AU: This chapter is told from Max's P.O.V.

Max was nervous for his first at-home tutoring session. They'd had some sessions at the library, but he wanted one at his house, for obvious reasons. Not only did he not want to seem like an idiot, but he was also really attracted to V. He had zero clues as to the orientation of the boy three years his senior, but even if V was gay or bi, he was still three years Max's senior. Seniors didn't exactly fall over themselves to fool around with freshmen. Still, he toyed with his curls in the mirror for a full fifteen minutes, his heart pounding in his chest.

Around the time V was to come he headed downstairs into the sandwich shop. V was standing by the entrance, looking around while Max's mom chatted him up. Max rolled his eyes and groaned. He really hadn't wanted his family to sink their claws into V.

"Hey mom." He sighed. She waved her arm absent-mindedly, clearly deep in conversation with V. "You seem like you should be a model, not a tutor." She gushed. "He's beautiful, isn't he beautiful?" She added, to no one in particular.

V grinned.

"Thank you." He said. Max grabbed his arm.

"Mom, stop." He griped. "We have to study."

She threw her hands up. "Just getting to know your tutor, honey." She said. "I'm so proud of you for taking the initiative to get one on your own. You're a smart boy, don't forget it."

Max winced and turned with V. "Mhm." He said.

"I'll bring you up some sandwiches!" She shouted, before whipping out her order pad.

"Sorry about that." Max whispered as they headed upstairs.

"Do not be." V smiled. "It is so interesting that you live above a restaurant." They walked down the hallway to Max's room.

"Are you a good cook, then?"

Max shrugged as he pushed his door open. "Not as good as my brother—Welcome." He gestured to his room with a shy smile.

"Yeah, not as good as my brother, Justin. He's amazing. Do you know him?" Max said, as they sat at his desk.

"I think I have seen him. He is very intelligent in classes, correct?" V asked.

"Very." Max rolled his eyes.

"He is attractive, also?" V continued.

Max hesitated, taken off-guard. A whole bunch of thoughts swirled through his mind. V could mean a lot of things by that. He could just be trying to make sure he had the right Justin. It could be something as innocent as that. It could also mean…

"Uhm." Max paused.

"My apologizes, you would not be thinking about your siblings as attractive or no." V chuckled.

"He is, I guess." Max's hands shook as he unpacked his books. "In a nerdy way."

V nodded. "Your family is good-looking. Yourself and your sister also."

Max loosened. So that question hadn't been a sign of V's orientation or preference, he was just being kind.

"Thanks." He said.

"They always say the youngest is the most attractive." V said. It was silent. Max lifted his eyes to V's and the look in the other boy's eyes made his heart jump.

He had no idea what to say.

"How old are you?" V asked.

"F-fifteen." Max said. He wanted to ask what V had meant. Did he think Max was attractive? Like, that way? V smiled at him. "You are going to be very stunning, Max." V pulled his books out as he spoke and Max watched him. How could V be so calm while making his heart pound like this? Was it a Russian thing?

"T-thank you." Max mumbled. Words suddenly were difficult for him to say. V was still smiling. "How did you look at my age?" Max asked curiously.

"Aha." V began writing out assignments. "I had thick-rimmed glasses, braces and oily hair." He said. "Very attractive, right?"

"Very." Max giggled.

They worked for a few hours, and Max was amazed at how easy everything was with a proper foundation. He was actually enjoying himself, and it was great to see himself getting everything right.

"You pay attention to detail, Max." V said. "That is a great trait in math." Max beamed.

"V…" he whispered.

"Hm?"

"Are you…gay?"

V stared at him and it was very, very silent. Max held his breath.

"Hey, mom said to bring you guys food." Max's heart nearly jumped out of his chest as he heard Justin outside. He stood up, leaving V with that dumbfounded expression, and headed to the door. "Thanks." He said, taking them.

"How's studying going?" Justin looked him over. At least Max's clothes were still on.

"Fine." Max said hurriedly, closing the door before Justin could say anything more. He brought them to the table, sitting, not knowing what to say. V was looking at the floor, and Max felt bad.

"Sorry." He said weakly. "That was-"

"I am sorry." V said. "I was too forward in my advances."

"Your advances?" Max asked, heating up. V didn't say anything, obviously feeling embarrassed.

"I-if you were advancing…I didn't mind. I don't mind." Max said quickly. "I…think you're cute, V." he added, feeling his throat tight.

V smiled. "I am relieved." He said. Then, before Max knew it, he was being kissed. He kissed back, his head spinning. V was definitely Russian. He nearly had his breath knocked out of him with just the one kiss. "Oh god…" he whispered, as V pulled him close, right into his lap. The kiss continued, and the intensity only heightened.

Max wrapped his arms around V, a buzzing in his head. V pulled back. "Are you a virgin?" he asked. Max panted. "Sort of." He said. Goddammit. What was V implying?

"Then, we stop here." V said, smiling at him. Max looked, and felt, a little dazed, but he also knew the right thing to do would be to agree. He didn't know how far this would go otherwise.

He stood up, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ok." He said softly.

V reached out to hold his hand, really gently, thumbing the back of Max's hand. It gave Max goose bumps. "I like you Max." V said. "I have not stopped thinking about you since I first saw you."

Max grit his teeth. "I like you too." He blushed.

"Then go out with me. Be my boyfriend." V said simply.

Boyfriend? Max's heart stopped. The hand V was holding trembled a little. Oh god. He'd like to pretend otherwise, but he still was just a kid. He had never dated anyone and he didn't know anything about dating anyone. How long were you supposed to know someone before you dated them? Was he supposed to say yes right away? Was he supposed to be coy?

What did being coy mean?

And annoyingly enough, the biggest thought in his mind was about Justin. Justin, Justin. He hated that, and he hated thinking about him, because he shouldn't be thinking about him. And Justin certainly wasn't thinking about him.

That really hurt. That's what pushed him to say—

"Yes." He said, nodding. "Yeah."

V smiled, standing up and cupping Max's cheeks, kissing him. Max felt something in his stomach. He wondered if this was how he was supposed to be feeling after getting his first boyfriend, because he didn't really feel…excited. He sort of felt nervous. And horny, but nervous.

"Then I will take you on a date." V said. Max smiled.

"And, you understand this is uhm…discreet, right?"

"Uh, yeah…" Max said. "Right."

Discreet-that sounded like a good idea. It probably wasn't a good idea for everyone to know.

For Justin to know.

His heart did that nervous-horny thing again. But it wasn't for V this time.

"How was tutoring?" Justin asked as he came up behind Max in the kitchen. It was 12 am and dark. Max jumped a little.

"Justin!" he squeaked. "Oh, h-hey." He mumbled. "What—good. It was good—great. Great, I-I got a B+ on my last test and we haven't even started covering that stuff in tutoring. Building blocks…"

"Why're you so jumpy?" Justin asked.

Max kept his back turned to Justin. "I'm tired." He said. "Mom."

Justin said nothing, shuffling around in the fridge for food. "Then go to bed." He said in his classic Justin scolding voice. "You need 8 hours."

"You need 8 hours." Max scowled.

"Actually, I only need 7." Justin pulled a juice out. "I'm 18."

Max watched him drink, watched Justin's lips stain red from the cranberry juice and the way his throat move. His toes squirmed the way they always did when Justin was around. He couldn't think of anything to say. He wasn't as good at witty comments as Justin was. Especially when Justin was shirtless and guzzling cold liquids in front of him.

He put his hand in his lap, feeling something stirring there.

'You just got a hotter-than-hell boyfriend and you're turned on watching your brother drink juice?' Even his mind was pissed off at him. Justin looked at him and Max looked away.

"What?" Justin said, licking his lips.

Max rubbed his upper thigh, which was covered in goose bumps. "Huh—" he mumbled.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Your brain only runs for like 5 hours a day, doesn't it?" He tossed the bottle, heading upstairs.

Max jerked off to Justin that night.