"Shut the fuck up, Cabir.", the other end laughed hilariously. "I didn't select this profession to impress girls or attract them towards myself, okay. I have a lot of other important things in life to do. Unlike guys like you. Who sleeps like a log, parties like an animal, throws unimportant demands all the time, and changes girlfriends in a rocket speed. You-"
"Bhai!! They aren't my girlfriends okay. They can't just ignore my attractive personality, you know. And also, I'm just a student... what do you even expect from me? To become the new Scientist Newton? Entrepreneur Steve Jobs? Writer Shakespeare? Poet Napoleon? Or-"
"Napoleon was an Emperor.", Manik corrected him in a bored voice.
"Ya, ya whatever. You got my vibe right?", Cabir coolly tried changing the topic not to insult himself further.
"Yeah sure. I understood your 'vibe', Jobless Malhotra."
"Bhai, don't call me that. Or else- or else I'd start calling you G-A-Y."
"And you think I even care what stupid-ass name you call me with?" and again, for the second time, Manik succeeded in shutting his mouth in the last 4.5 minutes of talk. "And now, if you're done talking nonsense, can you kindly pass the phone to Mom? I've a flight to catch and I'm running late. I don't have time."
"Bruh, just like 'A Queen is never late', a pilot is also never late for his flight.", Cabir aid as a matter of fact and Manik huffed in frustration. He could clearly visualize Manik's reaction right now. Lips tightly closed, teeth greeted, hand balled in a fist, and eyes rolling. He burst out laughing.
"Cabir.", he warned.
"Okay, here she is. Mom your ladla is on call.", he giggled forwarding the phone to Nyonika.
"Hey, love. How're you doing?", Manik asked enthusiastically.
"Tera flight hai na ab?", Asked his mother with zero percent enthusiasm. Manik expected this reaction anyway.
His father was a pilot too and he died on his 8th flight. Manik was 7 years then and Cabir 4. He had seen his mother struggle for them alone and he wanted to take all the responsibilities on himself as soon as possible. His father was his idol since childhood and he wanted to be like him, a pilot.
From buying him toy planes, playing pilot-pilot to taking him on a real cockpit tour, his father did everything. Both Raj and Nyonika were reluctant about his aim in life, Until she lost her husband in a plane malfunction. She never wanted Manik to become a pilot anymore. But who was she to crash her own son's dreams?
Her heart stops beating from the time Manik calls her before takeoff, to the moment he calls her after landing. Manik was worried about her too. But her reason for tension was very illogical. Not every pilot die in a plane crash. A few unfortunate ones do.
"My dear Mom, why do you worry so much? Aapka BP high ho jayega. Then don't call me up to take you to the hospital.", Manik laughed.
"When are you going to land?", she asked giving no reaction to his statement/joke.
"In 7-8 hours, I'll be right in front of you, Mom.", he replied. "And pleas-", he stopped in the middle as something, or rather someone bumped into him, resulting his phone to fall directly on the tiled floor. "What the?"
"Ouch.", said the girl as she fell down on her knees. "Oh sorry sorry! I'm so sorry!", she said as her eyes fell on his phone landing just beside her. She immediately picked the phone even before Manik could, inserted the battery, closed the cover, and handed him the phone.
"It's fine. Are you okay-", she rushed away even before he could finish.
What was that?, Manik thought.
"A girl, soft like anything crossed path with him, bumped hard, fell down directly on her knees, apologized for breaking his phone, repaired it herself, handed him that back and ran away like she had a flight to catch.", complained his heart.
"It's an airport, dimwit. So, of course, she'd been running late for her flight.", his mind retorted making his heart roll his eyes. "Why do you even seem interested in just another person who bumped into him and broke his phone?", asked his mind suspiciously.
"She didn't break the phone. It's working properly. So don't blame that little teddy bear okay!"
"What?!! Te- Teddy bear?!! Blarghhh.", his mind made a vomiting face.
"Shut the fuck up you two!", Manik said mentally to stop his heart and mind from starting World War III and stared at the direction that sweet jasmine fragranced teddy bear went.
Wait.
Did he just say teddy bear?
Jasmine fragranced?!!
Ughh he's going mad.
But... the fragrance, it reminded him of her.
He shook his head to get the thoughts out. She was just a stranger he's never gonna meet again.
Just like.. just like, there was no chances of meeting her again... Maybe?
He called his Mom and finished the unfinished talk caused by the stranger. The stranger who not only knocked him out but also successfully destroyed the calm of his mind.
Who was she?
Why did she feel like someone familiar... very familiar?
Why did he feel like it was her?
He wondered walking through the shiny tiled floor of the airport in his black double buttoned suit pulling his black pilot bag. Many eyes fixed on him, but he acted obliviously. He never understood what attracted the passengers' attention to him every time he walked through the airport in his uniform.
_____________
"Good morning, ladies, gentlemen, and dear children. This is your Captain Manik Malhotra speaking. Currently, we are waiting for engine start-up clearance from the tower. And we are expecting to depart from Rome in approximately 10 minutes. We ask that you please fasten your seatbelts at this time and secure your baggage under your seat or in the overhead compartments. We also ask that your seats and table trays are in the upright position for takeoff. Please turn off all your personal electronic devices. Smoking is prohibited for the duration of the flight. Thank you for choosing Air India. Have a nice flight.", Manik announced on the speaker.
Just then the telephone of the cockpit started ringing. Manik picked it up. "Yes?"
"Captain, the passenger of seat number 12A is not co-operating with us. If you could-", said Alia, the cabin crew.
"Alia, how many times do I have to tell you that don't disturb us with such childish excuses that you failed in doing your part of the job always. Handling the passengers is a Flight Attendant's work. Not a Pilot's.", Manik said, irritated.
"We tried making her understand properly. But she's adamant about her own decision and is very rude. She says, she always keeps her phone switched on on a flight and she wants to record a video of take-off to share on her SNS."
'Cute' was the first thing that came to his mind. But soon he shook those thoughts away and was about to lash out at her again. "Manik!", his co-pilot, Aryaman said slightly pressing his shoulder to calm him down.
"Wait, I'm coming.", said Aryaman on the phone. Manik sighed visibly rolling his eyes as the tip of his fore finger ran over the bridge of his nose.
Well, he was never a guy to lash out at someone unnecessarily unless he/she was Alya. A girl, always in the intention of hooking up with him and being clingy, when he considered her just to be a friend, was getting very intolerable for Manik himself.
And moreover, he hated such silly interruptions just before his flight. So he sounded a bit more rude than necessary maybe. But he regretted the least.
Aryaman returned in a few minutes and said while closing the cockpit door, "She was one hell of a cutie pie yet a sexily fiesty girl, Malhotra!" Aryaman gushed and Manik glared at him making him laugh, "What? She was actually cute, okay. And one should appreciate beauty.", he said as a matter of fact. "I'll definitely take her phone number after landing." Manik rolled his eyes shaking his head.
"This is your Captain Manik Malhotra speaking. Currently, we are cruising at an altitude of 33,000 feet at an airspeed of 400 miles per hour. The time is 10:25 am. The weather looks good and with the tailwind on our side, we are expecting to land in Mumbai approximately fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. The weather in Mumbai is clear and sunny with a high of 25 degrees this morning. If the weather cooperates we should get a great view of the city as we descend. The cabin crew will be coming around in about twenty minutes' time to offer you a light snack and beverage and the inflight movie will begin shortly after that. I'll talk to you again after we reach our destination. Until then, sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight.", Manik announced on the speaker again after the flight finally took off.
Manik's half time was over. And Aryaman was at the cockpit now with Captain Karan. Since Manik had back to back 2 flights and it was a long-haul flight, so he went up and decided to crash on his not so comfortable lie-flat bed.
It hadn't even been an hour, when Manik heard a knock on his cabin door. What did he even expect? To get a sound sleep on the flighy? That's like the most luxurious thing to ever dream of. Especially when you're the pilot of that flight.
Sighing, he opened the door just to see the face he never wanted to see. Alya.
"What happened now?", Manik asked uninterested.
"Manik, why do you always give me a cold shoulder? What did I ever do to get that?!"
"Good question." Manik fake laughed. "Now if you're done joking, may I know what brought you here?"
"Seat number 12A."
"Not again.", Said Manik shaking his head.
"I know right. God knows why such rude and careless people are even allowed to board on a flight. If I could-", Alya complained.
"What did she do now?", Manik cut her in between.
"She's smoking in the washroom."
"What the fuck?! And were you waiting for some accident to happen, that you took so long to inform me about it?", Manik whisper yelled rushing towards the ladies washroom. Alya followed him.
Manik knocked on the door lightly, not willing to make a fuss over the matter. "Hello? It's the Captain of the flight this side, ma'am. Please come out. I need to talk to you. It's urgent."
He waited patiently, hands thrust into his pocket. And the person inside took her own sweet time to come out.
Hearing the click of the door, Manik stepped back to give the passenger some space to step out.
She came out and looked up at him, just to get the biggest shocker ever. And her reaction was no less, eyes wide open, jaw touching the floor. Manik's face reflected the same expression.
"You?!!!", Both almost shouted together as their eyes sparkled. Manik couldn't hold back his smile and the girl could still not come out of her shock.
Feeling the Flight Attendants' eyes on them, Manik straightened his posture and asked, "Umm.. were you smoking inside the washroom, Miss?" He caught her smirking and that made him cringe his brows and lips curve upwards more in amusement.
She took out an unlit and unused cigar and held it in front of him. "I'm sorry but you might be mistaken, Captain. But I don't smoke. Still have a doubt? Then I won't mind doing an X-ray test just after landing."
"So what's that cigar doing with you?", Alya said angrily.
"It's just for show, Miss. It looks cool to have a cigar between lips and not letting it destroy my precious kidneys by lighting it. I just lauuu August Waters, you know.", Said the girl smirking as she placed the cigar between her lips again.
Manik pressed his lips together, not to smile and said turning towards the crew, "Disperse."
Once they were the only ones left in the counter, Manik pulled the cigar out of her lips and placed that between his and said to the girl, "And you, follow me."
She didn't object and followed him with the smirk still glued to those lips. He entered his cabin. She was standing right in front of the door. Manik smirked pulling her inside with a jerk, closing the door behind.
Her back rested on the cold material of the door and his hands caged her from both sides. The room had dim lights on, but both could clearly see the twinkling eyes of the other.
"Sooo... My 'Sexy Pants' turned out to be a 'sexy Captain' eh?!", Said the girl wearing his Pilot's cap as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Manik snaked his hand on her waist saying, "And my 'Sugar Tits', a 'Fiesty Hippie'?"
"You know, what happened in Corsica... Didn't stay in Corsica!!!!" Both spoke that together and burst out into fists of laughter.
"Gosh! You know I searched for you so much?! But destiny made us meet here, on the flight.", She said pulling him in a bear hug.
"A flight's toilet to be precise.", He laughed enclosing the hug. She snuggled more into the crook of his neck. But he broke the hug pulling her out. She stared at him not knowing what he was up to.
"Hey! It's Manik Malhotra, who finally found you back to say that he loves you... a lot.", He said forwarding his right hand in front of her.
She held his hand for a handshake and said, "And I'm Nandini Murthy, who loves you back... a lot more!"
She pulled the cigar out of his lips just to replace it by hers.
"But I thought no one could take the place of Augustus Waters in your heart. Or should I say, did I achieve the impossible?", He said teasingly right on her lips.
"Nope, you didn't. Cause Augustus Waters was always Hazel Grace's. And you, Mister, are mine! Gus had secured a small part of my heart for himself. But the rest of it, belongs to you and you only, my boi!", She giggled rubbing her nose with his.
He had an ear to ear smile adorning his face as he yanked her closer, smashing his lips right on hers. Hands travelled all over each others' not-so-unknown curves and spots.
~•~
A/N: So here's my first ever attempt on OS & second attempt on writing an FF.
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*Cheeky smile*