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The holiday party Hen and Karen throw for the 118 and extended crew is in full swing, and May is having a fun time so far, on her way to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.
She squeezes around a huddle of people and nearly bumped into Ravi, coming from the opposite direction. May smiles apologetically at him but before she could get past him, Buck’s voice shouts, “Nuh-uh you two, mistletoe!”
May rolls her eyes as a few people within hearing distance turn to laugh and cheer at them. She’s been caught under it already with Buck - who’d given her an obnoxious kiss on the cheek - and Eddie - who’d given her a soft kiss on the forehead. Both made her feel like a kid sister, which is fine, because she doesn’t have a crush on either of them.
But getting a brotherly kiss on the cheek from Ravi would probably, definitely, leave her an embarrassed mess.
Ravi sighs and May hears him curse under his breath. Which wow, doesn’t make her feel great.
“You don’t have to,” she offers, giving him an out.
“It’s fine,” Ravi says in a pained voice.
May blinks at him.
She lets her eyes scrunch shut when he ducks in and presses his lips to her cheek. The butterflies May feels only last for a second before they’re taken over by the hot, stomach-churning embarrassment. May can barely feel the heat of him, but his cologne invades her senses. It smells warm and woodsy, stirring up enticing mental images. His lips are soft, and gone so fast she barely registers the pressure of them before he pulls away. May opens her eyes and continues in her original path to the kitchen without looking at Ravi.
*
May runs away from him as fast as possible, leaving Ravi embarrassed and frustrated. His face morphs into a scowl as he marches over to Buck and says, “What the hell, man?”
Buck shrugs apologetically and leans into Tommy, who has an arm around his waist. “I thought it would work, Rav.”
“He was just trying to help,” Tommy backs his boyfriend up.
Ravi crosses his arms then immediately drops them. “I know, I know.” He glances towards the kitchen, but his view is blocked by people.
Tommy’s right. While everyone had fun pointing at any pair caught under the mistletoe that was scattered around the house, Buck was playing matchmaker when it came to waiting for Ravi to get caught with May.
When Buck and Eddie had given May fond kisses that made her laugh, Ravi was imagining doing it in a way that was definitely not party appropriate. He wanted to kiss her soft-looking lips, make her gasp before leaning in for more and maybe tilt his head for a better angle. According to Buck, Eddie, and even Tommy, his demeanor around May made it seem like he wasn’t interested, which couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s not Ravi’s fault he gets tongue-tied around her, and that leads to him just shutting up more often than not.
“I’m gonna get some fresh air,” Ravi decides, giving Buck and Tommy a little wave and leaving.
He scans the kitchen as he passes through - no sign of May - and opens the door to the back deck.
There’s no one else outside which Ravi is grateful for. It’s just him and the tasteful string lights hanging above. He walks down the short steps that lead to the grass and sits on the bottom one with a sigh.
*
May tilts her head up, looking at the stars. She’s been sitting on a lawn chair in the grass for a while now. Is it too early to go home? May checks the time on her phone: only 9 pm. Maybe she’ll just sneak around the side of the house and call an uber. It would be rude, but it would be better than fleeing the room whenever Ravi walks in for the rest of the night.
It’s such a stupid crush, she lets herself mope.
He barely fucking talks to her, unless they’re in a group or she goes up to him. Ravi doesn’t seek her out, but doesn’t ignore her either, and May hates that she can’t figure out what he really thinks of her.
Obviously, the reality of Ravi would never live up to the fantasy her brain has created, especially given the way he reacted to being caught under mistletoe with her. Humiliation runs through May again, so she squeezes her eyes shut and tries to banish the memory.
Maybe she’ll say a quick bye to Hen and Karen at least, then find Harry and let him know she’s leaving. The sound of the door opening startles her as a wall of noise and light spills out before it’s gone again. She’s too far back for the light to have reached her, but May recognizes Ravi’s figure as he makes his way to the steps before sitting down.
Perfect.
For a few seconds, May waffles about what to do, but decides to get this over with so she can leave.
She makes her way across the backyard, toward Ravi’s backlit figure. He picks his head up at the sound of her feet, but it’s still too dark for her to make out his face or expression. When she reaches the steps, May politely says, “Hey Ravi, um, excuse me.”
“Oh, hi,” he scoots to the side to make room.
Disappointment drops through May’s stomach like a stone. What was I hoping for? She has one foot on the first step when a warm hand wraps around her wrist. May looks down at Ravi, at his unfairly perfect eyebrows and the hint of shadow around his handsome jaw. He doesn’t say anything, just watches her with his beautiful brown eyes. She feels his thumb drag along the inside of her wrist, and then he lightly tugs her hand down.
May gets the message and slowly sits next to him, smoothing out her dress as she does. He releases his hold and settles his hands on his knees.
“I uh - I’m sorry for earlier, when we were inside,” Ravi says, startling May with its suddenness, “that’s not what I wanted to happen.”
*
May’s so stunning in her green cocktail dress and makeup it leaves him breathless. Ravi sees her face fall, expression going from hurt to flat as she leans further away from him.
He replays what he just said in his mind and blurts out, “Oh, oh no - I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t wish it never happened.”
May’s lips curve into a frown. “So then what do you mean by ‘not what you wanted to happen’?”
“I mean.. I do want to kiss you, but not in front of our friends and coworkers.”
“You..what? Really?”
“Yeah.” Ravi nods. Swallows.
When the silence stretches just a little too long, Ravi cautiously looks at May, watching with bated breath as her expression goes from surprised to suddenly shy. She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear but doesn’t say anything.
Crap, did he mess up by saying that?
The sound of loud laughter breaks through the silence, making them both jump.
“Well… it’s just us out here.”
Ravi doesn’t take his gaze off May, even though she ducks her head, looking surprised at herself for saying that. The faint glow coming from the string lights cast shadows over her, but the curve of her cheek and the line of her nose that leads down to pink, soft looking lips are visible. There’s a heat already starting in Ravi’s gut, just from May’s words. He swallows, but turns to look over his shoulder at the door leading back into the house. Someone could still come outside any minute and interrupt them.
He takes May’s hand and stands, leading her back onto the grass and into the darkness. Ravi grins when he hears May giggle, and pulls her along the edge of the grass until they’re at the side of the house. There’s a little walkway leading to the gate, and some light coming from the kitchen windows, just enough for him to see. Finally, he turns around to face May, and drops her hand to reach for her waist. The grin on her face fades and Ravi’s own mouth parts as he watches her expression shift and May sets her palms on his shoulders. He steps into her space where he can feel May’s body heat and smell a pleasant perfume.
Ravi leans in, closing his eyes as he softly kisses her once, twice, three times before pulling away.
“That okay?” he whispers the question, fingers flexing in the fabric of her dress.
“More than,” May grins at him, and Ravi grins back before leaning in again.
He tilts his head for a better angle this time and quickly loses himself in the kiss. God, it feels so good to hold May in his arms. Ravi pulls her closer and runs a hand up her back, enjoying the little noise she makes at the movement. May nips at his lower lip and Ravi groans when she runs her tongue over it. He opens his mouth to her and from there May’s hands are in his hair, he gets a thigh between hers, and they’re struggling to keep quiet as their kisses escalate.
When Ravi finally pulls away, he rests his forehead against hers and tries to calm his breathing. May leans away from him, and he stifles a curse as her thigh rubs against his erection.
“That was.. unexpected.” May says after clearing her throat. She starts smoothing down her dress and hair, wearing an adorable little smile.
Ravi huffs in amusement, “Even better than I thought it’d be.”
May’s eyes light up as she looks at him. “You’ve thought about kissing me?”
“Mhmm,” Ravi ducks down to press a quick kiss to her mouth, “Kind of a lot.”
*
May feels like she’s floating. She just had the hottest kiss of her life with her crush and he’s saying he’s thought about kissing her? Multiple times?
“Gotta admit I’m surprised, you’re so quiet around me,” she murmurs.
“That’s because I get really shy around you,” Ravi clarifies, ducking his head and grinning.
Bashful even after having his tongue in her mouth. Adorable.
May decides it’s her turn to take his hand, so she does. She starts to lead Ravi back towards the stairs of the deck while saying, “Well we can work on you being shy around me by actually taking, hanging out.”
“Yeah that - okay, how about a date? Do you have any plans for New Year’s Eve?”
May laughs and when she grins at Ravi from over her shoulder, she’s met with a wide smile in return. They go up the steps and Ravi opens the door to the kitchen, gesturing for May to go in first.
She smiles in thanks and nearly runs into Buck.
“There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” he exclaims, “Have you seen-”
Ravi enters the house behind her and Buck stops talking, eyes wide. May frowns when Buck looks back and forth between the two of them and doesn’t say anything besides, “I’ll see you later, need to go find Tommy.”
“I’d say that was weird, but it’s Buck so.. it’s normal for him.” Ravi comments as he slowly wraps an arm around her waist.
May leans into his side and agrees.
“Oh, May - Harry’s looking for you,” Chimney calls as he walks past the entrance to the kitchen, not even pausing to look at them.
She turns to face Ravi, feeling butterflies again at seeing the warmth and affection in his eyes. “I’ll go see what he wants then come find you?”
Ravi leans in to kiss her cheek and replies, “Meet me under the mistletoe,” into her ear.
May snorts and laughs, turning to kiss his cheek in return.