SidNaaz Imagines

Imagine Thirty Four

Shehnaaz was sitting on the dining chair, her face contorted into a frown that gave jolts of anxiety to the man watching her from the couch just a few feet away in the living room. She had a card-of-sorts clutched between her palms. There were a couple of letters too, but they weren't the object of her attention at that moment. Siddharth was getting worried as more and more seconds lapsed amid her silence. "Shehnaaz.. Kya hua baby?"

Shehnaaz jerked her head upwards as if recovering from a trance. "Kya?"

Siddharth stood up from the couch and walked towards her, "Kya parh rahi hai mery jaan?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Kab se dekh raha hoon, kis baat pe pareshaan ho rahi hai?"

Shehnaaz pouted and turned to face him, "Woh.. meri class ka reunion hai. Dehradun mein, poora batch mil raha hai."

Siddharth smiled, "Yeh toh acchi baat hai na baby.. problem kya hai?" he asked curiously.

Shehnaaz shrugged, handing him the card. Siddharth scanned through it. "You're supposed to bring a plus one?" He frowned.

Shehnaaz nodded, "That's the rules. Everyone is bringing their partners/spouses." She said quietly.

Siddharth smiled and read the card once again. "Reunion.. Batch 2010. 13 January.. " He frowned thoughtfully, "Toh kab jaana hai?"

"I have not figured that out yet." shehnaaz replied. "Mera mann nahi hai.. But they've been hounding me about this for weeks."

'Mann kyon nahi hai?" Siddharth asked, confused.

"Yaar.." She sighed tiredly. Siddharth pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Mera baccha, kyon itna pareshan ho raha hai?"

"I want to go there with you." She confessed in a voice that would've been inaudible to Siddharth had he not been holding her so close to himself.

It broke his heart, the way she said it. It was as if she thought she was committing a crime by asking him to accompany her to a get-together hosted by her school-friends.

"Jaa toh raha hoon tere saath gadhi. Tujhe tere school ke laundo ke beech mein akela chodne ka koi plan nahi hai mera. Kya pata saale meri absence mein tujhe kya bolke pata lein. Vaise bhi.. saale sab kattar Shehnaazian honge!" Siddharth said with a hint of a smile on his face.

Shehnaaz chuckled. Siddharth pecked her lips softly and smiled at his precious little goofball. "Kushal aur Mehul se baat karta hoon, dono ka schedule woh 3 dinn free rehna chahiye." He said softly.

Shehnaaz nodded. "Thank you."

Siddharth chuckled, "I know mein hamaara relationship public nahi karta, but that's because I don't want to lose this exclusivity with you. I don't want people poking into our lives, judging the god-damned way we breathe around each other, not because I don't want.. y'know to be seen with you out in public." He said.

"I know.." Shehnaaz smiled at him.

"Tere friends ke saath ek minute ke liye bhi akela nahi chhodne waala mein tujhe. Saara time jonk ki tarah chipak ke rahoonga." Siddharth stated matter-of-factly.

"Pakka promise?" Shehnaaz asked.

"Haan pakka promise." Siddharth bumped his nose into hers. "Ab chal fatafat confirmation bhej dono ki.."

***

Siddharth couldn't blink. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her in a western attire before, but right now, Siddharth just couldn't blink.

He didn't want to miss even a microsecond of his princess dressed in a beautiful red-grey-black knee-length dress.

She looked absolutely breathtaking, and it was taking every last bit of his willpower to not kiss the living daylights out of her.