fandomtownies | The Park, Wednesday Morning

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The Park, Wednesday Morning

It was chilly and damp out, but after opening her closet door only to be attacked by an avalanche of cookies (for which she might have blamed her roommate and her strange closet activities, except that opening the door to the hallway had the same sugary effect), Raven decided that the only proper response to this was to get tea to go with the cookies. Pomegranate Vanilla would go nicely with the cookies, and since since she was out of her own supply, she had gone down to the Perk for a cup. Now she walked back toward the school, sipping the hot tea and nibbling at a cookie, cloak drawn tightly around her shoulders. She was definitely going to have to get warmer clothing for the winter. Like, say, gloves.

[Expecting a *ahem* suitor, but the park is open to all, of course.]

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Class today, Max thought, had gone amazingly well. He... didn't really remember what he'd taught about. Or what the students had said. Or even who had shown up today. But it had gone great. Just like everything was going!

He whistled happily as he strolled through the park (the beautiful park!) after class. The fresh air was lovely and it gave him plenty of time to think about how blind and foolish he'd been not to realize just how beautiful his new obsession was. And to think! He'd been spending so much of his time trying to be careful around her. To control himself.

Clearly that was a silly way to act around someone so perfect and beautiful and... Oh! There she was! Was his hair okay? Did he have spinach in his teeth? He hoped not! So Max put on his best charming smile and walked toward Raven. "Good morning, Raven," he said brightly.

Raven hadn't spoken to Max since, oh, flipping out and accusing him of harming Karla when he'd only been defending himself and trying to help her friend. But he seemed in a very pleasant mood, so she did her best to squash the nervousness she felt around him and smiled back. "Good morning, Professor Maximus," she said, both hands wrapped around her tea to keep them warm.

"Please," he smiled more broadly. "Surely we are close enough that you can call me Max."

"But you are a teacher," Raven said. "I should address you with respect." Because Azar raised her right!

"Respect is all well and good," Max allowed. "But all the formality gets in the way of what's truly important." He looked at her with shining eyes.

Raven was terribly confused by the emotions she was sensing from Max and took an unconscious step back. "What is...truly important?" she asked hesitantly.

"Love, of course," Max answered, grin widening even farther. The current set of emotions roiling through Max were most... well, un-Max-like.

"You are in love?" Raven said, feeling a sudden tightness in her chest. Please say with Aphrodite this is not me projecting again please please....

Max paused and looked down at his feet, his hands clasping behind his back and his voice becoming almost shy. "Yes," he said, glancing up at her boyishly.

She wasn't projecting a need for affection again, she was certain of it -- if anything at all, she would've been projecting a strong DO NOT WANT. And even if she was, she never would have wanted to affect Max in such a way because she still had lingering Issues from the vampire-controlled Fandom and her encounter with Max there. "Professor Maximus," she said, "surely you must be mistaken...."

"No," he shook his head with an odd mix of sadness and joy. "Not anymore. I've wasted so much of my life in confusion, but now I see the truth!"

Raven shook her head. "I am certain if you stop and think about it, you will realize what you are feeling cannot be real," she said. "Why would you love...me?"

"How could I not?" Max declared, spreading his arms expansively. "You are beautiful and kind and generous and beautiful and I love you." It all came out in a jumbled rush.

"You did not feel this way when last we saw each other," Raven said nervously. "Do you not find that strange?"

"Only strange in that it took me so long to realize it," Max sighed sadly. "But now that I have, I think we should waste no more time!"

Raven took another step back. "Waste no time...doing what?" she said.

"Anything but reveling in our love for one another, of course." This should be obvious!

Eep.

"You are a teacher," Raven reminded him. "And I am a student." Because, yeah, that logic would stop him. Right.

"And I have so much to teach you," he responds, voice growing husky. Then his eyes soften slightly. "And you have so much to teach me."

Then, in case it wasn't obvious, he added: "About love."

Raven dropped her tea. She had the urge to flee but if she was responsible for what he was feeling, she had to undo it somehow. And let him down gently. "I-I am sorry," she said. "But you do not truly know who or what I am, and I surely do not have the experience you would prefer, and...and...I cannot love you. I do not love you."

Max looks utterly crestfallen. It is, in fact, an expression that he's never worn before, and it certainly fits poorly. "Truly?" he asks, eyes forlorn.

Raven felt his sorrow and it just ramped up her own guilt. "What you are feeling is not real," she said softly, looking at the ground. "I think...I think I have made you feel this way. I am sorry."

"Of course you have made me feel this way," Max exclaimed. "If you weren't so perfect then I'm sure I wouldn't love you like I do."

"I am hardly perfect," Raven said, shaking her head. "I am sure you would have agreed to that when last we saw each other. I accused you of harming Karla because I was afraid of you."

"Which only shows your compassion for your friends," Max returned, completely missing the point.

Raven was desperately trying to concentrate on not projecting a need for love, but it wasn't having an effect on Max. And since she didn't know how to dissuade him without causing him pain, which she was loathe to do, she said, "I am...overwhelmed by this. Please, may I have time to think?"

"Of course, lovely Raven. You may have as much time as you require."

The force of Max's love was so strong, though, that he was sure it would be a matter of hours, a day at the most, before she realized how perfect they were together.

"I have art class," Raven said, biting her lip fretfully. "And magic reserves." And hiding in her room and never coming out again. "I should get back to the school."

Max smiles and steps closer, offering his arm. "I would be honored to escort you there."

"I should teleport," Raven said quickly. "I do not wish to be late."

Max wasn't able to hide his disappointment despite his best efforts. "Well, if that's what you think is best..."

"But I do not wish you to be disappointed," Raven said. Curse her squish empath heart. Girl needed a backbone, stat.

Karla had been walking through the park when she heard the most beautiful voice ever. She'd glanced over and seen Raven talking to Professor Max. Well, really, she'd technically acknowledged Max's existence, but her eyes had only been on Raven, memorizing the sweet perfection of her face. How she longed to go over there, clasp Raven by the shoulders, and kiss every inch of her, including that glittering red gem that just so wonderfully set off the paleness of her skin and the rich lustre of her hair.

Just as she was deciding to damn the consequences and go over there anyway, Raven and Max turned to walk away. She even started after them, when a far better plan to declare her affections came to mind.

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The Park, Wednesday Morning

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