Love isn't always about togetherness, it's about being strong enough to accept every aspect of your partner's life and pledging to love them with no terms and conditions.

The Engagement

"Oh! Sorry, sorry, I'm very sorry!" she apologised, holding her turmeric covered hands up in air. The look of guilt for ruining the shirt of the guy in front of hers with her turmeric covered hands, quite evident on her face.

"Aapko sorry bolne ki adaat bachpan se hai shayad, aur shayad kabhi jayegi bhi nahi (Maybe, you have the habit of apologising since your childhood and it'll probably never go)." he told her, smiling amusedly.

"Ji...ji?" she tried asking, already blushing as the guy she was standing opposite to, was the same man she was waiting for since last many days...her childhood love, her to-be fiancé.

"Oh, so aapki 'ji' bolne ki bimari bhi nahi gyi? Hmm...accha hain! (Oh, so your habit of saying 'ji' hasn't gone away either. Hmm...that's good!)" He smiled, his heart blooming on finally meeting her after seven whole years.

"Ji...?" she stuttered, unable to speak anything else, which only added to his amusement.

"Khushali, what have you done? You ruined Sidharth's shirt, that's so careless of you!" The girl, Khushali's mother scolded her.

"It's fine, I'll clean it myself." Sidharth calmly told her, not wanting Khushali to get scolded more.

Her mother tried to say something but couldn't as, he had walked inside the already crowded living area. It was his elder sister's wedding, and he had come to attend it.

Seeing him walk inside, she sighed, finally able to get a grip on her racing heart. Her mother shot her a glare, but it didn't matter to her. All that mattered was him, and the way he smiled at her. He was still the same guy, she fell in love with as a child, just a little more handsome with his army manners and discipline and his uptight yet polite personality.
"Captain Sidharth Mehra." She shyly smiled and went inside.

The wedding functions had begun two days back only. Sidharth had returned today from his army unit base in Kashmir, after taking a ten-day-leave from his field posting. The main function, the wedding ceremony was supposed to take place on the fifth day, i.e. a day after tomorrow.

Blushing, she watched him greet her father by touching his feet and call him 'Papa', which he had been doing since the time their marriage was fixed ten years ago, when she and he were 11-year-old and 14-year-old, respectively.

Their families had shared close relations since last three generations. The first generation being neighbours in Kapuri village of Punjab, had been friends with each other, before joining Indian Armed Forces, which further cemented their bond. Her and Sidharth's alliance was special in its own self as it was the first time the two army families were about to bound in a relation.

Her cheeks burned red as he glanced at her, sitting beside his father. Unable to hold herself together, she ran to the room she was staying in, blushing all the way.

He noticed this, shyly smiling to his own self. Contented, he, himself was. After all, later the evening after his sister's wedding, his 'Roka' or the traditional engagement ceremony with her was supposed to take place. It seemed relaxing to him that she hadn't changed at all over the course of time and was still, the same chirpy girl he fell in love with.

"Why are you smiling, Siddy?" asked his sister slyly.

He blushed, having been caught by his elder sister who had been observing the way he was looking at the same place where Khushali was standing some seconds back.

"N-Nothing."

His sister smiled, letting her baby brother enjoy this sweet little moment of his. He mentally thanked his sister for not embarrassing him infront of all the guests, like she usually used to do when they were kids by calling him by his silly nickname 'Sidupi', the story behind which he had never come to know.

Since the wedding was just 2 days away along with his Roka, he was busy with the work that his mother had assigned to him. Along with that, it was also a duty of his to pass smiles to all the family elders who were showering him with blessings and words of appraisal, and maintain his distance from all the giggling girls who wanted him to converse with them. Army men are quite popular among girls, especially if he's a good-looking young Captain!

But this wasn't as bad as he would've considered it, if his prospective fiancée wouldn't have been around. So, he very smartly allowed himself to communicate with his young female guests (with best attempts to maintain a good distance). It was vaguely amusing for him to watch Khushali turn green with envy every time a girl stood too close to him or when a girl whispered something in his ears. He could very well see how badly Khushali was trying to maintain her neutral composure, but surely was losing her patience with each passing minute.

But his amusement couldn't stay for long. On the evening before his sister's wedding, a small party was organised to relax everyone before the wedding and Roka took place. While he was continuing his game of making her jealous, she understood his motive and decided not to pay him any attention. Rather, she busied herself in a conversation with a young doctor, who happened to be a family friend of hers.

He tried his best to not show his dismal on watching her converse with another guy, but he was slowly losing his cool. And it further worsened his temper when she started dancing with the flamboyant doctor. A wave of possessiveness passed through him, and he marched upto her.

But before he could approach her, he heard by what name she was addressing him and immediately, it made him smile and cool down a bit.

"Veerji, meinu nai pata tha tussi inna changa dance krte ho (Brother, I didn't know you dance so well), otherwise I would've called you up to help us in the inter college dance competition."

'Veerji', the word which is generally used for elder brothers in Punjabi, itself calmed him down, and he smiled at his own foolishness. He was jealous on this petty issue of her dancing with another man, who she was addressing her brother. That's so stupid of me, he thought sheepishly.

The party was soon over and everyone retired to their rooms. All through the party, he kept glancing at her. It filled his heart with an unknown happiness, that looking away from her was difficult. He didn't even try hiding away his excitement for his Roka. After all, underneath the competent army officer, he was only this young, lovesick man who was finally getting officially bound with the girl he had been loving for years.

Lying on his bed, all he could feel was the sense of joy and bliss that didn't let him fall asleep easily. By this time tomorrow, she'd be his fiancée and he was sure that'd be the best feeling ever. Soon, with this thought, he fell asleep.

In a blink of an eye, the morning arrived and he was busy checking the last minute preparations for his sister's day wedding, and some for his own Roka. His excitement and glee was reaching its peak as the evening was coming closer. A little sad though, when his Flight Lieutenant sister finally became the daughter-in-law of another family, but he knew this was what she had been dreaming for since last so many days.

From the corner of his eyes, he watched Khushali observing the rituals taking place and he was sure what she was thinking. Probably, in a year or two, it'd be them in place of his sister and brother-in-law. He was hopeful that it'd be the most memorable day of his life when Khushali would become his wife with all the traditions and rituals.

By the time the wedding rituals were completed, the Roka was just a couple hours' away. So, it was decided that the bride's farewell ceremony would take place after it.

The Roka was supposed to take place in the Mehra residence, like the wedding. So, most of the people retired to their rooms to relax before coming back for engagement ceremony.

While leaving, Sidharth caught the sight of Khushali, who was teary eyed with a sorrowful look on her face. At first, he thought it was a normal thing for any girl who was getting engaged, but it was soon replaced by fear that had been haunting him for quite some time. Was she not sure of this alliance, because she feared the future, he didn't know. This made him restless as it occurred to him that he hadn't even once conversed with Khushali and cleared certain things that were needed to be talked about before they were tied to each other for the rest of their life or if he didn't come back home from his posting. He wanted to know if Khushali understood what she was getting herself into by marrying him.

It pretty much astonished his parents as well as Khushali's, when he told them that he wanted to talk to Khushali before the Roka took place. Fearful, both the sets of parents, took some minutes to finally allow the interaction between the two kids.

With his back facing the door, he stood in the balcony of his room, waiting for Khushali to come. He was already dressed in a maroon sherwani, that his mother had gotten for him while shopping for Khushali's engagement saree.

The door of the room clicked and he stiffened slightly. Though, a fearless and brave officer of the Indian Army, at the moment, he was no more brave than a teenage boy about to profess his love to his crush with the sword of rejection hanging above him.

"What do you want to about, Sidharth? Why have you, all of a sudden, called me here to talk? Everything's fine na?" a bewildered Khushali asked, trying her best to sound calm and composed.

He turned to face her, but didn't reply for a moment. Rather, he allowed himself to gaze at her once before starting the conversation. In a her maroon saree with intricate golden design, she was looking extremely enchanting, which made him even more nervous to begin the conversation. But he had to, anyway.

"Do you know the consequences of marrying an army officer?" he asked, concealing his emotions.

"Yes, I do."
Her reply came a few seconds later.

"Then you know there's no guarantee of life, in this profession."

"And I'm very much scared of lizards and cockroaches."

"What?" he blurted, baffled by her reply.

"What, what?" she said. "I thought we both were listing out the things we're afraid of. Like you're afraid of the consequences of your job that I'd have to go through after our marriage and I'm afraid of lizards. Makes sense, right?"

For few seconds, he stared at her, not knowing how to react. But then, he burst into splits as he saw her make a very funny pout. She grinned seeing him laugh so carefreely, understanding well that he was calmer now.

"I know what you're thinking. I can't diminish your worries completely, but can surely ease them up. Being from an army family and having seen my mother face all the challenges that come handy after marrying a serviceman, I know well what I'm getting myself into and how many adjustments I'd have to make. I'm ready for it!" she said in a tone firmer than he had ever heard her speak in.

"But being an army brat is different than being an army wife. What you've seen so far is from your mother's perspective, not yours. It will be completely different when you'd become my wife. You'd get to experience all the things firsthand, including the constant fear of what ifs when I'd be posted in field area and all the other responsibilities you'd burdened with in my absence. Are you really sure of your decision? There's no compulsion, really. I'd respect your decision if you change your mind." he said, trying not to sound vulnerable infront of the woman he needed the most.

She didn't reply, terrorising him with the anticipation of being turned down and rejected by her. But opposed to his useless trepidation, her lips curled into a smile and she came forward to stand just a few centimetres away from him.

Cupping his face in her hands, in a very soft tone, she said, "Calm down, Sidharth. I understand your fears, your distress, and all I can say is, the decision that I took to marry you is the only thing I'm surest about. I'm very well versed with the fact that the man I'm getting married to, has his commitment somewhere else, whose first and foremost priority will be his nation any given time, who won't always be there for me if and when I need him, and that there always will be a constant fear of what if something happens to you while you're on field posting. And even then, I'm firm on my decision of marrying you, only because of one reason ... I love you, Sidharth, and this is the life I want to live, with you, despite knowing what all awaits me in future with unpredictability and crazy dynamics. So, please stop pondering on these useless things and cheer up, it's our engagement after all."

"Pakka?" he asked like an innocent child.

"Pakka!"

"I love you, Khushali!"

"I love you too, Sidharth!"

He sighed and without realising, pulled her in a hug, which astounded her at first, but she recovered soon and hugged him back. Still in the hug, he confusedly asked, "Why were you so shy when I arrived home? From what I've heard, you're quite outgoing and loud, but you weren't so on the day I arrived. Did I look like an alien or something?"

"No, you were looking like Ranbir Kapoor! And I was shocked, since the last time I saw you, you had hair on your head and were a slight chubby." Khushali answered, chuckling.

"Really?" he asked, coming out of the hug. "I was chubby?"

"You were cute!" she pecked his cheek.

He chuckled and she joined him. Few minutes later, they descended down the living area and their Roka and engagement ceremony began. Once they made each other wear the engagement rings, they passed smiles to each other.

The next few days were spent with Khushali and Sidharth hanging out together while getting to know each other. Every moment they spent together, was becoming a new memory for them that they'd remember during the hours of separation, which both of them were secretly dreading. But neither of them let it overpower their happy moments.

The day of Sidharth's departure approached them quite sooner than they expected. While helping him pack, Khushali tried her best to stay composed. But a desperation to get herself assured of his return, broke her composed self and she ended up asking, "You'll surely return back?"

This took Sidharth by surprise, but he soon understood her vulnerable state and calmly said, "I will, because I still have to marry you."

"Pakka?"

"Pakka!"

"I'll write you letters and make calls whenever I'll have time." he said, standing on the front door of his house, completely dressed in his olive green uniform.

"Okay! Take care and be safe. I love you and I'll miss you." she said weakly, gulping the lump in her throat.

"I love you too and I'll miss you more!" he said and with this, he turned to finally leave for his call of duty, not sure whether he'd return back to her or not. But he heartily hoped, he would!

A/N: Hey, guys! So here's the first part of the second story of IAO mini series. Again, there's no relations with TSOUHF, so don't get confused. Second and last part of this short story will be up by tomorrow evening or day after tomorrow.

Do vote and leave your lovely comments! :)