Chapter Text
Veenu sat in front of the mirror and pouted. Her mother and aunts had draped her in a beautiful sari, adorned her with beautiful jewellery and left her in this room alone with strict instructions to not step outside. She hadn't seen Jai the entire day and it was driving her crazy. They had been parted for so, so long and her breath caught in her throat now that he was not near. And what even was the point of dressing up so prettily if his eyes didn't get to feast on her first?
The verandah was empty. She could just slip out, find his room, take a quick glance at him and come back. Pretend she had been sitting there all the time like a doll. But- "Vennela, don't try to be too smart. You'll attract bad luck for your marriage and your future," her mother had warned her as she rose from kneeling in front of the goddess. From the other wing of the house his laughter had carried over to her, clear and sweet over the bells and chanting.
She sighed. She definitely wasn't one to believe these silly traditions but everything was so perfect right now, so perfect that it felt fragile like a newborn bird. A little misbalance and it would all come crashing down at her feet. Happiness stolen from the palm of her hand again.
So she behaved. Living in the same house as him was proving to be more of a curse than a blessing. He is right there. Just a wall away. No. She wouldn't give in. She fidgeted with the plaits of her sari and when she tired of that, wrote "Veenu & Jai 0-1" on the mirror with the lipstick. She looked at the blunt head of the lipstick and the writing again. She thought of something inappropriate and giggled.
Trying to imitate his deep voice, she looked herself in the eye and said: "Veenu, you are the woman of my dreams. I never want to be away from you. I can do anything for you. I will give you the entire world if you want it. So, Veenu-"
"Will you marry me?"
She stopped. Wait. How did she manage to make that sound exactly like him? Veenu smiled proudly. She would make an amazing voice actor; another talent to be added to her evergrowing list.
"Well? Can I please get some reply?"
She stood up, awed and turned slowly. His tall blurry figure leaned against the frosted glass of the door.
"What are you doing here?" She hissed, hoping that her excitement wasn't heard.
"I missed you."
Veenu blushed and put her palm on her forehead. This man. He was going to get both of them into such trouble.
"You need to leave!" She told him and didn't mean it one bit. "They'll kill us both if they catch you!"
"Then why don't you just let me in?" He replied smugly.
Oh god. Why was she marrying this menace of a man again?
She felt frustrated. What in the literal sense of temptation knocking at your door was this? "You know I can't do that," she told him with the firmest tone she could muster.
He sighed sadly. "Alright then. Guess I'll just stand here till my wife"-her face reddened again at the word-"takes pity on me. Wait, is that Meena aunty coming this way? Yes, it is! I should greet her, right?"
Veenu panicked. If Meena aunty saw Jai standing outside her door like that…"Okay, fine just, turn your back to the door and close your eyes!" She heard a soft chuckle of victory and rolled her eyes.
But there was no time to be wasted. She opened the door, dragged him inside by his shirt and shut the door again. Facing his back, "Happy now?" She asked but the bitterness didn't quite come through as she had hoped.
"Mhm," he replied genuinely and nodded.
Veenu smiled inspite of herself.
"May I turn now?" He asked innocently. She knew better than to trust that sweet treacherous voice though.
"No. You may not."
"But my eyes are closed!" He whined and his hands reached for her.
She eluded their grasp and said,"I don't trust you."
"Look now, Veenu," he began seriously, "what kind of marriage will we have if you can't even trust your beloved hus-" She hit him gently on the head, annoyed. He let out a dramatic sigh and she immediately felt sorry.
Veenu got an idea. She looked around the room and didn't see anything that might work. Unless… she undid the safety pin of her pallu. Standing on her tiptoes, she wrapped the pallu around his eyes and tied it securely.
"You may turn now," she said with a sense of accomplishment and closed her eyes. By the pull on her sari, she could feel him turning.
"Thank you, ma'am," Jai said and she laughed. He was silent for a while like he was listening intently to the sound and then he laughed too. His hands reached for her again and deciding that she was too far away, he pulled her to him by the pallu.
"Aren't you getting too bold?" She poked him on his chest, her finger's length the only distance between them.
"Maybe," he murmured, burying his face in her hair. "I missed you, Veenu," he said again. The words were raw, hoarse with longing and love. And Veenu understood them all too well.
"I missed you too, Jai," she said and put her arms around his neck. He bent down to kiss her forehead except he kissed her tikli instead. She laughed softly against his chest at his confusion.
He tried again, gently lifting the jewellery and she sighed when his lips connected with her temple. She pulled him closer, every tiny inch of distance felt to her to be too much and felt his arms tightening around her. The kiss had branded her to be his and him to be hers stronger than vermillion ever could.
A tear broke free from her eye. 'Stop, your makeup will be ruined,' she thought involuntarily. But there was a strange calm in her heart after a long, long time and it condensed in her eyes, in her throat. The tear drops kept falling.
Jai must have felt his shirt getting wet. "Veenu?" He called out to her and the tenderness of her name on his tongue made her whimper. He held her face and wiped her tears. "I'm right here, my love, right here with you. And I'll never leave you again, I promise," he brought his face down to hers and sealed the promise with a kiss to her cheek. "I'll make you the happiest," he kissed her other cheek. "I'll give you the entire world and more," he kissed her hand. "I'll even let you pick me up when we go mango-picking," he kissed her other hand.
She giggled. "I don't need you to allow me for that, idiot," she said haughtily.
"No, you don't," he agreed and pressed her close to him again.
She might have a talent for imitating voices but those promises sounded far better in his voice than hers. Maybe because they carried a sincerity that settled deep inside her, glowing warm like a home in itself. Maybe she was just a fool in love. Who knew and who cared? Their hearts beat in sync and the sound could have kept her happy for an entire lifetime.
"Veenu!" Someone called from outside.
She stubbornly held on to him. "You need to come out in five minutes!" She groaned and loosened her hold. "Jai, let go," she said when he didn't.
"Hmm, I don't want to," he said.
"Oh come on now, they'll have my head if they see us," she complained and tried to wrench herself free, unsuccessfully. "You-" and she lifted her hand to give him a good one again.
But he had probably predicted it as he caught her wrist mid-air. "You didn't answer my question," he said.
"Which question?"
"Will you marry me, Veenu?"
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What do you think I'm doing?"
"Say it again."
"Yes, yes, Jai, I'll marry you!" she said, somehow both excited and frustrated.
"Okay," he said and she undid the knot of her pallu.
She put her palm on his eyes. "No peeking."
"You look beautiful," he said and kissed her on the lips.
He gave her just a second of that pure bliss. She heard him open the door and when she turned, he was gone.