In His Custody ✎ | (MaNan)

✰ 65 - undivided loyalties

Happy 11 years to our favourite show! As a tribute, I thought I would give this special (long-needed) update for you all!

Have any of you watched Saiyaara yet?

Also, happy birthday to one of my favourite readers in this FD, Muskan! She's so lucky to share the same birthday as KYY, isn't she?! :")

⭒

Nandini

Breakfast that morning happened to be puri takeaways Abhi brought for the three of us on his way home. While Manik was showering, Abhi and Mukti were seated at the dining table as my brother had to report to work straight after, and Mukti mostly kept him company rather than having a proper meal herself.

Two more plates were kept aside for Manik and me.

As I ladled some spicy potato curry from the opened packet into my brother's plate, I hesitated before I asked, "So Mukti, what are your plans for the day?" My brother mumbled a small thanks, and waited for his companion to answer.

Off late, they had not even been talking. Last I saw them spending time with each other was the day they were both returning in the car together after a dinner out, the same night Inaaya dropped me. Neither of them shared exactly what was going on between them.

If my brother and Mukti were allowed to shield their personal problems from me, I did not want to entertain elaborate discussions with them about my uncertain equation with Manik. That was one of the reasons why approximately an hour ago, I had spoken quite harshly with Mukti... when Manik candidly mentioned her intervening between our tiffs. Since then, it was uncomfortable territory to navigate a conversation with her.

Mukti bit into a cucumber slice, appearing lost somewhere. "I have to go out somewhere."

"Out as in work?" She paused for a moment, and then nodded with pursed lips.

That meant Manik would be alone at home. Somehow, that thought was so unsettling... but that was me projecting my abandonment anxieties on him.

After the quiet breakfast session, Abhi washed his plate and headed to his room to collect his things. I too scrambled between my room, the kitchen and the living room to gather all my belongings into my bag. I had a long day ahead of me, but as I was packing my things, the bathroom door opened. With a towel around his neck, and wearing a blue T-shirt and shorts, Manik paused at the threshold, catching the bag in my hands.

"Are you heading somewhere?" he asked, still rubbing the end of his towel into his hair.

I answered, turning my back to him, "You shouldn't ask someone this before they are leaving somewhere."

"Okay," he murmured, somewhat amused by the interesting piece of news... second to the rule: one cannot have food before showering in the Murthy household. "Where will you be returning from?"

The expressions on his face reflected such an innocent ask. 

It immediately took me back to a time in the past, when Manik would voice out the same questions about traditions and customs that I wished to... but in a way that did not seem insulting. Rather, it came from a place of curiosity because he didn't grow up in a household where he was taught them; meanwhile, I grew up in a home where such questions were discouraged.

Mildly, I instinctively giggled at the grown-up version of the same child, hopelessly shaking my head. I happened to enchant him with the sound, because he dreamily moved closer with a deliberate stride, as if drawn to me by some invisible chord. Feeling weirdly conscious of his steady gaze, I snapped my focus to the dining table where all the food was kept to handle my fluttering heart.