Purposely giving the same disclaimer as before:

Ive been so habitual to Itv &dramatic content since childhood so writing on Katha Ankahee is a HUGE risk for me bcz this is out of my comfort zone
But ive tried my best that i dont ruin the essence
Hope you guys like it

#####

After his exams, aarav had an entire week off from school so he thought to go for sleep over at his friend's place which katha approved& got a tight hug from aarav as a thank you

Viaan took this as an opportunity to spend some personal time with his jugnoo& asked her out for the annual couple's get together to which katha agreed

*****

Evening-

The doorbell rang& katha knew that viaan was here to pick her up
She opened the door with a smile while viaan was lefted mesmerized to see the beauty in front of him



V(whispers)-beautiful

Viaan came out of his trance when katha fetched her phone& purse

K-shall we?

V-sure

Katha locked the door& they moved towards the lift

*****

Like a gentleman, viaan opened the car door for katha& she sat inside
He took the driving seat& they were off to the location

*****

KaViaan entered a huge hall& the host greeted them

H-you have arrived at the right moment
The dance is about to begin in a while, followed by dinner

Viaan thanked him& they got comfortable
As the music started to play, viaan offered katha his hand& they moved to the dance floor

Initially, they played few sweet random melodies& later moved towards romantic hindi songs

*****

After the dance, KaViaan were busy in their own world- sitting on a corner table& having dinner

V-i want to make a confession

K-ok

V-ive imagined moments like these many times& it feels blissful on finally turning true

Katha smiled& caressed viaan's hand with her thumb gently, making viaan smile& surprised too

Katha's gesture again made him realise that how far they had come in their relationship
Now, he didnt wish to look back ever again

He was ready to wait& let katha take her time bcz he knew that her hesitation wasnt just bcz of their past-

It was about filling up the gap of so many yrs she had spent being alone& he understood that it wont happen overnight

She was comfortable with him being around her& that was enough for him so he was ready to wait further too
Whenever it will be, it will surely be memorable

Their moment was disturbed by a call from office employee
Viaan gave a frowned look to his ringing phone while katha laughed on seeing his expressions

K-its fine
Answer it
Must be something important

With the same frown on his face, he moved away towards a quieter place to answer the call

Meanehile, katha started to casually scroll her phone
A waiter came to her table with a tray of snacks

She was full but she didnt want to sound rude so she picked 2/3 pieces from the tray& the waiter left

She took a bite of the snack& her mouth started to burn- it was extremely spicy

Her eyes started to search for the beverage counter
When she spotted it, she got up with her purse& phone
She picked the glass of lime water& finished it in few sip

Meanwhile, viaan returned but katha wasnt there
He called her up
Before he could speak, he heard something from her side which left him stunned to the core

K-hi viaanu...
Where are you viaanu?

V-katha where are you?

K-sitting near beverage counter viaanu....

V-be there
Im coming

Viaan scanned the surroundings& finally spotted the beverage counter& katha sitting on the table nearby

He sighed &moved towards the table
He sat beside her &asked in his ever gentle tone

V-katha where had you gone all of a sudden?
I was looking for you

Katha didnt say anything& just smiled at viaan
By her way of talking on call, viaan had understood that something was definitely fishy

V-katha did you drink or eat something a while back?

Katha nodded her head with eyes closed& the expressions of a happy child

K-yes
A waiter offered me a snack which was very spicy so i drank lime water from the beverage counter
It was very tasty

She then pointed to the empty beer-size glass on her table

Viaan picked the glass& smelt it for few seconds

V(whisper)-Absolut Lime Vodka

(Im an adult but since i dont drink, so i had to do detailed research to write this shot
So im sorry in case of any errors)

Viaan identified the smell pretty soon, thanks to all the past experiences he had with his bff ehsan

He remembered when katha was once sharing a memory of aditya when he accidentally over drank& she had to bring him back home

She mentioned how funny yet tough the experience was, especially until they found a transport to reach home
That was when she decided to not drink

V-oh no
This was katha's first time drinking& hence the effect is strong
We need to leave

Viaan got up, put katha's belongings in her purse& helped her get up

Katha held viaan's arm for support& rested her head on his shoulder
Viaan held her firmly yet gently& moved towards the lift to exit the building

The lift opened to a huge basement with hundreds of vehicles parked there
Viaan remembered that the car was parked at a distance& they had to walk for a while

But he noticed that katha was on the verge of dozing off so he did the next best possible thing
He picked katha in bridal style while she kept her head in his shoulder, losely holding his shirt's collar for support

At this moment, viaan really wished if he could stop& just embrace this beautiful woman in his arms like this forever

But he also knew the difference of right& wrong so he continued to walk& soon reached his car

He opened it with the remote lock& carefully placed katha in the passenger seat, making sure to not hit her head to the roof

He bent her seat in backward direction so that she gets support& she is more comfortable
He put on her seat belt& locked her door

Viaan then took driving seat& drove out of the parking
He took a quick glance at katha& understood that she was sound asleep

*****

As they reached katha's building, viaan looked for a parking space
After a while, he finally found 1& then got off to open katha's door& help her get off the vehicle

He locked the car& again picked katha the same way as before
As he was walking towards the lift, the sudden bg noise of stray dogs barking started to wake up katha so viaan patted her head to put her back to sleep

*****

As they reached her flat, viaan fiddled with the keys before finally opening the door
He entered& locked the door behind

Viaan removed katha's sandals after putting her in bed& covered her with the duvet
Katha looked at him with half open eyes& gave him a smile before finally dozing off

Viaan tried to resist alot but failed in front of the love he had for this lady
So he bent down gently& kissed katha's forehead

V(whispers)-good night jugnoo
I just wish the situation doesnt go out of hand tomorrow morning

*****

Viaan went out, removed his coat& shoes& lay on the sofa
He reminisced the time he spent with katha- the dance, their dinner, their discussion on random topics made him smile

As his gaze moved towards the wall in front, he smiled on seeing katha's pics with adi& aarav
He got up& stared at them lovingly

But the pic which caught his attention was the1 in the centre of all these
It was from katha's birthday- KaViRav in 1frame
The smile on his face grew tenfolds &he caressed it

T

hen, he faced a solo pic of adi

V(smiling)-adi i didnt expect katha would get this pic framed& hang it among all the special moments she shared with you &aarav
She gave me a place first in her life, then her heart& now, her home

I will never forget the promise i made to you on katha's birthday
They werent mere words bcz i meant what i said
I know my limits too& i will never cross them

Although i didnt show it but i also know my mom's indirect techniques to create rift between me& katha
But my promises to you arent shallow

I wont shy away or move back from taking a stand for our relationship whenever necessary, even if it means to go against anyone, including my mom

Maybe i still have high hopes from her that she will eventually change& accept us- thats why i havent confronted her for her behavior till now
But i wont let her cross any limit that it becomes too late to confront

And maybe i know katha's fears too
Shes scared to be called a home breaker
The fear that a situation shouldnt arrive wherein i have to choose between my love& my mom

Bcz i cant even think of leaving her& aarav
So if i choose her over mom, then she will feel that history is repeating itself, which i know couldnt be the case earlier too& it never will be
And if mom doesnt approve, even then i will choose what is right

Viaan noticed the pic of aarav as a baby& smiled on caressing aarav's face with his thumb

V-you know something adi?
It was a moment of blessing in disguise for me when i realised that aarav was none other than my batman

I will never let my past repeat itself ever bcz the equation i had with mr viraj raghuvanshi will never affect the bond& relationship i share with aarav

Aarav accepted me with open arms which means alot to me& i will make sure that nobody can ever ruin the bond i have with him

The relationship of batman- robin will come first, before any other relation between aarav& me
Thats my promise

He gave a glance to the pictures before finally sleeping off on the sofa

*****

Morning-

Katha woke up with a serious headache
She tried to get up but fell back on the pillow

She also took some time to get adjusted to the light coming through the curtains

When she finally woke up, she was surprised to find herself back at home, in her room, in her bed

Suddenly she remembered flashes of the party& the moments she spent with viaan until, she drank some lemonade& then started to feel tipsy
She made some effort before finally getting up to wash her face& freshen up properly

She did feel better after that
But unfortunately, the headache didnt subside so she walked out of the room with slow steps

Viaan heard her footsteps turned to face her& saw her squeezing her forehead

V-good morning

K-good morning

V-looks like a hangover
I know you would be feeling headache, weakness, irritability& a lot more at the same time
So firstly, have this lemonade
Ive prepared breakfast accordingly
It will get better

Katha pulled a dinning chair& sat down

K-i remember i ate something spicy& then i drank lemonade
Then how come im having all this headache& stuff?

V-well...that was Absolut Lime Vodka

K(shocked)-what?

V-yes
Actually its similar to lemonade in appearance& mostly served in same way as lemonade

Katha sighed but drank the lemonade& ate oatmeal which had toppings of watermelon, banana& oranges, as all would help to cure the hangover

(Google search, again)

Viaan sat parallel to her

V-ehsan has put me through tons of such experiences- creating a new type of record every time
So i know the drinks, smell& remedies pretty well

Katha smiled but didnt talk much- totally opposite of the carefree katha viaan had been seeing since a while now, whenever they were together- with or without aarav around them

It didnt take long for him to connect the dots
He shifted to the chair beside katha& gently wrapped his hand around her free hand

V-you got drunk by accident, not on purpose& you dont need to feel embarrassed about it

Katha gave him a blank look

V-ok
Let me share my 1st experience- it was worse than embarrassing

So me& ehsan were interns
And unlike ehsan, i wasnt used to drinks
Both of us had gone for a confrence& we were representing EC
My beer was spiked by a competitor- we had many competitors back then, including pyramid

Thankfully ehsan saved the day for both of us, although he was totally unprepared for it

Bcz the topic of project was really boring so for ehsan's convenience, we decided that he will sit back with all the designs& details while i will present

So i had prepared everything according to my preference& ehsan had browsed the ppt 1hr prior to the event, like a crash course

But now, the responsibilities were reversed
I had to sit back& ehsan had to present
No doubt ehsan was tensed but he didnt let it show on his face& gave his best, hence saving the day for us, as well as EC

The next day, when my hangover had subsided to some extent, he made me take the pledge that the roles wont get reversed ever again

But that was the sweetest pledge for me-
It wasnt bcz he wanted to avoid a repeat episode of the entire chaos
Instead, bcz he always wanted to be the spoilt yet innocent child& me as his responsible parent

Katha smiled

K-and you love to play that role

V-oh yes of course

K-best friends for a reason

V(smiling)-yes

They sat in silence for a while
Viaan understood that something was going on in katha's mind, which she wanted to share
But he didnt push her& let her open up on her own, at her own pace
He simply moved his hand forward& rubbed her hand with his thumb

Katha got up& fetched an art file from aarav's shelf
She sat on the sofa& viaan sat beside her

She opened it in front of viaan, who looked at the drawings keenly while katha went back in memory lane

K-it hadnt been long since since adi passed away when i got to know about aarav's cancer

It was probably the toughest phase of my life
Striking a balance between aarav& work was indeed tough, especially bcz their was stress about finance management, arrangement for donor, medical precautions& alot more
Every emergency hospital visit used to be fearful for me that what news will the Dr give us this time?

Falguni behen& the elderly residents of our society were my biggest support
Aarav couldnt play with kids of his own age so he made friends who were much older in generation

But at the same time, he too, had his worst days- breaking down on thinking what if today was our last day together?
Everyone knew aarav so they kept us motivated, making us live every day to the fullest

Bcz of work commitments, even after trying my best, there were times when i ended up compromising on spending time with aarav

But he had become mature at such a small age that even if he felt disappointed, he didnt show it on his face& said that i can work as much as i want right now
Bcz after recovery, my time will only belong to him

I home schooled aarav for all these yrs& made him create scrapbooks with his future plans to keep him& myself motivated

Once the cancer came, my whole world started to revolve around only aarav
I actually didnt get the time to notice when time flew by& aarav grew up so quickly

He didnt crib about adi's absence but i could see the pain in his eyes
As he grew up& used to see other fathers spending time with their kids, he felt the void but hid it behind a smile bcz he already knew the struggles i was dealing with to arrange finances for his treatment

As viaan had flipped through the pages of the scapbook& heard katha, he realized that till now, he knew katha's struggles only from a superficial level
It was only today that he realised the intensity of the situation- when katha finally opened her heart to him

K-ive often felt that the society we live in is such a hypocrite
When a single parent is trying to make a balance between work& child's responsibilities, society suggests the parent to re marry& move on in life for secured future

And when that parent finally decides to move on that too with the consent of the child, then the same society start questioning the decision of the parent

Wheather you are single, married, divorced, widowed, with or without children- the society always has some problem with your life decisions

V-but i know you never bothered to think about what the society says
Whatever decisions you took in life, you always kept aarav before yourself

You always analyzed how every decision made by you will 1st affect him
And i know that to keep him 1st, you must have made many impossible compromises in life
You have given him an excellent upbringing katha& thats the reason why he grew up as mature& so selfless

Viaan slowly stretched his arm& wrapped it around katha's waist, pulling a bit closer
Involuntarily, katha too, wrapped her hands around viaan arm& leaned her head on viaan's shoulder

V-katha till now whatever obstacles you faced in bringing up aarav, you faced them all by yourself

But not anymore
I want to lower down the burdens you have been carrying all by yourself
Now, aarav is an equal responsibility for me
His happiness is equally important for me
Bcz i want aarav in my life as much as i want you
You both deserve all the happiness in the world& i truly mean what i say

Katha acknowledged viaan's words with a smile& held his arm firmly, her head still rested on his shoulder, making viaan smile too as he held her closer, assuring katha of his presence

They didnt realise for how long they sat there, being in the very same pose- for minutes or hours, just being beside eachother

*****

The silence in the room was eventually broken by the ringing of doorbell

V-i will get it

Viaan opened the door& smiled on seeing aarav

V-my batman is back!
How was your sleepover?
Did you enjoy?

Aarav gave a faint smile

V-hmmm
So neither did robin get his special hug nor the blast of kisses
Something is wrong

Aarav kept the bag aside& hugged viaan but not in his usual way

By now, katha was also standing beside viaan, equally confused as him
She caressed aarav's hair& aarav pulled katha closer to him& viaan, hence sharing a family hug

K-monkey
What happened?

Aarav looked up at KaViaan& again clung to them

KaViaan understood that something serious had happened
So viaan pulled up aarav by his lower back& got seated on the sofa
Katha sat beside them, while continuing to caress his hair

A-mumma
Robin
I have a friend- prateek
He also came for the sleepover

V-ok

A-he recently had a younger brother
And prateek told me that his baby brother is getting much more attention than him

V-but thats obvious
For many reasons, new born babies do need much more attention than grown up kids like my batman
Right?

A-yes
But prateek said that bcz of the baby, his parents dont have proper sleep at night so they end up scolding him to release their irritation

Prateek& me are close friends bcz we have many things common
He also likes to share everything with us in school& outside school too
Chocolates, comics, tiffin etc

But the one thing which he never wanted to share was his parent's love with another sibling
He wasnt happy when his parents told him they will have another baby
But his parents said he will adjust to the changes

We tried to explain him that the baby will be his friend& they will enjoy together when the baby grows up
But he was still very sad& now we dont know how to cheer him up

V-dont worry
We will talk to his parents so they will spend equal time with prateek& his brother

K-then prateek will also be as happy as my monkey was when youhaan was born, right?

Aarav's eyes lit up with joy

A-i will share this news with prateek
He will be so happy
Thank you mumma
Thank you robin

Aarav went in his room to share this news with his friend

K-for almost 9yrs, aarav has got my undivided attention
So he understood his friend's story closely

V-i remember when i read those parenting books, i realised that as kids, our friends are of great influence

I remember neerja ji shared aarav's friend sumit's story with me& i understood that it had a huge role in aarav's approval for us
So if a positive story can influence him, then so can a negative one

The most important point is that unlike prateek, aarav didnt hide anything from us& expressed what was bothering him
So at least we are aware of his thoughts

K-right
At this age, kids dont know how to express their disagreements on topics which are out of their understanding

And sometimes parents also dont grab the hints easily& the child starts to hide his/ her feelings, thinking that nobody will understand it or will brush it off

V-and now we can give this hint to prateek's parents as well so that they are careful in future

Katha noded as they stared at the family pic on the wall in front