

Maari nods, thinking of what he must do now. If he's shutting the business, he must do something to earn money. He can continue to act as Devi's partner in her boutique and help grow her business but nope... he must be a man and stand on his own legs. Though it's not a shame to depend on a woman, he simply must not. He must do something solid. Something that earns him her parents' approval as well.

He laughs, "haha.. look at me. Is that even possible?" He mumbles aloud.

Adit and Sani show him confused frowns, but suddenly they grin, nodding.

"Anna, we have the best idea! We know what we should be doing now!"

****

AN: Thank you everyone who voted, read, commented! I'm so glad to see so many people have read this fanfic of mine. I'm so sorry that I took this long to update. Actually, the story was supposed to end when Maari and Sridevi got together but I added a twist and was stuck trying to figure out the best way to end this story.

Finally, I've had a breakthrough idea about how to end this fic. I hope you all liked this chapter. The next will be the final one!

If you liked/loved this story, and if you love Dhanush like me, you'd love reading my original fiction story titled "CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU" which I've posted here on Wattpad. I'd cast Dhanush and Trisha in that one, and I've been trying my best to give a regular weekly update for a few months now. Please do check it out once if you're looking for a book with an excellent emotional love story with Tamizh vibes to read <3

I hope I can see some of you reading that story. Thank you again. Please vote and comment.

I will try to update very soon and finish this story!