"Here, I come Vi. Just don't be doing anything stupid," Aaina thought out loud as she parked her car beside his. Sighing, tiredly thinking about the mess of feelings she might have to face now. She got out of her pristine Audi, closing the door with a little more power than strictly necessary. Shivering violently even though she was in proper winter wear. She entered the deserted dark stadium, shivering with each step she took inside. 

She didn't know whether it was the cold breeze or the darkness that her body was actually reacting too. But nonetheless, she relaxed a little spotting the lone illuminated spot in the entire stadium. Without wasting anymore time she jogged lightly towards the spot, easily recognizing the lone man diving around the field.

"What are you punishing yourself for now?" She asked, noticing him fighting invisible foes and demons in his mind while punishing his body. Diving left and right catching the balls thrown his way from the automatic machine. Switching it off as she stood in front of him blocking the light as her shadow loomed over him.

"Huh, Aaina..." Squinting his eyes, he asked her confused showing no interest in getting up from his position on the ground.

"Yups, the one and only bane of your life," she replied a bit sardonically. Taking hold of his hand to pull him up, though she knew she couldn't pull him up. She tugged on his hands nonetheless.

"Aww, Now don't speak like that you're the boon of my life, love. Btw when did you come?"Viaan asked her in a mild tone full of amusement. Well, Isn't she lucky being the source of his amusement? 

"When you were busy dodging calls from your manager, giving him panic attacks and also making him disturb my sleep at 2 in the night." She answered back sweetly, too sweetly thoroughly enjoying the almost guilty look donned on Viaan's face. A look he discarded quite quickly.

"Aww...no need to be rude, love" Viaan grinned. 

God damn this infuriating b@$!@*d. Rude!!! she will show him what rude really looks like? She is roaming on the foggy streets of Delhi at 2 in the night. Worried sick. Shivering and absolutely terrified of the darkness yet she entered this goddamned building for his sake and rude, it's all he has to say to her for her hard labor? 

With angry streams of smoke coming out of her ears and head. Aaina pounced on Viaan. She was sitting on him her hands holding his sweat drenched shirt tightly as she showered punches on him.

"You brute! I'm being rude huh!! I almost got a heart attack learning you were missing. I searched you all over Delhi in this f***ing freezing night and that's how you greet me. You absolutely annoying Brute" Aaina yelled angrily at him and then yelped when he held her wrists and rolled over. he was over her and she was trapped beneath him.

"Well, sweetheart you're the one actually hitting me. How I am a brute then?" He asked her clearly amused by everything she does.

"You're still a brute" She said, tearing her eyes away from his sad ones. She always worry about him.

"I'm not convinced about that but still I'm sorry, love." he apologized sincerely but the dolour in his eyes was still there and she never liked that look in him ever.

"You scared me," She admitted throwing her arms around his neck like a garland, hiding her face in his chest. She was scared, worried and angry yet at the same time thinking about what he is tormenting himself about now?

"I'm sorry, love" He repeated his statement as he stood carefully with her still clinging to him. She hated how easily he could lift her. He acted as if she weighed nothing more than a hay roll but still it has it's benefits when she didn't want to separate herself from him. Moments like this, when she is hiding her terror in his arms while at the same time making sure he is fine.

She is sure one day his such actions will end up getting both of them killed. 

"You could have gotten yourself killed," Aaina pointed out blankly. Well, did he care that she will also die if anything happens to him? Apparently not.

"Ranvi's men are around Princess. I'm as safe as I'm anywhere," He reassured her but her heart still didn't want to admit it.

"Still you should have informed me once," She chided him. Thank god, at least he had the decency to look ashamed.

"I'll next time, love"

Next time!!! there shouldn't be any next time. She thought glaring angrily at the obnoxious man. she calls her bestie and finance. And he just shrugged unaffected with her look. God, he is surely going to be the cause of her death. She can give it in written. Aaina Randhawa will surely die because of Viaan Kundra's actions.

"You know your manager is having a panic attack some where over your disappearance," She informed him bleakly and he being his insolent self, just shrugged the whole thing away in response.

"Well, that's why I particularly want you as my manager," Viaan said winking at her, his earnest gaze full of mischief and amusement. Well, at least it was better than the dolour in his eyes. So, she decided to play along letting him drag her to a false merry atmosphere. After all, that's what they were doing for last few months drawing false serenity and security around them.

"Well, I can think about it, Mr. Kundra if you tell me what will I get being your manager?" Aaina questioned him letting the corner of her lips tug in an absolutely haughty expression. Some people really believed she owned the whole planet, when she acted like this.

"Well, apart from the privilege of being in my awesome presence. You'll get anything you want" there was a promise in his gaze, a promise of something, she couldn't make herself dwell on.

"Anything you say" She said shooting him a coy smile. 

Aaina watched the way Viaan slightly tilted his head to the style in a considering way and smiled that oh-so promising smile of his. The smile that makes you think you'll get all the goodies. Shaking her head at his antics and it's leading ways. She lead him to the dugout. Always the same, pulling him away from trouble and demons alike.

Sitting on the benches, side by side, so close that their arms and legs were almost touching. They stared at the full moon and brilliantly twinkling night sky smirking down at them. Puny humans, it might be thinking with disdain. Puny lost humans. 

Smirking, she turned slightly towards him. Stargazing and lost, he looked to her with melancholy sticking to him like sugar sprinkles on cupcakes. It looked alluring adding perfectly to his in-built charisma, the heart-broken lost look adding to his beauty. Yet, she hated the look all together. She hated the gloomy blankets wrapped around him in layers. So, pressing her legs to him. She shoved his legs with hers in a way they swing together. A little game of push and pull successfully drawing him away from his thoughts and even the scowl sent her way was worth it. 

"So why are you here at this hour of the night again? As far as I know, you had a flight to Bangalore and you have a meeting," she said, slowly breaking the perfectly fake okay environment around them. The demons in them tend to grow wild if kept inside for a long-long time. Changing and Killing  slowly a self-made toxin.

"Wow, I'm impressed sweetheart even when you're not my manager you know my schedule just fine." he said, sounding mildly impressed and she mentally groaned. This man can never make things easy for her, can he?

No, the hardheaded man sitting next to her, never wanted to make things easy for her. God forbid, he let her pry on his thoughts easily and let her help him. No, he wants to take things to his grave and send her to an early grave on his merry way too. God, sometimes she feels his life motto is making her work hard. But still she humored him anyway. 

"I thought you know I'm your CEO" Aaina didn't know what was so funny in her words that he started chuckling, yups the mad chuckles when you don't know whether you want to laugh or cry. He chuckled and cackled, she let him. At least, his mental breakdowns are mostly around her. She don't want to imagine it in front of the world. She won't allow that ever.

"My CEO, I kind of like the sound of it, " That's were his first words with a watery smile and she didn't know whether to let the butterflies make her feel those puddle of gooey sweet emotions or let the clinical part of her care about him. She settled on the clinical part of her for now.

Hitting him upside down for his cheeky comment and diversion tactics, she settled with giving him her best interrogating stare. The one that made people spill out their guts without even doing or saying anything but from when did it started affecting Viaan kundra the way it affected normal people?

"Ow, " Viaan just cried out in a high pitch wounded tone as he turned towards her with an accusing look of his own. " I'm not your suspect yrr and don't hit your fiance. In our culture husband is god, you shouldn't hit god. You little brute!!" he stated pulling a rude face at her.

"Well, You're disillusioned if you think I'll ever treat you like god and secondly, I wouldn't be using this tactics on you if you weren't being a complete dunderhead. How many times and in how many ways should I repeat the same question?" Yups, she was glaring all heatedly at him looking all fired up. The only guy on the whole planet who can make her fired up like this so easily.

God, why does he have such a control on her emotions? Why can she read and feel his all emotions? And Why the hell he tries to hide his feelings even after knowing she can read them? 

"Tea," he asked her out of the blue and she gave him one of her best glares. God, here she is doing her best making sure he doesn't fall in clinical depression again. And he is being as hard as always. The statement " he can be in pieces but you won't know a single thing by his face," He is that brilliant in hiding his sorrow. After all, what else can one except from the man who didn't cry even once when the dead bodies of his mother and brother were lying in front of him.

She wouldn't even know he was in extreme pain if it wasn't for the numbness in his eyes. If it wasn't for the destroyed house afterwards, if it wasn't for the way he was trying to get rid of Savvy, Ro and her afterwards, If it wasn't for the panic attacks and final breakdown in front of them. If it wasn't for the slight self-harming tendencies and shutting out of people.

She looked away from him for a moment. The image of a broken pale man slumped in red water was being too much for her.  She let the silence wash over them for a few minutes gathering her thoughts and feelings. It won't do them any good if they both lost their senses at the same time.

"I don't know where I stand now, Ina? My dreams are reality now but I've lost everything dear to me, chasing after them. Everything, Ina. And I don't even know whether it is worth it all or not? I'm a star. A superstar. People love to hate me. But at what cost?" The haunted look in his eyes were a clear indication of his mental state. She knew what he was going through, the burden of someone's death on your shoulder is too much to take. Even the shoulders which carry the worlds weight flatter under that burden.

"You did what they would have wanted you to Vi. You kept their faith in you alive." She reminded him softly once again. 

Under all the loud unnecessary noise and chatter of the world. They sometimes forget to listen to the real voice. Too lost in virtual realities that reality starts looking fake. The wannabe bullies in the virtual world hurling insults to make them feel better. The ones who only thinks about their pain and think making others feel bad about themselves. Is the right thing to do? 

Calling someone panauti again and again until he really starts believing it. Forgetting all about how he is the actually the one who work hard every single day to win and then witness the dream shatter in front of him. The shattered pieces had pierced him, made him bleed yet he didn't let virtual vultures take a snap of his broken state. Doesn't mean he isn't sad? Doesn't mean he wanted it to happen?

And if he really let it all affect him, if he starts believing he is worthless, if he takes the extreme step than he wasn't strong enough. He shouldn't have become a star if he didn't know how to handle the stardom or critics. But they forget, he didn't want to be a star. He was just chasing his dreams. His passion. 

"How by killing them?" And there was that self-loathing again. The extreme self-hatred and guilt. Latching her fingers with him, not letting go even when he tried to tug his hand away from her. She looked at him till he stilled and stopped trying to pull away from her. 

"You didn't kill them, Viaan Kundra. Those bloody swines did. Didn't you tell them that your parent's wouldn't want you to betray the nation ever. Karan bhai trusted you to not out his secret. Saumya Ma had total faith in you. She knew you won't drift to wrong side. You didn't. You didn't let them down." She said with conviction. It wasn't his fault. It never wars.

"You sure," And their was that brokenness in his voice again. The haunting loneliness and guilt that pushed him over the edge.

"Always," And she meant it, a single syllable but it conveyed everything she wanted too. Everything she truly believes, the security failed not him neither her. The security let them down.

There was a long pause. He seemed to be thinking over her words. She didn't know whether he believed them or not? She didn't care how many times, she or the boys have to repeat the same words to him. They won't back down. Not until, he finally believes them. Not until, he finally knows his worth and his place in their life again. A body can't go on without a heart, can it??

"Do you think I deserve to lead India? Do you think Mani bhai left captain-ship due to me?"  He asked her staring at the sky again. Well, she didn't know what star was or sky was visible to him when the white swirls started descending from the sky. Well, who knows how creepy it feels when fog descends suddenly out of nowhere around you?

"Yes, you deserve it Viii. Mani bhai knows it and don't tell me how you've not won a single trophy in PPL and that's why you're a shitty captain. You're not. Mani Bhai knows it. I know it. Savvy knows it. Ro knows it. You always have been Mani Bhai's heir, Vii. He prepared you for this from the starting and he isn't leaving cricket. He'll be with you. Don't let those stupid people get in your head again." She reassured him, again. Well, she is going to do her best to make sure those stupid people don't get in his head ever again. No, she will make sure Viaan feels loved always.

"You truly believe that," well, did he snort while stating this. Why is this so hard to believe? He is superb everyone knows that. Well, everyone besides him by the looks of it.

"Truly," she affirmed.

"Do you think I will really win this, Ina? Could I really ever win? Could I really tear their mask in front of the world? Could I really bring Ma and bhai to justice?" Viaan asked her with a tired look, he was tired fighting this invisible war. She was too. But they had to continue.

"Yes and I don't think this, Vii. I know this. We will win this game. We will tear them apart, together. For good wins over bad always, right" She said, drawing his attention to their interlaced fingers. Always together. Always loved.  

Never alone, her eyes conveyed his. 

Never alone again, their entangled fingers chimed.

~to be continued~

Be kind, be understanding, be emphatic