rooftop (hbad au)
<AN> Well... y’all asked for it. Also side note: please please please let me know if any of the hindi is wrong. I’ll be providing translations at the end of the fic. I used Romanized text instead of Devanagari script here.
Tagging: @pixelburied @witchiegirl @lorosette @itsbrindleybinch @awkwardalbatros @ravenclawpokegirl25 @lilmissperfectlyimperfect @ajaysbhandari @ylevolenahs @hufflepvnk
</AN>
It had been a few weeks since he and Grace had talked about getting married, and Ajay felt like he was finally ready to ask.
He had taken every single thing into account when he was planning, as a good director had to. Location, check: he was in the elevator on his way to the landlord’s office to talk about getting access to the rooftop. He’d met the man a few times before: he was a verified grump, but Ajay was confident in his ability to persuade the man to his side. Lighting, check: he’d sneakily purchased string lights the other day while Grace had been at rehearsal. Sound, check: portable speakers, courtesy of Lysander back from their Bonnie & Clyde days, and a playlist of all the songs she’d ever texted him about. Costumes, check: he’d ironed out his best button-down and khaki pants for the occasion, something nice but still comfortable and hopefully just casual enough to catch her off guard. And finally, for props: he’d basically cleared the nearest flower kiosk out of lilacs, her favorite, and roses just thrown in for a change of pace.
But the most important prop was in his pants pocket, and he took it out now, running his thumb over the small wooden box. He’d ordered the engagement ring from a small artisan jeweler based in New York, so it hadn’t cost him much to get it delivered. His dad had called when Ajay texted to ask his advice on how much to spend on the ring, and the two had had a long discussion about prices and expectations and finances that left Ajay feeling very secure in his choice. He had found a beautiful ring with a gold band and a few small diamonds surrounding a slightly larger focal diamond. He really loved the style (and the price), and he knew Grace would too. She didn’t wear much fancy jewelry, so he knew she’d want something low-key.
By far the hardest part had been figuring out her ring size, since he still wanted to keep the timing of his plans secret. He’d been lucky enough though, one morning two weeks ago, to find her class ring from college sitting out on their dresser. After a very awkward conversation that definitely left her suspicious, he determined that it did still fit comfortably on her ring finger and was able to discern her ring size.
Finally, the elevator arrived at the first floor, and Ajay quickly walked down the hall and knocked on his landlord’s office. The man, Simon, kept him waiting but eventually opened the door, welcoming him inside with little more than a grunt. Ajay took a seat across from Simon at his desk. Simon stared at him until Ajay realized he was supposed to be speaking.
“What are the rules on rooftop access?”
“No.”
Ajay blinked, but argued back.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s my roof. No.”
Ajay crossed his arms.
“We won’t be loud and I promise we’ll clean up any mess we make.”
“No.”
Ajay narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Simon’s stony expression. The man could’ve easily thrown Ajay out of his office if he didn’t want to talk to him; Ajay knew from experience that the rudeness wasn’t beneath him. Simon must just be waiting for the right argument.
“I want to do something special for my girlfriend,” Ajay tried, attempting to solve the puzzle.
“And what’s that?” Simon asked, his expression betraying nothing.
Finally, Ajay thought, a weak point.
“Well, Grace and I have been together for almost two years now, and we’re both taking the weekend off to spend time with each other, so-”
Simon cut him off. “You’re going to propose.”
Ajay involuntarily turned red, but cleared his throat. “Yes, I am.”
Simon studied Ajay, and Ajay resisted the urge to fidget as the landlord’s eyes considered him. Finally, Simon spoke again.
“Fine,” he grunted, and Ajay broke into a wide grin. Before Ajay could open his mouth to thank him, though, Simon cut him off.
“But here’s some rules. You can play music for a maximum of thirty minutes between the hours of seven pm and nine pm. You get one warning if it’s too loud, and if it’s still too loud after that I’m kicking you off. And listen, young man, I shouldn’t have to say this, but no funny business on my roof. That’s what you’ve got an apartment for.”
Ajay’s eyes widened at that last statement, but he managed to maintain control of his words.
“Yes, sir. Thank you so much, this means a lot to me.” He thought he saw a hint of a smile from under Simon’s long beard, but he lost it as Simon turned to procure the key to the rooftop access.
“Get it to my dropbox by 9 am tomorrow, or the replacement cost’s coming out of your rent.”
Ajay couldn’t help himself from grinning at the landlord as he pocketed the small key. “Again, thank you so much.”
“Don’t mention it. Now, get out of my office,” Simon said bluntly, and Ajay stood up rapidly to make his exit.
***
Almost five hours later, Grace turned her key in the lock and entered the apartment. She was sweaty from her all-day rehearsal, but very ready to spend a relaxing weekend with her boyfriend.
It had become a bit of a tradition for them, these regularly scheduled “stay-cations” every few months. Between the busy schedules and large time demands of show business, the couple had had to put something in place to make sure that they set enough time aside for each other. It was easier ever since they moved in together, but Grace still loved having a few days just for them every once in a while.
This one was particularly special, because it came almost exactly on their second anniversary. The exact day had been yesterday, but Ajay had been forced to stay late working with a star-studded cast that was giving him hell, and Grace had needed to clock some hours at a dance studio anyways. The show she was rehearsing was notorious for its difficult dance sequences, and as a swing she was expected to know them all. But she had found a deep love for dancing, and even though it was a lot of work she didn’t mind doing it. A job was a job, and a gig as a swing on a long-running Broadway show meant amazing things to come.
It did mean, however, that Ajay was asleep by the time she gave up dancing and crawled into their bed at three am, and that he was long gone for the day when she woke up around lunchtime. Their schedules were grueling, and Grace desperately missed spending time with him.
So naturally, she threw herself into Ajay’s arms as soon as she walked through the door, her dance bag falling to the ground as his arms wrapped around her, holding her to him tightly until he noticed the sweat stench and quickly released her to avoid ruining his clothes. That was when she noticed the wonderful smell emanating from the kitchen.
“You’re my savior,” she proclaimed, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “I thought we’d be going out and I’d have to be in front of people.”
“No people,” Ajay reassured her, “just me and you, a delicious dinner, a little Sinatra, and a sky full of stars.”
“How poetic. Wait… a sky full of… oh my god, did you get roof access?”
Grinning, he pulled the key out of his blazer pocket. She gasped.
“How did you get Simon to give you that?”
“That’s a secret,” he teased, smirking. He pressed a light kiss to her nose, then shoved her towards the bathroom. “Now go take a shower, you smell terrible.”
“Thanks,” Grace answered over her shoulder, rolling her eyes lovingly as she entered the bathroom. She washed her sweat away and let her sore muscles relax under the hot spray of the shower, humming some of the lyrics to the musical she’d been rehearsing. The music seemed to be permanently implanted in her head.
When she got out of the shower after fifteen blissful minutes, the towel she wrapped herself in was perfectly warm and dry, like it had just been taken out of the dryer. She made a mental note to thank Ajay for that later. What a thoughtful nerd, she thought fondly, leaving the bathroom and proceeding to her closet to pick out something nice but not too nice to wear. After all, they would be on the roof and she wanted to impress him, but she was too tired to go full formal.
Grace eventually decided on a soft pink shirt and a black skirt, accompanied by her signature knee-high boots. Under them, she wore her fuzziest Cookie Monster socks. She’d take the secret to her grave, but the only reason she liked wearing boots was because she could wear whatever socks she wanted under them. Sometimes a stressful work week needed crazy socks, and she knew Ajay agreed because she’d caught him rifling through her sock drawer on more than one occasion. She quickly dried her hair and did some simple makeup to cover the dark circles under her eyes. She figured she’d be getting more than enough sleep this weekend to make up for them: one of her and Ajay’s favorite things to do together was nap, because neither of them got enough sleep.
She finally emerged from the bedroom to see Ajay packing two plates and two sets of utensils into a large picnic basket that she hadn’t even known they owned. When he saw her, he smiled.
“You look beautiful,” he said, crossing the small kitchen to take her hands in his.
“You always say that,” Grace countered, biting her bottom lip playfully.
“It’s always true.” He turned back to the picnic basket and closed it, then hoisted the handles over his shoulder. “You ready to go?”
“Hell yes,” Grace cheered, “I’ve been wanting to see this roof forever.”
The pair left their apartment, fingers intertwined, to explore what laid beyond the mysterious roof access door.
Once she crossed the threshold, Grace could instantly tell that Ajay had really put some thought into the plans for tonight.
A large, thick, soft-looking blanket was spread out across the center of the flat roof, looking inviting. A small space-heater was set up beside it, because even though it was May the night could still get chilly. Beyond the blanket was a portable speaker—Grace recognized the one Ajay had used in Bonnie & Clyde—and string lights indicating a clear space, possibly for them to dance.
Grace could only squeeze Ajay’s hand in gratitude, recognizing the effort he must have gone through to put everything together. He kissed her temple and led her towards the blanket where they both sat.
“I still want to know how you got Simon to let us up here,” Grace said as she unpacked the food from the basket.
“It’s still a secret, janu.”
Grace rolled her eyes at him lovingly, then lifted the lid of one of the containers.
“Wow, Korean barbecue beef? You know this is my favorite…”
“That’s why I made it,” Ajay said, grinning. “Check the rest of the basket.”
Grace dug out a generous container of rice, a thermos of roasted vegetables (extra peppers but no carrots- he had remembered!), and finally a small box that Grace suspected was full of desserts. She raised an eyebrow at Ajay, who just shrugged and motioned to the box. Grace cautiously opened the box, then lost all semblance of caution when she saw what was inside.
“That’s cinnamon apple turnovers!”
“Yup, homemade this time.”
“Really? You didn’t just run down to the bakery during intermission–”
Ajay cut her off with a long kiss, then pulled back a few inches, their faces still close together.
“No, I made those myself. And I burned half my fingers doing it,” he said in a low voice, making Grace snort with laughter.
“You’re not usually that clumsy,” she noted between laughs. “And you’re a pretty good pastry chef, so what gives?”
Ajay simply hummed, turning away from her to start serving their meal. “My hands might have been shaking,” he admitted.
Grace raised her eyebrows. “How come?”
“That’s a secret, too,” he teased, pausing to give her a wink. Grace’s heartbeat sped up, a warm feeling of comfort and love filling her chest. She leaned forward to wrap her arms around his waist, kissing the nape of his neck as he finished loading a plate with food.
They dug in to the feast, talking and joking around as much as they could while savoring the perfectly marinated barbecue and the fluffiest rice Grace thought she’d ever tasted. Even the vegetables tasted amazing, roasted with olive oil according to Ajay. Grace ate her fill and then some, stealing chunks of the beef off Ajay’s plate to his indignation. He kept her glass filled with a seemingly endless supply of strawberry-flavored sparkling water (Grace had developed an addiction to the stuff, and now it was practically all she would drink) and let her have more than her share of the cinnamon apple turnovers (he had made three just to prepare for her wanting extras).
After the food was all eaten, Grace cleared the dishes into the empty basket while Ajay fiddled with his phone and the speakers, eventually getting them to play Sinatra songs at a volume that they could still hear but that hopefully wouldn’t provoke Simon’s rage. He helped her up and led her over to the little dance floor that he’d set up with the lights, then pulled her in close as they swayed together to the music.
After a few moments of wonderful, beautiful, comfortable silence, Grace spoke back up with the one thing that was on her mind.
“So, are you ever gonna tell me how you really got Simon to give us access?”
Ajay sighed. “I guess you’ll never leave it alone until I do, yeah?”
Grace pulled away slightly, a teasing smile playing on her lips. “Did you sleep with him?” she joked.
“What?!”
“Because if you did, just saying, you could’ve invited me too.”
“Grace, what the actual-”
“Might’ve been fun. But now we’ll never know.”
Ajay rolled his eyes, trying not to give his girlfriend the satisfaction of knowing that her jokes were funny.
“He was actually really easy to convince,” Ajay said, “When I told him what I wanted it for.”
“Oh yeah? What did you tell him?” Grace asked, thinking she knew where he might be going with this. She prayed he couldn’t feel her heart pounding.
“Yeah. Well, first I walked down to his office and I just asked, and he shut me down but didn’t throw me out like he did the last few times we went to ask.”
“Surprise number one,” Grace quipped.
“Tell me about it. So I thought maybe I’d try a practical appeal.”
“Sensible.”
“I told him we’d clean up and we wouldn’t be loud.”
“And?”
“He still said no. But still didn’t make me leave. So I pulled out the greatest weapon in my arsenal.”
“Which was…?”
“An emotional appeal. The man has to have a heart somewhere.”
Grace smiled against Ajay’s shoulder, his arms wrapped even tighter around her. She could feel his heartbeat from where her forehead was nestled in the crook of his neck, and it was fast. She knew exactly where he was going with this, but she couldn’t imagine ruining it for him. She just pressed into his chest more, let him hold her closer as he continued.
“I told him how, eleven years ago, I met the love of my life but I didn’t know it was her. How I loved her, and then lost her, and then found her again so many years later.”
“Awww, Ajay..”
“I told him about how you mean the world to me, and how I want to make every single moment with you as special as it can be. I told him that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Did you really say all that to Simon?” Grace tried to blink back tears, overwhelmed by all of Ajay’s beautiful words.
“No. But I implied it with what I did say. I said it was our second anniversary, and that I wanted to do something really special for you. And he said, ‘You’re going to propose,’.”
Grace snuggled in closer to Ajay, the tears in her eyes starting to fall.
“And I said, ‘Yes, I am,’.”
Ajay separated himself from Grace, unwrapping her arms from around his shoulders. Far enough back, he kneeled down where he’d been standing and took out a small wooden box. Grace, unsure what to do, busied herself wiping away her tears. Ajay noticed the action and looked alarmed, but his panic faded when Grace showed him the big smile behind her tears. He grinned back up at her, his own eyes starting to glint with tears.
“Y’know, Grace, I wrote you a speech but I can’t remember a word of it. That’s how much you take my breath away, how you scatter my best-laid plans to the wind.”
Grace choked out a laugh, covering her mouth with one of her hands.
“The gist of it is this: I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be your husband, the father of your children, your partner forever. Will you marry me?”
Ajay opened the box, revealing the delicate ring he’d bought her. Grace didn’t think she’d ever seen anything more beautiful in her life than that ring, besides the man who was holding it, and she got distracted watching the dazzle of the string lights as they hit the small diamonds at just the right angle.
Tears falling freely now, Grace nodded rapidly.
“Yes!” she choked out through the tears. She stuck her left hand out and he slid the ring on, then stood up to wrap her in a tight hug once he’d put the box back in his pocket.
“Why are you crying?” he whispered as he ran his hands up and down her back soothingly.
“Why are you crying?” Grace mumbled into his blazer, sniffing. Ajay kissed the top of her head.
“Because I love you, and I get to love you for the rest of my life.”
Grace cried even harder. “Me too.”
***
The next morning, Grace woke up warm and comfortable with Ajay beside her, gently playing with her hair. She shifted, and he turned to face her, cupping her face in his hands.
“I’m sorry, janu, did I wake you up?”
Grace shook her head, her voice a little hoarse from sleep. “No, but even if you did, I think this is the best way to wake up.”
Ajay grinned and leaned down to kiss her. Once he pulled back, he ran a hand through her hair again.
“Well, good morning then, fiancée.”
Grace took in a surprised breath. “Wow, okay, I’m not gonna get used to that one for a while, fiancé,” she teased back, grinning when he blinked in surprise.
“It’s definitely a new one,” he agreed. “Should we get up, then? I’m hungry, and I think there are a few people who might want to hear about our news.”
Grace groaned into Ajay’s chest. “Can we go ahead and argue about who to call first now, and then get food?”
Ajay laughed. “Let’s call your brother first, if that’s alright? We can do that same thing to him as he did to us when he told you about his first kid.”
As Grace laughed, Ajay rolled out of the bed and grabbed a t-shirt. Grace stretched her back and followed suit, picking a pair of white socks with large yellow lemons on them from the drawer.
“You’re so weird,” Ajay laughed.
“Don’t act like you don’t steal my socks,” Grace responded, raising an eyebrow at him. “And anyways, you know I’m weird. That’s why you love me.”
“You’re right. I knew you were weird and I still asked you to marry me. Ignored all the warning signs…” he teased, only stopping when Grace reached back over to the bed and threw a throw pillow at him playfully.
The pair went into their small kitchen. Ajay microwaved the remnants of a takeout meal from the week before, while Grace poured cereal into a bowl.
Her twin brother, James, still lived in Los Angeles, but he and Grace Skyped every week. About a year ago, around the time Grace and Ajay had moved in together, James had called her with a big grin on his face.
“CONGRATULATIONS!” he had yelled almost as soon as she answered the call, laughing at the bewildered look on her face.
“What?”
“I said congratulations!”
“What did I do?”
James had beckoned his wife into the view of the camera. His wife, Alyssa, was hardly holding back her own laughter.
“Congratulations!” she said, making Grace groan in exasperation. At that point, Ajay had come over to investigate.
“Oh, hi Ajay! This kind of applies to you, too,” James had said. Grace and Ajay traded bewildered looks.
“Congratulations on your new niece or nephew,” James had said calmly, his expression barely holding back his happiness. He had waited for the news to sink in, and had laughed when Grace’s eyes went wide and she covered her mouth.
Stirring her cereal, Grace laughed to herself as she remembered that chaotic Skype call. She was so happy her brother had found someone with the same sense of humor as him. Their kid, a little boy they named Gabriel, had been born about six months ago, and Grace had been able to take some time off to go visit the newborn. He was the spitting image of Alyssa, but very loud just like James. Grace had fallen in love with him as soon as she’d seen him.
After breakfast, right at the scheduled time, Grace started a Skype call with James. He picked up quickly, sitting at the breakfast bar with Gabriel in his arms. On Grace’s end, Ajay remained off-camera.
“Hey Grace,” James said. He picked up Gabriel’s little arm to wave at the camera. “Hi Aunt Grace!” he said in a squeaky tone, imitating the baby. Grace giggled.
“Hey, James and Gabe! Is Alyssa there?”
“Yeah, hold on.” James yelled off-camera, and not five seconds later Alyssa walked into the frame.
“Hey, Grace!” she said. “When are you coming down for another visit? We miss you over here.”
“Hopefully pretty soon,” Grace smiled. “In the meantime, I just wanted to offer you guys my congratulations.” She was careful not to let anything on her face give away the news, but she knew it was a futile attempt because her brother knew her way too well to be fooled by a poker face. James raised his eyebrows at her.
“Congratulations? It’s a little late for that, Gabe was born half a year ago.”
“Oh, no, I wasn’t referring to that…” Grace deflected, drumming her fingers on the table and trying not to make eye contact with Ajay, who was trying not to laugh.
“Well, what is it, then?” Maybe it was just the early hour, but James hadn’t quite caught on to the fact that she was messing with him yet. From the way Alyssa’s eyes were narrowed, Grace knew she had guessed what was going on.
“It’s just not every day you get a future brother-in-law,” Grace said, avoiding eye contact with the camera. She couldn’t help the smile that slipped onto her face, especially when James shouted in realization.
“Oh my God, Grace! You guys got engaged?” He started fidgeting excitedly so much that Alyssa took the baby away from him, kissing his temple as she did so.
“Yup.” Ajay popped into the frame, standing behind Grace’s chair with his hands resting on her shoulders. Grace held up the ring for Alyssa to inspect.
“It’s beautiful, nice job!” Alyssa said to Ajay, nodding approvingly. Ajay grinned and kissed the top of Grace’s head. James was still sitting in the corner of the frame, shell-shocked.
“James? You alive?”
James still didn’t move until a plaintive meow sounded off-screen, prompting him to pick up the fluffy orange and white cat. After a second, he turned back to the camera.
“Guys…” he said, sounding a little choked up. “This is amazing.”
“I think so, too,” Grace said, putting a hand over Ajay’s.
“Have you guys thought about dates yet? Locations?” Alyssa asked, her wedding-planner side coming out. She had worked as a wedding planner ever since she’d graduated from UCLA, where she and James had met and started dating.
“We haven’t thought about an exact date yet, but I think we want a long engagement,” Ajay said, referencing the brief conversation he and Grace had had the night before after the emotions of the night got less extreme. “And we want the ceremony to be in California, so it’s easy for all our family to come.”
“I could totally help you guys plan it!” Alyssa said, trying to contain her excitement. “Discount rate, because you’re family.”
“That would be amazing,” Grace said. “We’ll get back to you when we know more. This only happened last night. You guys are actually the first people we called.”
After a brief conversation, a brotherly threat from James, and a silly face from Gabe, the twins ended their Skype call.
“That was exhausting,” Grace said, “Who’s next?”
“The one and only Shruti Bhandari. If we’re lucky, we might be able to catch Mohit too.”’
“I miss that kid,” Grace muttered.
“He misses you, too. I keep telling him he needs to text you more if he misses you so much, but he’s worried he’ll bother you.”
“Nonsense!” Grace shouted. “I always have time for Mo.”
“He’s going to be your brother-in-law,” Ajay pointed out. Grace grinned.
Ajay started the call to his mother, and it didn’t take her more than a few seconds to pick up. After some technical difficulties involving the camera on her computer, Shruti started speaking in rapid-fire Hindi. Grace was able to pick out a few words, enough to know that Shruti was admonishing her son for not asking Grace to marry him yet. Ajay buried his face in his hands.
“Namaste, Shruti. Aap kaisi hain?” Grace asked, hoping she’d got the pronunciation of the phrase correct. Shruti’s eyes widened, and she looked to her son.
“Amma, you know I’ve been teaching her Hindi!” Ajay said, exasperated. Shruti recovered and nodded.
“I’m well, Grace, thank you. How are you?”
“I’m doing great!”
“Well, since you clearly understood my question… Ajay, why haven’t you?”
“Don’t make assumptions, Amma.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Ajay grimaced, then picked up Grace’s left hand to show his mom the ring. Shruti gasped.
“He asked last night,” Grace said, a little embarrassed. She put her hand back down, and Ajay wrapped an arm around her.
“I wanted to make it special,” Ajay explained, “And I had a hard time getting our landlord to let me decorate the roof of our building.”
“Oh, betā, I’m so excited for you,” Shruti said, a large smile appearing on her face. “Do you know the date yet? Where are you going to have the ceremony?”
“We don’t know yet, it’s only been a day. Calm down,” Ajay said fondly, and his mom took a deep breath.
“Okay. I’m calm. Tell me about how you proposed!”
Sighing, Ajay told Shruti the story. Not long after, a seventeen-year-old’s voice rang through the kitchen on Shruti’s end of the call.
“Amma? Who are you talking to?”
Ajay grinned. “Mo! Come here.”
“Bhai?” Mohit came rushing into the frame. “Bhai! And Grace! Hi!”
“Hey, Mo!” Grace said. No matter how far apart they were, she loved that kid. “How’s school?”
“Sophomore year, almost over.” Mohit rolled his eyes. “So, how come you called? You never call.”
“I call lots!” Ajay protested, but Shruti took Mohit’s side.
“You would do well to call more. But go on, Ajay, tell him your news.”
Mohit pulled a chair up and sat next to his mom, resting his chin in his hand.
“Grace and I are getting married,” Ajay announced. Mohit cheered.
“Yes! I knew it! I knew it back when you were in high school that you guys were good for each other.”
“We didn’t even know that back then,” Grace joked, “but yes, your brother asked me to marry him last night and I said yes.”
Mohit grinned. “Congratulations. Now, I gotta go meet some friends at the pool, but you’re going to tell me all about it later, Ajay.”
“Will do. See you, Mo.”
Shruti laughed fondly as Mohit ran off. “Well,” she said, “I should probably go too. You guys should come visit soon, okay? I know Grace’s parents would like you to come visit as well.”
“Of course. Main aapse pyaar kartha hoon.”
“Mai bhee aapse pyaar karthee hoon. You too, bahū,” Shruti said, smiling at Grace. Then the call ended.
“What was that last part?” Grace asked, having been caught off-guard by the sudden return to Hindi.
“She said she loves you,” Ajay told Grace, drawing her closer and kissing her forehead gently, “And she called you daughter-in-law.”
“Oh. Wow,” Grace started, incredibly touched. “I think I might start crying again.”
“Oh, don’t. We still have to call your parents, my dad, probably Rosa and Mayleen…”
“Jesus,” Grace groaned.
“Then we should probably make some kind of social media announcement.”
“Nooooo,” Grace groaned. “Can’t we get any time for just us?”
“We have the rest of our lives, janu.”
Translations:
Aap kaisi hain? = How are you?
betā = son
Main aapse pyaar kartha hoon = I love you