Board Game Sundays

Author: Carla, aka cali-chan.
Rating: PG.
Genre: TEH MOOSH. Might be the sappiest thing I've ever written. But come on, y'all know you love it...
Pairings: Jamal/Latika.

Disclaimer: I don't own Slumdog Millionaire, a bunch of folks who are a lot cooler and have a lot more money than I do own it...

Warnings: Spoilers all over for the movie, especially the ending.

Summary: She often tells him it's a good thing that he went on Millionaire when he did, because God-- whichever God there is-- made him good at one game, and one game only, and he'd found just the one.

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She often tells him it's a good thing that he went on Millionaire when he did, because God-- whichever God there is-- made him good at one game, and one game only, and he'd found just the one. Of course, her tone is teasing, as she says this when she's absolutely creaming him in a match of Scrabble.

And how unfair it is, he thinks, that she's so good at this particular board game; considering they're both uneducated non-native speakers, her English should be just as bad as his, if not worse (he may not have passed as Sean Connery's neighbour, but he likes to think his admittedly limited international experience, aka the Call Center days, give him an edge). In fact, he half suspects her to be cheating, but he doesn't care; the glow in her eyes when she puts down some word he's never even heard before draws him in, and the curve of her lips as they draw a teasing smirk makes him want to kiss her. He'll let her have this victory, so long as it makes her happy.

After all, she does have a point (he is absolutely horrible at almost every other game either of them can think of) and while he does consider himself the luckiest man alive, it's got nothing to do with the 20 million rupees he won on the show.

She bites her lower lip as she thinks of her next word.

He loves her... so much.

He never gave a thought to whether his feelings for her would change when they were finally together. He'd spent what felt like a lifetime with no other goal in his life but to find her; one would think things would be completely different once that goal was achieved...

And things are different, in a sense. They are now living in a quiet little city near the east coast of Britain. It isn't a small town, nor is it a big metropolis. It is small enough that some people still stare as they walk by, wondering why this pretty indian girl likes wearing yellow so much; but at the same time it is big enough that these people eventually learn to ignore their particularities.

They live in an inexpensive flat near the center of the city. It isn't all that big-- he wouldn't know what to do with a big house anymore than he knows what to do with all the money he now has. But it is comfortable, and it is home. Their home.

She is taking acting classes. It is an uphill climb, but she has nothing but drive. At times she doubts herself, it is inevitable. But he believes in her; her scar, her accent, the fact that she is a minority, or whatever it is she is fretting about at the moment... those are all things that can be overcome, he tells her. And if her audience loves her even a fraction of how he loves her, she will be the brightest star in the marquesine. His determined words never fail to make her smile.

As for him, he is working at a quaint little caf just a few blocks away from their flat. He's not serving tea anymore (although he does offer to wait tables every once in a while, to help any of his coworkers that can't make it to their shift). Instead, he's the assistant to the general manager. It's not the most amazing job, but it's more than he ever thought he would have. Other than for plane tickets and those first few days of having to stay in hotel rooms, he has not touched his prize money. They don't need it, and she hasn't asked him to use it. Perhaps they will some day (he wants to take her to so many places), but for now, what they have is enough. Love is enough.

So yes, things had changed in his life. But not when it comes to his feelings. She is his destiny, forever-- he is as sure of that now as he had been so many years ago, on a dark train wagon after she had been left behind. She is still the center of his life, perhaps even more than she was before. Because now he can be with her, and hold her, and hear her laugh wholeheartedly during their improvised "board game Sundays."

And when it feels like he can't love her any more than he already does, the next day comes and he wakes up to see her beautiful face beside his, her arms wrapped around his waist as she unconsciously snuggles closer to him, and there it is... he loves her. So much that it amazes him, because the feeling never fades away; it just grows. And he is so happy, just there, right there, that he wouldn't trade this for all the millions in the world.

After she is done putting down the letters on the board, she notices he's staring at her, apparently lost in thought. She amusedly chucks one of her remaining tiles at his head, which effectively draws him out of his reverie. Then she smiles brightly at him, leans in and gives him a kiss, because she knows him, and she knows where his mind has wandered, and she loves him for it.

So he's awful at all sorts of games. It doesn't matter. He's got her now, and he doesn't have to do it alone. Together they'll win the world.