#maxon x reader

"Rargh! You better watch out, the monster is going to get you!" I raised my arms over my head and waved them exaggeratedly, taking a few big, lumbering steps towards the group of children in front of me. They all giggled and ran away, hiding in the stacks of the library.

I smiled to myself. Being part of the Selection had a lot of ups and downs, especially when visiting royalty came to town. Queen Amberly's family, on the other hand, was the absolute best perk of the competition so far.

Running around in the library with six children who didn't care one bit about court politics was exactly the break I needed from everything else going on around here.

I walked slowly into the stacks, keeping an eye out for any sign of the kids. They ranged in age from twelve to four, which meant some of them were a lot better at sneaking and hiding than the others. I grinned as I heard some giggles from the stack next to me, followed by frantic shushing.

"Let's see... where'd they all go?" I called as I walked through the stacks. I heard another round of giggles, and as soon as I cleared the last row of stacks going towards the door and the tables, I got rushed by a crowd of children coming at me from both sides.

"GET HER!" called one of the boys. Next thing I knew, I had children hanging from both of my arms and legs, and a few grabbing me around the waist, all of them trying to bring me down to the ground. I laughed as I struggled to keep walking, despite the children's best efforts at a group tackle. I was wearing a dress, which was a serious hinderance, but thankfully I was still stronger than a pack of rabid children.

"Rahhhh! I can never be stopped!" I yelled, managing another step forward towards the door. I had no idea where I was going, but I knew if I gave up my momentum, it wouldn't be long before I hit the ground.

"Come on! Don't let her escape!" called the twelve year old. The little ones attacked me with renewed vigor, and I got so caught up laughing that I couldn't stay up any longer. The kids took me to the ground, and I cackled with laughter as they jumped on top of me to pin me down.

"What's going on in here?"

I looked up at the sound of an amused voice to find none other than Prince Maxon Schreave standing in the doorway, looking at me with a smile. I grinned right back at him, then spoke.

"Guys, GET MAXON! He's the monster, we have to get him!" I cried, pointing an accusing finger towards the prince. The kids, absolutely delighted to have a target painted on their cousin, wasted no time before hopping off me and launching themselves at him.

"Nooooo!" shouted Maxon, throwing his arms up in the air dramatically with a smile still on his face. A few of the younger ones latched on around his biceps, and he lifted them into the air like he was doing an overhead press. They giggled maniacally, and I just watched for a few beats with a smile before standing up myself.

"Alright, I've got my breath back," I said. "I'm coming to help my fellow monster!"

I rushed over and grabbed one of the kids around the waist, lifting her up and spinning her around as I pulled her off Maxon. A few of the kids broke off their attack on him to refocus on me, and Maxon and I laughed as we fended them off in packs. We carried on, lifting them up in the air and spinning them around, only to throw them onto a bench full of cushions, all of us cackling with laughter the entire time.

Eventually, just as I was truly getting too tired to keep up with six kids, the door to the library swung open again. Adele, Queen Amberly's sister, came through, smiling at all of us when she caught sight of the scene in front of her.

"It looks like you've all been having fun," she said with a grin. A few kids were still hanging off Maxon, and the others were still wrapped around me.

"We have," I replied, taking a few lumbering steps towards Adele with the kids still hanging from my skirts. "Your kids are very good monster-hunters."

Adele smiled, and the kids giggled as they finally let go of me and ran to their mother. The two hanging from Maxon's biceps didn't let go, and he swung them over to her before coming to stand beside me.

"Well, I'm glad they found someone they could play with," she said with a smile. "But now it's time for bed! Come on kids, you can keep attacking Maxon and Y/N in the morning."

The kids followed with minimal grumbling, which I thought was actually pretty impressive. Adele shot Maxon and I a last grin before shutting the door behind her and the last of her kids. I still had a smile on my face, and I turned to Maxon to share it only to find him already looking at me.

He had a slightly dreamy expression on his face, and he didn't look away from me even as a slight blush rose to his cheeks.

"What?" I asked. He just smiled and shook his head.

"Just... you. The way you are with all the kids. It's... well, it's wonderful to see."

"I could say the same thing about you! I don't know many princes, but I can't imagine many of them would respond well to someone sicking a pack of children on them," I teased, leaning in to give his shoulder a nudge. He just kept smiling at me, his eyes never once leaving my face.

"I... apologize, if this isn't the most tactful way to say this, but... I think I'm in love with you."

My heart stopped, and my mouth dropped open as I tried to process Maxon's declaration. Sure, the idea behind the Selection was for the prince to find love, and we'd had plenty of good interactions before this one, but to think I was the one he'd fallen for, out of all the people here...

"Maxon... are you serious?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I didn't quite dare to believe it, but as Maxon stepped closer and took my hands in his I felt a spark run through my whole body.

"Y/N, I swear to you, I am completely serious. I didn't know what to expect going into this competition, but I hoped desperately to find love. I've never... well, I've never experienced something like this before, but since the first night I met you, you've become my best friend. And after spending so much time with you, and seeing you today... I can't imagine anything better than being in love with your best friend."

I absolutely melted as his words sunk in. I smiled sheepishly at him, and although he looked nervous, he smiled back at me.

"Maxon, maybe it's not obvious, but I love you too. So, so much. I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

Maxon's face broke out in a massive grin. He gently pulled me closer to him, wrapping one arm around my waist. I rested my hand on his cheek, and I could see the nerves written clearly all over his face.

"You are everything I hoped you'd be and more, Maxon," I said quietly, meeting his eyes to make sure he understood I meant every word. "My heart is yours, and if you decide you feel the same, I will gladly walk every step of the rest of my life with you."

"I feel like that was supposed to be my line," said Maxon, his voice coming out in a breathy laugh. He leaned closer to rest his forehead against mine, still looking into my eyes as he continued. "I truly could not think of another person I'd want to have as a constant in the rest of my life, my dear."

I was absolutely beaming, especially as Maxon glanced down at my lips. I ran my hand up into his hair, and his arm tightened around me as we slowly brought our lips together.  It was soft, and sweet, and everything I'd dreamed it might be from the first day I met him.

When we eventually broke apart, Maxon and I were both a little breathless. We grinned at each other like fools, and after we caught our breath a bit, I couldn't stop myself from leaning back in and kissing him again.

Overall, we were going to be doing a lot more kissing now that I knew exactly how Maxon felt. Against all odds, I'd really managed to find love in the middle of the Selection.

Here are some of the books that I've read and people that I may write about because I know their personalities and stuff. I'll be upgrading since I'm going to read more.

— A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Rhysand, Cassian, Azriel, Mor, Feyre, Nesta and Elain.

— Throne of Glass.

Dorian, Chaol and Celaena.

— The Selection.

Just Maxon, I'm sorry.

— Six of Crows.

Kaz Brekker, Matthias Helvar, Nina Zenik, Inej Ghafa.

I'm planning to read Shatter me and Divergent this month and The Cruel Prince maybe next or the other but I'm not really sure, there's a lot of books in my TBR.

Stories I've already written.

ㅤㅤㅤA Court of Thorns and Roses.

Headcannon with the Bat Boys.

How they're in bed.

Cassian One Shots

Training day.

Mornings.

Mor One Shots.

Preparing to meet the Inner Circle.

Azriel One Shots.

After mission sex (18+)

Rhysand One Shots.

Relationship with Tamlin's daughter.

ㅤㅤㅤSix of Crows

Kaz Brekker One Shots

Bruised.

Seriously injured.

Kaz’s first kiss.

ㅤㅤㅤThrone of Glass.

Chaol Westfall One Shots.

I love you.

"Y/N? Are you down here?"

I almost whacked my head on the stair above me at the sound of my neighbor's voice. I'd been digging around in the basement, gathering supplies for a coming winter storm, and I hadn't heard them come in.

"Yes, I'm here! I'll be up in just a second!"

I grabbed the buckets I'd come down to find, then hauled them upstairs to find my neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Whitney, waiting with smiling faces in my living room.

"Sorry to burst in on you like this, dear," said Mrs. Whitney. "We just wanted to make sure you were ready for the storm this afternoon."

"Looks like you're already more prepared then we are," laughed Mr. Whitney as I moved to start filling the buckets with water. A power outage might mean we couldn't get running water, so I needed to get as much of it as I could now just in case I couldn't get it later. "We thought we'd offer for you to come stay with us for the storm, but it looks like you're more than prepared here."

I turned and smiled at my neighbors, taking a break from my preparations. They were total sweethearts, and they'd been checking in on me regularly since my parents had left for business last week.

"Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Whitney, but I'm alright. I've got everything I could possibly need ready to go here," I said.

"Alright, if you're sure," said Mrs. Whitney. "Just know you're always welcome to change your mind."

I nodded, and they started heading for the door.

"You know, it's a real shame this storm's interrupting the royal visit," started Mr. Whitney, his tone teasing. "You're going to be stuck in here instead of running into dashing princes."

I scoffed, and I could tell from the laughs of my neighbors that it was exactly the reaction they were expecting.

"Oh yeah, what a loss," I said sarcastically.

"You know, I actually feel a little bad for those royals and their entourage," said Mrs. Whitney as she and her husband reached the door. "They come all the way out to Waverly to visit the people, and instead they're stuck inside thanks to the Waverly Winter."

"Yeah, those poor babies," I said, following my neighbors to the door. "How horrible, to have to sit out a storm in one of the most luxurious hotels in the country. They'll probably think it's some fascinating display of nature, and not any kind of real problem like the rest of us have to deal with."

My neighbors shared a look, but wisely didn't argue with me. They knew I didn't completely hate our government; I just got frustrated with how little they knew about the real world.

Mr. and Mrs. Whitney gave me one last wave as they headed down the walk and back to their own house, and I stayed at the door long enough to see them off. Then, I didn't waste another second in finishing my preparations. This storm was coming, and I wasn't about to be caught unprepared.

****************

Not quite twelve hours later, I was sitting in my living room, curled up with a cup of tea and a book as the storm raged around me. It had just gotten bad about half an hour ago, and I knew we were in for far worse as the night went on, but since the power hadn't even gone out yet I was still enjoying myself.

The wind howled outside through the deserted streets, so hard the snow was coming down sideways. These storms were just part of life in Waverly, and it brought me a weird sense of comfort sometimes to think about. People had lived through storms like this for generations, before Illéa even existed, and they'd continue to live through them after we were long gone.

It was a universal constant, no matter the state of the world.

I finished the chapter of my book I was working on and set it down, deciding to take a peek outside at just how bad things had gotten. Storms like this one could dump an insane amount of snow in a very short amount of time, and this one was no different. It looked like there was already half a foot outside, with the wind already whipping up some nasty drifts.

I was just about to turn away from the window and go back to my reading when some movement out in the snow caught my eye. The trees were whipping around like crazy, but a dark shape a little closer to street level was moving too. I looked closer and realized it was a person, trudging through the storm all on their own.

"What the hell is that dumbass doing?" I muttered to myself, watching the person take a few struggling steps down the street. One of the trademarks of Waverly storms was the high winds that were enough to knock you right off your feet. I watched for a few more seconds, then shook my head and moved to get my coat.

"Idiot's going to get us both frostbite," I grumbled, lacing up my boots and bundling up as well as I could. Whoever that person was, they weren't from this neighborhood, which meant they needed a place to stay. As irritating as it was, I couldn't just leave them out there in the storm.

I shoved open my door and took care to shut it behind me, hoping to keep the ice and snow from getting inside. The wind cut right through my clothes, even though they were designed for winters like this, and I was already freezing as I trudged through the snow towards the figure.

"Hey!" I yelled, screaming to be heard over the wind. The figure barely glanced up, and I could finally make out enough of the person's figure to tell they were a guy. Their face was mostly covered, so I still couldn't see much else, even as I reached his side. "You need to come inside! Like, now!"

The man hesitated for a second, but then nodded. He was shivering like a leaf, so I wrapped one arm around him and helped lead him towards my front door. I had to wrestle with the wind to wrench the door open, but I managed it, and the two of us stumbled inside. I slammed the door as quickly as I could, shoving a few towels into the cracks to help keep the wind from coming through.

"Alright, come here," I said, gesturing for the man to follow me as I shed my winter clothes and headed for the kitchen. "You need to warm up as soon as possible. Take off your wet clothes and come sit by the fire here while I make you some tea."

I didn't hear anything for a minute, but then the guy shed his coat and did as I said. His coat was of pretty good quality, so I doubted his clothes were wet underneath, and I assumed I was right as I heard him sit down behind me at the table.

"Thank you," he said quietly. His voice was oddly familiar, but I didn't think anything of it as I put the tea on the stove. Thankfully, we were early enough in the storm that power and water were still functioning.

"No problem. I couldn't exactly leave you to freeze out there, could I? Now, you wanna tell me what the hell you were doing out there in the first place?"

I finished the preparations for the tea, then turned to take a good look at my visitor now that the coat, scarf, and hat were off his face. He was staring at me, and my mouth dropped open in shock as I realized I recognized the warm brown eyes watching me so intently.

Prince Maxon Schreave was the dumbass from the storm, now sitting in my kitchen.

The prince gave a small laugh when he saw my expression.

"I see I'm still plenty recognizable even after almost freezing to death," he joked. I didn't say anything, my brain slowly taking stock of the situation I now found myself in. The prince was still shivering, although he was smiling. I'd just saved his life, and gotten him out of a situation he wouldn't have been in if he and his palace weren't complete idiots. He didn't have any royal guards with him, and he seemed to be in a friendly enough mood.

Worth the risk to not spend the next however long kowtowing to him.

"Who the hell let you out long enough to get yourself stuck in the storm like that?" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips and glaring at the man before me. He seemed shocked at my brazen attitude, but his smile quickly returned when he realized I was done being star struck.

"I'm afraid I only have myself to blame," he said, teeth still chattering a little as he spoke. "I wanted to spend some time getting to know the people and their lives better than I do in the palace, and I thought a cold winter would be the perfect excuse to bundle up and meet people without their knowing that I'm the prince getting in the way of anything."

I just blinked a few times, not quite able to believe the man in front of me. He'd been trying to fix exactly the thing I liked to complain about most, but he'd done it in a way that just reinforced how obliviously stupid everyone in the palace was.

"That is... insanely ironic," I finally said. The prince raised his eyebrows, but I just ignored him as the teapot sang behind me. I turned around to finish fixing it, handing it to the prince while it was still steaming hot. He held it close to his chest, no doubt trying to get as much warmth from it as he could.

"Thank you," he said, and I could tell he meant it. He was more kind, more humble and honest, than I'd been expecting of the prince of Illéa. Combined with his good looks, I'd be lying if I said my heart wasn't fluttering in my chest.

Still, none of it made him any less of an idiot.

"I'm going to go get you some warmer clothes and blankets to layer on," I said, heading towards the bedroom. "Stay by the fire as much as you can."

He nodded, and I left, shaking my head at the situation I now found myself in. Mr. and Mrs. Whitney would never stop talking about it if they found out.

I came back to find the prince exactly where I'd left him, hovering in front of the fire and sipping his tea. I handed him the stack of sweaters and blankets I'd dug up, and he took them with a grateful look at me.

"Thank you, again," he said. "And I apologize for being so rude as to not ask this earlier, but what is your name?"

I felt heat rising to my cheeks as he looked at me with that earnest, kind stare. I tried to ignore the feeling, focusing on just how we'd both ended up in this situation instead, but even that was starting to become endearing.

"Y/N Y/L/N," I said simply. "And of course, I know who you are, Prince Maxon."

"Please, just call me Maxon. I haven't been feeling very princely since I almost got myself killed in that storm."

I cracked a small smile, the first since he'd come inside, and leaned back against the counter.

"Yeah, about that... no offense or anything, but have none of you ever heard of the storms we get in Waverly? They're old, like... old old. I can't believe you've never heard of them."

Maxon just gave me a sheepish smile and shrugged.

"We don't know much about the everyday things going on outside the walls of the palace," he said. "That's why I wanted to come out here in the first place. I suppose I should've done a little more research first, since I won't be of use to anyone if I manage to get myself killed."

I snorted a laugh. "Yeah, that's for sure."

Maxon just sipped his tea, carefully keeping his eyes off me, and I noticed a slight blush rising to his face. I sighed, then pushed off the counter to take the seat next to him.

"Look, honestly, you and everyone in the palace should've been smarter than this," I said simply. "And, as someone who lives here and has had two decades to see how out of touch the palace is, you're going to get a deserved amount of teasing about it. But, I think it's really cool that you're trying to change that. And since we have nothing else to do while we wait for this storm to pass... well, I was thinking I could help you learn a thing or two about your kingdom. Or, about Waverly, at least."

About halfway through my speech, Maxon had looked up at me, a smile slowly spreading on his face as I spoke.

"I would love that," he said, his eyes never leaving mine. "Thank you, Y/N."

I smiled back, unable to help it at the sweet look on his face.

"Sure thing. Like I said, we've got some time to kill now that you've gone and gotten yourself snowbound here."

****************

The first hour or so was a little awkward. Maxon and I sat at the table in the kitchen, going over daily life as he slowly warmed up and I slowly got more comfortable around him. By the third hour of the storm, we were sprawled out in the living room, laughing and talking about more than just the daily ins and outs of life in Waverly.

As the sun went down, Maxon and I headed back to the kitchen, and he helped me cook dinner. He didn't completely know what he was doing, but he had enough competency to be a good assistant chef, and he actually managed to make cooking fun which was something I never thought I'd say. We finally sat down to eat, and I barely noticed the storm raging outside as I chatted with the blond prince.

After dinner, Maxon and I passed time playing stupid board games all night. His smile and friendly attitude were infectious, and I found myself not wanting to go to bed, even as the clock ticked towards midnight.

"HA! Take that!" I yelled, taking Maxon's king in our most recent game of chess. We were both horrible at it, but that only made it more fun.

"Damn. It's a good thing for me chess has nothing to do with actually maintaining the kingdom, isn't it?" he joked. I grinned at him as I dropped the king piece into the bag it came from, then leaned back on my hands and looked at Maxon. He gave me a tired smile, which I returned, and as hard as I tried, I wasn't able to hold back a yawn. "I think it might be time for bed."

"Yeah, I guess so." I started cleaning up the chess pieces while Maxon did the same with some of the other board games we'd played. "You know, I'm sorry you got stuck in the storm like that, but I'm actually glad you ended up here. It's been more fun hanging out with you than it would have been just reading in my chair all night."

"And it's been infinitely more fun learning about the kingdom from you than it would have been to learn about it in any other way," he said softly, standing and holding out a hand to help me up. I took it, but once I was on my feet, neither of us let go.

"You know, it's probably going to be pretty cold tonight," I said, never once taking my eyes off Maxon's. We were chest to chest, and I felt my heart racing just looking at him. "If you want, it might be warmer if we, you know, shared a bed."

Maxon blushed, but agreed with a smile. We both got ready for bed, and we didn't do anything more than cuddle, but even spending the night surrounded by his arms and tucked into his chest was enough to have me feeling giddy the next morning.

I woke up slowly, the sound of the wind still howling around the house. Maxon was still asleep, and his chest rose and fell slowly with each breath. I smiled, still not quite believing this was real.

My slow morning was interrupted by a pounding at the door. I shot up, waking Maxon as I did, and stared straight ahead. Who the hell was outside now?

"What's that?" asked Maxon, his words slurred a little since he was still sleepy as he sat up.

"I don't know. You're the only idiot I know who'd be out in this storm."

Maxon smiled and shook his head, but at the sound of more pounding on the door, we both got up and quickly got dressed. We moved through the house back towards the front door, creeping forward to see who it could be.

I stopped just short of the front of the house, peeking around the corner to see a whole group of men in uniform circling my house. I turned to Maxon, an edge of panic starting to creep in.

"Do you know who they are?" I asked. He nodded, wrapping his arms around me at the nerves in my voice.

"They're here for me. They're my protection from the palace. I think I gave them quite a scare when I didn't come back last night."

I nodded, relief flooding me as Maxon moved past me to open the door. As soon as he did, the house became a whirlwind of activity as somewhere near twenty people moved inside, looking him over and scanning the house for any threats. A few of them tried to question me, but Maxon quickly put a stop to that.

Not long after they arrived, all the people started heading for the door again, hustling Maxon out with them. Despite not being aware the storm was coming, they'd managed to find a way to get through the snow and wind long enough to retrieve the prince, and now they were going back to wherever they'd come from.

I smiled sadly as they hustled Maxon towards the door, expecting that to be the end. But he shook off the guards, ordering them to wait, before turning back to me with a hesitant look on his face.

"Y/N... I hate to leave you here in the middle of all this, alone..."

"I'll be fine," I said, waving him off even as my heart clenched. "I still have plenty of my book left to read, and I'm used to this."

He nodded, but took a few cautious steps towards me.

"I have no doubt that you'd be perfectly fine here, on your own. However, I learned so much from you in just one night, and... well, if you'd be interested, I'd love to have you come with me and teach me more. It's obvious that I won't be getting out into the streets here anytime soon, and, well, quite frankly... I'd like to spend some more time with you."

A smile broke out across my face at his words. I was nervous, surrounded by all these soldiers staring at us so intently, but against all odds I really did like Maxon. I wasn't ready to say goodbye just yet.

"Alright, I'm in," I said, and the smile that broke out on his face was enough to warm every inch of my body, even with the cold draft the soldiers had let in. "After all, you need someone familiar with Waverly if you want to survive this place."

Maxon just kept smiling and held out his hand to me. I took it, my heart hammering in my chest, and we walked out the door together. I had no idea where this was going, or how long it might last, but I was going to treasure every moment of it.