Fic: Take You Away (12)
It takes far too long to get back to Vancouver after their game against the Panthers; Kevin can’t sleep through the whole flight, too excited to get back to be able to even think about sleep. Maxim sleeps through the entire flight, head on Kevin’s shoulder. His game was finally back to a comforting normal tonight, and he was more focused on scoring goals than getting penalties, and Kevin was just so relieved to see that, see Maxim back to normal. They won, too, mostly due to Kes’s two assists and two goals, because while Alex nearly got himself benched again, Kes’s game is on fire again. Kevin tries to care about the game as a whole, but all he really remembers is seeing Maxim skate away from things that would have landed him in the penalty box just a week ago, and just the relief, Maxim playing his best again.
When they finally land, Kevin remembers only at the last second that Maxim’s still asleep on him, and doesn’t jump out of his seat. “Hey,” he says softly, strokes Maxim’s cheek. “We’re here, c’mon.” Maxim wakes reluctantly, yawns and follows Kevin off the plane and to his car, and Kevin’s overwhelmingly happy about this, Maxim just assuming they’ll go home together. “We can get your car tomorrow,” he says, pops the trunk on his own car to toss in their suitcases.
“Okay,” Maxim yawns, goes to open the passenger side door. “Why’re you so excited to go home?” he asks once Kevin joins him in the car.
“We get to go to sleep.”
“You could have slept on the flight, if you were so excited about sleeping..?”
“No, I get to sleep with you in my bed,” Kevin explains, and Maxim smiles, leans over to kiss him, swift and easy. “Thanks,” Kevin manages, has to hug him. Maxim makes a pleased little noise, kisses his ear.
“’m so lucky,” he breathes, presses another quick kiss to Kevin’s lips.
Kevin’s always wanted to do this, always, get to come home and have Maxim follow him all the way to the bedroom like he belongs here. Maxim crawls onto the bed to collapse in the middle, squirms out of his pants and shirt.
“Do I need to put on clothes?” he asks, somewhere between a sleepy mumble and a yawn. Kevin laughs, looks up from unbuttoning his shirt.
“Baby, I think there’s only one correct answer to that question,” he says, and Maxim snickers.
“Hurry up,” he implores, and Kevin strips off his shirt, throws his pants onto the chair in the corner and jumps onto the bed. He holds out an arm and Maxim scoots in against his chest, tilts his face up to be kissed. Kevin kisses him eagerly, loves every little whimper Maxim makes, and it’s for him, because of him, and he’s never been this happy before, only ever came close with Maxim.
“I love you,” Maxim murmurs, and oh, maybe Kevin will never know just how happy he can be, because everything just keeps on getting better.
0o0o0o0o0o0o
Maxim wants every day to be like this, waking up with Kevin wrapped around him and getting to spend the day together and every kiss and every little touch from him, this is what Maxim’s always wanted to have.
In the evening, they’re waiting for Alex and Ryan to get here, Kevin sprawled on the couch watching Maxim flip through his DVD collection.
“There’s nothing you haven’t seen before, still, and have I introduced you to the magic of Netflix?” Kevin says, just laughs when Maxim makes a face at him. “Give up and c’mere,” Kevin says, holds out his arms. Maxim crawls up to lie against his chest, kisses Kevin’s jaw.
“Your DVDs still suck. And Netflix doesn’t have anything decent on streaming.” He sighs happily when Kevin wraps his arms around him, kisses the top of his head. Maxim wants this all the time - and - oh.
“This is ours,” he exclaims, looks up. Kevin blinks at him in confusion. “This, everything, you, this is every day,” he says, but he feels like he’s probably not articulating this particularly well. “I’m just. I love you,” he summarises, and Kevin kisses him soundly for it.
Ryan and Alex show up before long, and after the takeout arrives, there’s the usual argument about what to watch next.
“We could watch the game from yesterday,” Ryan says, and Kevin shakes his head.
“We’re not all as vain as you.”
“I didn’t mean our game.”
“Yeah? What other game was on?”
“Uh - Detroit? And… Edmonton.”
“Yeah, no. Detroit played Buffalo, and Edmonton didn’t even have a game.”
“What the fuck, do you go around memorising everyone else’s schedule? You can barely remember ours!”
Maxim tunes them out, just watching. He’s sitting at the bend in the L-shaped couch, Kevin on one side, Alex on the other. His legs are thrown over Kevin’s lap, Kevin’s hand on his ankle, absent-mindedly touching even as he bickers with Ryan. And, familiarly, oddly, Ryan’s got his arm around Alex’s shoulders, rubbing circles into Alex’s shoulder with his thumb. Maxim’s always seen them like this, gauged himself and Kevin against them, thinking they do it too, all the little touches he didn’t think meant anything. Except now - Alex and Ryan are still similar to them, but now Maxim knows what Kevin means by everything he does, has always meant.
“Right back,” Maxim says to no one in particular, gets off the couch. He heads across the living room, pauses to add, “hey, Alex, c’mere,” in French. Alex joins him in the kitchen, watches Maxim get a glass of water, something between suspicion and worry on his face. “Are you and Kes…?” Maxim starts, doesn’t know how to finish. Alex looks away.
“He’s getting over someone. It’s just the aftermath of that, really,” he says. Sometimes, Maxim wonders if Ryan has any idea, that Alex tends to use long words in French, something he’s not capable of in English. He thinks Ryan somehow knows, that it’s impossible he doesn’t.
“There was someone.”
“Yeah, he was into someone, but. It didn’t work out.” Alex leans his hip against the counter, crosses his arms over his chest. Maxim frowns, but doesn’t let himself ask any more questions; how would Ryan have time to like someone? He’s always with Alex, it’s jarringly out of place, this idea that Ryan’s into someone who exists outside of this.
“Are you okay?” Maxim asks.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because-” Maxim starts, isn’t sure how to explain. He doesn’t know exactly how Alex feels about Ryan, but he can’t imagine that Alex would feel nothing in all this, too connected to Ryan to escape unscathed. “I don’t know. Are you?”
“Sure,” Alex looks towards the doorway, quiet for a few moments. “I’m not the one that got hurt,” he says, leaves Maxim with this to end the conversation, and it feels like a lie, something Alex believes should be true.
He goes back to the living room, watches as Alex sits near Ryan and Ryan draws Alex back against his side, throws an arm around his shoulders. The way Alex leans into him, instantly looks happier again, it makes things obvious, makes them sad, a story setup to the wrong ending.
A little while later, Maxim’s going back to the living room again, hears voices from the hallway when he passes.
“So you and Alex?” Kevin’s saying, quiet.
“No,” Ryan replies, almost mournful with it, “I don’t think so. But I’m not complaining. At least he lets me, you know?” There’s still something deeply sad in what he says, this resignation, but when he goes on, it’s lighter, “Maybe, though,” he says, sounds almost hopeful, and Maxim’s never heard Ryan be this happy about anything but Alex. He’s like that all over, because Ryan’s sneering and cocky and sarcastic, and he has this smile that Maxim’s only ever seen from a distance, because it’s just for Alex. The way he looks at Alex says all kinds of things Maxim didn’t know Ryan could feel.
After they’ve gone, Maxim finds Kevin at the kitchen sink, goes up and kisses his neck, hugs him from behind. “Thank God you’re braver than me,” he breathes, “I was always too scared to tell you I love you.” Kevin turns in his arms, cups Maxim’s face in his wet hands and leans in to kiss him.
“Only cos I couldn’t live without you anymore,” Kevin says softly, “I lost you, Maxi. I was more scared of that than of telling you. Plus, you know,” he kisses Maxim again, long and slow and Maxim’s breathless when he pulls away, “I just really love you.”
“Je t’aime aussi,” Maxim manages, kisses him again. There’s not a lot that can make him forget how to speak English, but Kevin, he can always do it, he makes Maxim forget every language he knows, where he is, everything but Kevin. Maxim’s never had this before, something that can sweep him away so entirely, but Kevin, he’s always been different than anything Maxim’s ever known.