I've been looking through #the magicians tag and I have to say I am shocked by the number of people complaining about the show. I know it's not perfect, but seriously, what do you have to complain about?? It has poc (who aren't just side characters), strong female characters, canon lgbtq characters (including several of the main characters), deaf and blind characters who play significant roles, and it deals with difficult subjects like mental illness, slavery, rape (and rape recovery), abortion, and PTSD. There's so few shows out there that have even a few of these things, can we not talk about all the great things The Magicians have? More shows will include dimensional, diverse, interesting characters that deal with real issues if shows like The Magicians that feature those things are loved and talked about in a positive way.
I’m really bad at following up on tags, my bad. Thank you @rainy-rose, @snowdropwrites, and @klywrites for tagging me! Tagging y’all back, along with @ardawyn, @katiehahnbooks, @c-g-nyx-writes, and anyone else that wants to :)
From my Matt/Elliot one-shot/mini story/whatever thing:
The corner of Matt’s mouth curves up in a lopsided grin. “I told you I’m not drunk,” he says, echoing himself from earlier. He waits for Elliot to respond, but when he doesn’t, Matt’s expression falls. Matt leans closer, placing a hand on Elliot’s. His thumb idly strokes the skin of Elliot’s hand as he speaks. “Babe, I know there’s something on your mind. You can talk to me if it’s–”
Elliot cuts him off with a kiss. Words would only betray him now, so Elliot let’s his body talk for him, pushing Matt into the mattress, straddling Matt’s pelvis with his legs.
Rules: bold the themes that apply to your ship, within your story, then tag an amount of writeblrs of your choice!
I did this tag with Sloane/Fredrick, but now I’ll do this for my ACTUAL canon couple, Elliot and Matt ♡
height difference / mutual pining / first kiss / wedding / in-jokes / lgbt+ / family disapproves / would die for each other / would kill for each other / fake relationship / arranged wedding / cuddlers / pda friendly / and they were room mates / holding hands / secret relationship / opposing world views / getting a pet / have kids / want kids / grow old together / relationship failures / rests head on shoulder / share a bed / token dummies / relationship doubts / they have a song / first date / sharing a blanket / mutual interests / study buddies / bathing together / crash into hello / accidental nudity / laundry / same hobbies / cooking for each other / big fancy gala / sibling rivalry / hair stroking / sitting on each other’s laps / sexual tension / can’t be together / age gap / battle couple / Friends to Lovers / Enemies to Lovers / Lovers to Enemies / keeping secrets / love after loss / exes / declaration of love / flirting / love triangle / destructive romance / envy / “I Don’t Want to Ruin Our Friendship” / shared values / slow burn / does not end well / happily ever after / love letters
If you guys want to, I tag @halohidings @write-like-babs @bookish-actor @cawolters and anyone else that wants it!
Notes: Max is bolded, Ellie is italic - The boys get into a fight. Ellie shares a bit about his past. Gifts are exchanged. They kiss and make up.
It was rare when the locked box in the back of his closet was opened, the large box only seeing daylight once since moving into the home in the last 4 years. Inside the box sat Elliot's childhood guitar, it wasn't anything fancy but it was extremely well taken care of and had cost Ellie what was a fortune when he was 14. Lately he had found himself inspired, he had never wanted to play music more, he had never wanted to be his brother more. But holding the mahogany instrument in his hands, his chest felt heavy.
He cleaned the strings and tuned up the guitar by ear, no one really knew this but Elliot had perfect pitch. He sat in his closet floor with the guitar in hand, strumming perfecting to his favorite song, his go to when it came to the instrument. Soon he was humming along to 'Can't help falling in love' by Elvis and then he was full on singing, something he only did by himself these days. He felt ashamed whenever he did it publicly, knowing he'd never make anything of himself following his silly dream.
He felt the tears trickle down his face as he put down the instrument back down. He hated himself for not being brave like Elton, for not following his heart, for being safe with his life. Sure he had everything, He had money, a steady and abundant income, he had the house, he had the help, he even had Max, but it never felt like enough and he hated himself for it.
Max was stunned to say the least. He knew that musical talent clearly ran in the family, but he had no idea just how beautiful Elliot's voice was. Usually just the mention of music had his fiancé all but shutting down. He never wanted to talk about it and he certainly had never told Max of his skills. He didn't understand why and he doubted the man would have any desire to explain it given his current state.
To backtrack a bit, Max had let himself into Elliot's place. He had his own key and was planning to surprise the man with a nice desert, assuming he'd already had dinner, and a present. Since their recent engagement they'd gone shopping for his ring, but that hadn't gotten one for Elliot. Max wanted to remedy that. It had taken some time for the custom design to be finished but it was finally ready. He'd entered his place, ring in pocket, and had been ready to call out when he'd heard the singing. He'd been so thrown off by it that he kept quiet and searched it out. He arrived at Elliot's bedroom door just in time to see him putting an instrument away, tears streaming down his face.
"That was really beautiful, Ellie," he said softly in an attempt not to startle the man too much.
"Max." Elliot looked up, spooked by the voice in the silence. "What are you doing here?" He asked defensively as he tried putting away the instrument and wiping his tears, he didn't want Max involved in his part of him, he didn't want anyone involved. "It was nothing, forget it, Max." He pleaded, his eyes saying enough. He locked up the box and shoved it to the back behind his coats, before standing from the floor.
He sniffled and walked past the younger man, still wiping at his eyes and standing away from him waiting for the tears to stop falling.
Max's heart broke as he watched Elliot try to hide himself away. "I came to surprise you with dessert," he answered, not wanting to just ignore the man's question. He followed him out of the room and reached his hand out to rest on his hip once he stopped walking. "Ellie, baby. I can't forget seeing you so upset. I get if you don't want to talk about it right now, I won't push you, but you gotta know that I'm not going to let stuff like this just go. One of these days I'm going to stand at an alter and profess to a bunch of people that I'm going to love you through sickness and in health, for better or worse. That means when I see you crying I find out why and I fix it."
"You don't need to fix it, you don't need to fix me." He argued. He hated how defensive he got when he was upset, but he could never seem to help it. Still he leaned into Max's touch.
He knew Max would still try but Elliot was stuck in his ways and he knew he wouldn't give in, not about this. Nobody had been able to get him to talk about it for the last 10 years, not even his own family. Ever so often his mom would ask why he never played music anymore, and Elliot would simply shrug it off and distract her with other conversation.
Max frowned at Elliot's words, but took his leaning as invitation to wrap his arms around him. He held the man against him, back to his chest, and pressed a kiss to his temple. "Poor choice of words," he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply there's anything wrong with you. But you're clearly upset and when I see you upset I can't help but want to try and make you feel better." He kissed him again, this time a little lower, on his cheek. "You do the same for me."
Elliot felt the warmth of Max encompass him and he let out a deep unsteady sigh he had been holding in. He didn't want to talk about it anymore, he didn't want to think about it anymore. He decided he would distract Max the best way he could. He didn't say a word, instead he turned in Max's arms and kissed the man deeply, leading him back against the bed. His hands finding their way underneath his shirt and beginning to pull up.
Max leaned into the kiss, returning it on instinct. Kissing Elliot came to him more naturally than anything these days. However, when he felt the hands go under his shirt he pulled away. He shot his lover a sad, almost betrayed expression. He wasn't an idiot, he knew what Elliot was doing. He shook his head. "Please don't. I told you it's fine if you don't want to talk about it, you're upset. But don't..." He hesitated and looked down at their feet, trying to regroup his thoughts. "It's important to me. When we're intimate. It's special. Don't use it as a way to shut me up."
Elliot instantly felt guilty when he'd been caught in his intentions. He was even worse than he thought he was. He pulled his hands away from the man as if he'd touch something painful. He couldn't believe he had just done that to Max. He could feel his hands shaking, not being able to look Max in the face as he wrapped his arms around himself, bringing a hand to his face, his breath un even. "I'm sorry. I-... fuck. I'm so sorry."
Max took a step forward and reached out to hold Elliot's face gently in both his hands. "It's okay, Ellie. You didn't know that would upset me, now you do. I know you didn't have bad intentions and I know you wont do it again. I forgive you. I love you."
Elliot shook his head. "I'm a shit person, Max. My intentions weren't good...I would have gone through with it had you let me." He spoke honestly, still refusing to look at the man. "I don't know how you can forgive so easily, don't even know why you would agree to marry someone like me." He began digging a hole for himself, the self pity getting disgustingly out of hand.
Max sighed and dropped his hands from Elliot's face down to his hips and pulled him a little closer. "Hey, if you're a shit person then so am I. And I'm even worse because I am so much more of an ass than you. Remember that time that I got drunk and left you at the pub? Or the time before that when I got drunk and punched someone at the pub. Both things that a shit person would do."
"You were drunk and both times it was because of me, because i led you to do those things. I don't even need to be drunk to be shitty." He argued and bit his lip. He didn't want to play the blame game but Max actions had always been the the consequences of Elliot's actions, he did it all because of Elliot.
"Look, babe, the point is we all do shitty things. It doesn't make you a shit person, just makes you human." He didn't want to keep going around in circles but he was also worried about how changing back to the original subject would affect Elliot. He tried to keep it casual. "Do you think you'll ever be ready to talk to me about the music stuff? You know I'd never judge you, Ellie. I just want to support you."
“Max, drop it! Please.” He Begged, his voice raised slightly as he pulled away from the man. “God, why do you have to push this? Why do you have to push me? I told you to forget it. Why can’t you just do that for me?” He finally looked up at Max with glaring eyes. He was ready to drop their conversation when Max had brought this up once again. It’s not that he wanted to be under at the man, it was just such a sensitive topic for him. One he had already asked repeatedly not to be talked about.
In hindsight he probably should have expected the outburst, but somehow he hadn't. He flinched at the volume in their close proximity. Elliot had only yelled at him once before and this time it felt worse. At least the first time he'd felt like he'd actually done something to deserve it. He turned his head away from Elliot, not wanting to see him glaring at him. "I wasn't trying to push... I'm sorry. I won't bring it up again."
"Perhaps you should go." Elliot spoke softly, his expression softening. He wiped his face with his hand and turned away from Max again. "I appreciate you trying to surprise me with dessert, I'm sure it's delicious." He spoke transactionally feeling embarrassed by his outburst. He didn't really know where to go from here.
Max looked up at Elliot with a frown and just a hint of anger. The outburst he could understand, but being spoken to like he was an employee he couldn't handle.
"Perhaps not," he countered. "Are you going to try to dismiss me like that when we're married too? Should I keep my room set up indefinitely at the house so I'll have somewhere to stay on the nights you don't want me around?"
Elliot’s first reaction was to be defensive, angry and a dick. It was his best defense mechanism, made it to where people didn’t want to deal with him anymore, made is so past partners found easier to leave him. Not that he wanted that from Max, he loved Max like he had never loved anything before. But still it was hard not to become defensive. “We’re not married yet. Maybe you should.” He replied.
Max sighed and rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. A part of him wished he'd just let the man distract him with sex. "I don't want to leave," he admitted. "I will leave if you actually want me to. But I'm hoping you don't."
Elliot was expecting Max to be even angrier with him, to have an outburst of his own. This usually never failed him with previous partners but Max always surprised him. “Then don’t.” Elliot swallowed back more tears from forming and grabbed the pack of cigarettes from his dresser, walking out to the balcony to calm his nerves. Of course he didn’t want Max to leave but he also didn’t know how to be around him in the moment, he felt too ashamed about the entire exchange. He lit a cigarette as he looked out into the ocean, the breeze and smell of the ocean, as well as the burn of smoke in his lungs, grounding him.
Max let out a little sigh of relief, half expecting Elliot to have doubled down and really kicked him out. He watched him walk out to the balcony and paused to give him a moment alone. After a couple of minute he walked up to Elliot with determination. He wrapped his arms around him from the back and pressed his forehead between his shoulder blades. "Did you eat dinner already?"
Sure, Elliot had told him he didn’t have to go but he didn’t know if he would actually stay. The sudden arms around him as he took a drag of his second cigarette startling him slightly. He let out a silent sob and hung his head down for a moment. He nodded his head, lying but only because he had no appetite at all. He knew if he did want food there was probably something delicious waiting for him in the kitchen by one of his cooks. He then covered his partners hands with his own in front of him while reaching back to offer his cigarette to the man.
Max leaned his head to the side to take a drag of the offered cigarette. He held it in his lungs for a moment before letting it out in a long stream of smoke. He tangled his fingers with Elliot's and pressed a chaste kiss to the space where his neck met his shoulder. He rested his head there and just continued to hold the man silently.
Elliot flicked the ash off the balcony, he was confused. He didn’t understand how Max could be so patient with him. Elliot wasn’t and could never be half as patient as the man was and there was no way Elliot deserved it. He let out another deep breath, tears still spilling randomly from his eyes. He wasn’t as strong as Max he knew that much.
Max continued to hold his lover tenderly. "I don't want you to push me away. So I'm going to do better about backing off when you tell me too. You gotta meet me half way though." He squeezed him just a bit tighter. "I'm sorry for saying that shit about keeping a spare room. I don't want that."
Ellie turned around, looking at him with red puffy eyes, it was hard to fight with his own pride, hard for him to let his guard down. His whole body fought against it. He still wanted to run, he still wanted to push Max away, to be alone. That’s what he was used to, that’s what he found comfort in for so many years. That comfortable lonely feeling. He took a final drag from his cigarette and then put it out on the ashtray balancing on the edge. “I don’t want that either.” He spoke softly, fighting every fiber in his body telling him to just stay completely silent.
Max reached up to wipe the tears from Elliot's eyes with his thumbs. Then he pulled him in for a kiss. "I love you, Ellie. Even if we get fucking pissed off at each other sometimes," he said with a laugh, on the verge of tears himself. "I still fucking love you."
Elliot stilled at the kiss, his body feeling completely overstimulated, it’s not that he didn’t want to kiss back, he did. Everything just felt like too much. He could feel himself starting to disassociate, It’d been quite a while since he felt this way, a sort of trauma response he had developed when he was younger. Of course he loved Max, of course he felt the same, but the words right now were hard and Elliot could barely focus on a single thing. “I need to go to sleep.” He muttered hoping Max would understand.
Max took a step back, getting the clear sign that he needed some space. It was hard trying to ride a fine line with Elliot. He wanted to be supportive, but not overbearing. He wanted to give him his freedom, but not abandon him. He nodded his head. "Yeah, okay. You want me in the bed with you, or out on the sofa?"
Elliot was thankful for Max, thankful that he seemed to understand, thankful that he didn’t run away, thankful he wasn’t like him. He looked at Max with pleading eyes, as if there was no question about it. He always wanted Max by his side. He squeezed his hand and made his way back into the bedroom, beginning to undress, this time not really caring where his clothes fell.
This time Max kept his sigh of relief completely internal. He knew Elliot wanted him there but a little piece of him thought he still might relegate him to the sofa. He wouldn't have minded, of course, but it would have made him sad. He followed his lover into the bedroom and raised an eyebrow as he watched the man discard his clothes haphazardly. If he didn't already know how distraught the man was that certainly would have been the give away. He went along behind him and picked up each piece of clothing. He took them, along with his own clothes and tossed them in the laundry basket. Elliot was too upset to care about it the mess now, but he certainly would in the morning. He came back into the bedroom wear his sweats and crawled into bed.
Elliot never meant for Max to be picking up after him but he definitely appreciated it. He appreciated everything Max did for him, even if he didn’t show it often. As soon as Max had joined him in bed, Elliot attached himself to his side, wrapping most of his body around him and using him as a pillow. His head rested on the man’s chest and he let out a shaky sigh as he grabbed the man’s hand and brought it to his face, pressing a soft kiss to his palm.
Max closed his eyes and breathed deeply, just taking in Elliot's presence. He loved his fresh natural scent and his comforting warmth. He rested his free hand on the back of Elliot's neck and let his fingers play with the small hairs on the nape. "Love you, baby," he whispered again, not needing a reply.
-----
Elliot woke up a couple hours later, it was now only 11pm but he felt wide awake. He looked up at his partner peacefully sleeping and pouted at the thought of ever losing him. He felt a little better, he felt like he could finally breath. He felt like the world had stopped going around him in hyper speed while he stayed stuck. He still felt guilt from last night but his mind was much clearer. He kissed the man’s cheek as he sat up beside him. Maybe he just needed a shower to finally wash away everything he was feeling. So that’s what he did.
He stood quietly from the bed and made his way over to the bathroom, closing the door behind him as to not wake Max. He fully undressed and started running the water, stepping in once it got to the desired temperature.
When Max blinked himself awake it was still dark. He rolled over and checked his phone. Almost midnight. He stretched out and looked around, noticing that Elliot was gone. He heard the shower running and knew Elliot must be inside. He debated joking but ultimately decided the man probably needed his space. He headed to the kitchen instead to grab the dessert out of the fridge.
Elliot let the water run over his body for the next 30 minutes, he just tried to let all his worries literally wash away. Which didn’t really help by the way, but it did relax him a little more. Once he was done he pulled on his robe and walked out to the bedroom. He expected Max to still be sleeping but when he looked, the man was gone.
Elliot’s breathing began to uneven as he started panicking. Elliot thought the worst. Max had finally had enough, he’d finally realized that Elliot wasn’t worth it and he left without saying anything to not make things harder. Ellie sat at the edge of the bed with his knees up to his chest started weeping softly in the small crevice he hand made with his arms resting atop his legs.
Max took the time to slice the cheesecake up into even pieces. He licked the knife clean, what Elliot didn't know wouldn't hurt him, before giving it a rinse and placing it in the dishwasher.
He figured it'd being enough for Elliot to have finished in the shower and headed back to bedroom to see if he wanted to join him for some before they tried to go back to bed. He heard the crying before he walked back in and immediately went on alert. He rushed to him and kneeled down to be by his side. "Ellie, baby, what happened? Are you okay?"
He couldn’t hear the footsteps over his own crying so when Max was suddenly next to him, it startled him. He looked up at the man with tear soaked cheeks and took a choke up breath. “Max…” he sobbed. “I-I-… I thought you… you left me…” he tried to get out between cries.
He knew this had to be extremely unattractive but he didn’t care, he thought he had lost Max, thought he had really left him. He thought the worst and it was terrifying.
"Fuck," he cursed himself. "I didn't think." He grabbed Elliot's hands and gave them a squeeze to reassure the man of his presence. "I'm right here, baby. Told you, you can't get rid of me."
“But, but you were asleep and whe-when I came back, you were gone.” He sniffled, trying to stop the tears from falling, not that it had worked at all the entire night. He dropped his feet back on the floor and accepted Max’s hand in his.
"I wouldn't do that to you, Ellie. I wouldn't leave without saying anything." He wiped some of his tears away and then gestured out of the room. "I woke up when you were in the shower. I went to the kitchen to cut the cheesecake. Thought maybe we could have some before we try to go back to bed."
Clearly Elliot wasn’t thinking straight cause he knew that. He knew Max wouldn’t do that to him, he knew that, yet he still thought irrationally. He hiccuped softly as his panic subsided. His stomach was still in knots and he felt nauseous, probably from all the crying and stress. “You should have some. I don’t think I could stomach it right now.”
He nodded his head. He didnt care too much about the cheesecake anymore, although he probably would still have some in a few minutes."Do you want to come sit out on the sofa? Or we could go smoke in the backyard?"
Ellie sighed softly and tugged at Max to come sit with him. He leaned on the man and kissed his cheek. “I love you. I’m so sorry for earlier. You didn’t deserve any of it.” He apologized and let out another sigh. “Can we go out by the waves? It doesn’t seem very windy tonight.”
Max returned the kiss and pushed a wet strand of hair off of Elliot's forehead. "Yeah. You got some sandals I can borrow so I don't track sand back in?"
Elliot shook his head. “Yeah, but don’t worry about it. They clean the house tomorrow, it’ll be fine.” He assured Max, finally starting to feel like himself again. The small moment of insanity passing. He stood from the bed and took Max’s hand.
Max linked their fingers together and then pressed a kiss to the back of Elliot's hand. "Okay, we need smokes, lighter, and I'm eating that cheesecake." He stood up alongside him and gave his hand a squeeze.
Elliot nodded and let go of his hand to go grab his smokes from the balcony and then rejoined the man. Downstairs he grabbed a couple blankets and wine while Max grabbed the cheesecake. He smiled at his Fiancé and led the way down the path to the sand. He set up not too far from the crashing waves and sat down, patting the place next to him for the man to sit.
Max took the seat next to Elliot and set his plate of cheesecake to the side. He had a little napkin covering it to save it from the sand. He sighed contently and let himself fall back, sprawling out on the blanket. He stared up at the clear night sky. "It's surprisingly nice out."
Ellie opened the bottle of wine and took a swig before placing it carefully in between his legs as he stared out into the ocean. He’d been thinking a lot about their argument from earlier and while he wasn’t exactly ready to fully talk about it, he figured his Fiancé should probably know a little more about him.
He took another swig of wine and sighed. “The whole family is musically talented. I’ve been playing music with Elton since I was a little boy. He got to live out his dream and I did not. I decided to take care of the family when dad left. It was hard enough when he was there. I figured out early on I was also very good at math. So that’s the path I took to make sure Mum or my siblings never had to struggle again.” He muttered still looking out into the ocean, it was really the first time he had said any of this out loud. He didn’t want any questions but he figured he still might get them.
Max opened his eyes and turned his head to Elliot. He listened to him as he opened up. He had already deduced that there was something about music that was sensitive for his lover, but he had no idea just how personal it was. "You gave up a chance at your dream to take care of your family. That's... incredibly selfless."
Elliot shrugged his shoulders. It didn’t feel selfless, he liked having money, he loved being rich. He loved the security that he had and he has that regardless of if he helped his family or not. “It was a dick move honestly. I hated being poor, I looked down on people that didn’t have money, I told myself I would never ever have to struggle with money. I liked it too much.” He grabbed a smoke out of the box and lit it up, taking a long slow drag and then chasing it with wine.
Max shook his head and grabbed a cigarette of his own. "I grew up poor too. Believe me, I'm not going to judge your for hating it. Being poor is the worst." He reached over to grab the wine. "Looking down on people, we'll that's a different story." He shrugged. "But you are self made so at least you're not being hypocritical about it."
Ellie let out a small laugh. “That’s a nice way to agree.” He kept looking out at the ocean, he knew he wasn’t a great person, he knew there was a lot of space for him to grow, but what if he didn’t want to? “I don’t think I could ever leave this lifestyle. I don’t mention it, ever. But even just being home with Mum, it makes me… I don’t know…” he sighed. “I don’t know how people can live such a simple life.” He put it nicely.
Max took a swig of the wine and laughed as he set it back down. "Hey, I thought I was doing pretty good in life until I had one of Linda's meals and now I don't know how I lived without it." He took a drag of his cigarette and let the smoke out with a smirk. "I told you you were going to spoil me."
He really wasn’t expecting Max to agree with his point of view but it was nice that they thought similarly. “Linda, yes. I had to go through a couple cooks before I found her. I don’t know what I would do without her.” He smiled back at Max taking a drag of his smoke. “I spoil all of my partners.” He teased.
Max reached his hand out lazily and lighty smacked Elliot's leg. "Don't reminder me that you've had other partners. I'm a jealous bitch, remember?" He teased him right back with a smile. "Speaking of spoiling though..." Max reached into his pocket and felt the ring box he'd grabbed on the way out. "I did have one other ulterior motive for coming over tonight."
Elliot raised his hands in mercy “Hey, I never proposed to any of them if that helps.” He chuckled. He tilted his head and raised a brow, curiously. “Ulterior motive? You mean that whole fight wasn’t for no reason?” He joked.
Max rolled his eyes and beamed up at his fiancé. "Fights are just foreplay, baby," he joked. With a grunt he sat up and faced Elliot. "I figured, you got me this nice ring but your finger is bare. Doesn't really sit right with me, so." He took the box out and presented it to Elliot. He popped it open with a click. "Marry me back?"
Elliot flicked the rest of his cigarette off in the sand, letting it fizzle out, and set the wine bottle to the side. It was a little hard to see, the only light coming from the moon and the soft lights in Elliot’s back yard. Still, he saw the sparkling diamonds from the ring and smiled. “My own ring? Of course I will, you idiot.” He grinned as he let the man place the ring on his finger. He admires the rose gold band and diamonds in the light before tackling his Fiancé down onto the blanket, kissing him deeply.
Max laughed when Elliot collided with him. He wrapped his arms around him and returned the kiss just as deeply. When they separated he stole another quick kiss and brought his hand up to cup his cheek. "It looks good on you."
Elliot continued to hover over his partner, his robe falling off his shoulders slightly. “You look good on me.” He smirked, the wine starting to creep up on him. “We should go swimming.” He suggested
Max raised and eyebrow and chuckled. "Hey now, it's my job to spit out the cheesy lines," he replied. He kissed the man again, spun him around and then stood up, pulling his lover with him. "Swimming it is."
“You’ve been slacking, sir.” He teased and yelped as he was pulled up to his feet. He ditched the robe completely, the perks of having a private beach to yourself. “You’re severely over dressed sir.”
"I'll be sure to remind you that you said that the next time you roll your eyes at one of my masterfully crafted texts." Max paused to look his fiancé up and down. He looked indescribably beautiful in the soft glow of the moon. Elliot's words snapped him out of his stupor and he scrambled to pull his sweats off. "Don't have to tell me twice, baby."
“Hey, it’s doesn’t make them any less terrible.” He giggles and walks up to his Fiancé, pulling his naked body flush to his. “You’re absolutely ravishing.” He spoke quietly against his ear. “You make me incredibly happy.”
Max returned the embrace by wrapping his left arm around him and resting his hand between his shoulder blades. His right arm he let creep down lower and he grabbed a nice handful of Elliot's ass. He grinned happily down at him. "Right back at you." He rested his head against the other man's and steeled himself to get his next sentence out with a straight face. "You know, I was feeling a little off today, but you've turned me on again."
Ellie’s face flushed, partially because of the alcohol and mostly because of the man’s hand on his ass. “I like that, when you grab my ass. I like it a lot.” He confessed “I always turn you on.” He laughed at the man.
Max buried his face in Elliot's neck and kissed the smooth skin. He squeezed his ass playfully and grinned like a maniac. "You really do, baby. And I will grab your ass as hard and as often as you would like, my love."
Ellie returned the gesture and planted his own hand on the others ass. “You have a much nicer ass than I do. I could take a bite of it.” He grinned and stifled back a moan as the man squeezed his ass.
Max hummed appreciatively. He loved feeling Elliot's hands on him. "No one's stopping you," he teased. He pressed his thigh between Elliot's legs and rolled his hips just a bit. "Consider this an open invitation to bite my ass. No warning required, just go for it."
“So you’re into biting, I see.” He teased tilting his head back slightly to give Max more access to his neck. He whimpered softly at the friction he felt as the man rolled his hips. “Maybe we should skip swimming, yeah?” He offered pinching Max’s ass following it with a smooth slap.
"I'm into you," he countered quickly. "Mmm, but yeah I do like biting. Makes me feel like you're marking me as yours." He groaned when he felt the slap. "We could hop in the hottub. I have very good memories in there."
“You’ll always be mine. Always.” He grinned and used his other hand to fully grab both cheeks, he loved the soft weight of the muscle. “God, you’re unbelievably hot, bubs…” he squeezed his ass tightly. “So fucking gorgeous.” He smiled. “Hot tub sounds nice.”
Max did have every intention of heading into the hot tub, of course. It really did sound amazing. However, the moment Elliot set both hands on him and started singing his praises Max could think of nothing else. He practically melted against his fiancé. "You know what saying shit like that does to me," he whispered against his lips.
Ellie truly wasn’t saying these things to turn him on, he just really meant them. Max was the most gorgeous being he’d ever laid eyes on, even more gorgeous because of their connection. “I’m not trying to do anything but love you and let you know how I feel about you.” He smiled as he could feel what it was doing to Max. “You’re such a naughty boy.” He chuckled as he rubbed the man’s ass gently.
Max wined and pressed his nose to Elliot's throat. "Baby, I have a praise kink. Knowing you just genuinely mean it only turns me on more." He took a deep breath and then pulled back to kiss Elliot's cheek. "But I'll control myself."
Maybe it was the wine talking but Ellie was more than willing to do anything Max asked if in that moment. “You don’t need to control yourself, baby. I don’t want you to control yourself around me. I’m more than okay with telling you when and if I’m ever uncomfortable with something. I love you dearly.” He brought a hand up to cradle his neck and pull him into a kiss, rocking his hips up with it.
The intimacy of the moment combined with how turned on he already was had Max practically seeing stars. His head felt fuzzy and he wanted to drown himself in Elliot's presence. He moaned into this kiss and whined when it was over. "I want you to fuck me. Will you fuck me, Ellie?"
“Yes, of course.” He grinned happily into his lips. “If that’s what you want, I will do that for you, happily. But we’re skipping the hot tub.” He chuckled and then brought his hands back down, reaching under his ass to his thighs to pick up the muscular man. Sure, Ellie wasn’t the strongest man and perhaps he was struggling in the slightest but he confidently held him up and carried him back into the house, leaving the items forgotten on the beach.
Max barely had the time to rejoice that he'd be getting his wish. He couldn't hold in the burst of laughter that left him when Elliot picked him up. He wrapped his arms around him to secure himself. "Holy shit, Ellie. You are actually carrying me right now. You've been holding out on me. I expect this on the regular now," he teased.
Elliot laughed “Whats the point if you get to know all my secrets at once?” He teased right back. “Although this is probably much easier for you to do than me, bubs. You’re a lot of muscle, I’m barely skin and bones.” He chuckled and decided he’d tackle the stairs up to his bedroom. He managed them with only one small stumble, catching himself with the wall and a laugh against his Fiancés skin. Soon he was laying Max down on the bed and kissing down his neck and chest, looking up at the man through his lashes while wrapping his hand around the man’s cock. “How do you want me, baby?”
"You're doing an amazing job," he laughed as they stumbled and hugged Elliot tight. When they made it to the bed he kept a hand on the back of his neck.
He threw is head back and moaned, having been worked up for quite awhile. He licked his lips and tried to form some sort of answer. "Have you ever fucked a man before?" It occurred to him that he didn't actually know.
“Cmon, baby. Cut me just a bit more slack. Of course I have. Almost exclusively, actually. Unless I dated women but even then, I did all the fucking too.” He smiled up at the man as he continued to gently stroke the man.
Max let his eyes slip closed as he enjoyed the pleasure Elliot was giving him. "I didn't want to assume." He smirked, eyes still closed. "You took me so well, I figured you had to be a bottom," he joked.
“That’s because I love you and I trust you with my body… it’s different when you’re with a partner who you really care about… you’ll see.” He smiled warmly at him as he pressed soft kisses to his hips. “Hang on.” He said as he briefly got up and grabbed a small tube of lube from his bedside drawer. Ellie returned to his lover and ran a hand up and down his thigh. “You want to lay like this, bubs? Or do you want to adjust?”
Max peaked one eye open and smiled down at Elliot. "Well, fucking you was a religious experience, so I'm preparing myself to see God again, baby." He chuckled before licking his lips in anticipation. He turned over to lay down on his stomach and then looked over his shoulder. "Prep me like this, then I want to ride you a little before you really start to fuck me."
Ellie bit his lips and he looked down at his partners body. He’d never been so attracted to some before, it felt incredible to have the attraction reciprocated. He ran his hands down his back, leaning down to follow his hand with his lips and then surprising Max by biting into his left ass cheek playfully, placing kisses afterwards. “My beautiful boy.”
Max curled his fingers into the sheets and let out a soft moan. He thrust his hips down against the mattress. "Fuck, Ellie, I'm so worked up already. You make me insane. It's unreal."
“Don’t worry, babes, I have you.” He chuckled and coated his fingers with a generous amounts of lube, before using one to gently trace and prod at his opening. “That’s it, bubs, just relax. I have you.” He spoke gingerly as he further inserted his finger, making sure the man was comfortable.
Max instinctively spread his legs more and arched his back. "It's been a while for me too," he admitted. "A couple months at least." He did his best to stay nice and relaxed but he did squirm a bit and let out soft noises of pleasure.
“Is that right?” He asked curiously as he continued to gently insert, making sure the man was properly stretched before moving his finger and starting to insert a second one. “Did you like the way the last guy fucked you? Bet he isn’t as good as me.”
"She had nothing on you, baby." He made sure to emphasize the pronoun. "Synthetic is just as good, but you're right about feelings making it better." He continued to squirm as his fiancé stretched him open. "Everything is better when it's you touching me. It's like your hands light my skin on fire. Being in love really is a game changer," he chuckled.
“She? Okay, that’s cute. Anyone I know?” He asked with raised brows and he continued to work on Max. He used his other free hand to squeezed his ass. “Are you ready for more?” He questioned wanting to make sure he was going at the correct pace for him.
Max nodded quickly against the pillow. "Yea, yeah, gimme more, baby." He groaned loudly before forming the answer to his first question. "It was- fuck. Uh, Aisling. Kieran's sister. She's a dominatrix. It was an experience."
“Hmm.” He let out passively. Elliot wasn’t normally a jealous guy but the thought of someone dominating his Fiancé and maybe providing a better sexual experience than him, made him feel a bit insecure. He thrusted his fingers on the man a little harder before adding more lube and lining up a third one. His free hand now going to his own hardening cock, watching Max whither on his fingers.
He leaned over him again and pressed gentle kisses on his shoulder, nipping at the skin ever so often. As he went up his shoulder to his neck he found a sensitive spot and decided to latch on until he could feel his skin irritated enough to form a bruise. “You’re mine.”
Max moaned into the pillow, absolutely loving the stretch of three fingers. He instinctively tilted his head to give Elliot more access to his neck. He could feel himself getting more and more worked up, his cock sliding along the sheets with every thrust of his fiancé's fingers. He let out a whimper at the possessive phrase and his muscles all tensed. "Oh, shit, Ellie, I can't-" His hips spasmed against the mattress as his unexpectedly early orgasm hit him. "Fuck," he cursed while his body sagged down on the bed, his breath coming in heavy.
Ellie watched intently, pulling back with lust blown eyes and releasing his own cock as to not follow as his partner was coming undone beneath him. It was the hottest thing he’d ever seen, making his own dick twitch in need. He chewed on his lip as his hand thrusted slowly to guide him through his orgasm. “That’s right, Max… Fuck, you’re so incredible, coming untouched like that. Taking my fingers so gracefully.” He muttered as he lowered to kiss the side of his head. He brought his free hand to run through the man’s hair gently. “Do you need a break, baby?”
Max whined while gripping the sheets tightly, his toes curling. The orgasm plus all the compliments had tears building in the corner of his eyes. "I'm yours, Ellie. I'm yours." He leaned into Elliot's touch, but his tears spilled over at the thought of taking a break. "No. No break. I need you." He lifted himself up onto his knees and then turned around. "Wanna see you."
Ellie pulled out of the man as he turned over to look up at him, he saw his tear filled eyes and gasped quietly at the beauty of his lover. He climbed onto the bed, hovering over Max and leaned down to kiss the tears away from his face, licking the salty tears off his lips. “My beautiful boy.” He whispered gently right as he kissed him. He used his lubed up hand to coat and stroke himself before lining up with Max.
Max wrapped both arms around Elliot to pull him closer. He returned the kiss and felt himself start to become overwhelmed with emotion. "I love you, Elliot. I love you so much." He wrapped his legs around Elliot's hips to secure their position and help him start to slide in.
“I love you too, Max.” He returned with a soft smile before sliding into the man gently. He moaned at the sudden warmth and tightness around him, cursing against his lovers skin. “Oh shit, you feel glorious, love.” He wrapped his own arms around his future husband and began to thrust slowly.
Max threw his head back and dug his fingers into Elliot's hips. "You too, you feel so good." As he said, it'd been a while since he'd filled up. He almost forgot how much he loved it of course, the fact that it was his love pushing into him only enhanced the experience. His cock had flagged only slightly after his first orgasm and was now returning to full hardness. "Love feeling you on me."
Elliot held Max close as he fucked into him. “Yes, honey. You feel so good. You’re such a good boy. You’re so good to me.” He cradled the man’s head in his hand, and placed opens mouth kissed to his face and down his jaw. “I’ve always dreamt of someone like you… never thought I could have you.” He murmured against him.
Max bucked up wildly against Elliot's thrusts and started to openly weep with the overstimulation of praise. "I'm yours, I'm yours. Please Ellie. Please touch me again. I need to cum." He pulled him into a sloppy kiss, moaning against his lips before continue to beg. "Fuck- please. Please don't ever stop loving me, Ellie."
Ellie didn’t know he could make Max feel this way. It was incredible. Elliot never thought he was that good at sex and perhaps he wasn’t but he knew that intimacy was much hotter and he was glad he could show Max that. Ellie steadied them gently, running his hand through Max’s hair and wiping his tears away. “Hey, hey. It’s alright. I’m always going to love you, bubs… Cmon, look at me. Look at me.” He spoke quietly and he thrust lovingly into Max as his hand trailed down the other body between them. He grasped around Max gently, matching his strokes to his thrusts. His thumb teased his slit, using the slick liquid to make it better for Max. “You are the most important person to me. You are everything, baby.”
Max locked eyes with Elliot as soon as he was told too. He savored the soft touch to his hair, his cheeks, and the gentle but powerful way Elliot managed to make love to him. Max almost felt like he was having an out of body experience with how completely overwhelmed he was. He gasped loudly at the added sensation which quickly turned into a moan. It then evolved into a stream of rambling expletives. "Ah, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Ellie, baby, so close." With Elliot's wonderful words, 'you are everything,' echoing in his head Max's breathe caught in his throat. His body tensed up, clamping down on the man inside him, and he went off like a rocket. He could only let out a strangled moan while he came across Elliot's stomach. This time he immediately fell back against the mattress, his limbs completely limp. His head felt foggy almost like he was going to simply float away from his body.
Elliot quickened his pace as Max reached his peak, getting there himself as his lover tensed up. It was the most incredible pressure and Ellie came alongside Max. He felt Max go limp under him and Elliot almost panicked until he saw Max’s blissed out face. Ellie chuckled softly and kissed his temple gingerly as the man came back to him. “You’re so beautiful, baby. So gorgeous blissed out like this.” He pulled out of Max with a groan and laid at Max’s side for a moment.
Max tried to blink away the fog as he started to come back down to his body. He stared over at his lover and a huge smile grew on his face as he came into focus. "Hey, Ellie." He reached a shaky hand over to rest on the man's cheek. "That was really nice. The best."
“Hmm? Yeah? Better than the dominatrix?” He asked with a laugh. “I’m glad it was good for you. This sounds sadistic as fuck but I like that you cry during sex.” He admitted with a coy smile, turning his head to kiss the man’s hand.
Max huffed out a matching laugh and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Much better. That was just... surface level. This was more. Everything with you is more." He blushed heavily at the reminder that he'd once again started to sob during their love making. Although, hearing that Elliot liked it went straight back to his cock and he groaned in protest. "I'm too sensitive to go again. Stop saying shit that turns me on," he joked.
“Almost seems like you prefer intimacy.” He teased. “Thank you, baby. That means a lot to me.” He spoke truthfully. “We should probably rinse off. It’ll be nice with the hot steamy water and then I can rub lotion on you… I have a really nice lavender one that relaxes me.”
This time Max did in fact roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, get your I told you so's in. That sounds nice though." He started to sit up to head to the shower when his head started spinning. He paused half way through the motion and closed his eyes. "Damn, baby, you fucked my sense of equilibrium right out of me."
Elliot sat up with his lover, placing and hand on his back to make sure he was okay. “Steady, baby. Take your time.” He leaned against the man carefully. “Do you want me to help you to the shower?” He asked.
Max hummed lightly and nodded his head. "Yeah, think that'd be a good idea." He smiled sleepily and started to chuckle. "I've never been fucked dizzy before," he teased his lover.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked concerned, he’d never seen anyone so out of it after sex. He supposed it was a compliment but it made Ellie worry just a bit. He kissed the side of his head and stood, taking the man’s hands to help him stand with him.
Max nodded again, his eyes slipping closed for a moment before opening again to refocus on his lover. He took his hands and let the man help him to his feet. "Yeah, baby. I just went really high there for a while and now I'm coming down." He leaned against him once they were upright. "Shower, massage, glass of water, I'll be just fine."
Elliot caressed the man’s arm as he held him up and walked him to the bathroom. He sat Max down on the bench in the shower while he turned on the water, making sure the temperature was just right. “Alright, water feels perfect.” He smiled down at Max and kissed him lovingly.
Max stared up at Elliot and returned the kiss. "You feel perfect," he quipped back playfully. He kissed Elliot's hand quickly before using it to help himself stand up. He stood under the stream and sighed. He took some time to enjoy the feeling before he started to actually clean himself.
Elliot replaced the man on the bench and admired him as he rinsed off. He couldn’t believe his life right now. He looked down to his hand, finally seeing his ring in good lighting. It was gorgeous and Ellie could feel himself starting to get emotional in the best way. He felt so happy. He laughed to himself as he felt tears spill over his cheeks, guess they were both cryers.
Max looked back at Elliot once he'd cleaned himself off. He reached a hand down to tilt his chin up so they were looking at each other. "Happy tears?" He asked with a soft smile.
Ellie looked up at his fiancé with a smile and nodded, blinking away the tears as they kept coming. He couldn’t seem to stop them, soon he was full on sobbing on the shower bench looking down from Max and hiding his face in his hands. He was so wonderfully overwhelmed with emotion. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He apologized, embarrassed by his outburst of tears.
Max immediately took a seat next to Elliot on the bench. He pulled his lover's head to his chest and rubbed his back lovingly. He'd gotten all of his tears out for the night, but he completely understood what Elliot was feeling. "Don't apologize, baby. I'm right there with you."
Elliot immediately hugs Max close to him, just wanting to feel him. “I just, I never thought this would happen for me. I never thought I would be in love. I can’t believe I’ve found you.” He cried softly.
Max kissed the top of Elliot's head and continued to hold him. "You're telling me. Thought I was going to die alone with nothing but a long string of hookups behind me. Then you came along." He kissed his head again and brushed a few stray wet hairs off of his forehead. "I cant believe I found you either."
Ellie looked up with a pout on his face. “I love you so much, don’t ever leave me.” He stressed “Ever. Even when I’m being the stupidest idiot like today. Please know I’ll come around.” He begged.
Max reached down to pull Elliot's left hand up between their faces. He slotted their fingers together so their rings were side by side. He placed a kiss on Elliot's. "That promise is right here," he said. "We can have a million arguments like tonight and I still won't leave. My love for you is not that fragile."
Elliot knew that the whole codependency probably wasn’t the healthiest thing but he couldn’t help himself. He just wanted Max all the time. Always. Ellie sighed softly and nodded as he leaned into Max to find comfort. He sat there for a few moments, his eyes shut, just feeling his partner beside him before standing up and taking his turn under the water and cleaning up. Once he was done he reached out to grab one of the many robes he hand on display for himself and then remembered he had something for Max. It had been folded in the bathroom cabinet for a while. Ellie had just forgot. He told Max to wait in the shower while he grabbed it and then brought it back to Max…. It was his very own robe with Bubs stitched into the left chest area.
Max kept his hand on Elliot while he was washing off; just a steady presence on his hip. He tilted his head in confusion when he was asked to stay in the shower for a moment when they were done. He did as told and let out a yawn while he waited. When Elliot returned Max took one look at the robe and laugh. "You really got it embroidered." He took it with a smile and slipped it on. He smoothed down the chest with his little nickname. "How's it look?"
Ellie smiled as Max put it on. “It looks amazing. You look amazing.” He grinned as he reached out to help him straighten out the robe around his neck. He leaned in and kissed him before letting him tie the robe up. He pulled away with a yawn and rested his arms on the man’s shoulders. “Bed time?” He asked.
Max pulled him close for a quick hug and then nodded. "Bed time," he agreed with a kiss to Elliot's forehead.
