Amber 💜 What about a May joined the 118 instead of Harry AU where she and Ravi begin (or already were in) a secret relationship. It gets revealed - or maybe they think it will, but it doesn't - when the biblically accurate Ravi bidding war happens and May goes all out to bid on her boyfriend. (Athena on the rooftop voice: "You're bidding on your boyfriend?")
1. Getting through the academy is one of the hardest things May’s ever done. Not just physically, mentally too. She’s never been that afraid of anything — she is her mother’s daughter after all — but forcing herself to run into burning buildings, even when she knows there are people there to keep her safe. It’s going to be even harder when she’s the one rescuing people, and there’s no one there to rescue her. Hen helps out with some after hours training, but one day when May shows up at the firehouse, she finds out Hen had to leave because Mara was sick. One of the other firefighters offers to help her out if she wants. This is the first time she’s actually talked to Ravi. He’s really helpful. He tells her he taught at the academy for a bit, gives her his number and says if she has any questions, just to call or text. May calls when she gets home and asks if he’d like to grab coffee with her.
2. One coffee turns into two, turns into lunches, then dinners. May still meets up with Hen for training, but works with Ravi as well. They’re basically spending all their free time together, which is maybe moving kind of fast, but. He’s a first responder, she’s on her way, they both know what that can look like. They haven’t dropped the “L” word yet, but it feels like it’s only a matter of time.
3. May’s family and the 118 come to her graduation — Ravi sends her a selfie of himself in his uniform before the ceremony starts. May can’t wait to get him out of it once she’s done with the family stuff. She knows one of her instructors recommended her to a couple of different stations, and she’s buzzing with excitement to find out where she’s going to be assigned. Her only concern about it, really, is hoping it’s not too far away from her house. She’s shocked to hear the “Station 118” called after her name. She fakes a smile but she can see the way Ravi’s genuine smile has dropped to something smaller and strained, even all the way from the stage. She had genuinely never considered that they might ask for her to fill their empty spot. Hen and Chimney immediately fold her into a 118 hug when the ceremony is over, Chimney effusing how much work she’s been doing with Hen and how well she’s been progressing, Hen asking if she’s surprised. May manages to answer them, somehow, and survive the impromptu lunch that they’ve planned. Ravi still comes over that night, but he looks sad. May asks why, and he says he doesn’t want to break up. May says they’ve been dating this whole time without anyone knowing, why does that need to change? She’s not about to break up with him.
4. May starts at the 118, and it’s easier to hide her relationship with Ravi than she thought. Buck shows her the ropes, and she gets paired with Hen for basic medical calls. She and Ravi try not to be alone together, and her past with the 118 means they don’t really want to ask her about her dating life — most of them have known her since she was in high school. It’d be a little weird.
5. The 118 gets assigned to the bachelor auction, and May is torn between wanting to proclaim the sexism of the event, glad that she’s not participating, and wondering if any of the higher ups have any idea how ignorant of history this event seems. She helps Ravi with his info slide, giggling as she adds “Cat Dad”. Buck says at least they usually get a good dinner out of it. The night of the auction, May sits with her mom, Maddie, and Captain Han — she tries not to think of him as Chimney in work situations. It feels too informal, too familiar for her captain. She’s handed a bidding paddle when she gets there, and she keeps it on her lap. She tries not to laugh when the other firefighters come out, but it’s so weirdly showy. When it’s Ravi’s turn, she gives him a small smile and a nod. And then — nobody is bidding on him? Her hand is in the air before she consciously processes the action. Captain Han applauds her for looking out for her teammate as more bids roll in for Ravi. May grits her teeeth. It’s for charity, she reminds herself. Someone yells out a suggestive comment as they bid, and May snaps. She doubles the bid. The auctioneer calls it in her favour immediately. Ravi hops off the stage to join them at their table, cheeks adorably flushed. He takes the empty chair next to May and she immediately clamps her hand down on his thigh and pulls him in for a kiss, barely this side of appropriate for a room full of people. “We’ve been dating for six months,” May tells the stunned table. She doesn’t let go of Ravi for the rest of the event.
I missed that @mayviweek was happening and I'm unprepared! But here is an old fic that I think is NDE-ish.
Seconds Spent With You
May/Ravi | Rated T | 3,005 words
read on AO3, excerpt below
May held her arms around herself as she paced the hospital waiting room. She’d been here a couple hours now, waiting for news, surrounded by members of the 118. She could feel their eyes on her, watching her carefully, waiting for her to shatter. She wouldn’t. Not in front of them. She was too proud to.
And on some level she felt like they needed her to be strong. She knew that when they looked at her they thought about Bobby. While they worried about her falling apart she worried her own emotions might break them.
She stopped in her tracks when Chim appeared in front of her. Captain Han. Captain because this was a dangerous job and captains didn’t always make it.
“You’re gonna wear a path in the carpet at this rate,” he said. “Why don’t you have a seat for a while.”
May studied his face, his kind and concerned expression that didn’t mask the worry in his eyes.
“He’s going to be okay, May,” Chim attempted to reassure her.
“You don’t know that,” she said sharply, then softened a fraction. “But thank you for saying it.”
Chim reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Ravi’s a fighter. He’ll pull through.”
May just nodded, pushing out a smile to appease him. She knew Ravi was a fighter. He’d been fighting for so much of his life. A childhood spent in and out of hospital, body worn thin from cancer treatments. While other kids were doing little league, Ravi had been fighting cancer. Other kids won trophies, Ravi won a chance to grow into adulthood.
He didn’t usually say much to people about what it was like beyond the pleasant stories. Anecdotes about fantastic nurses or the time a miniature therapy horse came through or the time he met Clayton Kershaw or the time Johnny Depp came through in a full Jack Sparrow costume. He’d joked that there was a benefit to being a sick kid in L.A. and having proximity to a lot of celebrities.
Those were the stories he’d tell standing around in someone’s backyard, holding a beer and chatting with work colleagues while burgers sizzled nearby and the kids chased each other around.
Then there were the more private stories that came with time and trust. They’d only just begun to scratch the surface of those. To test the waters. To find out if this thing was built to last.
May settled into a seat and chewed nervously on her thumbnail. She knew Ravi didn’t like hospitals. She hoped, for his sake, he wouldn’t have to be here long.
Potential AU - May is or gets shrunk down to the size of thumbellina/a fairy, and Ravi has to carry her around in his pocket. Maybe they crimes? Maybe it’s just for a day? Maybe somehow Ravi has to keep Athena from finding out?
okay uh. I took some liberties haha but hopefully you like this! <3 also some more pippin for you <3
1. Ravi wakes up and rolls over, expecting to see his girlfriend. He does. But May is now approximately the size of his hand, palm to middle finger tip. He blinks. “Oh.” May’s voice has unfortunately shrunk with her and even in the quiet room, it’s hard to hear her. Ravi pulls up the microphone app he has on his phone. it’s not perfect but it’s a lot faster than her trying to type on her phone.
“You cannot tell my mom,” May says. “I told her I wasn't working in the spellcasters’ ward.”
“You’re asking me to lie to Athena Grant?” Ravi shakes his head. “She’ll spot that in a second.”
“Don’t lie, just don’t tell her,” May says. “It’s not like you two text.”
“You have just cursed me to work a scene with her today,” Ravi groans. “What’s the hospital protocol for this?”
“If it’s not actively threatening your health, give it twenty four hours to resolve,” May dutifully repeats. “And besides being tiny, everything else seems normal.”
“Yeah, that’s how I would describe this morning,” Ravi mutters.
He puts a hand down on the bed for her. She stares up at him. “I thought it would be weird if I picked you up,” he admitted. She steps into his palm and sits down cross legged. He carries her to the kitchen, putting her down on the counter while he makes some coffee. They debate over the best way for May to get some coffee, and settle on Ravi making her coffee in a measuring spoon that’s stuck between two cans at just below head height for May. It’s a little awkward but a lot easier than her trying to pick something up to drink out of. For breakfast he puts dry Rice Krispies on in a little bowl he usually uses for mixing spices.
May’s on her second spoon of coffee when Pippin jumps on the table. They both stare at him. he stares back at May. He leans towards her, and Ravi’s ready to grab him if he even seems like he’s going to bite her. Pippin starts purring and gently rubs his face against her, his tail flicking out and around her.
“Aw, who’s my best guy?” May giggles and scratches his head. Pippin does his jet engine purr for her. “Good Pippin.”
“I'm not your best guy?” Ravi mutters, faux offended.
2. May gets a coworker to come check in on her while Ravi's at work — it's basically the only reason he leaves. Well, that, and May’s worried that if he doesn't go to work, Harry will think somethings wrong and it could end up with him or her mom stopping by. Especially if they find out May is off too. So Ravi goes to work, and May promises to text any updates.
Of course they see Athena before lunch. Ravi is sweating buckets, sure that she's somehow going to know something is wrong. But all she does before she leaves is give Harry a quick hug and nod to Ravi. He's still not totally sure she likes him; she's polite when they have dinner together, and she seems to expect him more often than not at family events, but she's not… warm. Maybe it's just because he and May are still pretty new. Maybe Harry told her about his run in with Ravi at May’s house. Maybe she's mad that he ghosted May for a while.
By lunch time, he's only had one update from May, which said “all good”. He sends her a text back to see if everything is still the same. He doesn't realize his legs been bouncing until Buck points it out. Buck asks if everything's okay, and Ravi says yes. From his pause and narrowed eyes, he doesn't think Buck believes him, but he drops it. For a little while.
3. Later he asks if it's about May, and Ravi tries to deny it.
“You're not thinking about asking her to move in, are you?” Buck asks. “It's only been a couple of months.”
Rich coming from Buck, Ravi thinks. “No, nothing like that,” Ravi says. He decides he can be a little honest. “She just caught a little bit of something from work. I just feel bad I’m here and not looking after her.”
“Oooh,” Buck nods. “Gotcha. Hey, we could ask Cap to do a grocery run, make her some soup if you want.”
“Oh, sure,” Ravi says, mostly because it would be weird if he said no after telling Buck he was concerned about May. Plus, it'll distract him for a bit.
Shopping for ingredients and making the soup takes up a little less than two hours— technically they made two soups. Now they just have to let them simmer. Buck had talked at length about his preferences for broth soups versus blended vegetable bases but for sickness, broth was better, he said. Ravi had never considered himself to have strong soup opinions so he just nodded along.
The rest of the shift is surprisingly quiet, a few medical calls for Hen and Eddie, a couple car accidents for the rest of them. Thankfully no fires, and surprisingly they get out on time.
Ravi has a bag stacked high with containers of soup, and a couple of messages from May saying things are still the same.
4. He gives some of the soup to May'a coworker before she leaves (Anna, she introduces herself. She and May started their program together but she's in a different ward right now.) May can't really eat the soup at her size. It's too hot for a small container. Ravi makes her a couple of crackers with peanut better— she can break them up and then she's still getting protein. Over dinner, such as it is, May tells him that she and Anna talked to the hospital — they're pretty sure it's just a side effect of one of the kids they had in wishing that their sneeze or cough was smaller, and May got caught in the crossfire when she was doing check ins. They're not worried, and she can take another day off she needs it. Ravi hopes she doesn't, but at least he's off tomorrow if she does.
They decide to watch a movie— Ravi puts on a shirt with a pocket that May can sit in, and they watch off his phone so it's easier for May to see and hear. Pippin sits on his lap and stares at May for a few minutes before he lays down.
“He's been doing that all day,” May says with a laugh. “He knows it's me but he's really confused.”
“He’s confused most of the time, how can you tell?” Ravi says dryly. May tries to smack him, like she always does when he makes fun of Pippin (listen he's the most spoiled cat in LA and that's saying something. Ravi can tease him if he wants) but he barely feels it because she's so tiny.
Ravi ends up giving May a lift down so she can snuggle with Pippin when the movie’s over. He puts on a detective show she doesn't like, volume low and subtitles on. When Pippin startles from a car alarm going off outside, Ravi catches May before he even realizes what's happening.
“Pippin,” he scolds. “This happens at least twice a week. It's not inside, stop freaking out.”
May goes back to his shirt pocket until his show is done and then they head for bed.
May insists on brushing her teeth, aka Ravi squeezing out a little bit of toothpaste that she can swipe at with her finger to brush her teeth.They both stare at the bed when they go back to the bedroom.
“I don’t want to squish you,” Ravi says. He puts May down on her pillow. “I have an idea.”
He disappears for a minute and comes back with a cat bed she’s never seen before. “Technically this is for Pippin but I don’t think he’ll mind sharing for a night.” He places it just below the pillow and watches carefully as she climbs into it, hands ready in case she slips or needs a boost. He gets a t-shirt and tucks May in so she doesn’t get cold, and closes the bedroom door so that Pippin can’t come in. The last thing that Ravi thinks before he falls asleep is that he hopes May is back to normal size tomorrow.
5. He wakes up to the smell of coffee and the weight of Pippin on his chest. May is her regular size again, sitting on the other side of the bed and smiling at him.
“Well, that was good timing,” he says. “Unless you still have to go in today?”
“I do, but they said I could come in late,” May tells him, leaning forward to give him a kiss. “So I don’t have to run out just yet.”
