Sweaters & Cigarettes (50 page)

"I know," he says.
"You still love me?"

"Of course, I do."

"Good," Max says. "Then that's all that
matters."

Chapter 31

Photo

Theo wakes up to the light touch of fingertips again
his back.

It tickles a little, but it still
feels nice, and it still makes him sigh contentedly, as he lies on his stomach,
hugging the pillow. He doesn't open his eyes. Instead, he keeps them closed, so
as to fully appreciate the way that touch feels, and when he hums a little, he
can practically sense Max reacting, noticing that he's awake.

Max's fingertips trail down along
his back, before the warm palm of his hand starts smoothing over Theo's skin,
and Theo sighs again, as he then feels the distinct touch of lips against the
back of his neck. It's soft and warm, with only hint of that hard metal
piercing, and Theo grips the pillow just a little bit tighter, as he feels
those kisses move downward, slowly, trailing down along his spine.

"What are you doing?" he
murmurs, his voice cracked and slightly slurred, with sleep, and Max doesn't
seem surprised to hear it.

"Worshipping," Max says. The
one word is tender and soft, completely sincere, and Theo smiles, keeping his
eyes closed, as Max continues to move down along his back, pressing his lips
against Theo's skin in one kiss after another, until he reaches the middle.

"I was kinda watching you
sleep," he murmurs, slowly kissing even further down along Theo's spine.
"Although, that probably just sounds creepy."

Theo smiles, opening his eyes and
seeing the blurry outlines of white sheets, illuminated by sunlight.

"Not creepy," he says,
and just as Max reaches the base of his spine, Theo makes a move to turn over,
rolling over to lie on his back, and he looks up at his boyfriend. Max is lying
on his side, propped up with his elbow against the pillows, his face leaning
into the palm of his hand.

"Great," Max says.
"Then I don't have to be ashamed of all those pictures I took from the
tree, outside your window."

Theo frowns.

"I don't have a tree outside
my window," he says, and Max frowns even deeper, in thought.

"Well, fuck," he says.
"Then who was I taking pictures of?"

Theo narrows his eyes at him.

"If you don't remember,"
he says, "he can't have been that impressive."

Max cocks his head.

"True," he says, before
falling silent and letting out a small breath. He just looks at Theo for a
moment then, his eyes softening, like they tend to do, where Theo is concerned.
And just like always, Theo can feel that familiar flutter in his stomach, the
one that makes him want to pinch himself, like this entire feeling and
situation is just too good to be real.

Max squints a little, like he just
had a thought, and Theo frowns, as Max turns around and leans toward the small
bedside table to get something.

"What are you doing?"
Theo asks, but Max ignores him, falling back onto the bed, his phone now in his
hands. He activates the screen and navigates through a couple of apps, before
propping himself up on his elbow again, phone in his hand. And before Theo
knows it, he has snapped a picture, by the sound of it, and Theo blinks.

"What?" he says dumbly,
and Max looks at the phone, examining the picture he just took.

"You look kinda perfect, right
now," he says. "I wanted to save it."

Theo frowns, but still feels his
heart do a little backflip at those words.

"I just woke up," he
says, and Max hums in agreement.

"Exactly," he says, and a
second later, he has taken another picture, catching Theo unawares.

"Hey," Theo protests
weakly, gesturing at the phone in Max's hand, as though it's a fly he's trying
to swat away. "I just woke up."

"And that's the best
part," Max says, taking another picture, before expertly yanking the phone
out of Theo's reach. "You look all sleepy and adorable. I need these
pictures."

"No, you don't," Theo
says doubtfully, once again attempting to take the phone, but Max rolls over
onto his back, keeping it in his hands and going through the photos.

"Yes, I do," he says,
eyes on the screen. "I need them for science."

Theo narrows his eyes at him,
before striking fast, and managing to snatch the phone from his hands. Max
turns to him indignantly.

"Hey," he says, trying to
get the phone back, but Theo uses one hand to push him away, while he gets up
into sitting position.

"No," he says, accessing
the phone's camera, while managing to swat away Max's hands. "It's for
science."

Max reaches for it again, but Theo
evades his attempts, and ends up sitting on top of him, straddling his hips.

"Give it back," Max says,
but Theo ignores him, using his new vantage point to snap a picture of a rather
sleepy and annoyed-looking Max, lying underneath him. And Max groans, reaching
for the phone, but Theo holds up his hand, keeping it out of range.

"For science," he
repeats, but Max tries again, and Theo looks at him pointedly. "
Science,
Max!"

Max seems to give up, then, and he
lets his hands flop down onto the mattress, on either side of him. And Theo
slowly lowers the phone, snapping another picture, one which makes Max look
like he hates everything.

"Aw, look at that," Theo
says affectionately, turning the screen toward Max, so that he can see the
picture. "It's your murder-look."

Max narrows his eyes at him, the
black eyeliner from last night still there, albeit just slightly smudged.

"You really shouldn't be so
happy to be on the receiving end of that," he points out, but Theo ignores
him, taking another picture. This time, Max looks more relaxed, and by the next
picture, he looks downright content. It makes Theo smile a little.

"Alright," Max says,
reaching for the phone again, which Theo once again holds out of reach, over
his head. This time, though, Max actually sits up, wrapping one tattooed arm
around Theo's waist, while using the other to reach for his phone. He groans
pathetically.

"You're being mean," he
says in mock hurt, and Theo smirks a little.

"And you're whining," he
says, raising his eyebrows. "You know who whines? Babies."

Max frowns at him.

"Wow," he says dryly.
"Great comeback."

"I have my moments," Theo
says, looking back up at the phone he's holding above his head, scrolling
through the pictures he just took. Then Max uses his free hand to cup his face,
though, and he pulls it down toward his own, pressing their lips together in a
kiss. And almost immediately, Theo closes his eyes and kisses him back,
relaxing into it, melting against that warm body, while Max moves both hands
down to his back. His touch is slow and urgent and tender at the same time,
against Theo's skin, and Theo tilts his head to kiss him deeper, letting out a
soft, contented moan.

Then he can't help himself; he
lowers the phone, moves it to the side, and snaps a picture. And Max slowly
pulls away, just enough to look up at him.

"Did you just selfie us?"
he says dryly, but Theo is unfazed, smiling teasingly as he brings up the
picture and looks at it.

"Couldn't resist," he
says, and as he looks at the photo he just took, he feels a little warm inside.
It was mostly meant to be sort of a joke, but... The photo is actually really
good. Max's eyes are closed, and his entire expression just looks completely
blissful and soft, mirroring Theo's, as they kiss, as though kissing each other
is the best, most perfect thing in the world. It makes Theo smile a little.

They look happy. Completely and
utterly happy.

"Can you send me this?"
Theo says, his voice just above a murmur, and Max frowns a little.

"Sure," he says, before gently
taking the phone from Theo's hands and looking at it. And Theo watches his
expression soften, as those blue eyes watch the photo, taking it in.

"Oh yeah," Max says,
falling down onto his back, phone in his hands. "That's my new
background."

Theo frowns in disbelief.

"Really?" he asks,
honestly a little surprised, since Max generally isn't the type to engage in
such sappy, relationship-y activities.

"Yeah," Max says fiddling
with the settings on his phone, apparently implementing his plan. "Curse
you."

Theo smiles a little then, and
leans down to rest his elbows on either side of Max's head, as his boyfriend
tosses his phone aside. Theo absently lets his fingers run through Max's black,
messy bedhead, while those dark blue eyes just look at him, Max's hands moving
up to settle against the small of Theo's back. He sighs.

"You've ruined me," Max
says, but Theo just kisses him, softly.

"You're fine," he murmurs
against his mouth, Max's hands smoothing over the bare skin of his back.
"And I'm really glad you're staying, by the way."

Max hums against his lips, clearly
remembering the conversation they had last night, about Max not moving away,
about him actually remaining here, with Theo.

"Me, too," he agrees.
"Just having a little trouble relaxing about it, just yet."

Theo pulls back a little.

"Good stuff happens, you
know," he says, tilting his head, and Max raises his eyebrows doubtfully.

"You're saying, have
faith?" he asks, and Theo nods.

"Yeah," he confirms.
"Faith. And if nothing else, if this does blow up in our faces, we can at
least enjoy it, until it does."

Max seems to consider that, before
he seems to accept it, and he nods, pulling Theo closer again, to kiss him on
the mouth.

 "I can roll with
that."

Their stay at the motel isn't very long, this time
around. After lazily lying around for a bit, and taking a long, hot shower
together (hot due to other reasons, as well as the actual temperature), Max and
Theo start making their way home. They luckily don't spot the couple from the
other room, on their way out, and after handing in the keycard at the front
desk, they leave the motel.

They part ways eventually, Max
heading home to his house, while Theo goes in the other direction, although it
takes quite a while before they actually manage to pull away from each other.
As Theo reaches the front door of his house, he misses Max, already.

Neither Theo's mother, nor Riley,
seem the least bit surprised at seeing him come home like this, in the middle
of the day. He didn't even text them last night, to let them know he was
staying out, but they seem to have counted on that he wasn't coming home, then,
anyway. At least, judging from the way Riley looks at him pointedly, as Theo
makes his way into the kitchen; he looks brotherly teasing, and a little
grossed-out, all at once.

"Finally home, huh?" Amy
asks, looking at her oldest son, as she sits at the kitchen table, a cup of tea
in her hands. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah," Theo says,
sitting down at the end of the table, exhaling heavily, as he does. He didn't
really notice it before, but as soon as he got outside and into the sunlight, a
throbbing hangover started creeping up on him, leaving him heavy-headed and
tired, and he rubs his eyes.

"I'll bet," Riley says,
and Theo looks up at him. Riley is making a sandwich, and he eyes Theo up and
down pointedly. Theo glances at his outfit. He's wearing the exact same clothes
as last night, although without the tie, which he opted for bundling up in his
pocket, rather than wearing, on the walk home. But he gets Riley's point; it's
the fact that he is
wearing the same clothes as last night, that's the
point.

Theo glares at his brother, who
simply smiles wickedly and looks away, resuming his sandwich-making.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good
time," Amy says sympathetically, with a small smile, and Theo looks at
her. "You deserve to have some fun."

Theo smiles tiredly, before
remembering something.

"Hey, by the way," he
says, straightening a little in his seat, instantly more alert. "I've got
to tell you something."

He proceeds to tell his mother and
Riley what Max told him, about Max finding a place to stay until graduation,
meaning that he won't have to move, after all, even though his parents still
will. Riley is happier about the news than Theo somehow expected, and Amy looks
a little surprised, but pleased.

"Well, that's nice of
him," she says, about Gavin offering to take Max in. "And he's right,
too. I hate to say it, but moving, and changing schools, when your son is so close
to graduating... It seems a little irresponsible, to me."

She gives Theo a pointed look, and
Theo suspects that she has been dying to say that about Max's parents'
decision, ever since she first heard about it, but has kept her mouth shut. And
he can't blame her; she hasn't even met Max's parents, and judging other
parents' actions concerning their kids is something that she generally tries to
stay out of.