Epilogue
.
Shreyash sat on the plush living room rug, leaning back against the couch.
He was currently wearing a crooked pink plastic tiara, carefully holding a tiny, imaginary cup of tea while his four-year-old and three-year-old daughters aggressively brushed the hair on his arms. He was the ultimate, devoted dad, entirely wrapped around their tiny, sticky fingers.
Sitting on the armchair nearby, Adhira sipped her coffee and narrowed her eyes.
She loved her daughters to pieces, but finding herself genuinely, comically jealous of two toddlers was becoming a daily occurrence.
Before the girls, Shreyash's unwavering, obsessive attention had been entirely hers.
Now, she practically had to schedule an appointment just to get her husband to look at her without a Disney princess movie playing in the background.
"Alright, girls," Adhira suddenly announced, setting her coffee mug down with a strategic clink. "Did you know that the absolute best place to build the giant magnetic tile castle is right next to the balcony glass? The sunlight makes it sparkle."
The girls stopped their aggressive brushing instantly. They looked at the balcony, then at each other, and immediately scrambled to the far side of the massive living room, dragging their bucket of tiles with them.
The second they were sufficiently distracted, Adhira made her move.
She slipped off the armchair, crawled across the rug, and climbed right onto the couch. Before Shreyash could even remove his plastic tiara, Adhira straddled his lap, sinking her weight down onto his thighs.
"Adhira..."
She didn't let him finish. She grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulled him up to meet her, and crashed her mouth against his in a deep, wet, completely shameless kiss.
As usual, Shreyash's internal alarms immediately blared.
A wave of scarlet instantly erupted from the collar of his shirt, rushing straight up his neck and burning the tips of his ears. His hands fluttered in the air for a second before finally resting gently on her shoulders, attempting to push her back with the absolute minimum amount of force.
"Adhira," he whispered frantically against her lips, his dark eyes darting nervously toward the other side of the room. "The kids... they are right there."
Adhira pulled back just an inch, a thoroughly entertained laugh bubbling in her throat. She cupped his blazing hot cheeks, squishing his face slightly.
"How is this even possible?" she giggled, her thumbs stroking his flushed skin. "It has been six years. We have two children. I have seen you completely bare, and you still turn into a tomato when I kiss you on a Sunday afternoon."
Shreyash sighed, his shoulders relaxing slightly into the couch cushions. The panicked shyness in his dark eyes melted into a look of such absolute, quiet adoration that it made Adhira's breath hitch. He brought his large hands up to cover hers, his thumbs gently caressing her knuckles.
"I think that even when we are old and greying, I will still blush around you," he admitted softly, his voice a low, deeply sincere rumble.
Adhira felt her heart completely race, hammering against her ribs like it was their very first date.
She stared at him, thinking it should legitimately be illegal for a grown man to be this incredibly, devastatingly cute.
Even after all these years, the sheer devotion in his eyes made every single day feel exactly like their honeymoon.
A new, bold spark of mischief flared in her chest.
"You know," Adhira whispered, leaning in closer, her voice dropping to a sultry, teasing purr. "Everyone says that daughters always love their fathers more. But sons... sons are always mama's boys."
She casually, deliberately slipped her hand down his chest, tracing the line of his stomach until her fingertips lightly brushed the waistband of his sweatpants.
"Maybe," she suggested wickedly, "we should try for one more?"
Shreyash's eyes went comically wide. His brain completely short-circuited. Both of his hands immediately scrambled downward, frantically clamping over her wrist to stop her fingers from moving another inch.
"Adhira!" he choked out, his voice a panicked, high-pitched whisper. He looked like he was about to pass out. "The kids are literally in the room!"
Adhira stuck out her lower lip, pouting adorably. She leaned forward to press a soft, lingering kiss right below his jawline, deliberately breathing against his pulse point. "But I'm your baby too!" she complained, batting her eyelashes at him. "Why aren't you paying attention to me?"
"I am always paying attention to..."
"Daddy!"
A loud, synchronized giggle echoed across the room.
Adhira and Shreyash completely froze.
They both turned their heads slowly. Standing barely three feet away from the couch were both of their daughters.
They had abandoned their magnetic tiles and were standing side-by-side, their tiny hands planted firmly on their hips, looking highly curious and entirely unamused by their parents' tangled position.
Before Adhira could even attempt to explain, the four year old marched forward, pointing a stern, chubby finger directly at Adhira.
"No!" she argued fiercely, her brow furrowed in supreme toddler authority. "Daddy likes US first!"
For a split second, the room was completely silent.
Then, Shreyash let out a sudden, helpless sound, burying his brilliantly red face into Adhira's shoulder to hide his mortification.
Adhira couldn't hold it in. She threw her head back, her bright, uninhibited laughter ringing through the sunlit room, soon joined by the bright giggles of their daughters as they climbed up onto the couch to reclaim their father.
It was chaotic, it was loud, and as Adhira looked at the blushing, smiling man buried under a pile of his girls, she knew it was absolutely perfect.