This OS is connected to my other OS-His Eyes On Me. @happiness1 reply inspired me. Hope you like it.
(It can also try to cure your ASR-Withdrawal today.)
Aryan, Shikhar and Dhairya have been thick as thieves since the moment they met, almost fifteen years ago. Despite the differences in their ages, they managed to stay friends even after going through some serious shit.
It was not all perfect, while they loved each other, they fought like hell too. Verbally, physically, anyway anyone can imagine, they had fought that way. What happened all those years ago, Aryan losing his brother-in-law, Shikhar being ousted from his family because of his orientation and the hell Dhairya had been put through by his manager, they all managed to come out stronger together.
Yes, they were different now. More aware, more out and more powerful, but whenever they were together, they were back to their default setting, the closest version, at least.
The thing was they talked so much. They were not just "Bros", they were more.
So when one day Aryan had come raging to a hangout they knew it was something likely really bothering him.
That was the first time they unofficially met the elusive "Imlie".
And the more they heard about her, the more they liked her.
Like putting all that mud all over Aryan's car, her calling his car Mrs. Lambi Gaadi, things of gold. The thing was Aryan loved his car, absolutely loved it. And no one was ever allowed to do anything bad to it.
Once, Aryan had made a driver drive twenty cars before he had appointed him as driver of his own car.
Then he had bought another and given it to his mother, the driver complimentary.
No one touched that car.
So when they heard that Aryan had allowed Imlie to drive his car, they both looked at him with their mouths hanging open.
He looked at them, incredulous at their reaction. He asked, "What is it?"
It was Shikhar who came out of it first and replied with another question, "You, you let someone else drive your car?"
Aryan had just shrugged then, and responded, "Not someone else, just Imlie. I mean, she can drive a tractor, right."
Which, while amazing, was so not the point.
So somewhere between him driving Imlie with mud all over the windshield and him letting her drive him to his office, she had become someone more than someone else.
Shikhar and Dhairya had exchanged a look then, curious as to where this was going.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It wasn't like they didn't have the front row seat for watching Imlie become more than someone else.
It started slow, but Aryan's words for Imlie went from Jungli and irritating to smart and inspiring. They went from annoying to amazing. It happened over the time she wrote that article on working women that they saw what Imlie had that made Aryan talk about her so much.
Then she was moving into Aryan's home and Aryan was the one offering her and wow, this girl really affected Aryan.
But what really impressed both Shikhar and Dhairya was Pooja Oberoi's interview piece. That thing was a thing of beauty. Every rising star wanted an interview like that. Every Manager wanted their Star to be interviewed like that. They would know, one being a star, and another being a manager and the owner of an agency.
And then the next time they were meeting Aryan was furious, and they knew better than to ask for the reason. It was almost always one Aditya Kumar Tripathi. And when such days came they both shut up and let Aryan rant, because while they both didn't support Aryan in his revenge plan, they also didn't make him stop talking about it too, because nobody else knew about it.
And they listened as Aryan talked, "---I mean isn't it enough that man doesn't realise that his ideals are not just ideals, they have become his arrogance, he thrashes anyone who thinks and does things differently. And not just anyone, his wife. And then, despite being a reporter, a journalist, he makes his opinion on things that he saw. No context, no reason, just write up a condolence condemning his wife for betrayal and a victim of public humiliation. No, no place for explanations, just blame. He claims to love his wife and then he does this. I can't even imagine how Imlie managed him. I would've---"
That was when Shikhar and Dhairya both exclaimed, "Imlie?"
Aryan looked at them in confusion, and then realising that they didn't know, clarified, "Imlie is Mr. Tripathi's wife.”
Shikhar and Dhairya looked at each other and then at Aryan, in disbelief. Imlie was Aditya Kumar Tripathi's wife? What?
Aryan returned their look and shrugged, and threw another bomb at them, "Well, Ex-Wife I guess?"
Shikhar scoffed and Dhairya tsked.
And then began the questions.
"The same Imlie that wrote that article on working women?"-Shikhar
"The same Imlie that interviewed Pooja Oberoi? By the way, can you get me an interview like that?"-Dhairya
Shikhar glared at Dhairya for getting off topic and then continued, "The same Imlie that slung mud all over your car? Then you let her drive it?"
Dhairya's eyes widened and he asked, "The same Imlie who you let stay in your house?"
Shikhar continued, "She's Aditya Kumar Tripathi's Wife? Ex-Wife? What the hell Aryan?"
Aryan looked at them firing questions at him, his head following their questions like one followed a tennis ball.
"Are you serious Aryan? What the f*ck is even going on in your head? Are you using her? No, I know you wouldn't, but, just what the f*ck?", asked Dhairya.
Aryan sighed, understanding where they were coming from, especially Dhairya. But they need not worry. "I am not using her.", he exclaimed, "Even I had no idea. I found out a few days back."
Shikhar and Dhairya exchanged a long look at that, which they really needed to stop doing when Aryan was watching them, and then turned to look at him, creepily enough, at the same time.
He returned their look.
Shikhar sighed, "I can't even believe that there is something you wouldn't know about Aditya Kumar Tripathi."
Aryan huffed in annoyance and replied, "Well, it was not like it was registered anywhere. They literally got married at gunpoint."
And he was returned with incredulous looks by both of them, and he explained further, "Her village has this tradition, if they ever find a man and woman alone, they get them married. They were found alone. And Imlie being the stupid girl she was, did not recognise the power play anymore than she does now, and worked as a servant in his house. When his family found out, they refused to accept her. But the real shit is that the reason they refused to accept her was because Mr. Tripathi had married another woman, right in front of the girl he was married to, his actual legal wedded wife, and then continued to fall for a girl way younger than him. As if all of this was not enough trauma for the girl, the other woman was her half-sister, a sister from another mother, who then went on to manipulate Mr. Tripathi into bed with her, got pregnant and then blamed Imlie and her adopted father, who is also a present day freedom-fighter by the way, of attempted murder of her and her baby. Then she continued this charade until Aditya Kumar Tripathi believed that Imlie was using me to further her career by sleeping with me and divorced her, but not before humiliating her in front of the world by posting a condolences notice of their finished relationship."
Aryan panted, the whole shit out of him. Shikhar and Dhairya just looked at him getting angry as he explained every slight against Imlie that Aditya had committed and for the first time in a while, they saw their friend, their brother, getting emotional over someone who wasn’t family or friend.
Aryan calmed himself down, taking deep breaths and looking away from them. He sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. Most likely staring into space, and said, in a tone they had thought that they would never hear from him again, "You know, she is just... Just Imlie."
Shikhar glanced at Dhairya, whose jaw was on the floor. He felt as surprised as Shikhar did. Shikhar silently got up from his place and got Aryan a glass of drink, gauging that it was what he probably needed.
Aryan gulped the drink in one shot and in one glance Shikhar and Dhairya decided they would leave this topic well enough alone.
And left it alone they did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Until at least for a week.
And then Aryan was barging into their meeting, throwing his jacket on the sofa, unfastening his vest with one hand and pouring himself a drink with the other one. Dhairya, decidedly the less cowardly of the two, only because Aryan always forgives him in a second, asked slowly, "What's up Aryan Bhaiya?"
And Aryan groaned the mother of all groans. He shot down the drink he had just prepared, and then refilled his glass again.
This time it was Shikhar who moved towards him, grabbing his shoulder in one hand and the glass with the other. Aryan looked at him furiously, but then, likely remembering where he was, calmed down.
He sat down in his reserved seat, and pinched between his eyebrows, forcing himself into calmness. His eyes were closed, and remaining that way he spoke, "It's just---", and Dhairya interrupted him, "Let me guess, just Imlie? Right?"
Aryan chuckled at his antics, but at least he let go of his face and opened his eyes. Shikhar sat beside him, the hand on his shoulder intact, "What happened?", he asked Aryan, as if one would pet a sleeping lion.
"So I told you what idiot Aditya Kumar Tripathi was, that didn't end there." Aryan exclaimed.
Shikhar and Dhairya looked at him questioningly and he replied, "The day he divorced Imlie, he also announced that he would marry his second wife, again. And then that second wife used her influence and made Imlie the lead reporter to cover her wedding."
Shikhar and Dhairya both gasped.
No, he seriously did not, did he accept Imlie as the lead reporter for her own ex-husband's wedding?
They waited as he clarified, "She accepted it, and it was even good for her, but then now they are married and they still want Imlie to look at them, and I just can't do this anymore."
He sighed and continued, "It's just… just Imlie you know… She's Imlie."
Shikhar was beginning to understand that this Just Imlie was no longer just, and she had become something much more than she already was.
It wasn't like Aryan to get so angry over someone. Aryan got angry at people.
"Okay, so what about that is bothering you so much? It's Imlie's battle. You can just support her, not fight her battles for her.", Dhairya asked Aryan.
Aryan looked at Dhairya and admitted, "She just sees me you know."
Shikhar glanced at Dhairya and asked Aryan again, "What do you mean?"
Aryan confessed then, "She looks at me and sees through the masks I've put on. She doesn't just look at the successful businessman, she sees behind the mask, she sees the broken, grieving man behind the mask. And I don't know what to do with that."
It's Dhairya who is looking at Shikhar when he replies, "You do nothing. You let her see you, and then when you both see beyond what you look, that's when things will change."
He looked back at Aryan and continued, "That's when you will change."
And Shikhar understood what Dhairya was trying to say.
So he changed the topic, because he wasn't about to change anything now, not while one of them was not actually ready. It just wasn't clear who it was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They had a thing, a weird flex you could say, they never celebrated New Year's together.
It started out when Aryan left for college, Shikhar was having high school sleepovers, and Dhairya was still on a curfew.
They just met the weekend after the New Year.
But this year, Aryan cancelled, apparently because he was sick.
Now this they had to see. The great Aryan Singh Rathore, being sick.
They headed to his home to hangout there and were warmly welcomed by Narmada and Arpita both. Now, they weren't disappointed, they just expected to see a certain someone there. Someone who was this "Just Imlie".
They were both eager and their excitement was curbed when Arpita slashed their dreams by telling them that she was off to the office, that Aryan had agreed to rest only if Imlie left for office to handle his workload.
Shikhar and Dhairya again exchanged a glance at that, and Narmada noticed and asked, "Kya Aru, Imlie ke baare mein tum dono se baat karta hai?"
Shikha immediately replied, "Nahi Aunty!", but was contradicted by Dhairya who yelled, "Yes Aunty!"
They both looked at each other and then at Narmada.
Shikhar admitted then, "Haan Aunty…", but was again contradicted when Dhairya exclaimed, "Nahi Aunty."
Shikhar glared at Dhairya and he looked chastened.
Narmada and Arpita burst into laughter then and there. They let them go then, to do what they actually came here to do. Shikhar stomped towards Aryan's room and Dhairya followed him like a little kitten, tail tucked in his behind.
When they entered Aryan's room it was to see him relaxing, not actually looking sick, but more tired and malnutritioned?
His face lit up when he saw them, he gestured for them to come inside and close the door. While Shikhar closed the door, Dhairya hopped over to Aryan's bed and jumped on it, landing above the covers. Shikhar sighed and sat down on the throne chair he had in his room.
"So, how are you?" asked Dhairya, and Shikhar followed, "What's up? Since when do you get sick?"
Aryan replied in a flat tone, "Since I have to bail my employees out of jail only for them to run away, and then get lost in an actual jungle with the same employee, meet crazy people who are just good people with crazy ideas, then save my employees from an actual terrorist, help my employee find another one, stop a village's backwards tradition and come home only to be terrified by another set of crazy people."
Shikhar looked confused and Dhairya looked right down scared, "What?", they both exclaimed.
Aryan sighed and continued, "Imlie was arrested by the police on a complaint filed by Mr. Tripathi’s wife when we lost contact with him at the place he went to get an interview of an terrorist. Then, when I actually prepared for her bail, she ran away from jail and then when I finally caught up to her, we got lost in a jungle and met this tribe there who believed Imlie to be their goddess. And after that we managed to catch the terrorist and kill him, hence saving Mr. Tripathi's life only for the place to blow up and him getting lost again. This all, in just a day's work."
Shikhar and Dhairya looked at him in disbelief, which led to Aryan scoffing and continuing, "That's not even all, my Imlie just has to find her "Babu Saheb'', and she was ready to face a storm for him, but I got her to rest somewhere and her villagers came in with what was a seriously backwards tradition, the one I told you about, and wanted to get us married. but then we fought back and Mr. Tripathi found us, and we are all here. Recuperating."
And if Shikhar and Dhairya noticed the "My Imlie", neither of them said anything.
After that Shikhar started, "Okay! Pulling aside the fact you are nor a superhero, a policeman and in no way in the army, so you are not qualified to fight terrorists---", continued by Dhairya, "---and neither a rescue worker so there was no reason to put yourself in risk by trying to find Mr. Tripathi---", but was interrupted by Shikhar, who asked, "---but how are you in bed after all that? Don't you want to go and get a hold of what is going on in the office?"
And Dhairya continued, "Seriously, who are you and what have you done with Aryan Singh Rathore?"
Aryan smiled at them and replied, "It's Imlie, she's there, so I don't have to worry."
Dhairya sweared, and Shikhar rolled his eyes.
Aryan was whipped.
Aryan looked at them, frown marring his face, and asked, "What? What is it?"
Shikhar explained, "You, just sent Imlie to your office on your behalf to do your work. Are you sure you didn't hit your head too hard?"
At this Aryan began to argue when Dhairya stopped him with a hand on his arm and a quick look to Shikhar, and continued, "He means to say, well ask, if she is right for the job?"
This time Aryan was the one who looked dubiously at them. He looked between both of them and then, matter of factly, continued, "She's... you know…"
And Shikhar and Dhairya exclaimed, "Just Imlie. We know!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was one of their usual hangouts. There was absolutely nothing special about it. They were friends. Hanging out.
Well, two of them were friends who hung out and one was sulking while nursing a drink. Shikhar and Dhairya did not know when their hangouts had become Shikhar-Dhairya talks with Aryan about "Just Imlie!".
And today Aryan definitely gave off that vibe that he had whenever he was thinking about just Imlie. They both looked at Aryan's contemplating face, contemplating whether or not just end his torture or let him stew in realisations more.
Dhairya took a step forward and asked Aryan, shaking him a little, "Yo, Bro, what's up?"
Aryan looked at him, bit lost and a bit distracted, and then turned to look at Shikhar, who just gave him a reassuring glance, and then he admitted, "I like Imlie."
Shikhar and Dhairya looked at each other, and then back at Aryan, "So, we knew that."
Aryan shook his head in denial, "No. No. I like Imlie like that."
And Dhairya's eyes widened, he looked at Shikhar with the message clear in his eyes, "It's Happening!". Shikhar just shook his head, amused at him, and then proceeded to sit opposite Aryan and said, "Yaa! We know that too."
And Aryan just looked at him in shock, “But she's Just Imlie.”
Dhairya grinned so wide that he wouldn't need the scars to look like Joker. And then he asked, "What happened?"
Aryan scoffed at his question, looking away in that slight pout he had when things didn't go his way. But then Shikhar asked, seriously, "No, seriously, what happened?"
Aryan replied then, "We.. Uh.. We danced."
And Shikhar and Dhairya gave him twinning looks of disbelief.
Aryan clarified, "At the Valentine's Day Party."
And then Shikhar was clarifying, "You've danced before. Did it lead to such shattering realisations every time?"
And Aryan, unthinking, replied, "Yes!"
At Shikhar's incredulous look Aryan replied, "Well, every time I've danced with her at least."
And then Dhairya pounced, "Wait, you've danced with her before? Why don't we know this?"
Aryan pouted again, "Well, we've … we've danced together two times before this, well three if you considered pulling someone towards you to save them from humiliation that came from a wardrobe malfunction.", and then he shrugged.
Shikhar was so done with this, he just wanted to bash Aryan in his head and shout in his ears, "You love her, you idiot.", but alas, he can't. So he resolved to listen to Aryan as he sorted through his thoughts.
Dhairya, however, was not that patient, and yelled, "And all you realised is that you like her? Are you an idiot?"
Shikhar snorted, at Aryan's plot and at Dhairya's antics.
Aryan just looked like he had been betrayed.
Anyway, he did sigh and continued, "The first time, it was because her ex-husband and her step-mother had just insulted her, and I didn't want her to feel that. That day I came so close to how I was before, care free, fun loving, living life to the fullest, that I realised that I had not wholly succeeded in killing the Aryan I was before. She brought out the old me, and I liked it."
Shikhar nodded, understanding how meeting yourself, seeing yourself in a new light could bring things into perspective.
Aryan continued, "And after that was the wardrobe malfunction bit. But then we danced at the New Year's party and when we danced, I saw her in a new light. I saw her demons, I saw her struggle, I saw her soul, but I allowed her to see mine too. I let her in and I realised that she was someone who would never exploit what I showed her, and that, that was when I realised that I really really want someone who wouldn't look at me like I was some work oriented machine that didn't have any feelings."
Dhairya was the one who nodded this time, understanding letting people in and staying despite not liking what they saw.
Aryan continued again, "But then, at the Valentine's Day Party, it was not an intense dance, no. It was a slow dance, you know where we just sway to the music, together. And then I realised that, yeah, I could spend the rest of my life like this."
Shikhar and Dhairya had nothing to say to Aryan. They needed him to figure this out himself. In his own time.
So Shikhar ruffled Aryan's hair and Dhairya pinched his cheeks and they both yelled simultaneously, "Congratulations. You like a girl."
Aryan stared at them in contempt, and Shikhar continued, "You are now a grown boy."
Dhairya continued, "And we'll make a man out of you. Just you wait."
And then Shikhar and Dhairya burst out laughing, and Aryan, Aryan let out a pout and then began laughing with them.
He would figure it out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a strange day, and the three of them were not meeting after office hours, they were meeting in the afternoon, which meant no drinks, and that meant coffee.
And while Shikhar had got coffee for everyone, a cappuccino for himself, a caramel macchiato for Dhiarya and a regular black coffee for Aryan, which he always got for them, he found out that he had gotten a certain someone's coffee order wrong.
And he came to know when that certain someone put a ton of milk and sugar in his black coffee.
Will wonders never cease to exist with this man, because Aryan 'I drink only black coffee' Singh Rathore was drinking coffee with sugar and milk. Rather, he was drinking sugar and milk with his coffee.
Shikhar and Dhairya both looked at him in disbelief, not believing that this person is doing this blunder to coffee.
Aryan noticed their looks and sheepishly put down his cup of coffee. He looked elsewhere, not even glancing in their direction, and then, like a resolve came over him, he picked up his cup of coffee and gulped from it, looking at them with a raised eyebrow, daring them to comment.
Dhairya scoffed, never backing down from a dare, and asked, "What the f*ck is up with you?"
Shikhar backed him up, but not before hitting the back of his head, "No seriously, since when do you like coffee without coffee?"
Aryan blushed, and that was something they thought they'd never see, and replied, "Since Imlie ordered everyone in the office to not serve me any black coffee?"
Shikhar looked impressed at that while Dhairya just looked gleeful and he said, "Wow! If that is not wifey behaviour, then seriously what the hell is?"
Aryan's face lost all it's colour at that. His stoic face returned and he took a sip again. Shikhar and Dhairya noticed, because how could they not? But they didn't pry, opting to let Aryan ask.
And ask he did, from Dhairya, who never would've thought that he would be asked this, "Do you have PTSD?"
Dhairya shut up, serious all of sudden, and after a moment, replied, "Yes, I do."
Shikhar looked at him in pride and Aryan smiled at his admission. The best part was that none of them showed him pity, all they had was compassion, and that was all he needed. No pity, not for him.
Dhairya looked away and asked, "Why?"
Aryan then asked, "Do you get reminded of things often?"
Dhairya, understanding the question, replied, "My therapist calls it triggers. Something happens, or I look at something and I'm reminded of it, of her. It isn't always happening, but if I know what my triggers are then I could try to avoid them, and if I encounter them I just ask Shikhar to take me away or take care of it."
Aryan looked between them, watched the amount of trust they held for each, the amount of trust Dhairya had for Shikhar, and understood that they had already had this conversation, and that they had a system they followed.
His boys were all grown and the place they were going was so much more visible to him now, and hopefully, to them too.
Shikhar was the one who pulled him out of his inner musings and asked him why he was asking. And Aryan confessed, "I think Imlie might have PTSD."
Dhairya looked at him, confused, and Shikhar looked at him, understanding.
Dhairya asked, "Did something happen, you know, between Mr. Tripathi and Imlie."
But Shikhar was the one that answered, "Something did happen, but not what you are thinking."
Aryan nodded his head and admitted, "She reacts wildly to all things related to marriage. My mother was going on about how she just wanted me to marry, and Imlie reacted to something she said, in panic, running away from the room. Then there was that incident when I accidently threw some Sindoor at her, which landed nowhere near her face and she legit tried to break a wall. And things kept happening, a Red Chunri landed on her in a Mata ki Chowki function we had to attend and she threw it away so hard that it landed in the hawan kund, and burned. It's like she is afraid of anything related to marriage."
Shikhar looked at Dhairya, knowing that it was the littlest things that triggered Dhairya, long manicured nails, dark plum or wine lipstick, the perfume that bitch wore, and he understood what Aryan was saying.
Dhairya nodded, and replied, "Well these could be her triggers. And getting married any time soon would be a no no for her."
Aryan sighed, and said, "It's like sometimes, she seems so strong, inspiring, and whenever it's something about marriage she'll bottle up things, build up walls around her. You know she helped Arpi Di with her pyrophobia, and helped me be more expressive, and I feel like I haven't been doing more for her recently."
Shikhar shook his head sideways and said, "You supported her when it mattered. You stood by her in difficult times. That was more than you should do."
But then he looked at Dhairya and continued, "But if you feel like you need to do more, then help her by keeping her away from these triggers, help her by being prepared for when she encounters these triggers. Help her when she feels alone. Show her that she is not alone."
Dhairya looked at Shikar too, and then back at Aryan, not yet ready to face him, and continued, "And that is how you are there for her."
Shikhar continued again, "And as you say, she's just Imlie, and she'll understand all you do for her."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next time they talked about Imlie, it was after Shikhar and Dhairya had actually met Imlie, and suffice to say, she raised beyond expectations.
They only had Aryan to tease now.
While things began on a serious note, Aryan asking about how the interview went and Dhairya affirming it was perfect. Shikhar complained about the presence of Aditya Kumar Tripathi and Aryan explaining why he needed to be there.
But as the evening progressed they too moved on from the serious topic.
And Dhairya, being the mischief maker he was, but also trying to not think about the seriousness of it all, asked Aryan, "So we met Imlie. Isn't she a bit, I don't know, young for you?"
Shikhar burst out laughing. Of all the things that made Imlie different from Aryan, her over talkative nature, her tradionality, her overall personality, and then the physical aspects, like dialect, and her slight little body, and how she was a head shorter than Aryan, all he could think was she was young?
Aryan blushed, and what a pretty sight he was, and glowered, "She's mature."
Shikhar sighed and then nodded his head in agreement.
But Dhairya was not done and continued, "She isn't even your type."
And Aryan retorted, "And pray tell, what is my type?"
Dhairya, amusement clear in his eyes, said, "Well, the type that wore power suits, heels, talked in English and walked like she owned the world."
And they saw Aryan blanking out, and then shaking his head, and replying, "She has done that, been that, and she can be like that when she wants too."
Dhairya looked at Shikhar in amusement and asked again, "But she doesn't seem like she likes you."
And Aryan replied, "She does, in fact she realised she did when she met you---" and Aryan stopped, trapped. They had made him say what he had been thinking ever since that moment they had spent in the living room of Rathore Mansion at 2 in the morning.
Like a deer caught in headlights, he looked at both of them accusingly.
Dhairya looked at him with AH HA look and Shikhar just looked at him with raised eyebrows.
But Aryan was not backing down and said, "Well the whole reason she realised that she liked me was because she realised that I look at her the same way you(Shikhar) look at him(Dhairya)."
And that brought the deer in headlights look in Shikhar and Dhairya's eyes.
They looked at each other, then looked away and then at the leader of their group who put them in this predicament.
Dhairya launched himself at Aryan and Shikhar helped him by going around Aryan so he couldn't escape.
They all had a lot to contemplate, and hopefully, they would come out of it okay, and together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shikhar and Dhairya were getting engaged, and Aryan could not be more proud. Sure, Shikhar's family wasn't there but Dhairya's family was there to support them all the way, and Aryan's too. Sure it was not a bash, but it was a party full of people who knew and loved them. Sure it wasn't what he had thought fifteen years back, but it was what he had seen grow between them, that would continue to grow between them for many years to come.
And wasn't that the thing, it was something that had a future, regardless of what they had endured in the past.
Aryan was the happiest today, his little guys were getting engaged.
And as the party was coming to an end, he looked around as the only people left were the four of them, and he didn't know how it happened, but the people left were the lovebirds and Aryan and Imlie.
He vaguely remembered his Di asking him to take his car home because his Mother was tired, but he had directed them towards Imlie, since Imlie had the car keys, and he had thought she would leave with them. That clearly didn't happen.
He watched as Shikhar stumbled a bit, clearly drunk, and Dhairya held him, whispering in his ears. Aryan got up and went to them, helped Dhairya settle down Shikhar and then watched as Dhairya sat down beside him. He didn't need to look at his right to know she had found him, feeling Imlie's presence.
He watched as Dhairya placed a glass of water in front of Shikhar and saw how Shikhar pouted looking at it. He then turned to look at Dhairya and smiled dopily at him.
He then looked around and spotted Aryan and Imlie standing there too and yelled Aryan's name, loud enough to echo through the room they had booked for the party.
He grinned at them, and asked them to sit down.
And when they did, he reached over and took Aryans hand, shocking him, but Dhairya just smiled at his fiance. Shikhar drawled at them, "You know Aryan, I love you. And will always love you. And I would like to thank you for giving me courage to go after what I wanted all those years ago, because if you hadn't then I would be miserable, running a business I didn't like, married to a woman who I didn't love and pining over my best friend who didn't know I had feelings for him."
And while Aryan felt warmth burst through his chest at the admission, Dhairya burst out laughing at the things Shikhar was saying. He realised all the ways things could have gone wrong and he knew how all the ways things went right. So they were happy.
So happy.
But then Shikhar shifted to Imlie and said, "You know he is amazing, right? Don't let him ever tell you otherwise." He then pointed at Aryan and exclaimed, "This guy, Aryan Singh Rathore, is top notch."
And then he went to pick up the glass of water, and promptly pushed it away, indicating how drunk he was. Dhairya got him to get up, supporting his weight by putting his arm around him, but Shikhar was not done, he leaned away from Dhairya and put both his hands on Aryans shoulder and said, "Don't be too late Bro, life is weird, and you wouldn't know if you missed the right time, so make the time you have right."
And then he was leaving Dhairya bidding him farewell, supporting his fiance out of there, leaving Aryan and Imlie alone.
Aryan wasn't ready to face Imlie yet, not after what Shikhar had said had been heard by both of them. He knew she wasn't ready. He knew she needed time. He knew that---
"Uu sahi kahat rahe. Shikhar Babu.(He is right you know. Shikhar Babu.)", She said, pulling him out of his thoughts.
He turned to look at her, unbelieving of what she had just admitted, to which she just shrugged and continued, "Shikhar Babu sahi kahe. Jeevan tumri tarah bikat hai, aur hum sahi waqat ka intezaar pehle bhi kar chuke rahe, hum tab galat rahe, sahi waqat khud hi nahi aawat rahe. Humka aapan sahi waqat khud laaye ke padi.(Shikar Babu is right. Life is weird, like you, and I waited for the right time before, I was wrong then, the right time doesn't come on its own. We have to work to go towards the right time.)"
Aryan saw her avoid his eyes while saying all this. He looked as she looked anywhere else when she admitted this, and he furiously asked, "Tum, tum sahi waqt ki baat karte hue mujhe dekh bhi nahi paa rahi ho Imlie, and tum kehti ho ki yeh sahi waqt hai humare liye.(You, you who cannot even look at me while talking about the right time, you are saying that this is the right time for us.)"
At that Imlie looked at him with fire in her eyes and replied, "Hum ee nahi kahat rahe ki ee sahi waqat hai, hum kahat hai ki shayad hum aapan sahi waqat laana chahat hai, tohar liye, tumre saath.(I'm not saying that this is the right time for us, I'm saying I want to find the right time, for you, with you.)"
At that Aryan shook his head, and said, "Tum abhi ready nahi ho Imlie.(You are not ready for this now Imlie.)"
Imlie scowled, "Aur ee decidiye khatir tum kon ho?(And who are you to decide that?)"
Aryan, furious, replied as he grabbed her upper arms, "Main, main kaun hun? Main woh hun jisne tumhe tut te hue dekha hai, jisne tumhe bikhar te hue dekha hai. Main woh bhi hun jisne tumhe apne aap ko samet te hue dekha hai, jisne tumhe apne bikhre hue tukdo ko jama karke unhe jod te hue dekha hai. Main woh hun Imlie jisne tumhe apne aap ko sambhal te hue dekha hai, apne upar vishwaas banate hue dekha hai, apne aap ko kaabil banate hue dekha hai.(Me, who am I? I am someone who has seen you broken, who has seen you shattered. I am also the one who has seen you put yourself together, who has seen you collect your broken pieces to glue them back together. I am someone who has seen you handle yourself, make you believe in yourself, seen you realise your own abilities, your own capabilities.)"
And Imlie fiercely interrupted, "Toh ab humka tumre saath sahi waqat tak pahunche khaatir safar bhi tum dekh sakat ho, humre saath.(So you can also see me pave the way to find the right time with you, you and me together.)"
Aryan let go of her then and replied, "Aur agar yeh sahi waqt nahi aaya toh?(And if we do not find this right time?)"
Imlie grabbed his hand then, intertwining them, looked at them for a moment and then looked up at him, "Aisan naahi hoga. Tum humre liye sahi ho, tumre saath humre liye waqat sahi hai. Bus hum ee puchna chahat rahe ki hum tohar liye sahi hai ki naahi?(That's impossible. You are right for me, the time I have with you is the right time. I just want to ask whether I'm right for you or not?)"
And Aryan tugged at their joint hands, then brought them up, he slowly kissed Imlie's hand in his and replied, "Tum jitni sahi ho mere liye utna sahi mujhe aaj tak nahi mila hai.(No one I've ever found in my life has felt as right as I feel about you.)"
Imlie smiled at him then and asked, "Toh hum par bharosa karo. Haan hum maanat rahe ki hum tose abhi ke abhi shaadi naahi kar sakat hai, ki hum shaadi ka khayaal se bhi terrifaa jaat rahe, par hum tohar sung, ek dooi date par toh jaa hi sakat rahe.(So trust me. I agree that I'll not be able to marry you right away, that even the thought of marriage terrifies me, but, in the meantime, I can go on a couple of dates with you.)
Aryan raised his eyebrows at her boldness, her light expression, the fear in her eyes, and asked, "Sirf ek do, aur uske baad?(A couple dates, and then what?)"
Imlie laughed a little then, at his weird agreement to her weird proposal, and answered, "Uuke baad hum dekh liye hai.(Well see after that.)"
And Aryan felt a burst of love for the woman in front of him.
There will be the right time.
They will reach there together.
His "Just Imlie" was more and would be more and more.
Anupamaa
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
