4 | happily ever after.

unedited

・・・

Agastya spun the basketball in his finger. Then, he let it come to a slow halt. What was going on with this best friend?

For the past two days, she had been avoiding as if he had a contagious disease. It was something that had never happened before. Not even when he'd actually had a contagious disease.

Her avoiding him had put him in an irritated mood. The frustration had distracted him from his studies and he decided to lounge in the basketball court, instead. His younger brother had followed him.

Dribbling the ball and then attempting to shoot it. That was all Vedant knew. He was eager to learn more but Agastya refused to teach him anything. Teaching things was a chore.

"Bro, aren't you going to shoot?" Vedant flicked a thumb in the basket's direction. Agastya shook his head, "I just came out for some fresh air."

"Then, why did you carry your ball with you?" Vedant's nose scrunched.

"Why do you have so many questions?"

"Because I just do. Why are you pissed off?"

"Don't bother me." Agastya, with closed eyes, folded his arms over his chest, leaning back against the metal net. "Just do your thing, quietly."

"Fine. I'll tell mom that I tried telling you but you weren't responding to me, so I gave up."

Agastya opened one of his eyes, "Tell me what?"

Vedant shrugged.

"Spit it out."

Vedant shrugged again, with a grin.

"You little fucking punk." Agastya leaped up and chased him around the court. Once he was caught, Vedant panted, "Okay, Okay, fine. Mom told me to tell you that you needed to stop dragging your feet. Sitara is going to her grandma's place for the summer break and that if you didn't do something quickly, you will probably end up losing-"

Agastya let his brother go, ran to grab his ball and then ran out of the court. Vedant, who was suddenly left alone, "...."

At least, listen to me completely?

Agastya stared at their shadows intertwined, as he finished the last of his ice cream.

"How do you finish your ice cream that quickly?" Sitara whined, struggling to keep up with the cream that was melting all over the cone. "I knew I shouldn't have bought the cone ones."

"Then, why did you buy it?"

Sitara looked away, "So that I could continue holding hands with you."

Agastya grinned, "You're surprisingly more romantic than I gave you credit for."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She grumbled. "I can be very romantic when I want to. Why would you think that?"

"After seeing your very serious father in tuitions and classes, what else would I think? Your mom is very gentle but she, too, looks pretty strict."

Sitara sat up, her eyes gleaming, "I haven't told you how my parents fell in love, have I?"

Agastya had already heard about it a thousand times from his mom. Nevertheless, looking at the excitement on her face, he couldn't help but indulge her, "Tell me."

And so, she began rambling. He continued, listening.

"We won the bet, Maya." Anu smirked as she glanced at her best friend, who had definitely aged. Soft wrinkles had begun popping out on their skins but when they smiled together, none of that mattered. The youth in them had never died.

Maya smirked, too, and the two of them finally glanced at Vineet, who was seated behind them. He rolled his eyes and pulled out two 500 rupee bills, "Fine, I lost."

Anu closed the door to Sitara's room, giving the couple some privacy. Their children weren't an official couple. They had wanted to wait until they had graduated before they started dating. It was a wise decision, acknowledged by both Maya and Anu.

"And you?" Maya turned to Ved, who smiled at her, gently.

"All my money is yours, anyway."

"Why have you gotten more and more sappy with time?" Maya rolled her eyes, but a soft smile decorated her lips.

Suddenly, the door to the house swung open and Shrest strode in with his gifts. "How is my beautiful niece-"

He noticed Maya and Ved sitting on the sofa. In particular, he noticed Maya's smirk. Then, he glanced at Vineet's defeated expression and then, at Anu's happy expression.

"Don't tell me..."

Maya laughed, "Pay up, pay up."

"Fuck," Shrest stuck his hand in his pocket. Sana laughed, as she followed her husband inside, her toddler in her arms. The three couples had gotten along very well, to the point of calling each other close family friends.

Sana grinned, "He lost the bet, didn't he?"

"All three of the men did. Idiots." Maya snorted.

Anu watched as Vineet, Maya and Ved bickered amongst themselves about their children. Sana and Shrest quietly crept into the room, surprising their niece.

Anu removed her apron, with a gentle smile. Vineet glanced at her, a soft smile on his face. She sat beside her husband and joined the chatter.

This was all she had wanted. This was enough. She was as happy as she could be.

・・・

a/n: thank you for reading 'forever & always'!