A/N: Partly Rohan's backstory... I think that should be self explanatory? And expect typos and autocorrects, the keyboard is still being wanky.
The following morning started with Devika banging on the door, demanding Karman to wake up and get ready quickly. The two of them followed through with her demands, after all, she was nicknamed Devil for a reason.
Freshened up and with their bags packed, they waited for the ones responsible for their pickup to arrive. They'd all agreed that Khalid and Rohan should pick them up as it would be easier for loading the bags into the car directly instead of the 3 of them arriving there with their bikes and bags.
And the lovebirds did arrive, 30 minutes after the agreed time, with Kartik having called them at least 20 times in the duration. "Sorry baba, Khalid ko chits likhna tha. Isi liye dher hui. I suppose Aman and 'Devil' are here?" Rohan asked as he climbed out.
"Mera naam Devika hai. And I'm guessing that you are Ro and the one behind you must be Bunny?" she enquired as Kartik and Aman loaded their backs into the trunk.
Khalid furiously signed something, often tapping at Rohan's arm, a worried expression on his face. "Fikar math kar yaar Bunny, bohot dher nahi hua hai. Maximum hume 11-12 gante lagenge paunchne main... right Aman?" Kartik said.
"He was worried about Kabir" Rohan said curtly. "Kabir kaun?" Aman asked. "Long ride hai, sab kuch tab batha denge hum. The time is 5.40 right now. Agar hum ab chalne shuru karen, we might be lucky to miss the Delhi traffic." Devika said.
"Kartik and I will switch. Kaun aage, kaun peeche?" Aman asked. "Shot gun for me!" Devika claimed and sat beside Kartik, who decided to take the wheel, leaving Aman to sit with Khalid and Rohan behind.
"Toh... yeh nicknames ke wajah kya hai?" Aman asked, five minutes into the ride. Khalid just glared at Kartik, daring him to tell anything, to which he only got a cheeky smile before the explanation started.
"Devi... you should already know, woh toh ek devil hai. Khalid... maine kal tumhe bataya na? He used to jump all over the place, hence Bunny. Rohan... initially Ro hi tha par... accident ke baad I started calling him Kallu or Kala... Something like why you started calling Rajni... you know, Goggle" Kartik explained and Aman nodded in understanding.
"But how the hell did you two meet?" she asked, pointing at Kartik and Rohan. "Neighbours. Kabir and I shifted to our uncle's place the minute he turned 18. Ek saal baad he joined RAW, leaving me behind with my uncle. Kartik was our tour guide, he used our home as his escape place from his dad." Rohan started.
"At that time he had both his eyes. Then an accident happened, uncle died, he was left partially blind. Yaad hai woh guardianship chakkar?" Kartik asked with a scoff.
"Haan, damn those doctors. Kabir ne Kartik ko mere saath rehne ke liye kaha tha but the doctors wouldn't allow it as both of us were minors. Par mera birthday toh agla din tha and I was turning 18 then... We gave them a hard time back then. Par Kartik mera saath tha for the full recovery process." Rohan said with a laugh, remembering that incident.
"Kabir couldn't leave training and come, leave nahi diya toh... I stayed with him the whole time, helping him to navigate in the world... remember Devi? College ek saal late shuru kiya maine? Isi liye tha, not because I was taking a break year." Kartik said when Devika gave him a look.
"Kabir ko kuch math kaho, he tried his best to be there for me. Par the job is demanding you know? And by that time, I'd adjusted to live that way so... I didn't mind it that much. He used to call me up often and check in on me and all that jazz." he said.
"Yaad hai? Jab Kabir started gushing about his new mentee and how perfect he was!" Kartik asked, sending a teasing smile towards Khalid. "And how he was when he wanted to talk to us after knowing that said mentee had died..." Rohan continued and Khalid rolled his eyes and smacked both of them on the head.
"I can never forget Khalid's reaction when he first saw you!" Kartik said, remembering the shocked face of his. Khalid just blushed as Rohan started laughing, much to the confusion of the other two. "Dhekoge toh patha chalega" Rohan said, brushing it off.
"Let me guess, Khalid was the mentee? And he was presumed MIA or KIA, judging from how low you were feeling in that time period?" Aman made an educated guess. Khalid just sent Kartik an apologetic look and Kartik rolled his eyes. "Woh tumhara fault nahi hai." he stated with finality.
"You are right. And now Khalid is worried about Kabir's reaction. Kabir thinks that he was KIA and is a guilty mess... aur hum yahaan... you know. We wanted to give Khalid sometime to get used to his current situation and recover... He was tortured you know..." Rohan said as he pulled him into a side hug.
"Fikar math kar, I'm sure that Kabir will understand. I don't know him but...I think woh thoda betrayed feel hoga but he'll come around it for sure" Devika said with a small smile.
"Alright, abhi ke liye yeh chit chat rokkar we'll play something. Or listen to the radio." Aman said, wanting to give Khalid sometime out off.
When they stopped for lunch, Khalid pulled Kartik asked and handed him a paper, waiting for him to open it. "Main... ise... Rohan ko sunana hai?" Kartik asked and Khalid nodded. He just went through whatever was written in the paper before staring at Khalid.
"Babu, how romantic? Aap kab shaayar bane?" he asked and Khalid blushed in turn. "Proposal hai kya? Abhi abhi boyfriends hue tum dono?" Kartik asked as he pushed Khalid into the restaurant.
While waiting for the duo, the other 3 were left to wait for them. "What is the extent of your blindness?" Devika asked, wanting to change the topic. "Sabka outline dhikega mujhe agar main paas hoon. Dhoor se kuch nahi dhiktha. And if I try hard, text messages bi pad saktha hoon... but doing it for a long time means I'll get migraines" Rohan said curtly as the waited approached.
Katrtik and Khalid had returned by then and Kartik took a seat near Rohan, sensing that he'll need the help. After placing their orders, Kartik gained the attention of the group. "Khalid ne Rohan ke liye kuch likha hai aur he wants me to read it out to him" he announced before opening the sheet of paper.
"He looked lost among the sea of people
Silent pleas drowning with a wave of murmurs
He felt like he was suffocating,
With people crowding his personal space
Searching eyes darting around
Desperately looking for a way out
He looked like the deer
Which stumbled into the lion's den
A stick's rhythmic tap broke the monotony
He looked up in curiosity
'Sorry, but can you point me out?' asked a melodic voice
Belonging to a person with unseeing eyes.
He stood there, transfixed, not knowing what to answer
'Not that he could' he thought
But still he took the man's hand
And slowly lead him out, happy for the fresh air.
He then stood there, not knowing what to do
'Join me for coffee?' Mr. Gorgeous asked
He stared at the man before taking the hand again,
Hoping to start a new life."
Before anyone could comment on it though, their phones pinged with a new message from the group chat
Guys, I've arrived. - Agent
A/N: That was the chapter folks! Not exactly how I wanted it to go but... yeah. The poem was written by me today when I was sitting for some online revision class, which was almost putting me to sleep honestly. Hope you all like it! All comments and criticisms accepted and appreciated!
Thank you all for reading!!!!!
Rasnak signing off :) ;)
UPDATED ON 4 JUNE 2020
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The Ultimate Paagalkhana
Random"Papa... agar problem na ho toh... mein mera parivaar bula saktha hoon?" "Kyon nahi, hum bhi dhekna chahte hai tumhare parivaar ko!" Aka, Kartik brings home his secret family to Aman's house.
