#max liu

Max was Xander's first

They makeout in his lab ALL the time. Do trust that alot of his equipment break in the process

Because Xander is so tall Max always has to be on her tip toes to kiss him (he has to lean down too)

Max has made him 'demonstrate' many of her favourite spicy book scenes

Max loves it when he fingers her

They once did it in Max's childhood home trying not to make too much noise, they never tried that again

They roleplay all the time

Because they are long distance sexting is a huge thing for them

Max actually swears when he is inside her

Xander loves to talk her through it when they are fucking. Literally tells her what he is going to do step by step

Because they are huge starwar geeks alot of their costumes have been ripped

Xander loves it when Max sits on his face

Max has once broken a scone and covered his body with the crumbs... Then she licked it all off of him... Xander swears he saw stars

They are prone to giggling alot while doing it

Xander once showed up to her dorm because they had not met in months... He was cracked... Front, back and centre

Max loves it when he pins her to the wall, picks her up and fucks her

They are both very vocal and they love to tease eachother about it

Xander gets weak in the knees everytime he sees her in the polka dot bra

Strip bowling.

Xander loves it when her hands are in his hair tugging at it

Max calls him 'Big Duck' and he calls her 'Perky Tits' for fun

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Having five exams, a paper, a presentation, and a project all due in the span of six days was faxing evil. And the worst part was, she hadn’t even had any of them yet! Max’s school did something they liked to call “dead week,” which meant there were no classes and no exams, but “plenty” of time to study.

Or so her professors had told her. But that was just unrealistic! Besides the fact that their “week” was three days, because the first exams started on Thursday, that still wouldn’t be enough time to cram that much information into her head.

But like faxing ship was Max not going to try. So in the spirit of Gigi Grayson, she cracked open another redbull and chugged like her life depended on it.

Given how many of her grades were riding on these exams, it practically did.

✧

Max loved her boyfriend to pieces. She truly did. However, when faced with a physics problem that looked like it jumped straight out of her nightmares and onto her ipad, she found herself mildly resenting the genius that was Xander Hawthorne, because she knew that he would have it solved faster than it would take her just to write it out.

Actually, he’d probably write some computer problem to solve it for him. And that would still be quicker than Max’s attempt.

Could she call him and ask for help? Yeah, of course. And Xander was the kind of guy to drop everything, should she so much as say the word. But the thought of doing so made something twist in the pit of her stomach.

Max didn’t know if it was her own insecurities about struggling with this, or just not wanting to bother him, but regardless, she held off on even sending so much as a text to Xander about it.

It was late, far later than any person should ever still be in a library, and Max had mild fears that she was starting to lose it.

There were still a handful of people around, a small perk of the library being open 24/7 during finals season, but still. The haze of caffeine-infused exhaustion was starting to cloud her mind and sooner or later she swore she was going to start hallucinating.

Which probably meant she should call it for the night and get some sleep.

But all she had left on her schedule for today was this physics exam review! And she was close to being finished too—no she wasn’t—so really it only made sense to stay and just get it done. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up straighter and gave the problem in front of her another go.

And another one. And another.

Time wasn’t quite real in a space such as a university library, but when a glance at the clock told her she was encroaching on two in the morning, she knew she had to cut her losses and call it quits.

Not that Max was quitting! No, this was just a tactical retreat, so she could refuel and attack it tomorrow when she didn’t feel so much like a walking corpse.

The small mercy was that it wasn’t terribly cold outside as she trudged back to her car, but leaving the library so late at night was a bit depressing anyway.

This is a tactical retreat, she reminded herself, but Max wasn’t feeling terribly convinced.

✧

The next two days of dead week passed not unlike the first one, which meant way too much caffeine and not nearly enough work done. Although that wasn’t to say she hadn’t made some progress!

So far, Max had written a draft of the paper for her lit class, done her portion of the slides for her group project, and reviewed for two of five exams. Which was pretty good for three days! The bad part was that exams started tomorrow and she still had three left to study for.

Thankfully those exams weren’t until the following week, but Max was still left feeling like she’d never crawl out from under the mountain of work that had swamped her. She and Xander had even opted to pre-record this week and next week’s episodes of “We’re Full of Ship,” just so she’d have time to get all of her studying done.

Which. Speaking of Xander. A text from him popped up on her phone screen, as it did every night before she went to bed.

“You’re gonna crush your exams tomorrow! And every day after tomorrow! The fate of the kingdom rests in your hands, my knight, so slay your enemies and then we may celebrate your victories!”

Max huffed out a small laugh as she read the message, reacting with the sword emoji. “The battle plans have been drawn, my liege. The enemy forces stand no chance against the might of my army!”

The typing bubbles appeared and disappeared a few times before Xander’s text came through. “Then rest well, my beloved knight, so you might face them with your full strength.” Then, a moment later. “Goodnight, Max, I love you <3. I can’t wait to see you next week!”

Hearting the message, Max responded before shutting her phone off. She let out a sigh. If only he knew how much she was already struggling to stay on top of everything right now.

Xander never really struggled with school. Sure, he didn’t always have perfect grades, but that was more often because he tended to do things according to his own interpretation, not because he didn’t know how. They’d talked before about how he would get bored in school because the material either wasn’t engaging or challenging enough, and now with that conversation rolling around in her head, Max couldn’t help but feel inadequate.

Max didn’t compare herself to Xander. That would be pointless, and she wasn’t really that kind of person. But still, deep down, there was a part of her that was afraid he wouldn't understand how she was struggling with something as simple as school.

Granted, she was working on a bachelor’s degree, which was considerably more difficult than high school, but Xander had been operating on the college level for a while now, even before starting at a university.

And that was another thing she was slightly—very—jealous about. His semester was already over! At his school, they ended the semester in April so that the month of May could be used for internships, study abroad programs, and short term summer courses. So while Max was toiling away a week into May, Xander was already finished.

Max really should get some sleep. Afterall, taking exams with an exhausted brain only spelled disaster, and Max couldn’t continue to supplement sleep with caffeine. It was bound to catch up with her at some point, and that was if it hadn’t already.

✧

When the weekend finally rolled around, Max felt so tired she could cry. It had been two grueling days of exams, presentation giving, and studying, and max was barely at the halfway point.

She wasn’t going to make it. There were only three days of exams left, but Max was starting to genuinely think she wasn’t going to make it to Wednesday. If the exhaustion didn’t get her first, then the physics exam on Monday definitely would.

So that meant it was finally time to revisit that review packet. If Max wanted even a faxing prayer of doing well on this exam, then she had to do it. There was no other option to study.

She could do this!

✧

So Max was starting to feel more like she actually couldn’t do this. In her defense, the problems really didn’t seem solvable! It felt like she’d trudged through mountains of YouTube videos, online solutions, and practice problems, and yet she had yet to get anywhere productive!

It didn’t help that in the back of her mind, her head kept telling her to just call Xander for help. If anyone could figure this out, it would be him.

But that option also felt a whole lot like admitting defeat. Which honestly, might be what she was doing anyway, if the state of her notes was anything to go off of.

Max was torn. On one hand she really wanted to call him, even if only to hear his voice tell her things would be alright. On the other, having to tell him that she was struggling this much with a subject he’d been excelling in since he was a child was a lot less tempting.

She let out a groan. Then, in the spirit of Avery, she pulled out a coin. Max remembered her best friend relaying what Jameson had told her one night. “Heads, I kiss you. Tails, you kiss me.”

And while Max’s coin flip was not going to be nearly as dramatic, Heads, she called him. Tails, she told him everything when he called her later. Either way she’d be admitting to him that she needed help, because this had gone on long enough.

Well, here goes nothing, Max thought, as she flipped the coin into the air. It spun in the air a few times before spinning on the ground after it landed. Heads. She supposed she should have seen that one coming, given the universe’s funny sense of humor, but at least the decision was made.

Max hit dial, after pulling up Xander’s contact. It rang once, twice, before, “Hello? Max? What’s up?”

Xander’s familiar voice hit her ears, and even though they spoke every day, it was still a comfort. Max swallowed. “Hey, Xan,” she said, more exhaustion seeping into her voice than she would have liked.

“What happened?” His voice was immediately laced with concern, any peppiness drained right out of it.

“It’s nothing serious,” she started, because it really wasn’t, “I just, I’ve been having. Ugh,” Max groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I’ve been having a really hard time with this physics review. And my exam is on Monday. And so I guess, I just—” Max’s voice cracked.

Like Avery, she wasn’t really the crying type, but after nearly a full week of non-stop work, studying, exams, and other things, Max was hitting her breaking point. Honestly, she had a while ago, but had been staving off the effects until now.

“I just need help.” Her voice was more like a whisper, her throat tightening against her will. Max squeezed her eyes shut, taking a small breath.

“Switch the call to a FaceTime,” Xander said.

Wiping underneath her eyes, Max did as he said, and a few moments later, Xander’s face was staring back at her. His warm brown eyes softened with concern when they met her own, and Max knew she must’ve looked terrible. She’d been spread out on the floor of the living room, because she always believed she thought better when not at a desk, but that also meant her things were now scattered across the floor.

“Oh, Max,” Xander breathed. Her throat hitched again, and Xander looked like he wanted to jump through the screen. “Breathe, Max. You’re okay. We’re gonna get through this, you’re gonna get through this. I swear it.”

She nodded, but it must have looked like she wasn’t convinced, because he shook his head, “No, you’re gonna say it. You will get through this.”

Max swallowed, trying to get the tightness out of her throat. “I’m gonna get through this,” she repeated, her voice a bit rough, but still here.

“Have I ever lied to you?” Xander asked.

Max shook her head. “No.”

“Then have some faith,” he told her. “Not just in me, but in you. I have seen you do the most crazy, incredible, brilliant things. You can handle finals week. I promise.”

It was hard to have doubts when he sounded so certain. Grayson might have been the brother who could seemingly will things into existence just by saying them, but Xander was just stubborn enough to force it, no matter what.

“Thanks,” Max mumbled. She forced herself to sit up a bit, taking a deep breath. She could do this. She could.

Xander smiled at her, his gaze soft. “Now, let’s take a look at this physics review. I bet the two of us working together can figure it out.”

Something about Xander that Max would forever appreciate was his ability to drag her up onto an even playing field with him, no matter what the subject matter was. There was no I with him, just us. And it made Max feel a bit silly for being so hesitant to reach out to him about this in the first place.

She flipped her phone camera around and propped it up next to her so he could get a clear view of her laptop screen that had the review pdf on it. Max heard faint pencil scratching, presumably Xander writing down the problem on his own piece of paper before he stopped.

“This is the one you’re having trouble with?” he asked.

“Mmhmm,” Max confirmed, sighing. “I feel like I’ve tried faxing everything! I looked online, I found videos, solution pdf’s, nothing has helped,” she told him, glad to finally be able to unload some of her frustrations with it.

Had it been anything else, she would’ve just skipped the problem and moved on, but her professor had grouped them so you needed to solve one in order to do what came after it. And this was the last section, meaning it was all reliant on this one problem.

“Well,” Xander said. “I think I might’ve found what your issue is.”

Max was going to cry. First, tears of relief because there was finally a way out of this torture, and then of despair becuase it had barely been a few minutes and Xander had a solution. “Yeah? And that is?”

Xander hummed. “It’s no wonder it felt impossible. It was,” he told her.

Max frowned, grabbing the phone and flipping the camera back so it was on her. “I’m sorry, what? What do you mean it was?”

Flipping his own camera around, Xander showed her his work. It looked like he’d made it about halfway though before stopping—just like she had done every time she worked it. “See this?” he asked, pointing to one of the coefficients with his pencil. “This can’t happen. Doesn’t work. It will literally break your formula if you even try. I’m guessing your professor either made a typo, or adjusted this review and left it there by mistake. Either way, you can’t solve this. Not the way it is right now. If you get rid of it, then sure. But leaving it there will mean you’ll never get anywhere.”

“Oh my God, I’m going to lose my ship,” Max said quietly. All of those hours, all of the frustration, over a typo? Yeah, Max must have done something awful in her last life because there was no way this was anything other than karmic wrath coming to get her.

Max buried her face in her hands again, her throat tightening. She wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t doing it wrong. The problem wasn’t her at all. And if she had just gotten over herself and called Xander when she first started having trouble she would have saved so much time.

“Hey, Max, you’re alright,” Xander murmured, voice carrying over the phone speaker. “I might not have caught that, had I not known that something must be wrong with the problem for you to be struggling so much with this. You do well in this class, you and I both know that.”

“It’s not that,” Max managed to get out.

Xander paused. “Then what is it?”

“I just, I should have called you so much sooner,” she said, her voice breaking. “But I was so worried that you were going to think I was dumb, that I sat here struggling all week for nothing!”

It felt both good and bad to get the truth off her chest. Max couldn’t bear to lift her head and see the disappointment she was sure was on Xander’s face.

“Max. Look at me,” Xander said softly.

She didn’t. She couldn’t look him in the eye right now.

“Maxine,” he repeated. “Please?”

When she finally lifted her gaze to meet his, there wasn’t any disappointment in his expression. Instead, his soft brown eyes that she loved so much were filled with concern, and a small twinge of sadness.

“Max,” Xander started. “I have never thought you were dumb. Or stupid, or lesser, or anything that your brain has been telling you in the last week. You are the smartest girl I know, and no I’m not just saying that. You are kind, compassionate, selfless, and so, so smart. All of those things are why I fell in love with you. Not because of how well you did on an exam, or on a paper, but because of who you are. And you’re Max. My best friend. My partner in crime. And the best thing to ever happen to me. So don’t ever hesitate to call me about anything, but especially not something like this. Because everyone needs help sometimes, and I want to be there for you. Please let me be there for you.”

Max was going to cry again if she wasn’t careful. Xander was often thought of just as the bright, energetic, witty Hawthorne brother. But time and time again, he proved just how thoughtful he could be when it really counted. “Thank you,” Max breathed out, swallowing. “I will. I promise,” she said, sincerity in her voice.

Xander smiled at her, his features still soft. “Good. Now are you going to be okay on the rest of that review? I can stay on the phone, but I’ve got something I want to take care of too.”

Max shook her head, smiling back. “No, I think I’ve got it from here. And seriously, thank you,” she told him. “I never would have caught that mistake in a million years.

Xander cracked a grin. “I don’t know, a million years is a long time. I think you’d have figured it out by then.”

“Ugh, whatever,” Max said, rolling her eyes. She was already feeling a lot better, and her energy and confidence felt replenished. “I’m gonna let you go, but I’ll talk to you later. I love you.”

“Not as much as I love you!” Xander called back, blowing her a kiss before hanging up the phone.

Max smiled as she set her phone down, turning back to the physics review. “Game on, you mother-faxer.”

✧

It was late into the evening when Max wrapped up the last of the review. It had still taken her a while, but it no longer felt like this impossible mountain to climb. More like…a really big boulder. But Max could handle boulders!

She actually couldn’t, if her, Xander, Jameson, and Avery’s rock climbing escapades had proved anything, but that was besides the point.

Max had only just started tidying up her school stuff from the floor when she heard a knock at her door. Which was weird, because one, it was late, and two, she certainly hadn’t been expecting any company.

Standing up, Max quietly made her way to her apartment’s front door, creeping up to look through the peephole.

Oh you have got to be faxing shipping me, she thought. Why? Because on the other side of the door was none other than her incredible and ridiculous boyfriend, Xander.

Unlocking the door and pulling it open, Xander whisper-shouted, “Surprise!” In one of his hands was a bouquet of her favorite flowers, and in the other was a pizza box with a massive tub of ice cream balanced on top.

“Xander,” Max breathed, raising her hands to her mouth. She was not going to cry for a third time today, but ship if she didn’t want to! “What are you doing here?” she asked.

Xander looked at her like she’d asked a question with the most obvious answer in the world. “To see you, of course,” he told her with a wink. “So, are you going to invite me in?”

Shaking out of her stupor, Max laughed, stepping aside to clear the doorway. “You are absolutely absurd, Hawthorne. I am going to Hawthorne House in five days. Four if you really think about it! You didn’t have to come all the way here!”

“Uhh, yeah I did,” Xander said, setting the food and flowers down on the counter before spinning to face her. “You’ve had a terrible week, and you know as well as I do that there’s only one thing that can fix a terrible week.”

Max’s brows furrowed before it hit her. “Oh no you don’t—!” she called out, attempting to run away, but before she could get far, he tackled her onto the couch, pulling her into his chest.

He was wearing a soft, dark teal hoodie that Grayson had gotten him for Christmas last year. It was Max’s favorite. And Xander knew that.

Max relaxed in his arms, breathing in the scent of his laundry detergent and cologne. It was an intoxicating combination, or so Max thought. One of Xander’s hands made its way to her hair that had long since fallen out of its ponytail she attempted this morning, running through the strands gently.

“Hey,” he murmured, shifting his hand to cup her jaw.

“Hi,” she mumbled back, lifting her head off his chest to look at him.

Xander smiled down at her, his eyes just as soft as they’d been earlier. “I’ve missed you,” he told her.

Max had missed him too. So much. They’d been long distance for the bulk of their relationship, but it was different now that they were both in college, at different schools. The space between them had felt so much further than it had before, and so every chance they got to be in each other's arms, Max savored.

“I missed you too,” Max said. “It’s hard doing this without you.”

Xander shook his head. “You’re not doing it without me. And while I might not always be physically right here, I am always with you. We’re a team, remember? That doesn’t change, no matter how far away we are from each other.”

Max nodded, leaning into his hand. “Yeah. We’re a team”

Xander leaned his head down, tilting hers back slightly so he could press a kiss to her lips. “I love you, Max. Always.”

“I love you too, Xander. Forever.”

And for the first time all week, everything felt right in the world again. There might still be exams on the horizon, but for now, all that mattered was that Xander was here, and that made Max feel like she could tackle anything.