#yeah i know it's no longer his birthDAY!!! it's his birthweek instead | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

Johnny: does/says something really really cool and nice for max before starting to leave the room. Max, quietly: "holy shit, I love you." Johnny, flipping around bc he heard him, grinning like a loon: "Wait, what?" Max: "WHAT I MEANT WAS- Actually, you know what, screw it. I dug my grave, now Ive gotta die in it"

okay i did it

summary: max stage whispers and has a lot of strong emotions in a short amount of time. also he’s turning 13

Maxshakes his head, laughing. “What, like with a trench coat? Am I gonna get onyour shoulders?”

Johnnyrolls his eyes. “No, Max, duh, don’tbe ridiculous. It’s way simpler than that.”

“Did you just call getting on someone’sshoulders as a strategy ridiculous?” Max tracks Johnny as he stands up frombeside him on his dining room floor.

“I looklike a cherubic handsome little child. There is no sight-gifted movie theatrepersonnel that is gonna think I’m old enough for an R-rated movie.”

“What I’msayin’ is, ya keep thinking we gotta sneak in at all. But we’re gonna be sneakedin.”

Off Max’sinquisitive head-tilt, he continues. He gives a shark-toothy grin and as hespeaks, he speaks faster and withmore excited gesticulation.

“Ollie’ssis’s friend’s bro works at the Mayview movie theatre. We worked it out and I’mtotally gonna pay him off to sneak us child-dudes into Volcano Road: Extreme Violence through the back door this Saturdayfor your birthday THAT’S what we’redoing it’s HAPPENING!”

Then hesucks in a big gulp of air and briefly braces his hands on his knees, catchinghis breath. Max slowly processes what he’s said. … He feels a little awkwardabout money being spent on him.

“… Youdon’t have to…” He tugs on one of his hoodie’s drawstrings. “I mean, like, ifyou gotta pay someone off for us to sneak into this movie, don’t bother…! It’sno big deal.”

“Well,I know you wanna see this movie. Don’t you?” Max subtly nods. What he reallymeans to say is yes, yes he wants to see it so bad, he wants to see it so bad. “Andit’s your birthday!”

“Mybirthday’s tomorrow,” he smiles, justtrying to be difficult. “And not on Saturday.”

“But it’syour birthweek.” Johnny waves his excuses off. He’s used to Max arguing againsteverything by this point. He regards the grinning Max slyly, shoving his handsinto his pockets and tilting his head up in that typical we are gonna do some cool stuff way as he backpedals toward thekitchen door.

“And I’maboutta make you the happiest boy on earth, Muxwell.”

Suddenly,he cheers, “Snack time!”

, andon his way across the threshold into the kitchen, he trips and almost eats it.And says a swear word.

Max can’thelp it.

It’s acombination of the cool gift and the stupid tripping and the swearing and thelittle laugh from his chest that makes Max take note of the warmth that has builtup there over the course of the months and months he’s known Johnny. It justslips out—

“Oh mygod, I love you.”

Johnnyfreezes in the doorway.

Maxheart skips a beat when he sees him stop. … No, there’s no way he heard that,right? He said it so low. Oh god, why did he say that. Out LOUD?

Johnnywhirls around to look straight at Max. He wears the biggest, most bewildered,brighter-than-the-sun grin on his face. That—it’s still okay, that still mightnot mean he heard—

“W-wait,what?”

SCRAMBLETHE JETS.

Max clapshis hands together and sits up straight, sweating. “HEYY! Y-YEAH SEE WHAT IMEANT BY THAT…” He shifts between like four different nonchalant positions ashe speaks, before he just jumps up from the floor and paces toward the table assome sort of convoluted diversion.

��WHAT IMEANT—WAS… you DIDN’T hear—what ha-happenedwas…” Johnny steps cautiously toward the table and leans on one of the chairs.His eyes are wide. “I didn’t say… wh-what I said. I didn’t say that.”

Johnny’sbrow raises a bit and it changes his whole expression to simply read, I don’t believe you.

Maxswallows hard. … Screw it. He dug his grave. Now he gets to die in it. No sensein digging it deeper!

Hevehemently refuses eye contact. And he bites the bullet: “… I said that.”

Hisconfession is met with a light laugh from Johnny. His face must be red, it surefeels red. Damn it. He thought for sure he was past this. The embarrassing himselfin front of Johnny. He completely forgot about the L word. F.

… He keepsfighting a smile.

Johnnyputs his hands on his shoulders.

“Youlove me, Max?”

… Ofcourse he loves him. Well, he’s—he’s thought that before, you know? And he’ssure he’s felt it for much longer, butin his head he’s always managed to shrug it off as ridiculous and overly sappy.Now that he’s said it out loud, he feels totally sure of it. Like it’s obvious.Despite everything, that is a great feeling.

That isnot what he says.

“I’mnot repeating myself,” he retorts.

Johnnyjust giddily laughs again and he slips his arms around Max, ensnaring him andpulling him in close. Immense warmth radiates off of him. Max can feel hisheart thumping, he’s somehow smiling even bigger than before—he just looks… sohappy.

Hiskneejerk reaction is to feel embarrassed, to want to snark it off, but prideand love swell in Max’s chest as he acknowledges that he caused that smile.

To hidefrom those overwhelmingly positive feelings, he instead elects to shove hisface against Johnny’s shoulder until it’s over. Johnny takes this as encouragementto squeeze him tighter.

“Hey,Mux…” he murmurs. Yep, Max can guess what’s coming.

“Okay,you don’t—you don’t have t—”

AndJohnny has said this plenty of times, but he always lays it on so thick thatnow when he finally says it quietly, it’s never sounded so genuine. “I love youtoo.”

“Youjust said that,” Max says, and hisvoice cracks. That sure got the smile out of him.

“Alsohappy birthday.”