desclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt, or it's characters. I just write fluff for them and cry a bit.

a/n: this fic is sort of like a future fic/future au that Fuyumi Ono was hinting at in terms of MaixNaru. I tried to get the characters as IC as I can, especially Naru, when they've all matured and stuff, but it might strike some people as a bit OOC.

The kettle had just finished boiling as Oliver Davis stormed into the SPR office, his heavy footsteps hammering against the floor as if the distance between the entrance and his own office was a personal insult of grave proportions. Mai didn't bother to rush after him- instead, she calmly fetched the tea from its container and began the process of brewing.

"Mai, tea!"

She almost rolled her eyes. Ten years did nothing to change her boss' habit of demanding for tea every time he entered the office. Years ago, it had exasperated her to no end when she heard his humourless voice sharply commanding her to make tea, as if that the only function she was capable of. That was a long time ago. Ten years had done her wonders in developing her skills and mental aptitude. She was no longer the assistant but… brewing tea had become a habit. It was a hard habit to shake off, for the both of them.

Mai poured the contents of the kettle into a ceramic teapot and placed it, along with two cups, into a tray. Carefully, she carried the tray to the researcher's office. She knocked at his door twice, rapid taps that came from custom rather than politeness- as evidenced by her immediate entrance.

Oliver regarded the woman with a cool eye that would've made a more unfamiliar person wonder if those angry footsteps belonged to him. "You should wait for permission before entering." His voice would've made their blood run cold.

"If you want to talk about rudeness, I should start demanding all those undelivered thanks from you," Mai retorted as she placed the tray on the table that stood between them. "And Naru, let me tell you, those are an awful lot of thanks you've compiled over the years."

He leaned back into his chair and gave her a long hard look. Mai only rolled her eyes and promptly informed him how ridiculous he looked. "I didn't realise how desperately you need my thanks to feel validated." He said, a sly smirk tugging the sides of his lips. "You should work on that- a woman at your age shouldn't rely on other people's praise."

"The day I crave your praises is when I'm dead and buried, Naru," Mai drawled as she grinned and perched on the edge of his desk. Years ago, her teenage self would've been mortified at the thought of sitting on her boss' desk. Oliver wasn't exactly the type to promote a friendly atmosphere. Mai grinned wider when she saw his hand hide his growing amusement. "Aw, getting shy now? Don't tell me that big bad boss I met ten years ago turned soft?"

"The day I turn soft is when I'm dead and buried, Mai," Oliver parroted teasingly.

Mai laughed fully and carelessly, and for a second or two, the researcher mused about how time did nothing to dissuade the richness of her emotions. For a second or two, he was even beginning to enjoy himself.

"So, what happened at the conference?"

Instantly, his mood began to sour. "There's nothing to discuss."

She ignored him. "I'm guessing it went horribly. Probably someone said something they shouldn't? Or maybe it was an unbeliever. Or maybe it was an unbeliever that said something they shouldn't? Did they hurt your pride, maybe?"

Oliver gave her a withering glare but Mai only shrugged and grinned in response. Finally, with a defeated sigh, the researcher murmured, "I liked it better when you were naive and stupid. You were easier to ignore then."

Mai smiled gently and began pouring his tea into one of the cups. She handed it to her boss and he took it without a word but kept his eyes trained on hers. "We passed that point long ago, Naru. You can't cross the same bridge twice." The woman waited for a reply but wasn't at all surprised by his unyielding silence. "You're so unreasonable."

"You're just too nosy."

She shrugged, "I care for you… and I care for SPR. It isn't that hard to see why I'm so interested."

He did not reply but instead continued on watching her eyes as if trying to decipher something intangible in her words. As if he was trying to unearth secrets that she had buried in the deepest part of her mind. But he was no empath, and she had learnt not to wear her heart on her sleeve so much.

Oliver surprised her by pouring her a cup of tea and handing it over without so much as a sarcastic quip. Or at least, not one that burned so much.

"Well? Aren't you going to take it?" He droned, arching his brow at her astonishment.

"Oh! Er," Mai stammered, a blush growing at the apples of her cheeks. Flustered, she held out her hands to receive it and fought to regain her composure but failed ultimately, as she finished it with a lame, "thanks."

The researcher only sneered at her as she gulped the warm tea enthusiastically, hoping that the fire in her cheeks would die out before desire to hide in a rock would overtake her. "Slowly, Mai, you might choke."

"Screw you," Mai muttered in English. It was one of first phrases she had learnt long ago that had proved to be useful in Oliver's company. She slammed the cup back into the tray and resorted to her last resource; force. "Instead of trying to one-up me, why don't you try to actually work with your emotions, you emotionally constipated man! Seriously, you'd think ten years would improve that side of-"

"I might've seriously considered hurting someone today."

Time must've stopped as those careless words tumbled out of his mouth as easily as an insult would've. So easily that she might've been fooled into thinking that he hadn't examined his words until they no longer seemed like words but rather something solid and true, something too rotten to release into the world. She might've been fooled into thinking that there was no shame or disgust behind his words. We have passed that point long ago…

He hid his face behind his hands that was clasped together as if in prayer or as if at mercy but his eyes did not register anything but blankness as he his words began to flow like water cascading and surging through a broken dam. "As you'd recall, this conference is one the few public appearances that I've allowed since solving Gene's case. It also marked how much SPR expanded into an agency that could afford to take on multiple cases at once and is now the front runner in paranormal research in Japan. What we've achieved- the eight of us- is truly impressive and-"

He paused, and Mai fixed him a concerned look. "Yes?"

"It's impressive," Oliver finished briskly, "and that's why we seem to have garnered a lot of admiration and unpleasantness."

"What happened, Naru?"

"She was sitting on the front row and just as I was finishing my talk, she just began revealing details about Gene's case. Details that she- nobody- was supposed to know. She knew everything."

"Retrocognition?"

"Maybe. I wasn't… I wasn't in the right mind for inquiries." He squared his jaw and furrowed his brow. "I just wanted to harm her right then, in the most painful way as possible."

"Naru…"

"I didn't, of course, otherwise I would've been holed up in some dingy cell instead of sitting here." Oliver smiled sardonically, taking a small sip of his tea before spitting out the words, "But I am not so sure whether I am ashamed of myself for thinking those thoughts or I am ashamed of myself for not going through with it."

The silence between them festered.

Long ago, such words from him would've been impossible to hear from him. His pride was too big to admit of a mistake and his… skills would never allow him even a crack of imperfection. Long ago, she wouldn't have understood anything but the immediate.

Mai leaned forward and gently pushed his hands downwards until it rested on the table's surface. With great tenderness, she lifted up his chin until his eyes- stormy with emotions that could not be given words- met her own. She cradled his cheeks with a gentle palm. "You're not a monster, you know." Mai said softly, "you are a brilliant, arrogant man, and you are no monster. You are a human being entitled to emotions that can be overwhelming and you've made difficult choices, Naru. That's bravery. Please don't forget that."

He smiled. It was a small smile, as fleeting as time, and just as precious. "I think I liked it better when you were naive and stupid. It's so hard to ignore you now."

"You're just unreasonable," she teased back, grinning.

"Can you kiss me, Mai?"

Ten years had changed them a lot, for sure, but one thing that seemed to stay constant was life's ability in throwing Mai a lot of fastballs and taking joy in watching her fumble around.

"Well? Aren't you going to?" Oliver droned, his grin growing more sly as the colour of her cheeks grew more intense.

"Oh, er, what?" She spluttered, hoping that she might've misheard (and kind of not).

"Well, you've got your hand on my cheek and the sun is setting and we shared quite an intimate moment about feelings and such. It's not so far fetched to believe that a kiss is due, right?"

"Um."

Before she could withdraw her hand from his face, Oliver placed his own over hers and instead of dropping another sarcastic comment, he regarded her sharply and lost all traces of humour in his eyes. "Or is it still Gene, Mai?"

Long ago…

Mai smiled ruefully, remembering memories and feelings with nostalgia. "Gene was… my first love. Some part of me will always remember loving him, Naru. I think you understand that."

"I do."

"Then, kiss me."

Maybe it wasn't the kiss that she had often dreamed about in the silence of the night and it was definitely not the love that she had envisioned as a child. It was hard won and was filled with roughness and it was overwhelming to the point where she thought she might've break into a million pieces. But time had taught her many things- of her capabilities, of her limitations- and it taught her how much she could love a person.

a/n: so, i've come back to my roots as a soppy ff writer because when you're trying to write a story before important dates, your brain decides, 'hey, do you know what would be a good idea? rediscovering your love for this obscure series and writing about it in a site where you spent your teen years embarrassing immersed in'. yes, much adult, so adult. I may also make this into a series. The future is uncertain.

EDIT: I have uploaded it in AO3! /works/1788085