#boxer!max

Two weeks in and you’re still the slowest one in class, still tripping over your own feet sometimes, but you’re getting better. Your form’s sharper, more precise, more in control. Your punches sound less like hesitant taps and more like you mean it. You like the way it makes you feel… powerful, in a world that’s made you feel small lately.

Then one night he’s there.

You’re staying late because it’s the only time the gym is quiet enough for you to practice without fearing judgment. The gym's mostly empty just the rhythmic hum of the industrial fan and the creak of the old heavy bag swinging back at you.

You’re mid combo, jab, cross, hook, when you feel it. A shift in the air. Like electricity crawling up your spine.

You turn. He’s leaning against the far wall, half-shadowed. Arms crossed over his chest. Hood pulled low over his brow. Watching.

“Uh—” you fumble with your wraps. “Sorry, is this your time? I can go.”

“No.” His voice is low. Gravel and smoke. “Keep going.”

You blink. “You… work here?”

He steps out of the shadows and under the flickering lights you finally see him. Sweatshirt soaked at the collar. Tape unraveling from torn knuckles. Jaw sharp enough to cut glass. His face is all edges and intention, and his eyes, God, his eyes. Like a storm barely leashed. Something feral. Something alive.

You recognise him.

Not from class.

From whispers. From rumours. From the crowd’s roar behind warehouse doors. Underground fights. The undefeated. The king of the ring they call the lion. You’d heard the stories, brutal, unbelievable. A fighter who didn’t just win but devoured. You never put a name to the face until now, you just know instinctively its him.

“You’re Max,” you murmur.

His brow lifts, not entirely surprised you already know his name. “And you’re…?”

“Y/N,” you say, almost defensive. “I’m new.”

He steps closer and your breath stumbles in your throat. He smells like leather and sweat and something darker. Not cologne… experience.

“Yeah,” he says, gaze dropping to your stance. “I figured. You hit like someone trying not to.”

Your stomach twists. “I am trying.”

“I know. That’s why I stayed.”

You tilt you head. “What do you mean?”

He shrugs. “Wanted to see if you’d give up.”

You straighten, muscles stiff with pride. “Why would I give up?”

He smiles, small, amused. “People usually do when it hurts.”

“It already hurts,” you mutter, wrapping your wrist tighter. “I just want it to matter.”

That makes him pause.

He watches you like he’s trying to figure out what kind of flame you are, the kind that warms or the kind that burns. You don’t even realise you’re holding your breath until he nods once and moves past you, right behind the bag, holding it steady.

“Then hit it again,” he says. “This time like you mean it.”

So you do.

That’s how it begins.

He doesn’t train you.

Not officially. Not in any structured, planned, or spoken way. He’s not your coach, he’s not on payroll, and no one else in the gym seems to expect him to do anything but haunt the space like a silent, dangerous ghost.

But he’s always there.

Every night you stay late, which is most nights now, he appears. Sometimes already leaning against the wall when you walk in, hood up, arms crossed, gaze unreadable. Other times he arrives a few minutes after you’ve begun, his footsteps barely making a sound across the matted floor as he moves to the edges of your periphery, close enough to make your pulse spike, far enough to pretend it’s coincidence.

He doesn’t say much at first. Most nights he doesn’t speak at all, just watches. His presence is a pressure in the air, a weight between your shoulder blades, a constant reminder that you’re not alone in the dark anymore. On other nights he’s more vocal, offering sharp, precise observations that cut through your form like a knife, not unkind, but never sugarcoated. His voice when it comes is low and sure, and it always finds you mid-swing, mid-sweat, mid-thought.

“You’re dropping your shoulder,” he says one night, voice sudden and smooth as he moves behind you without warning.

You jump, startled by the nearness you hadn’t noticed until his breath was practically at your ear.

“Jesus,” you gasp. “You scared me.”

“I don’t mean to.”

You laugh. He doesn’t. But there’s a flicker of something soft in his eyes when you smile.

“You ever get tired of pretending you’re not interested?” you ask one night, somewhere between breathless and bold, wiping sweat from your brow with trembling hands after a long set that’s left your knuckles raw and your heart pounding.

His head tilts slightly, slow, almost feline in its calculation.

“In fighting?” he asks, as if that’s what you meant.

You glance at him sideways, giving him a look. “In watching me.”

That gets his attention.

He turns to face you fully, stepping in close, too close. Close enough to feel the heat coming off his chest. Close enough to smell the leather of his gloves, the salt of his skin, and the dangerous edge that always seems to cling to him.

“Do you want the truth?” he asks, voice quieter now, almost coaxing, like he’s asking if you can handle it.

Your throat goes dry, but you don’t step back. “Maybe.”

He doesn’t smile, not really, but his gaze drops first to your mouth then back to your eyes and something inside you twists. He doesn’t look at you like you’re delicate. He looks at you like you’re a challenge. A question he hasn’t figured out how to answer.

“I’m not scared of any man in that ring,” he says, and every word feels like it’s being peeled from some deeper part of him, something rarely touched. “But you…”

His eyes stay locked on yours.

“You’re different.”

You let out a sound, half laugh, half disbelief, because what could he possibly mean by that? You with your trembling fists and half-learned footwork and emotional baggage heavy enough to anchor a ship?

“Me?” you say, like it’s absurd.

He nods, slow. Measured. Dead serious.

“You don’t flinch,” he says softly. “Not when I look at you. You hold your ground like you’ve got something worth protecting. Like you’ve already been broken once, and now you dare anyone to try again.”

You go still.

“I’m just…” you start, but your voice falters. “I’m just here to heal.”

He studies you. “You’re already stronger than you think.”

Over the next few weeks the gym becomes your haven, not just a place to train, but a kind of sanctuary carved out of sweat, bruises, and silence.

The world outside still stings sometimes, the wrong song in the car, a passing couple laughing too loudly, the loneliness that curls around your ribs in the quiet hours of the night, but here, beneath flickering lights and the smell of chalk and rubber mats you begin to feel solid again.

You’re still not fast enough.

Still not perfect.

Your punches don’t always land clean, and your form gets sloppy when your mind drifts but you’re not afraid anymore.

Not of the bag. Not of the pain.

More importantly not of being seen.

Max becomes something like a shadow.

Always nearby. Always watching.

Then somehow, impossibly, he becomes a friend. Or maybe something that skirts the edges of friendship, standing too close to something else neither of you have the language for yet.

You start learning things about him in bits and pieces, never offered up like casual facts, but revealed in the quiet in-between moments, like loose change dropped by accident.

You find out he hates early mornings with a passion that borders on theatrical, grumbles about them like they’ve personally wronged him.

"Nothing good has ever happened before ten.”

You raise an eyebrow, mid-wrap. “Sunrises? Pancakes?”

“Blinding, and deceptively dangerous if you burn them.”

You just snort.

You find out that he doesn’t drink coffee, says it makes his hands shake and he can’t afford that. You learn that the long, pale scar along his left side came from a street fight he won in under a minute, a win that should’ve felt like triumph but still seems to sit heavy in his memory.

Then there are the softer things.

The things you're not sure he mean to let slip.

You find out he loves cats. That he used to sneak food to a stray outside his old apartment until it trusted him enough to curl up on his lap.

You mention offhand how your mom's been texting pictures of her rose bushes again, proud, unsolicited updates with captions like “First bloom of the season!” as if the flowers were children on their first day of school.

You expect him to brush it off, or maybe offer a quiet nod, but instead he lights up in this quiet, unexpected way, eyes soft like you’ve said something that reached a part of him you didn’t know was listening.

“My gran’s like that,” he says, shifting slightly closer. “She sends me photos of her garden every week. Sometimes every day if the weather’s good.”

You smile. “Really?”

He nods, pulling out his phone like it’s instinct. “Look.”

He scrolls for a second, then turns the screen toward you. It’s a picture of a large flowerbed, a little overgrown, the colours soft and unruly, like something out of an old storybook. The caption underneath is typed in careful all-caps: “STILL NO SIGN OF THE BEGONIA THIEF. I’M WATCHING.”

You let out a quiet laugh, but it’s not teasing. “It’s beautiful.”

“She works so hard on it,” he says, almost to himself. Then, after a beat. “She texts me a lot just to check in. It’s… nice. Makes my day better.”

You glance over at him and he’s looking at the photo like it’s something sacred.

“She sounds really special,” you say.

He nods once. “She is.”

You catch glimpses of the man underneath the reputation.

The so-called lion of the underground, the undefeated, the feared, with knuckles like iron and a jaw carved from stone… who also lights up just the tiniest bit when you mention a childhood pet, who goes quiet when you say you’ve had a hard day, who listens like it matters.

You feel it again, the slow, steady cracking open of someone who’s been closed off for a long, long time.

But there’s one thing he never talks about, not directly, not even sideways.

He never tells you why he fights.

Not what started it. Not what keeps him in the ring.

Still, he listens when you talk.

The first time you bring up your ex, it’s barely more than a whisper, something you didn’t mean to say aloud.

"He just made me feel invisible."

It slips out like a secret, and for a second you regret it, heart pounding, wondering if Max will brush it off, make a joke, or worse, pity you.

But he doesn’t do any of that.

Instead his entire body stills like your words struck something in him. His gaze sharpens, eyes narrowing not in judgment but in something that looks a hell of a lot like anger. Not at you, never at you, but at the idea of someone making you feel small. Forgettable. Unseen.

You can feel it radiating off him, that quiet, dangerous rage simmering just under the surface.

“You’re not,” Max says finally, voice low and steady, but so serious it makes your chest tighten. “Invisible.”

The way he says it… like it’s an unshakable truth, like it’s carved in stone… it makes your heart ache.

After that he walks you to your car. Just falls into step beside you, quiet and watchful, the way he always is when the night settles in and the gym empties out.

He doesn’t touch you, doesn’t even let his arm brush yours, but he stays close. So close. Like he’s afraid that if he does touch you, even accidentally, you might vanish and disappear like smoke.

He doesn’t say much else that night but the silence between you hums with something unspoken.

Something careful.

Something new.

And it stays with you long after the engine turns over and you drive away.

One night he doesn’t show up.

At first you tell yourself it’s nothing. People miss days. Even him.

But then another night passes, and another, and still no Max.

You try not to notice. Try to keep your focus on the rhythm of your gloves against the bag, the sharp exhale of each punch, the way your muscles burn with familiar ache.

But the air feels different. Heavier. Colder. The shadows in the corners of the gym seem to stretch longer without him standing in them, and every creak of the floor makes your heart catch in your throat with hope only for it to fall again.

You don’t ask anyone where he is.

You’re not even sure you have the right to.

By the fourth night something in your chest is tight enough to crack. You’re standing at your usual spot, halfway through wrapping your wrists, trying to shake the sick weight of dread in your gut, when the front door groans open on its hinges.

Your head snaps up.

Max.

He's here... and he’s a mess.

He’s standing just inside the doorway, barely upright, his hoodie soaked with sweat and something darker. There’s dried blood on his temple, a vicious bruise is blooming along the edge of his jaw, and his cheekbone has a nasty cut. One of his hands is cradled against his ribs like it hurts just to breathe.

For a moment you can’t move. You can only stare.

And then you’re running over.

“Jesus,” you breathe, reaching him in seconds, your hands hovering uselessly at first before finally gripping his arms, trying to steady him. “Max—what the hell happened?”

He grunts as you guide him toward the nearest bench, his body heavy with exhaustion.

“Fight went bad,” he mutters, the words slurred around pain. “Didn’t see the right hook.”

He lowers himself down with effort, a hiss slipping through clenched teeth.

Up close he looks even worse. His knuckles are raw and torn, and there’s blood caked all over him. He’s shaking slightly, whether from adrenaline, pain, or something deeper, you can’t tell.

“You should be in a hospital,” you whisper, crouching in front of him, eyes scanning every bruise like they’re puzzle pieces you’re desperate to put back together.

“I should be dead,” he says softly not looking at you.

Your hands freeze where they’re gently brushing the blood from his brow.

“Don’t say that.”

“I’m serious,” he says, voice rough and low. “It was bad. Real bad.” He swallows hard, and when he finally lifts his gaze to meet yours there’s something there you’ve never seen before. Not just pain. Not just exhaustion.

Need.

Then, after a long beat, his lips twitch the faintest ghost of a grin. “Still won though,” he rasps, trying for lightness, for you.

You just shake your head, torn between relief and disbelief, but the corner of your mouth betrays you with the smallest, broken smile.

“I didn’t want to go anywhere else,” he says. “I wanted to see you.”

The words knock the air out of you.

You stare at him, your fingers stilling against his cheek. His skin is hot, scraped raw in places, but it’s the look in his eyes that undoes you, that bare, broken honesty, like he’s holding himself together by a thread and you’re the only thing keeping him from unraveling.

“…Why?” you ask, barely above a whisper.

He looks at you like you already know.

Like he can’t believe you’re asking.

Like he’s spent weeks standing beside you, aching in silence, wondering if you’d ever see the war he’s been waging inside his own chest.

“Because you’re the only thing that doesn’t hurt.”

The silence between you stretches, thick with things unsaid.

You don’t answer him with words.

Instead you reach for the first-aid kit in the back room, hands trembling as you return. You clean the blood from his skin, slow and careful, your fingers brushing the slope of his cheek, the curve of his jaw. Every touch is an anchor, for him, and for you.

He doesn’t flinch.

He just watches you, breath shallow, lips slightly parted. His eyes track every movement, dark and hungry, like he’s memorising you the same way he does when you’re at the bag.

He’s watching like he’s afraid to blink and lose this moment.

When you’re done your faces are inches apart.

You’re both breathing hard, not from effort, but from whatever it is that’s coiled between you, electric, unspoken, inevitable.

The air is thick with it, heat rising in waves off your skin.

Then he does something he’s never done before.

He lifts his hand, the one that isn’t shaking and gently brushes his thumb against the edge of your jaw, tilting your face toward his.

He doesn’t kiss you.

Not yet.

He just looks at you, gaze flicking between your eyes and your mouth, waiting. Silent. Asking.

His eyes search yours with a question… Is this okay?

You nod, once. Barely. But it’s enough.

The kiss comes like a dam breaking.

It’s not soft. It’s not tentative.

It’s desperate.

He kisses you like he’s starving, like he’s been holding back for weeks, months, and now that he’s started, he doesn’t know how to stop. His hands come up to cradle your face, tentative at first, then firmer, pulling you closer.

You kiss him back with the same urgency, like you’ve been waiting for someone to see you, all of you, without flinching. To want you exactly as you are, bruised, burning, flawed and whole.

His mouth moves against yours with aching hunger, with the kind of tenderness that comes from someone who doesn’t know how to be gentle but is trying anyway, just for you.

He kisses like he fights, with everything he has.

When he finally pulls away, just enough to breathe, he presses his forehead to yours. His skin is slick with sweat, his pulse thudding hard beneath your fingertips, but all he says is:

“You deserve better than me.”

Your heart twists. You reach up, fingers curling around the line of his jaw and into his hair. You tilt your face until he’s looking at you again and you say, without hesitation:

“I want you.”

There’s another moment where he just stares at you. Silent. Still. Vulnerable in a way that has nothing to do with the blood on his skin and everything to do with the crack you’ve made in his armour.

And then he nods.

Once.

Sharp. Decisive.

Because Max Verstappen has never been afraid of fists or fury or pain. He’s taken beatings that would buckle most men. He’s stood toe-to-toe with monsters and never blinked.

But you?

You’re the fight he never trained for.

The one he didn’t see coming.

And he’s never wanted to win something so badly.

The sound of heavy breathing fills a dark room. The bass of the music thuds like a second heartbeat, but is drowned out by the burning feeling that resides in the raw rasp of Max Verstappen’s lungs, each breath coming in short, controlled bursts. His chest rises and falls in a rhythmic pattern of urgency, the burn in his throat sharp and relentless.

The lights flash wild and unforgivingly, bathing the room in a chaotic glow. But for one moment—a single moment—they flicker and fade, plunging everything into a near-darkness. A solitary spotlight slices through the shadows, highlighting every drip of sweat, and the pink hue of Max’s face in a harsh light. His piercing blue eyes focus on the opponent, brows furrowing, jaw tightening.

His focus is sharp. His body is a machine, honed and programmed to perfection—each muscle coiled, waiting. In a life like this, there’s no room for second-guessing, no room for hesitation. He isn’t here for glory, nor is he here for fame. All of that has already been achieved. He’s here for one thing, and one thing only: to fight.

DING DING DING!

The familiar three consecutive bells tolled, breaking the inner silence like a thunderclap, shattering the slow-motion rhythm of his thoughts. His body jolts, muscles springing into action, the bell giving Max something only similar to a Pavlovian reaction. The shock of the noise ripped through the silence, taking the place of a violent interruption—like everything in the world snapped back into place. The calm is broken. The fight continues.

“Once upon a time, in a faraway jungle, there was a little lion named Leo who dreamed of becoming the biggest, bravest lion in the land…” You read to your son, Leo, your voice is soft and steady, carrying a gentle rhythm. After a hectic half an hour, the night was finally settling into a quieter pace around you. The soft light of a lion-shaped night light casts a warm, honeyed glow across your face, the room bathing in its calm light.

Leo’s small body is tucked into his race car-themed bed, his tiny hand clutching yours with more strength than usual as he listens intently. His eyes, once wide and alert, slowly begin to grow heavy, the weight of the day coercing him into his very own dreamland. His other curls around his favourite stuffed lion, his short fingers gripping the worn fabric as his body sinks deeper into the lull of his cushioned bed.

As you turn the final page, the only sounds are the soft rustle of paper and the occasional creak of the floorboards. These familiar sounds lull him toward sleep. You look down, the sniffles coming to a complete halt, noticing his face still streaked with stray tears from his nightmare. The lion-shaped light flickers, casting a warm glow over his face, where the twinkling light of his tears reflects like the glow-in-the-dark stars Leo insisted on having on the ceiling.

You pause, watching the peaceful change wash over him. For a moment, everything feels perfectly still. Time slows as you breathe in the quiet, feeling the weight of the night, of his trust, and the comfort you bring.

“Goodnight, my little lion,” you whisper, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. “Sweet dreams.”

It wasn’t uncommon for you to hear your neighbour clattering in at ungodly morning hours. In a way, it became your routine—those weighted footsteps echoing through the thin walls, the harsh scrape of his door opening, and the sounds of him moving through his apartment like clockwork. Max. You didn’t know much about him— just that he was intense, kept to himself, and rarely seen during the day, and when he was caught, he would most likely have at least a bruise or a cut formed on his skin. You could hear the occasional thud of a weight, the low hum of a radio late into the night, the static holding an uncanny resemblance to a lullaby. Despite the chaos in your own life, your romanticised presence of him became comforting, like a steady bass rhythm you’d come to rely on, even without even meeting him.

But tonight was different.

Tonight, you heard something else.

A sharp, breathless grunt, followed by a soft curse. And then, silence.

You couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. You had returned from putting your son to bed, after a night terror (something that was increasing as he grew older, something you needed to ask your mother about, and maybe a doctor), and you heard the heavy footsteps echo through the dingy apartments, the regular groan of the door in desperate need of WD40. You stood in your kitchen, staring at the stained coffee mug in your hand, trying to push away the quiet urge to check on him—the neighbour you had never even uttered a mumbled hello to. Max had always kept to himself, and you respected that. But tonight, something was pulling at you, scratching and clawing for your attention. The static silence felt…wrong.

You took a deep breath, looking down at your cami pyjama top and stained sweatpants, the cool air of the hallway sending a shiver down your spine as you stepped into the corridor. Your hand hovered over the doorknob, mind and heart racing. Should you? Would he even want you to care? The doubt lingered for a moment, but you quickly shrugged it off and let the worst-case scenarios play in your mind. For all you knew, he could be on the floor bleeding out. 

You knocked, softly at first, but when there was no answer, you knocked again, louder this:

You waited and looked at the damp walls of a hallway, your breath shallow, the uncertainty of what you were about to do settling over you. Seconds felt like an eternity as they ticked dauntingly, and just as you were about to turn away, the door cracked open.

Max stood there, clad in low-hanging sweatpants, his tousled hair damp with sweat, a look of surprise slipped through the cracks of a usual stock expression, and then he schooled his face. He was breathing heavily, and as he moved side to side, a pained expression was very minimal. The familiar tension in his posture was replaced with something you couldn’t quite place—maybe vulnerability, maybe exhaustion.

“What’s up?” His voice was rough, but not unkind.

For a moment, words left you, your mind scrambling on what to say, because you couldn’t really say ‘Hey, I've been listening to your routine for the past 18 months, I've lived here, and it wasn’t the same tonight as it has been the past 549 nights. So what did you do differently?’ So you settled for a simple “I—I heard something. You okay?” Of course, you had to stutter. The concern you felt did creep into your voice, however.

Max blinked, clearly taken aback by the question.

“I’m fine. Just... a little tired,” he said, his eyes avoiding yours as he rubbed the back of his neck.

You followed the hand, noticing the bruise blossoming on his cheek and the faint cuts along his knuckles. The faint scent of blood and sweat clung to the air.

“Doesn’t look like you’re just tired,” you said gently, unable to hide the worry that laced your words. "You’ve got bruises…"

Max shifted uncomfortably but didn't reply immediately. Instead, he shifted on his feet, wincing quickly as he placed his weight on the left. “It’s nothing,” he muttered, yet the expression he was struggling to hide, told you it wasn’t.

You looked at him for a long moment, not checking him out—although your brain was screaming at you to at least look at the man's biceps. You looked behind him, seeing the weights scattered across the floor, the faint glow of a hanging lamp shining a stark white hue across the room. His place was sparse, but there was a strange comfort within the four walls of organised chaos. A few gym bags, scattered boxing gloves, and a lone chair in the corner. It was a far cry from the carefully curated world you built for yourself and Leo.

“You should get that checked out,” you said, nodding toward his cuts. “It looks like it’s more than just a little bruising.”

Max didn’t say anything for a long moment, but you could see the reluctance in his eyes—like he was battling with himself whether he should let you in, be it physically or mentally, you didn’t know.

“I don’t no need a doctor,” he finally muttered almost too quickly.

You crossed your arms, huffing, giving him a look that many deemed as a ‘mum look’. “I’m not talking about ‘no doctor’.” You quoted him. “I’m talking about someone who can help you clean up. You can't keep pushing yourself like this in whatever you do.”

Max couldn’t meet your gaze, looking at the floor as if he was having an inner battle. For a moment you thought he would agree, but instead, he took a slow breath and his expression returned to its stoic nature, his voice a fraction sharper—although it didn’t feel directed at you. “I don’t need help.”

The words hung in the air between you like a tacky Christmas garland, heavy and unyielding. Despite the tension, you held his gaze, refusing to back down. You could see that words wanted to escape him, but he wasn’t allowing himself to. You had no idea what his world was like, how he got injured and thought nothing of it, but you could tell it was a place he didn’t want anyone in.

The moon had long risen, leaving the sky bathed in deep blues and purples. A quiet evening settled over the neighbourhood, the calm almost palpable. Max had no plans—well, he had no fight that night. His most recent fight had brought in a healthy sum, enough to cover himself for the next few weeks without a second thought. He had no desire to burn off excess energy by lifting weights, muscles still fatigued. Instead he opted for a lazy night in, letting the familiar static of his incredibly old TV consume him like a comforting routine. Max wasn’t one for tea or coffee, so the coffee stains on nearly every single mug were concerning, but water was all he needed. Simple and unassuming, just like the rest of his evening.

The same five channels buzzed to life as Max filtered through, deciding what he would divulge into. The crappy glow casted a cold glow across Max’s apartment. He lazily reclined himself, feet propped up on the coffee table that was far too low for anyone. The silence of the night seems heavier than usual, pressing in from all sides, and yet it was oddly comforting. He wasn’t used to still life. There was always something else—always had to be a catch. Tonight, there was nothing. No fight, no rush of adrenaline, no upcoming deadline to meet. Just the quiet buzz of the old television in the cold apartment.

The sound of footsteps from the apartment next door caught his attention, pulling him away from the passive viewership he had settled into. It was faint at first, muffled soft thudding that grew louder, more distinct. It wasn’t the usual shuffle of you walking around. No, this was different. Your steps had a weight to them, a hesitant pause before the creek of a door was heard and a soft voice was murmuring. Max frowned, sitting up slightly, the sound of a child’s muffled cry reaching his ears.

It wasn’t often that he paid attention to the noise of your apartment, but the cries felt different. The sound of a small voice, tinged with fear, crept through thin walls, just enough for him to make out the odd sob of a child. Max’s gaze shifted to the boxing gloves, memories approaching, but never reaching their destination.

He knew the voice was Leo. The little lion, he had heard for the past couple of months, of you living next door. He had never heard such fear in his sob before. More urgent, more desperate. The fear felt raw, cutting through the silence like a blade.

Max exhaled deeply, pushing himself to his feet. He’d never be one to impose, especially not with the mess that followed him in his own life. But tonight? Tonight something was gnawing at him. Something he couldn’t ignore.

In the corridor, the sound of Leo’s cries grew quieter—meaning his living room and Leo’s bedroom must share a wall. His heart began to race as he heard the unmistakable: “No, no! I don’t want it! Please!” The desperation in the small voice was pulling at Max’s heart. The cry pulled at him.

He hesitated for only a second before taking a step forward. His usual self-preservation instincts, the walls he’d carefully built around his own heart, started to break down, and Max knew, in that instant, that he couldn’t ignore it any longer. Leo needed someone, and Max had no idea how or why, but it felt like it might be him.

He knocked softly at first, but the sound of another frantic cry stopped him before he could do it again. Without thinking, he knocked louder this time, a sense of urgency laced through his every motion.

The door cracked open, revealing you to him. You looked worse for wear than the last time he saw you at his door. The shadows under your eyes, like you hadn’t had a restful night in ages. Your gaze was panicked, almost as if you were holding it together by the thinnest of threads.

Your voice was strained as you spoke, eyes glazing between the door and the child who still sobbed quietly in his bedroom. “I—I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m so sorry. It’s just…” you struggled to swallow the lump in your throat, “Leo… he’s been having these night terrors more often and—”

Max, despite himself, found his voice. “It’s okay,” he said, though his words felt foreign in his mouth, as though they didn’t quite fit. “Is he... alright?”

She nodded slowly, but the worry never left her eyes. “I don’t know what to do anymore,” she admitted, her voice cracking slightly. “He won’t settle down, and nothing I do helps. He’s been getting worse. I... I don’t know how to stop it.”

You nodded slowly. But the worry never left your eyes.

Max hesitated. He wasn’t sure why he even asked, but the words slipped out before he could stop them. “Is he... scared of something?”

The woman’s expression faltered, and for a moment, she looked like she might break. “It’s not just the dark... it’s... something else. Something he can’t put into words. I’ve tried everything. I just need him to sleep. To be okay.”

The vulnerability in her voice was something Max wasn’t used to hearing. He knew the harsh edges of life, the raw physicality of it, but this... this was different. He wasn’t sure what to do with the words, but something inside him wanted to do something. Anything.

“Maybe... maybe I could help,” he said. The words were slow to come, but they felt right.

Her gaze flickered up at him, surprise and hesitation blending. “You? But...”

“I don’t know much about kids,” Max said, scratching the back of his neck, “but... I know fear. And maybe, I could help him with that.”

She swallowed, as though weighing her options, before giving a slight nod. “Okay. If you think it’ll help.”

Max stepped into the apartment, following you to Leo’s bedroom. His eyes immediately fell on his small form curled up tightly in his race-car themed bedroom, his body shaking with the aftershocks of his nightmare. The little boy’s breathing was shallow, and his face was soaked with new flooding tears.

Max stood there, looking back to see that you had run toward the kitchen, feeling a tidal wave of awkwardness, but something in the air pushed him forward. He sat down slowly at the edge of the bed, his gaze never leaving the shivering child. He wasn’t sure what to do next, never really being a paternal character, but instinctively, he reached out, his voice a low murmur, like a secret shared only between the two boys.

“Hey, Leo,” he said slowly, and cautiously. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.”

For a long moment, nothing changed. Leo’s eyes remained glued shut, his body tense, as if trying to escape the terror still haunting him. Yet Max remained stationary, looking at the young boy, until his breathing began to settle, slowly but surely.

And as Leo’s tears finally slowed, the room seemed to calm. The tension, the terror, slowly dissipates, leaving only the quiet sound of a child beginning to find peace.

Max felt a pair of eyes on him, glancing up at your figure, your eyes were wide with disbelief, a mixture of gratitude and wonder. He simply nodded, face stoic, but something warm in his chest.

“Just need a little time,” he murmured to you, then looked over to the sleeping Leo. “They all do.” And he couldn’t help but see himself in the little boy before him.

Please don’t steal my work, much love ᡣ𐭩

𝄃𝄃𝄂𝄂𝄀𝄁𝄃𝄂𝄂𝄃 eveninggstar