their thoughts on love

how they loved

Oliver was always asking Maverick to slow down. Even when his own mind was going at scary speeds, Maverick's always seemed to be faster. He was always faster, though.

Silas always asked Maverick to speed up. Even when he was lazy doing chores, Maverick was always slower. He was always slower, though.

This is one of the many reasons why Silas and Oliver clashed. They had two competing views on the most important person in each of their lives. Although Silas lived with Maverick and spent more time with him, Maverick still shared a connection with Oliver that was stronger in some areas.

The main difference, however, was one they didn't realize: the way they looked at his worth.

Growing up, all of the Otto kids had been taught that their worth was based off of academic achievements, money, and status. While their sister thrived, being naturally gifted in both academics and charisma, it seemed as if those two things had been divided between the twins. Both were intelligent, but Silas was naturally gifted with it, while Maverick had to work harder to keep up in that area. At the same time, both were gifted with good looks, yet only Maverick had the charisma to go along with it.

When Silas Otto looked at his brother, he saw an academic underachiever, admired him for his boldness, yet Silas envied his easily achieved social status. Knowing his brother was too spontaneous for his own good, he felt like an older brother to him, always watching out to make sure he didn't do anything to hurt his own or his family's reputation. He loved him because he was everything he couldn't be.

Growing up, Oliver Luna was raised to value people over status. It was one of the reasons why he got along so well with Maverick, and why he never held back from interacting with someone that had a big important title. Although he did well in school, he and his parents never stressed over low grades on tests, focusing more on understanding instead of scores.

When Oliver looked at his best friend, he saw a bright eyed boy who loved the ocean and almost everything else in the world. Oliver knew that Maverick thought differently than he did, but he welcomed it, only making sure that Maverick understood how his actions would affect the people and environment around him, since he didn't always think about the bigger impact. He loved him because he loved everything.

The thing was, Maverick wasn't just an Otto. He was also a Luna.

Growing up, his father stressed status and power, while Mr and Mrs Luna talked to him about caring for others. He took in everything, yet only retained what touched him. Yeah, status was a great thing to have, but he already had it. What came after that? He didn't care about power. He cared for others, but there had to be more to life than looking for more people to help, right? There was more to life than other people, he thought. There was beauty, there was fun, and there was love. It could all be found in people, in nature, and in ideas.

When Maverick looked at his brother, he saw his brother. His brother had his faults: jealousy, stubbornness, and a tendency to isolate himself. But, when he looked at his brother, he saw that the good parts outweighed the bad. In his eyes, Silas was focused, smart, and introverted. He would seek out knowledge, and Maverick loved that about him. He loved the way he could come to his brother for answers, and he knew that his brother loved finding answers for him. He loved his brother because he appreciated everything about him.

When Maverick looked at his best friend, he saw care. Even when they had first met, there was something in those brown eyes that spoke to him. He knew that Oliver could be a little shyer than him, and growing up they would deal with Oliver's seasonal depression and other troubles, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle if they were together. They always said that together they could take on the world. He loved the way that Oliver would look at anything and find something nice to say about it. He loved the way that Oliver would teach him and anyone else anything he knew, because he wanted to see other people have the same knowledge and opportunity as he did. He loved Oliver because he loved others.