Prologue
On a rather chilly night at the end of January, around 12:00 a.m., Flight Lieutenant Samrat Singh Shekhawat is scrolling his smartphone looking at the upcoming schedules of him and his fellow officers. Suddenly someone snatches his phone. He's been alone at his table for a long stretch of time and didn't notice anyone coming in.
Now Farhan sits across from him flashing his phone.
"Kya yaar, Samrat! Is waqt kaam? Why are you still working? Our shifts ended long ago. Kitna kaam karega?"
"Farhan! Kaam to karna padega yaar." Samrat flashes a small smile at his friend and colleague. "As I am the team leader I have to work twice as hard."
Farhan lets out a sigh at the end of Samrat's words.
"Samrat, tu na! Tu din-ba-din, har roz Abhimanyu Adhikari banta jaa raha hai! You are turning like Abhi. Yeh sehat ke liye bahut hanikarak hai! Injurious to health, you know?"
Samrat guffaws at the weirdly comical phrasing. Farhan goes on to elaborate, unfettered as usual. The uniformed men are alone in the cafeteria if one ignores oldman Ramu who manages the place all by himself. Ambient night lights light up the spacious place but it's not the time to lounge for officers on duty.
"You know Abhi has Sam right?" Farhan's voice reaches a fever pitch as he asserts, "Aisa nahin hai ki he is always Abhimanyu Adhikari. He is enjoying his off time! I am sure he must be having some cute romantic moments with Sameera! Lucky guy!"
Samrat shakes his head exasperatedly though a soft chuckle escapes his lips. "Why jealous? You have Isha, don't you, Farhan?"
"Huh, kaun Isha? Meri humsafar? My destined, beloved? Bhai, our schedules never match. She's somewhere else. Maybe we won't even meet during Valentine's Day!"
"Hmmm..."
"Really, Sam! Pyar ka ye suhana mausam hai! Don't you think the season of love is here before you are ready for it? Did you think of what to do on Valentine's day?"
Farhan steps out of whatever stupid he's in and looks at Samrat who shrugs.
"I don't need to, Farhan. Mujhe in sab cheezon ke bare mein sochne ki zarurat nahi hai."
"Sam! My god! Kya ho gaya yaar tujhe! Where's the cool dude, my partner in crime?!"
Farhan can't help but exclaim though he knows his questions have some serious answers. While Samrat purses his lips, another man steps up to them
"Kisi ne Valentine's ki baat ki? I heard the word!"
Samrat and Farhan recognise the man greeting them is from the logistics team. Rakesh Tiwari. The three of them haven't been awfully friendly yet Rakesh is an easygoing guy who loves to indulge in conversations, even uninvited ones. Right now, Samrat thinks, his presence is a welcome distraction. Rakesh takes a seat and nods with a smile,
"I know Valentine's can't be a grand affair for us air force officers but... I think we all deserve to celebrate one if possible."
A moment's silence passes in which Farhan is condoning Isha's absence and the lack of romance in his life. Just as Samrat sighs and reclaims his phone, Rakesh's intense gaze lands on him.
"What?"
"I'm sorry. I accidentally eavesdropped on your conversation with Farhan... How can it be that Samrat Singh Shekhawat has no plans for Valentine's Day? I think most of the girls here would love to be your valentine. Your popularity has been astounding before and now it has skyrocketed even further. The girls even find your seriousness attractive. Talk of the town, Bhai!"
Samrat sighs recalling his once flamboyant self who mingled with one and all. His current aloof self might seem intimidating to people he thought, but it seems to have an opposite effect. People are unpredictable, especially women.
"Raky, don't exaggerate."
Rakesh ignores Samrat's subtle warning.
"Balance, Bhai! We have to balance things. Like at least ten percent? One percent..."
"I agree!" Farhan agrees with Rakesh right away. Samrat sighs again
"Waise even if Samrat doesn't find a valentine... Doesn't he always have the girl on his arm?"
"Huh, Raky?"
Samrat blinks at the abrupt change of conversation. Rakesh only smiles mysteriously.
"Tanvi..."
"Huh, Tanz?!"
"She loves you, doesn't she?"
"Tanz... Pyar... mujhse? Ridiculous..."
Just as Samrat brushes off Rakesh's words, the latter excuses himself as he receives a call from home.
Left alone with Farhan, Samrat laughs again.
"Did you hear that, Farhan? How ridiculous. Raky ko lagta hai ki Tanvi mujhe—"
He trails off a frown marring his face as he contemplates the possibility. In the AMC workshop the other day—
"Tanvi."
He just called her name. And she slipped off the high ladder rising up to the side of the aircraft. He caught her in his arms in the nick of time— his breath heavy as they went down in a pile of limbs. She fell from such a great height that all he could do was to fall together, roll on the ground to minimize either of their injuries.
"Aise ladder se koi girta hai kya, Tanvi!"
She looked mildly apologetic but mildly flustered at his outburst, likely because every eye of those working in the AMC is upon them. Then that evening, when he went to greet her at their usual meeting spot after duty, she skipped their meeting! Gave an excuse of having to work overtime and then having to go "home" early on the days after.
It was all strange, since she had been his best buddy since rejoining air force.
"Arey samrat! Tum aise muuh laga kar baithoge toh nahi chalega! You have to be OUR SAMRAT, okay?"
Her cheerful smile, delicate grip on his wrist dragged him out of his shell. He never thought the day would come but his bonding with her grew by leaps and bounds. She was one close friend who fuelled his purpose. Her presence was the balm to all his self-loathing. He was soothed whenever he was with her. Without doubt he wishes for her best dearly. He probably cannot ask more of her. He cannot imagine the possibility of them being... more.
"She avoided giving a straight answer when I asked if she was avoiding me. No... No... Pyar? That can't be the reason. But then I don't see any other..."
Samrat in a panicked state brushes his bangs and looks visibly so distressed. Farhan clears his throat.
"Samrat, kya hua?"
Samrat sighs and shakes his head. "I don't know yar. I really don't know... Pehle mujhe laga ki Raky is stupid, lekin abhi lag raha ki... Maybe... Maybe he's right."
"Toh what's wrong in that? Accha hai na! Tera kya khayal hai Tanvi ke bare mein?"
Samrat chuckles bitterly and huffs in disbelief.
"Kya khayal hai? Farhan, how could you say that! Aur Tanvi! Yes we truly became close friends but... Tum ko pata hai! Usko pata hai! Hawks mein sab ko pata hai! Main kya tha! Kaun tha... Maine KYA kiya tha! Aur uske baad bhi... She loves me?!"
Samrat's pain increases with each word he says, the cool persona of the workaholic air force officer completely gone. All that remains is a broken man — his true identity.
"Nahin. Ye nahi ho sakta, Farhan! Yeh nahi hona chahiye... She can't love me."
Farhan can only lend a silent ear to his friend as he goes on.
"Tanvi meri achi dost hai, Farhan. Yeh sach hain ki maine kafi sare gunah kiye hai. Lekin kahi na kahi maine tum sab ko apna dost hi maana tha. Aur Tanvi... Kitni innocent hai woh. Ek airforce officer hote hue bhi, she's such a maiden that... She deserves someone who suits her. That someone can never be me! Tujhe pata hain na, Farhan!"
"Samrat... Mujhe pata hai tere andar khud ke liye bahut gussa hai. Lekin kya tu apne aap ko kabhi maaf nahi karega? Asie to zindagi mei aage kaise badehga?"
Samrat smiles, ruefully swallowing all the pain that's come to surface.
"Aise hi... Ab yahi bahut hai na?"
Farhan is speechless. Just then Ramu Kaka arrives with two incredible steaming cups of coffees but complains there's a lot of organizing to do in the pantry. Samrat leaves his coffee untouched and goes to help the man. A moment after he's dissappeared into the kitchen, Farhan hears Tanvi's voice.
"Samrat! Huh, wo nahi hai yaha?"
***
AN: Okay so I'm writing this fifteen year old idea of mine. Set after the show ended, exploring the possibilities between Samrat and Tanvi. I really wish the show explored more of the dynamic between the six leads. I believe all of them are leads though a lot of weightage goes to Abhi Sam. I'd have loved more balance, really. For this story, I'm ignoring the fact that Tanvi had a one-sided crush that she knew she had to throw away right from the start. She was okay with it in the show and Farhan is obsessed with Isha, so I'm letting him be. Otherwise I think Farhan and Tanvi make a cute pair! Of course that doesn't mean Samrat-Tanvi aren't. Once I imagined them after Samrat/Jahan's transformation. I just loved the idea of them. It's realistic and heartbreaking. The basic plot of this story still lies in one of my books... Suddenly I'm rewatching the show on YouTube and Valentine's dropped by, I had jumped into writing this. I do hope that anyone who has come across this and is reading will enjoy it!
Thanks so much for reading this far. It's never too late to begin anything. I've even read about a woman completing her Fanfiction twenty years later. Like yes, writing is hard! But a writer has to keep going!
Please Vote and comment. Hopefully I will update soon <3 Oh yes this will be a short story with max 10 Chapters