Inspector Singh was very protective of his daughter, and disapproved of most boys that she knew. He did his best to make sure that she was nothing but safe and loved, and was overly critical of... Well, everyone. But even so, he did want to her to be happy. And if that meant eventually caving in to accepting her boyfriend, then maybe that's just what he had to do.
When Gayatri had formally introduced him to Pavitr, he couldn't really say that he was surprised. He had seen them, even when they thought that he couldn't. He could see how they leaned into each other, how an accidental brush of the hand usually lasted longer when they didn't realize that he was looking, how their hugs goodbye after school lasted longer than they probably should have.
Sometimes, he could even hear them in her room. Now that one was a bit concerning, as he wasn't really sure how that Prabhakar kid even got in there, but he never really said anything. They seemed happy, and he knew that his daughter was responsible enough to not do anything stupid while they were alone. He didn't know a lot about this kid, but if Gayatri was so happy with him, he didn't want to ruin that by pushing too hard.
When they had finally met, Inspector Singh could say that he, for once, approved. Pavitr himself seemed to be a good person. He was confident and loud, but he was also incredibly polite. He was patient and careful with his words, and he looked at Gayatri as if she was the only thing that he could. Now that was something that Inspector Singh could trust, especially with his daughter.
Despite that, he still set some boundaries for them. He did not mind Pavitr coming over to visit Gayatri, to even spend the night if he wanted. However, he did not approve of her going over to his place. It was easier to know that Gayatri was safe if she stayed home, and Pavitr seemed to understand that entirely.
Which was how they ended up here, having a little sleepover in Gayatri's room. There was music in the background playing from Pavitr's phone, some random song that they weren't paying attention to. They were sitting on the bed, legs crossed and facing each other as Gayatri painted his nails. Pavitr was ranting about his day, talking about school and his... other duties.
"So the robber swung at me, and then I ducked because of course I did - I'm Spider-Man, it's too easy - and so I landed a few hits, and then the robber-"
"Pavitr," Gayatri said, interrupting his speech softly, "you know I love you and everything about you, but please. Stop talking with your hands for just a moment, I am painting them."
"Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly. He hadn't even realized it, but his hands had lost themselves somewhere in the air while he was talking. Delicately, he gave the hand that she was working on back to her.
"It's alright, don't worry," she reassured. Her thumb ran gently over his knuckles, which were still slightly bruised. She brought it up to her lips, kissing them with care. "I know it's your job and all, but you should try to stop getting into so many fights. At least the unnecessary ones."
"You know I can't do that," he whispered, being mindful to not get so excited he waves his hands around again. "Every fight could be a necessary one to join. If I ignore it, something bad could happen. It certainly wouldn't be the first time."
Gayatri's hand stilled, the brush of the polish stilling at the tip of his nail as she felt the mood shift. Her eyes wandered up to his eyes, glossy and rather vacant. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly, almost unnoticeable. But she had known him long enough to be able to pick it out.
"So what happened next?" His eyes become focused at the sound of her voice, meeting her gaze. "After- after you got those hits in. You never finished the story."
Pavitr smiled softly, putting himself back into the moment. He felt infinitely lucky to have a girlfriend who cared for him so much, and who knew him so well.
"Ok, so, after I got in a few hits, the robber pulled out a gun and-"
"I think that's enough of the story."
Pavitr let out a short bark of laughter, curling forward and pressing his forehead to Gayatri's. She continued decorating his nails as he laughed to himself. Her eyes briefly glanced up to his joyous face, taking in the sight of his scrunched nose and wide smile. She was so happy to have someone like him to call hers.
"Alright, now you just need to wait for it to dry," she said as she coated his final nail. "Try not to rub it on anything, and don't use your hands too much until you're sure that they're entirely dry."
"Yes, ma'am!" Pavitr assured, curling his hands into bear claws. He let out a soft, playful growl as he did so, pulling a chuckle out of his girlfriend. "So uhhhh, what should we do now? While we wait for this to dry at least."
Gayatri pondered for a moment, racking her brain for things to do. "Well, I usually just watch a movie, or if I'm up to it just talk to my dad. But we probably shouldn't bug him, so... Movie?"
"Yeah, that sounds good! You can pick one, I don't care too much."
Gayatri and Pavitr settled into her bed comfortably, her laying against his shoulder with his head on hers. Pavitr had his hands interlocked with themselves resting on his chest to ensure they dry properly. Their legs were intertwined, and Gayatri had her laptop resting in her lap as she scrolled through a list of movies.
"Anything catch your eye?" Gayatri asked, continuing to scroll mindlessly through the options. "I've watched most of the good stuff, but I don't know what you've seen or not."
"Eh, not really, and I don't want to make you watch something you've seen before," came his reply as he leaned deeper into her scent. "What if we just watched the worst rated film on here?"
Gayatri paused her scrolling for a moment to contemplate his idea. She quickly opened up another tab, looking up what exactly the worst rated film would be. It was some animated movie, and it looked absolutely atrocious. It was perfect.
The character models were flat, yet somehow chunky. The voice acting was flat, made from people who didn't seem to even want to be involved in the movie. The story itself was all over the place, and neither could really describe it if someone else asked what it was about.
There were many laughs shared, mostly over how absurd the film was. They conversed back and forth about random things, sometimes not even related to what they were watching. Gayatri let out a few yawns, feeling tuckered out as the night progressed, and Pavitr let out many more.
In the final few minutes of the movie, Pavitr was entirely gone. He was snoring softly, face buried deep in Gayatri's hair and hands still locked with each other. Gayatri smiled warmly, deciding to let it at least finish. She had gotten this far, she may as well.
She was quick to back out of the movie once it had finished, opening up one of her shows to continue watching where she had left off. Pavitr was asleep, so she didn't feel too bad. She didn't get half way through the next episode when she had fallen asleep as well.
When the sun peaked through the curtains, Pavitr found his eyes opening slowly. He felt Gayatri's body heat against hers, smelling the perfume that essentially coated the room. There was an itch in the back of his head, alerting him that something was about to come up before it actually did.
Slowly, he wiggled himself out from under his girlfriend, laying her gently against his pillows. He crept over to the other side of her room where his bag was located, slipping his hand to the very bottom and pulling out his Spider-Man suit.
As quietly as he could, he slipped his suit over his muscular skin and fluffed his hair. Silently once more, he tip-toed back to the bed. His hand found its way on the side of Gayatri's face, caressing it softly. He planted a firm kiss onto her forehead, pressing their noses together.
"I have to go my love," he whispered. "I'm sure I'll be back before you awake, but I tell you now in case I don't"
The itch in his head began to grow, ringing through his ears in a steady and heavy thrum. He pushed the window open, attaching himself to the wall and making his way onto the roof. He perched himself on the ledge, patient and focused as he listened for any danger.
A scream to his left caught his attention quick, and soon enough he was jumping over the streets. Sometimes he wished that he could just sleep in, but that wasn't really how it worked.
Crime didn't wait, and neither could he. At least he would have something interesting to tell her when he came back.