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Happy belated birthday, Tilu 😳 You requested "abhi's special surprise for pragya's birthday..a short romantic getaway in Paris..just them... wine & dine..dance ..." Sorry I could only manage the first part 😆
For anyone who is wondering, yes the title is inspired by the song in the movie Anastasia (1997). 😛
Thanks to everyone who reads and comments on my stories 😊
Paris Holds the Key
an AbhiGya OS by -mina-
"Mesdames et messieurs, ladies and gentlemen. Kindly fasten your seatbelts as we prepare to land."
The accented voice on the loudspeaker cut through Pragya's dozing. She blinked a few times, and slowly her brain got itself back in gear.
She realized she had been leaning against Abhi as she napped. With a jolt of self-consciousness, she straightened in her seat. She made a show of fixing her dupatta and not looking at her husband, but from the corner of her eye she could see that he was watching her with an indulgent smile.
It was still a new thing for him to openly look at her with fondness. Every time she noticed him doing it, a secret wave of happiness seemed to warm her whole being. However, it also made her feel shy. Just then, she didn't dare to look into his face until the smile relaxed back into his usual expression of nonchalant ease.
"Dear passengers, the local time in Paris is seven pm. An hour of sunlight remains and we're told that a comfortable breeze lightens the air on this beautiful night. We hope you enjoy your stay in the city of light and thank you for flying Air France. Bienvenue a Paris."
At the air hostess' last words, the plane began the steepest portion of its descent. On reflex, Pragya grabbed Abhi's hand for support. As much as she told herself that air travel was perfectly safe and she had nothing to worry about, this was still her first flight and she couldn't shake her nerves.
Abhi closed his hand around hers and squeezed her fingers comfortingly. He nudged her shoulder with his own to make her look at him.
"Hey, Fuggy," he chided. "What are you scared of? I'm right here." He grinned then, but even in his taunting tone she could hear pure affection.
"I know." She tipped her head onto his shoulder and cuddled as close as she could get to him - which was not close enough, due to the arms of their seats in between them.
But then Abhi slid his own arm around her back and settled his hand on her hip. Feeling safe in his embrace, Pragya passed the last few minutes of the flight without any more anxiety.
*****
Due to an impossibly long customs line, traffic, and the distance between the airport and the city, it was close to nine pm when they finally reached their hotel.
Having slept on the plane, Pragya actually felt refreshed enough to think about taking an evening stroll after they checked in and dropped off their luggage. But one look at Abhi's tired eyes made her dismiss the idea. Better to let him get a good long sleep and be cheerful tomorrow than to drag a cranky husband around and ruin both their moods for the night.
When they made it to their suite, Pragya noticed the window wall in the seating area and promptly forgot about everything else. She dropped her carryon and walked straight across the room.
"Wow," she breathed, feeling her cheeks already starting to hurt with the intensity of her smile. "This is amazing."
Abhi came behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. His chin settled on her head, and she could see his smiling reflection in the window.
"You like it?" he drawled, sounding like he didn't need to hear her answer.
It was hard to think with him holding her so close, but after a moment of letting the joy of his touch wash over her, she gave her attention back to the cityscape. "I love it. This view is unbelievable. I can't believe I'm here and seeing it all with my own eyes. It's like something in a movie or on a postcard."
Abhi laughed. "I wanted a room with a balcony, but this was the best they had to offer. I'm glad it's good enough."
"It's more than good enough!" Pragya turned around to face him, being careful to move so that he didn't have to take his hands off of her. "This is already the best birthday ever and we haven't even done anything yet." She smiled up at him, too excited and happy to be shy in that moment.
Abhi smiled back, and the hint of pride flashing across his face told Pragya that he was congratulating himself on his choice of gift. There was something deeply satisfying in the thought that he found pleasure in pleasing her.
He was not going to become a sappy lovesick husband anytime soon, but ever since they had put the past behind them and decided to honour their marriage as a real commitment, Abhi had become more attuned to her. He still had his selfish and demanding moments and she still had to put up with his nakhras and mini-tantrums about trivial things, but now along with all that there was constant evidence of his consideration for her. He still found it fun to irritate her and argue with her, but he was also developing a habit of challenging himself to see what he could do to make her smile and laugh.
He tipped up her chin with his thumb, and the look in his eyes derailed her thoughts. There was something else on his mind now, and his voice was low and suggestive as he said, "Done anything?"
His eyebrow arched, daring her to answer, but a wave of shyness kept her tongue-tied. She looked away and stammered, "I - I just - I meant - you know, tourist stuff, and -"
Abhi cut through her stuttering with a chuckle. He took her face into his hands and met her eyes again. "I know what you meant, Fuggy. And I didn't mean anything by it. It's the same as what I said at home. We won't do anything like that until you feel ready. I didn't bring you here for that."
His reassurance made Pragya comfortable enough to joke, "You didn't bring me to the city of love to make love? Then what did you bring me for?"
Abhi made a pretend shocked face. He tapped her nose to silence her. "Naughty Fuggy. That you'll learn tomorrow."
Pragya blushed and threw herself at his chest.
*****
The next morning, Abhi got annoyed with Pragya taking forever in the shower and told her he'd wait for her in the lobby. They had agreed to stroll around until they found a cute cafe for breakfast, but Abhi was starting to think he could sneak off to the hotel buffet and eat enough breakfast for both of them before Fuggy ever came down.
It was strange for her to take so much time to get ready, but he figured it was due to her being in a new place and perhaps still tired from the flight.
To resist the urge to explore the buffet, Abhi walked over to the reception counter and struck up a conversation with one of the hotel staff.
The dark-haired young woman was fluent in English, and happily recommended some nearby restaurants for the breakfast Abhi was beginning to seriously crave. Then, to his surprise, she confided that she was half-Indian and she recognized him from the posters her cousins had back home. She asked for a selfie and an autograph, and since she'd been so helpful, Abhi couldn't refuse.
He was still chatting with the girl when someone behind him cleared their throat and tapped his shoulder.
He glanced back and saw a woman he didn't recognize glaring at him with her arms crossed. Shrugging in confusion, he started to turn back to his new-found fan - only to nearly give himself whiplash as he whirled back around to look at the woman again.
She was of medium height with creamy fair skin. Her dark denim skinny jeans clung to every curve of her long, lean legs. She was wearing a cropped brown leather jacket unzipped over some kind of floaty floral blouse, and her long dark hair was tamed into a loose side braid.
Abhi would've sworn that he didn't know her at all, but it was impossible to mistake her unforgettable eyes, even without her ever-present chashma. As she shifted her arms, her distinctive mangal sutra pendant peeked out from behind the leather jacket.
"Fuggy?" Abhi demanded incredulously, and even to his own ears his voice sounded squeaky.
Pragya rolled her eyes and huffed impatiently. "Since when does waiting for me in the lobby mean flirting with French girls?" she asked, one eyebrow raised wryly.
The hotel girl quickly jumped to Abhi's defense. "Oh no ma'am, it was nothing like that! I was just so excited to meet him. Actually, could I get a picture of both of you please? My cousins will never believe my luck!"
Pragya gave her a practiced smile of agreement, and then they both posed for a picture as she'd requested. After the girl thanked them profusely, Pragya grabbed Abhi's arm and pulled him away.
By then he'd recovered enough from his first shock to joke with her. "Excuse me, miss," he protested, stopping in his tracks before they reached the door. "I don't think my wife would like it if I let you drag me away."
Pragya turned and glared at him, but he put on his best look of innocent confusion and continued, "I mean, I'm really flattered, but we're here on our honeymoon, so -"
"Oh, stop it!" Pragya snapped. A tinge of red was creeping into her cheeks. "If you're going to be weird about it I'll just go back upstairs and change into a chatri -"
"And delay breakfast for another hour? No way, Fuggy. We are definitely leaving now." Then he slapped on his sunglasses, took her hand, and led her out onto the street.
They started to walk away from the hotel, but then Abhi realized that the resto most highly recommended by his fangirl was in the opposite direction. He steered Pragya around with his palm on the small of her back, and then because his hand was already there, he slid his arm snugly around her waist.
She glanced sharply up at him, but then just as quickly looked down. She rummaged in her purse and pulled out a pair of sunglasses for herself. Once she had them on, she seemed to relax and started looking around curiously.
As if hiding her eyes could hide her from him? That wouldn't do at all , and to remind her of who she was dealing with, Abhi leaned down to whisper to her. His lips brushed the shell of her ear as he told her, "I wasn't being weird. My brain melted because you're looking too damn hot."
He straightened, and was gratified to feel her suddenly go tense with awareness of him. As long as she was still responding to him like that, her radical makeover was not a cause for concern.
They walked along in silence for several minutes. "Aap bhi naa," she finally muttered, apparently not finding any other way to respond. "I asked Andy to help me pick out some clothes so I could blend in here. It's not a big deal."
"Sure," Abhi agreed easily. "I think I'm going to have chocolate for breakfast. And you can't stop me, because we're on holiday."
"OK," Pragya agreed. But then she poked his shoulder and added, "As long as you share with me."
*****
After breakfast, they made their way to the Louvre, which Abhi knew was at the top of Pragya's wishlist for Paris attractions to visit. He was shocked by the size of the museum - who knew an art gallery could take up a whole palace? - and immediately struck a bargain with Pragya that they'd only spend the morning going through one wing, and return over the next days to see the rest of the collections.
They spent the morning in the Italian paintings wing, where Abhi was surprisingly not bored out of his mind because Fuggy had plenty to tell him about the artwork. He'd never known how much bizarre and scandalous stuff went along with art history, and with Fuggy pointing out the hidden details in weird corners of landscapes and portraits, there was plenty to entertain him. The best part, though, was watching how her eyes lit up every time she encountered a masterpiece that she'd only seen in books.
Neither of them were particularly impressed by the Mona Lisa, which they couldn't get close to anyway. It was encased in glass behind a velvet rope preventing near approach, and there was a constant swarm of people around it.
Pragya was content to look at it from behind the crowd. She tilted her head and examined the famous smile for a long moment. Finally she looked at Abhi with a mischievous grin and said, "You know, Janki Amma makes that same expression every time she actually earns a compliment from Daadi about her cooking."
Abhi's laugh was so loud that the security guard approached to ask them to kindly return to the hall.
*****
For lunch, they munched on sandwiches and enjoyed the fresh air in the Tuileries Garden just outside the Louvre. Abhi looked over the classical architecture and manicured grounds and thought they were nice enough, but not so much to his taste. Fuggy was clearly enjoying herself, though, and that was all that counted.
She was watching a family sitting by one of the fountains. The stressed-looking mother was trying to feed her cranky toddler, while her partner sat next to her with their school-aged child squirming in his lap. The father seemed to be distracting his daughter with jokes to keep her from running off to chase ducks. Neither adult looked like they were having a pleasant afternoon, but then for a brief second they looked at each other and smiled. Abhi felt sure that if he'd asked them just then, they'd both say there was nowhere else they'd rather be.
He looked back at Pragya and wondered if she had noticed the same. Or maybe she was imagining them in the same position in a few years? The thought held some appeal, but Abhi vowed that he would never be so foolish as to bring young children on such a trip. Daadi or Sarla Ma would surely be available to watch them if needed.
Abhi stretched his arm out on the bench, across Pragya's shoulders. She took a sip of her Orangina and looked up at him as if to ask what he wanted.
"What did you want to do next, Fuggy? I booked a river cruise for this evening. Maybe you want to try the Eiffel Tower before that?"
Pragya wrinkled her nose. "River cruise? But I'd rather walk along the river, in the day. And I think it's only an hour from here to the Eiffel Tower, by foot. Maybe less."
Abhi groaned. "On foot? You can't be serious. I'm a rockstar, not a marathoner, did you forget?"
Pragya pouted. She put her hand on his knee and looked up at him, her eyes huge with hope. "Please? And then we can walk towards the Champs D'Elysees to see the Arc de Triomphe, and then by evening we can make it to Montmartre. Please please please?"
Abhi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You researched this, didn't you? Fine, tell me. What's the total walking time?"
Pragya bit her lip and looked away. She was clearly avoiding answering, but then he tugged at her fingers, and she reluctantly returned her attention to him. "Well...it's a little over two hours, total. But it would take much longer because we'd stop to look at stuff along the way. But it's the best best way to see Paris, everyone says so. Please can we -"
Abhi was appalled at the idea of walking the rest of the day, but it was no fun to hear Fuggy pleading on this particular topic, so he interrupted her with a light laugh. "Fine, Fuggy, let's do this. But if I fall over from exhaustion halfway through, do us both a favour and get a taxi to take us back to the hotel?"
Once again, Pragya threw herself at him in excitement. And just like every other time, his arms closed snugly around her.
*****
By evening, Abhi and Pragya had indeed made it to Montmartre.
They had stopped many times to take pictures and to look at more monuments and special sites than Abhi could remember. They'd also picked up snacks several times along the way, and Abhi had gorged on two doner kebab wraps for dinner - easy food to eat while walking, but filling enough to make up for the three thousand calories he'd surely burned that day. Pragya claimed to be too excited to eat, but at his insistence she nibbled her way through an entire baguette over the course of their epic journey.
In Montmartre, they had come across many street vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs, and they had to talk each other out of buying more trinkets than they could carry. Some of the stall owners were desi and actually recognized Abhi, and after some jovial conversation in Hindi they all ended up asking to take pictures with Abhi and Pragya. Among the throngs of tourists taking all kinds of selfies, this didn't actually make them stand out.
It had been a special kind of torture to climb the three hundred steps up to the dome of Sacre Coeur Basilica, but Fuggy promised him it was absolutely the last leg of their journey so he made the trek without much complaint. They both found the church impressive in an impersonal kind of way, but the real treat was the amazing view from the top of the hill.
As dusk began to colour the sky with bands of pink and purple, Abhi and Pragya stood looking down at Paris from the best vantage point in the city. Pragya leaned on the railing and sighed in contentment. She reached for his hand and smiled up at him.
Abhi wondered for a second if he'd somehow blinked and skipped straight to sunrise, because he'd never seen a smile so bright.
"Thank you," Pragya said softly. "Today has been perfect. My actual birthday might be tomorrow but I think you're safe from having to give me anything more for at least ten years."
"Only ten years?" Abhi clucked his tongue. "You'd think all that walking was worth at least twenty."
Pragya's lips quirked as she held back a laugh. "No, not that much. But it is worth...this."
Then, to his surprise, she took hold of his shoulders, leaned up on her toes, and kissed him.
The kiss ended as soon as it began, nothing more than a quick peck. But his hands instinctively closed around her and he kept her in place while his dazed brain returned to its senses.
Then he smirked at his cheeky wife. "What was that, Fuggy?" He tangled his hand into her hair and cupped the back of her head so she couldn't avoid his gaze.
She cast her eyes down anyway and answered casually, "That was - that was a French kiss."
Abhi tilted her chin up. "That was not a French kiss."
"Yes it was!" Pragya insisted, with her cheeks burning bright red. "It was a kiss, and we're in France, so it was a French kiss."
"I think what it actually was," Abhi began slowly, "Was an invitation. Am I right?"
"It was...it was a thank you. And yes, an invitation."
"To a French kiss, or to more?"
"To...to everything."
The meaning of this answer shocked Abhi into silence for a minute, and all he could do was stare at her. But then the first wave of surprise faded, and he became suddenly aware of every aching muscle in his body.
"No fair, Fuggy," Abhi scolded heavily. "You're telling me this after tiring me out the whole day. Now you're ready, and I can't be."
Pragya laughed. "Well, then we'll get to it tomorrow. But only after we've gone back to the Louvre for the Greek and Egyptian antiquities -"
Abhi stopped her with a finger on her lips. "No way. If today was yours, tomorrow is mine. And we're not going anywhere until the river cruise, at night."
It was Pragya's turn to go silent. She demurely hid her head against his chest. "OK," she said, her voice muffled as she spoke into his shirt. "Tomorrow is yours."
Abhi hugged her tight. To have her in his arms was satisfaction enough, but to have her promise that she wanted to move ahead was something beyond mere fulfillment. A heady mix of happiness, excitement, and unexpected nerves surged through his veins, and he had the strange thought that he'd never felt so alive.
Then he glanced past her to the city laid out below, and remembered that they had three hundred steps to climb down before they could get a taxi back to the hotel.
"Damn it Fuggy," he cursed, not letting her go. "Here your yes has me feeling like I could fly, and somehow we have to make it down those evil steps on foot."
She pulled away from him then and gave him a guilty look. "Well, actually...there's a cable car for that. We don't have to take the stairs this time."
Abhi's mouth dropped open in outrage. She had known there was a cable car, and still made him walk up all the way? Oh, he would surely have to get her back for that somehow.
But revenge on that score could wait. He had better things to plan, starting with real French kissing sessions.
For the moment there was still a sunset to enjoy.
He turned her to face the city again, and hugged her from behind. "Ji bhar ke dekh lo, Fuggy. Aji aisa mauka phir kahan milega?"
Pragya smiled in recognition of the lyric, and took hold of his hands so she could twine their fingers together. She leaned into his embrace, and then returned her gaze to the magical city below.
Abhi dropped a kiss on the top of her head, and together they enjoyed the first sunset of the rest of their lives.
~fin~
Note: Aji aisa mauka phir kahan milega - when will you get a chance like this again? (lyrics, Mohammad Rafi, An Evening in Paris, 1967)
Thank you for reading. Please like and comment 😳
My stories can be found at my KKB Fic Index.
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