A/N: I'm a day late, I'm sorry! I had to rewrite half of this because I hated it. I think it turned out okay after all the reworking.

Day 6 | Max/Mariam, TyHil | Rated: K

Movie

Hilary couldn't remember what the movie was called, only that it was something Tyson had picked. It was some mashup of action and slapstick comedy. She'd hazard a guess that it lacked plot, but she couldn't say for sure because she was more interested in watching Max and Mariam than a car chase.

Max was seated on the floor with his back against the couch, where Mariam sat above him. She had one leg tucked underneath herself and the other was draped over Max's shoulder. She'd put it there so casually. Then Max had reached up automatically to touch it. His eyes were glued to the television, but there was a smirk on his lips as he pinched her kneecap. It widened when his girlfriend's leg twitched at the sensation.

While Mariam flicked his ear in retribution, Hilary glanced down to where Tyson was sitting beside Max to see if he noticed. True to form, he was completely oblivious, eyes trained on the TV and one hand in a dwindling bowl of popcorn.

Hilary rolled her eyes, leaned deeper into the armrest, and tried to tune back in.

She lasted maybe three minutes before her eyes drifted to a picture frame near the television. It was of Max and Mariam, probably back from when they'd first started dating if the way Mariam looked more guarded was any indication. Obviously she'd consented to the picture – they were both smiling at the camera – but she definitely wasn't leaning into Max like she did in more recent photos. There were a lot of them around.

A quick glance at the movie proved it was still not to her tastes, so she snuck another peek at Mariam. She had both legs crossed underneath her now, but she was slouched far enough down that Max could lean his head back against her calves. She was playing with his hair absentmindedly and looking at the movie with disinterest.

If Hilary had to guess by observing them, she'd say Mariam's love language was physical touch. She'd been sneaking little touches ever since coming with Max to pick her and Tyson up at the airport. Once Hilary started noticing it, she had trouble not noticing.

There was a bright flash of light from the television screen, but Hilary watched Mariam dig her phone out of the blankets and send a text message instead. Max's phone lit up on the coffee table a moment after she hit send. He was quick to pick it up and shoot her a reply.

"HEY!" Tyson shouted.

Hilary jumped. Max's phone went flying. Mariam snorted in amusement at her boyfriend. Hilary kicked hers.

"Tyson, you scared me!" she scolded and grabbed the hat off his head only to hit him with it.

"Ow - sorry!" he exclaimed, having the audacity to sound offended. "But you were watching – he just double-crossed his best friend!" He gestured wildly at the TV and glanced at the others. His eyes settled on Max when he asked, "Uh… You were watching, right?"

It was no wonder that Mariam had known from the start how in love with her Max was – he had a terrible poker face. Hilary usually found it endearing, but he was making them all look guilty right now. Tyson narrowed his eyes.

"Does anyone want some more popcorn?" Mariam interjected to get the attention off of poor Max. He took the opportunity to crawl across the floor for his phone now that Tyson was distracted by the promise of food. "Or nachos?"

"Oh hey, yeah!" Tyson snapped his fingers. "Do you have jalapenos?"

"Can you handle jalapenos?" Max asked teasingly as he rose to his feet and tucked his phone into his pocket.

"Uh, you know he can't," Hilary answered, earning herself a laugh from Max. She leaned over Tyson's shoulder for the remote so she could pause the movie, clearly the only one with the presence of mind to do so. "They'll give him gas and I have to share a bed with him tonight."

"Hey!"

"I'm putting my foot down, Tyson!"

"The couch pulls out," Max suggested glancing at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eye as he gathered up the empty snack bowls. "And there's better ventilation out here."

Hilary hummed thoughtfully.

"I'm not sleeping on the couch!" Tyson pouted and snatched his hat back.

"Good thing we don't have jalapenos, then." Mariam stood and stretched, leaving a veritable cocoon of blankets behind on the couch. "There's cheese and leftover taco meat."

"I'll stomach it," Tyson said, smiling through his feigned sigh.

"What a surprise," Max joked as he and Mariam headed toward the kitchen.

Tyson stuck his tongue out at him.

"Real mature, Tyson. Do you two need any help?" Hilary scolded her boyfriend and addressed their hosts in one breath. She hadn't forgotten her manners. Tyson had never had any to begin with, but she'd been trying to set a good example. There were empty soda cans littered over the coffee table, so she suggested, "I can grab more drinks."

"That would be great, Hilary," Max said with a smile.

She nodded back and started clearing up the cans.

"I'm gonna go take a leak and then I can help with whatever," Tyson proclaimed, hauling himself to his feet. Not exactly how she'd thought he would follow her lead, but he was probably responsible for half of the soda can carnage. "Don't have too much fun without me."

"If you mean 'don't eat all the snacks', you don't have to worry," Hilary replied with a roll of her eyes. "We aren't all bottomless pits like you."

"Hey!" He pointed at her as he backed his way out of the living room. The serious expression on his face would be more believable if his grin wasn't stubbornly poking through. "Hollow leg, remember?" With a wink at her he disappeared down the hall.

Hilary shook her head. With her arms full of soda cans, she turned to the kitchen, prepared to discard them.

What she wasn't prepared for, was the sight of Max and Mariam navigating around each other while they readied the next round of snacks with all the ease of two people who were fully used to it. She didn't know why it surprised her so much, other than the fact that she'd never seen them together in a situation that was quite so… domestic.

Mariam was using the microwave to heat up the nacho toppings. When it beeped, she took the mixture out to stir and Max slid a bag of popcorn in, before grabbing a platter for her to empty a bag of tortilla chips onto. When they reached for the popcorn bowl at the same time, Max stole a fleeting kiss before Mariam could object.

The way they worked together was cute. It was like a dance. Or a tag-team beyblade battle.

When she thought of Mariam, she still pictured the old amusement park in her mind. Even though it had been many years – and several tournaments – since then, the woman wearing Max's t-shirt in the kitchen was the same person that had tried to seal away her team's bitbeasts forever.

It was funny to see her more familiar with Max's life than Hilary was. And she knew her way around the apartment extremely well for somebody that lived almost as far away from it as Hilary did. She made a mental note to ask Max sometime just how often Mariam was here.

She gave her head a shake and continued to the kitchen.

"Do you recycle?" she asked when it wasn't immediately clear where she should toss the cans.

Max was on his way to the living room with the plate of nachos, so Mariam answered first: "Under the sink." She opened the proper cupboard for her and pulled a bin to the front. "You can put them in here."

Hilary thanked her and dumped them in with a clatter. The sound was drowned out by the commotion of Tyson reappearing. Without explanation, he put Max in a headlock, which started an impromptu wrestling match as the blond tried to escape.

"Watch the food!" Hilary warned as the pair nearly tripped over the corner of the coffee table. "We're guests, Tyson." She was about to go put a stop to their antics when Mariam stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She looked at her, confused.

"Max misses you guys, you know," Mariam explained and let her hand fall from Hilary's shoulder when she realized she wasn't going to leave. Crossing to the fridge, she grabbed two drinks and handed one over. "He's been talking about this visit for months."

Hilary smiled fondly, seeing the boys' goofing off in a different light. It had been a long time since she'd spent a weekend making sure they stayed out of trouble and loving every minute of it. The occasional long distance phone call just wasn't the same.

"We miss him, too."

It was hard, between all of their work and school schedules, to find time to spend together. Hilary missed the days when all it took was someone like Mariam showing up in town to bring all her boys together for months on end, no questions asked or schedules rearranged. She sighed.

Mariam slid the popcorn bowl towards her.

"Let them go until the neighbors complain," she said, taking a sip of her pop. "It's better than that awful movie."

Hilary laughed at the sheer surprise of hearing Mariam say those words. She knew there was a reason why Max liked her so much.

A/N: I need more of Mariam and Hilary getting to know each other. Enjoy this tiny little random snippet, ignore the fact that there's no beginning, middle, or end, and thanks for reading!