The Ultimate Paagalkhana

Khalid

A/N: Happy Pride Month! 
The upcoming 3 to 4 chapters will be the back stories of how they met Kartik and the moments of why they see each other as a family so... be prepared for light angst. And it will end with them reaching Aman's home.

This is Khalid's back story...

Warning: My predictive text is being a mess so there are chances of typos and auto corrects being spotted so... sorry In advance!

It was Friday night and Aman was in charge of the last minute packing for both of them. Kartik had been gone for the whole day, something about helping the other two pack their bags whatever that means...

And just in time, the door opened with a bang and in strode Kartik in all his glory, soaking wet from the rain that'd started pouring just then.

"Jaldi andhar aaja, ya phir sardi pad jaayegi!" Aman scolded as he entered the room with a towel. "Babu, mujhe kuch nahi hoga. Lohar ka beta hoon main" Kartik boasted but still took the towel, knowing how irritable his love can get regarding these matters.

"Kudh ka samaan pack nahi kar saktha tu aur ab kisi aur ka samaan pack karne ke liye puri din gayab hua hai!" he exclaimed in mock annoyance.

"Main kya karoon? Ek toh partially blind hai, uska partner toh bol nahi saktha. Isi liye help karne ke liye chala gaya maine." Kartik defended himself. And well... in a sense, it was true. It's not like Rohan hasn't packed his bag at all or Khalid is struggling to pack his and Rohan's...

It was just for a sense of familiarity. He knew how Rohan has a habit of talking out loud while packing, something he'd picked up after the accident. "Ya phir kaamoshi mujhe maar dega, I mean, dekh toh nahi saktha distract karne ke liye" he'd say with a shrug. And Kartik was used to sit beside him and help him pack, often throwing comments and keeping an eye on what goes inside the bags.

And now with Khalid around, Rohan might have a helping hand for packing his things... but unfortunately, Bunny couldn't point out what he was keeping away and why like Kartik used to as he couldn't speak up, therefore Kartik joining them to pack their bags.

"Aur yeh partner bhi kal aa raha hai kya?" Aman asked. "Obvio! Bunny ke bina party? Nonsense!" he exclaimed, offended. "Toh... is Bunny ke baare mein kuch batha na?" Aman asked as he sat next to him.

"Why are you getting so impatient! Kal usko mil rahe ho na?" Kartik asked. "Haan, lekin tum drive karoge toh... He won't be able to tell me na?" Aman pouted.

"Who said I'll be the one driving? Theek hai, batatha hoon." giving into Aman's puppy eyes. "We met each other in school. And unfortunately for us, the connection for us at that point was that we were bullied. Woh, kyon ki uska baap nahi tha aur main... tum hi jaante ho, they were jealous of my personality. And... We clicked. Us samay... mere baap toh... He didn't treat me all that well, so I used Khalid's home as my hiding place." Kartik recounted. Aman just pulled him into a side hug, allowing Kartik to rest his head on his.

"Aur haan, he used to be the expert dodger, humesha idhar udhar jump karke escape hua kartha tha, gymnastics aur acrobatics mein interested tha na... isi liye usko Bunny bulatha tha main" he said with a chuckle.

"The 3 of us, Khalid, uska Ammi aur main... We used to have a close bond, maine unko mere Ammi maan li. Lekin... All good things come to an end and they had to move away. Par we kept in touch via letters, phone calls, kabhi kabhi milte the holidays ki samay... college ek saath padne ki chance nahi mili kyon ki woh toh RAW join kardiya, desh bakthi and all that jazz" he said.

"Toh phir... yeh haalat... kaise? Ammi kahaan hai?" Aman asked. "Woh toh sensitive topic hai... I'll need to ask him before i tell you anything" Kartik said with a shake of his head, trying to hold back his tears.