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Maxwell wrinkled his nose at Kurt’s mirth. Finally free of a Klah’Eel prison and he went back into a fight and came out chuckling? Maxwell looked up from his searching for a moment to look into Kurt’s face. “Is that what you want now that you’re finally free? More violence?”
Kurt’s eyes softened, and he reached out to touch Maxwell’s jaw with his fingertips. “All I want now that I’m finally free is you.”
Maxwell jerked his face away and turned back to his box. “Don’t touch me.”
Kurt’s fingers curled into a fist, and he forced himself to ignore it as he finally spied what he was after: antiseptic and a spray bottle of artificial skin. True stitches would be better for the sort of wound Kurt had, but artificial skin would do just fine and get them both out of this situation a lot faster.
He turned back to Kurt’s stomach but didn’t look at his face. “This’ll sting.”
Kurt caught his wrist before he could pour the antiseptic on fresh gauze. “Baby, what’s wrong with you?”
“Don’t call me that.” Maxwell steeled himself and then looked up and glared sternly into Kurt’s clear green eyes. “Especially in public.”
“And why not?” Kurt increased the pressure on Maxwell’s wrist but kept his voice low and level and under the buzz of the room’s conversation. “Why are you trying to hide us?”
Maxwell didn’t blink at the pain in his wrist. “There is no us, Kurt.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Kurt glanced around the room as though to make sure no eyes were on them. Maxwell had his back to the room and couldn’t see anyone else, but no one must have been watching because Kurt leaned down and bared his teeth. “You’ve thrown me away just like that? I spent years in a Klah’Eel prison, dreaming of coming back to you, and you can’t even manage to be fucking happy to see me? I meant nothing to you?”
“You meant everything to me, and you know it,” Maxwell spat. He clenched his fist in Kurt’s hold but didn’t dare try to pull it away in case the struggle drew anyone’s attention. “You couldn’t stand to have me care about anything else.”
Kurt dropped Maxwell’s hand and leaned back with his upper lip curled. “I forgot you had this selfish streak in you.”
Despite himself, the barb hit home, and Maxwell winced. “I’m not selfish.”
“Do you think it’s easy to love you?” Kurt shook his head and looked away.
Maxwell used the opening to pour the antiseptic onto the clean gauze, but his hands shook, and he dribbled some of it onto the floor.
“With how fucking cold you can be? With…”
Maxwell held his breath. He knew this one. He knew what came next. It wouldn’t hurt this time.
“With what you are.”
But, like always, it did hurt. It cut into him and scared him to his core—that what he was was unforgivable and unlovable and that Kurt would tell everyone, and then he really would be alone forever. He inhaled raggedly and started wiping away the dirt, debris, and dried blood around Kurt’s wound.
Kurt hissed at the sting, then reached out and cupped Maxwell’s cheek. “But it doesn’t matter to me. I love you anyway. I always have, and I always will.”
Maxwell’s hands shook as he wiped away the last dribble of blood, and he hurriedly threw it away. “I’m not an idiot anymore, Kurt. You don’t love me, and I certainly don’t love you.”
Kurt suddenly grabbed the other side of Maxwell’s face and forced his head up to look at him. A familiar fury blazed in Kurt’s green eyes. “Stop fucking lying.” Then he petted his thumbs over Maxwell’s cheeks—so softly and gently and so at odds with his iron grip on Maxwell’s face that it made Maxwell want to throw up. “And stop hiding. You can’t hide from me, sweetheart.”
Maxwell swallowed and ground his teeth together so hard he heard them scraping. “I’m not hiding.”
Kurt’s lips twisted into something like a smile. “I know you better than anyone.” That, Maxwell couldn’t deny. “I know you better than you know yourself. You’re just a little scared, and a little confused, and overwhelmed to have me back like this.”
Maxwell grabbed Kurt’s wrists, but when he tugged on them, they didn’t budge. “I’m not.”
Kurt squeezed Maxwell’s jaw between his hands and growled through his teeth. “You are.” And then he loosened his grip and soothed his hands through Maxwell’s hair. “But that’s okay. You’re mine, Maxwell. You’re mine, and I’m yours. And after all I’ve done for you, I can’t believe even you would be selfish enough to throw that back in my face.”
Maxwell’s chest tightened, and his heart pounded. He’d forgotten what this felt like. He thought he’d never forget, but he had. “Stop.”
Kurt rocked forward and pressed his lips to Maxwell’s forehead. Then he spoke against his skin. “And you should be fucking thankful because if anyone else knew you like I know you, they’d run you off the planet.”
Chapter Six
Maxwell ripped himself free of Kurt’s grasp.
