maskormenacelogs | Maxstreet's Back

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Maxstreet's Back

WHO: Mighty Max and OPEN
WHERE: All Over
WHEN: January 13-14
WHAT: Max's re-into!
WARNINGS: none

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A: HEROPA #034 - Closed to Endou and Richie

Max almost walked into the wrong house. The way there was exactly the same, riiiight up until that last turn. He was going to have to get used to being across the street from where he used to live.
The last time he'd moved into government housing, his roomies had moved out almost immediately after. Not to say he couldn't handle himself alone, but maybe it'd be better to introduce himself and give his new roomies some time to get attached before they make any sudden moving plans.
Max opened the door with his key, stepping inside and looking around at the entryway before calling out to anyone who might be home:

"HEY, I LIVE HERE NOW!"

Yes, great. excellent first impression. Well, an impression, at least. Grinning, he added (at a bit more reasonable volume) "Anyone home? I'm Max!"

B: At the Unofficial Alien Research Institute - Open to All!!

The building was unassuming enough - some above-ground office space near that transitional area from the highway into the city, with a large parking garage located beneath it where Max figured all the real work went down. After spending so much time doing so much for the Museum of Folklore, Max was ready to get his hands dirty working on equivalent things here, like...

...making coffee and manning the receptionist desk?

Okay, so it was his first day. Surely not ALL days were gonna be this boring. Things are going to get better, right?

To pass the time, he opened some of the pamphlets that sat at the reception desk... most of them being reasons why everyone should donate. A few detailing the potential dangers of hostile extraterrestrials... riiiight before launching into a sales pitch for "alien protection" starter kits. And hey, donate now, and soon the upgraded kits will be available for purchase, too!
Great. Moneymaking scam. Max groaned, letting his head hit the desk. He might still be groaning, should anyone wander in to the institute and look to the reception desk.

C: Gold's Shop - Closed to Rumpelstiltskin & Doc Brown

Okay, so the Alien Research Institute was probably gonna end up being a bust. Doesn't mean he can't still keep his hands busy after the fact.

The shop was still open, but Max didn't see Gold anywhere out front - so, of course, head to the back. He'd been there enough times that he didn't see any trouble just walking straight back there - just had to make sure he didn't startle Gold, in case he was working with tools.

He leaned into the back of the shop, glancing around for its keeper. "Hey, Mister Gold! I'm back!"

D: Anywhere -Open to All!!

Of course, nothing quite beat the relaxation of just hopping from city to city and taking a look around. The ImPort cities were all so different, and there was always something to see or do that could get his mind off things.

Mostly.

Of course, it was hard to forget that despite being ported out for a month, he'd only experienced... what, a handful of minutes? And even that was entirely subjective. After all, technically, he was now back to before he started back home, which means...

...well, it could mean a lot of things. But, as Max stared wistfully at a civillian kid interacting with its mother, laughing and smiling... today, it meant he didn't even get to see his mom.
The small parent-child duo up ahead seemed to be enjoying some pleasant words together. He couldn't help but smile sadly. It might be a bit easy to sneak up on him in this state, actually.

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On a largely uneventful day, most of Gold's morning had been spent organizing inventory in the back before Doc came in with lunch. They hadn't really touched that yet, drawn into conversation and distracted by Gold's need to completely finish the task he was on before resting.

Doc eventually convinced him to put the ledger away for a moment, and chuckling, he acquiesced.

Of course, Gold heard the bell at the door ring, but cared little to immediately respond to it. They could ring at the desk if it was especially important, and he could let go and wander out front in...well, just another minute or so. Not that he was the sort to go in for especially long kisses, but it was just poor timing.

He didn't expect whoever it was to immediately come to the back room, however, nor the familiar face that he saw when he opened his eyes to look.

"Max?"

Doc found himself retreating to the familiar comforts here more and more often. His new roommate certainly wasn't fond of him, but Gold? Well. He was very fond, and the lunch dates were doing a wonderful job of easing his worries about the rest of the world, especially about absent friends.

His arms were leisurely looped around Gold's shoulders, and he'd taken a moment to enjoy the company...well, at least until the light from outside hit his face. He flung himself against the wall like a cat evading a water spray, causing a loud crash as he blinked in disbelief.

"...hello, Max."

Edited 2017-01-13 16:48 (UTC)

Max had very few expectations for what he'd find in the back of the shop: One, that Gold would be there. Two, that Gold would be engrossed in whatever task he was working on at the moment.

...Well, technically, his expectations were met.

Max's expression stretched, brow high and jaw low as he tried to process the sight of those two tangled up in one another. Slowly, he straightened up, trying to think of how to respond to —

No, wait, he had a joke for this. Jokes always ease tension in awkward situations. "Hey, Doc. Looks like you struck Gold while I was gone, eh?"

He punctuated that with a fingergun for good measure.

Gold stumbled back into his worktable and grasped it to keep his balance when Doc very suddenly pulled away from him. If he were not also startled to see him, that might have stung a lot more -- it still did a little, because he certainly didn't push away himself. The haze of warmth the shop always gave off took away a bit of the edge -- and Max seemed determined to steal the rest for himself.

His face burned a little red.

"That was terrible and you're terrible."

It took Doc a moment to regain his composure, but when he did he returned to Gold's side, grasping his arm apologetically.

"Quite the opposite," he murmured with a weak chuckle. "It was he who ensnared me. But it's wonderful to see you, Max."

Max leaned heavily against the doorframe, offering a soft laugh. "You, too. Though, uh, I gotta say, this... definitely not what I came here to find."

A thought drifted briefly across his mind - What about Clara? - But... he knew now that actions here had no repercussions on what happened back home. And if Doc didn't even know her yet, what was the harm? He'd already lost Marty. He deserved to be happy.

"So, uh," Max took a step back, moving to turn around, "Sorry for the interruption. You crazy kids do your thing, don't let me stop you."

Rumpelstiltskin held no real grudge, certainly. He knew Doc could be...hasty. Very hasty. Quick to react and always reacting in a bigger-than-necessary way. Here, included. So he knew it was nothing personal. He offered him a weak smile, though there was an obvious wince at what he said next.

Max's discomfort was a little harder to process, but probably also expected.

He remembered how torn up Doc was when Max disappeared, though. "Don't be silly; you're not interrupting anything. Stay. We were just about to have lunch."

Doc nodded his agreement eagerly, inserting himself between them and draping his arms around their shoulders. He steered the group toward the table, where one scrumptious pizza awaited them...and, thankfully, a third chair.

"Absolutely! There's more than enough to go around, and we've missed you," he said, squeezing Max's shoulder. "Time with the people we care for is so precious, so easily wasted! So let's hear how you've been, unless of course we've 'scarred you for life'?"

Edited 2017-01-14 03:57 (UTC)

Max brightened up at Gold's invitation, though still a little pink in the cheeks as he stepped over the threshold into the back room to join them. He smiled up at Doc as he sat down, grateful for that little bit of contact — and for the pizza, too.

"I wouldn't say scarred," Max started, looking thoughtful as he leaned on the table. "I mean, it's not like I'm not happy for you two. And maybe a little smug for being the one to introduce you." He chuckled as he looked over the pie on the table. "Buuuut, you know how it is, thinking about older people, uh..." there was a pause, and a frown. "Nothng a little bleach to the eyes won't fix, right?"

"Nothing endears me to people more than being reminded I'm repulsive, thanks." Gold didn't sound as sour as the words could have implied, but now wasn't the time to take something like that personally.

He moved past Max back into the shop.

"I'll put up the 'closed' sign; Emmett, can you fetch another plate from upstairs?"

Doc laughed and thumped Max's back, quickly rubbing Gold's shoulder as he disentangled himself from them to do the task ahead. "All right, all right! Enough of that, time to celebrate a dear friend's return."

He bounded up the stairs to retrieve the plate as requested, though he paused for a moment before returning downstairs to send a text message. After a moment of thought, he sent another---with any luck, one of them reading would prompt the other to do so.

Gold received this message:

You are the polar opposite of repulsive, and if you'll allow me, once we're alone I'd be more than happy to prove it to you. ;-)

A few seconds later, Max received this:

Thank you, Max, from the bottom of my heart. I never thought I'd find a partner other than my canines, and it's thanks to you.

And with a very satisfied smile, he returned downstairs and triumphantly set Max's place at the table.

Edited 2017-01-18 03:20 (UTC)

Max smiled in response, watching Doc go as he bounded up the stairs to retrieve the dish. After a moment, he looked back to Mr. Gold, his brow tensing just slightly with concern. He hadn't meant to hurt Mr. Gold's feelings, especially after interrupting what was clearly a private moment for him and Doc.

"You don't actually think you're repulsive, do you? I didn't mean it like that. It's just... you know, I'm fourteen. I'm—"

His thoughts were interrupted when his phone went off. He glanced down at it, then silenced it, before looking back to Mr. Gold.

"You're a really nice guy. A good teacher and and awesome craftsman. And trust me, I've met repulsive people like, a million times over. You're way on the other end of the spectrum."

Gold's face read as all kinds of uncomfortable as he returned from the front of the store. "It's fine," he offered.

His phone went off, and he looked at it if only to distract himself. Of course he didn't expect a message from Doc's phone number especially as he was returning from the flat upstairs. His face reddened, and he switched it back off.

A ghost of a smile followed a little scoff.

"...I was being sarcastic," he finished.

Doc shuffled over to guide them to their meal, giving Max a gentle nudge and Gold a very quick and silent peck behind Max's head. Rumpel was just too irresistibly cute sometimes.

"Now, everyone, let's settle in and enjoy, and...Max, I do believe I have something that belongs to you. Your motorcycle needed some maintenance, and I wasn't about to let it rust. And there's also the matter of Christmas...I had something prepared, but it's at my house."

Max watched Gold worriedly, afraid he might have touched a nerve somewhere - there was so much he didn't know about the man, what if he'd hit some nerve he hadn't known was there?

When Gold gave the smallest of smiles, though, Max relaxed and paused to check his own phone — the message from Doc just warmed his heart further. After all the stress of everything that had happened back home, all the people he'd failed... it was nice to come back and find he'd done something right by these two.

He looks up to Doc when he speaks, grinning now. "I'm glad you got the bike. And I'm sorry about missing Christmas, you didn't have to get me anything."

Despite how Heropa doesn't get as cold as the other imPort cities and how Naminé doesn't feel the cold very much to begin with, a hot chocolate shortage in the house is a very dire situation indeed. As is a marshmallow shortage...and a cinnamon stick shortage...in fact, Naminé is pretty sure that everything distantly related to hot chocolate is gone from the house thanks to a certain Keyblade wielder with brown hair and blue eyes...

Okay, she had a large hand in helping him clear out the supplies, too.

Either way, she's back from a grocery run and very pleased with herself for finding a bag of jumbo marshmallows, thinking that she'll have one (or two) with a cup of cocoa when she gets home-- and then spies Max across the street. Naminé takes a moment to be surprised, and then goes to meet him. They hadn't gotten to talk much after that fiasco around Halloween last year, but she thinks that it gives them a sense of camaraderie even so, going through all that together. She's glad he's back.

The blond stops at his side and lightly touches his arm. "Max? When did you get back?"

Max was jarred from his thoughts by Naminé's voice and he turned to the source, expression brightening. "Naminé!"

He wasted no time making his way toward her, opening his arms as he spied her groceries. "I just got back here yesterday. How are you doing? You want any help with those?"

"Only if you're not busy." It didn't seem like he was, just standing there and looking off into the distance like he'd been, but she doesn't want to assume. She's the kind of person who often needs a quiet moment to herself, too.

"And welcome back. You missed Christmas, but I still have your present. I was worried I wouldn't ever get the chance to give it to you."

"Present? Aw, jeez. You didn't have to!" He looked a little flustered as he took the bags from her, thoughts of what to get her in return facing through his head. "I didn't have the chance to get you anything."

He decided not to mention he'd missed both Christmas and his birthday.

"How are things otherwise? Riku and the others okay?"

"I wanted to."

She smiles serenely, starting to walk back in the direction of her house. A direction that's very similar to the way Max would take to get back to his new house, in fact.

"And you don't have to get me anything. Or you can wait until my birthday to do that."

Her birthday being in December. Her face falls at the mention of the others, though, despite the valiant attempt at keeping a smile on her face.

"Riku and Kagami are fine. But Sora...went back home, I think. They must have badly needed him there."

Max has to bite his tongue from responding with Again??, but he can't help but realize this would end up being... what, the third time Sora's left?

His smile turns apologetic. "I'm sorry to hear that. He's a great guy — I hope he comes back soon." He pauses, then smiles a little brighter and adds, "I mean, he's got a pretty good track record for coming and going so far, so we'll probably see him again before long."

Of course, there's still the matter of presents. "When is your birthday?"

She exhales a little bit, a little less convinced than Max is. Of course Sora has a track record of coming and going...it's in his nature to help everyone whenever he can, the duty he's taken on as arguably one of the most important Keyblade wielders of their world.

It's getting him to stay that's more difficult. But she supposes that's selfish of her. She should be grateful she got to see him again at all.

"I hope he comes back too," she answers eventually, and though it takes a moment she eventually turns to smile, somewhat mischievously, to him. "December 6th."

"Jeez, remind me to never skip a December ever again. Bad enough we all gotta go holiday shopping when the day gets dark faster - we gotta squeeze all these parties in, too."

He's laughing about it, though.

"I didn't do very much for my birthday, honestly," she remarks, shooting him a small smile. She appreciates the joking, it helps take her mind off of Sora. "I just went out skating with some of the others and had a nice dinner at home."

That and she still needed to recharge from planning and preparing for Riku and Kagami's birthday party the month before. Naminé was more than willing to subject them through that-- less so for herself.

The road soon starts leading them up towards the Heropa housing complex, and she heads up the steps to her own home, reminded of why he was coming with her at all.

"You can drop the groceries off in the kitchen, I'll go get your Christmas present!"

[ It is while Max's forehead is so carefully planted on the day's call list that the door opens after a bit of scrabbling... and something slinks in .. dragging something else? Something heavy by the sound of it?

By the time he lifts his head, the door has been left open, and Bartimaeus and his prize are crouched up next to the desk Max sits on the other side of. ]

[ The scraping sound was present at the edges of Max's consciousness, but it's not until he feels a breeze from the outside that he finally looks up. He frowns, glancing around, before leaning over the desk to peer down at the mysterious visitor in confusion. ]

Do you, uh... have... an appointment?

[ The fox....... and what appears to be several glow in the dark alien balloons and various plushies stuffed in its maw crouches to the ground with a yip.

It starts to say something, too muffled by what its carrying to be made out.

And then it vanishes.

The balloons still float cheerfully on the other side of the desk. ]

[ Max stares down at where the fox was, and he wishes he could say this is the weirdest thing he's ever encountered, but it honestly wouldn't even break the top ten.

He gently reaches out, grabbing the string of one balloon and bringing it down to eye level. The stylized alien stares back at him blankly.

It's only a moment before Max takes a permanent marker and adds some expressive eyebrows and a bow tie before letting it go. ]

And now you're Dressed for Success!

[Richie was in his room and didn't have his headphones on while he was busy tinkering with the solar-powered zap cap that he's been working on when he hears the voice shouting loudly throughout the house. He jerks his head, causing himself to get a bit of a shock to his index finger which makes him yelp and drop the little egg-like machine to the ground. He shakes his head to try and dispel the sting even though he knows that doesn't really work.

The voice sounded pretty familiar...

He gets up and walks to his door, opening it enough to stick his head out and around.]

Hey! You the Max from across the street?

[ Max turned to look at Richie and his expression lit up. ]

Nope, not anymore! Now I'm Max from right... here. They moved me to this house when I got ported out and back in.

[ He glances out the window at his old house, frowning. ]

I wonder if I can run back in and make sure I didn't leave anything there.

[Max lifts the zoom cam off his eye so that he can look at Max properly. He gives a friendly grin.]

Then welcome to the house, bro. Pretty sure they move all your stuff depending on how long you're gone, but they should have held it for you. How long were you gone? I haven't seen you around the neighborhood for awhile now.

[ Max shrugs at that. ]

A month, I guess? I missed Christmas and my birthday, but it still counts. I'm still fourteen and no one's taking that away from me.

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Maxstreet's Back

Gold's Shop

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