The motorbike came to a stop in front of TIFR.

"Call me half an hour before your work ends."

"Okay."

After he saw her go inside, Lakshya headed to a jewellery store he had searched up on the internet after Shreya fell asleep last night.

He did not like the way they started and Shreya must have hated it even more. Even if that was not the case, he wanted to gift her and himself a more meaningful pair of rings.

In the shop, a man greeted him and asked what he was looking for.

"A ring."

"For a proposal?"

Lakshya nodded.

"Diamonds are the best and most popular choice."

He nodded again. Last time everyone was out shopping for his rings, he had not gone. Now here he was with no knowledge of rings. He must have read more about rings and not just stores.

The shopper showed some rings.

"She likes sparklier ones." When Lakshya had snooped through her drawers for her clips he had noticed way too many shiny things. They were not all jewellery, some seemed to be old decorative pieces. On her dresser there were many shiny little things, most of them animal figurines with sparkly stones for the eyes and glossy bodies in bright and pastel colours.

"Are you sure? Because engagement rings are designed to be elegant and low profile, except for the diamond. That can be as big as you want."

"It has to be elegant. Just not plain." Shreya did not really own many pieces of jewellery. But one little drawer was stacked to the brim with fancy rings and bracelets, hair clips and earrings. Once again, all were on the shinier end. He did not see her use any of these. If he should guess, she must have been drawn to their sparkle and just bought them on a whim with no intention of really wearing them. He could understand this behaviour. He had an elder sister after all. She took her liberties with him and dressed him up as a girl when they were young and ranted to him about cute little things like these.

Those cute little things were so nice to look at, but they didn't suit her, she had lamented. Lakshya guessed Shreya's feelings must have been similar. He wanted to get a ring that Shreya would find beautiful just to look at and also which would suit her well.

"Then, how about you try coloured diamonds?"

Then the man showed all kinds of rings. In the end, Lakshya chose to order one.

He spoke to the designer who handed him a catalogue of different diamonds and meanings.

Lakshya read through one by one. On the second page he found 'a long and happy relationship filled with love and optimism.' He stopped looking through the remaining and pointed to that row.

"Yellow Diamond?"

"Yes, not too big."

"And metal, gold?"

"Platinum, if you can carve it to look shiny."

"Good choice. Then the yellow of the diamond will stand out. And I will have the metal shine."

He flipped through the designs for the band and decided to leave it to the maker. "Don't leave it plain."

"Okay." The designer waited for any more specifications.

"Make a matching one for me. Mine should be just... normal."

The designer chuckled. "I think I understand perfectly and I have some ideas already. I will email you a few drafts. You can choose."

He made some notes and then asked, "Any inscription? An 'I love you'? Your initials?"

That was the only thing Lakshya came prepared with. He fished out a paper.

"Yours, Always & Forevermore."

"Cool." The designer nodded. The way Lakshya presented the piece of paper amused him. He leaned on the counter between them and intently looked at Lakshya's face. "If you don't mind, how long have you been together? You care a little too much but try to hide it."

Lakshya leaned back. "Yeah, fine! It's for my wife." He said nothing more, but his face said 'If it's that obvious, should you still ask?'

The designer smiled and stood straight. "Then I can take some time, right? This is a nice and interesting mix."

"Sure, take your time." Lakshya made the advance payment and got out of there. He did not feel comfortable looking at the designer towards the end.

∼•∽

By the time he went home, the food he had ordered when exiting the jewellery shop was delivered.

He massaged Shreya. 'What are you eating?'

Unfortunately the message was not even delivered.

Lakshya had his lunch and sat with his guitar.

He pulled out an empty tab sheet from a shelf. He strummed his guitar for a few minutes. Then he did it again and recorded it. After that, he replayed the tune and marked the notes on the tab sheet.

He had not written much, just 4 measures. It was just the intro.

He then wrote the title at the top of the sheet. 'Yours, Always & Forevermore - Draft 1'

He had to make this song when Shreya was not around. So he sat with the guitar the whole day until he received her reply at 5:10 in the evening.

'I ate chapati with mixed veg curry. What did you eat?'

Lakshya called her.

"I ate a rice bowl. Done with work?"

"Yeah, there is half an hour more work left."

Lakshya smiled and shook his head. "I'll be there in half an hour."

∼•∽

Their days were pretty much the same after this. Lakshya had to kiss her and press her down on the bed every night. A week later Shreya started styling a scarf around her neck. Worried at the frequency they were going at it, they had to use protection.

Soon sex became so indispensable that when Shreya got her period, Lakshya was the one who had PMS symptoms. A little blood would not gross him out, so he was irritated being denied by her during those weeks.

One night she kept kissing him until he fell asleep after sulking quite shamelessly. Shreya watched him for a long time. He was mesmerising, especially when he left his locks to tumble down the pillow. His cheeks had a bit of a stubble and for some reason she thought he had become much more reliable.

Just that... whenever she whispered I love you when they made love, he never said those words back to her, even if his passion spiked and the fervour of his kisses heightened.

Maybe she should not ask too much. This was already so many times better than what she wanted and what she thought she would never have.

Shreya started responding to his messages much sooner and she tended to the alley cats less. Lakshya started opting to work from home more often. Every weekend they did something together, be it a romantic dinner date, or a movie night, or a more intense gaming session on Lakshya's new console with Shreekant joining them occasionally. Sometimes, Shreya chatted with Lata or Amulya on the phone. She barely called home. When she did, it was 2 times, it was a surface level conversation with her father and a slightly better one with her mother. On a couple of weekends, they met Lakshya's friend Deepak. They did a lot of things together and everyday was happy and harmonious. Just that, she felt she deserved none of this.

∼•∽

One evening, Shreya said to Lakshya, "I want to get a tattoo too."

"What you need is a haircut." Lakshya was amused but her hair had been on his mind for a while now. "Do you want to grow it?"

Shreya touched the ends of her hair. It seemed she did need a trim after all. Her ends now reached beyond her collarbone.

"I guess I'll let it grow."

It was not because Lata said he liked long hair when they first met. Later on when she apologised and said she was mean just to make Shreya back off and help her little brother one last time, she assured that her hair was pretty and Lakshya did not have any particular preference.

Truth was she just could not be bothered to get it cut to her liking. She even stopped her skin care routine.

Lakshya pulled off the rubber band securing his own hair and pulled Shreya's head towards him. "Then at least tie it. Stop looking like some horror entity from your mangas."

He combed through her hair with his fingers and bunched it together in a ponytail. He turned her around to check how she looked. Her hair looked a little messy, but it was much better now that he could get a proper look at her face.

Shreya touched her new ponytail. "Thanks... I have rubber bands."

"I don't want colourful ones."

Well, that was what she was saying. Since she has her own, why give her his? She was not asking if she should get him hers. "Do you want me to get you one of yours?"

"Nah, get me your favourite colour."

"You want mine?"

Lakshya smiled and nodded.

Shreya chuckled. He looked shameless and quite cute and hot with a hand in his hair lazing on the sofa with that cheeky smile.

She sprang up to fetch a baby blue rubber band. This was her favourite. It had one shiny bead.

She stood behind the sofa instead of handing it to him.

Lakshya threw his head back and pulled her face down for a peck. She seemed happier suddenly. Much more beautiful and usual.

"If playing with my hair was going to make you so happy, I would have let you take care of it every day long ago."

He released her and flipped his hair to let it fall behind the sofa back.

Shreya fetched a comb as well as a yellow rubber band and she took her sweet time styling his hair.

In the middle, distracted from the cricket match, he said. "What are you doing? I should show up to work tomorrow. Don't do anything silly."

"I know."

"Are you putting my hair in two bunches?"

"No." One side was already braided. "You know the Haitanis from Tokyo Revengers?"

Lakshya's hand that almost touched his hair went to his phone.

"Haitani?" He said as he typed in.

Next second Lakshya was mortified. "Is it Ran Haitani?"

"Yeah. But I braided them very loosely. Should not be a problem tomorrow."

Lakshya's soul was out of his body. His precious hair now looked like a highschool girl? How could he be okay with that? His hair was his personality.

There was no hint of anger though. With her so happy it was absurd for him to be angry.

"Done! Ran's hairstyle with Rindou's palette rubber bands."

Shreya then took her phone. "Can I click a picture?"

Lakshya nodded. "What damage can a photo do after everything you've done?" His expression was full of helplessness.

Shreya did not hold back. She took a photo from every angle, complimenting him every 2 photos.

"Why did I not know you were this playful? Even mischievous?"

"Lean forward a little." She directed him to pose.

"You look amazing."

"Smile a little less."

"So handsome!"

Lakshya suddenly remembered what Shreekant said on the phone. He had told him happiness did not come easily for Shreya. Lost in thought, he mechanically followed her words. He did not understand then, but now it made sense, he felt, although he could not explain this feeling.

Shreya was assessing the most recent photo.

Lakshya pulled her onto him and had her sit on his lap. Shreya quickly got comfortable and swiped through the photos as he looked at them with his chin on her shoulder. They had developed quite a bit of physical intimacy ever since he had her move into the same bed as him.

He did not know for how long she would be this uplifted. He remembered she said she wanted a tattoo and wondered what exactly she had in mind.

"Why do you want a tattoo?"

Shreya turned to him. "I want to match with you!"

∼•∽

That weekend the couple found themselves in the tattoo shop Lakshya had been to years ago.

Lakshya had a trishul and a vertical third eye on his arm. Shreya had no idea what she wanted to tattoo, or even where. She was definitely not getting it somewhere so clearly visible.

The artist was a young guy with countless tattoos on both his arms.

"Hellow! Who wants a tattoo?"

"My wife wants one."

The artist shrugged. "Sure! Have you decided on a design? If it's something important like his name, you could get it near the heart."

No wonder Lakshya did not like this guy. He grabbed the design catalogue nearby and shoved it to Shreya.

Shreya leaned towards Lakshya. "Should I get your name?"

Lakshya stared at her for a while. He was not sure if bringing her for a tattoo was even good. He had suggested a temporary one, but Shreya shook her head.

"Are you sure? You can't erase it."

"I know."

She nodded.

Lakshya flipped through the designs and settled on the least painful one. A very minimal butterfly line art.

"This is nice."

Shreya nodded with a smile. "Where shall I get it?"

"Arm."

"I don't want it to show..."

"Then where?"

"Back or waist. Stomach."

"Stomach? Here?" He poked her stomach.

"A little to the right side." Shreya removed his hand.

"For sure?" She looked happy and she was looking forward to it. He still wanted to make sure one last time.

"Yeah."

Soon Shreya was lying on the table with her shirt pulled up by a few inches.

The artist barely took even 10 minutes. He was quite professional.

Shreya's eyes were misty. It was painful indeed. She tried to take a look. It was red. But it was really pretty.

"It will heal slowly."

She nodded.

Right then, Lakshya decided he wanted it too. "For me the same. Centre." Lakshya pointed to his upper back.

Shreya was surprised. But she was more happy now that they would have identical tattoos.

"On the spine?"

"Yeah."

"Shall I do it mirrored?"

Lakshya nodded. That was a great idea indeed.

The artist took a bit longer. This part of the body was more sensitive.

When he was done, he assured Lakshya it would heal well.

∼•∽

That night was one of the most unforgettable ones. Shreya was unusually initiative. Her feverish passion was so naked, he bet they connected more somehow. It was a crazy night of indulgence.

Next morning was a Sunday, yet he was taking her to the lab.

She had told him it was just a little trip without giving any more details. All he knew was that she cooked chicken, packed it along with some curd. But TIFR was definitely not a picnic spot.

When they arrived he felt her jolt.

"Were you sleeping!" Unbelievable. Actually, not that unbelievable anymore.

"Sorry," she whispered and wiped her mouth, turning away.

Lakshya put a hand on his waist and bent a little to look at her hidden away face. "Be honest. Did you drool?" He was not sure if he could feel anything wet on his back.

Shreya avoided his eyes.

She went around him and wiped his shirt. "Sorry."

Lakshya smiled and grinned and put an arm around her neck dragging her to his front. "Not like I mind. But sleeping on a moving bike is dangerous, you know?"

She did not seem to take his words seriously.

"It's dangerous."

"Hm. Come, I'll show you cats."

"Cats?"

"Yes, there are five here. Two grey, two calico, and one black."

Lakshya nodded. This was the same alley where he had given her some sweets his sister sent. This was that very alley where he had recorded her on his phone for the first time. Even so, what was her purpose?

"They usually come out as soon as I come. You are new. Maybe they are scared. Stand over there." She pointed to a spot some 10 feet away.

Lakshya followed her direction. He had already whipped out his phone to make another video.

This time he did not have to be secretive about it.

"Seems like my wife wants to feed cats again. I thought she was packing food for a picnic." He said for the video followed by a sigh. He came to know she fed them regularly during her lunch from their daily messages.

Shreya looked up and was slightly embarrassed.

"Shreya," he called out and waved at her.

She gave a small smile and waved back to the camera.

A black cat soon walked to her.

"You're here." Shreya crouched down and patted it.

Then she picked a palm sized leaf and opened the chicken box. While she let the cat smell and grab a piece with its snout, she placed a few more pieces in the leaf and gestured for Lakshya. "Come over softly. Don't startle it."

Lakshya went over. Thankfully the cat did not leave.

"Here. Give it three more. When it finishes, put them one by one." She handed him the box and took his phone without disrupting the video.

"Say hi."

Lakshya gave a rather grand pose with his arm stretching out for a victory sign as he grinned.

He bent down. The cat took a few steps back. He turned to Shreya.

"Stay put. Relax."

He did not move.

"Don't be stiff. They will think they should also be cautious if you are like that. Just relax."

Lakshya eased himself.

The cat stepped back to finish the chicken.

When it finished, it looked at him after looking at the box in his hand and Shreya. She was right beside him petting it.

Lakshya placed a piece in the leaf and the cat devoured it.

"What's its name?"

"I don't know." She did not know cat language.

The cat meowed. Shreya responded. She said, "Hm."

Another two cats sauntered towards them.

"Did you not name them?"

"How can I name them? They are not my pets. They are more like friends."

Lakshya gazed at her. He was mesmerised with her peaceful face.

"Grab that leaf." Shreya asked him. It was for the two grey cats.

"These two eat in the same leaf and they don't fight. They are siblings. They are young."

Lakshya nodded. These two looked alike but the end of their tail was different. One had a white swatch, while the other did not.

"White tailed one is a bit fierce. It might be going through its teenage rebellion."

"Is it?" He looked at her. He could not tell if she was joking.

Shreya placed the leaf away from the black cat and filled it with chicken.

The three cats had their fill and started meowing. Shreya was humming to them, as if she understood and as if they were all in a conversation.

Lakshya joined in with his own "Ahh?" and "Oh!"

Shreya paused and looked at him. Unlike hers, his responses were overly expressive. Was he mocking her?

"What?"

"They will think you are mocking them. Just be like you will if a friend is telling you their vacation details."

Lakshya took his phone from her and turned it to selfie mode.

"Isn't this lady, my wife, giving me a hard time."

One calico came to them from behind.

"This one had more black. The other one had a lot of orange. You can remember them like that."

"She wants me to remember each of them." He complained to the camera again.

As Shreya filled in another leaf, the last cat arrived.

"Feed that one over there. These two compete a lot."

Shreya stepped away from the cats and recorded Lakshya as he petted them. They meowed around him and she captured everything.

Like that, they spent that morning feeding chicken and curd to cats and listening to them.

∼•∽

The next day was more silent. To be precise, Shreya became more silent, like she was before. She seemed to be down.

She went about life passively. She would talk if Lakshya talked to her.

Lakshya could not put a finger on it, but he was feeling some kind of unease whenever Shreya acted this way. He definitely did not like it.

After work, he did not want to go home.

Not to a home where he had to see Shreya like that.

'Going to hangout with friends. Can you go home by yourself?' he texted Shreya.

'Yes.' She replied back in the next minute.

'I'll have dinner with him.'

'Okay.'

Lakshya stared at those messages a little longer. What was he even troubled with?

He left a message for Deepak and Utpal to meet at the Intoxicated Chef, a bar and restaurant. He had started talking to Utpal just a few weeks ago.

But it seemed Utpal took it to heart. 'Won't make it' was the message Lakshya received from him.

Lakshya did not wait for Deepak's reply after. Even if he was going to have no one to talk to tonight, he was not going home before bedtime.

Luckily, Deepak did arrive when Lakshya had found a corner and ordered a pint of whisky.

"Drinking?" Deepak asked as he took his seat.

"You're here. Wanna have a drink?"

"No, but I'll have a glass."

Lakshya poured the whisky in two glasses and filled them with soda.

"It's just us two. Utpal isn't coming," Lakshya said.

"Well, for once I won't feel left out."

Lakshya could only shake his head. "You can't be serious, Deepak! You've known him for almost 3 years now!"

Deepak cracked a smile. "That guy doesn't know me though. You're my only friend. Don't fight me on that."

Lakshya did not pursue this matter further. It was clear that Deepak was always the first to start a conversation with Utpal. Utpal, on the other hand, made no effort. And now, he was not sure of his own friendship with Utpal.

"I can really loosen up this time."

Lakshya hummed. "I guess I should too."

"You?"

"About... Shrey..."

"Shreya?"

He hummed again.

"How's it going? You're no longer talking to Moksha, are you?"

"How did you know?"

"Guessed. It's the way you just said Shreya's name."

"Hm, I'm not talking to Moksha. It's been two months since we broke up."

"How did that go?"

"Bad. But put that aside... Shreya... she..." What should he even say?

He settled for "She acts odd."

Deepak took a moment. "What are the oddities?"

"I don't know! I just don't know!" His frustration came back in waves.

Deepak was silent.

"She feels off!" Lakshya snapped and put his glass on the table with a crisp.

"Like?"

"I don't know, man!"

Deepak sipped his drink and said, "Utpal might be better for this talk. He's good with the ladies."

Lakshya wrinkled his nose. "That guy knows how to flirt for a fling and how to be smooth with a breakup."

"Well, I don't know psychology in relationships. All I know is traumatic psychology."

Deepak specialised in trauma therapy. He did know general psychology but he wasn't interested enough to know more about his friend's wife.

"Yeah, right! I'm not asking you!"

Deepak didn't respond. He clearly asked. Well, this was his buddy when he was mad.

"If you want some advice, don't be like the firecracker you are right now with her."

Lakshya protested. "I am not! I didn't get angry with her at all! I even let her touch, no play with my hair! How are you, anyway?" He shifted the topic, lest he should break his glass hitting it on the table.

"My autism?"

"Hmm."

"You're the only one who stills asks about it. I'm doing well. Almost everyone forgot I am autistic. It does not affect me anymore. I fully grew out of it." He smiled.

"Good."

"About your wife, are you really very concerned?"

Lakshya was slightly spooked to hear him refer to Shreya as his wife. It was not that he did not himself call her his wife. He did and his relatives also did. But that coming from his close friend who knew him best, rather, who knew or his previous relationship felt a bit awkward. "I mean... how can I not be?"

"Oh yeah?" Deepak teased. "I still remember how Utpal and you acted with her at the con, then at his birthday." He sighed loudly.

Lakshya banged his glass again. He knew he was wrong, alright.

Someone's phone rang.

Deepak turned to his screen. His movement was swift once he caught sight of the caller ID. Slowly his face turned serious.

"Is everything okay?" Lakshya was confused.

Deepak listened to the other side keenly. "I told you he's a high risk patient! How can you leave him alone?" He roared as he stood up putting his glass down heavily. A thin crack formed on it.

"Bro..." Lakshya had never seen him aggressive. He just wasn't like this.

"Shut up!" Deepak screamed into the phone.

Next time Deepak said he needed anger management, he was going to remind him of this moment, Lakshya thought.

"How's the situation now?"

"Of course." Deepak snorted full of sarcasm and cut the call. They wouldn't dare call him if everything had not already fallen back in place.

He threw his phone to the side and sat down.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Deepak was back to his soft self.

"What happened?"

"It's a little boy. He barely understands death."

After a moment, Lakshya prompted him to continue.

"He was raped within an inch of his life. He's very susceptible to suicide.

"You know, sometimes I think wanting to kill yourself is something innately human. He does not even understand what it means... yet!" Deepak sucked in a sharp breath. He continued, "Just now he had escaped and stood in the middle of the road. He... wasn't injured. He's put to sleep now."

Lakshya patted Deepak's shoulder across the table. "Did they catch that criminal?"

"Don't know."

"Catch him and kill that piece of shit in from the boy!"

Deepak did not agree. "You're ridiculous. You think that will help?"

Lakshya was silent. The law did not allow it so it won't matter even if it helps.

"Can't the court make an exception?"

Deepak slapped his forehead. "If anything that will worsen his condition."

The men then started drinking, each with his own frustration. Deepak was soon on his third glass.

"Utpal has an easy job."

"He does not have to think so much about his love life either."

In some pub dancing in the arms of a few women, Utpal had to put his wine glass in the waiter's tray as he choked and coughed.

∼•∽

A/N:
I am back in the US. I got a part-time job offer as a grader, so this semester started off very nicely. Leaving home felt a lot more sad than last time... I think that's the difference of being one medication and not. But all in all, it's peaceful now.

All the chapters from now on are going to be lengthy just like this one! Hope that makes you happy! Thanks for reading! See you next month! Till then take care!