Work Text:
1
Dating Max wasn’t anything like Lucas expected dating to be like.
Growing up there was expectations and assumptions. All Lucas knew of the dating world was what he saw in fiction, and that mostly revolved around the hero saving the damsel in distress and being the cutesy, doting husband and wife.
But Max wasn’t like most girls. She wasn’t this cutesy, prim and proper lady.
Not to say she wasn’t cute, or pretty, but she was just so much more than that.
She was cool. She knew how to ride a skateboard, and not only could she keep up with the boys at the arcade games, she could surpass them.
If you asked Lucas, he’d won the dating jackpot.
“You’re such a moron.” Max snapped as she stormed off, with Lucas trailing behind her desperately at the mall.
They’d just been hanging out with Will and Mike, when Mike had mentioned planning to go see El soon.
Lucas had teased him about it, had said it was pathetic how much time Mike wanted to spend with her.
And then out of nowhere, Max got all mad and stormed off.
Lucas still wasn’t entirely sure why she was upset, but he knew it was his fault.
“Not that I’m disagreeing…but could you provide details?” Lucas asked carefully, trying not to make it worse.
Max spun on her heel to glare at him, crossing her arms. “You know, it wouldn’t kill you to take a page out of Mike’s book now and again.”
“What?” Lucas questioned, completely lost.
“He makes so much time to spend with El, one on one, you know, like a couple does? But you’re just content with us hanging out with all our friends. What’s the point of being a couple if we’re not going to act like it!?” She blew up at him.
Lucas’ eyes widened. “Why are you so mad!?”
“BECAUSE YOU’RE MAKING ME LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE I AGREE WITH MIKE!” Max hissed.
Yeah…those two’s friendship was still a tad rocky. Lucas couldn’t really call them friends so much as people who happened to be in the same friend group.
“What do you want from me?” Lucas sighed. “I was just trying to get on Mike’s nerves, it had nothing to do with you.”
Max scoffed, shaking her head. “Wow. You know what? Forget it. We’re done.”
Lucas’ eyes bulged out of his head. “What?”
“I dump your ass.”
“Ah, you really got yourself into it, didn’t you, son?” Mr. Sinclair teased lightly after Lucas told him what happened.
Lucas groaned. “I don’t even know what I did!”
Mr. Sinclair waved him off. “We usually don’t. The point is, we can fix it. Remember what I told you before about women?”
“Apologize and then get them whatever they want?” Lucas guessed.
Mr. Sinclair smiled. “Atta boy. So what is it Max wants?”
Lucas thought for a minute, thinking back to Max’s words when she snapped at him.
She’d been envious of Mike, or rather, of El and Mike, and how they spent a lot of time together alone…
“I guess I could plan a date? For just her and me?” Lucas suggested. “Do you think she’d take me back?”
“Absolutely.” Mr. Sinclair nodded with a smile. “You know, your mother and I had about eight breakups before we got engaged.”
Lucas’ eyes widened at that. “Really? What’d you do?”
Mr. Sinclair thought for a moment before shrugging. “I have no idea.”
“I still don’t want to talk to you, Stalker.” Max snapped when she saw Lucas was at the door. She went to slam it in his face.
But he grabbed her wrist before she could. “Just, give me a minute, and come with me.” He pulled her outside.
They got on his bike and road off to the woods, where a blanket and a picnic basket awaited.
Max raised an eyebrow as she got off the bike. “What’s this?”
Lucas turned to face her properly. “I’m sorry, Max. About before. I…I didn’t mean to upset you, and I thought about what you said, about wanting more private time.” He gestured to the picnic. “So…date. Just us, no friends.” He smiled rather proudly at his work.
Max looked at the setup in mild awe, and Lucas could tell she was fighting a smile.
“So…am I forgiven?” He asked hopefully.
Max thought for a moment, before smirking. “Not bad, Stalker. Not bad at all.” She came and sat down.
Lucas silently cheered inside. Relationship officially saved.
2
Okay, this time Lucas had a better idea of why Max broke up with him.
Admittedly, it hadn’t been his finest moment.
“Max, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Lucas pleaded at the arcade, covered in soda that Max had dumped over his head.
Max was fuming where she stood. “I can’t believe you said that! In front of Mike and Will too, God.” She ran a hand over her face, mortified.
Will and Mike were on the other side of the arcade, mostly hiding from the fight.
It had been an honest mistake. Max had met them at the arcade that evening to play games, but she’d come in a rather loose tank top. It was different from her usual clothes and Lucas wasn’t used to it.
And he also wasn’t used to…the other changes.
“Did your boobs get bigger?”
In his defense, he truly hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
But he had, and Max went about as red as her hair before dumping her soda on him as Will and Mike choked on the air, before dumping Lucas on the spot and storming off.
Lucas chased after her in an instant, obviously.
“I’m sorry!” He said again. “I’m just- I’m not used to thinking of you as a girl!”
Max’s eyes widened in pure rage as Lucas’ words caught up in his mind.
“Okay, I just heard it…” Lucas chuckled nervously. “What I mean is…um… I just never noticed…I mean, y-you’re like…really hot.” He finished lamely.
Max paused at those words, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow expectantly, urging him to continue.
“Uh…you know, I’m still pretty new to…girls in general, and I mean, I always thought you were pretty and stuff but…” Lucas grew flustered. “I dunno, this is new. I didn’t mean to embarrass you, I’m sorry.”
Max seemed to contemplate his words for a minute, before sighing. “…I get it.” She admitted almost shyly. “I’m…new to all of this too. I’ve started noticing things about you that I didn’t before, of course I had enough sense to keep them in my head.”
“Again, very sorry.” He chimed in awkwardly.
That made Max smile a little. “Yeah alright, maybe I overreacted. Sorry about the soda.”
“Don’t be, I completely deserved it.” He chuckled, which made her smile widen. "Let me buy you a new one."
3
Lucas liked to think that with every screw up, he was getting better.
This time, when he messed up, he knew it right away.
He and Max had been hanging out and Lucas asked to try out her skateboard. Max had told him no, and that she didn’t trust him on wheels, but he didn’t listen.
So…when she went to the bathroom, Lucas tried it anyways.
And may have snapped it in two.
Max came out of the bathroom and her jaw dropped when she saw the state of her skateboard.
“This is…not what it looks like.” Lucas insisted lamely, chasing after Max who’d stormed off with the broken skateboard pieces in a heartbeat.
“Really? Because it looks like to me that you went behind my back and also broke my property!” Max hissed as she walked.
Okay. She wasn’t entirely wrong. But Lucas could fix this.
“Wait, wait, wait! I got this!” Lucas managed to grab her arm. “I-I just need some duct tape-“
Max scowled. “What you need is to get away from me and come back with a brain that actually works!” She ripped her arm out of his grip and kept walking.
Yikes. This was definitely breakup number three.
But Lucas was nothing if not a fighter. He would persevere.
The amount of lawns Lucas had to mow to earn enough money for a new skateboard was…unreasonable, in his opinion. He also had to sell some of his comic books.
But the point is, he got it. Well, he got a used one.
It wasn’t the greatest thing in the world, but it was the absolute best Lucas could do and he prayed Max would see that.
He went to her house and offered it to her and she stared at it like she didn’t know what it was.
The skateboard was a light pink and blue striped pattern, not exactly Max’s style. She preferred her old one any day, though it had been on its last legs for a while anyways thanks to Billy.
But still…maybe it wasn’t perfect, but Lucas had gone out of his way to get it for her. To apologize.
And dammit, how could Max stay mad at that?
She smiled and took the skateboard from him. “I’m impressed, Stalker. Thank you.” She also rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek, and had to try hard not to laugh when Lucas froze and looked like he was having a heart attack.
4
The next time Max broke up with him, Lucas genuinely felt that she was overreacting.
It’s not like he was trying to flirt with another girl. He’d just happened to bump into her and she’d complimented him and called him cute, of course Lucas was happy that a girl thought he was cute.
“All I said was thank you! It’s not like I said she was cute back!” Lucas protested as he followed after Max through the mall.
Max whipped her head around. “Oh, so you thought she was cute?”
Lucas sputtered, and tried to come up with a save. “No! No- she was- she was gross. Revolting, really. I barely remember what she looks like, actually. Who are we talking about?” He rambled.
Based off Max’s face, she was not impressed.
Okay, words aren’t working. That’s not new, they usually don’t. But Lucas had work arounds. “I’m…gonna go buy you something.”
Max gave an irritated smile and a nod, sitting down at one of the mall benches. “That would be a good idea.”
Lucas laughed nervously and ran away sped walked away, hurrying into the closest store to find something for her. Lucas had learned by now, he never went out with Max unless he had some money on him.
It didn’t seem to matter what he bought. Whether it was cheap or expensive, that wasn’t the point. It just had to show he was sorry.
So, what in the store screamed…I’m sorry?
Max wasn’t really the gushy, lovey-dovey type, but that might be what’s required this time. He’d made Max feel insecure by being so happy that another girl flirted with him, so he needed to make her NOT insecure.
Lucas went around the store for a while, and eventually saw this Wonder Woman poster for sale. Max loved Wonder Woman! But would she be mad if Lucas bought her a picture of a woman? That might make things worse.
But actually, that line of thought gave Lucas an incredible idea, and he did end up buying the poster. He confidently made his way back to Max, who was sulking on the bench with a soda she’d apparently bought while he was gone.
“Surprise.” He grinned and handed her the rolled up poster.
Max’s eyebrows furrowed. She undid the packaging and unrolled it enough to see what it was. Instantly she made a face, but Lucas expected that. “Wonder Woman?”
He nodded. “A picture of a woman not even half as stunning as you.” He flirted.
Max stared at him silently for a good few moments, before bursting out into laughter.
Okay. Not the reaction he’d expected, but it was positive so he’d take it.
“Stalker that is the goofiest thing you’ve ever said.” Max grinned. “But you’re not wrong.”
Lucas perked up slightly. A smile? He wasn’t wrong? Well this sure sounded like he was in the clear.
Max sighed a little, smile a tad fond. “…You really think I’m prettier than Princess Diana?”
“Definitely.” Lucas didn’t even have to think about it, and it wasn’t a lie either. He wasn’t just saying it to make Max feel better or to get on her good side.
Max was the prettiest girl he knew.
“…Jeez, you’re so corny.” Max complained, but she couldn’t fight her smile, cheeks a twinge warm.
Lucas grinned, feeling accomplished. “Only for you.” Max lightly shoved him before leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder.
5
“I can’t believe you let me win!” Max exclaimed irritably, pacing around Lucas’ living room. They’re been playing on his Atari.
Lucas winced. “Well- you’d already lost twice in a row…I didn’t want you to feel bad…”
“Well I do!” Max snapped, throwing her hands up in the air. “What’s the point of playing if you throw the game!? I’m a big girl, Lucas, I don’t need you babying me.”
“I didn’t want you to get discouraged!”
Max scowled, crossing her arms. “I’m a little tougher than that, you know. You know how long it took me to get that good at Dig Dug? That didn’t happen overnight, Lucas. I kept playing and got better. How am I supposed to get better if you let me win?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Lucas tried to placate her. “I just…I’m not use to playing with uh…well…”
“Finish that sentence, Stalker, I dare you.”
Lucas bit his lip. “…Nah, I’m good.”
Max raised an eyebrow irritably.
“…I’ll uh…owe you something pretty?”
Max groaned, pacing some more. “Lucas! You cannot fix every problem we have with material items!”
History suggested otherwise, but Lucas knew better than to say that. “Well…then what do you want?”
“I want you to respect me enough to challenge me for real. Not just throw the game because you think I’ll be upset. I can’t be with someone who won’t treat me like an equal. How would you like it if someone let you win?”
Huh. When she put it that way, Lucas really did feel guilty. He’d be incredibly annoyed…kind of like Max was right now.
“You’re right.”
Max glanced at him in slight surprise, raising an eyebrow. “…That’s it? No excuses? No leaving to buy me something?”
“No, no excuses…no buying my way out of it. I…you’re right, Max. That wasn’t cool, I’m sorry.” He told her sincerely, looking down at the carpet.
Max hesitated, not expecting a genuine apology. “…Well…as long as you know.” She said rather awkwardly, her fire dying down at his sincerity.
“…So um…are you breaking up with me?” He dared to ask.
Max paused, and then crossed her arms. “…No, I guess not.” She rolled her eyes playfully, before coming over and sitting beside him. “Only because you’re cute when you sulk.”
Lucas perked up, grinning like an idiot. “Really?”
“Don’t push it, Stalker.”
“Yes, ma’am.”