Reading between the lines

A date or not a date, that is the question

His escaping method hadn't worked out exactly as he'd wanted it to as five pairs were following him, all looking at him rather confused. But Max just sped up, hopping up the steps when Seb called after him, "Uhm, sure..."

As Max reached the top, he heard his boss resume talking to Charles and Lando speaking to Oscar about something. Good, it would give him enough time to flee to his section where hopefully he'd be left alone for a bit...

*

To everyone's surprise Seb eventually granted Charles' request for him to take Max with him half an hour early. It took all morning and half of the afternoon though, but the Monegasque had been persistent. News didn't even travel all the way upstairs at first.

It took Danny, who brought two cups of coffee, for Max to even find out, because apparently instead of telling him, Charles had left right after the negotiations had been over. And even then, Max overheard Daniel telling Lando (well, Lando shouting it so loudly it reached even the furthest corners of their floor).

So the first wave of anxiety had settled in by the time Danny showed up by Max's info desk, smiling weakly as he placed the coffee in front of him. They were both quiet at first - Max waiting for Danny to officially tell him and Danny, knowing Max had definitely heard them already, waiting for some sort of reaction - until the Aussie eventually realized he wasn't going to get anything other than Max's indecipherable, blue eyes looking up at him.

"So, you're going on a date tonight." Daniel said, propping an elbow up on the desk separating them. It was supposed to look cool, totally chill, hiding how he actually felt about it.

But to Max, Daniel was one of the few people who were easy to read. Sure, Daniel was 'totally chill', but this pose was too nonchalant, even for him. His eyes gave him away - they always did - the doubt shining right through the faked kindness. Had Max been a more confrontational person, he might've asked what it was about, but he wasn't and just pretended he didn't notice.

"It's not a date." He said instead, pretending like he was busy, searching something on his computer. Whatever conversation it was Daniel was here to have with him, he was going to avoid it at all costs. "You should know that."

"What do you mean?" Danny asked, his head brows rising. But his surprise wasn't convincing enough as Max just chuckled.

They both knew that Danny was well aware of Max's self-esteem issues. Half their fights had centred around it. Caught, the older man formed his mouth into a bitter smile, feeling a little bitter about Max not even being able to look him in the eyes as they were talking. But once he noticed the familiar tenseness in Max's shoulder and the determined expression on his face, he let it be.

He could voice his opinion whether or not Max was paying attention to him. He'd get it eventually, Danny knew that.

"Max, whether or not this is a date... I just want you to be careful." For the blink of an eye Max's gaze shot over to him, defensive and annoyed at the same time. Clearly he wasn't the first person to tell him this, though Daniel doubted he had the same intentions as whoever the younger man had talked to before. Still he continued slowly, picking each word carefully. "Because I don't know if this is such a good idea..."

"Why would it not be?" Max asked, desperately fighting the urge to look up.

"Because... ugh, you know-" Daniel groaned, wishing for a little more cooperation.

They had never really talked about what had happened between them after their break up. The closest to it had been the night they'd had a couple too many beers after running into each other at a pub and had decided to be friends again. But the big, reconciling talk had never happened, so this was more than uncomfortable for the both of them.

"What I mean to say is, is that I don't think you've gotten over things-"

"Oh, I am over you if that is what you're concerned about!" Another angry glance into Daniel's direction let Max know that that was not what he'd been worried about. Quickly his eyes found the screen again, but his vision didn't really adjust, everything was blurry.

"No, that's not it..." Daniel cleared his throat, having to look somewhere else as well. Once he'd worked up the courage to speak again, he said, "What I mean is your tendencies to be... uncomfortable with affection in public. If that's the right way to put it... Anyway, it's just that Charles seems like the kind of person that that stuff is important to. The hand holding, the kissing... All that stuff."

Max let out a loud snort. Mainly to get Daniel to shut up, but also because he had no idea where this was coming from. Charles had in no way said a word that would let anyone believe that they were going on a date. Nothing in the way they had behaved in the past weeks would make it seem like they were flirting or... or stuff like that. Why-

He could feel his face getting hot as he finally looked up at Daniel. Even though he was fully red by now, Max tried to look defiant, more angry than embarrassed. But he was met by disbelief and worry. Two things that only made him angrier.

"That's not- Why would you assume-" Max stuttered, watching the expression on Daniel's face turn into pity. He let out a gasp as the anger grew in his chest, making it impossible for him not to raise his voice, "That is not true!"

"Max, you-" Daniel quickly checked to make sure no one was around to overhear them before turning back to Max. Quiet as ever (which was all the more infuriating to the Dutchman) he said, "You couldn't even admit you were gay. You always found some other way to formulate it..."

"What does that have to do with anything? Who cares how I say that I- It doesn't matter!" Max said, but the fact that he didn't use the word 'gay' only seemed to confirm things for Daniel, who took a step back.

The small smile on the Aussie's lips felt mocking, making Max's anger turn to a dull, aching pressure on his lungs. It wouldn't disappear, even when he took a deep breath, waiting for Daniel to make some more observations... which he did.

"I know it's not your fault, Max. That things didn't work out between us." For a brief moment it looked like Daniel wanted to take his hand, but then decided against it when he noticed how rigid Max was standing there. As if he would run if he moved toward him now. He sighed, "But it wasn't mine either."

It was as if Max had been punched. Not just in one place either, no. His heart hurt as it cramped up, his lungs suddenly burning as if he couldn't fill them with air again and his guts twisted painfully. His hands balled into fist as it was the only thing he could do as he stared at Danny, eyes wide.

It had been a long time since the Aussie had seen his ex-boyfriend look so vulnerable, but he knew they weren't in a place where it was his right to comfort him. Especially not when he was the cause of Max looking at him through those glassy blue eyes he'd once adored.

But Max had to know these things. In his opinion at least.

With a last empathetic smile he said, "Enjoy tonight. But please think about these things before... yeah."

So he turned around and walked off, leaving Max to stare after him, mind more scattered than it already had been...