#a small incorrect fact from a w+i has been driving me wild ever since I rewatched it and I can’t stop thinking about it

[crimson--freak]

I’m sorry to say that my worst quality irl that I inherited from both my parents is being an insufferable pedant

[toosicktoocare]

unfamiliar days, unfamiliar ways

I literally had a dream shortly after I watched the season 2 Camp Camp finale where I was plotting out this fic, and when I woke up, I decided to write it. (Spoilers for the season 2 finale.) (This is NOT a ship fic. This is a family-like fic.)

Summary:  4 Times David Hugs Max, and The 1 Time Max Hugs David

Word Count: 2098

1. Warmth

Regret settles like a heavy weight over David’s shoulders. He should have checked the weather beforehand. Had he checked, he wouldn’t have suggested a bonfire nor would he have sent Max out into the woods to gather sticks without knowing a dangerous thunderstorm was looming on the horizon. 

But, he didn’t, and a frightening storm had surprised the group as they were preparing the bonfire. David and Gwen had thought that they had rounded up all of the kids in their race toward the dining hall cabin, but once everyone was inside, David took quick note of a blaring absence among the campers. He had scanned studied eyes all across the cabin, but he didn’t spot that blue hoodie or wild black hair anywhere, and now he’s struggling against sharp winds and icy rain drops carried along a cold front that hit his bare legs like needles in order to find Max. His rain jacket is only doing so much for his upper half, but he shoves his discomfort to the far back of his mind because he has to find Max. Max is his priority. 

“Max!” He calls out, desperate for his voice to pierce through the roaring winds. He keeps one arm raised in a poor attempt to shield his eyes and continues forward. “Max! Where are you!?” He’s not expecting to hear an answer; he’s not expecting to hear anything over the raging storm, but he still tries, and he will keep trying until he finds Max. 

“Max!” His voice holds an air of desperation, a crack that signifies the worry gripping his heart. He’s not sure how long he’s been out searching for the young boy now, twenty minutes maybe, but he’s drenched through and freezing, so he can only imagine how Max must be feeling. “Max!” He tries again, and though faint, he hears a response, a fleeting voice carried along the wind. He comes to a stop, glancing around with squinting eyes. “Max!?” 

“David!” 

David whips his head to the left and starts toward the voice. “Max, I’m coming!” He moves forward, pushing against the wind as if pushing against a brick wall blocking his every step, but finally, he spots the young boy curled up beside a large tree. He breaks into a sprint the last remaining distant and drops to his knees in front of the small boy. 

“Max-”

“Only y-you would p-plan a fucking b-bonfire during a f-fucking storm.” 

David’s gaze flicks all across Max’s shivering frame, and he’s unzipping his rain jacket and pulling Max toward his warm, surprisingly dry chest. 

“David, w-what the fuck?” 

David bites back a wince at Max’s cold body, and he rubs large hands all across Max’s back to generate some sense of heat. “You’re freezing,” he explains, voice thick with worry. 

“N-no shit,” Max mutters out between chattering teeth, and David only tightens his arms around Max’s trembling frame for a few more moments before he pulls away from the hug and slips out of the rain jacket. 

He drapes it over Max’s shoulders before he scoops Max up into his arms and gets to his feet, pulling the hood of the rain jacket over Max’s head. 

“I can walk, David,” Max mumbles, yet his voice carries no heat with it. 

David only hugs Max closely to his chest as he starts back out into the storm. “Just focus on warming up,” he tells Max. “I’ll get us back.” 

To his surprise, Max doesn’t argue. The young boy just pushes close to David’s chest as if leeching what little warmth David can offer, but David doesn’t mind in the slightest. He sets his determined eyes forward despite the rain masking his vision and starts back toward the cabin. 

2. Fear

David’s not ever seen Max afraid; he’s always worked under the impression that Max is a fearless kid. So, when Max stalks away from a tree climbing trust exercise with a snide “fuck this,” comment, David shares a silent look with Gwen before going after the younger boy.  

He loses sight of Max only seconds into his chase and doesn’t spot the young boy again until ten minutes later at the river. A frown pulls at his lips as he approaches the young boy, who is sitting close to the water with his knees drawn to his chest and his face buried against his knees. 

“Fuck off, David,” Max mumbles, but David ignores this in favor of studying the slight tremors wracking the young boy’s frame. 

“What’s wrong, Max?” David asks, keeping his voice soft, gentle, as he moves to crouch in front of the boy. “Why did you run off?” 

“Because the exercise is fucking stupid.” 

David tilts his head slightly. “That’s never stopped you from staying to poke fun at the others.” He waits a moment before pressing further. “Max, really, what’s-”

“It’s fucking stupid, David!” Max shouts as he lifts his head to lock eyes with David’s. “The whole thing is fucking stupid, so I left! Why is that so hard to understand?” 

David’s always taken pride in his ability to read people, so he picks up on the trembling fear holding heavy behind Max’s sharp words. He can spot the bright color of hesitance coating Max’s eyes, and he breathes out a low sigh as he nods. 

“You’re afraid of heights, aren’t you?” 

Max holds David’s gaze for an endless moment before he snaps a defeated gaze toward the ground. “I don’t do the whole trust thing. But, heights suck, too.” 

Words seem not as helpful as actions to David, so he leans forward and pulls Max into hug instead. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” Max struggles against David, pushing small hands against David’s chest, but David’s determination his unyielding. 

“I’m hugging you as a form of comfort, Max. It’s what people do.” 

“Not me,” Max spits out just as David pulls away. “I don’t fucking hug people.” 

A smile pulls at David’s lips as he notes that Max’s tone is clearer, and the younger boy’s eyes are brighter, less afraid. “Okay, Max,” he says, drawing out the name as he gets to his feet. “Whatever you say.” 

3. Happiness

It’s not often that David and Gwen team up with the campers in activities, but sometimes it’s necessary. Numbers are needed when David plans a new game, and as it turns out, he’s paired with Max when they draw numbers. Max is less than thrilled by this, but David’s enthusiasm masks any negative feelings Max holds toward the whole situation. 

David carries the game up until the final round, which, per Gwen’s request, is trivia. Neither Gwen nor David are allowed to offer answers since they were the two that came up with the questions, so when one of their cooks asks the questions, David is bouncing on the balls of his feet and shifting his darting gaze toward Max, only looking away when other teams shout out incorrect answers. 

He’s surprised Neil or Space Kid haven’t answered the question yet, but he’s not surprised at the bored expression on Max’s face, nor is he surprised that Max has yet to even attempt to answer. He figured this much going into the game with Max; he never expected the two would win because of Max’s unwillingness, but that doesn’t stop him from giving Max a gentle nudge. 

“Do you know the answer?” David asks, and Max shrugs. 

“I know it; I just don’t care.” 

David looks back to the other kids, trying hard to not let his face give away the realization that he believes Max, in fact, does not know the answer, but after another five minutes of incorrect shouting from the others, he’s proved wrong when Max calls out the correct answer followed by a muttered “Jesus Christ.” 

“And, team David & Max is the winner,” the cook says, voice monotonous. 

David’s sucked into a warm, wide-spread feeling of victory, and before he realizes what he’s doing, he’s scooping Max up in the air and hugging the younger boy to his chest. 

“David, put me down.” Max mutters, voice flat, annoyed, and David sets Max down before shooting the younger boy a wide smile. 

“Wow, Max! You knew the answer!”

Max shakes his head and turns on his heel to stalk off back to his tent. “Because it was fucking obvious,” he calls out over his shoulder with a half wave of departure. 

David watches Max leave, wide smile still painted across his face. 

4. Relief

David taps his foot repeatedly as he watches every single car that drives by. He had never expected Max to actually leave the camp, so when he received a call from a bystander who picked Max up in the city, David’s heart sank to the floor, but he recovered enough to hop into his car and race to the city toward the place he and the man agreed to meet at. 

Now, he’s leaned against his car with his arms crossed and his face borderline unreadable, fitting considering he’s not sure how to feel. He feels almost numb and heavy, and the feeling extends even when an unfamiliar car pulls up beside him. He turns a slow gaze toward the car, but when the backdoor opens and Max steps out, he’s hit with a suffocating wave of relief that has him pounding toward the younger boy almost as if in a daze. 

He drops to his knees and pulls Max to his chest, and for once, Max doesn’t try to pull away. Instead, the younger boy just stands there with both hands to his sides as David crushes him in the embrace. 

When David finally pulls away, he keeps both hands clamped down onto Max’s shoulders as he scans frantic eyes all across Max’s small frame. “You’re okay?” He asks. “You’re not hurt?” 

Max is wordless as he nods, and David gets to his feet, offering the man still in his car a nod of thanks.

The man rolls his window down and arches a brow. “You need to keep better watch on your campers.” 

“I will,” David says back, voice suddenly very tired but still slightly light along a line of relief. “Thank you.” 

The man only drives off in response, and David and Max are quiet as they climb back into David’s car. The silence extends fifteen minutes into the drive before Max finally cuts through it with his small voice. 

“You’re not going to, like, fucking yell at me or something? Get mad? Anything?” 

David slides a slow gaze toward Max before flicking his eyes back to the road. “No. I’m just glad you’re okay.” 

And, he is. He realizes now the numbness was stemmed from an underlining fear that Max wasn’t okay. Sure, he’s mad, but his relief that the younger boy is safe overpowers every other emotion. 

Max only grunts in response and crosses small arms over his chest. “I was so close,” he mutters, but David chooses to ignore this. 

Instead, David keeps two eyes glued to the road as he focuses on bringing Max safely back to the camp. 

+1 

Happiness is an unsettling feeling that bolts against Max’s heart. It almost hurts, he thinks as he steps out of the diner with David and Gwen. It’s a foreign warmth that spreads across his chest, so hot that it burns. Yet, he wants to hold onto it; he wants to feel the pain for the sake of feeling. 

He watches Gwen leave toward the car before glancing up in thought. He should... No, he’s not sure what he should do. But, he feels that he should do something for David, the man who has given up so much for him. But, what? What does he do? What would David do? 

“David?” 

“Mmhmm?” 

Max looks away; he knows exactly what David would do, and well. Fuck it. He leans over and wraps his small arms around David’s legs for just a moment before pulling away, instantly becoming irritated at the smile that plays on David’s lips. 

“That never happened.” He snaps, pointing a warning finger up toward David. 

“Okay, Max,” David replies, voice soft and gentle and completely fake to Max’s ears. 

“Seriously! I will murder you if this gets back to the gang!” He fires out, waving his hands about in a physical show of his anger and frustration that contradicts the small smile playing on David’s lips. 

When Gwen pulls up and brings up how things are back at camp, Max pulls his attention toward the girl, keeping his face slightly interested while his heart beats warm in his chest.