I'm back with an update!

To the guest who left a review, thank you for sticking with this! I'm honored that this is one of your favorites. :)

And without further ado.

May sat in the back of Gary's sleek black car, her forearm against the door. She watched as several streetlamps passed through her field of vision, periodically casting streaks of warm orange across the inside of the darkened car.

She had to give him credit– Gary Oak took great care of his car. The interior was clean and new, and it smelled like fresh leather. It really was nice– Leaf wasn't exaggerating.

"Do you have her flight info?" Drew asked from the passenger seat.

Gary gave a light scoff, his response a little sharper than usual. "Of course I have her flight info. She's flying Air Blue."

May watched as her boyfriend– she still wasn't used to the butterfly-inducing term– turned to look at his roommate. She could only see the profile of his face in the darkness of the car.

"It's okay to be nervous," Drew advised.

Gary scoffed a little louder. "I'm not nervous."

"You guys have been long distance for about a month," Drew continued, ignoring Gary's denial. "And it's been a long time since you've seen each other in person."

"I'm not nervous," Gary repeated quietly.

Drew analyzed his friend for a few moments before looking out of the passenger window. The car went silent for a bit as a few large signs pointing them towards "Arrivals" came into view.

"I'm fine," Gary seemed to mumble mainly to himself.

The flow of traffic slowed and May craned her neck to see through the windshield from the backseat. They were approaching the terminal for Air Blue, which meant her friend must be standing somewhere outside looking for them.

"Okay, maybe I am a little nervous," Gary admitted.

He must have spotted her first. Their car switched into the right lane and stopped behind a vehicle that had its trunk popped open. Gary put the car in park, popped the trunk, and opened his door all before May could spot her friend.

Leaf stood with both of her hands clutching the handle of her suitcase. Her eyes flitted to Gary as soon as he stepped out of the car. His strides towards her were long and intentional and before she could say anything, Gary captured her lips in a kiss. Leaf seemed to go weightless, her hand lightly lifting from her suitcase to float to Gary's arm. But before it could land, he pulled away from her.

May couldn't see Gary's face but assumed he was saying something to Leaf, as a smile was spreading across her cheeks. Drew opened his car door and stepped out onto the pavement, giving Leaf a curt wave on his way to the backseat.

Leaf turned her attention to him in a brief moment of confusion, did some quick calculations, and must have concluded that May was in the car too because she practically beat Drew there. While Gary grabbed Leaf's luggage, Leaf waved frantically at May.

"Hi!" she squealed. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"Surprise!" May said with a laugh.

Drew held the passenger door open for Leaf, and she sat in the front seat. He closed the door for her a second before Gary closed the trunk of his car. After plopping himself in the backseat beside May, Drew closed the door and flashed her a winning smile. May's skin came to life as Drew's fingers crawled to meet hers in the darkness.

Gary reclaimed his place in the driver's seat and fastened his seatbelt. "Are we good?"

"Yep!" May answered. "Let's go."

She couldn't help but feel absolute happiness. Some of her favorite people were sitting in this car. And the last time they were all together, none of them were in a relationship. Now they were all coupled up. Best friends dating best friends. What were the odds of that?

"How was your flight, Leaf?" May wondered.

Her friend threw her head back lightly against the seat and seemed to inwardly groan. "It was long. I managed to get a lot of studying in, though, which was good. But I'm really just excited to get some sleep tonight." She paused slightly, realization striking across her face. Her gaze landed on Gary before switching to May. "Where… am I sleeping tonight?"

May made slightly panicked eye contact with Drew in the darkness of the car. That was a good question. And definitely something they should have discussed beforehand.

May and Drew had spent the past few nights together, and May was reluctant to break their streak. But, her best friend was in town and the girls would obviously need to catch up.

"Why don't we…" May began, still trying to glean answers from Drew's eyes. "...give you and Gary some time to catch up tonight." Drew nodded slightly in agreement, and May had to stop herself from giggling. He must have wanted to keep their streak going, too. "Drew can stay with me and you guys can take their place. And then… tomorrow night, we can hang out, Leaf."

Leaf looked to Gary, whose eyes had been locked to the road. May suspected that he still hadn't shaken those nerves. He returned her gaze briefly before refocusing on the road and changing lanes.

"That's fine with me," he said.

May could tell that Leaf was slightly unnerved at the idea, but she smiled and looked over her shoulder at her. "Okay."

"Wow, that's funny," Gary said.

Leaf glanced in his direction. "What's funny?"

"So when I invite you over to my place, it's a no. But when May invites you over, also to my place, it's an immediate yes?"

"What?" May asked.

"What are you talking about?" Leaf chimed back in. "When did you invite me over?"

"One of the first things I ever did was invite you over," Gary said.

Drew laughed in the backseat as May caught up to speed. Leaf beat her to it.

"You mean when we were all in the hallway? When we first met?"

Gary stole a quick glance at the girl in his passenger seat. "I'm glad you remember."

"You're impossible," Leaf said.

"Actually—"

"And if you're going to say something about impossible meaning 'l'm Possible', Gary, I swear—"

Gary laughed suddenly, slightly leaning into the steering wheel as he drove.

"Alright, alright," he said after regaining his breath. "Man, Leaves, you are spicy tonight." He looked over at her briefly with a grin. "Just stepped off the plane spicy."

May couldn't help but love their banter. She'd hardly gotten the chance to see the two of them together, but somehow they just worked.

"Wow, I've literally never seen anyone that into Gary before," Drew said.

May squinted her eyes at him in confusion. She couldn't recall a single time where she'd heard Drew use the word "literally" in a sentence, but he seemed pleased with himself for some reason.

Gary looked at him through the rearview mirror. "Hey," he warned. "That was a compliment."

"What was a compliment?" May wondered.

"After Drew spent the night at your place, he was looking a bit stressed—"

Drew scoffed. "Why do we let him explain everything?"

"So I told him—"

"I was not stressed," Drew emphasized.

May bit back a giggle. It wasn't often that Drew was frazzled, but when it did happen, Gary Oak usually had something to do with it. She had to learn to push his buttons like this.

"I told him—" Gary continued. "That you were obviously in love with him—"

"What?!" May practically shrieked.

"—and that he shouldn't worry because I've never seen someone that into him before."

"What?" she said again. "I wasn't that obvious was I?"

She looked to Drew for confirmation, but he didn't react.

"You're both obvious," Gary answered. "Everyone in our building knew. Everyone at your job knew. So did everyone at my job."

"And whose fault is that?" May asked.

"Well, that one is partially my fault, I'll admit," he said. "But only partially, not fully. Not fully, Cottontail."

"Well, what about you and Leaf?"

"What about me and Leaf?"

"If Leaf lived here, you'd definitely be the talk of the city. And our job. And your job."

Gary was quick to answer. "I don't think so."

May released her hand from Drew's grasp to cross her arms. He shifted into putting an arm around her instead. "Why not?"

"Because I have nothing to hide."

"We weren't hiding anything, either," Drew added.

"Yeah, but you were denying everything," Gary responded. "Denial is at least ten times more interesting."

Drew paused for a second. "Denial is pretty interesting."

"How do you do it, Leaf," May wondered tiredly. "How do you do it."

"I was actually going to ask Drew the same thing," she said, twisting slightly in her seat to face the back of the car. "How do you do it, Drew?"

"Well, the trick is to only listen partially," he said, causing the girls to erupt into laughter. "But only partially. Not fully."

Gary's laughter joined in with the rest. "Hey, I know I talk a lot, but sometimes I actually have something to say."

"Sometimes," Drew pointed out.

"Sometimes," Leaf and Gary agreed at the same time.

They were venturing into a section of the city May fondly recognized, which meant they were getting close to home. At this time of the night, most of the street parking was occupied, as most people had returned home to conclude their days. Luckily, they'd managed to find a spot in front of their building. May didn't know how Gary managed the stress of owning a car in the city. The constant parallel parking. The constant traffic. She, like Drew, had opted to be a complete pedestrian. There was so much less to worry about that way.

She opened her car door slowly, wary of potential incoming traffic, before walking around the car and meeting her friends on the sidewalk. May reveled in the sound of all of their footsteps ascending the stairs to their building in the quiet of the night. So many memories had been shared between May and Drew on these steps. It was nice to think that, for a moment, she was silently sharing their history with their friends.

Once inside and on the second floor, May unlocked her door and waved goodbye to Leaf.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning!" she said.

She handed her keys to Drew, who was waiting dangerously close to her as Gary opened the door to Apartment 214. May could practically feel his body heat radiating off of him as he stood slightly behind her.

As casually as she could, she turned to look him in his lidded eyes and tried to give him instructions.

"You can just come over when you're ready," she said quietly.

Drew nodded and followed Leaf into his own apartment. He could hear May close her front door, and Gary tossed his keys on their kitchen counter. Leaf's luggage was rolled awkwardly to the middle of the room, as if it wasn't quite decided on where it would be.

Stealing a page from Gary's book, Drew left the two alone to freshen himself up for bed. Just on the other side of his bedroom wall, May was in bed waiting for him.

What a concept. May was waiting for him so they could sleep.

It was intoxicating. It always was, and it may have been becoming an addiction. Just the thought that tomorrow night he'd be in his own bed and she'd been in hers was enough to fill his stomach with dread. He understood why they'd be separate, of course, but knowing what it was like to end and begin a day beside her made his lonely bedroom entirely unappealing.

Drew locked himself in the bathroom and analyzed his reflection in the mirror, running a hand through his hair.

Maybe he should give it a quick wash. She always seemed to like the smell of his shampoo.

"Welcome home, Leaves," Gary said, his arms slightly outstretched.

"Hmmm," Leaf hummed, an eyebrow raised. "Home?"

Gary flopped down on the couch, taking up a bit more space than necessary.

"Yeah, it's like they say. Mi casa es su casa and all that."

Lead slowly took the seat next to him on the couch and tried to absorb what this moment felt like. She and Gary video-chatted often, so she was used to seeing his face. And on said video chats, they would obviously converse with one another, so she was used to hearing his voice. But something about seeing his face without the glass barrier and hearing his voice without the light fry of a phone speaker felt so new.

"How nice of you," she replied sweetly.

Gary's gaze fell slowly upon her lips, and she could hear the shower in their bathroom creak as it started up. They sat in silence in the glow of a floor lamp, and Leaf took in more of Gary's features. She could see bags beginning to form under his eyes. He must have been up since very early this morning, yet he insisted on picking her up at the airport.

"Are you hungry?" Gary asked her, his voice a murmur.

His arm was stretched along the back of the couch, and his fingertips found her bare shoulders.

"Not really," Leaf said.

"I could make you something," he insisted at the same volume.

"You're tired," she stated knowingly. She slowly reached up and stroked the skin underneath his eyes with her thumb before bringing her hand to rest in her lap again.

He gave a vague shrug but didn't confirm what she already knew to be true.

"I'm okay," Leaf reiterated. "But what's on the menu?"

Gary gave her a sly grin. "Whatever you want."

She stared him down and tried to discern what he meant by that. Obviously, he couldn't have the ingredients on hand for absolutely anything she wanted.

"You included?" she said.

"Oof," Gary responded, his eyebrows briefly shooting up. "Careful, now."

Leaf broke into a grin, and he leaned into her, lightly touching her lips with his for the second time that night.

"You know what I want?" she whispered, her face mere inches from his.

"What?"

"I want you to go to sleep."

Gary paused for a few moments, hovering firmly within her bubble. "Are you the type of girl to put out a candle with her bare fingertips?"

Leaf laughed and playfully pushed him away. "Come on. I know you have to be up early."

"So do you."

"What?"

"You're coming with me."

Leaf blinked. "And you were planning on telling me this… when?"

"You mean your permission slip didn't come in the mail?"

"No."

Gary chewed his lip. "Alright, I'll give you two options." He was still very close proximity-wise, almost causing her to lean backwards. "I've got a half-day tomorrow. You can come with me in the morning, and we can check out the city after. Or—" the backs of his fingers brushed along her shoulder. "I can let you sleep in, and I can come back after I'm done with work. Then we can go see the city."

She looked into his tired, brown eyes. "I'll think about it."

Gary nodded. "Alright."

Brief pause.

"Let's go to bed," she said.

"Alright."

May sat up in bed with her legs crossed and listened as her front door was unlocked, opened, shut, then locked once again.

Drew made his way down the short hallway, the familiar jingling of her house keys accompanying him. He opened her bedroom door and May's heart was put at ease. This was quickly becoming her favorite time of day.

Drew's eyes widened slightly at the sight of her sitting up rather than laying down.

"Are we…" he began, his hand hovering over the light switch. "Not sleeping?"

"We are," May confirmed with a smile. "Eventually."

Drew opted to leave the light on, placing her keys on the desk in her room. He helped himself to the space next to her, lifting up her blankets in the process. "Are we staying up?"

"A little."

He laid comfortably against her pillows, his hair damp and very dark green. She reached over and laid a hand gently against his chest, and he immediately held it in his. She was enraptured by the rhythm of his breathing, and the silence of her room that she was now very used to sharing with him.

"You smell nice," she said.

He smiled slightly and ran his thumb along her fingers but said nothing in response.

"Are you happy to have Leaf back?" he wondered.

"So happy," she confirmed. "I missed her a lot."

"I know," Drew said.

May thought for a few moments. "The last time she was here, I didn't really know any of you guys. Not Ash–"

"Not Dawn."

"Not Dawn," she agreed. "I didn't know Gary or you."

"Well, that didn't last long," Drew said with a grin, lifting up May's hand to interlock his fingers with hers.

"You were persistent."

"I was," he admitted. "Must have been all that denial."

May's laughter rang brightly through the room. Drew watched as she shifted to lay down beside him. Pure admiration touched his features as he waited for her to recover from her giggles.

She cupped his cheek in her palm. "I really tried to avoid you in the beginning."

"I recall."

"Like I swore to myself that I would."

"I believe you," Drew said, watching her with a dazed gaze. "But now you're into me. A historic amount, some would say."

May rolled her eyes. "Please."

"Unprecedented, even."

She raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was the other way around."

"Mmm." He frowned jokingly. "Definitely wasn't."

Now fully on her side, May placed both hands underneath her pillow and supported her head as she faced Drew.

"Are you gonna tell me how that happened?" Drew pondered softly.

"How what happened?"

"How you went from wanting to avoid me to… not wanting to avoid me."

She took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. Could she pinpoint an exact moment to share with him? "We have work tomorrow."

"Don't do this to me, Maple," he said, a faint smile donning his lips.

"I'm suddenly so tired."

"If you tell me, I'll tell you."

She searched his green eyes with piqued interest. That was an unexpected twist.

"Okay," she agreed. "I think I have a few more minutes left in me."

He smirked.

"Do you... remember our first kiss?" she asked.

"Of course," Drew answered, his voice a low hum. "It's hard to forget."

"It was just before then that I started to wonder." She tucked a hair behind her ear. His gaze was so focused on her, yet so softened. May could tell that he wasn't just messing with her; this was something he truly wanted to know. "The more time I spent figuring out how to avoid you, the more time I spent thinking about you. Which is ironic, now that I think about it."

"Very," Drew agreed.

"And obviously became a problem for me."

A chuckle. "Obviously."

"But I think it started when I had that horrible day. You asked me how I was and… I just really needed it. So I thought maybe… maybe you weren't as bad as I thought." Drew chuckled. "And maybe I had it wrong."

He nodded and processed what she said in silence.

"For me," He began softly. "Well, first, I never wanted to avoid you, so—"

They both laughed at the difference between the two of them before Drew continued.

"You were interesting right away. I just had so many questions. Who is this girl? Why is she here? Where are her friends? Why is she always in a hurry? Why is she in a towel?"

May rolled her eyes with a grin. "Let it go," she droned.

"But then," Drew continued. "I got to talk to you and I thought it would give me answers, but it really just gave me more questions. Again, who is this girl? Why is she here?" May laughed again. "It wasn't until after that first party that I really started thinking about you." He shook his head slightly against the pillow. "You were beautiful. Just as soon as you walked in."

She tried to tame the slow smile that was reaching her lips.

"You were," Drew confirmed. "And after that night I just kept asking myself, 'When can I see her again?' And… that's been my main question since then."

May's heart provided her with a jumbled assortment of words to say in response, but none of them made it past her lips. She reached up to touch Drew's face and let her open lips close on his. He exhaled and met her lips again. And again, before she broke away slowly.

"Work tomorrow," she said quietly.

"Yes," Drew agreed with a pause.

She pursed her lips and let her mind recall what he just told her. "You're dangerous with words."

He smirked before leaning over to turn off the lamp manually. "That was nothing." The light in her room went out and the two of them were suddenly bathed in darkness. "I was just telling you the truth."

Ring.

Drew's eyes snapped open once he recognized the sound. His phone was ringing. But why? It was still dark outside.

May stirred next to him, subtly annoyed that her sleep was disturbed. She rolled onto her side with a slight groan as his phone continued to ring. He reached over to check the caller ID, his eyes squinting at the sudden shift in brightness.

It was Soledad. But it was also 6 am.

"Hello?" he answered, his voice obviously groggy with sleep. He knew Sol wouldn't care but he hated to sound less than professional on a call that likely had to do with work.

"Hey, Drew," she greeted. "I'm sorry for the early call—"

"No, it's fine—"

"I just got word and I wanted to let you know."

"What's up?" he asked, carefully freeing himself from May's bedsheets. She didn't seem to like that too much, as she began to stir even more.

Drew opened May's bedroom door, making his way to her couch as Soledad filled him in.

"Oak is in town. He's coming by the office today," she explained. "Rumor has it that he's here to meet with you specifically."

Knots immediately formed in his stomach. He'd met Dr. Oak before, being best friends with his grandson, but never on the grounds of anything actually important. Drew's eyebrows knitted together.

"About this position?"

"Yeah," Soledad confirmed. "He's willing to hear what you have to say."

Drew's green eyes scanned the darkness of the living room as his mind raced. This could mean moving across the country. Potentially with May. Leaving this city, leaving his team, his friends.

May's light footsteps echoed through the apartment as she approached the living room.

"Will you be there?" Drew asked his boss.

"Drew?" May's voice called lightly to him.

"Yes, I'll be there."

"Perfect. Thanks for the head's up."

He hung up with Soledad as May leaned against the hallway wall in her t-shirt and running shorts. She covered a yawn with her hand and tried to embrace the fact that she was now awake.

"What's happening?" she asked.

"That was Soledad," Drew explained. Something was beginning to bubble in the pit of him that he wasn't entirely used to— anxiety. "Oak is in town, and he wants to meet." May's eyes widened slightly. "Today."

"Are you ready for that?" Mat asked him.

Drew thought for a few moments before letting go of a breath he wasn't even aware he was holding. "I'll have to be."

A bit of a shorter, fluffier update, but I hope you all enjoyed the dialogue. I'm sad to say that we're nearing the end now. I'd love to hear from you; leave a review!