Freedom at Last (Maxwell x Reader)

{4} A Close Encounter

The spring air was fresh and moist. feeling the warm sun against my skin was refreshing, after having the frosty snow falling from the sky for the last few days. seeing the flowers bloom gave me a feeling of bliss, knowing our crops will be growing again soon. Wilson still seemed bitter about the thought of Maxwell staying at our camp. i still don't really understand why he despises Maxwell so much. i mean yeah, he DID lure us both here against our own wills, but i get where he's coming from for the most part. Loneliness is one hell of a fit, I've dealt with it since childhood. the only thing that's ever really loved me was my old dog, which is probably why i feel so calm around animals. I feel as though Maxwell is just lonely, which is why he traps people in this world. plus, if it weren't for him i would have never met Wilson.

The baby beefalo that followed us is still here. i decided to name her Charlotte, for no real reason really, just thought it sounded cute. Wilson's helping me prepare a pen for her, so far we've only barley started gathering the materials we need to build it, but i feel it won't take long. Charlotte definitely lifts the team's spirits. something about her just makes the base feel more like a home. 

"damn.. out of wood" I heard Wilson say as he looked through a chest. 

"i could go gather some" Maxwell said to Wilson.

"if i need some i can go gather it myself, i don't need the likes of YOU to do it for me" Wilson snapped. Maxwell rolled his eyes.

"i can gather it at twice the speed you ever could.."

"and HOW exactly would you? your twiggy excuse for arms could barely lift a piece of flint"

"i have the power of the shadows on my side, i can summon puppets do do the dirty work for me" Maxwell held out a book, it had a red 'M' on the front. "besides, you say that like you look any more competent."

"I don't care about your dumb book, or your 'shadows', i still don't need you do a job i'm perfectly capable of"

"then don't complain about running out of wood"

"I wasn't i was simply making a comment"

Maxwell and Wilson went back and fourth for a while, i eventually had to intervene. 

"Will you two cut it out? Wilson, Maxwell's just trying to help out the team, if he says he can gather a metric fuck-ton wood let him, it will only benefit us in the long run." I snapped, Wilson and Maxwell stopped. Maxwell sighed and nodded his head.

"Well, in that case, i'm going to head out. would you care to join me, [Y/N]?" Maxwell asked me. i blushed slightly. i

"yeah.. yeah, would!" i sputtered out, heading towards the gate. i turned back to Wilson. "Take care of Charlotte!" i yelled back, waving to him. i saw him nod back in return. i faced Maxwell once again and we headed off into the forest. Maxwell and i had walked mostly in silence for while. i could tell he was still enraged from he and Wilson's little argument.  I looked up at him.

"Maxwell.. are you okay...?" i questioned

"...I'm fine."

"i'm sorry... about Wilson, i mean. he isn't usually this bitter." i said. "I had to step in, i really do want you two to get along" i said, looking down at the ground. Maxwell looked at me and let out a heavy sigh.

"It's not your fault." He says, looking me in the eyes. "It's not your fault he hates me, and he has every right to. i'm the reason your both here.." His eyes were filled with sorrow and regret. i had never looked into his eyes before. red. deep red. a colour i had never seen in anyone's eyes, except for his. my god, his eyes are pretty. we seemed to just stare into eachother's eyes for a few moments, a light blush coming upon my cheeks. our staring was interrupted by the sun starting to sink into the horizon. 

"oh god.. we've got to get back to camp!" I said, slightly anxious.

"Calm down, [Y/N]. we will be fine." he said, continuing deeper into the forest. i reluctantly followed him. as the night fell i reached into my backpack to grab the things needed for a torch. Maxwell put his warm hand on top of mine, stopping me from crating the torch. i looked up at him, he was staring at the sky. i looked up along with him, noticing the absence of the usual darkness. it was a full moon.

"Woah..." i said, looking around. within the light i could see fireflies dancing around in the sky, looking like tiny stars. 

"Amazing.. isn't it?" i heard Maxwell say, putting his hand on my shoulder. "It's one of the nicer things to experience here. you have to appreciate the little things in this hell". he had fully wrapped his arm around me at this point. i rested my head against his shoulder, both of us sitting against a tree now. i looked up at Maxwell, he looked back down at me in return. Our eyes met, us just staring at each other for another few, sweet moments. i don't know how it happened, but our faces started slowly inching towards each other. i could feel his breath on my lips, my face mere inches away from his. 

"AURGH-!" a loud scream echoed throughout the forest, making me jump slightly. Maxwell and i had both backed away from each other. we had both stood up, Maxwell drawing his dark sword from his bag. he protectively put a hand on my chest, telling em to stay behind him. we stood still for a moment, Maxwell looked at me and silently nodded, starting to walk forward slowly. i followed behind carefully. as we tread carefully through the woods, i noticed some of the bushes shaking. i grabbed Maxwell's hand, pointing to the bushes. he stepped in front of me, holding his sword out. what emerged from the bush was straight out of a nightmare. it looked like a hound, but it also didn't at the same time. it looked more like... a beaver? the feral beast slowly moved towards us, backing us into a tree.

"[Y/N]... RUN!" Maxwell yelled. i immediately did as told and bolted towards camp. i could hear Maxwell's footsteps not far behind me. i ran as fast as my tiny legs could carry me, my heart beating out of my chest. the beast wasn't far behind us. to our luck, the sun started to rise. i heard the beaver-like creature fall to the ground with a loud thump. Maxwell and i had kept fleeing. not long after we made it back to camp. i stopped to catch my breath a few feet away from the camp.

"[Y/N]... are you.. okay?" Maxwell asked me between breaths.

"Y- yeah, i think so." i said in reply. we made it into base and i collapsed right next to the now extinguished fire. Wilson looked at us from the crock pot he was cooking in. Maxwell sat down next to me.

"So, where's my wood?" Wilson asked in an annoyed tone.

"We could't gather any." Maxwell answered.

"heh," Wilson sneered. "What happened to being able to gather wood quickly, hm?"

"Wilson, leave him alone, we got ambushed." I scolded. 

Wilson rolled his eyes and grabbed an the axe from my bag, which was now on the floor.

"I'm going out to ACTUALLY gather wood" he said, not looking back to the base as he left. Maxwell sighed, burying his head in his hands. i slid over and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. His head lifted from his palms, moving his arms around my waist. i sunk into his embrace, blood rushing to my cheeks. not a word was spoken, we just sat there in each other's embrace. my eyes grew drowsy, slowing falling asleep in Maxwell's slender arms. Before i completely fell asleep i felt him kiss my forehead lightly. i snuggled closer to him and finally drifted off.

i awoke a few hours later. Maxwell was still asleep with me in his arms. i didn't move, as to not wake him.

"So, who ARE you?" i heard a voice, i identified the owner as Wilson.

"That's what i'm asking YOU." I heard a new voice, one i hadn't heard before. the speaker had a thick Canadian accent.

"Listen, i found you in the woods and dragged you back to my camp to patch you up, the LEAST you could do is tell me your name." Wilson questioned the mysterious man. a long, silent pause followed his question.

The Canadian finally spoke up.

"Woodie. my name is Woodie."