:: My Way or No Way ::

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Although her job doesn't demand spending the day doing fieldwork that often or being forced to handle unexpected encounters, standing in the lab consistently for hours, bending in awkward positions to look for the tiniest of clues and conducting thousands of chemical tests sure drains her out by the end of the day. Especially when she's alone with no one to help her. And to return home to prepare dinner for two completely takes it out of her.

Hence, as she has some time to start cooking, the forensic doctor decides to pamper herself with a quick shower to regain the energy that she's going to need later. The weather's quite chilly outside and she knows a hot bath will work wonders for her.

However, a frown crumples her forehead as she sees her husband walking in the direction of the bathroom.

"Where are you going?," asks Tarika rushing toward him.

"To take a shower," answers Abhijeet in a matter-of-fact tone, as if looking at the towel hanging on his shoulder, it isn't obvious enough.

Tarika gives her husband a slightly disgruntled look. "I was supposed to go!," she says.

The senior inspector shakes his head at her. "Tarika, how is it that you want to go for a shower at the exact time when I'm about to go?," he demands and the forensic doctor responds with a pout.

He's about to enter the bathroom when suddenly something strikes his wife and she calls out to him smirking mischievously. "I have an idea," she says.

"What?," asks Abhijeet turning around to meet the playfulness in her eyes.

Tarika walks to him and snakes her hands around his neck. "How about we shower together?," she asks in a seductive voice, and the sharp shooter raises a brow at her, a smirk adorning a side of his lips.

Given the fact they have been married only for a couple of months and have never taken a shower together, he's rather impressed with her boldness and her eagerness in taking such small initiatives. "Together?," he speaks grinning at his attractive wife who whispers in a heavily sensuous tone, "Umm hmm! We can save water too!"

"I like that!," he says before taking her hand and leading her inside the bathroom.

Although they've been bare in front of each other countless times before and after their marriage, it still shoots an unknown spark across Tarika's body every time she strips for Abhijeet. As for him, it sends a wave of inexplicable excitement through his nerves.

Abhijeet slowly removes his clothes one by one while maintaining constant eye contact with his wife as she does the same. Once they're under the shower, the forensic doctor faces him smiling, a tinge of blush creeping on her face and shudders slightly as the coolness in the air hits her.

"You're beautiful!," whispers Abhijeet, still without breaking eye contact. He doesn't need to see anywhere else, he knows, to say that statement.

The blush on Tarika's face deepens and she momentarily averts her gaze in shyness. "You always say that," she says coyly.

"It automatically comes out of my mouth every time I see you. I don't have to do anything," mumbles the senior inspector, his voice barely above a whisper as he cups his wife's face and leans in for a kiss.

As he's about to claim her lips, the forensic doctor fidgets uncomfortably. "Turn the shower on already! I'm cold!," says Tarika and Abhijeet obliges with a groan.

Once the shower is turned on, they waste no more time and seal each other's lips in a passionate kiss. Within minutes, Abhijeet reaches for her neck planting wet open-mouthed kisses and earning multiple whimpers from her.

However, a few seconds later, he notices the forensic doctor wriggling uneasily, her pretty features contorted in a frown and he instantly stops to look at her. "What's wrong?," he asks with concern.

Tarika gives her husband a light persuasive look, as she shivers a bit. "The water's still cold. Can you increase the temperature a bit?," she asks.

The sharp shooter does a double take, grimacing in confusion. "What, no, this is the right temperature! Any more than this will be too hot," he says.

"Not for me. I like my water to be extreme hot," shrugs Tarika, shaking her head in defence.

Abhijeet sighs audibly as he leans to change the setting. "Okay!," he says turning the knob to the hotter side.

However, as soon as the water touches his skin, he gives his wife a discomfited look, reflexively moving away from the shower. "Are you kidding me! My skin's burning! Let it stay at the lukewarm setting," he orders, turning the knob back to its previous setting.

The forensic doctor rolls her eyes at her husband. "Your skin isn't burning, Abhijeet! Make it hotter!," she says in a slightly demanding tone.

The senior inspector snorts sarcastically. "Ohh yes, this way, I'll have to apply anti-inflammatory cream on my body!," he mutters.

"'I'll have to apply anti-inflammatory cream on my body! I'm sooo delicate!'," says Tarika imitating him in a childlike voice, and eyes him with a dead stare. "You always do this, Abhijeet! Be it the AC temperature in the room, the car… and now the shower! You always want it your way!," she protests in a thoroughly vexed tone, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

Abhijeet gives her an offended look. "I wanted to enjoy a nice shower alone! This was your idea!," he snaps but regrets it the next second as he sees the fiery look in her eyes.

"Right! So you're saying I handcuffed you, pointed a gun to your head and forced you into the shower!," bleats the fuming forensic doctor and the sharp shooter flinches warily.

"N-no, I mean-," he says but is angrily interrupted by her growling voice.

"You know what, you enjoy your shower. Alone! I'm out of here!," whines Tarika, proceeding to barge out of the bathroom, leaving her irked husband staring at her in disbelief. As she's about to leave the bathroom, she realizes she left her towel on the bed in the midst of the pointless discussion earlier of bathing together.

Therefore, giving her husband one grumpy stare, she snatches his towel placed on the stand and wraps it around her.

"That's my towel!," complains Abhijeet in an equally grumpy tone, still in shock of his wife's antics.

"Well, it's mine now, shower hogger!," retorts Tarika marching out of the bathroom without looking back at him.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Abhijeet resumes his shower which he had planned to originally enjoy – alone. Albeit accompanied by an additional task of racking his brain on ways to handle this mess.

A few days later..

The forensic doctor is humming a tune to herself, walking toward the bedroom when the doorbell rings. Needless to say, her face scrunches in disappointment. However, she quickly covers it up with a warm smile to greet the person at the door. "Hi!," declares Abhijeet in an equally radiant smile upon seeing his favourite girl.

"Welcome home!," says Tarika, looping her arms behind his neck to scoop in his waiting embrace and pauses momentarily to take a look at his face. "You look tired," she says with evident sympathy.

The senior inspector sighs wearily as he answers. "Yeah, it was a long day! We had to run through a forest and later, I had to tackle two goons," he says and adds abruptly as he sees the worried look on her face. "I'm fine! No injuries," he smiles and his wife heaves a sigh of relief.

"Go and freshen up. I'll make a cup of coffee for you," says Tarika, sighing subtly as she thinks about her plans of having a moment for herself going waste. But, he needs the coffee right now more than anything, she figures.

"Thanks!," Abhijeet says and pecks her lips before going to their bedroom.

The exhausted sharp shooter flops his coat on the bed and steps into the bathroom. Turning the tap on, he's about to splash fresh cold water on his face when something catches his attention. He gives a broad grin as goes ahead to use the thing to his advantage.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, it's been almost 20 minutes and her husband still hasn't returned to have his cup of coffee, the forensic doctor frowns and decides to go and check. She walks into the bedroom, only to find it empty but her eyes settle on the bathroom door which is half open. Her brows crease in confusion when she hears no sound from inside.

"Abhijeet, your coff-," she steps in calling her husband's name but the next moment, her words get stuck in her throat, her jaw settling nicely on the floor as she witnesses the scene before her in sheer horror.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!," yells an extremely livid Tarika, her voice booming around the bathroom, loud enough to shatter its compact walls. Her husband is sprawled in their lavish bathtub, looking relatively relaxed than before… and from what it seems, completely oblivious to her increasing indignation.

"Hi honey!," exclaims Abhijeet in an utterly jovial tone, his grin broadening from ear to ear.

The forensic doctor glares at him, her hands on her hips with an expression that makes even the courageous sharp shooter wince. "What the hell are you doing, Abhijeet? I had made that bath for myself!," she hisses dangerously, exasperation spiling from her voice.

The senior inspector shrugs nonchalantly. "Sorry Tarika, but it was impossible to resist it! I need this so much; my muscles have become sore," he says before proceeding to rest his head on the edge of the tub.

Given his indifference, Tarika gathers everything she has to stop herself from strangling her husband. She grunts in displeasure as she glowers down at him. "I've been standing in the lab for four hours at a stretch, Abhijeet. Get out of that tub!," snarls Tarika, gritting her teeth angrily.

In response, Abhijeet – much to his wife's horror – simply smiles, closing his eyes and lets the hot water take a soothing effect on his fatigued body. "You know, it's too hard to care when I'm this relaxed. Keep shouting," he says, not bothering to look at Tarika who closes her hands in tight fists in extreme irritation.

She stomps her foot on the floor before turning around. "I hate you and this isn't over yet!," she cries in a voice halfway between a sob and a grumble, and slams the door shut behind her.

The sharp shooter grimaces slightly at her action, but decides to keep it for later to deal with. Right now, he just wants to focus on the bath and the calming effect it's having on him.

A few moments later, the forensic doctor is in the kitchen cutting an onion and still utterly annoyed at her husband, when she feels his hands go around her waist. She mutters something incomprehensible under her breath and gives him a dark look. The fact that he's smelling so fresh adds to her chagrin.

"Hi sweetheart!," murmurs Abhijeet sweetly in her ear, proceeding to move a few loose curls from her neck.

Tarika raises her shoulder away from his lingering lips, as a gesture to convey her displeasure. "Sorry, I don't entertain shower hoggers and bathtub snatchers!," she groans, without bothering to look at him.

"Not even your husband who loves you so deeply?," asks Abhijeet in the most alluring tone he can muster as he nuzzles her neck lovingly.

The forensic doctor finally looks at him with a thoroughly irate expression, her eyebrows scrunched in a scowl. "What do you want?," she mutters.

Abhijeet smiles at her as he takes the knife from her hand and puts it on the counter. He turns her around to face him. "I've come to tell you that I've drawn a bath for you. Go and relax; I'll make dinner," he says cupping her face and places a soft kiss on her forehead.

The forensic doctor gives her husband an astonished look. "Really?," she asks, finally smiling at him.

"Yeah!," nods Abhijeet in assurance, smiling back.

"Thank you!," mumbles Tarika as she kisses him on the cheek and runs toward the bedroom.

As she steps inside the bathroom, she gives an affectionate smile on seeing the bath he's prepared for her – surrounded by scented candles with a glass of her favourite red wine on the side and the book that she's currently reading. 'The man can indeed be difficult at times but I could never have him any other way,' she thinks to herself as he strips her clothes and steps in the water.

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:: The End ::

A/N: Yes, I know I've stolen the line 'It's too hard to care when I'm this relaxed' from Chandler Bing.