Before Us!!✨

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Not Just a Trip

The airport buzzed with the kind of restless energy that made most people anxious - the announcements, the queues, the low hum of strangers preparing for departure. And in the middle of it all, Sidharth sat in his wheelchair, unusually quiet.

He didn't hate airports, but he had grown to resent them. The last time he'd been in one, he was a different man standing tall, lost in deadlines and calls, impatient with security checks and indifferent to boarding announcements.

Now...he sat. Watched. Waited.

And beside him, shehnaaz was checking their boarding passes, a travel pouch clipped securely to her sling bag, and a coffee cup half-balanced in her hand.

"Gate 27B," she confirmed, glancing at him. "We've got time. And your favourite black coffee, no sugar, extra lid."

He gave her a sideways look. "You're sure you're not ex-military?"

She grinned. "Just well-researched. And also, a tiny bit obsessive."

She wore a soft white cotton dress, her hairs in a ponytail, with cute golden hoops in her ears. Her presence grounded him a strange calm in the chaos.

They began to move toward the gate , navigating the crowdat a steady pace. Sidharth wheeled himself slowly while she walked beside him, careful not to outpace or draw unnecessary attention.

"They said assistance was booked, but we're doing great," she said brightly.

"Thanks to your tactical skills."

"You should see my emergency packing kit. If this flight crashes , I can stitch your wounds and feedback is for three days."

Sidharth chuckled under his breath. She had a way of making the awkward fade, even the anxiety that came with travelling again after so long.

They cleared immigration and security smoothly, barring one moment when his wheelchair triggered an alert, and he had to go through a secondary scan. He tensed. People stared. But Shehnaaz just chatted casually with the officer like it was a routine hiccup, not a spotlight on his body.

"You're clear," the officer said eventually.

"Of course he is," Shehnaaz said with a light toss of her hair, as if clearing security was something to be proud of.

Sidharth smiled despite himself.

The flight was long - nearly nine hours of engine hums and changing skies. He didn't talk much, but he wasn't brooding either. Mostly, he watched the clouds.

Shehnaaz pulled out a shared playlist in her phone.

"Want music or movies?"

"Silence's nice"

"Copy that, sir."

Later, during mild turbulence, she slipped him a toffee.

"Distraction mint," she whispered.

"You're ridiculous."