A/N: Sorry it's a bit late, hope you enjoy!

The next couple of weeks saw Mai studying furiously in preparation for the start of her second year at university. She didn't see Oliver or his parents much. The main times she saw Oliver were when she approached him for help translating some of the stuff in his latest book that he'd been kind enough to give her.

The night before her first day at university, Mai was up late studying when there was a soft knock at the door. She opened it to come face to face with Oliver, in his pyjamas.

'You should sleep. Here,' he handed her a cup of tea, and Mai was instantly hit with the smell of mint.

Mai accepted the cup gratefully. 'Thank you. How did you know I was still awake?'

'I stopped by the kitchen for a glass of water and saw the light from under your door. I also heard you groan, quite loudly.'

Mai messed with her hair in an attempt to hide the blush that she was sure was forming. 'I'm just nervous, I hope the language barrier doesn't stop me from making friends.'

'You'll do fine. It's your studies you should be worried about anyway.'

'Well, that too!' Mai hissed.

'I can help with anything you don't understand.'

Mai wasn't sure what to say. She took in his dark blue silk pyjamas. 'You look good in blue, by the way. It's nice to see you wearing colour.' Mai somehow flushed deeper as she realised what she'd said. 'Goodnight Oliver, thanks for the tea.' She said in a rush, before she promptly shut the door in his face.

Oliver stood there for a second, dumbfounded. He looked down at the pyjamas he was wearing. He never really gave much consideration to his wardrobe choices. He found out in his teens that black was a colour that made you look smart, confident, powerful, and had prestige. Then, later, after losing Gene, falling more into black had just felt right.

Mai listened as there was a slight pause before Oliver moved away from her door. She took the tea to bed with her and sipped it as she watched the clouds pass over the crescent moon. It was a comforting thought that her friends and found family would see the same sight if they looked up tonight. She grabbed her phone from her nightstand, and sent messages to her friends back in Japan, to let them know she was thinking of them.

She had an almost immediate reply from Bou-San. 'Isn't it almost midnight there? You should sleep Jou-Chan, you don't want to get premature wrinkles like Ayako! Good luck with tomorrow, I know you'll do great, remember to keep your old man up to date.'

Mai giggled softly into her hand and took a screenshot of the message, intending to use the remarks about Ayako's crows' feet as ransom, if the need arose.

Despite a history of being perpetually tardy, Mai arrived early for her first class.

The campus was beautiful. All the buildings looked like castles and straight out of an 18th-century novel. The grass lawns were immaculate with signs that said 'please walk on the grass' and maintained stone paths all around. One of the lawns sloped down towards a river where people were lounging about and there were a few small boats and canoes too.

Mai had to get some help navigating, the place was a lot bigger than her previous campus, but she couldn't help but be in awe of the architecture and the design both inside and out.

Mai's first lecture went well, all things considered. She said hello to the students near her and remembered not to bow her head, as bowing in England wasn't customary. In the end, she decided to take her notes in English to help her better consolidate her learning. She used her dictionary to look up words she didn't understand and highlighted others to look up later. The vast array of coloured pens and highlighters she had purchased were serving her well.

After her lecture she was approached by a pair of girls. The one on the left stepped forwards first. She had long curly, mousy brown hair and bright brown eyes. 'Hey, you're Mai, the foreign exchange student, right?'

Mai nodded, 'Yeah, I'm Mai Taniyama, it's nice to meet you.' It was an effort not to give her last name first but she was pleased she'd introduced herself correctly.

'Likewise, I'm Emily,' She gestured to the girl next to her who had a long blonde bob and clear blue eyes. 'And this is Emma.'

Mail smiled. 'It's lovely to meet you both.'

'Emma and I were wondering, if you wanted to come with us to grab coffee at the campus cafe? I think our next lecture is together so I was thinking we could grab a drink and go together?'

Mai beamed and clasped her hands together. 'I'd love that!'

Emily matched her smile. 'Let's go! Caffeine awaits!'

Mai was beyond grateful to have been approached by the two girls. She was really hoping they could become friends.

Over coffee, the three girls talked about their backgrounds and how they ended up at the university. Mai didn't know how to explain how she came to end up at the university. In the end, she decided to tell her new friends that she'd been headhunted to do a year abroad, it wasn't strictly a lie, which made Mai feel better.

At that moment, Emily hit her hand on the table which made her and Emma jump. They looked up to see Emily frantically pointing out the window behind them. 'Oh my god, look, it's Oliver Davis!'

Mai turned around to where Emily was wildly gesturing and saw Oliver. He was dressed in a long black overcoat, a grey scarf, his usual black ensemble underneath it. He was carrying a black briefcase and checking his watch.

She noticed how a few people stopped and stared as he went past, she couldn't blame them. Mai noticed though that he just kept staring straight ahead as he walked with purpose, not letting anything distract him.

Emma then noticed the time. 'Crap, we have to go!'

And with that the group raced off to their next lecture.

Once at the lecture hall, Mai, Emma, and Emily all sat together.

Mail pulled out her books, and Emily picked up one of them. 'Is this Dr. Davis's latest book? It's a first edition!' Emily then gasped again. 'It's signed!' She turned to Mai. 'How did you get it signed? I've never known him to do book signing events!'

Mai felt a bit overwhelmed. 'Oh that, I sort of know his family.'

Mai was saved from explaining herself further by the sound of the lecture doors opening and closing.

'He's here!' Emily whisper shouted.

Mai turned around to see Oliver walk into the lecture hall. Oh no, she thought.

Oliver stood behind the podium and scanned the crowd. Mai tried to hide behind her bag. His eyes rested on her, and he smirked ever so slightly, and Mai just tried to duck down further behind her bag. Her two new friends watched her curiously.

'Hello class, my name is Oliver Davis. I'm an associate lecturer. I'm currently working on my second PhD, but I've been tasked with delivering a series of seminars to you over the next few weeks whilst your usual lecturer is on maternity leave. The lectures I will be giving will pertain to some of the areas of study explored in my latest book. Now, shall we begin?'

All Mai was thinking in that moment was whether she could drop this class and if she did, how much would it affect her grades? She knew Oliver was studying at this university on his next PhD, but she didn't realise he would be doing some of her lecturers! That's a fact she could have done with him mentioning!

Mai quickly realised that Oliver was very good at what he did. Given that it was Naru, she wasn't surprised that he excelled at everything he picked up. It was annoying but that was just who he was. He explained everything in a very clear manner and didn't come across as condescending, which did surprise Mai and it helped that he knew the material like the back of his hand. Well, he did write the book the lectures were based on! He had a certain magnetism that drew people in, and she could see the first couple of rows were mostly filled with women, leaning forwards, hanging on to his every word. In classic Naru fashion, he paid no attention to this.

A few people were brave enough to raise their hands during the lecture, Mai could never. She saluted their bravery in her mind's eye. Oliver answered the questions well, but it was almost as if she could see him categorising people as pumpkins or pumpkin people. Every lecturer she has ever had, have always said there's no such thing as a stupid question, but clearly to Oliver, there was. He'd evidently had a lot of practice leading seminars and was professional enough not to let it show when he thought that someone was ignorant, or stupid, but to Mai's trained eye, from working with him, she could catch the small tells – as some questions elicited a clutch of the fist, or a twitch of the lip.

At the end of the lecture, all Mai could think about doing was packing up and hightailing it out there.

Emma clearly had other plans in mind. 'I wanted to go up there, too.'

Mai turned to where she was looking and saw that Oliver had a throng of people surrounding him.

Emily clenched her fist. 'We'll get here super early next time and sit in the front row!'

Mai had to suppress a groan; she couldn't think of anything worse. 'Well, if you want to go up there, I'd take the time in-between now and the next lecture to come up with a really good question.' That way you can avoid being immediately dubbed as a pumpkin; Mai tacked on the end, silently. Of course, if Oliver thought her new friends were pumpkins, it would have no bearing on them, but still, Mai would know.

'That's a really good idea!'

Mai saw that Oliver was looking over the heads of the people surrounding him, and Mai, guessing he could be looking for her, took that as her queue to leave.

Later, Mai was waiting at the bus-stop when a black BMW pulled up. Mai thought nothing of it till the window rolled down. 'Mai, get in.' Mai realised it was Oliver and made her way over.

'You drive?' She asked, incredulously, staring at him sat inside the shiny, pristine sports car.

'Obviously. Did my lecture fry your tiny brain? It's raining, get in.'

Mai, ignoring the jab, considered for a second. 'Front or back?' It felt like a strange question, but she knew that Oliver valued his space.

'I'm not a taxi driver.'

Mai nodded and climbed into the front, clicking her seatbelt into place. 'I wouldn't have expected you to drive a BMW.'

'It was a gift from my parents for my twenty-first birthday.'

They fell into silence for a minute.

Oliver broke it first. 'I didn't see you after my lecture today.'

'Ah no, I had to leave for my next class as soon as it finished.' Mai turned her gaze away; she'd always been an awful liar.

Mai saw Oliver raise a quizzical brow at her in the mirror, then follow with: 'What did you think of the lecture?'

'It was very informative. You could have told me you were an associate lecturer! The shock I had when you walked in! I thought I was going to have a heart attack!'

Oliver just smirked, clearly enjoying her reactions. Mai could bounce between a vast multitude of different emotions within sixty seconds, it was never not entertaining to him. 'Spoiling the surprise wouldn't have been any fun.'

'It raised some questions with the girls I met this morning when I pulled out a first edition, signed copy of your book that's for sure! You don't strike people as the type to organise book signings.'

Oliver deigned not to reply to this and asked a question of his own, instead. 'How did you find your first day?'

'I enjoyed it, I was approached by Emily and Emma after my first lecture, and they invited me to join for coffee. They gave me a bit of a tour and we went to the rest of our lectures together. There are some words I've written down that I need to translate properly. I decided in the end to do my notes in English, thought that might help me consolidate the learning a bit better? I have to get used to it one way or another, although I wish that homophones weren't a thing.'

Oliver nodded.

Just then, Mai's phone rang, cutting through the comfortable silence and the sound of rain hitting the roof of the car.

'Takashi?' She said as she answered her phone. Why was he calling her?

As soon as Mai answered, she was met with shouting and a barrage of abuse on the other end. She turned down the volume as she tried to process what he was saying.

'You told me you were breaking up with me because you didn't want to do long distance, you slut, I know the real reason!'

'Wait, what?!' Mai was flabbergasted. They'd broken up because he'd been nothing but dismissive of her, and she wasn't willing to do a long-distance relationship with someone that unsupportive!

'I overheard Keiko and Michiru talking about how you'd be in close quarters again with an old crush whilst in England, you kept that quiet didn't you?! That you were moving in with him! I wonder why!'

Mai wasn't sure if Oliver could hear Takashi on the other end of the line, she really hoped not, but he was shouting very loudly and Oliver had always had annoyingly perceptive hearing.

'I was willing to try long distance initially, but I broke it off with you in the end because you were really dismissive! You were gaslighting me!' Mai was fuming, just remembering their last conversation, was enough to set her blood aboil.

'Right, of course, so it isn't because you want to shack up with your old boss! You just happened to get headhunted as a foreign exchange student, by his mum of all people, to move to England and go to the same university as him! No, totally innocent! I'm not bloody stupid you bitc-'

Oliver, who had managed to find somewhere to pull up, reached over and plucked the phone from Mai's hand. 'Do not contact this number again.' He then hung up the phone. 'Block him, Mai.' He said, as he handed the phone back to her.

Mai did as he said and they sat there in silence for a minute. Even though Oliver had pulled over, he was still gripping the steering wheel. Mai could see he was battling with something so she waited.

'Mai, what was all that about?'

'Takashi was my boyfriend at university before I moved. I was beginning to get upset with him a while back, he kept gaslighting me, being dismissive, and he didn't believe I deserved to be headhunted as a foreign exchange student. He basically told me I had no abilities and wasn't worthy. I confronted him on his behaviour and it ended with us breaking up.'

'How long were you dating for?'

Mai thought about this. 'Coming up to six months, I think.'

Oliver was still gripping the steering wheel, he looked angry. Mai felt like the inside of the car was getting colder.

'Was my mum involved in you coming here?'

Ah, Mai realised. He didn't know.

Mai decided she'd be best off being honest. 'It was your mum who phoned me, but she said it was both her and Martin that came up with the idea of inviting me over as a foreign exchange student because I have a scholarship.'

'Right.' Oliver sounded angry. 'So, you came over here, for me, because my mum is meddling in my life, again. I thought she may have had a hand in it, but she denied it when I spoke to her.'

'Oliver, it's not like that.'

'Sure sounds like it.'

He turned back onto the road again and Mai could feel the anger rolling off him in waves. His eyes were hard and he was focusing solely on the road. Mai shivered, she could feel the waves of energy emanating from his body, could feel his PK lowering the air pressure in the car.

She touched him gently on the arm. 'Please, listen to me.' When he didn't shake her off, or say anything in protest, she continued.

'Your mum has been really worried about you. She had hoped that you would find some closure after finding Gene in Japan but after you returned, you just withdrew more into yourself. Obviously, I hadn't heard anything from you, but when your mum phoned saying she was concerned, I was really worried about you, too.'

Mai took a breath. 'I didn't come here solely for you, Oliver. I made that clear to your mum. There was a lot she could offer me in return for taking the plunge. In the end, after weighing up the pros and cons I decided there was a lot of benefits to coming over here. I made it clear to your mum that you didn't stay in touch with me after you left and that I seriously doubted I'd be of any help. I wasn't fully sure what she was hoping for, that you'd see me again and come out of your shell?'

Mai shook her head. 'I knew that wouldn't happen. In the end your mum told me to come over here for myself, and to think solely on the experience to be gained. And that's what I did. That's why I'm here.'

Oliver glanced at Mai through the mirror and held her gaze for a moment. He looked away and let out a long sigh. He couldn't place why but it bothered him that she was using such self-deprecating language.

Mai waited but Oliver didn't say anything else in response. The rest of the drive was silent.

After Oliver pulled up in the driveway he tore out of the car.

Mai chased after him, catching his arm. 'Oliver, please.'

Oliver stopped but didn't turn back.

Mai continued to hold his arm. 'I get that you're upset right now, and feel betrayed, but try to understand a bit where your parents are coming from. You've been acting as someone still stuck amid grief, without any closure, you can't stay like this indefinitely. I hadn't heard anything from you in five years, but I had hoped all this time that you were doing well. Then I find out you are still barely eating and losing more weight, not interacting with anyone, just holed up on your own all the time with your studies! From the sounds of it you weren't even having any fun or finding any meaning in your studies! I was worried… I can't begin to imagine how apprehensive Luella and Matin have been, as your parents.'

Oliver sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. He pulled away and walked on.

Mai trailed sheepishly behind him, unsure if she got through to him or not.

'Mum, I need to speak with you.'

Luella came running over as Oliver called out. 'What is it Noll?'

Luella then caught sight of Mai's sheepish face.

'I'm sorry Luella, my ex called me during the drive back, he'd overheard my friends talking about my move here.'

'That's okay dear, don't worry about it.' With her eyes never leaving Oliver's face, Luella reached into her purse and pulled out a note. 'There's a lovely little pub just down the road, why don't you take a book and get yourself a drink or some dinner?'

Mai would have usually protested this and refused to take the money, but she read the room, took the cash, and left.

A/N Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think, I'm thinking about including a case soon? Still trying to brainstorm ideas, if you have any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks again, and I'll see you next time