Maximus

Something jerked him awake.

Blinking sleep from his eyes, he quickly surveyed the room. It was empty. Angry with himself for falling asleep, he rose to his feet.

Damn, he thought as his body protested after having been still for so long. That fight must have taken more out of me than I thought. It was another moment before he remembered that something had woken him up. Awareness flooded through his system and he spun around, looking for any signs of a fight, forced entry, or things that shouldn’t be there. Everything was in its place.

Maximus had meant to stay up through the night, to ensure that nothing happened while Haley slept. Clearly he’d failed miserably in his efforts. Shame filled him as he realized Haley could have been taken and he likely would have slept through it.

First things first, though. What woke me up?

His eyes were drawn to the front door. It was unlocked. Eyebrows furrowing, he crept over to it, looking to see if it had been forced. But everything looked fine.

“Haley?” he called cautiously, eyes flicking back and forth between the entrance to the kitchen and the hallway to the other rooms.

A head suddenly popped out from the kitchen. “Morning, sleepyhead!” she said.

The loud greeting was so unexpected he jumped, his hackles rising even as he prepared to fight.

“Something wrong?” she asked, moving so that she could lean on the edge of the doorway. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

“You scared me,” he said gruffly, shaking his head and rolling his shoulders, trying to flush the sudden shot of adrenaline from him. Everything was just fine, it would appear. “What are you eating?”

“I, uh,” she stammered, hiding the muffin as he glared at the fresh-looking food. His nose was suddenly assaulted with smells as he opened up his senses.

“Did you go out?” he asked, looking at the front door and back at her. “Alone?”

“Look, Maximus. There’s a bakery literally five doors down. I wore a hat and I kept my head down low.” She reached into the kitchen and waved a ratty old hat at him, the ballcap with some sort of insignia on it he didn’t recognize. “I paid in cash, didn’t talk to anyone, and was careful to keep my face obscured.”

He opened his mouth to protest, to tell her that she shouldn’t have gone anywhere without telling him. That it was dangerous, who knew what was lurking out there, and that she’d been reckless. All of that and more was ready to tumble out of his mouth, but before it could, Haley held up a single finger. Her eyes were alive now as she readied herself for a fight.

“Maximus, I knew what I was doing. I did everything right, and you know it. You also know, once you take a moment to think about it, that we need to eat. You also know, that you’re a little bit more conspicuous than I am. That I am much better suited to do this. So we’re not going to have this fight. Instead, you’re going to come over here, and you’re going to eat.”

She dropped her hand, crossing her arms in front of her, challenging him to prove her wrong. He spent several long seconds considering doing so, but there was one big problem with that. She was right. Everything she had said was right.

“You’re right,” he admitted. “I won’t make an issue of this, under one condition. And this is a take it or leave it deal.”

“I’ll listen, but I’m not promising anything until I hear what it is,” she replied defiantly.

“You are so stubborn,” he muttered, but there was a smile on his face. “My condition, is that in the future, you don’t do anything like this without telling me first. You are correct, we needed food, you were properly cautious, and you’re better suited for it than I am. But, before you get too cocky about it, remember that something could still happen. And if you don’t tell me what you’re doing, then I can’t come after you if you take too long. You need to keep me informed.”

The defiance left Haley’s posture as he spoke, replaced with acceptance.

“That’s fair. I was trying to surprise you,” she admitted. “I wanted to cook breakfast, but we didn’t have anything. So I went to get it. But you’re right, in our current situation, not telling you was a bad idea.”

“I’m glad we’re agreed on everything,” he said, doing his part and letting his anger pass.

“Now, come eat,” she commanded, stepping back to open the way to the kitchen.

“I’m not going to argue with that,” he laughed. “Lead on. I am starved.”

She gestured to three wrapped packages on the counter. Two of them were circular, while one was oblong. “I have no idea what you like to eat,” she said sheepishly. “So I got you some options. A breakfast burrito and a bagel, and a breakfast sandwich. I hope one of them works.”

Maximus eyed her, wondering if she was just joking, or if she was truly concerned. He snatched up the closest one, unwrapping it, and then he went to town. Part of him was slightly embarrassed by how quickly the breakfast burrito disappeared, but at the same time, he was starving.

“This is damn good,” he muttered around the last mouthful.

“I’m…glad,” Haley said, looking him askance as he reached for the next sandwich. “Was it good?”

“It ‘as ‘elicious,” he mumbled, already taking a huge hunk out of the bagel and cream cheese.

“Well, I’m glad I got three of them,” she said as the rest of the bagel disappeared into his mouth. “Though, I must admit, I hadn’t expected to be glad for this particular reason.”

He gave her a hurt look. “I’m a big boy.”

“You are that,” she returned dryly, giving him a wink when he pretended once more to be hurt.

“Be nice,” he admonished, unwrapping the final sandwich. “Oooh bacon, my favorite!”

That last line apparently was too much for Haley. She snorted into her drink, spewing some of its contents on the counter.

“Thank you for that,” she said, snatching a paper towel to clean up her face and the rest of the spillage. “Now I’ve wasted some of my coffee. By the way I got you one,” she said, motioning to a plastic container on the counter. “I didn’t know how you liked it, so I got some cream and sugar.”

He frowned, pausing in his accelerated eating process. “I’ve never had coffee before,” he admitted.

Haley’s jaw dropped. “What? Never?”

“Never. What does it do?”

“It wakes you up. Makes you happy, cheerful. All that good stuff.”

He considered it for a moment. “Perhaps you should have both cups then.”

She was speechless, and he savored every minute of it, grinning from ear to ear, proud of himself.

“You…you,” she tried to say, finally stopping herself when the words wouldn’t come out.

By that point he was shaking with barely controlled laughter. True, he might pay for the comment now or down the line, but the timing had been impeccable, and he didn’t regret it in the slightest.

“Try it,” she said once her face was back under control.

He shrugged. “All right.”

Maximus would try anything once, and he certainly wasn’t going to let Haley do something he wouldn’t. So he took the cup, feeling the piping-hot liquid through the thin exterior.

“Do I just drink it?” he asked. She’d said something about cream, or sugar. Was he supposed to add those?

“Try it. Then you can add either the cream or sugar, depending on how you like it.”

“Okay.” He gave her a mock cheers, then took a mouthful of the liquid, swishing it around for a moment before swallowing it.

The rush hit him almost immediately and he stood just a little straighter. “Oh, that’s good! Needs a little…sugar, I think.”

She handed him a little packet of crystals, which he upended into the drink, stirring it around with a little plastic stick she handed him next. He tried it again, then added another packet. A third time, and in went a thing of cream. Another sip, and a second cream bucket went in.

“Ah, now that! That is a drink,” he said, licking his lips. Then he finished it. Looking around, he didn’t see any more besides what was in Haley’s hands.

“I’ve created a monster,” she said softly.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she said, waving him off. “Nothing important at least. We’ll get you some more of that later.”

“Okay, that’s good!” he reiterated.

“Yeah. You’re only supposed to have a cup or two a day,” she explained.

“Oh. Darn. That’s really good.”

Haley just laughed. A full-body thing that he could see warm her from the inside out. Whatever had come between them the day before, it hadn’t melted, but the thaw was coming. All he had to do was keep showing her the rest of him, who he really was, and what he believed in. There was nothing else. If she liked him, she did. If she decided she couldn’t be with him, then Maximus would have to let her go. It was simple, cut and dry. Unfortunately, his heart didn’t feel that way, and he was going to have to fight against its urges as they went. Like the urge to step closer to her and put his arms around her shoulders. That would be the exact wrong move at that moment in time. Instead, he had to step back, and let her dictate what came next.

“Where do we go from here?” she asked, as if on cue.

“We can’t stay here for long. Eventually the police will track this down and come here. Or the Institute. Or both.”

He watched her mull it over, eventually nodding as she came to the same conclusion. “What would you suggest?”

Maximus very carefully did not smile at the well-worded question. She was asking for his advice without automatically giving in, essentially assuming control of the situation and then seeking his advice on what course of action she should choose. It was just another quality about her that he absolutely loved.

“Get out of town. Meet up with my brothers. The more of us there are, the better off we’ll be, and the safer you’ll be as well. Plus, you’ll have the other women to interact with, so that you don’t get sick of me.” He said it with a smile, but internally he was quite worried that their forced proximity was eventually going to wear thin on her and that she’d want out.

“You don’t think you’re growing on me?” she teased. “Have some more confidence in yourself.”

He laughed once. “Any more confidence and you’d be calling me arrogant.”

“True. Very, very true,” she replied with a broad smile. “Okay, so we go to your brothers. Do we do that now?”

“I’d recommend waiting until dark,” he said. “Easier to slip away that way. I doubt they know where we are, otherwise they’d have struck already. The last thing they want is me getting back to my brothers. They had me as a prisoner once, and it irked them that I’m free. They’ll probably follow me blindly in an attempt to get me back, to restore their pride.”

“Someone’s got a high opinion of themselves,” she said out of the corner of her mouth.

He grinned. “I can’t help it if I’m just that awesome.”

“Oh brother,” she said, rolling her eyes and finishing the last few bites of her breakfast before heading out of the kitchen.

“Was it something I said?”