Fleeting Moments-Ramayan Oneshots

The Rare Fables of Innocence

A/N-I would like to thank @lakshmila4ardi and @lkjhmn12(Ratri) for suddenly sparking a wish in my mind to write this for no apparent reason. We stan non-brutal Lakshman. In addition, this Lakshman is a bit different from the one I usually write. Very innocent about everything but war.

It was a lovely spring day when Ram realized that Lakshman didn't know why Urmila was mad at him, or even the fact that she was mad at him at all. He was just busy with his bow and his arrow, trying to shoot bull's eye targets (and succeeding too), and Urmila had stomped away. "Lakshman?" he asked, his voice laced with amusement. "Do you realize that Urmila-" And then Lakshman looked at him with the widest, darkest eyes ever, and Ram was struck with the fact that his brother was probably the cutest brother in the world, and all he wanted to do was pinch his cheeks.

"Urmila?" Lakshman asked. "What about her?" He paused. "Oh yeah, she's sick. She said she wanted to rest in our chambers for a while, so I let her. She always comes here to watch me practice for some reason. I don't mind, of course, but it always confuses me when she stalks away." he paused again. "Do you think she might have been practicing to march in our armies? Not that I mind, of course, but-"

Ram laughed. And laughed and laughed and laughed and half collapsed on his stomach and kicked the floor as if he was having a tantrum with how completely clueless his brother was about anything romantic, and how he was very R rated when it came to battle, but he would blush if he even saw two people touching each other. "Bhaiyya?" Lakshman asked weakly. "Are you alright? You don't look alright."

Bharat walked up and picked Ram off the floor and let him lean on him. "Yes, he definitely isn't alright. What did you do Shatrughan?" he turned around to glare at Shatrughan, who put his hands up cluelessly, pretending to be as shocked as a deer in headlights. "Yes, yes, we all know. "I did absolutely nothing! See, I even have an alibi!" And then you'll drag Shrutakirti into this and then we'll all be sorry."

Lakshman smacked Bharat's arm. "The problem is that something is wrong with bhaiyya, and I can't figure out what. I just said that when Urmila stalked away from my weapons area, I thought she was practicing to be a marcher in the army, and I didn't want to burst her bubble, but women aren't allowed in the army, and that was when Ram bhaiyya lost-" Lakshman stopped speaking, because at this point, Shatrughan was on the floor, laughing as well, and Bharat pinched the bridge of his nose exasperatedly. "What?"

"It's, it's-nothing." Bharat sighed, shaking his head. "Just maybe she wants you to spend more time with her. Maybe she doesn't want you to spend all this time with your weapons and arrows and bows! Maybe she wants you to act like her husband, Lakshman! You know, you're not only Maa Sumitra's son and Shatrughan's twin and our brother anymore! You're her husband, and you have to act like it occasionally."

"Oh." Lakshman said. "Well, I give her stuff, like golden paintbrushes, just like Papa does. You know? Papa gives Maa Sumitra stuff occasionally, twice every year or so, so I do too, and since doesn't spend that much time with her, I don't either. That's what you have to do, right, when you have a wife?" Bharat opened and closed his mouth like a fish; Dasharath was always in Kaikeyi's room. "Besides, weird stuff coming from you. You spend more time painting than with your wife." he snorted, shaking his head.

------O------

Meanwhile, the sun slowly set, Bharat finished his painting with a flourish, Shatrughan and Shrutakirti frolicked through the flower gardens, laughter echoing throughout the gardens, Ram and Sita finally finished poking each other and turning bright red, and Lakshman grumblingly gave up on being able to wield a sword and a bow at the same time ("I'll get it eventually."), stalking towards his chambers.