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“What do you think of Dr Uareksit’s theory?” a guy who Nat would describe as a playboy asked his friend – a more muscly playboy – loudly. He was clearly being sarcastic, putting on a voice and trading out his slouchy posture for trying to stand up straight.
The muscly man snorted. “You know I don’t care about that shit.” Seeming emboldened by how everyone within earshot glanced at him in shock, he added, “I’m just here as eye candy for the press.”
Nat watched as the two idiots cackled, bragging about how little they cared for his research. It was clear that Muscle Man was the leader, the other guy merely egging him on. It made Nat’s blood boil. How could these men be so ignorant and yet be considered guests of honour at an event that was about raising money for the groundbreaking research Nat was involved in?
He needed a drink. A strong one.
- ◦ ｡° ◯ –
Max’s laughter was cut off by the sight of a petite man strutting across his line of sight, making his way to the bar. He was cute. He had fluffy hair and big, round glasses that he kept trying to push up the bridge of his perfect nose. His skin was dotted with moles that Max already ached to kiss.
“I’m gonna go grab a drink,” Max said, already pushing his friend out of the way, not taking his eyes off the retreating figure.
He trailed after the cutie, admiring his figure-hugging suit from behind. Even the way he walked was charming; elegant in how he moved, but with a hint of hidden swagger.
The bespectacled man looked behind him, making eye contact with Max for a moment, before speeding up his steps. Max didn’t match his pace, just kept following, confidently hunting down his prey.
The cutie reached the bar, worming past the throngs of people mulling about nearby so he could get to the bartender. Max did the same – taking a little longer to get his larger, less agile frame through the crowd.
“Hey,” Max greeted, lowering his head to throw a smoulder in the other man’s direction.
The man outright ignored him.
“Whisky. On the rocks,” the short guy ordered, the bartender nodding. He didn’t so much as glance at Max.
Max sidled closer, undoing another button of his already obscenely open shirt. “I said…” He leaned down on the bar, knowing the angle would expose even more of his perfectly muscled torso. “Hey.”
The cutie scoffed, lip curling up in disgust, before grabbing his drink and leaving.
Max couldn't believe it. No one had ever walked away from him. Not when he’d pulled one of his best moves. (Yes, he considered saying “hey” and exposing his chest to be one of his best moves. He knew what people liked about him and it sure wasn't his intellect.)
That little man wanted to play hard to get?
That’s okay. Max was up for the challenge.
- ◦ ｡° ◯ –
Nat managed to avoid the muscly idiot for a couple of hours – either finding a quiet spot to relax for a moment or sticking close to his colleagues, though he let them handle most of the talking. He’d spent enough time trying to explain why this research was important over the last few months to have learnt that his cute demeanour did him no favours. It was better if someone more mature looking took the lead in situations like this. Most of the people here probably thought he was the kid of a researcher or something, not the guy who’d actually come up with a compelling enough theory to warrant this kind of funding and research.
It was fine that nobody outside of his immediate colleagues seemed to know who he was. Even at the lab, he’d often been mistaken for a college intern whenever people from other departments had run into him around the building. He’d been sent out to fetch coffee more times than he could count.
But that was fine. It was all… fine. So long as he could make a difference, even if hidden behind scientists who were a good couple of decades older than him, it was okay.
It really was all fine.
- ◦ ｡° ◯ –
Max didn’t get another opportunity to talk to the poofy-haired cutie until much later in the evening. Every time Max intended to go look for him, someone else would come along and distract him – approaching him for a selfie, or asking him questions about science stuff that he didn’t understand at all. He felt like he picked up some small bits and pieces about what this event was for as the hours ticked by, though. It was becoming clear that, whatever this research was, it was a big deal. And no one could stop talking about the genius behind it all. Though, weirdly, no one seemed to know if he was even in attendance. Or even what he looked like.
Anyway, that was none of Max’s concern. Not when there was a little hottie with big, round glasses somewhere in this room just waiting for Max to eat him up. He just had to wait for this old fart to stop talking about… whatever he was talking about. But he didn’t want to waste another moment! What if that beautiful man left before this guy was done explaining something to him? That just wouldn’t do!
“If you’ll excuse me,” Max interrupted, bowing politely, eyes already searching the hall.
He spied him from across the room, sitting down alone at a table. Now that Max thought about it, the cutie had been alone whenever Max had caught a glimpse of him – always off in a corner sipping a drink, or standing near a group of people talking. Who even was this guy if no one wanted to talk to him?
Since saying “hey” hadn’t really worked earlier, Max decided to be a bit more blunt once he’d come to a stop in front of his target.
“What’s your name?”
The man groaned, rolling his eyes. Max was undeterred.
“I’m Max, by the way.” He held out his hand for a handshake. The other man looked around, as if judging whether people were close enough to notice if he turned it down, before he reluctantly took Max’s hand and shook it.
He tried to pull his hand away but Max had a strong grip.
“So, I’ve told you my name. Now you really must tell me…” He leaned down, bringing himself to the guy’s eye level. “What’s your name, Handsome?”
- ◦ ｡° ◯ –
Nat thought about the best way to handle the situation. Should he tell this Max guy the truth and face the possibility of being laughed at? Or should he lie and come up with some random name?
In the end, Nat decided to opt for the truth. At least then, someone would know who he was. Even if it was just this asshole.
“Nat Natasitt… Uareksit.”
“That’s a beautiful name. Such a beautiful name for a beautiful–” Max suddenly stopped, mouth just hanging open. Nat could see the realisation written on his face, his eyes going wide. It was like Max was frozen, like someone had pressed pause, even his breathing seeming to stop.
Nat let out a humourless chuckle, finally able to slip his hand from Max’s, and stood abruptly. That seemed to be enough to shake Max from his stupor.
“Hey! Wait!”
But Nat was already sashaying away, eyes scanning the room for anyone he could maybe chat to for a minute to dissuade this dickhead. Not being able to immediately spot any colleagues, Nat changed his plan, instead making a beeline for the bathroom.
Apparently, even that wasn’t enough to shake Max from his mission, and he followed him until Nat slammed the cubicle door in his face.
With a huff, Nat sat down on the lid of the toilet. Now he just had to wait for the guy to leave.
Five minutes passed.
Nat could still see Max’s irritatingly shiny shoes from under the door.
“So… are you having stomach problems or are you just sitting in there to hide from me?” The way Max said it, Nat could practically hear the smirk.
“No!” Nat practically shouted back, scowling at the guy’s lack of manners to ask the first thing and offended how spot on Max had been with the second. “I am doing neither of those things!”
“Then what are you doing?”
“None of your business.”
“It could be my business if you wanted, Babycakes.”
Nat scoffed, crossing his arms and staring daggers into the stall door, hoping Max could feel his rage from the other side. “Well, you didn’t seem to care about my business earlier when you were making fun of me.”
It all went quiet for a while.
The shoes shuffled away, but Nat didn’t hear the outer door of the bathroom open or close.
Nat waited. He waited so long that he began to think that maybe Max really was gone. But then he heard him sigh.
“Hey…” Max’s voice was softer than before. Those shiny shoes were once again visible. Somehow, even the shoes looked like they were doing puppy eyes at Nat. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier – about your research.”
Nat didn’t know what to say to that, so just sat there, waiting to see what this curious man would say next.
“I, um, I don’t really know why I even got invited here this evening, and yet people swarmed around me like I knew anything about… well, anything. ” There was a ‘thunk’ as Max rested his forehead on the door. “But you? You’re out there doing work that’s going to help people, researching important stuff. You’re the real star of the show, and yet no one seems to see how bright you shine.”
Those shiny shoes tapped about, moving back and forth a little as if Max was nervous. “But I see you, Nat. I may not understand the specifics, but I know that what you do matters. And I was an idiot for acting in a way that suggested otherwise. I really am sorry.”
Now Nat really didn’t know what to say. All he knew was that this was getting dangerously mushy and he needed to see Max’s face – needed to know if he meant what he was saying.
He stood up and unlocked the door, opening it slowly, and there stood Max.
This didn’t feel like the same man who had mocked his research mere hours ago, though they wore the same clothes and shared the same face.
“Obviously, I won’t say anything mean about you or your research again. And I’ll talk to my friend and make sure he doesn’t either.”
Nat nodded, accepting Max’s words. This man was so different from what Nat had expected him to be. He was thoughtful and kind.
And, of course, after all of that, Max had to open his mouth again and ruin it.
“So, wanna go on a date?”
Nat snorted, shoving past Max and sassing back over his shoulder, “You’re gonna have to try harder than that, Hotstuff!”
“Oh, you think I’m hot?” Max was behind him in an instant, leaning forward just enough to curl his taller form around Nat’s.
“I think you think you’re hot.”
Max pouted. “You wound me! Come on then, what do you think of me, really?”
Nat thought this Max guy was kind of an asshole. But he was kind of cute, too. Not that Nat was ready to admit that second part to him.
“Convince me to go on a date with you and then I’ll tell you.”
Max’s eyes lit up and Nat felt butterflies beginning to flutter in his stomach. He would likely regret encouraging this idiot to try to court him. But, there was a chance, just a small one, that this might be one of the best decisions Nat had ever made.
For once, Nat didn’t care about the statistics. He kinda liked this Max guy, despite his flaws, and that was all that mattered.