Chapter Text
To say that Max was frustrated would be a huge understatement. Chloe played this whole thing off as if it were a game, which was still so very baffling to Max. There was also the fact that physically her body seemed to crave her soulmate. Max found herself having to grip at the doorway to stop herself from seeking out Nathan. She knew the basics about soulmate connections, but she’d never really believed the fact that your body just becomes drawn to your soulmate after the initial connection.
Finally Max's feet dragged her back to the living room. Nathan was still there, seemingly done with making some phone calls to his family. It still felt weird to Max, having a dom. The television had been muted, Her dom watching her walk into the room with complete silence. It was quite nerve wracking to say the least.
“Come here Max,” Nathan patted the small space next to him on the couch. “Let’s talk some more.”
Max briefly considered going to the armchair instead, but finally relented and walked over to her dom. She hated how insanely tall he was; sitting next to him made Max feel small and insignificant.
Not one to hold back, Nathan pressed his lips to Max's temple and wound an arm over her shoulder As much as Max hated to admit it, she found herself sighing in relief from the contact, her body feeling instantly warm and contented with the presence of her dom. Soulmate body chemistry really sucked.
Nathan saw a square shaped object in the sub’s pocket and frowned. “Max, didn’t I tell you to leave your phone in the kitchen?”
Oh shit, Max had completely forgotten. She was quick to make that known. “I didn’t mean to, putting it in my pocket was an automatic reaction! Besides, I think it’s unfair that I can’t keep my phone with me. What if I want to text someone?”
“It won’t be forever Maxine, just until you get your new phone and we go over your contacts.”
Max, never Maxine she thought but didn't dare say because of the already tense situation.
Instead she pouted and dug out her phone, handing it over to the slightyly curly haired dom. It was as if the doms’ hair represented his status. Nathan's quiffed up hair with a slight curl was just as intimidating as his height and dom behavior….so unfair.
“Thanks Max,” He smiled and accepted the phone. “Why don’t you tell me about some of your friends? Who were you talking to on the phone just now?”
“Chloe” Max answered shortly, upset about the phone situation.
Nathan tensed slightly, but decided to play dumbb“And who is Chloe?” He asked when she didn’t elaborate.
“A friend,” Max answered, still being deliberately difficult. Her arms were crossed despite still sitting snugly next to the higher up.
“Describe Chloe in three words,” Nathan helpfully suggested.
"In your face." Max muttered, peeking up at Nathan through her lashes, when she saw his face drop into a serious frown she sighed "Bright, loud and annoying Warren's better."
"And who is Warren? Chloe's soulmate?" He chuckled in his head, as if.
"No!" Max made a horrified face "Chloe is Rachel's soulmate and I think Warren is a dom I don't even know! Don't play dumb I know they go to your school"
"Sorry Max." Nathan apologized, " I just wanna get to know you better. How about I tell you about myself instead?" He shifted a bit, pulling her closer unintentionally "You probably don't know much else other than the fact that I am a Prescott." He chuckled.
Max just shrugged.
After an awkward bear of silence Nathan sighed "I called my sister this morning. We'll go over to their house in a few weeks to meet them.... Your mom and dad will come by at the end of the week."
Max snorted "As if they care! They didn't even try and save me!"
“There was nothing to save you from Max,” Nathan informed her gently, but there was a slight warning to his tone. “She only wants you to be happy and healthy, and that means being with your dom as soon as possible.”
The small sub threw her head back, leaning against the couch. Yes, Max knew she was behaving like a petulant child, but the world just seemed to be against her all the time. She didn’t like Nathan even if her body seemed to be drawn to him. Besides, Max had nothing in common with the dom as far as she knew.
We're celebrating your birthday tomorrow,” Nathan spoke up, looking rather desperate. He wanted nothing more than to have Max happy, comfortable, and accepting of him. “While we go shopping we can pick you up a cake.”
“But we should go to bed now,” Nathan added, checking his watch for the time. Despite the day being rather mellow and off to a late start, they could use more rest.
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When Max awoke the next morning, to say that she was embarrassed would be a major understatement. She was clinging onto Nathan, her arms wrapped around the dom as if he were a teddy bear, and her face buried into his neck. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Max had her leg also tangled with Nathan’s, and the dom had an arm wrapped tightly around the sub’s waist. They were basically all cuddled together like a pile of puppies.
Max jerked out of dom's grip, rolling over Nathan and off the bed with a thump. Her bum hit the wooden floor hard and she hissed. The whole situation was even worse because of what Max was wearing, her panties and one of Nathan’s t-shirts that reached her mid-thigh, seeing as she hadn’t packed any pajamas in her runaway backpack.
“What r’ doing on the floor Max?"
Max glared up at Nathan. “Nothing! I’m going to shower.”
She didn’t even bother to ask permission to shower, because what sort of dom would even require that? The bathroom closest to the bedroom was very nice. It had not one, but four nozzles! It was large enough for three people, which was a bit concerning, and the door happened to be glass. Other than those small factors, it was really nice. Max could get used to showering here.
Fifteen minutes later, Max emerged from the bathroom dressed in what she’d wore to bed. She wasn’t going to wear more of her dom’s clothes if she could help it. It must have been quite early, because things inside the building were eerily silent. Nathan must've went back to sleep.
Max wasn’t tired at all. She went down the stairs as quietly as she could. Briefly her mind thought about how easy escape would be, just being able to slip away while the dom slept peacefully. This wouldn’t work though. Max didn’t have proper clothes, and she didn’t even have shoes with her. She wouldn’t even be able to get down the whole street if she tried.
She made her way to the rather fancily designed sitting area, flopping back onto the sofa. The silence was rather upsetting so she flicked on the television, flipping through the channels until she found the morning cartoons. The sub only half watched, more lost in thought than anything else.
She tried to think of good places to go when she managed to escape. Obviously her own home was out of the question, and so was Chloe's house; Rachel would just contact her dom if she tried to hide there.
Suddenly out of nowhere, Max was grabbed by a pair of strong hands and pulled into Nathan’s lap as the dom took a seat beside her causing Max to yelp.
“Morning kitten,” Nathan greeted tiredly, kissing Max’s damp hair. “You're up early."
Max squirmed in his grip. “Not early enough.”
“Hey now, don’t be grumpy,” The dom admonished. “We're going out shopping for you today after all, so I think I deserve a little more respect.”
“I didn’t ask you to take me shopping,” Max reminded him rather rudely. “I have clothes at home.”
“This is your home,” Nathan told her "Not your forever home but, until we finish school it's your home. And I am you dom. You remember our rules from yesterday, don’t you?”
Max chose not to answer that, though it was obvious she did remember. She also knew that it was customary for a sub to leave most of his or her possessions behind once they lived with their dom. This was because a sub should be solely dependent on their dom, which meant that everything they owned or were provided with had to come from only the dom.
“Let’s make this day a nice one,” Nathan spoke after a moment of silence. “When we get back we can spend the afternoon having some cake, a nice dinner….it can be a lovely day if we give it a try.”
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While they were shopping for some groceries that both parties liked, after clothes shopping, Nathan decided that together they could make a cake as a bonding experience.
“My mom used to own a bakery, you know,” Nathan informed Max later in the day as he absentmindedly added ingredients for the homemade cake he was making into a large blue bowl. “I used to want to open my own bakery someday, but then I met my best friend Victoria and got really interested in photography.
Louis, who was sat on the counter watching, felt oddly relaxed. This was most likely due to the fact that she was able to watch something rather calming from a bit of a distance. Max just felt like she could let her guard down a little.
Nathan went on to explain his relationship with Victoria, Max only half listening.
"She was very upset to find out she wasn't my sub. Actually everyone was surprised to find out that she was a sub. She's rather bossy." He chuckled, cracking an egg into the bowl.
"I love her, but not in the way I already do you, it's been two days and I've never been happier." he smiled as he stirred the contents of the bowl, pouring the batter into a form as he handed her the bowl and spoon. "Here you can lick the batter."
Max returned his gaze and offered a small smile as she accepted the remains of the cake batter. Nathan looked like he’d just achieved global peace. It was actually quite endearing, Max thought with a frown. It seemed the more time she spent actually interacting with her dom, the more fond she was growing.
This wasn’t good; If Max didn’t act soon, she might be stuck here forever.