A Welcome Distraction
The Face Kiss


It was snowing outside and just looking at it made Mariam cold, even from where she was snuggled up under Max's arm with her legs tucked beneath her. They were sharing a ridiculously fluffy blanket that was probably a gift from Hilary at some point. It was meant to be decorative, but Mariam had greedily coiled up in it the minute they made it home from dinner and refused to budge ever since.

She wasn't used to the cold New York winters.

Still, there was something soothing and mesmerizing about watching the cityscape slowly sink under a blanket of white with Max's heartbeat against her back and a holiday special muted in the background.

With a content sigh, she let her gaze fall on her boyfriend's face. He was staring in the direction of the television, but his eyes were glazed over, signifying he was deep in thought. Judging by the seriousness in his expression, they weren't happy thoughts.

Max's week had been rife with calls from his mother and late night cram sessions for the finals of courses that had threatened to overwhelm him from the start. Mariam had seldom seen his stress level so high. It looked like the ghosts of that stress were still plaguing his downtime.

That was something she could change.

She tilted her head up and kissed Max's cheek. That was all it took for some of the tension in his body to dissipate. With each additional press of her lips to his face she felt him relax more.

Leisurely and with no goal in mind other than to drive the shadows away, she slid both of her hands up his shirt in search of bare skin.

His stomach jumped at her touch.

"Your hands are cold," he hissed, simultaneously turning his head to face her and trapping her meandering hands underneath one of his own.

"Are you offering to warm me up?"she asked, fixing him with a heavy stare.

She could feel his heart racing under her touch.

The arm around her shoulders dropped to her waist and she went easily as he pulled her closer. At the last second, she playfully dodged his kiss and peppered her own over his freckled nose and eyelids.

She meant it to be lighthearted, but a strong intimacy settled over the moment before long. Mariam hardly realized she was climbing into his lap and tugging her hands free until she was looking at his face from above and cradling his jaw in her grasp. She stroked his cheeks reverently with her thumbs and looked for any lingering strain from the week, satisfied to see none.

Both of Max's arms were wrapped around her, holding her tightly in his embrace. The punch drunk look on his face was worlds better than the worry lines.

Gradually she closed the distance between them and claimed his mouth in that achingly familiar, toe-curling way.

There wasn't a chill in the city that could get to her now.


A/N: Kiss #2! This is the shortest one, but I really like it. It's been so snowy this year that I wanted some cozy wintertime Max/Mariam.

Thanks for reading!