Chapter 1

Part 1: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/119193234

Part 2: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/119330443

*Song: Sun Raha Hai from Aashiqui 2

**Song: Pehla Pehla Pyaar Hai from Hum Aapke Hain Kaun?

Virika OS: Khoobsurat Aankhen

Poor Mannu, Jeevika thought to herself, as the former headed out the room; she wanted her sister to stay longer as much as Manvi did, but really, nobody could go against Beeji once she'd made her mind up. She sighed; between managing a drunken pati, to a hyper behen, to a moody devar...her first Holi with the Vadhera family was interesting to say the least. A scuffle and a crash came from the washroom, where she'd sent her tipsy husband to take a wash. Oh, dear.

"Virenji?" she knocked on the door anxiously, "Are you okay?"

More banging, then, a humming voice, "*Manzilein ruswa hain, khoyaa hai raasta. Aaye le jaaye, itni si iltijaa..."

She tried to stifle a giggle, then asked again, louder, "Virenji? I heard some noises?"

Her husband replied back sadly, "Haan, I think I knocked down the microphone...oh, no, wait, that was the soap..." A few more banging noises and Jeevika got slightly concerned.

"Virenji, can you open the door?"

"Which door?"

Jeevika sighed and turned the knob; thankfully he had kept the door unlocked...it had probably been a bad idea to send her inebriated husband to the washroom...it was a small mercy he hadn't passed out in the shower as yet!

She looked around the washroom cautiously to see Viren, still wearing his kurta from before, struggling with the buttons. Taking a step forward, she did not realize there was a bottle of soap on the floor in front of her and she slipped with a small cry out.

He caught her- how he managed, she did not know- and smiled down at her adoringly, "I'd never let you fall."

She blushed; no matter he probably did not know what he was saying and would not remember in the morning; the love in his eyes was real. He still held her, so carefully, as though she was fragile as glass and pulled her to him, murmuring, "I get lost in your eyes." Again, with the eyes...this brought her to attention and she laughed, pushing him away, "Virenji, what mess have you made here?" Bottles of soap and hair products were scattered on the floor and she bent to pick them up, before one of them slipped and fell again.

"I was trying to get a bottle of soap," he frowned, pushing a hand through his dishevelled hair, "But, it kept moving away, I couldn't hold it!"

His confusion was so endearing, she couldn't be upset with him. "Okay, how about you just wash your face and arms and then you go to bed?" she suggested.

"Teekhay." He put his hands to the line of buttons down his kurta and tried undoing them, fingers fumbling, "Arrey...where are you going?" It took Jeevika a moment to realize he was speaking to the buttons of his kurta, not to her, and then she giggled softly before brushing his hands away to undo them herself.

His hands curved around her back to tug her closer to him. Evidently, his hazy senses had not affected his need to always romance her whenever they were alone. She had undone the first few buttons, exposing the lean muscle of his chest, when he murmured, his breath sweet on her face, "You are in quite a romantic mood today, Mrs. Vadhera..." She looked up at him, her nose almost brushing his, "Kya?"

"We're not even in bed yet and already you're undressing me?"

Her eyes widened and she pushed him away, "You can undo the rest of the buttons by yourself."

He caught her hand and pulled her back with a strength that surprised her, making her blush again, "No, I can't."

"Virenji, behave yourself," she tried looking stern, but the sweet tenderness in his gaze made it difficult for her to meet his eyes and she ended up looking back down at the buttons of his kurta, undoing more, knowing he was physically unable to do it himself. His forehead touched hers, "Are you angry at me?"

"Haan. Bahaut," she undid the last button and then did not know what to do.

"Kyun?" his nose nudged into her hair, next to her temple.

She did not know quite how to respond and settled for pushing the kurta over his shoulders. She motioned to the sink, "Wash your face and arms."

He reluctantly let go and managed to splash water on his face and over his arms. "All okay?" he asked, rubbing the water out of his eyes with his knuckles like a small child. He still had a smear of red across his cheeks, so without even thinking, she ran her hands through the running water and cupped his face in her hands, rubbing his thumbs across his cheeks to remove the color. However, when she looked at him directly into his eyes, her breath caught. He had said he was lost in her eyes, but now it seemed she was getting lost in his. They were looking at her in such a way that made heat rise to her cheeks, his eyes dark yet loving, as tempting as chocolate. They enticed her, drew her in, his own magic spell, so she did not realize that her hands had moved down his cheeks, his neck, at his pulse point and were now resting on his chest, where she could feel his heart beat; a steady rhythm. He moved forward; a small step, but it was enough to press her back into the solid rim of the sink, enough to touch his nose to hers, enough for his breath to whisper against her lips, so very sweetly, all her previous protests falling away, forgotten, "Your eyes are beautiful."

Her eyes lowered to his lips; they were so close, her eyelashes brushed against his, his bare chest pressed against hers and their breaths mingling, shared; the hushed sound of running water, a musical accompaniment. One hand rose to caress her cheek, his thumb sweeping across her parted lips; the other rested on the sink behind her. It wasn't until that that hand knocked over a bottle into the sink that she came back to her senses and the spell was broken. He frowned, looking unsure of what had just happened and she pulled away to pick up the bottle, trying to recollect herself, trying not to laugh. It seemed that they were always bound to get interrupted at some point. "Come," she tugged on his arm, "Let's go find you a clean shirt."

She found him one of his sleeping kurtas and he hummed to himself as she buttoned it up, "**Pehla pehla pyaar hai..."

"Who was your pehla pyaar?" she asked suddenly, pulling away to look at him.

He sighed, "She is the most beautiful girl in the world." She gasped, feeling jealous; he'd never told her there had been another girl before her...and he still had feelings for her? He sat down on the bed, looking wistful, "She has the most beautiful eyes..." She glared at him; a few moments before, had he not told given her the same compliment?

"What's her name?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

He beckoned her closer, as though he was telling her a secret, looking around the empty room, as though there were others who might overhear, then whispered in her ear blissfully, "Jeevika."

She giggled, blushing and ran her hand through his hair affectionately, "Virenji, I think you need to go to sleep."

Obediently, he moved back, lying down, but then he caught her hand, "How can I sleep without you?"

"Virenji, I have to-"

"Please?"

When he asked her so innocently, how could she refuse?

She sat down next to him and he rolled his head into her lap; she brushed her fingers through it softly. "Jeevika?"

"Hmm?"

"Jeevika, your eyes are beautiful."

"Virenji, you are drunk."

"Me? I have never been drunk in my life!" he affirmed.

"Oh, really? What about the night you snuck into my room and Beeji caught you before we got married?"

"That was an accident! And it was brandy for my cold. I am not drunk."

"Teekhay, you're not drunk." He'd know for himself once he'd woken up with a hangover, she thought to herself.

A minute later, when she was almost sure he'd fallen asleep, he spoke up again, "Jeevika?"

"Haan, Virenji?"

"Can I have a kiss?"

"Virenji, go to sleep!"

"Nahi, first a kiss!"

"If I give you a kiss, will you promise to go to sleep?"

"Okay," he agreed, reaching his hand into her hair, bringing her face down to his, her long hair swinging over him. In this little world of theirs, there was nothing but whispered words, stolen caresses and sweet kisses; eyes like pools of night, dark with passion, yet sparkling with tiny starbursts of happiness. Yes, she was getting lost in his eyes again.

"Virenji?" she stopped him just before their lips touched.

"Haan?"

She smiled. "You have beautiful eyes."