A/N: Here is some fluff. Slow and steady wins the race. Sorry for any grammatical errors.
Disclaimer: I don't own GMW.
Joshua Matthews
I sat on my bed, finally somewhat finished cleaning up my room. I absolutely hated moving. All the packing and unpacking, it was dreadful. I wiped my forehead and scrunched up my face in disgust when I saw how sweaty I was from all the moving. I glanced at the clock I had placed on my nightstand and saw that it read 6:30 P.M.
Man, I'm hungry. I decided to walk out into the living room to see if Andrew wanted to order some takeout or something but funnily, enough he was passed out on the floor near the couch. How he missed the couch was beyond me, but I'm not even going to question it. I then decided to take a quick shower and in doing so my thoughts go back to the blonde-headed beauty.
I grinned at the thought of her. Wow, I really got it bad. After I finished my shower I grabbed a towel, thankfully I unpacked the towels. I quickly got dressed into comfortable jeans and a shirt and I walked back into my room, with a towel wrapped around my neck. I saw my phone light up and I hoped it was the blonde beauty herself who texted me, but sadly it wasn't. It was my brother.
Shawn's back. Go see him now or I'll tell him what went down with you and Maya.
I let out a loud groan at how persistent Cory could be sometimes. I looked up to him a lot growing up and I still do. But I also knew how annoying he could be and if I didn't talk to Shawn tonight it would probably end up in disaster with their crazy antics.
I also felt really nervous about Shawn's permission. Like Cory, he was another person I looked up to the most. I related to him. He was adventurous and so was I. He was smart but liked getting into dangerous things and so did I. He was very passionate about things he cared about and so was I. The only thing that differentiated us two was he had it hard growing up and I didn't. But he had what I always longed to have.
A best friend growing up who's there for you through thick and thin. And that's where I'm jealous and happy at the same time.
I'm glad Shawn and Cory have each other. I'm glad Eric had Jack and Maya has Riley. But I felt kind of in the dark. Sure I have Andrew, he means a lot to me and he has become one of my best friends. But it wasn't the same.
Being the youngest of 3 older siblings was really hard. I had to become very observant of people because everyone around me was always older. I think that's why I was in such a rush to grow up and the main reason why I used the excuse of being three years older to Maya. I didn't want to be left in the dark anymore. I wanted to know what it was like to be an adult and take on the world, but instead I missed out on what I was leaving behind.
For a long while, I didn't feel close to any of them until Cory started coming up to Philadelphia more and wanting me to come visit New York more. And when I did visit I fell in love with the whole city. I'm really in a good place now.
I slipped on my leather jacket over my shirt and shoved my wallet and phone in my pocket. I grabbed my shoes and keys and soon enough I was out the door. This morning I had followed my brother on my motorcycle so I didn't have to pick it up later and I was suddenly glad I did that so I didn't have to walk and take the subway. But on second thought, traffic at this time was horrendous.
I hopped on my bike, placing the helmet over my head and sped off into my next destination.
The Hunter/Hart household.
Finally arriving at my destination. I parked my bike and headed up to Maya's building. I remember coming here a couple of times, whenever I wanted to see Maya and she wasn't at Riley's. I even remember the first time I saw her room and how she had art all over her whiles. Even her little ferret that she said she found in the vents. I never believed her because unlike the others I noticed the cage she had in the corner of room for it.
One memory that stuck out to me the most was when I caught her singing in her room. She has the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. I remember barging in and telling her to continue and she did without hesitation. I knew then before we promised someday that she was someone special to me.
Once I got to the front door, I knocked. I sucked in a deep breath and let it out to calm my nerves. Shawn opened up the door and he looked surprised to see me. I smiled sheepishly at him.
"Josh! Hey man, how ya been?" he asked, pulling me into a hug. After we pulled away, I noticed Maya and her mom sitting at the table. I suddenly panicked thinking this was terrible timing. They were probably having a family moment.
"I've been good. Uh—is this a bad time? I could always come back later…" I fumbled over my words, but Katy stood up with a welcoming smile.
"No—no! We are just getting started on dinner. Would you like to join us? Plenty of food to go around," she said, now pulling me in the household and sitting me next to Maya.
Her eyes were bright and happy and I couldn't help but smile at her. "Are you sure—I wouldn't want to intrude—"
"You're family! You're always welcome here," Shawn said, patting me on the shoulder and took the seat across from me.
I glanced at Maya who was staring at me with a raised eyebrow. I chuckled at this. "Maya," I greeted.
"Josh," she greeted back. "What are you doing here?" she asked me curiously. But by the smile on her face, I knew she knew why I was here.
"What? You don't want me here?" I teased her, raising an eyebrow.
She rolled her eyes playfully. "Nope. Get out," she said as she reached under the table, her hand finding my own. My grin grew wider at this and I laced my fingers through hers.
"So what brings you here, Josh? How's the new apartment coming along?" Katy asked me, putting some vegetables on my plate. I nodded my head to her as my thanks.
"It's coming along. The furniture was delivered today. Still got a lot of unpacking to do, but it's better than living in a dorm room." I laughed, coughing nervously. "But I—uh am here to actually talk to you both about something actually."
This caught their attention and they both stared at me with a questioning look. I felt Maya squeeze my hand under the table to calm my nerves. It sort of worked.
"As you, both know—Maya and I decided to play the long game. Since she is graduating and starting college soon I wanted to ask for your permission to start that game…" I asked, trying to read their reaction. Katy had a thrilled yet shocked expression. And Shawn, well he had an unreadable expression on his face at the moment.
"Well, I can't say this is a surprise to me," Katy stated with a laugh. She winked at her daughter, giving her a knowing look. But my eyes were still on Shawn. He moved his gaze back and forth between Maya and I. It made me kind of at the edge of my seat.
"You okay with this?" Shawn finally asked his gaze now on Maya.
Maya turned to look at me with that same smile that was only reserved for me. "I'm more than okay with this. He's somebody I wanted to be with for a while and you both know this. You see how I act when I'm around him. He took me to Prom when my date stood me up. He was there to make remember who I am. He was always there, even when he physically couldn't be. He's even here right here, right now asking for your permission to go out on a date with me."
That. That right there is the greatest capacity for love I have ever seen. In her eyes, I always saw that. It made my heart start to pound when she had that look in her eyes as she talked about me.
"Josh. You're lucky that I've always liked you. And you have been like a little brother to me for a long time. So I'm not going to give you a hard time. You're a Matthew's kid and you guys tend to fall hard for someone else. I'm giving you my blessing because I love ya and I'm proud of you. But no monkey business, alright?" Shawn stated, giving me and Maya a pointed look.
Maya then decided to be funny and start acting like an adorable monkey. I joined in as well, causing Katy and Shawn to laugh.
"Soooo," Katy dragged on. "Where you planning on taking my daughter out on her first date?" she asked, not being able to contain her excitement and curiosity.
"Mom!" Maya shouted, her face blushing bright red. I grinned at this.
"Well," I started. "I was thinking we keep classic and traditional. Probably go with dinner and a movie of her choice. Of course, I'd buy," I mentioned, grinning at how it irked Maya.
"Josh!" she whined but was ignored when Shawn started speaking.
"Josh! Where are you learning these things? From Cory? You gotta swoop her off her feet! A big grand gesture. It's the first date after all! You gotta go on like a hot air balloon and spell out something in the sky!" Shawn finished dramatically, which caused me to raise my eyebrows at him.
"Guys—" Maya tried to but in once again, but her mother didn't let her.
"What are they getting married? It's the first date, Shawn! Not some huge jump into marriage!" Katy said, laughter evident in her tone. I laughed along with her but from the corner of my eye, I could see Maya's frustration. I think it was time to stop messing with her now.
"Well, you weren't complaining when we jumped," Shawn waggled his eyebrows at his wife, causing her to blush and hit his arm. Before she could say anything else. Maya had stood up from the table, now letting go of my hand.
"Well, there ain't going to be a date if you guys choose for us! And I don't want my first date to be traditional and I don't want it to be a marriage proposal!" she shouted, throwing her napkin on the table and stomping off. I had a purely amused expression on my face. I knew Maya would never go for those things. I guess I took teasing her too far.
Shawn and Katy just looked surprised like they were dealing with the teenager three years ago. But I stood up from the table, excusing myself to follow Maya.
I walked deeper into their apartment and found Maya in her room, sitting on her bed. She had a frown on her face and I couldn't help but feel bad for messing with her earlier.
"You know," I started, making myself known in the room. "That's not what I had planned for our first date."
She scoffed at this, still looking at her hands on her lap. "Yeah. It didn't seem that way." I couldn't help but laugh at how cute she looked when she was pretending to be angry. I took a seat next to her, making her jump slightly by my abrupt plop on her bed.
"You wanna know how our first date would really go?" I asked, nudging her playfully. She raised her beautiful cerulean eyes to meet mine.
"I feel like if I say no, you're going to tell me anyways," she replied. And she was not wrong. I chuckled again.
"I was thinking I'd pick you up on my motorcycle. And I'd walk up to your front door you're your favorite flowers in my hands." A small smile started to form on her face.
"What's my favorite flower?" she asked, raising a brow at me. I find it funny how she thought I didn't know.
"Sunflowers or anything yellow, like the corsage I gave you," I told her, with a small smirk on my face. She tried to hold back a laugh but couldn't and she playfully rolled her eyes.
"Go on," she said, now paying attention to every word I was saying.
"You'd open up that door and your beauty would take my breath away like it always does." I winked at her, causing her to blush and then continued speaking. "After endless compliments, I would take you on a walk in Central Park. Where we could people watch and I'd tell you to bring your sketchbook with you so you could sketch."
"I'm listening…" she said, trying her best to still hold back a smile. I chuckled again at her antics and tickled her side, making her let out a giggle and lean into me.
"After our stroll, you would see a picnic blanket set up with a basket full of taco's lots and lots of tacos. And after we'd eat, we would cuddle, talk and enjoy each other's company." She leaned her head on my shoulder comfortably, and I wrapped my arm around her waist.
"And then?" she asked quietly. I looked down at her and brushed a hair from her face.
"After the park, I'd probably kick your ass at mini-golfing," I mentioned and she immediately sat up with a challenging glare on her face.
"Oh, you are so on, Boing." I laughed, pulling her back down to me and she happily accepted.
"As the night came I'd drive us down to the beach, where we could stargaze and try our very best to not fall asleep."
"You trying to sleep with me already, Casanova?" she asked with a cute Cheshire grin.
"Already slept next to ya, on our Prom night together, remember?" I teased and she giggled nudging me again. "And then, I'd ask for your permission to kiss you."
She looked at me in wonderment. "Why would you need my permission?" she asked, now looking up at me. I looked into her eyes, moving my gaze back and forth to her lips and eyes.
"Because I wouldn't be able to stop kissing you," I whisper huskily.
Her eyes sparked that bright beautiful fire in them. "What if I didn't want you to stop?"
"I would force myself to because I don't want to rush things with you, Maya." I leaned my forehead against her own and she signed in contentment. "Maya?" I called out to her quietly.
"Hmm?" she hummed in response.
"Now that I have Shawn's permission, how bout we make this date happen sooner?" I asked her quietly. I felt my confidence lose itself entirely at this question.
"Even though you asked me this earlier, my answer is still the same," she said softly. "I'd love to go out on a date with you, Joshua Matthews."
And that's how I knew our someday was slowly but surely getting there. It was in this moment that I knew nothing can keep us apart from one another. And I never wanted to not be with her. She was constantly on my mind. The world itself was dull when she's not around and all I wanted was the sun. To me, she was this beautiful work of art. Not everyone will understand her, but when you do she's someone no one could ever forget.
And sometimes I can't even believe that this beautiful girl is all mine.
"Now, I'm holding you to high expectations on this date. Boing," she says, teasingly. I stood up from the bed, grabbing her hand and taking her with me.
"Well, I'll try not to disappoint then." I chuckled, dragging her out of the room so her parents didn't think any funny business was happening. Before I could though she stopped me. I looked down at her with confusion, but soon enough all that confusion faded away when she placed her soft, sweet lips on mine.
She had her hands placed gently on my chest and she was standing on her tippy toes kissing me. I smiled into our short, sweet kiss and I wrapped my arms around her.
She pulled back from me slowly, her eyes completely dazed just as mine probably looked.
"You could never disappoint me. Just being with you is enough to make me happy." My eyes softened at this. And I pulled her tighter against me, placing a gentle kiss on her head.
"Let's go back before they think funny business is happening," I mumble to her and she nodded her head in agreement.
We went back to dinner and I ended up staying pretty late. I found out Katy and Shawn were expecting and I gave them my congratulations. But the rest of the night consisted of laughter and memorable moments from our childhood. With Maya's mom telling me more of Maya's childhood and Shawn telling some of my own childhood stories.
But the whole time I was there I never once let go of Maya's hand. And all I could remember was something she had said to me before.
They found some caveman footprints of a man and a woman. They didn't know how old they were. All scientists could tell was that they were holding hands. You know why? Because that was all that was important.
Don't worry their first date will come soon. It might not exactly play out at how Josh wants it to be, though. And also let me know if you guys would like to see a one shot of Josh walking in on Maya singing. It would prob be a part of the story, but I have an idea in mind :)