A/N This is set after Sankatkaal 2. A different take from Abhijeet's pov. For anyone who doesn't remember, it's related to ACP sir saying that Abhijeet left Daya behind and came up saving his own life.

The other cases mentioned are The case of frame up (where Sudhakar was falsely accused ep 243) and the case of dishonest cop (where Daya sir was acting suspicious ep 223)

Enjoy!

The dim light of the table lamp flickered, making Abhijeet snap out of his daze. He ruefully realised that he had been blankly staring at his book without a word read, not a page turned since he first sat down with it. The lights in the room were turned off, all but the little lamp bulb, which he noted needed to be changed.

The yellow light flickered again and Abhijeet leaned back into his chair heaving a sigh. With one hand he rubbed his eyes, with the other he closed the book resting on the desk. What good was it when he couldn't bring himself to read a word? He was too tired for distractions, too drained for amusements.

"Magar Abhijeet, kya satrah saal kisi insaan ko pehchanne mein kam pad jaate hai?"

He'd argued that it was in the spur of the moment, spoken in panic. Not meant anything more than that. But even then his voice was laced with uncertainty, the words forced out as if they weren't to convince Daya but himself. His friend had caught it though, staring at him wordlessly, mouth tightened in suppressed rage.

Abhijeet's voice had faltered then, coming to an abrupt stop. He had stared back at Daya for a while more, jaw set defiantly, before shaking his head and leaving for his bedroom.

The loud bang that had followed after he'd closed the door told him that Daya also had left the house.

That was last night. He hadn't heard from Daya since then, hadn't tried contacting him either. He couldn't bring himself to face him, couldn't look into those knowing eyes and lie that he was fine. Nor could he tell him the obvious truth that ACP sir was still right at his place. Because no matter how well they knew each other, no matter what they had intended, it was that, a mistake and after all that is said and done, ACP sir still remained their senior. A position that inevitably bore him greater responsibilities.

Abhijeet stretched his neck all the way over the top-rail of the chair, dropping his head on the other side and watching as the room turned upside-down. His arms fell limply at his sides; legs propped over one corner of the desk. The light fluttered and flared for one last time before it blinked out, engulfing the room in a gloomy darkness.

"Yeh koi pehli baar nahi hua hai, Abhi." Daya had said.

No, it hadn't. But anytime something like it did, Abhijeet couldn't help but remember Sudhakar. Oh how harshly he'd treated him. A man who had been loyally performing his duty for so many years. And yet Abhijeet had treated him worse than he would a criminal, to the point where even Daya had asked him if he was purposely trying to trap Sudhakar.

He couldn't help but remember Daya when Abhijeet had mistook him for helping a criminal and had refused to work with a man like him. True that they weren't as close back then, and yet it had bugged him how wrong he was about his shy, benevolent junior.

After that, he had tried to deal with delicate situations like those with a calmer mind, owing to his own unpleasant experiences. Like they say – once burnt, twice shy.

Though, it was those unfortunate events that made him understand ACP sir. His head judged his mistakes rather harshly compared to other's, but Abhijeet knew it was because after ACP sir, the responsibility of their department fell on him. His senior was hard on him for he didn't want Abhijeet to make those mistakes.

He knew because he himself had kept both Sudhakar and Daya in higher regards. Never had he thought they would do anything even moderately wrong. So when there was a possibility that they had, he had been so disturbed that he had become ruthless towards them. It wasn't because he didn't trust them but because he did, more than most.

Abhijeet knew, because both him and ACP sir were aware that someday he might be the one to reprise ACP sir's role. His senior wasn't treating him unfairly. He was just trying to leave a perfect officer in his stead. Someone more than capable to handle the department on his own just like him. And somewhere, this trait of ACP sir had rubbed off on Abhijeet too. Not for others but for himself, where he'd become too self-critical, beating himself over miniscule errors.

He was lost in his thoughts when the distinct creaking of wood caught his attention, followed by the sound of the main-door being shut. Only heard thanks to the utter silence in the house.

Then there was light pouring in from the gap beneath his bedroom door. He didn't move, only turned his head slightly towards his door, clenching his eyes shut when it opened and he was hit by sudden brightness.

Slowly, he opened them, adjusting to the new change and was met by Daya's worried glare. He couldn't understand why at first, before he realised it was the way he was sitting. Almost leaning against the chair as if half dead, head still thrown back, arms still limp at the sides.

He was about to sit up, had almost opened his mouth to speak when Daya beat him to it.

"Agar samne vala naraz hai toh koi insaan phone kare, kuch kahe. Apna haal chal bataye, samne vale ka puche. Lekin nahi. Yaha toh bhaisahab ne apne aap ko self-isolation mein daal rakha hai. Aur yeh lights kyun band kar rakhi thi pure ghar ki? Pata hai ke kanjoos ho, lekin itne?"

The irritated voice with an underlying concern brought a small smile to Abhijeet's face. Atleast this was a delightful constant in his life.

"Coffee bana raha hun mai." Daya said sternly. "Mahashay chahe toh bahar aajae iss kaal-kothri se." Saying so, he went to the kitchen, leaving no doubt that he was still upset.

Something told Abhijeet that this time, it was more due to the fact that he hadn't contacted his dear friend and less due to the actual reason of their argument.

Shaking his head, he stood up and cracked his joints before following Daya, already begining to construct a good enough apology in his head.

Abhijeet knew. It made the ache in his chest a little easier to handle. Daya didn't. And Abhijeet was fine with keeping it that way. For experience was a great teacher, but the price it demanded remained high.

The End

A/N Hope y'all liked it.

Please do give me your feedbacks!

Will update YTYKM soon, working on it atm. Dw about it.

Take care,

Janhvi.