Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Eleven-year-old Max sat in the grass, soaking in the warm sun on his last day of camp. Neil and Nikki sat beside him talking, but Max was only half-listening; the other half of his mind was lost in his own thoughts. All day he couldn't help but think back to exactly a year ago, when Nikki and Neil had their first last day at camp. He felt a sense of nostalgia, and sitting there on the grass with his two friends, maybe even a little peaceful. Or at least, he tried to feel peaceful now, since he knew he’d experience the same sense of dread he felt last year returning to his home life again. 

“Yeah, I know, but I’m still gonna miss you guys,” Nikki said, and Max started fully listening to the conversation again. 

“Hey, we should try actually hanging out in-person this year. My mom got a new house and it’s relatively close to where Nikki lives, so it might actually work out. Oh wait, you live about… two hours away from Nikki, don’t you, Max?” Neil asked.

“Yeah, but we could probably figure something out,” Max replied. He doubted his parents would care much if he was around two hours away at a friend's house, anyways. 

“Ugh, what I’m honestly gonna miss most is the bus ride! Riding in the car with just my mom is so much boring-er,” Nikki said. 

“That’s not a word, Nikki. But I honestly agree with you; and I hate riding the school bus,” Neil replied, shivering at the thought of having to ride the noisy school busses every day again.

Right , Max thought. They accidentally blew up the camp bus, and didn’t have the time or the budget to rent a new one. Which meant all campers had to be picked up by their parents this year. So now, everyone was hanging out in the field in front of the camp, waiting for the cars to start arriving at picking up kids one by one. Some campers were playing, like Nerris and Harrison. Ered and Nurf were making bets on how many skateboard tricks Ered could do. Dolph and Preston were having some sort of heated conversation, probably about arts or something stupid, Max assumed. And Space Kid was doing… Space Kid things. 

Max looked back to see David and Gwen walking towards him, Nikki and Neil. 

“How’s everything going? Are you three excited to go back home?” David asked. 

“Ugh, not really,” Nikki groaned. “I’m gonna miss the forest! And our adventures! And all my favorite mud piles!” 

“Well, I’m sure you can make plenty of new mud piles at home,” David replied with a smile on his face.

“Yeah, but they won’t be the same…” 

“Wait- Gwen, what are you still doing here?” Max interrupted. “Don’t you have, like, important reporter lady stuff to get back to?”

“Well, since CJ had to already leave, I decided I’d stay to help David clean up the camp and make sure all the kids get home,” Gwen replied.

“Wow. You decided to stay at camp longer than you have to? Your life must be really boring,” Neil said. 

“Oh shut up. You’d all be dead by now if it weren't for me.”

“Admit it, you're gonna miss us little shits, aren’t you?” Max teased. 

Gwen smiled. “Maybe everyone else, sure, but definitely not you,” she teased back. 

Nurf ended up sneaking into the counselor’s cabin to get his pocket knife back and was now running around with it, so David and Gwen quickly left to deal with that whole situation, and Nurf’s parents arrived to pick him up not long after. Max and Neil couldn’t stop laughing at David running around trying to catch Nurf without getting stabbed in the hand again. 

“Jeez, my life outside of camp really is ten times more uneventful. That’s kinda sad,” Neil said. Once Max had finally stopped laughing, he looked to the empty spot beside Neil. 

“Wait, where the hell did Nikki go? I swear she was just here-” 

Max was cut off by Nikki jumping from a tree, laughing and somehow unharmed.

“Jesus, Nikki, you are so weird.” Max said with a smile. 

“And oddly invincible,” Neil added. 

The three eventually left their spot in the grass after this to explore the camp one last time and see the shenanigans that were happening with the other campers before they got picked up, too. Ered was second to be picked up. Then Nerris, then Dolph, Preston, Space Kid, and Harrison. Max was thankful that he, Nikki and Neil were ironically the last ones left; they helped Max distract himself from the anxiety that was growing in him with every kid who got picked up. Neil was picked up not long after Harrison, however, and Max and Nikki were left for about 20 more minutes before she was gone, too. 

Max watched Nikki drive away as David waved to her. 

“Well, it’s just the three of us now, isn’t it?” David said as he looked down at Max. 

“Lucky me,” Max said sarcastically as he sat down in the grass. “Maybe if I’m lucky, my parents won’t show up and I’ll get to spend more time at my favorite camp in the whole wide world!” Max said in a sarcastic, high pitched voice.  

“Now, why do I get the feeling you're mocking me?”

“That’s because I am, idiot.” 

David simply laughed, and was about to sit down next to Max when Gwen called him over from the counselor's cabin.

“Oh- I’m gonna go help Gwen real quick. Come get us before you leave if your parents get here!” David ran off, and Max was left alone with his thoughts again. 

It felt weird being the only camper left at camp; however, it was nice to have quiet alone time for the first time all summer. Now that everyone had left, he couldn’t help but dread seeing his parents car in the driveway, whenever that would be. The people at camp may be annoying sometimes, but after the shit year he had, going through another one without them felt… almost unbearable, for some reason. And the fact that he knew next summer would be so different didn’t help. Nikki and Neil might already be 12 by the next time Max saw them. There was a good chance they could both change a lot over the school year. But what bothered Max the most was how much he had changed. Even if he’d changed “for the better”, he just wanted everything to stay the same. He really didn’t want the summer to end. 

Max had been sitting in that same spot, picking at grass for who knows how long, when David came by after helping Gwen. David wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but watching Max sit by himself for so long made him feel a little sad. 

“Hey, Max. Me and Gwen are about to go clean up the mess hall. Do you wanna come help?” David asked. 

Max sighed, but realized he looked (and felt) a little pathetic sitting on the ground all by himself, picking at the grass and waiting on his parents. 

“I guess I have nothing better to do…”

- - -

Max looked at the sun starting to set as he held half of the banner they had hung outside the mess hall that read ‘ See you next summer!’ . 

“So, do you think you made meaningful camp memories again?” David asked Max from the ladder he stood on to take the rest of the banner down. 

“Unfortunately, I think your annoying campfire songs will always be engraved in my memory,” Max responded. 

“Aw, well that means they had an impact!”

“Yeah. A negative one.” 

“Well, you had to have had some fun this year.” 

Max hesitated. He had been going to this god forsaken camp for too long to lie. 

“Yeah, I actually kind of did. A little bit.” 

David let out a small laugh. “It’s funny- at the beginning of the summer, you were so worried about everyone changing. You didn’t want to admit it, but you had so much fun at camp last year, you wanted everything to be the same again. But when you let go and accepted that change, you had just as much fun as you did last year.” 

It took Max a second to process everything that David had said. 

David climbed down from the ladder, holding the rest of the banner, and looked at Max. He realized he hadn’t yet gotten a sarcastic remark in response. 

“Damn,” was all Max could say. “I… guess you're not wrong.” 

David ruffled Max’s hair with his free hand. Max scowled at the gesture, like usual, but didn’t bother swatting him away. He was used to it at this point, so it didn’t annoy him much anymore. 

Max took one last look at the still-empty driveway before following David inside the mess hall. 

- - -

Max chatted with Gwen and David while they cleaned up- mainly about Gwen’s new job and her plans for the school year, but also just about camp and the upcoming year in general. It was actually kind of nice, Max thought. He hated cleaning and chores, but he got to tease David and Gwen for a little longer, and even though he kept looking out the window for a car in the driveway, he frankly was in no rush to get back to his parents, school, and his life outside of camp. Ugh . He never wanted to admit how much he missed camp last year out loud. 

Max looked at the sun getting lower in the sky with every passing minute. 

“Uh, I think I’ll… go check and make sure all my stuff is packed,” Max said. 

“Good idea. And thanks for the help, Max. This mess hall is looking better than it did before we got here!” David said as he put away a few more lunch trays. 

“Yeah, whatever,” Max replied with a small smile, closing the door behind him. 

“Huh. That little asshole was actually a big help. He’s grown a lot these past two summers, hasn’t he?” Gwen said, staring at the door Max exited out of. 

“He really has.” 

- - -

Max already knew he had everything packed. One backpack and one suitcase. He just wanted to get some time to himself outside. He grew a little more anxious the later it got, but he wasn’t sure why, so he thought maybe this would help. It didn’t, but he sat on the grass anyway to wait for his parents once more. It was getting late, so he had a feeling that if they were gonna show up, it’d be sometime soon. 

The sky grew dark and the sun was no longer visible, and Max could make out a few tiny stars. Eventually, he got tired of sitting in one spot, and tired of staring at an empty driveway. He got up and started walking. 

Max wasn’t sure where he wanted to go, his feet just started taking him somewhere and he listened. He walked in the forest right behind the camp, and ended up on a mini hike. He stopped when he spotted a familiar bench, and realized this was the same place David took him on the last day of camp last year, when he realized Max was feeling a little… not like himself. 

Max was never an emotional person, and he hated dealing with or expressing his emotions. So he was confused as to why he had been feeling like this at the end of camp since last year, when everyone else seemed happy to plan the summer send-off, or their plans for the next year, or to just return back home. And he didn’t know how to feel when the stars in the sky suddenly became a little blurry and he felt a tear run down his cheek. That is, until he heard a faint voice calling his name. 

- - -

“Uh, Gwen?” David called back into the open door of the mess hall. 

“What is it?” 

“Max was just sitting here while we were cleaning up, I was watching from the window. And… now he’s not.” 

“Jesus christ, where did he run off to this time? Did you check in the counselor’s cabin?” 

David felt a little dumb for immediately panicking and turning to Gwen instead of going with the obvious solution. 

“Oh- no, I didn’t. Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you there,” David said. 

“I’m not the one who’s scared,” Gwen muttered with a smirk as David walked towards the cabin. 

“Max?” David called from outside the cabin. “Are you in there, Max?” 

He got no response. 

“Okay, I’m coming in.” 

David’s eyes widened when he opened the door to find no one inside. 

“Gwen, he’s not here. Do you think his parents already picked him up? But I don’t think he’d leave without saying goodbye… a- and I told him to come get us before he left, that way what’s happening right now wouldn’t happen and we’d know he’s safe! ” 

Gwen put a hand on David’s shoulder. “David, calm down. Look- his luggage is still over there, so he couldn’t have left,” she said. 

David let out a sigh of relief. “Okay. That’s good. Why don’t you take an extra look around here and I’ll go check the doc?” 

Gwen nodded, and went off to check around the camp again. 

She checked behind the mess hall, inside the counselor’s cabin, in the attic, and everywhere outside. She knew that by an ‘extra look around camp’, David meant an extremely thorough look where absolutely no spot is left unchecked. She was tired of looking, but continued anyway. 

David eventually returned with no Max, and that was when she started to get a little worried. But David was far more emotional than the both of them and was already a panicking mess, so she tried to be the rational one. 

“You know he runs off like this all the time. Besides, we’ve dealt with much worse. You know him well; where do you think he would be right now?” 

David thought for a moment, before coming to a realization. 

“Follow me. We’re going on a hike.” 

“Oh, great. That’s literally the last thing I wanted to do today.”  

- - -

David and Gwen ventured into the forest behind the camp, David calling out Max’s name every few minutes. 

“Where exactly are we going?” Gwen asked David. 

“The only other place I could think of where Max might go,” David responded. 

“Okay, that’s not helpful.” 

“Sorry. I think we’re almost there.” 

After a few minutes, David spotted a familiar bench, and a head of dark hair at the top of it. 

“There you are!” David called out in relief. 

Max looked to see David and Gwen walking towards him, and quickly wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie. 

“Max, what the hell were you thinking? That it was a good idea to run off in the middle of the night without telling us?” Gwen asked. David noticed how Max didn’t look at her, and kept his eyes on his shoes instead, or how he didn’t have a sassy remark to Gwen’s scolding. “I mean, seriously, we-” David put a hand on Gwen’s shoulder, cutting her off. She sighed and stepped back, crossing her arms and letting David deal with Max. 

David came beside Max and looked down at him, as if silently asking if he could sit next to Max. Max scooted over, and David sat down- but he still wouldn’t look him in the eye. 

“Max, are you okay?” David asked. 

Max sniffled. “I think they forgot about me,” he said quietly, staring at the ground. Max sounded so small, so different from how he usually said things, David was a little shocked. 

“Forgot to pick me up, I mean.” Max added. “But it’s fine- they probably just thought they were supposed to pick me up tomorrow or something like that. It- It’s not a big deal.” 

“You don’t know that,” David said softly. 

“Yes, I do,” Max said, a little more aggressively. “It’s pitch black, and the other kids were picked up by their parents hours ago. If they were gonna pick me up today, they would’ve already.” 

Max was often angry like this. But it was seeing him so sad as well as angry that threatened to bring a tear to David’s eye. But he couldn't let his emotions get the best of him; this was about Max. 

“Why don’t we go back to camp and figure this out, okay?” 

Max nodded. 

David almost forgot Gwen was there until he turned around to see her looking a little sad as well. David patted his pockets. “I, uh, think I forgot to bring flashlights. Gwen?”

“I don’t have any either,” Gwen said. 

“Okay. We’ll just have to be extra careful going back down.” 

No one talked on the way back to the camp. Max tripped two or three times, and David had to catch him. Max didn’t realize how difficult the steep forest could be to navigate when you can barely see and your mind is too scattered to really pay attention to your surroundings. 

When they arrived at camp, they entered the mess hall. Max sat down on one of the benches, Gwen leaned against a table, and David stood typing something into his phone. Max was the first one to talk. 

“What are you doing?” He asked David.

“Calling your parents,” he replied simply. 

“If they forgot to pick up their own kid, I doubt they’re gonna pick up the phone,” Max said. 

David didn’t respond- he was too busy listening to the repeating sounds of his call waiting to be answered. After what seemed like an eternity, David’s phone went silent. 

“Told you.” Max muttered under his breath. 

David immediately hit the call button again and walked to the other side of the mess hall. 

Max let out a sigh.
“You know how annoyingly persistent he is,” Gwen said. “He’s gonna keep calling till he gets a response.”

“Then it looks like he’ll be here all night,” Max said. 

A few more seconds of silence went by before Max asked his next question. 

“I couldn't just… stay here for the night, could I?”

“Sorry, I don't think so. We already put up all the tents, and there's not really anywhere else you could sleep.”

Max nodded. He knew that would probably be the answer, but there was no harm in asking. 

David walked back over after all his calls went unanswered. “Max, have you tried contacting them from your phone?” David asked.

“Yeah. I already texted them a couple times a few hours ago. No response.” 

 “Gwen, are you sure they got the email about the bus explosion? Maybe we left them off the list.” 

“You checked that email list, like, three different times before we sent it to make sure something like this didn’t happen. We definitely got everyone.” 

So there really was no excuse, Max thought. For some reason, he had hoped that maybe they weren’t contacted about needing to pick them up. Maybe they didn’t know the right date or time. But there was no excuse, other than the fact that they just didn’t care. 

David just stood there for a second, watching Max stare at the ground. He didn't think he had ever seen Max look this genuinely sad before. The boy quickly wiped at his eyes and sniffed.

David sat down next to Max and put a hand on his shoulder. Max almost instinctively shrugged him off and told him to go away; but he didn’t, because deep down, he knew he didn’t want him to.  

“Hey, we’ll figure this out. Trust me, we’re not just gonna leave you here at your least favorite place in the whole world another night,” he said with a small smile. “It’ll be okay. I just… need a second to think.” 

Seeing Max show any emotion always had Gwen a little shocked. He wasn't crying, but seeing him so hurt reminded her of the one time she had ever seen Max cry; the trainwreck of a parent’s day last year. 

The only times I’ve ever seen him this sad have been because of his parents, she thought in the back of her mind. This made her livid. She’d already had a grudge against his parents ever since parent’s day, but now? She was furious with them. And it bothered her that at this moment, there was seemingly nothing she could do to help. She was only okay at comforting kids, but it was something that came so naturally to David. She especially didn’t know how to comfort Max. She didn’t want David to worry about too many things at once, but she couldn’t think of any other solution for where Max could stay if his parents never showed up. 

“Max, you live in Farmington, don’t you?” David asked. 

“Yeah, on Northridge. Why?” 

David thought for a moment. 

“That town is actually about 30 or 40 minutes away from where I live, if I’m not mistaken. I could always drive you to your house. If you’re okay with it, that is. But we could wait for your parents a little longer if you want.” 

Max hesitated before responding. 

“I mean, I don’t think I have many other options, so… sure.” 

“However, it would make me feel a lot better if you could text your parents and let them know I’m taking you home. That way even if they don’t respond, they’ll at least know who you're with if they look at their phones.” 

Max nodded and took his phone out to text his parents. David ended up seeing Max’s other texts to his parents from earlier that day: 

Max: U know ur supposed to pick me up today right? I’m the last one here at camp

Max: R u on the way? 

Max: Why aren’t you responding it’s been like a couple hours I’m still here 

Max: Okay the counselor David is gonna drive me home if that’s fine cause I can’t stay at camp any later

Now, David really felt like crying. But he didn’t- instead, he took a deep breath.

“Do you want to wait for your parents a little longer?” David asked Max. 

“I don’t really care. I mean, it’s already past 10:00, so we can go now.” 

 “Why don’t you go get your luggage and make sure you have everything packed, and then we can decide?” 

“Okay.” Max replied simply. David let out a tired sigh once he left. 

“You okay, David?” 

“I’m worried if he’s okay. I mean, if the dots didn’t connect at parent’s day, they definitely are now. All of Max’s behavioral issues, his acting out, his rudeness; it all likely stems from not getting the attention and care he needs growing up.” 

Gwen knew he was unfortunately right; and she didn’t need her psychology degree to piece that together. 

“He’s a good kid; but a lot of people probably don’t take the time to realize that. No kid should have to worry about whether or not their parents actually care about them. That’s just… not right,” David said.

“I know it isn’t. But at least he doesn’t have to worry about whether or not you care about him; you’ve made that plenty clear in the years you’ve known him. And that’s all you can do for now.” 

David gave Gwen a smile. He needed to hear that. 

Right then, Max opened the door, with a backpack on his back and clutching a suitcase handle in his hand. 

“Are you ready to go? We can wait here a little longer, if you want-”

“No. We should probably get going,” Max said. 

“Alright then. Gwen, we got everything packed up, right? Nothing else we need to do?”

“Nope. I think I’m ready to leave, too.”

“Thanks again for everything,” David said. “I don’t think I could’ve done it without you.” 

“Oh, it was nothing. Hopefully I won’t be seeing you two next summer, but you never know,” Gwen replied as the three walked out of the mess hall and towards their cars. David noticed it was lightly raining, but didn’t think it was anything that would make the car ride back too difficult. 

“Safe travels!” David called to Gwen as he put him and Max’s luggage into the trunk of his car. 

“You too,” Gwen called back. 

- - -

The beginning of the car ride was silent, except for the light rain against the windshield and the very quiet music on the radio. For some reason, keeping his eyes fixed on the window seemed plenty entertaining to Max. Eventually, though, he and David did talk.  Max found out David worked at a plant shop during the year, which didn’t come as a surprise to him, but still took the opportunity to make fun of David over it. Max even talked a little about the summer, and things he did that he actually found fun. Real, meaningful memories he made. David wasn’t sure if Max was aware that this was what he was talking about, but it still made him feel like the proudest camp counselor alive. Eventually, Max fell asleep. He looks so peaceful when he’s asleep , David thought. He didn’t have the permanent scowl usually stuck on his face when he was awake. Max didn’t wake up until David parked into the parking spot of a gas station. 

“Are we there yet?” He asked groggily, wiping drool from his mouth. David gave a small laugh. “No, I had to stop for gas. We’re almost there, though.” 

And before he knew it, Max started to recognize the scenery outside his window. He couldn’t help but feel a little sad when the car pulled into his neighborhood. Max helped David find his house, and at around 11:40 at night, they were in the driveway of Max’s house. 

“Well, here we are,” David said as he got out of the car with Max. “Are you sure you got everything? Suitcase? Backpack?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Max said. “Uh, thanks for driving me all this way.”

“Anytime,” David responded. Max’s feet felt like they didn’t want to move. 

“Oh, one more thing,” David said suddenly. He reached in his back pocket and kneeled on one knee to hand max a slip of paper. “Here’s my email. In case… maybe your parents are giving you a hard time, or if you want to just…” 

Max stared at the slip of paper, trying not to tear up again. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt like this was one of the first moments where someone truly cared about him. To prevent himself from looking like a pathetic little kid again, he instead hugged David. 

“...talk,” David finished. David hugged him back, surprised he hadn’t already stopped hugging him after two seconds. 

Max pulled away, now clutching his luggage and the slip of paper, and David stood back up, looking down at him. 

“See you next summer, okay?” 

Afraid he’d start crying if he said anything, Max simply nodded, then turned to enter his house. David stood watching to make sure Max safely made it in, then got in his car. He couldn’t help but tear up as he drove away, the rain continuing to fall the whole car ride back to his house. 

Chapter Text

Max entered the code of his front door and walked into the dark house. The tv was playing on mute in the living room, and his dad was asleep on the couch. Almost three months since they’ve seen their own kid and they can’t even stay awake to say hi, Max thought. He saw the door to his parent’s room was closed, so he assumed his mom was sleeping in there. He went to his room, attempting to carry his suitcase all the way up the stairs by himself in the dark. Thankfully, he didn’t drop anything. 

Once he got in his room, he almost immediately took his hoodie off, grabbed Mr. Honeynuts from his backpack, and laid down on his bed. He could unpack tomorrow- he felt exhausted. Plus, it was really nice to sleep in a real bed again. Usually, it took Max a while to get to sleep. But the night he got home from camp, he fell asleep almost immediately after closing his eyes. 

Max awoke to the sunlight pouring in from his window. It took him a couple seconds to remember where he was. It felt strange not waking up to David’s annoying voice or the sounds of the other campers, but he definitely didn’t miss it. One of the only things he missed while at camp was peace and quiet. He went downstairs, and saw his dad making coffee. Max woke up a little more and remembered all the events of yesterday. He suddenly didn’t feel like talking to his dad. When his dad turned around and saw him, he blinked a few times, but his expression remained relatively the same. 

“When did you get here?” Max’s dad asked dryly. 

Damn, that kinda hurt, Max thought. 

“Uh, you were supposed to pick me up from camp yesterday, and you didn’t. So the camp counselor offered to drive me home. I got back last night, and you and mom were already asleep. Did you not see my texts?” Max asked with a slightly annoyed tone. 

Max’s dad picked up his phone to look at the texts he hadn’t previously seen. 

“I guess I didn’t,” he replied plainly. Once he put down his phone, he sat at the kitchen table and sighed deeply. 

“Max, I need to tell you something.”

This caught Max off guard, and the way his dad spoke rubbed him the wrong way. 

“...What is it?” Max asked. The air felt tense and uncomfortable. Suddenly, the house was far too silent. 

“You probably noticed me and your mother had a couple of arguments over the school year,” he said. 

‘A couple’ is an understatement, Max thought. Fighting was basically all they did the whole year, which was saying something considering how quiet Max’s mother was. 

“Well, one day in June… she left. She hasn’t returned yet.” 

Max didn’t know what to say. At first, he just sat there.

“What do you mean she left?”  

“She secretly packed her things, told me she was leaving- or more argued with me about it- and left before I could do anything.” 

I doubt you would’ve done anything about it anyway, Max thought. 

“The hell did you just say to me?” Max’s dad said, standing up from the table.

Max had accidentally said that under his breath. 

“Nothing, I- I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” Max apologized, now standing up, too. 

There was silence for a few moments. Before his dad could yell anything else, Max ran up to his room. 

As usual, his dad did nothing. He didn’t call after Max. He instead sighed, and sat back down at the table. 

- - -

Max didn’t blame his mom for leaving. He knew his dad was an asshole. But so was his mom. So why did he feel so sad? What difference would it make with her gone? She never spoke. She barely even looked at Max. When she did speak, it was usually just a ‘listen to your father’. Maybe Max felt so sad because he couldn’t help but feel like it was really his fault. 

A few days before Max left for camp, he was furious with his parents. He was fed up with their arguing. Fed up with constantly getting signed up for random, cheap, after school activities without being asked what he actually wanted to do, just to keep him out of his own house. He was done listening to their only responses when he tried to talk be ‘ I’m busy right now’, or ‘ Leave me alone for a second’, or no response at all. Well, he was always mad about these things, but he never said anything about it. He clearly bothered his parents enough by just existing; he didn’t want to push it. 

But that day, he told his mom the truth. He asked her why she never cared, and it turned into an argument; the first one he’d ever really had with his mom. 

Max always argued with his dad. The only time he ever really talked to his dad was an argument. So he was almost numb to his dad yelling things. But his mom? She was so silent, so dull and uncaring. So when she yelled back at him, he was truly scared. 

He didn’t want to think about what she said to him in response right now. 

Plus, Max knew he was a handful. He was always the one to start fights with people, he was the one to constantly get in trouble, he was the reason his parents had to take precious time out of their day to attend extra parent-teacher conferences about his ‘behavior’. 

No wonder she left, Max thought. 

Five days passed after Max got the news about his mom. These five days consisted of Max going to bed late (when he actually could fall asleep), sleeping in even later, and avoiding interacting with his dad. That wasn’t so hard to do considering that his dad wasn’t even home most of the time. It used to be for work, but now he was either looking for a new job or doing god knows what. All Max knew was that his dad definitely wasn’t going grocery shopping while he was out. In these five days, Max’s meals mainly consisted of easy meals he could make himself. The pantry and fridge had begun to look somewhat bare. 

When he started to notice this was when Max got the worst possible news of his life. Worse than his mom leaving; that he was going to be forced to leave himself. 

Max’s dad had told him that with his mom still not back and him still not having a job, that he didn’t think he was stable enough to raise Max himself right now. He was going to be put in the foster care system. 

Max knew one thing: there was no way in hell he was going to let that happen. What he didn’t know was how he would actually prevent it. He had no one to talk to, no one who could actually get him out of his awful situation. 

He looked at the slip of paper with an email on it sitting on his nightstand. Right now, this seemed like his only option. 

- - -

Max started throwing his things into a backpack; toothbrush, water bottle, and any other random essentials he could think of. The sun hadn’t gone down yet, but it was starting to set. His dad was already in his room for what Max assumed would be the whole night, so he figured now would be a good time to leave. He grabbed his backpack, a flashlight, and quietly slipped out of his house. 

He was able to look up walking directions to where he wanted to go on his phone. He walked in grass and on sidewalks and crossed dangerous roads until the sun fully set. When it got dark, Max turned his flashlight on and continued walking. He wasn’t sure for how long, but it had to have been well over an hour, and his feet were killing him. He stopped to sit and rest a few times, but when he felt a few light rain drops on his skin, he figured he should just keep walking. Unfortunately, when he was close to arriving at his destination, it started raining harder. 

Max had only his hoodie as protection against the rain, his flashlight against the pitch black night, and he was walking in a neighborhood he’d never been in before, looking for a house he’d never been to. This was a great idea . 

Still using the directions on his phone, Max somehow managed to find David’s house. It was a small house. Like, really small. It was actually barely even in a neighborhood; Max didn’t know how to describe it. All the houses looked so old it seemed they could fall apart at any moment. They were all perched on the edge of a small, bumpy road. David’s house was covered with a coat of light green paint which seemed to be chipping off. Or, Max assumed it was David’s house. There was only one way to find out.

 He got a weird feeling in his chest as he knocked on the door and realized he didn’t really know what he was going to say. But before he could dwell on it too much, David answered the door in his pajamas. 

“ Max? Wh- what are you doing here?” 

Before Max could give a response, David spoke again.

“Oh jeez, you're soaking wet. Here, come inside.” 

Max walked inside and took his shoes off so that he wouldn’t get mud on the floor. 

“You should probably take your hoodie off- here, uh, let me go get you a towel,” David said, and was out of the room before Max could process anything. 

He reluctantly took off his wet hoodie, since the yellow shirt he had on underneath was much more dry. Max walked into the living room and observed his surroundings. 

David had a cozy house, and all the wood in it reminded Max of a log cabin. He had ugly dark green furniture, ugly antiques, and an abundant amount of plants. Max wasn’t surprised by any of this- he would be able to tell it was David’s house just by looking at it. 

David came back and handed a towel to Max, which he dried his face and hair off with. 

“Max.. what are you doing here? And how did you find my house?” 

Max hesitated. “It’s kind of a long story,” he said. “Sorry, I’m just now realizing how stupid of an idea this was. I didn’t mean to bother you this late or anything, I can leave-” 

“No, it’s okay,” David said. “I just… how did you get here, anyways?” 

“I walked.”

“All by yourself? This late at night?”

“Yeah.” 

David held back his shock and how long of a walk that must have been, and how his parents possibly let him go. And he was still confused as to how Max found his address, but these weren’t important questions right now. 

“Are you okay? Did something happen?” David asked. 

“I guess, yeah. Uh, something with my dad.”  

“Here, why don’t you sit down and tell me what happened,” David asked calmly. He thought it might take longer than that for Max to do what he said, or to open up about anything personal. But thankfully, it didn’t. 

Max took his backpack off and sat on the couch. David became increasingly more worried when he noticed the backpack. Is he running away? Is something really wrong? 

Max fidgeted with his fingers and with the towel. He cleared his throat and, for some reason, couldn't figure out what words he wanted to say, and why he couldn’t say them. He looked down at his feet as he tried his best to start talking. 

“So, when I got home from camp, my dad told me that my mom left. Like, she just… packed her things and left in the middle of summer, I guess. And I think he kinda blames me for it, cause he won’t talk to me and he’s never at the house, and then he wasn’t buying food, and then he told me yesterday that he’s giving me away.” 

Max started saying so many things all at once, David could barely process any of it. If it was difficult for him to process, he couldn’t even imagine how Max was feeling. 

“Giving you away? As in putting you in foster care?” 

“Yeah,” Max replied. There was silence. He didn’t really know what else to say. 

“I- I don’t know why I came all the way over here. If you need me to leave, I can- I feel kinda bad for-“

“No, don’t feel bad,” David interrupted. “I’m glad to see you, Max. But… Why did you come all the way over here instead of just emailing me?”

Max sighed. “I don’t know… this is stupid. I just needed to see you, I guess. Or something like that.” 

Usually, David would be overjoyed at Max saying something like that. But right now, he was more focused on getting to the root of Max’s problems, so that he could do the most he could to help. 

David looked at Max's backpack. “Are you… running away?” He asked.

“No. Yes? I don’t know,” Max said with a hint of exhaustion. 

“D- did you feel safe at your house? Were you in… any sort of danger?” 

“Jesus, David, stop asking me so many fucking questions! I probably don’t know.” 

Now David felt bad. He was silent while trying to think of something to say to make everything better. 

“I mean, I don’t exactly feel safe sleeping in my house alone. Or being constantly forgotten at places by myself. Or not having anyone who I think actually cares about my well-being,” Max said suddenly. “But, hey, I’m… alive. So I guess it’s not that bad.” He shrugged. 

“Well, being safe is the bare minimum. You deserve to be happy.” 

For some reason, a memory of David saying the same words to Max a year ago popped in Max’s mind. He wasn’t sure why or how he remembered what David said to him on parents day so long ago. But he shook it off- that wasn’t gonna help him right now. 

“Well I doubt I’m gonna be happy in foster care,” Max responded. “I am not just gonna be passed around from one family who doesn’t care to the next; I already had to put up with that my whole life.” 

There was silence again. 

“You’re right. You won’t be,” David replied. 

“…huh?” 

“After everything you’ve been through, do you really think I’d let you be given away to a random family who doesn’t care about you?” 

Max wasn’t sure how to respond. 

“Well, I don’t know if there’s much you can do to prevent that.” 

“Neither do I. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try.” 

“Hate to break it to you David, but your undying optimism isn’t gonna get you through this one,” Max replied dryly. 

 David took a second to think. “Well… to start off, you can sleep here tonight. I don’t like keeping you here without your parents knowing, but it’s well past midnight, and it’s dark and rainy outside… I assume you don’t have any relatives near here you could stay with for tonight, right?” Max shook his head. “Is there anything specific you might need?” 

”Nah, I brought this.” Max gestured to his backpack. He felt guilt build inside his chest; he didn’t want David to feel obligated to keep him there for the night just because he showed up with a backpack packed with his things.

“You can sleep in the guest room, if you want. It’s very small and might be a little dirty since I don’t ever have guests… but it should work for tonight. In the morning, though, we should definitely get you back to your house.”

“Don’t worry- I’ll talk to your dad,” David added when he saw a bit of panic start to show in Max’s eyes. “If he’s already planning on putting you in foster care…”

David looked at Max, who was staring at the floor. Where he usually looked angry, now, Max just looked… sad. And that hurt. But what hurt David the most was the fact that he knew Max’s parents were the reason for all of this; which meant there was a way he could try to make things better. 

“...you could always stay with me.” 

Max looked up at him, confused.

“I- I remember you mentioned once over the summer that you weren’t sure if you had any extended family, right?” Max was confused at how David remembered such a small detail he didn’t even recall telling him, but he was right. “I mean, I’ve never met them before, so yeah. I’ve always just assumed they’re either in India or dead,” the boy responded. 

“Well, I’m already a certified foster parent, so technically, you could, uh…” David’s throat went a little dry, worried that Max might strangle him at his offer. “You could stay with me. Temporarily. A- and only if you want to. If you do, I could talk to your dad about it. If you don’t, that’s no big deal.” 

Max looked as if he was trying to decipher what David just said.

“You don’t have to make a decision right now, of course. You can sleep on it- you don’t even have to decide by tomorrow.” 

The two continued to sit there, neither knowing what to say next. 

“I mean…” Max started. “I guess staying with you would be better than staying with some random stranger.” Max didn’t believe the words that just came out of his mouth. Usually, living with David would be his worst nightmare. But he didn’t correct himself. 

David looked at the clock- it was well past midnight. 

“Is there… Anything else you want to talk about?” While Max didn’t like it, David knew that usually, talking about something made you feel a little better. And there was admittedly a lot more about Max’s home life he wanted to know. But he didn’t want to push him.

“No, not really.” 

“I’m so sorry all of that happened, Max. I really wish there was more I could do to help.” 

“I don’t need your goddamn pity. It- it’s fine. You’ve already helped enough.” While Max spoke sharply with a bitter tone, David gave a small smile at what he said. He felt awful for Max, but he was glad he was the one Max turned to for help, and glad he was actually able to help. He didn’t blame Max for snapping- he had to have been exhausted. 

“I’ll start getting the guest room ready. Did you bring a toothbrush?”

Max nodded, grabbed his toothbrush from his bag, and headed to where David told him the bathroom was. 

When he came back, David was already grabbing pillows and blankets from a tiny storage closet in the tiny hallway outside his tiny living room. He placed them on the bed and asked, “Do you need anything else? Water, or something like that?” 

“I’m fine.” Max got on the bed. 

David got the feeling he didn’t feel like talking anymore. 

“Okay. I'm going to bed, but let me know if you need anything else.” He said with a smile. 

As he started to head off to his room, he heard a voice call back; “Thanks, David.” 

David turned around. Max didn’t say thank you often, so when he did, David knew he really meant it. “No problem, kiddo.” 

Max grabbed his phone and Mr. Honeynuts from his bag. He looked at his phone, randomly pressed on his messages and realized he had a ton of texts from Neil and Nikki.  I haven’t texted them since the day after the last day of camp,  Max remembered. 

The latest texts on their group chat were from Nikki a day ago: 

Nikki: Max are u okay?? Why haven’t u been texting???? 

Nikki: RESPOND

Nikki: Maaaaxxxxxxx :( 

Max decided to text them now before he forgot. 

Max: Shit, sorry guys. I’ve had a ton of stuff going on the past couple days and forgot to text about it 

About a minute later, two new texts popped up on his screen: 

Nikki: YAYY HI MAX 

Neil: Wooow, forgetting to text us for five days? I see how it is. 

He wasn’t surprised his friends were still up at almost 1:00 am. 

Max: Sorry family drama n stuff I guess 

Nikki: Ooh what kinda drama???!? My life has been WAY too boring 

Max: It’s not rlly anything good

Neil: Well you can’t just leave us on a cliffhanger like that. 

Fuck it, Max thought to himself. He’d end up telling them at some point; might as well get it out of the way.

Max: When I got home my dad basically said he was gonna give me away to foster care or some shit cause my mom left over the summer 

Max: So now I’m staying at David’s house but just for tonight and I have to go talk to him tomorrow about all of that 

Neil: Holy shit. Sorry, Max. That’s awful. 

Nikki: Wow yea that’s NOT what I was expecting

Nikki: Hope ur okay :( 

Max: Eh it’s fine. Thanks tho  

Max: David has an ugly ass house lmao 

Neil: Honestly, I kinda thought he just lived in the forest at this point. 

Max: There r so many fucking plants in his house it might as well be the forest 

Nikki: Sighh I wish I could live in teh forest :(

Neil: Ugh, have to go now cause my mom caught me on my phone and now she’s mad. I’ll text you guys tomorrow.  Also Max, let us know how everything goes. 

Max decided he should probably put his phone up and try to go to sleep, even if he knew he couldn’t.

He wasn't sure how long it took him to finally get to sleep, but he was glad he got any at all. There were multiple instances where Max simply went through the day on one or two hours of sleep. Sometimes, it wasn’t even because his parents arguing kept him awake. It could be completely quiet, and he still struggled to get any sleep, no matter how tired he was. 

David quietly opened the door to Max's room just as he had begun to wake up. 

Max blinked a few times. “David?” He asked tiredly. He forgot he wasn’t at his house for a second after waking up, so he was confused to see David's face first thing in the morning. 

“Morning, Max! I was just checking to see if you were awake yet,” he said in a cheerful whisper. 

Max grumbled something David couldn’t quite hear and rolled on his side. David was aware that Max was anything but a morning person. He also knew he’d definitely want coffee. He left to start brewing a mug and to give him some time to wake up. A few minutes later, Max walked into the living room, rubbing his eyes. There were too many windows and too much light in that stupid house.

“What time is it?” Was the first thing he asked David. 

“Just a little after nine. Did you manage to get some sleep last night?” 

“Eh. Kinda,” Max said. 

“Do you want any coffee?” 

Max nodded. 

David then got a notification from his phone, and found Gwen responding to what he’d texted her last night. 

Gwen: Holy shit that’s insane 

Gwen: God I never thought I’d say this but I feel bad for Max.

David: I do too. But what do you think I should tell his dad? I’ve never met him before. What should I ask?

Gwen: Politely tell him he’s an asshole

David: That is not helpful. 

Gwen: Lmao, just go with what you think would be the right thing to say. You’d know what to do in a situation like this much more than I would

Gwen: I mean if Max still wants to stay with you just tell him you would be able to foster Max, I don’t see why he wouldn’t let you. The fact that Max walked for who knows how long in the pouring rain to ask you for help is proof enough that you should be the one taking care of him right now.

David: Thanks, Gwen. 

Gwen: Good luck. Call me and lmk how everything goes if you can 

David finished his conversation and slipped his phone into his pocket. Him and Max sat at the table eating pancakes for breakfast, David’s personal favorite food to make for breakfast. (Halfway through eating his breakfast faster than David had ever seen him eat, Max had asked him bitterly, “why the hell do you let quartermaster poison us with his so-called pancakes when you can bake actual decent shit?” David gave a soft laugh, which felt nice after his stress-filled night where he barely got any sleep. At least he was doing something right here.) It was a while before either of them brought up anything actually important. 

“We should probably get you back to your house today.”

Max sighed. “I guess.” 

“I could talk to your dad about you staying here with me, if that’s what you still want.” 

“Yeah. But, is that even legal? Like, I can just live with you instead of my dad until he decides to take me back or something?

“Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. You have to be a certified foster parent, and go through lots of classes. But, I’ve done all that, so I’m thinking it should work out. Usually, they’d try to put you with another family member. But given that you likely don’t have any in the country if you do have any, you’d probably just go to another foster family. However, since I am a foster parent, I don’t see why you couldn’t stay with me if that’s what you’d prefer.”

“Wait. You’ve, like… fostered kids before?” 

“Well, no. I just have my license. But I’m a camp counselor, so it can’t be too difficult, right?” David said lightheartedly.

 “Ugh, do we have to paperwork it? Like, I can’t just live here without you legally being my ‘foster parent’?” 

“Sorry, I don’t think so. I’d have to be listed as your guardian for school and things like that.” 

The last thing Max wanted was for David to be considered his ‘parent’. But it was better than staying with his dad, or anyone else, for that matter. So he’d take what he could get. 

They finished up breakfast and got ready to leave. 

“Does your dad know where you’ve been this whole time?” David asked. 

“Uh, I texted him yesterday and said I was going on a walk and that I should be back… sometime soon,” Max responded. 

“I think you should try calling him or something before we leave, but you don’t have to.”

Max shrugged. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” 

He entered his dad’s contact into his phone, and to both of their surprise, he answered. 

David could only hear Max’s side of the conversation, but he assumed Max did most of the talking considering the call was under a minute long. 

“Hey. Uh, just wanted to let you know I should be over in about 40 minutes. I was… at a friend's house. Yeah, I told you I was going yesterday. Okay.” Max hung up, and David looked at him, unintentionally waiting for him to say something. When he didn’t, David said with a smile, “We should get going now.” 

 The car ride was mostly silent (except for the annoying cheesy songs on the radio and David’s quiet humming), as both of them were pretty nervous. David had a habit of talking a lot when he was nervous, but he restrained himself from doing so.

The closer they got to Max’s house, however, David noticed he was deliberately trying to not talk, and to not look at him. He scowled out the window as he fidgeted with his hands. 

“It’s okay, Max. I’m a little nervous, too.” 

“The hell are you talking about? I- I’m not nervous,” Max said defensively. 

“It’s fine if you are- but there’s no reason to be. Everything will work out fine.”  

Max could tell David was clearly saying those words halfly for Max, but halfly to convince himself, too. He crossed his arms and continued to stare out the window. 

Eventually, they pulled into the driveway. “You ready?” David asked Max.

Max groaned. “No,” he replied.

“The sooner we talk about this with your dad, the sooner we can get… well, everything figured out,” David said with a small smile.

Max sighed as David opened the car door. He’d probably die from heat if he stayed in the car while it was turned off any longer, so he got out, too. 

David stopped at the door and waited for Max. 

“You gonna knock or what?” Max asked. David could tell he wanted to get this over with. 

David cleared his throat and knocked three times. After a few seconds that felt like hours, a man opened the door. 

Chapter Text

“...So you walked all the way to this guy’s house just to tell him all my personal business?” Max’s dad asked Max, becoming increasingly more annoyed. Max sat with his father and David in his house.

“Oh, I- I didn’t mean to invade your personal lives, I only want to help. The reason I’m here is because I’m actually a certified foster parent myself. So, if you are still putting Max in foster care, I would love to offer to take care of him. If you're okay with it,” David answered. “Of course, I’m aware there’s paperwork, meetings, and other things that need to be done beforehand. I can give you my email and address so that you can send me any paperwork or other information.” David was trying not to ramble too much as a silence fell over the room once again. 

“This is easier than having to find someone else, so sure. He’s yours.” Max’s dad finally said. 

David smiled. “Do you still want to stay with me, Max? It’s alright if you don’t.”

To Max’s surprise, his answer hadn’t changed since last night. “I guess,” He replied. David realized then that Max had barely talked since they walked in the house. 

“Uh, Dad?” Max asked. His dad looked at him. “I was wondering how long you're planning on having me in… foster care.” Max hated saying those two words. “Like, when are you gonna take me back?” 

“I don’t know,” Max’s dad replied.

“...You are taking me back at some point, right?” Max asked skeptically.

“I- There’s a lot of things I don’t know right now.” 

David knew Max got angry very easily, and he could tell that was happening now. 

“So what, you’re just giving me away for forever right now?”

“I said, I don’t know. So shut your mouth and stop asking so many questions.”

David wanted to stop what he felt was going to turn into an argument, but he didn’t think it was right to jump in on such a personal conversation, especially since he didn’t know all the details of why Max’s dad was putting him in foster care in the first place. 

“No!” Max responded loudly.  “I mean, I think I have the right to know. And why the hell would you not take me back anyway?” 

“Well, I’m sorry if I don’t want to live with the kid that made my own fucking wife leave,” His dad yelled back. 

Max and David were both silent with shock. 

“What?” Was all Max said. 

“Don’t think I didn’t hear about the argument you had with her before you left for your stupid summer camp. If I was her, I’d leave too.” 

“That’s enough, sir.” David suddenly said. He spoke firmly, but calmly, in contrast to Max and his Dad’s yelling. Those words took Max’s dad a little by surprise, and seemed to piss him off even more. 

Max was silent. He didn’t hear what David had said- he was too focused on his Dad’s words. How was he supposed to respond to that? He had arguments with his dad before, that was nothing new. His dad had cursed him out and called him rude things plenty of times. The older he got, the more it just didn’t bother him. But this? This made Max want to disappear and never return. 

So he did the closest thing to that. He ran up to his room. 

David and Max’s dad continued to sit at the kitchen table. Max’s dad looked furious, but David wasn’t paying attention to that at all. His eyes were focused on the stairs Max had run off to. 

After a few tense moments, Max’s dad looked at his watch and cleared his throat. 

“If you don’t have any more questions, I have to leave. For a… work thing.” 

David nodded, and before long, he was alone at the table, listening to a car pull out of his driveway.

This is what he does when he doesn’t want to deal with Max? He just… leaves? David thought. He was confused, and furious at his very questionable parenting. But right now, he had one priority. 

He climbed up the stairs and found the door to Max’s room cracked slightly open. He could see Max turned on his side, laying on his bed. David still knocked quietly on his door. 

“Go away, David.” 

“Okay, just… wanted to let you know I’m downstairs if you need anything.”

David wanted to talk to Max, but he knew he was probably feeling overwhelmed. He hoped that Max would come down when he felt ready. So instead, he stepped outside and pressed the call button under Gwen’s contact on his phone. Thankfully, she answered. 

“David? What’s up?” Gwen’s voice spoke from his phone. 

“Hi, Gwen.” 

Gwen noticed David sounded a little less cheerful than usual. 

“Have you talked to Max’s dad yet?”

“I just finished doing that, actually.” Was all David responded with.

“...Well don’t just leave me hanging. How did it go?” 

David sighed. “Well, on the bright side, I’m going to foster Max. But I’m afraid the rest didn’t go so well.” 

“What happened?” Gwen asked in a more serious tone. 

“I was talking to Max’s dad, and it was all going smoothly. Until Max asked when he would take him back, and that somehow turned into an argument. Max’s dad said some pretty mean things to him. Now Max is in his room, and I can’t get a hold of him right now.”

Gwen sighed. “I knew ever since last year his parents were probably assholes. What do you mean by ‘mean things’? What did he say?” She asked, clearly wanting all the details. 

“Something along the lines of blaming Max for his mother leaving.”

“Jesus, that’s messed up. Well I guess it’s a good thing he’s living with you now.” 

“Yeah, but I just…” David sighed. “I’ve only talked with Max’s dad once, and I still can’t imagine what it must have been like for Max to have been raised by him for so long. I don’t like to make assumptions about people I don’t know, but he so clearly doesn’t care. At all. After yelling at Max and causing him to run up to his room, he just left the house. And I don’t think that’s the first time he has literally run from his problems; Max told me he’s barely home. I- I don’t know,  I just think that it can’t be good for a child to grow up in an environment like that.”

“You’re right. That means you’re doing the right thing,” Gwen responded.

“I really hope I am.” 

- - -

David wasn’t sure how long it had been when Max came down the stairs. David turned from his spot on the couch to see him.

“Hi, Max,” David said softly. 

Max didn’t respond; he simply stood in the doorway, looking worn out, angry, and sad.

“You wanna come sit?”

To David’s surprise, Max did walk towards the couch and sat down next to David. 

“So he left, huh?” Max said while staring at the wall in front of him. 

“He, uh, said he had a work thing.”

Max scoffed. “He doesn’t even have a fucking job.” 

David was the next one to break the silence.

“I’m sorry. This was supposed to be a simple, easy thing, and it turned into…” David trailed off. “I’m sorry,” he finished. 

Max shrugged. “My dad says shit like that all the time; don’t be too shocked. Really, it’s- I’m used to it.” 

David felt that Max was not used to what his dad had said to him in that moment specifically; from the look on his face when it happened, and from the way he sounded now. 

“You shouldn’t be used to it, Max. What he said was wrong, and entirely untrue,” David said. 

“No, he wasn’t completely wrong. I’m probably the reason my mom left.” 

“Max-“

“Shut up, David! You can’t just lie to me to make me feel better. My own mother told me before I went to camp that she didn’t wanna be my mom. Why else would she have left a few weeks after?” 

Max continued to look up at David from his place on the couch when he finished. David looked almost heartbroken. He wanted to comfort Max, but what could he possibly say to make this situation better? 

David may have never really known his father, but he was lucky enough to have grown up with a loving family. He was lucky enough to have not been in Max’s situation, but on the other hand, it made it so much more difficult for him to think of something to say when he didn’t know what the right thing to say would be. 

He hated the silence between now, especially when Max was still there sitting next to David. He hadn’t run off- he actually wanted David’s company. Either that, or he was just too exhausted to get up and leave. But either way, he was still there. That had to have meant something. 

David sighed, pushed all these thoughts to the back of his mind, and decided to say whatever came to him that felt right. 

“I don’t know your parents well, Max. But I do know that you’re a good kid. And if they- or anyone- can’t see that, then it’s their loss,” David spoke. 

Max scoffed. “I’m a ‘good kid’? You of all people should know that’s bullshit, David.” 

“No, it’s not. Any parent would be lucky to have a kid like you. I mean it.”

Max gave David a look, as if he was expecting him to take back what he said. When he didn’t, Max went back to staring at the wall. This was one of the many times David wished he could tell what was going on in his head. 

After what David assumed to be two or three minutes, Max spoke again. 

“Um… do you know how long it’ll be until I come to stay with you?” He asked. 

The question was a little random, but David was glad to answer. 

“I can’t be sure, but I’m hoping maybe one or two weeks. There’s a lot of paperwork I’ll have to fill out, plus background checks and things like that. You might have to meet with a social care worker or something. And of course, you’ll have to pack. It all just depends.” 

Max nodded. He didn’t feel like listening to so many words right now. 

His stomach then made a sound. 

David looked at his watch. “It’s been a while since we’ve eaten. I could try to get some lunch, if you’re hungry.” 

“I don’t know how much food there is here.” 

“That’s fine; I could pick up something. Is there any place in particular you’d want food from?”

Max shrugged. He felt too angry and tired to make a decision as simple as that, for some reason. 

“Do you wanna go with me and decide on the way there?”

“Sure,” Max said dryly. He wanted to get out of the house, anyway.

- - -

David and Max returned with food, and Max’s dad still wasn’t back. Once they finished eating, Max went upstairs and David sat on the couch. Trying not to worry too much about Max, he flipped through channels on the tv and stopped once he found some sort of nature documentary on National Geographic. He wasn’t sure what Max was doing upstairs, because he came down not too long after. He commented on how stupid whatever David was watching was, but sat down on the couch anyway. Even though he was staring at his phone, David felt incredibly happy at the fact that Max was there, choosing to sit next to him. Choosing to live with him, now. Something he probably never would’ve chosen a year ago. 

It didn’t take Max long to start nodding off, having barely gotten any sleep last night. The nature documentary seemed to make David tired as well. He didn’t fall asleep, but he closed his eyes for a little bit; until he heard the sound of a car pulling in the driveway. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he almost forgot about Max’s dad.

The door opened to reveal Max’s dad, his face still expressionless. 

“You’re still here,” he pointed out after he closed the door behind him. 

David winced internally at how bitter his voice sounded. 

“I, uh, I- I was just leaving, actually.” David tried to hide his nervousness behind a smile; something he caught himself doing whenever he spoke to Max’s dad. 

“David?” A voice said from the couch. Max rubbed his eyes, wondering who David was speaking to. He felt so calm and normal for a few seconds after waking up, he forgot about everything that had happened just before he went to sleep.

 Then he saw his dad and remembered. 

But instead of his permanent scowl returning to his face, he looked more confused. 

“Hey, Max- uh, I think I’m about to head back to my house, since your dad just got here.” 

Max’s face turned to slight worry. 

“If you need anything at all, just contact me, okay?” David said quietly once Max’s dad had left the room. 

“I’ll send you my phone number so that it’s easier to communicate.” 

Max returned to his normal scowl in an attempt to hide any other emotion he was experiencing, as usual. “Jesus, David, it’s not like I’m not gonna see you for a year. I mean, it shouldn’t be too long before I move in.”

“Maybe- I’m not entirely sure how long it’ll take. Just- if you need any help-“

“I know, I know. I’ll tell you or whatever.” 

David smiled a genuine smile, despite the worry still present in both of them. 

“You’ll let me know any other information I need, right?” David asked Max’s dad once he walked back in the room. He nodded. 

David waited for a few moments before speaking again. 

“Okay. Bye, Max.” He said peacefully, not knowing what else to say. 

Max didn’t say anything in response. He felt an odd feeling in his chest as the front door closed in front of him, and his Dad left his side, leaving Max alone again.

Chapter Text

It took a little over a week for Max to move in with David. David was grateful for that, as he knew that wouldn’t have been the case if he didn't already have his foster care license. However, his certification didn’t make him feel any less stressed to look after Max for who knows how long. It’s not that he didn’t know what he was doing; he’d thoroughly paid attention in all his foster care classes, plus he’d been taking care of kids at camp for years now. But he had never technically raised a kid before. He always wanted to, but it was simply an opportunity that hadn’t shown up for him until Max showed up at his door; to David’s surprise, alone. He carried all his luggage with no vehicle behind him.

The expression on Max’s face reminded him too much of a few nights ago, when he first showed up. 

“Hey, Max! Um, where is your Dad?”

 Max’s eyebrows were furrowed, and he fidgeted with his hands.

“We, uh, got in a pretty bad argument last night. He kinda… kicked me out? Although I guess it wouldn’t technically be kicking me out if I was already gonna show up here today. But… he made me leave this morning and refused to take me. 

There was silence as Max stared at the ground.

“He… what?”

“Kicked me out I guess? I dunno, he just… told me to leave. But like, really meant it this time. I already had most of my stuff packed, and I- I couldn’t deal with him anymore, and he couldn’t deal with me.” 

David tried to hide the absolute shock he felt. 

“Come inside,” he said simply. 

Max walked inside, then stopped. 

“Are you gonna, like, get in trouble for this? For me moving in a day early? You don’t have to tell this to CPS or whoever, do you?”

“Max, child abandonment is a crime; he could go to jail for that. I’m going to have to report it to someone. Don’t worry- you’ll still be able to stay with me.”

Max nodded. Despite the guilt and anger and other bad feelings he felt at the moment, he didn’t hesitate to make it clear to David  that he was only there because he didn’t want to be stuck in a family full of strangers who would probably give him away within a week. 

“I don’t actually want to stay with you, for the record. I just don’t have any better options. So don’t go thinking that I’ve ‘changed’ or some shit, okay?” Max said to David upon first getting to his house.

David simply shrugged it off and continued to list all the fun things they could do together, which caused Max’s eyes to practically roll into the back of his head. 

A little later that day, David tried to get more out of Max as to what exactly happened with his Dad, but Max wouldn’t budge. He figured that what Max told him when he first showed up would be all he’d get out of him for now. 

Unfortunately, the first few weeks David and Max spent together, Max seemed… not like himself. He somehow managed to seem like he didn’t care about life even more than at camp. He was more quiet than usual, aside from some sarcastic remarks he would answer David’s questions with. There were moments where he’d crack a smile or a joke, but they were painfully rare. Whenever Max was actually around David, he always seemed a little sad or angry. The latter wasn’t too unusual for Max, but his behavior still felt different somehow. Everything he did felt a little more reserved, a little less chaotic than what David was used to. Because of this, whenever Max did give an angry and rude remark, it hurt even more. He didn’t realize that as tiring as Max’s usual trouble making was, he missed it a little bit.

 Within this first week or so, he only had two angry outbursts, which were common for him at camp. One David overheard while Max was in another room meeting with the social care worker. He was aware that Max got aggressive when asked something too personal, which was why he made sure to never push Max to answer anything he didn’t want to about his home life; but that was literally the social care worker’s job. This made David extremely nervous. Thankfully, he noticed while sitting outside the room they were meeting in that his yelling ceased after a few minutes. He wasn’t sure what they had discussed; he only knew they had to ask some things about his relationship with his dad in order to know if his dad would actually be able to have custody of Max again. 

Even though David had met with Max’s dad and they both agreed for David to foster Max, that didn’t technically mean anything. Legally, it hadn’t yet been confirmed whether or not Max could actually be put into foster care. David knew that it was very difficult to give your own child up to foster care yourself; the parent had to have been in a bad enough state mentally or financially, and even then it was rare. So Max had to meet with certain people to find out if the conditions he was living in were good enough for him to stay in the custody of his father. 

David pieced together a few things when it was agreed that Max could stay with him; One of those things being that there was probably more about Max and his dad that the professionals Max met with were aware of and he wasn’t. 

This didn’t bother David- he completely understood why Max wouldn't want to tell him every single thing about his home life right off the bat. He just hoped he was saying what he needed to to the legal workers, who ultimately made the final decisions. But considering that it was agreed for Max to be taken out of his father’s care, David wasn’t too worried about that right now.

The fact that Max had to have answered enough of the social worker’s questions for him to be taken out of his Father’s custody in the first place made a part of David think that maybe Max really did want to stay with him. David knew Max knew that what he said to them was a big factor in how long he’d stay with David.  

He only hoped that with time, Max would become less embarrassed to tell him things. He knew from experience that bottling up emotions always caused more harm than good. If there was one thing David knew about Max, it was that he hated opening up or showing vulnerability with a burning passion. So he was grateful whenever he did; even if Max tended to just feel more angry after talking about his issues. Even if it caused Max to lash out more on David. He didn’t care, because all he wanted was for Max to tell him things so that David could actually help. That was the biggest step towards Max’s happiness, even if it didn’t seem like it at the moment. David thought that maybe, just maybe, a small part of Max was beginning to realize how painful it is to keep all your emotions in. At least, he hoped he was. 

The one thing Max was open about was his dislike for his parents. Well, his Dad, specifically. He didn’t talk about his mom too much, David noticed. There was only one time he could recall where Max spoke about his parents not as negatively as usual. He had walked past the kitchen table, glancing at some sort of paperwork David was filling out. (He found it kinda weird that he still had to fill out stuff when he was already legally fostering Max, but he shrugged it off.)

“So… he could, like, be arrested? My Dad?” Max tried to ask the question as casually as possible, but it ended up coming out in a slightly smaller voice than usual. 

“Hm?” David looked up from the papers he must’ve been fairly focused on. He looked like he didn’t get too much sleep the previous night. “Oh, you mean the-  yes, that’s a… possibility.”

“Huh. I just think that’s kinda weird. I never thought it was that bad, I guess.”

“It’s… pretty bad. I mean, a parent is legally obligated to look after their child until they turn 18, so kicking you out of the house before then is a criminal offense.” 

David felt weird saying so many sad things so early in the day, but he knew Max wouldn’t want him to sugar coat anything about his current situation. 

“It’s just that… I mean, it’s not like it’s the first time he’s done it, you know? And I’ve always just been able to come back the next day or something and it’s like it never happened. But it’s whatever, I guess. Not like I wanna go back to him anytime soon,” Max shrugged and walked off into the kitchen, ending that conversation. 

David ended up finding out more about Max’s parents through little things he would casually bring up. Both his parents worked, meaning he was home alone most of the time. It had been like that for the past few years, which was already a safety concern considering how young he was. His mother barely spoke to him; barely even acknowledged his existence, according to Max. Except for a few times, when she’d ask him what activity Max wanted to be signed up for after school, or asked Max what gifts he wanted for holidays. His dad was the same way most of the time. Only recently had he started getting more drunk; and if Max somehow got in his way while he was, his father never failed to take his anger out on him. Previously, he only really talked to his Dad when Max would pick arguments. (Sometimes, he did it for fun; out of boredom or a need to rebel. Other times, he did it in genuine hopes that maybe his parents would wake up and realize they actually had a fucking child with human emotions. Max did not tell this particular detail, among plenty of others, to David.) He would, however, occasionally make subtle jokes about the way his parents treated him. Other times, he’d end up genuinely telling David something personal without realizing it.

It didn’t matter what way Max ended up telling David; it usually ended with David feeling a certain anger that he didn’t know he had. (He didn’t show that, of course. The last thing he wanted was for Max to think another adult was mad at him.) 

David didn’t like feeling this anger, but what else could he feel when Max casually mentions that he was so used to doing things himself because his parents forgot to feed him sometimes? Or how his parents forgot to pick him up at lord knows how many places, leaving him alone in public, open to lord knows how many dangers?  

What else was David possibly supposed to feel when Max was so certain that most of the time, his parents didn’t even forget; they just did those things on purpose?

But the worst ones were always when Max repeated awful things his Dad would say to him- about him. After the first month or two of Max staying with him, David pieced together that Max’s negative view of the world and of himself was likely a result of the way he was raised. The things he would casually consider himself to be; an asshole, a bad kid, and so on; were really just things he had apparently grown up hearing he was. Whenever Max had talked about himself like that at camp, David would discourage it of course, but never linger on it for too long. He always said those things in a sarcastic manner anyway. But now that David knew Max was really just repeating what his Dad had called him for who knows how long, he mentally slapped himself for not realizing it until Max had directly told him the things his Dad would say. Because of this, he made sure to make it crystal clear to Max just how much he cared about him, no matter how annoying Max said it was. 

He sometimes thought about how if Max was raised differently, he’d probably be pretty different himself. He likely wouldn’t be so skilled in manipulating and lying to get what he wants; things like that are learned, after all. He also thought about how Max would be if maybe, he was raised to not think everyone was against him. Raised to not think he had to bring others down to be happy. But this was never something he thought about for too long; he couldn’t imagine another Max. Besides, there was no point in dwelling on the ‘what if’s’. What he instead needed to focus on was how to fix the things he couldn’t go back and change. 

That was another thing that highly bothered David; there were some things that he knew he couldn’t fully fix. Something Max had taught David at camp was that some things couldn’t immediately be happy and perfect, no matter how much David tried. Most things took time to fix. Some things could never be fully fixed. David couldn’t believe it took him most of his life to realize that, and he still had a hard time accepting it now. But he knew it was true.

Something else David noticed that made him feel just as sad was how there were so many little things he thought every parent should be doing for their kid that seemed so abnormal to Max. He looked genuinely surprised whenever David did something like buy him new clothes, or let him choose where to eat. It hurt to witness, but he knew that it would get better one day. He just had to hope he was doing the right thing. 

Unfortunately, it was difficult for him to tell whether he was actually doing the right thing or not when Max had been acting so much more distant than what he was used to. This thought clouded his mind on one particular day. After not talking to Max much all day, David asked what he wanted for dinner, like usual. 

“I don’t fucking know,” Max responded in a sharper tone than usual. 

Max gave plenty of snappy remarks, but they usually were never as uncalled for as this. It caught David a little off guard. 

“Max, that was unnecessary. I only asked you a question.” 

“Yeah, and I don’t know how to respond, so.” 

“You could start by not responding as rudely,” he said calmly. “If you don’t know what you want yet, that’s fine, just-“ 

David cut himself off when he looked at Max again. Something was… off. This was different from just another rude comment from Max. Underneath all the bitterness, he looked like he felt a little bad. Or maybe that was just David’s wishful thinking. But either way, this wasn’t normal Max. 

“Are you okay?” David asked instead. 

Max gave him a weird look. “What?” 

“These past few days, I feel like you haven’t been acting like yourself. I- I know it’s hard adjusting to staying in a new house and living with someone who isn’t your family. I wasn’t expecting you to be used to it within the first few days, weeks, or even months. It’s just that- I just want you to be happy, is all. I know that’ll be difficult while living with me, but… if there’s anything I’m doing wrong, please just tell me, okay?” David was rambling at this point. “I could give you more space, o- or buy you more-” 

“Just shut up, David!”

David closed his mouth, confused. He tried to act like Max’s words hadn't hurt him as much as they did. 

“Look, you don’t need to buy me more stuff, or do more of anything- that’s the problem! You're doing too much, and I- I guess I feel guilty because of it?” Max admitting to feeling guilty for something that wasn’t even his fault struck David. Now it was his turn to ramble. “Like, you let me live in your house, you buy me new stuff, you cook meals every day- what the hell have I done to deserve any of that? I came in and basically ruined your life, and you act like it’s nothing. I was literally just acting like an asshole, and you ask if I’m okay? It’s- that’s bullshit,” Max finished angrily. 

Wow, was all David could think. He had known Max for so long, and yet there was so much about him that David was just finding out in the first few weeks of Max living with him. 

He continued to scowl at the ground as David collected his thoughts.

“Max, you deserve every single thing I’ve done for you. Clothes, food, a safe place to stay… Those aren’t things you earn. Those are things every kid deserves.” 

“Really?” Max asked bitterly. “Cause my dad loved to pull out the ‘I give you food and shelter and this is how you act’ card in arguments. I seriously think his favorite thing to tell me was how I don’t deserve the things he does for me.” 

“Well, your dad was wrong.”

Max scoffed. “That’s funny- his other favorite thing to tell me was that he’s always right.” 

“I’m afraid your dad was wrong about a lot of things, Max. And you shouldn't feel bad about any of that stuff. I do those things for you because I want to, and because it’s what you deserve. You shouldn’t feel like you owe me anything; just staying here with me is more than enough. And, you know, not burning down the house or things like that,” David added lightheartedly.

He couldn’t help but smile at the fact that Max wasn’t mad at him, but the opposite. And while he wasn’t glad that he felt that way, he felt proud about the fact that he had actually opened up to him, and about more than usual. It made him feel that maybe there was finally some actual progress being made, after days of barely getting anything but a sarcastic remark out of Max. And yet, whenever Max did open up, David couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit guilty. It would always remind him of how, after meetings with both Max and his Dad, David was asked if he knew anything regarding Max’s safety when he lived with his parents. David knew Max would hate him for telling anyone things that were so personal to Max- things he probably has never told anyone else before. But David also knew he would do anything for Max’s safety. So he reported all the concerning things Max said about his Dad, and the obvious signs of neglect and child abandonment. Sometimes, David thought maybe that was the reason why Max was still staying with him now. 

After that moment, Max began to ever so slowly return to normal. 

Of course this was a good thing, but it also meant Max regaining his amusement in turning things to chaos. 

Max got what would normally be his first week back at school off so that he could adjust to his new home. David was thankful for this week-long excused absence, as both him and Max became more stressed the closer returning to school got. 

David was optimistic, and admittedly pretty oblivious sometimes, but he wasn’t completely dumb. He worried that Max’s teachers at school would have much less of a tolerance for his behavior than he did. He never ended up mentioning this to Max, though. He felt that wasn’t entirely fair since he technically didn’t know how Max acted in school. However, he ended up finding out about two or three weeks into the school year, when he got a phone call from who he assumed to be the school principal. He was told that Max was suspended for the rest of the week for fighting with another kid, and asked to come pick him up early. 

David was shocked by this news; Max argued with plenty of people, but physically fighting another kid was something he just couldn’t imagine him doing. He had a temper of course, but David felt that there wasn’t really anything Max cared enough about to get a bloody nose over. 

David was a thorough rule follower; however, upon hearing that Max had gotten hurt, he sped down the road. As he rapidly approached the school, the only thing on his mind was hope that Max was okay. That, and the hope that no police would pull him over for breaking the speed limit a little bit. 

- - -

Max sat outside the Principal’s office with a sense of dread. He could practically already hear David lecturing him. It wasn’t even his fault! What was he supposed to do, not stand up for himself? A small part of Max thought that maybe David would understand, but he didn’t get his hopes up. He probably wouldn’t have the time or the energy to listen to Max try to defend himself. 

Just then, a familiar looking idiot entered the hallway. David wrapped his lanky arms around Max, and the boy tried shoving him off, halfly because he was uncomfortably squeezing his hurt shoulder. David moved away when he heard Max mutter “ow” under his breath.

“Are you okay?” David immediately asked. 

“I- I’m fine,” was all Max responded with.

Just then, the principal walked out of her office, introducing herself to David and shaking his hand. 

“Are you… Max’s guardian?” She asked. 

“Yes, I am.” 

“Alright; Max doesn’t have any major injuries or anything, he seems to be fine now. Do you mind talking with me for a second?” 

“Oh- of course,” David responded. He realized that she couldn’t quite explain the whole story of how Max got into this situation in the first place over the phone. It didn’t take her long to do so; in a few minutes David and Max were walking to his car.

The beginning of the car ride was silent, which surprised Max, as he was expecting one of David’s signature lectures. However, the first thing David asked Max was simply; “What happened?” 

Max gave him a confused glare. “The hell do you mean ‘what happened’? What’d the principal tell you just a couple of minutes ago?” 

“I want to hear about what happened from you.” 

David wasn’t completely calling off his lecture; he never wanted Max to hurt another kid, or anyone for that matter. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about this whole situation, and David always liked to get both sides of a story. 

“These assholes in my class were picking on me so I kicked one of them in the balls,” Max said nonchalantly. 

“…then how did you get the nose bleed?”

“They punched me after I kicked them. But before I kicked them, they shoved me against the wall, so it isn’t even really my fault since I was technically just standing up for myself. They started the fight, but the teacher didn’t believe me because she apparently didn’t see them start the fight, she just saw me kick them. But she also just hates me for no reason so maybe that has something to do with it, I dunno.”  

David thought he usually was good about knowing what to say, and how to be strict yet comforting. But sometimes, his mind just drew a blank. It had been a long day, and he had barely gotten any sleep last night.

“Well… you should’ve gotten a teacher instead.” 

“Why? What the fuck would a teacher have done?” 

“Doing that would’ve prevented you from getting suspended. Why did you feel the need to engage in the fight instead of getting help, anyway?” 

“I don’t know,” Max snapped. “Just did the first thing that came to my mind. I mean, some of the things they were saying kinda, uh… reminded me of stuff my Dad would say, I guess. So it made me kinda angry and I acted on instinct or whatever,” he finished, scowling and wishing he hadn’t quite said so much. An uncomfortable silence sat over the car until Max asked a simple question.

“Are you mad at me?” 

Both David and Max found themselves surprised by the question. It had slipped out without Max really thinking about it. Of course he’s mad, idiot. He had to take off of work to come pick you up from school, Max thought. He didn’t even know why he cared whether or not David was mad. He loved to try to get David to be mad at him back at camp, since the idiot never got mad. But this felt different than at camp. At camp, his parents were hours away; he couldn’t just give Max back like he could now. 

“No, I’m not mad; I understand why you reacted like that. You should’ve gotten a teacher instead, but I’m glad you’re okay.”

Max didn’t respond. How on earth was David not mad! Max got kicked out of school, for Christ’s sake! He was supposed to be mad! Max’s dad would've been furious if he had to take time out of his precious day to deal with Max.

 Well, David isn’t like your dad, Max thought absently.

Thank God for that.

A part of Max felt angry at the fact that David wasn’t angry, for some reason. He felt like he should do something else to make David mad at him- that’s how it was supposed to go, right? Max never liked getting yelled at by adults, but at least he could expect it. But the other part of him didn’t say anything; maybe some change was nice. 

“So… what’d the principal say? She said I started the fight, didn’t she.” 

“Yes, she did.”

“And you don’t believe her?” 

“I told her I’d believe my kid. You only lie when you benefit from it, and you’re already suspended, so I trust that you’re probably telling the truth,” David responded with a small smile. Max rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help the smile starting to show on his face as well. David was the only adult Max knew who would believe him about this situation. 

“I’m not your ‘kid’, David.” 

“Oh, you know what I meant,” he replied lightheartedly. 

“Of course, you're still grounded,” he added. 

Max groaned. 

“I just want you to understand that even if you get out of school, which might be a good thing to you, you shouldn’t be proud of what you did.”

Max sunk lower into his car seat.

“Aw, come on, Max; don’t be overdramatic. Gwen is coming over anyway, so you won’t be completely bored.”

“Wait, what? Gwen is coming over?” Max asked. 

“Oh golly, did I forget to mention that?”

“Uh, yeah, idiot.” 

“Oops. Well, she lives about an hour away and was going to be in the area for a job interview, so she was going to drop by for the weekend and help me out with a few things. It was going to be a surprise, but since I still have work during the day, I was thinking of asking her to come look after you…” David trailed off, lost in thought.

“Wait, what? You’re trying to get Gwen to fucking babysit me? How old do you think I am? Oh, and did you not hear me say I’ve literally lived home alone most of my life and am perfectly capable of taking care of myself?!” 

“I hear you loud and clear, Max. But the paperwork I had to read over said I couldn’t leave you alone without a trusted guardian, and I’d hate for you to be taken away because I didn’t follow a silly rule.”

“So what, you’re just gonna not let me stay in the house by myself for the rest of my life?” 

“Well, no- I completely trust leaving you in the house by yourself for a short amount of time, but I want to really follow all the rules at least for these first few weeks. Besides, leaving you alone would probably make me very nervous, if I’m being honest.”

“I thought you just said you trusted leaving me home alone,” Max responded. 

“I do! I just want you to be safe, is all. You know I always get so worried so easily.” 

“Trust me, I’m aware,” Max said with an eye roll. 

“Plus, I don’t think it’d do any harm having someone to make sure you're doing your school work and staying off of electronics.”

“And you trust Gwen with that job?” Max asked with a smirk.

“Why, of course!” 

Max scoffed. “I think you overestimate how much she actually cares about shit, David.” 

Despite Max’s complaints, he surprisingly had a pretty good time with Gwen. For the most part, she stayed on the couch reading her trashy magazines and helped Max with homework whenever he needed it. 

“It’s not that I don’t like living with David- I mean, it’s better than living with my parents- but it’s nice to get a little break from it, you know?” Max had answered when Gwen asked what it’d been like so far living with David.

“Wait wait wait, back up. You said you like living with David? Who are you and what have you done with Max?” Gwen joked. 

“Jesus, chill out. I chose staying with him over getting tossed from one random stranger to the next. Big deal.” 

“Well,” Gwen started, “since you're done with all your work early, you wanna play a video game or something like that?”

“I mean, sure, but did David not tell you he grounded me? I swear I heard him telling you that.”

“Oh, I heard. But David’s not here right now, is he?” Gwen said with a smirk.

Max laughed and grabbed the controllers, and they played a few rounds of Mario kart before hastily putting the game away when they heard a car drive into the driveway. 

Little moments like these were what made up the first three months of Max’s new life. 

There were good moments, like when David would take Max to get pizza every Friday night. Or when they’d watch movies and end up falling asleep on the couch. Or when Max actually cracked a smile or a laugh. 

There were not-as-good moments, like when David wasn’t so sure he could balance work, Max, and all the other meetings and paperwork. Or when Max would simply just wake up angry and wouldn’t talk as much, making it all the more difficult for David to help. Or when he’d try to argue with everything David said and sometimes, David didn’t have the energy. 

And there were moments that were in between; a little good, and a little bad. Like when Max woke up from a particularly bad nightmare, but David was able to calm him down. Or when Max would actually open up, only to become more distant for the rest of the week. 

If fostering Max was one thing, easy wasn't it. But in the 24 years David had lived his life, he couldn’t think of a single moment where he was more content. More happy with where he was at. Out of all the difficulties taking care of Max brought, it was all worth it to see him smile. To see him calm. David had cared so deeply for Max for years now; so to David, having the job of assuring Max was safe and happy was really the best job he could ask for. 

Chapter Text

It was after 2 am when David was still reading in his bedroom, a flashlight shining on his old dusty book. Reading was one of the only things that helped him get to sleep; and even when it didn’t work, it still calmed his mind and kept it busy at the same time. While he didn’t feel the slightest bit tired, he did feel calm, which was good enough for him. Until he heard a scream coming from Max’s room. 

David closed his book and immediately made his way out of his room to check on Max. This was one of the many new things David learned about Max while living with him; he had frequent nightmares. While they usually weren’t so bad as to make Max shout in his sleep, or to wake David up, it had happened before. 

With a beating heart, David opened the door of Max’s room to find him still half asleep, thrashing in his sheets. He continued to mutter words like ‘no’ and ‘stop’, and he looked so panicked for someone who was still asleep. David knew this was an especially bad nightmare. 

He knelt by Max’s bed and tried to put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. Right as David prepared to wake him, Max shot awake and let out a short scream. 

- - -

Where was he? What the fuck was he doing? All Max knew was that his hands were sweating and his chest was tight and he felt awful. Oh, and he was pretty sure he was hyperventilating. 

Was he still in his dream? Or rather, nightmare? The screams and yells still filled his head. He couldn’t see in the dark, and that probably wasn’t helping. But he couldn’t move to turn on a light. He thought he might’ve heard a familiar voice calling his name, but it was hard to tell over his beating heart, heavy breaths, and all the noise in his head. Jesus, what was wrong with him? Max brought a hand to his head. He was awake now, wasn’t he? He grabbed hair in his fist and gave a slight pull. Yeah, he had to have been awake. But then why couldn’t he move? And why was his breathing so loud and why did he feel so panicked? 

“Max, just- just listen to me, okay?” 

There was a hand on his shoulder. No, goddamnit, he didn’t want that! He already couldn’t move; feeling more held down was the last thing he wanted! 

He swatted the hand away without giving much thought into the gesture, still panicked and, honestly, terrified. 

Oh god, David thought, starting to slightly panic himself. That didn’t work. Why didn’t Max seem to be registering anything he was saying? Usually he would’ve calmed down by now, but he hadn’t even acknowledged David’s presence yet. 

David flicked on the lamp beside Max’s bed and continued to try to get his attention, praying it would work. 

“Max? Max, buddy, I need you to breathe.” 

The bright lamp practically blinded Max, and he removed the hand entangled in his hair to shield his eyes. He felt another hand bring his hand down from his face, and he saw David kneeling in front of him. No, no, no- he did not want what happened to David in his dream happening again. But this wasn’t a dream anymore, was it? 

“Can you hear me? Just breathe in and out.”

David took a deep breath, still holding onto Max’s hand. Max tried to do the same, and instead ended up choking on his own spit or something, which led to a coughing fit that did nothing to ease Max’s nerves. 

David moved to sitting next to Max on the bed, his hand on his back.

“It’s okay, Max. You just had a bad dream.” 

“No… shit,” Max managed to get out. 

Okay, he’s calmed down a little bit, David thought. But his whole body was still shaking and he was choking back tears. 

“Try taking another deep breath for me, okay?” David demonstrated, and Max did the same, but his breaths were still shaky and fragile. David continued to gently rub his back, as it seemed to be working. 

After about three more deep breaths, Max’s breathing was back to normal, and only his hands were still slightly shaking. Now, his brain let him fully process what was happening, and the fact that David was sitting there next to him in the middle of the night like he was some pathetic little kid. Max cleared his throat and tried wiping any tears still left on his cheeks. 

“You can go away now,” Max said, his voice coming out a little hoarse. He shrugged David’s hand off his back and tried to ignore the fact that his heart was still racing and his hands still shook. God, why could he not hold his own hands still? The hell did he do to make them keep shaking? 

David noticed him stare down at his hands, confused. He respected Max’s boundaries, and would leave without a second thought if he asked him a second time, because right now, he still seemed a little panicked. 

“I want to make sure you're okay, first,” David replied simply. A part of Max must’ve thought he wasn’t quite yet, since he didn’t protest. The other part of him wanted to tell David to fuck off, but what was even the point? He probably wouldn’t. Plus, Max didn’t want to trigger anything that would cause David to bug him about what just happened, or give some sort of lecture, or talk at all. They were fine where they were right now; sitting in silence while Max recovered from what the hell just happened with him. David simply being there proved to Max that maybe someone did actually care, as annoying as that person may be; which was a strange but kind of nice feeling. They couldn’t stay like that for the whole night, however, even if Max wanted to. David needed sleep, too. 

“I woke you up, didn’t I?” Max muttered. 

“No, I was actually already awake. No need to worry about that.”

Max didn’t buy that- he thought David was just saying that to make him feel better.

“The fuck were you doing awake at 2 am?” He asked, turning his head toward David.

“Oh, just reading.”

Max shot him a confused look. “...at 2 am?”

“It was a really good book. Plus, reading puts my mind at ease and sometimes helps me sleep, since I have insomnia,” David added. That was probably important to mention if he’d be living with Max for the foreseeable future. 

“Insomnia?” Max questioned.

“It’s a condition that prevents-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know what it is, David. I’m not an idiot. I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned that before, though.”

“No, probably not.” 

After a few more moments of silence, Max yawned. 

“Do you think you’ll be able to get back to sleep?” David asked. 

“No. I want to, but… I know I won’t be able to,” Max admitted.

“You know, sometimes when I’m stressed, or can’t sleep, or both, I go driving. I used to love riding in the car at night when I was younger, and it always helped calm me down. We could go on one right now, if you want.”

“A car ride? Would that actually help?” Max asked dryly. 

David shrugged. “They’ve always helped me. Maybe it’s something about the sounds of the roads, I’m not sure. It wouldn’t be anything too long; just around the neighborhood.”

Max hesitated, but knew he really didn’t want to stay in his dark room any longer- especially not by himself.

He shrugged. “Okay, sure.” 

Fortunately, David’s solution worked; Max fell asleep in the passenger's seat before they reached the house.  David carried him inside with a smile on his face and laid him on his bed, thankfully never waking him (he was sure he might receive a slap in the face if Max woke up to David carrying him.) Besides, they would both need at least some sleep before tomorrow.

- - -

Max woke up later than he usually did. He was surprised that he didn’t even have to threaten to murder David if he talked about the previous night. 

“We should probably be ready to leave in a few hours, since we still need to pick up a bag for Neil’s gift on the way to his house,” David had said while Max was in the middle of eating his late breakfast.

“Shit,” Max said. Neil’s birthday party. “I completely forgot that was today.” 

Neil had invited him and Nikki over to his house to hang out since his birthday was during the week. Max really didn’t have any friends at his school, so he was admittedly kinda excited. Although it was February, this would be the first time he, Neil and Nikki hung out outside of camp. Since David lived closer to them than Max’s dad did, maybe it wouldn’t be the last time before the summer, either. 

It was nice for both of them to have a relaxing day like this, since things had been getting more tense with Max’s dad and the whole foster situation. From the information CPS had collected from David, Max, and Max’s father, David was just informed yesterday that not only would Max’s father have a year in jail, he also would not be getting his custody of Max back.

Just when David thought Max’s situation couldn’t have been any worse, some of the reasons for his custody of Max getting taken away were things Max had yet to mention to David. 

David sometimes ran through all the reasons the social care worker had given for why this decision was made in his head; child endangerment, emotional neglect, medical neglect… simply thinking about it was enough to make his head hurt. But between the evidence for these things and Max’s clear desire to not be reunited with his father, a decision was somehow made. 

The decision for David to be able to adopt Max.

That alone caused David to be more stressed than usual. Between having to take up extra shifts at work for some more money because of all the medical appointments Max needed, (apparently his parents couldn’t even bother to take consistent trips to the doctor or dentist,) as well as everything else that came with being a first time foster parent of a cynical eleven-year-old, these past few months had been the busiest months of his life. He was ashamed to admit it, but there were a few moments where it took more effort than he thought it would to refrain from snapping at Max whenever the boy was in a bad mood and, of course, took it out on David.

He knew it would get better with time, however; once he got the hang of parenting and the whole situation more figured out. 

For example, the past month, David had been confident that both he and Max were starting to slowly improve. This started Christmas break; a break that both of them clearly needed. They had watched Christmas movies and decorated the tree and done all sorts of cheesy holiday activities David always dreamed of doing with a kid of his own. (All of these activities were done with lots of complaining from Max beforehand, but Max participated nonetheless- even if that meant just doing the bare minimum while cursing David out for ‘forcing’ him into it.) 

Plus, Christmas day was a success. David could tell Max got more presents than he was used to, and it was one of the first times David had seen the kid actually excited about something. 

However, Christmas break had ended a month ago, and the busyness of David and Max’s lives started back up once again. Today was one of the few days where David felt he could actually catch a break, so he tried to not be so anxious about recent news. He promised himself he would tell Max tomorrow; he wanted him to have fun with his friends without having to worry about something as life changing as adoption. 

Later that day, Max walked out to get in David’s car, and noticed it was one of the first days recently that the sun was out. There were only patches of snow on the ground, instead of the ground being covered in white.

“Hm. Seems like we got most of our snow in December this year,” David acknowledged as he started the car. 

“Thank god. I can’t deal with shoveling snow anymore,” Max responded as he took off the huge ass coat David made him wear anytime he stepped outside during the Winter. 

Once Max and David arrived at Neil’s house, Nikki was already there with Neil and his mom. David chatted with Neil’s mom downstairs while Max, Neil and Nikki went upstairs to catch up on each other’s lives. 

“Damn, Neil,” Max said. “Your house is nice.”

“Eh, it just looks like this now because I never have friends over or ‘birthday parties’ or anything, so my mom freaked out. My mom and I are both scientists, so usually it’s way messier.” 

Max thought it was nice to just relax and listen to Nikki and Neil talk about their school year so far, but he could tell they both wanted to hear about Max’s life the most.

“So, Max,” Nikki started when Max didn’t bring up anything. “What’s it like living with David?” She asked eagerly. 

“Oh, y’know, miserable as ever,” He responded. 

“Seriously though, is he just as annoyingly over-enthusiastic as he is at camp?” Neil asked.

“Surprisingly, not as much?” Max admitted. Neil raised an eyebrow. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s still annoying as fuck. But I think he’s so irritatingly positive to try to get all the campers to enjoy camp, and he’s just too dumb to realize it does the opposite. But like, he’s not trying to force me to enjoy stupid camp activities when I’m living with him on a day to day basis, which I guess makes him slightly less insufferable than he is at camp.” 

“Aw, how sweet,” Nikki said. “He’s kinda like your dad now!” 

“He’s just fostering me, Nikki. I’d rather shoot myself than have David considered my actual dad.” Max decided to leave out some details of his life; like the emotionally draining meetings he had to attend, or the fact that his actual dad might even go to jail. He doubted he would, as Max didn’t think his home life could've been that bad… but then again, he hadn’t known anything else. How would he know if it was?

Either way, Max wasn’t ready to get that personal yet, and definitely not right now. 

As if on cue, David called up the stairs; “Max, I’m gonna go ahead and leave now. Just text me and let me know when to pick you up!” 

“Okay, bye,” Max called back, not having paid much attention to what David said.

Afterwards, Neil complained a little more about his dad and school, Nikki told stories about her eight siblings. Eventually, the three switched to playing video games. It was just what Max needed to forget about his stressful night, even if only temporarily. 

- - - 

David decided to spend the time Max was at Neil’s house in a little downtown area nearby. He looked around a cozy bookstore, not really paying attention to any of the books he was browsing. How could he focus on anything else at the moment? He could actually be a dad sometime soon. David knew nothing about being a dad; heck, he barely ever knew his own. 

Honestly, he wanted to adopt Max more than anything in the world. Fostering him had been the most tiring yet most fun thing he’d ever done. Imagining Max go to another family or back to his father made David feel all sorts of wrong. 

He thought he had been content before, just living a quiet life by himself. Max had completely changed his world in such a short time. During the summer, his number one goal was always to look after the campers, and make sure they were safe and happy. Once he returned home for the school year, he wasn’t quite sure what his purpose was anymore. He simply strived to have a good day and to be happy. But now? Now, he had a new, year-long purpose. Max had told him that he was ‘the only adult to actually give a shit’ about him. He couldn’t let him down now; not when Max was already so accustomed to think that life was just one disappointment after another. Plus, David actually wanted this; he wanted to be there for someone else when his own father was never there for him. 

David remembered what his mother had said over the phone upon David first telling her about the whole situation: “I’m happy for you, Davey, but are you sure you're cut out for this? You’re only 25. That’s too young to have to worry about a kid if you ask me,” she remarked before going on a rant on how difficult it is to be a single parent.

She had a point, but Max was different than just some kid. It’s not like David could’ve exactly waited. This seemed like the only option if he wanted Max to actually be happy; and he did, more than anything in the world. While maybe he wasn’t the best parent right now, and maybe he wasn’t always as prepared as he should be when it came to parenting, he was fully ready to be there for Max under any circumstance; even adoption. 

Besides, he may be a single parent, but he wasn’t completely alone. His mother may have been slightly controlling over the phone, but David knew she wanted the best for him, and if he needed her, she would drive any distance to help out with Max. He knew, because that’s what a good mom did. He had Gwen, and his nice neighbors who had already asked about seeing a kid leaving and entering his house and asked if he needed any help. 

What worried him was what could be Max’s reaction.

Look on the bright side, he told himself. Max clearly wants to stay with you. Maybe not forever, but… he lost his train of thought. How would he even go about telling Max this news? He’d probably get mad; which he had every right to be. But there was always a bright side, right? Spiraling wouldn’t do him any good; right now, he needed to focus on the positive. 

Well, David had always wanted to have a child of his own at some point. Maybe not this early on in life, but Max needed a parental figure who actually cared for him. So maybe the timing of the whole situation would turn out to be better than David originally thought. 

- - -

It was after 9 o’clock once David and Max had returned home. Max walked into the kitchen and picked up some papers David had left lying around.

“What are these?” He asked in a monotone voice. 

It was paperwork that had to do with the news David had yet to tell Max.

He was going to wait until tomorrow, but seeing that Max was now skimming over the papers, he didn’t want him to think he was keeping a secret from him. Especially not about something so important that Max had every right to know about as soon as possible. 

Max had lost interest in the papers now, but David thought that maybe this was the right time to tell him. It wasn’t too late yet, and he’d already kept this news from Max for two days solely because he didn’t know what to say. Keeping it for another would just make him feel worse.

“That reminds me, Max… there’s, um, something I’ve been meaning to tell you.” 

“What is it?” Max called back casually while grabbing a drink from the fridge. He didn’t seem to acknowledge the serious tone of David’s voice.

David took a deep breath. “Why don’t you have a seat?” 

This made Max curious. He turned his head, raising an eyebrow. “What, am I in trouble or something?”

“No, no, not at all. It’s… something to do with your Dad.” 

This caught Max’s attention. Now he noticed David’s anxious expression, and he took a seat at the table. 

“What's wrong?” He asked. 

“It’s… pretty big news. I was going to tell you tomorrow, but then I saw the papers, and I- I figured you’d probably want to know as soon as possible.

Max shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Okay. Just spit it out then, I guess.”

“After all the information from me, you and your Dad was collected and thoroughly reviewed, it was decided that your father will go to jail for a year.”

There was silence for a little bit. 

“Damn. Okay. Well, I guess a year isn’t really that long,” Max eventually said, trying to show as little emotion as possible. 

“That’s not all. Because your father is going to jail for child neglect, his custody of you was removed. Permanently.” David spoke in that soft, comforting tone that was all too familiar to Max, putting as much care as he could into the harsh words he was saying.

Max looked David in the eye, wearing an expression that he couldn’t quite read.

“You mean… I’m never gonna live with my Dad again? Like, ever?” 

David cleared his throat. “No. And there’s, um, there’s one more thing- it’s, uh, I…” David sighed. Why couldn’t he get the right words out?

“Jesus, David, can you just fucking tell me?” 

“I’m trying my best here, alright?” David responded, uncharacteristically stressed. He automatically regretted the way it came out.

”I found out yesterday that I have the opportunity to adopt you,” he said as calmly as possible. 

Max stared at him like he was a crazy person.

“A- adopt me?”

David nodded.

“...Why would you do that?” He asked, sounding almost defensive.

“Well, I know neither of us want you going to a random family who doesn’t care about you. If I adopted you, I’d know you can get the proper care and love you deserve. Plus, I really enjoy having you around, Max. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I have while fostering you. Being able to see you grow up, and being able to be there for you whenever you need, is all I really want. But only if you would want that, too. I- if you don’t, I completely understand, and you don’t have to make a decision now, of course. You have plenty of time to figure it all out, and I’ll be here if you ever need help. With anything.” 

At some point while David was talking, Max’s head started to feel fuzzy, and his stomach was twisted into knots.

“I think I need a minute,” was all Max said. Without really thinking about what he was doing, He stood from the table and rushed to his room. 

- - -

Max stood in the middle of his room, the door slammed shut. His head and heart wouldn’t stop racing. 

He was never gonna see his Dad again, and that was that. He hated his Dad; so why did he feel like this? He should be happy. But god, Max was such an idiot. He didn’t even notice all the goddamn crimes his Dad was committing. Now, all Max was was a kid with a Mom who didn’t want him, a Dad who didn’t want him, and some guy who took him in out of pity because he knew no one else would. That’s the only reason David was offering to adopt him, right? It didn’t matter what he’d just said; how did Max know he wasn’t lying? That he wasn’t just saying shit to make Max feel better? That had to have been the reason. He was just the broken kid with a broken family who only got fostered out of pity. David was such a pushover, he just felt like he couldn’t say no when Max showed up at his doorstep. God, his fucking doorstep? His overwhelming thoughts continued to build to in his mind. How selfish are you, Max? What was he gonna do, kick you out in the pouring rain? Besides, who in their right mind would willingly take a fucked up kid like me in? Max thought. Sure, he had known David ever since his parents started sending him to that god forsaken camp, so for a few years now. But he’d only actually lived with David for what, five months? Six months? How was David so sure this was what he wanted for the rest of his life? Dealing with Max’s constant arguing and lashing out would eventually break him, and it wasn’t the same as camp; he’d just put Max in the foster care system again, and he’d get passed around from family to family who were just as bad as his dad, or even worse- suddenly, Max was having a difficult time breathing again. He couldn’t live with someone else like his parents. He couldn’t. 

And that’s all this was gonna end up as, right? Leaving right when he’s gotten used to his new routine? He’d let himself get used to staying in this safe, comfortable house with David. He’d let himself get his hopes up just this once, and this was how it turned out. 

Suddenly, he really needed to get out of the house.

Without even thinking, Max opened up the window in his room, hopped out, and started to run as fast as he could. 

- - -

After waiting a couple minutes at the table by himself trying not to start panicking, David got up to go check on Max. He paused at his bedroom door and frowned. Instead of knocking, he decided it would be best to just give Max space. He definitely seemed like that’s what he needed the most. He decided to take a quick shower, and hoped maybe he could try to talk to Max afterwards. 

David got out of the shower and changed into his pajamas, which surprisingly did nothing to calm his nerves. He went to Max’s room and, this time, decided to softly knock. 

No response.

He knocked again, a little louder. “Max? Are… you alright?”

Still no response. 

“If you want to be alone, that’s fine, just let me know.” 

He couldn’t hear any movement from inside the room at all. David checked in the bathroom, and he wasn’t anywhere else in the house.

Reluctantly, he knocked on Max’s door a third time. 

“Max, buddy, are you in there?” 

He was starting to grow even more worried.

“I- I’m gonna come in now, if that’s okay.” 

David’s heartbeat picked up as he opened the door to an empty bedroom. Max’s phone was on his bed, and he was nowhere to be found.

His head was swarming as he grabbed his phone off the table, threw on shoes and bolted out the door into his car after double checking the entire house for any sign of Max (which didn’t take long at all.) He felt absolutely pathetic driving around in the middle of the night without the slightest idea of where Max could be, and panic overtook his mind. He knew Max might react strongly, but he wasn’t exactly expecting this. As far as he was concerned, Max wanted to stay with him over anyone else. But David also knew he got on Max’s nerves more often than not, and he knew everything he just told him was a lot to take in; more than any kid his age should have to take in. 

Oh god. He needed to find Max, and soon. 

David didn’t have to drive around for too long- he ended up finding Max walking along the sidewalk beside a usually more busy street that led out of the tiny neighborhood David lived in. Thankfully, there were no other cars around; David sped to a stop on the side of the road and hopped out of his car, immediately shouting Max’s name. 

Max stopped and turned to look at David. He didn’t keep walking; he wanted to, but it was like his legs couldn’t walk. What was he going to say to David? Anxiety took over his body, and he couldn’t move. 

“Max, wh- what are you doing? Are you okay?” David kneeled down to meet Max’s face. He put a hand on his shoulder, and Max stumbled back. 

“Just- just fuck off!” Was all Max could think of to say, and he started running again. 

“Max!” David called after the boy. Once he caught up to him, he grabbed his arm, and Max struggled against him. 

“Let- go!” He managed to get out. 

“Max, please- don’t run away. Just tell me what’s wrong.” David’s voice sounded desperate and a little hoarse. It made Max stop struggling against him, and he loosened his grip on his arm. 

David spoke again. “I’m sorry, okay? What are you upset about? Please, I just want to help-”

“Why?” Max interrupted. “Why do you want to help me? Why would you wanna put up with me every day? My mom said she never even wanted to have me and left, my dad’s in jail because he couldn’t fucking deal with me, why would you be any different?” Max was yelling at this point, and trying to hold back the tears in his eyes. “How do I know you didn’t just say that to make me feel better? How- how do I know you’re not lying?!” Max found it becoming increasingly more difficult to talk. It was like all the anger he had built up at his parents, at his life, over the past ten years just exploded. 

David finally found a turn to speak. “Max, you know I never lie. Every single thing I said was true. Everything I’ve done for you is because I care-”

“Yeah, well you shouldn’t! I don’t- I don’t deserve any of it, okay?! 

“Don’t say that-”

“Shut up! Just let me go before you give me away, Dad!” 

Max yanked away from David’s hold. David was at a loss of words; all he could do was continue to kneel on his knees, staring at the angry, frightened kid in front of him.

“My own parents hate me, they couldn’t even keep me around, so why should- how would you-” Max gave up on trying to form a coherent sentence, and just started sobbing. 

It had been forever since David had seen Max cry, and he had never in his life seen him cry this hard. David immediately pulled the boy into a hug. Max didn’t hug him back- he just continued to sob into David’s shoulder, and David was perfectly okay with that.

The two stayed like that for a while, on a random sidewalk in the middle of the night, Max simply letting out all his bottled up emotions onto David’s shirt.

Once Max had finally calmed down, he pulled away from David’s hug. David kept a hand on his shoulder and wiped Max’s tears with the sleeve of his jacket.

“Let’s head home, okay?” 

Max didn’t respond. 

David stood up and started heading towards the car, and Max limped behind him. 

Once they had gone in the house, Max tripped a little in front of the door and muttered a curse beneath his breath. 

“Max?” David asked, wondering why he had stopped. 

“I, uh… fell when I was running, and I think I got a cut on my leg somehow,” he said quietly. 

David knelt down again to get a closer look at his leg. 

“That does look pretty bad. Here,” he gestured for Max to sit at the couch. 

“I’m gonna go get some bandages and clean up your cut,” David told him calmly. 

He returned with a first aid kit, and neither said anything except for David warning Max that it might sting a little when he pressed cloth with some sort of liquid on it to Max’s cut. 

David bandaged up the spot below his knee in silence. When he finished, he asked; “How does that feel?” 

“Fine,” Max responded bitterly. 

“Are you okay? Do you need anything else?” 

Max shook his head. 

“Okay. I’m gonna go put this away and brush my teeth.” David packed up the first aid kit and walked to his room. Max was too tired to walk all the way to his room. He grabbed a blanket off the recliner chair and a throw pillow on the couch, laid his head down, and closed his eyes. 

He felt comfortable. Peaceful. Like he could almost forget about everything that just happened. 

If only he could actually fall asleep. 

David returned to the living room to Max curled up on the couch asleep. 

“Goodnight, Max,” He whispered. Right before he could turn out the last lamp in the room, however, Max muttered, “M’ not asleep.” 

He shifted and sat up on the couch, a blanket still around his shoulders.

“Can’t really sleep,” Max said. 

David sat on the couch next to him. He moved the pillow that rested where he was now sitting and held it on his lap, fidgeting with the tassel on the ends. They stayed like that for a minute or two in silence.

“I’m sorry,” David said quietly. “I didn’t mean to scare you, o- or make you sad.” 

“You didn’t,” Max responded dryly. 

“You don’t have to make a decision now, you know. Take as much time as you need.” 

“No, I know what I want. I wanna stay here- I don’t want to live with anyone else. I just…” Max sighed. He really didn’t know why he’d reacted the way he did. Well, he did, but they were stupid reasons that he’d never admit out loud, cause they didn't even make any sense, really; he was mainly just acting out on his emotions. He tended to do that a lot, whether he liked it or not. Which was a stupid habit to have, since half the time he didn’t even understand his own emotions, and neither did anyone else.

David was the only person to ever come slightly close to understanding. 

“Please don’t leave me,” Max said quietly. 

David looked at Max, who was still looking down at his hands. He sounded so small, so desperate, he didn’t even sound like himself. It hurt David to hear.

David placed a hand on Max’s shoulder. “I promise you I never will. Whether you live with me or not, I’ll always be here for you.” 

Max continued to sit in silence, and David continued to wait for a response, because he honestly wasn’t sure what to do next. He’d moved his hand from his shoulder now, but he was still looking in Max’s eyes for some sort of clue of what could possibly be going on inside his head. Eventually, he noticed Max’s eyes start to get heavier and his head fell onto the pillow on David’s lap. The two slept on the couch like that for the rest of the night. He had been seeking more comfort in David today than usual, which felt strange to Max. But at that moment, he was too exhausted to care about what he did or said anymore. Here in the dark, in the comfort of David’s hold, he didn’t have anything to prove to anyone. 

- - -

Two and a half months later, David officially adopted Max. Max was honestly grateful the process of legalizing an adoption took as long as it did; while he might’ve agreed for David to adopt him relatively fast, the fact that he would really never live with his father again was still a lot to process. And even though Max had been living with David since August, there were still a lot of things he was only beginning to get used to. 

Max had discovered some things during this in-between stage of not quite being his father’s child anymore, but not quite being David’s. One of those being that maybe big changes weren’t all bad. 

If one thing was consistent in Max’s life, it was his hatred for dealing with things and people changing. Max had hoped that the switch from being fostered to being adopted wouldn’t be a huge, drastic change, but he was wrong. 

Within these two and a half months, everything felt much more long term. It had dawned on him that so many of the decisions he was making right now would impact the rest of his life; or at least, that’s what it seemed like; which caused him to be much more stressed than usual. 

However, David was somehow always there for Max whenever he did feel stressed. He had gotten too good at reading Max during this specific in-between period. When Max was worked up over the whole adoption situation, he usually understood what was going on without even having to ask. 

David and Max got each other in a way no one else really did. Sure, they got on each other’s nerves plenty of times, but they also just… fit. Neither really understood how. Well, Max partially understood; he had David pretty much all figured out since he was bent on learning all of his strengths and weaknesses and using them against him to make his life miserable at camp. What he couldn’t comprehend was how David, his complete opposite, showed more care and understanding for Max in a few months than anyone had in his life. There were a lot of things in life he couldn’t figure out, though. Eventually he stopped caring so much about having all the answers and let life move on. 

That didn’t mean David always knew how to help, however. Sometimes, Max wanted to be comforted, but he'd rarely admit when he did. Other times, he needed to be left alone. On the bright side, it wasn’t as much of a guessing game as it had been when David first fostered Max, which he was thankful for. This was just one of the many things both he and Max would need to work on to improve. And, ever so slowly, it did improve. If there was one thing the entire process took, it was time and patience. 

This was a challenge for both Max and David, as they both tended to be impatient people. 

But it was a challenge they faced together; and David had known ever since he first met Max that he would positively face any obstacle life threw his way if it meant seeing him happy. 

Max, on the other hand, was positive that if someone had told him a year ago about his current situation, he would’ve laughed in that person’s face and told them to fuck off. 

He was still the cynical, rebellious Max he’d always been; but maybe he wasn’t entirely the same. He couldn’t deny anymore that he had changed as much as the seasons outside his window.

But maybe this change was for the better.