Words You Wouldn't Say

Max didn't mean to distract Mike from packing.

He'd put Otis down for a nap and walked into the room to find Mike's suitcase on the bed, two more on the floor, one full and the other empty. Max smiled as he watched Mike appear at the closet door and walk over to his suitcase to pack away his shirts.

"Hey," Mike said with a smile. Max stepped over to help and Mike hip-checked him. "Got a long tour ahead of me." Max nodded.

"Otis is gonna miss you," he said.

"I'll skype as often as I can," Mike responded. Max sat on the bed and folded more shirts, glancing at the closet and how barren it looked without Mike's clothes in it. Mike stepped into his field of view and Max looked up at him. "I'm gonna miss you." Max smiled.

"I know." Mike laughed at that and leaned over to kiss Max slowly. "Don't go hanging on the groupies with Joe and Rob now that you're single and everything." Mike laughed again, an obnoxious laugh that caused his nose to scrunch up and his eyes to squeeze closed. Max smiled at the endearing expression and then let out a surprised noise when Mike kissed him and slammed him down against the bed.

"Single, huh?" Mike climbed on top of him and Max couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of his mouth. Mike grinned down at him. "That's what I get? Months of sleeping in the same bed and I'm single?" He leaned down and kissed Max, a heavy kiss that stole his breath away. He couldn't help his grin as Mike pulled away.

"What do you want me to say?" Max asked as Mike started kissing down his neck. Their fingers twisted together and Mike hummed, pressing a kiss to Max's collarbone.

"You kiss me," another kiss pressed to his neck, "you take care of my kid," a kiss to his jaw, "you'll take care of the other one," one to the corner of his mouth, "and we've definitely done a lot more than sleep in this bed." Max laughed and Mike kissed him again, smiling. "I think I deserve more than single."

"It's complicated?" Max supplied, laughing when Mike pulled back to give him a look.

"We are not a Facebook status," he said, smiling when Max's laugh continued. "Max," he said in a whine, pressing another kiss to Max's neck.

"Okay, okay," Max said with a grin, feeling his cheeks start to ache. "We sleep together, we live together, we take care of your kid together. I guess we're something like boyfriends." Mike laughed against Max's neck and sat back, causing Max to whine back at him.

"Something like boyfriends," Mike said with a solemn nod, before climbing off of Max and turning back to his suitcase. Max pushed himself up on his elbows and watched as Mike began packing away his clothes again.

"Did I say something wrong?" Mike shook his head.

"No," he said with a thoughtful smile. "Just something that made me think." Max sat up slowly, folding more of Mike's shirts. "I wish I could take you with me." Max smiled slightly.

"Tour life isn't the life for a baby." Mike nodded.

"I know." He sighed and folded another shirt into his suitcase. "I'll be back in December." Max nodded. "Then tour starts up again in January, I'll be back in March, won't leave again until June, and then tour will finish for good in September."

Max smiled and stood, taking Mike's hand. "We've been over this twenty times, Mike, I know the schedule. You're leaving tonight and you'll be back on the seventeenth of December, I got it." Mike pressed his forehead against Max's and sighed again.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, closing his eyes. "It's just that it doesn't feel right leaving." Max rubbed his arm.

"I've been sleeping better," Max assured him. "The nightmares have mostly stopped and I'm not sleepwalking anymore. I'll be alright a few months while you're on tour. Me and Otis will be fine until you get back." Mike nodded.

"I know you will." He brushed a kiss over Max's forehead and walked back into the closet to get more clothes. Max watched before rubbing his face and sitting on the bed again. He had half a mind to beg Mike not to go, not that it would do much since the tour was an obligation.

"Want take out?" Max asked, leaning over to grab his cell phone. Mike called out an affirmative and Max called his favorite take-out spot. He continued to help Mike packed as they waited until he heard Otis fussing. He brought him back to the room to crawl on the bed as they continued packing Mike's things. "My mom said she'll come over a lot to help." Mike nodded and finished packing the second suitcase.

He set it down on the floor and sat, pulling Otis over to him. "Anna might stop by every once in a while to see Otis and talk about the baby with you." Max nodded. "We talked about it and she's decided that you can pick the name." Max blanked and stared at Mike, who smiled.

"Me? Why me?"

"Well she's not planning on being very involved, and I'm not good at names," Mike explained. "And you're gonna be taking care of him with me, and you'll be with him the most while I'm on tour..." He trailed off and smiled down at Otis. "You're basically gonna be a parent to these kids, and you deserve a say."

Max smiled and looked down. "I'll think about it." He heard the doorbell ring and he stood to go get it. He paid the delivery man and watched as he walked back to his car, feeling suddenly like he was being watched. He took a deep breath and glanced around before receding into the house and locking the door behind him.

He thought back to the first time he talked to his sister about what happened and bit his lip. It was probably nothing, just him being paranoid. He swallowed and walked back to the room where Mike still sat with Otis on the bed. Mike smiled up at him and Max smiled back, a weak smile that Mike caught almost immediately.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Max felt a flash of guilt, because he still hadn't told Mike about the second torturer. He shook his head and attempted a more believable smile.

"I'm just not ready for you to go, yet." He sat down with the food and handed Mike one of the containers and a pair of chopsticks. Otis grabbed one of the fortune cookies and started gnawing on the wrapper. Max took it and opened it, breaking the cookie, taking the paper and handing half of the cookie to Otis.

He glanced down at the fortune in his fingers and paled.

Someone you are not expecting will visit soon.

He stared down at the fortune, bewildered, until he felt a hand on his wrist. He jolted away and looked up to find Mike staring at him, a worried look on his face.

"Are you sure you're okay, Max?" he asked gently. "It's not too late for you to come with us." Max shook his head and took a container, opening it and using his chopsticks to start eating.

"I'll be fine," he said firmly. Mike gave a soft sigh.

"Will you talk to your sister about it?" Max's eyes went wide and he looked up at Mike in surprise, but the other man was looking down at his food. "I know it's been harder to talk to me about it. Maybe it's because she's got a degree in that sort of thing and I don't. It's okay, I understand, I just want you to talk."

Max looked down again, feeling guiltier than before. Mike had been with him through everything he'd gone through in the past few months, and as much as Max had opened up, he still kept him shut out. He took a deep breath and looked up at Mike, leaning against him gently and causing the other to look up at him.

"I'm sorry," Max said. "By the time you get back in December, I'll have all the worlds to tell you exactly what's been going on." Mike gave a small smile and Max knocked their shoulders together. "You're not missing out on this, I promise."

Mike kissed him. "I'm here for you regardless." He turned back to his food and Otis complained, grabbing for the other half of the cookie, which Max handed to him. He crumpled up the fortune and dropped it back inside the bag.

By the time they finished eating, Otis had fallen asleep. Max carried him to bed as Mike propped up his last suitcase and started throwing the rest of his clothes inside carelessly. When he returned, Mike was gathering his necessities and he complained as Max started repacking his things.

"I just want to be done," he whined as he sat next to the suitcase, watching as Max folded up his clothes.

"You're gonna have to get five more suitcases if you pack your things like that," Max chided him gently.

"It's not like I couldn't afford to get more suitcases," Mike said with a pout, crossing his arms. Max laughed at his expression and moved to his drawers to start packing away his underwear. "Honestly, if you weren't helping me, I'd probably forget everything."

"It's a good thing I'm here, then, isn't it?"

"Well," Mike started, a cheeky tone to his voice. Max glanced at him, eyebrow raised. "I think there's definitely a distinction between here and helping."

"Oh?"

He laughed as Mike pulled him to his chest and pressed a sloppy kiss to his jaw. "If you weren't setting the mood with all this packing business, my mind would definitely be elsewhere."

"I'm pretty sure your mind already is elsewhere!" Max said with a laugh, playfully smacking at Mike's arm. His laughter increased in volume as Mike launched them onto the bed, flipping them so Max was under him.

"Where were we earlier?" Mike asked thoughtfully. His fingers trailed over Max's shirt, pulling the buttons out of their respective holes as he pressed kisses to Max's jaw and neck.

"Mike," Max whined. "We've got to finish packing your things."

"We can do it later," Mike breathed, dragging kisses down Max's neck.

"You know you're not gonna wanna get up," Max protested only halfheartedly. "And neither am I."

"In the morning then," Mike said firmly, lips catching over Max's hips. Max sighed in agreement.

"In the morning."

*

Otis woke just before Mike was about to leave.

Mike was mid-shower, and Max was scrambling to get the rest of Mike's things packed. He brought Otis to the room and kept packing, withholding from packing Mike's toiletries until after he got out of the shower. He called to him again to hurry up and groaned when the doorbell rang.

Otis started crying right then and Max sighed, scrubbing his face. He picked up the baby and started for the front door, grumbling, "I don't know how Anna fucking did it," as he paced to the front door and nearly threw it open. Chester grinned down at him.

"You look like you got fucked," he said seriously. He stepped in without an invitation and Max glared after him as he closed and locked the door behind the taller man. "Hope it was a good one, you're gonna be missing him pretty soon." Max scrubbed his face again and handed Otis to Chester.

"Change his diaper, you ass," he said before making his way back to the bedroom. He could still hear Chester laughing as he stepped in to see Mike walking out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Chester's here," Mike remarked without question. Max just nodded and finished folding the last of Mike's clothes. Mike brushed his hand against the small of Max's hand and kissed just behind his ear. "Relax," he said, before drying off and pulling on his clothes for the day.

"And take a shower," Chester said as he walked into the room with a freshly changed Otis. "You smell like sex."

"I'm going to throw something at your damn face," Max mumbled with a glare at Chester, who laughed.

"You'd think you'd still be a little relaxed," Chester said, turning to Mike as he stepped back into the bathroom to finish getting ready. "You must not have fucked him very well."

"I did too," Mike said defensively. "He came three times last night, thanks." Chester snorted and turned back to Max, who had started packing Mike's toiletries.

"Why are you so irritable then?" Max gave him another glare. "I promise I won't let him sleep with anyone else," he said solemnly, crossing an invisible X over his heart. Max threw a pillow at him, but he couldn't help feeling a little more relieved. He finally finished packing the last suitcase and closed it, pulling it off the bed and setting it with the rest of Mike's suitcases.

Chester handed Otis back to Max and helped Mike carry the suitcases to the car waiting for them outside. As soon as Mike had put all the suitcases in the trunk, he came back and kissed Otis gently on the forehead, then he cupped Max's neck and kissed him deeply. Their foreheads pressed together, and Max sighed.

"Stay safe," Mike said. He pressed a kiss to Max's forehead. "I'll see you again before you know it."

"Don't forget me," Max said jokingly. Mike smiled at him and hurried to get in the car where Chester sat, wolf-whistling at them. Max gave him a light-hearted glare and waved as they pulled out of the driveway and drove off. "Just you and me now, Otis," Max said with a sigh.

The feeling of being watched crept over him again, but he shrugged it off and walked inside.