I have always wanted to write something on Kaira but never got to write one before this. Life has been super busy, I still have to reply to some of your awesome comments on my previous take.( I know I suck! Sorry ) but hearing this song from Rihanna I just couldn't help but start writing and after a week of writing and re-writing, I think I have managed to put up something decent. I hope you guys like reading it. I am rather excited that I finally managed to get an FF up on Kaira. It's been long due. So please let me know what you honestly thought about it. Comments, suggestions and criticism are all welcome.
I haven't strictly proof-read it so do let me know if there are any typos or grammatical mistakes in there as well. So without further ado, here is presenting my maiden FF on our beloved Kaira - "Stay" Hope you enjoy reading it.😊
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Getting out of the car, he hurried through the gate. Checking his watch for the umpteenth time, he let out a relieved sigh as he thought "Maybe today wasn't going to be a total disaster after all" His day had started early to catch the first flight to Bangalore, only to find that his flight had been delayed and if that wasn't enough, he later found out that his luggage containing his business ID had also been misplaced. Through some miracle of sorts he had managed to reach the venue, late only by mere minutes when at a certain point he had been sure he was going to miss the entire town-hall that had been set up for the day. Fishing his phone out of the bag, he dialed the manager's number.
"I made it. Yeah. I'm almost there. Sure, set it up".
As he disconnected the call, he reached for the handle to the door when it was pulled open by the one person he had come to count on for everything from managing his calendar to taking care of his clientele, his trusted friend and confidant who also happened to be his secretary, Virat Vadhera.
"You gave me the impression that you wouldn't be able to make it today but looks like as always you manage to come through and make me proud" he chirped happily.
"Ugh! Just barely. I had almost forgotten just how bad the traffic around here got." he replied completely exhausted to even manage a smile getting a chuckle in return from his annoying friend. As soon as they got inside, as he had expected, the meeting was already in progress with his COO addressing the audience. He was ushered in through the crowd and as soon as he sighted him, Mr Joshi was more than happy to pause in mid of his speech to announce the arrival of the chief speaker.
"Oh this is great! Looks like we won't have to wait any longer and get this town hall started folks because our CEO has finally decided to come and save me, an old man from having to stand for hours, answering some wonderfully inquisitive and very much appreciated questions from you guys. Please join me in welcoming him. Kartik Goenka ladies and gentleman!" he announced to a welcoming applause handing over the microphone to him with a friendly pat on his back as he left for him to now take his place on stage in front of the audience.
Kartik envied the guy. He had never seen him be anything but warm and happy, it rubbed off on you. Chuckling as he took the mic from him he spoke
"Old and you MJ? Honestly, does he look any older than 16?" earning him a playful glare and laughter from the audience.
"Honestly, the amount of energy that you bring with you, even a 6 year old would envy."
Turning serious, "But thank you for being the savior that you always are and covering for me." Earning him a smile and a nod from the older man and with that he turned his full attention towards the people that had been patiently waiting for him to show up with their questions.
"First things first, apologies for being late and thank you for your patience. Since I am already late let's get right into it shall we? Everyone here knows that we're at something of a cross roads, traditional way of doing things are well on their way out and we have to look to new ways of building both loyalty and our brand name..."
2 and half hours later and having managed to successfully not make an arse out of himself, Kartik found himself in his cabin, craving for a cold bottle of water. Before he could reach for one them in the mini fridge, he found himself startled by a bottle of his favorite lemon iced tea placed right in front of him. Grinning at the bottle and already knowing who the hands in front of him belonged to he snatched them off them and began to down it while turning back to see Virat mimicking him, downing another bottle of the same.
"Thanks man! This was exactly what I needed and for everything else too. How do people do these things with so much ease? It was so nerve wracking to be up there in front of so many, knowing you couldn't say a wrong thing or afford to give a wrong answer." he confessed as he finished draining the very last drop from the bottle.
Virat shrugged it off."It was nothing. But why were you so nervous in the first place? You are allowed to make mistakes Kartik. Besides you know how these are, hardly a handful of people are serious about these, the rest are there for mere attendance. Oh and by the way-" he continued with mock seriousness."As your secretary I think it is my duty to inform you that the women turnout today exceeded all previous year records and trust me when I tell you company was the last thing on their mind. You should wear suits more often. Women clientele would definitely appreciate" he informed causing him to roll his eyes.
"Oh and the iced tea isn't for you it's for me. Annual appraisals are coming up boss!" he winked causing Kartik to crack a smile despite himself.
"I just happened to come across this one in the vending machine and I couldn't help but get it. Oh the memories that it holds. I remember how crazy you were for this thing. Kartik Goenka's eternal drink choice and the only time you chose something else over it was that night we all decided to party at-" he stopped mid sentence as he suddenly realized what he was about to say.
The easy atmosphere instantly turned extremely tense as Kartik stood completely still, feeling like the air had been suddenly sucked out of him. Appalled at himself and feeling extremely guilty Virat tentatively approached Kartik "K! I'm sorr-" he started only to be cut off by Kartik
"I'm fine Virat". Pretending to get busy with something on his laptop he dismissed him.
"I uh...I'm sort of busy right now so we'll talk later okay."
Figuring that nothing he was going to say was going to help him at the moment; he cursed himself for being such a bigmouth. What had possessed him to talk about it, he didn't know. Hoping that Kartik would be okay, praying that he had the strength to get past this he walked out of the cabin leaving him alone.
As soon as he did, Kartik stopped pretending. Feeling suddenly claustrophobic he pulled at his tie, unbuttoning the collar, ripping it out. His breathing came in pants as the memories came rushing. No matter how hard he tried to escape, they would always haunt him. He had believed he was prepared for it, that he could handle it after so many years.
A snort left him as he realized how completely daft he was to have thought that. No matter how many years he was away from her it wouldn't ease the pain or erase her memories. To think he wouldn't be affected being back to the very place where it all began was ludicrous. The place held too much of her. Pushing his chair back, forcing himself towards the window he hoped that the view would help but he knew it was in vain as yet again his brain lost the battle against his heart welcoming the sweet torture that were now her memories.
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December 2013
"You have to tell her", Virat insisted.
"Tell her what Virat? Can we stop discussing this now please? I am tired of explaining it to you. She is leaving tomorrow and she doesn't feel the same way okay?!" he exclaimed grabbing his shirt from the cupboard.
"How are you so sure? Did you ask her?" he retorted.
Sighing as he struggled to button his sleeves, he gave up and decided to roll them up
"I don't have to. Being best friends for 2 years has its perks"
"There you go again assuming stuff without actually being sure about it"
"Drop it Virat. I know her well enough to know she only sees me as her best friend and she has made it clear several times. I do not want to lose what I already have with her okay?!"he shot back growing tired of having to go over this with him again and again. Why couldn't he understand that he cannot stand to lose the one person that he truly considered his own. If that meant having to hide his feelings for her then so be it.
"She is leaving tomorrow K!" he heard Virat declare, bringing him back. "It's not going to be the same anyway. Stop being such a coward, do yourself a favor and tell her" he continued. When he saw that Kartik wasn't going to budge he groaned out "Oh for Pete's sake you tell her tonight or I'll tell her myself tomorrow, I can't stand being around this miserable version of you! This has gone on long enough" Leaving in a huff with Kartik following him out as he considered the two options that were laid out to him.
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Turning the engine off, Kartik got off his bike. He knew this was going to be a difficult night before he even decided to come here. What choice did he have though? His best friend was leaving and this was the last night they were going to spend together, probably for a really long time so he couldn't just not show up. But now as he stood outside looking up at her apartment, he wasn't sure if he really could go through with this.
A hand on his shoulder broke him out of his stupor as Virat looked at him concernedly "Listen, I know this is going to be hard for you but remember what we discussed K. You never know it for sure until you actually tell her. Don't live to regret this night and your last chance okay?"
He nodded having made his mind up even though he wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say or do.
"Great! So let's stop staring at the balcony like some weird perverts and go meet the guys yeah?" he heard Virat say, pointing towards the lift as he started. Taking one last breath to calm his nerves he followed him inside.
Ringing the bell they waited when the door was wrenched open and a pair of beautiful chocolate brown eyes stared back at them.
"Hello gorgeous! Where have you been all my life?" Virat greeted her as she playfully smacked his hands, a slight blush and a bright smile adoring her face as she pulled him into a hug.
"Are you two going to tease me even on my last night here?" she complained pressing her lips into a pout as her eyes met his. Snapping out of it he mock glared at his friend. "Virat quit pulling her leg" Watching him as he put his arms up he continued "Only I get to enjoy the privilege, don't I babe?" putting his arm around her as he winked at her, causing her to huff in annoyance while Virat chuckled at them.
"Oh why do I even try?!" she complained exasperated while they let themselves in. Stepping into the living room, all eyes made note of their arrival. Looking around they found that they were the last ones to arrive as they noticed the entire gang with drinks in their hands settled comfortably on the ground around an empty bottle. It didn't take a genius to guess what they were up to.
"Really? We are doing the clich' spin the bottle thing on your last day here as well? Couldn't come up with a better game?" Virat commented
"Well since you think you can come up with a more happening game why don't you suggest" one of the girls, Manvi challenged.
"Okay enough of that you two. Virat even if it is clich, you know we always have playing it. I mean it's sort of become our tradition now. So one last time, for old times' sake please?" she reasoned
"Ms. Naira Singhania! As always being her persuasive best. Alright enough with those puppy eyes let's get this game started." Virat announced making her grin in response. He knew how she was well aware of her secret weapon and also how they stood no chance against it. His only other best friend, the girl that he was so completely in love with was a really smart, kind, confident and an absolutely beautiful girl inside out.
With that settled, the three of them made their way towards the group and got seated comfortably in the circle, both his best friends on either side of him and the game was underway. His eyes fell on the bottle of his favorite Tropicana flavor litchi kept in front of him. He reached for it when it was snatched away from him. He looked at his best friend questioningly.
"No one is going to be drinking this tonight. It's a drinking game for a reason. You two-" pointing at him and Naira he answered "-save your favorite drink for some other night. Tonight you will be drinking our choice for the night. Don't be spoilsports" he warned them before either of them even had a chance to protest.
Both of them gave up in a sigh. He had a point but he never really was a drinking person, he was also not very fond of the game either. A game where you spin the bottle and whoever it points at has a choice between truth and dare. He honestly didn't know which option was safer. Every time a person chose truth, everyone else in the circle had to take a sip of their drink. Liquid courage and scandalous questions never were the best combination. On the other hand drunk and dare weren't a very appealing combo either.
"Virat! Your turn, truth or dare?" Naira exclaimed excitedly
"Have I mentioned how much I hate this game" Virat muttered looking at the bottle like it had offended him somehow.
"Quit being such a baby and chose already" was the reply
"Uh oh!" Kartik thought as he watched both of his friends closely.
"Truth or Dare Virat? Choooseee"
"Truth no dare. No Truth, oh I don't know! It's so confusing" Virat whined
"Yep they were definitely drunk alright" he decided. How they managed to always get so drunk as quickly as they did, he never understood. Both were serious lightweights.
"Okay, okay truth...ahh! Stop hitting me woman!" Virat managed to finally reply while Kartik tried to pull Naira away from him.
Happy with his choice she stopped struggling to get away from him. Looking deep in thought for a moment before her eyes suddenly lit up in excitement
"Name of the girl you are in love with" she finally asked
Making a sound that was somewhere in between a snort and a hiccup Virat answered "Love shmove clove! Definitely not for me. But! You shall not be disappointed tonight my dear friends" he declared causing Kartik to quirk an eyebrow at him.
"You see, I may not love someone but someone luuurrveess someone else and that someone wants to hmphhfff-"
With a hand clearly covering his very drunk best friend's mouth Kartik announced "Okay everyone, Time to get to bed. All of us have office early in the morning so let's get some sleep"
He proceeded to drag both his clearly inebriated best friends along with him towards the rooms, not giving them or anyone else a chance to protest and dropped them on the beds.
"You two need to stop talking, especially you Virat!" he admonished.
"Ugh! You are so bossy!. I don't want to sleep. I wanna go out!" Naira complained
" I want more chicken wings!" Virat added
"No chicken wings for you and no going out for you! Sleep right now or I swear to god I will personally see to it that you sober up ASAP!" he warned hoping they would shut up and sleep. Rubbing a hand over his face he sighed, frustrated about the fact that he always ended up baby-sitting them both while they carelessly got drunk.
He soon realized however, that it was so not the right thing to say when he saw Naira get off the bed with a huff. "You are not my Dad, Dad! I wanna go out. No one is going to stop me" she said coming up to him. Poking at his chest while she challenged "Not even you Mr. Kartik-I'm-the-boss-of-everything-Goenka"
Pushing herself out of his way she wobbled her way towards the door when he saw her step on a bottle. Before she face planted herself on the ground, he managed to catch her by her arms. Steadying her while her mind still seemed to process what was going on, he spoke "I don't know why I forget how completely stubborn you are."
Shaking his head at the very cute and confused sherni' in front of him, "Okay tell you what, we'll go out but only if you promise to not make any noise. No talking and you listen to me when I tell you something okay.Otherwise I'm locking the door and you are not going anywhere" he told her seriously.
Quirking her head to a side, she looked up at him seeming to contemplate it, finally speaking "Okay."
Taken aback by the fact that she had so easily agreed without putting up a fight he repeated "Okay?"
"Why are you repeating me? You are not talking tom! Take me out. Now!" she demanded frustratingly earning a chuckle out of him.
"Alright come on shorty!" he gestured her to follow him while grabbing the jackets and the keys from the door before closing it behind them as they walked out.
"I'm not short. I'm 5.4 and a half!" she grumbled following behind him.
"Whatever you say shorty."
"Ugh! You are so annoying!"
They continued bickering while taking the lift to the rooftop. He figured if there ever was a deserted place in the middle of the night in an apartment, the rooftop would be it. Even if they did end up being noisy, they wouldn't be disturbing anyone. As soon as they were out of the lift, even on her wobbly legs, she all but dragged Kartik out with her towards the railings. It was freezing outside but she didn't seem to care as she excitedly looked around the dark sky and the lights below them. He thanked god for blessing him with good sense in grabbing the jackets before they left. Picking his jacket up, he brought it to her and tried to make her wear it from behind.
"Get your hands into the sleeves Naira" he told her.
Turning towards him she shook her head refusing it. "Stop being difficult Naira! It's freezing out here. You'll catch a cold or a fever" he chided grabbing her arms and trying to force them into the jacket when she snatched them away and ran towards the opposite end.
Letting out a sigh he called out to her "I asked you to promise me that you would listen to me if I took you out remember? So please come back here and wear the coat. After that you can run along all you want and I won't say a word"
"No! I don't want to wear a coat. You wear it." She giggled. She actually giggled. Oh the difference that a couple of drinks could make he thought as he tried again, "I got two of them for both of us. You wear yours, I'll wear mine" walking towards her.
"You wear them both" she replied cheekily causing him to roll his eyes at her.
"Don't be ridiculous now. Why will I wear them both? Come on now don't be a kid!"
"I don't wanna!" she repeated like a kid throwing a tantrum getting away every time he attempted to get near her. "Everyone's making me do what they want. I don't want to. Leave me alone" she said suddenly sounding upset making Kartik stop and wonder what was going on.
That was also when Naira decided it was a great idea to climb up the stairs leading to the overhead tank causing Kartik to panic, breaking away from his thoughts. Catching her by her arm before she hurt herself, he tried to pull her down when she yet again refused to see reason.
"Oh this girl is going to be the death of me" Kartik muttered to himself.
"Naira please get down from there. You are drunk and can hardly stand on your legs. Come down now or-"
"No", she cut him off coldly staring daggers at him. Exasperated with himself for even suggesting the outing and putting themselves in this situation he cursed "Damn it! What do I do with you Naira? You are being impossible!" he yelled losing his temper and that's when he saw them, the start of the waterworks.
"Oh shit! I'm so sorry N. I didn't mean to scream at you like that. Don't cry okay please?"
"I said I don't want to wear the stupid coat. Don't make me wear it!" she bit out sniffling.
"Okay don't wear the coat. I promise I won't force you to. You believe me, don't you? Just please get down from there. It's not safe N" he told her cautiously.
She considered it for a moment before she finally spoke "I believe you."
Taking his outstretched hand she tried to get down but after a few steps she stopped to seriously look at him. Wondering what the problem was, he asked her "What's wrong N?" When she pointed at the ground, the remaining 4 stairs that separated her from it and announced "Too far away, can't walk. I'm tired!"
Not being able to help himself he burst out laughing causing her face to go from annoyance to confusion. Trying hard to contain himself he spoke in between laughter "Here, put both your arms on my shoulder and keep still while I pull you down okay?" to a befuddled Naira who nodded in response and did as she was asked but instead of waiting for him to pull her down, she decided to jump causing Kartik to lose his balance taking her down with him
"Woah! Owuff!" Kartik groaned as his back hit the ground hard. "Didn't I ask you to wait until I pulled you down Naira?" he sternly asked the girl who looked up from his embrace, the stupid grin on her face making it impossible for him to even get mad at the kid in front of him. Feeling his back complain he struggled to get himself up into a sitting position while she got herself off him. Suddenly missing the warmth of her embrace he found himself reaching out to her, putting some stray hair behind her ears before he even realized what he was doing causing her eyes to grow wide. Catching himself before he crossed a line and wanting to get away from the treacherous feelings elicited by what was supposed to be an innocent gesture, he asked the first question that came to his mind "Who is making you do things you don't want to N?"
The question must have really caught her by surprise as she looked taken aback, looking away as she answered "Everyone" in a whisper.
Surprised by the sudden change in her mood as well as the shift in the atmosphere he tried to pry more information out of her carefully framing his next question so as to not push her, "who's everyone?"
Chewing her lip and still not looking his way, she took her time before she blurted "Mom, dad, everyone!"
"What are they making you do" he asked growing increasingly furious with the fact that someone or something was hurting her.
"Go home. I don't wanna go home. I wanna stay here" she answered
Not expecting that answer and knowing there was more to the story he persisted, "But you told us you missed home which is why you decided to take the transfer didn't you? What changed? Why don't you want to go home?" He knew there were some issues at her place as he had heard her argue with her parents more than once on the phone. However since she never talked about it or let on that it was something that really bothered her, he had never really paid attention to it before today thinking it was the usual tiff between parents and their kids. Now that he saw the way she was behaving right now, there was definitely something more and he waited patiently for her answer, to understand what exactly was going on.
But there was no answer. He reached out tilting her chin towards him, wanting to see her eyes and read what she was feeling. His breath stalled for a moment seeing fresh tears on her face as she pulled away from his hands, aggravated "You want me to go home too? Fine I'll go. You probably want me to leave right away so I'm going to leave now" she lashed out.
Shocked at how their fun-filled bantering had escalated into this, he caught her by her arms before she got up and pulled her towards himself. Moving to kneel right in front of her to keep her from leaving, he whispered "Hey, hey... Sshh! Look at me. Look at me N." He wanted nothing more than take her into his arms and kiss those tears away but he settled for her hands in his while he convinced her to see the truth in his eyes. "You don't know how badly I want you to stay here. I never wanted; I don't want you to leave." Cupping her face in his hands and wiping the tears off her face he put everything he felt into the next sentence praying she would hear what he desperately wanted her to know "If it were only up to me N, I would never let you get away from me. Ever!" he confessed.
Her eyes growing wide in response and then he heard her "Then don't."
Not understanding what to make of that response he could only manage with a"What?"
"Don't let me go. Ask me to stay with you" she said, this time more confidently.
Unwilling to believe that she meant what he thought she was saying, he fought with himself, not wanting to get his hopes up. Then he suddenly remembered Virat's words for him in the evening. This was his last chance he decided, if he couldn't say it tonight, he probably wouldn't be able to say it ever again. Taking a deep breath he started "Naira, you don't understand, I like you. Like I really, really, really like you. Not even in the best friend likes another best friend kind of way. I mean of course I like you like a best friend likes a best friend kind of way too because obviously you are my best friend but also not entirely in best friend kind of way. I like you more than I like my best friend. A different kind of like, you know the kind where a boy likes a girl not-"
His ramble was cut short by her lips on his causing him to go completely still, forgetting to even breathe. He couldn't move. It felt like his world had stopped for a moment. Her lips felt soft and warm against his, it had his stomach in knots. Before he could come to terms with the truth of her actually kissing him, he felt it, the loss of warmth on his lips. His hands immediately flew to cup her face stopping her from getting away as he hurriedly pressed his lips to hers. All the while his heart beating so erratically that he feared it might spontaneously combust anytime. Her lips moved under his, he deepened their kiss and felt her gasp into his mouth. He felt her arms fist around his shirt. One of his hands slipped into her hair, caressing the silky tresses while the other tightened around her waist as he pulled her closer, more tightly against him until there was not even an inch separating them. He could feel her heart beat as erratically as his was and suddenly he was hungry for more. Moving his head into a different angle, he prodded her mouth for better access and she gave in with a sigh. Moving her hands from his shirt into his hair, she tugged at his strands urging him down while he pulled her up against him. He had never felt this way before, the kiss that had started off as soft and gentle had turned hot and consuming. He didn't want to stop tasting her. She tasted of apple and vodka. They were slowly losing themselves. He didn't know what possessed him but he couldn't stop anymore, he craved her and this kiss like starved man craved water. He bit her bottom lip and sucked on it eliciting a moan from her and that was almost his undoing. Groaning into her mouth, he forced himself to back off before he stopped seeing reason. Kissing her one last time he rested his forehead against hers finally opening his eyes to see the effect that his kissing had on her. Her lips were swollen and cheeks completely flushed, her eyes still closed as she continued to breathe heavily. It spread a warmth that he had never felt before in his heart. Was it pride? he wondered smiling.
Lifting her chin and pushing back the stray strands on her face. Tucking them behind her ears he spoke "Not that I am complaining N but what brought that on?"
"You were taking too long" she answered as a matter of fact smiling brightly as she settled against him, placing her head against his beating heart.
That got a laugh out of him as he agreed, "Well that was certainly one way to say it"
Playing with her hair absentmindedly looking the dark sky, he was unable to hide the smile that was threatening to break into a grin anytime now.
"Naira, we should talk about this, preferably when both of us are sober."
"Hmmm." was her only reply causing him to look down and chuckle at the sleepy head that was all cuddled up in his arms. "How had he gotten so lucky?" he thought. Placing a kiss on her head and moving the jacket more securely around her, he settled with her head neatly tucked under his chin, deciding to get some sleep himself. Whatever tomorrow held for them, they would deal with it, together.
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So that was that. What do you guys think? Let me know. Oh and if you want to listen to the song that I was talking about here's the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF8BRvqGCNs
Cricket
Kumkum Bhagya
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