Chapter Text
“You know,” Max starts, his legs on Daniel’s lap and a slice of pizza in his hand, “I think these movies are highly unrealistic.”
“Mate, you have literally the same powers as Scarlet Witch-“
“I can’t do mind control, that’s a myth,” Max interrupts Lando with a grin before taking a bite from his pizza and Daniel snorts, pulling his legs closer. “I like the movies.”
“That’s because you’re literally Captain America.”
“Shut up, Nico, I’m not-“
“You have to admit there’s a resemblance,” Max throws in with a smirk and Daniel mock-glares at him, tickling his feet which makes Max let out a surprised noise (he did not shriek, thank you very much), pulling them away quickly before blushing.
“Call me Captain America one more time Verstappen and you’ll sleep on the sofa tonight.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. It’s not Captain America, it’s Captain Australia.” Max bursts out laughing when he sees the incredulous look in Daniel’s eyes, Lando grinning, Charles muttering “Good one” and Michael rolls his eyes with a fond smile. “You’re unbelievable.”
He picks up their empty pizza boxes, bringing them in the kitchen and Max cuddles closer to Daniel, knowing fully well Dan is going to try to tickle him again.
But he has never been good at staying away from him.
“You’re a little shit,” Daniel murmurs against his ear and Max laughs again, his head on Dan’s chest and he pulls his legs up, blanket over his lap.
It’s so peaceful, so domestic-
Something he never thought he would have.
Charles and Lando are talking quietly on the other sofa while Hulk is on his phone, the end credits of the second Avengers movie running in the background and Max takes a deep breath, the warm Italian night air coming in through the open doors which lead to their rooftop terrace.
He fell in love with Italy the second they touched down on the small airstrip just outside of Rome a year ago. It’s a beautiful city, warm and friendly even in late September and while London was nice- Rome feels like home.
Which is probably because of the people as well.
They became- they’re a family in their own weird way. Max hates to admit it but he grew oddly fond of Michael and Hulk and he stretches a little, pushing the blanket off him.
“Ready to go out?” He asks, already heading for their bedroom to get changed (fighting in his suit is definitely more comfortable than in sweatpants and t-shirt) and he doesn’t even flinch when Daniel quietly appears next to him, grinning.
“You’re excited?” He asks while pulling his t-shirt over his head and Max tries his best not to stare while getting into his suit.
“Fighting low life criminals in the streets of Rome? The highlight of my night,” he deadpans and Daniel laughs before grabbing his gun, strapping it to his leg. “Come on, it’s fun.”
“Mhm. Never enjoyed myself more.” Max rolls his eyes before zipping up his suit, not taking any weapons with him - he doesn’t need them. Not for Rome’s wannabe criminals and he follows Daniel back into the living room, Michael and Hulk already waiting for them.
“You’re coming too?” Max raises his eyebrows while playing with Daniel’s fingers, it’s normally just the two of them and Michael sighs. “Kind of - Nico wants to try and sneak into the Vatican and I refuse to let him go alone.”
While Daniel stares at them speechless Max grins, exchanging a quick look with Charles and Lando.
Daniel’s, Michael’s and Hulk’s morals have shifted a lot in the last couple of months (the peak was the prison break in the UK) and Max finds it incredibly amusing. Daniel still patrols through their neighbourhood at night to make sure it’s safe but everything else-
Let’s just say Max is pretty sure half a year ago Hulk and Michael wouldn’t have broken into the Vatican. But then again Nico thrives on chaos and probably just needed someone to enable him.
Max is very happy to be that enabler.
“Have fun, don’t get caught and don’t break anything,” Daniel tells them and Charles grins. “Don’t worry, I’m with them over the comms. They’ll be fine.”
“So they’re doomed.” Daniel laughs when Charles flips him off before his eyes wander to Lando. “You’re with us or are we on our own?”
“Depends. Are you going to bicker the whole time again?”
“Probably.”
“Then no.” Lando grins, reaching for the PlayStation controller and Max shrugs, pulling Daniel towards the balcony. “Your fault if we die.”
“Your boyfriend can’t die!” Lando yells after them but Max just laughs, climbing on the roof of their building.
He loves taking the way over the roofs (or the ‘scenic route’ as Daniel likes to call it), Rome is perfect for that and he has a pretty good fall damage - so does Daniel.
They still don’t know if he really can’t die but so far they haven’t found anything that really endangered him - not that they tested it. Or that Max would want that. But in the last year Daniel got stabbed and shot multiple times, nearly drowned in the ocean (and there was that one shark attack which they don’t talk about) and he always woke up again, sometimes needing a few days to recover fully.
But he has always walked away from it just fine eventually.
His senses are more enhanced now as well, his healing even quicker than before, his body rejecting the bullets on its own by now, his pain tolerance higher - apparently having a couple of near-death experiences thanks to meeting Max helped.
This doesn’t mean Daniel isn’t hurting when he gets shot or killed in general but it definitely gives Max peace of mind when he’s out with him.
Daniel is humming the melody of ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ under his breath and Max snorts, climbing over a chimney in front of him. “Do you ever get tired of that song?”
“It keeps me calm,” Daniel tells him seriously, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Something to focus on until we find someone who needs help.”
“Yeah, nah, I’m still not fully convinced about this whole ‘saving the people’ shit.” Max pulls a face, running a hand through his hair. All he did in the last few months was beat up a few criminals - he hasn’t killed anyone since they escaped prison in the UK last year.
Not that he wants to kill anyone.
But, you know.
“It’s good for your karma.” Daniel winks at him while they stroll over the rooftops and Max flips him off, balancing on the edge while his kinetic energy swirls around his fingertips. “My karma’s just fine, dickhead.”
They had a sparring match outside of the city the other day, he and Daniel against Michael and Hulk and it had been the most fun they’ve had in weeks . He and Daniel are still unbeatable together so they switched up the teams, Max working with Hulk and then with Michael. They all work well together and Max has to admit that he and Hulk are a good team as well - so are Daniel and Michael, having the advantage of trusting each other blindly for years now on their side.
It has been fun, Lando and Charles monitoring the whole thing while throwing a few random obstacles in their way and Max catches himself wishing they could do it again in a few weeks.
It’s not that Max misses his old life particularly much - he’s actually really happy here in Rome. They spend their days exploring the city or at the beach and the nights trying to solve crimes, catching a couple of criminals.
It’s just that Max is a bit bored.
They stopped a guy from murdering an innocent woman a few nights ago but before Max could actually beat the shit out of him Daniel had handcuffed the man and called the police and they had to disappear into the small alleys before any cop would recognise them.
And Max gets it because they need to keep their heads down but-
Again, he’s a bit bored.
He never thought he’d miss the fighting so much but he does and he jumps from the roof, quietly landing on the cobblestones below him. Daniel jumps as well, wincing when his landing is a bit harder but he straightens his back, shaking it off.
“Look, I don’t get why we have to interfere,” Max defends himself, crossing his arms in front of his chest while they keep walking through the streets. “Yeah, the person who gets robbed loses money but they go to the police and it’ll be fine.”
“It’s wrong to steal, Max.” Daniel looks completely unbothered, running a hand through his curls and Max snorts. “Yeah, and? We’re doing that too, mate. All the money we use to finance our flat and everything else? Lando stole it.”
“I know but we have a good reason for it.” Daniel shrugs. “And we’re not physically hurting someone, we just take it. Virtually.”
“But maybe the person who’s robbing the other person also has a good reason for it.” Max throws him a challenging look. “What if they have to support their family? Have to buy medicine, pay for treatments?”
“They could take up an honest job-“
“Oh come on , you know life is never that easy!” Max snorts but stops walking when they hear a woman’s loud scream and he sighs. “And here we go again.”
He follows Daniel into the alley on their right and rolls his eyes when he sees a man trying to rob a woman’s very expensive looking handbag.
Classic.
Or he wants more from that woman, Max isn’t sure but he also doesn’t care.
What he does care about is that the man has a knife, one hand on the woman’s throat and a mad spark in his eyes while yelling in loud Italian at her.
Max might not care about that woman’s handbag (and she looks like she has a very good income judging by her clothes and that bag) but he does care about her life and he sighs again when he steps next to Daniel.
Morals, innit.
“Mate!” He calls out before Daniel can give one of his speeches again, “step away from her right now .”
The man looks up, his eyes narrowing when he spots them before spitting a few Italian curses at them and while Daniel rolls his eyes, Max sighs.
He’s not fluent in Italian yet but he understands enough to know what that man wants to tell them and he walks closer, still not conjuring his energy. He’s pretty sure he can easily take that guy on his own without powers and he doesn’t flinch when the man lets go of the woman, turning towards him and threatening him with the knife.
He has been threatened with much worse in the past.
“Stay back or I’ll kill you!” The man hisses in broken English, that mad spark still in his eyes. “I will, don’t test me!”
Cute.
“Sure you will,” Max deadpans, the woman has sunk to the ground, crying but Max ignores her - they can still take care of her later.
“Do you want to take him, babe?” Daniel asks casually from behind and Max wants to say something when the man’s eyes flicker to Daniel. Before Max even realises it, the guy runs past him, directly towards Daniel and stabs him in the shoulder.
Daniel groans, pulling the knife out but keeps standing, shaking himself for a moment before spinning the knife around his fingers, ignoring the blood. “Mate, that was so unnecessary!”
He stares at the man offended, throwing the knife away and Max smirks when Daniel easily slams the guy on the ground, dislocating his shoulder with one quick move, his knee on his back.
Watching Daniel fight will never not be hot and Max strolls over, conjuring his energy, letting it swirl around his fingertips. The man’s eyes widen, he looks absolutely terrified and Max can’t help the satisfied feeling spreading through his chest.
Good.
He missed that.
“So what do we do?” He turns to Daniel but keeps an eye on the man on the ground and Daniel shrugs. “Call the police and then move on.”
Why did Max even ask.
Daniel pulls a pair of handcuffs from his dark suit, making sure their thief slash potential murderer can’t escape before he makes a call, talking in quick Italian.
Max sighs, guess that means he is the one who has to talk to the victim. He makes his way over to the woman who’s still crouched on the floor crying and she stares at him with wide eyes when she notices him come closer.
Max raises his hands in surrender and forces himself to smile. There’s no need to scare the poor woman even more, they’ll need her as a witness later.
“I won’t hurt you,” he says quietly and the woman slowly sits up, her eyes red. “Who are you?”
She must be in her fifties, her voice is breaking and Max sighs. “Not important. Listen, my boyfriend’s already talking to the police and they’ll take care of that asshole, yeah?”
“Thank you, you- you saved me!” She stares at him with wide eyes and Max raises an eyebrow.
“You sound surprised,” he replies dryly and she blushes, stumbling over her next words. “It’s just- you look more like a hired killer than a hero.”
Honestly? Max takes it as a compliment.
“Listen, you haven’t seen us, alright?”
“Sure.” She nods weakly and Max doesn’t trust her but there’s not much he can do so he flashes her another awkward smile before joining Daniel again who’s already waiting for him at the end of the alley.
That whole thing took them ten minutes and Max sighs before they head off into the night again, up onto another roof.
They stop two more robberies and one attempted sexual assault before Max talks Daniel into fucking him in the Colosseum and they get home around 2 am.
“Well that was exciting,” Max mumbles while peeling his suit off but Daniel just laughs, wrapping his arms around him from behind.
“I know you’re bored,” he mumbles, pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. “I know. And I’m too, kinda. I guess. But this- we’re safe here, baby. We have the chance to actually build a home, to be away from all the drama.”
“I know.” Max sighs, leaning against Daniel and he stifles a yawn before stepping out of his suit. Their window is open, the warm night air bristling the curtains and Max feels the adrenaline slowly leaving his body, his heartbeat calming down.
Fucking in the Colosseum and trying not to get caught was more exciting than every other encounter they had this night.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad.
“Like, I’ve been running since the day I was born and I appreciate the peace we have here but I just- I don’t know. Miss it sometimes.” Max shrugs half-heartedly, leaning a bit more against Daniel - he feels safe in his arms and he can feel Daniel’s dog tags press lightly into his back. “Not the pain, I guess, just … I don’t know. The chaos. I know that doesn’t really make sense.”
He doesn’t want to sound ungrateful. He knows what the others and especially Daniel gave up to be here with him. Knows that they- that he is still hunted by the CIA and every Secret Intelligence Service in Europe and probably also the rest of the world, to a degree.
And they have a good life here, he shouldn’t complain.
“Guess I just have to finally get used to it.” He forces himself to smile and turns around to press a kiss against Daniel’s cheek, allowing himself to relax. “Just need some time.”
“I miss it too.” Daniel grimaces, still holding him but gently manoeuvring them to the bed. “I mean I love helping the people in the neighbourhood but it’s just ... boring. It’s been a while since a mad scientist created a robot army and wanted to take over the world.”
“We’re probably jinxing it now,” Max jokes, cuddling up to Daniel, resting his head on his chest. “There’s probably something coming and when we’re in the middle of that mess again we’ll want that peaceful life back.”
“You always want what you can’t have.” Daniel grins, stretching his legs and capturing his lips in a soft kiss, his hand cupping Max’s face. “I’m just glad you’re here with me. Safe.”
Max nods, cuddling up closer and closes his eyes, his breathing slowly evening out. As long as he has Daniel he’s alright. Feels sane.
“I love you,” he murmurs, already half-asleep and he feels Daniel wrapping his arm around him, pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. “I love you too, Maxy. So much.”
***
“So did you actually break into the Vatican?” Daniel asks during breakfast the next day, a huge grin on his face and Michael laughs. “We actually did, yeah. Nico convinced the Swiss Guard that he’s one of them and we got in.”
“Unbelievable,” Lando mumbles, shaking his head and Charles grins. “Did you meet the Pope?”
“Nico was tempted to visit but I said no. We did get into some of the archives though - there’s some really interesting shit in them, Charles and Lando got us access to it.” Michael takes a sip from his orange juice and Max smiles, leaning against Daniel.
They’re having breakfast on their rooftop terrace, Hulk is still out for his morning run and it’s quiet. Peaceful. Below them are the bustling streets of Rome, it’s pretty warm for 10 am already and Max pulls his legs up.
They do have a pool up here which they could use. Or they could go to the sea again today, it’s not like they have much to do anyway and Max really likes the sea.
He loves sitting on the beach, watching the people and he loves going swimming. And it’s definitely a perk that his boyfriend will be shirtless. Besides, he is not sure how much longer it will be warm in Rome once October and November roll around.
“What did you two do?” Daniel turns to Lando and Charles and while Lando blushes deeply, Charles smirks, sipping on his orange juice. He has Daniel’s suit on his lap to fix the hole the stab wound left last night and Lando gives him a dark look.
“If you say one word-“
“I won’t, chéri , don’t worry.” Charles grins, his glass still in his hand and Max raises his eyebrows, slowly looking from Charles to Lando.
“Did you suck him off while he was on the comms to Michael?” He asks dryly and while Michael chokes on his coffee Lando blushes a deep red. “I-“
“Has happened before but the other way round,” Max explains to Michael and Daniel, completely unimpressed. “Was on a job and Charles gave Lando a blow job. I only noticed after like ten minutes.”
“I hate you,” Lando mumbles while Charles looks unbothered, just grinning. “They were fine , the whole Vatican was asleep, their security is a joke, honestly, it would be so easy to-“
He stops when they hear footsteps approaching and not two seconds later Hulk shows up in the door. Max sits up a bit straighter when he sees the haunted expression in his eyes, Nico is as pale as the wall behind him and Daniel frowns.
“You’re okay, mate? You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“Almost.”