RaghVi - Love, Lust and in between

Sleeping together

Set over the time period from when they start sharing a bedroom to Lies & Anger.

It had been a month since they had been sharing a room and a bed. It had been awkward and embarrassing at first but slowly they had gotten used to each other's presence. But the night times were the worst. Raghav was used to sleeping bare chested with the AC set to a low temperature whereas Pallavi hated the AC as she felt cold easily. After quite a bit of tussle and arguments they decided on a compromise: Raghav could sleep shirtless whereas Pallavi would use a double quilt to keep her warm. That sorted, Pallavi thought they could get a good night's sleep. Little did she know it had been a long time since Raghav was able to sleep soundly. He often had nightmares, mumbled in his sleep and constantly kept waking up disturbing her sleep. 

This night again, he woke up from a nightmare drenched in sweat and slowly tried to get up from the bed when Pallavi caught hold of his wrist. He turned to look at her, her eyes half awake.

"Aur ek bura sapna?" she asked

 "Haan, sorry tumko uthaya, bar me chalejaunga ab. Tum sojao " he replied

"Nahi, bas uha whisky pikay sone ki koshish."she said tugging him by his hand back to the bed.

He lay down and she moved closer to him.

"Mereko tumse dar lagra sari ka dukaan" he murmured as she moved closer.

"Gappa bas, pura time bakwaas karte ho" she said as she leaned over him and gently stroked his head and started to softly sing a Marathi lullaby. 

"How is this going to help me sleep?" he thought but slowly his eyelids started to get heavy and he fell asleep snoring lightly.

"Veda Manus" Pallavi muttered with a sleepy smile looking at him snoring away.

The next day, Raghav again woke up from a night mare. He turned to Pallavi but she was fast asleep. He was debating whether to get up and go to the bar or try to stay still in bed. Before he could decide he felt somebody tug his hand. He turned to see Pallavi half awake, pulling him closer towards herself. He gave up the fight moved closer and she placed her hand over his chest. He held it and slowly listening to her steady breathing he fell asleep. And that led to a nightly routine, he would hold her hand over his chest and go to bed every night. Sometimes over the course of the night he ended up hugging her waist. The first time Pallavi woke up and found herself being held by Raghav her heartbeat fastened and she considered moving away. But watching him sleep so peacefully  she felt warm and fuzzy inside. She stroked his hair gently and couldn't stop herself from placing a light kiss on the top of his head. As the sunlight entered the room, Raghav woke up and and realized he wasn't holding a pillow but Pallavi's waist. Embarrassed he looked up to see Pallavi watching him intently.

"Sorry, woh raath mein..." he trailed off as he moved away.

"Koyi baath nahi, whiskey se toh yeh better hai" she smiled.

With that encouragement over the next week, whenever Raghav had trouble sleeping he would reach out to Pallavi in bed. He needed her touch to calm him and help him get a peaceful night of sleep. 

As summer turned to winter, one night Raghav woke up to find Pallavi awake and shivering under the covers. She had her back turned against him. Without thinking he moved closer and hugged her from behind trying to warm her body with his.

"Better?" he whispered

At first Pallavi froze with shock but then as the warmth from his body seeped into hers she relaxed. 

"Haan" she replied