Persephone
I wake up to the sweet, warm smell of sugar. It pushes my eyes open, and as it fills my nostrils, I sigh softly, a smile spreading across my lips.
"Ahh!!"
Now I'm sitting up. And speed walking towards my kitchen. Because I'm afraid, very afraid, that Max is attempting to burn down my apartment.
I cross from my bedroom to the kitchen, and stifle a laugh as I see Max flapping a tea towel from underneath the smoke detector. He looks up at the sound of my footsteps, smiling sheepishly whilst continuing to flap the towel in the air. Shaking my head softly, I cross to the stove, and grab the spatula sitting beside it. I flip the slightly-burnt pancake before it can fully set the house on fire, turning stove down ever so slightly as I do so. I'll give Max credit for his cooking, but his baking... I think we've decided that baking will be my job. I place the spatula back on the benchtop, a smile pulling on my lips when a pair of warm hands snake around my waist. I let Max kiss the side of my neck, my eyes falling closed ever so slightly at the warmth.
"Why are you trying to destroy my kitchen?" I turn my neck to face Max, taking in his doubtful expression.
"It wasn't intentional." Max replies, his thumbs snaking under my tank top to rest against my hipbones.
"I'm sure it wasn't." My hands glide up his body, and rest against his cheeks. Steeping onto my toes slightly, I reach until our lips collide, and smiles overtake our kiss. Max's grip on my waist tightens, as he pulls me closer to his body. I feel myself becoming lost in this kiss, his hold on me, but it all goes away too soon. Max pulls away, and positions my body so that is faces back to my bedroom.
"Go back to bed." he whispers into my ear, an action that causes a shiver to work its way down my spine. "I'll bring you breakfast in a minute." His hand moves to rest on the small of my back, which pushes me lightly in the direction of my bedroom. I take a few steps before turning back to face him.
"Just so you know, flip the pancakes over when you see bubbles on the surface." I flash Max a smile, before turning on my heels and walking back to my room, my hips swaying sarcastically.
I shake my head as I enter my room, and get back into bed. I can't believe Max is making me breakfast for Valentine's day. Before this year, I'd never so much as received flowers or chocolates from a boy, and now, I'm being served breakfast in bed by the man I love. I can't believe how lucky I am, and yet I can't shake the feeling that this is too good to be true, too perfect. I used to think that relationships like this didn't exist outside of movies, and even movie relationships weren't like this. What Max and I have is raw and real and full of heart. Our love is built around the fusing together of our hearts. Our love is fabricated throughout moments of soul and fear and overwhelming joy. Our love feels greater than anything the Disney movies could ever craft. Our love keeps me up at night thinking, with a warm buzz in my heart and the ticking of my mind. And that's what makes it so special.
The soft padding of feet draws my attention, and I prop the pillows up behind my body as Max enters the room. He's carrying a large tray, laden with mugs of tea and stacks of pancakes and small little bowls of ice-cream with toppings of fruit. I clap my hands together as Max lays the tray on the top of the bed, and grasp his face for a quick peck. He smiles as he gets into bed beside me, before offering me the pancakes. I take a few, and dollop them with ice-cream before crossing my legs, and settling down to eat. I groan as I take a bite of my breakfast. For a guy who almost burnt down my kitchen, Max can whip up a nice breakfast. I take another bite before I congratulate him, with my words instantly bringing a flush to his cheeks.
"Really, it's nothing. I'm not that great of a baker." I laugh at Max's response, leaning across to kiss his cheek. Max takes a bite of his own food, smiling in response. "Actually, this isn't that bad. I'll try not to set the apartment alight next time."
"Well, that would be nice, since otherwise I wouldn't have a place to stay anymore."
"You could always just stay with me." I shake my head, stifling a laugh.
"You wish."
"Oh, I do wish." I laugh out loud this time, hanging my head back.
"You are such a flirt!" I reach across, smacking Max lightly on the arm.
"What can I say, you bring the worst out of me." I throw my head back in a laugh, warmth flooding my chest. Max's soft laugh rings in my ears as I return to my breakfast, taking another bite of the fluffy pancakes.
"I was thinking after this," Max continues, chewing for a few seconds before continuing. "We could go down to the florists. I don't know which flowers are your favourites, but I'd like to. Know, that is."
My heart almost just melted. Nope. Actually, I think it did just melt.
Max's cheeks flush a warm orange glow, a sheepish smile giving him away. I put down my fork before reaching across the small gap between us to lay my hand against his flushed cheek. My thumb rubs small circles across the skin of Max's cheek as I lean forward, pecking his lips. Before I can fully pull away, Max grasps the side of my head, holding me in place as he pushes his lips to mine forcefully. The impact shocks me for a moment before I soften into the kiss, my lips twisting into a smile. After a few moments, Max pulls away slightly, twisting his body to face the bedside cabinet. I begin to ask what he's doing but he turns back to face me, holding a card and small box. I shake my head silently, unable to hide the grin that beckons. Before I can speak, Max hands me the items, allowing his fingers to brush over mine.
"Please don't open the letter right now. I don't want you to read it while I just... awkwardly sit here with a pit in my stomach. But I... I want you to know how much you mean to me. And I feel like I can never truly express it, like... I never have the words. My brain feels like mush and I can't string a sentence together, but I want you to know you are loved, loved very, very strongly, by me." Max grips my hand tighter now, as I feel the faintest of tears prick at my eyes. "So I wrote it all down. Unfortunately, it's only slightly more coherent than when I try to speak. But... I still want you to know everything, like you're reading directly into my heart."
I really am crying now. Fat, happy tears streak down my cheeks as I grip Max's hand, pulling him to me. Through our kiss, I tell Max I love him. I tell him time and time again as I grip him, hold him tighter. He hugs me close to his body when our kiss breaks, my chest heaving with tightness, both from the kiss and Max's words. When we were just friends, I viewed Max as someone with their heart locked up tightly, someone who was afraid of being vulnerable and telling people how he felt. And for him to write me a letter, a letter written from the heart that tells more than he ever could feels special. Something not to be overlooked.
"You mean everything to me." I whisper, holding his face in my hands. Max shoots me a tight-lipped smile, before nodding towards the box sitting in my lap.
"Open up the box. I want to make sure you love it." I sniff back tears, picking up the box. I untie its dainty ribbon and pull apart the tissue paper, gasping at the uncovered box.
"Oh my god, if you bought me some fancy jewellery that I could never justify buying for myself, I will kill you." I send Max a pointed look of shock, his lips twisted in a self-assured grin.
"Fine. Grab a knife, if you must."
I scoff, my eyes once more returning to the box. Tentatively, I pull the lid of the box open, gasping at the sight of its contents.
It's a dainty, teardrop necklace, cut in a gleaming diamond. God, this probably costs a small fortune. I continue to stare at it, for what feels like an eternity. It must be closing in on that timeline, as after a few more moments of shock, Max picks up the necklace, placing its cool surface on the base of my neck. He pulls my hair to the side softly before doing up the clasp, allowing the necklace to float around my neck. My eyes drop to it, smiling as it glistens in the sunlight.
"I... I love it." I begin, turning to Max. "But... I can't accept this, it looks really expensive and-"
"Love, what is money for, if not to be spent on those you love." Max cuts me off, his eyebrows curved softly. His hands move to rest at my lower back, rubbing small circles underneath my tank top. I bite back another round of tears, smiling instead. I rest my forearms against his broad, large shoulders, smiling endearingly.
"So what can I do for you? You deserve a valentine's day gift too." I ask softly, our lips only inches apart.
"Well, you could drive me to the florist. I know how much you love driving. And I wouldn't mind being chauffeured." Max bites back a grin as I laugh softly. "But right now, you could kiss me like you love me."
"I'm going to kiss you like no one else has kissed anyone else before."
"That didn't make any sense."
"Shut up." I press my mouth to Max's, shutting off his voice. My hands thread behind his head, needing him to be closer to me. His hands grip my hips tighter, and his weight shifts until he's pressing me into the mattress. I let myself be moved, arching into his touch. Max's hands skim the skin of my hips as mine travel down his back. Max's lips remove from my mouth and to my neck, where they leave a trail of small, warm kisses. I throw my head back in a loud laugh as his lips meet my collarbone, tracing over the spot where my necklace lies.
"Ticklish!!" I gasp, shifting to get away. Max only laughs, continuing to pepper kisses across the exposed part of my chest. Eventually, I overpower him, throwing him back onto his own pillow. I sit back up, my eyes falling back on our abandoned breakfast.
"You distracted me from breakfast with presents and your mouth you filthy beast!!" I smack Max's shoulder softly, popping a strawberry into my mouth. Max grunts comically, pushing himself up to steal another of the strawberries.
We finish our breakfast quickly, and get dressed just about as fast. Already, Max has a drawer for his clothes, just like I have one at his place. It scares me sometimes, how fast everything seems. This is my first relationship, and yet I can't wait to do everything with him. I know, somewhere in my heart, that my soul yearns for Max, yearns for him to be in my life forever. As I grab my shoes, I spy Max's letter, still sitting in its envelope on the bedspread. I tuck it underneath a pile of books on my nightstand. That way, I won't loose it, and I can read it right before I go to sleep tonight.
"Alright, back to our mission." Max's voice causes me to turn towards the doorway, where he stands holding my purse. "What are your favourite flowers?" I walk across to him, pondering the question. I love so many flowers, so many colours, so many smells. But, everyone has a favourite.
"Tulips." I reply, smiling at him as I take my bag. "I love them at spring. All different colours, so bright, so beautiful."
"Then tulips you will receive. A bunch of every colour."
"A bunch of every colour? Don't you think that sounds a bit like overkill?" I joke, taking Max's hand as I grab my keys off of its hook, beginning to lead us out of the door.
"Not for you." A ringing from my purse cuts off my laugh. I dig around in my bag until I see my phone, pulling it out.
"Oh... sorry, this is my mom. I should probably take it." Max squeezes my hand tighter as he pulls my apartment door closed. I swipe to accept the call, bracing myself for whatever my mom is about to say.
"Hey mom, sorry, I don't have much time to talk-"
"Honey. You need to come down here. Your father's just died."
A/n:
hey girlies!!!
hope you enjoyed this chapter! i loved writing it, everything just seemed so fun and light-hearted. well, until the last bit, but whatever lmao
sorry for kind of random posting. i don't know when i'll be able to post again, as next week i'm having knee surgery (fuck sports, fr), so i don't know if i'll be well enough to update on the weekend. and then after that i have some exams coming up, so updates may be kind of off for a while. sorry in advance for the chaos
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!
em, xx
(p.s. if you haven't listened to 'bewitched' by laufey, DO!!!! i love this album and laufey and i loved listening to 'while you were sleeping' from that album whilst writing this. i feel like the song really encompasses Pers and Max's relationship. ANYWAY, ENJOY!!!! <33333)