A few days after Tanvi's bout with Rajiv, Farhan is waiting in the cafeteria at the late hour, hoping to glimpse two of his best friends he had lost contact with over the week. He checks his watch. 1.01 am. Finally, two people walk in, looking weary, bathed in ambient amber throw of the cafeteria lights - Samrat and Tanvi.

Farhan rises from his chair, clapping his hands, and chuckles. "Wah! Dekhein toh kaun ek sath padhar rahe hai! Mere do jigre dost!"

Samrat and Tanvi roll their eyes but smile nonetheless, as Farhan continues,

"How is it working on a new project after so long? Tum log itne busy ho gaye ho ham log cafeteria mein late night ko bhi mil nahi paa rahe!"

"Han, Farhan..." Samrat shrugs and looks at Tanvi. They both sigh in unison.

Though looking exhausted, they don't sit. Samrat calls for Ramu Kaka to bring two coffees. Farhan sends them an inquiring glance.

"Kya hua? How is it working together, I asked..."

"It is..." Samrat half chuckles in exasperation, clutching his coffee mug that Ramu Kaka passed him.

Tanvi takes a sip from hers and puts the mug on the counter. "Itni garmi hai. I'd prefer cold coffee," she mumbles under her breath.

Steam rises from Samrat's coffee mug. He takes a few sips, recalling the encounter from the morning with their new boss. He doesn't need confirmation from Tanvi. Surely, she is also recollecting the same.

He was with Tanvi this morning, with the other officers behind them. He knocked on the door to Abhay sir's cabin. No longer Abhay sir's cabin as he was deployed elsewhere on emergency duties. The team working on Shakti aircraft was about to meet their new boss.

Samrat knocked again, three distinct raps then turned the doorknob and entered the cabin, Tanvi and others behind them.

"Sir!" He called out to the figure seated in the chair whose front he couldn't see.

The swivel chair rotated with dramatic slowness. And it turned out, he was supposed to say "madam" not "sir." The name he read in the morning report, though - Harjot Bhatia. He thought -

"I... I'm sorry, Madam!" He recovered from the shock of the discovery and offered a crisp salute. Next to him Tanvi and others did the same.

Harjot Bhatia was indeed a woman in her early forties but looking much younger, with clear pale skin, flawless smile and piercing eyes. Samrat held his breath and stiffened his posture further as she scrutinised him from head to toe.

"Samrat Singh Shekawat!" Harjot lips twist into a haughty smirk. "You are the lead pilot and team lead, huh? Tumhe kya lagta hai? Tumhari superior officer ek aurat nahi ho sakti?"

"Nahi, ma'am, no!" Samrat keeps his tone even, though under pressure from her glare. "Subah, I read your name Harjot toh.... I'm sorry."

Harjot is an unisex name. Samrat should have known and. casually might have assumed it was a man. Tanvi threw Samrat a sympathetic look. Harjot's eyes only hardened, and she huffed, folding her arms, glaring at the rest of the officers.

"Yaha par maujood ek-ek mard ki niyat ko main pehchanti hoon. Bhale hi unke chehre par unke feelings na dikhe! I know their male ego... I don't know Abhay ne tum logon ko kaise handle kiya. Lekin ab se main jo kahungi, tum logon ko maan lena hoga, bina sawal kiye!"

Despite their unease, the officers alongside Samrat and Tanvi saluted her and said, "yes, madam!" Harjot smirked.

Present moment in the cafeteria, Farhan goes "Kyaaaaa?!" and buries his head in his palms. "I'm sorry you have to work under her, guys."

Tanvi sighs again. Samrat says, "that's only the tip of the iceberg."

Farhan sends him another questioning glance. Samrat sighs again.

"To answer your question, Farhan, it's nice to work with Tanvi after so long and it's not."

Samrat talks while pacing the cafeteria like a restless lamb at a slow pace, one hand buried in his trouser pockets, the other clutching the coffee mug. Tanvi goes to the billiards table and picks the cue, humming an affirmation under her breath. "Yes."

Farhan plops into his chair. Samrat looks at him and clears his throat. "Our new boss hates men! She hates friendships and love..."

"KYAAA?" Farhan shrieks, distressed.

Samrat walks towards Tanvi. "Any kind of association between officers of the opposite sex... Harjot despises it. Toh hum unko bata nahi sakte main aur Tanvi pakke dost hai! Yeh lilliput meri best friend hai!"

With those words, he throws an arm around Tanvi's neck as if going for a playful yet gentle headlock. She pulls away with a giggle and smacks his arm. He reaches for her shoulders again. She ducks out of his path, poking him in the ribs with the cue.

"Ahhh! Sam! Stop it! Humesha apni height ka galat fayda uthata hai! Stop calling me a lilliput! And stop treating me like I'm one of your guy pals!"

"Arey Maine sahi bola! Tu liliput hai, humare team ki shortest! Aur, how can I treat you differently? Main gender bias nahi dikhata!"

"Sam!"

Tanvi whacks the cue on Samrat's head (again with gentleness). Watching the two of them laugh it off makes Farhan laugh.

"It's nice to see you get along well... as always."

Samrat and Tanvi look at Farhan and then at each other with a chuckle. Tanvi takes a deep breath, mentally patting herself for breaking all barriers that made her awkward around Samrat. Nowadays, despite her persistent feelings of love, adoration and longing, she's no longer awkward around him. That's a blessing, isn't it? She's always been comfortable around him and now is no different. The small hiatus of conflict was gone. Samrat is also more cheerful these days. All is well for now. Farhan's voice pulls her out of her thoughts-

"But your new boss seems trouble. So you can't be all friendly before her?"

"Nope!" Tanvi laughs, "but it's not bad!"

She whacks Samrat's head again with the cue, "I get to hate this guy's guts!"

"And I, yours!" Samrat arranges his dislodged bangs with a smile. Laughing, he passes her the coffee that's gone cold. As she reaches for the coffee, he snatches the cue out of her hands and bops her on the head. "Lilliput!"

"Ugh! That's cheating, Sam! Such a tease!"

They laugh again, alongside a delighted Farhan who's happy to see them happy. No matter what happens or what awaits them they will always be fine and because they have one another.

***

The days roll by with Samrat and Tanvi acting unfriendly and curt before Harjot and being besties outside of their duties.

Another Sunday baseball game. Samrat waits until Tanvi's done talking to a few other girls and watches her run towards him. Her grin is cheerful as always.

"We finally won the match, Sam! Itne dino se tie ho raha tha! Ya fir we kept losing!"

They high five and grab their sports drinks. As usual, sitting on the grass next to each other and looking at the vast open sky, Samrat turns to Tanvi.

"Kya hai, Sam?" she asks, feeling gaze.

"Just thinking about how I want you to be happy..."

She's touched by his words, unbeknownst to him.

"Of course I want the same for you, Sam."

Her softly whispered words, the smile on his face tug at Samrat's heartstrings. He gulps the entire sports drink in one go and flops on his back; the grass providing soft cushioning as he falls with a thud. Tanvi sits hugging her knees, looking at the grounds, the others moving around.

When I'm with you and our friends, I think I'm happy too. Yeah. Be happy, Tanz. Of course you'll be happy as long as you only consider me a friend. I wish we can keep being like this... As friends... Even as he trails off, Samrat isn't sure exactly where his thoughts are going, or if it's what he wants.

***

🌀TBC 🌀
✨🌈Word count: 1269🌈🌙❤️

❤️💬Up next: Hatjot sees through Samrat-Tanvi's lie! What happens next? What are the sudden twists and turns that lead Tanvi to confess her feelings? How will Samrat react to her confession? Read on to know more! Stay

❣️💬Author's note: nothing offensive against short girls in this story, it's all in the name of fun and well... I have always thought that as everyone is paired with their colleagues, Abhi-Sameera, Farhan-Isha, Samrat-Tanvi would have become a pair too if the show went on. But yeah I think the makers hinted it with them smiling together at the end, Tanvi urging him to follow along, making a small talk with him who's all stiff and hesitant bc of what happened. I seriously was disappointed with this show ending back then and I'm once again feeling the same, nonetheless glad that the episodes are finally available to watch after ages.

👄💟Ref below. Tanvi indeed is the shortest member of hawks and next to samrat even so😅👄 i find it cute,.. whenever there's a pairing between a short girl and tall guy, i just love it 😍 💟i made such pairing in my orginal story the Zohra project 😂😊 *sigh* that said I absolutely love all the hawks and I miss them, i wish the writers had the energy to give every pair the story they deserved... And the show went on more but... Yeah glad I'm finally writing this old idea of mine. I will surely see to its completion

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