His lips taste sweet like sugar. It surprises her. She'd expected him to taste like fire or ash or venom. His lips are soft against her own, his facial hair scratching lightly against her sensitive skin. She shouldn't be doing this. It's not the kind of thing that she does. But she'd run out of options after he'd gotten to her before she could get to Lockjaw and had locked her back in her apartment.
Kissing is captivating, she decides. Crystal's had boys desire her before, of course, but she's never had the chance to interact with many others outside the royal family. Medusa's always been over protective and Crystal doesn't have friends. There's something turning in her stomach, she hopes it's disgust, as Maximus' tongue flicks across her lips.
It doesn't feel like disgust, though. It feels suspiciously like butterflies as Maximus cups her cheek and she parts her lips, moaning and pressing closer to him without even thinking about it. There's fireworks exploding in her chest, heat spreading through her veins. Crystal gasps when Maximus pulls away, leaning into him but Maximus grabs her shoulders to keep her from following.
"And here I was thinking you were just kissing me to get out of your bonds," Maximus murmurs.
The warmth of his breath against her lips makes her shiver and her eyes threaten to flutter closed again. "I-" Crystal hesitates, realizing that she's created a dilemma for herself. She doesn't want Maximus to think that she's only kissing him for that or he won't release her. But after her very real reaction to his lips, she doesn't want him to think that she wants him.
Maximus stares at her, his gaze hard. "You don't realize- Have you ever been kissed before, Crystal?"
Crystal frowns, hurt blooming in the spot in her chest where before there'd been only fire. "Is it so easy to tell?"
"Did Medusa ever tell you about the first time Black Bolt kissed her?" Maximus asks, ignoring the offended look on Crystal's face. Crystal can only give a meek shake of her head. "You understand how Terrigen works on our body?"
"It gives us our powers."
Maximus sighs and stands up suddenly from Crystal's bed, starting to pace. "It's more than that. They're not just powers, Crystal. It ascends us to a higher level of existence. One of those things is the ability to recognize our proper mate."
Crystal blinks several times as Maximus stops and turns back to look at her. "I don't understand."
The tightening of Maximus' lips is the only sign of his emotions. His eyes are just as blank as ever and Crystal wishes that he'd just give her some sort of clue. "You didn't feel the burning on your chest?"
"What?" Crystal asks, looking down but the only thing she sees is her shirt.
Maximus' shirt stretches as he tugs it down and Crystal leans back when she sees the red 'C' on his chest, as if carved with a knife. She immediately loops her fingers in her collar, pulling it down and she feels sick as she sees the 'M' on hers.
"Everybody has this?"
"Inhumans who go are exposed to Terrigen and are intimate with their mates, yes," Maximus says and Crystal lets go of her shirt as she realizes that Maximus hasn't looked away from the letter that she can no feel stinging on her skin. It hadn't compared to the butterflies but now all she can feel is the injury. "Your sister and my brother both have it."
Crystal digs her heels into the bedframe, feeling like she might actually faint. She just got marked with some soulmate letter because she had kissed Maximus. "I only wanted you to let me out of my bonds."
The laugh that Maximus lets out surprises Crystal and then the man begins pacing again. "I wouldn't have let you out anyway. I still have no intention of letting you out. This is something- I don't know what to do with this."
"Maximus," Crystal whispers but she doesn't even know what to say. There's curiosity and terror and something else that's threatening to overwhelm her. Crystal doesn't know how to react to this unexpected turn. "I don't understand. You're saying that we're mates?"
"The genetic council believes it's about any offspring the mates would produce," Maximus says quickly, still pacing and obviously still thinking hard. "They believe mates are able to have stronger children but it's not confirmed. It's uncommon and not talked about regularly because we don't like what we don't understand."
Crystal huffs out a breath, standing up and Maximus freezes when she steps in front of him, as if she might burn him. "Maximus, what are you saying?"
"The idea of a soulmate is a very human idea but an accurate one. It would appear that you're my soulmate, that I'm yours. I don't know what to do with this situation."
Crystal collapses back on the bed, covering her face with her hands. She looks up with a frown when she hears her door close. "Coward!" she calls after Maximus, although he's gone already. It doesn't make her feel any better to say such a thing. It does make her feel better to be alone to think.
The next time he comes in, Crystal is ready for him. She's still cuffed behind her back, because Maximus had told her she was being punished, but she can move around freely and she's allowed out to eat and attend to her basic needs three times a day. As soon as the door closes behind Maximus, she walks towards him with purpose.
"Crystal, what?"
Before he can finish the question, Crystal's pushing forward to press her lips to his. Maximus' hands come up to her arms, as if to push her away, but Crystal doesn't relent and Maximus uses his hold on her to pull her closer.
Those fireworks erupt in her again and Crystal wishes so badly she could wrap her arms around him, pull him closer. In the back of her mind is the reminder that she's doing this so he'll let her go but as soon as their lips connect, all Crystal can think about is being closer to him. All she cares about is his arms wrapping around her waist, lifting her up so he can take her towards the bed.
"I don't-" she starts as soon as he lays her down, scrambling to sit up.
"I know," Maximus responds immediately, kneeling down and kissing her again. She can only get lost in it as he lays over her, covering her completely, his hands moving over her arms, touching her cheeks, her hair. Crystal wonders how many times that Maximus has been kissed.
The thought is lost as quick as it comes. The only thing she's aware of is Maximus' touch, his lips that kiss trails down from her lips to her neck, sucking and nibbling. There's no time, nobody else, just him and her and this crazy feeling between them.
At least Maximus seems to be just as lost because he groans when the door is opened, not moving his lips from Crystal's neck. "We're busy," he growls.
"Your Majesty, there's news of a-"
Maximus jerks his head up this time. "I said we're busy," he snaps and Crystal shakes under him in silent laughter. It wouldn't be so funny if she didn't have the same feelings. She's trying to seduce him into giving her freedom but his body against hers makes her feel like she could fly. It feels like she's been missing something for years and is finally complete.
"Your Majesty," the guard says firmer this time and Crystal reaches out for him as Maximus reluctantly stands up. She wants to just enjoy this while simultaneously hoping for her freedom. She should be able to have both, right?
Maximus straightens, one hand pulling his shirt further down, the other flattening his hair. "What then?"
The guard looks between the two as he steps further into the room and Crystal feels her face flush. "The genetic council wish to have a meeting which you must attend."
"And it can't wait?" Maximus asks, raising his eyebrows. Crystal can hear the dangerous tone of his voice and that should not make heat shoot through her stomach. Perhaps this is getting out of hand.
Crystal sighs, tuning out their conversation and laying her head back against her pillow. She can't get so distracted when she's trying to kiss him or else she's never going to be able to convince him. It's a surprise when she feels the cuffs on her wrists suddenly come apart and she sits up fast, looking over at Maximus.
"You're coming with me. But, Crystal, do not think that I will hesitate to have them shoot you if you attempt to use your powers. Lockjaw is locked where you won't find him. There's nowhere you can go even if you get away," Maximus warns her, holding out his hand to hers.
Crystal looks at it, thinking about the fact that she had called him the king of no one and had meant it. She crosses her arms over her chest. Making her feel completely doesn't mean she agrees with his politics. "No. I refuse to let them think I agree with what you say because I don't."
A moment passes where Maximus just looks at her before he leans down, grabbing her wrist. "Either you come with me or the cuffs go back on permanently."
Crystal clenches her jaw, weighing her options before she nods quickly. "Fine. But Medusa and Black Bolt are going to come back."
"I expect it," he tells her.
Maximus never pushes her. He simply kisses her, never going below the mark that appeared just underneath her neck. It seems that he finds just as much pleasure from her as she does from him. She refuses to leave her room but he comes to her, more and more often, more and more frantic for her touch. They never talk about politics but they seem to talk about everything else.
What had started as just something physical between them suddenly becomes something more. Crystal finds herself craving not just his touches but his witty words and fun stories. He talks a lot about their childhood, back when Maximus and Black Bolt actually seemed to get along. Crystal develops a fondness for him.
Until he gets clumsy. He's obviously desperate for something, perhaps for his brother's death? Whatever it is, he leaves the door without closing it completely and she sneaks out. Lockjaw isn't as hard to find as Maximus had promised and she lets out a breath when she lands on Earth. She's alone in the dark until she hears a rumbling sound and then somebody comes barreling out on some kind of machine and runs over Lockjaw.
Dave kisses her and Crystal wants so badly to like it. She wants to believe that Maximus isn't for her but no matter how fun she finds the other man, she's grateful when she hears Medusa's voice interrupting them. Dave's a friend. That's all he can be when she has Maximus' initial burned into her skin.
Calling the parley is something that Crystal wants to do. She hasn't told anybody about the fact that she had apparently found her mate. Instead, she teleports in with Lockjaw and blasts the guns that threaten her. Maximus looks at her with so much emotion in his eyes that she feels breathless with it.
"Have you come crawling back then?"
"I have a message from your king," Crystal snaps and she repeats the words just as she had practiced them. The pain of being apart has worsened now that they're so close and not touching. She wants his arms around her, his lips on hers. Her body craves it. But she refuses to give in to a madman. Black Bolt is the rightful king and she'll stand by her convictions even if the pain threatens to bring her to her knees.
Maximus glances over at his team before stepping towards her. "You think you can come and demand a parley from me?"
"Gorgon is dead," Crystal says blankly, meeting him in the middle. She's not afraid of him. That's what she tells herself. Another few inches and she could touch him and perhaps alleviate some of the pain.
Is that emotion that she sees in Maximus' eyes? She doesn't know. "If you had stayed with me this wouldn't have happened," Maximus says to her in a voice that nobody else can hear.
The words send a spark up her spine. "It's not my fault that he's dead or that my family is in exile. It's yours," she hisses back at him, looking back at Lockjaw. "If we had figured this out in different circumstances we maybe..."
Maximus' eyes meet hers as she trails off, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. It's been on her mind for so long. If they had realized that they were mates before this had happened things could have been different. Crystal has eyes. Maximus is incredibly attractive but he'd always been off-limits. Medusa didn't trust him, Crystal knew that Maximus and Medusa had a history she doesn't know the full details of, he's her brother-in-law. But them being mates? It would've come above all of that.
"Or you could stay with me now and relieve us both of the pain of being apart. I know that your body wants me just as much as mine wants yours," Maximus tells her, reaching out.
Crystal jumps back as if he was going to burn her. "A parley with your king, Maximus," she reminds him.
A quiet sigh and then Maximus nods. "I will meet my brother at midday then. You'll be with him or I won't see him."
"Maximus," Crystal whispers.
"Those are my terms."
Crystal looks at him for a moment before letting out a breath and nodding. "Fine," she whispers before putting a hand on Lockjaw and teleporting. When she sees her sister waiting for her, Crystal bites her lip. "Maximus will meet as long as I'm with you."
And then she runs, tears filling her eyes.
Medusa, of course, follows her, sitting down next to her. "Crystal, what's wrong?"
Crystal can't even bring herself to speak. She sits up, rubbing at her eyes even as tears continue streaming down her cheeks. She isn't sure she's ever going to be able to stop when it feels as if she's being torn apart away from him.
"Crystal, please. Tell me. I'm sorry I left you but I don't know what to do. How can I fix it?" Medusa asks, reaching out for Crystal but Crystal scoots back on the bed.
"Don't be mad," she whispers as she unbuttons the checkered shirt that Dave had given her, that she's been wearing buttoned so nobody sees the mark.
Medusa draws in a sharp breath when she sees the 'M,' her eyes lifting to meet Crystal's. "Maximus?"
The sob comes unbidden, Crystal's hand coming up to cover her mouth. "I didn't mean to!" she says, wiping away the tears viciously. She can see Medusa trembling. "I thought that if I kissed him then he might come to care about me and eventually he'd let me out. I didn't even know about mates!"
"I'm sorry. That was my fault for never telling you. It had never come up and didn't seem important. Black Bolt and I didn't kiss until we were already in love so the marks didn't matter to us," Medusa whispers, reaching up to rub at her chest. "But to have Maximus' initial on you."
Crystal shakes her head, closing her eyes tight. "It was different while I was up there and you were down here. I know it wasn't long but I saw a different side of him. He seemed so much freer while he was with me and we talked and he's- Medusa, what do I do?"
"He's quite charming when he wants to be, isn't he?" Medusa asks gently, reaching out to take one of Crystal's hands and holding it tight.
The feeling of having her sister there has always been the best feeling to Crystal. From a very young age, even before their parents were executed, Medusa had made her feel safe. Crystal feels her heart constrict as she realizes that she'd rather have Maximus here than Medusa. "Did you two?"
"No. We were friends, that was all. Maximus acted like he might have wanted something else but I was never really interested. I was busy falling in love with Black Bolt," Medusa says, reaching her free hand out to cup Crystal's cheek, brushing aside her tears. "How do you feel?"
"Conflicted. I don't love him but… I feel like I could. And it's a physical ache to be apart. How did you manage to be apart from Black Bolt?"
Medusa smiles disparagingly. "I didn't easily. I was overly mean and I felt the ache every moment we were apart. It was too long. What did Maximus tell you about how mates are chosen?"
"He said the genetic council believes it's about having powerful offspring but it's not talked about because it's not properly understood."
"I'm not surprised he'd take such a pessimistic look at it. It's more than just offspring. It's about finding your perfect match. I know it's hard to understand but it's like pieces falling into place. When I first kissed Black Bolt, I just knew. Did you… feel that?"
Crystal thinks back to the kiss and she knows that she felt the same thing that Medusa did. She had felt the fireworks and still felt them every time he had kissed her. Medusa seems to read the answer in her eyes because she squeezes Crystal's hand.
"I can't really tell you what to do, Crystal. But… now that I know he's your mate, I really can't let anything happen to him. It would destroy you."
Crystal feels her chest ache at the very thought of Maximus dying and she nods. "I have an idea, though. About the parley."
Medusa tilts her head to the side and listens.
Maximus doesn't react as Crystal, Black Bolt and Medusa walk towards him, meeting in the middle.
"Have you told your sister?" Maximus asks, looking at Crystal.
Crystal's lips twitch but Medusa takes another step forward. She hadn't liked Crystal's plan. She'd prefer to keep Crystal far away from Maximus but she knows that Maximus won't hurt her. It would destroy him to lose her just as much as it would destroy Crystal to lose Maximus. Black Bolt had listened to the same plan and he'd held her late that night as she'd cried thinking of Crystal hurt.
"She has. And it reminds us that you're our family, Maximus. We're all family here. We're here to extend grace. We've heard that you wish to go through Terrigenesis again. We will grant you that request as benevolent leaders. So, you have a choice. We are willing to give you your scientist and you can proceed. Or you can have Crystal. In return, we reclaim our throne which is rightfully ours. If you choose the scientist, Crystal has expressed a desire to remain on Earth with her new human friend."
Crystal doesn't listen to the rest. She doesn't need to. Maximus' eyes meet hers and he seems to be looking into her soul. Perhaps he's trying to find the lie that's obviously there. She'd never leave her family to return to Earth. 'Please,' she whispers, not loud enough for any of them to hear. She doesn't want to lose any more of her family but she doesn't want to lose him either.
The moments stretch on as Maximus contemplates the offer. Crystal isn't sure what she wants. She wants him to accept but she doesn't know which she wants. Does she want him to choose her? Of course she does. She wants him to want her as much as she craves him. Just being here with him makes her heart hurt and tears fill her eyes.
"I accept," Maximus says finally. "Give me the scientist."
Crystal feels her heart shatter. It hurts even worse when Maximus declinesgiving them the throne. She doesn't look at him as she walks away but she swears she can feel his gaze on her back.
It's been weeks. Maximus has been in the jail cell for weeks before Crystal comes to visit him. He looks no worse for the wear but Medusa had insisted on him being taken care of to not harm Crystal. Crystal didn't think she would've noticed the difference through the agony of being apart from him.
"I would have thought you'd be on Earth right now with your human friend," Maximus says from behind the bars. It's designed to hold an Inhuman, to stop any powers, but Maximus doesn't need it. There's no guards around to ensure his captivity. Just the cell.
Crystal frowns, looking down before back up at him. "Did you not feel the pain of being apart? How could you choose him over me?"
Maximus' lips twist into a sneer that doesn't meet his eyes. "I knew you'd be safe with your precious family," he spits out. His tone gentles then, though, as he laughs. "Besides, I'm not a fool. I know that your harm would've killed me. If another coup happened, I wanted you away. Back on Earth wasn't far enough to keep you safe."
"I see," Crystal murmurs because that hadn't been what she'd been expecting. Maximus had been trying to protect her when he'd chosen to not take her. It changes the course of her thoughts over the past weeks and makes the butterflies erupt in her stomach again.
Maximus sits back on the lone chair in the cell as Crystal steps forward. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company anyway, Crystal? Did your Earth boyfriend tire of you?"
"There was no Earth boyfriend," Crystal admits, pulling a chair from against the wall to sit with her knees against the bars. She doesn't know who has been visiting Maximus and she doesn't ask. "David wanted to be but… I couldn't think of him while I was marked by you."
"Medusa's told me that I'll be getting a trial," Maximus tells her, hesitating before pulling his chair closer to hers.
She reaches through the bars at the same time he does and it feels like electricity when their skin finally connects after so long. It's an intense emotion, one she knows she's never felt before. Her head falls forward and his must as well as they tangle their fingers and hold on tight.
"You should have chosen me, Maximus," Crystal whispers.
She can feel his breath against her lips as he exhales. "A few days of a mate bond doesn't erase so many years of wanting to be something."
"I know. And I'm sorry," Crystal says quietly, opening her eyes and meeting his. She's been doing a lot of thinking and talking to Black Bolt about Maximus. She understands part of his pain and deep down, she feels like she understands more just because of their bond. "I can't imagine how hard that it would be for you."
Maximus frowns, tilting his head to the side as he gazes at her. "Crystal…"
"Talk to me. Tell me about your childhood. I want to understand you."
For a moment, Crystal thinks that Maximus is going to pull away or ignore her. But then he opens his mouth and starts talking.
It's not easy but after talking extensively with mated pairs, Crystal learns that love never is. Maximus' fair trial sentences him to two years in the mines with the threat of execution for any other minor offense. Crystal believes that he got off lately and the royal family knows it's because they pity Maximus. They sentence him as they would a human, or a pet.
Crystal doesn't mind, though. Maximus seems to even almost enjoy the mines. Being among others who don't treat him differently because he's royalty seemed to be just what he needed. And he always comes home with a gentle touch and a kiss for Crystal.
The life she leads isn't the one she would've chosen but it's the only one that would've ever worked for her. She falls more in love every day with Maximus and the only time she ever feels more love is for their children. The genetic council was right. Their child is powerful.
And as she holds their first daughter in her arms and tastes Maximus' lips against hers, she can't help but think that he tastes like sugar.