A/N: Hi! Just wanted to say THANK YOU to my reviewers, especially the guest reviewers since I can't reply to you individually! You guys have been awesome, so thanks for taking the time out of your day to say something! :') Means a lot!

Guest: You have been my most consistent commenter and I just want you to know how grateful I am for your reviews every chapter since the very beginning! Thank you!

Hope y'all enjoy!

Interlude: Their Friendship

"Mai..."

Her eyelids fluttered.

"Mai."

She groaned and turned away from the voice.

"Mai!"

Immediately, the events that occurred rushed back into her memory. She shot up and nearly took out the person calling for her. She rapidly scanned the room and found herself on the couch at the SPR office face to face with… Nar- no, Gene.

Her hyperventilated breaths calmed until she gave a final sigh. This was the first time she stumbled with identifying each twin. Then again, Gene was endorsing Naru's usual frown.

Great.

"Before you say anything," she started, "I know. I know that was stupid and I was dumb for not listening to you."

He crossed his arms, further making his appearance to Naru uncanny. "Then why did you do it?"

"I…" She looked down and picked at her cuticles. "I saw a sign for the south wing. It seemed fine enough to walk through at the time—people have entered houses with demonic activity before and left unscathed. Plus, this is a hotel so staff and customers always come and go."

Flashes of the attack left her frozen in place. "I didn't expect it to lure me in like that… I'm sorry."

Gene sighed through his nose but kept his hard exterior. He understood where she was coming from but wouldn't soften the lesson just because she was sad.

"Negative entities will do that. They take advantage of your weaknesses," he explained. "For you, it's your willingness to help others without a second thought. Not to mention your gullibility. You also tend to put yourself in harm's way and generally lack safety awareness."

He almost felt bad when she looked at him like a kicked puppy.

He cleared his throat. "If you're going to be pulling these stunts anyways, you should learn some warding spells from your colleagues. You've used Usa-sama's prayers well but need to hone your spirituality before you can fully take advantage of its protection."

She nodded, not unlike a child who was just reprimanded. "Okay, I will."

Gene kept his hard stare for a moment longer before dropping the act. Guess he couldn't keep the hard exterior after all—that was Noll's job, anyway.

"And… even you do have weaknesses, that's what makes you Mai. You have good intentions, but your execution needs work." He smiled. "You are doing great giving my brother aneurysms in my place though."

"But I don't want to give him aneurysms."

"Too late!"

Cue more of the kicked-puppy look.

"It's fine! He needs to be humbled! You can't expect Lin to do it and Madoka's not even here," he said, shrugging casually.

Mai's ears perked up. "Madoka?"

Gene realized his slip-up and seemed to debate with himself in his head. "She's a family friend and Naru's mentor. A bit of a cheeky character."

"I can't imagine Naru having another person around poking and prodding at him," she said, chuckling.

"Oh, she does more than poke and prod! Before I died, we always teamed up to plan ways to bother him and Lin."

Mai smiled, imagining Naru tolerating someone enough to let them pick on him all the time. It must have been fun. She tried to ignore how unfitting the line, "Before I died," sounded coming from Gene's mouth. He felt just as alive to her as Naru did.

Sensing her thoughts, he added, "But you're here now too! You can be my accomplice—I'll develop the plans and you can execute them." He gave her a thumbs-up for good measure.

"At least you have brother-armor and this Madoka-san has mentor-armor! Nothing's keeping Naru from ending me," she countered.

Gene grinned mischievously. "You have 'Mai-armor!' How can anyone end this?" he said, poking at her puffed cheeks with both his pointer fingers.

"You mean like the malevolent entities that tried to kill me this past week?"

"Besides them."

She rolled her eyes.

After they chatted longer about Gene's schemes, Mai requested that he accompany her on a personal mission. When questioned, she mentioned that now that the entity was driven off, she wanted answers from a certain spirit at the hotel.

Gene wasn't keen on the idea but supposed that it would be better than leaving her to her own devices. In case of any bad juju, he propped Usa-sama over his shoulder and reluctantly let Mai lead the way. This was also to test her abilities to navigate the astral plane—he'd be impressed if she knew where she was going.

And… it turned out that she didn't.

He decided to spare her after watching her squabble for a few minutes. "Remember the pull factor, Mai."

"Huh? Oh right," she laughed nervously. "Will you be able to follow?"

"No problem!" He gestured downwards to a spiritual string he had wrapped around his waist. The other end was wrapped around hers.

She jumped away in surprise and tried to grab at the string. "When did this get here?" She waved her hand through it rapidly.

"I added a rope so that we would end up in the same place. It's like a preschool field trip."

Her straight face instantly morphed into a smile and a giggle. The image of the twins as toddlers—one with a smile and one with a frown—tied to a line of other preschoolers brightened up her mood.

They had to have been the cutest children.

With their walking rope in place, Gene walked Mai through the process of navigating the plane. His approach was to give her prompts to follow, while still allowing her to problem-solve what she could.

She likened his teaching style to "riddle learning" where half the time she felt like she was going in blind. She learned as she went.

Naru's teaching style was more "slap-in-the-face learning"—memorization, lectures, and quizzes. She learned the foundations before applying the principles to practice.

With how much they could teach, sometimes the twins didn't even seem their age. Gene was childish but still incredibly smart.

Then, there was Naru. He was a whole other level of smart. He could be one of her instructors at school. She thought about it before bed some nights, but what level of schooling has he had? He could've skipped a few grades. Maybe he even attended some fancy all-boys school that allowed excursions like this?

But this wasn't manga.

Whatever level he was at, he was certainly out of her intelligence league.

Mai finally found her footing after a few fruitless trials in part thanks to Gene's analogy of imagining herself as a wave in the ocean. She needed to follow her instincts in their purest state rather than overthinking.

Through the empty sea of glowing orbs was a flickering light, not unlike the flame of a candle. Heat emanated from it the closer they got until the scenery was changed entirely.

Swirling around in surprise, she took in the change. They stood in one of the original castle's courtyards. Now that she was lucid, she could appreciate the landscaping and architecture.

"If this is the original castle, then Chiyo-san's quarters are this way," she said, leading the trio. They searched the area but couldn't find her. Mai instead redirected them toward the missionary quarters and was relieved to see her sitting on the patio.

The young lady sat with her legs dangling off the side. She stared longingly out at the plum blossom tree as its branches swayed in the wind. Unlike in her visions, she didn't adorn the beautifully designed clothing. Rather, she opted for, still expensive-looking, but darker clothing. Her haori was almost black.

She must still be mourning…

The creaking of their footsteps made her jump and twist around. "Who goes there?"

"Uh, hi," Mai said, waving nervously. "Sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to talk."

Chiyo studied the group before her gaze landed on the rabbit deity on Gene's shoulder. Her demeanor changed immediately as she turned her body to face them and bowed her head in respect.

Mai questioned Gene with a look which he returned with a shrug. Usa-sama hopped off his shoulder and approached the female. They appeared to communicate silently. Eventually, the spirit nodded in understanding before returning her attention to the deity's companions.

"I hear that my warning had come too late," Chiyo said, now facing Mai. "I apologize for not reaching out to you sooner. I'm happy to know that your dear friend was able to expel that wretched creature."

"Dear friend…?" Mai tilted her head in question. "Oh, you mean John! Yeah, I would have been toast without him."

Chiyo scrunched her brows in confusion at her terminology. "Yes, J-oh-n," she said, trialing the name quietly to herself. "I recognize that name from the stories my Anata used to read."

Mai watched as her face briefly betrayed her loneliness. The tragedy must still be fresh for her, even if it was centuries ago. "I'm sorry about what happened to you. Seeing it firsthand, I can't imagine how you've felt this whole time."

Chiyo gestured for them to sit and looked wistfully out at the courtyard with a thin smile. "The years that pass are meaningless—the pain never hurts any less. You just become numb to it."

The breeze brushed the plum blossom tree's branches as they shook gently.

Mai's lips tightened. Familiar yet unfamiliar emotions awoke within her—feelings that did not belong to her. Chiyo's memories replayed in her head over and over until she was perseverating.

Gene's hand on her shoulder snapped her back to reality before she allowed herself to be consumed.

"Now that John expelled the demon, won't you be able to pass on and reunite with your lover?"

The female spirit turned back to her and sent her an unreadable smile. "I do not want to 'pass on.'"

"How come?! I thought you wanted help. You even sent me those visions!"

Chiyo shook her head. "I did not send those. I believe you picked up on them yourself."

Mai turned to Gene for confirmation. He merely shrugged. "Your hotel room is in her old quarters. You did leave yourself open."

"Okay, let's say I did. Why don't you want to pass on? Is it because of John?"

"While I was quite taken by your friend and may have followed him for a portion of the night, I am not so attached. His presence was nostalgic to me, comforting even."

Mai scrunched her brows. "Then what about John being hugged and smothered all night?"

"That certainly wasn't me either. Do remember that I'm a gentle soul," she said. "That fiendish creature had always enjoyed impersonating me." The distaste was evident in her voice even as she hid her face with her sleeve. "However, to answer your original question, I simply don't want to 'pass on.' This was my home and the site of our burial. My servants' spirits are here as well and I cannot abandon them. I will continue to protect this land."

A spirit with no living attachments who also didn't want to pass on? That was a first, at least for Mai.

She always thought that spirits should pass on and receive help if they couldn't. So, what about spirits like Chiyo who were not clouded by emotion and could make coherent decisions?

Sensing the malfunction in her brain, Gene explained, "Not all spirits will pass on—we have our reasons. Some have unfinished business making it so they can't, which you're more familiar with. Others may have already passed on but chose to remain here. Chiyo-hime-san would be the latter."

"Wow, they can return? I didn't know that." Mai almost forgot that he had been a medium in life, so his expanse of knowledge was far advanced compared to hers. "What about your 'Anata?'"

Chiyo's wistful smile returned. "He also has things to protect and he is working hard."

Mai didn't quite understand what she meant but felt that she shouldn't pry further. Any mention of her lover was already a sore spot. In some way, Mai got her answer. Whatever task he had to fulfill must be why Chiyo chose to stay, to wait.

I hope you two can see each other again…

The female spirit sensed the direction of Mai's thoughts. "Even if I don't choose to leave, I would like to extend a thank you to your dear friend for his work. Because of him, I was able to see my Anata again, even if just for a moment," she said with a delighted smile.

Mai blinked in confusion. While she debated whether to ask for elaboration or not, Chiyo changed the subject. "I also would like to apologize to John-sama. I believe my attention was what garnered that fiend to target him."

"Oh, no need to apologize. John would understand! Besides, I don't blame you. If I saw a person who reminded me of someone special, I would probably do something similar."

Chiyo fluttered her eyes innocently. "Like the gentleman who carried you out?" Gene met her eyes briefly and turned his head to the side to stifle a laugh.

"Huh?" Mai tilted her head as memories rushed back into her head. She didn't witness the attack, but she saw that?!

"You mean, Naru? No way—he's my boss. And I guess, also my friend now too."

Gene stopped his chuckling and turned to her. "Wait, Mai… you consider Noll a friend?"

Taken aback by Gene's sudden question, Mai blinked.

"Of course, he's my friend," she said, mumbling the next part. "Even if he can be an asshole sometimes…"

Sure, it wasn't like the conventional friendship she had with her school friends but they had developed a certain tolerance of each other. He wasn't as easy to get along with as Gene, but he wasn't unkind either—well, 50% of the time, anyway.

In fact, she kind of liked their banter.

Now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure if Naru even considered them friends. She didn't expect him to, honestly. He seemed like the type to keep himself in closed quarters. Not to mention that he had more pressing matters than making friends with a bunch of misfits.

Gene's expression softened.

"I'm just happy he's made a friend. He's popular with the ladies because he shares this dashing face," he said, gesturing to his own smugly. "But his personality scares them away."

He wrapped his arm around Mai's shoulders. "You're one of the few, if not the only one, who's been willing to accept him. What a gal."

Mai playfully slapped his arm off. "I don't think he considers me a friend, though."

Gene looked thoughtful for a minute. "You'd be surprised. You've gotten away with a lot more than you think," he said, winking.

When they eventually remembered Chiyo, they found the spirit hiding her face behind her sleeve. Her eyes betrayed her smile.

Ultimately, she ended up shooing them out of her space. Not before ensuring Mai that she had thought carefully about her decision, of course.

"I was partly the reason the fiend's influence could not reach far," she clarified. "Should anything happen, perhaps I will reach out to your guardian."

Mai accepted her answer but still felt like things were left open-ended. Gene explained again that not all spirits wanted, or needed, to pass on officially. Some returned as spirit guides, others as protectors or guardian angels, and so on.

Chiyo paid her respects to Usa-sama before politely escorting them out of her plane. This resulted in Mai being catapulted back to her body.

When she came to, her head and eyelids felt like lead. She could pretend to be asleep for a moment longer, right?

She went to rub her eyes but found that her arms were trapped under a thick blanket. Forcing her eyelids open, she realized that she was back in their hotel room. An orange glow illuminated the room from the open door leading to the patio area.

"Ah, you're awake." John popped into her view, now dressed in his streetwear. "How are you feeling?"

She yanked her arms out and stretched. "Surprisingly okay thanks to you! I would've been spiritual toast," she said. She pushed herself up and noticed a rosary had been placed on her as she slept.

John shook his head. "Not at all. When Lin-san mentioned that you had been gone for too long, Shibuya-san was the one who knew where to find you."

"We had talked about the south wing bathhouse the night before," she clarified. She rubbed at her eyes and scanned the room. "Where is everyone?"

"He and Lin-san went to figure out the van situation."

Mai sighed in relief.

Gene was stern but still went easy on her. Naru, on the other hand, was unpredictable.

"Did he seem angry at all?"

The blond male thought for a moment and shrugged. "Not particularly. He did seem quite tired, though. You really worried us there." John then dropped his smile, adopting a more serious expression. "I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone what I had done."

"I promise, I won't tell anyone. I'm sorry… I forced you into that situation." She bowed her head down in guilt.

John shook his head before giving her a reassuring smile. "I could never stand by idly if a friend were endangered."

Mai's chest warmed up knowing John considered her as a friend. "Thank you, I would do the same for you." She sent him a bright grin, which he returned with equal fervor. "Before I forget, Chiyo-san wanted to thank you for expelling the demon."

"No need to thank me. I'm just happy to help."

"She also wanted to apologize for stalking you for hours."

John then erupted into a laugh, making Mai blink in surprise. That was the first time she'd seen him fully laugh.

Finding his energy contagious, she grinned before joining him in his laughter.

Naru and Lin returned soon after, announcing the status of the repaired van.

Surprisingly, Naru didn't seem angry. There was a lack of acknowledgment but that wasn't new. She should've asked Gene earlier how to identify signs of an angry Naru.

Regardless, even if he was angry or not, she wanted to thank him for looking for her. If he hadn't, John wouldn't have been able to drive the demon away.

After updating Naru and Lin on her talk with Chiyo, the group packed up and left the hotel.

Mai paused in front of the hotel during her exit and stared back. She hoped that Chiyo and the other spirits stayed safe. Wherever Chiyo's lover was, he was probably protecting her too. How else had she remained unharmed by such a malevolent entity?

In fact, while they were packing earlier, she picked John's brain about certain things she didn't understand—the main question being, how did John's exorcism help Chiyo to see her lover again? The priest seemed to immediately understand and she wondered if this was supposed to be common knowledge.

John chuckled when she said that. "I don't believe Eastern cultures and religions have this concept. We call them 'angels.'"

He then divulged an explanation of what they represent and that Chiyo's lover may very well be one. That would also explain why he was referred to as a protector who was "working hard."

John was right. Shintoism and Buddhism didn't have an equivalent for 'angels.' She didn't even know what they were until he explained. She'd heard the term before—mainly in anime—but didn't know the symbolism behind them.

Knowing that, she could leave feeling a bit more at ease. A part of her still felt a little incomplete though, like she hadn't done anything to help. But what could she have done?

"You can't save every spirit, nor does every spirit want to be saved," Naru interrupted her thoughts as he walked past.

Before he got too far, she called out, "Naru!"

He stopped and turned his head slightly in her direction. Only his profile was visible.

She huffed and hurried after him. He can't even bother to face me all the way!

"I just wanted to say thanks… for finding me."

Initially, Naru stared plainly at her, leaving her to fidget awkwardly. She was about to break the silence when he sighed. "It has dawned on me the severity of your attraction to danger. Do remember that I am liable for your safety during cases."

Mai bowed her head. "I know… sorry." When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I really thought someone was in there, otherwise I would've left."

He closed his eyes. "Your overwhelming concern for other people leaves you blind to the signs of danger."

"Yeah…"

"From now on, you will start stricter training to improve your senses," he said, before walking off toward the van. He then briefly paused and added, "And more readings."

She watched him ditch her with her mouth agape.

This better count as overtime!

And no, it did not count as overtime.

The coming weeks after their excursion was grueling. Not only did Naru assign readings from multiple books, but she also had the suspicion he was making fun of her by assigning a book about common sense.

Gene had a party when he heard that.

Naru also had Mai practice eating vegetarian once every two weeks before eventually changing it to once a week. He and Lin did this twice a week normally, so she had a feeling that would be her objective too.

This was the less difficult part. Vegetables were cheaper anyways and she could last weeks off rice, natto, bean sprouts, and pickled daikon if needed. She had done it before and could do it again!

There was also an exercise component to this regimen but Naru deemed it unnecessary for her introduction.

Between the readings, meditation with Gene, lake research, office hours, and school, she was exhausted come the weekend.

And when it came time to sleep, she was burdened by nightmares of her attack from the hotel. Sometimes the nightmares featured different scenarios but the premise would remain the same.

She would wake up in trepidation and be too fearful to fall back asleep. She would switch her lights on immediately and repeat Usa-sama's prayers like a mantra. Sometimes the deity would manifest, providing her with much-needed comfort. He usually nestled himself next to her or between her legs from over the blanket. He helped make the nights less lonely.

If only she had his company after her parents had passed away years ago.

While Gene couldn't provide comfort, he tried to force her out of the nightmares whenever he could. This wasn't often since it took a good chunk of his energy that he didn't always have.

He deduced that the nightmares weren't even spiritual in nature, thus Usa-sama had nothing to protect her from. They were merely dreams.

Gene figured that they would hopefully resolve once she overcame the fear, which was much easier said than done.

Rather than taking sleeping pills again, she let the nightmares pass and just stayed up until she was tired. During this window of the night, she resorted to scrolling her phone despite Naru's criticisms of her online media intake.

Out of pettiness, she went out of her way to spam emails of obviously fake paranormal videos, pictures, or ghost memes.

He never replied, of course. But oddly enough, his non-existent presence made the night a little less lonely when Usa-sama wasn't with her.

It took the tenth email over the course of a few nights for him to reply finally—

Mai, go to bed.

She remembered the surprise when she got the notification. She may not have won the real battle, but this was still a victory.

She did have to wonder why he was still awake at 3 am, though.

Sparing him from more emails that night, she resumed the night after but took care not to send as many.

Then, one day when she was delivering tea and apples to Naru's office, her boss surprised her with a question.

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

Averting her gaze to anything but his pointed gaze, she stalled, "I must really look like Ayako without makeup on, huh?"

Naru exhaled deeply through his nose. "Explain your incessant nightly emails?"

"Oh, right."

Naru sat unenthused with his arms crossed while she stood awkwardly at the side of his desk. Moments passed by as Naru patiently waited for an answer.

Unable to ignore his prying stare, she explained the situation—the nightmares, the progress to finding a solution, and her current plan.

"I used to take sleeping pills every night to prevent nightmares like that, but I don't want to get back into that habit."

Why she was divulging so much to Naru, she didn't know. But it was nice to talk about it with someone other than Gene, even if her current companion wasn't great on advice or comfort.

Just talking at him worked.

Naru, as expected, didn't say much after he got his answer before directing her back to work.

It wasn't until after she returned home that she noticed a new email notification on her phone. Naru had replied to one of her more serious emails about a haunted mirror that reminded her of her own.

His reply wasn't long, but he took the time out of his oh-so-precious day to criticize her theory and correct it in only two sentences.

To a normal person, that was insulting. To Mai, she was elated that he even replied.

She also found it cute that he wrote completely in Hiragana for certain characters that people would normally switch to Kanji for.

Since Naru hadn't made any objections, she continued emailing him but slowed it down to an occasional basis. She also only shared potentially real hauntings to discuss. He didn't always reply, but occasionally, she would be surprised with a notification. Most of the time he debunked whatever it was within a single sentence, but she would add rebuttals to spice things up if she was bored.

She would never admit it to Gene, but she looked forward to Naru's responses, rare as they were. Gene was honestly surprised, er, impressed, that his brother replied at all.

"Told you he lets you get away with a lot," he said one night while she was visiting her plane. "Any other person, let alone a girl, and he would have kept ignoring them. You've made it!"

Mai didn't know what she made but let Gene be happy about it anyways.

After a month and a half of meditation with her guides and emailing Naru at night, the nightmares dwindled. John had also gifted her some quartz as a late birthday present. The crystal was supposed to cleanse energy and provide spiritual clarity.

Speaking of birthdays, she didn't find out until the night before that Naru and Gene's birthday was September 19th! It was no surprise that Naru didn't say anything, but Gene didn't mention it either.

He'd been glum for the days preceding. The only way she got it out of him was when she and Usa-sama teamed up to confront him the night of the 18th. He was sad, not for himself, but for his living twin.

"He's never been big on birthdays," Gene explained. "Usually, our mother and Madoka would plan some big absurd party, which I'm always about. Naru, though? He'd try to hole himself up in his office or hide." He chuckled to himself at the memory. "It'll be rough without me there this year."

Mai nearly bawled hearing him talk about the memories of past birthdays. With everything different, she knew that neither would want any type of celebration. So, per Gene's request, her birthday present to the twins was to keep Naru company… from afar.

After school the next day, she picked up some imported Earl Grey from the UK and a few lightly sweetened pastries from a Western-style bakery. All by Gene's recommendations. He took care not to empty her wallet too much.

Rather than wishing Naru a happy birthday—which he would have questioned how she knew—she left a tray with the teapot and pastries laid out for him on his desk.

If he wanted to be a hermit, at least he would be fed.

He didn't say anything but raised a brow at her.

"I don't know, just felt nice today. You're welcome, by the way," she teased before leaving him to his work. He was in a bit of a foul mood today, so she wasn't about to bug him for a "thank you."

The rest of the night went as normal, except that she fell asleep at her desk. When she eventually woke up and went to make more tea, she found the teapot and dishes all cleaned and lined up on the drying rack.

He enjoyed it! Her face broke out into a huge grin. A victory for today!

The weeks following felt like everything was back to normal—no nightmares and no sulking twins.

Some clients came in, but Naru had no interest in their cases. There was even one client whom Naru shooed away in the rudest way imaginable!

A student from Yuasa high school had a friend who had been possessed—allegedly—by a kitsune after Ouija boarding at school. So, leave it to her boss to say her friend was better suited to get help from an asylum than from them!

It wasn't until Bou-san visited their office that more light was shed on the specific high school. A fan of his, which she still couldn't believe that he had, also went to Yuasa. She'd requested help from him due to all the unexplainable events at her school.

"I was hoping you'd be interested in taking the case. There have been multiple accounts of injuries by the students sitting at this cursed desk. Even a teacher has reported seeing apparitions. Something just doesn't seem right about that school," Bou-san explained. He took a sip of the iced coffee Mai brought him and watched Naru for an answer.

The boss man contemplated but didn't give an immediate answer.

"Seems kind of weird. I don't know much about curses but that desk sounds pretty cursed to me," Mai added her two cents.

"Right? The string of events can't just be a coincidence."

Mai nodded in affirmation. "Oh, by the way, nice haircut!" He ditched the ponytail style for a messier chin-length cut. It suited him!

He sent her a cheeky grin. "If Jou-chan likes it, then I can rest in peace."

"I'm sure Ayako will have something to say abo-"

"Ah, hello," interrupted a client as he entered the office. "I am the principal at Yuasa high school. I would like to request assistance."

Naru stood up to greet the client and directed him to his office.

Looks like they got their next case!

A/N: Hello again! I planned on updating last week but work has been abysmal the past two months, so I didn't have the chapter in a spot I liked. This chapter is much more chill than the last, but it's still pretty important. There are a few bits in this chapter that are needed for development—I'm sure y'all can pick those out ;).

To clarify in case any of you are confused about how much Mai knows about Naru:

She knows he's probably a foreigner, he has a twin, and that he's exceptionally smart (doesn't know how smart though). She doesn't know that he is Oliver Davis, does not know Gene's full name, and does not know he has any psychic powers (she wouldn't be surprised tho, since he eats vegetarian sometimes, like Lin).

Her relationship with him right now is kind of weird. They're friends but even Mai is still trying to explore what that means. IMO, the idea of her sending him emails and him tolerating them enough to reply when he feels nice is a good gateway for more interactions between the two! We didn't get to see any of their interactions outside of work in the main series, so this is my remedy!

Anyhow, thanks so much for dropping by and reading as always! You guys rock!

Please lemme know what you think! Love reading your thoughts!