Kirti Kriti Aur Kartik Ki

Chapter 5

A/N: So... yeah sorry about the delay, I had a presentation to do this week so... was busy doing that :( It ended well for my group tho :) Another reason is that... I had taken a very short break from writing as I was in my movie phase and well... planning the other books out. Not wanting to sound repetitive but that's the truth. Sorry :(

Me: *Gets an idea for chapter 6*
Me: *Finishes writing almost half of the chapter*
My logical brain: Um... hello you have yet to finish chapter 5?
Me: Oh yeah, I'll come back to you later 6!

It had been over 3 months since Kritika and Kartik had been accepted into the Pandu family and if anyone sends one look at their dysfunctional family, they wouldn't have suspected the cousins to not be a part of the family. That was how seamlessly they blended in.

But today... Kartik wanted to explore something he hadn't done since he'd come to the past... one of his specialities... Cooking. "Maa, if you would allow... can I cook for you all today?" Kartik asked shyly.

"Why this sudden interest putr?" Madri asked with an eyebrow raised. "Well... I used to do it a lot back at home and I really miss doing it and I wanted to show off my skills a little bit?" Kartik asked with a little excited.

Don't get him wrong, but while he enjoyed the Raja Niti classes with Pandu, the playtime and martial arts practice with the Pandavas and all that... especially spinning tales for them each night but his hands had been itching to get his hands on the spices and work in the kitchen.

"Are you sure?" Kunti asked. "Yes maa. I want to try to cook alone" Kartik said confidently and the two mothers looked at each other apprehensively before looking back at him.

"Trust me maa, I will be able to do it. I have experience... I used to cook most of the time back at home..." Kartik said and the two of them reluctantly left, praying that they made the right choice.

But to their surprise, two hours later Kartik had called them all, informing that the food was ready. It was only Kunti, Madri and Kartik knew about the switch though.

Kartik set up everything and did a mock bow to everyone. "I shall be your server today. Please enjoy the feast!" he announced with a dramatic flair.

"So you cooked today?" Kritika deadpanned. "Kritu!! Why did you spoil the fun?!" he asked as he fake sobbed, earning a few giggles from the Pandavas.

"Alright chef, what have you made us today. The dishes seem a bit unfamiliar" Pandu said. "That's because most of the dishes are from my region. I altered the recipe to the ingredients I found so... we have a mixed vegetable sambhar, milagu rasam, some poriyal... and some appam so that Kriti can enjoy something sweet" Kartik said with a smile, pointing at the aforementioned dishes one by one. (Milagu is pepper and rasam is a watery kinda soup that is spicy and maybe tangy with a sourish note if you use lemons. And Poriyal is basically vegetable)

"Can we start then?" Bhima asked excitedly, wanting to try the new dishes. "Of course you can! No one is stopping you" Kartik said and they commenced eating.

*And a few moments later*

"Kartikeya dear" Kritika said in a sickly sweet tone and Kartik knew he was done for, because a) She used his full name and b) Her tone.

"Yes Kritika dear?" Kartik asked as sweat rolled on the back of his neck. "How much spice did you put in the sambhar? And the poriyal?" she asked, just as Nakula started jumping like a monkey, repeatedly asking for water.

"Just the usual amount..." Kartik trailed off as more people started to chant for water. "Did you fucking taste it Kartik?" Kritika asked as she grabbed some in her hand and forced it into Kartik's mouth. He chewed it for a while before swallowing. "It is a bit hot" he admitted.