FLAMES

Infinite

(a.n.: thank you for being patient, i love you all!)

When you wake up the next morning and roll to your side, in all honestly, you're surprised to feel Max's body against you, and not just against you- holding you.

It's nice, to feel him so close to you. He's still asleep, and you can feel his soft breathing against the top of your head. There's a solid thirty minutes before you have to consider getting up, so you decide maybe it's okay to just be with him. Just for a little bit.

You don't move, afraid to disturb him. About five minutes pass before you feel his gentle lips press your head. It causes a smile to go across your face, and you turn to face him.

Max tucks your hair behind your ear and looks down at you, kissing your forehead. Sometimes you wish he were a little softer, that he'd smile when you did. But, he doesn't, so you take what you can get. He just strokes your cheek, and you look up.

"Hi," your sleepy voice says, laced with a slight yawn.

Max moves a finger down your nose, booping the tip of your nose. "Hey." You were pretty sure he couldn't be any cuter, but when he used his morning, deep voice, you were proved wrong.

"I wanna remember this."

He tilts his head. "Remember this why?" He asks softly, moving his hand to rest against your cheek.

In all honesty, you're not sure why this moment is so important to you. Maybe the fact he stays now, or that he held you and made you feel safe. Perhaps it was the warmth of him against you and the sound of the city outside, the sound of other people that you two didn't care about. A moment passes where you think of all this, and you wrap it up into the most coherent sentence you can.

"Because it's just us here-" You shift, pulling him a little closer. "-and the world is goin' on outside, but you're only lookin' at me."

Eyes look up at him, and he closes the distance between you, kissing you softly. You move your fingers through his hair, and he pulls away, biting his bottom lip.

"I want to take you...to a party. Hosted by someone for my job. Friday. I want you to be with me," he mumbles against your lips. You can barely contain your excitement, and you bury your face in his shoulder.

"Yes- Wait, yeah, I'll go," you giggle, looking at him. "What do I have to wear?" You smile, and he sighs, thinking for a moment as he combs through your hair.

"Somethin' pretty. It's not...formal, but it's not casual. Don't worry about it, we'll figure it out."

You reach out and put a hand on his cheek. "I wanna stay here all day."

His lips kiss your hand, and he pulls you close for an embrace. "You're gonna be late."

Tenderly you kiss the exposed skin of his neck and chest, and hum. "But I don't want to get up." He kisses your head, and he slowly starts to move away. You whine, but before you can even process it, he's standing and putting his sweats on. Max looks down at you, and you wrap the blankets around you, not wanting to escape the warmth and coziness of his bed.

Unfortunately, life moves on, and you end up walking to the dance studio an hour later, thinking of the slow morning you'd had with Max. You bite your lip, and wave to Christine when you walk in the doors. The coffee in your grip warms your hands, and you head up to your room, saying hi to the dancers already there.

Practice is normal, and you try not to let your eagerness to get back to Max show. When things are wrapped up again, you pant, looking around at everyone.