Arnav came back from office and found Ritvik talking to his wife and Sharda. He smiled and walked inside. Meera saw him come inside and wanted to approach him but she hesitated. Arnav was yet to offer her any acknowledgement after the last conversation they had.
"Yeh lo, aa gye Sir!" Ritvik smiled at Arnav.
Arnav smiled back and hugged him. Ashi handed him a glass of water and moved away with Sharda to give some privacy to the friends to talk.
"How's Rishi doing?" Arnav asked slowly.
The smile on Ritvik's face faltered a bit. "He is fine, Arnav."
"Ani ne usse baat ki thi, Ritvik. He refused to tell him anything. Aniket wouldn't lie. Rishi hasn't told him anything!"
Ritvik nodded with a sigh. "That idiot has refused to talk to anyone. Let him recover. I'll make sure he starts talking."
Arnav felt pity for the boy, but he knew he deserved it. Rishaan had been away for three years but that didn't give him the freedom to play with his life. Arnav had himself given him a good veral bashing the moment he had returned back. But he couldn't overstep his boundaries.
Their attention was diverted as they saw Aryan coming down, as usual hoping down the stairs. Arnav whacked him as soon as he reached.
"Sorry!" Aryan yelled before Arnav could whack him again or start with his lecture about safety.
Arnav glared him down.
The classic puppy eyes were quick to surface.
"Kitni baar bola hai tujhe uchhal kud mat Kiya kar? Sunna nhi hai tujhe?" Arnav caught Aryan's ear and gave it a good twist.
"Ouch, ouch, Bhaiya," Aryan winced and gave a soulful look to Arnav. "Dard ho rha hai,"
"Uchhlega seedhiyon pe?"
Aryan shook his head innocently. Arnav left his ear. Aryan immediately hugged him. Arnav sighed. The boy knew how to melt his anger on his fingertips. He wrapped his arms around him and ruffled his hairs.
Ritvik smiled looking at them. The little prince had Arnav wrapped around his little fingers.
"Arnav,"
Arnav looked up. Meera hesitated as she forwarded a cup of coffee towards him.
Arnav's face closed off.
"Coffee le lo, beta," Meera insisted.
Before Arnav could respond, Aryan intervened. "Nhi, naani. Bhaiya ko kuch khane dijiye pehle, phir coffee dena."
"Office se aane ke baad toh coffee hi lete ho na, beta?" Meera asked in confusion. She had seen Ashi handing him a cup of coffee every evening.
"Haan par Bhaiya ka bp thoda low hai, Naani. He needs to eat something before having that coffee," Aryan explained and glared at Arnav in the end, making sure he was giving the message to the right person.
Arnav ruffled his hairs with a smile. "Aise mat dekh, I'll not have coffee before I eat something."
Aryan turned back to Meera. "Yeh coffee toh tab tak thandi ho jayegi, Naani. De dijiye, mai wapas kitchen me rakh deta hoon. I'll get Bhaiya another one."
Meera was annoyed but she curbed it down and handed back the cup of coffee to Aryan. She turned back to talk to Arnav, but he moved away with Ritvik. She sighed in disappointment and walked away.
Ayaansh came down and beelined for Arnav as soon as he saw him. Arnav saw him come and draped a casual arm around him. Ayaansh relaxed immediately. His Bhaiya's presence always soothed his mind.
"Hello, Bhai." He smiled at Ritvik. The frequent interactions with Ritvik had toned down his shyness around him. He had started seeing Ritvik more as his Bhaiya's best friend than a superstar.
"I hope you're not planning on following in your brother's footsteps, kid?" Ritvik raised his eyebrows at him.
"Why not, Bhai?" Ayaansh frowned. Wasn't his Bhaiyu a treasured rockstar? And as far as he remembered, Ritvik loved Aniket's voice. He had publicly said that he is a huge fan of AAS!
"Your voice is born for concerts, rockstar! You can't let it hide behind the cameras." Ritvik smiled. The brothers were all the same; wouldn't let anyone touch any of them!
"Aniket doesn't hide behind the camera, Ritvik." Arnav's sharp voice interrupted them.
Ritvik rolled his eyes. His best friend was a moron. "Tell me you don't want him to come out in public?"
Arnav shot him a disgusted glare. It was annoying how transperent his emotions were to Ritvik.
"Camera ho na ho, singer ki pehchaan toh uski awaaz hoti hai na, Bhai," Ayaansh spoke up. "And AAS needs no camera to make himself heard. His voice rules over billion hearts" He smiled and then added, "including yours, hai na?"
Ritvik looked impressed while Arnav had a proud smile on his face. Ayaansh leaned into his touch. With his Bhaiya by his side, he no longer felt nervous.
"He is learning, is he not?"
"What will be the pros and cons of his public appearance, Ritvik?" Arnav ignored his comment and asked.
At the same time, Aniket and Shivi entered. Arnav looked up and smiled at them. Shivi greeted them and moved away to meet Ashi while Aniket sat down with them.
After an hour of discussion, everyone had come to the mutual conclusion that Ayaansh should start facing the crowd. There was a promotional music association who wanted Ayaansh as their main lead for their next event. The event would exclusively channel Ayaansh's performance. Arnav and Aniket were delighted to hear about the opportunity, but Ayaansh was apprehensive.
"Ready, champ?" Ritvik looked at Ayaansh.
Ayaansh was hesitant.
Aniket slung a friendly arm around him and pulled him closer. "He will be more than ready, Bhai."
Ritvik had no doubts about that. Regardless of public appearance, Aniket was the best tutor Ayaansh could get. Aniket's voice had something that made it stand out even among the crowd of the very best ones. Ritvik was sure Ayaansh wouldn't disappoint them either. He had always enjoyed AAS show; he was absolutely looking forward to the Ayaansh Singhania show!
-------------------------------------------
Arnav was working in the hall when Aryan came down. He saw Arnav and smiled. He was just stepping down the last stair when Arnav's voice came through.
"Don't hop down, Aru!"
Aryan whined about doing no such thing as he approached Arnav and sat down on the chair next to his. He looked at his brother who hadn't even looked up from the laptop screen. He wondered if his Bhaiya had some kind of superpower of sensing their presence or had an extra pair of hidden eyes for them.
"Kuch chahiye, bachcha?" Arnav asked, still hooked on to the laptop.
Aryan shook his head and reached for the fruits that was kept on the dining table. He was about to take them when Arnav stopped him. Arnav walked into the kitchen, washed and sliced an apple and handed it to Aryan before going back to his work.
