Date of Denial


"I can't believe you flaked on me last night!" Rick grouched, not for the first time since they'd met up. His chin was resting in his palm while his other hand beat a rhythm onto the table.

Max fought the urge to roll his eyes, and gave his wedding soup a stir; it was still a little too hot to eat.

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" he asked, unable to fully contain his annoyance as he tried reasoning with his friend for the billionth time. "I told you – the power was out in our building. We couldn't watch the tournament."

The final round of the US World Championship Qualifiers were the night before, and some of the bladers Rick personally trained had been in the running for the coveted spots on the All Starz team. Max and Mariam had been planning on tuning in and sharing their thoughts with Rick via text, but due to an electrical issue in the apartment building, they were without power for the evening.

It wasn't like Max blew him off on purpose in favor of spending time alone with his girlfriend. If that were the case, he'd hardly have agreed to come out to the hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant Rick selected, where the ceilings had exposed beams with lighted vines wrapped around and the tables were made from repurposed wine barrels.

On second thought, it didn't seem like somewhere Rick would choose at all.

"You didn't answer my texts!" Rick accused, refusing to drop the subject. "I had to spend the whole night being shushed by your mom while Emily and Mariah gossiped."

"My phone was dead!" Max defended just as Rick's companion for the night scoffed.

"Oh please, Rick," Mariah said, looking up from her salad to shoot him a challenging look. Max privately wondered if she hadn't been the one to pick this place; she looked much more at home here in her floral blouse than Rick looked in his faded jeans. "Emily and I were talking about the battles. You're just mad because no one wanted to listen to you whine." The smirk on her face proved she was teasing, but Rick looked ready to blow a gasket anyway.

"I was not whining!"

"Just like you're not whining now?" Mariam chimed in sarcastically from beside Max. Their arms brushed as she dipped a crust of bread in his soup and a smile wormed its way onto his face. He watched as she popped it into her mouth, ignoring the glare Rick was sending her way in favor of sharing a look with Max. "You're not helping your case."

"Mind your own business!" Rick growled, his disgust evident in his tone. "And maybe try eating your own food while you're at it. You two make me sick."

"Mariah's eating your vegetables," Max pointed out, nodding to the steamed veggies he'd watched Rick pawn off on her the second the sides and starters had been delivered. He added it to his mental list of things that made no sense about tonight, slotting it into place right behind 'Rick bringing Mariah with him to dinner when he'd spent the past year telling Max that every paparazzi photo of them was doctored and that they were "barely acquaintances"'.

Mariam hummed in agreement, once again bypassing the olive oil on the table to dip her bread in Max's soup.

Rick scowled. "That's different! We're not picking off of each other's plates like lovesick idiots."

"Rick never eats vegetables," Mariah interjected, effectively halting the argument for now, "but I have him up to one reluctant serving a day with my cooking." She looked proud of that fact for a second before leaning forward like she was about to confide a secret. "He can be such a bear when it comes to trying new things."

Max only caught the beginning of her accompanying eye roll in his haste to meet Mariam's eyes; she looked just as incredulous as he probably did. Acquaintances didn't typically care whether one another went into a nutritional deficit – not to the point of preparing meals daily for each other. He could tell she was thinking along the same lines.

With a shake of her head, Mariam looked away quickly to keep the smirk on her lips from developing into full-blown laughter. Max took his first bite of soup so he didn't burst into giggles at the thought of Mariah introducing new foods into Rick's diet like he was a finicky toddler. Thankfully it was a decent temperature now, and delicious besides.

Rick bristled at their wordless exchange and pointed an accusatory finger toward their side of the table.

"If you know what's good for you, neither of you will say a damn thing," he warned, gesturing back and forth between them both, "or we'll start talking about how you had to fake a power failure because one look at Mariam's legs makes you forget your own name."

Max felt his face flush all the way to his ears. Mariam set her glass down with a heavy thunk, ready to chew Rick out. Before either of them could reply, Mariah spoke.

"Oh leave them alone, Rick!" she chastised, pushing his hand down onto the table.

Rick looked just as surprised as Max was that he'd let her do that.

"You can't blame them for wanting all the time they can get together," she said with her hand still lingering on top of his. It had been too long for it to be a completely casual touch, but none of them brought it up. "Distance really takes a toll on relationships. You need to make the most of every minute."

"Like the two of you do?" Mariam needled, sipping her water and sending Rick a challenging look over the rim of her glass.

She got the reaction she was going for as Rick began to sputter and balled his hand into a fist. Instead of responding, he reached for his beer and took a long drink, effectively forcing Mariah to withdraw her touch in the process.

Max took another bite of his soup, but his eyes stayed trained curiously on the pair across the table.

"We do have a lot of fun together," Mariah said sweetly, resting her hand on Rick's bicep instead.

Rick jumped at the touch, a curse on his lips as some of his beer sloshed out of its glass when he lurched.

Max choked on his soup, caught off-guard by Rick's reaction, and hastily snatched a napkin off the table so he had something to cough into.

Mariam patted him on the back until he got a hold of himself and handed him another napkin to dry his watering eyes with. "Easy," she snorted. He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was struggling to hide her amusement.

"Are you okay?" Mariah asked, head tilting in concern. She grabbed another stack of napkins and started mopping up Rick's spill.

"He's fine," Rick growled, pulling his arm away when Mariah moved on from cleaning the table and tried to dry him off. He looked a little like he wanted to tear Max limb from limb as he used his own wadded up napkin to do the job. "For now."

Naturally, that was the second their waitress arrived, followed by another waiter carrying their meals. She stopped short at the sight of beer in the olive oil dish and their graveyard of napkins piled in the bread basket. Max was glad to see her, even if the waiter she'd brought was doing a poor job hiding his disapproval at the mess. Rick wouldn't try to maim him with this many witnesses.

"Looks like you four know how to party," she said with a wink, not missing a beat.

Both Rick and the waiter rolled their eyes.

Quickly and efficiently she set each of their dishes down in front of them and gathered up the used ones. After checking that none of them needed anything else, she promised to return later and followed the waiter back towards the kitchen.

As good as his soup was, Max was glad it had only been a small bowl, because the food smelled even better than he'd expected. Just as he picked up his silverware, Rick decided to ruin the moment.

"If I catch the two of you on opposite ends of a spaghetti noodle, I'll lose it," he warned, sinking his fork into the biggest piece of lasagna Max had ever seen. There was a satisfied smirk on his lips as he began to eat.

Mariam, as usual, was ready with a witty reply before Max was.

"Don't worry, Rick. Max and I will be a lot closer than that if I can help it."

Max felt his cheeks redden again, but no one else seemed to notice.

Mariam was focused on her plate, twirling some angel hair around her fork with a suspiciously innocent expression gracing her features. He could read her well enough to know she was relishing all the chances to get a rise out of Rick. It was one of her favorite pastimes when they were together, as he presented more of a challenge than Dunga and had more volatile reactions.

Rick's mouth was full, but he fixed Mariam with a glare anyway. He'd bide his time and have something else snarky to say before long, Max was sure. He enjoyed bickering with Mariam almost as much as he'd enjoyed picking on Max since the day they met.

Max was grateful that the malicious intent had faded over time, at least, and that he could count Rick among his friends.

In spite of their squabbling, as Mariam's visits to New York had grown more frequent, she and Rick had developed a sort of mutual respect for each other. Mariam had confessed to Max that she preferred Rick to any of the other All Starz, and Rick had begrudgingly admitted that the most annoying thing about Mariam was Max's love-struck behavior around her. He considered it a win.

"Everything's good today," Mariah noted, breaking the silence without a care. She was taking their weird dynamic in stride, looking back and forth between Rick and Mariam curiously as she ate. Max admired how easily she slotted herself into their group, like she'd been a fixture all this time.

"Do you come here a lot?" he asked, watching her spear a tomato and some pesto-y noodles with her fork. She seemed to be saving Rick's vegetables to eat alongside her pasta.

"Only once," she answered with a smile. "Rick brought me last time I was in town."

"How sweet," Mariam interjected teasingly. Her focus was on Rick rather than Mariah, gauging his reaction.

"She asked me to," Rick explained pointedly, eyes narrowed in warning.

"Well you can never truly get a feel for a city until you sample its cuisine." Mariah winked at Rick as she spoke, causing him to momentarily freeze with his food halfway to his mouth. Max felt like there was some inside joke he was missing. "Rick's been nice enough to help me find all the places I'm recommended."

It wasn't the first, and it wouldn't be the last time that Max wondered what exactly was going on between Rick and Mariah. Taking a couple bites of his own pasta, he snuck a glance across the table. Maybe his perception was skewed by his own relationship, but the way Mariah looked at Rick and stole touches freely made it seem like they were anything but platonic.

Speaking of stolen touches: Max's train of thought derailed as he felt a warm hand come to rest on his leg. When he looked to his left, Mariam had a coy smile on her lips just for him, green eyes sparkling with affection and curiosity as they reflected the fairy lights. Her eyes flicked briefly towards Rick and Mariah, a question lurking in them. He shrugged and answered her smile with one of his own, pressing his leg against hers under the table.

He was glad to know they were both on the same page: confused, but happy for any excuse to be together.

Turning back to the other...couple? Pair of friends? Something in between? Max addressed Mariah. "I'll gladly show you where all the best food trucks park if you're ever in the mood for the true New York experience," he offered jokingly.

"Just don't ask Michael and Eddy for any suggestions," Mariam cautioned, "unless you wanna end up at the nearest Hooters."

Mariah laughed. "You know, Emily gave me the same advice. Coming from both of you, it must be worth following."

Max could tell the compliment caught his girlfriend unawares by the way she froze. She looked almost puzzled, like she hadn't expected Mariah to offer praise so freely. Or maybe she was just surprised to be getting along so well, so quickly. He pushed his knee up into her hand and she snapped out of it.

Humming thoughtfully, she skimmed a finger around the rim of her glass, and said, "She must be as smart as she looks."

Mariah met her smirk with a smile.

"It doesn't take a genius to know not to take advice from Tweedledee and Tweedledum," Rick snorted and downed the rest of his beer. He slid his glass to the edge of the table when he was done. In the process, he leaned temporarily closer to Mariah, not shy about encroaching on her personal space.

She didn't seem to care, either, resuming her meal afterward like nothing had happened.

If only staring at them in confusion would bring Max some answers.

"That's good news for you," Mariam quipped, looking at Rick with a look in her eyes that mirrored Max's own vague suspicions.

"Don't you ever get sick of being a smartass?" Rick shot back.

Before Mariam could deliver a comeback that would undoubtedly knock Rick down another peg or two, the waitress reappeared with a round of refills.

"On the house," she announced, replacing their nearly empty drinks one by one, "since you didn't get to fully enjoy your last one." She punctuated her sentence with a wink at Rick as she set a fresh glass of beer down in front of him. "How is everything?"

"Good, thank you," Mariah answered with a tight smile. It was the least friendly she'd sounded all night.

"Glad to hear it!" the waitress exclaimed, showing no signs of noticing Mariah's sudden mood shift. She was either taking the hint and not mentioning it, or she'd been poking fun rather than flirting. "I'll check back in a bit, but just holler if you need anything before then!" With a swish of her apron, she turned on her heel and was gone again.

For his part, Rick hadn't glanced twice at the waitress, more concerned with his food. Max was trying to decide whether that was evidence he and Mariah had A Thing going on, or if he was just hungry from skipping his vegetables earlier.

They ate in silence for a while after that. It was made less awkward by Rick's obliviousness to Mariah's frown, and the fact that she seemed too lost in her own thoughts to bring up the waitress's behavior, but it was a contrast from the easy conversation from before.

Out of the corner of his eye, Max could see Mariam studying the other two as well. They turned in unison towards each other and she nodded across the table, one eyebrow raised in a wordless question. He shrugged, but she nodded again and squeezed his leg, clearly expecting him to do something about the sour mood that had settled in the air.

"Um…" He paused to clear his throat, racking his brain for a minute before settling on: "Do you come to New York often, Mariah?"

He'd considered it a safe enough question, but Rick's sudden imitation of a statue was giving him second thoughts. It was worth it, though, because Mariah perked up immediately with something new to focus on.

Shaking her head, she answered, "I've only been a couple times. It's a nice change of pace from home and I like spending time with Emily and Rick, but the flight's just so long! I don't know how you two do it as often as you do." She smiled knowingly at him and Mariam, like she knew exactly what their motivation was.

"I'm surprised we've never run into each other," Max said, willing his cheeks to stop heating up.

"HA!" Rick laughed, "I'm not. You never see the light of day when Mariam's here."

Max glared, but it was ineffective with his blush officially out in full force. Mariam opened her mouth to respond, but ultimately it was Mariah swatting at Rick that caught his attention first.

"Be nice!" she chastised. Then, turning back to Max and Mariam, she said, "Rick told me you were in China last time I came. If I'd have known, I would have planned better – our planes probably passed right by one another!"

"You'll have to let us know when you're coming next time," Max said, relaxing a bit at her flawless change of subject. She continued to surprise, and he was genuinely enjoying getting more acquainted with her outside of the beyblading scene. He was also insanely curious about her relationship with Rick and how often she visited when he wasn't around.

Mariam nodded her agreement and he knew she was thinking along the same lines.

"Pff, I can't believe you two'll come out of hibernation for her and not me," Rick groused, crossing his arms over his chest and slouching down in his seat. "Some friends you are."

Max watched Mariah's eyes follow the movement closely, before she reached out and patted his arm.

"Don't be a baby, Rick," she teased as Max tried to figure out if she was deliberately copping a feel. He thought he saw her give Rick's muscle a small squeeze, but he wasn't sure. "With all your complaining and the dozens of texts you sent Max last night, I'm starting to think you're jealous."

"Jealous?" Rick scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right."

"Well, you never text me that much," Mariah said with a casual shrug and an impish grin.

"Why would I? You were right next to me!"

As their banter continued, with Rick getting more and more frazzled, Max tried to backtrack and figure out who or what Rick was supposed to be jealous of. Him? Mariam? Their relationship? The more he watched Rick and Mariah interact, it was somehow simultaneously more and less obvious that they were together.

The whole situation had him scratching his head.

"If this is anything like what went on last night, I'm sorry we missed it," Mariam whispered close to Max's ear, sending a shiver down his spine even as he let out a surprised laugh.

"What are you two whispering about?!" Rick demanded, his attention suddenly back on their side of the table.

Mariah was back to eating her pasta, unfazed by Rick's attitude.

"Last night," Mariam answered brazenly, pausing just long enough for Rick's expression to turn to disgust and Max's cheeks to redden, before continuing, "and how much we wish we could've been at the tournament."

"Like I'm supposed to believe that!"

"I don't care what you believe," Mariam replied nonchalantly, returning to her meal as well.

"Listen here, Mariam –," Rick began.

"So… Mariah?" Max cut him off, effectively shifting the attention away from his girlfriend. Mariah looked up at him curiously and he pretended Rick's eyes weren't boring suspiciously into him from right beside her. It was time to steer the conversation in a different direction. "Did you have fun at the Qualifiers? I haven't been to a match in ages."

"Oh, yeah!" Mariah nodded, visibly brightening at the question and seemingly just as eager for the return of casual conversation. "Even with Rick's commentary." She winked at the aforementioned man, before addressing Max again. "The bladers were all so passionate – it made me want to launch Galux and see if any of them were a match for me."

"I know the feeling," Max laughed. He felt a bolt of nostalgia every time he walked into the All Starz training center, let alone the stadium. There was nothing that could match the energy of walking to the dish with your teammates by your side at the World Championships, crowd roaring in your ears and fingers aching to pull the ripcord. "I'm sorry we missed it."

"If you weren't so busy sucking face with Mariam you could've been there," Rick unhelpfully pointed out, shooting a smirk Mariam's way so she knew it was payback for earlier. So much for casual conversation. "They were at a whole other level outside the training room."

Max didn't rise to the bait, partly because Mariam's thumb started stroking his thigh slowly and deliberately, distracting them both. She was doing a good job at continuing to look nonplussed, but he could see the muscle in her jaw twitching, ready to lay into Rick at the earliest opportunity.

He scooted closer to her on the booth and slipped his hand behind her. Her skin was warm when his touch ventured up under the hem of her shirt, just enough to run a few fingers back and forth along the strip of skin above her waistband. He smiled when she shifted into the feeling.

"His students were pretty impressive," Mariah gushed, curling a hand over Rick's forearm. She looked proud and, with her body angling more and more towards Rick, very much like they were not just friends. "It really is a shame you couldn't see them in person."

Max almost didn't realize she was addressing him, too busy ogling the pair of them sitting nearly as closely as he and Mariam. "Oh – um – yeah," he stammered, nudging his food around on his plate to look busy. "Well, I didn't want to go without Mariam. If the power hadn't gone out, we would've had a good time watching from home, though."

"Sucking face, he means," Rick stage whispered to Mariah, twirling his fork between his fingers cockily. He wasn't leaning into her touch, but he had yet to brush her off like Max half-expected him to, given her proximity.

"Both are accurate," Mariam chimed in.

"Shit!" Rick swore as he fumbled his fork. It fell to the floor, leaving a trail of sauce in its wake.

That was probably the exact reaction Mariam was going for, judging by the gleam in her eyes.

"Rick, do you want me to –?"

"No, I got it," he grumbled, shooing Mariah away.

She obliged and slid back over to her half of the booth so he could duck under the table to retrieve his silverware. "Typical," she said with an exasperated shake of her head, shooting Max a look as if to say "You know how he is.".

Max answered with half a shrug, and that seemed to satisfy her that they were on the same page. Unfortunately, he was beginning to suspect that he and Mariam were the only two at the table who could claim that.

"Oh come on!" Rick cried from down below, making Max jump and pull his hand from Mariam's waist. "Can't you two go five minutes without feeling each other up?" he inquired loudly when he reappeared properly in his seat. He dropped his fork onto the table with an air of annoyance.

"My hand's on his leg, not down his pants," Mariam hissed back. She shot a few warning glares at the nearby diners who had dared look over at the sound of Rick's outburst. "Mariah was practically in your lap a few seconds ago."

Max could feel his face flushing again and took a drink of his water to keep from shrinking down in the booth. Mariam's hand was anchored more firmly than ever on his leg out of defiance and Rick's jaw was on the floor. He was about to retort when Mariah spoke up.

"Give them a break, Rick. They're only acting like a couple," she scolded, reaching past him so she could transfer his fork to the edge of the table. "If this is how you behave around them, it's no wonder they didn't want to sit with you at the tournament."

"I told you last night – it wasn't me they didn't want to see. I'm not the reason they didn't come!"

"And about that – I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner!"

"Not this again!" Rick rolled his eyes. "It obviously didn't ruin their night! They're in a perpetual honeymoon phase anyway, to the disgust of everyone they meet."

Max felt like he was watching a tennis match, eyes flicking back and forth between them as they continued to bicker. It was kind of like eating with Tyson and Hilary, except he knew exactly what was going on with the two of them. Rick and Mariah were another story.

He turned to Mariam and was reassured to see she looked almost as lost as he was. She must have felt him watching her, because she met his eyes and shrugged. She was reaching for her drink when Mariah suddenly turned to her.

"I'm sorry, Mariam," she said.

Rick mumbled something and Max got the distinct impression that she'd redirected in the middle of one of his tirades, having decided it wasn't worth the trouble arguing with him anymore.

Mariam snorted. "What for?" she asked. "You got Rick to shut up for once."

Rick huffed.

Mariah smiled and continued, "Rick didn't tell me about Judy not inviting you until we got back to his place last night. I told him," she paused to shoot Rick a look, "he could have offered you his extra ticket instead of me. I could have come as Emily's guest and we all would've been there."

Max shared an incredulous look with Mariam, confirming they'd both gleaned the same piece of information from Mariah's apology. And it had nothing to do with Rick's extra ticket.

"And I've been hearing about it for almost twenty-four hours now," Rick complained, tossing his hands in the air. "Give it a rest already!"

"Mariah," Max interjected before the two of them could get immersed in another argument, "you're staying at Rick's apartment?" He pointed to Rick as he asked, just so there would be absolutely no misunderstanding. "Where he lives?"

The color draining from Rick's face was enough of an answer, but Mariah's nod was a nice confirmation.

"Of course," she said with a shrug. "There's plenty of room."

Max knew she was right, having been to Rick's place a handful of times before.

But just because Rick had the space didn't mean he was charitable with it. He hadn't even let Max stay there when the dorms had to be fumigated his freshman year, claiming he'd had enough of his company sharing hotel rooms during their last World Championship run together.

Instead he'd made joke after joke about how hard it was for Max to sneak out from under his mom's nose to see Mariam.

Apparently Mariah was a different story; he was willing to let her use his spare room.

Unless she stayed in Rick's room? Which would officially make this a double date, even if Rick wasn't acting like it was. Then again, he'd been single for as long as Max had known him – he didn't have the slightest clue how he behaved in a relationship. And there was undoubtedly something different about how he treated Mariah versus other 'acquaintances'.

"I can see your wheels turning and I don't like it Max." Rick's arms were crossed and he was staring him down from across the table with a thunderous gaze.

Max was still trying to piece together a response that wouldn't get him pummeled when Mariam spoke up.

"So do you two share a room, or…?"

Rick slammed his hands onto the table, making their dishes clatter and Max's eyes widen. Mariam's tone had been teasing, but she'd obviously touched a nerve.

"NO, but I wish you two would get one and butt out of my business!" he shouted, suddenly red in the face. "How am I supposed to enjoy my dinner when you two alternate between the inquisition and looking like you'd tongue each other down if you got half a chance?"

"Rick!" Mariah scolded, ponytail flying as she whipped her head around to face him.

"WHAT?!" he roared, turning towards her. They'd be nose to nose if she was taller.

Max blushed as the eyes of the other restaurant patrons zoned in on their table again. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a man in a tie with a waxed mustache begin to make his way over – probably the manager on his way to throw them out. He was halfway down a list of excuses and apologies when Mariam's hand squeezed his arm.

"Max, let me out."

"Huh?"

His fleeting worry about her dragging Rick outside to teach him a lesson must have shown on his face, because she rolled her eyes at him.

"I need to go the restroom," she explained with less urgency than she'd used before. "Do you know where it is?"

"Yeah it's –"

"Show me," she ordered, leaving no room for debate.

"Oh, okay."

Max let her urge him from the booth and waited for her to slide out after him. Thankfully there was a path to the bathrooms that avoided the manager, so he led her that way, ignoring Rick's parting remark of "What did I tell you?".

Eyes and whispers followed them until they reached the secluded hallway leading to the restrooms. When they got there, Max fully expected Mariam to dart into the ladies' room, and he was prepared to use the men's to splash some water on his face and try to kill his blush. Instead, she surprised him by leaning against the wall once they were out of sight and massaging her temples.

"Don't you have to…?" He gestured to the door a little further down the hall.

Mariam snorted and answered, "No."

"Oh."

She didn't seem inclined to offer an explanation right away, so Max shoved his hands in his pockets and took up a position on the wall beside her. As the silent minutes dragged on, he was beginning to worry that she was upset or offended by Rick's outburst. When she finally sighed, he met her eyes without thinking.

"Rick's unhinged," she said bluntly.

He let out a surprised laugh, but couldn't disagree.

Mariam was looking at him more fondly than she normally did in public, prompting Max to reach out and hold her hand. It was a relief, in a way, to spend a few precious minutes alone in her company. He could feel her matching relief in the way she laced her fingers through his and held on tight.

"What do you think's going on between him and Mariah?" he asked, latching onto the subject to eke out every second with her that he could. He'd wanted to ask her since the moment they sat down to eat, anyway.

Mariam turned so her shoulder was braced against the wall, and her back to the rest of the hallway made their conversation feel more private. "Beats me," she answered with a roll of her eyes. "But whatever it is, he's pretending it doesn't exist."

"You think he's in denial?" he asked, leaning in subconsciously. He was always drawn in by her, like she was a powerful undercurrent and he was some hapless swimmer.

"Either that or just clueless," she answered softly. She looked like she was considering tugging him by the hand down the corridor and out the fire exit, but then it passed. Deflating against the wall, she finished her thought: "Mariah, on the other hand… I do think she'd sit in his lap if he let her."

Max wasn't sure he'd go that far, but she did seem awfully touchy-feely.

"I keep expecting him to brush her off," he admitted, "but it's like he doesn't even notice she's touching him half the time." Max couldn't relate – he always knew when Mariam was touching him. Or was anywhere within a few miles.

She nodded in agreement, brows knit together in thought. He wanted to kiss her where they wrinkled in the middle, and he might have if she'd stayed quiet any longer.

"Her and Emily are friends, aren't they?"

"I'm not asking Emily about Rick and Mariah," Max said with a shake of his head. "She'd call me a gossip and tell me to mind my own business."

Mariam chuckled and it made her eyes sparkle when she looked at him. "Max, we left the table in the middle of dinner to talk about them – she'd have a point."

He wrinkled his nose at that realization.

"Anyway," she continued pointedly, "I wanted to know why Mariah isn't staying with her instead. She does have her own place, right?"

Max nodded. He hadn't thought about it until she brought it up, too caught up in the shock of Mariah staying with Rick in the first place to consider any other option. "Do you think she's closer to Rick than we realize? I'm kind of getting mixed signals about the whole thing."

"Maybe she just wants to be." Mariam shrugged. "I'm not an expert, but some people make what they want obvious."

She fixed Max with a meaningful look and he ducked his head down sheepishly, thoughts of their earliest years rising from the depths of his memory. He didn't regret a second spent chasing her, even if sometimes he knew he'd come across embarrassingly desperate.

Mariam squeezed his hand.

"Anyway, Rick seems…" She trailed off when an older woman dressed too upscale for the vineyard-inspired décor passed by on her way to the bathroom, side-eyeing them heavily. When the door swung shut behind her, she continued. "He seems like he doesn't know she's serious. But she chose him over Emily. And is cooking his meals."

"And he lets her," Max finished her thought.

If, like Rick expected them to believe, his relationship with Mariah was totally platonic, it still made no sense. She had a way of ruffling and smoothing his feathers in the same sentence and could call him out on things that he wouldn't let anyone else get away with mentioning. Whether he admitted it or not, he had a soft spot for her. Just how far that extended remained to be seen.

Max was glad they'd snuck away to have this conversation, even though it didn't earn him any solid answers to the dozens of questions he had. It was comforting to know that he and Mariam could agree the whole thing was bizarre, if nothing else.

When the lady from before walked past again on her way out of the bathroom with a freshly powdered nose, she outright glared at them.

"I think we've overstayed our welcome," Max said as he twisted to watch her head back down the hallway and around the corner into the dining room. He turned back to Mariam and tugged her hand. "Ready to go back to the table?"

She nodded and fell into step at his side as they started down the hallway. "As long as Rick didn't get us kicked out."

Laughing lightly, he pulled her close and kissed her cheek, cherishing their last few seconds of privacy before they were in full view of the dining room once more.

When they made it back to the table, Rick and Mariah were still there. The waitress had been around to clear the unneeded dishes and refill their drinks, but there were no other signs that the staff had been by. That could only be a good thing, in their case.

Mariah saw them approaching first and visibly brightened. "Welcome back!" she called as they drew nearer.

"Thanks." Max offered her a smile in return and waited by the table so Mariam could slide in first.

Rick rolled his eyes at their pleasantries. "How was 'Seven Minutes in Heaven' in the handicap stall?" he asked snidely as Mariam settled down across from him.

Max almost tripped over his feet getting into the booth at that question. "What, no – we didn't –."

"It was great," Mariam answered, green eyes narrowing at Rick. "You two should go next."

Rick growled and made a snippy remark back, but Max was too distracted watching Mariah's cheeks turn as pink as her hair to follow what was being said. Her eyes widened when she realized he was watching her, but she quickly recovered and shook her head exasperatedly.

"Oh Rick, will you stop teasing them?" she said, sliding her empty plate to the end of the table and rolling her eyes at him. "If that manager asks us to leave after all, it'll be your fault."

"What about her?!" Rick grumbled and gestured to Mariam.

"I don't care if we leave," Mariam said, piling her dish on top of Mariah's. She only had a few bites left over – not enough to warrant a doggy bag. "Food's cold now anyway."

"I wonder why that is?" Rick snarked. His lasagna plate had been cleared before they even made it back from their excursion.

"Does anyone want dessert?" Max piped up. The whole table looked at him and he shrugged under their scrutiny. "Mine's cold too," he explained, adding it to the stack, "but I wouldn't mind staying a little longer if you all want to."

Rick looked skeptical, but Mariah beamed. "As long as someone can behave himself," she joked, looking facetiously at the man beside her.

He scoffed. "I'd be more worried about Max and Mariam trying to sneak in a second round."

Before the table could erupt into chaos again, the waitress arrived with the dessert menu. Max suspected she'd been stationed nearby to do what she could to keep them in line. He was thankful for it, especially because Mariam's hand was on his leg again and she was leaning heavily into his personal space just to spite Rick. And he definitely looked spited.

"All right, folks – what'll it be?" she asked cheerily, tapping her pen against her notebook rapidly. Max was sure he was imagining the panic in her eyes, but smiled encouragingly at her nonetheless.

Once their orders were taken and the last round of dinner plates cleared, she returned in record timing with their desserts.

"Bon appétit!" she said as she placed the last plate down on the table with a flourish. "Anything else I can get you?"

When they all shook their heads, she promised to check in again later and flounced away, fanning herself with one hand. Max privately decided to make sure she got a good tip.

"That was French," Rick mumbled derisively.

Mariah smacked him lightly on the arm.

"How long are you in town for, Mariah?" Max inquired, hoping to put a stop to anything that might get them thrown out. Might be easier if Rick didn't look at him suspiciously every time he opened his mouth to speak. "Did you come for the Qualifiers?"

She shook her head. "No, that was just lucky," she answered, taking a bite of her tiramisu before continuing. "I'm here for another week and I'm making it my goal to get Emily out of the office for at least one of those days."

"Good luck," Rick snorted. He'd chosen some kind of fancy cheesecake piled high with berries. "I think she's shackled to her desk most days, especially with the World Championships coming up."

"You're busy now too, and I see you," Mariah countered. Max thought that made sense since they were sharing an apartment, but he didn't comment. "Can I try that?"

Rick looked confused for a moment before he realized she was eyeing his cheesecake. He looked over at Mariam and Max like he was gauging the likelihood one of them would comment. Max simply shrugged in response. His girlfriend was pretending not to notice Rick's conundrum in favor of focusing on her own dessert.

"Knock yourself out," he finally answered, pushing the plate a few inches closer to Mariah.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed, sinking her fork into his cheesecake almost immediately. She took more berries than her tiny bite really required, but Rick didn't comment and simply watched her with a veil of disinterest that was too obvious to be entirely believable. When Mariah hummed in delight, his lips twitched even though the rest of his face didn't move.

Max tried not to look shocked just in case either of them looked his way.

"Hey, Max?"

"Hm?" He turned towards Mariam, glad for the distraction and always happy to offer her his undivided attention. She was prodding her serving of tiramisu thoughtfully, with a small frown, and something about her manner kept him on his toes.

His inkling turned out to be correct when she nonchalantly asked: "Didn't Rick say something about us sharing food earlier?"

He couldn't stop his laughter in time, but he attempted to cover it up with a cough when Rick whipped around comically fast. Something about Mariah's presence made him especially easy to get a reaction from, and Max caught himself pondering what that meant about the nature of their relationship. Was he deep in denial or were there no feelings at all and he was angry about the insinuations?

"That was different!" Rick snarled, forcibly pulling his plate back. "Mariah asked."

"Rick?"

At the feeling of Mariah's hand on his, he jumped. It was hard to tell, but Max thought he might be blushing as Mariam snickered quietly.

"What?" he grouched back, looking like he couldn't decide whether it would be more incriminating to leave his hand stiffly on the table or jerk it away.

Mariah smirked mischievously. "I think she was talking to Max." She pat his hand once for good measure before picking her fork back up and continuing on with her own dessert.

Max wished he had his phone out, because he would have loved to immortalize the flabbergasted expression on Rick's face in that moment. He tried to muffle his giggles with his hand, but when Mariam started laughing next to him it was all over. Even Mariah joined in.

"Shut up! You all suck," Rick fumed over the sound of their laughter. He stabbed his cheesecake with animosity and shoveled some into his mouth. "I don't know why I ever agreed to this."

Mariah wiped a tear out of her eye and said, "Well, I'm glad you did!" She placed her hand over her heart and took a couple deep breaths to calm herself down. "In fact, I want to do this again. You two should come to dinner at Rick's some time this week. I can cook and there won't be any risk of getting kicked out."

"That's what you think," Rick said, looking put out that Mariah had offered his place up without a second thought. But he didn't denounce the idea entirely, instead fixing Max and Mariam with a glare. "The first person to get handsy gets thrown off the balcony. I'm not having you two all over each other in my apartment."

Max raised his eyebrows, finding it hard to believe that Rick wasn't turning the idea down. He thought it sounded like fun, hanging out with Rick and Mariah again in a more relaxed environment, potentially even getting to the bottom of what they were. But there was one problem.

"Don't get excited, Max," Rick scoffed, popping a strawberry in his mouth and smirking as he chewed. "You two won't make it five minutes before you start playing footsies under the table, and then it's a free fall to the lobby for both of you."

"As fun as that sounds," Mariam interrupted sarcastically, pushing her empty plate away and sparing a wistful in glance Max's direction. "We're gonna have to pass. I fly home tomorrow night."

Max suddenly felt deflated. "Yeah, we'll have to take a rain check," he added sadly. The unexpected disappointment snuffed out any appetite he had left, and he set his plate on top of Mariam's unfinished. The hollow ache in his chest was familiar and not at all comforting.

"What?!" Mariah asked dolefully, looking nearly as crestfallen as Max felt. "What time do you leave?"

"Not until late," Mariam assured her.

There wasn't really a good time for her to fly home when the flight took as long as it did – she was bound to be exhausted no matter what – but Max didn't trust himself to speak around the lump in his throat so he didn't say that. Instead he took a sip of his water, forcing it down with a gulp. He could feel Mariam watching him and slipped his hand under the table to hold hers tight.

Turning back to Mariah, Mariam sighed and said, "I have to pack still."

It was a flimsy excuse and Max wondered if anyone else at the table saw through it. In reality, she'd give up halfway through packing and leave what she could in Max's drawers. Then they'd spend the day wrapped up in each other for as long as possible before he had to take her to the airport that night. The goodbye got harder every time.

"She doesn't live with him, Mariah," Rick said surprisingly gently, looking at Max like he thought those words might make him burst into tears.

"I know that," Mariah said dejectedly, waving him off. Her chin hit her palm, elbow the table, as she contemplated the couple across from her. She looked perplexed. "Why are you here with us when it's your last night together?"

Max met Mariam's eyes and he could tell neither of them had anticipated that question. Behind Mariam, the sky outside was dark, littered with the reflections of fairy lights masquerading as stars. He reached for his drink, his mouth suddenly dry.

"We owed Rick for last night," he explained, once he'd taken a sip. He put his glass back down in its ring of condensation and chuckled at an unbidden thought. "Plus I told him we all needed to grab dinner together after that last round of pictures of you two made the front page."

It was easier to change the subject than to think more about Mariam's impending flight home.

"Oh, that," Mariah tittered, voice an octave higher than normal and face flushing. "He was just showing me around the city."

Rick groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, effectively killing any mentions of 'Rickiah' before it could be uttered. "I told you Mariah, this was their idea," he reminded her and redirected the conversation with one fell swoop. "They're fine. Maybe not for long." The last sentence was said like a threat.

"Oh, come on Rick," Mariam teased, following Max's lead. "It's the least we could do after missing your moment of triumph."

"Next time don't bother paying me back," Rick suggested, fingers moving to rub the center of his forehead. "I'm gonna have a headache for days after putting up with you."

"Well, we had fun," Max said cheerfully. He was happy to see Mariah's blush was fading after Rick came to her rescue; he hadn't meant to embarrass her. Now there was one more piece to the puzzle of their relationship that he had to make fit somewhere.

"Yeah," Mariam drawled, "it was an enlightening night." The gleam in her eye when she shot a glance Rick's way made him bristle.

"'Enlightening' my ass," he replied, scraping the last crumbs of cheesecake off of his plate and finishing them. Then he turned to Mariah. "All you learned about those two," he pointed to the other couple with his fork, "is that they're just as insufferable as I said."

"Only one person at this table was insufferable tonight, but we love you anyway, Rick," Mariah shot back, polishing off her tiramisu with a smug look on her face.

Max raised his eyebrows at Rick, who was definitely darker in the cheeks this time, and watched his face twist into a look of overplayed disgust. "Well, I don't think I like any of you," he grouched, dropping his fork onto his plate with a clang. "Maybe you should ask Max if you can spent the night in his guest room instead."

"Oh, no," Mariah laughed and jabbed Rick with her elbow playfully, "not after I finally made yours livable!"

Mariam's eyebrows were raised, too, when Max looked over. She was toying with her straw absentmindedly while the conversation unfolded, but paused when she felt his eyes on her to give him a smile.

"Enlightening," she repeated simply and sipped her water.

Max chuckled.

"That's it!" Rick started craning his neck to see over the neighboring tables, his irritation obvious. "Where's that waitress with the check?"

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Mariam asked, leaning back in the booth and crossing her legs under the table. She was sitting so close to Max that her leg was nearly crossed over his as well – he could feel it pressed against his shin. "I want to hear about Mariah redecorating your apartment."

"There's nothing to hear!" Rick insisted.

"Rick's right," Mariah chimed in, successfully getting all of their attention.

"I am?" he asked, rightfully suspicious of how she could elaborate on that. He was drumming his fingers on the table and looking at her with a narrow gaze.

Mariah ignored him in favor of addressing Max and Mariam. "You two should be spending tonight alone together," she said, smiling at each of them separately, "not out to dinner with us. We can talk about my storage system for Rick's record collection next time."

"Next time?!" Rick sputtered.

"Take me up on my offer to cook and you'll even get to see it for yourselves," she continued with a wink, apparently oblivious to Rick's meltdown beside her.

"It's a deal," Max exclaimed with laughter coloring his tone. He was suddenly very grateful that he and Mariam had decided to come out, after all. The more he got to know Mariah, the more he liked her. "Mariam?"

She smirked. "Only if I get to see Rick eat his daily vegetable."

The three of them shared a laugh at Rick's expense while he growled from his corner of the booth, head rested on his fist. "You'll be lucky if I agree to see any of you ever again," he said, eyeing them all with disdain. When Mariah gave him a placating pat on the arm, he scowled.

Mariah remained unperturbed. "You two should get going," she said, nodding at Max and Mariam.

"The check isn't here yet," Max said, as he exchanged a confused look with his girlfriend. They were doing that a lot tonight.

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Mariah said, folding her arms across the tabletop and leaning into them. She looked up at Rick like she expected him to be on the same wavelength, but he was visibly perplexed. With a shrug, she said, "Rick owes you."

"I owe them?!"

Rick clearly did not agree and Max couldn't see how it added up either, but Mariah was adamant.

"Yes!" she insisted, fixing Rick with a look only a fool would argue with. "Mariam's leaving tomorrow and they still sat here and listened to you complain all night. It's the least you can do to return the favor."

It maybe wasn't the way Max would have put it – he meant it when he said he'd had fun with Mariah and Rick – but there was a part of him that had been tempted to keep Mariam all to himself for the night the second they'd made other plans. The way she'd kissed him on the way out the door had told him she felt the same way; his lips tingled at the memory.

"That really isn't necessary," he said, pushing thoughts of kissing Mariam to the back of his mind for now.

"Exactly!" Rick agreed. "I don't think –"

"I feel bad, Rick," Mariah said, successfully cutting him off. Between the slight frown on her lips and whatever emotions that were swimming in her golden eyes, Rick's resolve seemed to be weakening.

Max was about to protest again, when Mariam's hand splaying over his thigh captured his attention. His jaw snapped shut and the corners of her lips lifted into a sly smile.

"We'll pay next time," she said, sharing a look with Mariah that seemed to relieve the other woman. Then her eyes slid back to Max. "Okay?"

Max shrugged and looked to Rick for confirmation. It was best to leave the ball in his court. He didn't want to be stuck hearing him complain about how they'd ditched him at the Qualifiers and then weaseled a free dinner out of him afterwards.

"Ugh, just get outta here," Rick groaned, begrudgingly waving them off as he let his head fall onto his backrest. Mariah was beaming beside him and sliding closer, but he didn't notice with his hand covering the top half of his face. "But you owe me big time."

"Uh, thanks, Rick," Max said. He still felt unsure, but Mariam's fingernails tracing the inseam of his jeans were helping to remedy that.

"If that's the price I pay to get rid of you two, it's worth it."

Mariah sighed and shook her head, but she was smiling when she addressed Max and Mariam. "Thank you both for coming!" she said sincerely. "It was nice to get to know Rick's friends better. We'll definitely need to do this again sometime."

"We will," Max agreed, accepting his jacket as Mariam passed it to him. It was cold to the touch from its time near the window. He slid out of the booth to put it on. When he shoved his hands in the pockets, he found some wadded up bills. "Oh!" He pulled them out and counted out what he assumed to be a generous tip and dropped it in the center of the table. "For the waitress," he explained.

"How thoughtful," Rick mumbled. His hand was still obscuring his face.

Max chose not to comment, instead holding a hand out to help Mariam to her feet.

"Have a good night!" Mariah chirped as Mariam shrugged into her jacket, not bothering to zip it. "And a safe flight tomorrow."

Mariam paused. "Yeah, you too," she answered after a beat and pulled her ponytail out from where it was stuck in her coat. Max got a whiff of his shampoo in the process and tried to not be obvious about breathing it in. With a nod in Rick's direction, she said, "Keep that one in line."

"I will," Mariah laughed and tucked a few strands of hair that were too short for her ponytail behind her ear.

"Thanks again for dinner, Rick," Max said, hooking an arm around Mariam's waist. He had no intentions of letting go until it was absolutely necessary.

"You'd better leave before I change my mind," Rick warned, dropping his hand to shoot them a glare.

"You know Rick, if you want to be alone with Mariah, you just have to tell us," Mariam teased, unable to resist one last jibe.

"Go!"

Max didn't need to be told again. After a couple quick 'goodnight's, he and Mariam traipsed out into the cool, night air. The garage where he'd left his car was only a couple blocks away, and the walk there felt like it took no time at all when Mariam was a warm line against his side, laughing along with him at Rick's parting remark.

Once they made it to the car, he fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked it with a click. Arm still around her waist, Max opened Mariam's door for her and helped her in, before circling back to hop in the driver's side.

"That was weird," Mariam sighed, stifling a yawn against the back of her hand as she settled down into the passenger's seat. Her cheeks and the very tip of her nose were rosy from the cold. She looked beautiful.

Max's breath was visible in the crisp air as he laughed, prompting him to start the car and crank the heat up. "Would you call that a double date?" he asked her, dimples appearing on his cheeks when his smile widened at the sight of her rolling her eyes.

"I'd call it a train wreck," she snorted and pulled one knee up into the seat so she could angle her body towards Max. "But I'd do it again."

Max had every intention of continuing the conversation, but her tired smile made him want to kiss her and he wasn't about to talk himself out of it, now that they were alone.

Leaning over, he cupped the side of her face and pulled her in, sealing his lips over hers. Her skin was cold against him where their noses brushed, but when she let him deepen the kiss with a flick of his tongue, her mouth was warm. He moaned softly and kissed even deeper, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

She sighed contentedly, giving in and letting him have a rare moment in the lead. The sensation of her hand crawling up his chest was dulled by the extra layer he had on, but when her fingers found the bare skin of his neck and sunk into the hair at his nape, he got goosebumps.

The gasp that left her when he broke the kiss to latch onto her pulse point made a wave of heat course through his body. Her nails pricked his skin as his teeth grazed hers. She hummed at the feeling, tipping her head against the headrest. Unable to resist, he kissed his way up her neck and over her cheek to capture her lips again.

He was leaning halfway over the center console, when Mariam nipped at his bottom lip.

He took the hint and reluctantly pulled back.

"Sorry," he whispered, lingering close enough that the tip of his nose brushed hers. His cheeks were flushed from something other than the cold as he kissed his apology right into the middle of her forehead. "Wanted to do that all night."

Mariam smiled at him and watched silently as he centered himself in the driver's seat and buckled his seat belt. It was his turn to put a hand on her thigh, and when he did, she sighed.

"You'd better take me home, then," she said with a smirk, snuggling down in her seat. Max was willing to bet he'd have to wake her up when they got there. "We've got twenty-four hours left to kill and we don't want to disappoint Mariah."

Max laughed. "Wouldn't dream of it."

As he drove home, the city flashing by in a barrage of colored lights and Mariam dozing off next to him, he couldn't help but hope that Rick would get his head out of the sand sooner rather than later. Mariah was pretty obviously interested, and Max thought that she'd be good for Rick, if he let her.

When Mariam left, Max decided, nodding resolutely to himself, that was when he'd bring it up to Rick. They were friends; surely Max could talk some sense into him and help him realize that Mariah had feelings beyond friendship for him. And that maybe, just maybe, he had feelings for her, too.

After all, nobody could be that deep in denial.


A/N: This has been on my to-write list for AGES thanks to a conversation RedWheeler and I had. Credit where credit is due – I'm pretty sure it was entirely her idea. I finally got the inspiration to start it when I was working on chapter four of Bliss and realized this could feasibly take place right after. (And 'Up His Sleeve' could be an unofficial sequel to this one, for those that may have read it.) I really enjoy adding little connections between stories.

Anyway, the idea of Max and Mariam going to dinner with a clueless Rick and a crushing Mariah translated to this beast of a fanfic. It ended up way longer than I anticipated. To anyone who made it through the whole thing: I hope you enjoyed it! And thanks for reading. :)