Kashti

Prologue!

Footsteps echoed down the hall as Aayansh returned to the mansion. He had been on a business trip to London and was back home after almost fifteen days.

He had been swamped with work all these days. Those prolonged meetings and the impending deadlines, made the entire trip really hectic for Aayansh.

His exhausted eyes searched for the only spark of joy in his life, his younger brother, Hridhaan. His weary legs instinctively led him to Hridhaan's room.

Entering the room, he stumbled upon a pillow that was lying on the floor near the doorstep. He shook his head as he noticed how messy his brother's room was. His little brat had taken all the liberties in his absence, causing troubles for himself and everyone around.

He looked up angrily but then sighed as he found Hridhaan sleeping on his stomach with a hand under his pillow making him look more adorable than ever. He mentally noted to have a talk with the boy later when he wakes up.

He picked up the blanket that was so carelessly kicked off the bed by his brother and gently draped it back over Hridhaan covering him properly.

Hridhaan was smiling in his sleep. Aayansh couldn't help but smile as he caressed his cheek. A look at Hridhaan's smiling face had the power to turn his exhaustion into satisfaction any day!

Hridhaan woke up to the gentle touch. He looked up sleepily and found his baba standing there. For a second, Hridhaan thought he was dreaming. He rubbed his sleepy eyes cutely and then looked up again. His eyes widened as he realised that his baba was really there by his side.

Hridhaan literally jumped onto Aayansh like a monkey and hugged him tight. Aayansh chuckled and hugged him back equally tight.

Hridhaan - "I missed you baba. I missed you so so much!"

Aayansh -  "I missed you too bacha." Aayansh said as he ruffled his hair.

Hridhaan - "Aap kab aaye? Aap to kal raat ko aane wale the na?"

Aayansh - "Apparently yes but then because I wanted to surprise you, I decided to come back early. Although that's a different thing altogether, that in an attempt to surprise you, you ended up shocking me badly instead." Aayansh's expressions turned a bit sharp as he concluded.

Hridhaan rolled his eyes as he sassed - "I know that I am electrifying, baba but I don't think I am electrifying enough to shock you yet."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Hridhaan was whacked hard for his efforts. He whined as he rubbed his head - "Ouch Baba! Maar kyu rahe ho yaar, ab kya kiya maine?"

Aayansh glared at him - "Kya kiya? Really? At this point you should be asking kya nahi kiya tumne. If you think that I don't know about the stunts you pulled out behind my back then you are very, very wrong Hridhaan and trust me, we are going to have a long talk about it!"

Hridhaan paled. If his baba knew about everything he did behind his back, all these days, he was dead meat.

Aayansh - "Aur ye kya haal bana rakha hai apne room ka?" Aayansh asked as he folded his hands across his chest and glared at his younger brother.

Aayansh hated keeping things messy, whereas Hridhaan on the other hand was anything but a neat freak.

Hridhaan smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders -  "Vo mujhe laga ki aap kal raat ko aane wale ho. So I decided to clean my room tomorrow morning."

Aayansh narrowed his eyes - "So basically you are telling me that you have been turning this house into a mess since the past fifteen days, haven't you?"

Hridhaan gulped  - "No baba, Not at all." Hridhaan shook his head with the most innocent face possible. "Actually a cat sneaked into my room and I was running behind it in an attempt to catch it which resulted in such a mess. The cat is responsible for all the mess, you see."