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After that night, at Buck's place, when they talked, May had pushed the confession out of her mind.
She needed to.
It was a necessity.
There were things happening around them, and the timing wasn't great.
But as the 118 gathers around a bonfire, the sun starting to fall, May watches the kids play with the bubble guns and sprayers.
"Kids get to have so much fun that is easily forgotten once they grow up," murmurs May quietly as she watches the grins, hears the childlike glee in shrieking laughter.
"They won't forget it. Children rarely forget the good times."
Ravi stepped into place next to her, voice low, holding something that she couldn't place in it.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," murmurs May as she turns to look at him. "But adults do."
"Yeah, we certainly do," sighs Ravi as he watches them, not glancing at her once. "But we don't have to."
"You're right," May's voice is soft as she replies, and then his eyes meet hers. "So, what do you say we go show these kids how it's done?"
Ravi's lips curve into a smile that holds mischief and happiness before he nudges her lightly and takes off.
Buck has already joined, so when Ravi and May join, it turns into the kids versus the adults.
The first one to pop a bubble has to sit in the middle and get drenched.
Jee is an evil mastermind, and May adores her for it. Especially when they take Buck out and she actually straight up walks over and starts spraying bubbles at him.
Laughter echoes as May and Ravi take on the kiddos alone, yelping as they twist and turn to avoid the spray coming their way.
When it's down to Jee and them, May shares a look with the little girl before they both turn on Ravi. But he was prepared and bubble attacks them both before they can even pull their triggers.
May yelps, "Hey! Not fair, we're on the same side!"
"You were about to turn on me," chuckles Ravi as Jee turns on him. "Besides, now you're just as bubble drenched as I am. Buck was having too much fun with that middle blower."
"He really was," giggles May as Ravi gets assaulted by a three second stream of bubbles as Jee giggles. "You better go get Buck, Jee, he's getting Chris all bubbly."
"Hey! I'm supposed to be the first one to get the bubbles on Chris!" Jee shrieks, but it's all amusement as she takes off towards where Christopher had walked into their bubble warzone and was already being teased by Buck.
"Well, now I definitely need to use the clothes from my go-bag. I'm sticky," sighs Ravi as he plops on the ground unceremoniously, legs stretching out as he leans on his back. "But that was the most fun I've had in a while. Which might be saying something."
May settles next to him, scooting close until she can bend her knees over his thighs, her feet pressing gently into his skin.
"It's definitely saying something, but it's not a bad something," replies May as Ravi looks at her, eyes a little wider, surprise echoing across his features. "It just means you haven't been able to unwind in this way in a longtime. You've been on for too long, Ravi, an you've forgotten what pure, childlike glee felt like. I think most adults do, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But it can exhaust you."
"Yeah, it definitely can," says Ravi softly as he relaxes, though he doesn't touch her. He keeps his hands firmly planted in the grass, though she sees his fingers curl a bit, like they're fighting the urge to move. "I haven't had a lot of time to goof off recently, and when I did, I refused to, so I guess that tracks. Today was good though, and I think we all needed it."
"Yeah, it kind of really does. But you're not wrong, we all needed this. Even if our clothes definitely did not," chuckles May as she leans forward, pressing against her legs as she reaches one hand out to cup his face gently, swiping a line of bubble from under his eye. "I needed this a little bit more though, I think."
Her words dropped to a whisper as her thumb kept brushing even after she'd wiped the bubble off his skin. She couldn't help herself, his skin is so warm, soft, and he's smiling.
He's lucky that she's not leaning in to kiss that smile.
She wants to.
Especially when he looks like he's just had the absolute time of his life alongside her.
"I needed this more too, May," murmurs Ravi as he looks at her, leaning noticeably into her touch. "But we haven't really talked since that night."
"I know, I'm sorry. With everything happening on Buck's end, and nursing school, I got distracted," replies May with a sad smile, feeling guilty because she should've reached out sooner. She wanted to, after every class, during every study session, every early morning or late night coffee run. "But I've been trying to find the words to talk to you, whether through text or phone because I didn't realize this was happening tonight until after my night class. I'm just— nervous, I guess is the best word to use."
"Nervous is okay," say Ravi gently, knowingly as he brings his hand up to cup the one she's resting against his cheek. "I've been nervous too. You can even ask Harry. But the only question that I'm worried about getting an answer to right now is whether you want to be with me. Everything else can wait."
"I want to be with you, Ravi Panikkar," replies May seriously as she leans in, and he meets her.
The kiss is a soft touch, that's slightly sticky as their noses brush with bubble liquid on them.
But it's a proper start, and May's excited for it.