You were you,
and I was I;
we were two
before our time.

I was yours
before I knew,
and you have always
been mine too.

Lang Leav , Love & misadventure.

                 Dinner was splendid with delicious food and a lots of laughter and cute giggles from Aamy who was enjoying the attention she was getting from everyone.

Vinny still felt that her cheeks are red as berries but nobody noticed that or they thought that it was because of the spicy food which made her look a bit like tomato ,at least she hoped so.

Except for the occasional glances from Avi, which caught her attention nonetheless, dinner was pretty normal.

Vinny enjoyed each and every dishes that were prepared by Lakshmi and Aashi ,who turned out to be a superb cook unlike both of them.
Aashi had a hard time with her bossy brother while cooking, who was making sure that the meal was healthy and suited for Vinny's taste.

' Don't irritate me Bhai, it's perfectly balanced food, protein rich and nutritious...' Aashi was running out of  patience with her brother.

' But I think that kadai chicken is spicy' he reasoned and got a glare from his little sister.

' That's Vinny's favourite dish and it's nothing like the bland food you make her eat. If you say one more word about the food, you will be sleeping with an empty stomach today ' she warned him and Avi had stepped out of the kitchen with a defeated face and Vinny laughed. Vinny has been enjoying their skirmishes from the moment Aashi arrived. It was a perfect entertainment for Vinny to see him like this.

        Vinny  relished her food , each and every bite of it. She had phulka, dal palak and kadai chicken which was a bit spicy that made her drink a lot of water, but it was tasty.
Vinny was totally satisfied with her dinner that she saluted Aashi before retiring to their bedroom.

' Which side do you want to sleep?' Vinny pulled her hair back and twisted it into a messy bun. All set for a good night sleep.

' I will sleep in the couch... don't worry about me ' he shrugged.

'That is going to be super uncomfortable. Hey I am being compassionate and caring wife here since you were very considerate' she said playfully.

' Since this is your room, you can pick.
Which side do you want to sleep?' Vinny studied him who was looking pretty unsure about the whole situation.

' Um....left side. If you are okay with it..' Avi wasn't sure about it but didn't want to show it.
They had had enough enough for the day and he was sleepy.

So it was quickly decided. Vinny claimed her side in a second. She was tired and sleepy , so before her thoughts get too complicated she fell asleep leaving Avi with his own confused thoughts.
       
    Avi woke up listening to some noise of crashing  of something from the room.
He quickly got up and switched on the light. It took him a few seconds to remember that Vinny was there in the room, who was standing on the other side of the bed , bewildered.
She turned towards him rattled.

' Oh.. Avi. I am so sorry... I was going to the washroom then I just forgot that it's not my room and washroom is not on this side, and this happened.'

she pointed towards the floor, where broken glass pieces of water jug and water was spread, which was placed on the side table before, now settled on the floor as pieces.

' Stay there, don't move Vinny ' he quickly went out and got the dust pan and cleaned up the broken glasses and spilled drink.

' Are you alright? '
she nodded in response.
' Can't you be a bit more careful Vinny?' he asked and her face fell.

' I am sorry... it's just that I lost the direction...I need to go to the washroom..' she replied in a tiny voice.

' That's alright, but please be careful' he muttered as she made a beeline towards the washroom.

Avi felt bad for almost yelling at her, but he couldn't help it. Vinny kept visiting washroom throughout the night and that kept him alert too.

' I didn't know that you are such a light sleeper. This is my daily routine, it's like someone is sitting on my bladder, literally... can't help it' she walked across the room shuffling her feet.

' I didn't know either'
Avi sighed as he tried to sleep in spite of all the disturbance in his room. It's better he gets used to this weird routines since she would be staying in his room for the next few days, he told himself.

         The next time Avi woke up, it was seven already , he had barely slept four hours and was sleepy still.
Vinny wasn't there in the room , he eventually found her in the washroom throwing up her gut content.  
Chunks of partially digested food spewed out of her mouth as she clutched her stomach with one hand.
Avi was on her side in a second running his hand over her back, trying to ease her.
Her face was pale and sweat covered her brow. Avi helped her to clean up and fetch her a glass of water which she accepted gratefully.

'Are you alright? Should we go to hospital?' he was worried that she was going to sick any moment.

' I am alright Avi.. don't worry. It's just because of acidity I guess..' she trailed off.
Avi gave her a pointed look

' I told you guys yesterday. Food was too spicy. See what happened now' he chided.

' Yeah yeah...you are always right. But how did you know that these spicy foods are not good for me?' Vinny raised her eyebrows , appraising him.

' Um...that I read in an article for pregnancy care '

' Woah! You were reading magazines for me? How sweet ' She smiled.
Vinny was genuinely impressed with his gesture. Even when he was busy with work, he made time to read , the effort he took was something that warmed her.

It was something he always did, caring for her,  effortlessly, with ease and that baffled her. It's just part of him, that's why he shrugged it off like it's not a big deal but a gentle smile remained in his eyes, like her words mattered to him a lot.

          The next few days passed in a blur, but all the fun they had was something unforgettable.
They went out most of the days, went for movies and shopping for baby. Vinny enjoyed the shopping but a part of her was guilty for keeping a secret and lying to someone like Aashi. It build up in her heart and sometimes the thought vexed her. The distress she felt didn't go unnoticed by Avi. He tried to console her whenever possible. She said she's alright but Avi doubted that.

There was a shift in her behaviour towards him too, making him wonder what is going on in her heart. Vinny closed up herself whenever she had a lot going on in her mind and he knew it.
He had seen her looking at him with those doe eyes of her's.
She smiled and looked away whenever he caught her. Avi wanted to ask her about it but she spent most of her time with Aashi and the baby. So he kept his thoughts to himself.

They shared the room everyday like a real couple. She still visited washroom a lot at night and Avi got up bleary eyed most of the days that Aashi made fun of him.

' Why are you look like a big old owl Bhai. Vinny is not letting you sleep at night or what ' she had teased him yesterday and he had dodged her question by a death glare.

Now after a week, Aashi and Madhav were about to leave for Hyderabad in the evening flight. They would stay with Madhav's family for a week before leaving to Singapore.

  Aashi was packing the bags and Madhav was out to meet one of his friend and Vinny was in kitchen helping Lakshmi to prepare the dinner so that they could eat before they leave for airport and little Aamy was enjoying her uncle's undivided attention she was getting.

Avi cooed to the baby and she giggled in response touching his stubbled chin with her tiny fingers and they both were smiling.

' I will miss her ' Avi voiced his thoughts as Aashi took a picture of them in her phone.

'She is going to miss you too Bhai...n me too. I am going to miss you too  ' She pouted reminding him that she was still his cute kid sister who used to get all his attention. Suddenly he felt sorry for her.

He was busy taking care of Vinny that he might not have been available for his sister, not like before.

' I am sorry Ashuma... for getting married without you there and I think I didn't spend much time with you' his brows furrowed as he narrowed his eyes on Aashi who came to sit next to him.
She took Aami in her arms and smiled at her brother, her eyes were glistening with unshed tears and his brows furrowed deeper.

' What Bhai...you are making me all sappy.' she dropped her head and leaned on him as his arm draped around her shoulder.

' You are still the best Bhai in the world... don't worry I am not angry anymore. I really like Vinny and we all had a great time. She is really good for you Bhai, you are actually not that boring nowadays' she jabbed him playfully and he laughed.

'It is nice to see you being yourself with her and I could get to see the hopeless romantic in you Bhai..' she laughed this time startling him and her baby.

' hopeless romantic? Me? When? What are you saying..?' He straightened up suddenly and looked at her.

' Oh Bhai,it is as clear as day that you are head over heels in love...even now while you are here, talking to me, in your heart you are wondering about her. What she is doing? Is she alright? Tell me if I am wrong?' Aashi wiggled her eyebrows.

Avi was actually thinking that , he pressed his lips together and Aashi chortled.

' See...I know that. You are blushing. I should get a picture of this..haha '

Aashi took a few selfies with her phone in other hand , in which she captured Avi's bewildered yet cute expression.

They were having another bickering session when Vinny stepped into the room carrying a tray with tea and pakoras.

Avi helped her to place them on the side table and let her sit down on the couch.

' Your Vinny is here Bhai...and I won't take her with me. She is all yours..'
Aashi winked at Vinny who was confused with the sudden mood between the siblings.

' Bhai was missing you so badly that he has checked the door around 50 times by now ' she chortled.

' What are you saying...I didn't check the door fifty times' he flustered.

'Okay...forty nine then...but he was getting impatient here' Aashi stuck her tongue out and took her phone out.

' Now both of you are blushing...I should capture this too'

Vinny knew she was blushing and this weird feeling that's intensifying day by day , she thought it's absurd at first.
Vinny had been through a lot before she decided to get married. The marriage took place just to save herself and the baby from all the chaos.
Vinny didn't think much about Avi when she got married. Either she was being stupid or she had so many things in her plate it didn't matter to her.

But slowly things were changing between them. The overwhelming feeling she gets whenever he was around showed that.

Maybe her perspective about him changed  once she get to know that he had thought about her all these years, she had been important to him even before she remembered him, all these things changed her or she just realized that they were sharing something very special.

Vinny wasn't sure about how to deal with her newly found emotions.
She had been there, her emotions had been manipulated and that just made her empty and broken in the end.
She was scared to deal with her emotions, her past which still scared her.

Her new life almost made her forget about the past, she was happy here with Avi, with her daily mundane things. But there were days , which choked her with all the unwanted memories of a sored relationship an odious thing she never wanted to remember or repeat again.

Her past had scarred her in such a way that Vinny didn't want to accept any feelings anymore, still whenever she looked at Avi, she knew sooner or later her defences are going to break.
He was filling up her thoughts like never before , it was like she was walking on a path which always lead to him no matter what she was doing and it was getting incomprehensible for her.

By the time Aashi left , Vinny was tired to think about her feelings. Before leaving Aashi had hugged her thanking her for coming to her brother's life  and Aashi was excited to see her niece or nephew who would be a great friend  for Amaya.

Once they left, the house became quiet suddenly.
They had their dinner early, Vinny wasn't hungry, she already missed Aashi .  They watched a movie together after their silent dinner, at least that filled up the silence that surrounded them.

It was getting late Vinny was sleepy, so she retired to their bedroom and then it occurred to her.
She has no reason to stay with Avi in his room, they stayed together because Aashi was there. Since Aashi left, they don't have to do that again.
Vinny sighed herself.
She should be happy about going back to her room, but she wasn't.

They were getting used to each other , living almost like a married couple.
They had their sleeping arrangements sorted out, they knew which side of the bed to sleep, she knew where to look for her toothbrush, her clips and hair bands. They had almost mixed up their  toiletries,but still they knew where to look for what.  The new connection, which is much more intimate in a different way altogether was affecting her and she liked it, the normality of life , she conceded.

' I should go back to my room I think..
You should get a proper sleep ' Vinny announced stepping out of the room only to find Avi looking at her dubiously.

They stood there, an awkward moment, where both of them had similar thoughts, none of them know how to gave in to their thoughts.

' Then you should sleep here. I will use the other room..' Avi replied thoughtfully.

' No no...you can use this room. I have troubled you more than enough by now...' Her eyes searched him for a reply, which didn't come out right away.

Maybe she was imagining things, he was just being nice to her nothing more. It was only her who was dwelling in an emotional world.
It was all in her head, she pressed her lips together.

' Um... then why don't you just sleep with me?'

' What?' she gasped.

He realised quickly that he messed up a little, his intention was pure but it came out as a flirty line. Avi scratched his nape uncomfortably.

' I mean why don't we share the room... like we were doing for the past  few days... I am okay with it. What do you think...' Avi looked at her trying to figure out how she would respond.

' What about your light sleep then Avi? You didn't get to sleep properly for the past few days. ..' she pressed.

She was guilty about that too. He woke up exhausted most of the days. Vinny wasn't sure what she wanted anything now. A part of her wanted to stay with him, at the same time she  wanted to run away from him, because he was clouding her thoughts.

' Then how you are going to get your beauty sleep?'  she grinned.
Vinny was trying to reasonable, she didn't want to be a disturbance to him, even if she was dying to stay in the same room.

I got my new earplugs from Amazon today. Don't worry about my sleep...I will be alright. Just stay here... for me or for the sake of saving money?

' Uh?? How am I going to save money by staying with you?' she eyed him keenly.

' You will be saving electricity...save energy save earth' he said dramatically. Vinny could not stop herself from laughing. The awkwardness, that was surrounding them for a while faded away just like that.

' Yeah okay, we are going  to save the earth together.... let us stay together..' she smiled brightly she walked in to their bedroom and he followed her.

Vinny was brushing her hair when a brown cover placed on the dressing table caught her attention.

' Avi...is this yours?? ' she pointed the bag to him who just shrugged in response.

Vinny opened the cover to get a photo frame with a letter, it was from Aashi.

Vinny smiled fondly looking at the letter...

' Surprise surprise!! Open the gift for both of you...and put it there on the wall so that Aamy would get a cousin looking like my Bhai. Miss you both... lots of love...( Don't forget to thank Arjun bhayya for his awesome skills to get the photo from a locked house) '
Vinny passed the letter to Avi and opened the package.

It was an enlarged photo of Avi from his school days, from some play actually. He was wearing a white and red robe.
He was looking really cute with a boyish grin adorning his lips.

Aashi gifted them that picture so that
their baby would look like her brother. Vinny bit her lip suddenly, tears  sprang behind her eyes.

' That's such a stupid superstition...but  I am looking cute... don't you think' Avi bumped her shoulder playfully. Vinny didn't respond to him, she was struggling to keep her tears away.

' What is wrong Vinny?' he levelled his eyes to meet her but she looked away.

' Why am I lying to all the people who loves me? It's like I am using their trust and love. Why am I like this?' Her lips quivered as sadness loomed over her, the guilt she was feeling all this time was getting into her.. slowly.

' It's not like that Vinny.. Why are you blaming yourself ? ' he made her sit on the bed and Avi sank into a squat beside her, studying her. She stared at her feet, gnawing on her lower lip. 

' I am responsible too Vinny. We both are lying to our loved ones. It's because of the situation, we are not doing this intentionally.'

'Exactly Avi.. it's all because of me.
You are lying to your sister because of me. I am to be blamed..' she tightened her grip on the photo frame that her knuckles turned white.

Avi frowned. She was hurting herself, blaming everything on her, breaking down inside.

' Look at me Vinny ' he said tentatively .

She slowly raised her tear brimmed eyes to meet his warm ones. He took the photo from her hands and took her cold palm in his.

' Listen to me okay? ' he searched her eyes for affirmation that she was following him. Vinny nodded slightly telling him to go on with whatever he was saying.

' You are blaming yourself for everything but you forgot one thing Vinny. You never asked me to help you or marry you , it was my decision. I proposed this whole marriage thing, all you did was agree with me. I was  fully aware of my actions. I am equally or more responsible for deceiving Aashi. We will tell everyone later, when the time comes. For now , don't blame yourself. One more thing, I don't regret my decision to marry you. I won't ever either... believe me.'

Vinny looked at him, really looked at him who was looking with his earnest eyes which was filled with their own beautiful frankness, and there was no change in his gentle face. It just showed what he said he meant it.
A lone tear traced down her cheek.

' Why are you so nice to me Avi?
You don't have to share all the burdens I carry around. You don't have to...' she stopped in mid sentence , tears made its way through her cheeks like the gates were open and her eyes were leaking.

' What if I want to share everything with you?' his words were so clear and genuine ,  Vinny exhaled sharply.

She looked at him with her tear filled long lashes.

' I don't deserve you Avi. There are things you don't know about me..' sobs wracked through her body and she cried.

' Shh...' he said , as he sat down near her, and putting a comforting arm around her.

' You deserve everything in this world Vinny. I know there are things I don't know about you. Then you can just tell me and I promise nothing could change what I feel about you. What we have is something special Vinny.
I don't want to pressure you, I am not asking you to feel the same about me too.
All you have to do is just let me love you..that would be enough for now..'

Avi meant each and every word he said. He was apprehensive about her reaction , but she didn't say anything.
She was too stunned to reply , too tired to protest.
Vinny leaned into his arms letting him to take care of her. All his words were making her heart thump.  Vinny snuggled closer, letting herself loosen up. Maybe it is time she let go of her past, may be she deserved happiness, she conceded.
So she just accepted when he planted a kiss on her forehead, it felt so right that she smiled in contentment.