(no subject)
Title: Indian Summer (1/3)
Author: Carmexgirl
Pairing: Matt/Mohinder
Rating: This part: PG Whole fic: NC-17
Summary: Matt, Mohinder and Molly visit India
Chapter One: Matt gets introduced to the family. He’s dreading it.
A/N: I have never been to India, though I did have an uncle stationed in Bombay (now Mumbai). He hasn't read this, though.
It was hot. Really hot. It was hotter than Matt had ever known. Even when he and Janice had honeymooned in Barbados, where he could barely move without the sweat pouring off him, and was constantly dousing himself in ice-cold water to stop him burning to a crisp, even that wasn’t as hot as this. At least they had air conditioning in the hotel, and the sea was on their doorstep. Here, the sea was a ten minute walk away, and there was no air conditioning, just a single, solitary, really unsafe looking ceiling fan that creaked and wobbled as it span. It didn’t so much fan the air as gently tickle it.
He was sitting in an apartment on the outskirts of Chennai, India, near to the University of Madras. He and Molly were accompanying Mohinder, who had been asked to open the new Chandra Suresh Genetics wing at the university. Unsure at first, Mohinder had warmed to the idea when his mother suggested he make a holiday out of it, and bring Matt and Molly along. It would be great for Molly to experience a different culture, and it would also mean that Mohinder could finally introduce Matt to the rest of his family. Matt was absolutely petrified at this suggestion, but relented when Mohinder told them they could stay in his father’s old apartment, away from prying family eyes.
It was decided, and arrangements were quickly made. They would land five days before the wing was due to be opened, and spend that time meeting the family, and enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of Chennai. “Plenty of time for Molly to get to know my family” said Mohinder. ‘Plenty of time for me to make a balls up,’ Matt thought testily.
As soon as he stepped off the plane, Matt was struck by the intense heat that hit him squarely in the face. It was like he’d been hit by the full force of an atomic explosion. He heard the gasps of the other passengers as they stepped from the cool air into the searing heat, some of them laughing in disbelief at the sheer unrelenting heat. “Wooo! It’s really hot Matt!” said Molly, skipping excitedly by the side of him. Matt could feel the instant burn on his skin. By the time they had reclaimed their luggage, his t-shirt was wringing wet, the sweat literally pouring off him. ‘Great start,’ he thought, ‘I’m going to meet the ‘in laws’ looking like a rat that has drowned in its own bodily fluid.’ “Don’t worry,” said Mohinder, sensing his distress. “It’s a little warmer than I remember, but you’ll acclimatise to it. I promise.”
“I just hope we packed enough sunscreen.” Said Matt in between pants.
They arrived at the apartment, which was situated a stone’s throw away from the University. It smelt of jasmine, and had evidently been cleaned and decorated since Chandra’s residence there. Mohinder’s mother had left a welcome note, along with a bouquet of flowers and a basket of sweetmeats to greet them. They were to meet for dinner at 8, which gave them five hours to recharge their batteries, wash, and get ready. They both put Molly to bed, before retiring themselves. Mohinder tried to hitch closer to Matt on the bed and put his arms around him, but Matt tiredly batted him away. “Sorry Mohinder, but I’m too hot for hugs. Give me a day to adjust to the heat, and then I’ll be fine.” He hoped he could adjust; a week without being able to stand being touched by Mohinder was his idea of a walking nightmare. He settled down, the breathing of Mohinder and the snoring of Molly in the next room slowly sending him into a calming sleep.
After three hours Matt woke first, and went in to wake a soundly sleeping Molly. “Come on sleepyhead, time to have a wash and get ready.” She stumbled into the bathroom, tiredly rubbing her eyes and trying to adjust to the unfamiliar surroundings, while he flopped down on the sofa, still ruminating on the intense heat, and wondering if he could survive a week of this without being burnt to a crisp.
Mohinder had woken, and was now helping Molly get ready. He was currently covering her head to toe with sunscreen, making sure that every exposed patch, and even those that weren’t, were covered in factor 50. “That’s enough!” She said; face white and greasy with cream, finally fed up of the constant rubbing and the cold sensation of cream on her back. “I don’t think I’m going to burn now.”
“Well I’m keeping this bottle on me, and I’ll top you up every two hours.” Said Mohinder. “I don’t want my daughter having her holiday ruined by sunburn.” Matt looked at her, pale face pouting while Mohinder massaged the rest of the cream into her arms and legs. She pulled a petulant face. He chuckled. “Cheer up Molls! We’re going to meet Nana Suresh soon - you can’t have that pug on when you do. What will she think?” Molly stuck her tongue out at him. “And you can’t do that at the dinner table!”
They all got ready and walked down to the Suresh residence for dinner. Matt held Mohinder’s hand nervously. He was never good at meeting the ‘in laws’. He always hated the look of disappointment on their faces, when they realised their offspring had picked up with a loser. To be introduced to the Sureshes, with their degrees and research seats and top class universities, for them to find out he was just a tubby, American cop, filled him with utter dread. Mohinder sensed his nervousness, and placed a reassuring kiss on his cheek. “Don’t worry” he whispered low into his ear, “They’ll love you, I’m sure of it. Besides, they have no choice, because I’m sticking with you no matter what.” He smiled, and kissed him again. Matt’s heart beat a little faster, although not through nervousness this time.
Mohinder knocked on a wooden door, about halfway down the street, and they were quickly ushered inside. The room was dazzlingly white, with flashes of oranges, greens and turquoise covering the walls. It was exquisitely decorated; large, billowing curtains framed the huge windows, while voiles hung down like ethereal waves to prevent flies getting inside. Gold and wooden ornaments adorned every table top, while the back wall was covered with the biggest and most ornate bookcase Matt had ever seen. Every inch of it was filled with books, some looked as ancient as the bookcase itself. There were flowers everywhere, but any scent was drowned out by the overpowering smell of cinnamon and a hundred other exotic spices.
Suddenly they heard a shout. “Mohinder my dear!” A middle aged Indian woman, dressed in a beautiful cobalt blue sari decorated with the most exquisite gold flowers, wrapped her arms around Mohinder in a tight hug, “You look so well!” she said, and Matt was caught by the enthusiasm in her voice. “It’s so good to see you. I’m really glad you could bring your family!” She looked down to Molly, eyes smiling brightly. “And are you Molly?” She asked.
“Yes I’m Molly. Are you Upputtha Suresh?”
“Upputtha Suresh! Well yes! I suppose I am!” She smiled and clapped her hands at the name. “I see your father has been teaching you Tamil.”
Molly looked at Mohinder, who was smiling broadly. They shared a sly glance - a look as if to say ‘job done.’ Matt wondered when this conspiracy had started, and why hadn’t he been a part of it? He could have learnt Tamil too.
“Well Molly, you’re very, very pretty. I can’t wait to show you off to the rest of the family.” The newly created Upputtha Suresh lightly pinched her cheek, and gave her a hug.
She stood up, still smiling widely, and noticed Matt for the first time. Her smile dropped and her eyes widened. “And you must be Matthew!”
“Yes, mam. Matthew Parkman.” He offered his hand, which was perspiring profusely. It hung there, untouched, in mid air. Matt shuffled from foot to foot. It was happening all over again.
Mrs Suresh stared at him, open mouthed, and then looked at Mohinder. She looked back at Matt and finally spoke, but her voice was quieter than before. “Mohinder told me you were good looking, but he never said exactly how strikingly handsome you were.”
Matt started back in shock. He couldn’t believe it. She’d said he was ‘handsome.’ She was smiling at him now, a broad genuine smile which started from the eyes and made its way down to the chin. There was no look of disappointment or disapproval in her eyes, in fact they were looking him up and down in what seemed like utter awe. He tried to see into her thoughts, so see what she really thought, but they were a blur of Tamil. All he could make out was the word alakaana, over and over again.
“T..thank you, Mrs Suresh” he stammered.
“Oh please Matthew, call me Amma. Or, if that is a little uncomfortable, my name is Kamini.”
“Amma sounds just fine to me. Just call me Matt.”
“Matt.” She rolled the word around her tongue like it was something exotic. “Good, good! Now you must tell me everything about yourself. Mohinder tells me you’re a detective.”
“Ye….”
“Amma I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time to interrogate Matt later.” Mohinder said, saving Matt’s blushes. “Could we get some water?”
“Oh yes. Of course.” She took one last look at Matt, before walking away to sort out drinks.
“I think you made a very good impression” said Mohinder, smiling.
“I… I think I did too. I don’t understand it. It’s never gone this well before. She called me ‘handsome’!”
Mohinder pulled him into a hug. “You are.” He said, smiling. “I told you not to worry. I knew she’d like you.”
They all settled down to dinner. There must have been twenty people sitting down to eat, all either relatives or friends of the family. The food was plentiful, and absolutely delicious. It was just like Mohinder cooked in the apartment, but everything was fresher, hotter, more exotic. Molly ate everything that came her way, even managing to shovel a second gulab jaman into her mouth for pudding. It was noted rather proudly by Upputtha Suresh that she had a healthy appetite, which meant strong bones and a sharp mind. Mohinder looked around at the adoring faces, and gave a proud smile. He knew his girl would be an instant hit with everyone.
Matt was creating a similar impression. In fact, throughout dinner, Matt was the veritable centre of attention. Kamini had taken great delight in introducing him to everyone, telling him what seemed like a thousand different and strange sounding names, which he couldn’t hope to remember. Everyone asked him about the NYPD, and being a detective, and what it was like pounding the mean streets of New York day after day, and how many bad guys he’d locked up. They sat talking for hours, retiring to the drawing room when the plates had been taken away. At one point, he had people queuing up to touch his hands and prod his biceps. Matt couldn’t believe it - he had never been the centre of attention before, and he couldn’t stop smiling. He spent the evening in a contented blur, cracking jokes, telling stories of car chases and near misses to an audience that seemed to hang off his every word. Every so often he would look at Mohinder, who was watching intently, and mouth something like ‘I don’t know what’s going on’ or ‘I don’t understand it.’ Mohinder would smile back, but his eyes wouldn’t follow.
Before he knew it, it was gone 11.30pm and Molly was lying sleepily on one of the plush sofas, trying desperately to keep her eyes open. His eyes searched the room for Mohinder. He found him looking equally tired, having been cornered by a very distant, very old relation of his fathers, who was quizzing him about whether New York was full of people like Matt. He flashed Matt a tired and despairing look. Matt made his excuses, and walked over to Mohinder. His old relation jumped back in surprise, giving a little squeak. “I’m sorry ma’am,” said Matt, “But Mohinder and I have had a really tiring day, and we need to get to sleep.” He took Mohinder’s hand. “Good night, it was lovely meeting you all.” They picked up Molly, and retired to the apartment, Matt’s head still buzzing and spinning.
Molly was asleep in an instant, will a full stomach and head swimming. Matt made tea, and they both sat down on the sofa.
“That went well” he said brightly.
“Yes it did. I think you made quite an impression on them.” There was a hint of something in Mohinder’s voice, something that Matt couldn’t put his finger on. It was almost as if there was a twinge of regret there.
They retired to bed. Mohinder curled up to Matt, who, thankfully, was now cool enough to be able to stand the heat coming from him. He turned around and kissed him, before turning back on his side to go to sleep. Somehow, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Mohinder was holding on to him a little too tightly for some reason.
To be continued…