She looked at him, up and down, her face breaking into a grin, as her eyes landed on the comic in his hand.

"Raj?" Raj!!!
"Its really you! I can't .....omg...can't believe it!

She rushed forward and hugged him. He hugged her back, a silly smile on his face.

She separated, and made a great show of checking him out.

"Not bad, soldier! You seem to have filled out quite a bit!" She said, winking, eyeing him appreciatively.

Raj (making a similar show, smirking) : Hmm....sadly, can't say the same about you.

That earned him a a hard smack on his arm.

They start walking, when Raj realises he hasn't locked his door.

Scratching his head, in a way that reminds her of her somewhat clumsy, goofy 20 year old friend, he rushes back, and is back before her, in no time.

They start walking, Natasha talking excitedly, Raj listening, feeling lighter than he had felt, in months.

Raj : So....did you...actually go into investigative journalism, after all?

Natasha (with some pride) : Yup, I did.
And lemme guess, you did become a soldier! Or was that just a phase?

Raj : No..no..I..I actually..um..did.

Natasha smiled curiously.

Raj : What? No seriously, what?

Natasha (Laughing) : Nothing, just... I did not think you'd stick to something so long.

Raj smiled.
Times change, but tell me, how is Arjun?

Raj was happy to notice, that her eyes lit up, exactly like they used to, 10 years ago.
That bought a smile to his lips, something that did not go unnoticed by her.

Natasha (rolling her eyes) What? Stop smiling.
Ya hes fine. You know what, come along. Have dinner with us. We are almost near my house.

Raj : No...I..I..couldn't intrude..
I mean..

Natasha : Shut up! You being formal, thats a first!
Wait till Arjun hears that!

And she dragged him along.
They reached the house soon enough.

. . . .

Raj, Natasha and Arjun, and met over one summer, 10 years ago.
Each was at a crossroads in their lives.
They had formed friendships, over similar interests, nature and good humour.
Friendships, memories of which, had stayed with them, over the years.

When Raj reached home, and saw his other old friend, Arjun.
And he kept staring.
There was his athletic friend, in a wheelchair, but the mischievous grin on his face exactly like it was, 10 years ago.

That evening, over dinner, they had talked and talked.
About their work.
About their lives.
About themselves.

Or rather, Arjun and Natasha had talked, and Raj had mostly listened to them, answering their questions, growing more and more absent, as the evening progressed.

After dinner, Arjun excused himself stating a deadline, and went to his study.

Natasha made them coffee, and they sat on the veranda, like old times, talking about nothing and everything.

Raj : What happened?
I mean...

We were following a lead...It turned dangerous. It was an insider. But atleast we exposed the joker.
She said, briefly.
It...I mean...he may get better. It'l take time though.
For now, I follow the beat like Sherlock, he plays Mycroft.

Raj smiled. She smiled too.

Raj : How do you do this?

Natasha : What do you mean?

Raj : I mean, how do you do this? How do you, keep going?
I mean...look at you guys, it...seems like yesterday...
And...after what happened to uncle,...and now Arjun...

Natasha looked at him deeply, thinking.
Something had changed in her friend.
This wasnt her innocent 20 year old friend.
Sitting in front of him, was a man who seemed to have seen the world, as much as she and Arjun had.

Natasha : Oh, I think of quitting this field far too many times, to count. So does Arjun, I am sure.
But...I dunnoe...I guess..this is what makes us happy.
And...Raj...remember what granny used to say?
When in doubt about something, remember why you started.

......

Raj had returned home late that night, deep in thought, all the way home.

He remembered when he had first met Natasha and Arjun, over one summer, when he was home from the hostel.

His past kept flashing in front of his eyes, with a clarity that surprised him.
He had had no idea, that he even had these memories.
They were trivial after all, weren't  they?

Loosing his parents in teenage, then shifting to a country that was vastly different from the one he grew up in, had been difficult for Raj.
Friendships had been difficult, because he often did not understand the people here, and people did not undertand him.

Arjun and Natasha, though, were different.
They had lived near to where his granny did, and were raised by parents, who emphasised on humanity, rather than traditional roles of society and gender.

And thus, the three had hit off, the moment they met.

It was the best time Raj had had, since a long time.

He had found out, that Natasha's parents had paid the price for being decent and tolerant, in a society that abhors such sentiment, as weakness.
Her father, an investigative journalist, and been killed, by extremists, simply to prove their point.

Natasha's life's mission was to find and bring them to book, ( which she did )

Raj, when he joined the army, had no idea, that his life, would turn out to be so similar to the friend, whose spunk he had always admired.

And then he had met Naina.
Natasha atleast had her father's honour.
Naina did not even have that.
And yet, she had set out, alone, to prove her brother's innocence, in a world which only saw her as the sister of a traitor, a world which thought lowly of her, simply because of her gender.

Raj, who had already promised himself to clear his friend's name, now made it his mission, simply because, he respected that girl, whose determination reminded him of a dear friend.
And when that respect turned into love, he never knew.

And before he could understand what had happened, he found himself head over heels in love with his friend's sister.

With his cadet.

With Naina Singh Ahluwalia.

Society had made a mockery of it, as they usually do, of things they do not understand.

Because how could anyone understand a teacher's love for his own student, based on nothing more than respect?