Chase's Book of YT One-Shots

Home (MaskedMexican)

A/N: Idea belongs to @raakxhyr, so that's chill

I write MaskedMex way too much.

AU (ish? Can you call these things AUs?) in which Max has a business job which requires him to go on regular business trips.
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Max's eyelids drooped heavily in his taxi during the drive, and he allowed his head to fall until it made contact with the unclean leather of the seat in front of him.

He was exhausted. The trip had been two weeks long, one of his longest in a while, and he'd been several time zones over. So while it was barely ten here, where he had just been coming from it was past three in the morning. He yawned heavily and glanced out the window at familiar streets with a light wince.

Ten o'clock at night. He couldn't believe his plane had been delayed nearly two hours. He felt awful about it. All he'd wanted to do was get home and kiss his fucking husband, and maybe get some actual rest, but Mother Nature had made the choice to have an unexpected hissy fit in the sky. He'd drifted off twice on the plane, but he hadn't managed to stay asleep- he wasn't big on planes, and sleeping was near impossible on them in his opinion.

His thoughts stopped wandering when his eyes focused and he realized the neighborhood was the most familiar of them all, so he smiled and grabbed the handle of his suitcase while pulling his backpack over his shoulder. The driveway was darkened slightly with unevaporated rain water, and the grass glistened, reflecting off the taxi headlights while he got out and paid his cab fare. The driver wished him goodnight and he thanked him with a distracted smile before stepping up to his front door.

It was unlocked, and he wondered if it had been done intentionally or if Ohm had forgotten. Max hoped it was the former, he really didn't want to contemplate the idea of the house being unlocked the whole time he was gone. The door was pushed open and Max inhaled deeply, unashamed by the way the scent made him relax. It was so comfortable and normal it almost made up for the extra time he'd spent waiting. His eyes wandered around. The open kitchen still had its light on and shining over the island, and the coffee maker was turned off, leaving Max with an itch to walk over and rectify it, but he decided not to.

On the two separate armchairs on either side of the couch were the two lazy asses Malcolm and Buddy, neither of whom had lifted their heads when he'd stepped through the door. Buddy remained asleep, but Malcolm had his eyes open and was following Max's movements. Max gave him a disappointed expression at his ability to guard his family, but Malcolm seemed disinterested and closed his eyes again.

He walked further into the living room and patted Malcolm's head as he passed, though the dog wasn't his goal. His goal was the few years older man fast asleep on the couch, fully dressed and tucked so tightly in on himself he almost fit into one cushion. He couldn't control the smile that found its way onto his face when he kneeled down on his knees and brushed Ohm's hair off his forehead, half wanting to wake him up and half wanting to just leave him in his very sweet and cute state. He decided to leave him alone for now and turned his gaze away a few seconds to the items that sat on the coffee table.

One plate was picked clean, but the other was full with chicken that was definitely cold by now, mashed potatoes, and corn with a roll balancing just barely on the edge of the plate. He felt a pang of guilt when he realized Ohm had been waiting up for him and lightly tousled his husband's hair with affection. Damn, he'd have to make it up to him.

Max took the plate to the kitchen and shoved it in the microwave for an amount of time he figured should work well enough, then sat the slightly heated plate back onto the coffee table. Naturally now Malcolm actually paid him some amount of attention, but Max pushed the awake dog away before he could beg with his cute face. He sighed, thankful Buddy had been trained by a less spoiling owner than him.

Speaking of which, he looked back at Ohm on the couch and barely thought before pulling at the blanket sitting over the back, and lightly setting it over his. There was an instant reaction and Max half thought he'd woke up, but Ohm just grabbed the blanket and pulled it up farther over himself. When he stilled again, Max figured it was safe, and sat with his food on the floor next to Ohm's head.

He took a bite and relished in it, not just the taste but the atmosphere and the location. The trip had been heavily emotionally taxing on him, and he'd missed their stupid dogs and their cozy place of their own and their loud neighbors who partied at two a.m. on Monday, and he'd missed Ohm so much too. Video chats and phone calls could never do such a guy like him justice, and being away from his presence was borderline painful. He leaned his head back and swallowed, gently leaning the side of his head against the top of Ohm's. He already felt so much better, and he hadn't even woke up yet. He wondered, even after the last few years, if Ohm realized exactly how amazing he was to Max, and how important he was to allowing Max to function.

Meal consumed, he put it onto the coffee table with a louder noise than he desired. He froze, but Ohm didn't move so he breathed in relief and leaned back against the couch with attempt to resume what feeling of peace he'd had, but he yawned loudly and had to shift because the collar of his shirt was stiff and it in general wasn't working, so he made a frustrated sound and maneuvered his way in between the coffee table and the couch. Rather than going straight to sleep, he moved purposefully to the stray napkins on the table and withdrew a pen from his pocket.

Finished, he yawned again and curled up as well as he could on the uncomfortable carpet. There was no way he was going to wake Ohm, and there was no way he was going to bed without him. He'd take a bed of nails if it meant he wasn't going to go away for weeks again.

He murmured something unintelligible, and drifted to sleep in seconds.

-/-/-/-/-/-

Ohm woke up in the morning with a positively dreadful ache in his back and neck, wincing while sitting up and stretching himself out. Why was he sleeping on the couch again? He must have fallen asleep waiting for-

His eyes shot open and he swayed, mind wide awake but body only half way. He prepared to set his feet down and make a hurried move to the bedroom, but thankfully stopped when he saw who was under his feet. He laid back down on his side and smiled with delight, his face hanging over Max's sleeping one. He'd gotten home late and actually slept on the ground? What a fucking dweeb. He nearly laughed out loud but bit his lip, unwilling to wake Max if he'd gotten home especially late.

He turned his gaze to the table and was please to see both plates on it empty, meaning Max had gotten a chance to eat. He also saw a napkin with a pen on top of it and tilted his head, reaching for it with curiosity. The letters stood out starkly to him before it was anywhere near his face, and he grinned broadly before leaning down and kissing Max's cheeks. The man stirred, and Ohm kissed him again.

"I love you too, Max."

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Credit to @yumebaah for the ending idea, too. I thought it was especially cute and made me smile. I hope they're not upset with me for implementing it!

Next upload should be next weekend, I hope.