After walking out on Samrat, Tanvi wanders the desert roads aimlessly, not minding the heat. It's the only way to clear her head. She cannot get the look in Samrat's eyes out of her mind.

"Sabse worst kism ka ladka?" And Samrat broke Saumit's arm? That doesn't sit right with her either. Why would Samrat go to such lengths for her sake? Whatever his reasons were, he didn't need to. She cannot accept him getting reckless for her.

A few hours later, she realises she has wandered farther away than she intended to from the base. It won't do any good for an officer to wander too much, even within the defence area, even in broad daylight. Realising her mistake, she quickly spins on her heel.

She arrives at the main gates of the residential quarters at sundown and encounters Farhan driving his jeep. She has no clue where the others are. Farhan is alone, apparently on his way after his date with Isha, returning after dropping her at the nearest airport.

"Isha apne ghar jaa rahi, Tanvi. Bhopal, kuch din keliye, you know? Bas ek do din maybe. But I will miss her. Even though we'll surely talk on the phone, haha!"

Tanvi chuckles fondly as Farhan babbles. He's parked right in front of her, blocking any oncoming vehicles. The security officer signals them to move to the side.

"Hop on, Tanz!" Farhan says after he nods and salutes the guard. "Kahan chali gayi thi tum? After all that, I was worried about you. Maine tumhe call bhi kiya tha. I wouldn't have minded you joining me and Isha. Aur yeh apni kya halat bana rakhi hai. You look exhausted. Garmi mein kahan ghoomne gayi akeli? Chalo, let's hangout in my room. Samrat nahin hai. Harjot called him to work!"

Tanvi smiles at Farhan's consideration. Unable to deny him, she gets into the passenger seat of the jeep, his words ringing in her ears - Samrat nahi hai.

That's a relief. She won't want to visit Samrat and Farhan's shared residential quarters when Samrat is around. Which was not the case over the years! Just how did this happen?

The drive is silent until they reach the apartment where Farhan and Samrat live. Tanvi takes a seat on Farhan's bed after he invites her into the room. He proceeds to make some ice tea for her.

"On second thoughts, apne liye bhi banaa deta hoon ice tea!"

Tanvi hears Farhan's laughter, momentarily looking at him working in the small kitchen in the back. Then her eyes focus on Samrat's bed right in front of her. His side of the room, his bed, is less messy than before. Looks like he has redeemed himself in so many ways after becoming the team lead, or maybe this is how he has always been, beneath the layers of facade he built up.

There's the globe his abbu gave on his little disk. The stuffed lion mascot she gifted him on his birthday, stacks of books - mostly world polity and philosophy he loves to read, alongside calligraphy books. They are all neatly arranged unlike before. The room is tidy; there are no scattered papers where he takes notes. Half of this might be out of consideration for Farhan. Whatever it is, she can't help but drift down the memory lane.

Alone, she went to Farhan and Samrat's room as the others were occupied. She entered and struggled to navigate through it all because Samrat had made a colossal mess. His books were all over the floor, preventing her from walking. She almost tripped and complained-

"It is so messy! So messy! Yahan per koi insaan kaise reh sakta hai? Oh, God!"

She was tripping again. Samrat showed up, dressed in a cool tee and distressed jeans, hair all gelled back. Like a cool dude, he held out his hand.

"I will lend you a hand."

"Arey! Don't lend me a hand." Tanvi pointed to the mess around, throwing him a pointed look. "Lend me a hand in cleaning up this mess!"

"Nope! Haath dene ka offer cancel!" Samrat pulled his hand back with a chuckle. She slapped his arm, and they laughed together.

He however lent her and a hand and so did Farhan. That afternoon they tried to bake a cake, each of them a variety.

Farhan was diligently mixing dough chocolate cake. Samrat was playing with the oven mitt, not even touching his mixing bowl or reaching for the packet of flour. What kind of cake did he have in mind to bake?

Tanvi, who was in the middle of mixing the batter for vanilla cup cakes, threw him a look. "Don't play with the gloves! Bake! Try karo, Sam!"

"Huh? What say, shortie? I'm so charming I don't even need to try!" Samrat winked and then bopped her on the head with the oven mitt. "Shawty!" He repeated, chuckling merrily as she mock glared at him.

"Huh! Bada aya tall, charming, handsome sa ladka! Baking karke dikhao zara!"

"Hah! Easy!" Samrat nodded and bowed, his gaze confident. The rest was a disaster. He was far from baking a cake. His batter was all liquid, spiling in the oven, which he stubbornly overheated too much. She was afraid it would burst. However, crisis was averted as she turned off the oven.

They returned to the couch, her and Farhan's cakes ready to consume. She nudged Samrat in the side with her elbow, seated in between the two guys.

"Phew! See! Farhan ne kitne achche cakes bane! Kitna accha banaya!" She nodded in approval as Farhan served them slices of his chocolate cake.

"Wow, it's delicious!" She exclaimed, after claiming a bite.

Samrat, who was next to her, was also relishing the cake, shrugged. He finished his piece with lightning speed and reached for one of her vanilla cupcakes set on the coffee table. Then, facing Tanvi, he bopped her on the head again.

"Farhan ne achha banaya kyunki he's practising to impress Isha."

Farhan nodded without an ounce of shame and flicked at his collar. As Samrat laughed, Tanvi whacked him on the back. "Even so! You could try to bake, Sam! Instead of commenting about my height! Or bragging about your charm!"

"Main hoon charming! Aur tum ho shorty! So how's that a comment? Your cakes are delicious too. More than Farhan's! See, I'm complementing you!"

This time, it was Farhan who whacked Samrat on the back. The three of them looked at each other and laughed. They were truly merry times.

.
.
.

Tanvi smiled at the present. It was such a fun memory that she recalled. There were countless others. What else did they do together? What fun were they up to in this very room? Before she can recall more, Farhan brings her the ice tea.

"So... tere aur Samrat ke bich..." he begins and notices the look on her face and shakes his head. "Okay, okay! I won't ask."

Tanvi sighs. "Thanks, Farhan. And thanks for the ice tea. I need this! My body feels hot suddenly and I'm exhausted too. Ugh."

Farhan hums. "Desert mein kyun ghoom rahi thi? Stupid!"

"I know... I wasn't thinking." Sipping the ice tea, Tanvi sighs and thinks - all those times she had fun with Samrat, she wasn't madly in love with him. Or maybe she was? Because those moments now mean the world to her.

Sure, that was before he was proven a traitor and before the team discovered the hidden side to him.

When he failed making the cake yet again later on another day out, he said, "meri koi girlfriend nahi. So I don't need to learn to bake! And hey, ladkiyan yun fall for me just looking at me toh... You know..."

Tanvi whacked him on the shoulder again. "Han! Han! Sameera too is falling for you!"

Samrat shrugged. "She's a tough nut. Lekin woh bhi pat jayegi, dekhna. Maybe you too!"

"Naa!!"

"Haha! Don't worry, I won't hit on you, jhalli."

"I know, haha, idiot! Try, and pitoge tum!"

Hearing Tanvi and Samrat, Farhan quipped, "Sam, tu chahe toh koi bhi ladki teri ho sakti hai! Bas tu chahta nahi..."

Samrat laughed boyishly. "That's true. But main chun hi nahin pata hoon, na. Roz ek nayi ladki pasand aajati hai! Ya roz kisi nayi ladki ko main pasand aa jata hoon!"

"Idiot! Stupid playboy of the airbase! Kameena!" Farhan and Tanvi poked fun at him collectively. Samrat only saluted them and winked, smiling all the way.
...

Words coming from the mouth of a supposed playboy! Ah I never asked why you won't hit on me but now I'm curious. I'm so stupid, ah! You were trying to come across as a big flirt, Sam, but I knew you were more serious than you were projecting yourself to be. Yeah, this was long ago when you were pretending, but I can't believe that the entirety of it was a lie. You were still a good guy. So how can you be sabse worst kism ka ladka?

I can't believe you can be like that. Honesty, tum kya karne wale ho?

Tanvi snaps out of her thoughts and the memories she recalled, focusing on the current scenario. Samrat has always been nice to her. They fought on rare occasions, though. Yep, he had got mad at her once while he was a traitor - for making fun of the terrorist "his abbu jaan", but that was ages ago. Yes, he again got annoyed because she brought up the "Saumit topic" for discussion. But-

There's no way that Samrat can prove himself to be the worst guy, right? That's not him.

"I think you're the nek kism ka ladka... charming too! Daring bhi aur.... ugh I can go on adding more splendid adjectives... What am I to do? I'm the idiot who's so in love with you!"ugh,

Tanvi murmurs under her breath, but little does she know her expectations were about to be proven wrong in the coming days. Lots of twists and turns await her and Samrat, at the end of which they will find the light of true love that will save them from the darkness plaguing their lives. The biggest turn is about to come right away...

***

💙✨TBC✨💙

✨💙WC: 1.6k✨💙

🌈✨💙💭📚Up next: Samrat arrives before Tanvi can leave. She's feeling out of sorts? And their encounter eventually makes him realise he loves her! And then????????

🌈✨Stay tuned!