1 Heist Later- Pavitr Goes on a Scavenger Hunt
Pavitr was swinging through Mumbattan full of even more glee than usual. Not only had his most bindaas friend, Hobie, invited him to hang out later today but he was killing it as Spider-Man today! There must be some new rouge or something in town because he's been following clues all over the city and finding different Indian artifacts all over the city. It's so cool to be able to see these things up close, he'll probably hand them over to Mumbattan's Society for the Preservation of Artifacts and Culture, SPAC for short.
With a grunt of exertion, Pavitr landed on top of Harashi's Gourmet Bakery. He glanced down at the sign boasting "Quality and Goodness in every Sweet", looking around for the artifact he was meant to find here. the clues said "Find a piece of something precious where everything is good, high quality, and delicious" so it obviously referenced one of the most well-known chain brands in the city. Looking at the sweet shop reminded him of his meet-up with Hobie in... he glanced down at his watch, an hour from now. He had plenty of time then. I wonder is I have enough time to stop and get some mithai or maybe some bakarkhani to bring with me?
He abandoned this train of thought when spotted something white contrasting with the blue letters against the brown and orange awning. He hops down to check it out wondering what it will be this time. So far he'd gotten a couple of carvings, statuettes, and tapestries, so it'd probably be something in that vei- ! Ye kya hai! Pav's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he did a double take. Hai Ram, if his A+ in history wasn't just for show then this was one of the actual Amaravati Marbles!
Pavitr whipped his head around left and right, frantically looking for the next clue. He found the note made out of newspaper clippings taped to the 'k' in Bakery. He quickly yanked it off and read it over as fast as he could.
"If you liked the marble, you can find more where plenty of people young and old show off their own marbles."
Hmm.. Pavitr pondered the clue for a moment before it struck him: there was a section of the grounds in Bijlee Park that was popular among the citizens for playing kanche. That's where his next clue would be. After securing the Amaravati Marble in a web backpack he swung off to find the next one, his thoughts of Hobie falling wayside for the moment.
~
As Pav was securing his latest artifact to his now comically large web backpack he checked his watch. Shoot! There were only 20 minutes left before he had to go meet Hobie! Okay take a breath and calm down, he told himself. "You got this Spider-Man!" he whispered to himself. First, Pavitr decided to drop off his current gatherings at SPAC's headquarters, thankfully only five minutes away swinging. The President and Volunteers were overjoyed to take the priceless artifacts off his hands. His generous donation consisted of the tapestries, statuettes, and carvings he found originally, as well the new additions of several Amaravati Marbles, the Harihara Idol, and Shah Jahan's wine cup made of white nephrite jade.
After waving bye to the SPAC members Pav pulled out the last clue and read it over once more: "Well done my friend, finding so many of my "liberated" treasures. You'll find the last one with the queen whose magnificence is beyond measure. You know, she reminds me of you, beautiful and strong. If you find me I'll make you the raja to her rani so don't take too long."
Lifting a finger to his chin he mulled over the clue. The way it was written seemed to reference the physical properties of a landmark and the characteristics of the person it was modeled after. Obviously, the concept of liberation was also an important aspect of this clue. And he'd have to be a fool to ignore the blatant referencing of royalty. The more he thought of it the more one person and landmark seemed to fit the bill. The riddle was about the Rani of Jhansi; the biggest, strongest monument to her was the Statue of Liberty.
8 more minutes left. I can do this ... and if I can't, well, Hobie will understand. Pavitr readied his bangles and swung off once more.
~
Pavitr landed on top of the Statue of Liberty, in the space made between the folds of her turban. He looked around to assess the situation and found himself baffled. Not only were his spidey senses not detecting a danger but this whole set-up was peculiar. There was a picnic blanket with a basket on top of it to the side and what seemed to be an amp nearby. It was all backlit by a curtain of battery-operated fairy lights. It almost seemed like someone had set up a date. What... was whatever new rouge that arranged the scavenger hunt trying to ask him out?! That would have to be one awkward rejection if it was true.
Suddenly, he heard the light footfalls of boots behind him. He whipped around only to see a red and blue blur rush behind him. Then the weight of something metal pushed down on his head and his vision went dark. He heard a deep, familiar voice speak to him.
" You alright there Vitty, ya lookin' right gobsmacked, ya are!"
" Hobs! It's you!" Pavitr replied, pushing back the metal rim of the object on his head from his eyes.
" Ya got in one Pavi," he chuckled.
" Did you do all this?" the shorter asked, gesturing to the setup.
" Guilty as charged Ducky," he said with a shrug. Pavitr seemed to vibrate with excitement.
" That means you set up the scavenger hunt too! We were gonna meet today anyway, was it supposed to be a surprise or a game for me or something? Because if so then it was actually pretty fun! Although, you did make me worried that I had a new rouge for a minute there. So, what's with the picnic stuff and where's the last artifact?"
Hobie smirked and pointed at his head, " Might wanna check up there mate." Pavitr pulled the artifact of his head and nearly fainted.
" Hai Ram, Hobie! This is the Koh-i-Noor! It's one of the biggest cut diamonds in the world and a part of the freaking CROWN JEWELS! Hobie how did get this!!" Pavitr asked breathlessly. Dear God how would he explain this one to the people at SPAC- wait no, would he need to contact the government about this one?! He was interrupted mid-spiral when Hobie gave him a cheeky smile and said, " Well I did say I'd crown you king in my note, didn't I?"
Pavitr flushed and punched his arm, "Hobieee!"
Hobie just laughed and continued, " And as for the other stuff, well come here, I'll show you." He grabbed Pav's hand dragging him over to the blanket. He pulled them both to sit down and started pulling out food from the basket. Pav noticed it was all homemade, some of it looked like Maya Auntie's and some of it didn't. He looked back at Hobie who pulled the lid off a container of daal, setting it in his lap and handing him some naan.
" Here, try it. I made it myself." Pav pulled off his mask, taking that as his cue to dig in. Meanwhile, Hobie pulled off his own mask, took a deep breath stealing his nerves, turned to look his friend in the eyes, and spoke.
" So you asked about this whole setup and why I did this," he closed his eyes and inhaled once more. " I set this up as a date. I really like you Pavitr. I did this to show you how much I cared. The artifacts, the food, it's all part of this scheme I thought up to confess. I thought you might like it if I got back all that stuff the British stole or if I made the daal like how ya showed me.” Wrapped up in his nerves Hobie just looked down at his hands and continued. “I want ta hold ya hand, I wanna take you out, I wanna hold you close and serenade ya. I want ya to be my boyfriend, Vitr.” He looked up to give Pavitr a soft smile. The smile quickly faded giving way to panic when he saw Pavitr’s face. The boy had stuffed his face with the food Hobie made and was lifting a hand up to cover his mouth. His eyes had begun pooling with tears, and he seemed quite distressed. Hurriedly, Hobie began to backtrack.
" Not that ya have to reciprocate just cause I confessed! No pressure, as long as we can still be friends?" That seemed to distress Pavitr more as he began to chew frantically. " Or not?! Its fine! Or is it the daal? Is it that bad? Because I-"
Pavitr swallowed and threw his arms around Hobie's neck, cutting off his rant. He rested his chin on the taller boy's shoulder and squeezed him tight. He raised his head, lips brushing against pierced ear lobes, and whispered,
" It's perfect. The food and the confession. I would love to be your boyfriend, Aashiq."
Hobie felt his face flush as he returned the hug pulling Pavitr's muscular form against his chest. The two stayed wrapped in their embrace for a little while before Hobie finally pulled back. His hands drifted onto Pav's biceps and Pav rested his hand on his shoulder as the other came down to his chest. The pair stared into each other's eyes for a moment; then Hobie broke the silence.
" Did you really like the daal?"
Pavitr smiled back. " It was a bit mushy."
The two boys burst into giggles pulling each other close once again. Hobie rested his forehead against Pavitr’s, hands drifting down to his waist, and took a moment to calm down. He looked into Pavitr’s eyes once more and studied them. They were a deep chocolate brown color with streaks of caramel dancing through them. The glimmered in the light and he could almost see his own eyes reflecting back at him. This time it was Pavitr who broke the silence. He spoke in a hushed tone, as if afraid of what he was about to ask.
“ Can I kiss you?”
“ Please do.”
The shorter lent forward pressing their lips together. It was awkward and clunky and wonderful. He smiled into the kiss as they figured out the best way to fit together. He felt a warm feeling blooming in his chest as his partner kissed him back. After what seemed like forever but felt all too soon they separated. The two took a moment to just bask in each other’s embrace, overflowing with feelings of warmth and content.
“ So what was that you said about a serenade lover boy? It’d be a shame if this great date you set up went to waste.”
Hobie grinned reaching for his guitar, “ Oh you’re gonna love this!”
The two boys sat there on the top of the Statue of Liberty, enjoying their date and appreciating each other’s presence. Just to young souls ready to become something beautiful.