[For a moment, he was more afraid. But the longer he listened, the more that fear turned to relief.
He was staying. He wanted to come home. To be with his family.
To commit to a relationship.
Maxima abruptly found that his throat had closed around all his words, so he just nodded eagerly, and then, deciding that wasn't really clear enough, leaned in for a lingering kiss. When he finally pulled away, his voice had returned just enough to answer, soft as a secret.]
I love you. My dearest Lorenzo. [Blinking made the moisture welled up in his eyes spill over, and he ignored the damp trails the droplets left behind.] I won't give up on you when I've only just realized what I have.
[Lighter returned the kiss, letting himself do so without expecting it to go anywhere. Just kissing Maxima softly for the sake of it. There was a heat welling in him from the Spirit Vein, but it didn't burn into a blaze with this. Just warmed like a nice little campfire. A hearth.
When tears started falling down Maxima's face, Lighter brushed them away with his thumb.]
Don't you start crying now, you're gonna make me want to...
[It's said with glowing affection and a hint of bashfulness of all things. A light blush appeared on his face and had his hands not been holding Maxima, Lighter would have habitually moved to hide behind sunglasses he didn't have on.]
I love you too...
[Fuck... fuck that felt so good to say.]
I know you didn't have to give me another chance, but I'm glad you are.
[A deep breath got his emotions a little more under control. Some part of him knew he had the right to still be hurt, angry, but the relief he felt that this relationship wasn't over before it could begin far outweighed anything else right now.]
I want to try. I've wanted this too badly...for longer than I could bring myself to admit.
[The hand in Lighter's hair moved down to cup his face again, and Maxima's brow furrowed, staring pleadingly into his eyes.]
...But I need more than just for you to be at my side. Even before you left...I could feel you pulling away. It's why I was afraid that I was the cause, that you'd left because you realized how I felt. ...If we're going to try to make a...a relationship work, then I want to know when you're hurting, and why.
[Right... something deeper than just friends with benefits would require more work. Hell, being close friends with Maxima before this needed the same level of work. It wasn't fair that Lighter asked him to lay his cards out without doing the same.
Even though god knows Maxima still needed to admit to his personal feelings on matters more. Uphill battles and all that.
He felt the weight of that gaze on him. That pleading. This was important, the most important aspect of this second chance. He nodded.]
I won't lie to you and say I'll be perfect at it. Old habits die hard... but if you see me trying to avoid something when I'm feeling down, I might need you to remind me to cough it up.
[Because of course Lighter was right, Maxima still wasn't exactly the most forthcoming about his own emotions. He'd spent too many years reflexively hiding and repressing everything to be able to just unveil them now at the drop of a hat.
They'd both need time, and patience, but the work would be easier done together.]
And of course I'll offer the same. I'm trying to be more aware of when I'm avoiding something, but I still don't always notice. ...I'll rely on you to tell me.
[...Oh. Hm. He's suddenly very aware that he's called Maxima this a few times. And now he's looking at the wall wow what a nice wall it doesn't even have the paint chipping off of it like that one from last week's Motel did.]
Is it, uh... okay to call you that? I don't wanna go assuming things...
[Wow, what color of wall paint is that surely the white women have some weird color name for it and oop he's being moved to look back at Maxima and not the wall. He is blushing a lot now. He feels very, very warm inside at being able to use a nickname and not worrying about Implications.
And even more at the one that he's being given.]
Y-Yeah! Yeah... I... yeah, I'd uh... [...clearing his throat. Maxima has seen Lighter's bouts of shyness before but he could brush them off easier then. Now they both know there are feelings here and he can't run or brush and it's a very, very different look.
Still, he nodded. They were Very preoccupied at the time but... Zosha. His Zosha. It was nice. It sounded nice to his ears. Sounded nice from that voice.]
[Maxima was so deeply, foolishly in love with this man, and now that Lorenzo was here truly in his arms, he wanted nothing else but to throw all caution to the wind and indulge in that emotion. He'd felt this way before, when Lighter was being particularly cute, but he'd always tried to push it aside and deny it, tell himself they were just friends.
Now he was finally free to bask in these emotions without regret or hesitation, and nothing could be sweeter.]
...Let's stay here a bit longer. [He leaned his forehead against Lighter's, letting the other's hair brush lightly against his third eye.] We'll have plenty of talking and explaining to do once we get back to the Fortress, but for now...
... Yeah. I might need to borrow your phone later, but.
[Lighter leaned in closer for a sweet, chaste kiss. He pulled away just enough to speak with their foreheads still touching. He knew he had a lot of explaining to do, a lot of work to do, a lot of discussion.]
But that's for later... right now we can stay like this.
[In each other's arms, not worried about feelings they're concealing. Just together. Just Lorenzo and Maxima.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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He was staying. He wanted to come home. To be with his family.
To commit to a relationship.
Maxima abruptly found that his throat had closed around all his words, so he just nodded eagerly, and then, deciding that wasn't really clear enough, leaned in for a lingering kiss. When he finally pulled away, his voice had returned just enough to answer, soft as a secret.]
I love you. My dearest Lorenzo. [Blinking made the moisture welled up in his eyes spill over, and he ignored the damp trails the droplets left behind.] I won't give up on you when I've only just realized what I have.
no subject
When tears started falling down Maxima's face, Lighter brushed them away with his thumb.]
Don't you start crying now, you're gonna make me want to...
[It's said with glowing affection and a hint of bashfulness of all things. A light blush appeared on his face and had his hands not been holding Maxima, Lighter would have habitually moved to hide behind sunglasses he didn't have on.]
I love you too...
[Fuck... fuck that felt so good to say.]
I know you didn't have to give me another chance, but I'm glad you are.
no subject
I want to try. I've wanted this too badly...for longer than I could bring myself to admit.
[The hand in Lighter's hair moved down to cup his face again, and Maxima's brow furrowed, staring pleadingly into his eyes.]
...But I need more than just for you to be at my side. Even before you left...I could feel you pulling away. It's why I was afraid that I was the cause, that you'd left because you realized how I felt. ...If we're going to try to make a...a relationship work, then I want to know when you're hurting, and why.
no subject
Even though god knows Maxima still needed to admit to his personal feelings on matters more. Uphill battles and all that.
He felt the weight of that gaze on him. That pleading. This was important, the most important aspect of this second chance. He nodded.]
I won't lie to you and say I'll be perfect at it. Old habits die hard... but if you see me trying to avoid something when I'm feeling down, I might need you to remind me to cough it up.
That doesn't mean I won't try on my own too.
no subject
[Because of course Lighter was right, Maxima still wasn't exactly the most forthcoming about his own emotions. He'd spent too many years reflexively hiding and repressing everything to be able to just unveil them now at the drop of a hat.
They'd both need time, and patience, but the work would be easier done together.]
And of course I'll offer the same. I'm trying to be more aware of when I'm avoiding something, but I still don't always notice. ...I'll rely on you to tell me.
no subject
[...Oh. Hm. He's suddenly very aware that he's called Maxima this a few times. And now he's looking at the wall wow what a nice wall it doesn't even have the paint chipping off of it like that one from last week's Motel did.]
Is it, uh... okay to call you that? I don't wanna go assuming things...
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...Please do. It's been...I haven't been close enough to people for anyone to call me a name like that in a very long time. ...It's nice.
[And then he's blushing a little too.]
And...will you be my Zosha? You didn't seem to mind before, but...
[They had been a bit preoccupied.]
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And even more at the one that he's being given.]
Y-Yeah! Yeah... I... yeah, I'd uh... [...clearing his throat. Maxima has seen Lighter's bouts of shyness before but he could brush them off easier then. Now they both know there are feelings here and he can't run or brush and it's a very, very different look.
Still, he nodded. They were Very preoccupied at the time but... Zosha. His Zosha. It was nice. It sounded nice to his ears. Sounded nice from that voice.]
Yeah, I... I will. I'd like that...
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Now he was finally free to bask in these emotions without regret or hesitation, and nothing could be sweeter.]
...Let's stay here a bit longer. [He leaned his forehead against Lighter's, letting the other's hair brush lightly against his third eye.] We'll have plenty of talking and explaining to do once we get back to the Fortress, but for now...
no subject
[Lighter leaned in closer for a sweet, chaste kiss. He pulled away just enough to speak with their foreheads still touching. He knew he had a lot of explaining to do, a lot of work to do, a lot of discussion.]
But that's for later... right now we can stay like this.
[In each other's arms, not worried about feelings they're concealing. Just together. Just Lorenzo and Maxima.]