Tanvi is more shocked than Farhan at Samrat's appearance. She immediately fixes a smile on her face when Samrat raises a brow.

"Sam! Tum kab aye? Aao, baitho!"

Farhan mutters, "baitho? jaise ab raat ke ek bajne wale nahi hai!" Samrat and Tanvi ignore him.

"Bas abhi aya... Konse secret ki baat kar rahe tum log?"

Tanvi fumbles to answer Samrat. Farhan excitedly leans forward on the table as Samrat takes a seat opposite him.

"Hum log Tanvi ke crush ke bare mei baat kar rahe the! But she made me swore toh... my lips are sealed!"

Samrat blinks in surprise but the chuckles. "Crush? I'm curious too!"

Tanvi throws Farhan a "kaha fasa diya" look. He only shrugs. She tries to laugh it off alongside him but Samrat's stare is too intense, scrutinizing, she ends up blurting out the random name that comes to her

"Saumit!"

Samrat's lip curls to a side. "Saumit?"

"Hann! Main keh rahi thi Saumit na kitna cool hai! Woh... woh puch raha tha na, bichara dinner ke liye mujhe... kab se! Maine socha Valentine's ki sham ko hum sath mei dinner karenge..."

Samrat processes this information, glancing away from Tanvi briefly. Farhan throws the girl a "what the hell are you saying" glance. Tanvi thinks her random lie is a safe bet. It will save her from Samrat's suspicions and also saves her embarrassment and awkwardness. If Samrat's curious eyes keep watching her this way, his hunch will only grow and it will be only time before he catches wind of her feelings, which he shouldn't. It wouldn't do him any good.

"Are you sure you can trust this Saumit guy?" Samrat finally breaks the stretch of silence. "Accounts division wala Saumit hi na? Seriously uske height ke siva tumse kuchh match hoti uski tumse. Lilliput dikhta hai woh!"

"Samrat! Tumne mujhe liliput kaha?"

"Nahi nahi... woh... acha hai na agar tum ek do inch Kam hoti toh force mei bharti nahi hoti aur hum nahi mil paate, so..."

"Shut up, Samrat! Just because Tum cheh foot ho, mera mazak uda nahi sakte!"

"Ah sorry yar I'm sorry. Bas mazak kar raha tha!"

He chuckles breathlessly processing what he heard. Tanvi can't see he's secretly relieved and also apprehensive. A mix of emotions play on his face and he chuckles once more casually, saying,

"Saumit! Really?"

He looks at Tanvi again, the latter trying to smile like usual.

"I'm surprised huh." A pleasant teasing smile blooms on Samrat's face. "Also disappointed ki tumne mujhe nahi chuna! Am I not cool enough? You didn't even consider me!"

"Oh shut up, Samrat!" Tanvi rises from her seat, frowning. She wasn't offended by the Lilliput comment earlier but now she's outraged. For a split second she lets her angry gaze rest on samrat, her face twisting into genuine grief.

"When you don't mean it toh kehte kyun ho? Mujhe Aise majak acche nahin lagte!"

She leaves the cafeteria in a rush. Samrat is befuddled for a long moment. Then he curses, "oh oh damn! I messed up!"

Farhan recovers faster. "Happens yar! Chalo usko manate hain aur ghar chalte hain!"

They both run out of the cafeteria.

***

"I'm sorry, Tanvi! So sorry, tumhari crush ka mazak udane ke liye aur tumse aise..! Mujhe aisa kehna nahi chahiye tha, mazaak mei hi sahi..."

Samrat manages to run to Tanvi breath heaving on the dim-lit road that leads out of the airbase. Farhan catches up a moment later.

"Purani aadat hai yaar, Tanvi, please mujhe maaf kardo. I didn't even realise I was acting more like my former self..."

"Mujhe manao, Sam!"

"Huh? Kya karu push-ups karu?"

"Pachas!"

"Pachas? Really yaar..."

"Soch lo woh bhi kam hai."

"God, thik hai!"

Farhan watches in disbelief as Samrat lowers himself to the ground and does fifty five pushups. That's when Tanvi smiles a little. Samrat too rises to his feet laughing a bit breathlessly. "Ab gussa nahi ho na?"

Sweat pours down his face, glistening in the streetlights. Tanvi notices it right away. Farhan does too but doesn't interrupt her as she quickly says,

"Samrat, main toh gussa hi nahi thi! I mean mujhe bura zarur laga thoda but... tumhara itna pasina nikal raha hai!"

She pulls out her kerchief from her pocket and reaches for his forehead. She has to go up on her toes, he tries to brush it off by grabbing her hand.

"Haha, kuch nahi—"

"Kya kuch nahi?" Tanvi manages to escape his grip, dabbing his forehead with her kerchief. "You sound so breathless and you look so tired! Are you okay? Are you sure you are not overworking? That was so insensitive of me—"

Pulling back she falls into a pit of self blame. "Maine tumhe 50 push ups karne ko bola! You must be so tired from your shift I'm sorry!"

Samrat laughs and pats her head and tries to reassure her.

"Come on yaar, abhi tired kaise ho sakta hun main! I'm totally fine. Abhi tum logon ko ghar drop karne ke bad mera abhay sir ke sath meeting hai."

"Kya, firse?" Tanvi throws him a look of disbelief. "Toh fir tum yahi par ruk jao, main Farhan ke sath chali jaati hu."

"Haan, woh khatam nahi hui. Naye aircraft ko lekar hai. We took a break. Mujhe bhi to fresh air chahie yaar! Mera night time ride ho jayega. Tum log ko drop karke main kam per lag jaunga its not a big deal. My Jeep leke aata hu."

Samrat turns on his heel. Farhan and Tanvi watch him go in silence. They can't help but feel that while everyone works hard in the Kota Airbase, Samrat is working multiple fold hard.

***

tbc!

NEXT: Tanvi finds Samrat close to collapsing after a shift. He's fallen sick, why? What comes out of the talk the two have after he gains consciousness? Will it alter Tanvi's decision? What are Samrat's thoughts on Saumit and Tanvi?

Stay tuned to know!  Vote and comment <3