Posted:
Something that burst upon me...arguably a more realistic take on what should've happened post-kidnap. Major thanks to RANI (I love you) for sparking the idea and walking me through this, and to SWMNBN (there are never enough words) for reality checks and everything else.
Haven
an Abhi OS by -mina-
Thank you for reading.
This is going to stay a one-shot.
Let's all please pretend that Pragya didn't really hurt her ankle in the jungle - Abhi's nightmare is supposed to be 'what might have happened', not what actually did happen.
Please like and comment!
All my KKB fic can be found here at my index.
Haven
an Abhi OS by -mina-
It was his third night back after his kidnapping ordeal, and Abhi felt like a new man.
He'd finally told Fuggy the truth - that he couldn't love her back and he was marrying Tanu. He'd hated having to do it but he couldn't stand the hide and seek game they were playing, and he thought that since he couldn't give her her heart's desire, at least he owed her honesty.
She had taken it as she took every setback - with a trembling lip and a calm heart. She'd accepted what he'd said and thanked him for being straightforward with her.
They still had to figure out how to break it to Daadi, but as she'd gone off with her cousins to complete some ritual pilgrimage on his behalf, there was no immediate need to face that problem.
He decided to give Fuggy a last night alone in their room to get her things together. She'd move to a guest room the next day - she'd already been sleeping in one since they got back, wanting to avoid him in the awkwardness that arose between them due to her confession - and in the mean time he could spend the night with Tanu.
He had to make up for how he'd left things on Valentine's Day, of course, and share his good news.
He went to Tanu's flat with gifts of her favourite flowers and chocolates to pacify her. On the whole he felt rather light-hearted, glad to have Fuggy's burden off his chest and excited to finally be taking a step forward from the mess his marriage had made of his life. At the edge of his mind, worries about Daadi and a slight indefinable guilt threatened to swamp out the positive feelings, but he managed to keep those doubts under control.
Tanu was moody with him at first, treating him to a long, overwrought scold for putting himself in so much danger and not thinking of what would become of her. But the chocolates helped soothe her temper, and by the time he was able to explain that things were finally resolved so that they could definitely get married, Tanu was too thrilled to remember the rest of her list of complaints.
She brought out champagne, which he couldn't have as much of as he'd have liked due to the pain medications for his chest wound. The damnable injury also prevented them from making up for lost time as Tanu wanted, but to Abhi's relief she agreed it was fine to just cuddle and sleep in each other's arms instead.
She changed into the the silky nightgown that he'd given her for her last birthday, and for him she pulled out a tee and boxers he'd left behind months ago. She then walked off to find some candles without offering to help him change, so Abhi had to struggle out of his polo and jeans on his own.
But he was actually glad about that. He knew that Tanu would be revolted by the sight of the still-slightly-bloody bandage, and nevermind her ever being able to look at the site of the wound itself. Actually it would be a miracle if she wasn't turned off by the scar that would likely form there...but there was no point worrying about that, as it would be months before the trauma healed.
Abhi got into bed as Tanu placed her favourite long-burning scented candles in a few spots around the room. The heavy fragrances of freesia and vanilla reminded him of the last tryst they'd shared in this room almost a year ago, and warm memories of that encounter had him smiling by the time Tanu joined him under the sheets.
He cuddled her close, tucking her head under his chin and holding his arm over her heart. The previous two nights, he'd fallen asleep in his bed out of sheer exhaustion, too tired to mentally unwind for even a few minutes. Tonight, with Tanu in his arms, he finally felt able to relax.
For the first time in ages, he felt like himself again. He'd survived the corporator's tortures, and he'd started to set things right with Fuggy. His life would soon be back on track, and everything would be exactly as he wanted it.
Finding comfort in the familiar fit of Tanu's smooth, lean body against his, he soon drifted to sleep.
***
It was the middle of the night and he was cold. A heavy weight next to him was making his arm numb, and the earthy scent of forest loam teased his nose. He blinked his eyes open, and was confused to see the bare night sky above him.
He shook his head and looked around again. Trees...leaves...giant boulder...sleeping sweat-stained Fuggy...oh.
Right.
He and Fuggy were in the jungle, catching a few hours respite from that corporator and his goons. They'd escaped from the concrete building, but they were still nowhere close to home.
Every part of his body ached. He felt sticky and dirty all over. All he wanted was a hot shower and his soft bed, but...
But first he and Fuggy had to get out of this damn jungle.
As he was debating whether or not to try to get some more sleep before sunrise, he suddenly heard some noise in the distance.
He remembered joking with Fuggy about jungle animals and dinosaurs before they fell asleep. Was something...approaching them?
He listened with careful concentration, and the vague sound resolved itself into...footsteps. And voices.
The corporator and his goons? Of course, it had to be them - no one else would be traipsing these godforsaken woods in the dead of night.
A quick glance around the clearing confirmed that they were definitely too exposed to stay here. God, why had he chosen such a stupid place to rest? Probably Fuggy had been complaining and...
Well, no time for that now. He hurried over to Fuggy and tried to wake her up.
He brushed her hair from her face and snapped his fingers next to her ear. "Eyy, hello Fuggy! We have to go, come on!"
Fuggy murmured some inarticulate protest and tried to pull him down with her, but he shook her arm roughly and finally she sat up. "Kya - kuch hua kya? Aap -" (What - has something happened? You-)
"No time Fuggy, they're almost here, we have to run."
And then they were both on their feet, heading blindly through the trees in the hope of outpacing their pursuers.
Abhi led the way, dragging Fuggy by the hand as they cut across the forest. He couldn't decide if he should be looking for cover or trying to find access to the main road, so he just kept them moving.
Adrenaline raced through his body, pushing an unpleasant tang into his mouth. His lungs were burning and his legs were aching but they couldn't stop, they had to stay ahead of the kidnappers, nothing could -
"Suniye! Suniye, suniye please stop," Fuggy gasped behind him, and with reluctance he came to a halt.
"What is it Fuggy, we have to -"
"I - I think I turned my ankle," Fuggy said, and Abhi thought he could hear her wincing, though it was too dark to see.
"I can't - I can't run. Maybe you should just leave me -"
"Don't talk nonsense," Abhi bit back. Then, because they'd already wasted too much time standing there, he wordlessly scooped her into his arms and started running again.
"What are you doing!" she demanded, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she clutched at him for balance. "Put me down, you can't -"
"Shh, Fuggy, we have to keep moving we -"
A flood of light fell around them just as they heard that hateful corporator's voice. "There you are, Rockstar!" he said, and his smarmy tone was amplified with some kind of loud speaker. "We can see you now, and we'll be able to get you soon, so save yourself the trouble of running, hmm?"
Abhi ignored the suggestion, still running and doing his best to dodge the tracking lights. He felt Fuggy turn her face into his chest, pressing against him as she shivered in fear.
Abhi knew that they were trapped, but he wasn't going to just give in. As long as he could, he would run, and somehow he'd get Fuggy out of this alive. There was simply no other way. Somehow things would end well. He would make it happen.
And then, out of nowhere, a deafening noise burst through the night air, and something hot and sharp stabbed through his back. He was falling forward, and Fuggy slipped from his arms, and everything was going black, and --
***
"Fuggy! Fuggy don't - Fuggy -" Abhi sat up with a start, reaching his arms out for Fuggy who was...
...falling in a forest somewhere. Somewhere he wasn't. Because he was in a bedroom that smelled like chemicals, under sheets that were too sleek, with someone clutching his shoulder and an awful ache in his chest -
"Abhi! Abhi, are you awake?"
Tanu slid in front of him, catching his hands and then taking hold of his chin. "Abhi?"
"Fuggy," Abhi breathed, still caught up in a mental tangle of candlelit-jungle-loamy-bedroom. "Where's Fuggy?"
"Pragya is at home, where else would she be?" Tanu snapped. "Why are you thinking of her?"
Abhi pulled away and tried to get out of the bed. "She's not - but her ankle - I have to, I have to see her, they're going to -"
Tanu stopped him by grabbing his arm, and then climbed into his lap to make him stay in place. "Abhi, snap out of it! You were dreaming, I guess. Everything's fine, you're home now."
Abhi focussed on the woman in front of him, taking in her long-known features as well as the fresh worry in her eyes. If he was with Tanu, that meant...he was safe. Everything was fine.
No one was rolling to the ground in the forest.
Everything was as it should be.
But...
But his heart wouldn't stop hammering.
And his arms felt empty.
It didn't matter what he knew - until he saw Fuggy safe and sound in front of him, until he could check on her ankle and hear her heartbeat, until he was damn sure that corporator couldn't get to her - he couldn't relax.
So he pushed Tanu away, and rushed into his jeans. He didn't bother changing his shirt and he didn't answer Tanu's protests that he could just phone Pragya if he really had to check on her. Tanu's face was a study in rage as he left her door, but all he could spare her then was a kiss on the forehead.
With his thoughts and pulse both racing, he headed home for his peace of mind.
***
When he got to their room, Fuggy was nowhere to be seen. His imagination kicked into overdrive and in an instant he had a vision of Fuggy tied up and gagged somewhere - but he fought the panic with logic and told himself that she'd probably just moved to the guest room already. He paced restlessly in front of his bed, trying to figure out how he could check on her without having to go through every damn room in his suddenly too-large house.
In his distraction, he knocked some of Fuggy's books off a sidetable. He slowly bent to pick them up, and when he straightened, Fuggy was walking in from the balcony.
"Kaun hai?" (Who's there?) she called out, and then stopped short at the sight of him. "Aap yahaan? (You here?) But I thought -"
He grabbed her by the shoulders and made her sit down on the bed. "Are you ok? How's your ankle?" He started to crouch down to be near her feet, but a lancing pain from his wound made him stop and straighten with a wince.
She quickly stood and maneuvered him to the bed, kneeling in front of him as he'd meant to do for her. "Sambhal ke! (Be careful!) What are you doing, bending like that? Have you gone mad? How many times do you need to be told that strain will delay -"
"I'm fine," he said, interrupting her lecture. "But you, how's your ankle?" He pulled her up to sit next to him, glancing over her again to make sure that she was unhurt in any other way.
"What are you talking about?" she huffed, crossing her arms and leaning away from him. "Nothing happened to my ankle."
"But - when we were running in the jungle -"
"I never hurt my ankle," she insisted. Then the confusion in her eyes gave way to concern. "Are you - did you - hallucinate, or something?" she asked tentatively.
Abhi rubbed his hands across his face. "I - nevermind. I just wanted to make sure you're ok. Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"I was trying to sleep on the balcony, actually."
"But you had the bed and the whole room -"
She shrugged, and avoided his gaze. "I missed the open air, I guess."
"You didn't get your fill of sleeping under the stars in that awful jungle?"
She crossed her arms around herself, as if to protect herself from the cold. "I've been having trouble sleeping since we got back. The guest room felt stuffy, and here...I don't know. Anyway, what are you doing back already? Isn't Tanu -"
"You might have a point about the open air," Abhi cut in, not wanting to get into what had happened at Tanu's. "I'm going to go change. And there are two sofas out there right? So we can both be on the balcony."
"I don't think that's a good idea. If you catch a chill -"
"Just grab me an extra blanket."
Trusting her to follow his instructions, he got up and headed to their dressing closet to trade his jeans for sweatpants. He thought maybe he should find a long-sleeved tee, too, as the shirt he'd put on in Tanu's flat wasn't warm enough for a night on the balcony.
He knew Fuggy would get him his extra blanket, and probably pillows too. The outdoor sofa wouldn't be as comfortable as Tanu's bed - or his own - but at least as long as Fuggy was there with him, he wouldn't have to worry about her for the rest of the night.
In the morning he'd probably need an extra-hot shower to make up for sleeping on the couch, and at some point he'd have to face Tanu's wrath for leaving her so abruptly.
But for now, he was exactly where he needed to be.
-THE END-
Thank you for reading.
This is going to stay a one-shot.
Let's all please pretend that Pragya didn't really hurt her ankle in the jungle - Abhi's nightmare is supposed to be 'what might have happened', not what actually did happen.
Please like and comment!
All my KKB fic can be found here at my index.
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