A/N: Heavily, VERY heavily, inspired by FRIENDS (all of them). And slightly, by several other stories and shows. Don't blame me later!

:: The Box of Chocolates ::

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"So I'll update you guys on the forensic report in about an hour," says Tarika to Abhijeet and Purvi as she prepares to exit the bureau.

"Great! In the meantime, Purvi, check Satish's phone records and see if you find anything suspicious. We are really close to cracking this case!," orders Abhijeet.

"Yes sir!," Purvi obliges turning to move to her desk but stops midway as she remembers something. "Ohh by the way, Tarika, I've got something for you," she tells her friend and proceeds to search her handbag.

"Really?," asks Tarika, slightly overwhelmed at the gesture. Her expression then gentle, however, escalates into a bout of ecstasy when she sees what the thing in question is. "QUALITY STREET CHOCOLATES?!" Tarika almost shouts in the nearly empty bureau and Abhijeet momentarily screws his eyes shut before giving her a thoroughly scandalized look, silently thankful of the fact that the head of the department is absent from the scene.

The forensic doctor, however, seems to pay no heed to her boyfriend's utter dismay. The box in her hand is the most important at the moment. She keeps staring at it with a look of sheer astonishment.

"I gift her an expensive set of earrings which she does not look twice at before keeping it away, but for this, she gets excited!," Abhijeet exclaims with a mixture of sarcasm and disappointment, and Tarika rolls her eyes before turning to Purvi. "Thank you, thank you so, so much for this!," she nearly jumps like a five-year-old girl being gifted the toy she longed for, and pulls the inspector into a hug, much to the latter's horror.

"Uhh.. yeah, I mean, I remember you mentioning you were looking for them since a few days. I found them at a store near my place yesterday and bought a box for you right away," she smiles and Tarika looks at her with an expression as if Purvi has taken a bullet to save her.

Muttering something incomprehensible under his breath, Abhijeet waves his hands in the air in exasperation and strides in the direction of the two girls. "Alright, back to work, you two!," he commands and turns to his girlfriend as Purvi walks away. "I know this box of chocolates has made your day, but I'd really like an update on that report," he speaks, keeping his tone as sweet yet authoritative as possible.

"And don't forget about our date tonight!," he adds in a barely audible voice, glancing momentarily in Purvi's direction to check if she has noticed anything. Thankfully, she is fully engrossed in her file. "Of course I won't, Abhijeet! I've looking forward to it since morning," replies Tarika, blushing slightly as he brushes his fingers over her hand before letting her go.

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Later that evening..

"So… you've booked a nice table for us, huh? Very… very sweet!," smiles Tarika.

"Well, I know this is your favourite restaurant and we've been planning this since a long time. I wanted to make sure this evening turns out perfect for you, for us. So I made all the arrangements in advance," he says, looking immensely happy to be seated with his lady-love and proceeds to take her hand in his. "You look gorgeous tonight! Just like this evening," he whispers romantically staring deep in her eyes.

Tarika, however, smiles back nervously and murmurs a 'Ohh crap' under her breath which thankfully goes unnoticed by Abhijeet who still seems smitten by her.

"Let's order the chicken you always love? And for starters, I think we'll have the kebabs. What say?," asks Abhijeet, scanning the menu card.

"Umm Abhijeet? I think I'll have the tomato soup," Tarika says, wincing slightly and Abhijeet looks at her in confusion. "Soup? Do you want to start with soup? Alright, let me-"

"N-no. I- I'll have just the soup, that's it," Tarika interrupts him abruptly, grimacing as she looks everywhere else but at him. Abhijeet does a double take. "Just the soup? Why, won't you have the chicken? You always have it whenever we come here!," he exclaims, looking a bit baffled and disheartened. He has definitely not made all the arrangements just so they can have some soup.

"Yeah.. I- uhh- I'm- I'm on this new diet. I- I forgot to tell you," the forensic doctor fumbles, stirring uncomfortably in her seat.

Abhijeet narrows his eyes at her, his investigative instincts kicking in. "You're not on a diet. Stop messing around, Dr. Tarika, and tell me what's going on! Are you… are you feeling sick?," he demands, leaning a bit to express his concern.

Tarika scrunches her eyes shut before opening them again and takes a deep breath. "Okay! I'll explain but please don't get mad!," she pleads, covering half her face with her hands. Abhijeet remains unfazed, as he continues to scrutinize her face and patiently waits for an explanation.

"Remember the box of chocolates Purvi gave me this morning?", asks Tarika, her voice barely above a meek whisper.

"Yeah?," Abhijeet answers, trying to connect the dots.

Tarika twists uncomfortably in her chair, fiddling with her fingers under the table and hangs her head down as she speaks, in a voice halfway between a whimper and a murmur, "I… I… I ate the entire box of chocolates… in one go!"

The effect is immediate.

"You what?!," the reaction is so loud, it turns quite a few heads in their direction and two waiters passing by nearly drop their orders. The senior inspector, however, is oblivious to all the attention he has invited. He has a more important matter to deal with.

At the other end of the table, Tarika now covers her entire face with her hands, wishing nothing but for the floor beneath her chair to break open and swallow her whole.

Ten seconds later, she manages to gather some courage and warily peeks at her boyfriend, who by the look on his face looks much more scandalized than when an investigation has taken a seemingly unexpected turn.

"I'm soooorry!," she cries, her features contorted in an earnest pout.

The occasions are rare when senior inspector Abhijeet finds himself at a loss of words. He keeps staring at his girlfriend with an expression of utter disbelief for a few more seconds, within which Tarika apologizes for at least three more times, every time with the same forbearing look on her face.

"Why why why why why… are you… are you crazy?!," he finally gathers his voice, the flummoxed expression unchanged, to which he earns a 'sorry' for probably the fifth time, that goes in vain yet again. "You knew this was supposed to be a dinner date!," says Abhijeet in an evidently irate tone, the look of incredulity now intensified.

When the forensic doctor speaks, her voice is more of a sob. "I know, I know I shouldn't have!," she looks at Abhijeet with the most imploring expression she can muster. "I ate a couple of them and kept the box away. But they… they kept calling out to me! I… I lost control!," she almost wails, slightly wincing as the chocolates have now started to show their effect, making her stomach uneasy.

The senior inspector straightens back in his seat, his arms folded to his chest and eyebrows still furrowed angrily. Sure, he has dealt with many of her peculiar habits, but this is totally uncalled for.

"Let me get this straight! Since the past three days I've making preparations to make this evening pleasant and unforgettable; I made sure I finish all my pending paperwork, worked tirelessly so that we both can spend some quality time together, for which by the way, we've gotten a chance after almost a month and you're telling me I won't get to enjoy because my girlfriend ate an entire box of some stupid chocolates?!," Abhijeet speaks in a thoroughly disgruntled voice, giving Tarika his infamous death glare.

"Don't make me feel guilty than I already am! I said I'm sorry! I'm sorry I ruined our evening. It won't happen again, I promise!," pleads Tarika, entangling her fingers below her lips in a gesture of praying for forgiveness, desperately trying to ignore the retching sensation in her abdomen.

Abhijeet shakes his head violently. "Whatever you say, is not going to make me feel better! I was… I was looking forward to having a nice romantic dinner with you," he says in a dejected tone, looking away from her.

"Well, you… you can still have what you want. I won't eat but you can," says Tarika, thinking it might put him in a moderately better mood.

"Yeah right! I'll keep eating all the food while my girlfriend stares at me with a look that says she's about to throw up any minute!," Abhijeet snarls.

The forensic doctor is about to reply but suddenly feels a strong sensation to actually vomit and she slaps her hand to her mouth. "Okay, now that you're talking of throwing up, I actually have to throw up," she says, running toward the restroom and Abhijeet lets out an audible sigh, closing his eyes despondently.

When she returns, Abhijeet is at the table glaring at her with a huffy expression. "Are you alright?," he asks, without bothering to cover his chagrin and Tarika nods affirmatively. Instead of taking her original seat opposite him, grabs her chair beside him and sits close to him.

"Don't even try!," Abhijeet mutters, raising a finger at her for he knows perfectly well what she's trying to do. "Abhijeet, listen to me, please!," Tarika implores, taking his hand in hers, without a hint of seductiveness. She knows she has disappointed him much more than what could be resolved by a mere display of sexiness.

"What?," he snaps at her, though he doesn't withdraw his hand.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise! Whatever you say, whatever you want. I know I completely ruined this evening, you tried to make this a successful date after such a long time and I was a complete idiot. I know I should have had more self-control over my cravings. I'm sorry, Abhijeet, I'm so sorry! Please, please forgive me this time, please!," the forensic doctor pleads, squeezing his hand in order to express the intensity of her guilt.

The senior inspector sighs, mellowing down a bit and after a long time, the creases on his forehead smoothen. "You're a doctor, Tarika. You ought to know what's good for you and what's not and where should you stop. You're not a kid now, are you?," he speaks in a softened tone, though he still sounds annoyed.

"I know!," Tarika whispers meekly, hanging her head down in shame and her curls cascade down covering her face. Abhijeet brushes a few curls behind her ear so that her face is visible to him and cups her chin to make her face him. "I don't want anything to happen to you, sweetheart. With all those chocolates, you could have… you could have ended up in a hospital!," he says, leaning forward a bit to express his concern.

Tarika finally looks at him, a lopsided smile playing on her lips. "Look who's talking about ending up in a hospital," she says dryly and Abhijeet gives her an offended look. "I do not end up in a hospital due to any silly reason!," he says and Tarika nods in agreement.

Taking a deep breath, she scoots closer to him and whispers in an alluring tone, "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better? Anything? We still have the evening to us…," she says and takes a pause before adding in a seductive voice, "and the night!"

Abhijeet gives his girlfriend a knowing grin, staring deep in her eyes but quickly comes out of the momentary trance as he registers the surrounding. "I will think about it. Now get back; people are looking!," he mutters, gently pushing her away.

"Let's go to my place and watch a movie," Abhijeet offers as they get ready to leave the restaurant.

"Fine by me! You choose the movie, whatever you want to watch and I'll make- OH MY GOD THAT CHOCOLATE PASTRY LOOKS SO DELICIOUS!," Tarika shrieks, her eyes following the plate of said dessert carried by a waiter till it lands on a table nearby.

Abhijeet shouts in horror. "NO! NO MORE CHOCOLATE FOR YOU!," he yells, dragging her out toward the parking lot and this time, she follows, without daring to protest.

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:: The End ::