..its the third day of appraisal..and she is already on her duty...picking up his uniform from laundry...arranging his stuff neatly...
He is tired of asking her not to do that ....and gives up finally...as she says sorry and does it again..no matter how many time he scolds ...

....
Its early in morning ...and he didn't expect anyone..so he barged in the hall in a towel...just bathed ..

She is arranging his uniform....neatly....

"Cadet singh...what are you doing here so early"he yells at her...covering himself....

"Sir ..wo..i am so sorry ..i had just picked up your uniform from the laundry"she gets flustered ...

"What are orderlies for cadet singh how many times i have told you...to let them do their work..."he yells..

"Sir but i am your supporter"he shakes his head angrily....
But as his anger calms down ..he notices her gawking like a deer.....at him.....without blinking eyes even once ...
She is lost...looking at water droplets sliding from his torso.....his wet hair ......

"Cadet singh...close your eyes will you"he orders her. ...embarrassed..at her weird behavior...

"Sorry sir"she bites her lip....and shuts her eyes tightly.....

He picks up the uniform and starts to head inside .

She opens her eye slightly......to have another look....not conciously aware of what she is doing. ....deriving a guilty pleasure from the act.....

" dismiss"he yells as
He feels her eyes on him....on his way inside the bedroom....and runs  as fast as he can..inside...almost hitting his head on the door .cursing his fate...and this silly girl...

*******

its quarter to five ..and his biological clock alarming him even in this condition..
After drinking that torture potion he had been asleep for god knows how many hours...and now a sudden headache that comes along with the annoying feeling of heaviness.....troubling him..as he wakes up in a dimly lit room with a dire need of some painkillers and water ....only to feel something warm on his forehead.....
His focus shifts to that thing .....which happens to be a hand .....soft and soothing  one....

He looks up to find it to be hers.....as she is asleep leaning on that headboard  of his bed....perhaps just fell asleep...after a tiring night watch.....as he was unwell...

He had woken up to teeth  clenching pains before...so many times.....being. Soldier....but never had he found anyone attempt to soothe it so ardently....

He raises himself in that dizzy hangover .....to notice her dressed in a pink kurti ....hair let loose......face.....stained with dried tears and a color of exhaustion....
Her frowning lips....her heavy yet innocently fluttering eyelids.....and that uneasiness on her face.....as she sleeps without a proper support to her head ...

He adjusts the pillow behind her back.....to see an immediate pout of relief ...amused at how sensitive she is even when in a deep slumber ...
He is fixed gawking at her cute sleepy face .....for a few minutes. ..

He doesn't know what makes him brush off those strand of hair away from. Her face ....or his fingers Trace her features.  Like wanting to study them.....
A suddne urge to feel those pair of lips against his clouds him....perhaps its the headache ..or dizziness...that he can blame on later.
.

He traces her lips gently .....with his thumb. ....wondering how they will taste. ..

Leaning a little closer ..he touches them with hers........for a brief moment.....then parts ....suddenly at a meek realization of what he had done. ...he parts a bit from her .....

Its  after that ...she wakes up ..to find him gawking at her....leaning against the head board of the bed. ....with dark eyes. ..

Starteled she composes herself and he is sacred....did she come to know what just happened

"Sir wo..."she stammers..while not being to supresss that cute yawn....rubbing her eyes...and he is just lost in adoring her ....
"Good morning..."she wishes him and tries to get up from his bed in a hurry ...
But she trips in her haste...falling over him.....and he holds her by the waist......lost in her eyes...

"Sir ...wo...aaap ....how are you feeling now.."

She is trying to converse with him while her heart is pacing more like a bullet train...

He tightens his grip ..and replies..."a lot better cadet singh"in a daze....too lost in her fragnance..and feel of her hair falling on his face......and the moments of her chest heaving upon his......"headaches..??"she whispers...

"No..no headaches....."his voice a little husked...it was a dreamy moment.....

While she is passing him same hypnotised looks as if lost in his eyes .

He traces her features with his eyes ...while she tries to examine his nose...his lips ....his stubble...his eyelashes.......so close.....their noses rub for a brief moment....and she lets out a huffed moan...feeling his fingers  warm against her skin...as her  kurti shifts slightly ......
They suddenly hear a knock on the door and their moment breaks...and he hurriedly frees her.....all embarrassed .......she ties up her hair quickly...

All the cadets are at his door step....before reporting to their respective mentors..

"Sirji...tabiyat theek hai na aapki...."huda asks..

"Yes cadet huda i am perfectly fine ."he replies.
Others greet him too....
"Cadets....aap log apne apne faculty ke pass jaldi report kariye...i am here na...to check on captain." Shalini assesing their embarassment tries to help him.

"But mam....sir ka  talktime normal to ho gya he na"pooja asks

"Cadet ghai...mera Talktime infact badh gaya he trust me....."he says passing a look at naina...making her cheeks go pink...and pooja lets out a chuckle

"Cadet ghai...aaj ki test khatam hone ke baad aap log wapas se captain se milne aa sakte hain...you ppl go off now..."Dr shalini cleverly shoos them away
.......

"So naina...have you checked his temprature as i had asked Earlier"

"Yes mam.."she says...."mam..may i leave..."she asks to curb the embarassment .....
She nods..and after she' s gone....

"Captain..seems like....naina ne bohot ache see khayal rakha he aapka...."she says while checking his bp

He looked at her as if seen a ghost.

"I mean you are recovering pretty quick...its great.."she covers up

And leaves grinning....making him drown in a pool of embarrassment....

But no matter how much he denies .those moments when she looks at him that way...takes care of him...are the most heartwarming moments of his life....

He starts getting  faint idea of what she has started to feel about him...and isn't herself aware....and with a realisation of that....its hundred times difficult than it was earlier.....to keep a check on his heart......