Neil returned and he was turning the key in the lock to open the door to the apartment, which was suddenly opened from the inside by Avni.

Neil (with wide eyes) - "Avni! Main tumko bed mein lita kar gaya tha na! Chalo, andar chalo.."
(I had put you in the bed. Come back inside.)

Avni (with an apologetic but playful smile on her lips) - "Neil.. I feel totally fine actually. I know thoda feverish hai par chalta hai yar!" (I know I've some temperature but it's OK)

Neil raised his finger to Avni's lips and kept it there. Avni stepped back a little inside the apartment due to the shock of his finger touching her lips without any warning. Neil followed her inside and kept the stuff he had bought inside on the floor.

Neil (with a twinkle and a little anger in his eye) - "Meri baat nahi maani na. Bas thoda sa aaram karne ko bola tha! Ab bhugto.." (You don't want to listen to me right. I just asked u to rest a little. Now see!)

Saying this he lifted her up in his arms and pressing her close to his chest to balance the weight , he closed the door shut with his foot. Neil then carried Avni for the small distance that the bed was kept at and placed her gently on the bed.

He then gave her some food and medicine that he had got and asked her to sleep. But Avni had something else in mind..

Avni (softly)- "Neil.. I will do what you say. But mujhe sone ko mat kaho. I am without any worries after a long time. I am away from everyone else and I just want to relax and have some 'me'-time..please" (..just don't ask me to sleep..)

Neil thought about it for some seconds and then smiled.

"Sure Avni, you are right. You have every right to enjoy. Just take care of yourself. Main office nikalta hoon. I hope you have a nice 'me'-time!"(..I'll leave for office..)

Neil started to walk away but Avni tugged his hand and held him back.

"Neil, thodi der ruk jao.."(Wait for a while)

Neil was pleasantly surprised. Avni did not know that if she asked, Neil would stop by her side forever! He chuckled - "Sure Wifey! Entertainment ke liye aapka husband haazir hai.." and then playfully cupped her cheeks. (Your husband is available to entertain)

Avni did something surprising then, involuntarily, she rubbed her cheeks against Neil's hands and closed her eyes. Neil shook his head and looked surprisingly. Surely Avni was doing it because she was sick and could not think straight! Else till now she had been so shy..

Neil just sat by the bed with her and started talking. They shared a lot of stories from their past that the other person was not a part of. Both of them were laughing real hard at a mutual joke when suddenly a tear escaped Avni's eye.

Neil (sobering up, with concern in his eyes) - "Ye kya Avni.. tum sad ho kya.. what did I say?"
(What's this. Are u sad...)

Avni - "nahi, just cannot believe my good luck and bad luck. Good luck because I am with you right now and bad luck isiliye kyunki.. kyunki tum mujhe pehle kyun nahi mil gaye Neil (another tear escaped her eye as she said this)..''( No....bad luck cause why did u not meet me before hand Neil)

Neil just looked at Avni with an inscrutable expression on his face. And then just grabbed both her shoulders and pulled her in a tight hug. Avni hugged him back. They were in embrace for about a minute when Avni realized Neil was trembling. And then she felt something wet on her bare shoulder (as she was wearing an off shoulder blouse)..

Avni (in a worried voice) - "Neil.. Kya hua mere Neil ko?"(What happened to my Neil)

Neil kept on rocking with silent sobs against her. Avni realized this is the first time Neil is about to open to her. She held him tightly and said - "Neil, jo bhi hai tell me. I am strong enough to be a source of strength for both of us."( Whatever it is tell me...)

Neil - "Avni.. I love you. "

Avni had expected anything but this to come out! She looked at him, and suddenly pulled away so that she could see his face clearly as he spoke.

Neil - "Avni I don't know after listening to this whether you will continue to stay with me , to share the same room with me. To sleep on this bed with me. But let me talk. It has been pent up for far too long. I LOVE YOU. These three words I wanted to tell you the first time I met you, when I saw you wet and unconscious in that red dress, all I knew was you need to be saved. Not because it was my duty to save you, but because you meant something for me even then. I felt a connection with a stranger as I held her."

"Avni .. I have had a relationship before this. Which ended in tragedy. I never talk about it. But I am just mentioning it to you to tell you that I am over it completely, that you are the only girl I can think of as my wife."

Avni (putting her hand on Neil's thick lips..) - "Neil.. you need not say anything more to explain. I know Neil. I know what happened and I also know how much you care about me. And now I know that you, that someone.. loves me"

Neil smiled at her - "Silly girl, I am head over heels in love with you. Do you think I was just teasing you after marriage? I enjoyed those moments close to you so much that they had become my life!"

Avni let some tears escape her eyes. Her worst fears was proven wrong. She was lovable, someone loved her, and that someone was Neil, whom she..

"I love you too Neil.. pata nahi kab se.."(..don't know since when)

Neil just looked with his mouth slightly open and embraced Avni again fiercely. Today he was not going to let her go. He then just kept her down and lied beside her. Both of them were lying down sideways, looking at each other. Then Neil again brought her close to himself, so that she could hear his heartbeat with her head resting against Neil's chest.

Avni (making circles with her finger on Neil's chest) - "Neil.."

Neil (his eyes closed and taking in the fragrance of Avni's hair) - "Hmmhmm.."

Avni - "Can we stay here longer pls? I don't want to go home so soon.. aur mujhe thoda ajeeb sa bhi lag raha hai in facing everyone"(..and i am feeling a little weird facing everyone..)

Neil hugged her tighter as he spoke.

"Sab apne hain Avni. The way I repented hurting you, Bebe too did. Tum ye sab mat socho, main sab kuch dekh loonga. I will come before you as a shield each time now.." (all are our own Avni.. dont think about all this. i will ensure all goes well)

"Also I had talked to Neela ma, she told me you love dancing. That you used to do it when sad, to forget the past events. I think you should take it up again! Infact I want to see my wifey perform on stage before an audience and get appreciated for her skill!"

Avni - "How do you know I am a talented dancer? Neela ma might have overstated in her love for me.."

Neil (trying to suppress his smile now) - "Because you danced so well in the bedroom that night .. (then he looked at her with clouded half-closed eyes) Baby, you were smokin' hot!"

Avni hit him in the chest at this and Neil uttered an ouch. But then he recovered and pulled her back to him, only this time their faces were in front of each other. And then Neil flipped them with his eyes just looking at Avni's lips. Avni had been thinking of this moment for quite sometime now! She looked at Neil's lips as well and smiled.. But before she could smile properly, Neil interrupted her smile with a kiss.

And then their lips discovered each other with the feverishness of first love. As their lips worked together, Neil touched Avni's exposed waist and held it firmly by the side. Avni looked darkly at him and broke their kiss for a second. But then this time she went ahead and kissed him full on the lips.. Neither of them wanted to break the kiss or to wait even to breathe. This was their first of millions of kisses to come.

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Hey everyone reading till here. Would just like to say thanks for reading along! This was my first piece of writing by the way on Wattpad and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience!

Every story has an ending, but as Av-neil continues on TV, I am open to the possibility of extending this fan-fic upon getting more inspiration! :)

Keep on reading, voting, commenting! This is what kept me going on and writing over 4k words at times per day!

By the way I saw today's episode already, on Hotstar! And it is what gave me inspiration for the Av-Neil sweet ending. The way Neil hugs Avni in front of everyone was mind blowing and gave us all ideas ;)

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Hi - So I have a new idea with Av-Neil. It will not change the characters per say.. but the slow pace of the show versus the writing is making it difficult to keep the story lines aligned..