365 DAYS 365 TALES

"Don't fall for a girl, who gets shot!" - Part 2

"How is your hand?" Aarvi's question died in her throat as she saw Kiran looking like the world was about to end. Ok, that was no surprise. Kiran always looked like the world was going to end anytime.

"I did not come here to say sorry!" Kiran told Aarvi and he wished for the umpteenth time that he could record her brown eyes. They always looked like they were mischievous.

"Honestly, I did not expect you to say sorry," Aarvi said frowning, wondering what new thing had gotten inside Kiran's head.

"I...I...." Kiran looked around struggling to breathe properly. He had to get this right. "I do not deserve this life which I am having with you, Aarvi! I am dark and dangerous. People around me die. I am not fun to be with!" Kiran said miserably. "And you..." Kiran cleared his throat watching Aarvi. "You are everything that I am not. You need to have a man who can look at you and see you for what you are. You need a man who can make you feel like a queen. A man who can make you laugh. A man who would look at you and be able to tell you that he loves you."

Aarvi sighed looking at Kiran as she caught his hands. "Look at my eyes and tell me you do not love me!"

"THAT IS NOT THE POINT OF THIS!" Kiran yelled angrily. God, this woman was impossible. Everything right from her brown eyes to high cheekbones and sparkling eyes, she should have been a....Kiran had no idea what Aarvi should have been, but he did know that it was not with him.

Kiran's recent brush with that prick Loran Mathur just proved it. That bastard – a small time criminal, had been so angry with Kiran, after Kiran had shut down his cocaine business and Loran had come after Kiran with a vengeance.

And Loran had came straight for Kiran...Kiran's heart.

And Kiran was so sure that he had lost Aarvi, forever. And even now, Kiran was sure that it was only because he was lucky that Aarvi was safe and that bastard Loran was dead.

Otherwise...

Kiran shuddered, trying to concentrate on Aarvi, "I cannot forgive myself if anything happens to you. You should be blaming me and instead you just keep loving me!" Kiran shook his head tiredly, "I should have done this a long time ago. You need to move on with your life." Kiran was depressed as he shook his head. "I am destined to be alone!' Kiran said, his voice chocking. Kiran knew that he could never forget Aarvi's light brown eyes. They were his base. His necessity. And he could never tell that to her. Or she would never leave him. And Kiran realized that if he kept Aarvi with him, he was going to kill her."I will never forget that I was loved once. And I think that is enough for me!"

"Oh my God!" Aarvi moaned as she was clutching her head, looking like she was trying to ward off a headache.

Kiran was staring blankly at Aarvi. He was expecting a lot of things from this conversation, right from a tantrum, to some shouting, even a lot of yelling or some tears. But this....

"Did you practice that speech before you came in to see me?" Aarvi asked and she had the audacity to look shocked.

Kiran was flabbergasted and his brain was frankly refusing to work.

He then snarled angrily as he got up.

And that was when Kiran saw Aarvi's amused dimpled smile as she was struggling not to laugh.

"And honestly, I slept off after you said something about being alone," She said keeping a straight face. "Can you repeat all that?" Aarvi asked.

Kiran did not look capable of talking or even thinking. This woman...

"ACP, Kiran Maral!" Aarvi nearly rolled her eyes and stopped herself at the last time. "You are the most pigheadedly stubborn man I have ever seen!' Aarvi said with feeling.

That jarred Kiran back to thinking. He was startled and then sighed.

"Add that to the list of things that you don't like about me..." Kiran said sadly.

Kiran stopped talking because his cheeks hurt a lot and it had been ages since he had been slapped by anyone. Kiran was still clutching his cheeks unable to articulate himself when Aarvi yelled angrily. "Did I say I don't like men like that?"

Kiran was wrong. There was a time in his life when he seriously avoided the other sex, for the very simple reason that talking with them confused him too much. Aarvi was one of the first few women whom Kiran had spoken with and Kiran just could not stop talking with her. He had found himself telling her so many things about himself which he had not told anyone. That was the time when Kiran revised his opinion deciding that probably all people from the other sex were not completely confusing.

But now Kiran was having a second or rather third opinion. Talking with girls, did give him a headache.

"I am a cop, lady!" Kiran yelled back. "I don't want to stay near you. I will get you killed!" He said in a fuming voice. That was the simple and stark truth. One that no one could deny. He just could not understand why such a brilliant girl could not understand such a simple thing.

"And I am a reporter, mister! A good one," Aarvi said in a loud tone. "I have someone trying to kill me on most Mondays!" Kiran was lost for words as Aarvi continued, "And you have someone trying to kill you on all the other days of the week!" Aarvi admitted generously.

Kiran was deflated. Completely deflated. He was a fool thinking that he could make this woman understand anything.

Aarvi caught his hands and this time her voice was stern. "And I love you."

Four words. Just four words, should not make him feel so...deliriously happy. There was a part of Kiran, which was wondering whether they had missed all this in his psychiatric evaluation.

Aarvi's eyes turned a real light shade of brown as she continued, "And that is all that matters, right now. Both of us live dangerous lives and we could die tomorrow!" Aarvi said as Kiran took in a deep breath not saying anything.

"In these circumstances, it makes sense to live life when we can. The parts of life that we live, that is what is going to define us. It is my life and I need to spend it with a man who loves me for what I am. Which happens to be you and I love you unconditionally. So your choice is simple. Stay away from me and be miserable and alone, for however long you are alive," Aarvi looked disdainfully at Kiran, "Because no one else is going to waste her time with you."

There was a small part of Kiran wondering whether he had just been insulted. But frankly his brain was not in good working condition to give him an answer to that question.

"Or live your life with me, no matter how short it is." Aarvi studied Kiran's inscrutable face as she continued in the same breath, "And no, I did not practice this speech. Being near you, makes me really, really weird, talkative and.."

Aarvi could not speak when she found a hard kiss on her lips.

"You do talk a lot!" Kiran complained still looking angry, catching her hands tightly. He knew he was never letting her go. Ever.

"It is because of the company I keep!" Aarvi said honestly.