Farra meet Dalmakhni

Chapter : 5

Treyaksh , his thumb moving mindlessly until a reel suddenly caught his attention - curiosity had a habit of winning over him when he was tired.

Shipping my followers—follow to get yours.

He frowned slightly, watching the entire reel , without thinking , tapped the follow button and clicked onto the account, scrolling through posts of strangers being paired together with dramatic music and exaggerated captions, shaking his head softly as if silently judging the chaos of the internet while still being completely drawn into it.

Before he could scroll any further, a loud, familiar voice echoed up the staircase from downstairs, "Trishu, Avyaan, Aarvik—kids, come down for dinner!"

The effect was immediate and almost hilarious.

Aarvik snapped his notebook shut , and Avyaan practically launched himself off the bed, both of them bolting toward the door as if they'd been released from prison after a life sentence.

Treyaksh followed behind them at a calmer pace, switching off the light, turning the fan off carefully, and pulling the door shut ( kaisae nai kreyga mummy ki daat thodin khani hai ladlae ko 👽.)

The dining area was already full when he entered, every uncle seated comfortably, leaning back slightly, eyes instinctively drifting toward the kitchen as if waiting for their wives to appear beside them, and Treyaksh paused for just a second, before muttering under his breath .

"All these love-struck men," he whispered to himself, lips twitching.

That was when he spotted his chachi approaching from the kitchen, carrying a plate piled high with hot, freshly made paratha's and without hesitation—because hesitation had never really been his thing—he rushed toward her dramatically.

"Chachiiiiiii," he exclaimed, stretching the word with exaggerated concern, "why are you troubling your soft, delicate hands like this? Your Trishu is alive and well, you know. Sit next to me, please, I'll do all the work."

Before his chachi could even respond properly, Kapil uncle shot up from his chair, eyes wide and mock-angry.

"Stop flirting with my wife, you menace," he snapped, pointing a finger at Treyaksh. "Go find a wife of your own. Mine is only mine."

The room erupted in quiet laughter, but Kapil uncle wasn't done, turning immediately toward the head of the table where Treyaksh's grandfather sat, calm and dignified as ever.

"Dad jii, look at him," Kapil uncle complained dramatically. "Your grandson is harassing my poor wife."

Treyaksh's grandfather cleared his throat , just enough to demand attention .

Before anyone could say anything else

Avyaan, already seated and grinning like he lived for chaos, chimed in innocently, "Chachu, treyaksh , one day he'll actually run away with chachi."

The room went silent for half a second.

Then—

"Good idea," Treyaksh said thoughtfully, nodding. "Not bad at all—"

"Not happening!" Kapil uncle yelled at the same time, while kanika aunt burst out laughing, shaking her head as she placed the rotis down .

Manav and Harshit, who had been quietly observing the whole exchange, finally couldn't hold themselves back anymore.

"Bhaiya, Papa," Manav protested loudly , "you don't even let us sit next to Mom properly."

"Yes!" Harshit added dramatically, nodding so hard his hair bounced. "The moment we try, you come and stand in between like a wall."

That was all the invitation Treyaksh needed.

"Because she's my jaan. Obviously."

The room went still for half a second.

"You little menace," Kapil snapped without missing a beat, before suddenly pulling Kankika into his arms from behind, wrapping himself around her possessively as if she might disappear if he let go for even a second. He buried his face into the crook of her neck shamelessly, planting soft, kisses there while she tried to elbow him away.

"Kapil!" Kankika hissed,. "Have some shame at least. Everyone is right here watching you behave like an i***t!"

Treyaksh slapped his palm to his forehead in pure theatrical despair. "Exactly, chachu! Where is your dignity?" He peeked through his fingers, then added in an offended tone, "And baby -

Kapil placed another kiss to Kankika's cheek like he was doing it on purpose now. "Baby, don't listen to this nonsense," he murmured sweetly, then turned his head slightly toward Treyaksh, eyes narrowing in mock warning. "And you—don't you dare call her baby again. She's mine. Only mine. Remember that."

"Chachi, are you seeing this?" Treyaksh burst out laughing, pointing at Kapil like he had just exposed a national crime. "Look at this over-possessive, jealous husband of yours. jalkhukda." He shook his head. "He doesn't even let me pyaar you properly."

Kapil smirked, arms still locked around Kanika like iron. "And why do you need to love her, haan?" he shot back lazily. "You think I'll let you ruin my romance? Ab toh is ghar mein apni legally wedded wife ke saath romance bhi nahi kar sakta."

Treyaksh gasped, deeply offended. "Romance?" He looked around the table dramatically. "In front of Dada ji, Dadi ji, everyone? Chachu, honestly, no wonder you already have three kids."

Kapil's chest puffed up with pride at that. "If it were up to me, ," he said smugly, "I'd form an entire cricket team with her." He leaned closer to Kankika's ear, whispering loudly on purpose, "Imagine eleven little Kiddo's running around the Haveli. Fun, right?"

The smack Kankika delivered to his chest .

"Kapil!" she scolded, face flushed, trying not to laugh. "Stop embarrassing me. Cricket team, my foot. Handle the three you already have first."

Treyaksh gagged dramatically, clutching his chest as if physically wounded. "Chiiii, chachu! I did not need to hear this." He covered his ears. "This is trauma for life. Is ghar kae saraea mard tharki hi hai meri pyaari pyaari jaan'o kao pareshan krtae rehtae , i'm leaving. I'll go sit at my place before I need therapy."

Kapil tightened his arms around her just a little more and leaned down to whisper softly into her ear, his voice suddenly calmer, warmer.

"See? No matter how much he talks, at the end of the day..."

He smiled to himself.

"You're still mine."

After a while , The dining hall had slowly transformed —men teasing their wives while secretly feeding them, hands brushing, laughter spilling without effort; darlings *Treyaksh ki mummy , chachi , tayiji* pretending to be annoyed yet smiling anyway.

Little children running around with plates half-full, fingers messy, laughing as they tried to steal from each other's bowls.

And then there was the Gen Z corner.

Treyaksh, Avyaan, Aarvik, and Rohan sat together , plates mostly untouched now, eyes wandering around the room, watching the couples with a mix of amusement .

Treyaksh leaned back in his chair, chewing slowly, eyes following his grandparents for a moment before he smirked and said , "Dadu, look at you. Bal safaed hogaye par tab bhi badae rangin ho , Dadi kae pallu sae bandhae ho purae kae purae."

The room paused for half a second.

His grandfather slowly turned his head, fixing Treyaksh with a sharp, "You should get tied too," he said. "I didn't stop you . At your age. We were already married back then." He leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing. "Go on, get married, stay tied to someone's pallu too. Though honestly, who would even give their daughter to you?"

Avyaan exploded into laughter, nearly choking. "YAAEYYY—savage Dadu!"

Treyaksh froze, genuinely offended now, hand flying to his chest. "Pura parivaar tharki hai mera " he muttered dramatically, shaking his head .

Around them, no one paid much attention anymore everyone was too busy in their own little worlds.

And maybe that's why Treyaksh picked up his phone again, thumb scrolling lazily through reels, letting the noise fade into background comfort.

Then suddenly—

A notification popped up.

"Umm... hi. I wanted to tell you something."

He stared at the screen for a second longer than necessary. It was her. The girl from that shipping account.

He slid into the DMs, fingers hesitating for a brief moment before typing,

"Sure."

Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.

"You've been liking my reels repeatedly," her message finally read. "It's affecting my reach. Could you stop doing that?"

For a second, Treyaksh just blinked.

Before he could even process how to reply

Out of absolutely nowhere, Avyaan changed the song in speaker and blasted, at full volume—

"SAARI UMAR MAIN JOKER —"

Everyone looked at Avyaan . Especially him.

Treyaksh snapped his head toward Avyaan, eyes wide with horror. Muh food dunga is akal kae andhae ka mai , he thought violently.

( I totally support you avyaan bhai👽)

Avyaan, said , "Sorry... wrong timing."

He quickly switched the song, lowering the volume, soft music replacing the disaster—

"Khaali khaali dil..."

Aarvik glanced up from his plate, eyebrow raised. "One day," he said calmly, "you're going to get beaten up."

Avyaan grinned. "Worth it."

Treyaksh looked back down at his phone, the DM still open, the room buzzing again like nothing had happened .

He typed slowly, fingers hovering for a second longer than necessary, as if choosing each word carefully even though it was such a simple reply.

"Oh. I didn't realize that. I'll stop. Sorry."

The message sent , her reply came back—too fast .

"It's okay. Just make sure you don't do it again."

He typed back .

"Hmm... sure."

He was about to close the chat when another notification popped up, name flashing again .

"Wanna join a random GC? Gonna make it today."

He typed back simply .

"Okay. Add me."