bonus

It was 3:47 a.m.

Diya had just demanded ice cream with pickle masala, then promptly declared she hated everyone and everything-especially Vivaan-before curling up on the couch again.

Vivaan was half asleep on the floor with one sock on, hair in disarray, when he heard it.

"VIVAAN!"

His eyes flew open.

She stood there, frozen. Wide-eyed. One hand on her belly.

"I think... my water just broke."

Vivaan blinked. "Broke? Like a cup?"

"No, my water-THE BABY'S COMING, YOU IDIOT!"

Vivaan shot up, tripped on the carpet, smacked into the corner table, and yelled, "CODE RED! SHE'S LEAKING, SHE'S LEAKING-OH MY GOD, THE BABY'S COMING OUT!"

"Stop screaming and get the goddamn bag!"

He spun around in circles. "Where's the bag?! WHERE'S THE-wait, why is there a mango in the hospital bag?!"

"Because you packed it, Vivaan!"

"I panicked, okay? I thought we'd get hungry!"

---

Thirty chaotic minutes later-

Vivaan drove like a man possessed, hazard lights on, honking like a DJ in traffic.

"MOVE, PEOPLE! MY WIFE'S ABOUT TO HAVE A WHOLE HUMAN!"

Diya was in the backseat, panting. "You're not helping!"

Vivaan nearly cried. "I AM TRYING, BABY! I SWEAR I AM! WE MADE A WHOLE PERSON AND I'M LOSING MY SHIT!"

---

Hospital - Delivery Room

Vivaan barged in, holding Diya's hand like a lifeline.

"She's in labor!" he yelled. "My wife's in pain and she threatened to punch me if I breathe too loud!"

The nurse calmly gestured toward the labor room. "Please bring her in, sir. And you-try not to faint this time."

Vivaan panted. "No promises."

Two hours later.

Screaming. Pushing. More screaming.

Vivaan stood beside her, holding her leg up, looking one breath away from sobbing.

"You're doing so good, baby-oh my God, that's a head! That's a head!! He's crowning!! YOU'RE A WARRIOR! A GODDESS! A-AHHH!"

Diya snapped, "If you say one more word, I will rip your throat out-"

And then:

The cry.

Tiny. Fierce. Beautiful.

A nurse laughed. "Congratulations. It's a boy."

Vivaan gasped, tears spilling. "We made him. We made a whole damn human."

He kissed Diya's sweaty forehead. "You did it. You freaking did it."

"We did," she whispered, eyes teary. "Hi, Papa."

Vivaan looked down at the squirming, crying little bundle they placed on Diya's chest.

And he broke into the softest smile. "Hi, baby boy. I'm your chaos of a father. And I'm gonna love you forever."

Vivaan was still crying over the tiny bundle in Diya’s arms, stroking the baby’s soft blue cap with trembling fingers.

“He looks just like you,” he whispered. “Same angry expression. Same ‘I’m-better-than-you’ glare.”

Diya smiled weakly. “You’re ridiculous.”

The doctor, however, wasn’t smiling. She glanced up from between Diya’s legs.

“Okay, Diya… I need you to push again.”

Vivaan blinked. “Wait. Push… again?”

The nurse cleared her throat. “Mr. Roy… you’re having twins.”

Vivaan froze.

“I’M—WHAT?”

Diya screamed. “I told you I felt like I was carrying a cricket team!”

Vivaan backed into a wall. “TWO?! YOU MEAN THERE’S ANOTHER WHOLE BABY IN THERE?! WHY DID NO ONE WARN ME?! I DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR A SEQUEL!”

“Vivaan, SHUT UP and hold my damn hand!”

He scrambled back, gripping her hand like it was his last breath. “Okay okay okay! I’m here! We can do this again! You’re so strong, baby—look at you, just popping out legends!”

“Vivaan,” she growled, “shut the hell up or I’ll pop you out of existence.”

Five minutes later.

Another cry.

Softer. Sleepier. As if the second baby already knew they were late to the party.

“Second boy,” the nurse announced.

Vivaan dropped to his knees beside the bed, laughing through his tears. “I have TWO sons. Two! Oh my god, we’re outnumbered already.”

Diya exhaled, exhausted, tearful, glowing in that raw, sacred, post-birth way. “We made two perfect little boys.”

Vivaan kissed her hand. “You made two superheroes. I just showed up with sperm and panic attacks.”

---

The nurse placed both babies on Diya’s chest.

Tiny fists. Matching cries. One wriggling like a fighter. The other blinking up at his mother with wide eyes.

Vivaan leaned close, his voice breaking. “Welcome to the madness, boys.”

Then, with a wobbly grin:

“Your mom’s a queen. Your dad’s a disaster. But God, you’re so, so loved.”

Outside the labor room, the waiting area was pure madness.

Diya’s mom paced the floor like it was a battlefield. Her hair was half out of her bun, muttering, “One baby, I understood. But she screamed twice—was that a hiccup or another child?”

Vivaan’s mom was already crying into a dupatta. “My potaa is here! My first potaa! Oh, I knew it, I dreamt of two peacocks dancing—that was a sign!”

Devansh (Vivaan’s cousin) was filming a vlog: “Live footage. Chaos. Delivery. The father might’ve fainted again.”

Then, finally—

The doctor stepped out.

“Congratulations. It’s twin boys.”

SILENCE.

Then:

“AAAHHHH—TWINS?!”

Vivaan’s mom shrieked. “TWO?! This is double dhamaaka! Double ladoos! I’m calling panditji, both kundlis need to be matched right now—”

Diya’s mom just sat down on the bench in shock. “That girl didn’t even tell me she was carrying a spare.”

Devansh, wide-eyed: “This is why bhaiyya was walking like a zombie lately. The sperm really worked overtime.”

---

Ten minutes later—hospital room

The door burst open.

Both moms rushed in like dramatic soap opera heroines, sari pallus flying behind them.

“My babies!!”

“My potaas!!”

“MY DAUGHTER! Oh God, you look like you’ve been hit by a truck!”

“ARE YOU OKAY?”

“WHY IS VIVAAN STILL CRYING?”

Vivaan sniffled from the corner, holding one baby. “I’m fine. I just keep looking at them and then looking at her and then—AAHH—it just hits me again!”

Diya, still half-sedated and fed up: “Can someone please tell your son to stop crying before I start again?”

Her MIL sat beside her, stroking her hair. “Shut up, he’s emotional. He’s also an idiot. But this idiot clearly worships you.”

Vivaan chimed in proudly, “And now I worship three people.”

---

A few moments later—

Everyone gathered around the babies, fussing, whispering, crying, taking turns holding them like sacred relics.

And then Diya said softly, “We haven’t picked names yet.”

Vivaan looked down at the boys. One was already frowning in his sleep. The other was sucking his own fist like he owned the place.

He grinned. “This one,” he said, pointing to the feisty one, “is Aarav. He kicked the most, has my attitude.”

Diya touched the calmer twin’s cheek. “Then this one... he’s Ayaan. He was always quieter, even in my belly.”

Vivaan beamed. “Aarav and Ayaan Roy.”

“Future heartbreakers,” Devansh added dramatically. “The campus will burn.”

Diya’s mom sighed. “Bas, please let them learn to pee properly before breaking hearts.”

Everyone laughed.

And somewhere in the middle of chaos and baby cries and happy tears, Diya looked at Vivaan—the same man who once walked into her life as a fake college fling—and smiled.

Because now, they had forever.

Times two.