"Hi there! How are you?"

Gauri's left eyebrow twitched a bit. Post her return from the bathroom, she met a sight she could not have imagined, ever.

Rudra was standing near the showcase and presumably, exchanging salutations with her Shinchan figurine.

"I'm Rudra. Pleased to meet you, good sir."

"Enough is enough," Gauri glowered inwardly and stomped her way to Rudra.

Rudra turned around before Gauri could even reach him. An annoying smirk was plastered on his face.

"You are back, I see," he spoke the obvious with utmost apathy.

Raising his hands, he stretched a little and Gauri, without even willing, found her gaze stuck upon his biceps.

"Like what you see."

Rudra's voice broke her blatant reverie. Gauri cleared her throat and looked up. A frown etched on her face when she found Rudra almost manhandling the figure and scanning it, as if it were an alien species. 

Gauri huffed and snatched it from his hands.

Rudra raised his brow and tsked, then shrugged as if Gauri was the one who pulled off a childish act.

"So, are you ready?" He questioned seriously.

Gauri safely placed the figurine inside the drawer of the night stand and faced him.

"For what?"

Rudra stared at her blandly before unclasping his watch and placing it on the top of the nightstand.

"Gauri," he smiled.
"It's night-time. We are alone. Together. What do you think we're supposed to do?"

Gauri stretched her lips in a thin line.
"Uh! Not much. We will sleep."

"Exactly," Rudra said, looking at her with utmost seriousness.

"I think you are okay with that. Well and good then, I just want to tell you that..." he paused.

"Don't be nervous," he concluded solemnly.

"Huh! Why would I be nervous?" Gauri asked, resting her hand on her hip.

"It's your first time, so I thought," Rudra stopped in mid-way.
His face surged with indefinable glee.

"But I am so glad you aren't uncomfortable with it," he completed, lips stretching into a wide smile.

Suddenly struck by the realisation of his insinuating words, Gauri could not stop the blush from splashing over her rather pale cheeks.
She opened and closed her mouth several times like a fish under water.

Finally letting out a frustrated growl, she spoke,
"What ungodly things are speaking at the middle of night? And how can you utter something so shameful with so much nonchalance?"

"It's not hard," Rudra shrugged.

"Let me be blunt, Gauri. You know, I don't have to work hard. It comes to me naturally. I just go on with the flow. See, that simple," he spoke in a tone of a teacher who explained a sum to his student.

Gauri gave him an incredulous look.

"You..." she pointed her finger at him.

"I..." he winked and kissed her finger, alternately.

Gauri turned red. A homogeneous mixture of embarrassment and diffidence, that was what she was feeling at the moment.

"Okay so," she hesitated.
"Did you have dinner?"

Rudra nodded positively, keeping his unwavering gaze fixed at the bed.

Gauri suppressed the urge to throw her hands in air and groan.

"Rudra," she called out tersely.
"You take the couch tonight."

That drew Rudra's attention. He folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. Throwing a scathing glance at the couch, he sighed.

"I won't even fit in that... thing," he uttered the last word distastefully.

"Fine," Gauri scrunched her face.

Collecting her pillow, she proceeded towards the couch but Rudra blocked her way effortlessly.

"I can adjust there," she said it as a matter of fact.

"No," Rudra stated dryly.

Gauri frowned. Would the night pass with them arguing the way they were? Maybe, but that didn't mean she was going to back down.

"What do you mean no?"

"No means no," Rudra deadpanned.

"Now Gauri," he drawled her name.

"Get under the damn covers, in bed. Or do you want me to help?" He asked with a gleeful undertone.

Gauri puffed her cheeks and stood her ground. She wouldn't back down.

"I won't."

"As you say, darling," Rudra chirped and stepped forward towards Gauri.

Gauri squealed in response and tried to pry herself away from him. She quickly padded to the other side.
Breaking into fit of giggles, she did not ponder over anything else but at the contentment she felt right then and there.

Rudra snaked his arms around her waist from behind and spinned her, almost lifting her off of her feet.

Throwing her head back, Gauri laughed vivaciously, perhaps for the first time in the last four days.

She landed in the bed followed by Rudra, both delving into laughter that was so innocently expressing their merriment.

A moment of nothingness; leaving all the worries, all the insecurities, every seriousness and line of severity, untouched for that moment. That particular moment, there wasn't any mind ploying over schemes nor was there, any evil planning to defile the bond, a bond so beautiful and real. How much did the time demand? Perhaps, a little more of the less to pause the ticking clock.

Rudra folded his arm and rested it underneath his head, while other hand sweeped Gauri's hair out of her face.

"Didn't I tell you? I do not take no as an answer when I don't want to," Rudra stated.

Gauri smiled secretively. Resting her chin on his chest, she looked at him with her eyes half-veiled by the drooping eyelids.

"Hmm... no! You didn't, your highness," she burst into laughter.

Rudra grinned and changed the position they were in. He hovered over her, his eyes fixed upon her lips.

Gauri couldn't help but gulp at the brazen intensity pouring out of him. Rudra leaned in, shortly reducing the distance between them.

Rudra looked up, somewhat confused.

Gauri had stopped him, her index finger, resting on his lips. Her lips pulled up in a sneaky grin, her eyes glinting with mischief of her own.

"No kisses for you, Mr. Rathore," she said.

"Really?" Rudra kissed her finger, making her squeal and giggle.

She hummed and looped her arms round his neck while he did not make any further attempt to change their position.

"By any means, angel, are you putting me on a kiss-diet?" He asked sardonically.

"Kiss-diet?" Gauri chuckled.

"You can put it that way," she nodded thoughtfully.

Rudra scowled and laid back.
"Why such a harsh punishment?"

"Don't you think you deserve it?" Gauri propped herself on her elbows.
"For stressing me out of my wits and unbalancing my stress hormones, hm?"

"Perhaps," Rudra exhaled and stared at the ceiling impassively.

"Tell me about you," Gauri said with a smile.

Rudra frowned, "What about me? I'm here with you in person and still, you want to hear accounts about me. Talk about irony."

Gauri pursed her lips.
"Shut up. I don't know much about you. Don't you feel I have right to know about you? I mean..."

"I was born in Jodhpur but was raised in Jaipur," Rudra interrupted Gauri.

Gauri showed a child-like excitement and propped herself in a more comfortable position.

"I was 5 when my mother passed away," Rudra said, his tone barely had any trace of emotions.

Gauri opened her mouth, probably to give him words of comfort but Rudra did not let her. For her, he wasn't even there with her. His eyes held a unique unsusceptible and delusional cover.

"A year later, Daata married Maa," he smiled.

"Maa. What do I say about her? She loves me even more than Veer. I still remember the day as if it were yesterday, how she entered the palace with 5 year-old Veer in her arms," he spoke, his voice laced with a faint sweetness of reminiscence.

"From that day onwards, we were inseparable. Then, came Aadya, our princess. These, angel, are the most beautiful memories of my life," he glanced at Gauri.

He did not have a smile on his face. Perhaps, he did not need one to show the exuberance he was feeling then. His eyes, they were speaking volumes of satisfaction and delight that his heart wanted to lay in front of her. It was evident as the day and night itself.

Gauri reciprocated each and every radiating happiness he was giving her, earnestly.

"Umm hmm... Mr. Rudra must have been an adorable child back then, unlike now," She teased.

Rudra smirked, "Not much, you see. I was considered as a child prodigy. I had a questionable maturity and intelligence from a young age," He appeared quite far to Gauri.

"Anyway, so I had a tough time making friends of my own, except Siddharth. That guy had been tailing behind me since I don't even remember."

Gauri giggled. The image of a young Siddharth following a young Rudra was hilarious but satisfying at the same time.

"And girls," Rudra feigned a self pity look.

Gauri squinted her eyes and threw an accusatory glare at him.
"Girls?"

"They were always too eager to befriend me. Like a sweet and adorable child I was, I never broke their heart," Rudra blinked innocently.

Gauri shot him a glare.
"So, you were this adorable even then?" She prodded.

"Yes, angel. What did you expect?" Rudra asked.

"I built my expectations on a foundation of hopeless hope. I should have known Rudra is Rudra, irrespective of the age," Gauri huffed.

Keeping the pillow at its place, she decided to call it a night.
"But you went to NYC. Why?"

Rudra was thankful to Gauri that she did not see his face otherwise the chilling expression of malignant shine over his face might have had unnerved her. Rudra's lips tugged into a devilish smirk.

"Ten years ago, my father found it suitable to send me abroad for further studies. Siddharth accompanied me and that's all I know," Rudra said, tapping a finger on his temple.

"Oh!" Gauri's eyelids felt heavy under the spell of sleep.

"Thank you, Rudra," She spoke suddenly.

Rudra settled his gaze upon her.

"Thank you for being there for me when I needed you. Thank you, for protecting me, for consoling me. I am not going to lie, I was afraid that something horrifying would happen. I was scared," She murmured.

Rudra hovered over her and pressed his lips on her forehead. The intimacy of the kiss was unlike any other. It said so much yet left a lot, unsaid. Gauri felt the affectionate delirium seeping into her skin.

He trailed his lips from her temple to her cheek-bones, moving down to her jaw line and ultimately, to her collar-bones. He stopped there and Gauri closed her eyes, savouring what he was giving her.

"Did you fear the one who broke into the house, angel?" He murmured against her skin.

Gauri could feel herself being lulled into the comforting embrace of sleep.

"Yes," She managed to mutter before giving in to sleep.

"You shouldn't have," Rudra whispered.

Raising his head, he stared at her innocent face, so serene and beautiful. They were so close yet she was faraway, in her illusion of dreams.

"Do you know what is to be feared the most in this world, angel?" He muttered softly, smirking.

"It's not power, nor money, not even the hatred of your worst enemy, no," He tucked the strand away which was disturbing his view.

"It's love."

"You should fear love, my angel. Because it is the most powerful and dangerous, in this world. If you love someone unconditionally, you will give that person immense power over you. Love, my dear, can both strengthen and destroy you," He completed in a whisper.

Chuckling softly, he gave her a feathery-light kiss on her lips.

"Be strong, Gauri. There is no room for weakness at the crossroads you are standing on. However unknown to it, you still have been pulled there," He smirked.

"By the way, angel," He grinned.
"I love black," He stated, staring at her black kurta.

"It is the only colour which can mask even the darkest and most tainted secrets."

Outside, the wind picked up speed. The star studded sky slowly shied away, hiding behind the ferocious darkness of clouds.

.
.
.

Devendra Raj paced back and forth the expanse of his living room. A sheen of perspiration covered his face.

Nothing was going on the way he had wanted it to be. Half of his plans went straight into the drain because of Veer Pratap Rathore and remaining; he did not even want to think about it.

A newspaper laid across the table near him.

The Rulling party lost three of its ministers to the highway-car crash.

The headline was bold and clear. The article took a huge space of the front page.

Devendra picked it up, his gaze fixed upon the photo of Vijayendra Pratap Rathore.

The home minister of the state as well as the director of the party, Mr. Vijayendra Pratap Rathore, expresses his condolence and offers his sympathy to the families of the deceased. He says, "It's an hour of tragedy for the party. The late ministers were my good friends as well. May their souls rest in peace."

Devendra crumpled the paper and threw it across the room. How did it happen?

"Tragedy? Sympathy? My foot," He growled.

Vijayendra Pratap Rathore could be very vicious when it all came down to politics and Devendra knew that.

"Where are the worthless idiots when I need them?"

He glanced at his watch. They should have been here by this time. Taking out his phone, he checked the notifications.

"How can I not know about this? How?" He wiped the sweat off of his brows.

Dropping himself in the sofa, he stared at the prosaic walls without even a blink.

"This needs to be done. Now," He decided and scrolled through his contact list.

Without any single hesitation, he pressed the call option.

"I knew you would call me, Devendra Raj," The jovial tone mixed with sarcasm wasn't missed to Devendra.

Devendra smirked, "Kanhaiya Lal. Perhaps, we could arrange a meeting with the director of the opposition party."