Mishti smiled through the lump in her throat as she sat with Abir clinging to her, his arms around her and hiding his face in her bosom. It was probably not the most comfortable position for either of them - he was way taller, she was way too petite to hold him together like that, to top that they were sitting on the floor, her back was supported against the bed and he had to bend his legs to be able to sit like that.

She ran her fingers through his hairs - they had grown slightly. She missed his shiny long hairs, she sighed as she watched him with a tender gaze, drowning in her own thoughts.

When she was a child, she was crazy about fairy tales - the notion that two people who loved each other were eventually blessed with their happily ever after. Probably that was majorly why she had been such an excited cute little cupid for her sister and her bff - doing everything her tiny brain could comprehend for the two lovers and their happy ending. Kartik and Naira owed a lot to Mishti for the super successful love story back then.

And then there was an entire phase where she found all the love and marriage crap bullshit. Watching her parents fall apart hadn't been an easy journey. Growing right amidst subtle physical and grave emotional abuse for an year had definitely changed her perception, and she would have completely lost her belief in love and happily ever afters if not for Bade Papa and Badi Maa. Living with them had nurtured the tiny sapling of hope remaining inside her. Watching them live everyday - together and trying to make each other's day better had always made her smile. Sometimes, Badi Maa would sit with her, oiling her hairs and telling her about the prince charming who would one day come and sweep her off her feet. She never believed it, of course, but Kuhu did, too excited about it and that made Badi Maa giggle and tell them more about a life full of love. She listened anyway and always thought how could just another human become so important that you would want to do anything for his one smile? How could just sitting with them feel peaceful - like she had seen Bade Papa and Badi Maa sit for hours - no words, yet a serene smile lighting their faces? How could you even think about forgiving someone for the hurt they cause you just because they were repenting? How was it possible to feel on overwhelming amount of cocktail of emotions together - just for that one person every moment?

Today, sitting with Abir, in a similar silence - she understood how. His arms around her felt home. She knew she would happily spend all her life like this and not complain. He stirred, breaking her trance and looked up, his face breaking into the softest smile as he tucked a loose tendril of her hair behind her ears.

"You will have back ache if you keep sitting like this. Get up", he asked, extending his hand as he stood up. Mishti gave her hand in his, letting him pull her up, her eyes too busy watching him.

He turned to make space on the bed, putting the plate and tea cups away, but didn't loose his hold on her hand. Mishti smiled, shaking her head. Her eyes caught a familiar red note book in the pile behind her and she managed to retrieve it, without needing to take her hand back from him.

“Abir?”, she called out, and when he turned to face him, she extended the diary, “Jo bhi baat hai, jo tum kah nhi paa rhe ho, isme likh do, mai padh lungi. Mai bhi janna chahti hu ki mere dost ke man me kya baat chal rhi hai jo wo itna pareshan hai”, the smile on her face only widened while Abir looked at her, flabbergasted.

Abir could feel his heart swell with so much love for this petite woman. She really was one of her kind, a woman with an unusual ability to love and fill the gloomiest world with bright flowers and happy air. The last time she had caught him like that was one the day she was supposed to get engaged to Kunal, and even without knowing his dilemma she had said similar words, wanting to soothe his worry. And after a full circle, they were here and she was still telling him the same thing.

“I love you”, he confessed again, his voice emotional when he pulled her closer and kissed her forehead, but before he could move away, Mishti was quick to hold his lapels and raise a brow, “In the last three months and in the last three hours, you have persistently told me how I should look beyond you in life, but you can't seem to spend one second without me. You haven't left my hand for a nano second. Your eyes fill up every time you mention how you aren't the one for me. Your face pales every time my cell phone rings. As if someone is gonna take me away from you right now. You can't seem to stand it but you keep bringing it up. Why?”

Abir looked at her, with a feeling of awe and wonder. This was the woman he had hurt the most, and this was also the woman wanting to unknot everything he had built up inside him, out of her love for him. He was telling her repeatedly how she deserved they world and she was asking him why couldn't that world have him? But if there was one thing Abir had learnt in the entire mess of their lives, it was the simple magic of communication. If she had a question he could answer, he should.

“Sit here”, he made her sit on the bed,  and sandwiched his hand between his, trying to make himself talk, “Remember when we used to date, you used to tease me, calling me bhagoda? Because I would want to run away everytime?”, Mishti frowned but nodded, wanting more context, “I ran away because that was the only way I could breathe. Trying so hard to keep peace within they family, to be there for Nanko, to try and make him see reasons that went beyond Meenakshi Rajvansh, to constantly try and make her see beyond her prejudices - it was draining. It used to exhaust me to the bones. But more than that, I hated that I couldn't go hug my mother without reason, for just comfort. I hated that she wouldn't come to me and ask me I was okay. She just demanded me to be okay - with anything or everything. It was like - mujhe toh kisi baat ka bura lag hi nhi sakta. But when I used to leave, strangers who I helped or who helped me, used to shower me with the affection that I wanted my mother to do. That used to be a rejuvenating feeling. And a tiny part of me felt loved when she sent a search party for me. It felt like I still mattered to her. That really kept me going - let me try and find happiness elsewhere”, he explained, not looking at her anymore but trying to talk it out, “But that day, when she called me Selfish, I realized that probably from her point of view, I am. I am selfish. I have been trying to seek what made me happy, what comforted me, what kept me going. I always make it about me. I am not the son she wanted me to be, it must be a disappointing feeling. Maybe that's why Kunal had to take the burden of being the perfect son-", Mishti cut him off by calling his name, jerking his face and forcing him to look up but Abir's voice only broke more when he continued.

“I don't want to do that to you Mishti. I have already done enough harm. I know that living without you will be the toughest thing I have ever done but I keep reminding you because I don't want to be selfish. I don't want you to spend your life dodging my mother's cruel words or actions. You deserve a happy family, you deserve to be cherished and not being name called. Even if I make another home with you, how do I take a guarantee she won't continue to break your spirits when I know how much being tagged as a “home breaker” affects you. How? I don't know what to do more, how to make my mother see that I love you, I tried everything. I made her a deal - I promised to be the son she wanted - to do business, to not roam around wasting my time in art and poetry and photography and everything else, in return of her keeping you off her hook, of letting you decide the future of our relationship but she still brought that family in yesterday, she still tried to break us apart. I don't know what else to do, Mishti, I feel helpless and - ", Mishti took him back in her embrace, his face in the crook of her neck as he continued to ramble and cry, breaking heart with his pain.

She held him tighter, kissing his hairs again and again, and rubbing his back up and down, while trying to hold back on her tears. She didn't know what she could tell him to make him feel better. Nothing would come to her mind and then it did - words that had helped her come through a situation she had been fighting for her life. She broke the hug and cupped his face, her thumb wiping his cheeks clean as she smiled, putting her forehead to his.

“Mele me jo bichad gaya, dil wo bachha lagta hai,
Yaar akele khush rahna, kisko achha lagta hai?
Dil ke sab armaan saje, jaise baraat me aaye hai,
Tab jake khushi hui puri, hum fir saath me aaye hai
Ab apne pyaar k chand k sathi, na badaal na saya hai
Badi koshishein kar kar ke, ye saath humne paya hai,
Bus mai aur tum jo hote shyad, thak bhi sakte the
Per pyaar sath tha, ungli pakad ke manzil per laaya hai”

Abir listened to her words, loud and clear - the answer to every question he could ever had, about himself, about them. He had frozen for a moment, goosebumps all over him, and her - he could see.

“Mai apne pyaar ko haarne nhi dungi Ajeeb Rajvansh. Especially not because your mother might create problems. I am strong enough to handle her. And I am not letting you kill off the very essence of who you are because of this fear. This was a stupid deal to make. What did you think you were doing? And for the last time Ajeeb Rajvansh, You are not selfish!!!! I can't decide if I want to slap you first or just - ", she rolled her eyes as she spoke before putting her lips to his, kissing him, crying with him, stitching back his heart. Abir kissed her back, harder, and at that point you couldn't tell her tears from his, but despite the lack of oxygen, it still felt like he was breathing better than he had in days.

She on the other hand was still comprehending that he had actually went ahead with a ridiculous deal like that, and that he was really beating himself up for words his mother had thrown at him. It made her more furious and she was actually contemplating renaming this guy as Stupid Rajvansh instead of Ajeeb Rajvansh but at this point, she decided to wait.

Her phone pinged again as they moved apart, this time it was Abhay, asking her to return because Badi Maa was going real hyper now. It was then she realized it was past afternoon.

“We still have a lot more to talk about but Badi Maa is waiting, and she is gonna kill us both if we don't reach home”, she stated softly, resting her head on his shoulder, a pink blush on her cheeks. It was a little shy to face him after their moment. Abir couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the way she was hiding her face. He knew he could stare at her all day long and not complaint even once.

As they drove to Maheshwaris, they both felt much at peace than before. They knew that there were quite a few more road blocks, they might fall too but this time they had the assurance that the other one would be nearby to hold their hand.

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Author's note :

Sometime ago, somebody commented on the chapter where Meenu calls Abir selfish saying “But isn't he really selfish?”. I am sorry I couldn't reply then, and I am more sorry that you felt uncomfortable enough to delete the comment because I can't find it now and I don't remember the username. As readers you are allowed to have a opposite or different Pov than mine, it's not important to see everything as I do. Please feel free to have your own opinions.

Anyway, that question is the reason I wrote this scene of Abir talking about it. I just hope and want you all to understand that Dysfunctional families are not just about a difference in opinion or strict parents. I have been raised in one, I know the horrors of living with it, what it costs. And No this doesn't mean that the parents don't love you, or the children don't love their parents. All that love is there, but there is a lot more that exists. And hence, it's okay to choose your sanity, your mental peace and whatever keeps you going over anyone else, even family. You can't function if you are drained, emotionally. Let's not judge each other if we don't understand that kind of trauma and trust me, I am happy for everyone who didn't have to face it. But we can be a little compassionate, can't we? :)