You and Pavitr had been dating for a few months now. Being seated next to each other, it was natural that the two of you would become somewhat close throughout the school year. It was definitely unexpected as he would’ve never imagined entering a relationship, having to balance being Mumbattan’s Spiderman with his usual life. You were a much-needed normality in his life though, always mellowing him out and keeping him grounded.
Pavitr loved talking about you, constantly rambling about how he thought you were incredible. And how loved to spend his every waking moment with you as much as possible. Word certainly got out thanks to him, and now he was to face the final stage of his long-term relationship. His Auntie’s approval. Pavitr was nervous, to say the least. She was a gentle yet stern woman. And she only wanted the best for Pavitr. Pavitr had no doubts when it came to you, but still, bringing his first partner to meet his Auntie was incredibly nerve-wracking.
Pavitr got ready for school that day and began eating his breakfast when all of a sudden Auntie Maya sat down in front of him. “Pavitr, I’d like to meet that wonderful partner of yours.” She stated. He choked on his bite of aloo ke paranthe, hitting his chest to cough up his food. Auntie Maya stared in curiosity. Quickly downing his glass of water, Pavitr cleared his throat.
“That sounds like a great idea Auntie. I’ll invite them over soon.”
✰✰✰
After the school day, you waited for your bus home. Pavitr, living relatively close to the school, always chose to wait with you. He wanted to spend his time with you as much as he could. So the two of you sat together, sipping on iced drinks bought from the vending machine. After a lot of bravery and courage on Pavitr’s part, he brought up his Auntie’s invitation.
“Really? She wants to meet me?”
“Yes. Uh, I was thinking maybe tonight…? Is that okay with you?” He asked, tilting his head.
“Pav, I’d love to.” You said, smiling at the thought of Auntie Maya. You’d heard only good things about her. Pavitr grasped your hand, giving it a firm squeeze. You ran your thumb over his hand, reassuring him.
He sighed nervously, “Thank you for doing this, really.”
You chuckled at his nervousness, pushing back a strand of hair that had fallen into his face.
“I’ll make a good first impression, I promise.”
Pavitr smiled at this, mumbling words of endearment into your hand as he give it a quick kiss.
“I know you will.”
His heart was racing at your touch despite the two of you being together for a little while now. He’d never get over being with the coolest person in Mumbattan. Letting go of your hand, he pulled you closer to him by grabbing your waist. You leaned your head onto his shoulder, basking in the sun and his affection.
The two of you hung out a little longer, talking about school and his latest fight as Spiderman. Pavitr knew you didn’t like him putting himself in danger, but you were willing to put it aside to comfort him after a particularly tough fight. He was often stressed. But being physically close to you was like a fresh breath of air for Pavitr. And you were happy to help him in any way you could.
Before long, your bus arrived. The two of you had already worked out the details.
“See you at six o’clock then?” He asked, standing up to send you off on your way.
“See you at six, Pav.” You replied. He leaned towards down, the two of you sharing a quick and gentle kiss as Pav carefully held onto your waist. You gave him one last reassuring look, before heading onto the bus. Pavitr waved goodbye to you outside with a warm smile. You waved back as the bus shuddered.
Sitting down now, you leaned against the bus window. You already had a game plan for this situation, as you did not want to disappoint Pavitr or his Auntie. So first, you were dropping by the market to purchase a fresh bouquet of flowers for Auntie Maya, and then you were going to whip up some baked goods to bring over. She was the woman who raised Pavitr after all, your wonderful boyfriend.
✰✰✰
As soon as you arrived home, you got to work. Putting on an apron, you rummaged through your pantry to grab the needed ingredients. The cookbook on your counter was already bookmarked and opened, a simple recipe for homemade sweet biscuits, nankhatai. Your phone rang as you began kneading the dough. You picked up seeing it was Pav.
“Hey, Pav. What’s up?” You held the phone between your ear and your shoulder as you worked the dough. Your boyfriend sighed over the phone, his voice was a little raspy.
“I’m just doing some homework. Wanted to hear your voice.”
You smiled wide, “Is that so?”
“What? What’s wrong with that?” He complained, scribbling on his paper as he spoke.
“Nothing. But you know I am seeing you in like an hour right?” You teased.
“I don’t care. I want to talk to you.” He shot back, grumbling.
You lightly laughed over the line. Pavitr put his pencil down, fully focusing on the sound of your voice now. Your laugh reverberated through his head. He smiled and leaned back in his chair as you continued speaking.
“Well, I just have to do something real quick, and then I’ll take the bus over to yours right away.”
“Can’t wait to see you. My Auntie seems to be pretty excited too. She’s prepping a lot of food for you coming over.”
You gasped, “No way! Ugh, Pav I can’t wait. She has the best cooking.” You remembered sharing lunch with Pavitr, his food always being mouthwatering and delicious. Pavitr chuckled at this. You rolled the dough into individual pieces on the pan. Quickly looking over at the clock, you wiped your hands on the apron and grabbed the phone with your hand.
“I better get going, sorry.” You felt bad for cutting the conversation short. Pavitr made some noises of disapproval over the call, “…Okay.” You smiled at him.
You held the phone up to your mouth. “Bye Pav.”
“See you.”
The phone call ended.
Pavitr put his phone down and huffed out. It was time to get back to his homework. It was a little hard to focus as he pondered over all of the things that could go wrong with you and Auntie Maya. Regardless, he tried to push the possibilities out of his head.
There was a careful knock on his door. Pavitr swung around in his chair to Auntie Maya smiling and holding a cup of chai. She set the cup down carefully on his desk. Pavitr beamed at this, “Thank you, Auntie.”
Auntie Maya nodded and gave Pavitr’s cheek a little pinch, smiling as she left and closed the door behind her. Pavitr picked up the teacup and brought it up to his mouth, carefully blowing on it and taking a small sip. He hummed at the taste of the drink, feeling grateful. Getting back to work, he mindlessly scribbled on his homework assignment, having much ease solving the math equations. One of his greatest joys was being able to help his fellow classmates, and you, with homework. He always wanted to help you in any way he could. To repay you for how much comfort and happiness your presence brought him.
Time had passed painfully slowly as he finished up his remaining assignments. Just in time, you shot Pav a text, I’m here! He quickly shot up out of his chair, scrambling to greet you at the door. He quickly stopped by the mirror and fixed his messy hair first of course, combing it through his fingers. A few gentle knocks on the door could be heard. Pavitr practically sprinted over, opening the door with tense shoulders.
You stood tall with a warm smile, a basket held in your hands. “Hey. I brought you guys some biscuits. Oh! And flowers for your Auntie.” You spoke proudly. Pavitr stared at you in surprise and honest admiration. Handing him the basket momentarily, you quickly took your shoes off and set them down neatly.
Pavitr looked down at the basket full of warm baked biscuits. The aroma filled his senses and his mouth watered. “You didn’t have to (Name)…! When did you even have the time to..?” You gave him a chaste kiss on his lips. Shooting him a reassuring look.
“Ay, hello dear.” Spoke a soft voice from behind Pavitr. You peeked over, a smile beaming on your face as you saw the kind woman.
“Auntie! It’s so very nice to meet you.” You pushed past Pavitr as he let you in nervously. He watched awkwardly as the two of you spoke to each other. You showed her the basket and set it down on the dinner table. Grabbing the bouquet with gentle care, you handed it to her.
“I hope you like peonies, ma’am.”
Her face grew soft as she sniffed the flowers, “Oh how lovely! Such a sweet gift, dear.”
You observed Pavitr’s house, taking a moment to observe the furniture and the decor. Sun shone in through the curtains, illuminating the picture frames hung above the mantel. You approached the pictures, gasping at the photos of little Pavitr. He lingered beside you, unsure of what to do with you in his space and his home. Auntie Maya approached you and chuckled, “Wasn’t he such a cute kid? Oh, I remember him on his eighth birthday, he was so excited for his party he practically shoveled himself into that cake!” She laughed. You laughed along with her.
“Okay okay, guys! No need to stare at my past self any longer. How about we eat? Auntie made delicious food, let’s go before it gets cold.” Pavitr rambled, trying to distract you from his embarrassing baby photos. Auntie Maya chuckled to herself and went into the kitchen, grabbing dishes.
Turning to Pavitr and pointing to the photo on the wall, you mouthed the words cute and you. Pavitr was flushed with embarrassment, ignoring you and dragging you by the hand to the dinner table. He felt his heart race, showing you a part of his personal life to you like this. This was where he had grown up, and this is where he was raised by his Auntie Maya. And to see you be so comfortable and welcomed into this space, it made his stomach flutter, and his heart fill with warmth. Pavitr cleared his throat.
You looked over at him and gave his warm hand a squeeze, smiling at him. He glanced back at you with adoration. Dishes were set down at the wooden table as Auntie Maya brought in steaming food. The aromas of the spices and sauces filled the room and heightened your hunger. Your mouth watered at the sight of the food. “This looks delicious ma’am.” You smiled at her.
“Thank you, Auntie,” Pavitr mumbled, before serving himself his food and digging in. Auntie Maya chuckled at him as he scarfed the meal down. She ate slowly and looked up at you through warm eyes, “So (Name), Pavi speaks very highly of you.”
You finished chewing your bite and looked up, smiling. “Really?” You turned towards Pav who was hiding behind his cup of chai. You shot him a teasing look.
Pavitr grumbled, “Auntie…”
You chuckled as she continued, “He’s such a sweet boy, he’ll never mistreat you.” You hummed at this, feeling only adoration at your seat. You felt so welcomed in this house and in this family. Pavitr just fully hid his face in his hands now.
“You know, he use to always talk about wanting a family.”
“Whoa! Okay, Auntie! I think that’s enough chat, let’s finish our food!” Pavitr shook his hands defensively, looking away from your eyes as he was flustered. You sat in your seat silenced at this, feeling your face flush. Auntie Maya laughed heartedly at the two of you, scooting away from each other. She gave you a warm smile, “I’m just teasing dear. But I think he chose a wonderful person, and I’d be more than happy to have you in our home again.”
“That means a lot, thank you miss.”
✰✰✰
The three of you ate the rest of dinner. You were absolutely groveling in your seat as you’d never tasted food so good before. Tears practically formed in your eyes at the spice, but damn did it taste good. Comfortable silence was disrupted with light chat and questions. Somehow the conversation always leaned towards embarrassing stories about Pavitr, to which he denied passionately. It was getting late, and your parents were expecting you at home soon.
“Dinner was amazing ma’am. I’ve never had better food…” You said honestly. Auntie Maya let out a light-hearted laugh as she came over to you and gave you a gentle hug. You embraced her back.
“Come over again honey, you’re always welcome to visit.” You nodded.
Pavitr waited as you slipped on your shoes, leaning against the wall. He held the bag of wrapped leftovers for you to take. Auntie Maya had cooked a large amount of food, just for you to take. You cried internally over this as you’d be eating well for the next week. Auntie Maya gently waved to you as she bid you goodbye. You waved back, “Bye Auntie.”
Pavitr walked you out of his house, holding your bag of food for you as the two of you headed towards the bus stop. You let out a sigh, “I’m seriously stuffed. Your Aunt makes magical food, Pav.” He laughed, nodding in agreement. He took your hand in his, interlocking your fingers together as the two of you walked in comfortable silence. You glanced at him from the corner of your eye, speaking up. “So. That went well I think.” He turned towards you.
“It did huh? I don’t know what I was so worried about.” He mumbled. You smiled at him as you caressed his hand with your thumb.
“You’re seriously amazing.” He stated.
The two of you approached the bus stop. Pavitr was pretty silent until he pulled halted and dragged you into an embrace. A very tight embrace. You hugged back twice as tight obviously. He nestled his head into the crook of your neck, his breath tickling your skin as he huffed out. Rubbing small circles into his back, you spoke into his shoulder, “What’s up Pav?” You were confused about his burst of affection.
He softly mumbled something into your skin. To which you let out a confused, hm?
“I said… I said I love you.”
You were silent, not expecting that from him. You didn’t have to think about it too long or gather up the courage to respond back.
“I love you too Pav.”
He shot back up from the hug, grasping onto your shoulders and staring at you in shock.
“Really!?”
“Pavitr.” You questioned him and his thought process. He looked at you, his face flushed with a deep red. You tucked back a piece of his messed-up hair. The bus approached, and you had to go. Grabbing your stuff, you turned to him. “Well, I better go.”
He nodded, “Right.”
There was electricity between the two of you again, and Pavitr felt his hair stand up as a cold gust of wind flew through. He hadn’t grabbed a jacket when walking you. He carefully approached you, standing closer as he hovered his hands over your waist, almost asking for permission. Smiling, you let him grasp you, placing his hands on you, as you placed your free hand on his cheek. His skin always being warm to the touch. The kiss was deep yet gentle. He always was careful, never wanting to overstep your boundaries.
Pulling back, Pavitr’s heart raced, blood rushing into his ears. He beamed, letting out a nervous chuckle. You stepped onto the bus, turning back to wave goodbye to him. He waved back, feeling his stomach turn at the sight of you, the most beautiful person he’d ever known. It always felt like an eternity when the two of you were separated. But of course, Pav would call you as soon as you arrived home. And maybe fall asleep during said call.
Pavitr full-heartedly loved you, he’d learned that tonight. And he was not against the idea of you being by his side forever.