"Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them."

- Leo Tolstoy

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Dedicated to all my readers from IF who have been waiting for this update from the past 11 months or so. I apologize and am truly embarrassed and so grateful to you for waiting for so long and for the patience you have shown so far, for always supporting and encouraging me. Thank you for everything... *hugs*

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Watching the sunset together has become their thing...

Despite having different schedules and work pattern, these days they somehow always were found by each other's side, enjoying the sunset together, sitting somewhere side by side; be it the bench on the garden outside his office, on the terrace of Tiwari Killa, in their favorite park, sipping chai at Tom uncle's or in the cafe shop they now went more often. No matter where they were, they would be sitting by each other's side in comfortable silence, just gazing at the sky as the day melted into the night, creating a beautiful fusion of colors...

Even now, as they stood outside of the cafe, leaning over his car's trunk as they observed the sky as it kept changing its clours, the silence between them was comforting, soothing enough to overpower the tiring days they had, somehow even an hour spent in each other's presence was addictingly healing for them...

"So beautiful," Suman suddenly whispered with a smile, making him turn to look at her. Her dark eyes looking steadily at the horizon now appeared hazel brown and her hair had red and dark brown streaks in them, face glowing with the shades of orange and pink, making her appear majestically eternal...

"True, so beautiful," Shravan agreed in a husky whisper without taking eyes off her, making her look up at him, just to find him looking at her with a soft smile and an unreadable expression on his face.

Her heart skipped a beat, then a few more, her face flushing under his gaze as her mind tried to decode that expression on his face. An expression she had been seeing on his face more often than not, and somehow now he has stopped looking away even when she would look up at him. He was becoming bolder, staring at openly and would refuse to look away even when caught, in fact, she knew he would smirk every time she shied away from his intense gaze.

'What was happening,' she asked herself, overwhelmed and dazed.

And if she was honest with herself, she knew what was happening, if she was honest to herself, she has already decoded his expression, knew it's meaning but at the same time she didn't want to interpret it...

Because maybe she was just a delusional, otherwise, he would have told her by now, right?

"Preeti," a familiar voice yelled, snapping them out of their thoughts and as they turned to look around they found a sight that left them gasping in shock, their mouths wide open.

"Pushkar and Preeti," they both whispered in surprise, awestruck as they saw Preeti thanking Pushkar with a kiss on his cheek after he handed her the shopping bags she must have forgotten, then they saw Preeti waving at him with a shy smile and walking away, leaving behind a silly Pushkar with his goofy smile.

"What the hell?" Shravan gaped at his cousin brother who was immersed in moving his body in an awkward victory dance while Suman continued to mutter all the horrible ways she was planning to torture the evil creature called Pushkar who was corrupting her innocent little sister.

"Pushkar," she yelled out loud when she no longer could hold back and continued to mutter in rage as she marched towards a surprised looking Pushkar who had stopped his victory dance in midstep and was now looking at her, gulping in fear when he found both his Bhaiya and Sumo coming to stop in front of him.

"Pushkar, what was that?" Shravan asked calmly as he tried to hold back a raging Suman ready to attack the afraid looking Pushkar.

"N-n-nothing," he shuttered, backing away from them before running away as fast as he could.

"Let me go, Shravan, let me teach Pushkar a life lesson," Suman yelled, ready to throw a punch or two as she tried to escape from his long arms that were wrapped around her.

"Calm down, Sumo," he told her before tightening his arms around her, pulling her closer to his chest and killing her protests all at once as she became aware of their closeness.

"Are you okay?" He asked her when she suddenly froze in between his arms.

Pulling away to look down at her, he frowned at how comically frozen she looked as if she was holding her breath or had seen a ghost...

"I am fine," she muttered quietly after coming back to her sense and quickly stepped away from him, blinking rapidly to come out of the haze his closeness always seemed to put her in...

"Don't worry, knowing Pushkar, he is hiding under his bed, fearing you entering into his room in your Sumo avatar. So we still can catch him to interrogate him," he told her with a mischievous glint in his eyes, looking like the partner in crime he had always been for her.

Not many knew that even during their teens, it had been him how had been the mastermind behind their pranks and all the innocent mischievousness. Everyone thought and had blamed Suman for everything every time they had been caught and even when he had confessed, they had ignored his confession, interpreting it as him taking the blame to save her. Shravan in his teens had looked like an angel, with his soft-spoken voice, gentle obedient nature and nerdy looks, who would have believed him anyway? But now thanks to his towering and strong presence, half smirks, sharp tongue, and quick wit, everyone has gotten to know the Shravan Malhotra only she had the pleasure to witness during their teens.

"Let's go find Pushkar," he told her as he dragged her to his car and kept proposing her different plans, getting excited as the distance between them and Malhotra house became less while she was awestruck by him. That, in front of her, was her Shravan, the one she knew, the one she adored ever since he was a lanky teen and she was labeled as the rebel one.

But as soon as they reached their destination, she saw him shaking away his giddiness and putting on his sober facade, looking expressionless and his stance suddenly became cold as they walked towards Pushkar's room. And that was the Shravan he has become now, that was the Shravan she was falling for, that was the Shravan she was intensely attracted to...

She truly adored him in his every shade and every avatar...

She was in awe when she noticed how good he was at pretending but as always, his molten honey eyes were giving away what he was feeling and suddenly she realized that she has finally learned to read them, and now he no longer could fool her with his facades...

"You ready?" He asked her just outside of Pushkar's room and she nodded, snapping out of the lovestruck mood when she realized she had the angry big sister role to play. And when they both stepped into the room, they found Pushkar chewing his nails, visibly stressed.

"Pushkar, what were you doing with Preeti outside the coffee shop?" He asked sternly, playing his role to perfection.

"That - Bhaiya...I was...," Pushkar shuttered before remembering that attack is the best defense;

"You were there too, with Sumo," he reminded his brother with a pout.

"Pushkar, are you going to tell me what you were doing there, or should I beat you up? And anyway, what were you both thinking? Kissing like that in public, what if some relative would have seen you? Yes, I and Shravan were there too, but were we kissing? No, we weren't," she scolded without realizing the words she was uttering in her anger.

"Are you complaining, Sumo? Or are you proposing? Are you saying we should have kissed too?" Shravan asked her with a straight face but with mirth swimming in his eyes.

"Shravan!" she cried out his name, crimson coloring her cheeks beautifully.

"Sorry. Continue, please," he said with a laugh before hiding his smiling lips behind his one hand and with the other, he gestured her to continue her interrogation.

"So, Pushkar, tell us everything or you know what will happen to you," she told him as she glared down at him harshly, as she advanced towards him threateningly just to be pulled back by Shravan.

"Come one, Pushkar, tell us," he said encouragingly as he held her back by holding her shoulder, once again freezing her in midstep, the warmth of his body combined with the heady feeling of his proximity left her motionless as she stood there frozen yet forcing herself to concentrate on the story Pushkar was narrating.

"We somehow kept meeting after that 'Preeti Bhooj' dinner, and I fell in love with her. She is just so sweet, so innocent. Last month, in the heat of the moment, I told her that I was interested in her without meaning to and she didn't answer me at first but then she told me she doesn't want to lose the friendship between us, that we should take our time to know each other before deciding anything. And that's what we are doing, taking our time, meeting every now and then whenever we can and going on cute dates," Pushkar told them with a shy yet goofy smile only he could manage to don; a sight so endearing that both Suman and his brother melted, smiling down at him.

"Oh, look at my Chote, so in love," Shravan said, almost cooing at his adorable younger brother who was getting flustered.

"Yes, whatever, but next time I see you kissing my sister in public, I will beat you up," Suman muttered, giving in, happy for both her friend and her sister for finding love.

"I wasn't kissing her, she kissed me, I don't see you scolding her," Pushkar muttered with a pout, making his brother laugh and Suman cry out his name in anger.

Excited for the details, they both forced the younger one tell them about everything that happened between him and Preeti, cooing and laughing at how shy Pushkar was acting, they listened to him as he narrated his love story, and in between they would look at each other with the soft smiles.

'Ah, young love,' they both thought as they looked at the younger man with a smile.

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A knock interrupted her and Preeta's ongoing conversation, and when Suman looked up at the door, she found Pushkar standing there with his sunny smile.

"Preeta, tomorrow you must remind me about the renewal of Mathur & Sons factories' contract," she instructed her assistant, ending their conversation before turning towards Pushkar.

"Sumo, your new office is so cool," he said excitedly when he came in to sit in front of her.

"You came here the first time, right?" She asked with a proud smile.

"But I know everything about it, thanks to Shravan Bhaiya. I can't tell you how he has been going on and on for weeks about your new office. What you have done to my brother, Sumo? My humble bother was bragging about you, showing off to any listening ear, the pride in his eyes. My Sumo this and my Sumo that, my brother is whipped," Pushkar told her with an amused smile, reminiscing his brother's antics with a hearty laugh.

"Really? He didn't tell me anything," she responded with a fond smile, even though she had seen pride in his eyes and has felt the warmth and attention he has been showering over her, even though she had heard him bragging about her in the party they had been last month and on the inauguration of her new office last week.

"Don't lie, you must know," Pushkar accused her with an unheated glare.

"Let's cut the chase, Pushkar, tell me why you are here for?" She asked, shaking her head at her friend.

"You have been around Shravan Bhaiya for too long, seriously, that's such a Shravan Malhotra line to say," he said to her and laughed when a glare was her sole response.

"But really, I just came to meet you," he responded with an innocent look.

"Pushkar, tell me," she said as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's what happens when you stay in the presence of Shravan Malhotra for too long, you are becoming a cynic, Sumo," he gasped at her theatrically.

"Pushkar," she sighed, looking at him with a glare until he gave up.

"Actually...I wanted to ask you. Now that you already know, so at least help me, please," he pleaded with a pout, opening his eyes wide; a look that always worked on his Shravan Bhahiya.

"Help? Pushkar ke bache, you have no shame, you are asking me to help and for what? To set you up with my sister?" She asked, shocked at his guts.

"Are, Sumo, bache? Forget about children, I won't even get married if your dear sister keeps up with her chant of 'friendship only' and 'just friends'," he muttered with a deep sigh.

"Don't you dare to say something about my sister, don't you know about your brother? He has been playing friendship games with me for years," she told him with a glare.

"I know, Sumo, they both are enjoying this 'friendship' game and we two poor souls are suffering," he said with a sad sigh even though he was rejoicing inside for being able to pull the right strings for her to sympathize with him. He may not be as successful as his Ramnaath sir and not as sharp as his Shravan Bhaiya, but he was cunning in his own way.

"You are right. No more. We must do something," Suman muttered, finally able to rant about her frustration over his refusal to confess his love for her.

"But what?" Pushkar asked leaning forward, excited.

"I don't know..." she responded with a helpless shrug, clueless.

"Idea," he cried out after a few seconds, "why we don't all four of us hang out together, who knows we can help each other understand what's going on their minds," he put forward his initial plan which could benefit both.

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea, Pushkar. When?" She asked, eager to put the plan in motion.

"Let's meet for dinner, all four of us, we can tell them that we youngster should at least behave like youngster for once and hang out together," he told her with a grin.

"Great. So, tomorrow?" She asked with a smile.

"Done deal, partner!" He responded with an excited yell.

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"Dinner?" Shravan asked her with a frown.

"Yes!" she responded.

"Just the four of us?" He asked with his eyes narrowed at her.

"Yes, Shravan," she repeated with a huff.

They were sitting on the stairs of the gazebo, their favorite spot in the park, sipping hot chai as they looked around, hearing mothers calling back their children as the sky turned dark in the colors of twilight.

"What's going on in this dangerous brain of yours, Sumo?" He asked her while looking into her eyes as if he could read her thoughts.

He looked at her with his eyes narrowed as she kept sipping hot chai without looking up at him, avoiding his gaze in order to not give away her plans for making him confess his love for her...

"What? Why are you asking like that?" She asked, unable to avoid his compelling gaze yet wary at his sudden attention.

"Because I know that something is cooking in that twisted mind of yours. You are planning something, right?" He asked with his eyes narrowed at her in suspicion.

"No, nothing like that. I just wanted to know if Pushkar and Preeti both are serious. And that would be only possible if we both get to see them interact together and all. I know they both are adult but I want to make sure they won't get hurt," she said with concern.

Even though she approved of Pushkar, ever since she had gotten to know Shravan's younger energetic cousin, she knew he could do no wrong, but she was Preeti's elder sister, she had the responsibility to protect her and only if the relationship between them were serious on both sides, they had her approval and support. And therefore, an intervention was necessary to make them understand the complex nature of the relationship between their families.

She had to know if she now not only had to fear for herself, and protect her love but also her sister's...

"So, will you go along with me?" she asked again.

"Of course, Sumo. And actually, you are right, it's needed. If we can help him and Preeti, we must. And if he needs to back off, we must make sure Preeti tells him that, clearly. I don't want Pushkar to suffer from one side love. If that is the case, he needs to realize it as soon as possible, it would hurt him less. Unrequited love is torture no one should go through," he responded, sighing when reminded of his own.

'But now it's no longer unrequited love, right?' he asked himself as he looked down at her, trying to find the answer his heart has already accepted.

He hoped he wasn't wrong this time around. As he thought about it again, he started to overanalyze, overthink everything, and suddenly he wasn't sure anymore. Once again, fears and doubts started to haunt him. With his cynic thoughts opening the doors he kept his demons locked in, he was forced to rethink her every gesture, her every word, her every action. Was he mistaken? He asked himself again in again as he kept looking at her while she looked around in the park, observing the families and children leaving as the sky turned darker. The more he questioned himself, the more his doubts intensified, causing him a headache. His hands unconsciously moved to his temples, pressing with force, he tried to tame his demons and alleviate his pain.

"Don't press so harshly, be gentle," her sudden cry snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked down at her when her hands came out of nowhere and removed his hands away from his temples. With a glare she batted his hands down and replaced them with her delicate ones, gently pressing his temples with her fingers, soothing his headache and his heartache with her warmth and care.

'Yes, maybe this time around his love won't be unrequited,' he answered himself as he closed his eyes, signing in peace as the warmth of her care chased away his demons...

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A/N:- An update because it's EDKV's first official anniversary... <3

So, a very happy anniversary to you all beautiful people and to everyone who loves EDKV and ShraMan...

I am truly grateful to each actor, creative team and everyone who has contributed into making EDKV and to you all, us, the family who has kept this love alive. Thank you to every Mv maker, ave makers and every creative people who keep reminding us why we love ShraMan.

And now to my lovely fellow writers, thank you for everything you write, for everything you have written, during and after EDKV, for making us fall farther in love with ShraMan, for filling the emptiness in our hearts, for healing our wounds, for understanding our pain and loss and alleviating it by giving us all these beautiful stories to read and gush over...

And last but absolutely not the least, I sincerely thank you all readers, thank you for your support, love, and encouragement, for giving us writers the strength and the wings to write what we want to, for appreciating our efforts and for giving us your time and for waiting and for devoting us with your undying loyalty and attention, for the sweet compliments, for the kindness and the warmth you shower on us...Thank you! :)

Thank you to each and every one of you, and a happy anniversary once again! <3