Unveiling Meerab [Tere Bin FF]

54. birthday

Author's Note: Hello y'all! It was so lovely to see the comments (for those of you that were not shy to comment on smut) for the last chapter, I giggled so much going through them! Thank you for the love! We move forward a bit - it's Murtasim's birthday again, a little full circle moment! Hope y'all enjoy the (long) chapter! See you on the other side!

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Meerab stood in front of the small canvas propped up on the floor in the nursery, eyeing it nervously as she wiped her hands on an old towel. She glanced over at the table beside her, which was covered in baby-safe, non-toxic paints in pastel pinks, purples, blues, and greens. A tiny paintbrush sat next to the tubes.

"Okay, meri Meesam, we're doing this for Ba - Murtasim," she announced to Meesam, who lay on her back on the soft play mat nearby, underneath her playmobile. She looked up at her mother with big, curious eyes when she spoke, her little fists were clenched tightly, occasionally flailing as if testing the air around her.

At shy of three months old, she was starting to understand the world in her own way, but definitely not enough to understand that her mother was trying to get her to make a birthday surprise for her father.

Meerab crouched down beside her daughter and smiled. "He's going to love it so much. You know how much he loves your little hands and feet, right?" She lifted one of Meesam's tiny feet, smiling as she gently rubbed it, feeling the soft skin against her fingers before leaning in and kissing it.

Meesam kicked her legs in response, her little lips puckering into what looked like a pout. She let out a soft sound, almost as if in protest.

"Oh, don't start fussing already! We haven't even begun," Meerab murmured softly, leaning down to press a kiss to her daughter's forehead. She moved to grab the small tub of pink paint and opened it carefully. "Just a little bit, okay? We're going to make something really special for Ba - Murtasim."

As she dipped Meesam's tiny foot into the paint, making sure to coat the sole evenly, Meesam let out a high-pitched whimper. Meerab winced. "I know, I know, it feels odd, but it'll be over in a second!" she promised, trying to soothe her fussy baby. Meesam's face scrunched up, and her tiny hands flailed around, clearly not enjoying this sudden intrusion of paint on her foot.

Meerab sighed softly, smiling despite the tiny meltdown brewing in front of her. "Come on, it's for Murtasim. He's going to love it, I promise. He's going to see your cute little feet and this little-little hands, and be so so happy!"

With gentle hands, Meerab lifted Meesam's painted foot and carefully pressed it onto the canvas, holding it still for a few seconds. The room was filled with the soft sounds of baby babbling as Meesam continued to fuss, her face now filled with irritation. The tiny print came out perfectly on the white canvas, a delicate splash of pink in the shape of her daughter's foot.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Meerab whispered, quickly grabbing a baby wipe and cleaning off Meesam's foot before the paint could get everywhere. But of course, as she reached for the wipe, Meesam's other foot kicked out, landing squarely in the blue paint Meerab had opened.

Meerab gasped, then burst into laughter, watching as Meesam's painted foot hovered in the air. "Oh, Meesam!" she said through giggles, gently grabbing the blue-covered foot before it could hit anything else. "Alright, looks like we're doing this foot next."

Meesam let out a tiny wail as Meerab gently pressed her other foot onto the canvas near the pink footprint, before wiping her foot clean again.

"We have to get all the paint off these small-small feet," she sang to Meesam while rubbing them clean, tickling her little toes – she really had the cutest hands and feet but they were growing too quickly. "There we go!"