It had been a month since their first epic road trip together. Avni had been convinced to join the family business by Neil and he was busy with a new case at work. So both avni and neil hadn't had much time to themselves . They were still enjoying the physical intimacy that was fairly new to them. Cuddling in each others arms at night, all the kisses and making out sessions which was almost a daily ritual, and a couple of showers together as well. They were getting comfortable with each other but it was still a few minutes a day that they really had to steal for themselves. Which is why they were both super excited for Christmas that was coming up. Neel had some leave saved up which he could take and Avni also could take a few days off from work because it was going to be closed for Christmas. They were both secretly hatching plans for surprises for each other on that day.

Neel- (in his head) Christmas is coming up and I need to make this special for avni. This can finally be the one festival that we really celebrate together without it getting ruined.

Avni Its been a month since our trip, and I've been too caught up with my work neil and me should do something together, I should plan something for him. Then she remembered Christmas was coming up so she made plans too.

On Christmas eve- after dinner, Avni had been pecking at her food, barely eating and he looked like she was in deep thought. As soon as everyone was done eating she literally fled to their room. Neil was wondering what was going on. Avni only ate less when she was anxious/nervous and he was a bit worried. The family knew that she was planning a surprise but didn't know the details. But they all kept their mouth shut when neil looked at them quizzically. They didn't want to spoil the surprise. But they kept trying to keep him occupied with some talk and neel was getting suspicious about why he wasn't being allowed to go up. He was dying to see what the matter with avni was and why she had gone in a hurry. So finally after being stalled for about an hour he finally broke free and ran upto their room. He realized the room was locked and started knocking- Avni tum theek to ho. Whats going on? Open the door ya avni

Avni- Neel, gimme 2 miutes please

Neel- what are you doing baby? Why have you locked me out of my own room?

Avni- 2 minutes please.

Neel- had no choice but to wait. But his wife was good with time exactly 2 minutes later, he noticed that she turned of the lights in the room and then he heard the door open. She stepped out and he just stared at her unblinkingly.

She looked stunning. She had worn a long dark blue dress which hugged her figure perfectly. Ever since she changed her fav color to blue, she had multiple shades of it in her wadrobe! And neel felt good seeing her in it because it made him feel special. Eveytime she wore a blue shade saree/kurta/dress, she gave him a smile which Neel knew was reserved for him exclusively. While he was staring at her she quickly moved behind him and covered his eyes.

Neel- Avni yaar kya kar rahi ho.

Avni- oh gosh ya. patience hubby. Chalo. 10 second mein tumhe khud pata chal jayega. She held his hand and led him in and she heard her lock the door behind them while she used one hand to keep his eyes covered.

Neel was getting excited now. She was standing close to him and he just basked in that unique fragrance that was just her.

Then he felt her move away his hands and once again Neel took in the whole setup in front of him with a stunned silence. Their whole room was decorated with fairy lights and she had put up a small Christmas tree in their room which was decorated. Under the tree he saw that she had placed a bunch of gifts as well.

Neel pulled her in for a tight hug and whispered- I love it babu. Thank you so much!

Avni- I'm glad u like it. Chalo.

She led him to the beanbags that she had placed by the tree and made him sit down.

Avni- neel kaafi din hogaye, humne saath me kuch nahi kiya so I thought ki since tum bhi chutti pe ho, we should do some stuff together.

Neel- I know. I'm glad that u've also set up this whole xmas stuff. I was thinking ki isske pahle hamaare saare festivals were jinxed our first holi was full of tashan- even though the time together locked in the bathroom was memorable. But we both not remember much of what happened. Next was janmasthami- when you were kicked out by my family, then at ganpati- I told you about juhi, during navaratri was the RM fiasco, Diwali was ruined by the chuhi bacchi . I'm really sorry avni that abhi tak hum ek bhi festival thik se nahi mana paaye hai. He looked upset

Avni- neel , please tum puraani baatein yaad karke mood mat kharab karo. Whatever happened is done. Tum hi kahte ho na that we should live in the present.

Neel- smiles at her and says- Role reversal ho gaya lagta hai. Tum mujjhe mere hi dialogues suna rahi ho! Accha chalo batao kya plan hai.

Avni- who actually main jab college me thi toh mere principal joseph sir kaha karte the that Christmas bahut accha time hota hai and whatever we wish for will happen. Uss time pe I didn't believe anything he said but now I want to start traditions with you. I think it might be nice to have our own unique Christmas traditions na...what do you think?

Neel- haan aage bhi bolo, I'm listening wifey!

Avni- so I was thinking ki hum Mount Mary church chalet hain...vahaan pe aaj midnight mass hain and uske baad when we come back we can come back and open the gifts under the Christmas tree.

Neel- sounds good. And then he looked at his watch and realized that it was 11, so he got dressed in a matching blue dress shirt and pants and they made their way out. Avni was in a mood to drive so he let her. Meanwhile he was busy texting.

On their way- suddenly Neel turned off avni's music and turned on the radio-

Avni- Kya hua? Tumne mera music band kyu kiya? She asked him with an adorable pout

Neel- mimicking her earlier dialogue- patience wifey, abhi 10 second me pata chalega.

The RJ announced the next track as a special dedication from Neel Khanna to his beautiful wifey Avni Ayesha Khanna- and a romantic number played on the radio.

Avni turned to neel with the biggest smile and gave him a peck oh his cheek. She was touched by his small but ultracute gestures. They enjoyed the song and once it was over he turned off the radio.

Avni- Tumhe kaise pata ki voh exactly uss time pe gaana play karta?

Neel- Arey maine kuch setting kar rakhi thi-

Avni just smiled at him and shook her head.

They reached the church and went in for the service.

As the pastor asked them all to bow their heads for a prayer-

Neel looked at his wife who was looking so innocent with her eyes tightly shut in prayer , with a smile on her face. (in his head)- I just want to constantly see this smile on your face. You've seen enough drama till now, and my only aim is to make sure that I can keep you happy like this forever!

Avni (in her head)- thank you Lord Jesus for sending Neil in my life. my husband is really amazing. Pata nahi what I did to deserve him but thank you so much for this blessing you have sent me.

As her eyes opened it locked with Neil who was as usual staring at her. She blushed furiously.

Neel just grinned, leaned in and whispered- tum abhi tak itna kaise sharma leti ho miss tamatar?

Avni- shushed him quickly reminding him that they were still in church, but her smile never left her face, it only grew bigger.

After the service, they went back home.

While Avni went into change in the bathroom, Neel quickly took out some gifts from a hiding spot in his cupboard and added it to the pile under the tree.

Avni came out and neel had already changed too. Then they made their way to the Christmas tree

Neel- so gifts khole.

Avni- haan chalo- excitedly- hands him the first gift

Neel opens it to reveal a nice grooming kit for men- he had been meaning to buy it for the longest time and he had no idea how avni knew that-avni pointed out a note attached to it.

The note read- Dear hubby, meri pahli salary ke time pe toh tum meri life me nahi the unfotunately. But tumhaari vajah se I've taken up this new job. And this is a gift from my first salary in my new job. I hope you like itJ

Neel just looked at her with all the love and gave her a peck on the cheek- but how did you know that I wanted it?

Avni- mene bhi kuch setting kar rakhi hai! And winked at her husband

(Actually she had noticed one day that her husband had the habit of scrolling online on amazon for stuff and adding it to his wishlist but he was always stingy when it came to spending on himself. So one day when he was sleeping she quickly pulled out his phone and looked through his wishlist and made a note of the stuff there for her future use!)

Neel just smiled at her enthusiasm.

Avni handed him one more gift- and said this one is actually for both of us.

Neel opened it excitedly ripping the wrapping paper- and his jaw dropped- it was 2 tickets to the cricket match- it was on 25th- India vs srilanka, T20 game at 4pm!

Avni- I thought ki since we both like watching cricket we should go enjoy a game in the stadium!

Neel- Jaan ur the best wifey in the whole world. And he pulled her in for a smooch.

Avni- just enjoyed the feel of being kissed by her man. Just as things were starting to heat up she withdrew from him and neil grunted in frustration.

Avni- sorry neel, but ek last gift hai.

Neel wow baby, tum toh aaj mujhe poori tarah spoil kar rahi ho!

Avni- Haan toh me apne husband ko nahi spoil karungi toh aur kise karungi, and quickly pecked him on the cheek and handed him the small parcel.

Neel- opened it and found a cute ornament -It was a snowflake but when he looked at it closely he realised she had personalised it. It had their names inside it.

Avni- I thought every year we could add one personalised ornament to the Christmas tree.

Neel- was overwhelmed- his wife was so thoughtful and he felt really lucky to have her in his life. He added it to the topmost branch of their little tree that she had already decorated with other christmasy ornaments.

Avni- I hope you liked it neel. Accha chalo ab sojaate hai.

Neel- Wifey, but abhi kuch gifts baaki hai na.

Avni- confused- nahi sab ho gaye. Looks at the tree and suddenly notices 2 more boxes peeking from behind the tree. She was ecstatic- Tum bhi gift laaye ho kya?

Neel- ofcourse wifey. Tumhe kya lagta hai, sirf tum mujhe spoil karogi? Chalo ab kholo And he hands her the first box.

Avni- before opening the box itself launches herself onto him for a hug and squealed- thank you!

Neel- laughing- Arey arey gift kholne ke pahle hi reaction de rahi ho. Kholo toh sahi.

Avni- opened the gift and saw a jewelry box- she opened it and saw a very cute silver charm bracelet inside it. It was elegant and cute at the same time.

Neel said May I?

And avni extended her hand to him instantly so that he could put it on her wrist. HE carefully hooked the bracelet on her wrist and then gave her a peck on her hand as well.

Avni then reached down to open her second gift- it was a scrap book. He had covered it with a brown wrapping paper and on the cover it said- Avneil in super fancy calligraphy. Avni was shoked that her supercop was a hidden artist as well and that he had actually made something for her from scratch that too by hand. She opened the book to find the title- Adventure 1 and the dates mentioned . Below it he had stuck pictures from their first road trip. This was on the first 5 pages. After that he had already titled the new page as Adventure 2- and there was a pamphlet about a hike with the date 26th December.

Avni- We're going for a hike on 26th? She asked him excitedly

Neel- Ya, I didn't have enough time to plan a road trip but I thought we can do a hike atleast. Apparently the view from up there is great.

Avni- Perfect. Kal hum match dekhne jayenge aur parso hike par! Worked out well na.

Neel- I know right! And mujhe pata hai ki abhi kaafi khaali sa scrapbook hai but I thought we can add the pics from all our future road trips and adventures into this book.

Avni just looked at him in awe- what was this man doing to her! She had never expected that Neel of all people would make her a scrapbook and she just looked at him with tears in her eyes and whispered- its perfect, thank you!

Neel- reached out to caress her face and pulled her into a hug! Merry Christmas baby he whispered into her ear.

Avni- continued to sniffle as she hugged him close, resting her head on his chest listening to his heartbeat.

Neel- baby please na...mene tuhe rulaane ke liye gift nahi diya hai! And he wiped her tears

Avni- sorry voh thoda senti hogayi. And she smiled sheepishly.

Neel just shook her head at his ajooba of a wifey and pulled her back into his embrace.

Suddenly he heard a small rumble from avni's tummy! And he couldn't stop laughing. Wifey...tum akeli aisi ho jiske pet me raat ke dhai baje bhi choohe daudte hai!

Avni- hits him lightly on the shoulder and says- voh maine thik se dinner nahi kiya isliye! Main ye sab organize karne me itni excited thi na...

Neil- ki tumhaari bhook chali gayi! (he completed the sentence)

He knew that his wifey always lost her appetite whenever she was anious/nervous/excited.

Accha chalo neeche. He grabbed her hand and led her down to the kitchen. He pulled out the chair and made her sit.

Neel- abhi dekho tumhaare masterchef pati ka kamaal.

HE quickly made 2 mugs of steaming hot chocolate and whipped up a plate of avnis 2nd fav dish after poha- Maggi! He handed her the mug and then bought her a plate of maggi as well.

She looked at him as if she had won the lottery and quickly dug into the maggi! In between she took sips of her hot chocolate as well.

Neel- just watched her childlike glee while eating her maggi and hot chocolate. This is what he loved about avni. She was a very simple person, quite easy to please if you just observed her well enough! She didn't want any grand gestures, and found joy in the simplest of things. He knew that she genuinely appreciated all the little things in life and when she gave him her 1000watt smile he was a complete goner!

Once she was done she took the dishes upto the sink and then they made their way back upto the bedroom to finally go to sleep.

They were both content and slept with smiles on their faces excited for the next 2 days as well.

25th December:

Avni and Neel had been excited all morning for the match that day. Neel had last seen a match live long back when he was in first year of college and he had gone with his friends. Avni had never seen a match live before. Neel could never stop being surprised by his wife. HE didn't know anyone else whose wife/girlfriend had taken them out for a match as their date. She could have very well planned all the clichd romantic things but avni was special. And the cool thing was she herself liked watching sports too. He remembered the time 2 weeks back when they were watching a match and she had screamed at the TV screen when one of the players had dropped a catch! She was so into it. And she had superstitions too, like no one could move when kohli was batting! He was sure that she would be even more excited in the stadium. And sure enough he got a glimpse of it when he was waiting in the living room for her to get ready and come down. She stepped out in the blue Team India jersey and jeans and she had literally bounced down the stairs. Shweta looked at her and said tu sach mein jhalli hai avni! Neel ne mujhse kaha ki tum date pe ja rahe ho toh maine socha movie ya beach ya dinner pe jaoge. But tum log toh match dekhne ja rahe ho!

Avni- mummyji, voh sab toh ham kabhi bhi karsakte hai. But match ke liye tickets kaafi setting laga ke mili hai (and winked at her)

Neel- looked at their interaction and felt glad that things had worked out well between them. Once shweta had realized what avni was truly like she had fallen in love with her! And just like avni had once challenged him- on some days it did appear as if she loved her more than him- her tillu! Last week he had some important case related work and his phone was not reachable. He had been so caught up with work that he had forgotten to text/call and inform anyone at home and obviously everyone was worried since he was very late. And when he finally came back home he was given such a huge lecture by his mother and most of it was about how he could dare to give tension to her beloved avni puttar! Finally it was avni only who managed to calm her down and explain that neel didn't do it on purpose.

Avni and Neel had a wonderful time at the stadium. India won the match so they were happy. On the way back home, avni insisted that she wanted to have chai at her fav tapri near his police station. Neel obviously agreed!

As they sat there sipping chai,

Avni (in her head)- feels like a dream, I hope I never have to wake up from this dream. This was the kind of life that both her mothers did not get and she had never imagined that she would find a life partner who was as amazing as Neel was. Even now, ever so often she would get thoughts about how she did not deserve him but she would push it out of her mind.

Neel (in his head)- he could just keep looking at her all day long. He thought about how misguided he was when he first met her. He knew in his heart that she was not at fault but his mind wanted him to believe that she was a criminal, he was so mad at her for marrying him without consent! But now he couldn't thank god enough for the twist of fate- and now here they were- she was truly his better half. HE had always desired a simple lifestyle. He was not one for show offs. And his wife was exactly like that too. She was a revelation to him. Once she had let go of her past he realized that she was actually a very positive person. She encouraged him to focus on work and was a sounding board when he needed someone to talk to. Once he motivated her to join the family business he watched how invested she was in it. She worked really hard and his dad couldn't stop singing praises of his daughter. HE was so proud of the fact that she didn't take the easy route. She started at the lowest rung.

Once they finished chai, they headed back home and slept early because they had to wake up next morning for the hike.

(to be contd)

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