Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Meenu and Fazal stood just outside the clinic, exchanging glances, until Deebu came running towards them, breathless and frantic.

"Yaa Allah, sach mein bhaag ke aa rahi hai," Fazal muttered, looking worried.

Meenu felt her heart squeeze, a sense of guilt settling in because of what she had done, but everything would be worth it, she was sure of it.

Deebu didn’t stop to catch her breath before bursting inside. Her panicked gaze darted around the room, scanning every corner—until it landed on him.

Sitting at his desk. And he looked completely… fine?

Nofil looked up, his brows furrowing at the sudden intrusion. "Deebu?"

She froze, her chest rising and falling rapidly. He wasn’t injured. He wasn’t even remotely hurt.

What. The. Hell.

"Yeh... kya—" She turned sharply toward Meenu, her eyes demanding answers. But before she could complete her sentence, Meenu straightened out and her voice went up a pitch. "Oh! Woh... mujhe yaad aaya, Fazal, humein parhna tha, hai na? Hum chalte hain!" 

She was already grabbing her bag and threw an apologetic look to Deebu.

Fazal blinked. "Hain? Exams toh kal hi khatam huye the—"

Meenu shot him a warning glare. Fazal quickly coughed out a chuckle. "Oh haan, kal ek aur exam hain. Dekho bhai, mujhe toh kuch yaad hi nahi rehta ajkal."

Meenu quickly snatched his biceps, yanked him toward the door, and disappeared outside—leaving Deebu standing there with…Nofil.

..

Deebu didn’t move an inch from her place, hands still clenched at her sides, her breathing uneven. Nofil, on the other hand, looked like he couldn’t believe she was actually here in front of him.

“Tum theek ho?” she finally asked, her voice softer than she expected.

Nofil blinked. “Kya?” , as if he woke up from a haze

She swallowed hard, her throat dry. “Meenu ne kaha tha… tumhara accident ho gaya hai.”

oh-

Realization dawned on his face, and his jaw tightened. “Of course she did.”

Meenu and Fazal were definitely going to get a hearing from him; they had absolutely no right to meddle in their matters.

Deebu felt heat rush to her face, anger bubbling beneath her worry. “Yeh koi mazak tha? Tumhe pata bhi hai main kitna dar gayi thi?”

“I have no idea,” he admitted, leaning back against the desk, crossing his arms. He gestured for her to take a seat. Deebu sat hesitantly, rubbing her sweaty hands on her thighs. Noticing her nervousness, Nofil’s voice was calm, but there was something else in his eyes—something heavier. 

“Mujhe laga tha tum apni conference mein busy rahogi iss waqt.”

Deebu could feel the lingering questions in his voice, but she had no answers to them. “Wo excuses the, itna toh tumhe pata hona chahiye ab tak,”

Nofil exhaled deeply. “Mujhe toh bas yeh pata hai ke tum mujhse bhaag rahi ho.”

She flinched, her eyes still lowered. “Main—”

“Deebu,” he cut her off, his eyes turning glassy. “Kya main tumhare bardasht se itna bahir ho chuka hoon ke tum mujhe seedha dekhke baat bhi nahi kar sakti?”

His strangled voice made her chest tighten.

It wasn’t that she wanted to run. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to him. It was that every time she looked at him, she saw how much she missed him. And how complicated things had become for them and how complicated she made it for them.

How much it hurt.

Deebu finally looked up at him, “Aisa nahi hai.”

“Phir kya hai?” His voice was quieter now, but no less intense. “Mujhe samjhao, Deebu, kyunki main thak gaya hoon andhon ki tarah andaza lagane se.”
Her hands curled into fists, and before she could stop herself, the words spilled out. “Tum mujhse door ho gaye ho.”

Nofil sucked in a breath.

“Pehle bhi busy rehte the, magar phir bhi…” She hesitated, searching for the right words.

They had promised each other two years of waiting when Nofil suddenly got transferred to Kesar Kalan. It wouldn’t make any difference, they said. The first few months went by quickly with Deebu settling in her new position from an intern with countless exams and now a full-fledged practicing doctor at Karachi Hospital, and there was Nofil, adjusting his life in this new place. Not a day went by without them calling or texting each other about everything. But the past few weeks turned out to be heavy for both of them. Nofil fell into a conflict with the Chairman of their Hospital, and he didn’t want to worry Deebu, so he decided to keep their texts and calls shorter than before. Knowing Deebu, she would probably catch on to his worried voice faster than he thought. But clearly, that sent the wrong signal to Deebu, making her think he was slowly drifting away from her. So, she distanced herself again, drowning in hospital work, ignoring his calls, making small talk and excuses after several missed calls, which hurt Nofil more than anything.

Meanwhile, Meenu couldn’t just stand by and watch her favorite mentor overworking himself, drowning in sorrow for so long. She had to do something. She wasn’t the type to meddle in other people’s business, but this felt different. Every time Deebu visited on weekends, Meenu saw the love and respect Nofil and Deebu had for each other. Sure, it hurt at first—she’d developed a small crush on the new local doctor, and when Nofil said his fiancée is coming to visit Kesar Kalan for the first time, she couldn’t help but feel envious of her. But as time went on, she became close to Deebu, drawn to her warmth and friendship. For the first time in her life, Meenu witnessed what true soulmates looked like. She learned to transform her crush into genuine respect and admiration.

It wasn’t long before Meenu hatched a plan with Fazal, her childhood friend, who was always up for heists and meddling, this time however, he was hesitant. What if they ended up making things worse between Deebu and Nofil? Still, Meenu was determined. She knew that once Deebu and Nofil had a proper conversation, things would fall back into place.

Back at the clinic  

“Pehle lagta tha ke main tumhari life ka hissa hoon. Ab lagta hai ke main bas ek distraction ban gayi hoon.”

Nofil exhaled slowly, his expression unreadable. He looked away for a second, running a hand over his face before finally meeting her gaze again. He never thought she could feel like this, or that he could make her feel like this.

“Tum distraction nahi ho.” His voice softened. “Tum mere liye sabse ahem ho, Deebu.”

Her throat ached. “Phir aisa kyun lagta hai ke hum ek doosre se door hone lage hain?”

A ghost of a smile flickered across his lips, but it was sad. “Yeh khush fehmi hai tumhari.”

She frowned.

He sat up from the desk and took slow steps towards her, kneeling down as he gently held her shaky hands, his eyes softer now. “I’m sorry Deebu, mujhe pata hai ke humne promise kia tha ek doosre ko, ke jab bhi koi masla ho toh hum sab kuch share karenge. But I was scared this time, main nahi chahta tha tum khomokha tension lo ya apne ko ap ko dur karne lago”

She bit her lip, refusing to let the tears gather. “Tum aisa soch bhi kaise sakte ho? Problems sab ke hote hai, iska matlab yeh nahi ke hum akele woh solve karte karte apno ko dur karde”

Nofil sighed heavily, feeling guiltier than ever. 

“I know... main bas tumhe khush rakhna chahta tha. 2 saal kam waqt nahi hai, aur Chairman Sahab mujhse ab aur waqt mang rahe hain.” His voice had become barely a whisper. “Mujhe pata hai ke humne wada kiya tha ke hum iss doori ka koi asar nahi hone denge humare rishte par, lekin shayad mujhe laga tha ke tum mujhse haar jaogi. Isliye maine socha ke pehle inn saalon ka masla khatam kar loon, phir tumhe sab bataunga. I’m sorry for doing this to you.” Nofil finally exhaled, feeling somewhat relieved after blurting everything out at once.

Deebu blinked back her tears rapidly. She couldn’t believe her ears, did he really think that low of her?

“Tum mujhe khush rakhna chahte the yeh jaanay baghair ke meri khushi tumse shuru hoti hain Nofil, main tumhare bure waqt mein tumhe chorne ke bareme soch bhi nahi sakti, hum mohabbat karte hain ek doosre se. Tumhe nahi lagta ke agar mujhse yeh baatein share karte toh aj itni problems hi nahi hoti? Hum eksaath har masla ka hal kar sakte hain, Karachi rehte huye bhi kia hain, itni jaldi sab kaise bhul gaye?”, her voice held back anger, but beneath it, she was deeply hurt that Nofil could hear. He knew she was right, she always was but his insecurities and fears got to him before she could. 

Deebu’s heart wrenched as she looked at her once calm and collected Nofil, now so broken and helpless. She knew he never meant to hurt her. It wasn’t him; it was the situation but she wouldn’t let it waver them, not anymore. “Accha, bhook lagi hain, bohot mushkil se aayi hun yahan aur jab aa hi gayi hun toh kuch khilwa bhi do, Meenu ke ghar chalein? Usse toh ab alag hisab chukana hain, mujhe toh heart attack hone wala tha wahi hospital mein”, she chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood. Nofil knew exactly what she was trying to do, his ever-loving Deebu, who always managed to make the best out of any situation. It was insane how lucky he was to have her as a life partner and now, he would do anything to make things right again. He slowly reached out, taking her face in his hands, the warmth of their touch healing them both. How he missed this and how he missed her. 

Finally, he broke the silence.

“Deebu,” he said softly, “I promise, I’ll never pull away again. Aj se problems se bhagna bandh, main kabhi kuch nahi chupaunga tumse.”

“ Main chupane dungi bhi nahi,” she replied, squeezing his hand. “But we both need to try harder. Together.”

He leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, his voice low. “I’m sorry, Deebu. I love you.”

And for the first time in weeks, Deebu felt a sense of peace settle over her. It was going to be okay, as long as they’ve got each other.

Chapter Text

Meenu had been noticing it for weeks now—Dr. Sahab was acting weird.

Not the usual "I’m-too-busy-saving-lives" weird, but "I’m-depressed-and-pretending-everything-is-fine" weird.

She had first caught it in his blank stares during their study sessions. The great Dr.Nofil, who usually laughed quietly at Fazal’s ridiculous jokes, lectured Meenu daily about studying harder, and treated every patient like an old friend—was suddenly zoning out in the middle of conversations.

Meenu had even tested it. She casually said something completely out of the world like, "Doctor Sahab, aaj hospital ke bistar hawa mein udh rahe thay"  

AND HE NODDED?! LIKE HELLO? IS HE EVEN HERE WITH US?

Which meant only two things :

Either he had finally been possessed by a jinn (given how late he worked at the clinic), or… something had happened between him and Deebu.

Meenu had her suspicions, but she needed confirmation. And for that, she needed her partner-in-crime.

✦ ✦ ✦

Meenu rushed straight to Fazal’s shop after returning from her medical college. Fazal had to be there—his father made sure he worked at their grocery store after classes. 

Business student by morning and shopkeeper by afternoon, she sighed.

"Fazaaal!"

Fazal flinched as Meenu whacked his arm, nearly spilling his chai.

"Pagal hogayi hai? Qatil karne ka iraada hai?", he screeched, rubbing his arm dramatically.

"Bakwaas band kar aur sun", Meenu hopped onto the counter, completely ignoring the unimpressed glare of Fazal’s Abba from the back. 

"Mujhe pakka yakeen hai ke Dr. Sahab kisi pareshani mein hain."

Fazal snorted, "Aur mujhe pakka yakeen hai ke tu ne subah kuch zyada hi kha liya, isliye dimagh zaroorat se zyada tez bhaag raha hai."

Meenu narrowed her eyes, "Main serious hoon, Fazal. Woh achanak se ajeeb ho rahe hain—dhyan nahi hota, hamesha thakay huye dikhte hai, aur sab se badi baat—" she leaned in dramatically, "ab mujhe daantte bhi nahi."

Fazal raised a brow. "Accha? Toh ye khushi ki baat hai ya tension ki?"

Meenu huffed, restraining herself from delivering another smack, "Tension ki!! Soch, ek banda jo mujhe har din lecture deta tha— 'Meenu, late kyun ayi ho?' 'Meenu, patients ke sath tameez se baat kiya karo.' 'Meenu, exams mein dhyan do.' Aur ab? Bas ek sehmi si rooh lag rahe hain. Upar se, Deebu ji bhi pehle ki tarah Sundays ko yahan nahi aati."

Meenu smiled thinking about her. Initial jealousy aside, their friendship had been so unexpected—yet so easy. Talking to Deebu felt comfortable, even when she rambled on about her dreams of becoming a doctor and the struggles of her daily life. And how Deebu always listened to her so intently. Somewhere along the way, Meenu had found a new dream—to become a warm-hearted doctor, just like Deebu. In short, she missed her.

Fazal stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… tension wali baat toh hai, lekin ho sakta hai Deebu ji Karachi mein busy ho aur Doctor Sahab ne mana kiya ho aane k—"

"Toh phir hum unhe yahan bula lein?", Meenu cut him off, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Ya phir Doctor Sahab ko wahan bhej dein?" , Fazal offered dryly.

Meenu rolled her eyes and smacked his head again, earning another glare from Fazal’s Abba. "Gadhe! Jahan Doctor Saab khud apne aap ko Karachi nahi bhej paa rahe, wahan hum kaise bhijwaenge? Waise bhi, wahan hum toh nahi jaa sakte na. Isliye Deebu ji ko yahan bulana parega taake hum yahin se sab dekh sakein."

Fazal rubbed his head, realizing that, for once, Meenu was making sense. Still, he was more concerned about his father kicking them out of the store for creating a scene and he really couldn’t risk losing this job. He glanced at the back, where his father was already glaring as hard as he could.

"Umm, Meenu, hum ek ghante baad apni meeting place pe milte hain. Ab tum jao, ghar jaake aram karo."

Meenu smirked, "Haan haan, ghar jaake sochti hoon kya karna hai. Hum uss ped ke neeche milenge phir. Allah Hafiz!”

She ran out of the shop, leaving Fazal to breathe a sigh of relief.

Fazal had grown used to Meenu’s ever growing interest in Dr. Sahab’s life. He was there when Meenu used to blush around Nofil, thinking she was being subtle when her crush on him was apparent on her face with shy smiles and longing stares. He had been there when her heart quietly broke the day Deebu appeared, making it clear that their Dr. Sahab was already taken. He was also there when she slowly moved on from her mere crush, warming up to Deebu and eventually seeing Nofil as nothing more than a mentor.

He had known her since their childhood days, loved her in his own quiet ways, but of course, he was never going to confess, not at the cost of their friendship. He was happy enough to be the silly funny guy who could make Meenu laugh even on her worst days and give her a shoulder to cry on when she couldn’t take it anymore. And now, he’s going to plan ridiculous schemes with her on a random Tuesday. He was happy with it, as long as he could spend his time with her, that was enough.

Under the tree

“Ab bata, plan kya hai?” , Fazal asked, curious to know what was cooking inside her head this time.

“Sach bataun? Kuch bhi nahi plan kar payi main”, Meenu replied, her voice tinged with frustration. “Mujhe bas laga tha ke main Sunday ko kisi tarah ka excuse bana ke, Deebu ji ko yahan bula lungi, par abhi tak samajh nahi aa raha ke bataun kya unko?”

Fazal listened carefully, his attention fully on her (as always). “Waise excuses banane mein tu mahir hain, mujhe pata hain ke kuch na kuch toh soch hi legi” , he laughed, earning a death glare from Meenu.

“Apne thanday mazak apne paas rakh. Main soch rahi thi ke main yeh nahi keh sakti ke meri parhai nahi ho rahi, aap aake meri madad kar lo aaj ke din?”, she wondered, taking a bite of the samosas they’d picked up on the way.

Fazal thought for a moment. “Hmm, mujhe nahi lagta woh manegi, matlab Dr. Sahab khud yahan hain tumhe parhane ke liye, woh samajh jayegi ke mamla kuch aur hain”.

Meenu couldn’t help but agree with him for the first time, “Bas aisa kuch kehna hain ke woh bhaagte bhaagte yahan aa jaye”

Fazal, noticing her distress, decided to lighten the mood with more of his lame jokes. He cleared his throat dramatically, “Baat sun, Meenu… agar tu waqai chah rahi hai ke Deebu ji yahan tak bhaagti aaye bina break lagaye, toh sirf do hi tareeqe hain.”

Meenu raised her brows, “Kaunse?”

Fazal held up a finger, “Pehla, bata de ke yahan free mein biryani bant rahi hai.”

Meenu rolled her eyes, “Tujhe bakwaas ke ilawa aur kuch aata bhi hai?”

Fazal ignored her and lifted a second finger, “Ya phir keh de ke Dr. Sahab ka accident ho gaya. Bas, phir dekhna, woh naye PIA wale jet se bhi tez pohonchegi.”

A few seconds passed before Meenu’s eyes widened, as if a lightbulb had just flicked inside her head

“FAZAL MERI JAAN, KITNA ACCHA IDEA DE DIYA TUNE YAAR!”, Meenu shrieked, grabbing his biceps and shaking him excitedly.

Fazal, mid-samosa bite, nearly choked. He blinked at her, confused for a moment, then, realization struck, and he shot up, “OYE, MAIN MAZAAK KAR RAHA THA !”

But Meenu was already locked into her plan, eyes gleaming with mischief. He had no idea what comes over Meenu when she’s scheming something. But at that moment, he liked to think about how she had called him “jaan” . Oh how he loved his simple days like these.

D-DAY

“Meenu, mujhe nahi lagta yeh accha idea hai”, Fazal was too scared to even speak out loud as he normally does. 

“Arey, kuch nahi hota! Tu bas dekh, bohot natural message bhejungi unko”, Meenu replied confidently, leaning against their favorite tree, eyes fixated on her phone.

 “Accident hone mein natural kya hota hain bhaee?”, he muttered, confused as always. 

“Uff, chup baith. Mujhe mera kaam karne de aur samosay kha,” she said, shoving the plastic bag into his hands—the ultimate snack for scheming. 

Fazal, more afraid of Meenu’s glares than of the ridiculous plan itself, chose to stay quiet and focused on munching on the samosas.

A few minutes later, Meenu finally sat up, looking slightly worried yet determine. “Hogaya kaam! Ab chal, clinic ke bahar intezar karte hain”, she said, holding out her hand.

Fazal glanced at her outstretched hand and grinned before getting up, his fingers curling around hers. Fleeting moments like these might not mean much to Meenu, but to Fazal, they were everything.

AFTERMATH

It had been more than ten minutes since Meenu ran off with Fazal from the clinic. Now, she was walking back and forth, regretting her choices. Was her plan really that bad? Had she actually ruined things between them? The dark thoughts kept messing with her head. She should have never done this. She should have minded her own business. Dr. Sahab and Deebu were going to hate her, weren’t they? Her heart broke into a million pieces at the mere thought.

Fazal, meanwhile, sat back at the counter. Surprisingly, there weren’t many customers today, probably because some politician was visiting the village, also the reason why his Abba wasn’t here to glare at them.

“Maine pehle hi kaha tha, idea accha nahi hai, ab bhugat lo”, he mumbled roughly.

Meenu stopped pacing and looked at him helplessly. "Shayad tu theek keh raha tha yaar. Maine socha tha ke woh dono ek doosre ko dekh kar khush honge, lekin wahan toh sab kuch shadeed... bas ajeeb sa lag raha tha. Bas Allah Miyan se dua karti hoon ke sab kuch theek ho jaye."

Fazal hadn’t expected her to feel this guilty. Of course, nothing bad was going to happen—he was sure of that. He had only been pulling her leg to lighten the mood, but maybe that wasn’t what she needed right now.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the counter. "Oye, tu itni pareshan kyun ho rahi hai? Tera iraada sirf madad karne ka tha, koi gunah nahi kiya tu ne."

Meenu looked away, biting her lip. "Phir bhi, agar woh dono gussa ho gaye toh?"

Fazal scoffed. "Pagli, woh dono samajhdar insaan hain, jaahil nahi. Aur tu bhi koi bewakoof nahi hai, jo bina soch samajh ke kuch kare. Tension mat le, sab theek ho jayega. Tera bas itna hi kasoor hai ke tujhe sabr nahi hai, thoda toh intezar karle ! kya pata, abhi tak shayad humara plan kaamiyab ho chuka ho?" , he flashed his usual carefree grin.

Meenu blinked at him, her shoulders relaxing slightly. "Tu kab se itni samajhdari ki baatein karne laga?"

Fazal grinned. "Jab se tu bekaar ka tension lene lagi."

A small laugh escaped Meenu’s lips, and Fazal knew he had done his job.

Now who knows what’s waiting for them on the other side of the story?