I'm quite early for my own deadlines! A close family member passed away and I really don't know how to cope with it, so I settled to writing this story. I really hope it is worth it! I really love this part so much because it's the kind of relationship I'd want to have :3 Also, this chapter switches a lot between the POVs and you'll figure out why. Let me know if it is an issue for y'all to follow <3
I heard there was a lot of chaos between several MaNan fandoms, which I totally am triggered by. I can't believe people would blame shippers for jealousy, or hate against either of them because WE GENUINELY LOVE BOTH OF THEM SO MUCH, even in our sleep you can't force us to spread hate for either of them or their FCs, so please stop this negativity. Parthians doing this goes so against what Parth would want–positivity. Shower some love, please, for their sake? I just needed to address this.
Coming back to the story, I am so pleased with the growing support on this platform. I love you all so much girls! <3 I'm so grateful to be part of this fandom; shippers are built from the strongest PaNi feels. Can I have some inline comments, lovelies?
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Niti
Kya woh sacchime uski niece ke liye ek toy dhoond raha tha?
Ya phir... was that an excuse to get me one?
But then... there was no need for him to get me something, hai na? After all, I yelled at him so much and kya kya nahi bola usko...
I feel so guilty, shayad I created so many unnecessary tantrums and woh zabardasti maan gaya... I don't deserve it.
I clutched one of the cushions from my bed tightly, while confronting four different emotions at the same time–affection for him, happiness, guilt, and dejection for myself. I can't keep it, I grievously whispered to myself while staring at the wrapped present. No, I didn't even dare rip a piece of that tape off. It rightfully belonged to his niece, Isha. I'd made up my mind to get it delivered to her by nook or by crook.
*Don't overthink, it's for you, keep it.*
Could he read my mind? I quickly picked up the phone, tapping at the speed of light to deliver my message as soon as I possibly could.
*I'm sorry for acting like an idiot. I'll get it to set tomorrow, and you give it to Isha. She'll love it.* I sighed once I saw the blue message bubble get delivered and read instantly. iMessages was never such a beautiful concept before.
*Oye baby doll, it's for you only, because you finally admitted I'm handsome! ;)* My jaw dropped while my eyes bawled out at the screen. Mr. Oh-So-Handsome Samthaan. Ah... my heart, but my attention was elsewhere. Am I reading it right? Baby... Doll... Me, Niti Taylor was called 'baby doll' by Parth Laghate.
The Parth that night was different. He was a different form of selfless. All those days I used to keep fighting with him and arguing with him thinking there was no sweet side to him but that day... he was nothing but honey in its purest form. That's why people call their significant others honey, huh?
I'm neither a baby nor a doll.
I pressed backspace on the entire sentence. Come on, he'd gone out of the way to get me a gift and a free drop back home, cut him some slack woman. All the guilt I'd pooled in myself for the last forty minutes poured out as...
*Tum ghar pahunch gaye?*
'Delivered 11:52' changed to 'Read 11:52'. My heart skipped a beat.
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Parth
Ek toh 'baby doll' type karke izzat duba diya khudka; ab itna jaldi reply bhi mat kar bhai, tujhe vella samjhegi.
Play hard to get.
I listened to my brain and typed my message quickly, involuntarily smiling at my phone, but after I was done, I counted till thirty in my head before sending the message through. Play-hard-to-get, what a fantastic concept!
*Bas abhi abhi, maine jaga diya tumko?*
That is laced with so much concern, delete it. Our comfort level had gone from 55 to 95 suddenly, what the actual fuck? No, slow down... Her reply dashed in instantly though, boosting my ego a tad.
*Nahi... bilkul nahi.*
The best way to describe the feeling I was experiencing is to compare it to a crush. How would you react if your crush sends you a text? Wouldn't you want to open it immediately, and see what it says? Wouldn't you want to reply promptly, because you never know how long the moment might last? Wouldn't you want to hold on to the smallest grain of hope, just because somewhere deep down, you're desperate for it to happen?
I couldn't even control the grin on my face.
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Niti
I AM OFFICIALLY LOVING THIS PHASE.
We had shoot starting eight in the morning, and I had to be in bed by then to actually get my proper 7 hours of sleep but nah... I was sitting wide awake, staring at my phone as if it possessed some magic to grant me the much-needed rest without sleeping.
*But main doll bhi nahi hoon aur baby bhi nahi hoon. -pout emoji- * I was acting cute on purpose, just to see if he would call me that. Cute.
Wait... did I just... double text? No, he'll think you're desperate!
Delivered 11:56, Read 11:58.
See, you are messing with your sleek chances.
*You are. I'm lucky I got to see one shade of Niti Taylor huh? ;)*
I gawked again at his teases, before locking the screen–hence, leaving him on seen. I could maybe pee and get back and reply, formulate a good response in the bathroom! WAH!
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Parth
Seen? Huh! Mujhe seen pe chodd diya? PARTH SAMTHAAN KO?
Why is your last name Samthaan? Her voice rung through my ears like a surround speaker.
I was going to tease her about that question too, but I realized my izzat was already flowing in some drain. Plus double texting after being 'seenzoned,' not the best idea.
I threw myself on the bed, palming my forehead with both hands while scrolling my eyes shut. All I could think of was 'what is the most electrifying MaNan scene shot till date?' The shower scene or the scene from this afternoon?
Well, I could conclude that I left a mark on her this time and last time she left a mark on me... ahem... are we still talking about my hero rising to fame? I was in an expensive bathroom stall with that bundle of hotness, wet and dripping with heat around... how could I not be turned on? That was one of the most evident reactions, and I bet she felt me against her–how embarrassing for a man.
Anyways, the last few days I've been thinking about her a lot more than I should be. This whole dream and the conquest to pursue her is turning into an obsession. I was beginning to see the parallels between Manik and I. Only Manik and Nandini are opposites, while Parth and Niti...
Ping!
I plunged and scrambled through the pillows on my bed to get to my phone. I heard the ping, but my damn frustration couldn't hold its horses for a few seconds, god damn it! I scrunched my hair as tightly as I could, before finally discovering the treasure.
*Go to bed, we have to shoot at 8, and I don't want my co-actor to be late because of me! :)*
Aww... Somebody tell me what I am feeling is wrong, please! I beg of you to ask me to stop.
Even my fingers didn't listen to me. Before I knew it, I sent off the impulsive message every man asks his girl when she disappears leaving him on seen.
Can you guess?
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Niti
*Kahan thi tum?*
I pulled my lip between my teeth, rolling my eyes up as far as they could go. We needed to sleep, and the conversation was currently at a fork, that could tangentially take us to a spot we wouldn't want to be in tomorrow when we face each other. The last thing I wanted was awkwardness again–no more back to square one, aage kab badhenge yaar phir?
*I was brushing my teeth. :P*
I smiled as I tapped the arrow pointing up next to the text input bubble, watching as the message swished into our chat window.
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Parth
I flushed at the screen, imagining the drunk Nandini sequence where she did a whole ritual before bedtime–brushing, changing clothes, then obviously the infamous prayer–just to stay with Manik for longer. Was it just me, or was Nandini too really inclined towards Manik and Nandini? We couldn't be that similar, right?
Before she left again, I just wanted to add in a line that I thought would accentuate the MaNan feels between us!
*Suno, toh kalse hum back to professionals?*
I waited for a moment to see if she had read the message or not. I hoped and prayed she wouldn't have gone off to bed without saying a 'good bye' at least. Come on, we were over that right?
Niti *bunny emoji* was typing.
My heart jingled. Thank God! It was still the last week of October, and we'd known each other 'from a distance' for quite a few months now. In my mind, my brain and its stupid dreams had decided she had to be the one for me, even if it was just the beginning, at least there was a start to our new phase.
*Haan... kalse... :P*
The tiny silly emoji at the end of her text denoted precisely what she intended. We got each other like nobody else in things concerning the show, thanks to our professionalism, and our focus on the show over anything else. Parth and Niti made MaNan, fans said.
Yes, yes... I read everything fans have to say about her. I just stay quiet for obvious reasons; I don't want her to be dragged in any of my mess...
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Niti
*Aha... someone's read their script already hmm, I see... ;)*
Pulling my inner cheek between my jaws, I sucked at the flesh around shyly. His teases were just never-ending, and for one day, I felt like everything was getting overboard. Above all, I feared that if tomorrow would come, he'd be nothing like the Parth Laghate right now on the other side of the screen.
I didn't want this virtual reality to end. If we withdrew before the charm was lost, there would be something to wait for tomorrow. Pulling myself beneath the covers, I swapped to the Alarm app, set it for seven in the morning and then switched back to iMessages.
I snapped a picture of my Froggie lying on the bed beside me, with a tiny mouse beside him that was supposed to symbolize Jerry–the one who always provokes the bickering–from Tom and Jerry. I sent it to him personally with a little message:
*Good night, Parth. :)*
That 'good night' was just a reply to his coercive good night wishes earlier that night. I also posted the same picture on Twitter and captioned it as:
My two babies with me *sparkly heart*
There were so many interpretations to that tweet of mine, but it was all a mystery to the other fans. Maybe Parth would figure the twisted tale behind my caption if he read it and was smart enough, but subtlety was key in our 'new phase'. Giving fans feels, without giving away too much of ourselves was what I aimed for. I closed my eyes, welcoming a slumber to envelop me while awaiting a new fresh start to the power couple of Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan.
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Parth
I slipped into each vanity, desperately in search of Ayaz. I had gone 3 hours without having a tiny little cracker, breaking the Parth Samthaan workforce record of all time! Vikas made me do several retakes and exhausted the life out of me. If only he let me have a morsel of some snacks on sets, I would've mastered the scenes in one take, but no! Nothing ever happens in my favor as long as he rules the house.
Anyways, Ayaz and I were the people who got along the best on sets, and he was one of my best buddies even on the show. Our collective craze for food made us relate to each other quite quickly and also find soulmates in each other.
Wait... soulmates? Lol, I NEED FOOD.
Good for me, Ayaz was in my vanity, discussing something with Charlie. I zoned out and paced towards him as quickly as I could with the minimum energy I had. Thwacking his shoulder, I gestured him to make a move with me. "Sun, dinner karne baahar chalte hai?"
His eyes glittered at the mention of 'dinner.' I told you, we totally get each other in matters of food. "Chinese?"
"Oh hello, mujhe bhi bula liyo bhai loug!" There goes the drama queen who I'd conveniently forgotten on my rampage mission to gather company for a full-fledged meal.
"So it's us three then?" I confirmed just so I could make some reservations for us.
"Oh... but I promised Niti that Choti and Ador will have a playdate tonight. I can't ditch her... girl code, guys!"
"Bring her along, then?" Ayaz blurted and then glanced at me from the corner of his eyes, giggling to himself before getting a thappad from Charlie. A switch inside my head flicked bright red; yet again, another chance to spend time with Niti, I thought to myself.
After last night, I thought we both would be super strange and weirded out with each other, but it seemed like everything just clicked. I was as usual late on sets, but when I saw her practicing her lines nervously, I shot her a small smile that was very warmly received. It seemed to me that we both made up our minds to not go back to the very beginning. That itself was significant progress, not a lot but quite a bit for the last few hours we spent together.
The shoot had never been better. Everything went super smoothly during the first half of the day when we shot the indoor scenes. The secret glances and meeting secretly were all damn relatable to Manik and Nandini.
So the scene went like...
I was supposed to stand behind her, binding my arms around hers which settled around her exposed stomach. Her cheek was pressed against my nose according to the initial script, but then when I breathed over her skin, she would twitch and burst into little giggles pulling me into her trance too. She was so adorable, messing up the scenes with me.
White and black were her colors. There was nothing that couldn't compliment her perfect tones, but black and white main toh patakhaa lag rahi thi yaar woh! I remember in one of her interviews she mentioned those colors were her favorite; indeed, she looked angelic like one of Jesus' descendants. She's half Catholic too, right?
She flapped her hands around and demanded a scene cut. "Guys, scene change karo yaar, I'm damn ticklish!" Then we worked together to improvise the shot, trying different positions and poses until me whispering in her ear received the least stimulus response.
"Ready? Rolling... Action."
"For the first time, someone is looking as beautiful as the stars..." I was inhaling her enticing perfume, that wrecked my hormone balance. My strenuous breaths reflected the effect of her captivating proximity, and I blew on her earlobe unintentionally, making her shiver from head to toe. She blinked once in the direction she initially faced, and then lowered her eyelashes before giving into an eye-lock.
"Cut!" Usually, we would get carried away and overdo the scenes, but our new-found vigilance held us back. We separated immediately, but while I pretended I was focused on something else, I brushed my clothed arm gently against her shoulder before leaning in.
"Sacchhi main, lehenga main you look lovely." Even when I was talking to her, my eyes were everywhere else, double-checking if anyone was spying on us. The last thing I wanted was to be questioned: 'what is cooking between you and Niti?'
She gave me a really sly look, like 'that's so mean, haan.' "Oho, so aise normally I don't look nice huh?" One of her eyebrows lifted while her lips unconsciously formed a cute pout. I wanna kiss that pout... OH MY! WHAT ARE YOU FUCKING THINKING?
I didn't know how to reply to her question. Was she using one of my teases on me? I was at a loss for words. My mouth fumbled in all weird angles, but not a syllable left my lips. How can a man say a woman looks 'hot' without making it sound objectifying? She was one person I respected so much, and I would never want to give her an idea otherwise.
Boldo, patakhaa hai! My jaw dropped involuntarily, as I hunted for words in her tucked belly. Yeah, I was staring in an obscene manner and that drop-dead gorgeous woman I'd laid my eyes on. Call me creepy, but she's worth staring at, man!
"Oye, maine aisa kuch nahi kaha, okay?" I laughed to myself, and she smiled with me, maybe even blushing I couldn't tell when I was caught red-handed myself.
"Haan haan, pata hai mujhe!"
We'd managed to do a lot of shots in such a short amount of time. Mangesh Sir also told me that this day was one of the most productive ones in the entire show so far. There was so much goodness in a matter of few hours.
Oh, another thing that happened today...
I was Niti Taylor's personal photographer. Yes. I took stunning pictures of her on my iPhone 6, just so that I could see them whenever... wait, why am I explaining all this? Anyways, Utkarsh the dumb idiot was first going to click some snaps for her, but then thank my luck, Scarlett, and he had to shoot some scenes together, and I was the only one stuck with Niti.
Yeah, you won't really stick around! I'll be the one for her!
She posed like a flawless model, showing herself off to my phone camera. Her long elegant lehenga hung over her tiny frame beautifully, tugging at the right parts. Just wait and watch the love she would get when she uploads these pictures, I chuckled to myself. I knew how to take the best snaps of her.
How could I let that happiness beam in front of those guys who jumped in for dinner? I was always known to be the grumpy guy, who had issues with most people because of my comparatively less talkative nature. I cleared my throat. "Look, if she's coming, we might as well invite the whole crew... I mean we're already four, zyaada loug honge then it would turn out cheaper." I was cold about it but thank God for that. Neither Charlie nor Vikas should be suspicious of anything because they both meant trouble in different ways.
"I'll drop a text on the group to meet here in 10. We'll leave then." Charlie stated while typing on her phone.
I can't wait for us to hang out.
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I am in love, serious love with them. I WANNA HEAR FROM YOU :") THIS SHIP HAS SAILED, FINALLY. This is not going to be the typical romance story, you'll see why, but I can assure you this story will be unique and from the bottom of my heart <3
Thanks for being so understanding about my situation at home. I am forever grateful to the friends I made here, who stuck with me through thick and thin! Blessings, y'all are!
LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF PYAAR TO MY SHIPPER GIRLS WHO WERE LOW ON LOVE AND SUPPORT WHEN I WAS MISSING! :3 We got each other's back, and if you want to discuss anything regarding Parth and Niti, you can comment or DM me. I'm free for them, always! <3