Hi everyone! So, this story is going to be a series of Maxton one-shots that don't relate to one another. They're just random ideas that are unrelated one-shots. The one-shots will consist of Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Angst/Drama... you name it! I hope you enjoy and I really appreciate you all reading. :) I don't know if this is my best one, but hopefully you all still enjoy reading it. :3 The next chapter should be up soon!
*I do accept prompts; whatever ideas you have, feel free to either PM me or leave a review.*
Also, just a notice for the lovely people who left reviews on my other two Maxton stories ("Saving You" and "There For Me"), I just wanted you all to know that the ideas you left and requested me to write, I am definitely going to do them! I love all the ideas you left me and I promise I will get started on working on them! :)
Please comment/review and let me know what you think of it, I would really appreciate it, thank you!
I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.
"Brighter Future"
. . .
Max sighs heavily as she sits down on her Uncle's couch. She lifts her feet up and places them on the coffee table as she places both hands on her flat stomach. She is feeling so many emotions right now, but what stands out the most is fear. She's scared- terrified.
She listens to the silence that deafens her Uncle's apartment as she waits for Ryan and Mike. They are all supposed to meet up at Ryan's apartment after work so they could all have dinner together. She got off work early and now she waits for Ryan and Mike to finish working and pick up the Chinese food, considering the three of them are hopeless when it comes to cooking and using a stove.
Digging into her pocket of her thin, black sweater, she pulls out a small stick that has a small symbol in the center. She sucks in a deep breath and uses her other hand to run it through her hair. "Oh my God…" She mutters to herself as she feels herself ready to throw up her lunch.
This was not supposed to happen. This could not be happening. She would give anything to make this all a dream and to just wake up and forget this ever happened. As one hand holds tightly onto the stick with her eyes fixated on it as well, her free hand drops from her hair back to her stomach.
Max's fingers brush beneath her tank top and they draw meaningless circles on her skin, sending small shivers down her spine. She can feel the panic flow throughout her body as her breathing quickens and her insides twist into painful knots. Her hands are shaking and while the anger boils within her veins, tears threaten to spill.
She tries closing her eyes, squeezing them shut, as she takes deep breaths, hoping this would control her emotions, but her mind won't turn off. Her thoughts are filling her head endlessly, making it impossible for her to relax. She tries gathering her thoughts together so when Mike and Ryan return they don't see her as some nervous wreck, but before she has the time to do so, her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the door opening and closing.
Her eyes snap wide open as her hand with the stick quickly is shoved back into her sweater pocket. She looks up to see Mike Weston walk over towards her with a crooked grin plastered on his face. "Hey." She weakly smiles at him as she silently prays he doesn't notice her uneasiness and the way her voice is uneven.
"Hey, Max." Mike greets his girlfriend of two years now as he trails over to her, "Sorry we're late."
Max stands up from the couch and stands directly in front of him, her eyes flicker up at the agent and a wave of panic washes over her. I can't tell him. She swallows hard and tries to put on a smile as she asks with a tilt to the head, "It's fine, I just got here anyways about an hour ago. Everything okay?"
"Everything's fine, just was finishing up some work. Ryan should probably be back in a half an hour; when I left he was just finishing some stuff and then he is going to pick up the food." Mike shrugs while his hands slowly wrap around Max's waist. "Missed you."
She grins up at him. I have to tell him. "I missed you, too." Deep breathes, sit him down, and tell him. Simple. She gazes up into his eyes and as he leans his head down to press his lips gently on hers, she feels her knees weaken. Okay, not simple.
The next thing she knows is that she feels his weight on top of her as she gets pressed down on the couch. He kisses her lips softly before trailing down to her jaw and slowly to her neck. He brushes her hair out of the way so he could kiss and suck on her neck right where her pulse is located.
"Mike…" She moans as her eyes flutter close. If I don't do it now, I'll never do it. We're alone and before we start doing what caused this situation in the first place, I need to tell him. She bites down on her lip as his hands gently slide beneath her shirt; his warm hands rubbing up and down her sides. If I don't stop now, neither of us will be able to stop. "Mike…" She repeats his name with a sigh as his lips start working their way back upwards. Before she could say anything else, his lips capture hers and she melts into him.
"What?" He finally asks in between their kisses. He smiles into the kiss when he hears her moan in pleasure. She literally finds whatever words she wanted to say stuck in her throat as he deepens the kiss and uses one hand to caress her cheek.
She smiles against the kiss, not finding it in herself to ruin the moment. She had a stressful day at work and then finding out what she did when she arrived at her Uncle's apartment… she just needed a distraction. She will have to tell him at some point, but for now, before Ryan gets back, she needs to forget.
Max's mind finally drifted off; her thoughts leaving her alone as Mike held her body close to his. He already threw off his jacket, throwing it carelessly onto the floor, and is now working on her sweater. He goes to slide her sweater off, but he suddenly feels something slide out of her pocket and fall next to her thigh.
His eyebrows furrow in confusion as he opens his eyes to look to see what fell out of her pocket. She still has her eyes closed, but when she no longer feels any movement, she opens her eyes to see what is going on. That's when reality hits her and she realizes what he is now focused on.
"Mike-!" She quickly goes to grab the stick, but he beats her to it. He grabs it and his face automatically pales. Shit. She watches his face silently as his eyes remain glued to the item in his hand. "Mike, let me expla-"
Mike looks up at her with confusion swimming in his eyes as his face reminds her of an innocent child who just found out their hamster never ran away and really died all those years ago. "Are you… Max, you're pregnant?"
She swallows hard around the burning lump in her throat as she hesitates. She glances down at the pregnancy test in his hand before slowly glancing back up to meet his waiting eyes. She opens her mouth to speak, but no words form as a growing pit twists inside of her stomach. Instead, she nods her head.
"I haven't been feeling well lately and I noticed that I missed my period, so, after work I went to the drug store and bought a pregnancy test." She stands up and walks over to the window, her eyes fixated on the traffic below. "I found out a few minutes before you got here and I was going to tell you…"
He doesn't look up at her as she speaks, his eyes are focused on the test in his hands. She's… pregnant? I'm going to be a… "Dad." He breathes out finally, "I'm going to be a father and you…" He tears his eyes away from the test and his eyes connect with hers immediately. He can't read her expression and he's sure she probably can't read his either; quite honestly, he doesn't have a clue what he is feeling right now.
She nods her head slowly as she wraps her arms tightly around herself, "Yeah. I'm going to be a mother and you're going to be a father." It takes a few moments, but the corners of Mike's mouth twitches up into a small smile. However, it falls right afterwards after hearing Max's next sentence: "That is, if we keep it."
"What?"The agent asks, feeling as if all the wind was just knocked out of him. "What do you mean 'if we keep it'?"
"Oh come on, Mike!" Max cries as she shakes her head, turning her back to him. She sighs heavily, "You're a FBI agent and I'm a cop. We're just dating and we're just getting our lives together-"
"Just getting our lives back together? Max, it's been two years. Two years! That whole madness with Joe Carroll and Lily Gray is behind all of us now. We've been together for two years and-"
"And that doesn't change the fact that we both have dangerous jobs!" She cuts him off as she throws her hands up in the air, "We're always risking our lives. Especially you!"
Mike gently places the pregnancy test on the coffee table and then walks over to her. She doesn't look at him, but he stands directly in front of her. He takes one hand and rests it on Max's hip and he uses his other hand to caress her cheek. "Listen, I get where you're coming from. Being with the FBI is… dangerous and being a cop isn't easy either, but hey, we made it through the craziness of the cults. If we could do that, we could make it through whatever else, 'kay?"
"Mike, you don't get it!" She pushes away from him and runs a shaky hand through her hair, "Mark is still out there somewhere and he's pissed! I killed his twin brother and you killed his mother… he's going to come after us. He's, I don't know, keeping us in suspense; forcing us to live every day, wondering when he will make his appearance. He will come after us and you don't think for a damn second that he won't use our child as bait?"
He could see the tears shining in her eyes and he can now see why she is truly terrified of having a child. She's scared of bringing a child in this world only to become a target from a psychopath who is out for revenge. He takes another step closer to her and when he pulls her against him, she doesn't fight him this time.
She wraps her arms tightly around his neck while she buries her face in the crook between his neck and shoulder. He kisses the top of her head while wrapping his arms protectively and tightly around her petite waist. "Nothing going to happen to any of us." He whispers into her ear, "I promise you, I won't let you or this child get hurt."
"And you?" She asks as a single tear leaks out of her left eye, "What about you?"
"Oh come on," He rolls his eyes, "if I could survive the wrath of Ryan Hardy when he found out we were dating, I could take on anything and anyone."
Max laughs and simply shakes her head, "I love you."
"Love you too, Max." He pulls back slightly so he could press a gentle kiss on her forehead. He looks down at her and his eyes search hers for a moment before he sighs, "There is actually something I wanted to ask you tonight, but I guess right now is a good time."
She looks at him with a raised eyebrow as she cocks her head slightly to the side, "And what's that?"
"Well," He shifts his position uncomfortably, "I've been wanting to do this for a while now, but I wasn't sure if it was the best time…" Okay, this is going to be harder than I thought.
She breaks their embrace and instead takes his hand in hers and pulls him towards the couch. She sits down, but he remains standing up. "Mike, what's up? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" He says way too quickly, so he clears his throat and repeats, "I'm fine." His hand digs into his jean pocket and his fingers play with the small box. "A few nights ago when we were in our apartment and you were sleeping in my arms, I realized something. I was watching you sleep and – I want to always have you in my arms. I love you, Max and, well… okay, here goes nothing."
"What are you talking abo-" Before she could finish her sentence, she watches him drop down on one knee and pull out a small, velvet box out of his pocket. She stares into his eyes and she has never seen so much love in one man's eyes before.
"Max Hardy, will you marry me?" Mike Weston asks with a nervous smile as he opens the box, exposing the sparkling diamond ring. Her hands immediately shoot up to cover her mouth that's hanging wide open as her eyes grow wide.
Her being speechless is an understatement. She honestly doesn't know what to say. She loves him and now that she's pregnant… they could actually have a family; a real family, together. They deserve some happiness and it's about time they get it. It's time they have a brighter future and what better way to start down the road then having a wedding?
She sucks in a deep breath when she sees the doubt start to spread across his face. She debates in her head whether this is a good decision or not. Wouldn't this make them an even bigger target to whatever followers that were still left? She goes over the pros and cons in her head, but one simply thought runs through her head that outweighs everything: I love him.
"Yes." She whispers and for a moment, he thought he heard her wrong or he was just hearing things. She smiles at him and nods her head, "Yes, I'll marry you."
His eyes light up at her answer and he doesn't waste a second before sprinting to his feet and pulling her into a tight hug. He slams his lips against her own and both of them are so lost in the kiss that neither of them realizes Ryan standing in the doorway.
Only when they hear the bags of food drop to the floor they both pull apart and turn to face the steaming man. His eyebrows are furrowed together and the two of them can see the veins in his forehead pop out. "Did I miss something?"
Max and Mike both share the same expression that clearly reads: Oh, shit.
"You're both getting married?" Ryan slowly asks as he walks towards his niece and best friend, passing by the food that has already been long forgotten. "Did I hear that right?"
"Ryan," Max says as she takes a small step forward, "I know what you're about to say, but-"
"You're both young and do you realize the kind of target you'll both be if you both have a wedding? That will surely grasp everybody's attention." He says with a shake to the head. "Are you both thinking this clearly?"
"Yes, we are." Mike speaks up now, "Listen, you're my best friend, Ryan. You know what kind of guy I am and you know I won't hurt her. I'll always protect her. I love her, man. I have been thinking about this for a while now and I want to do this and it would mean a lot if you supported this without fighting us."
"I know you're still hurting, even after all this time, about what Claire did to you. I understand, Ryan, but Mike and I… we're different. We both want this and it would mean so much if you, as my Uncle who has always been there for me and looked out for me, are okay with this. Please?" Max says as she walks right up to her Uncle and looks into his eyes with a pleading look.
Ryan glances over Max's shoulder to glare at Mike and then he looks back down at his niece, "Okay." He sighs heavily and shrugs one shoulder, "Alright, I'm okay with it." He walks over to Mike and adds with a warning tone lingering in his voice, "If you hurt her, despite the fact that you're my best friend, I'll kill you."
"Don't sweat it, Ryan, I already remember the overprotective death threat you gave me two years ago when you found out about us." Mike jokes, but when Ryan remains a dead serious glare on his face, Mike's grin vanishes and he nods his head sharply, "Got it."
"So, how about we go out to dinner instead?" Ryan asks after taking a glimpse over at the food that's scattered on the floor by the door.
"Sounds good." Max smiles, but then she remembers the other piece of news her Uncle should know now before he somehow ends up finding out himself. "Oh! One more thing we have to tell you before we go."
"Max-!" Mike tries to warn her, but it's too late. She gives her Ryan a guilty, but hopeful, that he won't explode, look, "I'm pregnant."
Silence.
The apartment falls into deep, deadly silence as they all exchange different looks. The blank look on Ryan's face makes Max and Mike nervous to be around him right now. The steam can almost be seen coming out of his ears as his blood begins boiling inside of him. Them dating, getting married, hell, even sleeping together he was okay with, but Mike getting his niece pregnant? Nope. Not okay with that.
"Ryan, before you-" Max tries to calm him down when she senses him about to go off, but he tunes her out. "Wait-!" Damn.
The next thing they all know, Ryan spins around and punches Mike square in the face.