After much contemplation and arguments, the trio finally decided to kill time in a nearby cafe while waiting for the night show. Sivaangi ordered herself falooda ice cream while persuading Ashwin to get a chocolate mousse just so she can have a bite to which he willingly agreed to.

"Che ipdi aagiduchu." Sakthi complained while chewing on the waffles.

(What a waste.)

"Plan panni nadakura vishyam ah, accident da. Yeppo venalum nadakalam." Ashwin responded while Sivaangi was too focused on indulging in the falooda. Ashwin found himself smiling at how she resembled a chipmunk while she ate, her mouth almost too small to fit in all the food so she forced herself to bite quickly to make more room.

(Not everything goes as planned. It's an accident, what can we do?)

Sivaangi was the cutest when she's eating. Ashwin couldn't help but notice. "Paathu sapduma, cold ah na food medhuva sapdanum or it can cause a sudden brain freeze."

(Eat carefully, you should intake cold food in a slow manner or it can cause a sudden brain freeze.)

With much difficulty she swallowed and looked at him with a bright smile. Food made Sivaangi the happiest too. "Theriyum military, neengalum sapdunga illati naaney yellathiyum muduchiduven."

(I know military, you better eat too or I'm gonna finish up everything here.)

"Thalaivi nee sapdu, venumna order pannikalam. Selavu panna poradhu annan thaana." Sakthi grinned.

(Thalaivi you finish it up if you want, we can order some more later. After all bro is gonna pay for it.)

"Thalaivi ah?" Ashwin questioned once again. Nicknames? They're that close? Ashwin hated how he was feeling like a third-wheeler back in school which is not a brand new feeling to him.

Sivaangi giggled while Sakthi generously explained. "Aama she's one of the OGs of our fandom, Sivaangi oda tweets lam vera level ah irukum! Avanga organise panra spaces, trends yellamey therikkum! Oru fan ku naan fan."

(She's one of our OGs, her tweets, spaces, trends are all amazing! I'm a fan for this fan.)

"Romba over da." Sivaangi said before going back to her falooda.

(This is too much.)

Ashwin didn't understand half the things Sakthi mentioned since he wasn't an active Twitter user. The last time he visited his account was probably when he first created it out of curiosity. He doesn't even remember his password anymore. But what he understood was, Sakthi really admires Sivaangi and for some reason that didn't sit well with him.

He silently stuffed a large piece of chocolate mousse into his mouth but almost chocked at what Sakthi said next. "Thalaivi pesama namma rendu perum kalyanam pannikita yenna?"

(Thalaivi why don't we get married?)

Sivaangi's eyes widened largely. She has had boys who confessed their love to her but never had she gotten a marriage proposal, not even as a joke like this one. She was intrigued and decided to play along especially after seeing Ashwin's reaction.

"Dei Sakthi! Yennada solra?" She laughed.

(Sakthi! What are you talking about?)

"Aama thalaivi, jolly ah irukom la. Namma 4 perum super ah fun panlam."

(Yeah thalaivi it'll be fun right? The four of us can enjoy ourselves.)

"Moodhevi yedhavudhu olarama mooditu sapdu." Ashwin said but Sakthi was not shutting up.

(Stop talking nonsense and eat up.)

"Naa nalla yosichi thaan solren, ippo Diwali or Pongal ku lam ooruku varanumna orey selavula mudinjidum. Aprom veetula yendha prechanayum varadhu because yedhavudhuna paravala namma thambi thaneynu nee poiruva adhey madhri namma thangachi thaneynu anni yum vittu kuduthuduvanga. This is an amazing plan if you ask me, Sivaangi what do you think?"

(I'm only suggesting after thinking hard. Whenever we go back home for festivals, we save a lot of money by travellers together. We also won't have any family feuds since you will be ready to give in for your brother and your wife will give in too since it's her own sister.)

The fact that Sivaangi brought her tiny finger to her chin and started thinking about the plan made Ashwin lose him mind. He really thought the two insane people were driving him nuts. "Dei Sakthi kondruven onna, joke pandrathuku oru limit iruku."

(Sakthi I would seriously kill you, there's a limit to jokes.)

"Yaaru joke panra, naa oru practical idea suggest panren." Sakthi defended himself.

(I'm not joking. I'm suggesting a practical idea.)

"Yenna military, neenga enna solringa? Daily unga kuda yedhavudhu prechanai panlam, I feel tempted just for that reason alone." She gave him a teasing smile.

(So military what do you think about his idea? I get to mess with you everyday, that alone is a good enough reason.)

"The both of you have gone crazy!" Ashwin's outburst caused them to laugh. "Kalyanam yenna vilayata?"

(You think marriage is some sort of a game?)

"Nee lam advice pannadha, kalyanam pannika pora ponnu photo kuda pakama vandhavan nee." Sakthi pointed out. "Unga pairing vida yenga pairing better ah irukom because we know each other longer."

(You don't deserve to give out any advice on this matter, you agreed for marriage without even looking at your fiancé's picture. In fact our pairing would be better than yours since we know each other longer.)

Ashwin was just speechless at that point because he was now really worried if they were joking or not.

"Sakthi ippothiku ivanga kalyanam muditom, namma plan aprom pathukalam." Sivaangi said causing Ashwin's head to jerk up again.

(Sakthi let's wait for their wedding to be over first, we'll take care of our plan later.)

"Plan ah? Yenna plan? Vilayadringala rendu perum?!"

(Plan? What plan? Are you guys kidding me?)

"Military konjam chill pannunga, naanga onnum ippovey odi poyi thali kattika poradhu illa. Idhu just oru backup plan. Yedhu nadanthalum unga blessings ketutu thaan nadakum, okay?" Sivaangi sweetly assured him, further provoking his irritation.

(Military take a chill pill, we're not gonna elope and get married now itself. It's just a backup plan. We would only do it with your blessings, okay?)

Sakthi looked at Sivaangi with gleeful eyes causing her to giggle as both had successfully riled up the military officer. When a man like him is around, you would wanna do nothing but to mess with him just to get a reaction out of him.

Just then Sakthi's phone started ringing. He slid to answer and when he ended the call, he immediately looked at Ashwin with begging eyes. "Anna yen friend oruthan inga indha oorula irukanu sonnanla, avan pakkathula thaan irukana. Naa oru half an hour paathu pesitu varava please da anna?"

(One of my friends are just around the corner, can I have a quick chat with them and be back in about half an hour?)

"Seri poitu vaa." Ashwin easily said, causing Sakthi to blink in surprise. The brother he has known all his life would kill him if he leaves him alone with a girl, especially a girl he just met a day ago. How is Ashwin completely fine with this?

(Okay go.)

"Dei adhaan poitu vara sonnarula, seekiram po. Movie ku late ah vandha, kondruven."  Sivaangi said signalling with her hands for him to leave.
Confused, Sakthi left his brother with his friend in the cafe.

(He said you can go. Leave now and better come back on time for the movie!)

Sivaangi hummed softly to herself, swinging her legs to and fro as she enjoyed the ice cream. Ashwin finally decided to ask. "Yaaru avan?"

(Who is it?)

The ambiguous question caused her doe eyes to look up in worry as she asked back. "Yaara pathi kekuringa?"

(Who are you referring to?)

"Yaaruku accident?"

(Who got into an accident?)

Sivaangi tried her best to stay calm. "Adhaan sonnala, ava friend ku thaan."

(She told you right, her friend.)

"Sivaangi look at me."

Shutting her eyes in defeat, she slowly moved her gaze to his powerful eyes. "Yaaru andha friend?"

(Who's that friend?)

Gulping, she decided to tell him the truth simply because she's quite bad at lying, especially to the people she admired. "Mark. Her f-friend."

Ashwin nodded silently before suggesting. "Boyfriend?"

Sivaangi shook her head immediately. "Ex boyfriend. They broke up already, please thappa nenachukathinga."

(Please don't misunderstand.)

Ashwin sighed softly. "Idhula thappa nenaika yennama iruku? At some point he's a person that meant a lot to her, regardless of how things are between them right now, avaluku thudika thaana seiyum. That's natural. I'm human enough to understand that."

(What's there to misunderstand? At some point he meant a lot to her so regardless of how things are between them right now, it's only natural for her to worry.)

Sivaangi just stared at the man seated in front of her in awe. Is he real or is he a fictional character that escaped from the book? In what world is a man this understanding and kind towards his girl especially when it involves a third person?

That moment, the military officer had truly impressed her. She looked at him and she knew this is the kind of man she wanted in her life if she had a choice. He really showed her what she rightfully deserved to have.

Ashwin Kumar didn't set a standard, he is the standard for men.

...

Ashwin was truly glad that Sivaangi had lied to him about being his fiancé because had it been true, it would have been the absolute recipe to disaster. He realised that he just can't say no to her. She doesn't take no for an answer and she doesn't fight in a bratty way but rather in a smart, adorable way that makes him all putty.

And he definitely can't spend his entire life saying yes to each of her absurd wishes, can he?

That's how now she was happily leading the way to the carnival that was in town for the season. It all started when Sakthi called to inform that he'll meet them directly at the theatre. Since they still had about half an hour left, Sivaangi started coming up with variety of plans and finally settled for the carnival that was just a street away from the cafe.

The entire place was lit up well with beautiful, bright lights that really lifted up both of their moods.

Ashwin slowly strolled behind the excited woman. He noticed that Sivaangi never walks. She either skips, jumps or even hops but never the boring walk.

His eyes fixed on her as she skipped merrily in front of him while sipping a drink. Suddenly as if she noticed that he was quite behind her, she stopped and twisted her head to see him. Sighing, she ran to his apathetic form and tugged his arm.

"Ulagatha paathu rasinga, yeppo pathalum urrunu mugatha vechitu base voice la pessitu irundha pathadhu!" She said while dragging him by his arm.

(Look around the world and admire its beauty! Your grumpy expression and base voice both need a break.)

"Indha oru street thaan unakku ulagama? I've seen much better."

(Is this single stress the world to you?)

Nothing he said could bother her, she was truly beaming with happiness. "Ungaluku yepdinu yenaku theriyadhu but yenaku idhu thaan ulagam especially when I was a child. Indha carnival romba special theriyuma, it isn't here all days of the year. Season ku season varum, oru oru thadavayum varapo avlo excited ah irukum. Mudirapo romba kashtam ah irukum."

(I don't know about you but this is the world to me especially when I was a child. The carnival here is seasonal so every time it's here I'd feel so excited and every time it's over I'd feel so upset.)

Ashwin could literally see her doe eyes opened so widely as she tried to look at every corner, hoping to not miss the sight of anything even on accident. "Season ku season varumna yen yedho modha vaati paakura madhri reaction kudukura?"

(If it's seasonal then why are you reacting like you're seeing it for the first time?)

"Naa idha almost 10 years ku aprom paakren."

(I'm seeing this almost 10 years later.)

He frowned. "Yen 10 years ah coma la irundhiya?"

(Why? Were you in coma for the past 10 years ?)

She glared, letting go of his arm. "Melbourne la irundhen."

(I was in melbourne.)

"10 years full ah va?"

(For the entire 10 years?)

She nodded, her smile significantly reducing in size. Ashwin immediately understood that it was not a topic that she enjoyed discussing about as curious as he felt.

Deciding that such a topic never needs to be brought up again if it affected her to the point her smile vanished, he tried to divert her thoughts. "Appo English tuition theva illa polaye?"

(So you don't need any English tuition?)

Sivaangi chuckled. "Unga motha family kum venumna naa English tuition yedukuran."

(I can tutor your entire family.)

"Seringa madam." Ashwin said, hiding a smile.

(Okay Madam.)

Just then, they reached a game booth where balloons were hung to the wall and one can win any of the soft toy if they shot down at least ten of the balloons in one try.

Sivaangi let out a loud squeal before jumping to look at Ashwin. "Please please namma velayudalam! I used to be so good at this game!"

(Please let's play.)

Ashwin took hold of the toy gun with a condescending look. "Idhulam oru gun ah?"

(You call this a gun?)

Sivaangi rolled her eyes. "Romba thimura pesadhinga, unga gun ah vida indha gun kashtam handle pandrathuku."

(Stop being so arrogant, this gun can be harder than the gun you handle everyday.)

With that she snatched the gun from his hand. Before she got down to business, she eyed all the soft toys and dolls laid across the table and mentally picked a polar bear to bring home.

With all eagerness she started the game only to be whining loudly in a few minutes when she was out of bullets and she had only shot down 9 of them.

"Unaku vaayu mattum thaan, performance ivlo weak ah iruku." Ashwin commented with a sarcastic smile to further irk her out.

(Your performance isn't as great as your talking.)

She pouted before angrily challenging. "Naa oru normal citizen, naaney 9 balloons shoot panniten. Neenga mattum 10 balloons shoot panla, nalakey unga velaya resign panringa."

(I'm a simple citizen, I can shoot 9 balloons. If you don't shoot down 10 balloons you better resign your job.)

With a smirk that oozed in confidence, he held the gun and within a few minutes he managed to shoot down not just 10 balloons but every balloon that was hanging. Sivaangi's lips hung open, unable to even hide how astonished she was.

"Neenga vera level military! Semma ya aim panringa...seriously you're amazing!" She excitedly slapped his back, still unable to believe just how cool he finished the entire game.

(You're on another level military! Your aim is amazing.)

Of course being a man who had received professional training to aim and shoot perfectly, this game was a piece of cake for Ashwin but the way she was jumping up and down to celebrate his victory despite how trivial it was without the slightest bitterness, he was mesmerised.

Pushing away his thoughts, he stretched out his palm for a high five. She immediately slammed her tiny palm against his large one, still grinning with pride. "Yayyy!"

When the stall holder asked him to select his prize, without a second thought he pointed to the polar bear that was sitting the furthest away. "Please give me that."

Now Sivaangi was really taken aback. A small pout formed on her lips, disappointed that the stuffed animal she desired was probably gonna be handed to Shalini now. But the pout immediately vanished when the tall man wordlessly handed the polar bear to her.

"Yenaka?"

(For me?)

"Vera yenna yenaka? Idha vechitu naa yenna panradhu?" He cluelessly asked, still waiting for her to take the cute white bear from his hand.

(For who else? Me? What will I even do with this?)

"Shalini ku kuduka matingala?" Sivaangi found herself asking.

(You don't wanna give this to Shalini?)

Ashwin's eyebrows did a tiny jump as if the idea never struck his mind until she mentioned it. Clearing his throat, he informed. "Avaluku pudikumanu kuda therila, neeye vechiko."

(I'm not sure if she would even like it, you keep it.)

Was Ashwin only talking about the polar bear?

Smiling from ear to ear, she finally took the large white bear. "Thanks!"

He nodded with a tiny smile that one will only notice if they focused on his eyes.

"Aprom unga military friends yaravudhu irundha yenaku introduce panni veinga." Sivaangi suddenly said.

(Introduce me to some military friends of yours.)

"Yedhuku?"

(For what?)

"Indha madhri carnival kutitu vara vasadhiya irukomla." She happily responded, her arms tightly hugging the bear as they walked forward.

(To bring them along for these carnivals.)

"Yen? Yenna kutitu vara maatiya?"

(Why? You won't bring me along?)

She paused and looked at him in surprise. "Naa kupta varuvingala?"

(Would you come if I call you?)

"Kuptu paaru." He softly said in a tone that she never heard from him before. Sivaangi didn't know why her heart suddenly started thumping against her chest at a faster than usual.

(Try calling.)

To wake them up from the dreamy night they were having, they heard a loud voice calling them from behind. "Ashwin! Sivaangi!"

They froze when they caught sight of the familiar figure approaching them.

~~~•••~~~

How is the story so far? Are you enjoying it? Any idea how the story is going to unfold? Share your opinions and thoughts, would love to hear them!

(I hope the marriage convo between Sakthi and SK didn't make you uncomfortable. It was really just for humour purpose. Don't worry they will remain good friends in this book just the way they are in real life.)

And hereafter updates may slow down a little since my university is starting but I'll try to update at least once a week.

Hope you enjoyed the double treat💜