Chapter Text
Two Months Later
It’s cold in Minnesota as the year comes to a close. Big surprise. Growing up in California has woefully underprepared me for midwestern winter; I audibly shiver as I shut the door of the rental car behind me and cross to the passenger side. May beats me to the punch (when has she not,) and is already halfway to the gate by the time I reach her. She stares through the bars, her nose red from the cold. I take her gloved hand in mine and lace my fingers between hers. She squeezes. I squeeze back.
“Okay,” May stands straighter, breaking through the silence after a few moments. “I’m ready.” She looks up at me inquisitively.
“Ready,” I echo, swallowing the nerves that have begun to bubble up in my throat.
The gate door creaks open with a rather dramatic echo across the quiet cemetery, announcing our arrival before we even make it to the Nash plot. May smiles bittersweetly as we approach the headstone, stepping forward to brush snow off the top of it. “ Hey, Bobby, ” she almost whispers. “ It’s May. Ravi’s here, too. ”
“Hiya, Cap,” I greet, carving Bobby’s name further into the stone with my eyes. I’ve hated cemeteries since I was a kid (for obvious reasons), and despite the brave face I’m putting on for May, I can already feel the walls closing in. My breath feels like glass in my lungs, though that could just be from the cold. May looks back at me and tilts her head to the side before stepping back to hold my arm. Her touch brings me back down to Earth, even if just for a moment.
“So, uh…” She smiles giddily toward the snowy grass at our feet. “Turns out you and mom were right…” I chuckle and kiss the top of her head in agreement, remembering how she’d squealed with excitement when I told her that Bobby had known about our relationship before he died. I could almost see the weight lift off of her shoulders in that moment. “Getting back together was this whole ordeal. Months of avoiding each other like the plague…”
“...Followed by months of pretending to be okay with being friends,” I give in to the fight I was having with the grin pulling at the corners of my mouth. “One of us was better at it, and it certainly wasn’t me. ”
“Sprinkle in a few adventures,” May continues. “A handful of angry love confessions…”
“A karmically-timed car accident- everyone’s fine, of course, ” I stammer, losing our sing-song momentum.
“Ravi saved me,” May blushes. “Rather heroically, I might add.”
“We saved each other, ” I insist.
May kisses my shoulder. “And finally, a romantic gesture of Bobby Nash proportions… ”
“I love your daughter, sir,” I blurt out nervously.
“We Grant girls sure do love our firefighters, huh?” May pulls me into a kiss by the collar of my coat, and it takes both of us a moment to remember we have company.
May smiles bashfully as she turns back toward her stepfather’s shared grave with his family and reaches into her bag, producing a candle, a lighter, and the cupcake we brought all the way from the very bakery Bobby and Athena ordered their wedding cake from back in L.A.
I hold the plastic container as still as I can, shivering as May attempts to light the candle. She covers the small flame with her hand and passes me her phone. I pull up her voicemail and click on Bobby’s name, dated two years ago today.
“ Hey, kiddo, ” his voice comes to life over the speaker. May closes her eyes beside me, inhaling sharply. “ Sorry I missed you- er- well, it’s dawn, so you’re probably not even awake yet, but I didn’t want to wait any longer to wish you a happy birthday! The big 2-2! Man, where did the time go? Feels like I blinked, and suddenly you’re this incredible young woman, about to make her mark on the world. Makes a guy feel old."
He laughs to himself. "I’m not gonna get too sappy over your voicemail. I know how you love that. But… it’s been one of the biggest honors of my life getting to watch you grow up. I mean it. You’re my girl, Mayday. ” An alarm bell rings overhead. “ Duty calls. I’ll see you tomorrow, kiddo. Can’t wait to celebrate with you. I love you, May. Happy birthday. ”
The silence afterwards makes me realize I’d been holding my breath. I shudder out an exhale, tears welling in my eyes. May blows out the candle, finally opening her own and allowing tears to fall down her face. She stares at the stone before us. “ I love you too, Bobby. ”
I pull her into an embrace, nearly smashing the cupcake between us. “Thank you for coming with me to do this,” May mumbles into my jacket.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” I reply, kissing her hair. She steps back and uses her thumbs to wipe the tears that have now stained my cheeks. I return the favor.
“Ready to go?” She asks, turning to address the headstone. “Bobby, I love you, but I can’t feel my fingers.”
I laugh out loud and bring her hands to my mouth, breathing against the fabric of her gloves to warm her up. “Better?”
“Not in the slightest,” she giggles, kissing her fingers and touching the stone before crossing back up the grass. I don’t follow her. “You coming?”
“Actually, uh…” My hands feel heavy in my pockets. “Could I have a second alone? With… Cap?”
May’s eyes twinkle under the sentimental crease of her brow. “Of course. Keys?”
I toss them her way and watch until she makes it back to the rental car, then turn back toward the grave. “Hey, Cap. Me again. Or, well, I didn’t really leave, so I don’t know about again, but uh… shit, I’m really fucking this up, aren’t I?” I clench and unclench my hands to ground myself. “I love May, sir. I love her so much, and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for not having the courage to tell you that myself, even if you did approve. So I know this is sudden, and it probably won’t happen for a good while now, but…”
I pull the ring box from my pocket and rotate it in my hands. “I got it the day after the concert two months ago. I’ll ask Athena, and Michael, of course, but I wanted to get your permission first. You’re my Cap. Always will be.” I open the ring box to show him.
Though I could be imagining it, a warm breeze curls through the cemetery, rustling the branches of a nearby tree and twisting between headstones until it hits me. Hey there, Bobby.
“Thanks, Cap,” I beam. “We’ll save you a seat.” I raise my hand to salute.
…
The artist formerly known as ‘ Panik ’ releases one more song before officially retiring from music. ‘ April Showers ’ is his first single to make it onto the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Fans speculate that the love song is dedicated to May Grant-Nash, a fan whom the singer brought up from the audience to sing to during his reunion concert this past fall. Panik has never confirmed nor denied this fact, though his Instagram post following their engagement, captioned ‘ bring May flowers ✓ ’ has led some fans to speculate.
THE END.