Rudra shivered even as he hurriedly pulled his long-sleeved t-shirt over his head. A hot shower this late in the night to wipe out his tiredness from the travelling seemed like a great idea at that time. Living in Delhi had accustomed him to harsh winters, but this was on a whole new level.

"What the hell is all this?" Rudra demanded when he came out of the bathroom and saw the mess that his brother had created around the room. Clothes were haphazardly laying around on the furniture, including the bed. Knicks and Knacks had been moved around too from what Rudra could observe.

"Making myself comfortable," Akash announced while sitting on a small love seat with his feet propped on the table in front of him. "Remember, what the Awasthy family told us? That this our house too." He said and placed his hands behind his bed, which wobbled the laptop on his legs.

Rudra made a face to show his distaste when he saw how Akash had messily thrown his towel on the drying rack after his shower. With a click of his tongue, he placed his towel on the rack before fixing his brother's towel. "Maybe you should remember that this, not our house. It seems like the girl... Dhara is very particular about the tidiness of her room. She is going to be annoyed if you make a mess of her room."

"That's the plan," Akash sang under his breath, but Rudra was busy checking emails on the phone with a knee on the bed for support. He didn't know how long he would be able to stay from the hospital. The control freak inside him was itching to go back and take care of everything, even though a part of him argued that he should trust his father. After all, he had more experience and better business acumen.

"Oh, by the way before I forget," Akash pointed at a tall glass beside Rudra's glasses on the side table with his thumb. "Manoj dropped it off. It's supposed to help with the chilly weather." He said distractedly as he furiously pressed on the keys of his laptop, no doubt playing a game.

Rudra picked up the glass and smelled it.

"It is Haldi doodh," Akash helpfully supplied without bothering to look up from his laptop. "Chandni Dadi made it."

"She'll feel bad if you don't drink it," Akash said when Rudra continued to sniff and stare at it.

"I know," Rudra huffed and licked it a little before taking a deep breath and practically drinking it in one shot. He placed the glass back down with his nose scrunched.

"Hey! I like to sleep on the left side," Akash said when Rudra lifted the blanket and slid into the bed.

Rudra looked apologetic and sat up on the bed, "Really?" He asked, waiting for Akash to nod. "Well, too bad," He said and laid back down on the pillow with his phone in his hand. Reaching for his glasses and slipping them on and replying to the rest of the emails, "I like sleeping on the left side too. And it's first come first serve."

"Okay, Asshole," Akash grumbled in annoyance.

"What did you say?" Rudra raised one of his eyebrows perfectly which reminded Akash of when they were children, and they would be alone at home, Rudra would always make silly faces and do an "eyebrow dance" to entertain him.

"Sure you can have the first choice, big brother," Akash replied with a faux sweetness that had Rudra rolling in eyes in annoyance.

It was almost 2:30 AM as per the watch on his hand. And half an hour since he had put away his phone to go to sleep. But his brother seemed to have other plans. Apparently, staying up like a teenage boy to play a video game was still an integral part of his life.

Rudra sat up in frustration and glared at his brother. "It's almost three, and I would like to go to sleep." He said quietly, not wanting to wake anyone else up.

"Akash!" Rudra hissed a little louder when Akash didn't look up instead continued to groove to the music.

Pushing off his over the ear headphones, he looked at him quizzically. "What?"

"I want to sleep." Rudra snapped.

"So, go to sleep," Akash said, shrugging. "Or do you want me to sing you a lullaby?"

"Just shut up and turn off the lights. I can't sleep with the lights on and all the movements."

He groaned and shut his laptop. "I am sorry, your highness." He said as he put away his device and stretched his arms above his head. Grabbing his phone from charging, he quickly silenced his notifications.

Akash lifted the blanket, and he too slipped under the covers.

The first few minutes of the sleeping arrangement was as awkward as a newlywed couple who had just had an arranged marriage and were sharing the bed for the first time. Then both of them began elbowing each other when they thought the other was in their space.

"Don't hug me or throw your legs over me, Dumbass," Rudra warned with his eyes closed.

Akash grumbled something under his breath and rolled over, so his back was facing Rudra, "I am not a child anymore. I have walked by your room a couple of times and heard you snore. I'll kick you off the bed if you do, Jackass. I may not be a light sleeper, but I can't sleep if you keep making such loud noises right by my ear."

"I don't snore!" Rudra argued.

It was a while before both the Rawat brothers finally managed to fall asleep.

~~~●○●♡●○●~~~

Rudra stirred awake when he heard a light knocking on the door.

He frowned in confusion before slowly opening his eyes. 7:45. His watch indicated. His eyes felt itchy and sore from the lack of sleep. Yawning, he sat up to get the door when he noticed that Akash was still in a deep sleep. Even their sleeping positions were the total opposite. Rudra slept on his back with his arms by his side while Akash slept on his stomach with his arms and legs folded in weird angles.

Rudra continued to yawn as he walked to the door.

"Good morning!" Soumya wished with a bright smile.

"Good morning," Rudra nodded curtly at her. Even though he was used to functioning with low amounts of sleep, but it seemed like his body suddenly realized it was on vacation. He still felt groggy and sleep-deprived and he hated it. He was always used to be the best dressed and most perspicacious person in the room, but today he suddenly felt alike he had an underhand for a conversation with Soumya, who only looked fresh and awake in her yellow tunic, pale faded jeans and white sweater.

Sweety, who was standing behind, Soumya jumped into action as she sniffed at Rudra's ankles.

"What?" Rudra said as he instinctively stepped back, all the sleepiness gone from his body.

Soumya's smile faltered as she tried to pull her puppy back. "I am sorry I didn't realize that you didn't like dogs. I'll-"

"It's fine. I was just surprised." He said, crouching down to pet Sweety. "I didn't know you guys had a dog." He wasn't one to baby talk, playfully play or kiss the puppy, but he still obliged as she did through examination through her sniffing.

"Yeah," Soumya smiled, feeling a little more relaxed. "She was in my room last night."

"I see," Rudra nodded in understanding and let Sweety smell his hand.

"Your grandmother said you were probably already awake and asked me to come get you since we were going to have breakfast," She said, pushing one strand of wet hair away from her face. "But if you wanted to sleep, I-"

"Oh! Who is this?" Akash's sleepy voice from the bed interrupted what both Soumya and Rudra were going to say.

Soumya took a small step inside the room and smiled, "Good morning, Akash! That's Sweety. Our puppy."

"How cute!" He stepped off the bed and picked the puppy up and let her lick his face. "By the to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing your beautiful face to start off my morning?"

Soumya blushed and laughed nervously, "You really know how to make girls swoon, huh?"

"Guilty as charged," Akash did a small bow before placing a flailing Sweety down so she could sniff around in Dhara's room. "What's up, though?"

"I was just here to get you both down for breakfast."

"We'll, or I'll be down soon," Rudra said as he walked to his backpack.

"What's for breakfast, by the way?" Akash asked, ignoring his brother.

"Aloo Puri," Soumya said and then laughed when she saw Akash's face light up. "And I think I heard our grandmothers talking about making halwa as well-"

Akash pushed Rudra, who was making his way to the bathroom with his clothes in his hand, out of the way. "Me first!" He said and shut the door before opening it a second later, "Actually," He reached over and grabbed the towel from the rack before closing the door again. "Now, me first!"

Soumya burst out into peals of laughter at the scene of the brothers but quickly shut up when she saw how angry Rudra looked. Clearing her throat, she said. "If you want, you can use my washroom." She offered.

"It's fine," Rudra shook his head and went back to grab his phone. "I'll get some work done instead."

She stood there for a few seconds watching Rudra do something on his phone before realizing that Rudra still wasn't someone for small talk, so she left the room without making much noise and Sweety in her arms.

~~~●○●♡○●○~~~

It wasn't till almost 8:30 till Rudra finally managed to make it to the dining table where the entire family was waiting for him.

"I am sorry," He said through gritted teeth as he sat down beside Soumya. The same seat as last night. He hated being late to anything, and his brother knew that, but how could he expect any understanding from his side.

"Don't worry, Beta. It is alright. We are just used to having an early breakfast, that's all." Chandni placed an empty plate in front of Rudra with a smile. "Tomorrow onwards, we'll do a later breakfast."

"I am too," He said, feeling disappointed about sleeping in like this and making people wait on him.

Tanuja and Purshottam beamed at Rudra as if he had won a Nobel prize in Medicine just because he had slept in and was late to something.

"Manoj, you have magic in your hands," Akash said when he took the first bite of the halwa.

"That!" Manoj shook his head and pointed a ladle at Soumya. "Soumya made the halwa."

"Wow! Soumya, how do you do this?" Akash asked as he placed a hand on his chest. "You are such an intelligent, beautiful, good-natured woman who is also an amazing chef. Why the hell are you going for an arranged marriage? You should have a line up of boys fighting for you." He said with a wide grin which made everyone, except Rudra, laugh out loud.

"I can't cook that well. Just desserts." She smiled sheepishly.

"Do you not like the food, Rudra?" Haripraksh asked.

"It's good," Rudra passed a tight-lipped smile and nodded. "I am just not used to eating such a heavy breakfast,"

"We have cereals if you like." Soumya offered and began getting up, but Rudra touched her chair in an attempt to block her from standing up.

"It's ok." He said, shaking his head at  Manoj and Soumya. "This is completely fine." He said, moving his hand away quickly when he realized what he had done.

"These city kids don't understand how tasty our desi food is," Purshottam huffed and shook his head in disappointment.

"Just let him be," Tanuja gave her husband a look to leave Rudra alone.

"Manoj, go get some more pooris," Chandni instructed to reduce the awkwardness caused by Rudra's confession.

Manoj nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.

Just as the clock struck 8:45, Purshottam's phone buzzed with a notification. He picked up the phone with his left hand and attempted to unlock it.

"Dadaji, you can do that later." Rudra chided a little. "She is not going to block you because you didn't read the post right away."

"You keep quiet. How do you know?" Purshottam scolded right back. "You don't know anything."

"What's going on?" Haripraksh asked his friend, who seemed frustrated at his inability to unlock his phone quickly.

Akash grabbed the phone and passed the phone back to his grandfather with the post opened. "There is a page that Dadaji follows called Pahari Kudi-"

Soumya, who was drinking water choked and spluttered before going into a short coughing spree. "Sorry," She mumbled, especially to Rudra, who was sitting right beside her.

"Really?" Haripraksh gave Soumya a sly smug grin. "Do you like her posts?" He pressed much to his grand daughter's embarrassment.

"Like?" Akash scoffed. "He loves it. Ever since he has discovered the page, he makes sure to read all her posts as soon as they are out and even makes all of us listen to him read it."

"Shhh. I am reading it now." Purshottam raised his finger in the air. Soumya felt a little flustered. She would never allow her family to read her posts in front of her or even remotely discuss it anywhere within her proximity, "There is a quote I had heard a long time ago, It said, There are friends, there is family and then are friends who become family. I never believed it to be true, maybe because I never had such a friend apart from my sister. But, yesterday, I was proven wrong. Maybe some people do have friends who are like family. The ones who are just not a number on the Facebook friend counter or a follower on Twitter or Instagram. They weren't the ones who only messaged each other on birthdays or forwarded What's app messages on festivals. In fact, they didn't talk to each other for years, but just one hug was enough to end the anger they had for each other. They talked for hours and hours, but they still had so much to say to each other, maybe because they were true friends. They shared a friendship, which included being a part of every mischief, bad decision. They stood behind each other in the happy moments and beside each other in sad moments. Kept secrets for each other, stood up for each other and maybe even stood up against each other for their beliefs. Theirs is a relationship I really envy. I know today's post wasn't my usual M.O. But I wanted to dedicate this post to my grandparents, who truly showed me the meaning of treating friends like family. This is your Pahari Kudi signing off. Till next time!"

Purshottam smiled fondly, "I don't know why, but there is something about this girl which makes all her posts so endearing. A certain innocent charm that we don't find a lot these days."

Chandni and Haripraksh smiled at each other. They felt a surge of pride in their granddaughter.

Soumya and Dhara hadn't told anyone else except their grandparents, Manoj and Reena, about Soumya being Pahari Kudi, so having someone who is almost a part of the family give an unbiased opinion did make Soumya feel rewarded.

"The only person in our family who doesn't like her is our Rudra here," Tanuja said, pointing an accusatory finger at her elder grandson.

The smile on Soumya's face dropped and turned her face to study him. "Why not?" She asked curiously.

"I didn't say I didn't like her," Rudra said defensively. He couldn't believe that his grandparents had just thrown him under the bus like this. "I just think her posts are overly simplistic. Human beings are much more complicated and convoluted. It is great that she is able to touch on people's nostalgia but-"

"Hot pooris!" Manoj announced as he entered the room with a plate.

"Arey, you also read these?" Manoj asked excitedly when he spotted the Pahari Kudi page open. "Did you tell them Soumya?"

"Tell us what?" Purshottam asked as he sneaked another poori to his plate.

"That Soumya is the one who posts these." Manoj grinned with his chest, puffed out with pride.

"Manoj!" Soumya scolded and gave him an 'I'll kill you' look.

The Rawats stared at Soumya for a solid minute before the elders and Akash burst out into huge grins.

"Are you really Pahari Kudi?" Purshottam asked as he banged his fist against the table like a fanboy.

"I..." Soumya awkwardly cleared her throat as she tried to get rid of the heat on her face with all the attention. "Yes, It's stupid, really. I am not even sure if I am going to continue it."

"Why?" Tanuja waved her hand in the air to admonish the young woman in front of her. "Beta, so many people read your posts because it makes them happy. You must continue it."

"Yeah, Soumya! They are pretty dope." Akash winked at her with a grin.

"Are you upset with what Rudra said?" Tanuja asked softly.

"He is an idiot. I already told you that he doesn't know anything." Purshottam said dismissively, and Rudra gaped at his grandfather feeling offended.

"I am just not used to people reading my posts in front of me. Can you please not talk about them in front of me? I hate it." She blurted out.

There was silence before the elders began laughing loudly again, much to Soumya's embarrassment. She quickly stood up and almost ran away to her room, leaving behind loud laughter and promises to not read or talk about her posts in front of her.

When Soumya still didn't return, Haripraksh was about to stand up and follow her, but when he saw his daughter and her husband standing at the door with huge smiles. The older man's mood turned sour, and he glared at them.