The Phenomena of Fireflies and Star... - Chapter 17: Chapter 17

The White Flowers Cemetery
1:50 PM
Dicoy had expressed more than once back in the day his love for daisies. Max knew that very well. He walked on the cemented path leading to the entrance of the cemetery, not knowing exactly what it was he was supposed to feel. There definitely was nostalgia.
But there was no more love.
Back in the day, Max had truly loved Dicoy, and such love had been reciprocated.
That was the past. Those days were long gone.
While Max didn't hate Dicoy, he'd already been shut away from the Montenegros. What stuck around, however, was Max's respect for the man.
Max had never really been the type to harbor ill feelings. He never liked that energy around him, but he wasn't about to deny that his life had collected its fair share of heartbreaks. Dicoy included.
Besides, Max didn't want to associate any more pain to Dicoy's memory. He knew the exact truth about how his former flame had died.
Malign.
Max had witnessed how it had happened, but he hadn't been able to do anything to save Dicoy.
They'd been following Malign's trail during that time. The telepath had gone on a killing spree that people hadn't known then to be superhuman attacks. Division operations had still been clandestine during that time, and they'd always been covered up as other things more comprehensible for the human masses. When they had finally tracked down who they had thought would be the next target, Malign had already perched somewhere else. When they had finally realized that they'd been misled, they'd already been too late.
Max remembered how he had found Dicoy. The man had already been killed, Malign crouching by his head. Malign's escape that night was only one of many others.
Max remembered shedding a few tears that night. Tears of sympathy for a life that had been tragically ended by a superhuman who could've been a hero. Tears of sympathy for the bereaved family.
Tears of interruptive nostalgia, too, if Max were to be completely honest. Once upon a time, he and Dicoy had truly loved and fought for each other. Once upon a time.
Finally making it to the entrance gate, Max walked into the cemetery.
'Now, where do I find you?'
2:22 PM
Max had made the right call to check out the headstones with flowers first. That had definitely narrowed things down. It was a good thing that his stamina had since been enhanced. Otherwise, he would've done what most people would've done, especially under the sun's heat: complain.
Or worse, cancel the plan and go home.
As it appeared, Dicoy was also sharing a grave plot with someone else.
"Hey there, Dicoy," Max said solemnly as he crouched to put down the clay vase of daisies onto the flat headstone. There already was a vase of roses on the headstone. Someone had just recently visited the grave. Judging from the color of the roses, it had to be just a few days ago. Maybe three or two. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to see where you've been all this time."
He traced the engraving on the headstone.
"Benedicto Montenegro, 1921-1992," he read. The other name had been partially covered by some uprooted grass. "I came to give my respects, Dicoy. I want you to know that I did pray for you. I pray you've already found your peace. You deserve it."
He proceeded to wipe the grass off the flat headstone. The cemetery could use better maintenance.
He'd never gotten to know Benedicto's family. At least, not by name and not even very well by face.
'Who is he sharing this plot with?' Max wondered, wiping the dust off the second name.
His mind went silent for a split-second upon reading the name.
"Harvey Beethoven Montenegro...," Max read, his brows furrowing in confusion and surprise. Not sure how to process the information, he checked the date of death. "Shit. It can't be, right?"
"Died April 18, 2023."
Over five months ago. It was just in the right timeframe for Ames's process of grief.
"Father and son, united in the spirit of love," an engraving on the gravestone read. "A legacy of service."
'Can it be?' Max asked himself. ''Legacy of service'? Is it really him? There's a big chance it is...'
'The roses,' Max noticed. 'They've been here for about three or two days.'
'I need answers...'
'And if I am right, so will Ames.'
Kobi's Internet Shop
2:51 PM
It had taken a while before Max had figured out how internet shop transactions worked. It had been embarrassing for a while there, but he didn't have much time to dwell on it now.
The well-ventilated internet shop was loaded with young gamers in a loud volleyball of trash-talking. It was rambunctious and not his cup of tea, but it was also mildly entertaining.
As nasty as some of the language used really was.
Max had an objective, though. He had to figure out if Harvey Beethoven Benedicto was Ames's Harvey.
He typed Harvey's full name into the search bar and waited as the search results came up.
There were many search results of news articles about the unexpected death of SP02 Harvey Beethoven Montenegro over five months ago.
"Holy crap...," was all Max could say, looking around to see if anybody was wondering why he was looking up a man's death. Everybody else was busy with their competitive gaming. "They are the same person."
'Killed by the same superhuman?' Max realized that crucial factor, feeling chills down his spine. 'Why would Malign kill Dicoy and his son? What's the deal?'
Max felt himself zoning in on the problem at hand so hard that the noise became almost wordless to him.
He scrolled downward, seeing Harvey's appearance for the first time in two photos: a graduation photo and an awards ceremony.
'Oh,' Max thought. 'He's a good-looking fellow. He looks strong. Sincere eyes, intelligent aura, handsome smile, tall height, warm skin tone. I can see why Ames fell for this man.'
A thought then crossed Max's mind from seemingly nowhere.
'We look kind of similar. It must either be because of Harvey's stature or his lawman demeanor or the impression he gives off. Or all three.'
The chills that Max had felt from earlier were replaced by a blossoming warmth in his cheeks.
'What the...,' he thought, realizing that he was blushing at the idea. 'Ames couldn't possibly like me like that. Although...'
'Although, the pulsations I picked up earlier from him...'
'Back in the sky...'
'He meant those words.'
'And I never said to him anything I didn't mean...'
'Even the silliest remarks.'
'Alright, stop!' he thought to himself in annoyance. 'Ames was just one marriage away from being a widower. How he loved, and most probably still loves, Harvey was built and strengthened by years of experience. If Ames had lied and told me that they were already married, my empathic powers would tell me to believe it. Stop.'
He cracked his neck and took a deep breath, a little stressed out by the thoughts in his head.
He had definitely picked up some suggestive pulsations, but he'd been trying to reason his way out of their paths.
'Focus on the mission, dammit,' he reprimanded himself, proceeding to read the rest of the article.
There was no mention of Malign. The cause of death had been declared as a strangely spontaneous brain inflammation. How Malign was not mentioned or, at least, suggested bothered Max. Then again, he knew how the justice system had become riddled with loopholes and other inconsistencies after the public revelation of superhuman activity, particularly in terms of accountability and culpability.
The way Max understood everything, Harvey had become a victim of the very law he'd been fighting to enforce.
Not only was it a tragic irony, it felt like an insult.
Ames's rage made sense. It definitely made more sense now.
How Ames had managed all this time, and how he had taken the opportunity to retaliate on Malign with a certain level of success, was impressive to Max.
Another thing that bothered Max was how he had totally forgotten the fact that Dicoy had been killed very similarly to Harvey. He, however, kind of already knew the reason why. It was disappointing, nonetheless.
Max recalled that night when Ames had first shared about Harvey. Max could remember how Ames's revelation and deep-seated pulsations of grief and pain had been so strong that they had overwhelmed him with the devastation, the horror, and the hurt that Ames probably still harbored deep inside himself, no matter how happy or controlled the guy had managed to be.
Ames's emotional pulsations truly had quite an unusual strength. That was most clear in Ames's negative emotions.
Especially when Harvey was in mind, Max hypothesized. His hypothesis didn't even need any further testing. He already knew the answer.
'I even forgot that Dicoy was killed very similarly,' Max thought to himself. 'My empathy can really backfire on me.'
Max wondered how he was going to tell Ames the truth. He would definitely need proof.
Another thought crossed Max's mind.
It was something else about Dicoy that, perhaps, outside Division, only Max knew and could remember. It was something else that, by contract, they were prohibited from releasing to the public.
It would have to be the most alarming piece of information that Max had ever processed about this whole mess.
The words "legacy of service" surely were words of many layers.
"You're kidding me," Max uttered in his realization, his eyes widening in shock. "Legacy is right."
Andrade Residence
6:02 PM
Their dinner was unusually quiet.
They normally bantered.
Max, however, was still trying to figure out how exactly he was going to tell Ames the truth. Ames had been so happy today. Max didn't want to ruin that. He couldn't afford to. He'd have to think of another time. He tried disguising his wordlessness by eating more, but that was uncharacteristic of him, and it didn't take long for Ames's perceptiveness to notice.
"Are you okay?" Ames asked, squinting at Max with piercing inquisitiveness. It felt like an ambush.
"Mhmm," Max replied, forcing himself to make eye contact. It was a pretty long eye contact.
"Which is why you're eating more than normal...," Ames pointed out. "After you told me earlier that you were full."
"I'm okay...," Max insisted, managing a chuckle. It was only half-forced. The other half came from the nervousness. He just didn't want to ruin the progress Ames had made with being happy.
Among other things.
None of which Max could complain about.
Ultimately.
"You sure?" Ames pressed on. "I hope you're not hiding a health problem or anything..."
"No, no. I'm good. I'm good. I, uh, I was lying. I'm actually really hungry."
"Okay. If you need any meds, they're in the cupboard."
"Cool. Noted. But I'm—yeah—I'm okay."
"Okay."
'I just don't want to ruin this day for you, Ames,' Max thought, clearing his throat before continuing with his meal.
'It used to be relatively easy to say the bad news. In its own complicated way. But now...'
Max had already recognized it before, but being reminded of their complicated dynamic really was an educational experience all on its own. Actually having some sort of relationship built on empathy with a human on a level that was personal rather than a power-based or, at least, a professional one hit differently.
He then realized that Ames had already finished eating. He could feel Ames's genuine concern pulsating.
'I think my unease might be the one ruining your day,' Max considered.
The sound of Ames's phone ringing came up from the bedroom.
"I think someone's calling you," Max said.
"Yeah...," Ames replied, standing up from his seat. "I'll go get it. You can just dump the dishes in the sink. I'll wash them later."
'Now he's upset,' Max felt the pulsation when Ames stood up. 'Because I'm upset.'
'Way to go, Max...'
'I really screwed up there.'
He followed Ames with his gaze. The guy was already making his way up the stairs.
'I could've been subtler.'
Max knocked on the closed bedroom door gently. It had been a while, and he'd already finished washing the dishes.
The bedroom was rather quiet.
He hoped to check on Ames and, maybe, apologize.
He reached up to knock again, but the door had already opened before he could continue. Ames peeked through the doorway, a slightly surprised expression on his face. Ames didn't look upset anymore. In fact, Max could only feel, strangely, a recognition of a good timing coming from Ames.
"You good? For real?" Ames inquired, his voice calm and almost controlled.
"Yeah, I am," Max replied. He meant it. For Ames.
"You know, empathy is a basic human skill," Ames said. "I don't need to be superhuman to know something's bothering you."
"I know," Max insisted. "But I'm really good now. Don't worry. Please."
Ames just stared at him for a while, as if thinking of what to say next.
"Okay, I'm not worried," Ames said eventually, sighing before forcing a dry smile and opening the door wider. "Someone wants to meet you, by the way."
Max blinked in surprise.
'Meet me?'
Before he knew it, Ames had already pulled him into the bedroom. Ames's laptop was on, and it was the only light source apart from the desk lamp.
Ames sat down on his computer chair excitedly, unplugging his earphones from his laptop.
"Kuya," Ames said. "This is Max."
Max allowed Ames to pull him down a bit. On the screen was a tall-looking, physically imposing, and ruggedly good-looking man. Judging from his short cropped hair and his confident but authoritative poise, he was probably law enforcement.
"Max," Ames continued. "This is Tyler. My Kuya."
'Why am I feeling the pressure?' Max thought, finding himself silly. 'It's just meeting someone new. Like the old times.'
"Sir," Max greeted, giving Tyler a polite wave. "Nice to meet you."
Tyler saluted at him in reply, a faint but reserved smile on the man's face.
"Kiddo'," Tyler spoke. His voice had a tenor hint to it, and yet it could easily be a baritone. "You didn't tell me you have a new boyfriend."
Max was about to correct Tyler, but he felt his face warm up.
'Dammit,' Max thought, knowing he had just blushed.
"Oh, he's not my boyfriend," Ames said, chuckling in what Max picked up as embarrassment.
'Embarrassment?' Max blinked, glancing at Ames. 'I mean he's probably just shy about the mistake, but...'
"He's just my friend," Ames clarified, patting Max's shoulder with the back of his hand. "He's, um, a guy from work."
Max wasn't sure why he wasn't thinking straight. He didn't know why he was feeling a bit off. There was nothing wrong, though. Ames was just introducing him as he was. Well, Ames had to lie there about him being a guy from work.
"You're a teacher, too, Max?" Tyler asked in a friendly but direct way.
'Get it together, Max,' Max thought to himself, blinking himself back to full attention.
"Yes, sir," Max replied, clearing his throat. "I'm also, um, a Literature teacher. Filipino Literature."
"Ah," Tyler said, cracking his neck as a clever sliver came upon his eyes. "What's your favorite book, Max?"
'Shit,' Max thought. 'Dammit. Um. I didn't know I was being quizzed today.'
'I need to think of a book.'
'Think.'
"Um...," Max hesitated for a while, trying to upload all of his memories. He had to remember one. He focused on books.
'Books,' he thought, running through the images of the books he had come across as fast as he could. 'There's one. There's one.'
"Max?" Ames whispered.
"In Defense of Sidapa by Ethan Mariano, sir," Max answered, flashing a confident smile. He wondered how long that had taken him. "That one."
Tyler nodded in acknowledgment.
Max gave Ames a reassuring smile, but the guy merely gestured for him to focus on Tyler.
So he did.
"That's my favorite book, too," Tyler commented. "I bought that for my baby brother myself."
'Well, shit,' Max thought. 'I picked the wrong book. I did read it, though. Not immediately, but I did. I just read almost all the others, too.'
He mentally uploaded all of his visual memories of the book at the ready. Every single page.
"The story took place when?" Tyler asked.
"The 1890s, sir," Max answered. He was doing well so far.
"And Libulan was also called?"
"The Moon Boy."
"Correct. The story parallels two people who are?
"A governor and a farmhand, sir."
"Mhmm. Okay. Why did the author make the parallel of the two mythological gods and the two human characters?"
"That would be because...," Max started. "The author wanted to show how the choices of the human characters compared and contrasted with that of the gods'. Also, the differences in the social constructs and belief systems, sir, and how they affected the choices the characters made."
"Good one...," Ames whispered. In his periphery, Max could see the guy tauntingly making a face. He retaliated by pinching Ames's leg.
"Ouch...," Ames whispered harshly, wincing slightly. "I hate you."
"Very good, Max," Tyler said, clapping thrice. He had a fairly impressed look on his face, but he retained his steely poise. "You really do know your stuff."
"Yes, sir," Max replied.
"He's the smartest person I know, kuya," Ames spoke up, pointing his thumb toward Max.
Max liked the sound of that. He knew Ames meant that.
'Just like the embarrassment he felt,' Max thought. He hated thinking about that. It felt unfair. It most probably had been just a wrong read on his part. He didn't even know why he was so off about that pickup.
"This guy's IQ is off the roof," Ames continued.
"Oh, I can tell," Tyler replied. "That's a big one coming from Ames, Max. My brother's an info processor."
"Tyler is actually a Doctor of Criminology," Ames shared. "Dedicated policeman. A very impressive public servant. He's a superhero in his own way. And Max, kuya? You should see him teach. He's amazing."
'I knew it,' Max thought, confirming his read of Tyler's body language. As for Ames, as off as Max had felt for his potentially wrong pickup of the guy's pulsation, the kind words about him that he had just heard had made up for it. Somehow.
"That's good," Tyler said, shifting in his seat.
"Don't be intimidated," Ames whispered. "He's like that to all the guys that speak to me."
'All the guys that speak to you?' Max thought. He didn't know why that thought had come up, either. Why that had gotten him. 'To all of them?'
'To all of us? He's really protective.'
'Although, considering everything, it makes sense.'
"Max," Tyler called out. "About my baby brother. I love him, but he's too stubborn for me, and he knows my every weakness."
"Here we go again, Kuya...," Ames complained, shaking his head.
"I'm gonna' need extra muscle to keep him in check," Tyler went on. "I think you know by now how tough he is. He's as much a headache as he is a good person."
"Yes, sir," Max replied, leaning on the desk with his hand and teasingly staring at Ames, who rolled his eyes in response. "Very much so."
"You take care of my brother while I'm not there, okay, Max?" Tyler said.
Max liked the sound of that. He really did. Ames had been incredibly kind to him, and in the past two weeks, he'd grown to care so much for the guy. He didn't know to what exact extent, but he knew he cared so much.
Max still couldn't help but wonder why his earlier empathic reading had affected him that much.
'I probably just, um, care very much,' Max thought to himself.
"He's been through a lot, you see," Tyler said. "Do I have your..."
"I can take care of myself, Kuya," Ames interrupted.
"Oh, I know, hero," Tyler answered, smirking. "But I'm asking Max. Do I have your word, Prof Max?"
"Yes, sir," Max replied immediately. Proudly. Loudly. He wanted that to sound as decisive as it could, because it was. For some reason, he just wanted to make that stick in Ames's mind. "I will take care of him."
He then felt it again. It was that same pulsation of embarrassment.
Except it was something out of shyness.
He looked at Ames, who looked back at him with a stubborn look.
He could read it better now. It was mostly shyness, but he could feel Ames trying to block something from within himself. It wasn't exactly faint, but it was just present. Present but not overlapping. It was resisting. Max didn't know what it was that Ames was trying not to feel.
Ames seemed to have blushed.
He really was blushing.
It took Max aback quite a bit, but he couldn't deny that he was glad that Ames did. He just didn't know why he was glad. Not exactly, to be exact.
Max was starting to think that he probably just chose not to know for now, but he ultimately wasn't sure. Even with that, he was starting to think that he was choosing not to be sure.
For reasons he was sure he could articulate some other time but now.
Ames looked away, as if realizing that they'd been staring at each other for too long.
"I will take care of him," Max repeated, a smile curving up the side of his face as he looked at Tyler again. Saying that felt good. Saying that aloud to somebody else was surprisingly very liberating. He liked to think it was because teasing Ames was a lot of fun, but he also knew he meant those words.
"I'm counting on it," Tyler replied.
'You can count on me,' Max thought.
Max had already excused himself to go and clean the living room, but Ames still had to endure his protective brother's many questions.
"You sure you're not together?" Tyler asked. Ames had already plugged the earphones back in.
"No, we're not," Ames replied, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "Kuya, why do you always do that when I introduce another male to you? It's annoying."
"I'm just being protective," Tyler said.
"It's like you don't trust me."
"Of course, I trust you. I just wanna' know the people you know."
"Max is a really good guy..."
"I could see that. It's just that I think he's into you, kiddo'..."
"And why is that?" Ames demanded, leaning forward to look back at his brother better. "Why do you keep on pushing that?"
"Have you seen the way he looks at you? Are you dense? Aren't you the genius of the family?" Tyler went off, brows furrowing as if he's onto something serious.
"Yes, I have, Kuya," Ames said firmly. That was about as firm as he could go. He had seen how Max looked at him. It definitely was a lot more comfortable than he had expected, but he figured it would be because of their friendship, which was as progressive as it was weird.
He had seen how Max looked at him.
He just hadn't had the liberty to make a bigger deal about it. He couldn't. He didn't know why.
"You have seen...," Tyler echoed. "But I don't think you've ever looked closely."
"What are you saying, Kuya?"
"I don't wanna' trigger anything, kiddo'."
"You won't," Ames said as willfully as he could. He was starting to get vexed. He didn't like how Tyler had pressured Max earlier. The poor man had needed to go impromptu there. "Now say it."
"The last guy I saw looking at you like that was Harvey," Tyler said out loud. "The last guy I saw you looking at the way you did Max was Harvey. You wanted me to say it. There it is."
That immediately brought Ames back to his thoughts from earlier. He wasn't the type to compare two people with each other, but those thoughts that he'd had during his flying adventure with Max hours ago had come out of nowhere. He believed so.
Ames had seen the way Max looked at him.
Ames also knew that Max had probably seen how he had looked back. How he looked back.
Up in the sky this morning, and maybe every other time it had likely happened, Max had probably read him.
With everything they'd done together all this time, and everything they'd done for each other, Ames knew there was more than just gratitude and debt of honor. He knew there was something else. He just couldn't acknowledge it.
He couldn't help but hold back from recognizing it. He felt that he didn't want to be inappropriate, but he wasn't even sure why he was thinking that he was being inappropriate.
He wasn't even sure if him not being sure was a choice.
The bottom line was that he wasn't thinking straight. Perhaps, for a while now, he hadn't been thinking straight.
What he did know was that he just wanted to be happier whenever he spent time with Max.
"I'm sorry, kiddo'," Tyler finally said.
"No, it's just annoying," Ames replied.
"I'm sure he's been a great friend and roommate, right?"
"Yes and yes. He doesn't always sleep with me."
"What?"
"What?"
"He doesn't always sleep with you?"
"No, I mean," Ames stammered. He shut his eyes in annoyance, not having the nicest words for his crappy wording. That had come out wrong. "He doesn't always sleep in the bedroom with me. In fact, he almost never does. He only shares the room when I have nightmares. Okay?"
Tyler looked at Ames with a knowing expression in his eyes. It was a tad bit malicious, and Ames wasn't a fan of it.
"I think he's a great friend and roommate then," Tyler commented after a while. It definitely had a different tone to it.
"Why are you so concerned, Kuya?" Ames demanded yet again. "If you're worried about my safety, I'm actually armed. Stallion-ONE. A 1911-style pistol. Caliber .45 ASP. I never miss."
"That's not my point, kiddo'."
"I'm old enough to run my house."
"And I almost lost you!" Tyler was really loud there. It actually made Ames blink. He'd never seen Tyler so frustrated with him. "Suplado. You can't take away the fear and the worry from me. Not after everything. I wasn't there then. I'm not there now. And I wish I were."
Ames actually saw Tyler's point. As questionable as his brother's methods could sometimes be, Tyler had always acted out of love and sincerity. There wasn't always a good justification that bridged his ends with his means, but Ames knew his brother's heart. It was always coming from the right place. That was a good place to start.
"Do be honest, though," Tyler spoke more softly this time. "Just for my peace of mind. Do you like him?"
For a while, Ames couldn't speak. He knew exactly what his brother meant, and most of the time, he trusted his brother's guts. Tyler had interrogated a lot of people in his career, and he had always worked fairly. Ames just wanted to figure things out on his own.
Especially with Max.
Considering their situation.
Max, Gabriel, or Alpha. No matter the name or alias used, it didn't change anything about Max for Ames. He had always believed the man to be a good person despite the pomp of his former Alpha status, despite the erratic resurfacing of the human qualities of the Gabriel within the Alpha, and despite the new path that was now waiting for the Max Angeles persona that they'd come up with together. It didn't matter for Ames. Alpha was good. Gabriel was good. Max was good. That one heart they all shared was good.
Max now lived in the freedom of his truth, even in secret. What that did for Ames was making him like the idea of having the same freedom.
What they'd been doing for each other was giving each other the time of their lives after breaking free from the prisons that had long deprived them of it.
What they had truly was quite a strong friendship. In fact, it felt much stronger than a friendship. Ames just didn't think there could be something more.
Or at least, he didn't want to even think.
He wasn't sure.
'But do I like him?' he asked himself. He knew the answer. At least, he knew much of the answer. He knew he liked Max as a friend. As something else, Ames had yet to know the nature or origin or direction of the uncertainty that answered the question for it. 'He's superhumanly kind. He's amazing. He looks like he was handmade by the gods. He heals me. He makes me happy.'
"There are so many things about him, Kuya...," Ames decided to say. For now, it had to be the safest thing to say. "That anybody who got to know him would like. That I also like. I think that's the right answer that I can give you."
"Hmm," Tyler uttered after a while. It was vague yet again, but he eventually sighed in surrender. "I want you to know I love you, kiddo'."
"I never questioned that."
"I want you to be happy, but most importantly, I want you to be in good hands."
"I am. I love you too, Kuya."
"That's very good to hear."
"But if in case you just can't take my word for it," Ames said. "You can come back here, and you can see for yourself that there's nothing to fear."
Max didn't want to listen in. He was never really the type to eavesdrop, but he'd been listening secretly for some minutes now. Judging from Ames's tone and words, the ongoing conversation between the Andrades had to be serious.
Max just couldn't help but wonder why he'd been acting so differently. At the back of his mind, he had a strong idea. He just really couldn't bring himself to bring it forward.
Whatever it was.
He pressed his ear harder against the door, his hands supporting his weight.
Tyler had been quite the intimidating fellow, but Max knew that the man was just being protective of his younger brother. Max understood that. He, after all, had only met Ames two weeks ago and was already living with the guy, taking him up to the sky, and teasing him with all the things that scared him.
All because Max had never felt more comfortable with being his most personal, his most truthful, and his most unafraid self with anybody before.
"There are so many things about him, Kuya," Max heard Ames say. "That anybody who got to know him would like. That I also like. I think that's the right answer that I can give you."
'He likes many things about me,' Max paraphrased in his mind.
He didn't know exactly how to process that. He had felt before on separate occasions that there was something deeper in their more intimate interactions. He just couldn't read it, but he knew it was present. Ames was holding back.
Just like Max had been holding back something he didn't even have the precision to understand.
'I like a lot of things about you, too, Ames,' he thought, wanting to at least put what he knew for certain in a stable place in his mind. 'I like how strong you are. I like how insanely intelligent you are. I like it when you're happy, and seeing you happy makes me happy. Very happy. I like that you live your truth proudly.'
'Your bravery makes the people around you brave.'
He could explain things in a less articulate way somehow. He could settle with something he could defend.
'You definitely have a strong impact on me, Ames,' he decided on the thought. 'I feel attached to you. I don't know what it is, and I can't articulate it to you. I also don't know where this will lead or if it's even going anywhere. But I know I have this strong attachment to you.'
'Right now, that's all I know.'
'I think that's a good start, right?'
Not wanting to be any more impolite with his invasion of privacy, he pushed off the door and quietly walked away.
'It's a good start.'
'You've made me so happy. All I know. All I have to know for now, right?'