love in the time of trash fires

"Maxie. Stop staring at me."

They had awkwardly been eating in silence since the stranger stormed out of the clinic, and while Michael avoided eye contact, Max had been staring Athena down. She just seemed annoyed, but there was a similar anger as when she came back from tea with her mother. It didn't take long for Max to piece things together, especially with Veronica's impromtu visit.

"No."

"Max, I told you, it was no one," she scowled. "It was a lost salesman."

"Yeah I bet he was a salesman," he grumbled. "Selling himself. As boyfriend material."

She set down her takeout box and glared at him.

"You're going to do this right now?" she asked.

"I'm not trying to pick a fight, I just want to know if that was the guy your mom was trying to set you up with," Max told her. "And I want to know his name. And maybe where he lives."

"Fine," she said. "His name is Seth Rathbone. He's some CEO of some irrelevant company."

"He's a CEO?" Max said, voice cracking.

Michael just sat in the middle, eyes flitting between them like he was watching reality tv drama unfold.

"Max, who cares?" Athena sighed. "I'm not interested in him. I'm engaged to you. That's the end of it."

"I just feel like maybe it's not the end of it," Max said. "I'm not saying that you're interested. I'm saying he's interested. And he doesn't seem like the kind of guy to give things he wants up easily. I mean he obviously wanted a new nose because the one on his face is paid for."

"And how do you know his nose is paid for?"

"When you break your nose enough times for it to become mush, you start researching doctors."

"Max, you're being a moron," she said. "The guy sucks and I made it known that he sucks. He'd be stupid to keep pursuing me. Even if he got me, it's not like he'd ever be happy with me hating him so much. He'll find some other girl to obsess over soon enough."

Max shrank back a little and nibbled on a piece of chicken. Finally, Michael spoke up.

"He had nice hair, but I like your hair better, Maxie."

"Thank you, Michael," Max said dully.

"You're both dumb," Athena said, rolling her eyes. "I love you to death, but I swear you share a single brain cell between you sometimes."

She was annoyed when she got up to toss her empty plate and get to the exam room, but she didn't seem genuinely angry with them. When she was gone, Michael lowered his voice to speak to Max.

"Think this has to do with Veronica visiting us?" he asked.

"I think it has everything to do with that," Max grumbled. "How do we get rid of her?"

"Patience," Michael shrugged. "She'll get over it eventually."

Max didn't have patience. He had always been a mellow man, but never a patient one. Especially when it came to someone threatening his happiness, or the happiness of someone he loved. He knew Athena would never give in. That wasn't what concerned him. He was worried about what lengths these people would go through to get to her.

Truth be told, he was a little miffed about Seth, too. He only caught a glimpse of the man, but a glimpse was all it took to see he was a major upgrade from Max. Not only was he rich and successful, but he was well-groomed and handsome. No thuggish tattoos, and his haircut wasn't choppy or home done. He probably didn't do reckless things like street race, either.

While Athena was getting ready for bed in the bathroom, Max found himself doing a search for "Seth Rathbone" on the laptop. He got way more than a professional profile. The guy did a multitude of things, including a fitness blog and his own brand of appetite-supressing shakes. It was like the more Max scrolled, the more impressive Seth got. He didn't even notice Athena come out of the bathroom at first, but when she did, he slammed the laptop shut. Not quick enough, apparently. She had an incredibly annoyed look on her face.

"Please tell me I didn't catch you looking at shirtless pictures of Seth online," she said.

"No!" Max said quickly. "It was a fitness blog. I didn't even notice he was shirtless. Did you? I mean I wouldn't blame you. The guy is totally shredded under that three piece suit."

"Max."

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I was just curious. I'll stop."

"Please do."

She climbed into bed and turned off the lamp on her side of the bed. She turned away from him to sleep, but Max could tell she was annoyed with him. He reached over and put a hand on her back.

"Hey, I'm sorry," he repeated. "I guess I've just been feeling kind of... insecure."

It took a lot for Max to admit that out loud, and Athena knew that. She looked over at him and sat up, brow furrowed.

"Insecure?" she asked. "Max, what could you possibly be insecure about?"

"A lot of stuff," he shrugged. "You're beautiful, you're a doctor, you're talented... I barely got my GED, I have barely anything to offer you, and I'm not really what I used to be. I used to be in better shape, but I guess I kind of let myself go after the crash."

He poked his stomach when he said this and was surprised when Athena started laughing. She leaned over and held his face as she kissed him.

"Max, you could be twenty pounds heavier and wearing a potato sack," she said. "I'd still think you're hot as hell. Okay? I promise, you are my type. And I don't care if you have status or money. You're a good person and you take care of me with everything you have. That's what matters."

Max didn't say anything, but he felt a little bit better. She kissed him one more time before cuddling up to him so they could get some sleep.

The next day, she was off early to help her father with a minor surgical procedure. She was reluctant to leave Max alone, but he had physical therapy. He reassured her that he was okay going alone, and promised the walk to the clinic and then to work would be good for his excercise. She was still a little reluctant, but more convinced that he was doing better.

Before he left, he sat for an hour or so and worked on covering up his Hellhound tattoo with a heavy concealer he had ordered. With a couple coats of the concealer and powder, his arm looked like it was just his natural skin.

While he had no shame in his association with the Hellhounds, he knew the tattoo made others uncomfortable. As part of moving on with his life, covering the tattoo made it easier to make new patients comfortable. Surprisingly, the waterproof cover lasted through the therapy session and still held strong as he was walking from the clinic to work.

It was an uneventful walk most of the time, but suddenly he felt like someone was following him. He ignored it until the person suddenly pushed him into a side alley. He winced as he was pinned against a wall with a knife held to his throat. He didn't recognize the man holding him up, but saw the Black Dragon patch on his jacket.

"You're coming with me, Hound," the man growled.

"What?" Max said, trying his best to look like a scared victim. "What are you talking about?! What's a Hound?!"

"What's a Hound?! You know what a Hound is you piece of-"

The man stopped when Max held up his hands in surrender. He seemed to notice the lack of a Hellhound tattoo on Max's forearm. Luckily, he didn't try rubbing at it or looking closer. He seemed panicked at the thought of grabbing the wrong person. The Dragon didn't say anything, but suddenly took off running.

Max put on his jacket to have the sleeves cover his arms for the rest of the walk to work. He didn't let the concern show on his face as he was changing into his scrubs in the back, but his mind was racing. He was right about the Dragons being out to get him.

"You're bleeding."

Max hadn't noticed Athena come into the back room.

"I'm changing, don't you knock?" Max teased.

"Like I haven't seen it before," she smirked. "Did you cut yourself?"

Max glanced in a mirror and realized there was a small cut on his neck from where the knife had been held at his throat.

"Nicked myself while shaving," he lied.

"I told you, it's time to replace that razor," she scolded.

"Yep. You were right."

"Hold on, let me get an antibacterial ointment so it doesn't get infected."

The cut wasn't too bad, so the lie was believable. Next time, Max may not have been so lucky.