We Have Found Something Worth Living For

A Josh & Maya Story

By Brown Eyes Parker

Rated: K+

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"It's getting late, you should get back to school."

"It's getting late, I think I should stay here with you."

"I'm a big girl, Josh. I don't need you to walk me home. I've walked home plenty of times by myself."

"It isn't for you," Josh told her. "It's for me. I'm an old-fashioned guy, I couldn't leave a girl all by herself."

"I'm a damsel under stress, not in distress," Maya replied, she tossed a broom at him. "But since you're here, you can help me clean up."

Josh smirked and bent down to pick up the broom as it clattered to the floor. "Well, since you asked so nicely."

Maya smirked in return and went over to her iPod to turn on some music. James Bay filled the store and she started to hum along as she locked the door with the key around her neck and then started to clean the tables off, singing along with "Hold Back the River". Josh watched her instead of sweeping and he couldn't help wondering if she still loved him as much as he was starting to love her.

Maya looked at him and shook her head. "I thought you were going to help me straighten up," she said. "Not stare at me like you're some kind of creeper."

"I wasn't staring!" Josh protested.

"You were so staring!" Maya answered as she playfully whipped him with the worn dishcloth she was using to clean the crumbs and smoothie stains off the counter and tables.

"No!" Josh replied, startled when she dropped the cloth on a table and came over to him, sweeping her up in his tiny arms, broom and all. "What are you doing?"

"We're dancing," Maya said as she maneuvered their bodies around chairs and tables without any help from him.

"I thought I was supposed to help you clean up," Josh answered, spinning her out and then back into his arms without really thinking about it.

"We are," Maya confirmed. "But I felt like dancing with you, so here we are. Anything to get you to stop staring."

"I wasn't. . . you know what, never mind!" Josh said. "You win."

"Good!" Maya replied but she didn't stop dancing with him even though he had admitted that he had been watching her.

Josh swayed with her awkwardly, the broom still in his hand. He could have sworn that he felt her grin against his chest at the ridiculousness of their situation. He was only glad it was the two of them and Topanga's was closed for the day.

"You know you could put the broom down," Maya murmured.

Josh dropped the broom and then wrapped both his arms around her, pulling her as close as humanly possible. They swayed to the music even when it got a little more upbeat. Finally, she looked up at him and grinned.

"What?" Josh asked.

"Kiss me!" Maya challenged, closing her eyes and tilting her lips towards him. "You know you want to."

"I. . ." Josh trailed off, there was no use lying about it because he really did want to kiss her. He just hadn't known how much he wanted to do it until she had mentioned it.

"Well?" She asked eyes still closed. "What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing!" Josh answered, bravely as he put his hands on both her cheeks and kissed her. As soon as their lips met, he closed his eyes. She tasted like candy cane Chapstick and a hazelnut Italian soda and he wanted to spend the rest of the night kissing her and he thought maybe she would let him, if he asked her.

But there were other things to do.

She wasn't getting paid to stand around and kiss him. And he didn't want to get her into trouble for distracting her or make her stay at work longer than she had to. So, with great reluctance, he released her.

Maya smiled at him, not bashful at all as she played with the buttons on his plaid shirt. "It only took you six years to do that," she said.

"But it was worth the wait," Josh told her.

"Yeah," Maya agreed. "Yeah, it definitely was."

"So, this is what's going to happen. I'm going to help you clean up the café and then, Miss Hart, I am going to walk you home. No ifs, ands or buts."

"Well, you can only walk me home on one condition," Maya told him, batting her eyelashes at him and he couldn't believe she was actually flirting with him like that.

"And what's that?" Josh asked.

"You have to kiss me goodnight. If you refuse, then I'm going to walk home by myself," Maya said.

It was an ultimatum that Josh could definitely agree to. "Of course I will," he said. "After all the time I waited to kiss you, there's no way I can stop now . ."

Maya eased herself away from him, her cheeks a little flushed and her lips swollen with his kisses. "Good. I don't want you to!"

Josh found the broom and started to sweep like she had asked him to earlier. "Good. Because I don't want to either!"

Maya's smile looked like it could split her face in two as she went back to clean counters and putting the chairs up on the tables, so he could sweep underneath them. Josh was sure that his grin was as equally as wide as her's was.

As they cleaned, nothing was awkward between them even though they weren't talking and the only thing filling the quiet spaces between them was Maya's music playing over the speakers. He knew he was going to remember this night forever.

He hoped she would too.

With the way she kept stealing glances at him, he was sure that she wouldn't forget and that maybe she would promise him a chance at forever one day.

But for now, he would think about tonight and the million more kisses he was planning on stealing before tomorrow came.

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Author's Note:

The title of this story comes from "Love Is Beginning" by Imaginary Future. I have no idea what this is, to be honest. The prompt was Joshaya at a college party or Joshaya at Topanga's. There are so many good Josh/Maya at college party stories, I decided not to do that. But this morphed into something I had no control over. I hope you will tell me what you thought though. Please.

Lots of Love,

Holly, 11/13/2015_