44) four of us

MAUSAM

I looked at him, anger churned at the base of my stomach, but at the same time seeing his determined expression soften my heart.

I sighed in frustration, yanking the shirt out of his hold ," leave , it's not easy , I will be done in no time."

" No we will do it together or you won't do it." He said gripping my wrist hard.

I glared at him.

" Fine." I snapped.

" Since you are so keen to help , you must know how to do it right? Otherwise you would just be burdening me !" I said sweetly with a tight lipped smiled.

His guilty expression did not last long , he masked his confusion and nodded haughtily ," of course , I do."

" So you wash Aarav's shirt , he gets it so dirty." I hurled at him the wet shirt.

" I don't mean to, they just make me do a lot of sports , and and shirt gets dirty since we work hard right dad?" Aarvav defending himself , flailing his hands , and kneeling down in front of me.

" I swear I don't mean to." He nodded,looking earnest.

I hid my grin, so cute ," don't worry your dad will do it now." I threw a glance at Armaan, who was feebly dunking the shirt in tub.

He looked up ," uh yes I will."

" Mumma , you said you had a surprise for us , is this it?" Aaruhi screamed as she dragged a chair inside bathroom.

" Aaruhi , no , chair outside." I scolded her.

" Um no, I wanna see Papa wash clothes ." She whined giving us earnest looks.

" No , you scolded me when I took the chair out. You can't allow her." Aarav bellowed and his father , who was having a hard time kneeling on cold tiles , toppled.

" Armaan" i screamed in surprise , as he lost his balance and the next moment his head and shoulders  were nosediving into the ... TUB.

" Armaan" I whispered.

" Paaaapaaaaa" Aarav and aaruhi screamed.

Armaan's lower half awkwardly sticks out from the tub.

" Oh god are you okay?" I hurried pull him up , and he manages to sit down on the floor.

But he is dripping , soap bubbles are stuck to his wet white shirt , water droplets falling off his frame, his eyes slowly peeled open , and his mouth shoots the dirty water out as he splurted.

" Papa" Aarav and Aaruhi crouched on either side of him , my hand frozen clutching his shoulder ," Armaan" I whispered softly , worried .

For a moment there was silence.

He stareed at me,

I looked into his eyes.

Then with a resigned groan, he looked at the mess he made," well atleast the tub did not break." He muttered.

" Ohhoo papa aapko bhaiya ki shirt Dhoni thi aapki nahi." Aaruhi said , slapping her forehead.

A laugh broke out of me , but I stopoed it on time , I glanced carefully at Armaan , worried he might take offence , his eyes narrowed and then his face broke into a sheepish grin.

Aarav broke into giggle and so did Aaruhi , and then I could not help myself , laughing loudly.

"Well," he said, shaking his head as soap bubbles float around him, "at least I got the clothes clean and entertained the family."

The tub, the mess, and the wet floor all seemed to fade into the background as we  reveled in the absurdity of our situation together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As we all gathered in the balcony , as I finally managed to wash their shirts and drying them on the rake , Armaan loomed over me.

" Huh?" I frowned at him.

He had taken off his shirt and undershirt and was standing there half naked.

I blushed at the sight," you should get dressed , or you will catch cold." I mumbled looking down.

He cleared his throat , as he stepped back , " should we tell them now?" He gruffly asked.

I peeked at them , they were both still laughing about the bathroom incident , just having eaten , both were filled with energy.

I nodded, without looking at him.

" Aaru , Ruhi come here , your mom and I have something for you." He said affectionately , gesturing them to settle down on the sofa.

Drying my hands on a towel , I took a sit opposite Armaan, I sensed his stare but I avoided his eye , and rubbed Aaruhi's back who jumped beside me.

The children, sensing something important, plopped down, their faces a mix of curiosity and anticipation.

"Kids, we have some big news to share," Armaan begins, his tone light but deliberate.

He exchanges a glance with me , I offered him an encouraging nod.

"What is it?" Aarav asks his voice getting soft and wobbly , some kind of fear evident on his face.

" Hmm? Bhai? " Aaruhi whispered as she clutched her brother's hand.

I exchanged quick glances with Armaan ," baby , we are moving out ." I said with a bright smile," To a house of our own. Just the four of us!"

Aarav's brows furrow slightly, but Aruhi's face lights up instantly. "Really? We won't have to stay with Dadi anymore?" she exclaims, practically bouncing on the couch.

Her enthusiasm was palpable,. "And no more Sanjana dadi scolding me for running in the hallway?"

We exchange a brief, amused glance, trying to suppress our laughter. "That's right,"Armaan said gently. "You'll have your own space to run and play."

Did Aaruhi not get along with her grandma's? But how could it be? Did she not purposely try to keep me.. but my thoughts were momentorily halted when Aarav frowned and looked up at his father. "Are we moving because Dadi fought with Mom?" His voice was cautious, as if testing the waters of a sensitive topic. "Are they angry at us?"

It cought me off guard , did he know what happened at party?

I begin to perspire , but Armaan's voice forced me to look up at him," what ? off course not , we decided to move closer to your school since you get up so late."

" Really" Aarva pressed , still not convinced.

" What else could it be? The new house is different , it is closer to your school , it is closer to my new office , there is a park and new restaurants there. It will be best for the four of us to live there . There will be a new Library too , your mom loves that." Armaan said patting Aarav on his shoulder , looking at me for backing him up.

" Yes ,  we have to move closer to school or else you will miss half the term." I said , mock glaring at them.

" Even if we are late you still send us to school" Aaruhi pouted.

" Achcha , school Jane ke chor." I gasped as they both sulked.

Updated on -15/1/25

Happy makarsankranti ( belated)☺️

I hope you liked the chapter , I kept it very light and funny ❤️

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