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"Is it really necessary, guys?" Rajeeb hesitantly asks, looking at Kiaan's uncomfortable figure. 

"Absolutely!" Manav beams with excitement, pushing Rajeeb towards Kiaan who is awkwardly standing in front of the garden, a backpack slinging over his shoulders. 

"What's happening?" Kiaan mumbles slowly once Rajeeb reaches him. 

He supposes he is getting late for his first day of college, however, these men have other plans plotting in their heads. They all are dressed as if they are ready to attend a wedding, Avinash is standing impatiently with a camera in his hand while Arjun has his arms crossed across his chest, a fond smile gracing his lips. 

"Photo session because it's your first day of college?" Rajeeb replies, voice holding awkwardness that Kiaan is also feeling. 

"Why are you standing so far away? Come closer. I swear none of you will bite each other." Manav yells from a distance, snatching the Camera from Avinash's hands. 

Kiaan can't be anymore surprised by them. Are they really so cruel like they portray themselves to the world? Not only did they make him feel at home, they are also going all out and making all of his dreams come true. When he watched all of the kid's of his age going to prom, going to their graduation party with their parents and family, he was at home, celebrating his graduation alone. It was a forbidden dream for him. He knew he never got to experience something like that. 

Right after he graduated from high school, his father fell sick. At that time he grew closer to his father than ever. His father was finally ready to acknowledge his presence. His happiness was much higher and graver than all the loneliness he fought in his life. When he applied for colleges, he had a hope that his father would accompany him to his college and drop him to the dorms like every normal family. Maybe he will get to spend a full day with his father. But life didn't like his plans. A few days later his father passed away. He escaped before he could fulfill half of the promises he made to a heartbroken child, leaving the child at the hands of the monsters whom he tried to keep away. 

Kiaan willingly takes some steps closer to Rajeeb and puts his head on his shoulder, trying hard not to get emotional. He was never a fan of physical content as he never received that kind of treatment but Venom is teaching him things. Rajeeb is taken off guard by the sudden attack of love. But an amicable smile soon takes over his features, he brings the boy into a warm hug, tears pooling around his eyes. 

Rajeeb understands why they are so eager. It was already their plan to hold a photo session on Kiaan's first day of college to make it special for him and them. But they are pushing him first because Rajeeb wanted to do this more than anyone. He never really had the chance to see his little siblings go to school, they lost their innocent souls before they could experience anything good, before their big brother could save them. They would be of Kiaan's age. It makes him more emotional. Thinking of his dead brothers in Kiaan's place makes his heart heavy with guilt, hurt and pain. He is proud nonetheless. This boy is no less than a fighter, like his brothers. The only difference is that Kiaan is a survivor unlike his brothers. 

"You don't wanna look back and be embarrassed seeing all these crying pictures, right? Smile please!" Manav yells, trying his best to hide his own overflowing emotions. 

"Shall we?" Rajeeb gently asks to which Kiaan nods his head and breaks the hug. 

His face is red while his cheeks are decorated with freshly shed tears. Rajeeb gently wipes them with his handkerchief. 

"Don't worry. It's unused." If it was Manav Kiaan would say he was joking but Rajeeb always thinks too much. 

"Thank you." Rajeeb just smiles at that. 

"Let's begin now. We are getting late." Arjun finally speaks up, being impatient waiting for his turn. 

Next half an hour goes in a blur with them taking turns. While Kiaan is a blushing and a crying mess as he is being showered with so much love, all the adults are having fun while making memories. It's a reminder that there is still a little bit of humanity left inside them. They are not totally inhuman. 

"Let's take some family photos now." Manav suggests gathering all of them together.

Kiaan's heart fills up with warmth, love and adoration. Family? How easily Manav says it, how easily all of them acknowledge the fact when he is feeling overwhelmed. Is he a family? How come no one is reacting and denying? They all seem rather thrilled to take photos with him. 

"Stop crying now, little one. Do you want to be called a cry baby by your classmates?" Manav teases when he realizes Kiaan won't stop anything soon if they won't interfere. 

Kiaan stops crying and wipes his tears with his bare hands and barely whispers, "What can I do? You guys are so sweet that my heart feels both heavy and light. I'm sorry for crying." 

They all coo at that. He said those lines so cutely that they can't help but engulf him into a group hug. 

"Now, smile, everyone." Avinash urges, grabbing the camera from Manav and taking the lead. 

When Avinash clicks the photo, he makes a mental note to frame the photos in the walls. Truth be told, he was skeptical of Kiaan at first but the kid managed to grow on him. His simplicity and naivety have won him over. It's easy to impress Aninash really, you just need to be loyal. But loyalty is hard to come by. That's how he picked people from the streets, from difficult situations and made lives easier for them. loyalty is the only key to his heart.

Someone who doesn't have any context whatsoever about the situation right now might think Kiaan is being either kidnapped by 4 scary looking dudes, he looks miserable being stuck in the middle seat, listening to Manav talking nonstop. Or someone can interpret the situation like Kiaan has 4 scary looking bodyguards. They all are dressed that way, with suits and sunglasses. If someone sees them who have common sense, he or she will see that  Kiaan is happy with 4 scary looking dudes who look like 4 loving dads other than anything. 

"If someone bothers you to the slightest, don't forget to come to me, alright?" Arjun repeats for the 10th time in the last 10 minutes. 

Kiaan nods his head. His earlier anxiousness is nowhere to be found now. He is too happy to feel that way. His heart's content. There's nothing more that he can ask for right now. 

"By now it's drilled into his head. Why repeat the same thing while you can say other stuff?" Manav says from Kiaan's left side while Arjun is on the right side. 

"And what's that?" Arjun asks, looking unimpressed. 

"Take this and stab anyone who dares to disturb you." Manav says, holding a knife in his hand. 

Rajeeb shakes his head in amusement sitting on the passenger seat. He can't help but mutter, "Do you think he is a psychopath like you?" 

"No but I want him to be." Kiaan looks horrified at that, pushing the knife hurriedly and sliding closer to Arjun. 

"Aww, you wound my heart, little one." Manav pouts. 

"Make that face one more time, I will take the knife and cut off your lips." Arjun threatens. 

They continue their banter the whole ride until they reach the college. Kiaan didn't think they would accompany him to college too but here they are. 

"Let us take another photo in your college campus or else how would anyone understand that it's your first day of college?" Manav says, dragging the boy towards the main entrance of the college while others follow behind. 

Kiaan is embarrassed. They are acting like over enthusiastic parents who like to embarrass their kids. What will people think? There is already a crowd forming around them. His cheeks turn red due to the embarrassment but he lets them drag him around and take photos and videos for the sake of memories. 

"We will be going now. Take care of yourself, alright?" Avinash says quietly before dragging Manav away with him. 

Kiaan enters the college with Arjun and Rajeeb as they work here. He looks like a mouse caught between two confident cats. 

They leave him alone once they reach Kiaan's classroom, not before making dangerous eye contact with the other students though. They are silently threatening them and telling them to be careful around Kiaan without him understanding. 

He is already late so he takes a seat on the first bench which was vacant. He awkwardly sits down, feeling everyone's eyes at him. He joined college late so he is supposed to be the center of attraction at first but he knows it also has something to do with two men who came to drop him here. 

*********

 Rajeeb was only nineteen when it happened. He was staying in a hostel, away from him. That morning he received the most devastating phone call of his life. His mother had committed suicide after poisoning his siblings. Taking his heart in his hand, he ran out of his room without thinking anything, without even wearing shoes. He shouldn't have left his mother alone with that monsters. He shouldn't have prioritized his studies, he should have been there to protect his mother. Guilt ate him up by the passing seconds. He was in no situation to drive but he drove and drove for hours until it stopped in front of the mansion. The mansion which used to echo his mother's pain, now it's crying for the death of his mother? No, it wasn't. It was a show to make the world see the lies they built. He wasn't going to stop himself now. 

He ran onwards, feet as heavy as the heart he was carrying, making him feel weak. Just yesterday he had called his mother. She didn't let him understand anything. She never did, she always kept things to herself, suffered in silence. She even died in silence. 

He had to shove people aside to get through to reach his mother, he was going frantic. Anger, pain, guilt all had pooled up in his heart. But when his eyes fell on the dead body of his mother and brothers, he fell onto his knees and cried his heart out. Whole mansion turned quiet. No one dared to disturb him. His grief was so intense that it managed to send waves of sympathy into everyone's heart present there, except his father. 

It went for about an hour or so. Tears didn't seem to stop flowing. He was never ready to see his mother's closed eyes. The kind eyes that she possessed couldn't be seen anymore. The smile his mother always wore was long gone. His breathe hitched realising he would  never get see her face again, he would never be able to hug her.

"Mom." He whispered softly, touching her face gently. 

"Mom." He called again but there was no reply from her. 

His heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. Her face haunted him, mocked him and accused him. He wasn't here when she needed him the most. How would he deal with the grief?

You know you are not gonna heal anything soon when the grief of guilt is larger than the pain of losing your most loved one. 

His eyes then fell onto 3 innocent souls. Oh, how irritated he was whenever those boys used to run around him all the time, not letting him do anything. Now, he regretted feeling that way. He would do anything to bring them back, to hear them yell at each other, to make them hold his hands. His mind was going crazy. He had lost everything in a matter of minutes. How could life become so cruel to him? How couldn't life show a little bit of mercy to his mother? He didn't know what drove his mother to do something like this but he knew who was behind it.

"Son, get a hold of yourself. There are people here. A man shouldn't cry this way." His father said, pressing his shoulder. 

It took just 3 seconds for all the pain and guilt to turn into anger. His father's face brought back all the bitter memories. His father's face told him that he wasn't sad, rather relieved. As if a plan of his worked wonder.

He stood up and before his father could bring him into a hug, he slapped his father hard. He wished he did it before. Why was he so afraid? He could save his mother and brothers if he had the courage to stand up against his father. What's the use now? He didn't know but he couldn't stand that man.

His father looked shocked. The man didn't show any kind of emotions before that, it didn't affect him that his wife and children died but now he looked livid because he got slapped by his own son in front of everyone. But before he could come to terms with the slap, Rajeeb slapped him once again.

"You killed them, didn't you? My mother can never harm her children. You killed them, you monster!" He accused his father, holding his collar. 

The world witnessed how the seemingly perfect aristocratic family got its reputation demolished when the son accused his father of murder, when the son dragged him to court and lost the case. But no one knew how he joined a gang and with the help of them he killed that man before making him confess to his crimes. 

All those memories rush into his head when he sees a boy at one corner of college ground, lighting up a cigarette. He knows the boy. It's the son of his father's mistress who he later married without their knowledge. But what is the boy doing here? 

"I don't have any money on me, please." A soft voice speaks up, gaining Rajeeb's undivided attention who was busy looking at the other boy. 

"You don't? Didn't you come with those professors? They are rich as hell." The boy says, looking down at Kiaan. 

"I don't have money. I'm sorry." 

"You won't admit this way." The boy is ready to strike at Kiaan when the other boy grabs his hand. 

"He said he doesn't have money and even if he did, why the fuck would he give you?" The boy, who's name is Ayush if Rajeeb remembers correctly, says before Rajeeb can reach there. 

"Don't come between us, rich kid. We are seniors here. Just because we don't say anything to you doesn't mean you can interfere." The bully says through gritted teeth. 

"And why don't you say anything to me?" Ayush says, smirking at the boy. 

His aura is intimidating. For an 18 year old, he is stout and strong, his body structure and muscles give him the benefit of appearing confident and intense in front of others. It also helps that he belongs to a rich family. 

Before they can break into a fight, Rajeeb makes his presence known which causes the bully to look down at his shoes in fear. 

"What are you doing here, Kiaan?" Rajeeb calmly asks though he is anything but calm.

The presence of Ayush makes it hard for him to control himself. He knows the boy isn't at fault but it was his mother who was the main reason why his father planned to murder Rajeeb's mother. That boy has blood of monsters running in his veins, Rajeeb can't help but hate him more because it just reminds him of his mother's ill-fate. 

It doesn't help that he just witnessed Kiaan being bullied on his first day of college. All together, he is overwhelmed with both suppressed and raw anger. 

"He dragged me here." Kiaan answers, pointing at the bully who dares to glare at Kiaan.

Being not able to hold his anger anymore, Rajeeb slaps the boy hard, shocking everyone there. 

Kiaan has never seen Rajeeb so angry. He has always been so gentle and soft spoken with everyone. Even when Manav tried to tease him, he remained calm. It's like seeing a whole different side of Rajeeb. For the other two, it it shocking because everyone knows Rajeeb is the owner and a renowned professor here who is always calm and composed. That is why he has always been popular among the students, specially the female students. No one ever thought their professor will hit a student like that in broad daylight. 

When the boy tries to speak, Rajeeb slaps him again, this time with urgency and brute force, making the boy stumble down. When Rajeeb is about to hit him even more, Kiaan gently holds his hand, trying to calm him down. 

"Please, calm down." Kiaan pleads, looking afraid of what Rajeeb will do in this daze. 

Kiaan can understand Rajeeb isn't in his elements right now. His face screams the chaos that it going on in his head. Something serious must have happened for Rajeeb to lose his cool and act this way. Kiaan should try to stop him before he does something he will regret later. 

"How dare he bully your fellow student! Senior, you say? Just because you are senior, do you own him? Tell me!" Rajeeb yells at the boy, making Kiaam flinch. 

"And you, if you think it's alright to smoke in college ground, you are in for trouble. Go to your class, both of you! I will deal with you two later." 

Though the senior boy runs away as soon as he picks himself up off the ground, Ayush takes his sweet time to roll his eyes while making an exit. 

"Please, take deep breathes. You need to calm down." Kiaan speaks softly, taking both of Rajeeb's hands in his hands. 

Rjeeb does what Kiaan says. He never really thought he would lose his cool like that. It took him years to get over with whatever happened and move on, it took unimaginable efforts to school his features and hide his seething anger and abhorrence. 

"I'm fine, thank you." Rajeeb gives Kiaan a weak smile. 

"Do you need anything? Cold drinks?" Kiaan asks, not knowing what else to do to make Rajeeb feel better. 

"I'm fine, kid. I'm sorry for acting that way before." Rajeeb tries to convince the boy but his voice betrays him, he both looks and sound shaken up. 

"Can I give you a hug? Will that make you feel better?" Rajeeb smiles at the boy, his tries to making him feel better is doing the job of calming him down. 

Rajeeb nods his head and finds himself in a bear hug. It wasn't easy. He still carries the burden of his father's blood in his hand. No matter how much he hated his father, it was the man who gave him life. But it was also the man who killed his mother. His brothers were just unlucky enough to drink the poisonous juice that his father kept for his mother. It was their only fault. Instead of getting scolded for drinking cold juice without asking their mother, they met with untimely death. 

It wasn't easy when he killed the man in cold blood. A shiver goes down his spine whenever he thinks about that night, whenever his mother's and brothers' faces flash in front of his eyes. It's so hard to forget, it's so hard to heal. He tries to be strong but you see he is anything but that. It takes only a little trigger for him to go down the memory lane and regret his life choices. That boy, he needs to get rid of that boy. 

He stands there as a statue, trying to calm his racing heart while Kiaan hugs him tightly, whispering sweet nothing into his ears. Rajeeb never saw this side of Kiaan. He always viewed Kiaan as someone vulnerable and extremely sensitive. That doesn't mean he thought low of Kiaan, he would never do that. Being sensitive doesn't make someone any less. However, this side of Kiaan makes him proud. Even after going through so much in life, he has the compassion for others. The way he is handling Rajeeb is so mature that it forces Rajeeb to look at Kiaan in a new light. 

When Rajeeb is finally successful into making Kiaan believe that he is alright, they break the hug. 

"Do you know the other boy, Kiaan?" The boy nods his head. 

"He is in my class. He sat with me today." Rajeeb sighs. 

"Does he have to do anything with the bullying?" Kiaan shakes his head. 

"Alright. But I don't want you to have any contacts with him. Can you do that please?" Rajeeb expects him to ask questions but the boy just nods his head which makes him smile. 

"Good. Now, let's go to class. Did you have lunch?" 

"Y-Yeah." 

"You can't lie so why do you even try? Let's have lunch together. You can skip a class." 

"I don't want you to get in trouble because of me-" 

"I own the whole college, Kiaan. That is why I can send a substitute teacher in my place because I came here for some fresh air. Don't think too much." 

They make a beeline towards his office. Rajeeb notices Ayush's eyes on them on their way to his office. He will really have to do something about the kid. He's giving him bad vibe. 

A/N: Rajeeb's backstory is kinda similar to someone very close to me but don't worry, it's not that intense. Just the cheating father part which is a very bad thing if we think about it.

Anyway, I tried not to get driven by emotions while writing Rajeeb's backstory but I couldn't help it haha.

Anyway, thanks for reading ♡