henna-stained hearts (1)
next part
pairing: jaafar jackson x fem!reader, slow burn, right person-wrong time, wedding!au
summary: At her best friend's extravagant five-day Pakistani wedding, Y/N wasn't expecting to find a connection of her own. But when she meets Jaafar, an up-and-coming actor escaping the pressures of his everyday life, an unexpected friendship begins to bloom—until a hidden truth changes everything.
word count: 2.9k
a/n: given the opportunity to express the beauty of Pakistani culture (esp wedding culture), I will take it every time. I’m Pakistani-American, so it’s a great way to introduce this world to people who aren’t familiar with it. That said, the wedding details I’m writing about are based on my personal experiences with Pakistani weddings and don’t reflect everyone's way of doing things. I just wanted to write about one of my favorite seasons with one of my favorite guys hehe. I hope you enjoy it!
Tonight started out as another evening for Y/N. Leaving her design studio, she undid the umbrella after seeing the drizzle paint her office windows. Parka-clad, she got to her car and drove a short 10 minutes to her apartment. She stopped at her mailbox inside the complex and greeted the neighbors she always catches in the hallway, with tired eyes but a wide smile. She set the mail down on her dining table, kicked off her boots, and trudged to her bathroom to shower and change into a comfortable pair of pajamas. Everything until this point was routine.
She stood in her kitchen now, deciding between heating up the leftover broccoli soup she had made earlier that week or calling in takeout from the Chinese place down the street, when her eyes met the large pile of mail on her table. Shutting her eyes, throwing her head back, and letting out a large groan, she makes her way to the intimidating mountain of paper, sitting in front of it. She started organizing it into smaller, more manageable piles: bills, promotional letters for candidates running for office, and other pieces of mail that she’d likely read over once and toss out, the occasional coupons for a discounted dental cleaning, and her hands stopped when her gaze landed on several beige envelopes, with her name written intricately on the fronts. “These must be Arzoo’s wedding cards,” she thinks aloud.
Arzoo, her best friend in the whole world, was someone she met when she was just in high school. After her father’s passing, Y/N and her mother moved to a new neighborhood, which meant she had to switch schools. Then she met Arzoo in one of her classes, and when they discovered the similarities in their schedules, they became inseparable. It was no surprise that when it came time to select colleges, the two girls chose to apply to the same schools. It was even better when they both got into the same school, albeit for different fields of study. Arzoo went for education, and Y/N for architecture.
It was during their sophomore year of schooling that Y/N received the tragic call that her mother was brutally injured in a car crash. Just a few days later, Y/N was all alone. This became a very dark time in her life: not only was she an only child, but they didn’t have much family- some people did reach out after hearing about her mother’s passing, but everyone was so busy in their lives, they never carved out time to actually see if Y/N was doing okay.
But the light at the end of that tunnel was Arzoo and her family. They were affluent, so much so that with the help of the lawyers, they were able to cover the rest of Y/N’s college funding. She was eternally grateful to them, and they would only say one thing, “you were our daughter’s pride and joy for many years, that makes you family now- and family doesn’t say thank you. You’re our daughter, just like Arzoo.”
They had quickly assimilated Y/N into their family events: Arzoo was Pakistani, and that meant that their holidays, weddings, or just a random weekend brunch could consist of many people. Not only did she mesh well with this newfound family, but she also taught her everything and anything about Pakistani culture. Slowly, family photos that Y/N used to take for them started including her, and that was how Y/N morphed into becoming an honorary member of Arzoo’s family.
When Y/N got the job offer from a large interior design firm in Seattle, she was hesitant to move from her hometown of Atlanta, away from the comfort of her daily life, away from her well-established community, and most importantly, Arzoo and her family. However, Arzoo and her parents were insistent that Y/N must take the job. She was getting the chance of a lifetime to move ahead in her career. “This is huge, Y/N,” she remembered her saying. She was scared of big changes- who wasn’t? With the support of Arzoo, she ended up accepting the position, and just a few weeks later, she was welcomed into Seattle by a wonderful team. The job was great in the beginning, but Y/N had a habit of being a perfectionist, which cost her a lot of peace, and things that she wanted to enjoy became clouded by pressure to be seamless.
It was during her transition into working in Seattle that Arzoo mentioned to Y/N on a phone call that she’d met Saad: a friend of a friend, at someone’s wedding. Arzoo was gushing over the fact that the moment was perfect in terms of Bollywood standards. It still makes Y/N laugh when she thinks about it. Fast forward a couple of months, and Arzoo called again, saying she’s getting engaged. While the timeline was faster than Y/N had imagined, she knew how Arzoo and her family were. When Arzoo had her heart set on something, she’d pursue it as fast as she could: Y/N had gotten to speak to Saad over the phone a couple of times, and when she did, she couldn’t really see anyone complement Arzoo quite as well.
Unfortunately, the engagement coincided with a really big job for a big client in town. As much as Y/N wanted to make it, her supervisor left her no wiggle room. Y/N felt incredibly guilty, crying to Arzoo on the phone. “I’m so sorry, Arzoo, but I can’t make it. I feel awful.”
Arzoo consoled her, her voice blaring on the speaker phone. “Don’t you dare apologize! I understand completely! Listen, as soon as I have the wedding dates confirmed, I’ll send them to you so you can book that week off.” Absolutely, that’s the best way to make it up to her, Y/N thought. “Your wish is my command, Ms. Bride,” Y/N laughed sadly into the phone.
Fast forward to the present day: Y/N knew of the dates before these invitations arrived. She’d taken the liberty of putting in her PTO for that week- her supervisor, who’d noted how hard she’d been working, signed off on it without hesitation. “Take it easy, okay, Y/N? You’ve been at it hard since you got here. Give yourself a well-deserved break,” he’d told her, and she shot him a grateful smile, “thank you, I definitely will!” She picked up your phone to call Arzoo, and on the first ring, she picked up. “Hello?”
“Arzoo! Your wedding invites are here! I haven’t opened them yet,” Y/N set her phone down on the table and turned on the speaker. She starts to open up the wax seal, revealing a dark green and gold-patterned card that matches the interior of the envelope beautifully. “How does it look? We never kept any of the invites, so I don’t remember if they’re navy blue or green!” Her voice blared from the phone, and you laughed. “It’s green, and absolutely stunning!”
Arzoo squeals, “I’m so excited that you’ll be here for the whole week! We’re going to have a blast! Okay, did you go shopping for clothes already? Don’t buy the outfit for the mehndi, I have yours here! You know the wedding’s two weeks away, right?”
“Don’t worry, Arzoo. I’ve gotten everything taken care of. I’ve got some places here in Seattle I’m going to shop at, so I’m set. I don’t want you to stress out over this; you’ve got a million other things to go after. I’m so excited to see you again, and this is going to be so much fun,” Y/N remembers the many conversations she and Arzoo had about the amount of detail put into Pakistani weddings. When Arzoo’s cousins or her brother were getting married too, Y/N naturally became a part of these weddings, and with Arzoo’s help at the time, she learned about all the different events, the types of clothes to wear, and was a part of some of the choreographed dances (even with her two left feet, she pulled it off).
Arzoo’s deep exhale is heard from the other end of the line, “I’m so excited, but I’m kind of nervous. This is a big thing, Y/N. I just want everything to go smoothly.” Y/N hears the pout in her voice and begins to console her, “and it will. You just need to think about having a good time. Everyone else will take care of anything, okay?” Arzoo giggles, “You always know what to say. And hey, who knows, maybe one of Saad’s friends is single? I’d wish that in a heartbeat if it meant you’d stop going on those weird dates with the guys from the dating apps.”
“Arzoo.”
“What? Then, you can have your own meet-cute! Can’t I wish good on my best friend?”
Y/N rolls her eyes and laughs, and her eyes fall on the clock on the wall. “Okay, I’m gonna let you go, Arzoo. Don’t worry about me or my outfits or anything, you’ve trained me well enough to know what to get.”
“Alright, sweets. Send me your itinerary and Baba, and I will be there to pick you up. I love you, I’ll talk to you soon!” With that, Arzoo disconnected the call. Stomach growling,
Y/N considers opting for the broccoli soup. After all, if she’s going wedding shopping, she is going to need to budget for these extravagant outfits.
Somewhere in Encino, Jaafar stood in a room lined with mirrors, breathing hard after another run-through of a dance sequence. The furniture had long since been pushed to the edges to make room for rehearsals, and despite spending hours on the choreography, he still wasn't satisfied.
Playing Michael Jackson in the upcoming biopic Michael came with enough pressure on its own. Being Michael's nephew only magnified it. The good news was that the movie was about 90% finished, and now that he was at the tail end of production, he had something to look forward to: Saad’s wedding. Saad and Jaafar knew each other for many years, being introduced to one another through mutual friends.
He’d been around Pakistani people before; in fact, some of his closest friends were Pakistani. He’d had his share of exposure to the culture, but to be a part of a wedding, regardless of background, was always something he enjoyed. Could he have said the same thing about his own situation? That’s where the page went blank.
Jaafar and his longtime partner of 10 years, Maddie, were engaged. While the beginning of the time they spent together was nothing short of a fairytale, as time went on and they got closer and closer, the natural question that arose inside many people’s minds when they met Jaafar and Maddie was, ‘When are you putting a ring on it, Jaafar?’ At first, his eyes would go wide, and he’d bashfully laugh off the comment, while Maddie would laugh along with him, saying ‘all in due time’ as a response. Over time, though, the latter part would change into a shrug, then a curious look from Maddie. Almost like she was waiting for his answer to that question. So, one day, he did it: he proposed. And she said yes.
Since the beginning of filming Michael, Jaafar had taken it upon himself to be the best and, honestly, only candidate the producers and director saw fit to play his uncle to a tee. Due to this immense pressure, Jaafar would practice for hours at a time, singing, dancing, making sure he got the mannerisms down just right. The result of this was a tired Jaafar making his way home for the night, running on fumes and feet blistered from the constant strenuous dances. This put Jaafar in a rocky place with Maddie; while she took on the task of arranging most of the wedding planning to take the load off of Jaafar’s shoulders, there were several moments where her attempts at making him feel included were beginning to burn him out further. Moments where he just wanted a moment of peace to himself after a long day would shatter when Maddie came in, discussing all the things she’d worked on that day, and asking what he thought.
At first, Jaafar would conjure up enough energy to still offer some form of an opinion, but if there was something that they happened to disagree on, Maddie would either silently move on to the next subtopic or try to convince him that what she was thinking worked better. He learned quickly that maybe silence to her questions was a smoother way for him to get that moment of quiet that he wanted to unwind after a long day.
This wasn’t fair to Maddie, he knew that. She brought up her frustrations with him many times these past couple of months, where arguments led to Jaafar opting to sleep on the couch and Maddie in the bedroom with the door shut. Eventually, in the morning, she’d wake up to a coffee pot with a sticky note that said ‘sorry’ next to it. That’s all the interactions they’d been having recently. Jaafar doesn’t remember the last time he and Maddie did something fun, couple-y, where the two of them could come back to where they once were. That was because of the demanding work schedule he had, and right now his main priority was to finish the movie, no matter what lengths he needed to go.
Today had been just like any other for Jaafar, too. He came home in the early hours of the morning and once again found Maddie asleep on the couch of his shared apartment, the TV playing some odd commercials like they normally do during this time. At the sound of the door and the keys hitting the counter, Maddie blinked her eyes, rubbing them, then stretched her arms out. “Hey,” she started, yawning while she reached for her laptop. Jaafar tiredly mumbled back, “Hey.”
“How was the shoot today?”
Jaafar shrugged, tucking his shoes into a corner, running a hand through his curls. “It was good. I did the whole Beat It routine; we shot it today. I think that’s the last big dance sequence we have in the movie.” Maddie turned to face him, setting the laptop down to give him a couple of claps. “Good for you! I knew you could do it!” He heard the encouragement in her voice, which caused him to give her a small smile. “Thank you. I’m so tired, though. I think I’m just gonna shower and go to bed.” Maddie’s smile faltered. “Are you not going to eat dinner?”
“No, I had a quick bite after shooting with some of the crew.” It was true- to celebrate the end of the dance sequences, some of the dancers invited Jaafar out for dinner. He didn’t want to turn them down- it was quite the opposite, actually. He hadn’t spent much time with the team outside of training, practicing, and shooting the movie. It was a nice change.
“I was hoping we could talk a little about the wedding,” Maddie started, reaching for her laptop again, and Jaafar fell silent. Like most nights as of recent, the last thing he wanted was to occupy himself with wedding stuff. “I’m sure whatever you’ve decided will be fine,” Jaafar says under his breath, but Maddie does hear him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m just… too tired to think about this right now,” Jaafar’s eyes fell on the envelope addressed to him, and curiously, he picked it up and began to open it. “Just go ahead and choose something, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Maddie scoffed, “I’m not getting married alone, Jaafar. Your input is just as important as mine.” Jaafar doesn’t realize that he’s not listening because he’s focused on the wedding invites that have come out of the envelope addressed to him: it’s for Saad’s wedding. Jaafar didn’t know his friendship with Saad would escalate to the point where he’d be invited to his wedding, but that’s the kind of genuine person Saad was. He should call him and thank him for the invite, but should he go?
“Jaafar! Are you even listening?” Maddie’s voice rings him out of his thoughts. “Huh, yeah, sorry.” Maddie sighed, pinching her nose bridge. “Just go, I’ll talk to you about it later.” Jaafar felt like part of him should’ve fought it out, let Maddie talk about it a little more. But a bigger part of him was ready to call it quits for the night. With a small nod, averting his gaze, he walked away, with Maddie quietly following his movement into the bedroom.
After showering and getting into bed, Jaafar was turned over to one side, still thinking about the wedding invitation. If he was invited, was Maddie also coming? If he offered her to join him, she’d come in a heartbeat. As scary as it sounded, Jaafar was flirting with the idea of maybe not asking her to come. How would Maddie react to that?
Maddie came into the room, heading to freshen up before getting under the covers, next to Jaafar. “Good night, babe,” Maddie tells him, and Jaafar is not asleep yet. He feels it’s the next step to turn and offer her a good night peck, so he does-, but he’s painfully aware of how performative it feels, and he falls asleep with a frown on his face.
