IMMJ2 One Shots

acceptance

Trigger Warning: Implied Past Child Abuse

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Riddhima opened one of the drawers on her vanity desk and searched around for a jewelry box. Her old one was filled to the top with all her little trinkets and she was getting tired of unknotting all the thin chains from each other.

Pulling one out, she clicked it open and was surprised to see numerous colorful rakhis inside. She glanced at Vansh who had been resting from his vicious poisonous attack. She picked one rakhi up and ran her thumb over it curiously. Along the red threads were several multi-colored beads. It was simple in design, but also quite beautiful. She rummaged through the box, sifting through all the other rakhis. The designs, patterns, and colors were all different yet they all were tied together with one common element - two sisters' deep love for their brother.

Saddened, Riddhima placed the rakhi back in the box.

Just how many times had she wished for a brother? Older or younger didn't matter, just as long as a brother existed. Someone who fulfilled his vows of always protecting her from every danger. Someone who would put people in place who dared to hurt her even in the slightest of ways. Someone who would be ready to move mountains just to see a smile on her face.

Far too many times would be the correct count. Every day she spent at the orphanage she desperately wished to have a family to go to. Every scolding from the warden, every hateful comment from the kids at school made her wish for someone, just anyone to come and whisk her away. All she ever wanted was to silence people when they would question whose blood she belonged to. To put them in their place when they would sneer at her and boastfully proclaim that she can't possibly belong to a good family. Good families don't abandon innocent children. That's an act that only bad families do. It's the bad set of parents who neglect and add a burden on society.

Riddhima scoffed.

A burden. Just how often did she hear that as a child? It's a burden to feed you. It's a burden to clothe you. Why are you asking for more? You should be grateful for what you have. That rackety bed in a corner with the deflated pillows and torn up bedsheets - you should be thankful for it. The limited portions of food you get - that's a lot more than the kids on the street get. Do you want to be a kid on the street? Do you want to lie out in the cold, with no roof over your head?

She closed the lid with a loud snap. Vansh stirred awake, and blearily opened his eyes. Riddhima quickly placed the box back in the drawer and slid it shut. With a deep breath, she walked over to the bed and sat in the empty space beside him. Resting a hand over his forehead, she checked his temperature.

"How are you feeling now?" She quietly asked.

Vansh didn't answer. Simply blinked his eyes. He might want to go back to sleep again.

"Pani doon?"

He shook his head.

She ran a hand through his hair and noticed how soft it was. It was when Vansh opened his eyes to stare at her that she realized what she was doing. Fearing his reaction, she immediately brought her hand back.

"Karti raho." He quietly told her. "Acha lag raha hai."

Nodding, she ran her hand through his hair again. He closed his eyes, and Riddhima noticed how with time his shoulders began to relax. Riddhima wondered if the period in which he laid in a deep sleep was the only time when he got some peace. It must be. For whenever she saw him awake, he would walk around as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Riddhima would like to share the load but she greatly hesitated.

Vansh isn't the kind of man she had dreamt her husband to be. She had already found her ideal lover, and that was in Kabir. Gentle, soft, caring. Yes, he had lied to her but it was for a good cause. He was an officer of the law and his lie was a necessity for the country's protection. Had he been anyone else, Riddhima would have never seen him again. She would have thrown him out of her life with a broken heart. But he was a police officer. A man who had sworn to protect the nation's citizens at all cost. How could she possibly reject a man with that much integrity? Moreover, he fulfilled a need in her life that she had been so desperately seeking since she was a child.