With You Always - S2✔️

《Their Love

"We will handle everything. Tum bas stress mat lo...theek hai?", he softly, spoke trying to soothe her insecurities.
She looked at him, totally confused of what she should do on their relationship.
"Aise mat dekhiye. Hum samjhte hai Haseena, ye time thoda ajeeb hai. Toh jaisa chal raha tha waise chalne dete hai", he said regarding his proposal with a heavy lump residing in his throat. She needed time to process all the overwhelming things that happened during the last few hours.

"But remember. I'll love you, Always. Baki apne aashiq se chutkara pa sakti hai, lekin apne bestfriend se nahi", he chuckled at last, in a failed attempt to uplift their mood.

"My physical appearance will change due to the treatments...Phir bhi tum humse pyaar karoge?"

It was a mockery to his heart, a question on his love and friendship but the stage she was suffering from, he had expected this coming from her.

"Humesha", he answered smiling into her eyes. She wanted to stop in that moment, without any worries of future, with him. Her eyes were filled with tears again and so does his. But this time he knew if he stayed any longer, in consoling her, he himself would breakdown in front of her.

"Ab sojaiye...", he caressed her face with his palm. Covering her with her duvet, he went outside whishing her a good night. But it was only an irony to their life. He had sent Ammi to her. Both mother- daughter needed each other and some space. He went to see his mother who had already slept, tired and waiting for him. He went to her and kissed her forhead, wishing for her good health.

At the moment he had grown very vulnerable. He remembered his father and tears started to flow down. He left that room too and went upstairs on the terrace. The cold environment of the night time did no good to him either. He collapsed on the floor, alone, crying his heart out.

"Aaaahhhh...", he muffled his scream. Tears don't stop as he reminisced a incident from college.

"Thank you Aane ke liye. Aaj bahout off feel ho raha tha", Haseena replied smiling, looking upwards towards him. He was sitting on a swing on their hostel garden. Anubhav was a little away from her which was unusual on his part otherwise he would love to irritate her.

It was time they had to go to their respective hostel block. She got up dusted her shorts and hugged him tightly. He hesitated... getting a deadly glare from her as his body was burning in fever.

___

"Ek toh mai tumhare liye aaya bhukaar mein aur tum mujhe daat rahi ho", Anubhav frowned. His head pained. "Chup ekdum chup. Hum hi bewakoof the jo samajh rahe the ki humare mood off hone ki wajha se humse shaitani nahi kar rahe. Janaab bhukar chupa rahe the", she kept a cloth over his head. First she tried to sneak into the boy's block but was caught. Then both took permission for an hour.

"Tum bemaar hogi phir dekhna...kaise pareshaan karunga" "kaise dost ho tum. Huh..." She smacked his arm but both ended up in laughter.

He never thought his joke would turn into a harsh reality some day. The way she took care of him the following days made his heart flutter in love for the first time in a romantic way for her.

Haseena's sleep was disturbed. To her right side, Ammi had slept holding her life line in her arms. She had snuggled into her mother's embrace like this after years. Never did she thought she would require a reason like this to snuggle like a small kid.

Wanting to have a check on Anubhav, she freed herself from her grip and slowly stepped towards the guest room. Her eyes fell on the still unpacked boxes. It had been only a few days of them moving back to their hometown and a storm was already awaited them. How happy she was to be back here and be posted at the same place as his. But her future was planned differently in which her duty to serve the nation no longer fitted.

"Anu yaha nahi hai", she mumbled peeping inside after knocking the gate very lowly. She checked outside and then followed the way to terrace. Her heart broke to see the sight. That is why she wanted to send him away from her. His head was buried in his legs. He was crying bitterly. Her legs felt weak to walk to him listening to the sound.

As her hand touched his shoulder he looked up. His eyes were red. Without wasting a second more, she embraced him tightly. He hugged her from her belly and sniffed, trying to hold his pieces back.

"Anu...", she caressed his hairs and neck to calm him.

"Haseena...Promise me you won't leave me. You will fight", he said between hiccups. She painfully smiled at his condition and said,"Promise...I'll be with you, always"

"Shh...Anubhav", she consoled him rubbing his back keeping her face near to his. He held the back of her palm near to his face and rested himself on her chest. Closing his eyes in her proximity was calming his heart, from the fear of any mishap.

"Sirf yahi toh dar hai humme Anu. Aapko aur Ammi ko kaise sambhale? Aap dono ko toot te hue nahi dekh sakte hum", she thought while resting her chin on his head. Loving someone with all of one's heart was sometimes not easy.

In Jibhi, the beautiful valley of Tirthan, Anubhav and Haseena have came their way long from Delhi, during their final year of college.

The friends were camping in a forest surrounded by tall trees. Haseena was running from her other friend. They were playing hide and seek in the woods.

Running carelessly she stumbled into Anubhav. "Are tum bhi yahi kyu chupe ho"
"Toh is jungle me aur kitni jaghaye dikh rahi hai tumhe", he hissed holding her in his arms and hiding properly behind a small tea shop.
A group of small children from the near by village were playing there too. Seeing the adults play they thought of a mischief. When their friend began the search, one of the kid shouted, "yaha hai...2 log chupe hue".

Haseena hit her forehead looking at the boy while Anubhav laughed looking at their group. "Ab dekhlo tum me se kisko dam laani hai", their friend spoke and ran,"mai chala chupne- Are bhai bahar niklo sab. Anu Haseena out hogaye. Wapis chupo"

"Kyu bataya aaplogo ne...ab humme jana padega na", Haseena frowned like a child who could be smaller than their age. "Aalsi", Anubhav murmured. She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Tum Lao dam hum bhi ja rahe hai ab toh"

"Aree yaar", he sighed looking at her departing silhouette in the setting sun.

"Kyuki aap bacho ne humme haraya toh aapko bhi humare saath khelna hoga. Madad karni hogi", he said kneeling to their height level. "Hum bhi khel sakte hai aapke saath", a girl of 8 said with twinkled eyes. "Bilkul".

From the back of a tree, Haseena saw him playing and talking with children. She smiled to herself. Her confusion was gone now, she had loved him since long.

"I love you too", Haseena said the reply of his earlier confession, to his sleeping figure. Her eyes puffy with red.

And this was just the start...

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