Work Text:
Nat arrived at his place after his day “off”. It had been a good day: he went to play some basketball, went live on Tiktok, talked a bit with the fans, had fun, just unwound. But now, as the sun set, he felt like there was something missing. Well, someone actually.
He put his keys down on the ceramic dish beside the door and his bag on the couch before pulling up his phone. He smiled when he saw Max's text asking him if he had dinner yet.
As he answered with “Not yet, just got home”, Nat couldn't stop himself from thinking about all the ways Max took care of him. Even on the days where they were apart, they reached out to the other, always wanting to know how the other was.
He had seen Max's stories on the gym (and a selfish satisfaction came over him when Nat thought that he got to enjoy all of that), knew he was making the most of his day off just as himself, but they kept texting throughout the day. Apparently the feeling of missing someone went both ways.
“ Wanna have dinner together? I can pick you up .”
Nat smiled more and bit his lip. A perfect ending for a great day.
“No need. I'm gonna shower and change and call an Uber. I'll text you when I leave my place, okay?”
The dots on Max's answer took a moment to actually become an answer, a simple ‘Okay’, like he had typed and deleted over and over. Nat didn't stop himself from thinking that the delayed answer was because Max got distracted imagining him in the shower.
🦖🍼
When the doorbell rang, Max turned the heat of the stove down and went to answer. His large smile widened as he welcomed Nat, hugging him like they hadn't seen each other in weeks instead of a single day.
He almost picked him up, as it was almost second nature at this point, but managed to control himself, stepping back and placing a ‘sniff kiss’ on Nat's hair and another on his cheek.
“Hungry?”
“Starving!”, Nat replied, smiling. There was a twinkle in his eyes and the way he looked at him made it clear that he wasn't just talking about dinner. He was acting bolder now that he graduated college. It was like they reached an unspoken deadline and it made Max equal parts terrified and excited.
He always saw Nat as the most precious gift he ever received and he had always been careful with him, always treated him as he deserved to be treated, like he was a prince. He had told Nat that much on one of their trips, after a whole day of ‘dates’ and vlogs, when there were no cameras or phones around, when they lied side by side on a bed that seemed unnecessary big for them, as they liked to sleep close to each other. Nat had told him that while he enjoyed being spoiled, he was no prince. Or, if Max insisted on seeing him that way, he should see himself as royalty as well, an older prince looking for a consort, maybe (he had got shy at the end, letting his voice die slowly and couldn't meet Max's eyes. In the dim light of the hotel room, the silence that followed his words felt full of unspoken promises).
Max took another step back and gently pulled Nat's overnight bag from his shoulder, placing it on a chair nearby. Holding his hand, he led Nat in the direction of the table, already set for their dinner.
“Let's eat then,” he answered simply, effectively stopping himself from postponing the dinner for a few hours.
He finished the last few details and served the food, Nat had already poured them two glasses of the wine he had left on an ice bucket. As they ate, talking about their day, expectations for the new show and other random topics, Max was hit again with the realization that this was something he always missed when he didn't have: these moments when they could just sit and talk. Sometimes not even that was needed: they could be comfortably in silence together, just enjoying each other's presence. That was the most important thing: the presence of the other, filling up each other's spaces with warmth, with love.
🦖🍼
After dinner, with the dishwasher loaded, the lights dimmed and soft music playing low on the living room, they were on the couch, with all those words and promises heavy in the air around them. Not in an oppressive way, but the expectation, the almost certainty of their… thing left them almost breathless.
Nat moved to sit on Max's lap, knees bracketing his hips. Nothing new. He had his legs around Max's hips or waist countless times. It was their thing, almost like a signature. But it felt different somehow. Utterly familiar, yes, but also like something happening for the first time.
Nat's hands held his shoulders before going up his hair, caressing the scalp. He'd done that before as Nuea, as Kon Diao, as Kram but there was something special when he did as Natasitt and it was Max who received the touch, not Sun, Yi or Tai.
Their lips touched lightly, almost like they were experiencing a kiss for the first time. They weren't, obviously. Not as characters and definitely not as themselves, but something was new. And it felt exciting.
Max's arms found their place around Nat's waist to pull him closer. A whole day away from him wasn't something he enjoyed and it was almost a physical need to try and counter the feeling by having Nat as close as possible, closer even.
They had sex before. Same with his first real kiss, Max also was the one who gave Nat his first night. It kept him from sleeping sometimes, when he was plagued with thoughts of being undeserving of this beautiful young man he first knew back when Nat was still in his late teens. In those moments, he felt like he was stealing something precious from the world, like denying everyone a chance to have this place, to have the right to touch and kiss and hold. To be the reason for those soft sighs and sinful moans. To have their names whispered against their lips in a voice so sweet it could drive a man to madness.
He knew it was unfair to hold Nat in such a high standard, knew the younger man didn't like that and usually insisted on elevating Max as well, to put both of them as equals. It was something he deeply admired in him. He was spoiled, yes. No one who knew them, who watched their relationship develop would say Max didn't spoil Nat. He knew he did, he was proud of it, of always holding his hand or guiding him, helping him down stairs… It was almost like he was spoiling himself, Max thought, because always giving in and answering to his whims, opening doors and bottles, making sure he was satisfied when they ate together, driving him around when needed, letting him rest against his shoulder or on his back, picking him up simply because he found it funny (they both did) made Max feel good too. But it never went to his head. Nat accepted the attention because Max was the one giving it and always reciprocated. If anything, being spoiled kept him humble and attentive to others, like he felt the need to give back all the love and attention he got.
Max never considered himself a greedy man, but he had wanted Nat more and more with the passing of the years. So he worked for it. Changed himself, became a better man, made sure to take care of Nat, being attentive and supportive and patient. He never crossed a line but always made sure Nat knew what his endgame was. Said as much in interviews, hiding the truth among jokes about them courting and a dowry.
And now, with Nat's graduation (their self-imposed finish line) gone, they could finally make it official. Max’s hands, touching the soft skin of Nat's waist under his oversized soft shirt, held him tighter at the thought, earning him a gasp.
Nat leaned back, just enough to look at him as he spoke.
“You know, I kept busy the whole day, doing a lot of funny things but couldn't shake the feeling that there was something missing. It was only when you held me when I got here that I realized…”, he whispered, caressing his jaw softly.
“What?”
“It was you that was missing. I guess I'm not good at staying away from you anymore…”, he concluded, suddenly shy, hiding his face against Max's neck.
“Then don't. Stay with me. For real,” he asked in a low voice, speaking against Nat's hair.
Nat didn't answer verbally, but nodded frantically before kissing Max within an inch of his life. When they pulled back, needing to breath, Nat had the biggest smile on his face. Max silently vowed to always try to keep him happy like this.
In between kisses, Nat asked him to take him to bed and he had to be dead to not comply.
🦖🍼
Hours later, satiated, they were cuddling and kissing softly in bed. Nat was lying against Max's chest, their fingers intertwined.
“Do you want to make an announcement?” asked Nat. “Or just let people reach their own conclusions?” He smiled at the thought. Their fandom definitely would have a fit over either option.
“Let's do a bit of both”, Max answered, reaching for Nat's phone on the bedside table. He opened the Stories and took a picture of their joined hands against his chest and applied a black and white filter and some noise, so it wasn't too obvious that he was shirtless. He showed the phone to Nat for approval.
“Hm, let me add a final touch.”
Nat typed ‘with my favorite person’, added a red heart emoji, selected a song he had on his head since he saw an edit of him and Max on Tiktok and tagged Max's profile. He raised his eyebrows at Max in a silent question and he nodded, approving. Nat posted the picture and before people got wind of it, Max turned off the app's notifications on his phone. He was certain it was going to blow up any minute. Nat did the same before putting the phone away and snuggling against Max's chest again, smiling when the older man pulled his hand up for a kiss.
At the gesture, Nat thought of the matching rings he knew Max had stored in the bedside table. He had found them one night, months ago. He'd bring it up in the morning, during breakfast.
He fell asleep thinking of the song.
Baby, I'm yours
Baby, I'm yours
Baby, I'm yours
I need something more
I pray to the Lord
But, baby, I'm yours