118.
The chaos of the wedding had finally settled, and life was slowly slipping back into its usual rhythm.
Workers had already begun taking down the decorations, carefully removing flowers, lights, and fabric from the halls. The bodyguards, meanwhile, had returned to their regular training schedule.
Ravi had left for the Unit early the next morning, leaving Yug to wake up on his own. Yug couldn't help but wonder why Ravi hadn't even bothered to wake him before leaving.
Aarav, on the other hand, woke up feeling content, curled up beside Shaurya.
They had spent the morning enjoying each other's company. Aarav didn't like his hole so empty so he practically begged Shaurya. They went another round inside the shower.
Yeah. Life was good for Aarav.
"Wow. Look at you."
Eve's voice pulled him from his thoughts.
Aarav glanced at her. "What?"
"You've been smiling nonstop for the past ten minutes."
"So?"
Eve gave him a knowing look and nudged his shoulder. "This is the after sex effect. You're glowing".
Aarav immediately looked away, a faint blush appearing on his face.
Eve laughed. "Oh, I knew it."
"Stop it," Aarav muttered, though he was still smiling.
"Lucky you," Eve said dramatically, letting out a sigh. "Meanwhile, all I have is a boss who is a complete freak and absolutely hates my purple hair. Can you believe that?"
Aarav nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately, yes."
Eve rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to support me."
"I am supporting you. I really hope you lose your job."
Her mouth fell open. "Hey! Why?"
"Because I want you to stay in this country." Aarav took another bite of wedding cake before continuing. "Trust me, I'm a good business partner. I'm ready to invest. Besides, they're taking credit for your ideas over there."
Eve's expression softened.
"I understand what you're saying," she said. "But I'm learning a lot under them right now. I don't really mind if our ideas get mixed together sometimes. I'm still figuring things out. But..." She paused thoughtfully. "I'll definitely think about it in the future."
"I hope you do," Aarav said.
For a moment, the conversation settled into comfortable silence.
Then Eve suddenly looked at him.
"By the way.. Are you planning to have another baby?"
Aarav immediately coughed, reaching for his glass of water.
"What?"
"Another baby," Eve repeated, completely unfazed.
Aarav stared at her. "Where did that come from?"
Eve shrugged innocently. "I was just wondering."
"Wondering what?"
"If Aarya could have a sibling someday."
Aarav blinked at her, clearly caught off guard by the sudden question.
Eve simply smiled, waiting for his answer.
"Aarya told you that?" Aarav asked, his eyebrows lifting slightly.
Eve nodded slowly.
"I don't know," Aarav admitted after a moment. "I'm not sure. Maybe someday in the future. Though Shaurya has been hinting at it quite a lot lately."
"That's great," Eve said with a small smile. "So he wants another child too."
Aarav's smile faded slightly.
"It's not as simple as it sounds." He looked down at the piece of cake in his hand. "Sometimes it's actually pretty difficult for me to get into Aarya's space. Like this, for example. She told you about it, but she didn't tell me."
Eve's expression softened.
"I'm not saying that's a bad thing," Aarav quickly added. "She trusts you more than anyone in the world. That's completely normal. I just... sometimes I wish she'd come to me first."
"You're doing great as a parent, trust me," Eve reassured him. "Maybe she was just embarrassed to bring it up with you."
Aarav gave her a look.
"She's anything but shy."
Eve immediately laughed. "Okay, that's true."
Aarav smiled faintly before continuing.
"And Shaurya has only recently started getting to know her properly. Aarya needs her dad right now more than she needs a sibling."
"Hmm." Eve nodded thoughtfully. "That's true too. Shaurya does seem to look after her all the time now."
Aarav glanced at her with a teasing smile.
"So... you trust her with him now?"
Eve narrowed her eyes.
"I do," she admitted reluctantly. "But I still hate him."
Aarav chuckled.
"Anyway," Eve continued, pointing at him, "just let me know if you two ever decide you want another child."
Aarav raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Eve shrugged casually. "I already went through the whole process of having Aarya. If you ever wanted another child, I'd be happy to have your sperm inside me".
Aarav stared at her for a second.
"That sounded really weird."
Eve burst out laughing. "You know what I mean!"
"And you've already planned everything?"
"Obviously." She waved a hand dismissively. "Although, if you two decide to adopt instead, that's completely fine too. Adoption is a wonderful option."
Aarav nodded.
"I've actually always wanted to adopt," he admitted. "But Shaurya would have to agree. You know how complicated these decisions can be."
He sighed dramatically.
"Sometimes I wish men could have children themselves. It would make everything so much easier."
Eve's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Just like in omegaverse!" she exclaimed. "It'd be sooo cute!"
Aarav stared at her blankly.
"What?"
Eve stared back at him.
"Wait. Seriously?!"
"What?"
"You're gay, and you don't know what omegaverse is?"
Aarav slowly shook his head.
"Umm... no?"
Eve put a hand on his shoulder and gave him an exaggeratedly sympathetic look.
"Oh, baby. You have so much to learn about gays. You don't even know the real gay world".
Aarav frowned.
"I suddenly regret asking."
-----------------------------
"You look busy," Yug remarked, leaning slightly against the doorway. "What are you doing?"
"Just some weird work," Ravi replied without looking up.
"Right. Of course." Yug stepped closer, curiosity getting the better of him. "But what exactly?"
Ravi paused what he was doing and finally looked at him.
"Only if you want to tell me. It's not like I'm that interested." Yug said.
A faint smirk tugged at Ravi's lips.
"I could tell you a few things." He glanced back at the files spread across the desk. "We're hiring new people for different positions. Mostly accountants and enforcers. I'm checking their portfolios."
"I see." Yug looked at the stacks of papers. "That's not exactly weird. But don't you already have a lot of people here?"
"We do." Ravi picked up another file and scanned through it. "But people get old. Some leave. Some simply move on. Our head accountant is leaving next month."
"Oh." Yug nodded, suddenly understanding. "So you actually know about finances and all that?"
Ravi looked up at him.
"You know, I was actually homeschooled here."
Yug sighed and shook his head.
"I didn't mean that in a bad way."
"I know." Ravi smirked.
"I just..." Yug searched for the right words. "I see you doing almost everything around here. It's interesting."
Ravi said nothing, so Yug continued.
"I basically don't know anything about your interests. You know almost everything about me, but I don't even know what you like doing."
Ravi chuckled quietly and returned his attention to the files, making a few notes in the margins.
"So?" Yug asked. "What do you like doing?"
Ravi glanced at him.
"I mean, apart from killing people and all that." Yug shrugged. "Everyone has something they're passionate about, right?"
Ravi was silent for a moment.
"I don't think I ever had one."
"C'mon." Yug rested his cheek against his palm, watching him. "It can be anything."
"I never really had time to think about passion."
His voice had lost its usual teasing edge.
"When you grow up in those chawls, you're not exactly sitting around wondering what you want to do with your life. You're thinking about how to make money. How to get through the day. How to make sure there's enough for tomorrow." He paused, his fingers absently tapping against the file.
"Maybe you just never tried to acknowledge it," Yug said.
Ravi shrugged.
Yug smiled. "I'm going to crack you down eventually, Haider."
"Sure." Ravi returned to his paperwork. "You read minds, after all."
"I don't." Yug frowned. "I genuinely have no idea what you're thinking right now."
Ravi's lips curved into a faint, unreadable smile.
"You don't really want to know what I think about you."
Yug stared at him for a moment.
Then he rolled his eyes.
"Shut up."
Ravi chuckled.
"Anyway," Yug continued, refusing to let him derail the conversation, "what else? I heard you were training some people this morning. You left pretty early."
"Yeah."
Ravi leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Someone has to take over my job eventually. I'm the head of the enforcers. My work depends heavily on my physical ability." He glanced down at his hands. "And this body isn't going to perform at a hundred percent forever. Give it another decade or so."
Yug tilted his head.
"So you do think about the future?"
Ravi gave a short laugh.
"Not really."
"Why?"
"We don't think that far ahead here."
The answer came so casually that it made Yug pause.
Ravi continued looking through the files.
"I could be dead tomorrow. Someone else could take my place. Plans don't mean much when you don't know how long you're going to be around."
Yug's smile disappeared.
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
"Seriously, good luck dating me," Ravi said, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
Yug stared at him for a moment. "I honestly don't know what to say to that."
He cleared his throat and glanced toward the files.
"Anyway, you keep doing whatever you're doing. I'll come back later."
Yug turned to leave, but before he could take more than a step, Ravi caught his arm and gently pulled him back.
"Don't leave. We were having a good conversation."
Before Yug could protest, Ravi guided him back toward the chair and pulled him onto his lap.
"Whoa, whoa, dude." Yug stiffened immediately. "What are you doing? This is weird."
Ravi raised an eyebrow.
"You didn't find it very weird yesterday."