Knowing that she won't give up teasing, Rajveer with a smile on his face shakes his head and brings out his mobile from his pocket, staring Shalini throughout. Shalini keeps smiling too, looking towards him.
As he places his mobile on her extended hand, he remembers something and as she was about to take her hand back, Rajveer holds her had and says,
"Ek minute... apne ab tak nahi bataya ki aap yahan kya kar rahi hain?"
"Ji Ma'am aap yahan kya kar rahi hain? Wo bhi akele?",
asks Naina, pursing her lips out og amusement, after uttering her second question.
Plastering a smile on her face, Shalini turns to look towards Naina, and says
"Sub apki aur apke Rajveer Sir ki mehrbani hai!",
she emphasis on 'apke' and 'Sir'.
Naina lowers her eyes out of shyness.
"Aap dono ko bachane ayi thi apke pyare dost...",
then she turns to look towards Rajveer and continues,
"Aur apke pyare cadets se!"
Rajveer and Naina crease their brows.
"Apko pata tha?",
asks Naina.
"Maine sunn liya tha inko baat karte hue ki ye log POINT 1857 aa rahe hain. Main iss barey mein Captain Rajveer se baat karne gayi to dekha ki ye akele mein muskura rahe the!",
she tells them.
Rajveer blushes on hearing her. Naina blushes too as she realizes that it must have been her he was thinking about when Dr. Shalini saw him smiling.
"Tab mujhey thoda ajeeb laga. Socha, aisi kya baat ho gayi ki ye aise muskura rahe hain? Fir achanak mujhey ye realize hua, ki kuch dino se yein kuch zada hi muskurane lage hain. Kya baat ho sakti hai?"
Rajveer widens his eyes, he doesn't want her to continue. He doesn't want to feel embarrass.
'God Shalini! get some grip',
thinks Rajveer, getting nervous. His heartbeat picks up pace.
Turning towards him, she asks innocently, as if she really doesn't know,
"Kya baat ho sakti hai?"
Rajveer, lowering his eyes, blushes.
Then Shalini turns to look towards Naina and with a satisfactory smile on her face, she says,
"Fir iska jawab inhone mujhey de dia!"
Her confession skips not only Naina's heartbeat but Rajveer's too! Answer? When did he answer any of her non-asked question? Screw the question, when did he even talk to her before coming to POINT 1857 tonight?
"Ja...wa...b... de... di...ya...? Kya...? I mean...",
out of anxiety and nervousness, it becomes difficult for Naina to frame a proper question.
Rajveer sighs silently, out of anxiety. What is Dr. Shalini about to say?
Then he focuses on Naina - Is she nervous? The thought brings a naughty smile on his face! Naina's current state of nervousness, he enjoys so much that within moments, he doesn't care about what Shalini is about to say. All he cares right now is to gauge Naina's reaction after listening to Shalini. Because as far as he knows his best friend Shalini, this confession she is about to make will make the both - Naina and himself blush so hard! But he is ready to face anything to witness Naina's blush on his account, which is so precious to him.
Naina looks towards Rajveer, nervously, to get some hint about what he might have said? But he somehow manages to keep a straight face, giving nothing away.
Smiling, understanding Naina's current state, Dr. Shalini takes pity on her and tells her,
"Lately, Captain Rajveer kuch zada hi khush rehne lagey hain. Especially, jab se aap dono ke beech ki misunderstanding clear hui hain!"
This comes as a surprise for both of them, how does she know their current relationship status?
"Don't look at me like that guys? I mean come on, I am Dr. Shalini Singhal 'The gossip queen' of KMA",
she states, airing the inverted commas, blushing.
"So main samjh gayi the reason has to be Naina!"
Naina looks towards Rajveer, hesitantly. Rajveer sensing that she is looking towards him, looks towards Naina. They enjoy an eye contact, while Dr. Shalini turns away, and thinks about how to continue the story without blushing. She remains completely oblivious about what's going on behind her.
(Rajveer-Naina guitar tune begins)
"Aur tabhi maine inhe bolte hue suna 'POINT 1857'! Aur main sub kuch samajh gayi!",
says Shalini, with a naughty smile on her face.
Her confession succeeds in skipping Naina's and Rajveer's heartbeat.
Naina without failing remembers Rajveer and hers first conversation about POINT 1857 -
'Wo jagah bohot hi sacred hai! Bohot hi secret hai...!'
He said it's a secret place and here she is, Dr. Shalini, mentioning it with a naughty smile on her face. Thinking about it, Naina resist rolling her eyes.
Now all her near and dear ones know about this place! This place is still a sacred place, no doubt but secret?? oh let's not dwell into the question!
"Anyways ab mere shart ki bari!",
reminds Shalini with an infectious smile on her face, arching a brow. Rajveer had already left her hand while she was dictating the story.
Saying that she checks Rajveer's mobile, getting excited, but takes a deep breath trying to control her anger and forwards the mobile to him and scolds him mildly,
"Lock kholiye!"
Rajveer apologizes, blushing, on having forgotten to unlock his phone before handing it over to Shalini, as many things were running through his mind.
"Oh I am sorry!",
blushes Rajveer.
Taking it after he successfully unlocks his phone, Shalini goes to the photo gallery. As soon as she opens it, a sarcastic smile comes on her face.
"Pata tha mujhey ki khali hi hona hai!",
she says, sarcastically.
"Excuse me? Kya khali hona hai?",
asks Rajveer, puzzled.
"Apki photo gallery!",
says Shalini, rolling her eyes.
"Kaise aadmi hain aap Captain? Gallery mein ek photo tak nahi?",
asks Shalini, pissed off by Rajveer's innocence.
"Apni choriye... kamse kam Naina ki to rakhte?",
says Shalini, without any hesitation, what so ever.
This skips Rajveer and Naina's heartbeat. They look towards each other, completely surprised! As their eyes meet, they quickly look away out of shyness.
"Me...ri... meri pics inke paas kyun hongi?",
asks Naina, confused.
Ignoring her question, she continues flipping through the pictures. Whilst doing so, she says,
"Mere paas hain Naina ki kuch pics, I'll forward you as soon as we reach academy!"
Naina's heartbeat picks up pace.
"Aa...p... meri pics kyun...?",
she hesitates to complete her line.
Rajveer finds it shocking too.
"Exactly... aap... I mean... main khud...",
he says, puzzled. Unable to understand what exactly he wants to say!
His last words drags Shalini's attention. Looking towards him, she arches her brow, with a naughty smile on her face she asks him,
"Aap khud... kya karenge Captain?"
Trying to control her amusement, her eyes sparkling with excitement, Shalini says,
"I mean I won't mind agar aap khud Naina ki kuch pics click kar lenge... And... I really don't think that Naina would mind either! Hai na Naina?",
asks Shalini, turning to look towards Naina, with sweet smile on her face.
(Slow Rajveer-Naina flute tune begins as Naina lowers her eyes out of shyness)
Rajveer looks towards her, with a nervous smile on his face. He waits for her to answer, as if this answer won't be for Shalini but for himself!
Naina decides to play along! With a new determination in her eyes, taking a deep breath, she looks into Shalini's eyes,
"Of course I'll mind. Koi ladka meri pictures apne mobile mein kyun rakhega?",
she asks, knitting her brows.
Rajveer's heartbeat stops altogether.
Oh god! is she angry? Pissed off?
Widening her eyes, Shalini looks towards Rajveer to check his reaction. Rajveer does seem hurt. He lowers his eyes, smiling sadly.
"I... I mean...",
Naina realizes what did she just say. But god! she can't even rectify it! What would she say - 'Haan ye rakh sakte hain, par aur koi ladka nahi'?
Letting it go, Rajveer looks towards Shalini and says,
"Ab aap apni shart batayengi?"
"Oh! Haan!",
says Shalini, nervously.
"Alright to shart ye hai ki aj aap dono ek saath kayi sari pictures click karenge yahan jab aap time spend karenge! It's a deal! Done?",
asks Shalini, showing her palm, horizontally, as a gesture of seeking promise from him.
Naina shuts her eyes out of shyness on hearing her demand.
Taking a deep breath, smiling, Rajveer places his hand on Shalini's, promising her. Smiling with all her heart, she says,
"Now I'll go and deal with them. Mission 'RESCUE RAINA' here I come!"
And she leaves for the mission, leaving behind a suprised and blushing RAINA!
"RAINA??",
utters Rajveer and Naina together. They laughout, remembering their conversation that they had in Rajveer's room. He invented the name 'RAINA' but here it seems all the shippers of Rajveer and Naina have given the shipping name to this adorable and a beautiful pair as RAINA!
(Fast Rajveer-Naina flute tune begins)
While Naina lowers her eyes out of shyness, Rajveer smiles looking at a blushing Naina.
In a low voice, Rajveer tells her,
"Lagta hai subko kuch zada hi pasand aa gya hai ye naam RAINA!"
Naina looks towards him, blushing she shakes her head.
~*~*~
Reaching the group, Dr. Shalini says,
"Hi guys, how are...",
and before she could complete the line, she slips.
"Ma'am...",
shouts Yudi and runs to catch her, before she falls.
Rajveer out of afraid and nervousness that she might hurt herself begins to run for her that Naina holds him from his upper arm.
This comes as a total surprise for Rajveer. Why would she stop him from helping Shalini? Seriously, right now she is caring about their secret to get revealed? Can she be this much selfish?
Rajveer turns to look towards Dr. Shalini in horror to satisfy his urge to know that she is alright but what he finds succeeds in his brows to knit!
Yudi holds Shalini such that Shalini is bent backwards, downwards. If anyhow Yudi loses the hold on her, she'll definitely reach the ground with a thud, in moments. But that's not all that Rajveer notices!
Rajveer doesn't fail to notice the way Shalini and Yudi are staring each other. Both the pairs of eyes bear tension! Somehow Rajveer could understand that the tension isn't out of the fact that their secret has been revealed, it is rather a different kind of tension. Rajveer feels that this tension is similar to the tension he feels when he feels concerned about Naina! He knows exactly what are his feelings towards Naina! Oh he knows it too, what are Yudi's and Shalini's feelings for each other. So is this all because of that?
Then for god knows what reason, his mind drifts towards himself and Naina. Had they been in the situation where Shalini and Yudi are right now, how she would have reacted to all that? He knows she is a tough cadet but when it comes to him, to the bond they share, she suddenly turns fragile. And this is something he likes about her. She knows when to stand erect and when to turn fragile in his presence!
"Main tumhare saath koi pic nahi click karne wala!",
he tells her firmly.
His words succeed in sinking her heart. She somehow knew, this is coming, sooner or later, and now here it is!
But nevertheless, she can't let this happen. Not that she is craving to get clicked with him but the fact that he is saying so because he is angry at him, she can't endure it!
"Kyun?",
she asks, her voice lowered out of nervousness.
Turning to look towards her, with her brows creased, he asks her, taunting her,
"Tumhari? Tumhari pic main kyun rakhunga? Tumhare saath main photo kyun khichwaun?"
Naina's heart sinks a little more, oh no he is angry!
(Slow Rajveer-Naina guitar tune begins as Naina stares Rajveer, who is looking in front towards Yudi and Shalini but his attention is fully on Naina)
She needs to do something! She can't keep him angry when they are together at POINT 1857!
"Aur agar maine force kiya to? Photo khichwane ke liye? Mere saath?",
she asks softly, never drifting her eyes from him.
(Fast Rajveer-Naina tune begins as Rajveer turns to look towards her)
Her question comes as a surprise for him, is she his Naina? The shy one? A smile creeps on Rajveer's lips as he thinks about it. Naina blushes too but never ends the eye contact!
Now this is a test for her!
"Himmat hai, to koshish karke dekh lo?",
dares Rajveer, smiling infectiously.
Oh god! this wasn't something she was expecting coming! Where is her shy Rajveer? How can he dare her? In front of all she'll force him to get clicked? This is so not going to happen! Rajveer arches a brow, as he finds this damn exciting.
"Mujhey kitne tests dene honge aur?",
she asks out of blue.
"Tests? Kis cheez ke?",
asks Rajveer, creasing his brows? What tests? What is she talking about?
Naina doesn't answer and keeps staring him.
(Slow Rajveer-Naina tune begins)
With in moments Rajveer realizes what is she pointing towards! He looks away in order to calm down the rate of his heartbeat. Naina lowers her eyes too out of shyness, all serious.
"Main koi test nahi le raha!",
he tells simply, looking in front of him, avoiding eye contact with her.
Yudi's removing a particular tendril of Shalini's hair, attracts the attention of Rajveer and Naina. Yudi stares Shalini intently. Shalini lowers her eyes and shivers a little as Yudi's hand brushes her face during the process of removing the tendril of her hair.
Here Naina lowers her eyes and turns away, unable to bear this feeling that Yudi and Shalini together are giving to her. Rajveer looks towards Naina, who is standing with her face turned away.
"Kya hua?",
asks Rajveer.
"Mujhey wapas jana hai!",
says Naina, in a hoarse whisper.
Smirking, secretly, he asks,
"Kyun? Tum to yahan aana chahti thi! POINT 1857 par, mere saath?",
teases Rajveer.
His tease instead of calming her down, makes her even more vulnerable. Naina gives him a look that dares him to argue with her. Frustrated, Naina turns to leave but Rajveer holds her by her wrist right away and pulls her to him.
(Fast Rajveer-Naina revolt tune begins)
Naina tries to escape his hold but Rajveer maintains a firm hold on to it.
At first Rajveer takes it lightly, thinking, soon she'll quit trying to escape from his hold. But hell how could he forget that she is his stubborn Naina? He pulls her with him and takes her to the wishing pillar. Whilst all this, Naina doesn't quit trying to get away from his hold, but fails miserably.
(Fast Rajveer-Naina revolt tune continues)
Standing behind the wishing pillar, such that their Naina's back is against the pillar, Rajveer places his hand on either side of her face, hovering her. Naina finds it difficult to look away. Rajveer's gaze turns intense and intimate.
Naina unable to resist herself for the first time, very nervously, takes her hand to his face. She keeps checking, will he be angry? will he permit? will he be okay with her touching him? Rajveer anticipates her move, and waits for her to touch him for the first time on his face!
"Ali... Ali... nahi...",
laughs Pooja.
Her laughter reaches the ears of Rajveer and Naina. Pooja's laughter pulls Naina and Rajveer back to the present time! They were living in a different world moments ago. A world where no one existed but them.
Naina starts breathing heavily, feeling suffocated. She feels like running away from him, not because she hates him but because she hesitates to do the alternate! She can't hug him! Only a hug from him can calm her right now, she knows it! But does she know that the same hug he needs too, to calm him down?
"Kya hua?",
he whispers, hovering her, putting his hands on either side of the pillar.
"Main nahi chahti ki kisi ko bhi pata chaley ki hum yahan aye hain, ek saath",
she says hesitantly.
"Nahi pata chalega...",
he assures her.
Then adds further, joking,
"Hum keh denge ki hum alag alag aye the!"
He purses his lips to stop his laughter.
Glaring him, Naina asks him,
"Apko ye mazak lag raha hai? Kya kahungi main Pooja ko agar usne pucha main yahan kya kar rahi hun, wo bhi apke saath ?"
Smiling, taking a deep breath, he says,
"Keh dena ki usse dhundhne ayi thi tum yahan. Mujhey bhi saath le ayi"
They keep staring each other. Both drawing air from the environment deeply.
(Slow Rajveer-Naina tune begins as they talk to each other in hoarse whisper... low voice... to make themselves inaudible)
"Agar tumhe problem ho rha hai to chalte hain wapas",
he suggests, smiling.
Naina stares him, conveying him through her expression, how she doesn't want to go, yet.
Understanding that she doesn't wanna leave, he asks her,
"Hum aj yahan khul kar ghum nahi payenge. Tum time spend nahi kar paogi apni marzi se. Fir kyun nahi jana chahti wapas?",
smiles Rajveer.
Naina begins to lower her eyes but Rajveer places his index finger under her chin and warns her mildly,
"Aaj nahi Naina..."
Understanding that he doesn't want her to end the eye contact, Naina gives in, accepting his decision without any argument.
(Slow Rajveer-Naina guitar tune begins as they stare each other)
"Mujhey problem unke yahan hone se nahi ho rahi!",
she tells him, looking intently into his eyes.
Smiling a little, he asks her, never breaking the eye contact,
"Fir...?"
Blushing, she tells him,
"Mujhey problem apke mere itne paas hone se ho rahi hai..."
(Fast Rajveer-Naina tune begins as they keep staring each other, smiling little)
Gradually their smiles vanish and they turn serious.
"Kyun kya ho raha hai mere tumhare paas aney se?"
Naina's rate of heartbeat increases as he asks this question.
"Aur kya keh rahi thi tum? Pehle bhi to ja chuka hun tumhare ghar Huda ka rishta lekar?",
he asks further.
This is too much to bear. She already knew this she will have to face sooner or later, after blurting it out. But this would be the situation, she didn't know then.
Why is he doing this? Why couldn't he just let it go? Why did he has to bring up this topic?
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
14