More Than Words(Maxian)

Part 1

A/N: Hello, everyone. This is another story I've been developing. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think! :)

"Not in Love" by Crystal Castles

I saw your picture hangin' on the back of my door

Won't give you my heart

No one lives there anymore

And we were lovers

Now we can't be friends

Fascination ends

Here we go again

Cause it's cold outside, when you coming home

Cause it's hot inside, isn't that enough

I'm not in love

Max walked into his house and dropped his messenger's bag on the couch. There was music playing lowly, Cyndi Lauper, he thought, but wasn't completely certain. The house smelled like a warm apple pie, a hint of lavender-scented floor cleaner lingering. He heard a soft tap come from the kitchen and started in that direction, subtle excitement and sudden happiness blooming from within him as he anticipated seeing the one he had been missing all day.

When Ian detected the other's presence, he looked up from the table he was setting and smiled widely. "Max! Hi, sugarplum," he greeted, his arms open as Max walked into them. Ian closed his eyes as he embraced his lover, breathing in his unique scent.

"Hey, baby," Max said lowly as they parted. "You didn't go out today?"

Ian pouted. "No! It rained. Did you not want to see me?"

"Of course I did. I was just wondering..."

"Well, I'd much rather stay home and cook for you. I thought you'd be happy to come home to something warm to eat."

"You didn't have to, baby, but you're right. It does feel lovely."

Ian's smile returned at Max's gratitude, but faded away and was replaced with a frown at his boyfriend's next statement.

"Like we're a real couple."

"W...what do you mean? We are a real couple, aren't we?" His pitch was higher than usual when he asked, confused by Max's words.

"Well...baby..." Max regretted saying it, not really wanting to have "that" talk right that second. A different song came on, a song Max knew well.

"Saying I love you is not the words I want to hear from you..."

He smiled and decided it would be pretty easy to change the subject using the song; he could keep Ian's worry at bay for the moment at least.

"You know what I've always thought of this song, Ian? I've always wondered, what would I say to the person loved if I couldn't use the generic phrase I've been using my whole life? What would I do to let them know that I love them...without saying that I love them? Of course, that's what the whole song is encouraging, but...I think I know now."

Ian still looked a bit confused, but listened carefully nonetheless.

He, although still slightly confused about his own feelings, traced Ian's collarbone with his middle and index finger, looking into his eyes before elaborating. "It's an understood thing. Neither party has to ever utter those words. They know...unless they're dumb as a box of rocks, they know. It's in the way that they talk to each other and it's in the way they touch each other. It's the way they see each other and how they think of one another. It's who they can't stand to see feeling bad and who they'll be up all night with or constantly dreaming of...that they know for sure they love.

"If they don't look in the mirror and see themselves as an extension of the other, they feel linked together like long, steel chains. So..." He ruffled Ian's hair, his hot breath tickling the other's skin. "...when I get up in the morning, I wonder where Ian is. And when Ian wakes up, he wonders where I am..." His voice dropped down to a whisper and his mouth went to Ian's ear. "...because that's just what we do because that's just what we feel for each other...love."

He moved a couple of inches away and asked, his voice back to it's usual tone and volume, "What did you make for dinner?"