Chapter Text
After they finished their dinner, the gang headed back to the Matthews' place for dessert, except for Lucas who had to get back to his family. Once inside, Topanga and Katy headed to the kitchen to prepare the cake and put on a pot of coffee, decaf for Katy. Everyone else lingered in the living room until Cory and Shawn shared a look, deciding it was time to give Josh "the talk."
"Girls, Auggie....can you give us a minute? We need to speak with Josh."
"Alone." Shawn added.
Auggie just shrugged, then headed towards his room to play video games. At the same time, Riley chirped excitedly, "Bay window, bay window right now!" Maya didn't get a chance to respond before Riley grabbed her by the arm and dragged her down the hall. She was dying to know all of the details about Maya's kiss with Josh, so much so that she didn't give a second thought as to why they needed to talk to Josh alone and neither did Maya.
Once it was just the three of them, Josh took his beanie off, ran a hand through his hair, and asked, "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Josh, my little protégé," Shawn began playfully. "step into my office." He said, gesturing to the window seat a few feet behind the living room couch.
"Yes," Cory agreed, pointing to the same spot. "bay window, bay window right now!"
The guys went and sat down, sandwiching Josh in the middle.
"So, listen..." Shawn hesitated. "You remember everything that I taught you about dating? All the tips and tricks I gave you?"
"Yeah." Josh smiled, remembering how well his advice had worked in the past.
"Well, now that you're dating Maya, I need you to forget all of it." Shawn stated in a serious tone.
"What?" Josh couldn't help but laugh as he spoke.
"I think what Shawn is trying to say is that Maya isn't like other girls." Cory amended.
"Exactly." Shawn nodded. "Maya's different, and we're not just saying that because she's my step-daughter."
"Or because she's Riley's best friend." Cory added.
"We're saying it because it's the truth." Shawn affirmed.
"The thing is," Cory went on. "Maya likes to act tough and fearless and like nothing bothers her, especially when she is feeling the exact opposite...."
"Yeah... she never has been one to wear her heart on her sleeve." Shawn acquiesced. "You see, after her dad left and her mom starting working all the time to make ends meet, Maya learned to take care of herself, and part of that involved hiding her feelings from others."
"Why would she do that?" Josh wondered aloud.
"It was her way of being independent." Shawn answered with a shrug. "And I know better than anyone that the longer you remain independent, the harder it is to open up about the things that really matter."
"Our point is," Cory interrupted. "You need to be patient with Maya, take things slowly, and really earn her trust.
"Guys," Josh said, looking between the two. "You know me, I would never do anything to make Maya feel uncomfortable... I would never hurt her."
"Maybe not intentionally." Shawn interjected. "But the thing about the people we care about is we never plan on hurting them, or disappointing them, or making them cry...but, sometimes, it happens anyway."
"And though we can't always control whether we hurt someone, we can control how we react to their hurt." Cory explained. "So, be sure to take care of Maya, and treat her well."
"I will. I promise." Josh assured them.
"Good," Shawn nodded, then placed a hand on Josh's shoulder. "because if you don't, I'll kill you."
"Right." Josh began to laugh, but then realized that Shawn wasn't, nor was he even smiling. His face officially dropped when Shawn added, "I'm serious." Josh looked to his big brother for a little support, but Cory just looked nervous and shook his head up and down to show that Shawn was, indeed, serious.
Josh looked back to Shawn again, then gulped, feeling a little unnerved. Luckily, Topanga's voice rang out across the apartment just then, breaking the tension. "Time for dessert!" Suddenly, eager to get away, Josh hurried over to the table where a large chocolate cake sat, along with plates, silverware, and napkins.
Shawn finally broke his resolve, unable to stop his chuckle at Josh's reaction. He noticed Cory was smiling too as he turned to him and said, "That was almost too easy." then patted Cory on the shoulder and rose to his feet. The two best friends then walked to the dining room together, joining their families for part-two of Maya and Riley's graduation celebration.
*******
Josh ate his piece of cake silently as he mulled over what Cory and Shawn had told him. He decided he needed to have a serious talk with Maya before things went any further between them. So, that's how he found himself sitting in another bay window, this time the one in Riley's room, with Maya at his side.
"Is everything all right?" She asked, feeling a little worried. Maya was having a hard time reading the expression on Josh's face, so she wasn't sure what he was thinking or what was going to happen. Maya just hoped he wasn't regretting asking her out. She didn't think she could handle it, if Josh took his "proposal" back.
"Yeah, of course." He smiled softly. "I just wanted to talk to you, to clear a few things up."
"Okaaay. Like what?" She queried.
"I've realized that you may be a little wary of my motives, that you might not completely trust me."
Maya sighed. "Josh, I--"
"But you can." He cut her off. "I like you, Maya....a lot, and I want you to know that I'm in this one-hundred percent." He added as he grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers.
Maya couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips as he spoke. Her heart picked up speed, but she managed to keep her cool as she responded, "I'm not gonna lie, I may have been a little worried that you'd take back what you said before at the restaurant, but I can honestly say that I'm not anymore...and Josh? I do trust you. I always have." She squeezed his hand lightly to emphasize her words.
"Then you'll come to me, if you ever have any doubts? And you won't hide away your feelings from me?" Josh inquired.
Maya quirked a blonde brow and countered, "Josh, when have I ever hid my feelings from you?"
"Good point." Josh said with a slight nod of the head as he thought back over the years to Maya's tendency to act like a nutball around him and call him "Uncle Boing."
"Where did you even get these ideas from anyway?" Maya questioned. "That I lack trust and have honesty issues and whatnot." She elaborated.
"It was just something Shawn and Cory said earlier..." Josh began.
"Wait... that's why they wanted to get you alone? To talk about me?" Maya asked in disbelief.
"Yeah." Josh admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed.
Maya glared across the empty room at no one or nothing in particular as she conjured up a mental image of Shawn and Cory and ideas for the perfect revenge. "Daddy-Shawn and curly-top are so going down." She vowed, causing Josh to laugh.
"You're cute when you plot revenge." Josh quipped.
"And you're cute when you tell me that I'm cute." Maya flirted back playfully.
Neither of them spoke for a few beats after her retort, instead they just sat their smiling at each other like love-sick idiots as Josh absentmindedly rubbed circles on her hand with his thumb. Eventually, Josh broke the silence as he wondered aloud, "So, are we good then?"
"Yeah," She smiled back. "we're good."
Josh sighed contentedly, then said, "We should probably get back to the party before someone notices we're gone."
"Yeah, we should." Maya agreed, though she figured they probably already had.
Hand in hand, the two of them walked across Riley's room to the door. Josh opened it with his free hand and was starting to cross the threshold, when Maya suddenly stopped him.
"Wait..." Maya commanded.
"What is it?" Josh asked, stopping to stare at her quizzically.
Maya didn't answer. Instead, she placed her free hand against Josh's chest and went up onto her tip toes to place a quick kiss on his lips.
"Okay," She said, pushing some blonde hair back behind her ear as a blush crept onto her cheeks. "now, I'm ready."
Josh grinned that adorable, boyish grin of his, lips still tingling from the touch of hers, then spoke softly as he said, "Thanks."
Maya cocked her head to the side in confusion. "For the kiss?"
"No...well, yeah...but what I really meant was thanks for waiting for me." He clarified, squeezing her hand tenderly.
"Thanks for being worth waiting for." She stated simply, feeling the happiest she had ever felt in her life.
They shared another warm smile, then finally made their way back out to the living room. As they approached their families, Shawn noticed their intertwined hands and tossed them a wink. Maya rolled her eyes , but couldn't help but think that he was right. Magical things do happen after graduation.