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"Aki, sweetheart."
Aki glances up from his phone, his mother is in the doorway holding aloft a shiny garment bag, "yeah, mum?"
"You were heading out today weren't you? To pick up some things?"
Aki nods, "yeah, um, I got the text," he murmurs before nodding towards his phone, "I can go pick up Audrey's bracelet from Tiffany's." Just in time for their dinner tonight. "I was going to swing by just after lunch," he frowns at the garment bag, "but uh, I can go earlier if you need me to pick something up for you too?" he takes a blind guess.
His mother hums approvingly, "perfect, I don't need you to pick anything up but could you drop this off at Saks for me? They've sent me the wrong size but they've put another one aside for me, if you could pick that up for me that would be lovely."
Aki is already getting up and out of his seat before she's finished, "okay, yeah sure," his mother passes the garment bag over with a grateful smile. "Same dress, different size, yeah?" he confirms just to be sure he got it right.
"Exactly," she presses a cool palm to his cheek and Aki smiles faintly. The familiar scent of his mother's perfume of choice floods his nostrils.
"Yeah, uh," Aki gestures to the garment bag laid down across the counter, "she said she called and you've put another one aside for her?" He bites his lip, "same dress, just," he fidgets with the zipper on the glossy garment bag, "just uh, different size?"
It's unnervingly bright in Saks, it always is to Aki at least. Audrey always jokes that it's a clever ploy to overwhelm the tourists and out-of-towners into cleaning out the tackier merchandise. Aki mostly just thinks it's unnecessary.
The sales assistant smiles apologetically, her plastic nametag proclaims her to be Emma, "I'm so sorry Mr. Menzies, unfortunately, I can't perform the exchange for Mrs. Menzies and give you the new dress instead of her without her prior authorisation," she looks genuinely apologetic but the conversation has already gone on for much longer than Aki had been anticipating. His skin is starting to feel tight and it's so fucking bright in Saks and the woman is still apologising, "it's company policy, I'm so sorry, I really am."
"No, no," Aki feels his shoulders hunching ever so slightly, he just wants to end this conversation as swiftly as possible, "I understand, don't- don't apologise, it's fine," it's not her fault, she's just doing her job. Aki is already mentally composing the explanation to his mother when he inevitably returns home empty-handed, "do you want me to- um should I leave this dress here for now-"
"-Now what have we here?"
Aki sighs internally at the familiar voice, he darts a look over his shoulder to confirm his suspicions. Max's devastating grin greets him. Of course, of all the people, in all the places, and under all the possible circumstances- Aki allows himself an audible sigh of resignation, "hey, Max, it's fine, just a little-"
Max waves his hand dismissively and Aki feels a headache coming on, the lights are really fucking bright in Saks and he just wants to get his mother's fucking dress and pick up Audrey's diamond bracelet and go home. He barely has the energy to continue dealing with the issue at hand, much less to field Max's fuckery on top of that.
"I'm sure there's something that can be done here so Mr. Menzies doesn't go home empty-handed," he flashes a brilliantly terrifying smile and Aki feels not unlike when he does shopping with Audrey. Like the adults are talking now. He fiddles with the zipper some more as his face reddens. "I think I've gathered the gist of the situation," Max's smile doesn't even falter as he leans across the counter, Aki doesn't miss the flicker of fear and intrigue that flashes across the sales assistant's face, "I must confess, it surprises me that Saks would so inflexibly apply company policy-"
"It's fine," Aki blurts out, he looks over at the poor girl whose eyes are wide, "I get it-" he doesn't want to get the girl in trouble. It sounds like she's just following the rules, none of this is her fault, Aki should have asked his mother-
Max's hand darts out and his fingers wrap around Aki's forearm and squeeze warningly. All the air is promptly sucked out of the room and Aki's mouth snaps shut audibly as his eyes dart to the sight of Max's hand restraining him. Aki's heart is beating so fast he can hear it in his ears. He swallows.
Max ignores Aki's interjection and doesn't even take his eyes off of the girl, "it sounds like all we need is some confirmation from the delightful Mrs. Menzies and our lovely Aki here can be on his way, no?" his voice is still deceptively light.
The sales assistant nods nervously, "yes- well, yes, I suppose-"
Max redirects his gaze to Aki and inclines his head, he has the lazy smile of a predator sizing up his prey. Aki doesn't know who the prey is here, he has an awful feeling that it might be himself. "Well?" Max prompts, voice dripping in bemusement.
Aki frowns, he feels so out of his depth.
Max chuckles, slow and quiet, "call your mother," he clarifies not unkindly, "get her to confirm that you have been tasked with this all-important task," he tosses a bored look over his shoulder, "surely that will suffice?" he drawls.
Aki looks over at the girl and waits for her awkward nod of affirmation and mumbled, "well, yes- I, well, I'm sure we can do that for you today Mr. Menzies," before he's fumbling to pull his phone out of his pocket.
He scrolls through his contacts until his fingers alight on his mother's number. "Thanks, for um- yeah, sorry for any inconvenience," Aki directs at the shop assistant who smiles tightly. Aki winces internally as he presses his iPhone to his ear He is ever aware of Max's amused eyes trained on him as he waits for the tell-tale ringing to inform him that the call has connected.
Max somehow wrangles the sales assistant into organising for the replacement dress to be delivered straight to Aki's place so as to save Aki having to trek around with it in tow. He manages as much despite Aki's repeated insistence that it's fine, he doesn't mind. The hand eventually returned to Aki's forearm, squeezing once more, and Aki- well, he didn't know how to explain the feeling in his chest at the ease with which-
With which-
With which Max willingly put his hands on Aki.
It's fine, he'd mumbled weakly and Max just continued ignoring him. It was fine though. Really, Aki just wanted to go to Tiffany's and fucking get Audrey's bracelet and then go home and pass out on his bed until he needed to start getting ready for dinner. So when Max nudged him and murmured, "I'm feeling some lunch, how about you?" Aki tried to beg out of it as politely as possible.
"Oh, uh, I still need to go pick up something at Tiffany's for Audrey," he smiles in apology, "maybe some other time."
Max, of course, doesn't let it go so easily. "Oh, in that case," his smile shows too many teeth for Aki's liking, still, he can't look away, "I'll accompany you," a wink, "and then we can do lunch afterwards."
Aki shakes his head instinctively, "we- but I- I have, I need to go get- and- and I'm meeting Audrey for dinner," he doesn't know why his tongue suddenly feels so clumsy and uncooperative in his mouth, tangled up like a mess of wires and garbled good-intentions. He's never been accused of being particularly verbose but this feels like a new low for him, on a day positively characterised by humiliating lows. His cheeks still feel warm from the interaction with the Saks sales assistant. "So I can't- I don't, don't think I can do lunch," he finishes lamely.
There's a pause and Max lets the awkward silence drag on a beat too long until Aki is positively squirming. "What?" Max eventually quirks a brow, "you're not allowed to have lunch because..." he snorts, "you have dinner plans?" Even Aki has to cringe at the disconnect in logic. Truly, not one of his finest moments, it had to be said. "I'm sorry Aki, but that's not making sense to me," he leans in close enough that Aki can feel Max's warm breath brushing across his neck as he murmurs, "what's a harmless lunch, two salads at Balthazar's, between friends?"
Aki retorts without missing a beat, though it doesn't escape his notice that his voice is noticeably breathless, "well that would be a fucking lie," he manages, he continues even as Max arches a brow, "there's nothing harmless about you, Max."
When Max laughs Aki can feel it along his neck and it travels down his traitorous spine.
"It should be under my name," Aki explains to the Tiffany's sales assistant, gamely trying to ignore the way Max is blatantly watching him, "I got the notification that it was ready last night," he adds.
"Of course, Mr. Menzies, I'll go and collect it for you right now," the woman smiles professionally.
"Thanks," Aki smiles gratefully, fingers tugging absentmindedly at a loose thread on the inside of his jacket pocket. He shouldn't pull at it, knows it will only make things worse than they already are but, well, he can't resist. "I appreciate it," he adds.
The woman leaves in search of Aki's order and that, sadly, leaves him with nothing to do but notice Max. Sometimes Aki thinks, worries really, that he does altogether too much noticing when it comes to Max. After all, it's one thing to admire the sharp teeth of a tiger, but it's another entirely to stand close enough to run your fingertips across them and count each individual tooth.
When Aki was a kid one of his mother's friends had patted him on the head with the clinking of teacups on saucers in the background and turned to his mother to inform her, I can already tell, your son- his problem, Aki remembers it so vividly, his problem is too much heart, it's going to get him hurt when he's older.
So far, Aki generally thinks he's been tracking alright. Too much heart, yeah, he can see where she got that from but he doesn't think it's proven particularly fatal thus far. Just- inconvenient at times. But just now, meeting Max's dangerous gaze across the table... Aki, for the first time in his life, he wishes he had a little less heart and a little more self-preservation instinct.
Even just a smidgeon more wouldn't go amiss because he's still drinking in each gleaming white tooth in Max's feline smile instead of running for safety when he asks, "what are you looking at?"
Max pretends to glance to his left, then his right, Aki waits for him to finish his stupid little song and dance. Waits for his eyes to find Aki's again and when they do- they're glittering. "I thought it was obvious," he leans against the counter but pays no mind to the yellow diamond earrings displayed behind the glass, "I'm..." he blinks slowly, grins slow and dirty, "bewitched by you, Akeno Menzies," he declares lowly.
"Right," Aki rolls his eyes. He knows that the game is fun to Max regardless of if he plays along or not, so bearing that in mind, he declines the offer. He can't keep up with Max Wolfe and certainly not the kinds of games he likes to play.
"Why is it so hard to believe that I would be entranced by you and you alone?" Max enquires, voice lilting, "are you suffering a crisis of confidence, dear Aki?"
"Hardly," Aki replies curtly if somewhat distractedly, his eyes scan the floor of Tiffany's in search of the sales assistant, "but I do find it hard to believe you would ever be entranced by one person and one person alone," he allows wryly.
A beat, "fair assessment," Max hums and Aki feels his own lips curve into a reluctant smile.
"Here you are, Mr. Menzies," the sales assistant finally returns with a single blue pouch sitting in the center of the velvet-lined tray and sets it down on the counter. From inside the small pouch she produces a delicate diamond tennis bracelet with a single white gold 'A' the size of cherry pit dangling from it. "Is it to your liking?" she asks, watching him carefully, "I know it's often difficult with custom designs, you're never quite sure how it will turn out exactly. If you'd like to adjust the length or resize the charm, we can always do so, Mr. Menzies."
"No, no yeah," Aki smiles, "yeah," she holds the bracelet out for him and he loops his pointer finger through it to lift it up to the light and get a closer look. He tilts his fingers so that the diamonds catch the light. It looks like something Audrey would wear, he hopes so at least. He'd run the design by Julien just before he'd ordered it and she had indicated that Audrey would probably like it. He figured that was as good as he'd get short of actually showing Audrey the designs herself. He squints at the charm, maybe the 'A' could be a bit bigger but Aki doesn't know if it's worth the trouble of getting it resized again. "Thanks so much," he nods, "it's perfect."
He watches as the woman packs it neatly into a small box and ties the requisite silky ribbon around it before placing it into a crisp Tiffany blue bag. All the while, Aki can feel Max watching him with an unreadable expression.
Aki is about to ask what he's looking at when Max beats him to the punch, "lunch?' he asks simply. His tone is casual but his eyes are insistent and Aki can only nod his assent, palms curiously sweaty around the handle of the little Tiffany's bag.
They're seated within seconds of arriving at Balthazar's and Aki wastes no time sinking into a grateful sprawl in his chair. The soft background chatter of other diners is oddly soothing. Maybe it's just the fact that after a day of being the sole focus of Max's attention, or perhaps more accurately the victim of his attention, it's nice to be reminded that some people don't really care what he does or says. That even if he's sitting across from Max, there are at least fifty other people in the room who aren't looking at him and couldn't care less about him.
Aki scans the menu half-heartedly, he's been to Balthazars a couple of times with Audrey and, on one memorable occasion, with Obie and a few French exchange students. His lips twitch at the memory. Aki orders a salad nicoise and a sparkling mineral water and Max, after an amused smile, informs the waiter that he'll have the same.
The waiter promises to be back with their orders and Aki thanks him, fingers tapping listlessly against his denim-covered thigh under the table. The amused smile is still gracing Max's lips when Aki glances over at him. Aki humours that it's been there for almost the whole day.
Aki smiles ruefully and then it's Max's turn to arch a brow and blink. He leans forward and taps Aki on the cheek with his pointer finger, nearer to the corner of Aki's mouth really, and murmurs, "what's this for?"
He wants to lick that finger, and almost as soon as the idea enters Aki's head, it's followed by, what the fuck?
"I, um," it's all static in Aki's brain for a few unhelpful seconds and he blinks to clear his head, he coughs, "you're always like, fuck, you're always staring at me and uh," he wants so badly to look away from Max's eyes but the intensity of his gaze makes it almost impossible to even contemplate breaking it, "I don't know what you're seeing," he trails off with a self-deprecating laugh.
"Mm," Max hums thoughtfully, "and you care an awful lot what others see-" his eyes glint, "what they think of you, don't you, Aki?"
Aki can't breathe he doesn't know how to answer that question correctly, if there can even be a correct answer to it.
Mercifully the waiter returns with their drinks at that point and Aki is rescued from having to provide an answer, correct or otherwise. Oxygen floods his lungs and he gratefully looks away from Max to thank the waiter. Nevertheless, he can feel a set of eyes burning into the side of his head. Under the table, Aki taps his fingers nervously against his thigh.
A foot taps innocently against his ankle and Aki almost jolts from shock. The waiter frowns at the sudden movement and Aki apologises awkwardly, face heating up. His ears register the sound of muffled laughter from the other side of the table.
He wonders if this is what it feels like to run your fingertips along the bite of a carnivorous predator.
Max crumples up his napkin and discards it carelessly on his empty plate, "how about we elongate this lunch into some drinks? A new place opened up nearby which-"
Aki warily folds his napkin then unfolds it, only to fold it again, before finally shoving it to the side of his plate. "Maybe another day, Max-"
Max's laugh is rich and unabashedly loud, it has Aki's gaze darting around the restaurant to ensure no one else is looking. Balthazars is positively heaving under the weekend lunch rush. When he finally brings his gaze back to Max, he's hit with the full force of Max's shrewd eyes trained on him. "I've noticed that you're awfully comfortable saying no to me," Max remarks, eyes glittering, "yet you fold yourself inside and out anytime someone else puts you out of your way."
Aki can't meet his eyes, suddenly and inexplicably riveted by the swirling pattern of the tiles on the floor. He always forgets that Max has known him for almost all his life. Forgets that the laser beam of those dangerously perceptive eyes could ever be trained on him instead of the rest of the world. To be seen is horrifying enough, but to be seen by an exquisitely cold-blooded creature like Max Wolfe is- well, is horrifying on a visceral level.
"Akeno Menzies," Max continues, his voice is light and tinged with no little amusement, "should I feel deeply honoured or deeply offended?"
"That's up to you," Aki manages mildly. Without thinking, "it's not- well, okay, it is personal," he admits, laughing awkward and honest, "I mean- you're," he stops and considers his words, "I never know what you're really thinking."
He doesn't catch the small twitch to Max's lips at his words, the slight softening of his expression, only his muttered reply, "you don't need to know what everyone is thinking at every moment," he points out, "you don't owe anyone that," he adds.
"I know that," Aki tries not to sound defensive.
"Akeno Peacemaker Menzies," Max drawls before he takes a long drink from his bottle of mineral water, Aki tries not to stare at the long elegant line of Max's throat. He lowers the bottle and regards Aki, "you know you don't owe anyone peace, right?"
Aki replies without thinking, "and you know that you can choose not to be an asshole, right?" and then blinks, where did that come from. Only Max doesn't look offended- far from it. He's leaning back in his chair and he looks- he looks almost impressed. Aki clears his throat, "I didn't, I mean, shit, sorry, that was-"
"It was not out of line, don't be stupid, Aki," Max rolls his eyes and Aki finds it so exhausting, "and don't bother trying to take it back, you meant it I know you did, and anyway," his lip curves into a smile, "I like it when people bite," his eyes flash, "I like it when you bite." Aki eyes Max warily, he never knows where he stands with Max, like the ground is constantly shifting under his feet every time they're in the same room. It's exhausting and Aki should know better.
But Akeno Menzies, too much heart and not enough self-preservation instinct, knows the real issue, it's going to get him hurt when he's older, is how much he enjoys the feeling of being stretched thin and kept on his toes by someone who he knows could tear him to shreds with minimal effort. Max grins triumphantly at him from across the table, the light catches on a pearly white incisor and Aki's breath catches at the picture he makes.
Yeah, he thinks faintly, that's the problem.
The driver drops them off at the doorstep of Aki's place before ferrying Max off to god knows where. Aki hadn't asked. He fiddles with the bright blue Tiffany's bag while the car sidles up to the curb and quietly thanks Max for the lift.
"Anytime," Max shrugs easily. Aki makes to slide out of the door but Max stops him with a deliberately casual, "this was fun, wasn't it."
"Uh," Aki twists around, he doesn't really know what to say. He's pretty sure that Max just wasted half a day running errands with him, he's not quite sure where the fun was, "I guess, yeah, I guess it was. Thanks for-" he shrugs, "thanks for lunch?"
Max laughs again and Aki doesn't have the energy to try and figure out what it all means. Before he can even attempt to make sense of it, Max is leaning forwards and clapping him on the back, "don't overthink it, Aki," his breath tickles the shell of Aki's ear, "I had a good time, you had a good time, now go enjoy dinner with Audrey." Aki's mouth is dry. Max presses his lips to the sliver of skin behind Aki's ear, a phantom kiss, "I hope she likes the beautiful little bracelet you picked for her," he breathes.
Aki feels lightheaded by the time Max leans back, expression unbearably smug.
Aki blinks a few times and nods dumbly. He hops out of the car and even then, he's still blinking. Still out of breath. He takes the stairs two at a time and lets himself inside. Sets the little blue bag on the hallway table and shrugs out of his jacket. Just as he's sinking into the couch and lapse into a coma, his phone buzzes. Aki sighs and fishes it out from the back pocket of his jeans, expecting some sort of unhelpful pithy message from Max- it's barely been ten minutes since Aki saw him-
Oh.
Only, it's only a text from Audrey. Aki sits up on the couch and dutifully reads it. All it says is, I'm going to be late for dinner, and he doesn't know what that's meant to mean outside of the obvious. His head hurts and he's so exhausted all of a sudden.
no problem are u ok? he texts back.
It's fine, don't worry about it, Aki, comes Audrey's almost immediate reply and Aki just curls up on the couch and stares at his phone for a few minutes before he finally types out a simple, ok ill try. He can still feel the phantom warmth of Max's breath on the shell of his ear and he doesn't know what to make of any of it. He's so tired, his feet hurt and his throat is dry, his heart is still thumping away like a constant reminder of the ticking time bomb suspended between his ribs.