Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Xander Hawthorne paced the floor of the Virginian airport, anxiety flooding him. His entire plan was falling apart, and he wouldn’t be able to make it to Connecticut in time.

Logically, Xander knew he needed the two hour layover, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to sit still for six hours straight without a scone, but why did his connection have to be delayed?!? He had done so much planning for this trip, and now it was going to be delayed? ‘Not cool, Universe’ Xander thought, shaking his head.

“Excuse me, Mr. Hawthorne?” A voice, loud and commanding brought Xander back to the present. Xander looked up to see a man in his mid twenties, wearing the airlines uniform of blue and white. “That’s me,” Xander said, meeting the man’s eyes. “We received word that you needed to get to Connecticut, and we have another flight headed there now. It leaves shortly, so if you could follow me, that would be fantastic and we can get you or where you’re going as soon as we can.” ‘Thank you, Avery’ Xander thought as he stood up, swinging his backpack over his shoulder and grabbing his suitcase with the other hand.

Xander made it onto the other flight without any problems, and was in the air before he knew it. Once Xander was in the air, he sent Avery a text, informing her that they were back on schedule. She texted back a thumbs up emoji. Xander leaned back in his seat, his nerves from earlier fading away. He pulled his headphones over his ears, and closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Max laughed as she dragged Avery into another store. This was one of the first times they had really gotten to hang out with no worries of paparazzi or nosy people. Avery was taking some time out of her gap year before college to travel the world like she’d always wanted to do, visiting all of the places from the postcard she collected with her mom.

Jameson joined her on some of her trips, but he was usually busy with school. Right now, though, Avery was spending some time with her best friend of all time, keeping her away from her dorm room, so Xander could arrive. “Aves, you have to try this on.” Max exclaimed, holding up a tight red dress. “I don’t know, isn’t it a little bold?” Avery asked, examining the dress. There was basically no back on the piece of clothing.

“Just try it on, you would look so hot,” Max pleaded, practically throwing the dress into the cart. “Fine. But only because I know you’ll convince me to buy it regardless.” Avery sighed, accepting her fate, and the fact that the dress would end up in her closet somehow. It felt good to be able to just be a girl, hanging out with her best friend, now that the whole ‘Hawthorne Heiress’ thing had cooled down a bit. Don’t get me wrong, people were still talking, in fact Avery doubted they would ever fully stop taking, it had definitely quieted down considerably since that life changing day four years ago.

Half an hour away, Xander Hawthorne broke into a building.

He didn’t mean to, but Avery couldn’t find a way to convince Max to leave one of her dorm keys out without her getting suspicious, so Xander found himself climbing through a window. It wasn’t that high up, only about three stories. That was nothing for a Hawthorne, especially when the Hawthorne in question was determined to set up the perfect dinner for his girlfriend.

When Xander was focused, he was actually a very good cook, he just wasn't focused all that often. Tonight, though, he was laser concentrated. Almost as soon as Xander arrived, after relocking the window, he started cooking. He made pasta, partly because he knew he couldn’t mess it up, partly because it was basically all Max had in her apartment. Tonight would not go wrong. His plan for the evening was quite clever, if Xander said so himself.

Max would arrive, Xander would serve his homemade pasta, and then they would go see the newest Marvel movie in theatres, the one Max had told Xander she had wanted to see.

Finally, they would go for a walk in the closest local park to the theatre. Right after Xander finished the food, his phone buzzed. It was Avery, telling him they were at Max’s dorm.

Xander quickly got into position, which was just him lounging on the couch, in a way that didn’t let Max see him from the doorway, but as soon as she stepped into the kitchen, he would be in full view.

Just then, Xander heard the front door open. It was time. He heard Max invite Avery in, but she refused, saying she needed to leave, but came in anyways. Then, it happened. Max entered the kitchen, and saw Xander Hawthorne sprawled across her couch.

She froze, then squealed, then leaped straight on top of Xander, practically tackling him. Xander’s arms wrapped around Max on instinct, holding her closer to him. He breathed in the scent of her, a combination of her rose shampoo and her vanilla perfume. Max gripped him like she wasn’t going to let go anytime in the decade, and Xander didn’t mind. Not in the slightest.

Chapter Text

“I still can’t believe you’re actually here!” Max whispered, staying quiet as to not disturb the other people in the theatre, leaning her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder. Xander turned his head and kissed Max on her forehead. “I missed you.” He whispers into her hair. She tilted up her head and kissed him. Xander kissed back gently, as Max curled herself into Xander’s arms. Max nested her face against her Xander’s hoodie, breathing him in. She had really missed him, so imagine what she felt after she saw her boyfriend, laying on her couch without a care in the world, except her. Before now, the two hadn’t seen each other for almost four months, so a visit was long due, and since Max had been way too busy with school to make the six hour flight from Texas to Connecticut, Xander did it instead. He rested his head on top of Max’s, settling in to watch the rest of the movie.

After the movie ended, Xander and Max walked out of the theatre, blinking in the light, which was still bright, seeing as it was only 3:00 in the afternoon. “That was a great movie. Thank you so mush for taking me.” Max says, walking beside Xander, holding his hand, as they wandered through the downtown area of New Castle. Xander had the good idea to allow his girlfriend to show him around, because even though he had been there before, there had a lot of construction since he was here last, and as they walked through Main Street, Xander could see at least six restaurants or shops that hadn’t been there last year.
Suddenly, Max saw something across the street, and grabbed Xander’s head, tugging him in the direction of a small bookshop. “This place has been under construction for ages! This is the first time I’ve seen it open.” Max said, opening the door and stepping in with Xander in tow. A light bell sounded, but it was slightly obscured by the sound of Max, gasping. ‘And for good reason’ Xander thought, his eyes taking in the store, which had not only floor to ceiling bookshelves, lining all of the walls, there was also a clear amount of machinery used to make certain elements of the store move, like the sliding ladder attached to one of the bookshelves, that was moving across the shelves, slow enough so you could grab on and reach any on the higher shelves. Instead of being overly cluttered, the shop had a cozy and whimsical feel, almost like you were stepping into a fairy tale. “Hello, my dears,” a kind, quiet voice said, breaking both Xander and Max out of their thoughts. They turned, a saw a woman who looked like somebody’s grandmother, a short, plump old woman, with long silver hair that fell down her back.
“Hi!” Max said, very excitedly. “Welcome to the shop, is there anything I can help you find?” The woman asked. “Nope, just looking.” Xander said, as Max turned to look at the one of the shelves in detail. She ran her fingers down the row of books, then turned to Xander and whispered “How would you feel about moving in here?” Xander chuckled, and whispered back “I don’t think I would mind.” About an hour and a half later, Max finally dragged herself out of the store, but not before buying six books with Xander’s credit card. (AN as she should)
Xander and Max walked back to the movie theatre where Xander had parked his car, with the books in tow. Max loaded the books into the car, then got in herself, with Xander in the driver’s seat, and Max in the passenger seat. Xander started driving, but it wasn’t to Max’s dorm. When she asked why, Xander just smiled. Max leaned over, connecting her phone to the car’s Bluetooth, and opening her Spotify. She started her playlist, and the sounds of Taylor Swift filled the car.

Fifteen minutes later, Xander pulled off the quiet road, and parked the car. He stepped out of his car, and walked over to Max’s side, opening her car door for her. Max grinned, taking her boyfriend’s hand as she stepped out of the car, Xander’s hand still in her’s. “What are we doing?” Max asked, realizing they were in one of Connecticut’s most popular trails. “We, are going for a walk.” Xander said, a smile of his face as he looked down at her. “A walk?” Max asked, tangling her fingers in his. “A walk,” Xander confirmed. Ok. Sure. A walk.

Xander and Max started up the trail, taking it slow. It was still only about 5:30 in the evening, and their path was lit by the sun, which was slowly starting to set. Ten minutes later, Xander covered Max’s eyes with a hand, and when she tried to move his hand, Xander lightly swatted at her fingers. “It’ll be quick. Don’t you trust me?” Xander teased. Max reluctantly dropped her hand, and walked forwards, even while complaining that she had terrible balance, didn’t he know this, Xander wrapped a long arm around Max’s waist, steading her. They walked a few more steps, then Xander stopped walking. He uncovered Max’s eyes, and she gasped for the second time that day. Xander had set up a whole picnic, on the top of the large hill, complete with a massive blanket and at least two baskets of food. The best part was that Xander must’ve timed the entire day so that this would be timed perfectly with the sunset starting right when they arrived. “Did you do this?” Max asked, turning to her boyfriend, incredulous. “I planned it, but Avery and Jameson set it up.” He said, rubbing his neck. “Do you like it?” It occurred to Max then, that this boy meant the entire world to her, and how much he cared about her. “I love it.” Max said, reaching up and kissing Xander. He kissed her back, one of his hands resting on her waist, the other hand coming up to her hair.

Once all of the food was gone, and the sun had completely set behind the horizon, the couple headed back to Max’s dorm, where the two met up with Avery and Jameson, who had driven in that day. All in all, that way the day Max knew, without a doubt, that she was hopelessly in love with Xander Hawthorne.

Chapter Text

Time One:
“What are we doing here?” Max asked, turning to one of her closest friends. Xander grinned. “You’ll find out.” He said with a smirk. It was the day before Valentine's day, and Max and Xander were wandering down Main Street. Max would never admit this, but she actually had a huge crush on Xander. Even though Xander was single, Max knew he didn’t think about her like that, and she would be lying if she said it didn’t hurt her a bit, but she thought today might change something.

All of a sudden, Xander grabbed Max’s hand and pulled her into a cafe. Max shifted to stare at Xander. “What are you doing?” She hissed, and Xander just grinned, and led Max to a booth in the corner. “What are you doing?” Max whispered, the demand clear in her voice. Xander smirked. “You’ll see.” He said simply. Then, the waitress showed up at their table.

“Hello guys. What can I get started for you?” she asked. Xander looked at Max, waiting for her to order. “I’ll just do a chai latte, please.” Max said, after a quick glance at the menu. “I’ll have a caramel coffee. Thanks.” The waitress nodded, and wrote down their orders. “Anything else?” She asked. “Yeah, could we do a blueberry scone, please?” Xander asked. “Yeah, of course.” The waitress said, before walking away from their table. As soon as the waitress left, Max turned to Xander. “Please explain what is going on.” She said, staring Xander down. He grinned, and finally gave Max an answer.

“So, basically, because it’s almost Valentine's day, this cafe has a deal, where if a couple comes in, they get a discount on their drinks, but they both have to come in, or the deal doesn't count.” Max smirked. “Did you seriously use me to make your drink cheaper?” she asked, even while pushing down a small feeling in her gut because he just wanted a discount on his drink, and didn’t actually want to ask her out.

Xander chuckled. “Yup. And it worked, plus you are getting a free drink, so don’t complain.” Max laughed, and the two spent the next ten minutes talking, until the waitress came back with the drinks. “Your scone will be out in a few minutes, because we’re just making a fresh batch.”

Max wrapped her hands around her coffee cup to ward off the chilly February air that was blowing in from the door that kept opening. Xander noticed, and immediately started unraveling the scarf around his neck. He tossed it to Max without a second thought. “You don’t need to do that.” Max protested, even as she wrapped the scarf around her neck. It smelt like him, she realized. Like cinnamon, and rain. Max smiled at the thought.

Half an hour later, the waitress came back with the bill. “You two make a cute couple.” She commented, as Xander paid. He wrapped an arm around Max’s waist. “Thanks.” He said with a smile. Max allowed herself to lean into Xander as they packed up to go.

“Thanks for the drink.” Max said, while picking up her purse. “Thank you for going along with it.” Xander replied, handing Max her jacket. She took the coat, pulling it on, when one of her friendship bracelets caught on one of the sleeves. Xander noticed immediately, untangling the end of the bracelet and freeing her wrist. He didn’t let go of her wrist, though. Instead, he took her hand, intertwining their fingers. And he didn’t let go.

Time Two:
The event was loud, and very crowded. Max was only there to support Avery, because Jameson, who normally accompanied her to these events, had an important test he needed to study for, so he was stuck at Yale.

Anyways, Avery was in the middle of a conversation with some important-looking guys, so Max had been left to herself.

At the moment, Max was standing in a corner, not having an idea of what to do, when all of a sudden, a figure appeared in front of her.

“Hey, pretty thing.” Fax. They guy was tall, and if Max was being honest, he was pretty ugly. He was also standing very close to her, and his cologne was overpowering, and smelt slightly musty.

“Hello.” Max said tightly, hoping the guy would take the hint and see that she wasn’t interested. “I’ve never seen you at one of these things before.” The guy inched closer. Wasn’t taking the hint, then.

“I don’t come to these events often. I’m just here for my friend.” Max said, hoping the guy would leave soon. The guy perked up.

“Who’s your friend? Maybe I know them?” As much as Max wanted to get the guy to leave, she didn’t want to subject Avery to the obnoxious guy either. “I don’t know where she is.” Max said, trying not to look at Avery, so the guy didn’t get any ideas about harassing Avery either. “I’m Chandler. Chandler Charles. What’s your name, pet?” The guy asked, moving somehow even closer to Max.

Max blurted out the first name that came to her mind, a fitting match for the creep.

“Emily.” she said, and the guy smirked. “Emily, huh. What do you say we get out of here?” Max prepared to reject the guy, when he decided to make the very stupid idea to put his hand on her arm.

Max flinched, but the guy didn't seem to notice. He smirked again, when all of a sudden, a tall figure stepped in front of him.

“I highly suggest you remove your hand unless you want to have it removed.” The figure stated, without a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Max looked up into the face of her savoir, surprised to see Xander Hawthore staring the guy down. There was none of the usual humor or happiness in Xander’s face, and the creep seemed to understand that Xander wasn’t kidding.

“Geez man, Didn’t know she was taken.” The guy said, before walking off. Xander watched the guy leave. As soon as he was out of sight, Xander turned to Max.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his brown eyes free from any of the rage that had filled them a few moments ago. “I’m okay.” Max said, surprised with how mad Xander had seemed when he saw the guy put his hand on her arm. “I didn't know you were here,” Max said, as she thought back to earlier in the evening, not remembering seeing Xander around. “I just got here, like fifteen minutes ago. Alisa told me I needed to leave my lab. No idea why.” Xander said, and Max realized then that he was missing his right eyebrow. Again.

“In my defence, that robot wasn't designed to explode.” Xander said with a chuckle. “I forgot to thank you for rescuing me.” Max said, looking at Xander. “Anytime.” Xander said, but it sounded tight, like he was trying to get mad. “You didn’t look like you were having a good time, and I thought you could use a hand.” Xander smiled. “

Plus, I could smell his musty cologne from across the room, so I have no idea how it smelt up close.” Max laughed. “It was musty!” she said, wrinkling her nose at the thought.
Time Three:
The party was everything you would expect a Hawthorne baby shower to be, multiplied by two.

They had already done one for Libby’s close friends back in Connecticut, but this one was in Texas, with what seemed like everyone Nash had ever known.

The guests ranged from former business associates of Tobais Hawthorne to kids who attended Heights Country Day School.

Xander currently found himself stuck in polite conversation with one of these kids, a girl named Claire.(AN Im so sorry if your name is Claire, I just needed a name and this is not about you.) She had draped herself over Xander not five minutes after she arrived, even pushing Avery out of the way, which Jameson had almost punched her for, but Avery calmed him down in time.

Claire was annoying, and loud, and she had had a crush on Xander for at least three years. She always found a way to be around Xander, even after he had told her, multiple times, that he didn’t like her.

She kept thinking she could change his mind, even though Xander had a massive crush on Max, who only thought of him as a friend. Being Avery’s best friend, she had spent a lot of time with Libby, so it only made sense that she came to Libby’s baby shower.

Xander’s enormous crush on Max was slightly more manageable than it was when they had first met, seeing as when his crush started, Xander would almost have a panic attack every time he saw Max, he still found it hard to think straight when Max smiled at him.

“So, Xander, what was it like growing up a Hawthorne?” Claire drawled, her hand resting on Xander’s arm. “It was pretty much what you would expect.” Xander said absently, scanning the room for anyone or anything that could get him out of this conversation, when his eyes caught Max from across the room. At Max, staring at Claire’s hand on Xander’s arm.

Apparently feeling his eyes on her, Max looked up and met Xander’s eyes. Her eyebrow raised in a silent question. ‘Do you want that hand there?’

Xander gave a subtle shake of his head, and he caught Max thinking for a second, before Claire tightened her grip on Xander’s arm, bringing him back to the current conversation.

“Heyy, so I know this is like, really forward, but like, I like you, so we should like, date or something.” Claire said, grinning up at Xander like she thought he would say yes. All of a sudden, Xander felt another hand on his arm, this one warm.

“Really hate to be that person, but Xander is taken.” Max’s voice said, and Xander was shocked by how powerful her voice seemed. He was even more shocked when he realized he didn’t entirely hate her telling someone they were together. In fact, he actually kind of liked it.

Claire blushed, looking down. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea!” She said, before tripping over herself to get out of their presence. “Thanks for that.” Xander said, glancing at Max. She offered him a small smile. “You looked like you wanted to commit murder, and I don’t think Alisa would have liked that.” She said with a chuckle. Xander grinned.
The One Time They Didn’t:

The movie theatre was surprisingly uncrowded, despite it being a Friday night. The only other people in the theatre were two teenagers who looked like they were on a very awkward first date, a few parents who acted like this was the first time they had seen a glimpse of the outside world in six months, and Max and Xander.

Max had flown out to Texas two days before after finals, and she hadn’t left Xander’s side since. They had spent yesterday hanging around the house, just talking, and catching up, and being in each other’s company. It wasn’t like they hadn’t talked at least once a day while Max was at college, but it wasn't the same.

The couple had decided to watch the new Freakier Friday in theatres, and as they had lined up to get snacks, Xander had wrapped his arm around Max’s waist. She had leaned into him like she had never left and had no intentions of leaving again.

Once the couple had popcorn and their drinks, they found the room the movie was taking place in, and found their seats.

After getting everything organized, Max rested her head against Xander’s shoulder, and his arm wrapped around her waist. The couple spent the next few minutes before the movie started.

When the trailers started, Mad just curled closer to her boyfriend. Xander pressed a kiss to the top of Max’s head.

When the movie ended, Max was asleep. Xander wasn’t sure when his girlfriend had fallen asleep, but he suspected it had been sometime around the last quarter of the movie.

He stretched. Gently unwrapping his arm from Max’s waist, he shook her awake. “Hmmm?” Max muttered. “The movie ended.” Xander said softly. “Nope.” Max hummed. Xander gave a quiet chuckle. “Yep.” Max just snuggled closer to her boyfriend.

“Alright. That’s it. You are asking to be picked up and walked to the car.” Xander declared. “Mhm.” Xander grinned, and in one smooth motion, scooped Max into his arms. Max just gave a sleepy grin and wrapped her arms around his neck.

As Xander made his way to his car, Max still in his arms, it started to rain. It wasn’t heavy, but a kind of rain that made the world seem softer.

Max was more awake now, and when Xander gently placed her on her feet, instead of starting to walk towards the car, she just smiled at Xander.

Slowly, Xander took Max’s hand. She let out a small chuckle. Then, Xander began to spin Max out, then back in. She looked up at him with a look of quiet affection on her face. “What are you doing?” She whispered, and Xander gave her a grin. “Dancing in the rain.”

He spun Max out again, and this time, when she pulled her back in, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. The kiss was soft, and Xander returned it. “We should probably get back to the car.” Xander whispered. “Probably.” Max agreed, but made no move to do anything. Instead, she kissed him again. Because he was hers.

Chapter Text

It was another day Avery was in the coma. Max was slowly losing her mind. She didn’t think she had ever been more mad or annoyed at anyone in her entire life as she was when she found out Alisa had Avery moved.

Nobody had allowed the lawyer any access to Avery since, and Max doubted that would change anytime soon. Everyone in the house was terrified for Avery.

Jameson had barely left her bedside, except when Nash forced him to eat and sleep. Max was there at least once a day, and more often than not, a member of the Hawthorne family joined her, although Xander was there the most frequently when Max was.

This morning, Max made her way to Avery’s room as usual, and while she was walking through the expansive halls of the House, Xander fell into step beside her. He took her hand and pressed something rolled in a napkin into her hand. “Eat this,” he said, and Max stopped walking and turned to him.

“What is it?” She asked, and he didn’t meet her eyes. “Scone.” Xander gave no other explanation, and Max took his hand. “You okay?” She asked the question softly. He turned to her now.

“Honest answer? I’m spiraling. No one knows what’s going on, or what could happen to Avery, and Alisa is acting like she did the right thing when Avery could have died, and”- Max cut him off by placing her other hand on his arm, and she realized he was doing this because if he didn’t, he would go crazy.

“It’ll be okay.” Max said, willing Xander to believe her. “Everything will be okay.” Xander pressed his forehead against Max’s. “It has to be.” Without another word, Max took the scone in one hand and kept holding Xander’s hand in her other.

Chapter Text

It was another day Avery was in the coma. Max was slowly losing her mind. She didn’t think she had ever been more mad or annoyed at anyone in her entire life as she was when she found out Alisa had Avery moved.

Nobody had allowed the lawyer any access to Avery since, and Max doubted that would change anytime soon. Everyone in the house was terrified for Avery.

Jameson had barely left her bedside, except when Nash forced him to eat and sleep. Max was there at least once a day, and more often than not, a member of the Hawthorne family joined her, although Xander was there the most frequently when Max was.

This morning, Max made her way to Avery’s room as usual, and while she was walking through the expansive halls of the House, Xander fell into step beside her. He took her hand and pressed something rolled in a napkin into her hand. “Eat this,” he said, and Max stopped walking and turned to him.

“What is it?” She asked, and he didn’t meet her eyes. “Scone.” Xander gave no other explanation, and Max took his hand. “You okay?” She asked the question softly. He turned to her now.

“Honest answer? I’m spiraling. No one knows what’s going on, or what could happen to Avery, and Alisa is acting like she did the right thing when Avery could have died, and”- Max cut him off by placing her other hand on his arm, and she realized he was doing this because if he didn’t, he would go crazy.

“It’ll be okay.” Max said, willing Xander to believe her. “Everything will be okay.” Xander pressed his forehead against Max’s. “It has to be.” Without another word, Max took the scone in one hand and kept holding Xander’s hand in her other.