Under the Mistletoe - MaNan

Part 9

Hey guys!  This is the last part of this short story!  Thank you so much for reading this story!  I hope I was able to reach your expectations with this last part (:  Lots of love to everyone <3

Enjoy!

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I smiled to myself as I entered Dhruv's room, only to be awed at the sight in front of me.

The room was completely lit with Christmas lights, and had snowflakes hanging from the ceiling to further add to the winter wonderland ambience. I took a few steps in, only to smell the sweet scent of hot cocoa filling the room, with a bowl of marshmallows beside the kettle which was the source of the delight.

This had to be the best way to spend Christmas Eve. I turned around to smile at Manik, only to find him waving his hand through his hair.

I shot him a questioning look, to which he just looked away.

Well that's odd. What is he up to now?

But I stopped thinking about that as I saw Abhi in the room as well.

"Hey Abhi!! How are you?"

And lost in our conversation, I hadn't realized how everyone else had left the room, leaving Abhi and I there. I looked around, as Abhi voiced out my thoughts. "I wonder where these guys went!"

Aiyyappa, where did Manik disappear to? It's almost Christmas too! Shouldn't he be here?

"Nandini, I'm going to check the common room. Maybe they went there?" and he left in search of them. But as soon as Abhi went out the door, I heard a few swift footsteps behind me and the sound of a door shutting close.

I turned around in a rush, only to find myself bumping into his chest yet once again.

"What are you doing Manik?" I looked him, trying to understand what was going on.

And it was then that I heard the others counting down outside in the lobby.

"Ten... Nine..."

"Okay what's going on Manik?"

But instead of giving a response, all he did was take my hands in his and kissed them. I stood rooted there, unaware of how to react.

"Six... Five..."

"Manik," I managed to speak. I knew he heard me, but he still didn't respond. He just pulled me closer to him, now wrapping his arms at my waist.

I stood there, anticipating something I didn't even know. I could hear Cabir continuing the countdown, whereas Alya and Mukti just squealed in excitement.

"ONE!!!!" They all screamed in unison. "LOOK UP!"

I looked up immediately, trying to figure out what was going on. I looked at it, and back to Manik; a blush immediately creeping up to my face upon realization. He had a coy smile on his face as well.

So this was what they were planning.

"Kiss her Manik!!!!!" Cabir screamed outside, but he also winced – Mukti had probably punched him.

Manik looked into my eyes, probably to figure out if I was comfortable. But not wanting to waste any more time, I wrapped my arms around his neck and tiptoed to his height as I leaned in to kiss him.

"Are you guys kissing or notttt?! Don't make me come in there!" Cabir commented. We kept kissing, but I felt his one hand pry away and knock the door loudly. They all cheered outside, as he wrapped his arm against my waist again. I smiled against his lips. This really was the best Christmas ever.

I pulled away, "Merry Christmas Manik," I whispered to him. "Merry Christmas Nandini," he replied, kissing me once again.

He opened the door to let the others in as I bit my lips to stop the huge smile that wouldn't leave my face.

"You opened the door this early? I thought..." But Manik punched him in the gut before he could continue. "Cabir, stop teasing them!" Abhi said as he laughed at how embarrassed I looked.

"So whose idea was this?" Manik asked them as he pointed to the mistletoe.

And shockingly enough, it turned out that Dhruv was the mastermind behind this.

"I knew Nandini was going to be alone, so I thought why not finally get these guys together? I mean I was tired of hearing Manik talk endlessly about how one day he will propose Nandini," he spoke.

I was surprised to hear that, and turned to look at Manik. He wasn't looking in my direction, probably hiding his face. But oh my god. Aiyyappa. Is he actually... Blushing???

I looked down and hid my face with my hair, as I smiled to myself. Abhi pushed me towards Manik, and as always, he was there to hold me. I hugged him hard, as the others cheered behind us.

"Manik, Nandini... Just because we put the mistletoe to get you guys to kiss doesn't mean you keep going there for the rest of the night okay?" I pulled a fake angry face to Cabir as I punched him too. "Kya yaar, aaj sab mujhe hi kyun mar rahe hai?" he wittingly commented.

"Thank you so much guys," I said to them all. "You all have made this Christmas so memorable for me and... Manik," I added. I went to hug Manik once again. The others also joined in for a group hug as we celebrated a new beginning for many relationships.