#bheem writing letters

[ladydarkey]

Can I go forward when my heart is here?  Chapter 3

Sorry, i am slow in writing and sometimes life gets in the way.

Hope you enjoy it. Please leave some feedback/critic, it would mean the world to me. 

also you can read it on AO3 , where you can find the previous chapters too

Summary:          

The tattoo originally showed belonging and responsibility to his tribe. It also represented his oath as a protector. Now it is extinguished, reflecting his divided heart.

It is Bheem's first day back in the village. He has some duty to do and Loki helps him to take care of his wounds.

What light through yonder window breaks?

Through the window, a soft beam of light shone on Bheem's sleeping face.The warming sun was like a gentle kiss on his cheek. After Lacchu had brought him back to bed, Bheem slept without any dream. Slowly he touched his cheek, still drowsy, as if he wanted to check if it really was the sun kissing him and nothing or someone else. Moving his arm was slightly painful.

The adrenaline that kept him on his feet over the last few months has left his body. His body felt like a wet, heavy sack and his muscles fought against every movement.

Even opening his eyes took some strength. As he opened them, he stared against the blank ceiling. An insect was crawling across his eyesight, it was a beautiful jewel bug.

Light bounced off the metallic green shell, making the beetle look like a walking emerald.

A closer look revealed the two black dots just behind the insect's head, followed by 4 dots indicating the beginning of the back and the seven dots on its rear. Three on each side and a large black dot right in the middle of the body.

Bheem focused on the large spot in the center. The beetle's outline began to blur and Bheem stared into an endless black void shrouded in a green glow.

The green glow changed to a bloody red, in the black void appeared angry and terrified faces, full of pity, staring at him.

They seemed to scream, but what was the reason? Suddenly the vague shapes attacked something in front of them. He blinked. Through a red curtain of blood, he saw Ram's eyes glistening with tears. “I am sorry, Bheem.” It was a whisper in his heart. Bheem blinked again and suddenly he saw the ceiling above him again.

He looked for the jewel bug, but it was gone. In the corner of his eye, he saw that someone put a plate with five Idlis and some Coconut chutney next to the rice and chicken. Something disturbed him by looking at the dish from the previous evening. He couldn't tell what it was. The Lota with chai was still steaming. So it didn't seem long ago that someone put that there at dawn.

An itch on his left arm disturbed his thoughtless and stuffed existence. Lazily he looked at the spot and noticed that his dark blue kurta was stained right where a bandage was hiding underneath. He wondered how the stain could have gotten there. After all, he changed his dressings every day and so far it hasn't happened. Nobody should see his battered body immediately and nothing should reveal it.

Accompanied by light groans, he slowly sat up and turned on the bed so that he could put his feet on the floor. Since Bheem didn't want to waste any food and he suddenly felt very hungry - like a bear after his hibernation - he reached for the bowl with rice and chicken and began to eat. From the way it was seasoned, he immediately knew it was Loki's dish. She was by far the best chef in the entire village and everybody loves her food. Life and strength slowly came back to his body. He felt how the food filled him with energy.

Now he noticed that his backpack, which he had simply dropped on the ground the day before, was placed somewhere else. Instead in the middle of the room, it leaned against the shelf now. There were only a few belongings he took back home. The white Kurta, he used to wear back in Delhi, was neatly sorted into the shelf. A photograph of abbajaan, ammijaan and akka was standing on top of the ledge. Next to the frame, a little wooden box with his selfmade medicine was stored. Worried eyes were looking for the precious gift and Bheem was instantly relieved as he saw the book lying on the desk. A smile briefly appeared on his face. He wondered who did it and when it happened, while he was grabbing the plate with Idlis. Every Idli was gone in just a bite and his stomach felt finally full again.

Since he gained his life energy back, he considered that it was a good time to take care of his wounds. Normally Malli helped him to put on the medicine because the buffed man couldn’t reach the wounds and scars on his back by himself. The traumatised child wasn’t his choice of free will, it was an emergency solution which was decided by the gods while they were fleeing together and someone had to help him.

He decided to change his clothes, before heading to Loki and Malli. Also he had to pay a visit to the village healer in view of the fact that his medicine was about to run out.

Slowly he undressed his upper body to reveal a very soiled gauze on his left biceps and triceps, where his tattoo should be. Only the arrow wasn’t covered. Since nobody should see what is under the bandage, it was the only wound that he treated when he was alone. Careful not to reopen the scab, he removed the gauze.

The picture that emerges was nasty. In place of the once decorative and meaningful tattoo was a deep wound that was only partially healed.

It was the deepest wound on the whole body. The nail whip tore off a large portion of the flesh, destroying the tattoo in the process. He winced as the memory of the pain returned for a split second. Will he ever forget the pain?

The tattoo originally showed belonging and responsibility to his tribe. It also represented his oath as a protector. Now it is extinguished, reflecting his divided heart.

He's torn between his tribe and the great legacy he was given when he and Ram destroyed the Buxton barracks.

“Oh! You are alive!” A female voice snapped him out of his thoughts. As quickly as possible and very clumsily, he tried to cover his wound with his right hand. Loki entered the hut, Malli right behind her.

“H-Hi Loki akka and good morning Malli akka. What are you doing here?” Bheem was taken aback by the women's sudden entrance.

Out of sheer joy, Malli ran towards him and started to jump. In reflex, Bheem opened both arms to embrace the child. For a moment he lost himself in the warm hug. Suddenly he became very aware that his scar is now revealed. His smile disappeared immediately as he looked over the shoulder of Malli and saw the shocked expression on Loki’s face.

Without a word, Loki turned on the spot and went outside.

Has she realized that where his tattoo once was, his oath to the tribe, is now an eyesore? Doesn't she accept him as a protector anymore, since the word of honour is broken?

A thousand thoughts shot into his head while his grip on Malli tightened.

“Anna! That’s too tight!” Malli giggled and wriggled out of his embrace.

“Oh! I am so sorry, Malli. I- I am just happy to see you.” He quickly found an excuse for not noticing his tight embrace and faked a smile, his head still full of racing thoughts.

His relief was hard to describe when Loki came back with water. She must have gotten it out of the matka outside.

“Malli. Could you go to the healer and get some fresh herbal treatment out of cantella and green chiretta, please? And also new gauze.” Loki gently stroked her daughter's cheek as she gave her the order. Malli nodded heavily and immediately ran outside.

“Phew. And now to you Bheem.” Loki sighed with a loving but strict look.

After taking the wooden box from the shelf, she crossed the room and sat next to Bheem on the bed, put the medicine box in her lap and the budgas with water on the floor.

He didn’t know what to do, what to say or even how to react.

She looked him up and down, gently pressing his shoulder so he would lean slightly forwards in order to get a better look at his back. His broad back was almost completely covered in bandages.

Silently she started to loosen his dressing and he helped her.

“Oh my… how much did you have to suffer?!” Loki's voice trembled slightly as she saw the countless injuries and scars. Bheem knew he didn’t have to answer the question.

A clean cloth was dunked into the water. The woman began to clean the open wounds.

Sometimes the touch hurted so badly that Bheem hissed through his teeth.

“I am sorry, I don’t want to hurt you, but we have to clean them before we put on the treatment.” Loki calmly explained while cold water, which ran down Bheem’s spine, made him shiver.

“Yes. I know. And I am more than thankful for you helping me. It’s just-” He sighed heavily.

”In the past few months they didn’t get the right treatment. My possibilities were very limited and I already felt bad that Malli had to see all the wounds and help me to put on the medicine. I didn’t want her to clean them too while they were still bleeding.” Without seeing his face, Loki could hear that he was close to tears.

“And that’s why you have to suffer even more now.” She laughed.

“Sometimes fate brings you to decisions that you never would have made before. This is the path the gods have chosen for you. Even if it is hard, in the end it has a meaning and comes to a destiny foreseen by the gods.” She stopped in her movement, shortly lost in her thoughts.

“You went on a painful and difficult path to rescue a taken child and you succeeded. You are truly our protector guided by the gods.” She smiled at him, giving a light pat on his shoulder.

Now he couldn’t hold back the tears. He put his face in his hands and wept bitterly.

Loki carefully took his head and gently pressed it against her chest, like a mother comforting her child. As she stroked his hair, she hummed a song and patiently let him cry.

“I am sorry, Loki. I am so sorry.” Bheem sobbed against her chest.

“What are you sorry about? You are the last person to be sorry. “ Loki was confused by his emotional apology.

“If I wouldn't have been in another tribe that day, I could have prevented the monsters from taking away Malli. I am sorry…” It was true. On that particular day Bheem had travelled to another village.

It was one of his tasks to visit the other tribes, talk to them and also do some duty.

“And I falsely took the money, because we thought they paid Malli for her song.” Loki sounded serious and melancholic.

“I literally sold her, Bheem.” She stated.

“It wasn’t your fault for not being there. In all the time you were gone, I've come to terms with the fact that it's not my fault either. It took me a long and dark time to realise this. The only ones who need to be held accountable are the British.” She lifted his heavy head and wiped away his tears with her thumbs.

“I'm probably right in assuming that they were the ones who did all this to you, right?” Loki looked him worried straight in the eyes. Bheem could see hatred for the British flashing in her eyes.

“Y- Yes. Among other things, like tigers and wolves.” He explained and for a short while he thought about sharing his story. However, it wasn’t the time yet.

“You don’t have to talk about it.” Bheem wondered if Loki could read his mind.

“The others told some stories about the rescue. They told us that you were flogged in public and tortured with a whip.” Her wet eyes broke eye contact and looked down to the floor.

“What did they say? Did they mention someone?” Bheem's expression suddenly darkened, he was seriously worried that Ram’s name was brought up.

Loki tried to remember the stories which were told at the bonfire.

“The British soldiers had beaten you nearly to death but they were stopped because your song inspired the bystanders to revolt against the Empire. Later on a man, I think Jangu said his name was Ram, rescued you and Malli. Both of you could escape. The Government captured your hero, tortured and caged him. You then freed him out of gratitude and together you defied the monsters.”

Bheem was relieved that the other men kept their agreement and didn't put Ram in a bad light. He knew that Lacchu had all the reasons to as he hated Ram. Otherwise, he feared that, if the tribe learned the truth about Ram, no one would join the revolution.

As a confirmation to Loki, he just nodded.

At this moment, Malli came back with all the errands. Both shook the sad mood away, looked at each other and simply smiled.

“We should get back to your injuries.”, said Loki with a determined and fond look.

The next hour went by. The three of them talked, laughed and joked together.

Bheem tried to soak up every second of this carefree moment.

The wounds were treated. Either Loki didn't notice the missing tattoo or she didn't want to mention it on purpose out of fear of offending Bheem. After all, she treated the wound as well. Whatever it was, the protector was glad it didn't come up.

“It is already late in the morning, we should go and prepare lunch for the workers”, Loki reminded herself loudly, so Malli knew it was time to say goodbye to Bheem.

“I should pay the mukyha (headman/leader) a visit and join the celebration”, Bheem put on his white, clean Kurta and straightened it with his hands.

Loki and Malli exchanged an undefinable look and bursted out in laughter.

“Why are you laughing?” Bheem looked clearly confused at the two women.

“The celebration is over, Anna!” Malli barely could say a word while cackling.

“What do you mean it’s over? Normally it lasts for a whole day!” Bheem looked alternately from mother to daughter and wondered if Malli was just trying to prank him.

“You overslept, Anna! You slept for a whole day!” Malli said as she and Loki left the hut.

“A whole day?” Bheem mumbled to himself, wondering how this could even happen. He never slept an entire day. However, it explained why something was bothering him about the food. It wasn’t the same as he thought it was. And that’s why his backpack changed places. He assumed that Loki put it there and unpacked it.

“Haha! I should tell…” his laughter stopped immediately and he became moody as he remembered what, or rather who, he was missing.

“Ram… Oh how I wish I could tell him this…” At least he could include it in the letter he wanted to write. But first he had all the chores to do, which he couldn't attend to in the months he was away. For his village he was still the protector.

Bheem tried to make his way through the village to the big hut of the mukyha. It wasn’t easy and it took longer than expected because every resident wanted to greet, congratulate, thank or praise him. On one side, he enjoyed being acknowledged for his hard work but on the other it was exhausting and he wished to be back at the hut again. In silence.

After a while he arrived at the building, some children were still chasing him. Bheem softly shooed them away with a fond smile before he went through the decoratively carved wooden main door.

As usual Bheem was amazed by the size of the living room. Somehow the inside seemed bigger than the outside would suggest. The walls were painted in red and black. The drawings depicted animals, human figures, hunting and dancing. The floor was painted in various colors and patterns and a lot of comfortable looking mats were on the ground. The mukyha was leaning over some papers which were on a low desk. He looked up as Bheem entered.

“Namaskāram” the rather small and skinny man, at least in comparison to Bheem’s broad body, stood up and folded his hands in front of his chest to complete his greeting.

“Namaskāram” Bheem did the same.

“It is such a pleasure to have you back, Bheem. The whole village missed you truly. We were a bit sad that you couldn’t join the feast. However your rest is more important to us. I don’t even know how we can thank you for what you did for us.” The mukhya smiled gratefully at the protector and bowed to him.

“I am glad that I am back. You don’t have to thank me, it was my duty to bring Malli home again.” Bheem slightly pushed the shoulder of the smaller man up again, so he had to break his bow.

“I have been away for a long time. Please update me about all circumstances, so I can go back to my vocation.”

“Do you really want to go back to work immediately? I consider you to take some days off and get some more rest.” The opponent of the protector looked at him worried. It annoyed Bheem that his weariness was so obvious. Bheem looked him straight in the eyes with a determined look.

“You will never change, won’t you?” The leader of the village sighed and motioned his guest to sit down.

The conversation lasted more than an hour. In his absence, the villagers grieved over five fatalities, two caused by illness and three because of old age. Also three babies were born and it was one of the Gond protector duties to congratulate the parents and to take the oath to the child.

Bheem rubbed his tired eyes in realisation that it was going to be a long day.

—--

The day went by, Bheem visited all the newborns and also expressed his regrets to the bereaved. For dinner he went to the communal kitchen and took the time to talk to some of the residents. His friends Jangu, Lacchu and Peddanna were also there, happy to see him again.

It was already dark outside when he arrived at his hut again. Inside, he took a deep breath and let himself fall on the bed. For a moment he just laid there and enjoyed the silence or rather the sound of nocturnal animals. A silver moonray fought its way through the canopy of the forest. Bheem looked out of a window and saw the silhouette of a nightjar sitting in the tree against the light of the full moon. The bird was singing its beautiful song. The rustle of leaves interrupted the concert and within a split second a rusty spotted cat grabbed the bird and disappeared into the night.

“Eat or be eaten.” The thought came across Bheem’s mind and reminded him of the cruelty of nature. This applied not only to animals, but also to mankind.

Before he left his tribe, the image of humanity was not that bad. Of course there were some black sheeps, misled by the gods. Nonetheless, the time in Delhi showed him how cruel a single human could be.

Hoping it would wipe away the bad thoughts, he rubbed his hands over his face.

“I should write the Letter now before I fall asleep.” Bheem knew that there was no time to put it off as the next day a messenger would travel to the nearest town. This happens every two weeks to maintain contact with the city and to procure goods that they could not produce or grow themselves. Also the messenger would deliver the letter at the post office there.

The tired man stood up, walked to the desk and put on the candle which was already standing there. Gently he put the precious book “Romeo and Juliet” aside and took out the writing equipment and paper.

He stared at the blank paper, unsure what he should write. Should he admit that he already misses Ram? It has been only three days without him and yet it feels way longer.

After thinking for a while he decided to keep it simple.

“Dear Ram. No. I can not use his name.” Bheem shook his head, crumpled up the page and threw the ball over his shoulder.

“They are still looking for us and maybe they are also tracking letters.” He thought while chewing on the very end of the pen.

“Oh I know!” He took a new sheet of paper and began to write.

Dearest Anna,

finally we are safe at home again.

The last part of the journey seemed more tiring than our joint fight.

It took us one and a half days to get back to the village.

On the way we rented a mule to help us to transport the goods. Sadly at night, it got eaten by a tiger, so we had to pull the wagon by ourselves AND carry our akka on our backs or shoulders. The poor child was even too exhausted to walk on her own.

Now she is happy back with her mother.

The whole village was so overwhelmed by our return that they gave us a party.

And guess what?!

I overslept! Can you believe it? Me, oversleeping a feast?!

However, life turns normal very fast again.

For me, just one day passed here and it seemed like nothing changed.

Everybody had carried on with their everyday life.

Well, not Loki akka. People told me that she barely cooked or was doing her other village duties because she was too worried and sometimes depressed.

Since she is with her daughter again, she almost changed back into her old self.

Today I talked to the mukyha too catch up with all past events.

Some new souls were born and others were taken.

He also talked with me about the circumstances with the nizam.

We have to talk about it, when we meet again.

I hope it will be soon.

Meanwhile, I will study your book and try to find new friends who will help us with our common task.

—--

Take care,

Your Tam'muḍu

As he was satisfied, he put the letter into an envelope and carefully put it down.

The first thing in the morning would be giving the letter to the messenger.

For now the day came to an end. He blew out the candle and went to bed.

*****

Let me now If you liked it 🥺

Taglist (please dm me if you want to be added or removed)

@doodlesofthelastpage @ronaldofandom @irisesforyoureyes @rambheem-is-real @yehsahihai @maraudersbitchesassemble @justmeand-myinsight @rambheemisgoated @jrntrtitties @obsessedtoafault @rambheemlove @jjwolfesworld @iam-siriuslysher-lokid @bromance-minus-the-b @ssabriel @milla984 @doodlesofthelastpage @boochhaan @mesimpleone @carminavulcana @filesbeorganized @meastradeur @teddybat24 @fangirlshrewt97 @stanleykubricks @stuckyandlarrystuff @burningsheepcrown @veteran-fanperson @voidsteffy @ronika-writes-stuff

[ronaldofandom]

To Be or Not to Be

How about some angst to cut through all the fluff coming from this writer?

Plot: After 5 months in Adilabad, Jenny gets a message from her best friend inviting her to Hyderabad. Ram refuses to let Bheem go. Bheem refuses to let Jenny go alone. Leading to a heavy angsty conversation. Followed by some Bheemjenny angst.

No warnings. Mostly angst & some mild fluff. This is the first RamBheem confrontation I have ever written & I thoroughly enjoyed it!

....................................................

Jenny read and re-read the words of the letter over and over again.

It was Carol’s writing. No doubt. She had also signed it with a code name that only the two of them knew. Of a secret society that they wanted to form in their childhood.

Her best friend, her oldest friend was trying to reach out to her. Jenny held the letter close to her chest, in a bout of nostalgia.

She hadn’t had any contact with her former world in over 5 months now. That part of her life felt like a distant, yet fond memory.

Jenny had started to accept that she might never be able to revisit that world again. It was her choice to pay that price for her love. To make her new world her only reality. The girl had worked tirelessly to make that happen.

Yet, on some long days and restless nights, a few memories creeped back. Engulfing her in a strange sadness. She fought that feeling with all her might, telling herself repeatedly that she had so much to be thankful for. But her twisted heart refused to comply. A piece of her was lost, left behind, never to return. And her wretched heart reminded her of that feeling frequently.

Therefore, when Bheem first showed her the letter, she instantly cried. Then read it a few times. Then cried some more. And then held it close to her heart.

Bheem just looked from a distance, understanding every emotion dancing on her face. He had immense admiration and appreciation for her sacrifice. For leaving everything behind. Just for love. He couldn’t do it. No matter how much he loved her, he couldn’t leave his home, his people behind to join her in a strange, new world.

She never told him how much she missed her former life. She didn’t need to. He could always tell when she stopped talking mid-sentence, changing the subject, not letting even a hint slip of her reminiscing. Just so he doesn’t feel guilty.

He always tried to make up in whatever ways he could. Like celebrating her festivals. Taking her on picnics. Trying to learn her language. Baking some of the goodies with her. Listening to her stories, her beliefs. Going down on one knee when he proposed to her. Giving her the love of not just a partner but of everyone else she had left behind too.

But those were small compensations. She had given more to their relationship than he ever could. That guilt & realisation never left him.

The two minutes she took to compose herself after reading the letter were another harsh reminder. The guilt came flooding back.

He sat her down on the cot, bent in front of her, holding on to her hands.

‘It is her, then?’

‘Yes, this is unmistakably Carol. But, how did she reach us?’

‘She left it addressed to me and you at a focal point of the revolution in Hyderabad. Our people keep visiting there, they brought it back today.’

Jenny nodded in understanding. It would have taken some effort and even risk on her friend’s part to try reaching her like this. Carol was the only one who knew that Jenny had left of her own will. With Bheem. She was the only one Jenny had left a message for.

‘So, what does the letter say?’

‘Her husband is posted in Hyderabad for a few months. They are staying away from the Cantonment area, close to the city. He is in Delhi for the next two weeks. She asked if….if I could come visit her. She also promised that she would send her staff on leave that day so no one would see us. She has also offered to come pick us up from anywhere in the city. Bheem?’

She squeezed his hands tightly, her eyes brimming with hope & enthusiasm.

‘You go to Hyderabad often. You have even taken me once. Can we…can we please go visit her? Just for a few hours?’

Bheem knew this was coming. And he froze. Unable to respond either way. But he didn’t want to burden her with his inner tribulations on the matter.

‘Can I take a little time to think about this, bangaram? Let’s discuss this in the evening?’

If she was disheartened, she didn’t show it.

‘Sure. Ofcourse. I understand.’

She said all the right things, without meeting his eyes. He kissed the top of her head and left the hut, leaving her alone with her restless thoughts.

Bheem went straight to Ram, who was just returning from training, with Sita in his tow.

They stopped in their tracks, sensing the urgency on Bheem’s face, and the curious way in which he was extending the letter towards them.

Ram read it first, with a poker face, then handed it to Sita.

While she read it, Ram paced around the area, deep in thought.

‘Tell me you are not going. Tell me, now.’

Bheem just hung his head, expecting this response.

‘Ram, maybe we should talk about it?’

Sita offered, looking at Bheem’s torn face, sensing his dilemma.

‘Talk? There is nothing to talk about. This could very well be a trap. He could have a whole unit waiting for him, to ambush him. This is too big a risk, Bheem. It make NO SENSE. You are NOT GOING.’

When Bheem’s face fell even more, Sita intervened.

‘Bheem, does Jenny trust this Carol person?’

Ram turned to Sita, about to express his displeasure at them even considering this any further. But she raised her palm towards him, shushing him for good. Ram started to pace again.

‘Wholeheartedly. She says this woman is her best friend. She says this woman is like her. How could this woman be bad then, Sita? How could she be evil?’

Bheem looked up then, after a long time. Pleading eyes, looking for someaffirmation from Sita.

Sita reached out and gently grasped his fidgeting hand.

‘I believe in Jenny’s judgement. Ofcourse I do. But have you guys considered that her friend may have been coerced to write this? Maybe someone found out Jenny came with you willingly. And this is a ploy to get to her? And…to you?’

Sita spoke with as much love as she could muster, while softly squeezing his hand.

Bheem had considered that possibility. He had considered every possibility since he sensed the situation.

‘She wrote a code word in the letter which only her and Jenny knew of. No one else knew about it. If she were coerced, and someone else dictated the letter to her, she would not have written that.’

Sita nodded in agreement. Ram nearly punched a nearby tree in frustration.

‘Oh look at you two trusting fools. You might believe this Carol’s intent, Sita, but I don’t. She may be a nice person or whatever. But what if she thinks she is trying to save Jenny from your clutches by doing this, huh Bheem? Maybe she thought it was a phase for Jenny and she would grow out of it soon. But that didn’t happen, did it? Jenny decided to stay. Maybe her friend is trying to give her an out? Trying to save her from a lifetime of distress that’s destined for her if she stays here with you? Maybe this is her way of protecting her. FROM YOU. WHAT ABOUT THAT???’

Ram stared at both of them intently, waiting for them to respond.

Sita couldn’t deny the logic in Ram’s words. They were cynical, yes. But he had more than enough reasons to be cynical in life.

Bheem met Ram’s eyes for the first time.

‘Well, that’s a risk I will have to take then.’

Ram stood toe to toe with Bheem, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him profusely.

‘WHY? Why do you HAVE TO do this? Why can’t we just forget about this letter and get on with our lives? Why take the risk at all? Why can’t Jenny make her peace with it? She made a choice, now she needs to stick with it.’

Bheem gawked at Ram, indignation written all over his face.

‘Are you serious? What do you mean she needs to stick with it? She is doing more than anyone could ask from her, expect from her. What else do you want her to do? She has given up everything. EVERYTHING. Just for me. Are you saying I should crush this tiny bit of hope she has gotten now? This brief window of meeting someone familiar, rekindling her memories - you are saying I should kill that chance too? Who knows when or if this will ever be possible again? How could I be such a monster to do this to her, Anna? HOW?’

Before Ram could burst into a rant, Sita grabbed his elbow, slightly shaking her head at him. Warning him to tread carefully.

Ram realised he wouldn’t win this battle. Bheem won’t stop Jenny from going. But that didn’t mean he would just let Bheem fall into a death trap.

‘Ok. Fine. It’s your call. But - let her go alone then. You don’t have to go with her. She can go with someone else from here who can drop her somewhere in the city and pick her up. YOU don’t have to put yourself at risk. Not for this, Bheem. Please, I am begging you.’

Sita closed her eyes and sighed inwardly, bracing herself for what was to come. She knew it was a moot point. The only two people Bheem would trust Jenny with, on such a long trip, were Ram & himself. And, Ram was not a viable alternative since he was a wanted man too.

Bheem said those exact words out loud to Ram.

Ram took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and considered all potential ways to address this situation. Sita’s hand was still firmly on his elbow, beseeching him to not lose his shit.

When Ram spoke next, his voice was calm. Eerily calm. Like a cold-blooded killer. Punctuating each word with pauses. Sending a shiver down Sita’s back.

‘If you go with her and they catch you, they will skin you alive. Gleefully. All right? They will leave your corpse hanging in the city centre, for days, making an example out of you. For anyone who dares to revolt against the mighty empire. Do you agree?’

‘If they catch me, yes. Remember, it took you to catch me last time.’

Bheem responded flatly, with equal calm. Sita just looked at the two men, wondering where this was going.

Ram chose to ignore the implied jibe and continued.

‘Fantastic. Now, if she goes alone and it’s a trap, what’s the worst that can happen? Think about it. No one will harm a hair on her head. She would be admonished, sure, but do you think anyone would dare to hurt a lady of her stature? Not a chance. At max, they will send her back to England. That’s fine. She will live. And so will you.’

Sita gasped in horror. She was sure Ram didn’t realise the enormity of what he had just said. She was even more sure it won’t go down well with Bheem. She didn’t even dare to look at Bheem at this point, just shutting her eyes again.

It took Bheem a few moments to believe what Ram had said. He was shaking from disbelief. Did his Anna not know his heart at all?

Then, he took a few steps back, getting enough distance from Ram, and glared straight into his eyes.

‘She will live. And so will I. But what kind of a life would that be for either of us? By that logic, Malli would have lived in that cage too with more amenities than here for sure. So, when she was taken against her wishes, caged against her wishes, I should have just left her there? I didn’t. So how could I let Jenny walk into this alone? How could I not be there for her, every step of the way? If they try to cage her, take her away, against her wishes, how could I not do everything in my power to keep her with me? If I was there for Malli, how is this any different?’

‘BECAUSE MALLI IS ONE OF US AND JENNY IS ONE OF THE….’

‘RAM!!!!!!!’

Sita’s voice cut through the mayhem.

Ram stopped in his tracks, the weight of his words hitting him like a truck.

Bheem didn’t flinch, but something changed in his eyes. Like something had died inside.

Sita rushed towards Bheem, grasping his shoulders, rubbing his arms. Trying to get him to look at her but Bheem stared straight at Ram.

‘Bheem. Bheem - he didn’t mean it like that. You know he didn’t.’

Bheem freed himself from her hold. Stepping further away from both of them. The physical distance a proxy to their emotional distance.

‘Let it be, Sita. I know what he meant. And you know what - Ram - you are right in a way. Jenny is not from here, no one here owes anything to her. No one, other than me. So I won’t put anyone else at risk for her. But no one, NO ONE, has the right to tell me to not put myself on the line for her. I will do that every day if I have to. I love her to death, and that is my burden to bear. No one will tell me that the burden is too high.’

Sita’s heart was breaking for Bheem. He was trying hard to hide his emotion but the lack of emotion from him itself was a big tell of how broken he was feeling inside.

Ram knew it was now or never. He could live with Bheem’s hate, if that meant Bheem would survive. What he couldn’t live with is knowing he didn’t do everything in his power to keep him safe, when he was about to walk into a fatal trap. Ram was convinced that’s what it was and was utterly distraught in failing to make Bheem see so.

Ram decided to double down, seeing that as the only remaining option.

‘So, you would pick her over us then? Over all of us? Is she the only one who loves you? Does our love for you amount to nothing? Your people, your friends, your tribe, your COUNTRY - you love her more than all of us? Is that it, Bheem? Answer me.’

Bheem couldn’t recognize the man in front of him anymore. The man who was mocking & berating his love.

He laughed a distant, bitter laugh.

‘It’s funny you say that. Because my people, my tribe, my country were safe when we had escaped. But still I went back to the jaws of death for YOU. For ONE person. All because of a stupid thing called love. Guess I was always stupid. Because doing things out of love is stupid in your books. Sadly, my love is like that. I can kill for it. I can die for it.’

The emotion in Sita’s eyes had spilled by now. She felt the pain of how these two were cutting each other, and themselves, with their words. She also felt the love behind the scathing declarations.

Ram stayed rooted to the spot, feeling like he may have gone too far but not knowing what to do about it. Despite the mayhem, he had half a mind to actually go & tell Jenny about his fears. If she had any inkling of the danger, she would put an end to all this. But Ram also knew that he would be crossing a line with Bheem which he may not be able to come back from.

Bheem retreated while still looking at Ram. Before walking away, he turned back one last time.

‘The woman who is not from here is the reason you are standing here right now. She put herself at risk to get those maps. But you knew that already. She begged & pleaded with me, while handing over the maps, to not go inside. That it would be too risky. That it could be the end of me. Very similar things to what you said today. But the difference is, she could also see why I just had to do it. Despite everything she had seen you do at the time, she could see why I would still go back for you. She understood. I expected the same from you, Ram. I didn’t think you would support me in doing this, which by the way is maybe not a trap at all. It could just be our paranoia. Your fears were still warranted. I didn’t expect you to agree, I expected you to understand. Like she did.’

With those parting words, and one final nod to Sita, he walked away. Without turning back. Leaving a stunned Ram and distraught Sita behind.

.....................................................

Part 2 will be BheemJenny in Hyderabad. Do let me know what you feel about the story so far and if a second part would interest you :)

@irisesforyoureyes @rambheem-is-real @thewinchestergirl1208 @eremin0109 @eenadu-varthalu @rorapostsbl @yehsahihai @budugu @maraudersbitchesassemble @justmeand-myinsight @rambheemisgoated @rosayounan @jrntrtitties @obsessedtoafault @rambheemlove @jjwolfesworld @alikokinav @iam-siriuslysher-lokid @dumdaradumdaradum @lovingperfectionwonderland

@chaanv @ssabriel @milla984 @kaagazkefool @boochhaan @mesimpleone @filesbeorganized @ladydarkey @veteran-fanperson @ronika-writes-stuff @beingmes-blog @yonderghostshistories @nisreenart @chaidrivenwhore @bheemaxrama @mizutaama @rosefulmadness @gifseafins @voidsteffy @maooyinysparkle @amalthea9 @vijayasena @stars-in-the-distance @astrafangs

@orangey-orange @ariel-seagull-wings @atlinmerrick @carminavulcana

[luxshine]

One thing I have to do about the Drrragon!verse fic (Yes, now it has a name. Sorry, I get waaay into fandoms when i get into fandoms), is figure out the timeline because the movie has the weirdest way to show the passage of time.

I want to guess that the Dosti's montage of epic homoerotic friendship covers a passage of at least a month, given how many wardrobe changes Ram goes through, and that is ok. But then, we get to the Jenny part and it is clearly stated that everything happens THAT DAY.

Jenny goes from meeting Akthar to having wanting to show him her paintings and everything in her house in ONE DAY. She meets him in the morning, invites him to the party that same day, takes him home that afternoon. Then we're told that the party for Scott is in two days from then. That gives no time to build a relationship! (Although, Jenny is so fast, I'd bet that if Bheem had really been Akthar, he'd been engaged to her by that same night, and married on the day he was flogged.)

And ok, so the guys's friendship is also fast as it's love at first handshake (OR love at first wave? I mean, they go telepathic literally the second they glimpse at each other) but at least the Dosti's montage gives some extra time to add scenes to that and depending on how cruel we want to be to Malli and her mom, it can be weeks or months.

THEN two days later, Bheem and Malli escape, and Ram is captured "for months". How many? No idea, but they can't be too many or that long hair of awesomeness would've been longer. Let's say two-three months. I go for two, the shortest possible in plural, given that it's the same time that Bheem is using to escape and they look desperate enough.

But WAIT... There had to be at LEAST a month between Bheem's arrest and his flogging because Ram had the time to write a letter to Sita telling her everything. And snail mail hasn't gotten slower so, a month there.

So, a month and two days and Bheem escapes, because we know that the flogging happened right before the execution date, and then two-three months for Ram in prision and... well, at least two days travel from where Bheem meets Sita and he gets to JEnny who apparently either learned Tegulu with duolingo super fast or had a non-collaborator translator as she knew exactly what Bheem wanted, how to get him the blueprints AND was so ok with her uncle getting killed.

Ok, yes, I need to play with the timeline a lot if I want the fic to have some sort of build up for a lot of things.

And now I think that I adore the movie, but seriously, the timeline makes me think that time goes very differently in India.

[amalthea9]

Send me a ship + a word, and I'll tell you the first headcanon that comes to mind! [first of many you don't have to reply to all]

Jenny and Hannah - Rose scented love letters

It was Jenny who started the letters. Hannah was too shy after all to confess her affections, and she was convinced that Jenny was out of her league. But Jenny knew Hannah was in love with her, Bheem had told her in confidence one of the nights she and Bheem spent together in the jungle. Jenny knew she shared Bheem with Hannah and she never minded that. She enjoyed it even. But she had never hoped that Hannah had romantic feelings for her aswell.

So Jenny had the idea to start writing Hannah little letters. Expressing her affections bit by bit.

The first one Hannah received confused her a little. Only because she didn't expect a little monkey to appear at her window with a small letter in it's paw. She recognized it as one of Bheem's friends and thanked the little fellow kindly.

When she opened the envelope, the scent lifted from the paper and met Hannah's nose.

Roses

Hannah's heart fluttered in her chest because she knew this scent well. It was Jenny's perfume. One of the few things she had managed to keep when she fled the palace. And Hannah loved the scent. It fit Jenny perfectly. Hannah saw Jenny as the Rose of India.

"My dearest Hannah.." the letter began.

And so Jenny began courting Hannah through rose scented letters.

Thank you for this prompt Dad! I have fun imagining this scenario!

Of course Bheem has little delivery monkeys why wouldn't he? Yes it's silly and Disney influenced but what can I say?🤭🤣

@ariel-seagull-wings

[m3gs1mps4a]

Collab with the lovely @burningsheepcrown <3

Thank you so much for doing this with me. Your art is gorgeous 🤧💗

We wanted to draw rambheem writing letters to one another and it turned out so cute. Bheem went to sleep dreaming about ram 🥺

[filesbeorganized]

Cynoglossum Amabile

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Author’s Note - Start: This fic falls under the series My Garden of Love, which is part of the submission for Celebrrration in Tumblr. The accompanying song for this fic collection is “Flowers” by Hadestown.

Celebrrration Day 5 Prompt: Free For All

Warnings/Tags:  Celebrrration submission, flower language, canon typical violence, songfic, TW injuries, TW gun wound, skip the epilogue to practice self care, or just pretend it doesn’t exist

Relationships: Alluri Sitarama Raju/Komuram Bheem, Seetha/Jenny

___

You, the one I left behind.

If you ever walk this way.

Come and find me lying in the bed I made.

___

Surprisingly it took some long time before their mission turned into disaster.

The thing about a team is, a higher number of people in a team means they can attack bigger perimeters, or they can move their bounty faster. But it also means you have to keep track of a much larger amount of headcounts.

Their first mission did not, by all means, go smoothly. First, they found out that even the ‘least guarded’ British warehouse still had plenty of protection. They opted for a more stealthy tactic instead, which brings us to a second problem. Higher headcounts in a team means it’s harder to keep mistakes to a minimum. Halfway through the mission, someone must’ve attracted too much attention because they got found out. Fights broke out but Ram’s Babai decided it would be wiser to retreat early. They did just that, even though that means they only got to bring home half of the rifle they could have taken from that warehouse.

Luckily they didn't suffer much losses. There’s people with injuries here and there, but no life was lost. And despite the fact that their mission got cut short, the men were experiencing their first battle euphoria. Morale was at an all time high. Everywhere he goes, Ram hears people’s buzz of how they’re excited for the next mission.

They recover from that last mission. For the next few months, the men were trained, and this time Ram can see that they’re training harder than before. That’s because now that they’ve seen what the real battlefield could look like, they take their training even more seriously. While Ram took over training, his Babai is researching for their next mission. He took it upon himself to make sure that they are more informed this time. He won’t risk a slip up like the last one.

Seetha is still working as the village healer. She maintains constant communication with Jenny now. Jenny sent letters to Babai, giving him any insider information she could find. Alongside those letters, sometimes she will attach trinkets or accessories for Seetha. It’s quite sweet really, and Seetha keeps every single one of those trinkets like it’s worth more than gold.

Ram, on the other hand, did not maintain contact with anyone. He doesn’t have many close friends to begin with. And Bheem. Last time he saw him, they left each other unsure of what will become of them. Ram tried to send a letter, but he doesn’t even know what to put inside those letters. Writing about anything but his true feelings will feel like he’s just writing the letter out of courtesy, but writing about his true feelings is too high of a risk. Ram feels like breaking down even at the thought of writing it.

Instead Ram busied himself with the mission preparations. He busied himself caring for the white alyssum in his garden. He feels like he’s nursing something bigger than just a simple plant. Nevertheless, Ram tries to live his life. Although living any life without involving Bheem feels not quite right for him.

Ram’s team went on their second mission not long after. That mission was a huge success. They even got to recruit some of the people in that area. Their homes had been taken by the British to build a government building, so they agreed with eagerness to join Ram's team. Ram and his Babai don’t mind an extra aid in achieving their cause, and Seetha is welcoming the ones joining her as healer members with open arms.

Their third and fourth mission also went without a hitch. Ram’s quite happy with the result of their months of training and Babai’s hard work yielding success.

Well, you know when old people said that if you’re laughing too hard in the morning, you’ll weep in the evening? They meet their equivalent of that awful proverb in their fifth mission. On Ram’s team’s defence, Ram should have seen this coming.

One of the men who joined their team after the second mission was physically quite gifted. He adapted quickly to the daily training and soon he trained alongside the more senior team. They decided to bring the guy to their fifth mission, since he seemed to be doing well in the preparation training.

They forgot to take into account that real battles are much scarier and more intense than training. As soon as the fights broke out, the new guys panicked and charged into the nearest line of soldiers.

The team was taken aback for a moment, because that was not one of the plans. The rest looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do next.

“Don’t break formation,” Ram commanded, “Keep doing the mission as planned, I’ll take care of him.”

So the team kept doing what they were told to do, while Ram tried to find a way to make the new guy move farther from the line of fire. None of them were supposed to be that close to the enemy’s line anyway. What was that guy thinking?!

If Bheem was here, he might have had some brilliant idea to save the guy without scaring him. But since only Ram is here, he just does the most Ram thing he could do. He approaches the guy and just starts yelling.

“What do you think you are doing?” he orders, “Get back!”.

The new guy looked at Ram for a second like Ram’s the one who lost his mind, “But I can shoot them down! Why are we retreating?!”.

“We already got the equipment we need from the warehouse!” Ram shouts above the sound of gunshots. He understands the new guy is definitely high on adrenaline, but he’s not risking losing anyone just so the guy can satisfy his battle euphoria. Worst case scenario he’ll just yank this guy back to where the others are waiting for them.

“Listen!” Ram bellows, “You’re too far from your teammates! They can’t cover you! You’re basically outnumbered out here!”.

The man kept shooting for a while, but then he started retreating. Ram’s about to move as well, but he spots snipers being put into place. He needs to shoot them down first, or else they’ll have a much harder time retreating.

This puts Ram on that open field of fire for quite a while. And as he had expected, his team can’t cover for him this far. Which means it is quite inevitable that he got shot.

He had been beaten up by a crowd before. He had been tortured for days on end before. Hell, he had been shot before. But it’s not like you built immunity against bullets.

Ram doubles down as the first bullet digs itself into his flesh. The burning feeling spread from where the iron had lodged itself. He quickly gets back on his feet, ignoring the painful jolts he feels every time he moves. He finishes shooting the men behind the snipers and begins retreating. He received a second bullet in his arm before he finally got within the team’s protection range.

He instructed everyone to begin packing up and retreating. They quickly vacate the area, all the while their new recruit looked like he wanted to vomit. He keeps apologising profusely. Everyone was too tired to get angry. At least they didn’t fail the mission. And they all can sympathise with someone being too excited for their first mission to a point where they act recklessly. Their own first mission happened not even a year ago.

When they met Ram’s Babai where he had been waiting for them, a group of healers was ready to treat the wounded. They herded Ram into a tent, then getting ready to get the bullet out and stitch the wound. Ram’s adrenaline had come down, so now he feels the pain he’s been in more clearly. He can’t move without turning his vision red, every motion increasing the flare of burning feelings in his gut and arm where the bullet is. One of the healers moves to give him painkillers. They work quickly removing the bullet, as Ram’s consciousness comes and goes.

Being unable to move around while having no control over your consciousness means he doesn’t have a lot of things to distract himself from his feelings. Ram feels as if floating inside his mind. His emotions are amplified around him. He jumps from fear to anger to anxiety. The last one was a yearning for someone.

Then he wakes up in the village’s healer’s tent.

He tries to sit up with lots of effort. His whole body feels like it’s made of iron. His hand is stiff as if it’s a marionette’s joints. He observes his surroundings, there’s some mat with the wounded men on them, all of them fast asleep.

Getting up with minimal groaning, Ram approaches the tent’s opening. The moon was high in the sky, and the chilly night wind made him regret not taking his blanket with him.

Water’s trickling sound catches his attention. He turned around to see Seetha walking with buckets of water in her hand.

“Ram?” she finally saw him, “Why are you out here? Go back inside, you’re supposed to be recovering.”

“I can’t sleep anymore, I’ve been out the whole day haven’t I?” he guesses.

Seetha sighs, which means Ram is right. He tried to help her with the bucket but she lightly kicked him away, “No, stay out of it, you’re a patient. If you can’t sleep, at least you shouldn't be moving around.”

She leads him to the furnace outside the tent. There’s several trays of medical equipment beside it. Seetha makes Ram sit nearby, before preparing to boil some water. She disinfects the trays before doing the same thing to the medical equipment, putting the cleaned ones in the disinfected trays.

“How are you feeling?” Seetha asks.

“Mostly pain,” Ram jokes dryly.

“Must be,” Seetha scoffs, “You should take better care of yourself.”

“I’ll try not to get shot too often, ma’am,” he retorts. Seetha just shakes her head.

She begins again, “New letter from Jenny just arrived. She got me these,” Seetha fiddles with the earrings she’s wearing. The silvery colour is stained with the orange light from the fire.

Ram feels a pang of jealousy. He’s not sure for what or whom. He’s truly happy for Seetha. He hasn't seen her this happy since they were kids. How do two traumatised children heal each other? They support each other anyway they can. But making each other happy was not their first priority. So Ram’s just happy that someone is finally providing Seetha reasons to be happy. Nevertheless, there’s a tiny envy present. A wish to be just as happy.

“How about Bheem?” Seetha inquired, “He got any news?”.

Ram opted to tell her the truth. There’s only two people so far that he trusts with his honest feelings. The first one is Seetha, the second one is the subject of their oncoming discussion.

“No, not really,” Ram finally answered, “For what it’s worth, we haven’t been exchanging letters these days. Not since..,” he lets his words hang in the air.

Seetha nods, “I see.”

They sat around in contemplating silence. The fire crackles is the only proof that time hasn’t just stopped completely.

“What do you think of Jenny?” Seetha wondered.

Ram thought for a moment, “I don’t know. She’s quite interesting I guess. She’s witty and spirited. If anything, I thought Bheem was quite a fool for not trying harder to win her.”

“I like her,” Seetha said, “Like, like her. And I’m glad Bheem didn’t fight harder to win her. ”

Because of course Seetha is so much better than Ram at confronting her feelings.

“So,” Seetha repeated her question, “What do you think of Jenny…with me?”.

Ram failed at fighting his grin, “You know I’ll approve of anything that makes you happy. You’re my friend first and foremost. We can’t change our past. But if you can have a happier future, how can I not be happy for you?”.

He looks at her, “So, are you happy?”.

“I am,” Seetha nods, “I really am. Back when I lived in her cottage, at the village? We’ll talk for hours. We’ll find time to talk whenever we can. And..and sometimes, I have all those horrible thoughts and memories. Like all of my emotions flooding over me. She’ll sit with me, and listen to my ramblings. And nothing calms me down like her presence. I don’t know what I have done that made the universe decide to grace me with her companionship.”

As Seetha tells him her and Jenny’s story, Ram can’t help but think of a certain someone. Someone who he enjoys talking for hours to. Someone whose company is the only thing that can calm him on his worst nights. Someone that sits beside him and convinces him to talk about his bitter emotions and scary thoughts until all of the heaviness subsides in his chest.

“She’s visiting you know,” Seetha continues, “In a few months, she’ll take some time off from her work in Delhi. And she’ll visit us here. I can actually meet her, and talk to her in person again. I can’t wait.” As she said the last sentence, she’s practically vibrating with excitement.

“How about you?,” she asks, “Have you considered taking my advice and have some time just for yourself?”.

He scoffs at that and vaguely shrugs.

“Have you got anything in particular that brings you comfort?” she queried. Her voice is soft and careful.

A few years ago, his answer might be her. She was his home for the longest time. But in the last few years he was away, the feelings got muddled under the stress and guilt he’s under. When he finally met her again, he found out that the feelings he had, had mellowed down to a fond friendship. Then he comes to realise that perhaps someone else had become his home.

Maybe it’s the melancholic night with the dim light of the moon. Maybe it’s the fact that Ram is still under the influence of painkillers. Maybe it’s because he had always trusted Seetha with all his secrets. But he finally admits what he had been avoiding.

“It was Bheem,” he mumbles, “Well, it still is. Kind of. I haven’t asked how he feels. And if he doesn’t feel the same, I won’t know how to look at him again.” His breath trembles as he says the last sentence.

Seetha nods empathetically, “I can’t give you much reassurance. The matter of hearts is unpredictable and risky. You’ve given someone else the power to make or break you. I think that’s brave. I think that’s courageous. And I’m proud of you for being able to admit it. Just know this. You deserve to be happy. And if you have to take some risk to achieve that happiness, just know that whatever the result is, I’ll always be there for you.”

Ram considers it for a moment.

Can he live with himself should he never tell Bheem about his feelings? Probably, yeah. He has lived with many regrets. He had convinced himself before, that he doesn’t deserve good things. That he ruins everything that came close to him. That he was destined to be absolutely and miserably alone. But Seetha’s words are infectious, and the thought of letting himself just be happy is so alluring to him.

Maybe it’s the fever talking. Maybe he’s going to regret this. This is completely impulsive and reckless. But Ram stands up, slowly, because his annoying wounds are making simple movement so hard to do right now.

“Are you going to get some sleep?” Seetha inquires.

Ram mumbled a vague answer. She shrugged and continued her work. She’s going to kill him later, but he hopes she understands why he has to do this.

He went to his cottage and gathered some of his things. Then he slips a note under Seetha’s house door.

I’m going to visit someone. Be back soon, it reads.

He must’ve been going insane. He’s fully grinning by the time he exits his village.

___

He’s not grinning anymore halfway through the journey. In fact, he’s cursing his impulsive decision as he feels the painkiller’s effects wearing out. His breath was heavy and erratic as he walked through the forest. He’s pretty sure his wound’s stitches had opened up some kilometres ago, but he can’t be bothered to check it. Not that he brought any equipment to re-stitch it either, on the account that he barely packs anything for this poorly planned trip. So his options are getting into Bheem’s village or just lay here and wait for a mountain tiger to maul him down.

He decides that he likes the first option so much more.

However, apparently there’s a third option. He was so exhausted as he approached Bheem’s village. He did not see the overgrown root and trip over it. If there’s any hope that he didn’t tear open his stitches, that hope dies as he feels warm liquid dripping down his sides. His fever was rising to an all time high that his vision doubled and blurred. The last thing he remembered was a face popping on the edge of his range of view:

“I thought I told you not to die.”

___

He’s not sure if the following events happened or was it only in his imagination. He saw someone looming over him. He felt light, as if he’s being moved around. Someone is re-stitching his open wounds. There’s a few voices talking at the same time, but he can’t make up the words. He finally saw Bheem, or maybe it was someone who looked extremely similar. He’s not sure who is who when the world is this blurry.

“Hey, buddy,” the-guy-who-might-be-Bheem whispered, “What happened? Who did this?”.

Ram noted that his voice was croaking creepily as he answered, “Hi. Hi. I got shot.” He felt weirdly embarrassed, so he added, “Sorry.”

“No, it’s not your fault,” Bheem assured him, “We’ll get you healed in no time, okay? Just stay with me, now.”

“You’re so nice,” Ram coos, “Why are you so nice to me? Do you like me?”.

Bheem didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he said softly, “Yes. Yes, I do. That’s why you’ve got to make it through this night, okay? So we can talk again tomorrow.”

“I like you. Soooo much,” Ram’s words are slurring, “Like this much-” he waves his hands. One of his hands smacked into something and he heard curses muttered under someone’s breath.

“Yeah, maybe don’t flail around,” Bheem took his hand and put it back to his sides, “We’re trying to stop the bleeding.”

Suddenly Ram feels so tired. He just wants to close his eyes and go to sleep. He trekked a long way to get here. Surely he deserves to take a nap. So he blinks a few times before saying, “Okayy, I won’t move around. Good night, Bheem, I love you a lotttt. I want to hug you but I promised not to move. But I miss you, I really do.” He let himself fall deeper into his sleepiness.

“Hey, stay with me,” Bheem’s voice sounds desperate, “Don’t you dare die on me after giving me such a speech.”

Then Ram’s view dissolves into darkness.

The sun was high when Ram woke up. He tries to sit up but a face materialises before him. He startles and screams.

“Hey, calm down-,” the voice sounds exasperated, “Stop screaming, it’s me!”.

He stops screaming and squints. Malli was squatting beside where he had been sleeping. He’s about to scold her but his throat is so dry he began coughing instead. Malli sighs and fetches a glass of water. Ram groans as he finally successfully sits upright.

“Here, have a drink,” she almost shoves it in his face, “You can’t die after you do that whole public love confession thing. If you do, I won’t get to make fun of you.”

Ram chokes on his drink, “The whole what now?”.

“Love confession?” Malli teases, “You were being treated by the healer. Bheem-anna literally ran to see you. Then you started blabbering about how you love him, this muchhh-” Malli made an exaggerated gesture with her hands that Ram surely did not do.

Ram covers his heated face with his hand, “Oh no.”

“Oh no, indeed,” Malli replies in an annoying sing-songy voice, “Looks like someone has an embarrassing crush on my anna.”

Ram tried to whack her, but that little irritating girl had already jumped out of the way.

“How did I get here anyway?” Ram inquired.

Malli grins, “I saved you, of course! I found you fainting near the village entrance this morning, so I told the healers to fetch you. You owe me one!”.

Ram’s not too thrilled at the idea that he owes Malli his life, but he already did anyway, so he just murmurs, “Thanks, Malli. I owe you one.”

“What’s that?” Malli sneers, “I can’t hear it.”

How does one little girl have it in her to be so infuriating?

“Come here closer so I can tell you clearly,” Ram waves his hand at her.

Malli tiptoes closer to him before halting, “Uh, no thanks. You literally emit bad intentions. I’m going to save myself from the big bad wolf, so goodbye!”. She ran out of the room.

Ram scoffs but does not give chase. His whole body is stiff anyway, he’ll probably just face plant to the floor if he tries to run. As if his life hasn’t been embarrassing enough. He fiddles with his cup of water for some time. Then someone enters the room.

“Feeling better?” the voice asks.

Ram looks up and finds Bheem approaching him. Ram’s face is heating up at a concerning speed.

“Y-yeah,” he responds, “Sorry about the whole shenanigans. I wasn’t in the right mind.”

Bheem looks like he’s disconcerted before carefully going blank again, “Oh. I see.”

He took a seat beside Ram, “What happened? Malli found you unconscious near the village.”

“Yeah, she told me I owe her one for that,” Ram began. Bheem chuckles at that, and Ram can’t help but to smile as well, “It was the last mission. Got a newbie straying from the team. I got him to retreat back to the team’s defence but got shot instead. So…”.

Bheem massages his temple,”Why on earth are you so self sacrificial? That was a reckless move.”

“Well, you’re one to talk. I bet if you were there, you wouldn’t leave that newbie to fend for himself either,” Ram retorts. Bheem shakes his head.

“Then, what’s this about?” Bheem inquired, “Why did you go here? Is there anything we could do to help, perhaps? If anything, you could have sent a letter instead”.

Ram’s throat suddenly feels very dry again. Right, the reason he went here. The fever induced love confession.

“I didn’t come here for mission related things,” Ram tries to fight the urge to run out of the room, “Actually, I didn’t tell anyone before going here.”

“You what?” Bheem shouts before lowering his voice, “Sorry, you what? You didn’t tell anyone? Not even Seetha or your Babai?”.

“Technically, I left Seetha a note about how I need to visit someone, so-” Ram defended himself.

“That is not a comfort,” Bheem sighs loudly, “That is such a vague announcement. ‘Someone’ could range from visiting a relative to you getting into trouble. They must’ve been worried sick by now. I got to send a letter telling them that you’re here.” He starts to stand up.

“Okay, wait,” Ram holds Bheem's hand before taking his hand back again in surprise, “Seetha, Seetha will know that I’m here.”

“And why are you so sure?” Bheem questions.

Ram hates that he has to have these conversations. Why can’t he just do the hand signals thing like he did on the bridge, then hopes that Bheem understands?

He took a deep breath, ignoring his pounding heart and began again, “Because we were talking before I went here. About you. Well, it started with her talking about Jenny, and somehow the conversation ends with us talking about you.”

“I’m not following,” Bheem said in confusion, “Why did a conversation about Jenny and me somehow relate to why you are currently here?”.

“B-because,” Ram tried not to stammer, but it is hard considering how much he’s shaking right now. He’s risking so many things. His friendship, his relation to Bheem, his village relation to Bheem’s people. All in the name of his selfish personal needs. He should feel quite bad about it. But since his feverish self last night already betrayed him, then the cat’s out of the bag. “Because Seetha told me she likes Jenny. And she’s happy that Jenny wasn’t with you anymore.”

“And?” Bheem query patiently, “Are you here on behalf of Seetha asking for Jenny’s hand or something? Because if so, you’re in the wrong place. I do not speak for Jenny.”

“No, I’m not here for that. I’m here because,” Ram inhales deeply before finishing his sentence in one breath, “Last night I realised that perhaps I have loved you all along. And that if I never told you then I might as well give up on my happiness. Or something like that.”

Bheem had become still as a stone and Ram winces. Of course he just messed this up. He feels panic rising in his chest.

“Well, I-” Bheem hesitates, “May I ask why you finally found me unworthy of your love?”.

Ram feels as if his brain just short circuited, “What now? I never said that?”.

“You said you were not in your right mind when you came to that conclusion,” Bheem looks so desperate that Ram’s heart aches in response, “I just wonder, now that you’re not under the influence of your fever, what has made you decide that I’m no longer worthy of your love?”.

Ram gaped at that. He means he wasn’t in his right mind as in he was blabbering throughout his first love confession to Bheem. And he did not want his love confession to Bheem to happen under the influence of anything. But beside that, every word is true.

It seems that Ram didn’t talk for some time because Bheem then backed off and said, “Never mind, I didn’t mean to prod at you. I’ll go write Seetha a letter to confirm your arrival, then.”

“Wait. No, no-,” Ram blurted, “I swear. Sit down. Please.”.

Bheem looked unsure but sat back down nevertheless.

“I didn’t mean it like that. You know what? I’m sorry, I’m bad at this,” Ram fiddled with his hands, “I love you. I’m not sure since when, but probably a long time ago. I’m not the smartest at figuring out my feelings. But Seetha told me that there’s risks in achieving one’s happiness. And she’s brave enough to take that risk. That makes me want to take that risk as well. So I rush here to tell you that I love you. That was impulsive, I know you’d disapprove. That’s what I meant by ‘not in my right mind’. I’m fully, fully sober now, and I can tell you with certainty that I loved you. I still do, if anything.”

Now that he’d vomited out all of his feelings, the room fell eerily silent as Ram’s stare at basically anything but Bheem. If there’s rejection, or even worse, disgust, in Bheem’s expression...Ram’s not sure he can handle that.

“I-I’m sorry to bring this up so suddenly,” Ram’s voice feels small, “I understand if you don’t feel the same, and if you feel uncomfortable resuming our friendship going forward because of this-”.

Bheem pointed at his backyard’s door. Ram’s not sure what to do.

“Why are you pointing that way?” Ram dumbly squeaks, “Is there something weird or scary there?”.

Bheem scoffs, “No. That flower.”.

Ram followed the direction of Bheem’s finger and found clumps of blue star-shaped flowers growing in the middle section of Bheem’s garden.

“Uhh, I’m confused,” Ram confesses, “Is there anything wrong with that flower?”.

Bheem makes a choking sound. Then he started half wailing, half shrieking. Ram’s panic that he has somehow broken Bheem for a split second, until he realises that Bheem is laughing.

“I hate you. Oh, I hate you,” Bheem wheezes, “But I love you too. I really do.”.

Ram just resumes staring wide eyed at Bheem, still laughing on the floor.

“Those are forget-me-nots, dumbass,” Bheem exclaims, “I plant those ever since you left, because I believe, no, I want to believe those old myths. I wish that if I just nurture those flowers that you’ll remember me.”

“I will try not to take offence at being called a dumbass,” Ram reiterates slowly, “But I still don’t get it. What’s the relation between those flowers and me?”.

“Those flowers,” Bheem said in between gasps of breath, “are my cowardice. I love you too, Ram. I too have been in love with you for a long time. I didn’t want to confront my feelings, so I planted those flowers instead, hoping that it would work up a magic or something. And it does! You’re here and you said you love me. And I just-” Bheem envelopes him in a hug.

“Oh, I admit defeat,” Bheem sighs, “I always thought that you’re the one who’s struggling with processing your feelings. But here you are, having much courage to tell me your feelings first. I would never expect for you to beat me to a love confession. You’re amazing. You’re amazing and I love you!”.

“Does that mean I get to call you my beloved, now?” Ram melts inside Bheem’s embrace.

“Yes,” Bheem nods excitedly, “Yes, you do. And I get to call you my beloved as well?”.

To answer that, Ram took Bheem’s face in his hands and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. Bheem hums in agreement.

They stayed like that for a while, tangled in each other’s limbs, pressing fluttering kisses at each other. Then Bheem jolts and opens his eyes, “Oh! We have to tell Seetha about this! We have to inform her of your arrival as well!”.

“Can’t we just do that later?,” Ram’s still pressing kisses to Bheem’s neck, earning him Bheem’s soft shudder.

“No, because then we’ll forget about it and Seetha will kill us for making her worried,” Bheem regretfully starts standing up. Ram whines and Bheem lowers himself for a moment to peck one last fluttering kiss to Ram’s lips, “I’ve got to go. But I’ll be back, my beloved. Beloved. I like that word so much.”

With that Bheem exited the room, leaving Ram sitting in a daze, a big smile still plastered across his face.

The future’s still uncertain for Ram, and his missions will always become his priority wherever he goes. But he has to admit. Whatever impending problems the future has in store, it comforts him having Bheem by his side. They’d become each other’s strength, and each other’s home.

After all, he does have the best beloved in the world.

___

Epilogue

It's been years for Bheem, his life filled with moments of joy and slivers of heartbreak. Looking over the crowd who watches him with tears in their eyes, Bheem cannot fear the looming threat of death sentence. His life he will give to the nation, to help them achieve their cause of freedom. Soon he will join his departed friends and his beloved in the afterlife.

He loses so much years after years since he planted that garden of flowers. The people he loves are gone one by one, until he stands alone in the middle of that backyard, the bright flowers only adding to the ache of his heart. Yet he regrets none of the love he has given to his community, to his friends, to his Ram. All of the happiness they have given him is worth these pains he has to feel when he ultimately loses them.

When we part ways, Ram said that afternoon, how long do you think you can remember me before you forget?

Bheem's mouth quirks up slightly at that question. As if he could forget the one he had given his heart to, utterly and completely.

Never, Bheem remembers saying, voice oddly filled with determination, I'll always remember you. After all, you're very annoying.

He wonders if anyone would find their cottage in that woods. And their garden in the backyard. If anyone finds it, he hopes they remember all the troubles and torments they have been through, so they don't forget the peace and joy that happened there too. Because Bheem had promised that he would remember those moments, painful or not. And standing here in his last seconds of life, Bheem just knows it.

He does remember it all.

___

Author’s Note - End: Cynoglossum Amabile/Forget-me-nots symbolises true love and respect. The word "amabile" means gentle or 'capable of love'. Just like the name 'forget me not', the flower represents the wish to always remember someone.

Tagging the mods @stanleykubricks and @fangirlshrewt97 and the blog @celebrrration in case my Tumblr went nuts again.

Credit to @dumdaradumdaradum for giving me lots of fun facts throughout the making of this series.

[detectivejigsawpines]

The Ultimate Wingman

Bheem asks Ram for help learning English so he can communicate with Jenny better.

Written as a slight AU in which they have more time to connect before everything goes down with the snake bite and the wild animal melee.

“Bhaee, how long did it take you to learn English?”

The two men had been sitting in relative silence for at least half an hour, Ram reading his book, Akhtar working on fixing the rear wheel of a motorcycle; the abrupt question actually startled Ram out of his focus, before the meaning of the words sunk in.

“Around three years.”

Akhtar’s face immediately fell.  “Oh.”

Ram tilted his head.  “Why are you suddenly interested in learning English?”

His friend didn’t answer, but his ears immediately turned red, which was answer enough.

A long, slow grin spread across Ram’s face.

“Stop it!” Akhtar protested, turning and absorbing all his interest in loosening a bolt.  “I just…she asked me to visit the market with her again tomorrow, and it’s hard to get close to someone when you can’t even understand them.”

“All right, all right.”  Ram composed himself.  “Would you like me to help you?”

Akhtar brightened.  “Really?”

He nodded.  “Really.”

“I am forever in your debt!”

“I will hold you to that.”  He grinned again, and laughed when Akhtar threw his cleaning rag at him.

****

They ate dinner at Ram’s apartment together, and then began the lesson.

“For a start, you say please and thank you like this.”

Ram slowly spoke the English words aloud, and Bheem repeated them.  He couldn’t help thinking as he did that English words seemed to be much shorter than in Telugu.  He also wished he had a better understanding of letters, so that Ram could write the words out for him and he wouldn’t have to work as hard to memorize them, but one problem at a time.

After a few more practices, Ram nodded his approval.  “Your pronunciation is good, thammudu.”

Bheem beamed, appropriately enough.  “What’s next?”

Ram considered, then said, “Well, if you want to apologize, then you say, ‘I’m sorry.’”

Bheem blinked, and wrinkled his forehead.  “...I’m sari?”

Ram snorted.  “It does sound like that, doesn’t it?  But it has nothing to do with clothing.  Like this: ‘So-rry.’”

In that fashion they practiced a few more English words and phrases, until Ram finally said that was enough for today.

“Let’s make sure you remember those before you try to learn more,” he scolded gently.  “Besides, your amma will be wondering where you are.”

Bheem sighed, and nodded.  “Thank you, anna,” he said in English.

Ram smiled, and led him to the door.  But before he could open it, his eyes widened as if he’d realized something.

“Wait, one more thing.  If you want to tell her that you had a wonderful time, then you say this.”

He spoke another phrase, slowly and carefully, and Bheem repeated it accordingly.

“Just like that?”

Ram gave a firm nod.  “Just like that.”

****

The trip to the marketplace went relatively well.

Bheem remembered how to say thank you when Jenny opened the door of her car for him, and when she said something that he guessed was her surprise at his speaking English, he said Ram was teaching him, and she appeared to understand the gist of it.

He still didn’t understand most of what she was telling him, but things felt a little less awkward than the first time they actually spoke to each other.

Finally, when Jenny finished collecting her purchases and they had both explored to their satisfaction, they returned to the car, and she drove him back to town.

“Thank you for coming, Akhtar,” she said.  “Not many of my friends are interested in exploring the city with me, and it gets somewhat lonesome. ”  She frowned for a moment, before shaking her head and smiling at him.  “It’s very kind of you to join me.”

It seemed like as good a time as any for Bheem to tell her that he’d had a wonderful time; with a smile he said, remembering Ram’s words carefully, “Thank you, Jenny.  You are more beautiful than the sun.”

To his complete and utter confusion, she gasped, and her cheeks flooded with red as she gave a startled little laugh.

He wondered if Ram had gotten the words wrong somehow-

****

A few minutes later, a dazed Bheem wandered into Ram’s apartment, wearing a bewildered smile and the faintest hint of a lipstick stain on his cheek.

Ram looked up from his book, and tilted his head.  “How did it go?”

“Very nice.  She liked that I could speak to her more easily.”  Bheem sat down with a thump.

Ram’s eyes darted to his cheek, and the faint hint of a smile rose.  “Did you tell her you had a wonderful time?”

Bheem nodded.  “She seemed very happy about it.”

For a moment it almost seemed like his anna’s shoulders began quivering with silent laughter, but that was probably just his imagination.

[sinistergooseberries]

I posted 22,005 times in 2022

346 posts created (2%)

21,659 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@pitrsattabhaadmeinjao

@nightimestar

@transgender-rex

@maleficent-cannoli

I tagged 1,196 of my posts in 2022

#ask - 79 posts

#rrr - 33 posts

#rambheem - 27 posts

#vegaspete - 22 posts

#kinnporsche crack - 21 posts

#ref - 18 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#ddjdddjdhjddjdddjdhjsdddjdddjdhjddjdddjdhjsdhdjjdhjddjdddjdhjsdddjdddjdhjddjdddjdhjsdhdjdhhjddjdddjdhjsdddjdddjdhjddjdddjdhjsdhdjdhdhddjd

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

BRUH no one is choosing the arch squad this hilarious

23 notes - Posted October 27, 2022

#4

ok ok ok ok ok soooooo i cannot, i repeat, i cannot keep this inside anymore

rambheem have defeated scott and now have gone their separate ways fighting their separate battles but ofc they think about each other frequently.

what if what if now that bheem can write and read he starts letter writing. and the first letter he sends is to ram. (neither of them have realised their feelings for each other here yet). ram is overjoyed the moment he reads the letter and writes another back.

and slowly this becomes a routine of theirs (there can also be the OT3 ramxsitaxbheem 👀👀) and they start to fall in love. and because they are oblivious (yes i hc sita as a really clever and kind person who can do everything and anything except when it comes to love ) and they have some violent reactions to this.

so far i only have this but feel?free to add on!

just gonna tag a few ppl: @lil-stark @cobbledstone @raindrops-on--roses @rambheem-is-real @thewinchestergirl1208

29 notes - Posted April 9, 2022

#3

we thought vegaspete would be the couple with communication issues and a whole lot of sex but oh what a surprise

29 notes - Posted July 3, 2022

#2

JennySita Fic

I went a bit crazy today and I guess, here you go, the word vomit.

"Love is the aiiiiiiirr," Sita sang as she smirked at Bheem from her study table.

"Oh my god," Bheem groaned. "I already told you, I don't like him that much."

"Sure, Bheem," Sita said, still smirking.

Bheem groaned. It was a mistake to tell his best friend about his crush on the hot senior.

"Fuck you, Sita," Bheem said as he lifted himself off from the bed and walked out of her room.

Sita sighed in relief. If her best friend started moping, he didn't stop. It had happened with his ex-partners and it was probably going to happen with this guy, whose name he hadn't given.

She went back to studying. She had better things to do than look after her wreck of a best friend.

"Hey," Bheem popped his his head into the room.

"What now?" Sita asked without looking up.

"Jenny's here," Bheem said and Sita swore she could hear the smugness in his voice thatlittle-

"Tell her I'll be there in a minute," Sita said.

"'Kay," Bheem said and went back into the hall. Sita closed the door after him.

God.

She placed a hand on her heart. She groaned as she felt it racing. She wondered how Jenny looked. Did she wear that baby blue shirt with that white jean skirt? Sita was going to die if she wore that, oh god. Spot dead, no blood, brain hemorrhage. She looked so cute in that.

Focus, Sita. Focus.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She..... looked like she was at home. And, she was! No need to feel like a greasy gremlin in her own house.

Well, it was rented but...still.

Her hair was not looking too bad for someone who had run their hands through it one too many times. She smoothed it out with her comb.

After she calmed down a bit, she went outside. Jenny and Bheem were talking with glasses of Slice in their hands. For Sita's sake, Jenny was not wearing anything too cute, just a shirt and jeans.

Jenny noticed her first. "Oh, Sita!" she exclaimed with a smile.

Sita was never going to live from the starting, was she?

Jenny hugged her and Sita was immediately engulfed by the scent of lavender. She hugged Jenny back, and maybe, just maybe, she was hugging for a bit too long. Being in Jenny's arms cured her of every anxiety that was there.

"Shall we go?" Jenny asked after they let go of each other.

Were Jenny's cheeks red or was she imagining it?

It was Jenny's perplexed expression that brought Sita back. "Oh. Um, where?"

Jenny tilted her head, quirking her eyebrow. "You said you'd come with me for ice cream and fast food today, remember?" she said.

Realisation dawned on her. "Oh. Right," Sita said. "I'll be back in a minute. I'm so sorry!"

See the full post

43 notes - Posted May 4, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

man i fucking love water

120 notes - Posted May 15, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[mad-who-ra]

Okay so, when Bheem goes to Scott’s palace for a coffee with Jenny, he understands vaguely what she is saying sometimes, right?

Bheem, has Ram

been teaching you

English?

??

[gauri-vishalakshi]

Ram, writing a letter to Seetha: BHEEM IS SLEEPING NEXT TO ME AND HE ROLLED OVER AND WAS FEELING AROUND THE BED SO I STUCK MY HAND OUT AND HE GRABBED IT AND HES HOLDING MY HAND WHILE SLEEPING HES SO CUTE FUUCK-

[ronaldofandom]

A Love Eternal / Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna

Chapter 8 is up guys. After the steamy action in the last chapter, this one is full of fluff and a little bit of comedy :)

Summary: RamBheem have a heart-to-heart talk about Ram's feelings. Then BheemJenny have a heart-to-heart talk about last night & their others firsts. No warnings, this is just feels!!!

Chapter 8

(Links to Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 9, Ch 10 , Ch 11)

Ram was disgruntled. And miffed with Bheem.

How dare his friend punish him like that for teasing him? Wasn’t that the birthright of a best friend? So what if he said a few things - the idiot didn’t have to make him carry all the training equipment all by himself all the way down to the village. All for a few harmless words.

Well, they weren’t really harmless, and they were said in front of Malli.

He clamped down on his conscience. It could go take a hike for all he cared. Right now, he would stay with irritation.

Ram half carried, half dragged the pile behind him, dropping it unceremoniously when he reached the village, making sure to capture Bheem’s attention. The younger man was playing happily with the kids, swinging them around, which infuriated Ram further.

He huffed and puffed some more, making angry noises, till Bheem finally made his way to him and hugged him from behind.

‘Awww, is my Anna upset?’

Upset? Ram wanted to throw a shoe at him.

‘Shut up. You are insufferable. And you are stinking. Get away from me.’

Ram was lying, of course. He never wanted Bheem to stop hugging him, EVER. Bheem’s hugs could cure cancer; no one could convince Ram otherwise.

Bheem saw through the lie in Ram’s words and hugged him tighter. Ram stopped struggling soon and enjoyed his warmth.

‘You know you deserved it.’

‘Yeah. Whatever.’

Ram shrugged. He wasn’t going to admit that.

Bheem finally let him go. They both had to attend a few important meetings. The informants had come back from their visits. And the supplies needed to be replenished too. There was word from Ram’s village as well - the Britishers were hovering around, looking for him. The tribesmen had blocked the main road leading up to this village, which is why they hadn’t come looking here. Yet.

The men discussed all that needed to be done immediately. And passed on specific instructions to the rest. Ram was always surprised when he saw Bheem in his element - he could be so smart, resourceful, and decisive on his turf. In familiar territory, no one was a match to him.

When the meeting concluded, Ram and Bheem were the last to leave, discussing some final details. It was quite late already, well into the night.

‘Anna, don’t wait for me tomorrow. I won't be around, and I won't come to the training.’

Ram looked at him quizzically.

‘Why?’

Bheem shrugged.

‘I am busy.’

‘And what exactly is keeping you busy tomorrow?’

‘I have plans. With Jenny. She was cooped up in the village all these days; I had asked her to not go anywhere far without me. For obvious reasons.’

Ram nodded. He didn’t need to ask him about the reasons, it was self-explanatory to him.’

‘So I promised her I would take her around tomorrow.’

Something about the giddy, love-sick smile on his face hit Ram deeply.

‘How do you do this, Bheem? How do you make all these grand gestures to express your love?’

Bheem looked at him with understanding. He knew expressing his feelings wasn’t a strong suit of his friend. He knew how much he struggled with pouring his heart out to anyone. Bheem had been an exception, yes, but he wished Ram could be more expressive with others too.

‘You don’t need grand gestures in love. You just need to express what you feel in whatever way comes naturally to you.’

What came naturally to him, wondered Ram. Screaming in a room? Punching a wall? Staring endlessly into an abyss? Writing countless letters and never sending them? Burying himself in supposedly urgent things, so he doesn’t have to have an honest conversation with people he was most vulnerable with?

‘It’s not as easy as you make it sound.’

‘Yes it is. You have just spent years convincing yourself that it’s not, so you don’t want to see it now.’

Bheem could sense what this was about, but he wanted Ram to admit it himself.

‘How does all this not overwhelm you? How are you still able to laugh so freely, even after everything that’s happened with you and your people? How do you plot a potentially fatal mission and then rush to the arms of your beloved the next second? HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO DO JUSTICE TO YOUR LOVE SO BEAUTIFULLY?’

And why can’t I do even an iota of that? It was unsaid but well-understood between both of them.

‘Anna - when was the last time you told her that you loved her?’

Ram was flummoxed. He couldn’t think of the last time. He couldn’t think of any time he had said those words. It was an unspoken understanding between them.

Bheem saw through his expression, and his hunch was validated.

‘Can’t remember it, right? Why don’t you try doing it tonight? Just say this to her and see how she reacts. I am not saying everything needs to be said, but sometimes it’s so good to know you are cherished. And loved. And spoken for. By the person who is the center of your universe. For tonight, can you just try living in the moment? I mean, it doesn’t even have to be these words. You both know each other better than any two people in the world. You were destined to be together, almost since childhood. You know her in and out, Anna. You know her heart. Why don’t you do something which would show her what she means to you? Which would make her heart smile. Which would make her feel loved. I am sure you can figure out what it could be. But please, don’t second guess yourself and just do it, will you?

Bheem’s passionate plea did impact him. A lot. He wondered if there were any remnants of the old Ram left in him still, the one who knew how to love? He will have to dig deep to find that person.

‘Now, say the other thing.’

Bheem said nonchalantly. Ram was puzzled again.

‘What other thing?’

‘The one that you are not saying. The one which scares you to bare your heart to her.’

Ram’s hands opened and fisted over and over again. He was not an open book by any measure. And for the life of him, he had no idea how Bheem had figured himself out so well.

‘What if she doesn’t feel the same way anymore? What if I have finally managed to ruin the purest bond in my life?’

Bheem laughed in his face. Out loud. And Ram discovered the one instance where even Bheem’s laugh could be annoying.

‘Sorry sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. Really.’

Bheem tried to apologize sincerely, reaching for Ram’s shoulders.

‘Anna - you know I love you. So I say this with the best intention and utmost care. You, my friend, are an even bigger fool than I was.’

‘I am sorry, WHAT?’

‘You heard me. And yes you should be sorry - for this monstrous stupidity.’

‘I am so blessed to have you as a friend. Really. What a wonderful way to kick someone when he is down.’

‘Awww.’

‘Shut up.’

Bheem enveloped him in another bear hug. This time, Ram struggled sincerely to escape it, but he obviously failed.

Bheem turned Ram to look at himself.

‘I am just going to say two things here. One - Sita worships you. She loves you unconditionally and irrevocably. Anyone with eyes can see that. Anyone with a heart can feel that. And two - please don’t assume anything. Please let her decide how she sees you and what she feels for you. Please stop burying yourself in this self-pity of not deserving her love. Let her be the judge of that.’

It wasn’t lost on Ram that Bheem was saying everything Ram had told him when he had convinced Bheem to confess his feelings to Jenny. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on either man.

‘So - can you do that for me? Can you please just try tonight? Will you promise me that you will at least think about it?’

Ram nodded silently. And Bheem flashed his most gorgeous smile at him, making Ram smile too.

‘I CAN NOT wait to hear how that pans out. Now, off you go, before she goes to sleep. You have a lot of work to do tonight.’

Bheem patted his head as if he were a little child who was being asked to finish his homework, and nodded in the direction of the hut he shared with Sita. Babai had left a few days back, so it was just the two of them in the hut now.

‘Don’t pretend that you don’t want to send me away quickly, so you can just go to her.’

‘Well - a man can have two intentions.’

Bheem smiled sheepishly at him.

‘I think I will take a walk first to clear my head. Then I will go back.’

‘A walk? At this time? Don’t go too far - you don’t know the terrain too well. Do you want me to come with you?’

‘No. I don’t want to keep you away from where you really want to be any longer. I won’t venture too far.’

‘Ok. Come and get me if you need anything. And tomorrow I…’

‘Yes yes, tomorrow you are not around, you have said that loud & clear.’

‘Excellent. Proud of you. Now make me more proud by manning up tonight.’

Bheem patted his head again and walked away cheerfully, leaving Ram staring at his back.

It was going to be a long walk. Ram had a lot to figure out.

Bheem returned to his hut then. Jenny had left the door unlocked and was in the adjoining washroom when he walked in.

‘Kaun hain?’ (Who is it?)

‘Main hoon.’ (It’s me.)

While she was still inside, Bheem changed for the night. He usually liked sleeping without his kurta, and he wondered if he could do that now, after last night. But he didn’t want her to feel he was insinuating anything. So he put on a vest instead. He hated vests with a vengeance since he was a child. Never liked wearing them under kurtas or in any other form. Always cribbing to his mother that they were too tight or too loose or made him feel unnecessarily hot. He found them utterly pointless. But still, he put one on tonight, for both their sakes.

When Jenny came out, changed for the night, Bheem had already settled on the cot and was waiting for her to emerge. Their eyes met, and they both forgot what they were squabbling over during the day. And smiled at each other almost at the same time. Bheem patted the mattress on his side, inviting her to join him. She giggled and went to him instantly, lying next to him. His arm went around her waist and her hand curled on his bicep.

Bheem didn’t make the same mistake that had irritated her during the day - of asking how she was. She seemed physically fine. But he wanted to know about her thoughts, her feelings, her questions, her concerns; anything that was playing on her mind about last night. Sita had hinted that they should talk, and he wanted to do that himself too.

He caressed the side of her waist over the thin fabric of her silk nightgown and gazed into her eyes.

‘Kal raat jo humaare beech hua, kya hum us baare me baat kar sakte hain?’

(Can we talk about what happened between us last night?’)

Jenny nodded nervously. She had relived those moments in her head all day, over and over again, but she wasn’t sure if she could talk to him yet about all that stuff.

‘Agar tumhare mann me kuch hain, jo tum kehna chahti ho, ya poochna chahti ho, toh kaho na, jaan.’

(If there is anything playing in your mind that you want to talk about, or ask about, then please do so, sweetheart.)

Jaan. That word made her heart flutter. She was still getting used to him calling her that. He noticed the little curving of her lips and understood the reason instantly.

‘Socha kayi baar tha, par shayad zubaan pe pehli baar kal aaya ye shabd.’

(I called you this in my heart many times earlier but said it out loud only yesterday.)

He was rewarded with a gorgeous smile, and couldn’t help himself from leaning over to lightly brush his lips over her forehead. He waited patiently then as she tried to find the next words.

She knew exactly what she wanted to ask but would rather have the earth swallow her whole instead of saying that out loud.

‘Tum shuru karo na, please.’

(Can you start instead, please?)

‘Theek hain. Kya tum kal raat se…khush ho ya fir kuch aisa tha jo tumhe laga ki abhi nahi hona chahiye tha?’

(Ok. Are you….happy with last night or is there something you felt shouldn’t have happened this soon?)

Jenny pondered over his question. Was she happy? How was she supposed to tell him she didn’t even know that happiness like this existed. He had treated her like a queen. Well, he always did that, but last night he had fully submerged her in his love and care.

She clasped the shell necklace (she hadn’t taken it off all day, obviously) with her fingers and tried to look up at him.

‘My love - it was perfect. Everything was perfect. YOU were perfect. I couldn’t ask for anything else.’

Bheem understood the essence of it but was stuck on one word. He scratched his beard in confusion.

‘Perfect matlab?’ (What does perfect mean?)

She smiled and caressed his cheek adoringly. He held her hand and kept it there.

‘Matlab - us se achcha, us se behtar kuch nahi ho sakta.’

(It means - nothing can top it, nothing can be better or more beautiful than it.)

He nodded in understanding. Then looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes.

‘Jaise ki tum ho. Perfect.’

(Like you are. Perfect.)

She melted and giggled loudly as he turned slightly to kiss her palm.

‘My my - you are such a charmer, aren’t you?’

They gazed at each other silently for a few seconds, soaking in this moment and the waves of affection coursing through them.

Sensing that she was more relaxed now, Bheem squeezed her hand, urging her to share her feelings with him. She yielded under his unwavering gaze.

A few things were playing on her mind. Some insecurities were gnawing away at her. Some fears that she didn’t want to give life to by saying them out loud. But she couldn’t hold out anymore, not when he asked so sweetly.

‘Kal raat…kya TUM khush ho?’

(Are YOU…happy with last night?)

She somehow choked out these words, hiding her face in the pillow, bracing herself for the worst. It’s not as if she knew what she was supposed to do in such intimate situations. As a matter of fact, she hadn’t done anything. He had done everything, and she had just gone along with it. Had she even satisfied him? Or had he stopped midway since she couldn’t take it anymore and was left unfulfilled? Did he not feel the bliss she did? Did his world not change forever last night, like hers did? She had so many questions, but this was all she could manage to say.

Bheem understood that her question had deeper connotations. In fact, he was half expecting it. She was too far gone last night to properly remember the impact she had had on him. To gauge how his body had reacted to hers. To understand how he had ascended to a heavenly plane while losing himself inside her.

This is what he wanted to address. To make her realize what she had done to his heart, body, and soul last night.

He scooted closer to her, coaxing her eyes away from the pillow and towards his own. He brushed her loose strands and tucked them behind her ear as he gazed into her anxious eyes.

‘Meri baat dhyaan se sun na, Jenny. Kal ki raat meri zindagi ki sabse haseen, sabse yaadgaar raat thi. Main kabhi soch bhi nahi sakta tha ki hum dono is tarah saath ho sakte hain. Har roz tumse thoda aur zyada pyaar ho raha hain, pata nahi kaise. Ye chehra, ye aankhen, ye hoth, ye muskurahat, ye sharam - mere dil aur dimaag pe chap chuki hain. Jab aankhen band karta hoon, toh tumhe dekhta hoon, tumhe mehsoos karta hoon. Meri jaan - kal raat se tum meri ho gayi ho aur main tumhara.’

(Please hear me out carefully, Jenny. Last night was the most beautiful, most memorable night of my life. I could never even imagine that we could be together like this. I am falling in love with you more and more with each passing day, don’t know how. This face, these eyes, these lips, this smile, this beautiful blush - they are imprinted on my heart and mind now. When I close my eyes, I see you, I feel you. My sweetheart, since last night, you have become mine, and I have become yours.)

Jenny heard with rapt attention, in stunned silence. She was moved beyond measure by his heartfelt proclamation of love. She was also deeply relieved that it had been equally special for him. She wanted to respond, but her lips opened and closed like a dumbstruck fool. Voice failed her. Words failed her. So she did the only thing she could think of.

She leaned closer and slowly brushed her lips against his. This was the first time she had initiated a proper kiss between them. He stayed still, letting her take the lead, enjoying her tentative touches. Jenny tried to follow what he had done last night, slowly running her tongue over his luscious full lips, sucking on the bottom lip, biting it gently, and enjoying the resulting groan from him. His mustache and beard scratched her face all the way through, making her giggle. She gained confidence and started moving their lips together, finally coaxing a response from his. They broke apart soon, lest things go out of control, and gazed at each other. Reading the depth of emotion flowing in the deep orbs of their lover, which was kind of their forte from the get-go.

At that moment, Jenny realized how little she really knew about the love of her life. They had spent many nights talking about his childhood, his parents, his early years, and his duties to his people. But he never spoke about his personal life. And she never asked, almost afraid of the response. That was before. But now that they were together, she wanted to know everything about him.

‘Bheem, kya mujhse pehle bhi koi khaas tha tumhari zindagi me?’

(Bheem, was there someone special in your life before me?)

Bheem stopped playing with her hair then and thought about how to articulate a response.

Her heart grew heavy during his pause; she understood there was a story there. She hadn’t been his first love then, while he had been her first everything. Not that she should be surprised - he was very desirable & must have been in great demand. She wondered if he still thought about her. Whether he had been intimate with her. Whether there was just one or more. Whether it was someone from the tribe who he saw every day.

‘Koi tha toh - par shayad utna khaas nahi.’

(There was someone, but maybe not that special.)

‘Uh-huh.’

She uttered a syllable, waiting for him to continue. Determinedly avoiding his gaze and focusing on his chest instead as her fingers fiddled with the fabric of his vest.

He told her it was many years back when he had been almost the same age as Jenny today. The girl was the daughter of a merchant in a nearby city bazaar. Bheem frequented the merchant’s shop for the tribe’s supplies, and that’s how they met. It was more of an infatuation to begin with, but they ended up going to many local fairs together and developed some feelings. However, she soon realized there was no future with him and moved on to greener pastures.

Jenny was utterly confused. She didn’t understand why the girl called things off, when she liked him too.

Her sweet innocence tugged at his heart. He sighed deeply, reached for her hands, kissed them lovingly and held them close to his chest.

‘Meri jaan, kaise samjhaun tumhe? Har koi tumhare jaisa nahi hota na. Sirf pyaar kaafi nahi hota unke liye. Pyaar ke liye wo apni poori duniya, apne saare sukh chhod ke nahi aa jate, jaise tum aa gayi. Wo sab insaano ko ek tarah nahi samajhte, jaise tum samajhti ho.’

(Sweetheart, how do I explain this? Not everyone is like you. Just love is not enough for them. For love, they don’t want to leave their whole world and their comforts behind, unlike you. They don’t consider all people the same, unlike you.)

Bheem had truly been amazed at how normally she had treated him from the get-go. There was an ocean of differences between them - in race, social stature, language, and beauty. Yet, she always treated him as her equal. Never hesitated to get on his bike or hold his arm or defend him in front of bullies or just dance with him. There was not even an iota of discrimination in her.

He wished he could shield her innocence forever. But that wasn’t possible in the brutal realities of this harsh world.

Realization dawned on her then, and she caressed his face softly.

‘Well, I think she is the biggest fool in this universe. Only a blithering fool could ever let you go. It’s entirely her loss. And my gain.’

She kissed his cheeks, bringing a smile to his face. Something was still bothering her though, and she wanted to get it off her chest.

‘Kya tum, ab bhi…us se..’

(Do you….do you still…)

Bheem cut her off midway, understanding where she was going with this.

‘Nahi. Bohot waqt ho gaya uske baare me soche hue bhi. Us waqt laga tha shayad wo pyaar tha, par ab jake samajh aaya pyaar kehte kise hain. Wo rishta kabhi itna kareebi bhi nahi hua, jaise hum hain.’

(No. I haven’t even thought about that in a long while. At that time, I thought it was love. But now I understand what love truly feels like. That was also not an intimate relationship, not like ours.)

Her heart smiled at his words, this was exactly what she had wanted to hear.

There was only one last thing now. She couldn’t shake the thought, so she decided to take the plunge while hiding her face in his chest.

‘Toh fir tumhe….wo sab…kaise aata tha jo kal humne….jo tumne kiya?.’

(Then how did you…know all that…that we did…that you did last night?)

Bheem laughed loudly, and she hid her face further in his chest, flushed with embarrassment. Was her question that silly? Was it a male thing - something that men just knew organically?

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, and kissed the top of her head repeatedly. In all honesty, he had understood this question halfway as well but was very amused & let her struggle through it.

‘Oh Jenny. Jenny.’

He kept repeating this while swaying her lightly in his arms. Her naïveté was to die for. He found it irresistibly endearing. Once the amusement subsided, he whispered in her ear suggestively.

‘Tumhe kal us roop me dekh ke toh kisi murat me bhi jaan aa jati, phir main toh sirf ek insaan hun.’

(The way you looked last night - even a stone statue would have come to life and would have known what to do. I am just a mere hot-blooded man then.)

She smacked his chest lightly at the suggestive flirting but couldn’t help the crimson taking over her cheeks and neck. He held her close and let her ride through this moment.

Bheem also had some questions he wanted to ask. While he knew it was her first time, he was curious about her life before she met him. He was sure she would have had many suitors chasing after her. Who were potentially far better matches for her than he ever could be.

‘Mujhse toh pooch liya, ab apna bhi batao na. Kya koi tha mujhse pehle?’

(You asked me everything, now tell me about yourself no. Was there anyone before me?)

She looked up at him earnestly and shook her head slowly in a no.

‘YOU are my everything, Bheem. My first real crush, my first love, my first….well, everything.’

He felt himself falling for her even deeper. Never wanting to let her out of his arms.

‘Par, tumhe chahne wale toh aur honge na? Tumse toh kisi ko bhi pyaar ho jaega.’

(But, there must be others who fell for you, right? Anyone would fall for you easily.)

‘Yes. There were a few.’

There were quite a few actually, both in India and London. While her family’s wealth and connections had played a part, many wanted her for her too. Many rich, powerful men wanted to claim her for themselves. They had expressed their feelings about her beauty in vivid words - she had to sit through them all and politely decline with some excuse or the other. Her family had been aghast, and the pressure was mounting on her to pick someone.

Well, she had picked someone now, and they would probably get a stroke if they knew who he was.

Bheem’s voice brought her out of her reverie.

‘Aur wo, jo us party me tumhare saath dance karna chahta tha, who bhi na?’

(And that guy who wanted to dance with you at the party, him too?)

Jenny understood he was talking about Jake, and was a little surprised about how perceptive he was. Because yes, it was true. Jake had been the most persistent one, chasing her since she had come to India two years back.

‘Yes. Him too.’

She felt his grip tighten around her waist and immediately reached out to caress his chest, trying to soothe him.

Now, Bheem was not a petty man. Nor was he vindictive. But in this particular instance, he wished for that vile creature to know who she had picked; in whose arms she had chosen to make her home. He dismissed the thought soon enough, snorting at the pointlessness of it.

‘You looked amazing that day in that fitted suit. So handsome. So perfect.’

She said quickly, trying to get his mind away from the unpleasant memory.

He smiled with child-like joy.

‘Tumhe achcha laga? Agar tum kaho toh dobara bhi pehen sakta hoon.’

(Did you like it? If you wish so, I could wear it again.)

She had worn the saree for him. He wanted to reciprocate and do something nice for her too. He could borrow it from Ram.

‘But did you like it? Tumhe achcha laga kya?

She didn’t want him to wear something he didn’t like, something that reminded him of things he had to do just to get by. Things he had to endure in a big city just to be accepted.

‘Matlab - theek hi tha. Thoda alag tha par bura nahi tha.’

(It was ok. Slightly different and strange but not bad.)

'Hmmm.'

‘Waise, wo jo tumne bhi pehna tha us din, wo….’

(Actually, what you were also wearing that day, that…)

‘Dress.’

‘Dress. Wo dress bhi kafi sundar lag rahi thi tum pe. Aur wo rang bhi.)

(Yes that. Dress. It looked really pretty on you. And the color suited you too.)

The color had highlighted the pink of her cheeks, her cute dimples and the shine in her eyes. He thought she looked like a fairy that day.

It suddenly hit him that her room was full of that colour too - the curtains, the flowers, the blanket, the wall paper, the couch - everything had that colour tone.

‘Wo rang tumhe bohot pasand hain na?’

(You really like that colour, don’t you?)

She nodded in excitement, the said shine returning to her eyes. Bheem made a mental note of it for the next time he would bring her flowers.

‘Waise - ek do dress hain mere paas yahaan. Tum chaho toh main pehen sakti hun tumhare liye.’

(I do have 1-2 dresses with me here. If you want, I could wear it for you one day.)

‘Theek hain. Toh tum dress pehen na aur main suit. Ek hi shaam ko.’

(Yes. Then you wear a dress, and I will wear a suit on the same evening.)

Plans were made for the evening. Sweet, romantic plans. Maybe he would cook for her too or sing for her. Maybe they could dance the way she had taught him - he would figure closer to the date.

This was important to him - he wanted her to have some things from her previous life too. She had left behind everything for him, and he knew he could never do the same for her. He could never leave his world and join her in hers - he didn’t have the heart or the courage for it. But he wanted to help her at least keep her memories alive.

Hours passed talking like this, and neither of them realized. Snuggled in each other’s warmth and comfort, they could do this forever. When the night air started to get a little chilly though, Jenny got up to fetch the blanket.

She cocooned them both inside the cozy blanket and settled her face on his extended arm, between his shoulder and his bicep. Bheem usually liked sleeping on his stomach, but this quickly became his new favorite position. With her leaning on top of him and her leg resting lazily on his waist. The tip of her fingers traced his chest hair. Her ebony tresses caressed his face.

It suddenly hit him that he had completely forgotten to speak to her about his conversations with the tribal council regarding their relationship and also with Malli. Damn, she had a way of making him forget things.

When he told her that he had made their courtship official by taking the council's blessings, she was overwhelmed with love and gratitude. He had done it the right way. He had done right by her, by them. He had done everything possible to bring them together in the ways / traditions of his people. Without her ever telling him that somewhere it had bothered her what people must be thinking about them. He had just understood, and she was infinitely touched by his gesture.

When he told her about Malli’s complaints, though, sudden pangs of guilt hit her. The child had suffered enough - the last thing Jenny wanted was to be the reason for her further misery. She wanted to go to Malli immediately, but Bheem told her it was way past her bedtime. She said she would go first thing in the morning, but Bheem reminded her that tomorrow they were meant to go away together to her favorite places around the area. He had promised her last night, and he was determined to make good on it.

‘Kal sirf tum aur main. Parson chali jana Malli ke paas.’

(Tomorrow it’s gonna be just you and me. You can be with Malli the day after, it’s fine.)

When she didn’t look convinced, Bheem smothered her face with kisses. She was too loving for her own good. But tomorrow, he would keep her for himself selfishly. It was the only day he had to spare, the next few were going to be hectic.

‘Jab tumhe pehli baar dekha tha na, tab hi pata chal gaya tha ki tumse bhi zyada khoobsoorat tumhara ye masoom dil hain.’

(I knew this the day I saw you for the first time - that your kind heart is even more beautiful than your outward appearance.)

She smiled and thought back to the day of their first meeting. Something about his sweet face, his deep eyes, and his overall demeanor made her want to hold on to him. That’s why she had invited him to the party, with the hope of seeing him again.

‘It was god’s plan. It was destiny that made my car puncture in front of you.’

‘God nahi, wo toh Ram ne kiya tha.’

(No no, that wasn’t God, it was Ram who did that.)

They both stilled. Shocked into silence. Bheem only realized what he said after hearing the words himself. And nervously covered his mouth with both hands. She thought she had heard something wrong, or could that really be?

‘What did you just say?

‘Kuch nahi. Raat bohot ho gayi hain, so jana…’

(Nothing. It’s very late, we should probably slee..)

‘BHEEM.’

She said sternly. He was panicking hard, unsure of how she would react to the truth. But he couldn’t lie to her.

‘Ram ne…sadak pe…keel pheki thi..’

(Ram had…thrown nails…on the road…)

He couldn’t get himself to look at her, so he had no idea how he was reacting to the information. She didn’t say anything for a few seconds, which made him even more nervous. When she spoke, her words tore through his heart.

‘Did you…do it often then…..to…to pick up women?’

Her voice sounded so faint, so far away, making him feel like the scum of the earth. He knew exactly what she must be thinking about him. And his world came crashing down.

Bheem grabbed her face in desperation, pouring all his love in his touch.

‘Nahi jaan. Aisa nahi hain. Aisa kabhi nahi tha. Sirf tumse baat karne ke liye aisa kiya. Tumhari kasam - aur kabhi nahi kiya hain ye. Please Jenny, mera vishwaas karo. Main aisa nahi hoon. Tum jaanti ho na?’

(No, my love. It’s not like that. It was never like that. I only did it to talk to you. I swear on you, it has never happened before with anyone else. Please Jenny, please believe me. I am not like this. You know that, right?)

She could see the earnestness loud and clear in his eyes, his face, his voice and in the way his whole body was trembling with guilt. Her fears were assuaged immediately, and she kissed his cheeks to comfort him. He was still shaking though, and she cradled his face on her chest, peppering reassuring kisses. It took him a few moments to calm down, and she held him through it, whispering sweet nothings in his ear.

When he did relax though, she laughed in his face, making him conscious.

‘I have to say - this is the most idiotic thing I have heard in a long time. You buffoons couldn’t come up with anything better? I didn’t know you guys were this stupid.’

Bheem didn’t know whether she was laughing with him or at him for his idiocy. But he didn’t push it - she was not mad anymore, and that’s all he cared about.

They were both quite drowsy now - exhausted from the sweet, deep and heavy conversations over many hours. Her eyes turned heavy, and she snuggled into his chest again, finding her favorite spot there.

Before she fell asleep, he whispered a clarification in her ear.

‘Waise, main us din ki baat nahi kar raha tha. Us din se pehle be maine tumhe dekha tha.’

(Listen, I wasn’t referring to that day. I had seen you before that day also.)

‘When?’

She asked lazily, already half asleep.

‘Jab tum ne Jangu ko bachaya tha - un dusht logon se, haveli ke bahar - tab main wahi tha.’

(That day, when you saved Jangu from the beatings of those cruel men outside the palace, I was right there.)

Jenny understood then and hugged him tighter. As if apologizing for the cruelty of those people. Her people.

He hugged her back with equal fervor. And they fell asleep like that. In each other’s arms. While sharing their fears and insecurities. While expressing their infinite love and care. Grateful for being together. Borrowing, rather stealing from the universe, these precious moments of togetherness. Fighting every day to keep their dream alive.

They had every force in the world pulling them apart; the odds were heavily stacked against them from the get-go. Their only solace was their unconditional love for each other. A love that was stronger than all other forces combined. A love that bound them together for eternity. They may not make sense to others. But their love was like that - it didn’t have to make sense to make sense.

...............................................

Hope you enjoyed these fluffy babies!

As always, would love you know what you thought of the chapter :)

@irisesforyoureyes @rambheem-is-real @thewinchestergirl1208 @eremin0109 @eenadu-varthalu @rorapostsbl @yehsahihai @budugu @maraudersbitchesassemble @juhiiiiii @justmeand-myinsight @rambheemisgoated @rosayounan @jrntrtitties @obsessedtoafault @rambheemlove @jjwolfesworld @alikokinav @iam-siriuslysher-lokid @bromance-minus-the-b @dumdaradumdaradum @lovingperfectionwonderland @annieginny @chaanv @ssabriel @sally-for-sally @milla984 @doodlesofthelastpage @boochhaan @mesimpleone @filesbeorganized @ladydarkey @teddybat24 @fangirlshrewt97 @stanleykubricks @stuckyandlarrystuff @burningsheepcrown @veteran-fanperson @voidsteffy @ronika-writes-stuff @beingmes-blog @yonderghostshistories @nisreenart @chaidrivenwhore @bheemaxrama @carminavulcana @umbrulla @mizutaama @rosefulmadness

[hissterical-nyaan]

Concept (JennySita cause i love my girls) : where instead of Sita learning English for Jenny, Jenny learns Telugu/Hindi for Sita. BUT instead of going to Sita to learn, she learns it in secret to surprise her (maybe even confess to her in her native language 👀).

So Jenny goes to learn from Ram (and Bheem who is simply always around Ram) and leaves anonymous love letters in hindi/telugu to Sita whenever she learns something new. Cue Sita trying to find who it is and being confused whether she loves her mystery admirer or Jenny.

Yes more Jenny learning Telugu and Hindi agenda

Sita knows a bit of english, whatever she picked up from Ram, so she can hold a small conversation with Jenny (but can't because she's so flustered hehehehe). But she doesn't have time to learn English because she's busy with her clinic stuff (YES SHE'S A DOCTOR SUE ME)

So our dear Jenny decided she has to learn Sita's language so she can talk to that pretty girl. She still hasn't decided how she'll talk to her without stuttering because they are both 'useless in the love game' wlw (like we all are) but for now she just really needed to know what Sita is talking about whenever she's around.

She goes to Ram and hesitantly confesses her idea of learning Telugu so she can communicate with Sita. Bheem is obviously elated and they had to physically restrain him from blurting everything to Sita (Bheem is no longer allowed to be alone in the same space as Sita lol). And so starts Jenny's journey of learning a whole new language just for the woman she fell for

She initially had a hard time picking the language up obviously, because not only the way of speaking was totally different than English but the script was really difficult to write. Not to mention the grammar rules were completely different from her mother tongue. But she persisted and finally started understanding it bit by bit. Ram was a patient teacher but Bheem really helped her in practicing it

And because we all know Bheem is the more romantic one (sorry Ram girlies but Bheem is it for me) he started helping Jenny in writing small love notes. He also made sure Jenny was leaving these notes around for Sita and not hiding them like Bheem did (iykyk). These notes started from simple cute words like "you looked so pretty today" to vivid discription of Jenny's admiration like "everyday I wake up to the jingle of your anklets, your soft giggles, your gentle voice guiding the children of the village, your gorgeous dark eyes which makes me fall in love with you again and again." (Please don't judge me I'm so bad at this)

The first time Sita received a note she was bewildered and thought someone was playing a prank on her, perhaps Ram as a payback for all the times she teased him about Bheem? But then every week the notes kept coming to her and she started looking forward to them. The more vivid they became the more flustered and confused she became.

Because on one hand she really liked Jenny but she presumed Jenny wouldn't like to date a girl, let alone her? Would it be so bad if she chooses the secret admirer over Jenny? But the idea of letting go of Jenny was painful. So she decided she will confront the secret admirer the next time they try to leave a note.

She kept an eye on everyone throughout the next week, always making sure to not leave any of her belongings alone as the notes were frequently found in them. Then came Sunday and she finally caught the secret admirer who was.....BHEEM??

Sita could hardly believe her eyes, was Bheem her secret admirer? But wasn't he practically married to Ram? She could feel the bile rising to her throat but before she could say anything Bheem was going on a tangent of "It's not what you think" "She's gonna kill me" "I can't believe this is how they are going to confess" and "I should've listened to Ram".......who exactly was the "She"?

So our poor Bheem confesses that it wasn't him who was writing these notes but Jenny who was learning Telugu for Sita.

And that is how Ram found Bheem holding an unconscious Sita in her clinic. This was the same Sita who didn't faint even that fateful day of British shooting who is now unconscious over knowing her love wasn't unrequited.

Fast forward to after Sita and Jenny's confession (because I can't for the life of my write that) now you will often find both the ladies in their shared home, leaning over their study table with Jenny practicing her telugu and Sita softly kissing her way up to Jenny's neck everytime she learns to write or speak a new word.

[ramayantika]

Back to you (1)

I thought this was going to be a oneshot, but no we get two parts. And this might feel rushed because I was raving this plot. i promise the next part will be good. As usual, I never bring the main person whom the reaers want in the first part.. Ram will meet you all soon. (AND I will definitely write the BHEEM X READER fic and the Ram x dancer! reader soon)

Bheem had sent a letter to Y/N a week after they came back from their mission. He had described each and everything about that fateful night in great detail. The first time she read that letter, her eyes were restlessly searching for Ram’s name. Her worst fears and terrible words to him hadn’t, after all, come true. Both the men had come back home safe and secure with some injuries that were getting treated by Seetha. Bheem had even asked her in the letter to visit them for some days, and for a moment, Y/N had made up her mind to go to them, but Ram’s tearful eyes and pained face from that night appeared in front of her.

No, she could not stand in front of him. She could not go. She had read the letter a hundred times, and each time she read, she would end up crying for hours. That cursed night would come alive in front of her. It was the night where a deep friendship turned to bloodshed, and a blossoming love withered with sharp words and hot tears.

Y/N was heading towards the party which Jenny had forced her to attend. She did not know that Bheem was going to be there at the party, not as a guest, but to rescue Malli. Her heart bled for the poor child whom she once met at the mansion. Malli had cried to her, her lips mouthing ‘Anna’ the entire time. Y/N had hugged her for a long time and consoled her. “Your anna will come to rescue you, Malli. He will be here soon.”

She was driving alone to the party when she heard Bheem’s voice in the alley she had just crossed. “Bhaiya, you’ll be fine.” She also knew whom Bheem addressed as ‘Bhaiya.’ It was Ram, his closest friend. Y/N hurried back and drove to the alley, where she saw Ram lying on the pavement and Bheem rubbing ash over his arm. 

“What happened to Ram, Akhtar?” She asked, her eyes raking over Ram in concern. Ram looked sickly. His eyes were bloodshot and droopy, and his chest was heaving as he gasped for air. Akhtar was too busy to answer, so one of his companions told her that Ram was bitten by a poisonous snake. Y/N was about to collapse to the ground and had a series of questions in her mind. How did a snake bite him? Where he lived was a safe area from snakes, and the forest was far away. He hadn’t gone there, did he?

Ram with great effort, looked up at Y/N while she kneeled and patted his cheek. It wasn’t the time for questions. “You will be okay, Ram. You will. It’s only a matter of time.” She looked helplessly at Bheem, who assured her saying, “I know the cure, Y/N. Don’t worry.” She blinked her tears away and nodded her head.

The next thing Bheem did took both Ram and Y/N by surprise. He took out his thread and placed it around Ram’s neck. Ram’s eyes grew wide while Y/N gaped at him. Akhtar was a Muslim, and Muslims never wore such threads. Was he hiding something from her? Keeping her thoughts to herself, she only prayed for Ram’s recovery, as Bheem gave him the antidote.

Y/N had her car, so she offered her car to Bheem to carry Ram to his house. From the alley, she was in, Ram’s house was only a few metres away, so she walked. Ram was resting on the bed and Bheem sat by the foot of the bed, holding Ram’s hand. She walked towards him and held his hand when Bheem looked at both of them. 

“Anna, Y/N, I have hidden something from you. I am not Akhtar. I am not a Muslim. I am Bheem. Son of the Gonds.” Y/N finally realized the reason why he had that thread over his body. “They took away a little girl from our village. We didn’t know what to do. We didn’t know how to save her. We didn’t know whom to trust. That’s why I put on this disguise.”

“Is the girl, Malli, Bheem?” Y/N asked to which Bheem nodded. Finally, the girl would be able to go back home to her mother. “When are you planning to rescue her?”

“We are going tonight to rescue Malli.” Bheem looked at Ram. “If we get out safely, I will come to meet you again. If I don’t make it…” he paused, “I have your friendship, which is more precious than my life. I will die with pride. Until next time, Anna.” He got up and gently held Y/N’s hand. “If I don’t come back, take care of my brother.” 

Things escalated quickly after Bheem left for the mansion. Ram got up from his bed trying to reach out for him while Y/N frantically pleaded with him to rest, assuring that Bheem would be fine.

“Y/N… please… leave me. You will hate me…” Ram, who had collapsed to the ground, slowly got up, mustering all his strength to stand upright. “I have to leave Y/N. Now.”

“Are you crazy, Ram?” Y/N held him by his shoulders. “You can’t even get up, and you say you want to leave? Bheem will come back safe, I know. Don’t worry he will-”

Ram pushed her away and shouted, “No no no! He is not safe! I will be the one to betray him and thwart his attempt at rescuing Malli. You will hate me for this Y/N, but this is necessary for me.” Tears streamed down his face. “Go away, Y/N. I am going to break your heart, too.”

Y/N stilled. Her mind did not register a single word except the fact that he was going to betray Bheem, and he deemed that his betrayal was necessary. Could a man be so selfish to betray his friend and that too for the oppressors who unjustly ruled the nation? In a moment, she forgot about her feelings for Ram, which she had begun to nurture from the day they met at Jenny’s party. She discarded the memory of those ferry rides they took across the river in the evenings. She winced at how his dark brown eyes looked at her in awe when they would stargaze as she talked about the moon. 

This gentle flower of love and affection that had blossomed in her felt like a sharp thorn piercing her chest. 

Rage flowing through her entire being, she lashed out at Ram, not caring if her words would pierce Ram’s gentle heart for her too. He deserved it, she thought. “I wish that poison could have shown its effect sooner before your friend came and saved you. I wish you died alone there so Bheem could get rid of a traitorous friend like you. My motherland still weeps in agony because of people like you who serve those tyrants and turn back on their brothers.” She wiped her tears and stormed to the door, only to turn back to give just one glance at the man she had been growing to love. She wanted to shout that she hated him and curse him, but his desperate broken look did not let her speak. 

No more did the dashing young Ram stand in front of her. Here stood a man who was about to lose two people from his life forever. There stood a man whose world lay shattered by his feet.

That night Bheem was captured, and the next morning, Ram was promoted to the position of Special Officer. No more did she have a companion for ferry rides in the evening, and no warm brown eyes sparkled at her as she raved about the moon. An eclipse had set in their lives.

Months later, the truth was revealed to both Bheem and Y/N. Bheem had escaped with Malli and were living in hiding. Y/N had to search a lot to find Bheem, and she thanked her lucky stars when she found one of the members of the family with whom he lived in Delhi. They knew Y/N, so they did not hesitate to reveal their hideout.

Bheem finally told her that Ram had never betrayed the country; he was working for a greater cause. For freedom of this holy land. Later, he introduced Seetha to Y/N, who confirmed what Bheem had told her and Y/N that day spent the entire night repenting her words and actions. Only if she would have asked him, why was he doing all that. Only if she had waited for a minute to listen to his ordeal.

She wouldn’t have crushed her heart and the tender flower of love that had blossomed between them only if she knew the truth.

The following day, Bheem left for Delhi to bring Ram back. Y/N knew what she had to do. She went to the nearby Shiva temple and prayed to the deity. “Promise me, that Ram and Bheem come back home safe, and I will never show my face to him. I wished for his death that night; may he never see me ever again.”

***

This time it was Jenny who had sent a letter, asking her to come to the village soon or she would send Bheem to bring her there. Much to her disappointment, there was no mention of Ram in the letter. She talked about Bheem and Seetha and the small open schools she had created for the villagers to read and write.

‘It’s good only that she did not mention Ram. My heart won’t be able to take in his name,’ she muttered to herself as she read the letter for the tenth time that morning.

For two days, she debated whether or not to visit the village. She even when to the Shiva temple, and when a flower fell into her lap, maybe by coincidence, she found her answer.

Ram wasn’t going to hover about her the entire time when she would be there in the village. She would quickly meet the others and stay indoors most of the time and return to Delhi after two days. Ram would not see her.

It took her three days to reach the village. Bheem and Seetha were present at the village outskirts to welcome her in and to guide her home. She smiled at them and even hugged Bheem, but not even Bheem’s warm hugs could ease her nervousness. She was half glad that Ram hadn’t come to see her but wondered what if she would meet him as soon as she reached Seetha’s home? She wasn’t ready to face him so soon.

Or maybe Ram would not choose to meet her. He definitely knew that she was coming. Bheem must have told him, but Ram wasn’t here, which meant only one thing. He didn’t want to meet her.

It took only ten minutes from the village outskirts to come to Seetha’s place and have her stomach fed with a nice warm lunch. Jenny too had joined her, and both the ladies chatted about each other’s lives and the dramatic turn it took within months.

“How long have you been living here?” asked Y/N.

“Since three months I guess. Believe me or not, I would love to stay here for the rest of my life.” Y/N raised her eyebrow in surprise. Even though Jenny wasn’t like the other mean English ladies who scoffed at Indians, she wasn’t exactly the type to fit in so comfortably in the village. She was born and brought up with riches and comfort, which the village couldn't give her. “The city is great to live in, but you see these villages, the countryside and its people… you fall in love with them. The people here have large hearts even though it did take some days for them to warm up to me.”

The both of them then focused on eating after which a jubilant Seetha sat across them with a hand fan in her hand, saying, “You finally got the chance to have the food prepared by my hands. How’s it?”

Seetha’s eyes were like a child's. They were tender and always filled with curiosity. Along with that, she had the most compassionate eyes. When Y/N had met her for the first time, she had seen how she was serving the people present in the house without caring to know their names. She had come for Ram, but she was helping so many.

“It’s delicious, Seetha. You need to teach me how to cook all of this because once I go back after two days, I shall miss the taste.”

Seetha’s face fell. “You will go so soon? At least stay for a week with us.” Jenny too joined in. “No way you are leaving that early. You will stay here for a week with us. We did not see you for months, Y/N!”

And as if these two ladies weren’t enough to chide her, Bheem was another addition. He literally ran to her and asked, “Is it true Y/N? Will you leave us so soon? We thought you would stay here for a while and later come to Delhi with us. Everyone, Seetha, Jenny, Anna and me will go. Heck, even Anna hasn’t met you for so long. He has gone out for some important work and shall be back by evening. What do you think he will say when he hears that you will leave after two days?”

Y/N gulped the last morsel of her food and replied. “What does he have to say? I came here for you all and go back. We all will meet each other there.”

The three listeners looked at her and shook their heads. Bheem was muttering something under his breath while the two women just sat and gave knowing looks to each other. Y/N looked at the two of them and asked warily, “Why are you both giving such looks? Am I missing something?”

“Well, we all can say one thing. Just wait for your Ram to come and let him hear the same thing, which you told us now. And if he lets you go that easily, we all will change our names,” said Jenny with a smile.

TAGGING: @manwalaage @itsfookingloosah @maraudersfansassemble @kalavathiii @gauri-vishalakshi @juhiiiiii @phoenix666stuff @sivuda @thewinchestergirl1208

[eremin0109]

RamBheem fics Part ONE (because the shithole that Tumblr is won't let me post more than 10 links Ugh):

So here's a list of all the (brilliant, outstanding, showstopping, absolutely fucking amazing) RamBheem fics I've come across on Tumblr dot com. Please feel free to add on in case I missed something.

I'll just start by shamelessly putting on my own first, just because they're the easiest to find Lmaoo.

(a personal favourite)

(not really a fic or even a drabble, just a very short scene really)

Moving on to the very talented @contemporarykafka and their beautiful letters!

And of course, Bheem's response to the second letter by @sinistergooseberries

Also check out the response to the first letter written by @theycallmeshri in the notes!

Going ahead is yet another OG 'founder' of the fandom, my dearest Keerthi! Or @rambheem-is-real. She needs no introduction Imao.

(far as I know, this is the only one she's written but surprise me!)

Next up is yet another darling, @itsfookingloosah!

[rambheem-is-real]

Someone should write a fic where chittu babu is rams twin brother.

WAIT I THOUGHT OF A REALLY ANGSTY PLOTLINE-

so lets say chittibabu loves ramaraju just as much as aadi pinnishetty’s character (forgot his name 😅) so he adores him very much

i’m going to say the whole alluri family isn’t dead in this au, maybe only one of them is?? something to provide the catalyst for ram leaving but anyway ram leaves for delhi and chittbabu stays in the village to help whoever’s remaining

years pass and chittibabu misses his brother (who stops writing letters to him) so he arrives in delhi (cue hijinks since chittibabu doesn’t know how urban life works or how to speak english) to find him 

he finds ram and bheem somehow, reunites with his brother, and becomes bffs with bheem

anyway fast forward to the snake bite incident where chittibabu realizes ram is a british officer when ram tries to go arrest bheem

chittibabu is devastated but won’t let ram hurt bheem, and there’s a fight between the brothers which ends in ram knocking chittibabu out and leaving to arrest bheem

when chittibabu wakes up he hears the news that bheem is going to be whipped and immediately runs to the town square, and chittibabu being chittibabu immediately attacks the guards, which leads to his arrest as well (and ram is super upset about this turn of events), the whipping goes on though

ram doesn’t even wait until the assignment letter to start planning how to break them out, and does so like in canon (except now both of them think ram is a traitor)

the other fight happens mostly the same, except bheem takes malli and runs as chittibabu tells him he can hold off the british people and ram (bheem is very reluctant but also doesn’t want malli to be captured again so he goes, trusting chittibabu to follow him) 

chittibabu and ram now talk for the first time since the snake bite, and chittibabu tells ram how heartbroken he is that ram’s betraying him and their family, crying

in the distance, the soldier tries to fire at malli like in canon, and ram shoots at him in return

I have two headcanons for how this goes so 1)

both bheem and chittibabu misunderstand, and while bheem keeps running chittibabu is the one to beat ram up and leave him for dead 

rest of the plot follows like normal, bheem goes to rescue ram while chittibabu stays to protect malli and the others, and once they’re out in the forest chittibabu also fights with them

(sorry in advance guys but the angst part of my mind is fucked up) 2) 

chittibabu knows how important malli is to bheem, so he puts himself in front of her thinking that his brother wouldn’t shoot if he was in the way, unfortunately he’s a bit too slow and the bullet goes inside his chest, ram is horrified and drops to his knees next to chittibabu, desperately crying out “thammudu”

bheem sees chittibabu get shot by ram and is filled with rage, he tells malli to keep running and comes back to ram

chittibabu bleeds out in ram’s arms so ram doesn’t pay attention/doesn’t care when bheem hits him with the block of wood or whatever it was

this time bheem doesn’t spare him and the block goes through ram’s heart

idk how it’ll end, probably same as canon except bheem is wracked with guilt the entire time, and after scott dies he goes back to ram’s village to tell his family the news of the death of their two sons and attends their funerals 

[rasnak2]

Running Away

Bheem stared blankly at the sheet of paper in front of him. He didn't know why but Jenny (and surprisingly Malli, when did she learn?) had head on confronted him about properly learning to write English (Anna was teaching him that already!) And now they had given him an assignment to write a letter!

But to who should he write? What should it be about? Should it be something he should send to that person later on? Or was it just for fun? He had so many questions, none of which were answered by his two teachers.

Unbeknownst to him though, Malli and Jenny thought that he would write a love letter confessing his love for Ram, or at least, if not acknowledge the love, mention something about their bond...

Contrary to their belief though, all Bheem could flow out was guilt laced words. His guilt about the secrets. His guilt about the harsh words. His guilt about hurting Ram. His guilt of how he was responsible for the torture Ram had to endure. Pages purely reeking of guilt, intended to be hidden away from the eye of the world, written in his broken English. Especially not for the eyes of Ram, who he knew wouldn't agree with his view. Who would start blaming himself for everything that happened. For all he knew, his letter was going to become one with the dust, never reaching the eyes of anyone.

--------

Ram knew that he wasn't supposed to be there. He also knew that he had been actively avoiding Bheem for quite a while, which also made the latter a lot mad at him and the only reason he was even here was because of Malli and Jenny's insistence that he should personally deliver the books he'd found during his investigations.

He glanced down at the books written in the native language and sighed. In all honesty, they were the most interesting puzzles he's ever decoded in a while and he'll be sad to part with it. Maybe he can ask Bheem for some more because, in all honesty, the books were rich with information that he is left wanting for more.

He walked over to Bheem's desk and gently placed the books near the sheet of parchment sitting beside an ink bottle and turned to leave when his name caught his eye.

He turned back around and took the parchment in his hand, a moment of surprise coursing through him as he read through the broken English of the letter that it was actually Bheem who had written it.

The more he read through, the more the elation of the fact that his Bheem had learnt to write English starter to decrease and in its space, something heavy started to settle in.

He quickly wiped the corner of his eye and tried to take in a controlled breath but all that seemed to do was to hitch his breath even more as he carefully placed the letter back in its place. He just couldn't believe what he'd read.

His hands were itching to take the feather that was sticking out of the pot and cross out, hell, even destroy the letter if he could but felt shamed as soon as he thought about it because he did the same thing in his journals. He could remember the pages and pages of writing he'd done right after Bheem had rescued him, when he'd arrested Bheem, all those instances of all the things he'd done to all his fellow countrymen just to fulfil the promise of a dead man, even if he was his father.

He could understand the guilt, the overwhelming deep pit in his gut that never seemed to stop growing, the persistent nightmares that he deserved... The burning self hate that consumed the soul... He could understand everything.

Except for the fact that it was Bheem who was feeling all this. Especially the fact that all this was felt for him. Because Bheem had beaten him up. Because he didn't come to save him before. Because he'd abandoned Ram.

All while Ram had accepted it as his penance for betraying his Jaan. It was his punishment for all those years of hurt he'd caused to his own people. It was the consequence of not keeping his word to his Abba. He was a sinner and he deserved that.

Sparing one last glance at the letter, he started walking away. Maybe it was time he actually talked to Bheem about all this. Without letting him know that he'd read the letter. Maybe.

-------------------------

... Bhaiya, I know that you won't ever read this letter but I really hope that you would forgive your thambudu for all the pain and sorrow and betrayal he has caused you in this very short time of meeting.

There are days where I wish that I was dead... Days which are spent just thinking about the nice times we had before the snake had bit you... There are small instances when I dream of you, and... I don't think you'll like to know what I dream of, Anna.

And now... You are ignoring me, like I rightly deserve and maybe, maybe this distance will keep you away from harm's way, even if it takes you away from me. It is the price for the sinner I am.

.

.

.

.

Love you Anna,

Bheem.

------------------------------

Part 2 | Part 3 | AO3

Part 3 will be up whenever I can put it up! Tagging @rambheem-is-real cuz you asked me to ;) and @bromance-minus-the-b and @eremin0109 and @miriseven *scratches my head for a moment* Umm... my brain short-circuited so I am gonna stop tagging