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

Something's getting in the way
Something's just about to break
I will try to find my place
In the diary of Jane

Her heart was beating at a million miles per hour throughout the class. She fumbled twice just during the introduction of the topic and her gaze kept going back to the corner of the class. Her tormentor was sitting there without a single care in the world, never missing a single movement of her body or a sole word out of her mouth.

Someone raised a hand, asked a question and she didn't even notice it for a couple of seconds, utterly distracted by Rajveer's presence.

What was he doing in her class?

There was an almost smug smile on his face as he looked pointedly towards the cadet raising his hand.

She took a deep breath in and urged her brain to work, "Arsalan, is it?" Upon his affirmative reply, she continued. "Historically, there is no shortage of brutality by armies invading regions and destroying all evidences of any and all civilizations within, apart from the occasional bouts of mercy. I would suggest you all to look up Alexander or Napoleon for further examples. I have listed a couple of books as references on the academy's online portal."

The bell rang just as she was concluding her lecture by discussing the efforts of the International Committee of Red Cross, Geneva Conventions and International Rule of Law to bridge civil and military relations all while resolutely ignoring her unwanted guest. He would not see her falter again.

She turned towards the board to clear it up while the cadets shuffled out of the class amid random chatter. The mistake of her actions became apparent when she turned back and found herself face-to-face with Rajveer. In an empty classroom.

Instead of freaking out like she always did, she took a slow breath and released it before raising her chin stubbornly in silent inquisition.

He smiled his "I know something you don't" smile which used to infuriate her but all it did right now was disturb her stomach. She really should eat something, she reminded herself.

"That was a good class. You have a great control over the cadets,"

"I had a great mentor," The words fell out of her mouth before she could stop them. Curses flew freely in her mind as her eyes fell close for a moment.

He had a strange look on his face when she opened them again, "This is another one of those things that you wouldn't explain, right?"

She didn't know how to reply, "No… it's not like… I don't… You never told me what you are doing in my class either." She shot her own question before he could say something else that would force her to come up with a lie. She could never lie to him decently.

"If I tell you the reason, you'd have to tell me who your mentor was," It was like he was setting a trap for her and she had no desire to fall in that pit whatsoever.

She exhaled in annoyance, shaking her head and turned around to leave. Just then, his hand wrapped around her wrist effectively stopping her first and then tugging on it to pull her closer to his body. Her free hand landed on his chest, the other one in a firm grip behind her back.

"Afraid?" His words taunted her even with the soft tone that they were uttered in.

She lifted her eyes from his navy blue dress shirt, scolding herself mentally for taking note of how good he looked in it, and met his stare head-on. She had to stop letting him see how much his mere presence affected her.

"Not at all, Sir. I just don't like childish games," She tried to move her trapped arm experimentally but it was futile. All it did was bring her flush against the hard yet warm planes of his body. Deep breaths weren't doing much to balance her either as she inhaled his scent, masculine with a hint of aftershave.

He didn't even slightly look winded as he kept her close without any real effort, "I haven't even started playing yet. So come on, be brave, Captain."

"I am not interested in proving anything to you, Sir," She gritted her teeth.

He moved a hand to play with the wisps of hair that had escaped from her braid. "That's a shame. Just a fair warning, I am very persistent," He continued before she could interrupt him. "But I'll even out the odds. Meet me in the training grounds for the drill after lunch."

Warm lips pressed against her cheek, her arm released and all she could do was stare at him open mouthed as he left the room.

Naina went through a massive battle between her head and her heart. On one hand, avoiding anything related to Rajveer would probably be the smart thing to do for the peace of her mind. However, how long would she really be able to keep him at arm's length? It seemed ridiculous to continuously try to circumvent his efforts to know his own past. Since when did she want him to be unaware of his past? Not remember her? Wasn't this everything she wanted from life? Everything that she yearned for? What was there to think about?

She would… go along with whatever this was, she decided while she made her way to the grounds. The cadets were in the middle of the drill, she realized when she saw Rajveer adjusting their stances and their grips on the notorious Lee-Enfield. The cadets were taking turns practicing on the five targets erected a couple of feet away.

She leaned against a wooden post, content with just watching her mentor animatedly moving around and motivating the cadets despite their current inability to hit their targets efficiently. This was where Rajveer was completely in his element, teaching and mentoring yet another batch of young hopefuls. He always inspired his cadets to be at their best and not give up.

She tried to suppress the smile that threatened to rise when a cadet swung around, the rifle still poised at her shoulder almost hitting Rajveer in face. He had to duck to avoid the flailing cadet from injuring him and as he pulled himself back, his gaze landed on her. How she was able to feel his intense stare from this far was a mystery to her but she resisted the urge to fidget from her spot. She kept her arms crossed and held his stare, neither overconfident nor submissive. She was going to stop running from him like a little girl.

He was the first to turn away this time, ensuring the cadet who was profusely apologizing to him that it was alright and continued to direct her to take the shot better. Major Nair would have reduced the girl to tears for simply daring to take part in the drill. Many things had changed for better and she was only just starting to realize that.

The excited cadets moving past her startled her out of her thoughts, chatting about how cool Major Rajveer was. She looked around the rapidly emptying grounds with slight apprehension. Rajveer was instructing the orderlies to pack up the rifles and it wasn't long before they too were leaving and Rajveer was walking towards her.

She absently noted that one rifle was left on the table but then she was distracted by the thundering of her heartbeat in her ears. She struggled to keep her breath even as he made his way to her. Just because she told herself that she wouldn't react stupidly around him anymore didn't mean that she would actually be able to do so straight away.

The setting sun was hitting her coffee-colored hair strands at the most mesmerizing of angles. He almost raised his hand to play with them but then turned his movement into a greeting, not wanting to run her off before executing what he had in mind for the evening.

His feet took him a little closer than what must be polite distance between two colleagues and smiled, "You made it."

"I'll admit I was curious," She looked down while responding.

He wanted those eyes fixed upon him. "Good. I was starting to think that you were scared of me or something,"

Her eyes shot up to his before replying defensively, "I am not scared."

"Okay then," Satisfied with her focus on him, he continued. "Here's what I had in mind. You must have worked with rifles extensively in all these years. So how about we have a face-off?"

Her brow furrowed, "A face-off?"

"You and me. Right here and right now. One target. Best of three. The winner gets to ask one thing from the loser," He kept his face serious, already expecting her to back out.

Her gaze moved from him to the targets and then back. Her head tilted a bit as she stared at him for long moments probably thinking of ways to get out of this. Her next words managed to surprise him considerably.

"Okay! I am in."

A/N: Sooooooo sorry for the late update. My brother came back home from Germany after 4 very long years and I got a bit busy with everything. Not an excuse, just letting you guys know what's going on in my life. xD

I know this chapter was a bit of a filler but the plot required it. Also, forgive any typos, I try my best to avoid any and re-read the chapter many times but somethings just slip past me.

You guys keep motivating me to do better. So I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner this time.

Happy reading!