Chapter Text
“Max, I need your help.”
He froze, his cup of coffee an inch from his face. Things were awkward between him and Zoey. Had been since he confessed his feelings to her. Or maybe since she gained the ability to hear his feelings through song. The situation had hardly been improved when she sang a love song to him in return before immediately turning around and singing a heartsong to Simon.
He tried not to think about that. His heart was bruised, leaving him a conflicted wreck. He was trying to keep some measure of distance from her to protect whatever pieces of his heart didn't already belong to her. But those five little words were his Kryptonite. It didn’t matter if he was hurt, or angry, or heartsick. If Zoey needed him, he’d be there for her. No matter the cost.
“Of course. You know I’m here for you.”
She winced. “Wait. Before you agree, you should know that…what I’m about to ask you, I know it isn’t going to be fair to you. And I promise you, I wouldn’t ask if I had any other choice. But it’s for my dad, and…” She let her voice trail off.
He didn’t even have to think about it. There was nobody in the world more important to him than Zoey, and nobody in the world more important to her at the moment than her father. Whatever she needed, she only had to ask. “Zoey, how can I help?” he reiterated.
She sucked in a deep breath, her fingers dancing anxiously along the curve of her cup. “I went over to my parents’ last night. We’re – we’re trying –” She broke off, needing to take a few deep breaths before she could continue. “There are some end-of-life decisions we have to make for my dad. Anyway, I heard my mom and brother talking, and she thinks…”
“Yes?” he prompted when her voice trailed off.
She swiped a hand through her hair, brushing it off of her face. “She thinks he’s worried about me. Or at least that he’s sad that he’ll miss out on so many of those big moments that you know he used to love – that he loves – so much.” He frowned, not immediately clear on what she was asking of him, so she explained, “You know, like seeing me fall in love or get – get married.” Her voice caught on the last word.
It stung a little, hearing her say she wasn’t in love with him, but his feelings weren’t important right now. Pushing them aside, he grabbed her hand, stroking her palm with strong, soothing strokes. “I understand. I just don’t understand how I can help.”
Her face twisted into a grimace. “Well, I was thinking…I need a boyfriend.”
His hand stilled on hers. “You need a what?”
“Not a real boyfriend!” she rushed to explain. “Just…someone who wouldn’t mind pretending to be my boyfriend for a few weeks, until –” She didn’t finish the sentence, but she didn’t need to. He knew what she was saying. Until her father was gone.
He was still scrambling to process what she was asking of him. “You want me to –”
“No! Max, I would never ask you to do that. To pretend like that. That would be,” she paused, searching for the word before finally settling on, “cruel. I’m wondering if you know anyone who could…who would…”
“Pretend to date you?” He tried to choose his words carefully, not wanting to hurt her but needing her to see the danger in her plan. He kept his voice soft, but his grip on her hand was firm and comforting. “Zoey…I understand why you want to do this, but…the two of you don’t have a lot of time left. Do you really want to spend the rest of it lying to him?”
She teared up. “He’s my dad,” she said helplessly, her eyes filling with tears. When he saw one trickle down her cheek, he had to fist his hands in his lap to resist the urge to brush it away. “If it’ll make him happy, it’s worth it, isn’t it?”
He leaned back, breathing a heavy sigh. Yes. If it would make Mitch happy, if it would make Zoey happy, it was worth it. Though he couldn’t pretend to be thrilled at the prospect of watching her date someone else, even if it was all pretend. “So you want my help finding you a fake boyfriend.”
He rubbed one hand across his face, thinking through his options. Simon was clearly out, which Max was ashamed to say gave him a tiny measure of relief. As desperate as Zoey was for a fake boyfriend, he doubted even she would be willing to ask Leif. Or Tobin. “Kevin from Accounts Payable?”
She groaned. “He eloped last week.”
“Really?” he asked, flashing her a quick grin. “Good for him!” Tapping his fingers against the table, he tried again. “Hank from Operations?”
“In Maui for the next two weeks. First vacation he’s taken in three years.”
Max sighed. A few other co-workers came to mind, but if they weren’t in committed relationships, there was no way that Zoey’s parents would ever buy them as plausible boyfriends. He made one last, desperate attempt. “Doesn’t Mo know anyone? Have you asked him?”
She shook her head. “Not really. The problem is, they’re all strangers. I was hoping I could find someone I might have at least mentioned to them before. It’ll be more believable if it’s someone I’ve known for a while and we can pretend we just realized we'd fallen in love.”
He managed a wry smile, but he managed to refrain from pointing out the painful irony of that comment. “Yeah, I guess. I just don’t know anyone like that, that you could ask.”
Zoey was visibly crestfallen. “Yeah, that was my problem too. Do you think if I posted an online ad…”
“No, that’s way too dangerous!” He ran his hand down his face again. “Okay, I know you don’t want to consider this, but…what about me?”
“Max, no! I told you I’d never ask you to do that!”
He shrugged, offering her a hopeless little smile. “You’re not asking. I’m offering.” She threw him a mutinous look, so he leaned forward and prepared to make his case. “Look, I really appreciate that you’re trying to protect me, but put my feelings aside for a few minutes. If you look at this critically, it’s the only thing that makes sense. We’ve been friends for a long time, and your parents know how close we are. We can totally convince them we fell in love at some point along the way. I know about your powers. I know why this is so important to you.”
Her hair whipped around as she shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. Max, I can’t…I don’t…” He stared at her, is gaze steady and unblinking, until she managed helplessly, “Things between the two of us have been…complicated, and if we pretend we’re dating, I’m worried it will make things worse! I don’t want to lose you, and I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.”
He tried to offer her a reassuring smile, but he was afraid whatever he managed was a pale imitation of the expression. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that. You know how I feel about you, and I know,” he paused, searching for the words. He would say he knew how she felt about him, but did he? Maybe it wasn’t her fault because of her powers, but the signals he’d received from her had been decidedly mixed. “I know how you feel about how I feel about you, I guess,” he finished lamely.
“Max –” she tried, in one final protest.
“Zoey, it’s okay. I know it won’t be real, and I know it’s for your dad. You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t get the wrong idea. Let me do this for you. Let me do this for Mitch. You know what he means to me. If doing this will make his final days any easier, if it’ll make him realize he doesn’t have to worry about you, then it’s worth it.” He could see she was wavering, so he pressed, “Let me do this. Please.”
She still looked uncertain, but she said, “Are you absolutely sure about this?”
He wasn’t. He had a feeling that, his reassurances aside, this was going to hurt. It was probably a terrible idea. Oh, he’d still remember that she didn’t love him, but letting himself give in to his feelings for her, even if it was only for pretend? There was no way he would get out of this with whatever shreds of his heart remained intact. But it was for her. It was for Mitch, a man who had acted more like a father to him than his own.
Zoey and Mitch needed him, and he’d be there for them. No matter the cost. How could he do anything less?
“I’m sure.”
Her smile was shaky. “All right.”
Telling himself he could do this and keep a firm grip on his emotions, he lifted his coffee cup in a fake toast. “All right, fake girlfriend. Where do we begin?”