Mirrors - A Maxley Slow Burn (IN PROGRESS)

Chapter Six

Words: 1234 (lol)

I warned you in the last chapter, and I will warn you now, this chapter gets very freaky, very quickly. This chapter, shamefully, was inspired by a fic on Ao3 by ciwritesfics (it was a zukko fic..) ALSO HOW DID I GET ONE THOUSAND, SEVEN HUNDRED READS?! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! HAVE A GREAT DAY PEOPLE!

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The next time Max and Bradley saw each other, they were all over each other. Kissing each other with something so unknown they didn't even know what to call it.

Max

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After their intense altercation, Max retreated to his dorm room, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Anger, frustration, and something else he couldn't quite place churned within him as he paced the small space, the echoes of their fight still ringing in his ears.

As he glanced at his reflection in the mirror, his eyes fell on Bradley, who sat alone amidst the aftermath of their clash. Despite the disheveled appearance and the signs of the scuffle, Max found himself drawn to Bradley in a way he hadn't expected. There was something raw and unguarded about him at that moment—a ruggedness that stirred an unfamiliar longing within Max.

"Bradley," Max's voice was softer than he intended as he approached, his gaze lingering on the other man's form. "Are you... alright?"

Bradley looked up, surprise flickering in his eyes at Max's unexpected concern. "Yeah, I'll survive," he replied with a shrug, though Max detected a hint of weariness beneath the bravado.

Max hesitated, his usual confidence faltering in the face of Bradley's vulnerability. And then, without thinking, he closed the distance between them, his hand reaching out to brush against Bradley's cheek. The touch was gentle, tentative, as if testing the waters of their unspoken connection.

To Max's surprise, Bradley didn't pull away. Instead, he leaned into the touch, his gaze meeting Max's with a mixture of curiosity and something else—a flicker of desire that sent a jolt of electricity coursing through Max's veins.

In that moment, Max forgot about the fight, the anger, the reasons why they were supposed to be enemies. All he could think about was the man in front of him—the rugged, untamed spirit that called out to something deep within him.

And then, before he could overthink it, their lips met in a hesitant kiss—a collision of uncertainty and longing that left Max breathless and wanting more. It was a simple gesture, yet it spoke volumes—of unspoken desires, of hidden truths, of a connection that neither of them fully understood.

Outside, the world continued on, oblivious to the seismic shift that had just occurred within the confines of the dorm room. But for Max and Bradley, everything had changed in that moment—a new chapter unfolding in their complicated relationship, one that neither of them could have anticipated.

As their kiss deepened, Max felt a surge of emotions he had never experienced before. It was as if a dam had burst within him, releasing a flood of desire and passion that had long been suppressed. Bradley's hands found their way to Max's waist, pulling him closer in a silent plea for more.

Their bodies pressed together, the heat between them igniting a fire that threatened to consume them both. Max's mind was a whirlwind of sensations—the taste of Bradley on his lips, the feel of his strong hands exploring his back, the sound of their ragged breaths mingling in the air.

In that moment, all the walls they had built between them crumbled to dust, leaving nothing but raw vulnerability in their wake.

As the kiss deepened, Max and Bradley found themselves lost in a world of their own making. Time seemed to stand still as they explored this newfound connection, each touch sparking a wave of emotions that ebbed and flowed between them.

The tension that had once simmered with animosity now crackled with an entirely different kind of energy—a magnetic pull that drew them closer together, binding them in a dance as old as time itself.

Max felt like he was teetering on the edge of a precipice, his heart pounding in his chest as he let himself surrender to this intoxicating moment. Every brush of Bradley's lips against his sent shivers down his spine, awakening a hunger he never knew existed.

Bradley

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As their lips met in that fleeting moment of connection, Bradley felt a surge of conflicting emotions sweep through him like a tempest, threatening to overwhelm his senses and drown him in a sea of uncertainty. The taste of Max on his lips sent a jolt of electricity coursing through his veins, igniting a firestorm of desire that burned with an intensity he couldn't ignore.

For a brief, exhilarating moment, Bradley allowed himself to surrender to the intoxicating pull of their kiss, to lose himself in the warmth of Max's embrace and the promise of something more. But even as he reveled in the heady rush of their shared passion, a shadow lingered at the edges of his consciousness—a shadow born from years of societal conditioning and deeply ingrained prejudice.

It was a voice he had spent a lifetime trying to silence, a voice that whispered insidious doubts and fears that threatened to overshadow the fleeting joy of their embrace. It spoke of shame and guilt, of the consequences of deviating from the narrow path of societal norms, and it filled Bradley with a sense of unease that gnawed at the edges of his fragile sense of self.

As their lips parted, Bradley's mind spun with a maelstrom of conflicting thoughts, each one a dagger to his already wounded soul. Guilt clawed at his conscience, its tendrils entwined with the remnants of his internalized homophobia, leaving him suffocating beneath the weight of his own self-loathing.

"We... we shouldn't have..." The words escaped Bradley's lips in a hoarse whisper, his voice trembling with a mixture of regret and shame. He recoiled instinctively from Max's touch, the warmth of their connection now tainted by the cold specter of his own internalized prejudice.

In that moment of rejection, Bradley felt the walls closing in around him, trapping him in a prison of his own making. He wanted nothing more than to reach out to Max, to pull him close and erase the distance that now stretched between them. But the fear of judgment, of rejection, held him back, shackling him to the confines of his own insecurities.

"But Bradley, I thought..." Max's voice trailed off, the hurt and confusion evident in his eyes as he reached out tentatively, his hand hovering in the space between them like a lifeline cast adrift in a stormy sea.

Bradley longed to take it—to bridge the gap that yawned between them with a single touch—but the fear of exposing his true self to scrutiny held him back, leaving him paralyzed with indecision.

As Max watched him retreat into the shadows, a profound sense of loss washed over Bradley, leaving him feeling more alone than ever before. It wasn't just the rejection that stung—it was the knowledge that he had allowed his own insecurities to sabotage the one chance at happiness he had ever known.

"I'm sorry, Max," Bradley's whispered apology hung heavy in the air, a painful reminder of the rift that now divided them. As Bradley disappeared out of the dorm room, his heart heavy with regret and self-recrimination, he couldn't help but wonder if he would ever find the courage to break free from the chains that bound him—to love and be loved without fear or reservation.