4 years later

Four years had passed since the night Nandini's father accepted Dev as a part of their family and almost three and half since he officially become one.

It was a Sunday morning. Dev was already awake, propped up on one elbow, watching his wife sleep.

Nandini, now five months pregnant, was curled on her side, a soft pregnancy pillow tucked between her knees.

Dev leaned in, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to her bare shoulder, then another to the curve of her neck.

"Nandini...meri jaan...wake up now."

Nandini let out a sleepy moan, her eyes fluttering open. She turned toward him, a small, mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"Sharam nhi aati tumhe...pregnant aurat ko itni jaldi uthate huye?"

(Do you not feel shame…waking a pregnant woman so early?)

She teased. Dev chuckled, his hand sliding under the covers to rest on her slightly rounded belly. He felt a tiny thump against his palm. 

"He's kicking again."

"It's a she, Dev. Mere intuition se panga mat lo tum."

(Don’t test my intuition.)

She warned, reaching up to tangle her fingers in his messy morning hair. As Dev leaned down to kiss her forehead, he couldn't help but remember the day she told him. It had been three months ago.

He had walked into the bedroom to find her sitting on the bed with a stack of files from her clinic. She had looked dead serious, her glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.

"Dev, we have a major issue. A new subject has entered the house. Very demanding, high attachment needs, and currently living rent-free."

Dev had frozen, his heart skipping a beat. He understood her antics by now. And they have been trying to conceive so he had his doubts.

She handed him a printed Diagnostic Report she had mocked up. Under the Diagnosis section, she had written in her perfect cursive: Positive for Eternal Chaos (Due in 7 Months).

Dev had stared at the paper for a full minute, his brain completely shutting down. And then, he dropped to his knees, hugged her waist, and started crying like a child.

"Thank you so much meri jaan...thank you."

He had whispered, his voice cracking.

"Ab hum dono permanently condition hone wale hain."

(We’re both going to get conditioned permanently now.)

She had whispered back, wiping his tears with a grin.

Dev pulled her closer, his lips finding hers in a deep, slow kiss.

"I've ordered everything you craved last night. And now, it's time for your massage."

He sat her up against his chest, grabbing a bottle of cocoa butter. He began to rub it over her stretching skin with hands that were surprisingly gentle for someone so broad-shouldered.

"Dev, itna pamper mat karo. I'll get used to it. Phir baby aane ke baad tumhe hi double trouble hogi."

(Dev, don’t pamper so much….You’ll be in double trouble when baby comes.)

She said, her voice dropping into a purr as his thumbs worked through the tension in her lower back.

"Nhi hogi. Peechle paanch saal se tumhe jhel raha hu. This is just an advanced level."

(I won’t. I am doing it since the past five years.)

He teased and leaned forward, his chest pressing against her back, his lips brushing the shell of her ear.

"By the way, you look incredibly sexy today. Pregnancy suits you, my strawberry. It makes you look... edible."

Nandini leaned her head back against his shoulder, her eyes closing as his hands moved from her back to her waist, pulling her flush against him.

"Shameless as always. Baby sun raha hai, Dev. Kuch toh sharam karo."

(Baby is listening, Dev. Have some shame.)

"Baby ko pata hona chahiye ki uske Papa apni strawberry ke liye kitne crazy hain."

(Baby should know his papa is so crazy about his strawberry.)

He murmured, his kisses moving down to the sensitive dip of her collarbone. The atmosphere in the room shifted, the playful teasing melting into a toe-curling, steamy heat. 

He turned her around, his gaze dark and intense.

"Nandini... you have no idea what you do to me. Even after all this time."

"I have some idea."

She whispered, her breath hitching as he pulled her into a kiss.

Later that evening, they were curled up on the balcony. Nandini was leaning against his chest, and Dev was mindlessly stroking her hair, a plate of sliced fruit sitting between them.

"So, mere sasurji call karne wale hain aaj?"

(So, is my father-in-law going to call today?)

Dev asked, referring to her father, who was now Dev's biggest fan (though he'd never admit it to his face).

"Haan, unhe update chahiye. He's already bought a tiny cricket bat, Dev. Can you believe it?"

(Yes, he wants an update.)

Dev laughed, kissing the top of her head.

"He's just excited. Sab excited hain. But most of all, main."

(Everyone is excited.)

He turned her face toward him, his expression turning serious for a moment.

"You know, sometimes I think about that first day in the hallway. If I hadn't been late, and if you hadn't been so angry... where would we be?"

Nandini smiled, reaching up to pinch his cheek.

"Tum late hi hote, Dev. Punctuality tumhare andar hai hi nhi. And I would have found a way to rile you up anyway. We were a case study waiting to happen."

(You would be late. You don’t have punctuality in you.)

"Shayad."

(Maybe.)

He said, pulling her into his lap, holding her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.

"I love you, Nandini."

Nandini rested her head on his shoulder. 

"I love you too. Ab chalo andar, it's getting cold and junior wants ice cream."

(Now let’s go inside.)

"Ice cream? At 9 PM?"

"Logic mat lagao, Dev. Just follow the orders."

(Don’t give me logics.)

"Yes, Boss."

He whispered, lifting her into his arms to carry her inside. Some things never changed.