In the Airport
Each and everyone had their mouths opened widely after seeing the scene, except for Fab 4 as they were just smiling, because they didn't know the relationship that Manik and Arjun shares.
And the thing that happened was nothing..but a warm HUG between Manik and Arjun.
Manik looked so shocked that he couldn't even hug Arjun back while for the latter, he has caged his grandson in his arms with a wide smile on his face. He looked, a lot happy.
Nandini ( muttered ): Oh teri ki, Mein tho Daadu se Mani ko aage se daantne keliye mana kiya tha par yaha jhappiyan ho rahe hain...
Arjun broke the hug and stared at Manik whose eyes were widened and jaws dropped down and watching the Great Manik Malhotra in such a condition, he laughed out..
Arjun: Kya baath hai Malhotra ji, aap tho shock se kahi faint na hojaye..
And this brought Manik out of his trance. He stared at Arjun with his scrutinizing gaze..
Manik ( frowned ): Did you just..hug me..??
Arjun ( nodded ): Oh no, I didn't. Actually, mein apne padosi ko jhappi de raha tha, kyu, tujhe kya laga tha..??
Manik ( confused ): Excuse me..??
Arjun ( sighed ): Mathlab mera potha bhi mere bete ki tarah hai, a weirdo..
Raj ( shocked ): Dad, aapko agar Manik ko taane maarna hai tho karlo na, mere beizati kyu kar rahe hai aap..
Viren: Arey, tum ho hi nalaayak, isiliye..hai na Papa..
Arjun ( grinned ): Right..Pehli baar kuch acha bola, tumne Viren..
Viren ( puppy face ): Pehle taaliyan phir gaaliyan..!!
The rest simply laughed at Viren..While, Manik was still confused with the hug. He moved towards Nandini stealthily and held her hand in his..
Manik: Did he just hug me, Love..??
Nandini looked at him with a disbelieving look on her face..
Nandini: Mani, you're being crazy. Daadu did hug you..
He looked at her in shock again and this time she tried to suppress her giggles.
Arjun: Maana ki wo tumhari girlfriend hai, par iska mathlab ye nahi ki har waqt tum uske saath chipke reh sakthe ho, Mr. Malhotra..
Manik ( nervously ): I..wasn't chipking..
Arjun: Is that even a word..??
Manik: Uh..No..I just..created it..
Nandini glared at Arjun after seeing Manik getting nervous while he ( Arjun ) simply ignored her..
Arjun: Tho, hum ghar chale..
" Yep " they echoed and soon, they were out of the airport..
Nandini: Daadu, you're coming with me and Manik..
Arjun looked at her keenly and she simply ignored him while Manik looked at her in shock..
Manik: What..?? But why..??
Arjun: You've got any problem with it, Malhotra..??
Manik ( grinned ): Nahi tho..bilkul bhi nahi..aayiye..
Arjun smirked at Manik and opened the passenger seat's door and got inside..
Manik ( pouted ): I was about to sit there, meri love story mein koi na koi villain zaroori hai kya..?!
Nandini tapped on his shoulder making him look at her.
Nandini ( grinned ): Drive karo, Malhotra saab. Zyada pouting sehath keliye acha nahi hai..
Manik ( frowned ): You never let anyone drive your car..
Nandini ( shrugged her shoulders ): Yep, but that doesn't go for you, you're not some " anyone "..
And she got inside the back seat of her car while he smiled at her and occupied the driving seat, beside his Daadu.
Soon, they were on the roads to Malhotra Mansion
Nandini ( smirked ): Okay, Malhotras..mere ye idea aapko acha laga ya nahi, I don't care. But, this is to sort your issues out. So, make it fast..
Arjun ( smirked ): Miss Dixit, aap shayad bhool gaye ki ye Raj Malhotra nahi hai jo aapke har khwaish poori kar sakthe..
Nandini ( nodded ): Oh, even that's true. Par wo kya hai na, Raj Malhotra agar mere har khwaish poori kar paega tho Arjun Malhotra wahi hai jo mere dimaag aur dil mein wo khwaish daalthe hain. Tho, poori karne ka thareeka bhi jaanna aap hi ko hai..
Arjun looked at Manik, who was simply hearing them out..
Arjun: Ab tho mujhe zaroor doubt hai, iss ladki se pyar kaise hua, Malhotra..
Manik snapped his head at Arjun who was looking at him plainly and then he looked ahead..
Manik ( genuinely ): Love just happens. According to me, you can never understand why you fell in love when you didn't plan to fall for that person. Zindagi mein galathiyan tho bohath kar chuke hai par uske beech ek nek kaam kiya aur wo hai Nandini Dixit se pyar karna and I'm lucky enough to be loved by her too..
Nandini looked at him with only happy smile on her face and he returned it to her through the rear-view mirror.
While for Arjun, he finally had a smile on his face after hearing Manik and watching the love birds' eye-conversation..
Arjun: Kaafi aage bad chuke hai kahani, mathlab..
This broke Manik and Nandini's trance.
Nandini: Wo kya hai na, aap hi ka khoon hai Manik Malhotra, tho thoda slow tha, emotions jaanne keliye par jaise bhi ho, I'm the lucky one to have your grandson..
Both Arjun and Manik smiled at her..
Soon, they were in front of Malhotra's Mansion and the trio got out of the car.
Arjun walked ahead while MaNan followed him. The elder ladies did Arjun's Arti and welcomed him inside..
In Malhotra Mansion
Arjun ( smiled ): Tum log tho aise decorate karke rakha hai jaise kisiki shadi hai..Waise, shadi se yaad aaya, naye jodi tho ek saath khade raho samne..
Dev and Sona stood in front of him and Arjun stared at them plainly..
Arjun: Dev, mujhse ek bath batha..
Dev ( sighed ): Haa Daadu..
Arjun ( grinned ): Tu kab se handsome nikla jo tujhe ithni soni kudi mili hai..
Dev, expected it so he simply shook his head while smiling and Sona, who was nervous by now, smiled at Arjun.
Arjun ( blessed them ): Bohath ache dikhthe ho saath mein. Aur haan beta Sona, ye ladka thoda, nahi kuch zyada hi silent hai, zara sambhalke chalana isko, kuch aatha hi nahi isko, yaha thak ki, mujhe lagtha hai isko first night ke bhi zyada kuch patha nahi hoga..
Sona dropped her jaws down and so Fab 5. While, others were giggling. Nandini pushed Manik's jaws upwards and whispered in his ears..
Nandini: Kaha tha na mene, bohath hi different hai hamara Daadu..
Dev ( embarrassed ): Daadu...
Arjun ( casually ): What..?? Mein tho Sona ko samjha raha tha..hain na bacho..
Youngsters: Of course..
Dev glared at them and then turned to Akshara..
Akshara: Papa, bas keejiye na..
Arjun: Haa, bachao bete ko..Chalo, ab mujhe bohath bhook lagi hai..
Nandini: Haa, hum lunch karthe hai jaldh hi..
Soon, they sat for their lunch..
Nandini poured Arjun's favorite Tequila Lemonade in his glass and he smiled at her..
Arjun: Hamesha ki tarah tujhe yaad hai, tho. Mujhe laga, apne boyfriend ke aane ke wajah se mujhe bhool gaye..
Nandini occupied a seat beside Manik and gave a grin to Arjun.
Nandini: Bhoolnewali thi, tabhi mujhe yaad aaya ki agar nahi banaya tho aap bohath tantrums dikhayenge aur phir hum sabko lunch karne bhi nahi dega aap..
Arjun ( glared ): Acha..tho teek hai, aaj ke baad, Daadu daadu kehke mere peeche math aana..
Nandini: Arey, aap mere peeche Hon hon kehke aathe hai..Kamal hai, aap tho meri bholi hone ka faida utha liya..
Arjun: Tu bholi kabse bann gayi..
Nandini: Paida hi bholi banke thi..
Arjun ( glared at Viren ): Tera kuch mila hai kya isko..??
Viren ( grinned ): Hai na..bohath intelligent hai..meri tarah..
Arjun ( sarcastically ): Iss dunya mein tu agar koi intelligent kaam kiya hai tho sirf ek hai..
Raj ( raised his eyebrows ): Aur wo kaunsa kaam hai, Dad..??
Arjun: Shadi karna, mujhe laga tha ki ye 100 saal bhi hone dho, phir bhi ladkiyon ke saath flirt karke karke hi marega..
The rest laughed out..
Viren ( whined ): Aap hamesha mere taana marthe hai..
Raj: Tho mein kya tujhe invisible lagtha hoon..?? Din mein kam se kam hazaar baar thaane marna hai inko mujhe..
Soha: Acha hogaya na..ab Daadu ko pareshan math karo sab..
Arjun: Lo, isse kehthi hai meri pothi..
Soha: Arey nahi, mujhe bohath neend aa rahi hai, aapke aane ke chakkar mein soyi hi nahi kal..
Arjun glared at her while M5 were simply laughing. While Fab 5 were hearing everything out with a smile on their faces, except for Manik, who was eating his food like an obedient kid.
Nandini ( whispered ): Mani, ithna sannatha kyun..??
He glared at her and she bit her lips to suppress her giggles..
Nandini ( whispered ): Acha teek hai. Ithna bhi chup math hoja, Daadu tumne nahi daantega..
Manik: Mein unke samne bath nahi karoonga..
Nandini ( bad face ): Stubborn Malhotra..
He ignored her and she too ignored him..
Soon, they were done with their lunch and everyone decided to take a nap..
In Manik's Bedroom
Nandini stepped inside the bedroom only to see Manik in the balcony staring in the sky deeply. She walked towards him and hugged him from behind making him smile..
Manik: What took you so long..??
He turned to her and pulled her by waist and she kept her head on his chest, while hugging him..
Nandini: I was just talking with Daadu..
Manik: Talking or asking him to sort our issues..
She smiled and pulled out of the hug but he still didn't leave her..
Nandini: Well, that thing is not new for me. I've been asking him the same since a long long time..
Manik ( frowned ): You mean, even before our patch up..??
Nandini ( smiled ): Nope. Even before meeting you for the first time in my life.
He looked surprised.
Nandini: I never knew what was the problem between you and Daadu, because he never liked to share it with anyone but I knew he had immense love for you..
Manik ( sighed ): I too knew it but then..he gets rough with me. Taunting..ye sab unkeliye, casual tha par mere liye aisa nahi tha..
Nandini ( softly ): And that's why I'm telling you, sort it out..
Manik ( rubbed his nape ): Uh...I...I'm a bit..
Nandini ( curious eyes ): Scared..?!
Manik ( nervously ): What...?? Are you crazy..No..
She stared at him and he heaved a sigh..
Mnaik: Fine, I'm..scared..
Nandini ( smiled ): Kisise darna koi buri bath nahi hai, Mani. Har kisiko, kisise tho darna hai, warna zindagi ki koi faida hi nahi..
Manik ( raised his eyebrows ): Aur aap..kisse darthe hai, Miss Dixit..??
Nandini ( smiled ): Patha nahi. Mein tho ek feeling se darthi hoon. Ek aisa feeing ki meri wajah se kissiko koi tes nahi pohanchana chahiye. Hamesha, mujhe apnon ko saath rehna hai. Aur, agar koi wajah se mein apnon se dur hojathi hoon tho mein uss insaan se darthi hoon. Like, how I always feared of Pops and Dad, if they happen to know about our past and when they got to know it, there was no other day in my life, when I got that scared of both of them.
He, simply kissed her forehead..
Manik: So, you think..I need to talk to him..??
Nandini: Nope, but I know, you want to talk to him..
Manik ( frowned ): How do you always manage to get in my head..??
Nandini ( giggled ): I never got in your head, I just sneaked in your heart..!!
And he was again smiling at her. He pulled her chin towards his face and captured her lips in his and she stood on his feet while her hands moved towards his hair and ruffled them.
He relished her whole mouth and broke the kiss and joined their foreheads to each other.
Manik: Wish me luck then..
She smiled and kissed his cheeks and he pulled her more to him. He rubbed her nape and kissed her neck in return..
Manik: Is he sleeping..??
Nandini: Nope, he won't. Agar, seedhe seedhe bolun tho, he's waiting for you..
He smiled and kissed her forehead and she got off his feet..He entwined their fingers and gave a look to her..
Nandini: Mein aaongi, tumhara saath..
They got out of the bedroom and walked towards Arjun's bedroom.
Manik ( nervous ): Do I look..nervous..??
Nandini ( sadly ): Can i be honest here..??
Manik ( sarcastically ): I appreciate if you be honest with me for the rest our lives..
Nandini ( grinned ): You look like someone who's just going to fight his greatest enemy and he's expecting only loss..
Manik ( glared ): This isn't called motivation..
Nandini: Of course not. But, if you happen to act like this, then I would never encourage you to have a talk with Daadu..
Manik ( bad face ): Hey bhagwan...Daadu sach keh raha tha, kaise pyar hua mujhe iss ladki se..
Nandini ( dramatically ): Ab pyar hua tho kya kare..isseese adjust karlo Malhotra saab..
He chuckled and got inside the bedroom not before stealing a kiss from her..
To be continued..