Authors Note: You know when you're in the hospital for any amount of time? It just gets boring, even if you're only in there for a few hours. And then there's that anxious feeling you get when you need to walk around or get away for at least a little while...that's kind of what Charlie gets to go through. Thank you and enjoy!
-Saturn
The first week went by tauntingly slow. Charlie tried to start moving out of bed each day, but was only met with pain. Max's parents visited him to make sure he was okay. It was nice, but he still felt really guilty for taking so much of their time and money. There just had to be some way he could repay them.
Max visited him the most. He still couldn't believe that he had let the handsome red-head convince him to stay. But when he had leaned in so close to him, nothing in his brain seemed to work. His eye's hypnotized him.
Every day he would watch Max put the $200 in his wallet on the counter. He told him that he didn't have to every day, but the burly man insisted.
Stubborn seemed to be a trait of his that Charlie seemed to have to battle with the most. But, if there was anything Charlie learned from working in customer service his whole life, it was how to deal with stubborn people.
When Max would give him the money, he would find ways to slip it back in with Max's things. It was funny to watch the man figure it out, even though he seemed pretty angry about it. Soon it was turned into a fun game between them. Max seemed to be surprised every time he found it in a new place. He had started to check his pockets right before leaving every day.
They wound up talking a lot. It was nice to talk to him, honestly. They had a bunch of common interests. Both of them loved nature and the forest that was around here. That was actually when he found out that the house was in the middle of the woods. He didn't know that there was a mansion in the middle of the forest. If he did, he might have spent a day just walking around trying to find it. The forest always had plenty of secrets that Charlie just loved to find.
"It's pretty far in the forest," Max said. "I don't think you would have been able to find it just by hiking."
"That's true," he laughed nervously. He probably shouldn't have said that. It seemed a little too much like invasion of privacy. "I'm sorry, you guys probably wouldn't like the idea of someone randomly coming here anyway."
"I wouldn't mind you coming over," Max said. His voice was lower when he answered him. It was a tone that Charlie wasn't used to being used towards him.
"It seems like it would be rude," he tried not to stutter his response. Something about the man just seemed to have that sort of affect on him.
"You think everything is rude or your fault," Max shook his head and smiled. "I meant that you would probably get lost trying to find this place and get hurt."
"I'm not really one to get lost in the forest," he smiled with him. The only time he did was recently when he found those wolves. But that was because he didn't have anything to use as markers so that he could find his way back. He wasn't planning on going that far that day.
Max gave him a knowing look and rolled his eyes playfully.
"Sure," was all he said. Charlie would have argued with him, but he liked the way that Max looked when he was teasing.
This man was the first who had ever been able to take his heart so quickly and lock it up so well. There was no doubt in his mind that he liked the burly man. But Charlie was new to this game of love. He was only 19 and had never found anyone who he had ever really wanted to be serious with. He typically just focused on school and work. And, now that school was over, work encompassed his life.
What did Max want with him? Did he just want something physical? Did he want something serious? Charlie wasn't sure whether he was ready for either of those things. He had always thought that he would go looking for love when he had more time and wasn't struggling as much. He had to learn the hard way that he needed to take care of himself first before all others.
"Will you quit putting this in my pocket?" Max snapped him out of his thoughts. He held up the money that Charlie was supposed to be getting. Charlie laughed internally. Max looked cute when he was annoyed.
"You really don't have to give me that much," he said. "I just need enough to pay for rent."
"How on earth you are able to get it back into my pocket without me noticing is baffling," Max said. He put it in Charlie's wallet again. "And I told you how much I would pay you. So, I will pay you that much no matter how many times you try and give it back."
"I'm sorry," he said. Max looked honestly angry at this point. He just wanted to see him a little frustrated. It was cute, if he dared to think about it.
"Please," he put a hand to his temple, "Please stop saying you're sorry."
"Sor-"
Max had gotten close to him only that one day when he had convinced him to stay. This was the only other time he had gotten as close to him. Only this time, the doctor wasn't here, and Max didn't seem like he was controlling himself as well as he had then. His hands cupped Charlie's face, igniting blissful warmth through his cheeks.
"Stop," he said. His thumb lightly brushed against his cheeks.
A part of him wanted to say it again, just to see what Max's reaction would be. They were so close at that moment that they could easily kiss. Maybe that's what Max would do if he said that right now. Maybe Charlie should kiss him.
No. That was not a good idea.
No matter how tempting his lips were. Or the look he had in his eyes.
When Charlie could finally get up and walk around without being in too much pain, Dr. Button had to make him promise that he wouldn't try to leave. It was so nice that they cared so much about him. Even if it felt like it was a little too much sometimes. At least he could enjoy his thoughts and good conversations with the man that he was starting to get more obsessed with by the minute.
With all the relaxing that he was enjoying, Charlie still wound up restless at some times. He had started to clean the room a bit with some of the cleaning supplies he had found. Max had decided to give him a tour of the house. The place was absolutely beautiful. It was a mansion. Charlie only saw the first floor of it, and not that much of it at that, but he was already awe-struck by it. Everything was made with dark wood. It was strong and slick, with some accents of color depending on the room. Charlie's favorite was the library. Books covered the tall walls, with very little space for much else. The parts of the walls that weren't covered with shelves had some beautiful artwork.
"These were painted by my ancestors a long time ago," Max explained.
"They did it themselves?" Charlie couldn't help but be amazed by all of this. There was so much history in this house that he just loved to learn about. "That's wonderful."
"Some of them weren't the best of people," Max sighed as they walked by one painting of a wolf with blood around its muzzle, "But we keep these here to remember them, whether for good or bad."
"You'll have to tell me about them sometime," Charlie said. It didn't seem like Max wanted to get into the history of his family at that moment, so he let it go in hopes of learning about it another time. Max nodded his head, lost in some thought that looked as though it was worrying him.
Charlie would have stayed in that library all day if Max hadn't been so adamant about getting him back to his room so he could eat on time. That was the one thing that everyone was so keen to remind him of. Charlie still felt guilty that he worried them so much.
Max had let him borrow some books from the library. Most were supernatural themed. Charlie wasn't exactly well read on the supernatural, but they piqued his interest nonetheless.
The only issue was that now he was hooked on them and had read the few that he had borrowed within a day. He had always been a fast reader, and he loved to learn about any information he could. If he had more time when he wasn't working, he would be living in the public library, eating up all of the books that they had.
He hadn't completely healed from the bruises that littered his skin, and his ribs were still hurting him, especially without the pain medication that Dr. Button was insistent on giving him. But he was still antsy and ready to do something other than be locked up in this room all day. If he was going to get paid by Max for staying here, then he might as well do something around the house to help. Even if it was just dusting or something, it would be nice to be up and doing something again.
"Do you think I could go to the kitchen?" Charlie asked Max one day. They usually had lunch together. Most days Max would let him walk around, or they would talk for a few hours. But some days Max would have to leave immediately after lunch. Those were lonely days for him.
"Why?" the redhead furrowed his bushy eyebrows. "Do you want more food? Because I could just ask someone to bring you more." They had been keeping him on a strict schedule for food. It was what the doctor called a 'High Protein Meal Plan' where he would get all of these amazing meals that he had to try and eat all of. Most days, Charlie wouldn't be able to finish most of the meals he was given. He felt so bad for not being able to finish it. But when he tried to finish it the first time, he had thrown up. And he didn't want that again. Dr. Button had given him a talk about only eating until he was full and leaving it at that.
"Your stomach isn't big enough to hold all of this food yet," he explained. "So, when you're full, stop eating. Don't worry about wasting food or anything of the sort. It'll all get taken care of."
After that the doctor had made sure to always try and be there during his meals. If Max wasn't there eating with him, then Dr. Button would sit down with him. He felt bad for taking up the doctor's time. But Dr. Button tried to assure him that it wasn't a big deal. He was an interesting person to talk to. Once Charlie had gotten him talking about medicine, he would go off on one tangent after the next.
"You probably think I'm just talking in gibberish at this point," he said after a while.
"Not at all!" Charlie told him. "I love learning about new things. And there's always something new to learn about medicine."
They had gotten along pretty easily. He acted like a father figure towards him. It reminded him of Max's dad. He always acted like a concerned father around him. There was an air to him that screamed authority, yet he always talked so gently to Charlie. He loved to tease Max when they were in the room together. It was always fun to watch. Max looked cute when he was embarrassed. His mom even threatened to bring baby pictures of Max when he had said something about cutting her hair.
Max's family was everything Charlie had ever dreamed to have.
At the end of the week they had found out that Charlie had gained only two pounds. But Dr. Button said that it was still a good thing, as it meant that he was still gaining weight while his body was trying to heal from all the bruises. That and Charlie had a fast metabolism, which meant that gaining weight was going to be a little more difficult.
"I'd like to thank the person cooking my food," Charlie answered Max. He really wanted to see what the kitchen looked like. It was probably huge and beautiful. He always wanted to have a big kitchen. He was decent when it came to cooking meals, but his favorite thing to do was bake.
Max thankfully obliged and walked him down a long hallway right by the dining room. He was glad that he didn't have other business to attend right after they ate. It would have been extremely boring if he had to stay in that room for the rest of the day. There was just nothing that could entertain his mind while he laid in bed. Other than Max, of course.
Charlie quickly slipped some cash back into Max's pocket when he wasn't paying attention. He couldn't help but laugh to himself. The bulky man acted cute, even when he was mad. He was getting more aware of him hiding the cash recently. But Charlie still seemed to find the perfect time he wasn't paying attention to slip it in a pocket. It would be funny if he could get it into his shirt pocket one of these days.
Or maybe in his pants.
Charlie shook that thought out of his head. He had to stop thinking like this.
The kitchen was nothing like Charlie had ever seen before. It was a humungous, industrial style kitchen with stainless steel appliances everywhere. The walls were white tile, looking as though they never had a speck of dirt on them in their entire lives.
Ryan would fall in love with it.
The head chef looked busy cooking a big meal. Charlie could tell who the head was because he was ordering everyone around. The voice boomed over all the other noises in the kitchen. It wasn't to mean he was mad, that's just what happens in kitchens when things needed to get done. Sometimes you needed to shout. It brought back good memories. The kitchen was always a good place for him. He always felt comfortable there.
But as soon as they came in, the chef seemed to notice them without even glancing in their direction. He handed the ladle over to another chef and walked over to them. Charlie was surprised he noticed them coming in with how busy the place was.
"So, you're the one Dr. Button is obsessed with!" the chef put out his hand to shake. He was burly with short black hair and a medium frame. He seemed to have a twinkle in his eyes as he smiled at them both.
"You must be the Head Chef," Charlie smiled at him. It was always nice to meet someone new.
"Well, well, well," the chef straightened his apron. He looked at them with a playful yet shocked expression. "It's not every day that someone walks in here and immediately knows who the Head Chef is!" He put out his hand and smiled. "Chef Aldi, at your service."
"Charlie," he shook his hand. "And it's not that hard to spot the Head Chef. They're always making the main course, or yelling at someone for doing something wrong."
The man gave a hearty laugh at that. "I have never heard a statement as true as that in my life. You must have worked in a kitchen before."
They wound up talking for a while. Charlie didn't know everything about being a chef, but he had learned quite a lot by picking up the slack from other workers at the restaurant. Every time someone called out, he was usually the one doing their job while the customers were barely coming in. He'd always stay after his shift was done as well just to make sure that everything had gotten finished. Usually it was just a lot of cleaning.
As much as he enjoyed being able to relax for once, Charlie missed the fast pace of the restaurant. It always made him feel a rush whenever he was able to multitask well. The new workers would always be amazed by how quickly he could get things done, or how easily he could stay on top of things. It was the one thing that Charlie allowed himself to feel proud about.
Chef Aldi couldn't talk for long before he had to get back to cooking. But he seemed to light up at the gratitude that Charlie had for his cooking. There was a little more pep in his step. Chef's always loved being complimented on their cooking. It would make their day, sometimes even their whole week.
"You have to stop doing this," Max pulled out the cash again when they walked out of the kitchen. He had a bit of amusement on his face. It seemed that he was catching onto Charlie playing this game with him.
"I told you I didn't need this much money," he told him again. By the end of the week, he already had enough money to pay his rent. It really wasn't that much.
When the landlord wasn't trying to charge him extra fees that weren't ever mentioned before.
"Then you really are working for pennies," Max sighed. He wasn't this open when they first started talking. Charlie liked how relaxed Max seemed to be around him now. It was only a week and they both had already started to open up to each other. Even if they might never work out romantically, Charlie would love to keep him as a friend.
"I'm fine without it, really," he assured him. "You've done so much for me already."
Max wrapped his arm around his waist and pulled him closer to him. He stopped them by this small, secluded spot in the hallway. Charlie was sure it was nice if he could actually pay attention to anything other than the feeling of Max's hand going into his back pocket.
"And I plan on doing so much more for you," he whispered into his ear. "If you'd let me."
Shivers danced up and down Charlie's spine. All of his senses were being held for ransom as they only focused on the man that held him in place at that very moment. It was moments like these that made Charlie question if he really wanted to think about trying to be friends with this man. It was starting to be so easy to fall for him, and he was only getting more irresistible by the second. If he stayed friends with him then it could cause some trouble.
He didn't want to focus on that right now though. All he wanted to focus on was how good it felt to finally be touched by someone like this. He wanted to hold onto his strong arms, and keep them around him for the rest of the day. He wanted to wrap his arms around his neck. He wanted to kiss him and run his hands through his hair.
Charlie shook his head. He couldn't be having these thoughts. There was no way he could start a relationship with Max. They were from such different pasts. And Charlie was sure that Max would want him to be something he's not. That or his parents would demand something from him that he couldn't do. His parents probably wouldn't like the idea of them together.
No. It would be a bad idea. There were way too many complications with it.
"Okay," he said to Max, "I'll take the money." There was a hint of teasing hidden in his voice. He couldn't help it.
"You're still going to do this aren't you?" Max raised an eyebrow. His arm was still wrapped around him, acting like it belonged there.
"It's a fun little game," he made no move to get the arm away. It felt too good to be held like this.
"I still don't know how you do it," Max shook his head.
"Flick of the wrist."
"You'd make a great pick pocketer."
"No, I wouldn't," he shook his head at the thought. He would never do something like that. He hated the idea of taking something that wasn't rightfully yours. But he decided to play along for the conversation's sake. "I'd still have to make an escape, and that's something I'm not too good at doing."
"Good to know," Max held him a little tighter. He had such a gentle hold, even when he pulled him closer. Charlie had no clue how someone who looked as strong as he could be so gentle towards him, but it wasn't helping him keep his decision.
Charlie had always known that he liked men. He easily accepted it when he was 13 and just starting to get the urges. He just never told anyone. After all, the best thing you could do is accept yourself for who you are. No one else needed to know his preference. It's not like he was going to do anything about it. It saved him from a lot of bullying as a child. Some people would have a hunch, but no one ever knew for sure.
He had a few crushes throughout school. There was always one guy that would act nice towards him or just do something that he wouldn't have expected. As a teenager, there were always those urges. Thankfully no one had ever pursued him. He liked the idea of being a mystery romantically to people. That way Charlie could try and be himself or figure out what he wanted with his life. And he wouldn't have to deal with heart break.
He had enough difficulties with life.
But Max was different than all the crushes that Charlie had before. The more he tried to hide his attraction, the more it seemed to show. There was no way that Max was oblivious to it when the man had an arm around his waist like he did. Everything he did, Charlie was falling more and more in love with him.
He got lost in thought about that. It seemed as if time had frozen in that moment and he could just enjoy it for however long he wanted. He looked into those purple eyes, enjoying the bliss he got from being this close to him. No one had ever put their arms around him or pulled him closer. No one had ever been this gentle with him.
Max used his other hand to grab him chin. Slowly, his warm palm was on his cheek, lifting it closer to him. Charlie's heart almost popped out of his chest. But he didn't try to move away. He let the man guide him closer to him.
"Charlie?" Dr. Button's voice came from down the hall. "Are you down there?"
Max released his hold on his face, but the arm around his waist lingered there for a bit longer. Charlie was more than a little embarrassed by this. Hopefully, Dr. Button didn't see anything.
"Yeah," he replied. He moved Max's arm from around him so he could get out of the little nook that Max had hidden them both in. "I'm right here."
"Good," Dr. Button's shoulders came down a little. It wasn't that easy to notice when the doctor was worried or stressed, but Charlie knew all the small tricks. He had used them plenty of times. "Come on, it's time for lunch."
Lunch? Time had moved faster than he ever thought possible. Was he really talking to Chef Aldi for that long? Were him and Max really hidden in that cubby for that long?
Max looked sad that Charlie had moved from his hold. He felt guilty for making him sad, but this was probably for the best. He wasn't in the right position to be in a relationship.
Something about that thought sent a pain through his chest. He would have to save these thoughts for later. Instead, he wanted to make light of the situation he was in.
"Are you hungry?" he asked Max. It was the best way he could think of asking him to join. Dr. Button was nice to talk to, but when him and Max were together it made for a fun conversation.
"I think I'll pass this time," Max said. "There's some things I need to do."
"Oh," Charlie really did make him upset. Maybe he just needed space. Maybe Max was getting cold feet about them.
Max grabbed his face one last time. He lifted his head up to look him in the eyes. His eyes were so beautiful. Charlie could never get enough of them.
"Don't make that face," Max used his thumb to rub his cheek. "Please. I really have to do something. It's not about you, I promise."
"I didn't think it was about me," Charlie shook his head. Of course, it wasn't about him! Max had so many things to do, he probably barely had any time to think about him.
"I'll have dinner with you," Max smiled. "I promise."
"Okay," he hoped he didn't look too happy at those words. It wasn't easy hiding any emotion around Max. He always seemed to be able to look right through him.
Max kissed him on the forehead and then started walking him back to the infirmary room. When they got there, Max said his farewell and left as if nothing happened at all between them.
Charlie couldn't stop feeling tingles all over his forehead.