Bade Acche Lagte Hain | MaNan

Care & Communication- II

9th November, 1995.

Running on her biological clock, Nandini's sleep broke early morning and she found herself caged in her husband's arms. Surprisingly, she liked being here even though she didn't like being cuddled, especially when on her periods. It irritated her but his arms were comforting.

She shifted a bit to check if the bedsheet was stained and sighed in relief on finding it clean.

Well aware that it was a holiday today, she didn't leave the bed instead utilised her time to study her husband. She didn't get this opportunity daily being immersed in her work. She faced him and snuggled closer as he hugged her tighter. He was just a few inches away and she smiled, watching him sleeping like a baby, his long eyelashes touching his cheeks, lips parted with drool sticking out from his mouth. She raked her hand in his hair, pushing them back from his forehead and a white scar at his right temple caught her eyes. It wasn't visible but a very deep one. She caressed it and hugged him closer, unsure to ask about it.

Her smile dimmed remembering about his anger last night. She doesn't want to face it ever again. Who would believe that a man looking so innocent in his sleep has so much of anger in him?

Thinking about yesterday, her thoughts wavered to the argument, the way Manas insulted Prakash. She felt bad for him and wondered if Manik behaves similarly with his father. She found it absolutely wrong.

"Where are you lost?" A raspy murmur broke her thought process and she looked at him as he fluttered his eyes to stay awake.

"Nothing." She answered softly.

"Do you feel any pain now?" He asked caressing the side of her waist and closed his eyes waiting for her answer. She bit her lips and said while nudging his arm to leave her. "No but I need to freshen up."

He opened his eyes and stared at her for few seconds before loosening his hold around her.

"Meanwhile, you take a bath, I'll make tea for us." Manik said rubbing his eyes as she climbed down from the bed and wore a cardigan over her night gown. "I will take time and then I've few chores to look after. I'll wake you up when the tea will be ready." She said warily, as she didn't want him to get angry, the first thing in the morning.

"It's okay, I'll make it." He stood up and exited the room pulling over a sweater without waiting for her response. She sighed, in a dilemma to whether stay mad at him for being so stubborn and bossy or feel happy with his care. He was one difficult person to understand sometimes.

She entered the room after a refreshing bath and found him reading the newspaper, the window half open, soaking the room with warm sunshine. She silently unwrapped her towel from her head and dried her hair.

Distracted by the sweet chiming of her anklets and her alluring fragrance filling the room, he kept the newspaper aside and leaned back on the bedrest, implicitly watching his wife getting ready with his arms locked on his chest. Sensing a pricking gaze on herself, Nandini looked at her husband and found him gawking at her with a special smile on his face, just reserved for her.

With a red hue spreading on her cheeks, she held his proffered hand and sat next to him as he wrapped his other arm around her waist before digging his nose in her hair.

"You are beautiful, my wife." He confessed softly, pushing her wet flicks aside and kissed her right cheek, just near the birth mark. Dropping collective kisses uptill her jaw, he tilted her chin up staring right into her eyes before capturing her lips for a soft kiss which she seems to happily reciprocate, curling her fingers in his hair.

Panting heavily, she hid her face in his neck while his fingers were lost in her wet tresses. "Good morning." He wished, kissing her warm cheek, a huge smile over his face seeing her flushed, just because of him.