Chapter 3

AnushkhaA

@AnushkhaA

Author's Note:- Someone gave me the prompt- 'Impressed' so I wrote this as a result. This is the perception of Raghav about Pallavi. In the first two shots we see Pallavi ruminating about Raghav but here its the opposite. Written from RR's view. 

Consider this after a few months of Brotherhood. 

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Femme Fatale

Raghav Rao had always been on the top of every situation. It wasn't a conscious decision on his part at first but gradually as he got sucked into the dangerous life he had been leading of a corporate shark in a world where virtues were laughed upon and goodness being twisted into weakness, the need to remain unruffled and immaculate had replaced the desire of it. Raghav almost took an unhealthy amount of pride in the fact that no one could best him in the game of blitzkrieg. 

The phenomena of fooling people by hiding one's true qualities and nature and revealing them like bombs being dropped unannounced, suddenly and at indeterminate intervals to completely shock the world has been his personal pass time. He was an arrogant man and he knew that. He was rude and insensitive and completely money minded, he knew that too. But what he was along with it, he had hidden it from the world effectively and so long that at one point of time he had questioned himself whether he even possessed such traits or not. 

But here comes one annoyingly naïve and frustratingly compassionate woman.... Mrs. Pallavi Deshmukh..... a beautiful young widow...a kind hearted daughter and a wannabe business woman who ironically launches on him, the same attack he has been playing with everyone since time immemorial. 

A Blitzkrieg.

Pallavi had been someone whom he had looked upon with a condescendence which was, to be brutally honest, quite unbecoming of him. For the first time in his life Raghav Rao had been completely blindsided by another person. He had misjudged and miscalculated a lot in regards to this frighteningly fascinating woman. And utterly bewildered he became with each little nuance and the various shades of Pallavi Deshmukh which got revealed as time passed and their proximity grew like a festered seed. 

And more shocked was he at the fact that he liked it. He liked all of it. 

The constant tug of war, the unending battle of wits, the head splitting sessions of daily lectures and the ceaseless bickering. He was enthralled at being challenged so, completely taken in by the subtle style of rebuttal Pallavi usually adopted, utterly ensnared by the compassion and love she possessed for every little creature in God's world. Pallavi had become that breath of fresh air which gushes inside a dank and musty room left closed and immersed in darkness for too long. She had become the damp smell of the earth after the early summer shower which marks the onset of monsoons after a scathing heat wave. She had become the centre of every good which surprisingly had started percolating in his crushingly lonely world.

And he found himself opening layer by layer, bit by bit for her. He found himself turning towards her powerful aura whenever something negative assailed him, he found himself facing her for guidance like a sunflower opens up to the sun. 

If there was any sun in Raghav Rao's life, that would be Pallavi Deshmukh. 

Raghav knew he had wrapped himself in an iron shroud so tight  that no one could ever look through it. Hence, no one could ever break it, ergo no one could ever hurt him. He had simply proved that he had no heart and he had done it so well that none knew that the broken pieces withering on the floor of his chest are actually evidence of a beating heart he had possessed once. But that was probably a lifetime ago. But with the advent of this miraculously mischievous and devastatingly interesting woman he had slowly started living again. 

He felt like he was the waves of a restless ocean and she was the sparkling soft sands he was trying to reach desperately and was ending up crashing and breaking relentlessly against the rocks rooted in his way. He'll beat himself bloody trying to reach her it seemed to him. 

These weird emotions which made his supposedly empty chest feel funny when she would laugh at his dry humour and flash those nerve smelting smiles at his plight when he faced a tight situation, were scaring the living daylights out of him. Mostly because he knew what this fevered disease is, which has started ailing him. Though denial will be longer than the river Nile, in Raghav Rao's dictionary. 

These were the exact thoughts going over his mind as he mulled over them annoyed at himself while Pallavi was going on chattering like a ceaseless Mynaah bird.

"Hmm! Ei..? Ghamandi Rao kuch suna bhi tumne?"

"uh hu.. haan? Yes!"

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? You look a bit ill..? Are you okay? You just recovered from an almost fatal accident remember?"

"Yes my dear Saree Ka dukaan.. neither you nor your chamcha Farhaad has allowed me to forget that now, have you? You keep on instructing him.. and no use denying it. I know you told him about the medicines I wasn't taking and he keeps on hovering over me like an angry bee. Hella irritating! The lot of you!"

Pallavi smiled victoriously before she took a solid bite of her chocolate bar ice cream and Raghav grumbled at her expression overtly, but smiled seeing her smear chocolate all over her luscious pink lips like a baby, covertly. How can anyone look so cute while eating ice cream wearing a drab grey saree which brought out the colour of her eyes beautifully though in a deserted street? 

"Hmmm... gal jaegi tumhaari ice cream! Eat it.."

She instructed him like a middle school teacher and he smothered a grin behind his vanilla cornetto. They were eating ice cream from a thelewaala at the side of a deserted street in the middle of a scorching afternoon like school kids. It was the anniversary of their first meeting and Pallavi had decided to show mercy on her poor companion and had agreed to have ice cream instead of chaat or pani puri. He claimed that last time she had nearly choked him trying to make him eat either one of the above mentioned savouries. Pallavi had enjoyed seeing Raghav dance around the place drinking bottle after bottle of water trying to put out the proverbial flames in his mouth. 

The wind blew over them and Pallavi's hair stuck to her cheek and she looked frustrated. He stifled a snort and leaned over to remove the strand off her face and saw her gorgeous eyes widen slightly as his fingers brushed over the silky smoothness of her cheek. He could swear she felt the same jolt of static electricity passing through her body which he did at the slight contact. The weather had been very dry of late. 

Suddenly before she could speak they heard a few obnoxious noises as two bikes roared passed them like jet planes. Raghav barely managed to catch her as she nearly toppled over from the shock and the ripple effect as one of the bikes had brushed past too close to be considered safe. 

"Hey! Watch out you bloody idiots!"

Raghav screamed behind them as they zoomed away, while he was mourning the loss of contact as Pallavi straightened up looking  furious and a little flushed. He turned around and heard the same zooming noises and nearly toppled off himself as one the bikers brushed past him this time. Pallavi had mercifully dragged him back catching his hand. Raghav had had enough he walked towards the two sniggering men who were still mounted on their bikes but now standing still.

"What is the matter hero? Getting pissed off are we? Come on man... you look like a considerate guy. Wouldn't you share that sexy piece with us eh?"

"Eh! Watch it you scumbags!"

The men laughed at their own vulgarity unbothered about the fact that any sane person should be right about now scrambling for their heels to make a mad dash. But looked like they had no idea who he was. He advanced towards them, bloody murder screaming inside his guts. The men looked like they had a death wish as the other joined too.

"Aww! The boyfriend's getting all mad isn't he..? Well can you fault him, I wouldn't mind a piece of that pretty peach myself."

Raghav had raised his hand right about to yank one by his collar when someone else yanked his hand back from behind and he almost stumbled stunned and noticed Pallavi looking at the two animals in front coolly, like an ice statue. 

"Leave it Raghav. Kichad mein pathar maroge toh kichad tumhaare muh pe aake lagega. Do not waste your energy or time on these worthless idiots. Let's go."

"Haan! Maan lo iski baat... waise madam humein bhi zaraa apni valuable time and effort deti nhi jaengi..? We'll make it worth your while.."

"Get out of here before I put my foot in a place where you wouldn't like it."

Raghav blinked at the vulgarity of that sentence and felt even more shocked looking at Pallavi who was glaring at the them like she meant it. The men were taken aback for sure and Raghav scrambled his brains to move his voluntary muscles to do something but in vain. The men recovered warily and laughed raucously pretending that they weren't as shocked as they seemed.

"Haa! Tum toh fooljhadi nhi, patakha nikli.."

The answering laugh was cut off abruptly as Raghav blinked trying to gauge the action which had occurred in a split second, so briefly that he hadn't even seen it. He saw Pallavi was beside the youngster in a second and before he could have done or said something she had kicked his bike hard enough to make it fall aside on the other bike taking the two men with it. The second biker screamed in pain as his bike and his partner's bike along with his partner fell over him. Raghav looked on stupefied as the first man jumped up in a second and snarled at Pallavi before lunging for her. 

Raghav had moved in a second but stopped when he heard the guy scream in pain when she stomped on his foot with her low heeled sandal and elbowed his chin up strongly enough to almost crack his jaw and kneed him in the groin. The man crumpled whining on the road as the other guy rounded up scampering, rage etched on his ugly face. Pallavi caught his hand which was about to land on her face and twisted it around his back turning him as he shouted helplessly as well. She caught his other hand which he had brought behind him to scratch at her and pulled them both putting a sure strain on his shoulder sockets which resulted in the man crying out almost. She kicked him on the back making him sprawl on the floor directly on his nose and kicked the other man who was trying to get up.

All of this happened with a few seconds as Raghav stood with his jaw socket loose as Pallavi stood dusting her hands making a disgusted face as if the mere act of touching them to beat them has defiled her and her two victims writhed humiliated and in pain on the road in front. 

"Next time you harass me or even try to harass someone else, I will make sure you are left with nothing to spend any valuable time with any woman. Samazla?"

Raghav saw with awe as the two men got up quickly and almost fled from there. Pallavi sighed in frustrated annoyance and turned towards him breaking his trance abruptly. He physically jumped back from the fuming woman who stood glaring at him as if about to hit him as well.

"Saree ka.. Pallavi! Pallavi.. chala gaya woh do bandar...tum shaant..."

"Man toh kar raha tha chutney bana dun... dekha tumne! This.. this is the usual behaviour any woman gets.. nonsense! Bloody idiots! Thoda aur maarna chahiye tha, nhi? Bohot kam.."

"Nhi nhi! Isse zyadaa maarta toh jail jaana pad jataa for murder"

She looked at him bewildered. Raghav felt his heart rate increase as she glanced him over. His body language clearly showed he was terrified that she would turn on him as well. The thought was so ridiculous that Pallavi wanted to laugh. But he was looking so cute. She wanted to pull his cheeks. Wait.. did that mean..?

"Mr. Raghav Rao... kahi aapko mujhse dar toh nhi.."

"No! Mereko.. kyun dar lagega... tum.."

"Accha! But you know what... I should have done this with you too when you tried to harass me initially? Yaad hain... tabhi agar maar diya hota do chaar, shayad sudhar jaatein thode.. koi nhi.. abhi bhi time hain... "

She pretended to hold up her attack position and immensely enjoyed the sudden look of fright appear on his handsome face. He jumped back holding up his arms. 

"Ye.. ye kya bol rahaa hain Saree ka.. Pallavi. Maine kab tumhe harass kiya.. sirf dara raha tha pehle.. phir tum bhi toh... whatever... dekho tum mujhe nhi maar sakta.."

He was stepping back as Pallavi advanced looking like a predator and chuckling mentally resisting the urge to hug him desperately. 

"Kyun nhi maar sakti..?"

"Kyun ki.. kyun ki..."

"Kyun ki.?"

"Main tumhaare dukaan ka owner hain!!!"

"Tab toh aur bhi maarna chahiye. Kya pataa.. mar gaye toh dukaan mujhe wapas mil jaega.."

Raghav stared at her horrified and she couldn't keep up her pretence. She burst out into peels of laughter and he frowned at her before realising that she was joking with him all the while. He didn't know whether he should be annoyed or relieved. Raghav looked at the woman laughing like a siren in front him, her eyes sparkling with mirth and compared it to the fire breathing goddess he had just witnessed a few minutes prior. Somehow he couldn't find any other analogy for her as she fought with those two idiots.....except for this. She was a warrior goddess then, her disposition, a perfect balance of poise and fury. Her hits, hard enough to bleed yet swift enough to get winded. Her eyes, breathing fire yet remained frozen like pools of venomous ice. 

For the first time in his life, Raghav could see himself in someone else. A little reflection of his own temperament. The frustration at being misjudged was so starkly present in her demeanour as she flattened the two goons and their egos had left a small pang in his heart. He smiled at her softly, perfectly aware that she would never look at herself in that way. Sometimes he wished he could make her look at herself the way he looks at her. 

"Tum bohot bura hain Saree ka dukaan.."

He whispered and she stopped laughing and looked at him confused, yet added coyly.

"Tumse toh bohot zyadaa achhi hun Ghamandi Rao."

"So toh hain.."

They looked at each other for some moments and burst out laughing. She unknowingly put her hand and touched her forehead to his chest while she struggled to breathe through the gasps of laughter choking both their lungs. He had his arms around her waist while he revelled in the feeling of her body in contact with his. 

Raghav watched the sun beginning its downward journey towards the edge of the horizon and the red colours of different hues mixed in the sky like a palette of an angry artist being smudged on a clear canvas and his hearts skipped a beat with her breath fanning the exposed skin of his chest. He wondered back to his often visited question.

What metal have you been forged from Pallavi Deshmukh? And what are you doing to me?