A/N: The first time I saw K3G, I had a total KKHH hangover and was like, 'Yessss!! Rani didn't come between Rahul-Anjali - in your face, Naina!!' But on rewatching, I really sympathized with Naina, because she really is a lovely person.
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Catching Up
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He joined her on the porch, handing her a mug of hot chocolate. She accepted it gratefully, the mug warming her cold hands. 'Krish asleep yet?' she asked.
He grinned. 'I had to bribe him to go to bed, but yes, he's asleep now.'
For a while they were both silent, occasionally sipping from their mugs. Finally Naina broke the silence, smiling at Rahul. 'It's been a while, hasn't it?'
Rahul tried to smile, but didn't quite manage it, remembering their last meeting. She noticed this and whacked him. 'Idiot! Don't blame yourself for that. It's all in the past now.'
He swallowed. 'Were you very hurt?'
Her eyes misted over with memories as she considered this. 'Yes, very,' she said frankly. 'But I don't regret it one bit - loving and losing you helped shape me as a person.'
Rahul managed to smile this time. It really was nice to meet everyone again, after ten years' separation. He hadn't realized how much he had valued Naina's friendship until he had to live without it. 'Tell me one thing,' he said suddenly, a spark of mischief in his eyes. 'I emailed and called you so many times - why didn't you ever reply? Was something keeping you busy? Or was it someone?'
She laughed suddenly, remembering their conversation from long ago. 'Not just one, Rahul. You know me...'
He nudged her shoulder. 'Yeah, you stud you.'
She nudged him back. 'Yeah, me stud me.' Then more seriously, she said, 'Really, Rahul. You've got to meet Abhi when he gets back from Mumbai - he's amazing.' Her face softened as she spoke of him. 'At first I didn't really like him. He seemed too interested in me, and after years of chasing you, I guess it made me rather suspicious. But then I saw the honesty in his eyes.'
He ruffled her hair, smiling at the all-too-familiar goofy look on her face. 'I'm truly happy for you, kiddo.'
She gave a squeal of mock-indignation at this. 'I'm only five years younger than you, you know!'
He didn't say anything to this, but thought to himself that five years had been a huge gap when they were growing up together. When he had gone off to London to complete his MBA at twenty years of age, he had considered Naina, then fifteen, still a child. Being always much older than her and feeling the gap especially at that time, he had regarded her almost as a little sister, a sentiment she at that time clearly had not returned. They had been constant companions throughout their lives, even though both had passed through adolescence at different points.
'We've had some good times together, haven't we?' mused Rahul.
She glanced sideways at him, smiling. 'What, at those boring society parties?' Then she became more serious. 'Yeah, we have.'
He looked at his watch. 'Speaking of boring society parties, Mom, Dad, Anjali and Daijaan should be back from theirs soon.'
'So how did you get out of this one?' She looked at him curiously.
He grinned slyly. 'I volunteered to stay home to babysit Krish - they thought I was making a huge sacrifice.'
'Dhat! Incorrigible.' She smiled at him fondly. 'You know, soon he won't need babysitting - what will you do then?'
He didn't miss a beat. 'He'll always be a baby to me. To Anjali too. She's become Mom and Dad's favourite in two days, so I don't think she'll have any trouble convincing them.'
She sighed happily. 'You haven't changed at all.'
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A/N: Please review with any comments, criticisms, suggestions for improvement, etc.!