Maxwell x Reader (DST) Kings great meltdown
( SORRY IF THERE'S ANY SPELLING ERRORS ) You had picked up on his habits quickly, Maxwell would ball his fingers into a fist around his wrist whenever he got frustrated- refusing to make eye contact with anyone and not muttering a single word to people for a couple of days after
It was worse if somebody like Wilson got him all worked him, he'd hid in his tent for hours refusing to leave for any means, even if hounds were threatening the camp you'd have to drag him out by the scruff
Even after saving his life he'd refuse to speak to the person afterwards, snapping at anybody who'd try to usher him into apologising
This day felt different, it felt worse
Maxwell hadn't slept properly in a few nights, plagued by some bad nightmares and regrets about what happened to Charlie
He wouldn't come out from his tent for hours at a time, maybe even longer- you started to slip food under the tent door in hopes of getting into eat something but most of the time he just push it back out- hardly any of it eaten
The survivors were beginning to get concerned, however Wilson's concern was more blunt than the rest, you knew the two didn't mash well under stress like this, Wilson didn't properly understand Maxwell's nightmares and PTSD from the thrown
However Maxwell also didn't understand Wilson just meant well even if the two didn't see eye to eye very often- so when Wilson got fed up with Maxwell's isolation his body moved before his brain
The first of their tossel you knew about was Wilson's sharp yelp- followed by other survivors rushing out to find out it's source
Tho the cause was something the other survivors hadn't of hoped for
Wilson had forceably dragged Maxwell out of his tent, the two getting into a scuffle over it- in the mess of kicking limbs and grabbing fists Wilson's arm had ended up over Maxwell's chest and in his blind panic he bite down as hard as he could onto Wilson's forearm, leaving a teeth shaped wound in the mans shaking arm
Every eye was now fixed to the frail man as he stood upright His arm's tucked to his side's while his fingers knitted together- eyes wide and pupils small- darting to every judging and scowling face in the ever growing crowd
He didn't even see the concern on your face as the crimson red trickled down his lips- bloody teeth now hidden behind a frail shaky frown, his knees look like they were about to buckle under him
All while the only concern was directed towards Wilson
His eyes trailed off to the ground soon meeting his sharp finger tips trembling- a droplet of crimson red hit the side of his thumb- he rotated the palms of his hand to his face
Watching the tears begin to pool and slip off the sides
He held his head up only to see flickers of anger and disgust from the faces around him- the blame all pinned on him and him alone or so he thought
The crimson rolled down his chin to the grass below as it mixed with the flood of tears running down any part of his face that they could
" MAXWELL!- what in the name of science was THAT about!? "
Higgsbury hissed, clutching his arm to his chest as his eyes meet Maxwell's for the first time since this had happened
All he was met with was fear, pure guilt Fear
Wilson's mouth creeped open to say something- anything at all but the only sound was thin legs taking off
Like a deer sprinting from a pack of hungry wolves- thin and frail legs carrying the thing far most hungry maws snapped at its tail just inches away from grabbing a mouth full of it's fur
So as one may think- you were now out in the middle of a forest searching for the old man who ran off as fast as a deer, none of the other survivors wanted to go after him- calming he'd just calm down on his own
But you were too stubborn to just leave him, of course not
While listening to the birds chirping and singing their songs you'd picked up on some loud animalistic wailing that had poorly attempted to muffle itself
" Maxy? "
Your voice was sharp crisp, cutting through the silence that had followed your steps Maxwell had hidden himself under a large tree, hoping to keep his uncontrollable sobs to himself- he rubbed his eyes whilst turning his back towards you
" Maxwell . . . "
Your voice was gentle- soft and smooth like your hands that rested on your own knees while you sat beside him on the forest floor
" Pardon me, I- "
His voice caught in his throat, what was he supposed to say? Everything felt just like an excuse- every word that he could think of just felt more of an excuse, he had gotten himself into this mess on purpose
" . . . I shouldn't have bitten him, it was rude and stupid of me t-to think a action like that was appropriate for the situation "
His eyes kept to the ground whilst you stared up in his face
" What makes you think I'm here to ridicule you? "
Your voice broke the silence head created again, the look of shame on his face twisting to a hint of confusion- people almost always ridiculed him
Especially when he was younger, throwing a 'tantrum' such as this was just him seeking attention, or he was told
Told to just get over himself, told to pull himself together- told the stop being silly or disrespectful, told to be quiet- so he learnt real quick to pull himself together
If only he had done that before Wilson got concerned
" Because I acted foolish, I'm a grown man- not some child throwing a temper tantrum, I should be more mature than this- I-I aware "
" But you haven't been sleeping well, and your nightmare and anxiety have been acting up again? . . . "
" That's just an excuse for my behaviour, nothing more "
He rubbed his sleeve across his mouth, making sure nothing crimson stained his lips anymore
" I doubt higgsbury wants another word for me "
" He asked me to go find you "
" Why would such a smart man like him ask something so silly? I'll get over it and come back to camp in less than an hour- haven't you heard for the rest of the survivors say? "
" But isnt that what you just tell yourself? " " . . . "
He said nothing, to lost for words- he'd ran out of the usual things he'd say
" But it's- "
" It's a lie "
You butted back in, slowly slipping your fingers under his chin and turning his head to face yours
" If they really weren't worried wouldn't they have left you to die by hounds any time you hid in your tent? "
" Bu- "
" But they dragged you out even if you didn't want them to "
" . . . "
" They are worried, just- might not always look like that "
" . . . But shouldn't I still be ashamed? "
" Would you blame somebody in your shoes? "
" I- . . . "
He stopped- eyes flicking to the ground for a minute before slowly meeting yours again
" I supposed not . . . "
" Then why would they blame you? "
" I bit him- I bit him like a feral and bad dog that needs to be out down . . . "
His fingers held your palm that remained on his cheek
" But there aren't such things as bad dogs, Maxy- just Scared ones like you "
His lip trembled- eyes flicking to the ground whilst tears pooled in the corners of his eyes- his head soon lowered as his fingers met his temples, his shoulders drooped down as he sighed
" I still shouldn't h- "
His words froze in their place as your arms quickly wrapped around his back- pulling him forwards- his mouth and nose bumping into your shoulder as his hands dropped to his side's
Birds gave off soft chirps and cheeps while you two sat on the forest floor- Maxwell remained in your hold- you felt the remaining tension in his shoulders fad away as the realization hit him, You meant no harm in your actions
You let yourself lean back, placing yourself under the tree he had hidden under- how head resting on your chest while you pet his hair softly, your other hand rubbing his back while he just stared forwards
A short humming came from your own lips as tears trickled down his cheeks onto your shirt- his knees pulled up that little bit while his finger tips held onto your sides He looked so vulnerable, so small- so tiny in comparison to the rest of the world
It was a wonder such a frail man had made it this far in life- the world felt so cruel towards him which just fed into his need to bite instead of bark back when things got dicey
A corner and scared dog will make you know it's teeth before the sound of its joy
[ . . . ]
The evening light hit your eye, softly waking you up as a voice came from beside the tree
" So you were able to find him? "
Wilson hummed, leaning his elbow on the tree while Wes was crouched in the dirt beside him- a bandage was over Wilson's arm
" Found you two napping out here, were you really able to talk him down? "
" He's pretty sure You hate him for biting him "
" Pfft, the old fart has done worse then that to me- and anyways, his teeth marks are rather fascinating if I do say so myself "
Maxwell stirred in his sleep, his face was buried into your knee- both arms under yours- he was making faint snoring noises to the point you could feel his breath on your neck
" My goodness he's even snoring like a puppy, ha! "
Wilson couldn't help but chuckle as the sight in front of him- Wes did the same tho as normal there wasn't a sound from him
" Shall we take you two love dogs back to bed? "
You gave a small yawn, a bed sounded better then the bark of a tree
As you at last were able to get to your feet you watched as Wilson held Maxwell in his arms- Maxwell's head was on Wilson's shoulder
He shifted and moved in his sleep- his eyes slowly drifting open just to notice where he was
" Higgsb- "
" I'm taking you home, I swear you act like a lost puppy "
" . . . "
Wes helped you to your feet- following behind Wilson as you all made your way back to camp- Maxwell kept his eyes on you but wouldn't meet your own eyes
He looked rather embarrassed being held by Wilson
" I thought you'd have left me to the trees . . . "
" And leave those fascinating teeth behind? I'd never "
" . . . wut "
[ End :3 ]
