Sanchit Hari

summary: Sanchit came to Paris four months ago, they answer solely to they/them, born in India but grew up in the Netherlands (Groningen). Their mother remarried a Dutch man, and they were always raised with his values, always told what not to. Paris is their chance to be free. They’re hard of hearing and wear a hearing aid. They’ve only had High school French so they’re anything but fluent. They use English and Dutch words when they can’t come up with the French words. 

ABOUT

Full Name/Nickname: Sanchit Hari, they don’t have a nickname, but they would totally love to get some ;-; Age/DOB: 27 years old, 27th of September 1994 Zodiac Sign: Libra Gender: non-binary Place of Birth: Cochin, Kerala, India Arrondissement: Belleville Sexual/Romantic Orientations: Gay Religion: Hinduism/Protestant Occupation: Kitchen staff at Le Meurice

PERSONALITY

Goals/Desires: Sanchit wants to live unapologetically. They want to have a boyfriend, they want to become a chef, they want to go dancing, and to look at boys, and they really want to feel at home with other people, they want a found family. They want to cook for the found family and do catering for their weddings and make lunches for their kids, and they want to fall deeply in love and kiss on top the Eiffel Tower.  Fears: Sanchit is always afraid that people won’t like them. They don’t talk a whole lot, they’re not shy, but they’re silent because listening is already hard, and it takes a whole lot to listen. They also don’t always feel like they have things to talk about, they want to talk about nice things, but they fear people think they’re too sad.  Hobbies: cooking, walking around aimlessly, swimming, soccer Likes & Dislikes: Sanchit loves to try out new recipes, they love the smell of fresh herbs and rice when it cooking. They enjoy putting on shirts with patterns, they love decorating their small apartment with new useless stuff, they love Punjabi, and going to church. They like weed, a lot, but sadly there’s a very different look on it in France compared to the liberal Netherlands. They dislike people who talk too fast, and who overlook them or look down on them. They dislike the smell of burnt food, the sound of crying children, the promises of bible class, and styrofoam, they really really hate styrofoam, just the sight of it gives them chills.  Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff

FAMILY

Parents: Ajay & Laji Hari (biological parents), Mauritius van Velden (adopted father) Sibling(s): Laurens van Velden (much older brother, Mauritius’ son) Pet(s): none

POTENTIAL CONNECTIONS

FRIENDS: Sanchit is a little shy, they never know how to do conversations well, and being hard of hearing also doesn’t work. But if given the chance, they can be very excited and enthusiastic about people, wanting to spend time with people, hoping to make a connection,  hoping most of all that people like them. 

WE FLIRTED ONCE: Sanchit took freedom to the next level when they arrived in Paris, they try a hand at flirting a lot, but aren’t very good at it. 

FOOD FRIENDS: Sanchit is obsessed with cooking, and they also enjoy eating what others make and sharing recipes. 

CLUELESS: people who are relatively new to Paris as well, and are still discovering the city and the sights. 

“Perfect.” His smile does nothing but grow wider. With that, they quickly make their purchase and head back to Sanchit. He grabs their hand and approach the door of the bookstore, looking over at them briefly. “Ready to face the cold?”

~Timeskip~

They fumble with their keys only for a second before managing to open the door to their apartment, the cold made their fingers a little numb. He steps inside and immediately begins taking off his winter coat, glancing back at Sanchit. “Sorry if my place is a little messy, this was a little spur of the moment so I wasn’t expecting company.” In reality, their apartment isn’t really a mess besides a few dishes in the kitchen sink and some blankets strewn across the couch in the living room, but they feel the need to say it anyway.

Sanchit was happy to be walked to Emmett’s apartment with their hand in his, it felt like such a simple gesture, their hands felt clammy because they were kind of nervous. They didn’t know the type of date that was expected, did gay boys have sex the first time around? Did they kiss? Was there a guide online to tell them what the right steps were? Would it just be talking till they felt comfortable enough to give each other a hug? And then a kiss before Sanchit left? They were going for the latter, just to play it safe, if Emmett wanted more… well, he could gladly request it from them. 

They almost wanted to giggle when Emmett showed them their apartment, it wasn’t at all messy, but they decided not to make a mention, and if (hopefully when) they showed them their apartment, Sanchit had to clean up. “This is a nice apartment,” Sanchit decided to say, looking around, they left their small backpack by the door and took off their heavy boots and warm jacket. “How long did you say you’ve been in Paris for?” They asked. They talked English with Emmett on purpose, though if asked, they would switch back to French, they knew it could be difficult to learn a language when nobody was speaking it with you.

Malik wanted a bowl of frosted cereal. 

Unfortunately, his carton of milk had impeccable timing as it was expired. This took a damper on his mood since it was a sign that he needed to do some much needed grocery shopping. Therefore, he had to make the awful drive to the store. On the bright side he was able to find a parking spot that wasn’t too boxed in by the snow and slush. 

While he was walking towards his destination, he heard some commotion nearby and couldn’t help but look over. Luckily he did seeing as he noticed someone almost fall off their bike. An amused smile crept onto his lips as he nodded in response, “Pretty wicked.” The DJ then pointed at his bike and asked, “Isn’t it a bit early to take those out?” 

-

“Those?” Sanchit asked, then gestured to the bike. “This you mean? How else am I gonna get around the city?” They asked with a smirk, hoping it was clear that they were making a joke. “I used to go biking all the time when the roads were frozen, of course it all goes fine till I’m trying it in Paris. It’s the cobblestone roads, obviously, because I am skilled,” they said, chuckling a little. “I’d rather go biking than driving… I mean, not that I have a car. But in general. And the public transport is barely driving.” They paused and grinned. “Mostly I am a daredevil.” Complete lie.

Given that Emmett ran into Sanchit here, he can probably deduce that they also live in Belleville. It occurs to him that if that’s the case, they probably don’t live far enough away to justify coming to their place to escape the snowstorm. But, the other did seem to take it the suggestion as a date, so why not make it into one? They’re definitely interested in getting to know the other more and they are attracted to them. This would be a good excuse to do so, which makes him decide to go along with it. He nods with the same grin on his face, indicating that this is what he wants.

“Yeah, why not? With the snowstorm it’s not really smart to go further out. You don’t mind, right?” They’re pretty sure that they don’t mind, but they want to ask just in case. If anything, Sanchit just seems excited to be able to spend more time with him. Still, they think it’s important to make sure that both parties are comfortable before going ahead with the plans. “I was about to check out anyway and we can just walk back together. It’s not very far from here, just a couple minute’s walk.”

Sanchit blushed when Emmett agreed to the date, they certainly hadn’t seen this coming. They resisted the urge to send a text to Caoimhin to tell him. “Of course not!” They said, heart melting at the other’s great kindness, and at the fact that this was now a date. A TRUE DATE! 

They put the books back, not as if they had money to pay for any of them, they would just wait for them to appear at the library. “Sounds good,” they said with a grin. “Lead the way and I will follow.” And try not to swoon or skip out of giddiness.

Sehwan couldn’t believe the snow storm they were being blasted with currently. As he purchased a few necessities, in case he needed to hunker down in his apartment for a while, he scanned his childhood memories, trying to remember if he’d ever experienced weather like this in Paris. He couldn’t. And as he grabbed his bag of groceries and headed out of the grocery store, he let out a sigh, pulling his hood up over his head. He had just set off for the short walk to his apartment when the screeching of brakes against bicycle tires jolted him to attention just a few feet away. As his heart began to slowly return to normal speed upon realizing no one was hurt, Sehwan nimbly closed the distance to where the biker was getting to their feet. He was reaching down to offer what help he could in steadying the person, when he heard the biker’s laughter. “I don’t know about a good one, but it was a save, alright.” he responded, with a chuckle and a shake of his head, giving the other a quick once over to make sure there weren’t any visible signs of injury. “You sure you’re alright?” he asked, unable to step away from that protective nature in him, even when it came to strangers. 

-

Sanchit nodded quickly. “Oh yes! I mean, my heart is racing like crazy, but that’s pretty normal. I’ve been in biking accidents before,” they said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. In a way it was, the centre of their hometown was mostly bikes, but there were very many ways to get into a tangle with cars or pedestrians or even other bikes. “Thank you,” they added, aware of the offer of kindness. “I really think I overestimated my balance… or you, if there were no cars whatsoever, I totally would’ve made it home!”

The electricity failing wasn’t the end of the world, far from it, Sanchit had faced several of these power outages in Groningen, where gas extraction was a common thing and the earthquakes that followed usually sent something off. Whether it was the electricity or something more - with a large earthquake a few years ago that really shook things up. They remained calm, though the terror of people around them got to them a little. As people tried to determine what was happening - Sanchit’s own hypothesis was that someone had driven into the power station - they moved closer to Keziah. “You okay?” They asked, having come there especially to deliver some lunch to her.

Status: Closed @sanchit-hari​

Where: Etoile Books

Even though they knew it wasn’t the best idea to travel in this kind of weather, they decided to go to the bookstore. He figured if the snow kept up like this he’d probably be trapped indoors for a couple days, so may as well have something to read. So, here they are, trying to find an interesting read in the local bookstore. 

That’s when they notice that there’s a familiar face in the store and their face lights up. “Hey! Sanchit, right? We met a couple days ago!” He greets the other, practically beaming. They feel bad about how they left them at their first meeting, it was their fault for forgetting about their shift. 

Then, concern regarding the snowstorm takes over. He doesn’t want Sanchit getting hurt trying to get home and he doesn’t know how far away they live. “Hey, it’s kinda dangerous to go very far in this weather and I live pretty close, do you wanna hangout at my place until it stops for a while?”

Sanchit remained unphased by the weather, sure, it was storming pretty badly outside, but aside from maybe the electricity being cut off, they didn’t see anything that could happen. Their home city was prone to earthquakes because of gas extraction. They were just doing the things they would usually do, browsing through books looking for something gay. Their hearing aid was off like it usually was, but they switched it on when they saw movement to their left, beaming when they recognised their almost date. The fact that he was addressing them so excitedly at least meant that all the bad thoughts Sanchit had after Emmett had stormed off to their shift were unfounded. 

They nodded. “I know,” they said, eyes scanning Emmett for a quick second, checking him out, definitely. They weren’t expecting the offer however, with how little they cared about the snow storm, their apartment really wasn’t that far. But when it came to choosing between spending private quality time with someone they were definitely crushing on or going home… well…. That was an easy choice. “You’re inviting me over on our first date?” They asked, a grin spreading on their face that told they were joking. Or well, at least not serious, but also that they were very very interested.

Usually, Lincoln did do his best to prepare himself much better for when freak weather would occur. Though, he was pretty convinced that even from the newscasts he’d seen from the day before, none predicted for how much the snow had quickly accumulated. And of course he’d run out of some essentials, having to make the icy trek to one of the nearest grocery outlets. Just before heading inside, Lincoln’s eyes caught a biker nearly get hit by a car on the snowy street, but before he could call out to them, they were already moving onto the sidewalk, bike in hand. “Honestly? Best save I’ve seen. — You good?” 

Sanchit nodded rapidly. “Oh yes, maybe my heart rate is a little up from that… but otherwise I’m good!” They said, taking a deep breath as they lifted their back onto the side walk. “I don’t think I’ll be biking again now,” they added. Though that was a lie, they had been raised Dutch, biking was in their blood. They would be back on a bike as soon as possible. It was the fastest way to get to most places. “Crazy storm right? I’ve always wanted to see Paris in snow!”

It’s then that Emmett notices the time, they have a shift at L’or Vert coming up soon. He’s surprised he failed to notice this, he must have lost track of time at Notre Dame. Probably due to the attractive company they’ve found. “Shit, I’ve gotta go. I’m so sorry.”

They’re thankful that they have a scrap of paper and a pen in their pocket, because they quickly scribble down their phone number. He hands it to Sanchit, giving them a hurried smile before moving towards the door. “I swear it’s nothing about you, I have a shift I forgot about and I really have to start getting ready again.” They reassure them, hoping this doesn’t cause any unnecessary anxiety for them. “Sorry again, but call me. I’d really like to see you again.” With that, he opens the door and leaves, beginning to run through the rain in an attempt to catch the next train.

-END

When Lida heard their response of where they came from, it all started to make sense why they would find small joys in such weather conditions. When you’re used to it, it no longer fazes you which seemed to be the case here. “Ah, that makes sense.” replied the Senol heiress with a tone of realization. “That may happen, yes…Might even have chance of a rainbow peeking through.” Although she had a realist type of mindset, she bit her tongue from bringing up the topic of global warming. Now wasn’t the time to bring the mood down. 

After hearing their take on Notre Dame, a genuine smile crept onto Lida’s lips as she wasn’t expecting such an honest response. It definitely put things into perspective and the beauty of how such architecture was built. “When you put it that way, then I see the appeal. I’ll admit I kind of lost that spark when it came to this establishment. However, I tend to forget that this is a piece of French history right here and not many have the opportunity to see it up close and personal.” 

A lighthearted laugh escaped her lips as she shook her head. “Don’t want to pressure you into it. If you’d like I can order you an Uber instead?” She then extended her hand after realizing that they didn’t quite get each other’s names, “I’m Lida by the way. Forgive me for not starting out with such formalities. If you’re not comfortable with either or, then I can give you a couple of euros for transit fare?” 

-

Sanchit chuckled. “See, that’s the spirit! Rainbows will never cease to amaze me either, I love them.” And they were also proud that a rainbow was particularly on brand for them now, even if they were still slightly afraid to wear any iconography in public, the rainbow itself, that was something you could just look at and feel good around. 

They nodded. “I get it though, if you’re so used to it, it turns boring… or well, depending on what it is, of course. I think I just have a knack for overthinking things from a historic perspective, like… uhm, every time I visit Rotterdam, I get sad, because the center of the city is all new buildings, or relatively new at least, because it was bombed by the Germans during World War II, so you just know you’ll never be able to unearth that part of history.” They stopped, offering an apologetic smile for their rambling. “I think the Notre Dame is something people know of, but I think it will always take the breath away of people seeing it for the first time.”

At the continued offer of kindness, Sanchit looked even more apologetic, a ride was one thing, but money for an uber, or even for the metro. “Oh ha, no, that’s… that’s okay. I have an abonnement,” they said, “and I don’t take Ubers, since… well, the metro is way faster.” Was that still a no then? Too Dutch, raised way way too Dutch. Why inconvenience someone when you had the perfect opportunity to get home just as fast, maybe even faster, by public transport? “Sanchit,” they said. “Lida? Like: L I D A?” They asked, catching names was a whole different thing with a hearing aid - about as hard as learning a new language.

“You just have to remind yourself that you are that bitch and you bring a fucking hell of a lot to the table.” she replied, a bit of a gleam in her eye as she looked over at them, flipping her hair over her shoulder. 

“You are hilarious, Sanchit.” she agreed, excitedly. “And the definition of adorable. Those two are a killer combo!” She leaned forward, catching the bartender’s eye and they immediately hurried over to take her order. “What would you like, doll? On the house, of course.” she asked turning to Sanchit so they could tell the bartender what they would like first. When they had finished, she asked for a rum and coke and then turned her attention back to her companion. “But for real, what more could someone ask for than someone to make them laugh all the way into bed?” 

Sanchit grinned, keeping themselves from laughing by the sheer effort of thinking they were ‘that bitch’, they couldn’t wait to have the same confidence as Micayla, instead of freezing up and thinking they were obviously too boring and too ugly to have anyone take them home. It wasn’t that they really thought they were ugly, just that they weren’t ‘hot’. Maybe if they grew their hair out and wore a dress, though perhaps in another club. 

Killer combo, they liked that, though hilarious might be a far fetch, unless if someone was really into their dry humour. If yes, that would very much work. They watched Micayla gesture the bartender over, and ordered their usual: pasoa juice, with a whole lot of pasoa, and very little actual juice. It was the type of drink they could go all night on without feeling like they might pass out. Also… it combined great with weed. “Uhm, someone hot?” They asked, confidence obviously faltering at the very thought that being funny was enough. They had sat on the chair plenty of times, watching men walk off with other obviously hot people. “A girl?” And yet another unfortunate case: Sanchit’s own gaydar was terrible.

          “My family is from Turkey but I was born and raised in New York. Manhattan to be exact.” The brunette was proud, she loved the city and loved being in touch with her roots, having visited Turkey many times over the years. The sad things was that Lena wasn’t entirely sure what felt like home anymore. Painted lips curved and she gave a nod in agreement to their statement, in complete solidarity. “One of many things that could do away with distinctions.” The smile morphed slightly into a playful smirk, unable to help herself in the addition. “What’s it like there?” Having never heard of the city and finding their accent endearing, Lena became curious.

          Some laughter spilled at feeling some familiarity in their comment: this will bother me until I’m home. It went the same for Lena if something hovered mysteriously in the background of her thoughts, and had a tendency to obsess until she was able to bring whatever it was to the foreground. “I feel attached now, so you’ll have to let me know when you figure it out. Swing by the bar or something.” Really, it wasn’t a suggestion just to gain more patronage, as Lena would give them a drink on the house and chat for a bit. It just seemed the easiest way without being intrusive. At both their excitement and questions, the brunette laughed again and shook her head. “Micayla and I met by me visiting her club. I’m a big fan of nightclubs, and also my brothers go there with some frequency.” Not for the same reasons she did, but that didn’t need to be shared.

Sanchit nodded, they knew somewhat of New York, but only the things they were familiar with from movies. They knew a lot more about Turkey however, since they were the only brown kid in school, as soon as there was anyone with a different complection, they had tried to make friends. And a few of those were kids from migrant families from Turkey and Morocco, from the Dutch antilles and Indonesia. Especially after they left home, spending time in the state’s care, their friends had been more diverse, and they learned of their homes and cultures through the conversations they had in sign language. “Ah, I know very few of the New York neighbourhoods, but it must be different from Turkey? Have you been there?” They grinned. “It’s very old fashioned, much smaller than Paris. But also with old buildings, but like… uhm, with a huge square, surrounded by cafes and a big church we call Old Grey. It’s very endearing actually, we got some small canals, and a lot of cobbled stone roads.” They smiled, they missed their city sometimes. “Much greyer than Paris.” 

Sanchit laughed. “Oh, I certainly will!” They said, the mystery keeping them both enthralled, and they were certain it would take until the next day, until they were somewhere alone, when it would really hit them. They still thought there was a secret club, but it was kind of funny that someone who owned a bar liked going to nightclubs. Or perhaps it wasn’t, it was just… Sanchit imagined people who owned one place going to another place to eat or dance or drink, instead of their own. And perhaps - if they weren’t too broke to even eat at Le Meurice - they understood. “It’s a good night club, I think it’s the one place that really feels like home, there are a lot of them in the Netherlands too, it’s a real experience.”

“The dart, it’s an acronym they thought up to try and be smart,” Caoimhín said, cringing at the name. That was typical for the Irish, make anything into a joke, even transport. “They’re like the train and trams of the city, similar I suppose to the metro?” Mainland Europe’s transport always felt more efficient and sophisticated compared  to that of Ireland’s, but the history nerd he was, he couldn’t help but excuse his homeland being that the infrastructure and economy was only a hundred or so years old. Ireland had done well for itself post occupation and he would defend that to anyone, even if his childhood had made him want to flea the very same country he jumped to defend.

Caoimhín laughed at them. They knew so much and it was impressive. “Knowing so many languages, you can get a prince in any country,” he teased. Sanchit didn’t need someone, they were perfectly well-rounded on their own, but the Irishman knew that it mattered to them, so would do all he could to build their confidence. Be the hype man or wing man, whatever they needed. “I can accept thirty,” he replied through gentle laughter, leaning back in his seat.

“Maybe you could give me a lesson sometime.” The suggestion is vague, but his tone adds a flirtatious air to it. In truth, this is the first person that they’ve been romantically interested in since they moved to Paris. Plus, it helps that Sanchit already knows that he finds them attractive.

Their heart flutters when they grab their hand, even though it’s a pretty chaste action. “Ready when you are.” He replies, giddiness rubbing off on him. They provide a broad smile in return, cheeks slightly tinged with a blush as they speak.

Sanchit blushed, heat rising to their cheeks and ears, the very thought of going over to help someone with French Sign Language, the very thought of helping a cute boy with their homework… well, Sanchit could name at least ten romantic movies where that was at least half the premise. “Yes, sure, I could do that,” they said, heart beating. 

Since Emmett didn’t pull their hand back, Sanchit figured they were safe, still awkward: but safe. They felt their body react to the broad smile and blush that was offered them, and nodded excitedly, as they held up the umbrella over their heads, and pulled Emmett along into the rain, back towards the metro station near the Notre Dame and to the other side of the busy street, landing the both of them safely to the door of the Exki. They pushed the door open for Emmett, and folded the Umbrella back up. Was this a date?

“You’re right.” At that moment, Lida would have face palmed herself as the weekend was normally a rest day for MOST people. However, she was running a business and as much as she tries to aim for work life balance, she was always on the clock. “Fair enough. Although I will point out that this is such an unfortunate way to spend your weekend with this shitty weather.” Admiring the location, Lida had seen this place multiple times that she no longer felt the same SPARK. “I’m assuming you never get tired of the view?” she asked with curiosity. “Are you sure? It’s the least I could do for the gesture you did. At least that way you won’t get dampen completely.” 

-

Sanchit chuckled. “I’m from the Netherlands, I’m used to shitty weather on the weekends,” they said. When they were younger it was rarely good weather on Saturdays and Sundays, usually the sun snuck out in the middle of the week, as if to happily dish them. “It’s like they say… after rain comes sunshine, right? I may have a very nice sunny evening.” They shook their head. “Never, I try to imagine the builder who envisioned building this, and the many generations it took to place every single stone. It’s an amazing piece of architecture, but most of all, it’s immense. Not in the same way as the Eiffel Tower, but… yeah, this place gives me chills every time.” And when they could turn off their hearing aid and really stand in its immensity, they would always pick up on new features. Things they hadn’t seen before. They sucked up their awkwardness about saying yes to such an offer, they were the type to find it awkward when someone held a door open when you were like… ten steps away. The moment between running to catch it and running away because you were aware of how much someone else was doing for you, giving up valuable time when they didn’t have to. They stared at her. “Is this one of those instances where I should say ‘yes’?”

Sanchit wasn’t new to snow storms. Though they had seen videos of them in other countries, West-Europe was pretty mild in comparison. It was mostly a lot of wet snow and very very icy roads. To a point where trains would stop driving - which they already did regularly - or people were told not to drive their cars around. Paris was different, people took it way more seriously. While Sanchit, as smart as they were being, was biking. They had to slow down for a car and almost fell on their butt. Despite it, they were laughing, pulling their bike from the ground and sliding to the sidewalk. “That was a good safe right?”