Note- This is an alternate take to Karan's marriage proposal to Monami.

Karan's day wasn't going great. It was supposed to be a nice, calm weekend but somehow, everything had cascaded. He needed up to meet up with someone and here he was, having to take care of the agents and their little issues. Sure, it was necessary but did everything have to be today?

"Karan?" He almost froze. Monami. He turned out, smiling at his girlfriend. She smiled, walking closer. "Kahan jaa rahe ho?"

"Woh... thoda kaam hai", he said.

She frowned. "Kya kaam? Aaj Sunday hai." She had been looking forward to hanging out with him. But this was important. He really needed to get going. He was already late. Something flickered in her eyes and she stepped closer. "Tum... mission par toh nahi jaa rahe? Sundays ko kyun kaam kar rahe ho?"

He shook his head. "Chhota sa kaam hai", he promised. "But I need to get going. Baad mein bataunga."

She didn't look satisfied but she nodded, offering him a small smile. "Raat ko dinner ek saath?" He glanced at the time. Would he able to get back? He nodded, looking up. Her smile widened. "Jab aa jaaoge toh call kar dena. I will wait. Dhyaan se jaana, okay? Aur aaram se drive karna please."

"Haan ji. Aur koi order, ma'am?" He teased lightly.

She rolled her eyes, lightly hitting him. "Jaldi aana", she said and he smiled, nodding.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Karan looked at the huge house. It really was big. He didn't remember it wrong. The first time he came here, he didn't really have a lot of time to look around and the second, he was practically thrown out. He doubted it would be different this time. He would rather not be here but his Bhabhi had insisted. "Dr. Mahajan se milna hai", he said to the helper- an old man, who opened the door wider, letting him in. Do they let anyone in? Or did he recognize them?

"Sahab living room mein hai", he said. He hesitated for a moment and so, he too paused, looking at him expectantly. "Aap Monami baby ke boyfriend ho, na?"

It was strange to hear to Monami being referred as baby. He didn't like it. He might not call her that, purely because that particular endearment was his niece's nickname and that was just weird, but he didn't like anyone calling her that either. He nodded nonetheless.

"Baby aapke baare mein bahut baat karti hai", he said, smiling at him. Karan smiled. "Badha khush hoti aapka naam sunte hi."

He followed the man deeper into the house. Dr. Mahajan was right there, but his back was turned to him. Books littered around him- medical, from a glance- and he was looking through, noisily turning the pages.

"Sahab, aapse milne koi aaya hai", the old helper said and the man nodded, still concentrated on his books. 

He walked over, and he glanced up. Karan was almost amused at the older man's reaction. A double take. His eyebrows were raised and he let him approach. Despite the few times he had been to their house, Karan had met his girlfriend's father quite a few times even after they found out about their relationship. The conversations were never 'friendly' or 'comfortable' but lately, they had started to turn civil. They didn't always end up fighting.

He looked him over before turning his head, glancing around. Eyebrows furrowed, he looked back. Probably looking for Monami. And then, something else flickered in his eyes and he shot up. "Karan..." That wasn't the tone he was expecting. "Tum..." He looked him up and down. "Meri beti kahan hai?"

It clicked almost instantly. Was he going to deliver 'the' bad news? "She's fine", he assured. "Academy mein hai."

"Woh theek hai?"

"Bilkul theek hai", he assured.

The man relaxed, eyeing him. "Tum yahan kyun aaye ho?" He sat back down, looking him over. "Kuchh kaam tha?" Not that he was likely to help anyway.

"Mujhe aapse kuchh baat karni thi."

He eyed him for a long time- at least, it felt long- before finally, gesturing him to sit across. As he sat down on the expensive couch, he vaguely registered this to be the first time. He was usually thrown out before he could sit down. "Kya hua?"

He paused briefly, before reaching into his pocket and putting the box on the table. He opened it. The man's eyebrows shot up. "Mujhe aapki beti se shaadi karni hai", he said. The ring was his mother's and his brother had given it to him, telling him to give it to the girl he would marry one day. Before he met Monami, he planned to give it to Baby one day.

Dr. Mahajan stared at him for another long moment. He chuckled, a little bitterly. "Tum mujhse permission maang rahe ho? Agar tum use propose karoge, woh khushi khushi haan kar degi. She doesn't care about my permission."

"Woh mujhe pata hai", he said dryly. "Use aapki permission ki zaroorat nahi hai." His lips tugged down in a bitter frown. "But she would like your agreement. Main koi haath maangne nahi aaya hoon. Aap naa bhi karenge, I will probably end up proposing anyway. But agar aapki agreement hogi, she'll like it."

"Do you think I'll agree?"

He stared at him. "Nahi", he said.

"Then tum kyun ho yahan?"

"Meri Bhabhi ne bheja hai", he admitted. "Unhone kaha aapse puchhoon. Aane ke alaawa aur koi option nahi tha."

The older man blinked in surprise before letting out a laugh. He leaned forward in interest, staring at Karan. "Oh. Toh Karan Shergill bhi kisi ki baat sunta hai?"

"Aapki beti ki bhi sunta hoon. Warna gussa ho gayi toh aage peechhe ghumaati hai", he admitted.

He chuckled. He glanced down at the ring, before up at him. "You and I both know what's the answer. I don't like you. I would rather tum meri beti se door raho. Par tum nahi rahoge." He tilted his head in agreement. He waved his hand dismissively. "Just... get out."

He grabbed the ring, keeping it in his pocket. "Should I take this as a yes?"

"Mujhe propose nahi kar rahe ho. Jise kar rahe ho, she's big enough to handle herself."

He stood up. It wasn't a no. That was as much of a yes as he could expect. The man barely glanced up, and he shoved his hands in his hoodie, walking out. That was better than he had expected.

"Karan?" The man said softly, barely heard. He paused, looking back at him. "Meri beti ka dhyaan rakhna."

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

"And pata hai, uss ladke ne kaha ki agar mujhe aage kabhi zaroorat ho, toh just give him a call. Toh, basically, now I have an informer in Assam", Monami finished narrating, giggling at the absurd mission.

The two had missed their 2 year anniversary, both in different states, working on missions and had barely gotten to talk for a minute, merely wishing each other. They met up a week or so later, but the post mission work was a nightmare and it was only a month or so later, the two had gotten enough time to get out for a quiet dinner, which was more of a picnic on a nearby hill. Just the two of them, lying on the grass, as they talked.

Monami looked at her boyfriend when he didn't say anything, finding him staring at her. "Kya?" She patted her mouth. "Kuchh hai kya muh par?" She grabbed her phone, looking at herself through the phone screen.

"Nahi", he said. "Bas aise hi."

She hummed teasingly. "Nihaar rahe ho mujhe?"

He didn't even smile, merely staring at her. He sat up, before jumping up to his feet and she sat up, looking up at him with a confused face. He held out a hand quietly, and she accepted it, pulling herself up. Soft music played behind them. He snaked his arms around her waist, and she smiled, leaning up and pressing her lips to his. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Jab hum pehli baar mile the, agar koi mujhe bolta ki tum mere jeene ki wajah ban jaogi, main probably unhe jungle mein ulta taang aata." She chuckled, closing her eyes. "But... you make me want to live. Not just survive, but live. Agar woh moment tumhaare saath ho, toh kabhi nahi chahta ki woh moment khatam ho. Kisi mission se waapas aata hoon, toh the first person I want to see is you. Tum... Tum jahan bhi ho, bas woh hi ghar hai ab mere liye. Bas tumhaare paas aana chahta hoon. Monami... marry me."

Her eyes snapped open and she stared at him. Did she hear him right?

He took a step back, reaching into his pocket. He knelt down, looking up at her with soft eyes. "Dr. Monami Mahajan, will you marry me?"

She stared at the ring, sinking down to her knees as she looked at him. Her eyes welled up with tears. "Yes", she whispered. "Yeh question karna pad raha hai?"

His face broke into a genuine smile, and he gently grabbed her hand, sliding the ring on her finger. "Socha puchh loon", he muttered, pulling her up and into a hug. "Kya pata? Baad mein keh do ki kisi ne puchha nahi." She chuckled, burying her face in his chest. "I love you, meri jaan. So much."

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

"You know", Karan muttered softly. Monami hummed in acknowledgement, too tired to properly construct a sentence. His arms engulfed her bare body, his fingers gently stroking her arm that they were clutching. A year into their marriage, and things couldn't be better. "Tumhe propose karne se pehle, I went to meet your Dad."

Her eyes snapped open. "Tum permission maagne gaye the?"

"Not... permission", he muttered. "Bhabhi ne bola tha. So I had to go. I would have proposed even if he said no."

She frowned. "He... He said yes?"

"Matlab, it wasn't a yes yes. But we came to an agreement." He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "Unhe pata tha we'd marry anyway. But... uske baad, I think he accepted me thoda sa."

"Woh tumhaari thodi burai toh kam karte hain engagement ke baad se", she agreed.

He frowned. "Woh meri burai karte hain? Abhi bhi? I thought we came to a mutual agreement" He clicked his tongue, unhappily pulling her closer. "Apne damaad ki burai kaun karta hai? Main bhi karunga unki burai." She laughed. "Tumhe pata hai..."

Note- This seems all over the place, honestly. But somehow, my 2 am brain thinks it is cute. I always like the scenes where the guy goes to ask for permission, and I thought it would be cute and absurd to see Karan asking for 'permission'. Walnut would never agree but that would never stop him and they both are smart enough to know it. Yet... it entails. I hope you guys like it. I hope it's at least, okayish, or else, this will probably get deleted. Maybe.
If you guys liked it, do vote and comment! Drop any OS ideas you guys might want me to write.