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Max had bad days sometimes.
Sam knew the feeling all to well. Days where you didn't want to get out of bed, where you felt like the world was against you.
He readjusted himself on the sofa slightly. They really aught to get a new one at some point. He could feel a spring poking him through his pyjama shirt.
He flicked through the channels of their old television, a partially fruitless effort considering half the channels were static. He could simply get up and readjust the antenna but it was his their day off and he was feeling lazy.
He didn't know for a fact Max was having one of those days, but signs certainly pointed to it. Max was generally a ball of energy, often up long before Sam and jumping on the bed to wake him up.
This morning however, he'd woken up first for once. He'd rolled over to see if Max was awake, gently nuzzling his cheek as a request for affection. He'd been met with a counter-request to "leave him alone" as Max curled further into the blanket.
Normally he'd chalk it up to tiredness, a rare thing for Max, but occasionally it did happen. There was a note in his voice however that said it was more than that.
He was tempted ask if he was alright, but knew asking right then would be akin to poking a sleeping bear. Albeit a very cute fluffy one. Max certainly had the chompers to match a bear.
Resolving to lighten Max's mood later, he decided to honour the request and leave him alone for now. He gently kissed Max's cheek, offered him breakfast which he declined, and rolled out of bed to make something for himself.
That'd been a few hours ago now, and Max was still yet to make an appearance in their office, which meant something was likely wrong. He knew his partner, and while he'd asked to be left alone, he also knew that leaving Max alone too long would leave him to stew in his own thoughts.
Sam gave a small huff as the show he'd been watching began to turn staticy.
His dear partner's mind often moved a mile a minute. While useful when shooting multiple targets and entertaining when bouncing between topics in conversation, it had it's disadvantages.
Max's high speed also meant Max had a tendency to spiral when left alone too long, at least from what he'd observed. His mind often had a tendency to bounce from negative thought to negative thought in rapid succession.
Deciding that Max had likely had enough time to rest, he stood from the couch, cracking his back with a curse before making his way to their small apartment across the hall from their office.
The door opened with a creek as he peeked in, being greeted with a low lit room. He looked to their bunk beds, seeing no signs of Max but instead a small Max sized blanket bundle in the bottom bunk.
Yep, bad day.
He entered the room, the door clicking closed behind him as he saw the bundle of cloth seemingly wrap itself tighter.
𝘗𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.
He walked over to the bed, kneeling down in front of it. He placed a hand on top of the blanket bundle, stroking gently.
"Hi little pal. How ya doin?"
"Go away." Came a muffled reply.
He could hear what sounded like tears in Max's voice, his heart feeling heavy as he attempted to pull the blanket back to see Max's face.
Max pulled the blanket tighter, refusing to come out of his tiny fortress. "Go away!...please"
That last tiny please made his heart ache.
"Afraid I can't do that darlin'." He continued to pet the blanket bundle, hoping Max could feel it. Physical affection always seemed to make Max feel better.
"...I don't want you to have to deal with this."
Ah. It was that kind of day.
"To bad sweetheart. I'm not goin' anywhere." He said with a sad smile on his face.
"I'm just gonna let a little light in." He stood up from his knees.
Warm early afternoon light filled the room as he pulled the curtains open, the Max-blanket-creature responding with a small groan.
Sam climbed into the bottom bunk, earning a surprised yelp from the pile of blanket as he picked it up and placed it in his lap, holding it close as he leaned his back against the wall.
Max still refused to come out, but the blanket pile shifted, leaning into Sam's embrace. He gave a small smile, holding Max tighter.
There was quite a lot of blanket considering it was often shared between the two of them. They still had their bunk beds, but nowadays Max tended to sleep in Sam's bunk rather than his own most nights.
Even on nights where Max declared he was sleeping in his own bunk because of Sam's shifting and snoring, without fail he always awoke to find the small rabbit curled against his side in the morning.
He continued to hold the rabbit bundle close, nuzzling with his snout the place where Max's head presumably was if the location of his muffled voice was to be believed.
"So, are you gonna tell me what's goin' on inside that fluffy head of yours, or am I gonna have to pry it out of you?"
"Go away." It was softer than before.
Sam knew the jig by this point. "Now, do ya actually want me to go away, or do you just feel guilty 'cause ya feel like I'm bein' forced to take care of ya?"
There was a stretch of silence.
"Mhm, that's what I thought"
A muffled upset voice came from the blanket pile. "Ya shouldn't have to deal with this. Ya shouldn't have to deal with 𝘮𝘦 like this."
"Max" he replied in a disheartened voice. "How many times do I have to tell ya?" He held the bundle tightly. "I want to be here. You're not makin me. I want to help you feel better, sweetheart, even just a little."
He nuzzled the bundle again. It began to shuffle and Max's eye peeked out from the mass of blankets to look at him.
"Please, even if you don't wanna talk, let me help?"
"...okay."
"Thank you." He smiled, hugging Max tightly.
"Are ya gonna come out? I'd rather talk to you rather than a lumpy pile of blankets"
The blankets shifted in his arms until the top of Max's head appeared, earning a chuckle from Sam as his newly released ears sprang out comically. Next his eyes and adorable twitching nose appeared, the rest of him still hidden as Max refused to come out of his fortress completely.
"There's my beautiful bunny" he said smiling before covering the entirety of what was visible of Max in small kisses.
"Gah, Sam!" Despite Max's upset mood he earned a giggle as he continued to kiss the parts of Max's face that were visible.
He finished with a final kiss to his forehead, nuzzling the same spot. "That's for rejecting my advances for affection this morning."
"You're such a dork"
He licked Max's ear "I think you'll find I'm your dork sweetheart'."
Max simply snorted, leaning his head on Sam's chest. His ears drooped slightly from what he hoped was relaxation.
The two fell into silence, Max closing his eyes as Sam petted his head, hoping Max was feeling at least a little better. The rabbit leaned into the touch.
The two stayed that way for a while, before Sam was pulled out of his daze by Max gently saying his name.
"What's up little buddy?"
"You sure it's okay if I talk about what's wrong?"
He nipped Max's ear "If you ask that again I swear I'll throw your drawing supplies out the window"
"Alright, alright, geeze." Max snuggled into his arms, most of him still hidden as Sam sensed he was resisting the urge to wrap himself back up in his blanket domain.
"Sam I..." Max paused, seeming to turn the thought over in his head before continuing. "Do you think you'll ever get sick of me?" he said in a quiet voice.
"Max" he replied somberly "What on earth do you mean?"
"It's just" Max's nervously twitching nose disappeared beneath the blanket as he hid, avoiding eye contact with Sam. He let out a sigh. "It's just, I know I'm high maintenance. I'm loud, I'm pushy, I'm energetic I'm...a bit much y'know?"
Sam listened, desperate to interject but afraid Max wouldn't tell him everything of he cut in now.
"And I think about how much trouble I am and how sweet and gorgeous you are and how much better you could do and..."
He saw tears forming in Max's eyes. He pressed his forehead to Sam's chest, hiding his expression as he continued.
"I just...I love you so much Sammy. I'm terrified one day you'll wake up and get sick of me y'know?"
He held Max tightly. "Oh Max. Is this what's been whirling around your head all morning?"
The rabbit gave a reluctant nod against his chest, still refusing to meet his gaze.
"Hey now darlin', look at me? Please?" He gently cupped Max's cheek and coaxed him to look up, his full face finally revealed as he stared up at him, nose still twitching.
He held Max's face in his hands, running a thumb through the fur on Max's cheek and giving him a peck on the forehead. "My poor little bunny. No wonder you've been so stressed."
Despite Max being upset he seemed to relax a little at the affection, a small purr rumbling from his chest
"I know it won't magically cure anythin' but I'm telling ya anyway and you're gonna listen. I'm not going anywhere" He moved to hold Max to his chest, feeling Max's arms slip out of the blanket and wrap around his chest, holding tightly.
"Sweetheart, you're not "annoying" or "too much". And you're definetly not the burden ya seem to think ya are. I love your energy and your zaniness, hell I love everythin' about ya." He gently pet the rabbit's head.
"I adore ya as ya are. I wouldn't change a single thing about ya even if I could." He felt Max nuzzle into his chest.
"I don't expect ya to be perfect darlin'. God knows I'm not."
"Ya do snore pretty loud." Max joked quietly. He squeezed Max happily, overjoyed his mood seemed to be improving. He carried on, hoping to continue lifting Max's mood.
"I'm not leaving ya for some mysterious other figure anytime soon, that's for certain. I don't want anyone else darlin', I want you." He heard Max begin to purr louder at the statement, small smile forming on his face.
"Besides, why would I go anywhere else? I already have the perfect partner."
Max snorted "That was corny and you know it"
Sam just chucked, kissing Max's forehead. "Doesn't mean I didn't mean it."
"You would, ya huge sap."
"You're the one 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 the huge sap, knucklehead"
"Point taken." Despite his light insults, Max was smiling widely.
"We've been together for almost as long as I can remember sweetheart, even before all of this. You really think I'm just gonna up and get sick of ya one day?" He shifted Max in his lap, putting a hand under his chin and coaxing him to look at him again.
"I hate to break it to ya, but I love ya too much for that to be happenin anytime soon. You're stuck with me for what'll most likely forever I'm afraid." He said with a small smile.
Max looked up at him with wet eyes, large smile on his face. Before Sam knew it he felt Max's lips on his.
He let out a happy sigh, hands moving to Max's cheek and the small of Max's back as the rest of blanket finally slipped off of him. Max responded happily in turn, his tiny hands moving to cradle Sam's snout as their lips moved.
Sam let out a small chuckle into the kiss as he felt the rumble of Max's purr against his lips, the sensation almost tickling.
He felt a gush of adoration as Max pressed into him further, his arms moving to wrap around Sam's neck and pull him close.
The two stayed that way until they need to break for air, Max pulling back with a small gasp.
He cradled Max's cheek, gentle smile on his face. "So, feelin' a little better now?"
Max responded by throwing himself at Sam, hugging his neck tightly and peppering the underside of his jaw with kisses as Sam laughed.
"You could say that" he said with one final peck to his neck.
The two sat in companionable silence for a moment, Sam's arms wrapped around Max's tiny frame before Max piped up.
"Sammy, I'm hungry, can we make a late breakfast?"
He chuckled, kissing his cheek.
"Of course darlin'."
Max pulled back, ears popping up straight. "Great! I'll start the stove!" He pulled the rabbit to his chest to stop him from springing to the appliance immediately, smile on his face.
"Not a chance in hell little pal."