goldwing.

   The first one. Not that Alex would have dared say that aloud to the other, even as the blush began going down to his neck. “Just- Just in the library.” Why people were so obsessed with the thing, he had no idea! It didn’t sound all that great. “I mean, that- that’s just gross. The library is not the place to- to make love.” Alex was glad they were moving on to his subject. Bathroom stories and humor he could do all day! No, there was not an irony there. It was totally different! “Oh,” Alex sounded awed by the concept. “I wish we had janitors for that sort of thing.” Thankfully, he’d been lucky enough not to be scheduled to clean the bathrooms on any bad days. “Yeah?” What about if he continued? Not that he really had any desire to push it.  .  .  .

   They’d have to watch it some time. That and Death Proof, since it was originally a double-feature. “I hated it when I was younger. It scared me so much.” The zombies were disgusting, and there were still parts that sent chills up his spine. Now he enjoyed it and learned to let the anticipation build a bit. “I like when the bad guys die at the end.” Tarantino died in Planet Terror, Kurt Russel died at the end of Death Proof, and it was good! They deserved it! “Oh, joy.” One of those. Although he didn’t dare say those exact words. The implication was acceptable, but overtly saying it would probably offend Max. It was her mother after all! “I just wanted to be more flexible.” He knew a lot of people said it helped with depression and stuff, but he’d never gotten any of those benefits.

   He would then. One of these days, at least. Alex quickly replaced his frown with a neutral expression, keen not to let any of his disappointment show now that Max had let go of his hand. She had probably deci- Oh. They were almost nose to nose. Some of the details melded into the darkness, but it was still Max, laying beside him after all this time. He was glad for it. He tried not thinking about it too much, but it was nice having someone share his bed. Alex smiled, giving a light hum as she ran her hand through his hair. “I’d love that. I’ll tell you when I have all the stuff.” Knowing him, they’d probably end up dying his hair anything but red. Sometimes he got distracted! And sometimes the stores didn’t have it! Never mind that you could always order all that stuff online, and just wait a day or two.

   “So do you think I need that kind of stuff?” He asked as she continued playing with his hair. Part of him was curious, the other part was too shallow not to think of it as an excuse for her to continue. “Like oil?” Alex asked, clearly amused. “It’ll be a dark day indeed when I think of makeup,” close enough. “instead of mad science when I hear the word ‘serum.’“ Yeah, that was the beauty industry for you. “That’s been my experience with cleansers and face masks. Like, wipe off your damn makeup and move on.” Granted, washing his face everyday was a rather off and on routine, but it worked whenever he did it!

   Alex smiled, running his hand through her hair again. Simply as a curiosity. Nothing more. “Seems like you’ve got it all figured out. You still experimenting?” Alex .  .  . Liked buying whatever caught his fancy, with no preconceived notions about a product in the beginning. Afterwards, he’d look up all he could about it! But in the beginning, it was all art. What did it matter if it was good, or bad? “Oh?” Alex asked, taking Max’s hint real quick and putting his arm around her waist, keeping her close and trying not to think about how .  .  . how intimate it all was. Was this what people meant? A moment of weakness between friends? “Why do I get the feeling that there won’t be so much asking, as you giving me your opinions on all my stuff?”

   He’d love to give it a try. If it was something Max did, and she clearly had her life in order, then it was something he could do .  .  . Only, did she really have her life in order? The second thought came doubtfully, right after the first one, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. Max’s life wasn’t falling down into line with his. There was just the one mutual problem they shared, just like they had shared the same group of fair-weather friends. It wasn’t all bad.

   It wasn’t bad at all. Alex could feel her breath against his neck, and he was trying really hard not to enjoy himself too much. Maybe if he took his own advice for once and chilled out. Look at Max, she was chill! She wasn’t overthinking this at a mile a minute! Why? Because it was fine. They were fine, and it didn’t have to- it didn’t have to be like everyone else, where it went sour. Alex exhaled, burying his nose in her hair. If it made her happy.

     “Some people like to be adventurous,” She shrugged, “And I guess if you’re gonna try public sex for the first time, an empty library late at night is probably a good place to try it.” Max had seen it as more of a laughable, oh-my-god moment that had been incredibly embarrassing for the couple than anything else. Her older coworkers had been livid about it when she’d recounted the tale to them. But the couple had been apologetic and had Max hadn’t been too terribly bothered by the whole thing. “Yeah,” She nodded. 

     “I like it when the bad guy dies at the end, too,” She agreed with him. Max wished that’s how it worked it real life. She wished that good always triumphed over evil, that justice was swift and correct and karma always worked the way it was supposed to. That would be too easy though and nothing in life was ever easy. Although she supposed that the bad guys couldn’t die in the end because there was no ‘end’. There could be your end, sure, but the world would keep turning without you. This thought alone kept Max up at night. “Yeah...” She said softly, hearing the distaste in his tone, “She means well, though...” She insisted. 

     Without having to think about it, Max shook her head, “No, I don’t think you need it. You’re handsome just the way you are,” She told him with a small grin, “But who says you can’t get a little extra boost? Then you’ll have people basically knocking down your door asking you on dates, I’m sure.” She laughed and then rolled her eyes, “Yeah like oil I guess. But oils are different than serums.. Sometimes serums have oils in them, but they’re usually not just oils. Because those are their own thing.” She had a bathroom cabinet at home filled with stuff that worked for her. Everything that didn’t work for her, she usually gave to her mom to do whatever she wanted with. “A lot of stuff works, you just have to find the right ones. Self care feels nice sometimes.” She shrugged, not feeling like she needed to defend herself. She liked feeling clean and pretty and there wasn’t anything wrong with that. 

     She closed her eyes, feeling goosebumps raise on her skin when he ran his hand through her hair. She wished there was a way for her to tell him not to stop without making it weird. Instead, she just nuzzled against his neck as silent encouragement. “Oh I’m always experimenting,” She told him, giggling quietly. Max hummed, “You might be right about that,” She grinned mischievously even though he couldn’t see it, “I can just tell you my thoughts and opinions and then you can make your own decisions afterwards. And even if those decisions are wrong,” She emphasized the word, her tone teasing, “I will let you make them regardless.” 

     “But it’s fine because you can come to my place sometime and see all my bullshit and tell me your opinions and then we’ll be even.” Her fingers absent-mindedly traced small patterns on his back. Max could easily see herself falling back asleep like this. The previous position had been comforting and enjoyable but now she felt wrapped up in him completely. She was warm and safe (or at least she felt that way). Something about the way his arms wrapped around her made her feel like everything might be okay. 

   Alex shrugged. He wasn’t saying they were aliens, but the .  .  . social expectations were different. As much as he disliked the concept, most girls were raised differently than boys, and in general just had to deal with more crap. Walls came up and it was hard to tell what people were actually thinking. “Just occasional?” Alex asked. “Man! Things are different on the other side!” Alex waved Max off. “You haven’t proved that yet. For all I know, what’s in every woman’s purse is a probe!” Or .  .  . well, maybe Max was right. Maybe if was the guys who were aliens .  .  . Alex tossed that thought away.

   “Hell yeah!” Come on! The library was a community hub! They did need to step up their game! They attracted a lot more of the crazies than any factory could, just by way of accessibility! “Eww.” Alex chuckled for the sake of it, trying to get that thought out of his head. “People actually do that? Why?” God, were they quiet at least? Alex didn’t want to know! “At a different job, I mean, y’know, everyone has their story about cleaning the bathroom. Thankfully it wasn’t me! I was unloading truck. But there were footprints everywhere. I don’t remember her name right now, I’ll think of it later, but she went home after that.” Which he thought was understandable .  .  . “Did that ruin the moment?” It was such a nice moment too.

   Maybe when he disappointed her then. Alex hated to be so pessimistic, but there was a reason why he referred to all his friends in a past tense. He’d gotten used to it, and it wouldn’t make him so sick to his stomach if he expected it. “Okay.” He accepted it anyway, hoping against all reality and experience that this time would be different! That this time, he’d get a friend who wouldn’t get mad at him, or decide he wasn’t worth the time. Someone that stuck around when it hurt, because that’s when it mattered! When it meant something! “I know.” But that didn’t meant he wouldn’t keep his secrets.

   Alex wondered how it’d feel if Max was laying on top of him, how her body would meld into his. The thought only lasted for a moment. It was just one of those silly thoughts that came up since he’d rocked them back and forth a bit, and he could have pushed it further. “Yeah. That was Planet Terror.” Oh, good lord no! He would not call himself a big Tarantino fan! Some people got extreme with it. “I like his movies,” He said. “but I wouldn’t call myself a big fan if that makes sense.“ He wasn’t sure he really followed any directors around. There were some he avoided with a passion! But that was different! “Yeah?” Alex had never tried it like that. He just watched DVDs or read books on it. “Clearly she was not doing yoga for flexibility.” Alex scrunched his nose. “She was doing it for the peace of mind.” Alex said in mock condescension.

   “Thank you.” Alex repeated. He also liked his eyes. His eyes were the best part of him. “I’ve been thinking of dying it.” He’d never tried it before. He’d always wanted to, but he’d never actually taken that leap. Strange, all thing considering. “Maybe I’ll dye it red, then we can match!” Granted, Alex preferred a much less natural shade for himself. What was the point of dying your hair another, regular color? Boring! Give him neon all night long!

   “Forgive me if I’m wrong,” Not that it mattered. He wasn’t wrong! “but a serum is something you inject into yourself.” Or drink! Don’t forget that part! “Huh.” Alex nodded, still absorbing the idea. “I’ve never heard of that before.” Like, the last big trend he’d heard of was keratin, and that just turned into an hour long series of jokes with his coworkers! Alex chuckled, nodding. “Okay. We’ll see see if I like it.”

     Max laughed and shook her head. 

     “Are you surprised people have sex or are you surprised people have sex in the library?” She joked and then nodded her head, “But yeah I mean... I could spend a long time talking about the wild shit that I’ve seen working there. Working nights makes it weird sometimes.” She shrugged her shoulders. Then, she laughed, “Ew that’s so gross! I’m super glad we have janitors that clean up big messes but I have had a few messes I’ve cleaned up that haven’t been fun.” Max shook her head. “No,” She reassured him with a small smile on her face, “It didn’t ruin the moment.” 

     “I haven’t seen that one..” She nodded her head again, “Yeah, I’m not a huge Tarantino fan either, but he’s made some good films,” She didn’t know that she thought everything the man ever made was a masterpiece, and she wasn’t sure that she thought he was a very good person, but there were a few she couldn’t deny liking. Max laughed, “You’re joking but you’re right,” She smiled. Her mom could talk at length about the wonderful benefits of yoga and what she felt it did for her peace and her life. Those were things Max didn’t feel like sharing, although she could recite what her mother would say word for word without having to think twice. “She says it ‘keeps her centered’.” That was the long story short. 

     Max hummed in agreement, “You should definitely dye it.” She let go of his hand-- reluctantly-- and turned over so she was facing him. Max didn’t move back at all in bed, their fronts now pressed together. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark and she could see the shapes and shadows of his face. She reached up and ran her hand through his hair, pushing it off his forehead and away from his face. “Red would be so cool,” She encouraged, grinning at the thought of them matching. Max assumed he meant a more genuine red than her ginger color. She thought that would suit him better, anyway. “I’ll help you dye it if you want, if you decide to go through with it.” She told him. Then she ran her hand through his hair one more time, not spending the time to think too deeply about the action. 

     “A serum is not something you inject into yourself.. I mean, it might be? That could be a definition of that word, I guess.. But serums for like beauty products, like hair care or skin stuff, just means a liquid that’s lightweight. There’s a lot of different serums, although a lot of them are way too overpriced when they don’t really do anything. That’s why you kind of have to do your research before you get something unless you have money to spend and you just wanna go through trial and error.” She shrugged, realizing she’d gone off on a bit of a tangent. She tended to enjoy the trial and error process just because she liked to try them out herself, and to actually have the stuff. But there had definitely been times where she’d just looked into it before hand so she only had to make one purchase. 

     “You don’t really have to worry about all that though, because you have me. So you can just ask me for stuff if you need it and I can help you,” She smiled at him before looping her arm underneath his so she could wrap her arm around his torso, and practically burying her face in his neck as she laid her head back down fully on the pillow and relaxed again. “And if you don’t like it, you can tell me. Your hair doesn’t really need anything. It’s just sometimes nice to have a little extra boost to make it look even better,” Her voice was muffled as she closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, trying not to worry too much about the extent that she’d just talked. 

   Girls were weird. Alex wasn’t saying romance wasn’t a topic of conversation, but aside from the occasional, ‘She’s pretty.’ or game of Smash or Pass, the conversations tended to be on a pretty emotional level. He remembered the last late night talk he’d had with a friend, expressing their mutual distaste for dating for a few years just to have it fizzle out and the sadness associated with having a partner that was unwilling to lift you up .  .  . He didn’t know. Maybe he just attracted an unusual crowd about him. “So what else do girls talk about?” He asked. “Name three.”

   Alex chuckled, rolling his eyes. Yeah, he got plenty of gossip like that too. Little things around the house. “Not to one-up you .  .  . But my work gossip is so much better. Like, we were talking about how the manger sold off his house to pay for some of the fines out of pocket and that he’s stealing stuff off the pallets.” Alex didn’t really know what he was stealing, and he didn’t really care to be honest. He wasn’t the one having to load it into his vehicle! By the time he showed up for work, all those people were long gone! “Or .  .  . uh, there was the one time we got a rapper working for us. He ended up being kind of popular.” There were plenty of other stories, but most of the time it devolved into semi-technical talk about the machines, and he didn’t want to lose Max anywhere in the middle. He’d tell her those stories later.

   “Yeah, stuff.” Alex muttered. Personally, he couldn’t imagine wanting power over anyone. Not seriously, if that made sense. He’d always imagined that if he went to completely burn down the world, that everyone would be at his mercy, but that was a little different, wasn’t it? That wasn’t exactly power, it was just anger. Venting it all out until he died. “You sure? Not even if I make you mad?” Alex asked, fully intending on asking Max just what she thought she could blackmail him with when she said no.

   Alex smiled, not quite laughing as he squeezed her tightly for a few seconds. “You know that’s a Tarantino line, right? One day, you’ll find a use for every single useless talent you’ve ever had.” One day, when the zombies came and they were having a party at the edge of the world. Alex felt his brows raise. Generally the reaction he got was, “Gross.” but he’d take cool! But like, it wasn’t really that impressive. He wasn’t really amazing with it! He could pick stuff up and transfer it to his hands. That’s usually what he did. “I used to be a lot better with it.” He muttered. “That was back when I did yoga and stuff.” He still had all those books around, and he still had an interest in it, but he could never find the time anymore.

   Max’s words hung in the air for a few moments before he could finally say, “Thank you.” it was a little louder than a whisper, but far too quiet to be acknowledged by the room. It was one of those few things he actually liked about himself. He knew his whole style was somewhat dated by now, but he loved it. He loved it and it was his. One of the few things that was. “I like it.” This was said as an almost inaudible whisper .  .  . Did she think everything was going to be okay one day? That they’d both be happy with themselves, and life would finally be calm? Alex wanted to ask her all these things so badly all of a sudden, but he couldn’t seem to get the words out. They were trapped somewhere in his chest, where he didn’t want to spoil the moment too much. One day, when they were watching the stars instead. Alex always liked those kind of talks.

   “How does that even work? Like, you’re just putting goop on your hair and not washing it out all day!” Alex groaned, laughing a bit. He wasn’t sure he trusted Max on this one, but he’d try it anyway! Of course! He couldn’t imagine any other way! It wasn’t like there were any consequences, what with how he took care of himself generally. It was just his usual suspicion about self-care cropping up. Most of the time, it just took too much effort. Hopefully Max never had to see that aspect in its full splendor.

     “I don’t think what we talk about is too much different from what guys talk about,” She told him, “Obviously there’s gonna be a difference in the way we talk about certain things, but it’s like... tv shows and movies and stuff that we like, things that are going on in our lives, the occasional shit-talking moments--” She laughed lightly, “Just normal stuff. We’re not aliens, y’know.” Max teased. 

     She listened and raised her brows in interest at Alex’s work gossip. It was definitely a lot juicier than hers. “Damn.. The library really needs to step up it’s game.” She laughed softly, shaking her head. “One time during a night shift I did find a couple that had stayed past closing and were having sex on a table, though.. That’s not really gossip. Just kind of a wild thing that happened to me.” She shrugged her shoulders. 

     Maxine shook her head again. “No, not even if you make me mad.” She couldn’t honestly see him ever making her mad in the first place, at least not anywhere mad enough where she’d want to do anything like that. But even if he did, even if something did happen, she would never want to hurt him, even if he’d hurt her. Again, Max couldn’t see Alex hurting her. She hoped she was right. “You can trust me,” She said, her words soft and gentle in the dark. 

     Her smile mirrored his, although she didn’t know it with her back facing him. “I didn’t know that. Are you a big Tarantino fan?” She didn’t know that she’d ever find a use for tying a cherry stem into a knot with her tongue, not a practical use at least, but maybe that was the point. One day there’d be a use for it. That day just hadn’t come yet. “I used to do yoga with my mom a lot..” Her mother was obsessed with it, actually, and if she was still living at home she was sure she would’ve still been roped into participating frequently. “But I don’t think she ever learned how to use her toes to grab stuff,” She laughed lightly. 

     Happy he’d taken the compliment, Max may have missed his second words if she hadn’t been listening carefully. She nodded her head ever so slightly and repeated his own words back to him, just above a whisper, “I like it.” She agreed. She also thought she liked him (as a friend, of course). He was good company, even in the quieter moments. 

   “Maybe I don’t. Or maybe I’m just projecting.” Alex quipped. “Hey! Hey, hey, hey! I’m just bringing up my point here!” Oh, so everyone has a crush on Hiccup? Alex did not remember this at all! There was a lot more arguing about which superhero would beat who in a fight. The answer was Batman. He didn’t care! It was Batman! Everyone else was wrong! “So was that what all the girls were talking about then? I always figured that sort of thing was a myth.” Listen, listen! Alex had heard girls talk way more about sacrifice and whatever thing they’d picked up in the woods than about boys! “Nope!” Alex said proudly. “And you can’t make me!”

   Talking while he worked? A crazy notion! “It doesn’t really work like that.” He talked plenty while he worked, sure, but that was totally different! Max didn’t look convinced, and he sighed, getting the feeling he’d have to explain it to her. “Look .  .  . There’s gossip that needs to get done. You can’t just do work, you have to visit people in different departments, it becomes a whole thing.” Honestly, it was one of the best parts of the job! Everyone traded stories, theories, and their own two cents before disappearing when the bell rang. “Eh, what’s a job if you’re not butting heads with management? I don’t need them to be happy with me!” Except that he really wanted them to be and tried really hard to do a good job. But other than that, it was whatever.

   “Oh, but power corrupts. You’ll fight valiantly against it, but one day you’ll come to realize you’re using my mercy against me. And then stuff will happen.” Alex focused on the valleys and ridges of Max’s hand, feeling significantly more relaxed than he usually was when he woke up. All the latent anxieties and missed opportunities that made him feel like he was wasting his life just kind of faded away. This was where he was meant to be, and nothing was to convince him otherwise. “Yeah? Me too!” Alex thought it counted as something. It was cool finding out what he had in common with other people. Alex scrunched up his face, trying to imagine how you could tie a cherry stem into a knot with your tongue .  .  . It didn’t even sound like a thing! Was she pulling his leg? “You’ll have to show me sometime.” Alex said, wondering if she could actually do it. And to what purpose? “I have kinda prehensile toes.” Kind of! Not nearly as impressive as some people he’d seen!

   Alex was pretty sure he had one or two books of women’s hairstyles around somewhere. Albeit, from ye olde times, but Max didn’t have to know what he was doing to her hair until it was too late! Actually- actually Alex knew he had one book he could use. It was the makeup book that told him how to make his nose look broken! “I think the most I’ve ever done for my hair was buy conditioner.” He’d tried a hair mask once. It hadn’t gone well, and Alex didn’t really think Max would gain any confidence in him by regaling his adventures with raw eggs and rose water. Other than that, he straightened it if he wanted to be really fancy.

   If Max said what he thought she said, he liked this too. It was nice, and part of him hoped they could do this again sometime. This was what he imagined having a soulmate was like, what he dreamed about. But having it with Max and them just being friends was great too! Even better actually, because Alex knew what it was like to think someone was just his friend before getting pulled into the romance zone .  .  . He wasn’t ready for that. He knew he wasn’t. He wasn’t going to do that to Max, and it was so nice not having to worry about it. Things were just fine. They were just fine and he didn’t have to overthink it when he gave her a gentle squeeze. He did have to backtrack a little when he thought about how easy it would be to kiss her cheek .  .  . Those thoughts would go away soon. They always did! He got crushes on a lot of his friends! It was fine!

     “Yeah,” Max nodded her head. She’d had friends that had come and gone throughout the years, never really caring about her as much as she cared about them and never really sticking around too long. But she’d had enough friends to know that girls talked about who they thought was cute in movies. “Obviously that’s not the only thing girls talk about but it’s definitely a topic.” She huffed when he admitted to refusing to take her compliment. Why’d he have to be so difficult? 

     She giggled again. “Sounds like a blast, honestly. The most gossip I get at work is when Judith tells me about how her husband has been trying to get rid of the squirrels in their backyard but they keep coming back because she keeps feeding them. Orrr that time everybody brought in like some kind of food for a little potluck we had and the rest of the girls talked in emails for like four weeks about how Evelyn’s cookies were overdone.” Working with a bunch of older women-- the youngest being in her early 50′s-- meant that Max had a different idea of workplace gossip and drama. She was okay with it, though. 

     “Stuff will happen, hm?” Max inquired softly. She grinned, “I have always been a glutton for power... But I would never use anything against you,” She told him, although she didn’t think he’d been completely serious in what he’d been saying in the first place. 

     Finding out they had more things in common made her heart swell, even if it was something like being ambidextrous. Maxine wasn’t used to having a lot of things in common with people, or at least not used to them admitting it. She nodded her head when he said she’d have to show him her cherry stem talent sometime, “I will. It’s one of the most useless skills I’ve ever developed, I think, but it is a skill and that counts for something.” She laughed. Then, she raised her brow. “No way. That’s kinda cool.” She didn’t know she’d ever met anyone with that ability. One time she’d seen a video of a person hold a paint brush with their toes and paint with it, and she’d thought that was wild. 

     “You have nice hair,” Maxine told him, hoping that unlike the night before he’d be willing to take a compliment better now. She wanted to run her hands through it most of the time, but had never known if he’d be okay with that personal space invasion. Now she was pretty sure they were past having to worry about that, as she lay in his bed holding his hand, him wrapped snuggly around her as she cuddled his arm into her chest. Had they been positioned differently she may have done it then, pushing his bedhead off of his forehead and letting her nails run ever so gently across his scalp. She was too comfortable for the moment, though. 

   Once a librarian always a librarian! There was a natural order to these things! “Yes! I am! As the only one who’s actually been there, I am telling you how these things work!” Alex would not elaborate. She could figure it out herself if she was so good at it! Alex scoffed, sticking his tongue out at her. “I don’t think you’d be good at it Max, but that’s okay. Depending on the years you’re alive, you won’t need to worry about any of that!”

   “Fine! How about this then, winter?” Alex asked. “I don’t even dare bring up gross dead things. I do not need to know those kind of details about you.” Although, not dead things, but like, being covered in blood from battle .  .  . Anyway! “Uh, you kind of are.” He said, giving her a funny look. “I remember how Hiccup got his name. It wasn’t all nice and dandy you know.” That was nice of her to say. “I’d love to be a Viking. I want to know how they made their sails! I’d write it down so we’d know now!”

   “Don’t talk to me, talk to my supervisors.” Well, supervisors was putting it nicely. Demoted, egotistical coworkers was more accurate. “I’ve tried using the whole, “I’m busy. I’m talking.” excuse before and it’s never worked.“ Not that it really mattered. Alex wondered if him talking in his sleep was going to be a problem for her .  .  . Not that it should be. Because this wasn’t going to become a habit or anything. It was just a one time thing, and it was chill “Deal.” This one time, and next time. That was it. “And I, Alex Donovan Smite, humbly thank you for your acceptance. I throw myself at your mercy, now and always.” He said, giggling with her.

   It was kind of surreal. Alex wasn’t used to telling the truth anymore, much less without it being used against him. He hoped it wouldn’t be used against him, because he wasn’t sure how well he’d handle it if Max broke his trust. He knew it was stupid, but he just wanted to trust her forever and ever. He’d have her back, and she’d have his. “Yeah?” Alex kind of wished he were like that, but he didn’t really know why. Social standards he supposed? Him being ticklish wasn’t something he dealt with on a day to day basis, so most of the time he felt indifferent towards it. “So what’s that like? Is that a stupid question?” Max didn’t treat it like a stupid question. She gave him an answer while he idly moved his thumb back and forth across her hand. “Yeah, I know that feeling. It’s not that bad most of the time. Just, you know, across my stomach is kinda sensitive.” Like last night when she grabbed him and his stomach did flips and got butterflies. That’s all it was, him being a little ticklish. “Is there anything else? Like, are you secretly double-jointed or something?” It was just an example. She could mention anything else she felt like.

   Oh, thank god. Alex didn’t want her to leave. Not yet. He was having such a nice time, and if Max left, that meant all this was going to become a memory. Alex hummed, fearing if he gave any kind of comment it’d change things. Personally, he’d been thinking of going to the other side of the city today, or tomorrow, but those plans were canceled. He loved walking around the city, but he did that when he didn’t have anything important going on! He needed to enjoy this. How often were they both going to have days off like this?

   “No, no, I don’t mind.” He had long hair too, it wasn’t that big of a deal. He had hair ties around somewhere, but he didn’t see a need to mention it. He liked it being mostly everywhere. It was so soft, and whatever shampoo she used smelled great. He was just finding a little equilibrium. “We can do that later.” If she’d let him braid her hair that was. “It’s supposed to be good for your hair. That or a silk pillowcase.” Alex said, yawning towards the end, already thinking of getting the latter. He liked Max keeping her hair down. It was prettier, at least in his opinion.

     Max just huffed, “You don’t think I’m good at anything.” She pouted, although she wasn’t anywhere close to being genuinely upset. 

     “First of all-- ew.. And second of all, everybody had a crush on Hiccup like not in the movie but when we watched it when we were kids like everybody thought he was cute. So.” Okay maybe it wasn’t everybody. Maybe it was just her, that she knew of. She hadn’t watched the movie with anyone else, besides her dad who had taken her to see it in theaters and then fallen asleep a quarter of the way through the movie. But she’d thought Hiccup was cute. “I’m trying to give you a compliment and you just won’t take it.” She scrunched her nose at him. 

     If she worked anywhere else besides a library, she was sure she’d have a problem with talking too much. Luckily, it was a quiet job, where people showed up to do their own thing and only needed to speak to you when they needed to check out a book, or know where the bathrooms were or how to log onto the computers. Very rarely did she ever work closely with the other librarians. Most of them were older women who were retired from their lifetime careers and kept to themselves. The most communication she had with her boss was through sticky notes they left back and forth on the desk in the back office. “Have you tried talking while you work? They might be happier with you then.” Then, she giggled again when he said he was at her mercy. “I kind of like the sound of that,” She admitted with another giggle. “I have to be careful not to let that power go to my head.” 

     The touch of his thumb moving back and forth on her hand was soothing. Her heart felt warm in her chest as they lay there together. She didn’t think she ever wanted to let go of his hand, to release his arm from the cradled position she held it in against her chest. Maxine nodded when he said it wasn’t bad, and mentioned his stomach being sensitive. She’d already figured that out, kind of. Then, she thought for a moment, trying to think of anything she could tell him about herself. Little fun facts or tidbits of information that made up who she was in the smallest of ways. “Well... I’m ambidextrous. I don’t know if that counts as anything.” Max didn’t know what to say about herself. She tended to keep herself in the shadows because talking too much about herself annoyed people, or made them think she was weird. “And I can tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue. I was pretty proud of myself when I learned how to do it.” 

     She nodded her head when he mentioned braiding her hair later. If he knew how, and he was willing, she’d left him do it. She’d let him play with her hair as much as he wanted, whether he knew how to braid it or not. It sounded absolutely delightful. As silly as it felt, Alex was giving her things to look forward to and that was something she hadn’t felt like she’d had in awhile. “It’s good for my hair, and it feels nice,” She said with a nod. Maxine had never thought about putting it in a silk pillowcase. She didn’t know that she’d be able to sleep with something attached to her head like that, although it was probably one of those things a person gets used to with time. 

   Sure, sure. Because medieval times were all about making your own way, rather than being born or marrying into wealth. Alex couldn’t imagine her having any issues with the latter, so she probably would have been fine. “Okay, okay, but I’d like you to chew on the fact that you,” He said, putting extra emphasis on the word. “are a librarian. And most of the medieval populace didn’t know how to read.” It was considered a gift from God. That, and math. Honestly? Alex kind of agreed.

   “Then I shouldn’t bring anything up! Because you’ll always mention it!” Oh, thanks! Alex rolled his eyes. “You offend me you know. I’d actually be good as a Viking!” In battle at the very least! Alex was mean with a blade in his hand, and he was decent enough at archery. The only thing that gave him pause was the whole water bit. He didn’t know. Maybe in a different lifetime.

   Alex was usually of the mind that he was imposing, even when people invited him into their presence. If he was good enough, and never asked for anything, maybe it’d all work out one day, and he’d have a group of friends that stuck with him for the rest of their lives. That mentality always led to self-destruction. He’d end up hiding from everyone, tired of trying to please them when he just wanted to be himself .  .  . Would that happen to him and Max? He hoped not. Hell, if he was really lucky, she’d come to like him for who he actually was, and would like to be. He was still figuring that last part out.

   “How did I wake you up? I wasn’t doing anything.” Just a little psychotic rambling, hardly worth mentioning! “I just think it makes sense if you were already awake. You’re just trying to make me feel bad, because you’re too lazy to shut the curtains.” Alex was comfortable like this, just watching Max. Whispering about absolutely nothing in the world’s waking hours. “Fine.” Alex sighed dramatically. “I, Alex Smite, do humbly apologize.” For absolutely nothing! But he didn’t need to say that when he crossed his fingers.

   “No, not really.” He lied. It was a good one. He got the tone and timing right. He just wondered if Max saw through it anyway. He wasn’t particularly interested in having that information used against him .  .  . God, how long ago had that been? That was a game his mom and him used to play. He remembered it fondly. “Yeah. I am.” Alex admitted when Max stopped moving her foot along his leg. It hadn’t felt bad or anything, but it was a sign of respect that deserved the truth. “You?” Alex immediately asked, trying to shift the focus away from himself.

   Alex squeezed her hand, glad that they were touching again, and that it wasn’t off limits as he pulled her closer. God, he loved this. This was that humanity was made for. It all made sense. Alex felt as if he could protect her from everything in the world, even though he knew she didn’t need anyone for that. “No. Not tomorrow either.” Alex answered, coming out of his lightly philosophical musings. Really, it wasn’t all that philosophical since his last thought ended on the note of, ‘God, I love women.’ .  .  . You just had to be holding Max to understand, because Alex couldn’t put it all into words. Not the smile on his face that Max couldn’t see, or the way his face was heating up the longer he held his hand. The only thing he could put into words with a soft laugh was, “You have so much hair.” as he blew some away from his face. Otherwise it was going to go up his nose and ruin the moment!

     “I wouldn’t have to be a librarian! You’re telling me I get to go back to medieval Europe and I have to still be a librarian?? Absolutely not,” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I’d do but I know I’d be good at it.” She boasted. Why couldn’t she be thriving in this hypothetical time travel scenario? She thought she’d look cute in the clothes and it would be a good time. It wasn’t like they were going to throw her in a time machine and make her find out. 

     “I only mention it when the thing you bring up is hot. So if you don’t bring up things that are hot then I won’t mention it. It’s pretty simple, honestly.” Max continued to tease him. “I’m not saying you’d be a bad Viking! I’m just saying that you have the like vibes of Hiccup aesthetically. Which is good. I think you’d be a great Viking.” She’d always wanted to be a pirate, personally, if they were going to talk about seafaring types. 

      Max scoffed, “Talking in your sleep does not count as not doing anything.” She had no issues with him talking in his sleep. It had woken him up, and she was being dramatic about it, but it didn’t actually bother her. She tended to be a heavier sleeper and it was only large movements or loud sounds that stirred her enough out of slumber to matter. Anything else might wake her for a second before she’d be back to sleep again. “I’ll shut the curtains next time. Deal?” She grinned at him when he apologized, “And I, Maxine Cooper, humbly accept your apology.” She giggled quietly. 

     Her brow arched a bit when he said he wasn’t ticklish. He’d mentioned before when they were cuddled together on the couch that something had tickled, and if there was one thing Max was going to do, it was remember the small things. But she didn’t test him, didn’t push him and ask for clarification. Instead, she just waited. She didn’t have to wait for long until he spoke again and his answer changed. She just nodded her head, filing the information away not for ammo against him but as something to remember, to be careful about. “No,” She shook her head. Max’s answer was honest. “I’ve never really been ticklish.” There had been a few awkward moments throughout her life where guys had tried to be cute and tickle her to make her giggle and squirm and she’d ended up just looking at them, asking them what they were doing. “Sometimes it’s like... light touches to certain parts of my body will give me like goosebumps, y’know? Like a little bit of a tickle feeling? But nothing too bad.” She shrugged. 

     The relief Max felt in her body when he said he didn’t work today (or tomorrow, either) was immeasurable. She’d been afraid he was going to say yes and give her a time they had to get up and she had to leave by. She didn’t want that. Max wanted to be around. She didn’t want to have to go. “Good,” She said simply. “I don’t either.” If he had other plans for tomorrow, or even for later today, she guessed she’d have to be okay with that, and go back to her own place. But until he gave her any indication that she needed to go, that he had other things to do, she didn’t plan on making any big moves to go any time soon. 

   “You know those are contradictory statements, right?!” Alex asked, waving his hands around. “You would not have been nobility!” He would have been. He used to be a Knight back then. “So get off your high, stolen house Peasent, and stop pretending you have servants to launder your potato sacks.” Alex wondered if they had potato sacks back then. They had to! Right?

   “Oh my God.” Alex groaned. Maxine was incorrigible! “You- you!” Honestly, Alex didn’t even know the words he wanted! She- she just lusted after things! Like .  .  . like a big ol’ luster! Alex made the proper noise of disgust, batting as her. “Bad! Bad! No!”

   The mushrooms were so pretty. People just didn’t trust them. Mushrooms were part of life that refused to be categorized. Some of them were so close to humans genetically, it’s bring about allergic reactions to yourself! Alex always wondered about that. He’d read it, and he wasn’t really going to get in line to test it out but it was such an odd idea. Maybe that was part of his dream. He didn’t really know. It was fading now that his attention was on Max. Besides, he usually had these types of dreams again. Alex used to dream about God a lot. Not their God .  .  . Anyway, it wasn’t important. He always woke up before They could tell him the secrets of the universe. And he’d been getting so close when they just stopped!

   Oh, did he dare say it? “Well, it is if you’re imposing.” Alex whispered, a small smiling breaking across his face as he laughed. “I’m joking! I hope you know that!” He really did hope she knew that. Max was always welcome here, no matter what. Alex knew it’d be inconvenient for him sometimes, but all he wanted was for her to have somewhere in her life she felt safe. It probably wouldn’t last long anyway. It wasn’t like he’d really figured out the ghost thing. They still hid in the shadows. That was something he’d come to realize with age, sometimes, as scary as the monster in the shadows were, there were worse things in here. They’d bide their time.

   Alex knew closing the curtains was a terrible idea. As soon as the room was dark, he yawned, stretching in place before getting back under the covers. A few bones popped, which was satisfying.

   He wasn’t sure he wanted to get out of bed today. And not for the usual reasons. Alex told himself it was just because he needed to keep an eye on Max. He had a lot of stuff in his room that he did not want her getting into, because it’d make everything awkward in the best case scenario. In the worst case, he’d do what he promised he wouldn’t, and ghost her. “I did not wake you up!” His voice didn’t reach that perfect whisper register, on account of him just waking up. “That’s a lie. You were already awake.” He would have believed it. Max was just one of those insanely lucky people who didn’t need to put any effort to look gorgeous presentable. She could brush her hair real quick, maybe! That was all that needed to be done, and he didn’t just think that because it was dark!

   “That tickles.” He said it quietly, and half into the mattress, but if Max dared to use that information against him, he swore she find herself on the floor faster that she could say, “Mushroom!” Alex would have bet she had cold feet. Not that it was always a bad thing! Sometimes it was nice, on a hot summer day, you know?

   God, Alex just wished Max would fall asleep again. It was all so perfect when she did, and maybe she was getting close because they were laying right next to each other. She still smelled like yesterday at the library, and he could just make out the freckles along her face. It was perfect. She was such a perfect human being, and Alex didn’t know how she managed that. Alex bet she heard that all the time. He couldn’t imagine anyone looking at her and not seeing something amazing. She was kind, and funny, and smart, and she knew herself enough to stand up for it! Alex really admired that .  .  . If she was asleep, he could just wrap his arms around her again, and it wouldn’t be so awkward. Was that bad? Just wanting the problem to go away, so he didn’t have to ask?

   Probably. Actually, definitely. But how did you ask? You couldn’t just say, “Hey, I’d like to hold you close and pretend that it protects us from the world. Maybe actually feel it for a little. Is that cool?” You couldn’t say that kind of thing. And Alex just couldn’t get his arms to move, even though she was right there!

     “Just because I do laundry now doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have absolutely crushed it during medieval times.” She told him defiantly. In truth, she thought she probably would’ve hated it. Afterall, being a woman in any times before the present was not a walk in the park. Hell, being a woman now was still rough. Max laughed and shook her head at him. 

     “Vikings are hot and you shouldn’t bring them up if you don’t want me to say it! I think you’d kind of give Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon vibes as a viking and that’s absolutely incredible.” She’d had the biggest crush on the character when she was younger, but she kept that part to herself. 

     Max rolled her eyes at him when he said she as imposing. “Yeah, whatever,” She muttered, a small smile on her face. She thought that one day there would probably come a time where he wasn’t joking. People in the past always tended to get tired of Max, for one reason or another. No matter how much they started out enjoying her company, having no complaints, there always came a time where they’d get tired of her or annoyed with her and she’d stop hearing from them. She found it hurt less when she expected it was going to happen though. She dreaded when that moment came for Alex. She thought that would probably hurt whether she tried to stay prepared or not. 

     She shook her head, “I was not already awake. You woke me up,” Max insisted. He’d sat up and the disturbance had stirred her, but more than that there was the panic that he was going to leave and not come back to bed at all. “I think you should apologize,” Her tone was light, her voice still tired and her eyes half-closed. 

     “Are you ticklish?” Max asked curiously, not an ounce of malintent in her voice. He had nothing to worry about with her as far as that went. She’d never been the type to tickle another person, it wasn’t something that felt comfortable for her. The person being tickled always just seemed slightly uncomfortable. If she wanted to make someone-- Alex, in this case-- squirm, she had other ways of doing so. She stopped the movement of her foot against his leg. 

   Well .  .  . Maybe he’d actually make one then. Alex had never actually considered it before, but with Max’s support, he felt kind of inspired. He had no idea what it’d be about! But maybe if he just started filming and piecing together his ideas, it’d turn into something she’d want to see. Alex didn’t say all that though. He just smiled shyly, looking down at the couch. “Thanks.” Yeah. He did. Alex- well, no! No! He was good at art! He was good at painting and drawing! It wasn’t bragging if you were actually good at something without shoving it in people’s faces.

   “You would not be saying that if we were talking about laundry.” Alex pointed out, rolling his eyes. Oh! Good for her! She was one of those! She could let nature heal her all the way out into the middle of the woods. He’d see what she thought then. “You would have done amazing in medieval Europe. Me? I would have been a Viking.” Coincidentally, vikings were known for stealing all the women away. Wooing them as it were with their bathing.

   No, he needed to get up .  .  . If he came back to bed, he’d fall asleep again! “So many spores. So many spores. That was the problem.” Alex mumbled, letting Max pull him down without question. Mostly, because he didn’t really want to question it. She fit perfectly against him, even if deep down he knew it wasn’t a mutual feeling. “Okay.” Alex closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath as he ran his fingers through her hair. He loved her hair so much. It was so pretty.

   Alex tended to oversleep with the curtains drawn. Especially on work days, where he ran on three or four hours of sleep. “You make it go away! You’re the guest!” It felt like hours passing now that he’d said that. And it would be so much nicer if the curtains were drawn. He just didn’t want to get up. Usually, he kept them open so he’d wake up and go to work. It was easier to convince yourself of that when you weren’t in a dark room, running on three hours of sleep for the second consecutive week. “Fine.” Alex sighed, gently trying to push Max off of him. “Move your lazy ass if you want me to close the curtains.“

   It was easier. It was easier, it was so much fucking easier and Alex didn’t have to explain it past that point, did he? Why was he getting back into bed? When he knew he probably wasn’t welcome at this point, no matter how nice it was. Alex laid beside her. He could just barely make out her face now. What was he doing? This felt stupid. Even if it totally didn’t mean anything. She was scared and vulnerable, and he was just being a decent friend. That’s all this was. Friends. “It would have all been fine if you hadn’t said anything.” Alex whispered, unable to help himself.

    “First of all, I do the laundry. Second of all, yeah, I would’ve killed it in medieval Europe.” She nodded matter-of-factly. Then, she gave him a mischievous grin. “You’re gonna get mad at me for saying this but Vikings? Also very hot.” Max giggled quietly. 

     “No spores, just me.” She told him, giving him reassurance although she wasn’t sure it was helpful. Max couldn’t help but let out a soft, quiet hum as he ran his fingers through her hair. It felt so good, so soothing. She could’ve fallen back asleep easily to the feeling, and almost cursed herself for asking him to get up to close the curtains. How could she ever just ask him to run his hands through her hair again? Then she’d have to tell him why, to admit how good it felt, and that wasn’t something Max was prepared to do. She’d just have to wait for those moments he did it on his own accord. 

     She scrunched her face up again and shook her head, “That’s not how that works at all. You’re supposed to do stuff for me because I’m the guest, not the other way around,” She insisted. If the curtains didn’t get closed, she probably could’ve managed to fall asleep. But it was the principle now. She continued to lay in bed until he finally gave in, and then grumbled as she was moved off of him so he could get up. The bed felt emptier without him in it, although still incredibly comfortable. There was a tight feeling in her chest without him there. It probably wasn’t good, but instead of focusing too much on it she just took a deep breath and hoped he’d come back quickly. 

     Luckily she wasn’t disappointed. The curtains were closed and the room was thrust into a cool darkness. When he got back into bed, she didn’t waste any time scooting close to him. She didn’t make contact, not yet. She looked at him in the dark, trying to pick out his features in the shadows. His hair was tousled from sleep, and she thought it looked kind of cute. For a moment she held his gaze in the dark before she chuckled softly. “You woke me up in the first place so I don’t want to hear it,” She said playfully, her voice still a bit gravely with sleep. Her legs moved under the blankets and one of her feet rubbed gently against his leg. 

   Maybe. But that still required finding them! “I don’t know. I still harbor hopes that I’d get around to buying a nice camera and make it myself. Editing can do a lot you know. Like, give me two years of raw footage and I bet you could get something to submit to a film festival.” Would it end up meaning anything, maybe not. But at least he would have made it. There was something to be said for creation, whether or not anyone else cared.

   “Yeah, no shit.” But why? Was it really that funny? Alex didn’t really think it was that funny, which put him vaguely off kilter because he was thinking of other reasons, other than he just didn’t care for sexual jokes. Alex scoffed. Of course she’d like it down there. “What’s so great about it?” Alex asked. “If you ask me, the gutters could use some cleaning. Because they always need cleaning! You keep saying you’ll do it, but you’re always busy.” Alex laughed with her, having way too easy of a time imaging a suburban narrative, bickering with Max everyday.

   Alex never really had a talk with his parents about what to do in situations like this. Really, they’d never really given him any kind of relationship advice. He just knew that it would be most appropriate if he gave her most of the bed. Alex was dozing off by the time Max wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. He hummed, taking her hand, placing his fingers between hers. This was nice. Even if he didn’t want to say anything about it yet. For all he knew, she was already asleep and it was just a natural reaction. If he said anything now, and it ruined everything, Alex really didn’t know what he’d do with himself. Alex fell asleep, holding onto her as tightly as possible as the little spoon.

   By the time he woke up, it was light inside the room .  .  . He’d forgotten to close the blinds. “The Great Mushroom War. It’s upon us.” Alex said, his eyes half open as he stared intently at absolutely nothing. His hair was an absolute mess. God, it was too fucking early for this. Alex laid back down. He didn’t remember sitting up in the first place.

     Maxine nodded her head in support. “I’d go see a movie if you made one,” She told him. She’d support anything he did. He wouldn’t even have to ask. “I think you could make a pretty good film, honestly. You seem like the kind of guy who would have an eye for making good art.” 

     She looked up at him and grinned a bit, before furrowing her brow. “Why do they need to get cleaned if they’re just gonna get dirty again?” She insisted, “I say let the dirt stay. A little dirt won’t hurt. It’s just like nature is healing.” She jokingly bickered back with him.

     As soon as he laced his fingers with hers, she felt her body fully relax against him and focused on his breathing to help lull her into sleep. It was the fastest she’d fallen asleep for a long time-- even before the house and the haunting and the disastrous after effects-- and she was in a deep sleep before she even realized it. The warmth of his body made her feel safe, and the feeling of his hand in hers was like an anchor.