Chapter Text
Chapter One
"Lighting the Match"
May
The auction ends after Buck, leaving the venue buzzing with an after high of excitement.
May claps for her older brother, then hooks her pinkies into her hair to tuck it behind her ears. She sips her water, careful not to smudge her bright red lipstick. Not that it matters; the event is over.
May swallows her water down and clears her throat.
"I'm going to head back to the dressing room in a minute," she says to Athena, over the emcee who is chipperly giving out directions to the winning bidders.
Athena raises her eyebrow, leaning back onto the arm propped on her chair. "Don't worry, we can all go together."
Across the table, Chimney laughs and Eddie snorts, which does not help May's embarrassment.
"If you two want, I can take your checks up to the front for you," Maddie offers, suppressing a smile. May can see the excitement in her eyes when they meet, and May's cheeks turn even redder.
May passes her mother her check, and Athena turns her attention away from her daughter. "We'd appreciate that, thank you," she says, standing up and handing both slips of paper to Maddie.
The rest of the table follows Athena's lead and rises from the table. May rests her purse strap on her left shoulder, messing with her hair again. She looks up to Eddie, who jerks his chin towards the dressing room, and steps up to meet his side.
She's grateful for the head start.
"So, Ravi, huh?"
May sighs, happily embarrassed. Her cheeks are still flushed from her mothers teasing. She gathers herself to respond, weaving a carefully crafted response—
"Yeah, uh, Ravi? Seriously? My co-worker?" Harry accuses, huffing and puffing dramatically as he attaches himself to her side.
Taken aback, May jerks her head and frowns, narrowing her eyes. "Okay, back up. You didn't become his 'co-worker—'" air quotes "—until barely a month ago."
Harry rolls his eyes, scoffing. "Okay, never mind the specifics. He's still—"
"—No, not still!"
"Okay fine! But that doesn't change the fact that you haven't shown interest in him once before this. Why now?"
May scrunches her nose, scratching the tip of it. "You're not exactly making me want to explain, Harry."
Their feet come to a stop in front of the dressing room doors, but their bickering doesn't.
Harry purses his lips and sighs. "Okay, well, I just think the situation is weird, that's all. Like seriously, why now?"
May crosses her arms leans into her stance, running her tongue over her teeth, her mouth closed.
"Was it because you felt bad for him?" Harry continues. "Because no one was bidding?"
"What? No, that's not—"
"Your mom is coming."
Eddie's voice startles May and she stands up straighter at the scare. She turns to see the older firefighter guarding the bend, but she's standing in a blind spot where she can't see the hallway.
Harry's eyes widen in a fleeting panic.
"Shit," he hisses, trying and failing to crane his neck to see. "Okay, well I am not dropping this," he says, pointing his finger as he backs up into the door and disappears into the dressing room.
"Oh trust me, I know," May sighs, shaking her head. She turns back to Eddie, mentally prepping for her mothers interrogation.
But Eddie just smiles, and May gets the feeling her mother wasn't actually walking down the hallway.
"Don't," she warns, snapping her finger towards him. His smile only grows, and he presents his palms at his face in surrender.
"I'm not going to hound you like he was," Eddie shrugs. "Just curious as to what I might've overlooked."
May fights another smile, shrugging her own crossed arms. "I don't know. I just… I'm in the market—so to speak—for a partner, and something just… clicked." She shrugs again. "He was being honest and put himself out there, like I told him to. So then I wanted to support him, and then I… wanted him."
Eddie nods, grinning. "He's a good kid. I can't say with certainty if you two would be perfect for each other, but I would say it is absolutely worth a shot. And it would be a good learning experience, if anything. Figure out who you are and what you want in a relationship. It's a good move, May."
May lets her smile break through this time, and opens her arms for a hug. Eddie reciprocates, wrapping his arms under hers. He tilts them slightly to one side, then back to their center of gravity, in a true, genuine embrace.
"I appreciate that, Eddie," she whispers into his shoulder.
"No biggie kid," he whispers back. "None at all."
May gently tugs out of the hug and Eddie lets her go.
"See you soon!" he waves, finally dipping into the dressing room himself.
May waves back, catching the second that Buck notices Eddie. Then the door closes, and she's by herself.
"May? Are you back there?"
Okay, maybe not.
"Yeah mom, I am." May steps into the bend, crossing her arms over her chest and holding a hand up.
"Ah," Athena smiles, walking the rest of the way over. "Have you gotten to talk to him yet?"
May blushes and shakes her head. "No, he's still getti—"
She's cut off by the door swooshing open, revealing the man of subject, who is shouting back at someone in the dressing room.
"See you on shift!" he shouts happily, turning his head down to the floor as he steps out into the hallway.
"Why hello there Ravi," Athena greets, effectively blocking May from saying a word. May shoots her a glare just as Ravi startles from their presence.
"Oh! Athena, hi," he chuckles, doing a double take between the two of them. "May," he smiles, ducking his head in a similar manner to how Buck does.
May stands up straighter, smiling back.
"Did Harry make it in there?" Athena asks, playing with her necklace.
"Yes ma'am he did," Ravi nods, sinking his hands into his pockets. His shoulders relax awkwardly and he shifts forward on his feet.
Athena hums, nodding.
May swallows, shifting on her own feet. Ravi shoots her a nervous glance.
"You what, mom? I'm going to go wait for you guys by the car," May says, pointing loosely towards the parking lot. "Ravi? Do you also have a car to wait by?"
Ravi covers a snort with a cough, nodding insistently. "Yes, actually I do. Shall we go wait by our cars together?"
May mentally smacks her forehead as she nods, watching her mother suppress a smile. She's never going to hear the end of this.
Shaking her head, May leads the way out of the venue, dodging lingering guests and beelining it towards the doors. She opens them and passes it off to Ravi, who lets it swing closed behind him. As she steps off to the side, to not block foot traffic, May takes a deep breath and spins on her heel.
"Soo…" Ravi says, a poorly contained smile already cutting across his face.
May sighs, letting her hands hit her side. "I don't really know what that was, to be honest with you," she chuckles.
Ravi nods, pursing his lips, eyes alight.
"But I do know that I want to get to know you, Ravi. I've thought about that a lot recently." She shrugs. "We've never really had a chance to really connect in the few years you've been with the 118. It's been what, almost five?"
"Something like that, yeah," Ravi chuckles. "And you're right, we haven't," he agrees, followed by a similar shrug. "I think I'd like to get to know you too."
May beams, squeezing her shoulders. "Yay!" she laughs.
Ravi laughs too, shaking his head and reaching for his phone. "Should we exchange phone numbers?"
"Yes! We should. I don't actually know when I'll be available for a date…" she trails off as she digs for her own device. "…but phone numbers would be good."
"Mhm," Ravi nods. "Me neither. I don't remember my shift schedule right now. Plus it's late, so." He shrugs. "I wouldn't expect you to want to make plans right this minute."
"Exactly," May sighs, pulling up a new contact field in her phone.
They swap devices, typing in their respective information before swapping back.
"Alrighty," Ravi smiles, wringing his hands together before opening his arms, inviting her in for a hug. It's a bit awkward, and May catches a glimpse of her mother and Harry leaving the building, but she snaps her attention back to Ravi.
"I look forward to seeing where you are going to take me, Mr. Panikkar," she teases, pulling back.
Ravi cocks his head, pocketing his hands and favoring a foot. "Oh so I'm planning this date?"
May shrugs, dawning a sly smile. "I mean, I basically paid."
Ravi shakes his head. "Well then, Miss Grant, I look forward to surprising you with where I plan on taking you," he tries, wincing at the attempt.
May snorts, resting a hand on her purse strap. "I'll see you Ravi. Have a good night!"
Ravi waves back, taking off towards his own car. "You too, May!"
And when she slips into the passenger seat a few moments later, she ignores her brother's pointed glare and her mothers teasing grin. Instead, she straps her seatbelt over her body and pulls the car mirror down to check her lipstick.
Her phone pings, and she lowers the brightness before checking the message.
Ravi: You looked great tonight, by the way.