Work Text:
Maximino seemed completely transfixed by the view. Of course he was. He was fond of these things. Frivolous things like cliffside walks and flowers. Who knows what he sees in it all. Gustavo’s native village was practically eaten alive by nature, so the view from this peak was not special. Still, he would hike any distance to see Max this way. Smiling, resting, without those stressed creases on his face. Anything to help him forget all about the pains of last week, and all the work he will have to do for university and the restaurant next week. It was a slow, unrewarding cycle. He was a terribly hardworking man, always. Despite all the harshness the world threw at him, he seemed to care for and trust everyone. Even a certain infamously cold-hearted lieutenant. Maximino deserved all of the mountaintop views there were.
Gustavo was the first to back away from the view, carefully setting down his things on the bench. He sighed. This was a ridiculous and unsafe plan. He was turning into an irrational, brazen fool. No better than the young men he commanded at work, thoughtlessly rushing into action every chance they got.
No, that wasn’t right. He had thought this through. He knows that, though a little naive, Max was smart and capable of keeping up such a front. If he chose to, of course. But was it worth the risk? What if somebody were to investigate? There were too many gaps, it was too dangerous. He ought to toss this off the cliff and never mention it again. Max finally turned from the view and joined him on the bench.
“What a view! Oh, we really ought to leave Santiago more, ‘Tavo.”
“Hm, perhaps.” We could leave together and spend our lives in the mountains, if that’d make you happy. What a ridiculous thought.
“You know perfectly well how impossible that is most of the time. We simply got lucky with the university’s scheduling and the holidays this time.”
“You’re right, you’re right.” Max raised his arms in defeat. The little pout he gave made Gustavo want to take all of that back. He controlled himself. Max does need to temper his expectations. Too many getaways as just the two of them would quickly begin to look suspicious.
“It’s beautiful out here. And I’d bet there’s no one around for miles. To think we get all of this to ourselves.”
“..Maximino” he said in a more serious tone, which snapped Max half out of his reverie.
“I have a sort of.. proposition for you. A plan.”
“A plan? You want to talk about work right now? Look at the view!” Max gestured at the cliff to emphasize the sentiment. “You’re always stressing, even now you’re stressing. You really must learn to relax a little.”
“It is not about work. For the most part. ”
“Alright. What is it then? I swear ‘Tavo, if it has anything to do with work, I am pushing you off that ledge.”
Gustavo had to chuckle at that. Although maybe it was the nerves, too. This is ridiculous. Beyond ridiculous. He was a lieutenant. He shouldn’t be getting nervous about this. After all, this is for practicality. For safety. A simple precaution, nothing more. The idea of Max wearing a ring, his ring, had absolutely nothing to do with this. He held it out in Max’s line of vision.
Max sat up now, quite surprised. What was this about? A ring?
“Over the last several months we have been spending… increasing amounts of time together. Practically speaking, we live together. We work together. I am increasingly concerned there may be someone… watching us. If anybody from our professional lives learned about our personal association, we would be easily vulnerable to blackmail, potentially even arrest and death. I suggest that we each wear one of these to come across as individually married men. All we require is a consistent story. A woman back home in my village, a childhood friend. An unverifiable but completely plausible cover. This way, if anybody attempted to blackmail or report us, we would have direct evidence to the contrary. We would no longer be seen as be two bachelors living together, but-”
Whatever else Gustavo was going to recite about evidence and blackmail Max decided to cut off with a kiss. An elaborate plan to keep them safe? He saw right through that. This was elaborate, this required cover stories, new papers and explanations.. As a plan, this was ridiculous. Pointless. Crazy! But clearly, this was no plan, his ‘Tavo simply wanted to marry him!
“Yes I’ll marry you, you fool!” He ruffled Gustavo’s hair a little.
Gustavo looked confused, though Max didn’t miss the way his eyes lit up a little at the words.
“...Maximino. Legally, we cannot actually marry. Besides, even if we could, think of the target we’d be putting on our backs-”
“Well of course not legally, when has ever that mattered to you? Give me that!” He reached for the ring.
Max was right, as usual. He supposed he did think all of that up to simply propose to him. Who was he becoming? He imagined telling the young soldier he once was how Maximino’s “Yes I’ll marry you” made him feel. Perhaps he would have been threatened with execution and commanded to get it together by his younger self. Perhaps, seeing Maximino put on his ring, it didn’t matter at all.
Perhaps he would leave the rest of his life behind someday, perhaps the safety his military career promised was not as important as this. Perhaps they could leave, go somewhere together and never come back. He put on his own ring and caught Max’s hand, grasping it tightly.