Dusk till Dawn.[ON HOLD]

Chapter 15. Sucker punch.

28 Hours ago.

The crowd cheerfully clapped as the melodious medley concluded. Viyaan thanked the young choir group, placed the guitar on the stand and daintily rose from the bar stool while the peer soldiers surrounding him joyously cheered and energetically hooted. For one whole minute the confined, packed space of the pub sparkling with neon focus lights came to life not due to some loud rock music but because of a slow and soulful lofi tune.

As he passed his colleagues, holding onto his confident yet humble bearing, they amazedly murmured amongst themselves of how this man could manage to be ruthlessly-cold to pull the trigger without shillyshallying as well as be passionately-gentle to play the strings of a guitar with the very same finger.

Blessing everyone with his signature smile, Viyaan effortlessly weaved his way through the cacophonous throng and reached the bartender's station. "One glass of water please!"

"Your farewell party and still you won't touch alcohol?"

Viyaan looked over his shoulder at the approaching male and said, "I'm not good at holding my alcohol, Sir."

"The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is aware of your dirty little secret."

The new, welcomed intruder scrunched his nose before leaning and clinking his glass of scotch to the glass of water kept on the bar.

"Truth shouldn't be hidden, Sir."

"Stop calling me sir. Makes me feel old."

The unhidden irritation in his voice made Viyaan crinkle his eyes in mock sympathy. "I'm wearing uniform and I am ought to follow rules, Sir." The younger brat's features turned soft with sincere apology after he finished gulping down his plain beverage.

"It feels good to be associated with you."

Lieutenant Colonel Hrishikesh Chandran, the unit commander of Palampur base acknowledged earnestly. For the first time he had met Viyaan during a formal dinner and had promptly liked the younger man just in few minutes of interaction. Till date unfortunately they didn't get any chance to go shoulder to shoulder to  maim their enemies; however the epic anecdotes of Viyaan's unparalleled gallantry and extraordinary valor were no news to him or anyone else present here. There was no dearth of fearless men in army, but officers like Viyaan whose life purpose was safeguarding life of innocents and upholding nation's integrity with every breath they inhaled was something to be idolized, through and through.

Moreover, the Major's peculiar way of carrying himself was powerfully intimidating as well as scintillatingly alluring. The eight glossy medals pinned on his uniform spoke of his asserting role as a steadfast soldier and the soft smile his lips always held onto emphasized the exceptionally respectful man he was. Except few imbeciles, no one disliked him. And the ones who did dislike him rightly blazed in the jarring pits of incomprehensible jealousy.

"You're too kind, sir." Viyaan scratched his nape in acute discomfort.

He was good with any kind of compliments. Humility came to Viyaan as naturally as breathing and yet whenever anyone praised him rightly he would accept it genuinely but such untimely words of appraisal got him visibly uncomfortable. And Aahana would be the only and perfect one to explain how adoringly cute he looked whenever he was clearly discomfited with all the inapt flattery.

Taking pity on him, Hrishikesh chose a safer subject and asked, "Why are you in uniform?"

"Had been to Srinagar to process my transfer letter. So couldn't change as I directly drove to this place."

The officers who'd no enervating night duty and mandatory early morning roll call had planned a small farewell-party for their beloved Major. Soldiers of the company unit, singlehandedly lead by Viyaan had left fifteen days ago owing to their annual vacation but that didn't mean the other battalion members were uninterested or incapable of throwing a lavish sendoff for him.