A/N: Work has been a beast and I'm out of pre-written material, so I apologize again for being late. I will finish, even if it's at a different pace than intended!

Day 16 | Emily and Mariah | Rated: K

Lilacs

"Congratulations!"

Emily was assaulted by a bouquet of flowers and Mariah's exclamation as soon as she answered the door. She took them, because what else was she supposed to do when they were close enough to get pollen on her glasses? She could feel her nose stuffing up already.

"Thanks, Mariah." She stumbled back as her friend enveloped her in a forceful hug. She hugged her back with her free arm, tight enough to keep from falling over entirely. "Which street vendor charged you an arm and a leg for out-of-season lilacs?"

Mariah let out a long, frustrated sigh and stepped out of the hug.

"You just got promoted, Emily. Can you try not thinking practically for five minutes?" she asked, reaching behind her to bring a takeout bag in from the hall. She walked it into the living room without hesitation, and began unpacking it onto the oversized coffee table.

"Thinking practically is part of why I got promoted," she countered and nudged the apartment door shut. "Is that Mediterranean?"

"Your favorite," Mariah confirmed with a nod. "The restaurant knows your order, by the way. Do you ever cook for yourself?"

Emily didn't dignify that with a response. Instead she found a home for the flowers, somewhere visible but removed, and joined Mariah in the living room once the setup was complete. She cleaned her glasses on the way, hoping that she wouldn't spend dinner sneezing into her plate. When she put them back on, their feast came into focus.

Her stomach growled at the sight. She hadn't eaten all day. Her celebratory lunch at work had been spent networking with the BBA officials she never got to see, hopefully proving to them that she took her new position seriously. It still felt new enough to yank out from under her. Luckily there was nobody more qualified, which had to be a point in her favor.

"Sit down, eat, and tell me how it went today," Mariah ordered when she wasn't moving fast enough for her. "You were nervous this morning. How did things go once you got to work?"

Emily rolled her eyes at her pushy house guest and sat down.

Over dinner she recounted the story of her day to Mariah, starting with her arrival at work. She told her about the call into Judy's office she'd been preparing herself for since the last interview, how they told her she got the Assistant Director position, the expensive lunch she didn't eat, and how tomorrow she was choosing furnishings for her new office.

Mariah grinned and gasped at all the right parts, always more happy for Emily than she was for herself. Emily tended to look at all the progress that still needed to be made, while her friend helped her acknowledge her existing accomplishments. They balanced each other out in that way.

When they finished eating, they tag-teamed the cleanup, changed into comfier clothing, and returned to the living room to chat on the couch. The television was on in the background with the volume set low so it didn't overpower the conversation. Somewhere along the line, Mariah had produced a bottle of kelly green polish and harangued Emily into letting her paint her toenails.

"Do you know people associate green with growth and ambition?" Mariah asked as she finished applying the first coat. Very carefully – Emily was watching her like a hawk – she twisted the bottle shut and set it aside temporarily.

"It doesn't look very professional." That was all Emily could think to say about it. She actually liked the color, but once it started chipping it would be an eyesore.

"You have to wear closed-toe shoes in the lab anyway," Mariah pointed out. She chose a soft purple color that almost perfectly matched Emily's lilacs for her own toes and began to brush it on. "No one will even see it."

Emily opened her mouth to respond, but Mariah was too quick for her.

"And don't ask what the point of it is then!" She brandished the nail polish brush at her and would have gotten a spot of purple on the couch if Emily hadn't insisted on putting a towel down to protect the leather. "Not everything needs to have a point."

"Whatever you say," Emily responded skeptically. It took an exceptional amount of biting her tongue to keep from commenting on the spill. She let Mariah add a second coat of green regardless.

"There." Mariah nodded, satisfied with her handiwork. "Now put your feet on the coffee table and don't move until it dries."

Emily rolled her eyes, but did as she was told. Even if Mariah could be a little much, she appreciated her company. Not to mention, this was the most relaxed Emily had let herself be since she found out the decision for Assistant Director was going to be announced. She'd been waiting on tenterhooks, knowing she was a shoe-in, but nervous nonetheless. It was nice to have a breather, an excuse to stop moving for a second.

"So," Mariah drawled as she kicked her feet up beside Emily's, never one for silence, "how's the rest of your team?"

Emily sent her a look.

"They're fine." She'd never been at the top of any of their contact lists, but she was observant and most of them liked to talk about themselves. "Michael and Eddy come around to train sometimes, but they're both in college on sports scholarships. Steve's in Texas."

Mariah nodded absentmindedly, then asked, "And what about Rick?" There was the slightest blush on her cheeks when she asked and Emily's eyebrows shot up. Whatever that was, she was not expecting it.

"He's a trainer at the PPB facility." She watched Mariah closely for any hint of a reaction. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason," Mariah answered with an unconvincing wave of her hand.

Emily narrowed her eyes and fixed them on Mariah. She was watching the muted TV with too much interest, considering it was playing a commercial for heartburn medication. Emily could think of a dozen reasons why she would ask about Rick, but not nearly as many as to why she'd be blushing. If she could just ask the right questions in the right way…

"Did, uh," she started, hesitating for the extra second that would make Mariah squirm. She tilted her head down to hide how her lips wanted to twitch into a smile and pushed her glasses up further onto her nose. "Did something happen between you two?"

"What?" Mariah predictably denied. "No, why would you think that?"

"No reason." Emily shrugged. "Except, when I told him you were coming–"

Mariah's most telling mistake was being so eager to hear what Rick supposedly said about her, that she whipped around comically fast. At that point, Emily couldn't contain her laughter. It only took a few seconds for her friend to realize that she'd been played.

"Ugh, Emily!" she cried and began whacking her with a throw pillow. "You didn't talk to him about me at all, did you?"

"Why would I?!" Emily laughed, trying to shield her face from Mariah's onslaught.

"Talk about me?" She sounded so offended.

"No! Talk to Rick!" Out of all of her teammates, she probably spoke to him the least. She'd gotten used to his presence over the years, but they were never chummy.

Mariah stopped attacking her. Instead, she flopped down onto the couch, lilac toes practically in Emily's lap, and covered her face with the pillow. She mumbled something about them working together, Emily thought. Or not. It could have been any number of sentences muffled in the cushion.

"We don't even work on the same floor."

The PPB building was massive, having undergone its fair share of renovations over the years on top of how big it already was. Her office was being furnished specifically for her, its first ever occupant. Come to think of it, it was possible that Mariah hadn't ever been inside to see how truly spacious it was. That gave Emily an idea.

"You know," she said as she took her glasses off to clean them after their tussle, "I have to choose colors for my office tomorrow, too."

Mariah slid the pillow down just enough to peer at Emily with curious golden eyes.

"Are you asking for my help?"

Emily put her glasses back on and nodded.

"You did a decent job with the nail polish," she admitted, enjoying the way Mariah's eyes lit up at the compliment. She ran her hands through her hair to smooth it out. Then, to keep her friend on her toes, she said, "Rick works tomorrow."

Emily didn't need to see Mariah's whole face to know that she was blushing. She could only hope that Rick's reaction the next day was just as entertaining. After all, she needed something to get her through until the next promotion came along.

A/N: I want to write more of Emily and Mariah together. I think they have the cutest, most underrated friendship. Fun fact: This fic stemmed from an idea I already had jotted down as kind of an aside to another, longer story I'm writing. That's why it isn't so much a story, but a snippet of one. As for the rest of MayBlade, I don't think I have an excuse lol

Thanks for reading! :)