Time to meet your MAKER {Max}

[MAXIMUS PETULENGRO]

It was really accidental that the song suited Alexander so well. His smile was wistful, when Max repeated the line, almost like he was letting a dream wash over him. "I've always kind of felt like life was a game...you know? Mon frère tried to teach me from day one that it was all about...like...preparing for the afterlife and giving thanks to God and all that shit, but...I don't know. I was never into that." Max, who did not speak French, had no idea what Mon Frere meant. Still whoever this person was, he seemed to be religious. "What about you? As rampant a hedonist as me, I'm hoping."

"You hope?" Max inquired, his dark brow arching at Alex. It was said in such a casual manner that Max could have simply pin pointed a figure of speech, but it was still cute. "Funny thing to hope for, Alexander. Any particular reason for such hope?" If Max was any two things in this whole wide world, it was an asshole and a flirt, and he had mastered the art of being both at the same time. He kept his gaze on Alex, though it softened a bit in intensity. He didn't want to intimidate the guy, after all. So Max's face took on one of comfort and understanding and warmth and safety. He was just a teddy bear, after all, deep deep down.

"A very good piece of advice, it seems people are never smart...unless those people are a group of scientists or something, but whatever." Max chuckled, as the comment seemed almost innocent to him. He wondered how world wise this Alex was, being at the fragile age of seventeen, his face untouched with the worries of the world. Even carefree Max had a few lines in his face, shadows under his dark eyes. "He is my elder brother. My legal guardian, technically, though I live alone. Mostly because he lives at the church, and like hell am I staying there with him. I hate churches."

Max couldn't resist a laugh, though he could have, had he not been stoned. A church? Why in bloody hell would someone choose to live in a church? It dawned on him, that this made the brother a man of God. Perhaps the Mon Frere Alex had mentioned. But that made Alex even more taboo... How very entrancing. Max's laughter quieted, falling into a quiet giggle, before he looked at Alex. Attractive, taboo, sweet, entertaining. Not a bad choice, not at all. Max leaned closer to Alex, his stare boring into the newly relaxed youth, enough so that they were touching, but not so much that Alex was invading too much. "So... I don't make you nervous? At all?"

[ALEXANDER FORTESCUE]

Man, that gaze was kind of intimidating...it was intense, yeah, but it kind of drew him in, and Alex wasn't completely sure what he thought about being under this man's influence so fully at the moment. He didn't really mind, though...he didn't feel unsafe, which was strange. Shouldn't he feel, like...not safe?

"You hope? Funny thing to hope for, Alexander. Any particular reason for such hope?"

He felt his cheeks flush a little bit again, wondering if Max was patronizing him. Glancing down, he ducked his head a little bit, almost demure (which was an odd thing for Alexander to be). "I mean...je ne sais pas...I don't know...I guess, um...b-because it would mean we would get along a lot better...I can't really stand people who don't go for what they want because they're too afraid or something." Well, he ended on a good, philosophical point, at least, even if the rest of the sentence had been...well, atrocious. He was not at his most eloquent today by far.

He watched Max's reaction to him almost carefully after that, trying to figure him out. Max looked...a little more tried by the world than Alex did, and Alex wondered if Max viewed him as too much of an outsider to really befriend. After all, Alex had an apartment to return to, a school to return to. He had a family and a trust fund (that he couldn't touch, at the moment) and a hot shower and...what did Max have?

What did he have, anyway? It would be rude even for Alex to ask.

Either way...there was no denying the Alexander was interested in this man. He was honestly fascinating. Street musician, full of philosophical quips, with a nice face and a good stash of pot...though Alex would still like him if he didn't have pot, but the pot was a nice addition. He was a few years older than Alex - he couldn't quite tell how many - but that didn't really matter to him. He'd slept with older women (and older men) before, within reason. And he definitely wasn't a crotchety old geezer. More like Johnny Depp. Damn.

"So... I don't make you nervous? At all?"

Alex felt his body freeze up and his thoughts turn back to reality as Max leaned towards him, their bodies touching, those brown eyes at their most intense. He was caught between being utterly captivated and being forced to look away from the power of that stare, so he seemed resolved to do nothing and just allowed his eyes to widen in shock. "Ah," he mumbled. "I-I mean...uh..." Merde. "N-non...no...ah...why would you think that? Ah..." Alex squeezed his blue eyes closed, turning a very humiliating shade of pink.

[MAXIMUS PETULENGRO]

Max watched Alex explain himself. Besides the slight stutter with his words, he was rather good at wiping up his tracks. Max could appreciate his not wanting to let Max know that any power was had. It was cute, even. Endearing. Sweet. "I mean...je ne sais pas...I don't know...I guess, um...b-because it would mean we would get along a lot better...I can't really stand people who don't go for what they want because they're too afraid or something." Max couldn't agree with the statement more. So, he nodded, as if understanding. If that strange smell in the air, that one that occurred naturally when someone was attracted to another person, pheromones perhaps, was any indication, Alex did want to do something. But he was too afraid to put it out there. Understandable. Max was a stranger. But the attraction was there, Max could feel it. And it would make Alex a hypocrite, if he let him wander of today without acting on something. And Max Petulengro was not going to be responsible for making him into hypocrite, no sir. "Ah, I-I mean...uh... N-non...no...ah...why would you think that? Ah..." Mumbled Alex.

Time to kick this up a notch. For Alex's sake. Head cocking a little to the left, Max's face smoothed to one of near tenderness, though it did still hold his impish grin. "Oh, a few things. You've been blushing since we started talking." Reaching out, never been one to shy away from touch, Max touched Alex's cheek. He was soft. His skin was without blemishes, not even a pockmark from where a blemish could have once stood. Tracing the cheekbone gently, Max leaned forward, bringing about even less space between the two before. "Would it be forward of me? If I were to say you make me a little nervous too, Alexander who is french. Who has a quiet gravity, a pretty little accent, and an Angel face?" Max muttered, as if divulging a secret between the two.

"I have a terrible habit, of being far to forward, Alex. If I can be honest here." Max admitted, which was true. His habit of talking to people as if he were having a conversation with himself, free from fear that he might hurt someones feelings or break a heart. "I have a tendency to assume things about people. Snap judgments, if you will. Like right now, I'm assuming you're quite curious as to what it would be like to kiss me. And I could be wrong. I rarely am, but it happens." Max drew nearer, so that if he were any closer to Alex-who-was-cornered-between-Max-and-a-tree, they would be in fact kissing. Or involved in a truly awkward, nose touching, experience.

"So... I think I shall leave it up to you. You may kiss me, if you so wish too. After all, you said it yourself. You hate when one will not do something out of fear." Max purred, his words moving cleverly over his tongue. "And if you do not, in fact, have the mind to kiss me then I will go back to my designated branch, I'll roll us another little treat, and we shall carry on as if no awkwardness has ever occurred. Either way, my friend, you win." Max explained the rules of this little game he was making up as he went, eyes locking in Alex's wide, forget-me-not-blue eyes. Licking his lips slightly, he waited for Alex to choose, an excited grin on his face. Not necessarily one of arousal. More of anticipation. What would Alex choose, after all? It was like a kid on Christmas, opening his largest present. It would either thrill or disappoint, leaving little room for emotions in between. "So, to the count of ten then? One. Two. Three." Kay, so if Alex was down, awesome. Hell, it'd been a while since Max kissed someone in a tree. Even longer since that someone was a dude. "Four. Five. Six." Still... rejection wasn't something he was use to... "Seven. Eight. Nine."

Moment of truth.

[ALEXANDER FORTESCUE]

Oh mon Dieu, this could not actually be happening. This was...far too disorienting and...amazing to be happening. He was still kind of high. Maybe this was a hallucination.

Maybe Max, amazing, scruffy, gorgeous, sweet-talking Max, wouldn't notice how much of a total gooey mess he was.

"Oh, a few things. You've been blushing since we started talking."

Or not.

"Would it be forward of me? If I were to say you make me a little nervous too, Alexander who is french. Who has a quiet gravity, a pretty little accent, and an Angel face?"

Merde merde merde...oh...Dieu, was he serious? Alex felt his face turn even redder than it had been, if such was possible. His face was definitely going to explode.

"No, it..." He swallowed hard. Confidence, Alex, confidence... "It wouldn't be...because...I guess I can admit you make me nervous, Max the street musician. Who has a very forceful gravity, a pleasant scruffiness, and very consuming eyes." His full lips twitched just a little bit. There was the real Alex again.

"I have a terrible habit, of being far to forward, Alex. If I can be honest here."

"Y-you may," Alex responded softly, entranced.

"I have a tendency to assume things about people. Snap judgments, if you will. Like right now, I'm assuming you're quite curious as to what it would be like to kiss me right now. And I could be wrong. I rarely am, but it happens."

Alex bit his lip, his eyes widening at how spot-on that judgment had been. He'd been wondering that for about the last fifteen minutes. How those lips would feel on his...it had to be good, after all...had to be...

Oh, God.

"So... I think I shall leave it up to you. You may kiss me, if you so wish too. After all, you said it yourself. You hate when one will not do something out of fear."

That was true. And he wasn't one to be a hypocrite, not at all. Or...well, he tried not to be. Most of the time.

"And if you do not, in fact, have the mind to kiss me then I will go back to my designated branch, I'll roll us another little treat, and we shall carry on as if no awkwardness has ever occurred. Either way, my friend, you win."

He was so close now...it was unnerving. Alex paused a little bit, thinking; he bit his lip thoughtfully. This proposal was win-win for him...and he did...want to kiss Max...like hell, he did, more than anything else in the world right now.

"So, to the count of ten then? One. Two. Three."

Steady, Alex...steady...

"Four. Five. Six."

You can do this, just...

"Seven. Eight. Nine."

That did it.

Before Max reached ten, Alex lurched forward, closed the tiny distance between the two of them, and kissed Max right on the lips. The feeling was better than he hoped it would be; he felt his heart speed up and hammer against his chest at the contact, and he resisted the urge to pull Max closer to him.

There. He'd done it. He wasn't a hypocrite.

[MAXIMUS PETULENGRO]

And what a glorious moment of truth it was. Max's lips bowed into a grin as he felt Alex all but pounce upon them, his dark eyes falling shut. His arm reached up for a branch, to better balance him in the awkwardness of the tree the pair sat in, but otherwise Max was quite comfortable. Yes, this was his natural habitat in all ways, no doubt about it. And, ever the hospitable host, Max was more than pleased to show Alex around. Nono, Angel's were more than welcome to come upon his land, especially with greetings like this.

Grinning, Max pushed Alex against the bark, never breaking the kiss. His lips were soft, nimble, things. They had obviously kissed a few before, as had Max's. And this suited Max just fine, just fine, as there was nothing more detestable than a virgin-kisser. At least to him. He knew a few who got off on that nonsense, and honestly, he was not personally one to turn away anyone wiling to partake in a healthy snog. But a well trained kisser, one who knew the amount of gusto to put forth (start light, let it build naturally), or how much tongue was acceptable (same principle as the gusto, though it was rarely okay to shove your tongue down ones throat. Only in times of extreme passion. No, the best route was to take the very tip of ones tongue, and let it gently fleck the others, varying in speeds), etc, etc.

The two's faces were close, though the current setting hardly allowed for rolling around and grinding at the moment. Hm. Perhaps the tree was not such a great place to bring his new friend... not that Max had a great number of places he could... And it wasn't even like they were that far. Yet.

Max's hand, though calloused and worked, with clean palms and fingers, but dirty fingernails, wrapped around the back of Alex's neck, pulling him even closer still. His skin was warm, and he smelled like showered. Not that Max smelled bad, but this smelled fresh. Like pulling fresh linens out of the dryer. And soft, yes, soft too. He could feel Alex's soft, flax, hair brushing his fingers, and they ventured up, tunneling their way through the thick locks.

Pulling back, so as to not get too busy so fast, he rested his forehead against Alex's keeping his eyes close, and his hand in Alex's hair. Between breathes, he plant a fleeting kiss, unable to resist with their lips being so close. It was like magnets. There noses grazed occasionally, and Max couldn't help a soft chuckle that escaped him. "Well, perhaps not such an angel after all... His brown eyes opened to examine Alex's face in this close vicinity, his grin curling to the left side.

[ALEXANDER FORTESCUE]

This was the best first encounter he had ever had with anyone ever.

He felt his cheeks, his face, his whole body heating up at the collision of their lips, both experienced, both fairly talented at what they did, and it took all his willpower not to whimper. He was already being a bit too vulnerable around Max...he couldn't back that up with something as feminine as a whimper, no matter how much he wanted to make such a sound. Some dignity had to be retained here, definitely.

He placed his hands on Max, lightly, just enough to keep himself balanced. It was a bit awkward kissing in a tree, and as he felt his back hit the bark, his predominant thought (apart from the kiss itself) was making sure he kept his balance. So his sudden contact with Max was not necessarily an attempt to move things along too fast, and largely a method of keeping himself steady.

Alex wondered in the back of his mind how far this would go. There was always that piece of him that was calculating, no matter how impulsive he seemed. Alex had had casual sex with many guys and even more girls, so it wasn't as if it would be something unfamiliar to hook up with Max, but...part of him wasn't sure he wanted this to go so quickly. It was a strange feeling, and one he wasn't entirely used to. He wasn't completely sure what to do with it.

Still, it was hard to resist making a little sound when he felt that textured hand on the back of his neck. Max's face was a little rough with some scruffy hair, too, and it was an interesting sort of friction in comparison to Alex's smooth cheeks. He leaned his head back into the hand just a little and let his arms slide around Max's torso, careful to keep them both balanced on their precarious perch. Max didn't smell bad, but there was a sort of...earthy quality to him that must have come with living the way he did, a sort of closeness to the earth...or maybe he was imagining it. He read a few too many books.

Not that anyone knew Alex read books.

He loved the feeling of those calloused fingers on his skin, and he was nearly breathless when Max drew away. His blue eyes remained closed for a moment, and he felt himself blush shyly at the quick kiss planted on his lips before slowly opening his bright blue eyes to look up into Max's intense brown ones.

"I never claimed to be an angel," he teased softly, but breathlessly.