"Aap bhi sochte honge na ki aapki protegee kitni bewakoof hai," She grinned, breaking the ice

No doubt the silence was soothing but sometimes the jingle of words feels more peaceful.

He chuckled without saying anything, just feeling the light sensation whenever the back of her palm brushes with the back of his hand while walking beside her.

"Means I'm right," She giggled again
while enjoying the same feel

"Aisa kuch nahi hai," This time, he spoke while glancing at the beauty of the full moon

"Achcha to phir kaisa hai..Aap hi bata dijiye ki aap kya sochate hain mere bare mein ?," She sniggered holding her thumping heart, while passionately capturing the beauty of his sharp edged features with slight blushingly cheeks and spellbinding simper, in the shimmer of moonlight

तुमसे ही मिलकर तो
दिल धड़कता है

तुम साँसों जैसे हो
ऐसा लगता है

He shook his head, leaving an enthralling smile for her, amidst nature.

"I guess, you have already got all of your answers. Isn't it," He played along, enacting the same rapturous smile on his face, while stepping his both palms inside his jeans' pockets

"Class me to itna explain karte hain sab kuch. Thoda sa explanation yaha bhi de denge to kya chala jayega.," She showed her dissatisfaction, making a cute little pout, seeing which he acquired a desire, for a second, to feel that pout with his own lips

But he immediately shrugged of the thought, and uttered with a gentle smile,"You really put a lot of efforts,"

His tone and smile were clearly
telling how much he appreciated her attempts, put by her in that letter or in those lines that were citing their whole story.

"That's what you suggested for. Kuch efforts khud se hi daalne padte hain. I just followed your advice..,"She enunciated with a big smile getting his appreciation,"But," took a pause before going further

He glanced at her to know the reason when she went ahead.

"But I think that was bit kiddish," She asked naively with a little doubt in her mind

"It was simply beautiful," He stated
again, now looking deep into her eyes

She smiled, honoring him back with the same gesture of her own eyes, and asked in an intense voice,"Bus itna hi,"

"What else ?," He asked, raising his shoulders a bit, somewhere already knowing in his heart, she is asking about what

"There was something before that letter also," She spoke meaningfully with her mischievous eyes and rosy cheeks, making his guess correct

He smilingly averted his gaze and averred whimsically while sitting on the nearby bench,"Everything can't be explained because..,"

He couldn't complete as she cut him off, "Because few things are made up to only feel..Right," completing his sentence

While saying so, she sat beside him on the bench, the way their bodies were slightly rubbing with each other, erupting goosebumps inside their stomachs.

"Right," He voiced out and looked at her smiling softly while his one hand naturally raised up to remove her hair strand from her face that came there with the blow of the wind, but as if his heart was still hesitant in touching her

She held his hand, stopping him to take his hand back, and whispered, peeping into his eyes, to ( तो ) mehsoos hi kara dijiye,"

पहली दफ़ा जो होने लगा है,
पहले हुआ ना कभी,
महसूस दिल ने जो भी किया है,
लफ़्ज़ों में कह दूं अभी

He looked back in her pleading eyes, and slowly tugged the hair lock behind her ear.

She leaned onto his touch, clutching his hand little tightly while he, for the first time in these convivial moments of theirs, scanned her glowing face properly, as if was scared till now to loose his self-restraint against her simple yet mesmerizing beauty.

The beauty which was not adorned with any kind of ornamentation, but was still able to give competition to the moon's charm, in his sight.

She closed her eyes, and he pressed his lips on her forehead with all his love.

आ पास मेरे पलकों पे रख दूं
जितने सपने हैं सभी
होंठों पे मेरे खुलने लगी है
ख्वाहिश थी दिल में दबी

Her heart bloomed just by his simple affectionate kiss.

As, he departed his lips from her forehead, heard her mumbling," Aapke room wala return gift abhi baki hai,"

He looked at her with his broader eyes while she giggled.

"Ye kuch jyada hi nahi ho raha, Cadet Singh," Capt. Rajveer showed his disapproval, looking slightly away to hide his blush

"Naina sounds good..remember," Saying this in a chirpy way, she presented her left cheek to him, widening his eyes some more

"Always stubborn," His mind shouted

Feeling helpless, he closed her eyes with his one hand and kissed on her cheek lovingly.

"So Cute," She guffawed, and he followed her

She slowly kept her head on his shoulder, sliding her one hand on his back. He too embraced her warmly in his arms, touching his head with hers.

प्यार हो जब प्यार हो
हर बार हो तुमसे ही
प्यार हो बेशुमार हो
हर बार हो तुमसे ही

They kept sitting like this under the
sparkling sky for sometime, without uttering a word, just enjoying the serene lakeside beauty, the beauty of their togetherness and the beauty of their love.

--------*-------

"Naina mujhe tumse Red Box aur Naveen ke case ke bare me kuch details..," Capt. Rajveer muttered after sometime but interrupted by her in the mid

"Naveen bhaiya ko insaaf aur unke gunehgaron ko sazaa dilane ki ladai akele unke sabse achche dost yani ki sirf aapki hi ni hai balki ye ladai utni hi Naveen Bhaiya ki behan yani ki meri bhi hai..,"
Naina exclaimed with gravity while departing herself from him a little, and picking up her small bag from the bench behind her back and placing it in her lap.

Rajveer was listening her carefully and trying to figure out her action when she opened the wrist buttons on the left sleeve of his shirt, uttering,

"Isliye is ladai ko hum dono sath milkar hi ladenge..aur aage se aap kabhi bhi khud ki jaan ko is tarah khatre me nahi dalenge," She folded the sleeve till his elbow, opening deep wound of his forearm

Rajveer was stunned as to how she came to know about it, despite of him being so cautious towards it to hide.

"Is dard ki vajah se hi aap subah apni right sleeve ke buttons open nahi kar pa rahe the na..," She stated as a fact, and he was speechless for a second

"Tumhe kaise pata chala ki main kaha aur kyun..?," He asked to know how she got it, as he didn't tell anyone about it except one person

"Mehsoos ho gaya tha dil ko ki meri zindagi kisi khatre me hai jab apni sanson ko har gujarate lamhe ke sath dheema padta paya..Rahi baat
confirmation ki to wo Lt. Chaubey ji se mil gaya," She told him, smiling painfully while removing absorbent gauze roll strip and cotton wool from his wound

तुम जो नहीं थे साथ तो
तन्हा सा था दिल का सफ़र
बे ख्वाब ही सोती रही
जगी रही मेरी नज़र

He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep sigh while she took out all the required things from her bag to bandage his wound.

He opened his eyes again as she proceeded in her work while saying,

"Bataya unhone..Col. Shakti Chandra ke murder ke ilzaam se lekar Lala Sahab ke involvement aur phir aapke court-martial hone ki naubat ( condition ) aane tak..
Aap jis bhi dard se gujare..Jo jo saha aur jo kuch bhi Delhi me hua aapke sath, wo sab kuch," Her voice chocked due to pain and his heart also crunched, recalling the happenings and seeing her like this

On one hand, he was feeling angry at Lt. Chaubey for telling her about all this, despite his strict warning to not open up to anyone, while on the other hand, he knew very well how much stubborn and determined, his Cadet Singh is.

"Brig. Hriday Pandey aur Col. Vyom Rawat jinki kisi important mission ke dauran aapne kabhi bahut badi help ki thi, khushnaseebi se agar wo case ki investigation team ka part na hote aur trail ke wakt Delhi mein aapke bachaw me aage aakar sab kuch handle na kiya hota to aapne to almost apna honour, apni life..Sab kuch hi daav par laga diya tha..," She adduced wrapping his forearm calmly with gauze bandage but he could feel the sea of emotions surging inside her

"Naina..let me explain," He wanted to console her but in actual didn't know how as he had already realised that in his guilt and rush to prove his innocency to her, he actually made a very big mistake..a mistake that could have cost him everything

So, he had nothing to explain but she had so much to ask and to say.

"Aisa kaise kar sakte hain aap ? Bina kisi back-up plan ke us red box ko paane ke liye nikal gaye aap..
Itna careless kaise ho gaye aap ? Akhir kyun aur kiske liye itna bada risk le liye aapne ? Us insaan ki nazron me khud ko begunah sabit karne ke liye jo khud aapki sabse badi gunehgar hai..Aise insaan ko yakin dilane ke liye aap apne maan-
samman aur jaan se khel gaye jisne kabhi aapki jaan lene ki koshish ki thi..Mat kijiye itna pyar use..Mat kijiye, Plz..She is not worthy of it," As she tied the knot of the strip, after completing the bandage, a drop of water escaped from her bounded sea of emotions which he held in his wounded hand

She lifted her lids up to look at him with her tearful eyes. While wiping the second drop from her cheek, he indicated her with his head that she should not fall any more in the queue as he is not able to bear.

She hugged him tightly and he welcomed her in his arms with the same might. Both let out their pain, making way for their happiness.

"Subah jab aap vapas laute aur apko apni ankhon se sahi salaamat dekh liya tab jakar kahin laga ki meri sansen mujhe vapas mil gayi hain. Dubara kabhi aisa mat kijiyega, aisi koi laparwahi nahi. Pooja ki language me bolun to is dil ( for him ) ka clear cut connection ab is dil ( for herself ) ke sath jud gaya hai, isliye agar iski ( for him ) ringtone disturb hui to ye ringtone ( for herself ) bhi band ho jayegi..," Naina proclaimed while holding his hand and touching his heart first and then her own heart

तुमपे रुके तुमसे चले
लम्हें मेरे अब तो यहाँ
राहें मेरी तुमपे थमी
अब है मुझे जाना कहाँ

Though the words were said in an amused way but he could distinctly understand the profoundness hidden in them with the given warning, so answered her apologetically in the similar manner of hers.

"Bhool se bhi nahin. Khud se jyada khud ki zindagi ki fikra hai mujhe. Cadet Ghai ki language me kahun to ab kyunki is handset ( for himself ) ko confirmation call mil gayi hai ki iska network strongly is handset ( for her ) ke sath connect ho gaya hai to ab is handset ( for himself ) ki ringtone ko secure karna responsibility ban gayi hai jisse ki is handset ( for her ) ki melodious ringtone continue sunne ko milti rahe," Rajveer promulgated
while repeating her action of touching their hearts through their hands

Both chuckled with their moisty eyes but happy hearts.

"Point 1857 lekar chalenge?," She asked, making small circles above his heart through her index finger

"Phir se," He asked, stroking her hair lovingly

"Hmm," She resonated

"Kyun?," He questioned deliberately

"Just want to announce that it is now point 1858..," She answered blithely

And he smiled widely, grasping her strongly in his embrace.

"Vapas chalein, you should sleep.," He uttered after a while

"Kyun ?," She raised her head up a little from his chest to see him, and asked narrowing her brows

"Because you didn't get proper sleep. Tumhari aankhein bata rahi hain..," He said in a care filled voice

"So to aap bhi nahi paye hain
chain se pal bhar ke liye bhi, aapki aankhein bhi to yahi bol rahi hain," She commented with the same concern, while peering into his eyes

He gave a mild smile, agreeing with her statement.

She came out of his embrace, left the bench and forwarded her hand to him, saying,

"Chaliye, aaj dono sukoon ki neend lekar kal ek nayi khubsurat subah ka welcome karenge aur baki ki bachi batein, raat me point 1857 par..,"

तुम बिन चलूँ तो क़दमों से मेरे
ये रूठ जाए ज़मीन
अब ज़िन्दगी में कुछ हो ना पर
इक बात है लाज़मी

"Kal hi," He asked with little disbelief while giving his hand to her

"Haan..Kal hi..Zaroori hai..Aur is baar hum apki jeep se chalenge. I know now waha jeep se bhi jaya ja sakta hai, so no excuse," She asserted entangling her fingers with his while leaving the place

प्यार हो जब प्यार हो
हर बार हो तुमसे ही
प्यार हो बेशुमार हो
हर बार हो तुमसे ही

He smilingly shook his head.

-----------------------------*----------------------------