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Athena is the first to notice him.
“Oh, hey, Ravi. How you doing? Good to see you.”
Ravi looks at her with a small smile, shoulders pulling back automatically like he’s trying to remember how to stand normally. “Uh... good. Yeah. You too.”
Eddie glances over from the table, then very deliberately looks toward May.
Ravi follows his gaze before he can stop himself.
May is already looking down at the takeout boxes spread across the dining room table, pretending to organize them even though they’re already sorted. Her expression shifts for just a second when she sees him.
Awkward.
Right. Things are awkward now.
Ravi swallows.
Athena and Eddie exchange one of those looks adults do when they know something is happening but are choosing not to comment on it. Then Athena nudges Eddie toward the kitchen.
And just like that, they’re alone.
Well.
Alone-ish.
The house is still loud, or at least as loud as it can be when Buck is sleeping. They can still listen Hen and Maddie moving around the kitchen, probably grabbing some cutlery, Chim turning the TV on, ready to watch the game with Harry... but the dining room suddenly feels too quiet.
Ravi shifts his weight.
May grabs one of the boxes and holds it out toward him without quite meeting his eyes.
“I think this is your order,” she says. “But I’m pretty sure they screwed it up.”
Ravi takes the box carefully. Their fingers brush for half a second.
His brain notices immediately.
“Oh,” he says intelligently. “Should be fine.”
May finally looks at him then. Like she’s trying to figure him out.
Ravi feels heat creeping up the back of his neck.
He knows he should say something normal now. Something socially correct. But every prepared sentence in his head suddenly feels wrong.
"Hey, sorry I disappeared after we slept together."
Too intense.
"Your brother accidentally convinced me to never call you again."
Humiliating.
"I know you are now dating Ian and I’ve been trying very hard not to think about it."
Absolutely not.
Instead, what comes out is:
“Uh… Ian seems pretty cool.”
The second the words leave his mouth, Ravi internally cringes.
That was not smoother.
May blinks, clearly caught off guard by the subject change.
“Yeah,” she says slowly. “I heard you guys did a case together. You saved a kid’s life.”
“Yeah, he did most of the saving.” Ravi gives a quick shrug, eyes dropping briefly to the takeout box in his hands. “I just watched and marveled...”
He pauses.
Then, quieter:
“I get the appeal.”
May’s brows pull together immediately.
Confusion.
Ravi presses on before he loses the nerve.
“I hope you guys are really happy together.”
There.
He said it.
The words feel sharp in his chest anyway.
Because he doesn’t hope that.
Not really.
What he really hopes for is to be able to go back in time and call her, as he had planned.
May stares at him.
“Together?” she repeats. “Uh, Ravi, we’re not... I’m not dating Ian.”
She laughs softly at the misunderstanding, but Ravi’s entire brain screeches to a halt.
"Since when?”
May looks genuinely baffled now.
“Always.”
Ravi blinks.
The room suddenly feels tilted.
“Oh.”
May watches something visibly rearrange itself in his head.
And then Ravi takes a step closer.
Not consciously. He just does.
“I mean,” May continues, “he’s just helping me figure out this whole nursing school thing-”
“You wanna be a nurse?”
His voice comes out more surprised than judgmental, and May immediately misreads it.
“I know, it sounds crazy-”
“No,” Ravi interrupts quickly.
Another step closer.
His heart is beating too fast now.
“No, it sounds perfect.”
May goes still.
Ravi can practically see the moment the tension leaves her shoulders.
Like she’d been bracing for disappointment.
And suddenly he feels weirdly protective over that.
“May,” he says softly, more certain now, “I think you’d be great at anything.”
Her expression changes.
It goes softer.
Warmer.
And Ravi realizes with painful clarity that he has missed her.
Not just the date.
Not just sleeping with her.
Her.
Talking to her. Watching her smile. The way she tilts her head when she's trying not to laugh.
And suddenly, he remebers waking up before her that night.
The apartment still dark, early morning light barely slipping through the curtains. May asleep beside him, curled halfway toward him like she’d moved closer in her sleep without realizing it.
Ravi had stayed very still for a long moment, just watching her breathe.
Not in a creepy way. At least he hoped she would not consider that a creepy way.
He just… hadn’t wanted to ruin it.
Then May had opened her eyes slowly, sleepy and warm and smiling at him like seeing him there was the most natural thing in the world.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she’d mumbled.
And Ravi, still half asleep himself, had answered honestly:
“Because I think this is the happiest I’ve been in a while.”
May had kissed him immediately after that.
Slow and soft and smiling.
And then they’d stayed in bed another hour because every time Ravi tried to get up and make breakfast, May kept pulling him back down by the arm.
The memory hits him all at once now, so vivid it almost physically hurts.
Because for one perfect night, being with her had felt easy.
Natural.
“You really mean that?”
"What?"
"That I'd be great at anything."
Ravi frowns slightly. “Of course."
“No, I know, it’s just…” She laughs quietly. “Most people hear ‘nursing school’ and immediately tell me why it’s a bad idea.”
“Why would it be a bad idea?”
The question comes so fast and so genuinely confused that May actually laughs.
And God.
There it is again.
That sound.
Ravi feels his chest tighten.
“Okay,” May says, smiling now, “see? That reaction right there? That’s why I liked you.”
Liked.
Past tense.
Ravi’s stomach drops a little.
May notices immediately.
“Oh my God,” she says softly. “You really thought I was with Ian.”
Ravi looks away for a second, jaw tightening.
“I mean… yeah.”
“And because of that, you just never called me?”
There’s hurt under the question now, and not anger.
Which honestly makes it worse.
Ravi exhales slowly through his nose.
“Harry said–” He stops. Starts over. “Your brother told me if I wanted to date you, I’d have to transfer firehouses.”
May stares at him for two full seconds.
Then her eyes widen in realization.
“Oh no.”
Ravi immediately misinterprets the reaction.
“I know it sounds stupid now– ”
“No, Ravi.” She steps closer too now. “Harry was joking.”
“Yeah, I get that now... But I thought I was to late anyways, and... I don't know, with the whole Ian thing I thought that you didn't want me around."
May bites her lip, clearly trying not to smile.
And then Ravi realizes that this entire situation might actually be fixable.
“You really thought I didn’t want you around?” she asks quietly.
Ravi hesitates.
Because the truthful answer is yes.
Not because of her. Never because of her.
But because people usually don’t stay.
Usually there’s a point where Ravi misses something socially obvious, or takes something too literally, or says the wrong thing at the wrong moment, and suddenly everyone else is communicating in a language he doesn’t understand.
Harry’s warning had felt clear.
Concrete.
Easy to follow.
So he followed it.
“I didn’t wanna make things weird for you,” he admits finally.
May’s expression softens instantly.
“Ravi…”
“I liked our date,” he says suddenly, like if he doesn’t say it now he never will. “A lot.”
May smiles.
“I liked it too.”
“And breakfast.”
That gets a laugh out of her.
“You mean the breakfast where my brother walked in on you completely naked?”
Ravi considers it seriously.
"Yeah... the pancakes were still good tho."
May laughs harder now, ducking her head.
Ravi watches her for a second too long.
And maybe May notices, because when she looks back up, the air between them feels different suddenly.
Closer.
Neither of them move away.
From the living room Harry talks loud enough for them to hear, “Do we really need to wait for them to eat? I’m literally starving to death!"
“Shush, they're talking!” Eddie murmurs back.
Neither May nor Ravi react.
Ravi’s eyes flick briefly down to her mouth before darting away again.
May notices the way his expression shifts.
Softens.
Like he’s remembering something he misses.
And suddenly the awkwardness between them doesn’t feel awkward anymore.
Just fragile.
Like both of them are waiting to see if the other one is still there.
“You know what the worst part is?” May asks quietly.
Ravi blinks. “What?”
“I was actually waiting for you to call.”
His stomach drops.
“Oh.”
May laughs softly at his expression. “Yeah. ‘Oh.’”
“I had your number typed out like six separate times.”
That catches her off guard.
“You did?”
Ravi nods once, eyes fixed somewhere near her shoulder now. “I just kept thinking maybe you changed your mind.”
“Ravi.”
“And then Harry said the thing about transferring stations and Ian kept showing up and-” He cuts himself off abruptly, realizing he’s rambling. “Sorry.”
May shakes her head immediately. “Don’t apologize.”
And there it is again.
That look she gives him sometimes.
Steady. Patient. Like she actually wants to understand him instead of just waiting for her turn to talk.
Ravi’s chest tightens.
“You really thought I didn’t like you?” she asks.
He hesitates.
Then nods.
May stares at him for a second like she can’t believe he truly thought that.
Then she steps closer.
Not enough to touch.
Just enough that Ravi catches the faint smell of her perfume again and immediately loses track of at least half his thoughts.
“Ravi,” she says softly, “I literally bought a date with you.”
His lips twitch despite himself.
“That could’ve been charity.”
May lets out an incredulous laugh. “Charity?”
“I don’t know, rich people are unpredictable.” He teases her.
“I am not rich.” She laughs, a full vibrant laugh.
“You spent sixteen hundred dollars to flirt with a firefighter.”
“And I’d do it again.”
The words slip out easily.
Instinctively.
May seems to realize what she said a second later because her expression shifts immediately afterward - softer now, more vulnerable.
But Ravi barely notices because his brain has fully stalled.
“You would?”
She rolls her eyes fondly. “Yes, Ravi.”
Something warm spreads through him so quickly he almost feels embarrassed by it.
The corners of his mouth lift before he can stop them.
May notices immediately.
“There he is,” she murmurs.
Ravi frowns slightly. “Who?”
“That smile.” She tilts her head. “I missed it.”
And God.
That almost takes him out completely.
Ravi looks down for a second, overwhelmed in a way he doesn’t fully know how to process. His fingers tighten slightly around the takeout container before he carefully sets it down on the table beside him.
When he looks back up, May is closer now.
He’s not entirely sure when that happened.
Neither of them are pretending not to feel this anymore.
May’s eyes flick briefly to Ravi’s mouth before returning to his eyes.
And this time, Ravi notices.
His pulse jumps immediately.
“Oh,” he says quietly.
May smiles a little. “Yeah. Oh.”
There’s a beat where neither of them move.
Then Ravi says, with complete sincerity:
“I would like to kiss you now.”
May actually laughs.
Not making fun of him.
Just delighted.
“Okay,” she says softly. “Good. Because I was starting to think I’d have to do all the work here.”
Ravi opens his mouth, probably to defend himself, but May closes the distance first.
The kiss is gentle at first.
Tentative only for a second before Ravi melts into it completely.
One of his hands settles carefully at her waist like he’s asking permission even now.
May answers by kissing him deeper.
Warm and lingering and achingly familiar.
Ravi exhales softly against her mouth, and May swears she feels him relax all at once beneath her hands, like he’s finally letting himself believe this is real.
Weeks of confusion dissolve instantly.
And then-
“Wait.”
They break apart.
Buck is standing halfway down the hallway in sweatpants and a robe, staring at them with complete confusion.
“Since when is this happening?”
Neither of them answer fast enough.
“Oh my God.”
Eddie leans on the doorway just enough to see what’s happening.
Then immediately starts laughing.
“Oh finally.”
“You knew?” Buck asks, scandalized.
“Everyone knew,” Eddie shrugs.
Buck looks deeply betrayed.
“Why am I always the last to know things in this family?”
“You were unconscious for like half the day,” Eddie points out calmly.
“That is not the point. You've all been staying with me and none of you thought it was important to tell me this?"
“Please don’t make it weird,” May says.
Buck squints at her. “You literally just made out in the dining room.”
“That was private.”
“In the communal dining room?”
Ravi quietly mutters, “That’s fair.”
May turns toward him immediately. “Do not switch sides right now."
At the same time Buck points at Ravi. “See? He gets it.”
“I do not,” Ravi says quickly.
“You just agreed with me!”
“I agreed with the architectural flaw of an open-concept dining room.”
Eddie snorts from where he’s leaning against the doorway, arms crossed.
“Man,” he says, shaking his head, “you guys really went from avoiding eye contact for weeks to making out next to the takeout.”
May groans immediately. “Can everybody please stop talking about it?”
“No,” Buck says without hesitation.
Ravi, meanwhile, looks like he’s trying to calculate the fastest possible exit route from the conversation.
Which May notices instantly.
Her expression softens a little.
“It’s okay,” she says quietly, mostly to him.
Ravi looks back at her, and some of the panic leaves his face almost immediately.
Buck catches that too and points between them dramatically.
“There! You just did it. The eye thing!”
“The eye thing?” May asks skeptically.
“Yes, the eye thing!” Buck says. “The weird silent communication thing.”
“We are not silently communicating.”
“You absolutely are.”
“Okay,” Eddie says finally, pushing off the doorway. “Before Buck starts live-commentating your relationship, I’m taking him back to the couch. You guys can make your way back when you're ready.”
Buck starts backing away dramatically. “Fine. But if you guys start making out again while I’m trying to recover in there, I deserve a warning.”
“There is not going to be a warning,” May says immediately.
“That feels hostile.”
“You’ll survive.”
Buck squints at Ravi one last time.
“You.” he says seriously, “You better treat her right.”
Ravi blinks in surprise.
Then nods once.
"Of course.”
Something about how sincere the answer is makes May’s chest ache a little.
Buck seems affected for exactly half a second before immediately ruining it again.
“Wow,” he says, looking at Eddie. “He likes her bad.”
“Buck,” May warns.
Eddie is already laughing as he shoves Buck back toward the living room.
“Come on, Romeo, let’s go sit down.”
“I hate that nickname.”
“No, you don’t.”
Their voices fade toward the couch, the TV growing louder again underneath Buck’s complaining.
And suddenly the dining room is quiet again.
May looks down for a second as Ravi intertwines his hand with hers, before looking up at him.
Ravi is already watching her.
Not nervously this time.
Just openly.
Like now that he finally knows she still wants him here, he’s allowing himself to actually look.
It makes her chest feel warm in a way she’s not prepared for.
May smiles softly.
“So,” she says, “you gonna disappear on me again?”
Ravi’s expression shifts immediately.
“No.”
The answer comes so quickly and so seriously that she almost laughs.
“I mean it,” he adds quietly. “I thought I was doing the right thing before, but… no. I don’t wanna do that again.”
May studies him for a moment.
Then she squeezes his hand once.
"Good."
Ravi glances down at the movement, almost like he’s surprised she’s still touching him.
“You know,” he says carefully, “I can call you tomorrow.”
May raises an eyebrow. “Tomorrow?”
“I was trying not to seem too eager.”
She laughs, shaking her head.
“Ravi, you made me breakfast naked.”
“In my defense, I was wearing an apron for part of it.”
May stares at him for exactly one second before dissolving into laughter again.
Ravi smiles immediately at the sound, softer now, fond enough that it almost feels dangerous.
There’s that look again.
The one from that morning.
The one that makes her feel like he’s seeing every version of her at once and somehow liking all of them.
May steps closer without really thinking about it.
Ravi’s breath catches slightly.
“You know what I think?” she murmurs.
“What?”
“I think you overthink everything.”
Ravi swallows hard at her proximity.
“And I think,” she continues, smiling a little now, “that next time you’re confused about whether I like you, you should just ask me.”
Ravi considers that carefully.
“Direct communication.”
“Crazy concept, I know.”
He nods once, completely serious. “I can work with that.”
May bites back another smile.
May waits.
There’s a tiny pause where Ravi just looks at her, clearly thinking.
Then, he moves closer to her and whispers in her ear.
“…Do you still like me?”
It gives her body chills.
The question is quiet.
Earnest.
And somehow more vulnerable than anything else he’s said all night.
May’s expression softens instantly.
“Oh, Ravi.”
“No, because I know you said you did earlier, but technically that was before Buck interrupted us and I just wanna make sure we’re still operating under the same information.”
May laughs softly, the sound warm enough to make Ravi’s ears turn pink.
“We are.”
He relaxes a little at that, but she can still see him waiting.
Still unsure.
So May steps closer until there’s barely any space between them at all.
“Yes,” she says gently. “I still like you.”
Ravi exhales softly, like he’d been holding that breath longer than he realized.
“Okay,” he murmurs.
May smiles. “Okay?”
“I’m just recalibrating.”
That makes her laugh again.
Then, softer:
“And you?”
Ravi blinks. “Me?”
“Yeah.” She tilts her head. “Do you still like me?”
Ravi looks at her like the answer is the easiest thing in the world.
“Yeah,” he says softly. “I think I probably will for a while.”
May’s breath catches a little at the honesty in it.
Not dramatic.
Not overwhelming.
Just true.
And somehow that makes it worse.
Or better.
She’s not entirely sure.
All she knows is that Ravi is standing impossibly close to her again, looking at her like she’s something precious he’s still surprised to be holding onto.
May smiles softly before reaching up to touch his cheek.
“Well,” she murmurs, “good.”
Ravi’s hand slips naturally back to her body, more certain this time.
Like he finally believes he’s allowed to.
And when May kisses him again, Ravi smiles against her mouth immediately.
Warm.
Certain.
Home.
Ravi’s hand settles at her waist like it belongs there.
And then, against her mouth – barely louder than a breath – it slips out.
“I just really don't want to lose this.”
May stills for half a second.
Not pulling away.
Just… softening.
Her hand moves gently to his cheek, grounding him there.
When she speaks, it’s almost a whisper.
“You won’t.”