The Ultimate Paagalkhana

Kabir

A/N: And Kabir arrives first...

My keyboard is still giving me hell with all the bloody typos and auto corrects so please forgive me!

Kabir was currently standing in front of the Tripathi's house, trying to make sense of whatever the hell was going on. Sighing, he took out his phone and dialed Kartik wanting answers.

"Kartik can you please tell me what the fuck is going on here? Why are there people outside the house throwing some sort of a black... is that a bloody gobi?!" he cried as one fell near him.

"Aman, papa abhi bhi us kaali gobi ki chakkar mein hai kya? I thought he burnt all the stocks?" Kartik asked on the other end. "Scientist hai babu, main kya karoon! Unka obsession abhi chali nahi shaayad" Aman? Said in reply.

"Kahaan hai tum log ab?" he asked. "Halfway, lunch ke liye abhi kisi hotel main ruke hai. And yes, I have my bloody medicines. Agar mere saath na hota toh I know ki aap aur Kartik ke saath spares honge" Rohan said, rolling his eyes.

"Aur haan, the Chaturvedis will be there in an hour or two. Us on the other hand... we'll take at least 5 to 6 hours if the traffic has mercy. Maybe expect us by midnight?" Kartik said.

"And your best bet will be the side gate, woh chota wala somewhere to the side of the main gate, will lead straight to the courtyard. They're expecting you so... I don't think it'll be a problem. Google will come to see you there." Aman said.

"See you laterz!" A familiar voice piped before the call was cut. All Kabir could do was shake his head before going in search of the door. "Kartik and expecting a normal family, na baba na." he muttered.

"Oi! Haan, tum hi, are you Kabir?" A woman wearing glasses asked. "Goggle?" he asked in conformation and she nodded. "Call me Rajni. Kitne log aa rahe hai, any idea? He's quite tight lipped about all this" she asked as she lead the way.

"Mujhe bhi patha nahi. Woh toh hume ek doosre se bhi milwaya nahi ab tak. So even though he technically considers us his family, we know almost nothing about each other. Par... lag bak... paanch log aayenge Aman aur Kartik ke saath" Kabir said.

"Ooook, good to know that info" she said as she caught a gobi that came flying towards them. "I so wish he'll stop with all this publicity drama soon." she muttered as she threw it towards Keshav, who caught it with a big smile before jogging over.

"Started arriving? Keshav" he said as he held his hand out. "Kabir. I think I know why Kartik is attracted to your family. 100% sure hoon ki kal bohot shor machayega. I mean it." Kabir said seriously as Keshav gave him that 'really' look.

"Mummy! Kartik ke dost aaya hai. Thoda papa aur tauji ko bhi bula lena!" she shouted. "Is this a daily occurrence?" Kabir asked. "Haan, this is quite tame to what happened before Kartik came into the house. Us samay toh roz yeh hota tha" Keshav said.

Kabir just nodded before looking around the place, trying to gauge the entrances, exits and escape routes in there. Not his fault, it was ingrained into him and now it became a habit. And it will be useful anyways, when he wanted to prank Kartik.

"Arey beta, tumne akhele aaya kya? Itni dhoor se woh bhi, bhook lagi hai kya?" Sunaina asked as she moved forward. "Nahi auntyji, main toh aas paas tha, isi liye itna jaldi aa gaya." Kabir said, feeling a bit awkward.

"Achcha, theek hai. Main Sunaina Tripathi hoon. Goggle, Aman aur Kartik ko itne dher kyon ho rahi hai?" she asked, worried. "Boli thi na? Woh dono drive karke aa rahe hai. Isi liye dher ho rahi hai" she explained.

"Woh... thoda mera bolne se hui hai... its just that... mera chota bhai toh partially blind hai na, train uske liye thoda uncomfortable hai, vibrations and noises... uske liye bohot ho jaati hai... isi liye maine request kiya ki Aman aur Kartik uske saath..." he said, looking down to the ground.

"Koi baath nahi beta, aaram se aane do unko. Hume thoda aur time hogi plan karne ke liye." Shankar said as he came down the stairs.

"Bura na maane toh... Kartik ko ek simple party bohot kush karte hai... He never expected all those jazzy kind of parties from anyone, and never expects them. College ke baad jab maine uske paas iske baare mein poocha, he just said that he might be have dramatically, but he likes the simple things best when it comes to personal matters... just like he likes his surprises" Kabir said with a slow smile.

"Is parivaar ke saath aur simple? Kuch toh gadbad ho jaayega. Expectations math rakhna. Surprises will always be involved, fikar math kar beta. Ab tumhare baare mein batao. How did you get to know Kartik?" Chaman asked.

"Arey, pehle usko thoda aaram karne do na. Abhi abhi aaya hai woh" Champa scolded as she handed him a glass of water, which he took gratefully.

"Ok so... Kartik was our neighbour... We moved in his neighbourhood when he was still in school. He first introduced himself as our tour guide to the place, a way to escape his dad at that time. Mera bhai uske saath bohot masti kartha tha. Then I had to go away for work, phir accident hua... Kartik ne mujhe bohot help kiya tha us samay. I wasn't allowed to leave at that time, training hai na, isi liye he was the one who took care of Rohan the whole time, while I was sitting over here, in training, feeling completely useless" Kabir said.

Before anyone can put in a word though, there was the telltale sound of a horn blaring and a face peeped out "Tripathi parivaar ke ghar hai na?" they asked and Kabir snapped his head up and stared.

"Khalid?"

A/N: The end of the chapter. I think it is predictable to say who has just entered the scene though... ;) Hope you all like it! All comments and criticisms accepted and appreciated! And don't worry, the Khalid Kabir reunion is coming up soon!

Thank you all for reading!!!!!

Rasnak signing off :) ;)

UPDATED ON 8 JUNE 2020