"Raavi!" Shiva called out to her, wearing his watch and fixing his hair a million times in the reflection of the TV.

It was his first date with his mami ki behen ki beti, and he intended on making sure it was perfect.

He hadn't been to an open-ground fair in the longest time, not since he was around 10, so he was excited to see how this went.

"Aa gayi." She stepped out of the bathroom, and Shiva smiled like a goof at what she chose to wear.

The black balloon-sleeved top he had chosen for her at the mall over a pir of blue denim jeans, her hair twisted in sections and pinned at the back, and was that.... lip gloss?

"Cute na! Even I was impressed with my outfit!" She twirled around merrily, and suddenly registered what he was wearing.

His crisp crimson red shirt, that she had chosen.

Raavi blushed at the thought, and grabbed his hand, walking towards the door, when they heard Shashank cough in the background.

"Yes, please flirt with each other aankhon aankhon mein, humare toh aankhein hi nahi hai." He teased, and Shiva threw him the finger over his head, going ahead to get his bike.

"If you need the house empty, let me know! Enjoy your date!" He teased some more, and Raavi turned around to search for her phone, giving him a thumbs down.

"Shut up, Shashank."

"Mai kehta hu, either you guys book a hotel room, or I will. My ears will bleed-"

"SHUT UPPPPP BYEEEEE!" Raavi sang loudly, trying to frown out his teasing and laughter, as she closed the door and ran down the stairs.

....

"Chal baith. Aur theek se baith, nahi dhakelunga." He looked at her softly, waiting on his bike, as she remembered the time he brushed her off it.

Raavi smiled and excitedly sat behind him, hands on his shoulders, expecting him to start, but he sat there, looking at her over his shoulder.

"Chal na, Shiva. Baith gayi hoon." Raavi nudged him, and he clicked his tongue.

"Aise," Shiva moved her hands from on his shoulder, to loop them under his arms, effectively pulling her closer to sit behind him. "Aise baith, warna gir jaayegi, aur haath-naak toot jaayega."

Raavi eyes crinkled as she smiled at his action, "Jo bhi tere bike pe baithta hai, sab ko aise bithata hai?"

"Nahi." He smirked, and revved his bike.

"Accha toh kaun kaun aata hai tere list mein?" She smirked right back.

"Naakhun gaadne waali chudail." Shiva answered, speeding up his bike to avoid her time-pass questions, and he saw her blushing in his rear view mirror.

Ye bhootnath toh flirt nikla. I'm impressed.

...

Shiva stood in front of the entrance to the fair, and instantly knew this was a bad idea.

It was SO CROWDED. How could so many people be standing in this place at the same time?

He hated crowds. People brushing up against each other, getting pushed around, he had even fought with random people for touching him earlier in such fairs.

But she looked so excited, like a child who was given candy after days of asking, so pushed the thought away and walked beside her, entering the open ground.

Only to be pushed around immediately. They swiftly and smartly maneuvered their way through the crowds, but when Shiva looked back, she wasn't next to him or tailing behind.

He turned around and found her trying to move around a party of kids that wouldn't let her through. So he walked over and gave them his most menacing look, causing them to scamper away.

"Baccho ko bhaga nahi sakti, kaisi chudail banegi tu." Shiva scoffed at her, holding her hand and walking them out of the crowd.

"Excuse me, bacche hai, nadaan hai, it's okay." Raavi said, holding his hand tighter, getting distracted by a bird in the sky for a moment.

Suddenly, she was pushed back quite harshly, a hand brushing up against her in all the wrong places and a loud 'so sorry' was heard. When she looked up to process what happened, a random man had crashed into her, and Shiva was glaring at him, with the intent of burning him to down to ashes with his eyes.

"AYE!" Shiva roared, pulling Raavi to the other side. "Dekha maine kya kiya tune. Haath tod ke aisi jagah ghusa dunga, chal nahi paayega kabhi. SAMJHA!?"

The man flinched, but didn't reply, so Shiva grabbed him by the neck and tossed him to the ground.

"Maang maafi. CHAL MAANG!"

"Shiva wait, halla mat kar." Raavi pulled him back by his arm, before he slapped the man. "Relax, let me deal with him."

Raavi walked over to the man who was sprawled all over the ground, not an ounce of fear or move to make an apology. Instead, she found him smirking.

So Raavi lifted her feet and stomped him down once, in a very private and sensitive area, causing him to shriek in pain and clutch his lower side.

"Goodbye."

Saying so, she grabbed Shiva's hand and walked away from the crowd, to a much open space at the centre of the ground.

"Shiva, itna gussa mat kiya kar. Tu humesha grumpy old man banega, toh enjoy kab karega. Abhi 24 years ka hi hai tu, buddha ho jaayega 2 saal mein agar ye gussa naak pe leke ghuma toh." Raavi turned around to fix his collar, patting his shoulder once and looking around with a smile.

"Par woh-"

"Usko chod. Ye sab dekh!" She spread her hands around and spun in her spot, "There's so much to do! Pehle bata kya kare? What about that ring wala game?" Raavi pointed towards a stall, "Or that photo booth, or even that hammer wala game, OOH LET'S EAT COTTON CANDY!"

Raavi rambled on and on about the million things they could do here, and Shiva couldn't help but adore her. She was so adorable, who wouldn't?

"Waha?" Shiva pointed at a stall of earrings and bangles, and Raavi's face lit up even more, as she dragged him to the stall, sifting through the earrings and bracelets.

"How's this?" Raavi picked out a pair of oxidises jhumkas, holding them against her ears.

Shiva scrunched his nose, nodding no, and she put them back, choosing a pair of dangling star earrings instead.

"No way!" He said, even before she had taken it off the shelf.

He sifted through the rack, and picked out a pair of oxidised dangling jhumkas; three long, hanging mini jhumkas, the centre link a little longer than its adjacent ones, together forming one earring of a pair.

"This is beautiful!" Raavi caressed the earring and smiled, it looked so much better than what she had chosen earlier.

She paid for the earrings, after bargaining a lot for the earrings, because there's no way she was paying 250 bucks for the earring. So when he had settled for 150 rupees, she paid and put them in her bag, running off to the game stalls.

Shiva was about to follow her, when he spotted something he liked. A silver link bracelet, with butterfly charms on it.

He looked at it and then back at Raavi, skipping away to eat some cotton candy and noticing Shiva wasn't with her yet, as she beckoned him to come to the adjacent stall.

She was exactly like a butterfly, he concurred. Fluttering away here and there, happily, without a worry, just living life as it comes. Kya pata, kal ho na ho she'd dramatically say, and she stuck to that saying, no matter how clichéd it was from a cliché Bollywood movie.

So when she wasn't looking, and enjoying her cotton candy, he bought the bracelet and put it in his wallet, smiling to himself.

He'd give it to her someday. Just not yet.

Raavi had somehow managed to get a bit of cotton candy in her hair. So when Shiva had walked over to her and she began asking questions about what he was buying, he simply stepped forward, pulling her closer by her waist and removed it, flustering her.

"Kya kar raha hai? Hum bahar hai." Raavi whispered, not making a move to step away, her hands resting against the collar

"Chudail ke baal se buddhi ke baal nikaal raha hoon." Shiva plainly said, in a low voice.

"What?!" She made a face at his weird face.

He showed her the cotton candy and flicked it away, and she wriggled her nose at his comment , brushing it away.

"Okay." She disentangled herself from his hold, looking here and there, their proximity making a difference to her all of a sudden, after so many years. "Ab kya kare? You choose!"

"Woh photo booth jaana hai. It will be fun. Chal na!" Shiva held her hand, and she complied.

Raavi didn't like photo booths. Not at all. Because it was such a small space, it made her feel locked up. And then, the photos would come out all weird and wonky, what's the point of paying for them?

But Shiva looked so excited to try it out with her, she knew he would never enter these booths as a child, he hated clicking pictures, but right now, there was no sign of it, as he eagerly waited to take some pictures.

So when he held her hand and pulled her towards the photo booth, she gave him her softest smile and followed.

Her bhola bhootnath.

The moment they squeezed themselves into the tiny place and pulled the curtains, Shiva pressed a few buttons and waited for the camera to start, turning towards her.

"Dekh, kuch bhi face bana, bas moorti mat banna, okay?" He said, adjusting himself.

The camera flashed 5 times, and a strip of pictures printed out. Raavi took the pictures and stepped out, admiring the pictures that turned out to be so precious.

5 pictures, 5 poses; One with them both showing the peace sign; one where Shiva  added two horns behind Raavi's head and she giggled in attempt to remove his hand, Raavi looked at Shiva with a smile while he stuck his tongue out with a wink; Shiva looked at Raavi with a dazzling smile, who was pouting at the camera with her eyes closed; the last one with them both adoring each other, lost in each other's eyes, all smiles.

Shiva took the strip of pictures from her hand, and she immediately took it back.

"Mujhe dekhne de!" Shiva complained, trying to reach for the pictures.

Raavi pouted, her lower lip jutting out, her eyes pleading to him. "Can I keep them? Please?"

She looked at him so earnestly, asking so innocently, that he couldn't have said no even if he tried. "Rakh le, but let me see!"

"No!" Raavi stuck her tongue and ran away laughing.

Shiva chased her through the crowd, around the stalls, reaching out for her as she giggled away, spinning away from his outstretched arms, escaping him, as they both ran around like absolute kids  definitely knocking down someone's popcorn.

Raavi ran around a tent, and when she finally thought she had escaped him, an arm spun her around and pinned her to the wall opposite her.

"Kab tak bhagegi, chipkali? " He whispered in her ears, arms snaking around her waist, and it sent a shiver down her spine.

Raavi looked up into his eyes, and found him staring back at her, a lazy smirk resting on his lips as her arms reached out to rest on his shoulder, breathing heavily from all the running.

The tension between them sparked, the proximity sending a nervous yet excited wave down their arms and legs, as he pressed her up against the wall more, leaning forward just enough for her to call the move.

She tilted her head upwards, meeting him halfway, their noses touched, lips barely centimetres away, breaths intermingling, eyes fluttered shut, hearts beating faster than normal.

Their lips almost touched, when a loud siren caused them to jump apart, hearts still beating erratically from the charged moment.

Shiva looked around in annoyance, only to see that they were right beside a game stall, and someone had just won a prize.

Well, that one was on them for trying to kiss near a place with a bullhorn.

"Shiva?" Raavi held his forearm, reeling from their moment a few seconds back and looked at the game stall, with a twinkle in her eye. "Let's play that!"

In an attempt to distract themselves, both of them proceeded to stand in line for the game stall, and when their turn came, the person handed them over three rings. Three rings, three shots, make an aim and the prize is yours he said.

Raavi took all three and attempted to aim for the peach coloured teddy bear to her far left, missing the first shot by a mile.

"Abe gadhedi," Shiva snatched the rings from her hands, "Waha left mein bear hai aur tu right mein fek rahi hai. Na akal hai na aim. Pata nahi kaha se dhundh liya tujhe." He muttered, and Raavi chuckled at his competitive annoyance.

Shiva aimed and tossed the ring, but it just missed, touching the ear and rolling off the shelf, as Raavi laughed an evil laugh in the background.

"Na akal hai, na aim. Pata nahi kaha se dhundh liya tujhe." She mocked him, imitatiting his words from earlier, and he pinched her lips shut.

"Shhh. Bak bak, bak bak, bak bak." Shiva said, and tossed the last ring towards the bear, and it went straight through the bear, settling on the shelf with it at the centre.

"YAYYYY!" Raavi threw her hands in the ait, and then realised she was the only older person in a swarm of kids, so she cleared her throat and composed herself, as the person handed over the bear to Shiva.

"Khush?" He asked her, trying to hide a smile, and she excitedly nodded, when a little cry broke their attention.

"But, mumma, I wanted that bear." A little girl, no older than 4, was hugging her mom's leg and crying about the teddy bear.

"It's okay, baby. Hum dusra bear jeet lenge." Her mother tried to pacify her, but she was adamant about that particular bear only, her tears on her cheek now.

Shiva looked at the little girl, the bear he was holding, and then at Raavi, and she returned the same look he gave her, answering his question with a smile.

"Hey," He sat down in front of the little girl, who was now sniffling, "ye lo. This is for you." Shiva handed over the little bear to her, and she stopped crying, looking at him with her doe-eyes.

"For me?" She asked, and when Shiva nodded with a soft smile, she took the bear he held out, and cuddled it to herself.

"Really? Thank you." And in that moment, the way she beamed would put a thousand stars to shame, she looked so happy, it made Shiva's heart melt.

"Aapka naam kya hai, bacche?" Raavi sat down beside Shiva, in front of the little girl.

"Rhea."

"That's a very beautiful name." Raavi smiled at her, and Rhea beamed at her, whispering a soft thank you, before turning back to Shiva. "Par aapne toh teddy bear ye didi ke liye liya na?" She asked, pointing at Raavi.

Shiva ruffled her hair, chuckling, "Tumhari didi ke liye dusra le lunga, you keep this one, okay?"

The little girl jumped up and down in happiness, and hugged Shiva, kissing his cheek, so happy that she got the cute teddy bear.

The mother thanked him profusely, and Shiva asked her not to, it was completely fine, waving to Rhea as she waved goodbye and skipped away happily.

When Shiva turned to look at Raavi, she had this look of adoration which made him blush, and looked away.

"Kya?" He rubbed the back of his head, and she moved to stand in front of him.

"Tujhe bacche bohot pasand hai na?" She asked, a look that said she knew the answer to that question.

"Haa, toh? Cute hote hai bacche, so?" Shiva raised his nose high, folding his arms.

"I think it's cute. Relax, itna defensive mat ho." Raavi chuckled, hugging his arm, "Let's go eat? I'm hungry."

"Mere pet mein dinosaur kood rahe hai. Please chalte hai!" Shiva said, and they walked over to a stand, and bought one shawarma each, with a bottle of pepsi, walking across the ground while eating and talking about anything under the dipping the sun, sitting down near the river bed adjacent to the fair.

"You don't like kids?" Shiva asked, munching on his food.

"I do. Mujhe toh humesha se mann tha ki mai apne bacche ko pyaar karu. Lekin na, I don't want to have kids, you know?" Raavi nodded her head, as if Shiva would understand what she meant.

He raised an eyebrow, asking her to explain, since he was super confused.

"I mean, I know maasima always keeps saying ki 'pregnancy bohot khoobsurat experience hoti hai', and that's probably true. Par mujhe humesha se bacche adopt karne the, you know?" Raavi threw away the tissue she used and sipped from the bottle.

"Really?" Shiva asked, surprised. He hadn't known that in so many years of knowing her. Well, you learn something new everyday.

"Haa. Because, mujhe pata hai kaisa lagta hai jab koi bhi tumhe apne paas nahi rakhna chahta. Woh toh meri kismat acchi thi, ki maasima aur mausapa mujhse itna pyaar karte hai, warna mujhe kaun sambhalne waala tha jab mom-dad chale gaye?" Raavi looked ahead at the calming waves, a wistful smile on her face.

"Par sabki kismat acchi nahi hoti. And when there are kids that need a home, have been craving for that love, toh mai unhe ghar le aau na, apne paas? Baccha toh baccha hota hai, usse thodi na pata hota hai khoon ke rishte hone mein aur na hone mein farak. Usse toh bas pyaar chahiye, right? Aur jab baccha ghar par ho  toh hum sirf usse pyaar karte hai, uska DNA check nahi karte." She pulled her legs upto her chest, her arms around them, resting her cheek on her knees, turning to look at him.

"Wow. That's...." Shiva looked at her intently, "That's a beautiful thought."

Shiva reached forward and immediately knocked her forehead thrice, startling her. "Tu kaun hai, aur Raavi ke saath kya kiya hai? Tu 22 saal ki hai na, pakka?"

"Shut up, Shiva." Raavi chuckled and pushed his hand away, as they watched the sun set slowly.

"Raavi?"

"Hmm."

"Humne mele mein sab try kiya, siwaaye ek cheez ke." He pointed at the giant ferris wheel at the far end of the ground, which was now illuminated with the brightest lights, just like the rest of the ground.

"Then I think humein bucket list se isse bhi strike out kar dena chahiye, nahi?" Raavi dusted her clothes and forwarded her hand to Shiva, as they walked hand in hand to the ferris wheel, waiting in line.

As soon as they were seated in the cabin, Raavi looped her arm in Shiva's, and pointed at the fair below them.

The lights illuminated every aspect of the ground, the tents and stalls all lit up, and from the height they were at, it all looked like fireflies blinking softly around the elements of the world.

A little more higher, and they saw one of the most beautiful sights.

The entire city was shining in lights, every window emitting a radiation light, making the city look like it was surrounded by the same fireflies that made their way to the fair below, the ocean to their far left, waves crashing against the now empty beach, a lighthouse in the far distance guiding a ship to dock, and somewhere in the distance, birds flocking their way back home.

Under the starlit sky, the whole city looked its finest, adorned in twinkling lights and the crashing waves towards the edge.

The ferris wheel came to a stop after 2 rounds, and Shiva and Raavi's cabin was the highest one, right at top, where they could see the whole city before them.

"It's beautiful." Raavi rested her hand on the safety bar in front of them. "Dekhna!"

"Beautiful indeed." Shiva said, not taking his eyes off of her.

"Shiva, look-" Raavi turned to tell him something, but got lost in his eyes, and the way he was looking at her now.

This close, she could see the little scar he had on his nose, the way he got the smallest of dimples when he smiled, the way his hair fell across his forehead and all she wanted to do was brush it away.

And she did exactly that, her tiny fingers brushing it away from his forehead, her palm automatically resting on his cheek, as she stared into his soot-black eyes.

Shiva kept his hands on her waist, pulling her closer, waiting for her to call the move, as their noses brushed and arms engulfed each other, lips mere centimetres away.

Raavi peeked from under her eyelashes, and watched as he rested his forehead against hers, feeling the nervousness in his shaky breaths and eyes that were now closed. She was aware of the feeling that his touch created on her, and she knew she wanted it. All of it.

All of him.

Ever so softly, she pressed her lips against his, pecking him thrice until he realised she really was kissing him, and he encircled her waist with one arm, the other finding its way into her hair.

He tilted his head and kissed her deeper, not caring about the cabin right behind them, tugging on her lips, causing her gasp slightly as she tightened her arm around his neck, the other moving to clutch his biceps.

They broke apart for the sole need of air, looking at each other with a pensive look, before bursting out into fits of giggles and laughter.

Shiva cupped her cheek and kissed her again, pulling back to peck her lips once, resting his forehead against hers, a smile playing on his lips while her hands rested on his hands on her cheek.

"So...." Shiva cleared his throat, pulling back a little more.

"So." Raavi smiled, rubbing their noses together, hugging his arm and resting her head on his shoulder, the ferris wheel descending and coming to a complete stop,as they walked hand in hand back to Shiva's bike.

The entire ride back home, Raavi's arms were tightly wound around his torso, her cheek on his back, content radiating off her face.

.....

"That was fun." Shiva leaned against the door frame, one hand in his pocket. "We should do that again sometime."

"Par Shiva, ye mela toh aaj khatam ho jaayega. Waapas ab sirf agle saal jaa sakte hai!" Raavi pouted, and Shiva shook his head.

"Meri dobi, dobi ki dobi hi rahegi." He muttered under his breath, before facing her, "Mera matlab tha, waapas kabhi date pe jaana chahiye hume, it was fun."

"Oh." Raavi squeaked, a blush creeping up her neck, "Haa. We should. Definitely."

"I had the most fun aaj, best date ke saare check boxes tick ho gaye, sivaaye ek ke." She raised one finger and scrunched her nose.

"Kya?"

"Be kissed by your date at your doorstep."

Shiva chuckled at her sneaky attempt to steal a kiss, and held her chin between his fingers, placing a soft kiss on her lips, which made her go pink.

"Ho gaya tum dono ka?" came a muffled voice from behind the door.

What the f*ck?

"I heard your keys, and assumed you'd be kissing. Ho gaya ho toh darwaaza kholu, ki mere aankh mein harpic daalna padega?"

"Shut up, man!" Shiva shook his head and asked Shashank to open to door, and he sighed in relief when he didn't find them eating each other's faces.

"Do I still have to leave or-"

"Shashank yaar!" Raavi blushed, hiding her face in Shiva's shoulder.

"I see you're happy. It's good to see you smiling, choti." Shashank ruffled Raavi's hair, before settling on the sofa .

"Khaana?" Raavi asked him, and he refused, saying he ate and kept the food in the fridge if they were hungry, which they both nodded no to.

The butterflies in their stomachs spoke for themselves.

Hours passed, with them glancing over at each other occasionally, barely paying attention to the movie running on the TV, while Shashank munched on some popcorn with Gaurav.

As they all retired to bed, Raavi held back Shiva, placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Goodnight, bhootnath."

"Aise goodnight bolegi toh sounga kaise?" Shiva raised his eyebrows, which made her chuckle.

"Kal drop karega college?"

"Kal se drop kar du tujhe college?" He smirked at her, and she waved her hand in the air, her cheeks hurting from all the smiling.

As she watched him close his bedroom door, she took out the chain link bracelet that she had bought at the fair when he wasn't looking, from her bag, and back at the door.

I'll give it to him. Some other day.

Neither of them had been this happy in a long time.