Last First Chance (Al-Ameen Family Spin-Off)

Cinnamon Buns

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Present Day 

"Come here Baburao," I call out to my cat but he just stares at me from across the room. I shake his treat bag and he finally comes running over. "Good boy," I pepper his face with kisses as he reaches around me to grab more treats.

"Maheen," my dad enters the room. I startle, sitting up properly.

"Salam Abu."

"Walaikumasalam. Khaana ho gaya? (Did you eat?)," takes off his sport coat, resting it over his arm.

"Ji Abu," I nod.

He turns and heads towards his room, the door's closing reverberating in the silent house. I pick up Baburao and take him to the kitchen. Since Abu was not going to be eating dinner right now, I could bake in peace.

I rummage through the cabinets and find any cinnamon. I had a second long craving for cinnamon buns so now I had to make them. Like my therapist said, being focused on one thing is better than procrastinating on everything and my brain took that very seriously.

I made enough for a party and so I took some with me to work the next day.

I was meeting with Naina at 10am in the breakroom. She wanted to just chat today, get to know me so we can figure out how to create a mentorship plan for me. So instead of showing up empty handed, I bring a bunch of cinnamon rolls for the office.

When I walk into the breakroom, there's only Naina, Namrata and Hasan in here, sipping coffee on one of the tables.

"Hey!" Naina waves me over. She introduces me to Namrata who makes some small talk before excusing herself for a meeting.

"You bought cinnamon buns?" Naina eyes the big box in my hands eagerly. I open the box for her to help herself. "You want one Hasan?" she asks him.

I lean back in my chair, watching him amusedly, curious of what he would do.

"No thank you," he answers more diplomatically than a politician and stands up.

"Have one Hasan. It's important to have something sweet once in a while or your soul will go black," I smile plastically.

Naina chokes on hers and I quickly offer her a napkin.

Hasan scowls at me for a second, before his face settles back into a blank expression.

"Sit Hasan, have one before you go," she practically commands him. It fascinates me that without arguing he sits. She puts one on a napkin and places it in front of him. 

It still surprised me how different Hasan looked now. He always dressed like such a nerd but this was some next level mannequin-at-London Fashion Week vibes.

"So here's the training plan I have so far, Hasan pitch in if you think we're missing anything," she opens her binder and pulls out a few pieces of paper. "Tour of the facilities, target practice, surveillance shadowing, maybe a ride along if we have anything this week," she reads off from the schedule he has typed out.

Hasan's staring in my direction but his eyeline is like around my ear. I clear my throat subtly and he snaps out of whatever dream bubble he was in. 

"Yes, looks fine," he mutters. "Thanks," he says to me, picking up his cinnamon bun and heads out. But as he's leaving, I see him free hand come up to the bun and lick a little bit of the frosting off. Busted. 

I have to bite my lip to keep from smiling. 

"You really need to tell me what is the deal between you two," Naina chuckles once he's gone.

"It honestly is nothing," I try to keep my voice light. "I'm just being annoying."

"You do realize I could run an insane background check on you both and find out myself. But who knows what I'll find then," she says. I whip my head around in shock but her smirk tells me she's just joking.

"It honestly is not that exciting," I laugh nervously. "We used to be friends but I moved to the United States and we drifted apart. I just enjoy riling him up."

"He seems to actually show some emotion whenever you're around which is fascinating to me," she laughs. I don't really know how to respond to that but thankfully she continues. "I also spent a few years in the US," she shares her story about her years in California training for her agent role. "Where in the US did you live?"

"I was with some family in New Jersey. I did my last year of high school and university there actually," I explain.

"Oh cool. So how'd you end up with MI6?"

"My dad works for the NCA so I was always interested in enforcement. But I can't lift weights to save my life so being a police officer or detective was out of the question. I was always good with computers so the guidance counsellors during my senior year pushed me to take up computer science."

"But you're bored?" she questions knowingly.

"So bored," I snigger. "I mean, I know it's important work. But when we got to help with tracking you down last month, I was like jumping with adrenaline. I need that excitement or I will literally fall asleep at my desk every day."

"Oh you just reminded me!" she takes her purse into her lap and pulls out her phone. "What's your number?"

I give her my cell number and watch warily as she taps a bunch of things on the screen. My phone buzzes a second later with a text from her. I open it to see her wedding invite.

"Oh my God Naina, you really don't have to-"

"It's from my husband," she waves me off. "I told you, he was so impressed by you that day. If you didn't already have this job, he would have raised hell to get you here," she smiles fondly.

Don't say it Maheen, don't say it-"Husband?" I blurt out before I can stop myself.

I really need to invest in a foot-in-mouth-disease cure.

"Oh," her cheeks tint pink.

"I'm sorry, I'm such a nosy nelly, ignore me please," I chew on the inside of my cheek nervously but she just smiles.

"No it's totally okay, we might have secretly eloped already," she admits.

My mouth drops into an Oh. "Okay I'm sorry but I can't help but be nosy now. What's the story here?"

She chuckles, collecting her garbage on the table. "Me and Armaan have been all over the place. He was very insistent on being with me but I obviously couldn't because I was a secret agent so couldn't really give up the secret part," she laughs. "But I ended up working a case that involved investigating his family."

"No way!" My jaw was still hanging in surprise.

"Yup. Despite our best efforts, we somehow kept connecting. So in the end, he convinced me to give his ugly face a chance and we did our nikah before we even told his family."

"Your parents knew? Sorry I'm overstepping again, it's such a bad habit," I kicked myself under the table.

"No honestly it's okay," she reassured me. "I'm actually a convert. When I became Muslim, my parents cut contact with me. But it's totally okay," she quickly says once she sees my face fall, "I have so many blessings in my life now I couldn't even begin to tell you. Whatever happens, happens for the best. So we're having the actual wedding stuff now. Actually Hasan was my witness for our first nikah."

"Was he?" I take a bite of my cinnamon bun, souring at the mention of the king of rotten eggs just when I was wrapped up in her story.

"I thought he was so kharoos (uptight) at first too but he's become the brother I never had," Naina absentmindedly talks as we clean up and head towards her tour of the training facilities.

I can't help but snort at her words. He was, still, and will very much remain the biggest kharoos in the world.