~ A happily ever after isn't a promise of smiles and laughter, it's a promise of handling anything and everything together ~

Manik opened his eyes as he stretched a little, yawning. His phone told him it was quite early to wake up, just quarter to seven. Yesterday had been very tiring, but right now he felt surprisingly fresh except for the little drowsiness from the sleep. He probably had had a very good night's sleep, he smiled at the thought and turned his head to look at the reason.

Nandini Malhotra.

Two words he had never thought would be written together, but they had, by destiny and today, he couldn't be happier at that. His life had completely changed, he had accepted what he thought he never deserved and much more. Smiling to himself, he leaned over to kiss her chubby cheek and was elated to see her smiling back even in sleep. He wondered how Nandini handled so many variations together. She was a kid at times and a grandmother at another. A doting wife in one second and a demanding one in another. A complete package at that, he wondered as he chuckled to himself.

"If you continue laughing to yourself, I will have to leave you at the Agra asylum", Nandini's sleepy voice made him look at her, to find her already staring right back, with half droopy eyes.

" Sorry Mrs. Malhotra, you can't get rid of me that easily", Manik hugged her, lying on the bed and nuzzled his face in her hair, his day old beard rubbing against her cheek made her squirm as she felt ticklish.

"Won't you ask why?", Manik smirked, and though Nandini could not see his face, she could picture his exact expressions, so she simply shrugged, moving her body enough so that she was on her side, facing him and he plopped himself on his elbow, facing her.

"Because smiling to yourself is not madness, it's being happy in your heart!", Manik dropped a kiss on his forehead and poked her nose lightly smiling again, but Nandini was already bowled over.

Here she was expecting to mock amd tease him, but Mr. Husband had bolded her out. Morning romance was her favourite anyway, so she gave up on her teasing and tucked her head just beneath his chin, hugging him close. He felt her smile against his bare skin, courtesy his loose vest, but his breath hitched in the next very second when Nandini kissed his heart, very softly. Manik didn't say anything but wrapped both his arms around her, tucking her close and eventually they again fell asleep.

The lazy morning turned into a lazier afternoon. Manik finally got the heart to get out of the bed past eleven while Nandini was still sleeping. Taking a relaxing shower, he ordered himself some coffee and muesli, and pancakes, before settling by the huge glass windows to work for the pending hearing the next day. He emailed his staff and a fellow lawyer who had accompanied him but was staying with a friend. Discussing thed details, they went over the case again as they didn't want to take any chance. The girl deserved her justice, and Manik was hell bent to achieve just that.

Sometime between, Nandini also woke up and found him too engrossed in work. She didn't disturb him either, took a shower and ordered herself some ginger tea and them heavy brunch, despite seeing Manik's eaten plates because she very well knew her husband wasn't going to deny food.

While the food took some time, her tea was delivered immediately and Nandini settled on the bed, sipping her tea, rummaging through the documents on her phone. She plucked in her ear pods and played Manik's tune, while searching for any lyrics she could find from her previously written works. Nothing seemed to match the beats, and if something did, it wouldn't sound convincing to her ears.

Huffing, she pouted to herself, disappointed when she felt Manik's side dipping and he sat beside her, smiling. Seemed he had wrapped his work, and was confident enough, she could see it in his eyes. She immediately smiled at him, the same cheeky smile he loved and shifted closer to sit with her back pressed to his chest.

"What's wrong?", Manik reflexly kissed her hair. He had realised he was addicted to whatever the fragrance was, in her hairs. He loved playing with them, feeling their softness and it was slowly becoming a habit, kissing them whenever she was close.

"I can't find lyrics good enough to match your tune!", Nandini spoke very grumpy, and Manik held back a chuckle at her tone. She actually acted like a baby when she was not conscious of her behavior.

"Let me see", he took her phone and scrolled through a set of lyrics, they weren't too polished anyway. She had written them as random poetry.

If it would have been anyone else, Nandini would have hesitated. Poetry is something very personal, it actually comes from your heart and exposes your inner demons more often than not. But it was Manik in question, and she had nothing to hide from her better half.

Manik stopped on a particular stanza, and smiled and then kept his head on her shoulder, embracing her from back.

"You know why you could not find anything to fit?", he asked gently and she slightly tilted her head to look at him, eyes raised in question.

"Because you are trying to match the beats, the pace of the tune", his face was so tender as he tried to explain her without hurting her, "the tune might be a little fast paced, but I was not thinking good while composing it. I had a huge fight with Dhruv the same day and he said something-", he stopped abruptly, taking a deep breath not wanting those memories to affect him, but Nandini entwined his fingers with hers in the same moment.

"He told you that nobody wanted a friend like you, that you don't deserve to be a friend?", Nandini asked, surprising Manik. Reading his expressions, she subtly rubbed his arm.

"Mukti told me", her answer was to the point and Manik nodded in understanding, holding her a little tight than usual.

"We were to participate in a competition and I thought we would despite the fight. So I still made the tune, my mind trying to not drown in those negative thoughts. I was thinking about how to hold on while composing, and it isn't exactly a happy song despite the fast paced tune. It's like I was drowning and I made it to save me! ", he finished, trying to come back to the original point and not diverting to people who didn't matter, not anymore.

Nandini obliged, she left the topic there and began re searching through her poems before stopping on one. It was the same Manik had stopped on earlier. He smiled watching her reading those lyrics again and she turned her head in slow motion, her eyes all over his face and it took her two minutes to know he had already seen those lyrics and just wanted to reach there by her own instead of him picking them up directly.

Shaking her head, she said nothing and neither did he, but both were clearly excited about recording the song.

Post a hearty lunch, Manik was clearing the table when Nandini's phoned beeped. She casually picked it up, to see a message from Mukti and that made her grind her teeth. She was asking to confirm if they were in Delhi. Nandini read the message, but didn't bother to reply.

Probably seeing the blue ticks, Mukti messaged again, this time asking to meet them, solely because she wanted to apologise to Manik, face to face. Nandini wondered for some time if it was a good idea but couldn't decide.

Manik was watching her from a distance, her expressions giving away that she was contemplating something. He walked upto her, and turned her towards him, raising her eyebrows. Nandini looked back at him, and rolled her lips in, raising her eyes.

"What's our evening program?", she questioned, making him frown.

"I was thinking about a quick visit to KOD and later we can have the night to ourselves", Manik's tone was suggesting and Nandini immediately blushed, which made him giggle, pinching her cheeks.

"At times, you are so cute", he commented, his eyes holding adoration for her pink cheeks.

"Aeee! What do you mean at times? I am always cute. I am born cute!", Nandini pointed her finger at him, offended at the comment but it only made her husband smirk.

"Oh really? I thought you were bold and sexy the other times, gorgeous at some and messily beautiful at some. But if you want cute -", he wanted to continue teasing her, but watching the change in her expressions, which went from confused to appalled, he burst out laughing, embarrassing the hell out of Nandini.

"Manikkkk", she shouted, stomping her foot, and took the pillow to beat him with it, but Manik acted fast and held her wrist to pull her and she landed right on him, her tresses sprawled all over him.

Tucking them gently behind, he raised his eyebrow.

"Now tell me what you are worried about?", he asked, and Nandini huffed. She couldn't hide it from him anyway because if it ruined his mood, that would mean it would ruin her night!

"Mukti is here. She wants to meet us, you actually. Says, she wants to apologise!", Nandini informed him, and watched his face keenly for any reaction, but there was none. He was cool with it.

"Okay. Tell her to meet us in KOD only, would save time!", he rolled her back, and grinned, his entire concentration in teasing her, for the upcoming night, but when he saw her still confused expressing, he tilted his head and chuckled.

"Manik Malhotra doesn't go back on his works Nandini Malhotra. When I told you I am moving on from them, I am definitely Moving on!!!!".

P.s: the sunday isn't yet over!!! :p