Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the idea.

Teri aankhon ke dariya ka utarna bhi zaroori tha
Mohabbat bhi zaroori thi, bichadna bhi zaroori tha
Zuroori tha ke hum dono tawaaf-e-aarzoo karte
Magar phir aarzu'on ka bikharna bhi zaroori tha
Teri aankhon ke dariya ka utarna bhi zaroori tha

She was back in KMA.

She was told by everyone, in one way or another, to move on.

Pooja had given her a speech about creating new connections, getting on another network or something equally ridiculous. Ali had been very sincere when he told her that her quest was finally over and she should focus on being the best army officer that she could.

Yudi had sat with her one day and said that he understood. He understood what she was going through as a result of falling for a mentor. Naina had just stared at him with blank eyes and replied, "Life is short." He had fallen silent after that.

Huda had tried his age-old flirting with her again and said, "Phoolan, let's get posted on a border together and create havoc there." She had told him to move on.

Alekh had been very straightforward with her. "You are done now, Naina. You have gotten justice for your brother. You have avenged Captain Sir. You are done. It is over."

She had been unable to explain to him that it wasn't supposed to be over like this. She had always dreamt about the end.

She would place her brother's picture back on the Wall of Fame. Her parents would finally be able to sleep at night. She would graduate as the best cadet from academy. And she would tell Captain Rajveer that she loved him. Not that he didn't know it already.

But none of it happened the way it was supposed to.

Now she was back in KMA because this was the only place that remotely felt like home to her anymore. She had spent two of the best years of her life here. She had met the most amazing friends in these corridors. She had gotten the privilege of studying under a great faculty, Major Nair excluded of course.

And she had met the love of her life here.

She had met Captain Rajveer Singh Shekhawat right at the entrance of KMA on her very first day. She had spent a few weeks getting impressed and irritated at him at the same time. She had gotten to know him better after that and learned to respect and trust him.

She had become possessive of his time when Dr. Ritu Mishra forced her way into his life. She had gotten insane with jealousy (even if she didn't recognize the emotion back then) when they had gotten engaged.

She had felt enraged when she came to know about Rajveer's betrayal. Her heart was left empty after shooting him at point blank. The thing that made her even more mad afterwards was how hard it was to hate him even when she wanted to kill him.

She thought herself stupid and childish after causing trouble between Rajveer and Abhimanyu. She had felt an intense amount of relief when they all saved Rajveer from dying in a blast. She had nearly fainted from the intensity of his eyes during the concentration game that they had played in the game room. She fell in love with him more and more every day and there was no stopping it.

Point 1857 and his company had been the best thing that she had experienced in her life hands down. There were no words to explain the time that she spent with Rajveer in his last few days. She wanted to share everything with him and spend all her time in his proximity.

They did have a few days of stolen glances, heated stares and a weird sort of bliss with each other. But it had ended with just that. They hadn't gotten a chance to explore their love. Life struck yet again.

She came back to KMA because it was the only place she felt close to Rajveer. She took over him classes and his sleeping quarters. People thought she was wasting her potential, teaching here. But she was the only one who knew the truth. She hadn't come to KMA to become a great army officer, win some battles or get glory in the first place. She had came here to get justice for her brother and she had done that. She had no desire to get involved in anymore bloodbath.

She was at peace here or as much peace a person like her could get who had lost so much.

She was startled out of her thoughts by a knock on her door. An orderly came in and said, "Ma'am, Major Chauhan has requested your presence in the meeting room at 1800 hours."

"I will be there." She replied.

Abhimanyu Rai Chauhan had recently been promoted to a Major and been placed as the principal of KMA. He had been tight-lipped about his last mission despite being the same friendly, sincere person he had always been. He did promise her a present when she went to congratulate him on his first day in as principal. He hadn't delivered it to her yet and always gave a mysterious smile whenever she inquired about it. "Patience, Naina, patience. It is a virtue."

"Have you ever known me to be patient, Sir?" She had retorted. He refused to humor her after that.

May be he would finally deliver on his promise today, she grinned at the thought.

She was in the meeting room at 1800 hours sharp and was surprised to see all the familiar faces in there. All the faculty from her time as a cadet in KMA was there. Dr. Major Shalini, Suri ji and Lolita ma'am. The only ones not present were Major Nair, Brigadier Chandok and... him. Major Nair was currently enjoying the military jail's hospitality and Brigadier Chandok had retired. She didn't want to think about him.

Abhimanyu entered the room in a whirlwind. He was always exuberant like that, even though his energy had been dimmed somewhat after the death of his friend.

But today was something different. She felt like she was looking at the old Abhimanyu again. The one she met years ago in the field with all those goons, full of energy and life. He was practically skipping in his shoes, like he wanted to jump up and down in ecstasy.

"Sit down, sit down everyone. The people in this room, we never need to be formal with each other. Settle down." He said.

Everyone sat down and looked around in confusion.

"What is going on, Sir?" Dr. Shalini asked what was on everyone's mind.

"A good news. The best news in the world. You have no idea how happy I am today." Abhimanyu practically twirled around.

Naina chuckled, "We can see that, Sir."

"Naina! Naina, Naina, Naina! You will be getting your present today." He laughed.

Present? She looked at him with uncertainty. "If it is my present, why will I be sharing it with all these people here?" She smiled mischievously.

"Oh I just... forget it, Naina. So let me tell you about the new member that is joining the KMA faculty today. He will be sharing the Communication and Strategy classes with you, Captain Singh." Abhimanyu told them.

Naina was baffled. She had to share her classes with a stranger? How was this a present?

"The man has personified strategy. He has had to face sabotage all his life and he excelled every single time. He sacrificed everything for this country and refuses to stop even now. He is back after a 3 years stint in the Black Ops division abroad," Abhimanyu took a deep breath. "What can I say? He is an enigma wrapped in a cloak of mystery and-"

"Since when did you become such a silver tongue about your friends, Chauhan Sahab?" A slightly hoarse voice came from the door of the meeting room.

A very familiar voice. Naina felt like the earth was splitting open under her feet. Her head whipped around to look at the newcomer.

She felt the world around spin at the sight of the man standing there. A strange blackness started creeping in her vision.

Abhimanyu got up quickly, "You are early, Major."

"What? Are you going to fire me on my very first day back here, Chauhan?" The man retorted.

Naina couldn't breathe when she heard the words coming from the man who was still leaning against the door. It couldn't be, her mind screamed. She didn't even notice the shocked reactions of the rest of the occupants of the room.

"It's Principal to you, you bastard. Principal. Major. Abhimanyu. Rai. Chauhan." He was smiling as he emphasized on every word.

The man gave a stunning smile as he straightened and entered the room to stand in front of Abhimanyu.

"Major Rajveer Singh Shekhawat! Reporting for duty, Sir!" He saluted.

Naina stood up and her chair tumbled backward. The world was spinning at an alarming rate around her. She took a step forward. The man moved his head in her direction. She could see his face even though her vision was blurring with every passing second.

She knew that face. She could pick that face easily from a crowd of hundreds. "Sir..."

He turned towards her fully in confusion and blasted her with his chocolate brown, intense eyes. "I am sorry?"

She fainted.

A/N: So this is how it is going to go down. It has been 6 or 7 years since Rajveer's 'death'. He didn't die. Obviously. I refuse to accept it so I am ignoring all the details of everything that happened after his death.

What was so annoying was how they entertained the idea that Rajveer is still alive and then forgot all about it and decided not to give closure to the audience. This was one character that I might have been okay with getting replaced by some other actor. Anyway, you will see in the future chapters how I chose to deal with it all.

I hope the read was worth your time. Do let me know what you think. :)