CHARACTERS

★ Kaartik Sharma ★

★ Ruhi Anand ★

Pune

"God, those lovestruck eyes." A tinge of crimson dashed her fair cheeks as the doctor smirked and wrapped the blood pressure measurer's strap around her arm. Giving him a small pout, she grabbed her white duvet and leaned forward to glance out of the door of her hospital chamber. Her impatient eyes were wide and brows furrowed, as if anticipating someone to arrive.

"Its, its nothing like that, you're over analyzing everything." She passed a mock sharp look at him, who pumped the pressure, "Fine, I will catch your lie woman if the blood pressure reports high." He dramatically raised his eyebrows and glanced above shaking his head. Not everyday someone gets to witness some awkward love stories, that too right in a hospital. 

Ruhi whined at the Dr. Chauhan, who will repeatedly pulling her leg. After all, in this monotone life of running through countless patients, everyone needs some entertainment in life. And teasing Ruhi was his primary task, "Now we don't get to see such things in a daily life Miss, you have to endure our teases. Not everyday we see victims falling in love with their offenders." 

"He wasn't at fault, doctor. And he isn't an offender." Ruhi squinted her eyes and folded her arms dramatically, looking away.

"Yeah, yeah everything in love is blind." 

She formulated a smug expression on her face, her one leg wrapped in bandage and plaster as it was rested carefully, her arms gleefully holding a romance novel near her bosom. Strange, someone who had a deep interest only in detective novels, the twenty year old had a different spicy genre in her hands. She clearly remembered herself vividly eye-rolling seeing those romance novels stacked in book shelves, wondering how unrealistic the leads are or their love but now--

All because of that one person.

They say soulmates meet at the most, most weird situations which cannot be even fathomed. Ruhi too hadn't wondered about it exactly in a narrow dimly lit lane, when she accidentally slipped and fell right in front of Kaartik's car. The inertia of the car did its job even though it was tried really hard to halt, and there she was moaning with a broken leg, a few scratches and a deep bruise at the corner of her head. 

"Oh damn damn damn! Oh shit!" Was the only thing she heard before passing out in a pair of warm arms, the latter's heart beats surpassing everything due to sheer tension. It would have been a romantic scene if for the situation, because her almost lifeless arms were looped around his shoulder and unconscious self latched to his chest carefully, as she was rushed to the nearby hospital.  

"Are you mad...at me?"  Kaartik gave a fiddly smile, curling his lips out in nervousness and tapping his fingers with each other, as Ruhi sat up on her hospital bed with a plaster in her limb and bandages taped around her bruises. Her only uncle, who was in foreign for some conferences was informed about the mishap and the maidservant who cared for her else, had rushed in with the news. Kaartik had a bit of tough time explaining her what happened, but was kind of surprised when Ruhi confessed the truth. 

"Hmm, well. I would've been if you had ruined my pretty face, but consider yourself lucky since it is intact." Her lips shifted in a corner in a curvy smile, as she squinted her eyes at Kaartik in a not so serious manner, and he couldn't trust her cheerful and optimistic nature at the first go. He rested his palms on his waist and let out an amused chuckle, shaking his head, "I thought you would've chopped me into pieces." 

She laughed all the while, though meekly due to the effect of medicine and pain, and his heart dared to skip a beat. The tension had long evaded and he couldn't help but notice how adorable she was, with a pair of gorgeous brown eyes and plump lips. Her exceptional bubbly personality was her trait, she almost managed to initiate a friendly conversation with the nurse who arrived to look upon her. 

She had felt butterflies in her stomach, when he visited the second day, the next day and so on. Even her college friends didn't visit her that frequently, as did Kaartik. "Hey, its fine! You need not do this!" Ruhi chuckled along, as Kaartik stacked a handful of papers and assignments, he had taken pains to gather from her college, only so that she does not miss out on them. "Damage repair, this is damage repair, Ru." He smiled along, a tinge of warmth crept on the latter's cheeks not believing how such people really exist on earth. 

The care made her feel exceptional. She wasn't used to it, how externally bubbly she was but circumstances had taken a lot of from. Being devoid of parent's care and love at the tender age of eight, she only knew her maternal uncle, who too had to visit foreign every then and now, and the maid servant who cared after her. 

He made her feel something different; he made her feel loved. 

Kaartik felt his life had turned into a shining star, he often smiled unconsciously in his office, glancing at the blank screen of the laptop with his fingers resting on his chin. Smile would erupt in his face, watching his Whatsapp notify her messages, or sometimes her adorable and indirect ways of asking him for a visit. Never in his twenty four years of life could make him feel the way Ruhi was making him feel. Her innate innocence yet a sense of maturity, always optimistic and bubbly. She felt like a beautiful treasure, open to all but only a few could understand its true value and worth. 

Both felt their heart throbbing for each other whenever there eyes collided, Ruhi now began to fumble at times in front of him, or snatch glances and Kaartik would cover his mouth to save himself from awkward embarrassments, but it only got them closer. She would stiffen, when Kaartik paused sitting on the small couch nearby for visitors and would prefer to sit at the at the edge of her bed and gossip with her. 

His maturity, her innocence; his admirable humor and her craziness, his demureness and her bubbliness, everything was like pieces of puzzles fitting together. 

She felt herself screaming internally out of happiness, when he offered to braid her long waist length tresses, that was a clear signal how much they were whipped for each other. She never knew that the hospital chamber would someday appear so colorful or the bland food would taste so good, or the syringes that were inserted in her skin would be less painful if she drifted in his thoughts. 

She remembered how she laid cuddled in his arms, blushing deep and shivering in happiness after they kissed. The nearness was now too much to avoid, the build up had grown intense enough not seal the gap between them.  His lips fitted perfectly with her smooth ones, him passionately drawing in her soft lips, exploring her mouth vividly. Chills ran down her spin, as her quavering fingers held the material of his shirt, deeply kissing him back, pouring everything in the kiss she could. His arms locked around her waist, as they enjoyed their little intimacy, he too caring of the fact not to hurt her anywhere. 

She was healing with each passing day; almost a month had passed in the hospital and it was predicted she would be walking within three months, yet she lived each day to her fullest. And he couldn't wait to take her out, and do everything lovers do.

"Looks like Ruhi's Mr. Handsome is right here," Dr. Chauhan grinned at her mischievously, glancing outside her chamber through the semi glass door. The elegant tall frame dressed in a dashing white shirt and black pants, with the suite hung on his elbow was pacing forward and backward with his phone held against his ear and a bag dangling from his shoulder. He hummed on the phone, speaking in hushed tones since it was a hospital corridor, flipping his dense black hairs upon his forehead right where to it belonged. 

"Uff, Doctor!" Ruhi whined like a child for the umpteenth time, earning an innocent look from the latter. The day's checkup was over and the excited girl was grinning like a mad lover, impatiently waiting for Kaartik to come in. Dr. Chauhan was near the door as Kaartik entered with a smile, the door creaked and at once Ruhi rested herself on the cushion behind her, switching her eyes from Kaartik to a book she was reading, obviously not to make everything too obvious. 

He was still humming on the phone and spoke with the doctor at intervals, Ruhi kept stealing glances at his handsome frame. He was too hard not to crush on or love, and she enjoyed every bit of crushing and loving him. 

"Hey beautiful! Missed me?" He winked, shoving the phone inside and throwing a rose flower at her, she gasped at the sudden move and instantly caught it with a pursed smile, "Got screwed in the traffic?"

"Don't even talk about it," He rolled his eyes dramatically, "Got rather screwed at your college, getting the notes. Your professors kept me waiting, real long!" He clicked his tongue while she giggled, while he ranted slightly about her college's administration, taking out the notes from his bag. 

"Give me that!" A delighted grin spread over her face as Kaartik pulled out a new novel from his bag, which he had rented from the library for her. She was almost about to jump from her bed with her screwed leg, but Kaartik let out a pretended sigh and held it high, "First you confess you were missing me."

"Mi-missing you? In your dreams!" Flush crept her cheeks knowing that her desperation to meet him was caught fair and square.

"You blush says something else, Ru." He paced and waved the book high above, teasing her with a smirk on his face.

"No, not at all." She tapped her fingers on her elbow, looking away with a puffed cheek. She was too cute to handle, and Kaartik enjoyed pressing her buttons every now and then. 

"Haww, liar." He flipped the pages of the book, sighing dramatically.

"Kaartik, please!" 

"Nope, nothing comes without a fee miss." He shook his head with a poker face, and shut the book, making Ruhi roll her eyes. He had always the upper hand of extracting whatever he wanted to hear from her at times and later pinch her cheeks and tease her about it. She absolutely loved it, but of course, confessing that would lead to another session of it.

"Okay fine fine.." She sighed in the end, shifting towards him, "I want to confess that..."

"Yeah go on, I am hearing it.." He blinked innocently at her.

"I want to confess that...."

"Yeah-" And before he could release, he felt his shirt being yanked down on the bed, he fell down with a slight thud with his elbow and Ruhi was holding his collar, trying her best to snatch the book from his hand, "Kaartik give me that damn book, you baboon!"

It wouldn't take a genius to guess what Ruhi had saved his name on her phone, after that day when due to her funky ways, Kaartik stuck out his tongue standing afar and saved her name on his contact list as 'Crazy woman' from 'Ruhi'. She had vapors emitting from her ears, but of course her plastered leg prevented from doing anything, as he winked and displayed her new name on his screen. That night, literally at two in the morning she switched Kaartik's name as 'Baboon' from 'Kaartik' on her mobile and sent a proud screenshot of his picture edited with a baboon's head over his with some 'devil emojis'. 

And Kaartik almost had a mini heart attack seeing that picture popping up on his phone when he rubbed his eyes that fine morning to check his messages.

He argued that atleast he had kept her a human--

"Abey Ru ki bacchi! ( My goodness, Ru!)" Kaartik complained in a hushed tone, if someone entered right there, it was sure they both would be thrown right there from the hospital, for creating ruckus. Ruhi struggled, giggling with her plastered leg sprawled on one side while the other one was over Kaartik, while he still tried his best to keep the book away, "Mad woman, you want to break your other leg as well or what?"

"No first you give that!" She almost dragged herself and semi climbed upon him, wrestling with him like nothing.

"Ru, hospital peeps shall screw us!"

"I don't freaking care!" She waved her hand up, and he held her waist, finding themselves as some toddlers as they wrestled along. 

★★★★★★★

A/N

#Rutik 😍✨

Every girl deserves a Kaartik in her life  🤭🤭😍😍.

I mean do not jump in front of a car or something for that now--*coughs* 😅😅.

Btw Idk who is my favorite now, Satyavaan or Kaartik 🥺🥺 They are both koot and noice, you guys only tell me who's your favorite 😍✨

Signing off for today!

Nushkie 🐨