The months after Sati's death passed sorrowfully. Shiva barely ever left Kailash, instead choosing to spend his days holed up in the mountains. Lakshmi went up there every day, just to check if he was breathing, often bringing meals and sweets with her.
"Why do you do this?" he asked on one particular morning when Lakshmi was serving him food.
Lakshmi smiled at him, placing more rice on his plate.
"Because I think you need someone to be there for you. That's all anyone really ever needs." she explained, pouring butter milk over the rice.
Shiva never once took his eyes off her.
"Like a sister?"
"Well, you've already got one of those, and I certainly won't be your wife... I suppose I plan on spoiling you. Like a mother. You've never had one of those, have you?"
Shiva shook his head, and Lakshmi clapped her hands together.
"Well, now you do! Oh, I've always wanted to be a mother!" she exclaimed happily.
"Have you ever voiced your wish to Vishnu?"he questioned once he had swallowed.
Lakshmi blushed profoundly.
"No, not quite."
"You should."
Lakshmi seemed to consider it, before shaking herself out of her thoughts.
"Either way, this is about you! Now, as a mother, it is my duty to spoil you rotten and make sure you're eating properly. Especially the second one, honestly, all that meditation you do can't be good for you."
"When absorbed in devotion, all else becomes insignificant to the soul." Shiva clarified.
Lakshmi continued to fuss over him, insisting she comb his hair and clean the area as well.
"You honestly don't have to put yourself through this." he said, as she tried to untangle his coarse locks.
She shushed him, before groaning in frustration.
"Do you ever run a comb through your hair?!" she cried, exasperated.
Shiva let out a low chuckle.
"Well, not all of us are as concerned with their 'spectacular hair' as your husband." he said, making air quotes with his fingers.
"He is usually a bit preoccupied with that." Lakshmi admitted. "But at least that saves me the trouble of getting my fingers stuck in his hair."
The unmistakable sound of the comb snapping filled the air.
"Are you being serious right now?!" Lakshmi screamed, holding up the two broken halves. "Well, clearly this is a lost cause. We'll get back to it later."
Shiva watched fondly as Lakshmi flitted from place to place, feet gliding across the rocky ground of Kailash.
When Vishnu came to pick her up a while later, he saw her affectionately feeding sweets to him, and talking rapidly about something or other.
"Lakshmi, are you ready to go home now?" he asked.
Hearing his voice, Lakshmi practically threw herself at him, fingers playing with the ends of his hair.
"I'm never going to complain about your endless hair routines again." she said, before mock-pouting, jutting her bottom lip out. "He broke my favorite comb."
"Oh, Jeevita, do not worry. I will make you a comb a thousand times more beautiful."
Lakshmi grinned, and grabbed his hand.
"I don't want to go home just yet. Why don't you stay, then we can all find something to play." she said.
"Play?" he asked, confused. "We're not children."
"I am." Shiva said, raising his hand. Vishnu shot him a surprised look, and he realized how that must have sounded, quickly fixing his words. "She's adamant on treating me like one."
"That makes more sense." he said, nodding. "In that case... Anybody up for Carrom?"
---
As it turned out, Vishnu was great at playing Carrom, repeatedly scoring coins, and winning three games in a row.
"Score!" Lakshmi cried, picking up the black coin that had fallen in the hole.
"That's cute." Vishnu said, flicking the striker into a reverse shot and scoring two whites at once. "But I'm better."
"No fair!" she huffed. "You have to let us win at some point."
Shiva scored nothing. "He won't. If I know your husband, he loves to watch other people lose."
"No, I just like to watch myself win." Vishnu corrected.
Shiva rolled his eyes. "It's the same thing."
Vishnu effortlessly scored the red and a white. Lakshmi groaned in frustration before pulling her best innocent face, batting her eyelashes lightly at him.
"Swami," she drawled. "Could you teach me how to shoot it properly?"
He grinned at her. "Trying to charm the Charm Master, are we Lakshmi?"
She returned a smile dripping with honey and sugar. "I don't know, is it working?"
"I'd have to say yes." he said, scooting over to her side of the board.
He held her hand and showed her how to position her fingers and aim.
"You know, Lakshmi was telling me she wanted a child." Shiva commented offhandedly.
Lakshmi's face felt like it was on fire, hot and red. She turned away sharply so he couldn't see her embarrassment at being outed by Shiva. He brushed his arm against hers, angling her face towards him.
"Is that so? Does that mean the chances of you leaving me are officially down to 0%, because I still thought we were in the high seventies."
Lakshmi smacked his arm.
"High seventies? Do you hear yourself? And I thought we were building trust."
He shrugged. "What was I supposed to think? I assumed maybe you were faking it."
Lakshmi knew he wasn't being serious, but it hurt to her to think about whether or not he might have felt like that at some point.
"And I win. Again." Vishnu announced.
Shiva looked mad enough to flip the board.
"I'm done with this game!" he declared.
"That's alright, we should be getting home, anyway." Lakshmi said, pulling Vishnu up with her. "If I sit down any longer, my legs are going to go numb."
As they were leaving, Shiva stopped her.
"Can I borrow your wife for a second?"
Vishnu looked perplexed but agreed.
"I want her back in pristine condition though, no missing limbs or anything, got that?"
"Duly noted." Shiva said, leading her away.
Once they were out of his line of sight, he fell at Lakshmi's feet.
"You can't do that!" she cried, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him up. "You're far more superior than I am."
"You've done me a great service, Lakshmi." he said, pressing his palms together. "Thank you, I guess I never really realized how much I needed a mother. I only have one request."
Lakshmi nodded, indicating for him to continue.
"Yes? What is it?"
"In some life, in some way, I ask that I would be blessed to actually refer to you as my mother. To be able to rest my head in your lap, and have you feed me lovingly, as you have done for these past few months. I wish for you to be able to call me your son, and make me smile when tears fill my eyes. Can you grant me this?"
Lakshmi smiled upon hearing his sincere plea and raised her hand in blessing.
"Tathastu."
---
Back in Vaikuntham, Lakshmi was cooking in the kitchen, humming to herself as she looked for the salt. She felt Vishnu's arms wrap around her waist, and pull her sharply to him.
"So... Children, hm?" he mumbled into her hair. "Soon, Priye, soon."
Lakshmi felt ecstacy fill every fiber of her being at his words.
"Do you promise?" she asked, swiveling around to face him. "I'll be a mother?"
He chuckled.
"To make you happy, I'd streak your hair with moonlight and stud your crowns in stars instead of jewels. Why not this?"
Lakshmi threw her arms around his neck and stood on her toes, pressing her lips to his cheek. She saw his eyes widen in shock, and shyly averted her eyes.
"I have to cook dinner." she said. "I'll meet you in the living room later."
He just nodded, too stunned to say anything, and made his way to the door.
"Wait!" she said. "Thank you."
"For what? Promising to make you a mother?" he questioned softly. "You think you're the only one who wants that?"
Lakshmi's heart fluttered in her chest, and found herself silently thanking the Divine Entity for tying them together.
"Not just for that. I meant for marrying the 'unstable goddess'. For treating me as your equal. For making me yours. For... well... everything really."
He flashed her his half-moon smile again, glancing over his shoulder.
"You're welcome."
A/N What do you think?! Good? Bad? Somewhere in between? Shiva asked for something... Anybody guess when she grants it? One more chapter till the end of part one guys! What do you think will happen?