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roseberrylight · 4 days ago

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omgggg I love this so much thank you thank youuu

the vibes of this fanfic is so immaculate I can literally feel the energy around them, you are such a talented writer !!!

Grihlakshmi 2

(part 1 here)

Lakshay notices how silent Vini is instantly.

She finishes breakfast with quips that are so practised that she doesn't even have to think about them and smirks when they talk about her— like she usually does. It's nothing out of ordinary and yet Lakshay knows that she's disturbed. Anyone would be, really. She doesn't normally give a fuck about what anyone says but Lakshay knows her.

He knows that she's more afraid of men than she's afraid of carnivorous animals. He knows that she's instantly scared when she's in the vincity of a man she doesn't know. He has her live location on his phone always and so does Savitri— because she doesn't trust transportation. She never falls asleep at new places if one of them isn't around her and she has a can of homemade pepper spray and a ridiculously expensive safety keychain.

So, he makes obnoxiously loud noises as he nears her after breakfast— Harsh's absolutely not subtle look engraved in his mind. She turns to look at him, walking lesuirely down the hallway. She slows her pace to let him catch up to her and his heart skips at the simple and obvious gesture.

"Thik, Chaudhary ji?" She asks with a smile. She suddenly looks tired and she realises she already has a fucked up sleep schedule because of her internship and add the travel to that— she mustn't have gotten any decent sleep in the last week.

He purses his lips. He's still furious enough that if that idiot had been in front of Lakshay as he said that, Dev Tyagi would not be walking on his own two legs. He's furious enough, that if they lived in the same city, Dev Tyagi would have to leave the city overnight.

He'd even kept quiet on insults over Rachit, as his friend had told him to let it go, but Medha? His Vini? His Grihlakshmi?

Any insult to her is not allowed, not even accidentally.

He pulls himself out of those thoughts as he feels the concerned tapping of Medha's fingers on his wrist. He smiles at her,"Ji hum toh aap ke sath aate hi thik ho jate hai."

Medha chuckles and he pulls her fingers from his wrist to interwine their hands. He holds their hands loosely for a moment and when she doesn't flinch or show any signs of discomfort, he tightens his grip. He's pleasantly surprised when she squeezes their hands back.

"I'll be alright, Lakshay." She says softly as they enter the gardens behind the hotel. It has a ridiculous range of flowers— including hibiscus, roses, and all the other ones that he doesn't recognise. He follows her obediently as she leads them to a swing, hidden under the branches of what looks like a chiku tree.

She settles down first and he sits, trying to maintain some sort of comfort inducing distance between them, but hypocritically doesn't leave her hand. To his surprise, she shifts a bit closer. They're not touching by any means other than their hands, but he doesn't have to extend his arm to sit comfortably with their hands between them.

It feels surreal— holding her hand. She probably doesn't realise what gifts she's giving him. The feel of her hand in his, her silver ring clicking against his gold band and her old watch reflecting his kalawa. He doesn't think he will ever get over the deliciously rough texture on her palm, especially the one area where she must have used ittar— it's rougher than the rest of her palm.

"I will be fine, Laksh," she whispers softly. "That boy doesn't mean shit. I'm just baffled right now. I'm insulted, but his actions do not have any consequences in my life. He doesn't matter."

Lakshay nods jerkily and agrees,"No, he doesn't. You do. You matter. Let us get back home and I'll see to the end of this spat."

Medha smiles and shifts again, closer. She's spoiling him with so much skinship, he knows. He will crave of her presence as soon as she shifts far. But he basks in her presence. He forces himself to not overreact when she rests her temple against the ball of his shoulder. The contact is minimal, but it's enough to drive him mad.

He could live like this for the rest of his life.

"I trust you," she says, as if the moment wasn't already perfect. Now, it's beyond perfect. He looks at her, trying to completely engrave and carve the feeling as well as the scene in front of his eyes.

He takes a bit more liberty, squeezes their hands and pulls them on his thigh. He doesn't know how to show her just how much he appreciates the words. Lakshay's never been all that great at articulating his feelings and Medha makes it even harder to speak— because he's always so busy feeling every moment with her.

Medha smiles like she knows what he meant to do. Her smile is something of a sight to behold, and Lakshay thinks he understands what the poets and lyricists mean when they talk about worshipping one's love.

Lakshay would do absolutely anything for any scrap of attention he may get from Medhasvini, and he's absolutely unashamed of the fact.

It's time to show it to the world.

____________________________________________________

He vlogs for the time it takes Vini and Savitri to get ready— he's a fast person to get ready and the rest of them had already been up and about by breakfast.

"Dekho baat ab ye ho rakhi hai," he says sounding casual even as he's serious,"Ki na, baat ab mere dosto pe bohot badh gayi hai. Usne kal bola, main kuch nahi bola. Thik hai bhai, haq tha uska, jali thi uski. Mujhse hatt ke vo Rachit ke piche gaya aur maine kuch nahi bola. But baad mein, vo Vini ke piche pada." He gives a cool smile to the camera. "Ye acceptable nahi hai. Toh beta, samay hai. Ye vlog upload ho ne ke do ghante ke andar Medhasvini, Rachit, Samrat bhai, sabse maafi mang lo. Varna pitaji apni pe aa gaye na, na tumhari personal life rahegi aur na online life. Tameez pe vapas aa jao. Tumko tumhare Mata pita acche sanskar dena bhul gaye ho toh vo Kami hum Puri kar denge. Kya samjhe?"

Vini enters the room just as he's stopped speaking and he almost stops breathing. She looks utterly gorgeous. She's wearing the kurti that he got her two weeks ago and he'd been SO right— the powder pink suited her beautifully. The blue dupatta perfectly matches the designs on the hem of the otherwise plain kurti, and the bangles she's wearing in her right hand are a perfect mix of blue and pink. He thanks his stars again, as he sees her blush and smile. God knows he never deserves someone as good as her, even as a friend.

Harsh takes the phone from his hand and Lakshay barely notices it as he stands and Vini walks towards him with a grin, singing,"Kya dekhte ho?"

"Surat tumhari," he sings back, voice horribly out of tune. But it seems to please her. He raises his hand,"Close your eyes for a moment, Vini."

And it's a testament to the trust that she has for him that she doesn't even question him beyond an eyebrow raise but closes her eyes. Carefully, he swipes his finger at the corner of her right eye, checks, and puts the extra kohl behind her ear, his fingers brushing against her jhumka.

The blush on her cheeks is reward enough for the way his heart is beating out of his chest.

"Tujhe nazar lag jayegi kabhi," he says, voice almost weak.

She looks down, smiles in that way she does when she's shy and trying not to smile too hard.

Lakshay feels like he's accomplished everything good in his life.

"Chalein?" Savitri says and he startles. He didn't even hear her enter the room.

He knows for a fact that almost all of his friends will tease him about this— Akshit, bless him, will just ogle from the sidelines.

But he doesn't mind the endless teasing, not when Vini slips her hand in crook of his elbow as they walk towards the lift.

____________________________________________________

Savitri, Samrat bhai and Vini are absolute nightmares to bring at flea markets. Savitri will like something and bargain for half an hour to get it at a 5% discount. Samrat Bhai will buy the most 'I am a Middle Aged Man without Aesthetics for home decor but wish for all Aesthetics accumulated into one' kind of things and Medha, as much as he loves her, will waste her time ogling every pretty and minimalist piece of jewelry that she sees but won't buy anything unless pestered.

Rachit, Akshit, Harsh and Lakshay trail behind them, planning Lakshay's upcoming stand up show and vlogging.

"Main soch raha, year end me ek international trip karte hai. Kya khyal hai bhaiyo?" Harsh asks, appearing honestly invested in the idea,"Vaise bhi bohot time se kahi bahar nahi gaye, we'll have some fun."

Lakshay is about to answer in affirmative when Medha calls for him. Rachit gives him a shit eating grin and elbows him in the ribs, singing that IPL tune,"Come on, bulava aaya hai!"

Lakshay can't control his blush and chuckle as he walks over to Medha, who's standing at another shop of jewelry and looking over bangles. She points distractedly at a set of silver coloured metal bangles bangles and another set of oxidised bangles. "Which ones?" She asks,"Your choice is better than mine."

Lakshay is inclined to agree— he chose her to be his friend, excellent fucking choice, best one of his life. And she chose him to be her friend and really, what's a girl like that doing with a guy like him?

He knows she likes bangles, bought her a whole set of them on her birthday recently and he also knows that she has neither oxidised nor silver bangles. He doesn't really care much for the looks of the bangles but he knows she doesn't like oxidised ones as much. She doesn't like the hype created and thinks it gives a look that isn't as polished. But these bangles are smoother and they have little jhumars in them that must make noise as she'd wear them.

Distantly, he's aware of Harsh pulling his leg while he takes so much time to decide his preference for bangles and hears Savitri joke about burning a hole into the bangles but his eyes are fixed on Medha as she tries to try on a earring that is shaped in a butterfly way and must be impossible to put on without mirrors.

"Why don't you even have mirrors here, bhai ji?" She mutters to herself, too polite to say such a thing to the shop owner.

Lakshay smiles,"Main madad kar du?"

"Please."

He stands behind her, and pulls her braid away from that side of her neck to create room and checks that it is indeed a hoop type of closing before he gently slips the earring in her lobe. She hisses and he mutters a quick apology almost absentmindedly and locks the earring in place.

Medha checks the reflection of the earring in her phone's blank screen and makes a weird sound that is somehow extremely adorable. She makes the sound when she's way too happy to contain herself.

"It looks really pretty, I'm going to be obsessed with this. I'm buying this." She mutters to herself, opening the camera on her phone to again see the way it actually looks. Lakshay sees the absolutely besotted look he's wearing as he stands behind her and before he can correct it, Medha clicks a picture.

"I hope that picture is blurry!" He says in petty retaliation.

Medha pinches his forearm lightly. "Bangles?"

"Silver ones."

Lakshay keeps the butterfly earrings aside after he helps her remove them. The shopkeeper grabs the bangles and forwards his hand, asking Medha's hand to let him slide the bangles up her hand.

Normally, Lakshay doesn't interfere in anything Medha does, but the way she cows towards him and her shoulder brushes against his chest and he feels the tremor down her back— he splays his hand over the small of her back and smiles at the shopkeeper,"Aap rehn diyo, bhaiya ji, main kar deta hu na. Aap ye earrings pack kar do."

The man nods back with a smile and moves aside. Lakshay looks quizzically at Medha, because he knows she's capable of doing it herself and he won't control her decisions. She removes her watch from her wrist and forwards her hand towards him.

Lakshay doesn't think he can ever feel as content as he does in this moment, holding her wrist lightly as he helps her wear the bangles.

He wiggles his eyebrows in question and she smiles shaking her head sideways in a pleased manner.

He catches the shop owner give them both a smile as Lakshay strong arms Medha into letting him pay for the earrings and bangles.

"Let me spoil you," he says as they regroup with their friends, taking the plastic bag from her hand,"Main agar tujhe khush nahi rakhunga toh kya hi karunga?"

"Sath chala kar tu bas, main khush ho jaungi," she replies and Lakshay wonders if it'd be too much to call her the reason for his existence.

____________________________________________________

"Tujhe meri bandi bola tha na," he says when the camera is back in his hand and Medha is walking beside him, recording Samrat bhai push Akshit on a swing.

Medha hums, her trepidation clear, but she trusts him to take the conversation to a better place.

"Toh tujhe aise hi treat karta hu jaise ladkiyo ko karna chahiye, hai na?"

The idea is horrible and he will murder Savitri for letting him even think that it was a good idea. Maybe he can just apologise ASAP and cut off this part of the vlog, it was so insensitive of him—

Medha shifts until she's plastered to his side and it is certainly NOT helping him think straight anymore. Her lips curl in a sly smile,"Kya matalab ki tu wait kar Raha hai ki teri khubsurat bandi ko tera hi koi dost pata ke le jaye?"

The smile on her face is infectious and he has a harder time than strictly necessary to control his own laughter at the ridiculous idea. The boys will cut and bleed for her— she's their best friend, mother, sister, everything but a lover. And Savitri will probably kill Lakshay himself if it makes Medha happy, not that Lakshay would protest.

But he plays along,"No, no, I cannot have that. Who will market me like a Mercedes if another boy takes you away from me, because of course you don't have an opinion of your own."

He wraps his arm loosely around Medha's waist as he turns to his friends. "Nazar bhi nahi aani chahiye meri bandi pe. Uski life me koi mard nahi hona chahiye, main idhar se leke Jaa Raha hu usko."

He sniffs and adopts an arrogant look on his face. Harsh is barely stopping himself from laughing but nods,"Sure, sure. I'm here just to have her value as your beautiful girlfriend, why would we care about anything but wanting women?"

Medha snorts and hides her face in his shoulder as she laughs. It's a habit she's had for years, she hides her face when she laughs. It's just that right now, her hands are full with the bags that hold some or the other things.

He realises how remiss he's been.

Lakshay takes the bag in her right hand. She resists a little bit he looks lazily at her, his hand still holding the handles of the bag. She knows that he's stubborn. She rolls her eyes as she releases the bag.

Samrat Bhai nears them with raised eyebrows, Lakshay is never touchy with anyone but Medha, yes, but even this contact is way too much for them.

Deciding to fuck with him, because he hadn't been hearing them, Lakshay grins at him,"Bhai main aur meri bandi jaa rahe hai Naya Ghaat. Aap sab apna apna dekh lo, main isko aadmiyo ke sath nahi rehne dene wala."

Samrat Bhai sputters with wide eyes and looks between them, blinking owlishly. "Aayein?"

Medha, an equal menace, says,"Chalo ji bye!"

"How dare you speak without my permission?" Lakshay says, giving her a half smile. He can't control hai goddamn smiles around her.

"Oops," she says unapologetically,"Please don't dump me for another girl."

And all Lakshay can think is; leaving her in any capacity will make his life bleak. It will make him shrivel and it will make him older than he is, it will make him just stop enjoying a lot of things.

He would probably let her get away with murder, he thinks hysterically as he says farewell to the rest of their friends on autopilot.

Medha giggles when they're walking away, eyes crinkled and cheeks red. "I think this is the best fun I'm gonna have in the year."

Yes, he thinks in a daze, he will absolutely hide the body and give a false testimony, should she need it.

____________________________________________________

@roseberrylight (tagging you because you're the reason i wrote more hehe. I hope you like it!)

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