"My future father-in-law has called us to the Assembly Hall, Lakshman, and here you are, Lakshman, sitting down and brooding. What on Earth happened?" Ram cried. Lakshman looked up sharply, scratching the back of his head cluelessly, then standing up.

"Urmila has been a bit distant lately, I don't even know why. I'm contemplating if I did something mean, or wrong." Ram shook his head, rolling his eyes. At this rate, his brother wasn't going to figure it out in his lifetime. It was pretty obvious that Urmila loved him, the way she looked at him when she thought that no one was looking, the way she looked up eagerly at his voice, the way she listened to his words so closely, it was as if she needed them to continue living. There was no way he hadn't noticed!

"Bharat and Shatrughan are coming today, and you're thinking about-" Lakshman stood up suddenly, and a scarce smile showed up on his face as all his thoughts of Urmila were pushed into the background hastily at the thought of his brothers.

"What are you waiting for, bhaiyya? Let's go!" With that, he leapt up from the bed, grabbed Ram's arm, and began to pull him to the hall. He pushed the heavy golden doors open effortlessly, and dragged Ram into the Hall, where they stood next to each other, beside the four princesses, right in the center.

The hall was large, deep, and looked very similar to the throne room, where the swayamvar was held. However, this hall had, instead of multiple thrones upon which visitors sat, large, cushioned, plump chairs where one could discuss a variety of topics, from the foods in the market, to the weather(a beloved classic), to wars, treaties, and alliances. Nothing was barred or prohibited from being talked about, and that was why Janak decided to meet the two brothers who were coming here, feeling that the dazzling gold-ness of the throne room would blind them immediately, impairing them, and therefore making them decline the alliance, and even more frighteningly, the marriage!

"Oh good, for a moment, we thought you were your brothers! I was so scared, I didn't have any effortless, obnoxious, one-liners ready!" gasped Mandavi, who was immediately smacked by Queen Chandrabhanga, mother of Mandavi and Shrutakirti, wife of Kushadwaj,who was the younger brother of Raja Janak, and who along with his wife, had come to observe the wedding of their niece.

"Your one-liners are so horrible, instead of making them leave you alone, they would practically die from humiliation that they had ever come across you. How we hold our heads high with you in our family, no one knows." she huffed, leading to great laughter from everyone but...you guessed it...Lakshman. Urmila had gotten over her momentary avoiding of Lakshman, and even seemingly unreciprocated love couldn't suppress her constant chatter and cheery personality.

"Hey," and she poked him in the arm, pouting. Lakshman whirled around, and sighed in relief, almost hugging her, before quickly stopping his emotions from taking free reign and ruining his well-kept image.

"Thank goodness! You hadn't poked my arm in two days, and I was beginning to get worried! What happened to you? You didn't bug me, didn't tease me, didn't even talk! I was beginning to think you had been possessed by a spirit, or worse, you and Mandavi were co-conspirators in a prank!" He narrowed his eyes at her as Ram and Sita looked craftily at each other in the background. "It wasn't a prank, right?"

Urmila shook her head. "No, I was sick." Lakshman seemed to take that explanation without offense, but his mind was still alight with suspicion. There was no way she was sick, no coughing, no sneezing, none of the occasional sniffling that Maa Sumitra did when she was sick. And she ate cold foods without a second thought! He chewed on his lip thoughtfully. Something was very fishy indeed.

Suddenly, the court announcer sat up straight. "Proceeding, the honorable Prince Bharat, 2nd son of the honorable Dasharath of Kosala, son of Kaikeyi of Kekeya, descendant of Ikshvaku , Protector of the Raghu clan!" And in walked in Bharat, smiling politely, waving at the courtiers, and taking blessings from King Janak's feet.

"I wish you a long, healthy life, my boy," The King murmured, patting his head. Bharat stood tall, shortest of the four, but tall all the same. His chest was broad, his skin was fair, and his hair was light, long, and straight. His face was all pleasantness and politeness, not overexcited, not filled with childishness, and not hardened and tough.

"I missed you, Bharat!" cried Ram, wrapping his arms around the prince, who did the same. They hugged tightly for a second, before letting go. Ram and Bharat were quite similar once grown up. Calm, collected, generous, loyal, peaceful. And yet, while Ram was perfect, holy, and auspicious, Bharat was princely, artistic, and linguistic.

"What's wrong, have you all forgotten about me?" grumbled Lakshman, and Bharat hugged him too. Lakshman lifted him into the air with a tight squeeze, and then dropped him, beaming. The entire court was surprised, having never seen Lakshman smile this much before. His face lit up like a lantern, and he conversed quietly with his brother. Were the four brothers this close? The court announcer stood at alert again, and the brothers separated eagerly.

"Proceeding, the honorable Prince Shatrughan, 4th son of the honorable Dasharath of Kosala, 2nd son of Sumitra of Kashi, descendant of Ikshvaku, protector of the Raghu clan" The doors opened magnificently again, and in walked in...a smiling Lakshman. Confetti fell from the ceilings as the hall went into stunned silence.

All the eyes in the hall drifted to the Lakshman next to Ram, and the seemingly Lakshman look-alike at the door, who was laughing at their incredulous faces, back to the actual exasperated looking Lakshman next to Ram.

"Y-you, what?" asked King Janak, grabbing at his hair in confusion as Maharani Sunaina tried to calm him down. Shatrughan laughed some more, holding his stomach, and Urmila couldn't help but wonder if this brother had gotten all the happiness in the womb, and the other all of the frowns as she stared him down.

Slowly, the differences between the two emerged. One's eyes were dark as night, simmering with emotion, the other's were amber and alight with mischief. One was tall and muscular, and the other was a bit shorter, but lean. One had a slightly angled jaw while the other had a rounder face. One's hair fell into his forehead like bangs, and the other's was swept into the side in a part.

"So that's what you meant by a "grand welcome". Confetti and stunned courtiers. I will always be astounded by your sense of humor, Shatru! He was talking all about it during the carriage ride, I didn't want to believe it." Bharat muttered, giving a look of apology to everyone there. Shatrughan grinned, walking over, and opening his arms towards Ram, who gladly hugged him, finding the humor in the situation. Then, Bharat, who, exhaling in defeat, hugged him as well. Then, he stood in front of his twin.

"Why did god give me a twin? An identical twin? What did I ever do in my previous lifetime to have deserved this, I wonder." Lakshman moaned dramatically. Shatrughan rolled his eyes, tapping his foot on the floor, and not hugging Lakshman either. Everyone looked concerned, but Ram reassured them

"This happens. They quarrel a little, but they did miss each other. They'll come around in a few minutes." Everyone nodded, and Sita felt a little bit more in love with him at his obvious care for his brothers. Was it possible for someone to be so perfect?

"At least they get to see you smile, even if it really isn't you. You frown so much, as if it's your default face. If I tell Sumitra Maa all about how you weren't acting gracious to the good Maharajaon and Maharanion and Rajkumarion of Videha, how would you think she'd react? A good grounding, deprivation of the sword, deprivation of all food, and an ear-twisting. So you'd better hug me, Lakshman, don't you love me at all?" he cried as the court looked back and forth between them like a tennis match. (has tennis been invented yet?)

"You know how Maa Sumitra would react to you pranking all of us, walking in smiling and acting stupid, and then attempting to blackmail me in front of everyone? The first few were fine, but such a lack of wit as to have witnesses while blackmailing, Shatrughan? I expected better, and she certainly would too. An ear twisting and what-not wouldn't be enough." Shatrughan paled at the thought of punishment, then pouting, employed the use of his puppy-eyes.

"However," Lakshman continued, rolling his eyes, "as your twin brother, close relation, and look-alike, " he exhaled nasally, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I missed you!" and with that, Shatrughan was lifted bodily into the air, and hugged him until he started to wheeze, and a quick double tap on the shoulder later, he was down.

"You've only gotten stronger! What are you doing to get those muscles? Going to the gym-wait, that hasn't been invented yet has it?" Shatrughan wheezed, face red. Lakshman raised an eyebrow, stepping back as Shatrughan introduced himself respectfully as well.

Mandavi stood on the sidelines, quiet, a tiny blush spreading across her neck. She swallowed all of her insults and bad jokes, and suddenly her mind was racing to think of something so disarmingly witty that she could impress the newly arrived princes. Especially the first one, "the honorable Bharat". Suddenly, she pinched herself. Boys were boys. Disgusting, stupid, and oversmart. Ram and Lakshman bhaiyya were two exceptions, but she highly doubted that their brothers were. And so with that, her blush disappeared, and she again became the boy-hating, teasing and taunting, bold and beautiful Madavi whom they all loved.

Shrutakirti was also frowning. That Shatrughan was most certainly not honorable! He didn't show any respect, nor any signs of obedience, acted as if he was perfectly liable to laugh in a serious welcome that they had all woken up early to give them! She wondered how Lakshman, whom she dearly loved as an elder brother, had forgiven him, but decided that love worked in marvelous ways.

Shatrughan turned around, and spotted the princesses, and raising an eyebrow, attempted to swagger forward. "Hello ladies-mmf!" his statement was cut off by a clap on the mouth as Lakshman stood behind him. Bharat sighed, rubbing his eyes exhaustedly, and Ram scratched the back of his head.

"I love you, Shatru, but not that much." Lakshman muttered, sighing as Bharat looked up, brushing the hair off his shoulders, and folding his hands together, bid the royal family goodbye as the brothers retired to their room.

"You're the family rebel, you know that Shatru? The family rebel." they could hear Bharat say as the brothers walked away. "I don't even know how you contain all that disobedience inside your tiny, tiny head, how, Shatrughan?"

"Hey! He insulted your head, Lakshman, won't you defend me?" Shatrughan cried. Sita shook her head devastatingly slowly as Urmila giggled and Shrutakirti and Mandavi both felt a little bit weird, stomachs turning this way and that.

                                                                                3 hours later...

"Your twin is the exact opposite of you, you both know that?" Urmila asked. She stayed a few more inches away from him, and though Lakshman had noticed, he did not ask questions, though he felt a little bit hurt. What had he done to offend her? Why did she move away from him, and also, why was he so desperate to bring her back? "It's as if you aren't even related!" she snorted.

"I thought your evil twin had arrived when you entered." Shrutakirti mentioned, nodding towards Shatrughan. "Then I realized it was just...your twin." Shatrughan pouted, and went to say something smart and scathing before Bharat smacked the back of his head painfully, expecting what was about to happen.

"Hey, Shatrughan. Be civilized, you're acting like a little child." Shatrughan stood straight up, eyes thinning sharply as he looked at Bharat. Folding his arms across his chest, he held his head high, looking remarkably similar to his twin at that very moment.

"I am not a little child, and I am very capable of not acting like one. However, I am happy because I have every right to be, without you all interfering, and I want to smile, not be displeased, it makes me feel better. It's not my fault you all act so polite and "civilized". Besides, the world needs a little bit more happiness." Shrutakirti looked up at him quickly. That was her quote to live by too! How did he know? Was he not that stupid after all?

Shatrughan looked right back at her, and his face softened for a fleeting moment, and their gazes locked, before Shrutakirti looked away again, straightening her blouse. Shatrughan took a longer time to move his head away from the sight of her, completely ensnarled in the claws of her kind looks. Then, shaking his head quickly, he finally escaped the trance that she put upon him, recalling angrily of the things she said about him. "Evil Twin". They usually called Lakshman that! However, the two hadn't glanced away fast enough for Lakshman and Sita not to catch it, and they both smirked.

A/N-There will be direct chapters dedicated solely to JUST Bharma and Shatru-Kirti and Lakshmila. JUST those ships, maybe mentions of everyone else, but very minor. I do want to give some light to Bharma and Shatru-Kirti on their own, because they are underappreciated. Now they've all met each other too! There's no more waiting friends, the last of the people have boarded the romance spaceship, we're all Go, 5 4 3 2 1, lift off, the Ramayana Romance I has lifted off folks, a reminder, this is the one headed towards "Jealousy-ville" first, followed by "Happily Ever After-ville"!

Also, we have crossed 4,000 views, which is quite the milestone, so thank you for that! Also, if you are reading this, @Ramayana_lover, your story is awesome. I love your Lakshmila chapter so much, it made me laugh!

Shoutout to-HistoryLover_1234 Thank you for voting on my chapters!