Howdy Neighbour

by tiramisuspice

Somehow, together? They're perfect chaos.

1. Chapter 1

A/N: AT LEAST READ THIS FIRST PARAGRAPH PLEASE MES CHÉRIES: Hey guys! I know I haven't updated anything in a while, and I'm posting this as kind of a peace offering for that as well because I admit it has been quite a while since I worked on any of my stories (I have all the plans for them. I just need to get to writing chapters though ahaha :3). Check my profile in the coming weeks for updates on information why I am not updating and when I will possibly picking up that update train up once again as well as when I will start actively updating again. I'm just really behind in communicating with all you lovely people, so I'm taking time out of writing to catch up! Really sorry about the looooong time it's been taking me to respond to everything! (Also exams are coming up again and I'm a little scared because I haven't properly studied yet ngl)

So in the meantime, here's another long oneshot to try to distract you guys from my crappy updating and answering schedule lol...

This was a request by Mireille a long time ago to convert the Howdy Neighbour I wrote for Bella and the Bulldogs into a Lucaya fanfic, so I've finally gotten around to it! There are similarities to HN, of course, because I used the same template, but there are differences to cater to the fact that Lucaya is a different couple. Formatting and POV for this story are pretty lax. This is also an AU (I just love Lucaya AUs! So many possibilities, so little time!) and probably would have been in Love And War, but alas, word cap ahaha. (My oneshots have been getting progressively and progressively longer I've noticed... Huh...) Also, this does have an epilogue to be posted later. [This is as of yet unrevised]

Rated Mid-High T for Tumultuous Relationships

Enjoy, my loves! :3

Disclaimer: I do not own GMW (but I'm hella Lucaya Trash to the point that I think I've just about lost my mind).

UPDATE 12.03.15: Has officially been updated! :3

---

Maya doesn't think she can possibly get any angrier than she is at the moment. Don't get her wrong, she's usually at varying degrees of pissed off throughout the day maybe because the barista fucked up her order of coffee or her mom accidentally texted her something inappropriate instead of her boyfriend or some teenager made some lewd gesture at her on the subway while his hand was shoved in his pants.

But never angry like this.

And never for such an extended period of time.

And it's annoying the crap out of her because she has yet to get started on a piece for her sponsor's upcoming gallery show in a week. She's been sitting at her computer, trying to finish a frickin' dissertation for an education course in her first Masters program for hours. Not only has she been stuck writing the same sentence for the past ten minutes, but she also can barely think past said sentence to figure out what the hell she's trying to say.

Why?

Because her damn next door neighbour is always blasting his stupid country music at ungodly hours of the night! Including right now. Which she can totally and completely hear through the thin ass walls of their apartment complex. Said country music is always accompanied by grunts and the sound of metal clashing and clanging and things hitting the ground.

Once again: Why?

Because he's working out.

At 2 AM.

Who the fuck works out at 2 AM?!

She's fairly new to the neighbourhood and complex, and she hasn't really met any of her neighbours yet, save for that one old hippie dude downstairs who spends his evenings walking around naked…

But she's finally come to understand why no one has lived in her current apartment for almost a year. This idiot constantly makes a lot of noise with no regard for anyone who lives nearby him. And that isn't all. The worst—the absolute worst—is when he brings girls over. On those evenings, Maya grabs her overnight bag and hightails it out of her apartment so fast. She stays with Darby on the other side of town until she deems it safe to return.

She's been enduring his constant neighbourly shittiness and loud, obnoxious behaviour for about a month or so, but no more. Enough is enough.

"Hey! You're too loud!" she shouts right up against the wall, pounding her fist multiple times in hopes that he can hear her complaint, "Shut the hell up!"

The music cuts off and no other sounds come from the apartment the rest of the evening. Maya smirks to herself, proud of her accomplishment.

~.~.~

Two nights later, hands full of groceries as she climbs the stairs to her landing, she hears it:

Loud country music cascading down the hallway.

She wonders why no one has ever complained about this abomination. She doesn't care that she looks crazy with her hair in her wild, sloppy bun and that she is in a giant baggy sweater without pants or that she has a bajillion bags of snacks in her hands. She's fed up.

She storms to his door and kicks it several times. Violently.

The volume of the music lowers, and she hears footsteps coming to the door. The guy who opens the door surprises her.

One, because he's shirtless, wearing a cowboy hat, and dripping with sweat, and Maya has to force herself to keep from staring at the sexy muscles of his toned chest and defined abs. Two, because he has the most gorgeous sea-foam coloured green eyes she's ever seen, he's pretty tall and really a hell of a lot more attractive than she had expected. And three, because he's staring at her like her interruption seriously annoys him.

"Hi. I'm Maya Hart. I live next door?"

"Lucas Friar." He smiles. "Nice to meet you."

He has this slight twang indicative of a southern country accent, and somehow, it just fits perfectly with his image. Maya can tell he probably isn't New York born and raised.

"Yeah whatever…" she responds, her blood boiling and teeth grit, "Could you do me a favour… and shut the fuck up?"

Lucas' eyebrows raise in surprise like he can't believe she just said that. Then he frowns, his expression looking a little peeved.

"What?"

"Turn down your music! I can hear you all the way down the hall."

"Oh. You're the one who was shouting a couple nights ago."

"Why the hell do you think I was shouting?! You're too fucking loud! Can't you see that you're disturbing everyone else on this hall? Especially me because I have to live next to your loud ass! And could you and your one night stands be any louder when you're screwing?! I mean shit! I'm pretty sure people on the other side of the world can hear the girls you bring home!"

When she finishes unleashing her tirade, he stares at her in shock like she's lost her damn mind, and it only pisses her off more because she probably does look like she's crazy, especially after her ranting.

"I didn't realize I was being that loud…" he says slowly, leaning slightly away from her as if she might explode or beat him up or something.

"Yeah, w-well you are, Huckleberry. So pipe down, or I'm filing a noise complaint!"

He remains silent, a brow raised as he stares down at her, slight bewilderment and confusion and slight irritation in his expression. Maya grows unnerved, seeing in his eyes something like wariness and caution. No doubt he thinks she's psychotic.

She stomps away with a scoff and roll of her eyes, unlocking her own door with a little bit of difficulty, knowing that her face is red, and she is completely flustered. She's glad she got her point across to the idiot, but does he have to be so damn attractive? Now she really feels like a crazy woman.

But later, when she's in her room and only hears a few stray notes every once in a while, she lets out a sigh of relief. At least he respected her wishes, and she won't have to confront him again.

~.~.~

"So this is what your new place looks like, Maya?" Missy nods in approval before relaxing on the loveseat, stretching her arms above her head. "Not bad."

"How are things with that annoying neighbour of yours?" Darby asks from the kitchen, fixing some drinks in glasses for their movie night.

"Annoying neighbour?" Missy pipes up, "What annoying neighbour?"

"Oh yeah." Darby winks. "He's this stupid guy who lives next door who is always blasting his music at top volume. Every time he's doing someone, Maya can feel the wall vibrating."

"I don't feel the wall vibrating!" Maya comes out of her hall closet with the selection of movies they have to choose from. She pops a random one in the DVD player, "She's exaggerating, Missy. It's not like that. He's just really loud."

"How come this is the first time I've ever heard about him?" Missy asks, taking an eager sip of the tequila laced fruit punch Darby hands her. After her pretty bad breakup with her long term boyfriend, Todd, she really needs this. "Is he still loud?"

"He's not as annoying anymore." Maya plops gracelessly on the couch next to Darby, settling her legs on the coffee table. "He broke up with his like tenth girlfriend this month alone the other day though. She was throwing shit everywhere and acting like a total immature bitch. I got a front row seat to her yelling."

"Why do you endure that? You could just file a noise complaint."

"I don't need to. I already told him in person that he needed to quiet down. And he listened to me."

Darby and Missy glance at each other with raised eyebrows before turning back to Maya with narrowed eyes.

"In person? Listened to you? What do you mean?"

"Oh…" Maya's cheeks begin to turn a little red, and she takes a long swig of her own punch. "I asked him to keep the noise level down a week ago. Nothing big."

"Wait. You've seen him? And met him?! What is he like?!" Darby asks enthusiastically, eyes twinkling in that way that makes Maya's nerves increase.

"Nothing. He's just your average guy next door." She takes another heavy gulp of her drink, knowing she's turning red now, judging by the mischievous looks on her friends' faces. "Let's just watch the movie, guys."

"Who cares about the damn movie?! We've seen it hundreds of times. This is far more interesting!"

"Darby, it's really nothing. Cut it out."

"If it's so called nothing, then why are you blushing so hard?" Missy says behind the rim of her drink, a devious smile on her lips.

"Is he cute?" Darby whispers conspiratorially. "And by cute, I mean fuckable."

Maya gives her a dry look. "Really, Darby? We're supposed to be adults. Not high schoolers…"

"You're stalling." Missy points out sagely, "Answer the question."

"…If you must know, he was… somewhat good looking…" Maya responds tightly, pointedly avoiding their gazes.

"But was he fuckable? I'm only interested in whether or not he was fuckable."

"Yes, Darby. He was fuckable." Maya finally says after an exaggerated eye roll, "But it doesn't matter anyway because he's an infuriating little Huckleberry shit. And I'd never fuck him anyway."

That puts the conversation to bed, and movie night continues without any problems. Maya only hopes he heard none of that conversation because their thin walls are a two way street. If she can hear him talking on the phone sometimes, then he probably can hear loud conversations with hyper friends.

~.~.~

Maya doesn't realize she's started to acclimate to constantly hearing the soft sounds of some country music on occasion along with the rhythmic beats of his workout regimen until she realizes she hasn't heard anything from across the wall in a week or so. Getting sleep without being woken up in the middle of the night because of his workout isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the week goes by, and she starts to get a little restless. It becomes increasingly obvious that he is quite absent when she notices that his mailbox has been untouched in a long time and is filled with mail. So telling herself it's just to help out the mailman so he doesn't have to find creative and inventive ways to stuff the new mail in, she picks up all of his mail every day to give to him when he returns.

It gets to the point where she sometimes plants her ear on the wall for any sounds of life next door, only to be slightly disappointed when there are none. And a little lonely.

(She would be lying if she says she doesn't miss his tasteful collection in bluegrass. It is surprisingly intriguing music).

But it isn't like she misses him or anything like that. She barely knows him.

It's just that she has gotten very accustomed to his schedule and his day-to-day activities. Listening to his daily routine has somehow become part of her schedule as well. She's even learned the names of his closest friends, and somehow, has become odd friends with them too (even if she doesn't even know them).

There's Billy, who is in the army reserves and apparently considering making a switch to active duty. And Farkle, a super genius trying to get a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering as well as material science and physics. And then Zay who is a world traveler and Anthropologist and Lucas' childhood best friend who gives him a hard time but is actually pretty damn hilarious.

Strangely, his life is part of her life in some small way, so now that he hasn't been around in a while, she finds things a bit odd and off balance…

One day, she hears movement in his apartment and against her better judgement, hops off her couch, snatches up his piles of mail, and heads next door, knocking loudly a couple times. She tells herself it's just to see if everything is alright, and it's not because she's welcoming him back or anything. Besides, she's just returning his mail.

Imagine her surprise when a pretty brunette with chestnut brown doe eyes opens the door.

"Oh… You're not Lucas."

She smiles, her entire face lighting up. "Nope. I'm just here to water the plants until he gets back."

Maya nods, knowing her face is starting to turn red again. This is so embarrassing.

"I, umm… I have his mail." She says, handing it awkwardly to the tall brunette, "Figured he'd need it."

"Thanks." she says, watching Maya with something like an amused twinkle in her eyes, "I'll let him know you picked it up for him."

"Sorry to disturb you then. I thought he moved away."

"He still lives here. He's just visiting his Pappy Joe in Texas." The brunette smiles, a secretive little thing that reminds Maya of Missy when she knows something no one else does. "Are you a friend of Lucas'?"

"Uh yeah… A friend…"

She knows it's a lie, but what is she supposed to say? That she's his next door neighbour who had yelled at him like some rabid animal who creeps on his life?

"Got it. I'll definitely let him know about the mail."

Maya nods and bids her farewell, going back to her own apartment feeling entirely too stupid. Of course his girlfriend would be taking care of his apartment. Maya goes back to reading her lecture notes on her couch, vowing to never let herself get caught up in anyone else's business again. Especially not his.

~.~.~

"I'm almost done getting ready, Missy! Chill. I'll be over soon." Maya hears a knock at the front door, "Do not call, text, email, or anything Todd, you understand? He's not worth it. And he's not worth you."

There is another knock, and Maya shouts that she's coming, setting down her razor on her kitchen counter next to the sink and tightening her towel around her body. She lowers her leg painstakingly slow, making sure the shaving cream doesn't get wiped off in her motions. Damn her shower being broken the very moment she really needs to use it.

On her way out of the kitchen, she stubs her toe painfully on the wall corner of her foyer.

"Fuck shit! Oh my God, oww!" She cries out, hobbling her way to the door.

Dammit! Who the hell is knocking on her door on a Saturday night when she's about to go out with her friends?! It's all their fault she hurt her toe!

"What happened, Maya? You okay?" Missy asks in concern.

Maya yanks open the door in irritation, ready to rip this person a new one. Her expression quickly dissolves into one of shock as she looks up at the amused face of one Lucas Friar. He's leaning on his elbow against her doorway, his trademark cowboy hat on his head and a smirk on his lips. Maya's jaw drops, and she blinks a couple of times, slightly not believing it is him after not hearing from him in so long.

"Howdy neighbour." He says, tipping his hat and looking like he's trying to hold back a laugh as he stares down at her.

Right. Between the tangled mess of hair on her head, the towel, the shaving cream, her yelling, no doubt she seems crazy.

"You're back."

"Who's back?! Mr. Fuckable?" Missy nearly shouts through the phone.

Maya ends the call quickly, mentally cursing and hoping he didn't hear Missy yelling through the phone. She pulls her towel up when it rides a bit down.

"Yeah. I'm back. Riley told me you stopped by last week."

"Riley?"

"She watched my apartment every once in a while when I was gone."

"Right…"

The doe eyed cutie.

"She told me my 'beautiful blonde girlfriend with the dreamy blue eyes' was worried about me." Lucas chuckles in amusement. "I could only assume she was talking about you?"

Maya vaguely notes in her mind that the brunette apparently isn't his girlfriend.

"Whose girlfriend?" Maya frowns. "And let's get something straight. I was not worried. Just wondering why your annoying ass hadn't been making noise for a while. In fact, I was happy you were gone."

"Oh yeah?" Lucas raises a brow. "Good to know."

"You better not make any noise now that you're back. I've enjoyed my peace and quiet."

"I'll try not to." he replies with a grin, "Anyway, I've got something for you."

He leans down and picks something up from the top of a suitcase before handing it to her. It's a cowboy hat. Maya frowns as she stares at it almost incredulously, her eyes narrowed in slight irritation.

"What the hell is this?"

"I bought it as a thank you to you for uh, getting all my mail." She raises a brow at him, and he hastens to explain himself, nervously scratching the back of his head. "From Austin. I went back because my grandfather fell pretty ill. Wanted to make sure he was okay."

"That's, uh… I'm sorry to hear that." She readjusts her towel again, looking down at the hat in slight confusion. "Is he okay?"

"Oh yeah." Lucas smiles. "He's totally healthy now."

"Oh, well that's good to hear."

Maya still thinks it's a little weird that he's giving her a cowboy hat as a thank you, though. But then again, he is Lucas, her weird country ass neighbour. She's heard him describing in detail the birth of a horse to a friend on the phone once, so this isn't exactly outside his realm of crazy.

"Hey, do you watch football?" he suddenly asks.

Maya shrugs. "If I'm bored. Why?"

"I'm having a couple friends over to watch a football game next weekend. You should come over. Bring your friends."

"My friends?" Maya asks suspiciously.

"You know? The hyperactive one and that girl who drinks a lot to forget about her ex?"

Darby and Missy no doubt.

"How do you know my friends, Ranger Rick?"

"I'm not the only one who's loud, you know?"

"…Right…" Clearly, he can easily hear them. She hopes so badly he hasn't heard any conversations she's had with Darby about his body. "I'll let them know."

He nods. "Cool. I'll see you around, Shortstack."

"Yeah." Maya frowns. "Shortstack? Really?"

"You call me names." He has a shit eating grin on his face that is way too amused than Maya appreciates. "I thought it was only fair that I give you one too."

She rolls her eyes, but ignores the comment. And then she looks down at her shaving cream covered legs, wondering if he would be willing to let her use his shower to finish up her legs. She knows what she's about to ask is more in the realm of what close friends would ask, and they're just casual acquaintances who have only really met three times technically. He could very well turn her down.

"Hey, umm, could I use your shower please? Mine won't get fixed until tomorrow. But I kind of need it."

"Yeah clearly…" He says playfully, staring at the cream still on her half shaven legs. Maya can feel her neck grow hot. "Sure. You can use it."

"Thanks."

"No problem, neighbour."

~.~.~

Maya knows the minute she tries to get out of bed and her hair gets caught in the rung of her bed frame that it's going to be a bad day. The fact that her friends could officially see what "Mr. Fuckable" looks like is the deciding factor. She contemplates not going at all to his apartment, but she makes the mistake of bringing up the invitation while the game is still going on. So once Missy finds out about it, all bets are off and the shrewd brunette forces them both to cancel any and all other Saturday plans. Watching a football game to hang out is a deal breaker for Missy. But watching a game with possible sexy guys that she can possibly use as a rebound to get over that little shit Todd for breaking her heart? No question whatsoever, they are going.

And so Maya finds herself with Missy and Darby in Lucas' arguably nice apartment cheering on the couch in the middle of second quarter and shouting profanities at the screen with the guys. It's actually kind of fun and slowly, her nerves start to disappear. She thinks maybe the omen of the bad day was just that: an omen. But then half-time comes. And people start talking.

And then shit hits the fan.

"So Lucas. Who are these lovely ladies? Introduce us." The voice she recognizes as Zay says.

He's staring at all three of them with this twinkle in his eyes that she recognizes as mischievous intrigue, as if he's trying to figure something out. She groans and finishes her beer, trying to ignore the shrewd gaze he's tossing their way.

"Forget us. What about you?" Missy cuts in charmingly, cuddling up next to the guy Maya figures is Billy and putting her hand on his thigh. Everyone can tell she's definitely past the tipsy stage. She looks like she's two seconds away from hopping on his lap, possibly manhandling him, or ripping off his shirt. Maybe all three. "Missy Bradford. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

He doesn't particularly look like he dislikes her forwardness. "Billy Ross. Nice to meet you too."

She slowly licks her lips, a cat-like smile on her face. "We should hang out sometime Billy."

Maya wants to bury herself under the ground.

"Oookay." Maya says, snatching the drink out of Missy's hand, "I think you've had enough for the evening."

"But Maya…" she whines with a pout completely uncharacteristic of her, "He's supposed to be my rebound!"

There is a moment of silence where everyone just kind of stares at her in shock. Except for Zay. He looks like he's having the time of his life. Billy's smile falters a bit before he recovers. But it's definitely a bit uncomfortable.

"Uh, maybe I should sit on the other side of the room?"

"Yeah." Darby replies, "Sorry about that. Missy's not usually like this. She's just been dealing with something rough lately."

Missy giggles at her friend's embarrassed faces. "I was just kidding you guys."

"Were you, though?" Maya mutters under her breath, taking another gulp of beer. She has a feeling Missy really is not kidding, especially with the way she's eyeing Billy like he's a piece of meat.

"It's all good. I'm sure you were." Billy says, laughing good-naturedly. Their eyes meet briefly, and Missy's smile turns coquettish. She blows him a kiss, and Billy clears his throat, turning quickly to Darby. "S-so you are?"

"Darby." She replies, extending her hand and shaking his. Then she gestures to Maya with her thumb. "And she's Maya."

"So you're Psycho With The Sexy Legs!" Zay suddenly exclaims, pointing at Maya with a wide grin, "I knew it!"

Lucas makes a rapid motion with his hand to tell Zay to shut up, but the damage has already been done.

Billy winces, Darby's jaw drops, and Maya's brows furrow in momentary confusion as she slowly turns her head to glare at Lucas. He looks like he wants to jump out a window.

In the past through the wall, she'd heard him and his friends discussing some really hot girl Lucas had met who they dubbed Psycho With The Sexy Legs. Apparently, said girl always looks crazy whenever he sees her. And she apparently hasn't been laid in almost a year. And she is always screaming profanities whenever she's on the phone with her mother or her friends or really anyone…

Suddenly, she understands exactly what is going on.

"Wait… I'm Psycho With The Sexy Legs?!" Maya rounds on Lucas. "You guys are so disgusting. Stop eavesdropping on my conversations!"

"Why are you getting so upset?" Missy snorts, laughing her ass off. When had she gotten back her drink? "You've said some pretty dirty things about Mr. Fuckable over here."

There is abrupt silence at that and then recognition on all three guys' faces as they stare at Maya.

Maya knows she's going to die of mortification. She cracks open another beer, chugging half of it down and hoping maybe she can just drown herself in alcohol to get out of this embarrassing moment.

"I'm the Mr. Fuckable you and your friends keep talking about?" Lucas says, eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Shut up." Maya growls, glaring at him, "You keep talking about my legs and ass. Pervert."

"You keep talking about my entire body. I didn't realize you were so attracted to me." He laughs when she flips him off.

Maya shoots up off of the couch, taking some empty cans with her to recycle in the bin. "I'm not."

"Sure, Shortstack." He follows her to the kitchen, laughing the entire way. "I don't blame you though. I'm quite the catch."

"You keep telling yourself that Mr. I Gotta Shave The Hair On My Pubes Sometimes Because They'll Give Me A Rash."

"I told my friends that in confidence!"

"And in confidence, I overheard it."

"Oh yeah? Well that certainly can't be worse than accidentally taking a piss on a guy who was eating you out because you were too wasted to hold it back."

"How the hell did you find out about that?!"

Their friends give each other knowing looks, little smiles on their faces as the two continue to bicker in the kitchen. Darby nudges Missy suggestively, and they start to giggle. It's the first time in a long time they've seen Maya challenged by someone and looking alive for once.

Maya doesn't even realize that she's grinning from ear to ear.

~.~.~

Maya is sure that she's imagining the sound of someone walking through her apartment. She's been pretty dizzy and hallucinating all day from her fever, so she wouldn't be surprised if this is just another fabrication in her mind.

But then she hears it again and groans quietly, dragging her body off of the piles of dirty laundry on top of on her bed where she's trying to write a paper for a class. She snatches up her old softball bat from the floor. Using the wall as a crutch, she stumbles forward, holding it in one hand and intending to clobber this burglar in the head for even trying to attempt to rob her.

But when she turns the corner and enters the living room, she sees Lucas staring at the piles of dirty dishes and garbage bags in her kitchen with an utterly appalled expression. When Maya sneezes, he notices her and turns to face her.

"Your apartment is a pigsty. I'm speechless." He gestures to something green and covered in mold sitting in her sink with a disgusted look on his face. "What the fuck is this?"

"Probably month old Chinese takeout." Maya coughs to clear the itch in her throat. She blinks blearily a couple times, fairly certain she's seeing multiples of the cowboy. "How did you get in?"

"Your door was unlocked. I came to borrow some sugar." His eyes narrow as he contemplates her incredulously. "Why are you holding a frying pan like a bat?"

Maya stares at her hands and realizes that she hadn't actually picked up the bat. What the hell was going on with her?

"I thought you were a burglar."

"So you grabbed a frying pan…?"

"Shut up, Sundance. I thought it was a bat."

Maya straightens and starts to walk toward the kitchen to get the sugar he requested, but a wave of dizziness wracks her whole body, and she stumbles on a pile of her art books before she reaches him. Lucas moves quickly and catches her carefully, holding her up by her arms. She groans, dropping her head and leaning heavily against him, feeling completely winded.

"You're burning up…" Lucas says in alarm, "Do you have a fever?"

"I don't know. But I need to get you that banana so I can finish my sugar."

"You're radiating heat. You need to lie down and get some sleep."

Maya struggles in his hold, trying to pry herself out of his arms, but he tightens his grip.

"Let go. I don't have time to sleep. This sugar won't write itself."

"Look, you're not well. You're not even making any sense, and I think you're delirious. It wouldn't make any sense for you to—"

"I don't care. Let me go."

"Maya." Lucas says in annoyance, "Stop. Why are you being stubborn about taking care of yourself?"

Maya wipes her nose with her sleeve before pushing against Lucas' chest again, growing irritated that he has a pretty tight hold on her and that there's no way she's going to get out unless she physically tries to attack him, and clearly he has the advantage.

"I don't have the time to be wasting taking care of myself. There's too much to do, too many things to finish and not enough time for any of— Ah!"

Before she can finish her statement, Lucas lifts her up easily and tosses her on his shoulder, holding her around the waist so she can't fall. He starts walking in the direction of her bedroom and though Maya can't see the expression on his face, she just knows his jaw is clenched in determination.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she shouts, though her voice comes out weaker than she intends because of the hoarse nature, "Put me down!"

She hears his scoff of disbelief as he enters her bedroom and looks around at the disorder in it. The laundry on her bed. The piles of papers all over her desk. Shoes and clothes and underwear everywhere on the floor. Crumpled up balls of paper and empty containers of takeout. Snack wrappers littering every inch and corner. Her disorderly paint station in the corner.

"Maya, there is literally a pile of laundry on your bed." Lucas says, sounding absolutely shocked, "When was the last time you washed your clothes? Where do you sleep?"

"I don't know." Maya responds tiredly, giving up on struggling in his hold. It's actually pretty comfortable. "Probably a couple months ago? And I sleep on the clothes."

"No wonder you got sick. You don't take care of yourself properly!"

He walks back to the living room and shoves the clothes off before setting her gently on the couch. Lucas sits beside her and carefully removes her glasses from her face before setting them on the coffee table.

"Wait here, okay?" he says, "I'm going to go grab some stuff and make you soup. Do. Not. Move. Or I will hunt you down and pick you up again."

"Geez fine, you damn Huckleberry." Maya sneezes, groaning and falling back onto her couch cushions when it rattles her entire body. "Why are you helping me, anyway?"

He shrugs on his way to the door. "Because I want to, Shortstack."

Maya occupies the time while she waits for him by staring at the small cracks on her ceiling. When he finally returns he sets a warm quilt on top of her. He has her eat the hot (and unbelievably delicious) soup he made and then puts cold packs on her forehead and armpits and sits on the floor beside the couch to make sure she's okay as she falls asleep.

And glancing at Lucas sitting on her living room rug, reading some lecture notes, she can't help but feel like maybe it's not so bad to be taken care of once in a while. She'd been taking care of herself pretty much her whole life, so having that care from someone else, though strange, is definitely something she appreciates.

"Thank you." she mutters quietly, her voice garbled from her fatigue.

She's not sure if he heard her or if she imagined saying it, because she's fairly certain half of her is already asleep, but as her eyes slide close and she finally succumbs to her fatigue, she swears she can see Lucas' mouth curve up in a smile.

~.~.~

One day, Maya comes back from a class in the evening and can't find her key. So naturally, she snatches the spare key she knows Lucas keeps under that welcome rug and goes into his apartment.

Her intentions are entirely noble.

She just has to pee really badly, and she knows she'll leak before she even finds her key in her mess of a bag. So she rushes to his bathroom and nearly kicks open his door without paying attention.

And she's greeted with a blast of post shower steam to her face and a still partially wet and glistening Lucas shaving his jaw with only a tiny, thin towel wrapped around his waist. Awkwardly, she closes the door and leaves, the urge to pee having disappeared almost entirely. She's appalled at herself for gawking at him like a horny school girl. But even more than that, she's appalled that he caught her staring and only supplied her a smug grin. As if he had known exactly what was running through her mind at that moment. She spends almost an hour in her bathroom taking care of herself after that.

Surprisingly, that's really all it takes for them to become something of closer friends.

It's not like she plans it, but before she knows it, she starts hanging out with Lucas more regularly. It's not like she particularly enjoys his company. Sometimes (read: almost always) he's a huge pain in her ass, and he's always traipsing about shirtless or in just his pair of boxers. But their schedules align on occasion and sometimes she's bored and sometimes he's bored so he shows up at her apartment telling her he made dinner or she shows up at his apartment scavenging for food anyway. She'll never admit it to him, but he's a surprisingly great cook. And besides, dinner at Lucas' is always healthier than her typical omelet and noodle ensemble or takeout.

(That's pretty much all she knows how to make that's not toxic. Give her a break! She never properly learned how to cook).

It gets to the point where she spends so much free time at his apartment that he gives her a key to come and go as she pleases. She finds an unlikely companion in him, and strangely, they tend to get along well, save for a little spat every now and then.

She learns more about him. Like the fact that he basically grew up in his Pappy Joe's home and is in veterinary school because of his love of animals and fascination with the biological processes of living things. It turns out Lucas was also an undergrad student at NYU for two years before he transferred to a school in Texas, though he was in the class year that graduated before her. Though neither recall ever seeing each other on campus before, they do have some mutual friends and acquaintances.

Maya, in turn, tells him about growing up with no father and half a mom and having to exert her presence and break perceptions of her not going anywhere in life by being tough and guarded and fighting hard to prove that she could beat what was expected of her in society. She tells him that she doesn't quite have all her plans laid out, but she does know that she wants to join the Peace Corps after she gets her Masters in Studio Art and Secondary Education as well as a teaching license. She tells him that she is considering becoming a high school art teacher once she returns from her two obligatory years of volunteering.

They become much closer friends as time passes, and she finds, despite the fact that she is sometimes annoyed with his at times perverted looks towards her and by his near frequent physical contact, she can talk to him about anything and ask for any advice, and he'll help her without hesitation.

~.~.~

Maya orders another drink and knocks it back so hard, her eyes see stars for a moment, and she wobbles on her stool. She's dizzy, and she can barely stay seated anymore, and she has no idea how many shots she's knocked back at this point, but the only thing she wants right now is to feel numb off her ass and forget about that horrible confrontation.

Fuck dating. Fuck relationships. Fuck love. Fuck marriage. Fuck everything. And above all: Fuck cheating, lying scum who use naïve women inexperienced with dating and relationships!

"Bartender!" She slurs loudly, raising her hand up in the air, "Onemore vodka shot!"

The bartender frowns in worry but goes to get that shot. Maya groans and slumps on the counter, sliding her face around to cool it down.

"I hate 'im… I hate 'im!"

"Maya? Babe, don't you think that's enough?" Darby asks tentatively, rubbing Maya's hunched back as the woman bangs her head on the counter. Drunk Maya is never a cute sight. She's aggressive and rude and loud and pretty scary sometimes.

"NO!" Maya screams childishly, "I need more!"

Darby glances at Missy to help her out. "I don't know what to do, Missy. She won't stop."

"I got this." Missy responds, "Maya? Give me your phone."

Maya slides it over without any fuss and scoffs. "Aren't you stillgetting over Todd the Toad? Why aren't yougetting totallywasted with me, Prissy Missy?"

Maya dissolves into raucous, almost hysterical laughter as she remembers yet again what had happened. Patrons of the bar look over at the trio, disgusted and annoyed frowns on their faces.

"Sorry!" Darby calls out, "Bad break up. Nothing to see."

Missy flips through Maya's contact list before finding a name and texting them a quick message.

"Did you call a cab?" Darby asks quietly, leaning over to Missy, "Neither of us have a car to take her home."

"Answer my question, Missy!" Maya suddenly shouts, pointing an accusatory finger in Missy's face.

"I texted Lucas." Missy answers Darby quickly. She leans down and gently pulls Maya's hair away from her face, trying to calm her down. "Well, I don't really need to get wasted anymore, Maya."

"Whaaaa?!" Maya looks affronted. "Why the hellnot Missy?! It's an abomi… abomina…abomition? Abomination!"

"Well…" Missy shrugs, looking kind of sheepish. "I'm kiiiinda seeing someone…"

Darby gives her a look. "Huh? Wait, you are? Who?"

Before she can answer, Lucas walks into the bar, a concerned look on his face. He spots them at the bar counter and walks over, a raised eyebrow when he sees Maya sprawled all over the counter, hair in her mouth, in her empty cups, and covering most of her face.

"Maya?" Darby says, poking her side and chuckling when Maya squirms and snorts with laughter, "Lucas is here to take you home."

"Huckleberry?! Ranger Rick?!" Maya spins around happily and stumbles inelegantly off of her stool. "You're here! Yay!"

She knows she would have faceplanted if it weren't for Lucas' quick reflexes. He catches her by the arms and steadies her easily before she crashes to the ground. Maya dissolves into loud laughter, snorts punctuating each of the laughs. He raises a questioning brow at her friends at her current state.

"Don't look at me. This is what she gets like when she's drunk." Darby says, hands up in the air, "Sorry you have to witness it."

"Thoughtyou were hanging out with friends?" Maya purrs, clinging to his arms in a vice grip. "God… Your arms are so sexy…"

He leans slightly away from her, wincing at the sheer amount of alcohol on her breath. "I was, but clearly you need some help getting home tonight. So I came straight here."

"That's so nice!" she squeals in an extremely high-pitched voice, making everyone in the direct area cringe.

"What happened for her to be drinking like this?" He asks Missy and Darby, still struggling to keep her from sinking her nails in his arms. She's latched on to him like a leech.

"She'd been seeing someone she met from one of her late lectures for about a week. She found out he's married today when his wife showed up and told her off."

"The fucking fuckass fucking made me a fucking home wrecker! Fuck!" Maya knows she's close to tears and wraps her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

"It's not your fault. You didn't know what was going on." Lucas says softly, cradling her cheek with a smile. "You didn't deserve that…"

"...Take me home?" she whimpers quietly.

"Sure, Shortstack."

Her friends bid her goodbye, and she barely registers the fact that Lucas helps her into his car and drives her back to the apartment. By the time he carries her into his apartment (she doesn't remember where her own keys are), she's barely awake and barely coherent and fighting to keep her eyes open. He brings her to his bedroom and lays her down on his bed under the covers before standing up to leave.

"Wait... Where ya goin'?" Maya grumbles groggily.

"I'll sleep on the couch. You can take my bed."

"I don't care about that! I mean it's too hot! Take off my clothes you idiot."

He laughs. She's still abrasive even when completely wasted. "As much as I want to, I can't do that, Shortstack. Besides, sober you would kill me."

"Sober me sounds like a real drag…"

"She's alright. When she's not trying to cut off my balls, that is. She hated me when we first met though."

"She didn't hate you, you doofus. She wanted to fu–" Maya abruptly stops speaking and burps loudly. Her face goes a little green, and she suddenly sits up. "I'm gonna barf…"

Faster and more coordinated than anyone would ever expect from an incredibly drunk person, she clambers out of his bed and hurdles over a chair toward his bathroom. The disgusting sound of wet, chunky vomiting soon fills the air, and Lucas groans, knowing he'll have to clean that shit up himself. He brings himself to the bathroom and sits next to her, holding her hair back as she empties out the contents of her stomach in the toilet and rubbing her back soothingly to help her relax a bit.

When she's plum exhausted from the retching and he's forced her to drink a shit ton of water and brush her teeth, he finally helps her to bed and tucks her in.

"Thanks…" she mumbles sleepily, snuggling under the covers, "G'night…"

And then she passes out, snoring soundly, body curling into a ball and head stuffed in his pillow. Lucas cuts the lights off in his room and leaves quietly, smiling warmly.

"Goodnight… Maya."

~.~.~

Maya doesn't make it a habit of being dependent on people or clinging to them for that matter, but right now, she's hungover, she feels like shit, she's annoyed and disagreeable, and all she wants to do is bug Lucas so that he can stop waving off or countering everything she does that should irritate him.

She knows she should have left his apartment as soon as she woke up several hours ago, but he has food here, and he's warm and comfortable, and she really doesn't give a shit. She wants him to wait on her hand and foot, despite the fact that he is trying to finish some assignment that will be due soon.

When she comes back to the living room from calling her boss to let him know she won't be coming in, she finds him totally focused on analyzing his paper, glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. It's a little bit surprising to realize he also wears glasses to be honest, only because it doesn't fit the hot and sexy cowboy image she's kind of placed him in.

(Not that the glasses detract from his looks. It annoys her that he can look good in literally anything he wears).

"You wear glasses?" she snorts, hopping on the couch next to him and peeling the clementine she snagged from the kitchen.

"Only to read." He gives her an amused look. "Anyway, you wear them too."

They fall into comfortable silence, and Maya channel flips for a while, before settling on some show on The Food Network. She glances at Lucas, who is totally absorbed in his reading, though she knows he's probably not concentrating that well with her talking to him and trying to distract him every other minute. He did a lot for her, and she can't help but feel like she might owe him a little. Or at the very least, she owes him a proper thank you.

"Hey Hopalong?"

"Hmm?"

He doesn't look up from his notes, and Maya sighs, turning completely until she's facing him.

"Lucas." She says seriously.

That gets his attention.

He turns to look at her in slight shock from her not using one of her designated nicknames for him. Maya smiles at the stupefied look on his face.

"I just wanted to say thank you for taking care of me yesterday." She feels her cheeks start to rouge a bit at his unwavering gaze. "You had plans, and you ditched them to take care of me and make sure I got home safely. So thank you."

Before she overthinks it, Maya leans over and lightly kisses him on the cheek before turning back and resolutely facing the TV. He sits there in shock for a long moment, staring at her and no doubt wondering if that actually happened. But eventually he does go back to his paper, a little half smile on his face.

"What's this? Is Maya Hart actually being sweet to me?"

"Don't get used to it, Bucky McBoingBoing."

~.~.~

"Okay, so Zay and I are going back to Texas and staying for homecoming weekend."

Maya stares at Lucas blankly, her eyes blinking slowly, wondering why he's bringing this up after waking her up at this ungodly hour (she knows it's 6 PM. Shut up!) after she pulled several all-nighters in a row to finish a 15 page exposition and a 60 page semester lesson plan proposal.

The point is: she's tired and sleep deprived, and she's sure she's got severe bags under her eyes, yet he thinks it's okay to wake her up after she warned him she would be out of commission for the next three days.

"So?" She says sourly, crossing her arms and blocking the door. Maybe if he sees how closed off she's being, he'll get the hint and leave her to her much deserved sleep.

"So I don't know how to tie this damn tie…" He sighs, looking sheepish and defeated. "You told me once that you learned how."

Her cloudy eyes unglaze, and she realizes he's wearing a suit and holding the ends of the loose green tie around his neck. He's actually brushed his hair to an extent. Somewhere in the back of her mind, it comes to her attention that this is the first time she's ever seen Lucas in formal wear, and she very much appreciates the way he looks. Usually she sees him in jeans and t-shirts, so this is a very big difference and the effect is huge.

She likey. She likey a lot.

"Help me?"

She finally relents with a smile when he playfully bites his lower lip and flutters his eyelashes bashfully.

"You're hopeless…"

"Not my fault. I've only had to wear a tie maybe four times in my entire life."

She takes the ends out of his hands and quickly loops the small end around before curling the large behind the knot and then over and inside it. She's got the process muscle memorized and it's so easy she could do it in her sleep. She tugs the tie to rearrange it and pulls it to a comfortable adjustment for his neck.

"Don't worry about it, Huckleberry." She says, patting the tie against his chest. She's very aware that they look like a husband and housewife standing in her doorway like that, but she ignores the little fantasy playing in her mind. "You look distinguished. Enough."

Maybe it's the fact that she's sleep deprived. Or the fact that the tie is really bringing out the colour of his eyes and he smells like heaven, but she finds that she doesn't want to let go just yet. She takes a small step closer to him, rearranging his collar before letting her hands slide down to his chest and rest there.

"Distinguished enough?" There's a playful smile on his lips. "Not absolutely charming? Or sometimes sexy?"

"You need to stop eavesdropping on my conversations. Or we're gonna have a problem."

And then he chuckles, and she can't help but join in and laugh softly as well. Their laughter tapers away and his expression grows a bit thoughtful as he regards her silently.

And before she knows it, he tucks a strand of her wild bedhead hair behind her ear and then gently cups her face. Maya straightens and takes his shirt in between her fingers, pulling him closer to her. She finds herself staring up at his lips before she meets his intense gaze, and then he's leaning down, and she's rising to her tip toes and pulling him even more towards her by his shirt, the distance between them slowly diminishing, and she can feel his warm breath on her lips and her eyes slowly flutter closed and she knows they are so close to something…

"Yo Lucas!" Zay shouts from next door, banging on Lucas' door, "Are you in your apartment? Hurry your ass up! We have a plane to catch."

Lucas jumps slightly and curses under his breath, and Maya's eyes fly open, her heart pounding in her chest as she meets Lucas' gaze in slight dazed confusion. She quickly breaks eye contact and releases his shirt, taking a step back from him and trying to still her trembling hand.

"You should probably go." She swallows thickly, smoothing down the little wrinkles she formed. "You know… before Zay thinks you bailed."

"You're right. I'll see you next week?"

"If I'm awake by then."

He leaves with a snort and a wave, and Maya chastises herself for almost acting on impulse.

What the hell is wrong with her?

~.~.~

Maybe if Maya does some digging down deep, she'll realize she's a little scared to be around Lucas. Ever since the almost kiss, she's found herself spending more time at the campus library and away from her apartment, knowing that Lucas would most likely be seeking her out to talk about what happened. When she does go to his place, their conversations are a little clipped and she usually ends up making some bad excuse so she can leave before they have any time to really address what happened.

So when he has another game watching night and invites her and her friends, she watches it mostly from the kitchen by pretending she's searching for food while everyone else sits on the couches and watches from there. She knows she's acting very awkward and abnormally around Lucas. So much so that Zay makes a comment about them acting as if they drunkenly hooked up or something. She clips him on the head with a chip, he quiets, and everyone disregards the comment, but Maya's mind can't help but run over and over through the almost something.

She's so preoccupied with her own thoughts and avoiding Lucas that she doesn't even notice that Billy and Missy came to the party together. And that Billy has his arm around Missy's waist and that she's curled up in his side with her head on his shoulder and clearly something happened there. It isn't until Darby points out how close the two are that Maya even notices it. But Lucas walks into the kitchen with a slight frown after that, and she quickly escapes and relocates to a corner of the couch near Riley.

She knows she's being obvious and stupid, but honestly, she's scared. Scared that if they're left alone together, she'll do something really stupid and ruin this tentative friendship they have built.

The game ends and everyone leaves after a bit more partying. As Riley is leaving though, she unexpectedly stands in front of Maya, confronting her with furrowed brows.

"What's the deal with you and Lucas?"

Maya is a little shocked by her question, mostly because she hasn't had that many conversations with Riley, and this isn't something that people who aren't that close would necessarily talk about.

"Nothing. We're fine."

"Clearly not." Riley rolls her eyes. "Do you think I was born on another planet?"

"Yes actually."

Riley usually always has a smile plastered to her face and is always chipper. For the longest time, Maya had wondered if Riley really was a human being, because she had never heard of someone being that happy.

Riley ignores the jab. "It's pretty obvious something happened between you two and now you're too scared to talk to him or even be near him because clearly you think something is going to happen that will screw up your friendship."

Maya gapes at Riley because she literally took the words right out of her mind before she had a chance to even properly analyze all that they mean. She opens her mouth to respond, but Riley looks over Maya's shoulder and prevents a response by wrapping her up in a tight hug, her lips pressed to her ear.

"Maya, I think Lucas really, really likes you. So whatever you decide to do, please don't break his heart or you'll have to answer to me." Riley leans away a bit, holding Maya's shoulders. "I may be sunshine and happiness, but don't think for a second that I won't come after you if you hurt him."

Riley spins Maya around and leaves quickly, and shocked, Maya realizes Lucas is walking towards her with a giant black garbage bag. It isn't lost on her that they are the only two people left in his apartment. Her nerves automatically increase tenfold as her pulse races.

"You're on clean up duty." He says simply, handing her the bag.

Their hands brush against each other, and Maya involuntarily shivers, jerking her hand back and trying not to look directly into his eyes. He frowns, but doesn't say anything.

"Why do I have to clean up your apartment?" She finally retorts, a bit too late and a bit too sharply.

If he notices her vocal blunder, he (thankfully) doesn't show it.

"Because if you don't, I won't make you anything for the rest of the week."

That's pretty much enough incentive for her to get her butt in gear and start picking up little bits of trash and other stuff their friends left on the couch. Maya is glad for the distraction because staying focused on the task keeps her from thinking about her current dilemma. But once they've picked up every last cup and beer can and vacuumed up all the crumbs and there's nothing left to clean, Maya feels her trepidation rise again.

"So, what's up?" Lucas asks, addressing the elephant in the room. "You've been acting weird, Maya."

She knows she can't avoid it forever.

She turns to him with a smile that she knows is a grimace and tries to make light of the situation.

"It's just that I don't know what to think since…" She tapers off, losing her nerve when he turns around and faces her directly.

"Since what?" he asks abruptly, no expression on his face.

Maya's mouth clamps shut at his blunt response, heat slowly crawling onto her face as she fiddles with a loose string on the bottom of her baggy sweater. She doesn't realize he's walked towards her until he's right in front of her and she can see his blue t-shirt in her gaze.

"Since what, Maya?" He presses, forcing her to address her issue.

"Since Riley seems to think something happened between us…"

Silence falls for a moment. Maya chews her lower lip, cursing mentally and hoping Lucas doesn't pick up on the fact that she is absolutely flustered and two seconds from stuttering in fright.

"Did something happen between us?" he asks softly.

She looks up and meets his gaze, realizing he's pushing for verbal confirmation from her own mouth, even though he knows damn well what would have transpired had Zay's timely interruption not happened. And she can feel her legs shaking slightly like they're about to give out and her breathing harshen with each breath she takes, but she can't break away from the hold his eyes have on her. Her stomach flips when Lucas' gaze darkens, and he takes a step closer to her.

Maybe she's crazy, but in that weird moment, all that matters is them and how much she wants—needs—to feel him around her.

She reaches up slowly and clutches his shirt, pulling him down to her and meeting his lips in a mindless, steamy kiss.

It's intoxicating; it leaves Maya delirious, and she can't help but moan into his mouth when his tongue slips between her lips. His hand tangles into her hair while the other snakes around her waist until her entire body is pressed flush against his own. She tilts her head, rising to her tiptoes to deepen the kiss, her body growing warm from the provocative way he kisses her, the sensual way his tongue dances with hers.

Her back hits the wall behind her, and she gasps, overcome with the feel of being trapped by the hard planes of his body. She loops her arms around his neck as his hands travel slowly down her sides, fire igniting through Maya's entire body when he rucks up the bottom of her sweater and his calloused hands make contact with the skin of her waist. Maya sucks his bottom lips between her teeth as they slowly part and a groan escapes his lips as she lets go.

For a moment, they pause, chests heaving with each shallow breath they take.

Maya can't explain what's happening to her, but she knows she's never wanted this more in her life than ever before. And she knows there won't be any turning back after this. Lucas apparently has the same thoughts.

"No regrets?" he murmurs, leaving a trail of hot kisses along her neck.

Maya lets out a breathless sigh, clutching the taut muscles of his upper back as the scruff on his face tickles the sensitive skin of her neck.

"Shut up and kiss me for real, Lucas…"

She takes his jaw in her hands and brings his lips back to hers. He takes her sweater off and tosses it behind him, she unbuckles his belt and pops open the button of his jeans, and they stumble their way out of the living room.

~.~.~

Maya wonders if she's completely deranged for being so addicted to Lucas, but there's just something about him that she just can't get enough of. His touch, the way he smiles, his pervasive kisses, the way he cradles her to himself when they're both spent, as if he never wants to let her go. Everything he does has her coming straight back for more.

She doesn't necessarily have to tell her friends about the new development in her relationship with Lucas. They just kind of figure it out as time goes on. Darby, Missy, Billy, Zay, Riley, and Farkle apparently had a bet going on how long it would be until they caved and screwed each other. Riley and Zay won.

Maybe there will be repercussions to her addiction to him, but for now, she doesn't care. She just loves being around him and spending time with him. And spending time under him.

(Can you blame her? He's very good at what he does...)

It gets to the point where she spends more than 90% of her time in his apartment. Her stuff, naturally, follows its owner and before she knows it, most of her clothes and her paint supplies are in his apartment and half of his bathroom cabinet has all of her toiletries.

"Are you still paying rent for your apartment?" He asks one evening.

"Yeah…" she responds, languidly tracing patterns on his chest with her finger, "I don't know why though… I barely live there anymore."

"Move in with me."

Maya frowns, a little taken aback by the suggestion.

She tilts her head up to look at him and raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"Move in with me." He repeats, slowly running his hand up her back in that way that makes her turn into a puddle of goo. "It makes sense."

He does have a point. She's wasting money on an apartment when she spends all her time in Lucas' apartment anyway. Plus it's practical. And she knows he doesn't mean it in a huge relationship step way, or at least, it doesn't feel that way to her for some reason. It just seems like this is the next thing she should do.

Maya sits up and climbs on top of his lap, settling on his crotch and leaning down with a half-lidded come hither look that makes his eyes darken dangerously.

"Okay."

~.~.~

By the next week, she's totally moved in and by the week after that, they develop a natural way of life living with one another. It just works. They spend their off days with each other. He tries to teach her how to cook; she tries to show him how to paint (neither is very good…). They do their shopping together, hands intertwined, sharing little kisses like a couple. She's his plus one to vet seminar events and dinners; he's her plus one to the small art shows and galleries she visits.

That's not to say there aren't issues. For one, she still cannot stand his late night workouts and country music, so they have to learn to compromise. He works out while she's at work. And her loud, obnoxious phone calls with her mom bother him, so she learns not to be as loud when talking on the phone or to go outside.

And then there's his obsession with cowboy hats and country music. And Maya's destructive periods. And the occasional spat and yelling match when one of them crosses the line. Those usually get resolved fairly quickly though (and usually with angry sex on the floor or on the kitchen island). Regardless, they make their relationship—no matter how slightly dysfunctional—work somehow.

But truthfully, she doesn't quite know what they are. Fuck buddies? Too impersonal. Best friends with benefits? That doesn't sound right because though they are pretty close as friends, their relationship is more intimate than that. Maybe they're dating? But really, at this point, their relationship is more like that of an old married couple, plus they don't really go out on dates. They only really see each other when they're both at the apartment and even then, they're usually doing their own thing until they're both done or until Maya gets restless.

Lucas doesn't seem to want to necessarily label anything either, so she never brings it up, and they remain whatever it is they are.

But she can't help but become apprehensive when over time, she realizes she no longer considers their sex as just sex.

In fact, she starts to think of it as making love.

~.~.~

Her mother comes to visit her on one of her off days from work. Maya hears banging on her old apartment door next door. She knows someone new has moved in, but what surprises her the most is upon hearing the door open next door, she hears Katy's confused voice asking for a Maya.

So she pops out of their apartment and calls her mother over. She invites her in and lets her know she's moved in with Lucas now. Katy is shocked that she's even been able to hold onto a guy long enough to move in with him (har har). But she's also shocked that Maya actually lives amicably with a guy and hasn't castrated him yet for pissing her off.

"Believe me, Mom… I almost did castrate him when I first met him…"

But when Katy asks her what her relationship is with Lucas, Maya says he's her boyfriend, because the real answer is a bit too complicated to explain. And then she realizes, that it's not complicated at all. All this time, he already has been her boyfriend. It's shocking how easily the label just fits. Maybe it's because she's probably considered him her boyfriend way before they even moved in together. And she knows that's probably why moving in with him wasn't strange for her despite the fact that they hadn't even been having sex that long at that point.

Katy is disappointed that she doesn't get a chance to meet Lucas (which Maya considers a good thing), but leaves with the usual wishes for grandchildren before she grows too old to pick them up to which Maya responds with the usual eye roll. (Her mother isn't even forty-five). And when Lucas comes home from work, she confronts him.

"Hey you. You're my boyfriend."

To her chagrin, he starts laughing like she's just said something incredibly stupid.

"What?" she says when he finally settles down, affronted by the amused look on his face.

"Are you serious?" He wraps his arms loosely around her, kissing her lightly. "I've pretty much been your boyfriend since the day I was subjected to cleaning up your nasty used tissues when you got sick, Shortstack."

"Shut up!"

~.~.~

Several weeks after Katy comes to visit, Missy forces the friends to go to a bar to drown her sorrows in alcohol. When they meet her, she's pissed off and crying and blubbering that she's never going to date again because everybody ends up leaving her. They find out Billy switched to active duty a while ago and is going to be deployed in about a week or so, but he hadn't told Missy so she found out the hard way. The guys had been planning to throw him a surprise 'goodbye' party for his impending deployment and had asked Missy to participate, so she'd found out through them.

"I hate him… I never want to see him again…" she cries, "How could he not tell me about this?"

Maya rubs her back in consolation. "I'm sure he must have had a good reason, Missy. What did he say?"

She sniffles and whimpers, "I don't know. I ran out of his apartment."

"But Missy, if you ran, how do you know what his reason was?" Darby asks tentatively, gently nudging her own shot to Missy. She would most likely need copious amounts of alcohol to get over this one. It seems she really liked Billy.

"You should have seen the guilty look on his face, Darby!" Missy wails in despair, "Like he was about to cut me loose…"

Darby and Maya glance at each other in worry. Usually at this point, Missy has about a dozen shots at once and numbs the pain to help get over the guy, but she's not even touching the shots sitting in front of her.

"Missy…"

She sniffles and lets out a curt, mirthless laugh. "I hate this… I don't even want to drown my sorrows in alcohol…"

"What?!" Darby's eyebrows are high on her forehead in surprise. Maya doesn't say anything, but she knows her facial reaction to Missy's declaration is very much the same.

"I know I asked you guys to come meet me, but honestly, I just want to go back home…"

"Missy, you must be really messed up over this…"

"It's killing me, Maya…" Missy wipes away the snot dripping from her nose, and shakes her head sadly. "The worst part is, I honestly like him a lot. He's the best thing that's happened to me in years. I just want Billy back… But it doesn't even matter because he's leaving me!"

Maya helps Missy stand up. "Let's take you home, then. We'll stay the night with you."

"Yeah. We can do a 'Let's help Missy feel better' party tonight. Just the three of us." Darby says with a consoling smile, "And watch movies and eat junk food like we used to do in college. How does that sound?"

"I'd like that." She says quietly.

"Do you want us to take you to Billy's apartment to get your stuff?"

"No… I just don't want to see him right now…"

Maya nods and the girls leave the place solemnly. She already had known Missy and Billy had been seeing each other for a while now, but she had never realized the true extent of their relationship. Missy isn't the type to get attached to someone that quickly. It had taken years for her to really get so worked up over any guy. That's why Todd dumped her saying she was never as invested in the relationship as he was, even though she had been trying. For her to be so fucked up over Billy—not even wanting to drink—meant that this hadn't been just a normal relationship for her.

They take her back to her apartment, Maya telling Missy that if she wants to trash Billy's apartment or TP his car at any time of the night, she and Darby would be happy to take care of that for her.

To their surprise, when they open the door, they find Billy in her living room, worried and pacing frantically. He sighs in relief when he sees them.

"I've been looking everywhere for you…" He sounds breathless, like he's run miles to get to her apartment.

"Really? Good for you…" Missy turns up her nose in disgust. "Because I've been trying to get as far away from you as possible!"

"Missy, we need to talk."

"What about? You made your decision. You're leaving me. Just like every other stupid idiotic man in this world!"

Missy spins around and begins to storm out of the apartment, but Billy catches her wrist and stops her, pulling her back to him. She spins around indignantly, her hair slapping him in the face though he still doesn't let go.

"Let me go, Billy! There's nothing to talk about." Her voice wavers, and her eyes grow glassy again with unshed tears.

"Would you just wait?! Missy, please. Just let me explain." he pleads earnestly before she has a chance to reject him again, "I already made up my mind to switch to active duty before I even met you. That's why I didn't know how to tell you. But even though I'm leaving, I don't want to lose you, Missy. I want to be able to come home when I'm allowed and always see your beautiful smile."

Tears start trailing down Missy's cheeks and even Darby has to wipe away a lone tear from the corner of her eye from the heartbreak in his tone.

"Wh-what are you saying?" she asks quietly in confusion, sniffling.

"I'm saying I love you. I know you're the one." Billy gets down on one knee, pulling out a velvet box. "I know I'm being selfish to ask you to wait, but if you're willing… Missy Bradford, will you make me the luckiest man alive? Will you marry me?"

"You stupid fuck… Why didn't you start with that earlier?!" she gushes, laughing breathlessly, "I love you, too. Yes, I'll marry you!"

Darby squeals loudly and starts hopping up and down in excitement, gripping Maya's shoulder with her sharp nails. Maya grins from ear to ear, happy that Missy can finally get her happy ending. She can't help but 'awww' when Missy tearfully hops into his arms and kisses him after he slips the gold band on her finger.

At least, until they start to get grope-y and hands-y and moan-y.

Maya grimaces and pulls Darby out of the apartment, shutting the door behind her.

"And that's our cue to leave."

Later that evening, studying for her upcoming exams on the couch with Lucas, she can't help but wonder where their own relationship is going. Which leads her to wonder if he even considers her a serious endgame.

Because she sure as hell knows that she can't see herself being with anyone else.

And it terrifies her because she doesn't know why.

~.~.~

Maya pours some batter into the pan, grinning to herself and thinking this is going to be the best surprise ever. She stares through the slats of the living room window blinds and knows the sun is going to come up soon because of the slight lightened hue of the sky. Which means Lucas will be up soon for his usual morning jog. She knows she has to hurry up if she wants to finish this surprise in time.

Under normal circumstances, she never wakes up before Lucas (much less before the sun is up) but this time she had made herself get up before him. She's planning on making a short little stack of pancakes for Lucas and surprising him with his choice of either shortstack for breakfast. It's why she's also dressed in a silk nightie and wearing fishnets and hooker heels. She's fairly certain she knows what he'll pick.

(Especially because she'd only just learned how to properly make pancakes from scratch the day before and she doubts he'll be interested in possibly going to the ER for food poisoning).

Her phone pings with the alert for a text when she's just about to flip the pancake, and she walks over to it on the couch, picking it up to see what's going on. Her mother had apparently found a feisty stray kitten on her way to work and decided to keep it because it reminded her of Maya since it scratched and clawed her arms and wouldn't stop meowing until Katy gave it some food. She needs to bring it to the vet though. Maya laughs, responding to the text that Lucas has a couple business cards from different vet's offices, and she can give her the numbers to call.

She heads to their bedroom and carefully peeks in, making sure that he's still asleep after the door creaks open a little too loudly. She tiptoes carefully around to his desk and takes a couple of the business cards, sending pictures of them to her mother. She sets them back when she's done and crawls on the carpet towards the bed, gazing at Lucas sleeping face and smiling to herself as he snores softly.

And that's when she smells it.

The scent of burning food.

She wrinkles her nose for a second, sniffing the air in confusion and wondering if it's just a trick of her imagination. Maya frowns, wondering what could possibly be the source of that smell.

Until she remembers that she had been cooking a pancake.

With a shocked gasp, Maya shoots to her feet and hurries out of the room, running to the kitchen and spewing profanities. She stops abruptly, her eyes wide when she sees that there's a flame on the pan right above the charred pancake. Smoke is everywhere in the kitchen, and Maya panics and snatches up a dish rag, swatting the air near the fire in hopes that it will go out. Her trembling fingers don't have a good grip on it though, and she lets go of the dish rag in her frantic scramble to put out the flames.

The dish rag flies…

And lands right in the pan and into the fire itself.

The flames eat up the rag like it's birthday cake and the fire grows larger to Maya's absolute horror. She screams in surprise when the fire detector suddenly goes off and jumps backwards when the fire jumps, frozen in place in a panic and unsure what to do.

"Lucas! Help!" She shouts.

There's a crash from their bedroom and then she hears him curse loudly before he hurries into the living room. He looks half asleep in that way one does when they are roused prematurely from sleep, but his eyes widen and his expression sharpens as he takes in the scene in front of him.

"Maya? What the fuck is going on?!"

"The pancake!" Maya says, pointing at the fire.

He rushes over to the sink counter and stoops, tearing the fire extinguisher out of its place before spraying the contents over the entire stove. The fire is wiped out almost immediately as the foam hardens and sticks to the surfaces.

As the smoke clears a bit, they stare at the mess of dark smoke stains on the upper cabinets and white foam clinging to almost every surface of the stove top. Their breathing is a little fast and harsh, and Maya sighs in relief, her hand on her heart when the smoke detector finally stops screaming.

"Holy shit…" she says breathlessly, "I thought we were screwed…"

"You are going to be the death of me, Maya…" Lucas growls angrily, his jaw clenched in annoyance as he sets the fire extinguisher back in its place, "Literally."

"I'm sorry?" Maya says with a sheepish shrug of her shoulders and cute pout, batting her eyelashes at him.

Lucas doesn't buy the cutesy act one bit.

"How did this even happen?" he asks, gesturing to the mess on the stove.

Maya chews on her thumbnail, looking up at Lucas apologetically. "I tried to make a pancake and then I forgot about it and it caught on fire and when I tried to put it out, it got worse."

Lucas stares at her incredulously, his jaw slightly unhinged in absolute disbelief.

Honestly, this type of shit does not happen to anyone else but them. It's a breakfast gone horribly wrong. Instead of Maya in lingerie with breakfast, Lucas had gotten woken up to the smoke detector going off, a fire in the kitchen, and a ruined pan. And it's the combination of that realization and Lucas' 'are you fucking kidding me' expression that makes Maya dissolve into loud laughter, clutching her stomach and gasping for breath, terribly amused by the turn of events.

Lucas is clearly not amused.

He turns to face her fully, a brow raised a bit dangerously.

"You think this is funny?"

"Yes?"

Wrong answer.

He approaches her slowly with a slight glint in his narrowed eyes, and Maya backs up, staring up at him and biting her lower lip to try to hold back her snickers and conceal her laughter.

"Lucas, I'm sorry!" She puts her hands up in hopes it will placate his irritation. "It's kind of hilarious though!"

He doesn't respond, steadily walking to her, his expression a bit dark.

She doesn't know quite what she expects when she's cornered, but Lucas pinning her against the wall with his body and kissing her senseless until she's a panting, whimpering mess isn't it. Lucas sliding a hand under her nightie and into her panties until her knees are buckling from the intensity of the sensation and she's struggling to stay upright isn't it. She cries out as he drags his lips down and sucks on her neck, and she feels the sharp sting of his bite.

"Still think it's funny?" Lucas murmurs into her neck, gripping her hip and pulling her flush against him.

Maya gasps when she feels his arousal pressing against her abdomen. She's so unbelievably turned on and hooks her leg around him, desperately leaning into him to continue what he started.

"Lucas…"

He hoists her up on his waist and captures her lips again in a vulgar, demanding kiss. She wraps her arms around him, threading a hand into his hair and moaning when he grinds against her.

Honestly, Maya hopes their next door neighbours aren't in because she's damn sure they'll get a pretty vivid idea of what is going on on the other side of the wall pretty shortly.

~.~.~

"Thank you. Have a nice day." The cashier says dryly, sliding Maya's receipt over to her.

Maya picks up the plastic bag with the new stainless steel pan in it and leaves the home goods store at the mall. Even though she had gotten what she had wanted (and quite a lot of it too), Lucas had still made her go buy a new pan after she'd completely destroyed his. He would have come with her, but he had a lecture to go to that afternoon he couldn't skip.

As she walks out, glancing at her receipt, she bumps into another person.

"Sorry." Maya looks up and her brows lift in recognition when she sees Riley. "Oh, hey."

"Hi, Maya. How are you?"

"I'm good. It's been a little while." Maya smiles. "You haven't been over in a few weeks."

"Yeah." Riley giggles, "I didn't want to intrude too much on your couple time. Plus, I've been moving in with my boyfriend, so I'm kind of busy."

"You have a boyfriend?" Maya winces apologetically when Riley's brows furrow. "Sorry, didn't mean it that way. I was just surprised because you've never mentioned him before."

"No, I get it. Most people wouldn't think I was with anyone. I don't bring him up that often, I guess." Riley has a fond look on his face. "But yes. I have a boyfriend. That guy over there."

Riley points to the home goods store checkout line and Maya's eyes drift in that direction, expecting some white collar looking stiff with perfectly coiffed hair in a perfectly pressed business suit. He's actually the farthest thing from that. An edgy looking guy in a leather jacket with what seems to be a permanent scowl on his face. Maya is honestly a little surprised because she had assumed in her mind that Riley would be the type of woman who would seek out a princely guy or a Mr. Perfect.

"I never thought I would ever be attracted to him. My parents thought he was in a biker gang because of his tattoos and motorcycle, and they still don't really approve even now. But he's the sweetest guy." Riley says, her lips quirked up in an amused smile, "Surprised?"

"Without a doubt." Maya admits. "I feel like I've seen him somewhere before though."

"He owns the French restaurant on 5th called Riley's. Ever been there?"

"Yeah, I went there with my mom at its opening a few years back. I had no idea it was named after you, though. That's pretty awesome." Maya says, "And I wouldn't have expected you to be attracted to someone like him either."

"Yeah. Truth be told, since I was young, I'd always thought my type was Lucas." Riley admits with a nostalgic look on her face, "I tried so hard to make him my Prince Charming, but he was never interested, always preferring to date or sleep with girls who were a little rowdy or challenging. I had hoped that maybe our story was going to be long and I had to be patient and that I was in a situation where he would one day realize what he wanted all along was the best friend who stood by his side all these years. But once he got his first serious girlfriend in late high school, I got impatient and confessed. I told him how I felt, and he rejected me and let me know that the reason he'd never truly been interested in me was because he couldn't really be himself around me since all I would ever accept of him was his Mr. Perfect persona. And it was then that my eyes were opened so to speak. I finally saw who Lucas was."

"Oh…" Maya says, feeling a little awkward about the revelation, "I didn't know you guys had a history."

"We don't." Riley corrects gently. "And don't worry, Maya. You have nothing to be concerned about. Lucas is my best friend, and that's it. I lost my crush on him that very day after my epiphany, and trust me, I can't even imagine ever seeing him in a romantic light ever again. He's just not my type. Plus I'm totally and completely in love with Brandon."

"Not gonna lie." Maya replies, "That's actually a relief to hear. I don't know if I would have been able to hang out normally with you if you still liked Lucas."

Riley laughs. "Totally understandable."

"How did you and Brandon meet?"

"My dress got caught on the subway doors, and I thought I was about to get dragged to my death when he swooped in like a superhero and ripped it to get me free." Riley says dreamily with a sigh, "I think it was love at first sight for me and I just knew he was the one I had been waiting for, but he barely gave me the time of day. I didn't give up though and chased after him. It took me almost six months to finally get his attention, but I'm glad I followed my gut and waited. But enough about me. How are things with you and Lucas?"

"They're pretty good." Maya smirks to herself as she recalls that morning's adventures. "Things are going well."

"I'm glad. Thank you for taking care of him. Lucas is truly happy with you. And it makes me happy because Lucas hasn't ever fallen in love with anyone until now since he met you."

And Maya stiffens in shock from Riley's words, her brows furrowing.

"Lucas isn't in love with me."

"Yes he is." Riley asserts, "Trust me, I can see it in his eyes when he talks about you."

Before Maya can respond and deny the claim once again, Riley's attention is called elsewhere.

"Riley." Brandon calls out from the entrance of the store, "I've gotta get back to work. Think we could head out?"

"Sorry, Brandon!"

She turns back to Maya.

"That's my cue." Riley hugs Maya tightly. "Take care of each other, okay? I want you both to be happy, and you both seem truly happy with each other."

Maya nods, returning the hug before smiling as she backs away. Riley opens her mouth to speak then closes it, frowning slightly as she stares at Maya.

"What's up?" Maya asks.

"…Do you ever feel like sometimes you meet people who you know are supposed to be the most important people in your life?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"I kind of feel like that's you." Riley smiles. "Like you're supposed to be that person. Sorry if that's weird."

"Yeah…No, I get it." Maya says with a slow nod, understanding exactly what Riley means, "I kind of feel the same way too."

Riley smiles and leaves, skipping over to her boyfriend before waving at Maya and departing.

After leaving the mall herself, Maya drives home in almost a daze, Riley's confident words that Lucas was in love with her still bouncing around in her head. A slight fear crawls down her back, gripping her heart.

He's not in love with her.

He can't be in love with her. She doesn't believe it.

It scares her.

It makes her want to run.

When she gets back, Lucas is in the kitchen trying to clean up some of the mess.

"There you are. Did you get lost on the way back?" He teases. "How long does it take to buy a pan?"

"I ran into Riley."

Maya doesn't supply any other information, staring up at him a little apprehensively because her heart is racing with reckless abandon in her chest. She gauges his expression, his demeanor, searching for evidence that Riley's words are true.

"Lucas, do you…"

She stops herself from asking it though. She honestly doesn't want to know.

She's not ready to hear the answer yet.

Because she won't be able to respond.

Lucas stares at her pensively for a moment, taking in her stiffness and the slight fear in her eyes. Then with a sigh, he tosses the paper towel in the trash and walks over with a smile. He engulfs her in a warm hug, gently rubbing her back.

"If you ran into Riley, no doubt she said something to you and now you're freaking out, right?" he murmurs calmly into her hair, "Maya, it's okay… You don't have to worry about that right now. Don't think about it, okay? I know you're not ready for that. And we don't have to talk about it right now either."

She wonders if maybe he can read her mind, but nevertheless, she appreciates the gesture and snuggles into his chest, silently thanking him for being so understanding.

He's right. She doesn't have to worry about that right now.

But it doesn't change the fact that he didn't deny it.

Which means it will be addressed in the future.

And running is the only way she can avoid it.

~.~.~

Without prelude, Lucas tells her he invited his parents over for dinner (or rather, they invited themselves over because they want to meet the ever elusive Maya Hart that he kept talking about). She'd never tell him, but she's incredibly nervous and wants to make a good first impression. So she digs up her old college clothes buried in a suitcase at the back of their closet and pulls out the bane of existence.

The red, long sleeved monstrosity hugs her curves a little tighter than it used to and stops a little higher above her knees than she remembers, but she wears it anyway because honestly she has no other formal wear. She fixes her wild, wavy locks into a somewhat neat bun and puts on those damn special occasion heels and jewelry. She hates dressing up in any kind of way, but she knows this is important to Lucas, even if he doesn't say it outright. And thus, it's important to her.

She thinks she looks stupid as she helps him set the table, but clearly from the fact that he keeps getting distracted and can't stop touching her, she does not. He's staring at her like all he wants to do is shove everything off the table, rip that dress off of her and take her right on top of it.

"Do I look okay?" she asks flirtatiously, swinging her hips on purpose as she places wine glasses on the table.

"Did you wear that on purpose just to rile me up?" He growls lowly in her ear, pulling her back into his chest by the hips.

"That depends…" She giggles when he kisses her on the neck, hands roaming down her sides. "Did it work?"

His arousal poking into the middle of her back tells her all she needs to know.

He turns her around, guiding her backwards until she's sitting in one of the chairs. His gaze is trained on her legs where her dress has ridden up quite a bit, revealing proof that she has forgone underwear for the evening.

"Commando?" he growls lowly.

"How much time do we have?" She says when she catches just how little control Lucas has over himself right now.

"Five minutes..."

"Five minutes is plenty enough time, right?"

Lucas says nothing as he sinks to his knees in front of her, taking hold of her thighs and gently pulling them further apart, his heated gaze burning with desire as he gazes up at her. Maya's breath hitches in her throat when his eyes travel lower.

She knows his parents are going to arrive soon, but there's nothing wrong with fooling around a little bit…

~.~.~

Dinner goes a lot more smoothly than she expected. Aside from her initial embarrassment when Lucas points out a hickey (that he put there himself, the asshole!), and the hard kick she delivers him under the table (very satisfying to see him curse and bang his knee under the table), everything goes swimmingly. Tristan and Lily Friar are pretty chill people. It's obvious Lucas gets his outrageous good looks from his father, who he looks like something of a younger version of. But he clearly got his gorgeous sea-foam green eyes from his mother which they both share.

From the moment they step in, Maya can tell Lily is the real brains behind the operation. She's got this air of cool, no-nonsense, no bullshit control that Maya immediately looks up to. Conversation with them is easy. They ask amicable questions about Maya's mother and her goals for the future. Tristan is very impressed by her Masters program and her plans for Peace Corps. Lily apparently also played softball in high school and got through undergrad on a sport's scholarship. In addition, they also both grew up having to work hard to exceed people's expectation of who they would become. And, Lily cannot cook for shit either. Before long, she and Maya are cracking jokes at Lucas' and Tristans' expense and chatting like they've known each other for years.

"Sometimes, I accidentally kiss the coffee pot in the morning, instead of my husband." Lily quips, giving her husband a coy little smile. "He has about as much personality as a coffee pot, so when I'm tired, I get them mixed up."

The table erupts in loud laughter.

While Tristan and Lucas watch recaps of a football game, shouting their disappointment at the screen, Lily helps Maya as she sets a tray with after dinner coffee and snacks. She shares tales of how Lucas has never really been good at relationships or keeping them since he's been young.

"It takes a special kind of girl to put up with Lucas."

"I've never been in a long lasting one either." Maya admits, a little bit embarrassed, "I was always either too reckless, too aloof, or too bitchy."

"Until now." Lily says with a smile, stealing a cookie.

Maya blinks in slight surprise, nodding slowly in realization. "That's right…Until now…"

And then Lily gives Maya a tight, life-squeezing, bone crushing bear hug.

"Riley was right. You are perfect for Lucas." Lily pulls back and gently tucks a stray piece of Maya's hair behind her ear with a smile, "And definitely the perfect person to keep his ass in check."

As Tristan and Lily depart late in the evening, Lily gives Maya another hug and a wink, and Maya feels like, somehow, she's gotten the seal of approval from his parents. And honestly, knowing that she does lifts a weight off her shoulders and relieves a fear in her chest she had never realized she honestly had.

"Your parents are great, Lucas." Maya says, turning around with a smile. "I had a lot of…"

Her breath catches when she stares up at him and realizes he's watching her with barely concealed lust, his eyes sparking with something kind of carnal. Maya swallows thickly when she notices there's something else in his gaze as well. Something profound and intense and her heart skips a beat when she knows exactly what that something is.

He's decided it's time. He's no longer going to hide it or hold back.

And with a start, she knows what's going to happen tonight, and it truly terrifies her because she knows this will be a turning point for her.

This is her last chance to run from this before it ruins her.

And she wants to run. She really does with every ounce of her being.

But she remains glued to her spot, gazing up at him in fright, her body shaking the slightest bit.

"W-we should probably clean up."

It's a useless statement.

She knows Lucas' mind is the furthest thing from cleaning up or the dinner or his parents right now. And all thoughts of approval and the dinner and cleaning up leave her mind when Lucas bends and scoops her up in his arms and carries her to their bedroom, unceremoniously tossing her on the bed before loosening and taking off his tie and slowly crawling above her. She looks up at him in slight trepidation, her heartbeat drumming in her ears as he settles above her, staring down at her with so much tenderness and affection in his gaze that her breath hitches in her chest.

"Time for this dress to go." He murmurs, looking at her like she's a light in his dark and dreary world.

And she accepts it all. Everything he has to offer. Everything he has to give to her.

She accepts his kisses as he moves in her, raking her nails down his back as he draws long strangled moans from her mouth, as he breathes heavily, as the heat from his body burns her.

She accepts his caresses as she unravels and falls apart at the seams, crying out as something in her grows and swells and then shatters in a way it never has before, her entire body trembling as she lets herself go.

She accepts his love when he leans down and whispers in her ear, his warm breath tickling her as he finally tells her those three words she's been so afraid to hear. When he tells her she's his everything. He lifts his head, looks her in the eye, and repeats them sincerely, words Maya knows he's never said to anyone before. Words he will never say to anyone else again.

She returns them, her eyes welling with tears as she knows she truly means them with all her heart.

She sobs as he makes passionate love to her all night, giving all of herself to him without hesitation, hands clasped and fingers intertwined against the mattress.

And she knows with this, there really is no turning back.

Lucas is her one and only.

~.~.~

There's a shift in their relationship after that evening. A subtle shift, but Maya knows what it is. And she knows Lucas knows what it is.

Yes, they still fight. Yes, they still tease each other and poke fun at each other. Yes, they still hang out normally with their friends.

But it's punctuated by a feeling that now they have all the time in the world with each other. A feeling that Maya knows means that there is only one path ahead for them now and that it's only a matter of time before they go down that road.

When Lucas goes to Texas for a week, Maya stays with her mother, needing support for her increasing and burgeoning fears that this path will crumble for whatever reason. Katy tries to quell her fears, assuring Maya that her life will not be like Katy's and that she'd found her right soulmate at the right time. That things will be okay. That Maya should let it play out, relax and just let it happen.

Try as she might, she can't shake the fear. Maya feels like she's losing her sanity. Losing her mind. Like she's lost and can't make sense of anything. The only thing on her mind is Lucas and she can't focus. Everything is out of control. Especially her fears.

Katy tells her that's love.

Maya doesn't understand it.

She doesn't understand how someone could love her so much. How she could love somebody so much to the point where she loses her mind at the mere thought of him.

But she does.

He's her forever.

~.~.~

But nonetheless…

Her fears come true.

The path crumbles before her very eyes.

Being with Lucas is a dream come true, but like all dreams, she had known it would end. She just hadn't thought hers would end so soon. The carefree cloud she's put herself into pops harshly and abruptly when a month later, Lucas tells her he's transferring to a vet school in Texas to finish out his last year. That he's been offered a full-time job in Austin after he graduates once he passes his exams and receives his license.

Maya isn't sure how to react, so she just nods blankly, her heart slowly shattering with each second that goes by in silence.

"Maya?"

"Good for you." she says somewhat coldly, "When are you moving?"

He frowns. "Courses start mid-August."

"So three months?"

He nods, a little put off by her abrasive indifference. "Yeah. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." she responds, snatching up her jacket, "I'll be back later, okay?"

She leaves and heads straight to Missy and Billy's new apartment. She always had known that this day was coming eventually, what with her deciding she would go to Peace Corps, she just hadn't expected it to be Lucas who would be the deciding factor in this. She knows they had avoided talking about it, but now that he's officially brought up their eventual separation, it's in her face and it frightens her that now she has to make a choice.

It's time for them to decide their future. She still has a year left in her studies, so she can't just leave and follow Lucas. But she's scared that if he leaves and she stays, the next time she sees him will be at his wedding to some cowgirl named Betty.

Missy lets her in, not asking any questions despite her curiosity at Maya's sudden texts. She and Missy paint each other's toenails like they used to in college when they couldn't sort their thoughts. It's a weird thing, but there's just something about putting sparkly silver on her toes that always helps her figure out what her next steps should be.

"How's Billy?" she asks as a distraction for herself.

"He's good!" Missy exclaims, "I just sent him a care package. With a bonus gift of a pair of my panties to get him through the lonely nights."

Maya frowns. "Are you allowed to do that?"

She shrugs. "It was either that or my pregnancy test."

"Missy, what the hell. It's been about two months. Don't you think he deserves to know by now?" Maya laughs. "He's going to come back to an unfamiliar child."

"Children." Missy corrects, rubbing her abdomen. "Found out I'm having twins. And I will tell him… Eventually."

Maya shakes her head in mirth and adds a splash of neon green to Missy's toe, trying to make fine lines despite the bulkiness of the polish brush. But she's not really feeling it today. For some reason, the toenail painting ritual doesn't have the same effect that it usually does. With a sigh, Maya closes the polish bottle and sits back against the couch.

"How do you deal with it?" Maya asks quietly.

"With what?"

"Billy not being around…"

Missy contemplates her silently, her brows furrowed. Maya hadn't mentioned her reason for stopping by, but she knows Missy is starting to pick up on clues.

Maya looks up at her. "Yet you're always smiling."

"I can't tell you it's easy. I miss him every day. And every day, I get even more worried that he'll lose interest in me. There's no guarantee that he'll still want me when he gets back. But I love him nonetheless. All I can do is wait for him. And wait for the day when I'll have him to myself again."

They fall silent once again, Maya staring at the wall as she ponders Missy's words. Then she sighs.

"Lucas told me he's moving back to his hometown for his final year. That's in three months."

Missy reaches down and wraps an arm around Maya's shoulders, "I'm so sorry. Did he say what he wanted you to do?"

"No. It's like he was trying to get me to decide or something."

Decide whether or not they are going to stay together no doubt. Her heart wrenches in her chest at the thought of Lucas possibly ending things with her.

"Well what are you going to do?"

"I don't know Missy…" Maya says, her voice wavering as she remembers the way he had told her he loved her. "If I go with him, I can't finish my Masters, but at least we'll be together. If I don't go with him, I'll probably only see him once a month. And once I'm in Peace Corps, I may not see him at all for another two years. And then there's the fact that I want to be a teacher at a high school. What if I only find work in another city?"

"So you don't want to lose him…"

"But I'm not giving up my dreams to move with him." Maya closes her eyes. "You and Billy work because you're just that kind of couple who can survive long distance. But I don't know if Lucas and I are like that… I don't know if I'm like that. How do I even know that he even wants me to come along in the first place?"

"Maya, as stubborn as you are and as difficult it may be for you to accept this, you and Lucas can handle long distance. Do you want to know why? Because you have something quite simple between you. It's called love. You're in deep, irrevocable love with each other." Missy shrugs. "That's the reason why Billy and I are okay. Because we love each other."

"Yes, I love Lucas. So much it hurts. But people fall out of love Missy. If we don't see each other regularly for several years, who knows what will happen? And then the next time I see him, he'll be married to some cowgirl named Betty."

"Okaaaay…" Missy snorts. "One. You sound like Darby. Calm down. And two. Give him some credit, Maya. Lucas hasn't even had a chance to talk to you about this yet. Before you jump to conclusions, you really should talk about this together. Figure out where your relationship is going. Figure out if you both see your futures the same way."

Maya knows Missy is right. No matter how much Maya is dreading addressing their future, she knows it needs to be done. Especially since Lucas will be leaving in a few months. Which is why after chatting for a little longer (mostly about Darby and her new boyfriend Yogi and how strange they are together), Maya heads back home, hoping that she's ready to discuss what needs to be said.

And desperately hoping that her heart doesn't get broken.

Because if it does, she doesn't think she'll be able to bounce back from this.

~.~.~

He's sitting on the couch watching an old game when she quietly returns. The confidence she built up while walking up the stairs and down the hall is almost completely gone once she sees him, and she realizes with a start that not seeing him every day is going to wreck her. She can say with ease that she loves him, but the depth with which she does is clearly more extensive than she originally believed. Suddenly, the idea of being apart knocks the wind out of her and her knees momentarily buckle. She steadies herself against the wall and takes a deep, shuddering breath in preparation.

"Lucas." she says, her voice shaking a bit as she walks over to the couch and sits next to him.

He turns down the volume and smiles at her. "Hey… you okay?"

She wills herself not to tear up because he's being so patient with her, despite the fact that she walked out on him.

"I will be." she says, sniffling and trying to fight the tears stinging the back of her eyes, "You said you're moving in three months, and honestly, I can't uproot my life and go with you. But then I realized you never even mentioned me coming with you, so I guess that means you want to break up?"

To her horror, tears blur her vision as her throat tightens dangerously, and she averts her gaze to her lap, picking at her nails dejectedly.

"I-I understand if you want to… After all we're not going to see each other for several years and who knows. We might be different people by then. So do your worst. I'm ready."

An uncomfortable silence falls between them as she quiets. After a while, Lucas slowly lets it out a long breath.

"Maya."

When she looks up and meets his gaze, he takes her face in his hands and leans over, kissing her deeply. It's so thorough and heartwarming that Maya's left a little breathless and a small whimper leaves her lips when he pulls away.

"Are you done, Shortstack?" he asks softly with a slight smirk, his gaze still on her lips.

"Y-yeah."

"Okay. So first of all, I don't want to call it quits. Not with you. Let's straighten that out right now." He drops his hands from her face and takes her hands in his gently. "And second. I know you've got a lot of plans for your future. Why do you think I didn't mention you coming with me? I could never force you to choose like that. But that doesn't mean I don't want you to come with me."

Maya sniffles softly. "So then what?"

"So we make a promise to each other. Hold on a second."

Lucas rises from the couch and leaves momentarily down the hallway to their bedroom. When he finally comes back and sits down, she realizes he's holding a ring between his fingertips. A sparkling, topaz encrusted ring, and Maya's eyes widen as she shakes her head, her hands curling into fists as her heart starts to anxiously pound dangerously hard in her chest.

"Wait, Lucas… I don't—"

"I know Maya. This isn't an engagement ring." Lucas gently uncurls her fist as he speaks, taking her finger and sliding the ring onto it. He smiles, rubbing the back of her hand softly with his thumb. "It was my grandmother's promise ring to my grandfather when he was away at war. I got it when I went back to Texas that week. We won't see each other for who knows how long, but I'm willing to wait. And one day, if you haven't changed your mind about us and if you're still willing to someday settle down with me, then I'll propose."

"Lucas…"

"I know I'll have to wait several years, but you're worth it. You're worth waiting for."

"…Are you stupid?" Maya mutters, rotating the glittering jeweled ring to and fro, watching as it catches the light in different ways, "…Are we both stupid?"

But she knows that she'll go with it. Hell, she'd already made up her mind the minute he'd put the ring on her finger. Because even though she's not ready to marry Lucas right now, she knows without a single doubt that she will marry him in the future when she's ready to settle down.

"Lucas, if I get that job as a high school teacher, you know I might not even get work in Austin."

"It doesn't matter to me where you work, Maya. If you still want me, I'm going to marry you."

Hearing him say those words make her heart lurch in absolute happiness, and Maya gazes at him, a little shocked by how much she loves him.

Whatever emotions she has been keeping at bay all seem to come out at once, and she breaks down, laughing somewhat hysterically, wrapping her arms around his neck and nestling her face in the crook of his neck. He holds her tightly, rubbing her back in soothing circles.

She can't stop or even control her tears. Not because she's sad. But because she's so overcome with happiness and an all-encompassing, fierce love for this man who she, about a year ago, wanted to strangle for blasting his damn music so loudly. Her soulmate. The love of her life.

"Huckleberry…" she laughs, cries, sobs, and blubbers all at once, "I love you so much, Lucas. So, so much."

Lucas smiles affectionately and rests his forehead against hers, wiping away her errant tears with his thumbs.

"I love you too, Maya."

They may not have everything figured out right now, and they still don't know exactly what is going to happen in their future, and they will definitely have a lot more trials and rough patches to deal with in the future, but it doesn't bother Maya because she knows in the end everything will work out.

After all, he's Mr. Fuckable, and she's Psycho With The Sexy Legs and somehow, together?

They're perfect chaos.