The first night: A Prashiv One-shot

Can we sleep in our bed tonight?

In the cold breeze that breathed in through the window, Shivansh sensed that even the wintery night felt shy as Prathana walked into the room. Shivansh thought he should have averted his gaze when Prathana's deep sapphire dupatta slipped off her left shoulder; he didn't. Instead, he stared at the long, inky black hair that spilled around Prathana, and with each chime of her payal the bells in his heart sung her name. When she was finally standing in front of him in the space between the foot of the bed and the sofa, she looked up at him with velvety burnt umber eyes. Shivansh saw himself reflected in them, just as she saw herself in his. A soft smile bloomed on her lips.

"What are you thinking?" she asked him tenderly.

"That I hope the pull connecting my eyes to your face never breaks."

Even when Prathana lowered her gaze, Shivansh gently lifted her chin up with his forefinger and thumb so that he could keep looking at her with reverence.

"What are you thinking?" Shivansh asked.

"That I don't have to pretend that you live within me. That even when I don't know how to call for you, you'll always be there to guide be back."

Shivansh let his forehead rest on Prathana's as he took one of her hands in both of his and held it against her chest.

"Have you really been made just for me?" Shivansh asked shyly.

Prathana lightly nodded her head.

"Do I really get to spend the rest of my life with you?"

She nodded again and then it was her turn to ask him a question.

"Will you always help me put on my earrings?"

Shivansh let out a laugh as he lifted his forehead off Prathana's to look at her again. He tucked one of her loose curls behind her ear and lightly ran his thumbs over the small pearl studs currently piercing her ears.

"Every day."

Prathana beamed back up at him as she leaned into his touch.

"It's been a long day," Shivansh said. "Should we go to sleep?"

Shivansh saw the slight nervousness paint itself over Prathana's face, and he understood it. Tonight felt like the first proper night of their marriage. They weren't strangers but there was a loving innocence in the air that hadn't been there before, and Shivansh didn't want to rush anything. Shivansh planted a soft kiss on Prathana's forehead and moved toward the couch but suddenly stopped. He looked down and saw Prathana's hand closed around his wrist. She let it drop further until she wrapped her small hand around his. Shivansh stared as she shook her head from side to side. Then to his surprise she led him to the bed.

"Can we sleep in our bed tonight?"

Shivansh's heart boomed in his chest. Prathana switched off the light, and then they both climbed onto the bed. Shivansh lifted the blanket over them, and they both lay on their sides facing one another beneath it. Prathana was the first one to shift closer. Shivansh laced his fingers through hers and gently kissed the tops of them, and a loving mischief blossomed in both their hearts.