A/N: I saw the prompt and it screamed Max to me, but I also couldn't figure out what to do because the one time they directly interacted with each other, it was Not Great. So, a short one.
Day Ten: Video Games. Max; in which there are changes and introspection.
Forget Me Not
10: Presumptions
Max had spent most of his life believing everybody had a role. Like pieces in a machine, everybody had to do their part to keep everything running smoothly. That wasn't to say that there was no room for eccentricities or differences, just that once people had chosen an role, they could not change.
Max was the nerd. Kim was the jock. Alix was the tomboy. Nathanaёl was the quiet loner. Rose was the happy girly girl. Juleka was the goth. Ivan was the intimidating giant. Mylène was the fearful one. Nino was the hipster. Chloé was the snob. Sabrina, her willing servant. And Marinette was the pariah.
They all did well with their roles. Especially Marinette, who quietly accepted being excluded from the smaller friend groups in the class, and occasionally even brought macaroons from her parents' bakery to prove how okay she was with it.
But then, quite suddenly, that changed.
Marinette was no longer content with being pushed to the sidelines. She yelled at the new kid for - presumably - playing a prank and demanded her seat back. She was voted president of a class that had all but treated her as a leper for years. She won Gabriel Agreste's hat contest, and designed Jagged Stone's album cover.
She beat him at video games.
To be honest, that was the most surprising thing for Max. Because, Alix was quick to point out after the fact, sexism was sort of ingrained in him.
He wouldn't have believed it, because as a nerd, he shouldn't be looking down at others. But, the more he thought about it, the more he realized Alix was right. It did bother him that Marinette, as a girl, was better than him. After all, Adrien had beaten him, too, but he accepted that defeat somewhat gracefully.
He had never apologized for the way he treated her. He had meant to. Alix had chewed him out after an 'appropriate' amount of time had passed for him to enjoy his win, and he honestly meant to apologize.
The moment just never came up, and the more time passed the more awkward bringing it up would feel.
Marinette never made him feel bad for it, either.
Which just worked to make him feel worse whenever he thought of it.
Especially now that everybody was sure there was something going wrong with her. That she was tired, that she was burdened, that she was hurt.
It wasn't that Max was silly enough to think that his accidental sexism was causing her hurt months after the fact, but, if there was a chance that he was adding to her burden. . .
He only wanted to make sure everything was good between them. That's why he showed up at the Dupain-Cheng household on a Sunday morning while Marinette was still in her pajamas.
She blinked sleepily at him, blocking the door with her body, the very air around her tinged with grumpiness.
"Video games?" he asked nervously, his extensive vocabulary failing him.
Marinette stared a heartbeat longer, and then smiled. "Sure, come on in!"
A/N: I'm still lowkey bitter about nobody bringing up the very obvious fact that Max focused on Marinette while akumatized in Gamer for a reason. We, as the audience, might think it's unfair that she pushed him out of the competition just to spend time with Adrien, but Max only knew a girl beat him. And he focused on her, even though Adrien kicked him down to second place, and ultimately out of the competition.
Like Sabrina, I will probably come back to him so he can have a longer chapter, even if it's shared.
Please review and tell me what you liked, didn't like, and what could use improvement!
~ Destiny's Sweet Melody!