It was still technically night, though Oscar felt like he could see the sky starting to lighten near the horizon. Max had given him the 'all clear' a while ago, and now he was just sitting on the bed waiting for his mafia prince to return.

The space was lit only by the dim amber glow of one table lamp on the other side of the room and not much else. It smelled lived in, warm, and little musky, the way Max was when they'd first met. Before he'd found out about Marcus.

The punk let himself flop back into the unmade sheets and stared up at the high ceiling of the A-framed room. The only unsettling thing about this place was how quiet it was. He could hear his own breathing...his body's slight shift from its own pulse...and then, the click of the door opening downstairs.

Oscar sat up instantly, watching as a shadow climbed the stairs and Max's tired, but still incontestably handsome, features were uncovered when he reached the top and crossed into the orange glow of the lamp.

"Took your time," Oscar said, unable to hide the smile that seeing Max brought to his face.

Max's return smile was strained from exhaustion as he pulled the knot in his tie loose, and he let his head hang back while he shrugged out of his suit coat. "Yeah... Sorry about all that," the mafia prince mumbled.

Plopping onto the end of the bed, Max stared at his nice leather shoes for a few moments before untying them and slipping them off. Then he climbed on top of Oscar, letting his weight down on him with a sigh as he nuzzled into Oz's neck. He wrapped his arms around his punk as tight as he comfortably could. "I'm glad you're here, Oz."

Oscar's reply didn't come in the form of words, but in a firm embrace that held Max against him. He was glad he was there too. In fact, he just wanted to be anywhere that Max was. As long as they were together things felt right.

Even now, the room was unsettlingly quiet again, but this time, the punk could hear two sets of breathing, and feel Max's chest shifting against his, and that made it all okay. Max made everything better, by just being around, and Oscar wondered if that's how he made Max feel...and if maybe that's what love really was.

"...You don't think I'm a monster for choosing to do this, do you?" Max asked, and even though he was actually talking barely above a whisper, his deep, sleepy tone felt like it reverberated through their chests.

"No..." Oscar whispered back. "No... I think you're perfect..." he murmured so softly that his voice cracked slightly under the weight of his own words.

Max let out another sigh that rumbled into a laugh, like the gentle sound of thunder from a distance. "I'm nowhere near perfect," he replied, repositioning so that their lips could connect. It was a soft, sweet kiss. "I think you're perfect for me, though."

"Perfectly, imperfect..." the punk said with a grin.

"That," Max agreed, beaming through his exhaustion, and kissing Oscar once again before laying his head back down, and holding his punk as close as he could...for a few minutes...until they both got too hot, and had to wiggle away from each other.

Max still had a hold of Oz's hand though, and—fingers laced—fell into a comfortable sleep.

As much as he liked falling asleep next to Max, the punk liked waking up next to him even more... Well, at least it eased his annoyance when Max was shoving him awake for the seventh time.

"C'mon, Oz, it's after twelve."

"Three more minutes..." Oscar mumbled as he turned away.

By now, the bed was barren of any blankets or pillows, which had all been removed in an effort to roust the punk out of bed.

"Yeah—no. You said that an hour ago. Time's up!"

Suddenly, Oscar felt himself being lifted off the bed and began to flail. "Alright!—Shit!—I'm up!"

When they got back to the main house, Oscar noticed that everything looked back in order—well, except for the contractors who were working on the main gate as they pulled in.

The staff had probably worked all morning to make sure that any sign that there had been a party was cleaned up. Now it was nothing more than a memory, and the same could probably be said for the guys that Max's dad was interrogating...

"I'm gonna check in with my parents," Max said, before pausing, and spinning to face Oz. "What time is dinner gonna be?"

"Huh?" Oscar looked confused for just a moment before his expression dropped. "Oh. Six."

That was right. He had to convince his Nan that he was respectable enough to have a real, living, breathing, girl who would agree to be around him on purpose... Yeah... That was going to go well.

"Great," Max chimed. "I mean, I'll definitely find you before that, and we'll hang, but...yeah. Just wanted to know in case something comes up," he added, pressing a few buttons on his watch.

"For sure, for sure," Oscar said dismissively, though he knew that meant Max was going to be gone for a while.

That left the punk with the odd task of telling Elise about their not-date by himself. Which, for as much as they hung out, wasn't too awkward, but still a little awkward, and left him several hours to kill... Not one of which was free from at least one text from his Nan, asking if he was still coming, along with about a hundred other questions.

Was wine okay? What type? Was Max a vegan?

Oscar didn't know.

Why didn't he know? Was anyone allergic to peanuts?

Nothing had peanuts, but one of the cans said that the contents might have been around peanuts, and why she had to explain all this over the phone, was beyond Oscar's comprehension or attention span.

Honestly, Oscar was already mentally exhausted by the time he spied Max's car pulling up the drive.

Even before Oscar had knocked on Nan's door, he could tell she was excited.

She'd put a little potted plant out on the tiny porch to dress it up, and had even swapped out the usual worn, scratchy welcome mat for the one she'd gotten at the Dollar General a few years back, but kept mostly inside so that it would stay nicer longer.

And when she'd opened the door, she looked as happy as ever to see him, or at least she had, until her eyes fell on Elise...

"Oh...and who's this?" she asked, recovering her smile, despite still looking more surprised than her drawn-on brows gave her credit for.

"Elise Gallagher," Elise said, with a friendly smile, as she offered her hand, "Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Whitaker."

Nan shook her hand, but gave Oscar a quick, and suspicious side-eye. "Well, come in, all of you. Uh-Ozzy, go grab the chair from the office," she added on her way to the kitchen. 

A smug smile played on the punk's face as he split off from them for a moment to grab the extra chair to add to the table.

By the time he got back with the chair, Nan had already set an extra table setting for Elise.

"So...you two met...how, exactly?"

She definitely still sounded skeptical, despite Oscar having managed to show up with a real live girl that didn't look at all like a hooker.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? She's Max's little sister." Oscar sounded almost boastful now, and why shouldn't he be?

He was winning.

He could tell by the look in his grandmother's eyes, that she was having a hard time finding the flaw in his lie. That's because there wasn't one. No one had a clue so far. This story was solid.

Or at least...it was until Nan spoke again.

"Didn't he say he gave you that money as an apology for him being rude to you?" Nan asked as she set a casserole dish in the middle of the table. "Being over protective? I was under the impression from that, that you knew her first."

Goddammit, Nan.

The woman couldn't remember the difference between a bat and a moth, but she could remember whatever it was that Max had made up on the fly weeks ago?! Typical.

"He did," Elise said quickly. "I mean, that did happen...I met Oz at a tattoo shop on this side of town."

Nan looked like she was about to fall over. "You were at a tattoo shop in Commerce City?"

"Mhm," Elise nodded confidently. "A close friend wanted a tattoo, but was too nervous to go to one of the ones downtown. It would've gotten back to her parents, who are much more...traditional than ours."

"What's your family?"

"Catholics," Max interjected. "Irish Catholics."

Something seemed to change in Nan's expression then...it softened. "I see...I'm sorry, Dear, go ahead. You were there with your friend?"

"Yes. And Oz happened to say hello, and..." Elise looked at Oz, and gave him a soft, but adoring smile. "That's where it started. Fortunately, he and Max hit it off shortly after! Right?"

"Nan, are you done interrogating everyone so we can eat?" Oscar wondered.

"Yes, yes, Ozzy, I apologize."

Max picked up his fork. "What is this? It smells wonderful."

"Well, it's my famous shepherd's pie, but I just make it in a casserole dish if I know Ozzy's gonna be here for dinner, because he can put away half of it before it's even cooled enough not to burn your tongue!"

The rest of dinner passed about how anyone would expect it, with Nan happily telling Elise all of the most embarrassing stories she had about Oscar when he was growing up. Max had laughed so hard at one of them, that his eyes were watering, and something nearly went down the wrong pipe.

It seemed like everything had gone to plan. Nan was even giving Elise a hug, and telling her she was a delight, and a dear, sweet, girl by the time they were getting ready to head out.

But when she wrapped her frail limbs around Max, and came in close to wish him well, she asked him to hold on a minute...

Max watched Elise trailing Oz to the car, and fought to keep a confused expression off his face. "What's up?" he asked casually.

"I understand. I really do," she said, giving his forearm a squeeze. "And I know..."

"Sorry?"

"Elise, she's a beautiful young woman, but I know that you're the one...You and Ozzy. I've raised that boy for most of his life. I may be just a crabby old, white, god-fearing woman, but I can tell...He loves you...and that's perfectly fine. You don't ever need to feel like you have to hide that in my house. Not under this roof. Understood?"

Max startled when something wet touched his cheek, and suddenly he was wiping his face on his sleeves like he'd been pepper sprayed. He sniffed a few times and exhaled a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, clearing his throat as she pulled him into another hug.

"Yes, ma'am."

She smiled up at him, and Max's heart broke a little bit...

Soft chapter for our boys! T w T 💕 What did you think? Were you surprised that Nan didn't buy it? Is Oz realizing he's in love~?

Shout out to osiriabud ! Thanks so much for your support!!