AN: After so long, an update. This had been a draft over all these months. I will surely end this story! To anyone who followed this story, I'm sorry I couldnt update quickly.  I will try to update soon the next time.

***

That evening Farhan and Isha rush into the hospital after receiving the news that Tanvi is injured. They fall into step together, walking the corridors, realizing they both have arrived for the same reason — to check on Tanvi.

"Sam ne message kiya ki Tanvi ko chot lagi hai, lekin uske aage uske kuchh likha hi nahin!"

"Haan, Farhan! Mujhe bhi wahi message mila. Aisa kya ho sakta hai? Afternoon tak toh theek-thaak thi na, jab Samrat usey lene aaya tha! Uske baad meri baat nahi hui ussey."

"Meri bhi nahi hui. Aur Samrat aise aadhi-adhuri message bheja. Chalo dekhte hain kya hua."

In the ER room beyond the curtained walls at the north corner is Tanvi, sitting on a bed, clutching onto Samrat's arm. Her grip on his arm is relentless; she tugs and shakes his arm, whining like a child. He stands there with an exasperated expression on his face. He appears to be at loss for words for his best friend.

"Samrat, mere sath aisa kyun hua?" Tanvi whines again.

Farhan and Isha exchange glances. Neither Tanvi nor Samrat have acknowledged the newcomers' presence. If Samrat has noticed, he hasn't reacted yet.

"Kyun, Samrat, kyun? Kyun? Kyun!?"

Tanvi's screeches echo in the ER room that's thankfully empty at the late hour. While Samrat sighs, thinking they will earn another round of scolding from the duty doctor, Tanvi stops pulling on his arm and entwines her fingers with his. Her voice suddenly softens,

"This is unfair! So unfair, Sam! The doctor says it's a sprain but I cannot strain my foot for a month?? Aise kaise chalega?"

"Ho jata hai yaar." Samrat looks at their joined hands. With a slight smile on his lips, he tightens his grip, hoping it will offer Tanvi some comfort. "Aisa ho jata hai, sometimes."

"Par aisa nahi hona chahiye tha!"

"Tanvi..." Samrat heaves a sigh and pulls his hand free. Or rather, Tanvi has let him free. Her hand must be hurting from the fall while she braced herself, but surely not as much as his, right? Still she nearly crushed his hand, the silly, dramatic girl!

"Tanvi..."

Hearing her name in Farhan's voice, Tanvi finally notices his presence and smiles. Next to him is Isha!

"Farhan, Isha!"

"Hi, guys," Samrat says without looking back, indicating he has already known just the two others' presence. "Acha hua tum log aa gaye. Warna dekho, Tanvi doesn't want to leave the hospital without a positive prognosis."

Farhan and Isha nod at Samrat, then turn their gaze towards Tanvi who wears a sheepish smile. Farhan eyes the bandage wrapped around her left foot dubiously,

"Yeh kaise hua, Tanvi? Dopeher ko thik thi na tum?"

By the time Farhan finishes asking, Abhimanyu and Sameera appear behind them.

"My bad luck," Tanvi looks at her hands. For all that whining, she hasn't been crying, Farhan observes. Her face hasn't lost its colour. She brightens further now spotting Abhimanyu and Sameera.

"Abhi, Sam? Tum log bhi yahan?"

"Han, Samrat ne message kiya toh..." Sameera trails off.

"Kaisi ho, Tanvi?" Abhi inquires.

Samrat answers in Tanvi's stead quickly, "Tanvi thik hai. She's in pain but nothing serious. Sorry, tum sab logon ko disturb kiya."

"Arey, ismein disturbance ki baat kya hai? Hum sabko bhi Tanvi ki fikr hai. Hum sab dost hain na?" Sameera says with a laugh, "Zara batao toh kya hua."

"Haan," Farhan interjects, "Tanvi, batao na tumhare pair mein yeh patti kyun bandh rakhi hai?"

"Woh main..." Tanvi, out of habit adjusts her sitting position. Sudden movement causes her foot to jerk. She lets out a cry of pain though she doesn't shed actual tears. Everyone understands she's in pain. Her foot must hurt badly. Injuries are always awful for soldiers in more than one way, rendering them unable to carry out their duties which is more painful than the injury itself.

"Tanvi ka pair mud gaya tha. Fisal gayi thi. Jo hangar mein mote wire jo uske raste mein tha." Samrat explains. He certainly would have added more, but Tanvi whacks him on the shoulder blade.

"Tum mujhe bacha nahi paaye, Sam!" She throws an accusatory glance at Samrat who now faces her. "You were next to me, but you did nothing to save me. So much for being our team leader and such a dashing officer! Aur khud ko tum sab ladke hero samjte ho. How awful! Yeh sab tumhari vajah se hua."

A frustrated Tanvi imitates an argument with these words. Samrat throws her an incredulous look. "Meri vajah se kaise yaar!"

"Tum mujhe rok nahin paye!"

"Maine tumhe pakda tha na! I twisted you by your shoulders. Warna muh ke bal gir jaati aur dant tut jaate shayad."

"Haaww, how awful... you're mean, Sam!" Tanvi gapes at Samrat, and then glares at him. Samrat folds his arm, meeting her eyes.

"How am I mean??"

"You're mean, how could you say... how could you even say mere dant tut jaate shayad?! How could you imagine me without teeth?? Don't tell me you uttered those words without imagining anything in your mind."

"Arey yaar Aisa nahi hai," Samrat says but he chuckles, unable to hold back his laughter. "Haha sorry. Tanz, zara samjho ab. Yeh image tumne hi dala hai mere bheje mei abhi abhi!"

"Haan, haan. Don't play smart!" Tanvi crinkles her nose but a hint of a smile plays on her lips. She's not mad at Sam and certainly doesn't blame him for what happened. But this is all but a fun banter that's soothing her heart and her injured pride. She can hope, no, she has a feeling Samrat feels the same. His smile is bright and he keeps staring at her, with no words exchanged between them.

The rest of the gang are happy to see Tanvi get along well with Samrat. Before anyone can address her, she's suddenly excited to say something —

"Mere pair ke bare mein chhodo, aur exciting baat suno tum sab!"

Samrat shakes his head and takes a step back. He's already aware of this exciting news. He cannot help but sigh at how quickly Tanvi's mood has changed now. If only the other arrived sooner it would have saved him from the relentless arm swinging she had subjected him to.

Oblivious to his thoughts Tanvi faces her 4 other friends.

"Aaj pata hai lunch ke bad kya hua! Main Samrat aur Harjot ma'am, Defence Research Lab ke kuchh official se mile. Unke director bhi vahan the. Unhone kya kaha, pata hai? They are truly happy with the testing that we have done. Humare analysis mein yeh pata chala ki Shakti aircrafts are performing really well. Kuchh chhote mote chizein adjustme karni hai, jo woh karne ke liye taiyar hai. Our engineering team's suggestions were accepted and our piloting skills were appreciated. Humari Air Force ki bhi kuchh higher-ups the, and they were very happy with this outcome. Toh isliye, Samrat ke squad ko, aur hum engineering logon ko... Matlab jin logon ne is project par kaam kiya, unhen permanent commission milegi Shakti Aircraft ko chalane. Aage jakar Shakti aircraft humarie fauj ke ek taqatwar weapon banega. And we are first-gen pilots and engineers!"

Tanvi breaks into a grin at the end of her speech. Farhan claps his hands, "wow! This is awesome! Mindblowing and cool yaar! But iss kaamyabi ke tum sab haqdaar ho. Congratulations!"

Isha follows Farhan's lead and claps her hands, smiling widely. Then Sameera, Abhi. Smiles and cheers spread all around. The ER room turns noisy but the officers are too caught up in the moment to realise where they are.

"Ek aur baat," Tanvi says once everyone calms down, "Shakti Aircraft ke fauj mein shamil hone ki ceremony bhi isee air base mein hogi. Bahut jald hogi, yeh tay kiya gaya. Abhi tarikh nahi nikala, par yeh pakka hai, ki uss din prime minister, home minister, president of India bhi yahan aayenge!"

"Wah! Kya baat hai!" Farhan raises his eyebrows and smiles even more widely. The others respond in a similar manner.

Samrat smiles looking at his friends, unable to believe that this amazing life belongs to him. It's all thanks to Abhimayu, Tanvi, Farhan, Isha, all his amazing friends. Abhimanyu was right — he should not ruin this amazing life of his or disrupt its peace with his self-hatred. Yet it took him this long to come to terms with this lesson.

Self-love is hard to practice after years of self-hatred but he has to try. All these years he thought that there was no hope for him, but now he is seeing hope. There were all of his friends who contributed to this. But above all, one silly, talented best friend of his... the one he has fallen in love with takes most of the credit. Ahem... what? Why is Abhimanyu frowning, seeming like he's lost in thoughts?

"Huh?" Farhan reacts first before Samrat can. He stands before Abhimanyu and stares into the guy's face. "Abhimanyu, kya hua? Tum pareshaan ho?"

Abhimanyu takes a deep breath and shakes his head. "Kya bataun, Farhan? I'm really happy for Samrat and Tanvi, and all of those who worked hard on the Shakti Aircrafts. Their hard work paid off. But on the other side, I'm disappointed yaar, main kyun nahi tha iss project par. Hum sab saath mein kyun nahi the? I never thought I'd show bias towards certain teams but hum log best team the, yaar. Friends for life. Aur ab hum sab alag alag..."

Abhimanyu trails off. Farhan laughs and drapes an arm around the guy's shoulders. "Haha, my friend. Baat toh sahi hai teri, but you just said na, ki hum friends for life hai. Aur... raha sawal saath kaam karne ki aur... Shakti Aircraft udaane ki. Woh mauka bhi mil hi jaayega. Dil se chaahega toh milega mere dost! Kaaynaat milvadegi na!"

"Kitna filmy hai yaar tu, Farhan!" Abhi says exasperatedly but still smiles. Samrat, Tanvi, Isha burst out laughing. Isha comments, "Typical Abhi. We should celebrate our friends' success first."

"Celebrate toh karenge hi yaar! Tum sab log hanso mat!" Abhimanyu says sullenly. "Maine apni serious feelings batayi yaar, koi joke na sunayi."

"Haan toh," Farhan tugs Abhi towards him, almost having the guy's neck in a playful chokehold, "hum bhi toh pilot hai yaar, Abhimanyu Adhikaari. Hum aapke jazbat bakhoobi samajh sakte hain. Lekin thoda sabr, haan? Aise frustrate aur udaas nahi hona... samjhe?"

Abhimanyu murmurs, "main kahan udaas hoon?"

Tanvi cuts him off, "Shakti aircraft ke ek aur batch tayyar hogi toh, kya pata mauka mile tum sab ko bhi?"

"Exactly," Samrat says, breaking his long silence. "Don't fret, Abhi. You cannot just give away advice and not follow it yourself. Waise hum sab log bhi disappoint ho sakte hai na, humare wing commander aise kahin adventures par gaye hai, aisi kaamyabi haasil ki hai, jinko humne abhi tak paar karne ka sapna bhi nahi dekha."

"Haha! You— Sam, stop it!" Abhimanyu laughs looking at Samrat and others. "Makkhan na lagao. But thanks yaar! Thanks everyone. I know you guys are trying to cheer me up. Mujhe halki si feeling hui bas. I'm fine."

Sameera pats Abhimanyu's back soothingly. All this while, she hasn't spoken a word but was silently supporting him by holding his hand. Now she steps forward and looks him in the eyes. "Aur koi bhi halki si feeling ho, chaahe ghum ho ya khushi, main tumhare saath hoon, Abhi. Hum sab tumhare saath hain..."

Abhimanyu has no words to say. Looking at his ladylove and the smiling faces of his friends, he smiles. Then he looks at Sameera again, his one and only love. He brings their joined hands to his lips and kisses her knuckles. Sameera stares at him and they lose themselves in the moment. FArhan's loud cough and then Samrat's interrupts them. Sameera looks away and chuckles, suppressing her blush. Abhimanyu grumbles, "yaar tum log mere dost nahi dushman ho! Ladke hokar bhi, you know how it feels! Fir bhi you interrupt! Kya main dekh bhi nahi sakta Sameera ko??"

Sameera throws Abhi an incredulous look. He heaves a dramatic sigh. Samrat laughs to himself. Farhan once again claps his hand against Abhi's back. "Bhai, we interrupt. Maza aata hai usme. Ahhi tu humara bosss bhi nahi. Badla kaise lega?"

Samrat snickers but as Abhi glares he covers up his smile. Abhi turns to Farhan. "You guys, dekh lunga tumhe. GHaan, main boss nahi hoon. But we are friends for life. Toh mauka tooh milega hi,"

"Bring it on!" Farhan says. Tanvi remarks, "you're impossible!" Isha says, "sab ladke aise." Sameera chuckles and everyone shares a good laugh.

Abhimanyu laughs along. His old self would have never imagined to have light moments but now he lives for it. It's a pleasant evening.

Farhan, Isha, Samrat also have similar thoughts. Samrat is glad Tanvi's mood has improved with the arrival of their other friends.

Just then, the group hears the duty doctor, Dr Ayesha's voice. She approaches the group a bit sternly. But soon smiles and hands Tanvi her prescription. "Tanvi, I'm just giving you pain medication. You can walk little but without straining your foot. The more you'll rest, the sooner you'll recover. Can you stay put for two weeks? I hope you can convince your superiors."

Dr Ayesha walks away. Tanvi pulls a face but stuffs her prescription in her pocket. She's still dressed in uniform. She has teh urge to change out of it. Yes, she has to leave.

Samrat and Farhan offer her a hand to help her walk. Sameera gets her a crutch she can use later. She, Isha, Abhi freeze not wanting to interrupt the moment. Needlessly, Samrat, Tanvi, Farhan have become inseparable, more so in recent times.

Now Tanvi has two dashing guys holding out their hands for her to take. One is her best friend and another is the one she loves....

She looks between the two. Neither of them pll back. Choosing one is hard. claps Farhan and Samrat's She holds one each in her hands. While her right hand gently holds Farhan's in gratitude, when she looks at Samrat and gets her mood twitches. "Samrat, remember. You owe me for this. Tumhare waje se hua yeh! I can't walk, and the blame is on you!"

She violently shakes Samrat's arm again. He lets out a low hiss. "Ah, Tanz! Stop it! Tumhe pair mein chot lagi toh mera shoulder dislocate karogi kya?"

Tanvi stops swinging his arm. Still seated on the bed, she glares at him.

"How mean aise thodi ho sakta hai! You're mean, Sam!"

"Really? That's how you feel?"

He smiles a little. Tanvi huffs. "Haan!"

"Arey!"

"Really, hume yeh recognition mil rahi hai. Permanent commission mil rahi hai Shakti aircrafts ke. Our teams will work until the ceremony. I was looking forward to working together. Today was wonderful but then it turned because of this stupid chot... Oh but yes,I know I should focus on positive things. Maybe ceremony tak I will be better. And I'm still on the team..." Tanvi trails off, loosening her grip. Samrat holds on to her hand, reluctant to let go. He teases her,

"Well, well, wahi toh kar rahi thi na ab tak?"

"Huh! See! This is what you mean. You are being mean again, Sam!"

"Oh really!"

"Really you're always teasing me! Or saying things to irritate me!"

"Oh really?"

"Huh? Bas wahi do shabd hai tumhari vocabulary mein? You're not as cool as you think, okay! Stupid!"

"Haha!"

"Hanso, hanso, idiot!"

"Hey, hospital mei sona hai kya? Ab chalein?"

"Sam— you—"

"Guys! Guys! Stop!" Farhan, though disliking to interrupt, has to butt in, "Chalo yaar aaj kelie ghar chalte. Jhagada baad mein kar lena tum donon. Humara midnight cafeteria akhir hai kyun?"

Everyone laughs and slowly exits the ER. Samrat, Farhan drop the others and Tanvi at their residential quarters and retire to theirs.

***

The following morning Samrat expects Tanvi to not show up to work. But he's surprised when she does. They encounter each other in the hangar. Their shift is just about to begin when Harjoty arrives.

"Tanvi, tum yaha? Kaam par?"

Tanvi looks at Samrat and smiles. Both of them are in overalls. He has his hair all nicely gelled back. Huh did he cut his hair again, too bad it's so nice and fluffy but he has to crop it regularly—

"Tanvi?"

"Maybe mujhe bhi haircut karwani, my bun is heavy these days. Oops! Yeh main kya bol gayi?"

"Huh?" Samrat suppresses his smile. "Oh yes, maybe you should. So you noticed my haircut huh? Main aur Farhan ne aaj subah karwayi."

"Hey, don't tease." Tanvi doesn't look at him but looks at others. A few friends she recently made, wave to her. She waves them back.

"I dont tease..."

She looks at Samrat hearing his words. He smiles softly but soon a mischievous grin spreads on his face. "Haha! When you make that face, it makes a guy want to tease."

"Huh? Huh? What face?" Tanvi hurriedly pats her face. She's not blushing so what face? Is she making a funny expression..

Samrat laughs, thinking she's adorable, and bops her on the head. "Silly girl. Stop it. You're on duty now."

"Huh? Ooh thank you sir for reminding me. Warna main bhool gayi."

Though she remarks sarcastically, she's only happy inside. Samrat also knows this. They exchange brief smiles.

"Still you're here. Ek do din chutti leti."

"No, Sam. Main ghar baithun aur iss project se apna naam katwa loon, yeh nahi ho sakta hai na."

Samrat sighs. As she walks past him perfectly walking on both feet, he winces imagining how much pain she should be in while she maintains that smile on her face around her other colleagues. It's true. As soldiers, they are accustomed to pain but this almost feels like stupidity.

But then she has just made a valid point. They might remove her name if she doesn't continue her duties.

What next? Before he can think for her, Harjot calls him to her side and he has to focus on duties and duties alone just like Tanvi. A regular day in the life of an IAF officer has only begun. A day they can't trade for any other.

***
✨Tbc✨

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More fun awaits💫 confession bhi baki and final ending ❤️✨
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