KAL HO NAA HO : No More Joking
Rohit/Aman
Slash J
PG-13
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Rohit had a good job; he earned lots of money and there were lots of pretty girls around his office. He had Kanta Bhen to wash and iron his nice suits and shirts, the fashionable clothing he used to try and lure those pretty girls.
Rohit liked girls…he tried his luck with most of them (unless they were totally hideous) but things hardly ever seemed to go his way. He would get shot down, and sometimes these girls could be quite harsh, or there would be a flaw with the girl. She would want to change him or she would reveal herself to be a divorcee with kids, or even still married.
But apart from those occasional problems his life had been pretty sweet, and so had Naina. She wasn't flashy and flirty like the girls he normally went for and that was why she had become his best friend instead. And it was nice to have a best friend, because New York could be a big and lonely place.
But then something had changed. A whirlwind of cheeky smiles and fun had blown in from India and disrupted the life of everyone it touched. This whirlwind was Aman, Naina's neighbour.
The first Rohit had heard of Aman had been from Naina's complaints of a pushy, nosy neighbour.
But he wasn't any of that.
Okay, so maybe he was pushy and nosy, but not in a horrible way like Naina had made him out to be. He just seemed to be obsessed with making everyone around him happy, with making Naina smile. He even seemed to care about Rohit.
And Rohit could see, beneath the joking and the 'keep positive' attitude the other man exuded, a certain sadness. It was a look that came into Aman's eyes when he thought no one was looking.
Rohit wanted to ask him what was wrong, had wanted to so many times and had often been on the verge of doing so, but Aman would distract him with a smile, his brown eyes sparkling, and Rohit would forget again.
Aman had taught him two things. The first was that Naina was more, could be more than just a friend to him. That she was actually the most perfect girl he knew; she was beautiful, she was funny, she was kind. She didn't come with the baggage of divorce or kids or any such thing, and she had never turned him away.
The second thing Aman had taught him (without knowing or meaning to) was that, never mind Naina being the perfect girl, Aman was the most perfect human being he had ever known. At first Rohit tried to deny it, ignore it. It was just the slight quickening of his heart when Aman looked at him or when Aman said his name, it didn't mean anything.
Then it was his palms sweating when Aman got too close or played up awkward situations in front of Kanta Bhen. It was the time he had watched Aman sleep, beside him, in his bed (and didn't Aman have his own home to go to?) and he had thought about running his hands through the other man's soft black hair or touching the full lips and then he had quickly pushed the thoughts away.
It was the time when, in his apartment, during the unravelling of one of Aman's crazy 'win-Naina's heart' plans, Rohit had suddenly become tired of hearing Naina's name and held his finger up to Aman's mouth to silence him.
They had stayed utterly still for what seemed like ages, Rohit's heart beating like a drum. It seemed he had studied Aman so carefully in that silence, taken in every perfect part of him that he could. Aman's hand had come up to grip his wrist, maybe to try and move him away. The sadness had once again become visible in his eyes and Rohit had watched him blink and try to hide it.
"Kanta Bhen," Aman had finally said with a small smile.
"She takes this day off," Rohit had said, "No more joking…"
Then, before Aman could break away or before he lost his sudden burst of courage, Rohit shook himself free of Aman's grip and then took hold of the other man's wrists and pushed him back against the wall.
Then he kissed him.
And he didn't think of Naina, he didn't think of how wrong it was or whether Aman would punch him afterwards. He just let himself revel in the softness of Aman's lips and the crazy love that the man had inspired in him.
Aman didn't exactly kiss back but he pulled Rohit closer to him and when Rohit broke the kiss Aman buried his head in his shoulder and clung to him like a lifeline.
When he had discovered the truth about Aman, that he was dying, it had been a shock because, despite noticing the sadness, Rohit had never imagined a world without the other man. It seemed, though he hadn't really known him long, that he now could not live without him.
When Aman died it seemed that he had left Rohit better off than he was before. He still had his good job and his nice clothes but now he had Naina as well. But the truth was that Rohit often, for years after, felt more empty and alone than he had before, though he loved Naina well enough.
And sometimes, when he thought no one was watching him, he got a look of such sadness in it that Naina wanted to cry.