#I MISS MY SWEET BOYS | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

khaleesiofalicante · 1 year

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My Type - A TLND Mavid Ficlet

“You’re trending again.”

Max doesn’t even bother looking up from his laptop. “What else is new?”

“I mean you’re trending properly,” his secretary hums, leaning against his office door. “Across all platforms.”

“Yuri, I started trending the day I was born,” Max chuckles. “My family is made of celebrities. This is not news. And I should be trending. London Fashion Week is coming up and some of our latest pieces are the best ones we’ve created yet.”

“Right,” she says slowly. “This is not really about Edom.”

Max looks up from his laptop then.

Maybe it’s about David - or even the boys. People are always making fan edits of his family.

It’s cute. Sometimes.

“It’s about Ms. Jung, sir,” his secretary informs him. “The PR team wants to issue a statement for damage control.”

PR teams and statements and damage control.

The words sound too familiar as Max picks up his phone and types his own name on Twitter.

Oh.

“Maybe if you could post a picture of your family,” Yuri suggests carefully. “A selfie of you and your husband.”

“I don’t need to post shit. This is not real!” Max points at the image on his phone. “Why would I kiss Shinyun?”

“It’s AI, sir,” Yuri informs him. “But it looks real, doesn’t it?”

Max sighs.

His phone pings again. A message from bapak asking him to ignore it.

Max knows bapak and dad had their fair share of struggles with social media. God knows they still do. Max had been naive enough to hope that things will be easier in the future. But sometimes, it feels like the future only gets worse.

He stares at the photo of him and Shinyun kissing. It makes him want to throw up. But he is too stunned by the authenticity of it to do anything else.

He dismisses Yuri and calls Shinyun. “You saw?”

“Yes,” she replies calmly. “Makes you look like a terrible kisser. Just like your bapak.”

“Gross,” he replies. “Look. Yuri says we need to issue a statement-”

“We don’t have to do anything,” she interrupts. “Fashion Week is coming up. All eyes are on Edom, Max. This is good.”

“How are you not bothered by this?” he demands angrily.

“Not my first time being falsely romantically linked to a Lightwood-Bane,” she replies coolly. “Does it bother you?”

Max doesn’t respond to that. “Can we find out who made this?”

“Is it really worth the time and effort?” she counters. “Probably just some kid looking for followers.”

“It’s not fair,” he sighs tiredly.

“Hey, listen to me,” she says, her voice firm. “Do not let them get to you. I know it’s hard. But you should pay them no mind.”

“I know,” Max sighs. “I just-No. Never mind.”

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” Max manages a smile. “I’ll see you in London soon?”

“Bring the boys.”

“They’ve already packed their bags,” Max chuckles. “Although David is not thrilled about attending another fashion show.”

“How is he feeling about the photo?” Shinyun asks him.

Ah fuck.

He didn’t even think about that. David must be freaking out.

“He doesn’t know, does he?” Shinyun asks out loud. “You know what? Maybe it would help to post a picture of the two of you.”

“That’s what Yuri said.”

“Best hiring decision you made,” she chuckles. “It’s not a bad idea, Max. God knows the two of you are always attached at the hip.”

“You sound jealous,” Max points out. “Is this because I only kissed you through artificial intelligence?”

“Kindly go fuck yourself.”

Max chuckles as he puts the phone down. He sighs. “Yuri. I’m going home.”

“You should buy flowers on your way home,” Yuri suggests. “Just in case he is mad.”

“Good idea,” Max grins at her. “You’re the best.”

By the time he leaves office and goes back home, he has already scrolled through countless tweets about the situation.

They are all “I knew it” and “bisexuals be like” and “David deserves better” and a bunch of freudian jokes Max doesn’t really care about.

But he keeps scrolling. He keeps looking for the tweets that support him and believe in him.

He knows it doesn’t matter because the photo isn’t real. But he seeks the validation of these strangers anyway.

Tell me you know this isn’t me. Tell me you know I’m good. Tell me you know I would never. Tell me you know David is my everything.

Old habits die hard, huh?

“Daddy!” his little one yells when he arrives home. He is running towards Max all the way from their estate, all barefoot and big smiles. “Look what Lelyaas found!”

“What did Lelyaas find?” Max smiles and kneels down next to the toddler.

“A grasshopper,” Arthur says in a low voice, like it’s a secret. “I named him Bunny.”

“You named the grasshopper Bunny?” Max chuckles. “Why?”

“Because it hops!” Arthur says simply. “Like a bunny.”

Max chuckles again. “Did you eat?”

The boy nods.

“Did you have dessert?” Max asks.

“Not yet,” the child replies. “Papa is in a bad mood. Lelyaas said we should leave him alone. He’s in the library.”

Ah. Fuck.

David has a habit of reading everywhere but in the library.

He reads in bed. He reads in the kitchen. He reads in the bath. He reads in the garden. He even reads inside the car.

He only reads in the library when he wants to be left alone.

But surely these silly rules don’t apply to Max…Right?

“Okay. You play with Bunny. I’ll check on papa,” Max presses a kiss to the boy’s curls. He walks into the château and unbuttons his shirt as he enters library carefully. “Babe?”

David is sitting on the sofa, his legs crossed over each other, as he is glaring at the newspaper.

Why is he even reading that shit? Nothing good ever comes out of it!

“Can you believe this?” David waves the paper around.

“It’s already on the newspaper?” Max winces.

“Of course it’s on the bloody newspaper,” David rolls his eyes. “But why does it have to be on the front page? Do these people not care about my feelings at all?”

“I’m sorry,” Max says gently as he sits down next to him. “Babe. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine. It’s not your fault,” David sighs and puts the paper away. “It was bound to happen anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Max frowns. “David, I know we are used to this, but this is not normal. We should never expect this as normal.”

David frowns too. “What are you talking about?”

“What are you talking about?” Max asks in confusion and grabs the newspaper, turning to the front page. “The fuck is this?”

“Taylor Swift lost best album at the Grammys,” David grumbles.

“That’s what you’re mad about?” Max laughs.

“Is there something else for me to mad about?” David raises an eyebrow.

“Um. There is a picture,” Max swallows. “On Twitter. It’s-”

“You and Shinyun,” David finishes. “Oh, yes. I did see that.”

“You’re not mad about that then?”

“Max, there are pictures of you kissing a different woman every other week,” David rolls his eyes. “If I started to care about those, I would be in a perpetual state of fury.”

Max chuckles tiredly. “This one is weird though.”

“It is,” David admits. “Is there something we should do? Post a picture together?”

Max shakes his head. “I hate that. I hate that I have to my prove my love for you.”

“You don’t have to prove anything,” David says gently. “We could just ignore it, love. You know it doesn’t mean anything.”

“I know,” Max says quietly.

“Hey,” David whispers as he takes Max’s hand in his and gives it a kiss. “What is it?”

“I’m trending,” Max explains.

“Aren’t you always?” David smiles.

“Not for the right things,” Max shakes his head. “David, I worked so hard for our displays at the London Fashion Week. We worked with the best designers and we found the right people and it was just so beautiful and diverse and original and it’s just…I’m so fucking proud of it. But no one’s talking about that. No one ever cares about how hard I work and the difference I’m making in the world.”

“Max. The internet doesn’t care about our values. It only cares about our actions,” David tells him. “I know no one is talking about it. But that doesn’t mean people don’t care. You hired really young designers from diverse backgrounds. You hired people who are unlikely to get a chance like this. They know what you did. And trust me, they care.”

“I know, babe,” Max manages a smile. “I just…Sometimes I feel like things haven’t changed all that much, you know.”

He’ll always just be Max. The boy who is only known for causing drama. And they will only ever care about who he is kissing and who he is fighting.

Nothing more and nothing less.

“Things have changed a lot actually,” David hums and stands up. “Come with me. I’ll show you.”

Max is tired. But he follows after the other man anyway.

“We’re not going to the bedroom?” Max pouts as they walk past the staircase.

“Making out with Shinyun wasn’t enough for you?” David asks over his shoulder.

“Ugh! Gross!” Max groans and slaps David on the shoulder.

David laughs as he drags Max further into the house, right towards the left wing.

Oh.

“Darling,” David knocks on the door gently. “I’m coming in.”

They walk into Lance’s room together. Their oldest is lying on the bed, still wearing his school uniform, and bopping his head to music with his Batman headphones on.

Max carefully taps him on the shoulder, so not as to startle him. “Lance.”

“Dad?” the boy removes his headphones immediately. “You’re home early.”

“Hm-hm,” Max smiles and gives him a hug. “Why are you still in your uniform?”

“I’ll take it off in a little bit,” the boy replies. “Is papa here too?”

“I am,” David replies and sits down on the edge of the bed. “Lance. Will you tell daddy what you told me when we drove home from school?”

“What did I say?” Lance frowns.

“You said something about daddy and Edom,” David elaborates.

“Oh,” Lance says. “Daddy. Papa thinks you work too much and you should quit and be a house husband.”

“I did not say that!” David blanches. “Although, yes, you do work too much.”

Max sticks out his tongue at the man and looks at the boy. “I would make an awful house husband, buddy. Then your papa will divorce me and get married to a music producer who will buy him tickets to Taylor Swift concerts.”

“That does sound appealing,” David hums and earns a glare from Max. “Lance. I meant what you said about Fashion Week.”

“Oh,” Lance says again. “Papa told me your inspiration for London Fashion Week is Egyptian fashion?”

“That’s correct,” Max nods. “I met this really cool lady called Samar who lives in Egypt and she designs beautiful clothes inspired by her culture. So, I told her to design our pieces for Fashion Week.”

David looks at him proudly.

It’s not a big deal. Giving people opportunities shouldn’t be a big deal. We should do it more often really.

“That’s really cool,” Lance tells him. “Good job, dad!”

“Oh,” Max whispers. “Really?”

“We learned about Egyptian Civilization in school. Did you know they wore really cool jewellery but didn’t wear shoes?” Lance asks him curiously.

“I do know that,” Max nods with a smile. “That’s why none of our models will be wearing shoes during the runway at London Fashion Week.”

“That’s amazing!” Lance gasps. “Will they shave their heads too?”

Max chuckles. “Not all of them. But there is one guy from Cairo who shaved his head, except for like a plait at the side of the head.”

“Can I pull it?” Lance whispers.

“No,” David says firmly. “But you can talk to him and ask him more about his culture.”

“Cool,” Lance shrugs. “Can we have dessert now?”

“Yes,” Max presses a kiss to his face. “Change out of your uniform and come to the kitchen, okay?”

David leads him back to the kitchen with a soft smile and pushes him against the counter. “I told you. People do care. You just need to look for it in the right place.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,” Max murmurs and kisses his husband on the jaw. “Sorry I got overwhelmed by my constant need for external validation. It makes me overlook the support systems that are actually accessible.”

David pinches his side. “What did I tell you about memorising what your therapist tells you?”

“It’s very sexy of me?” Max grins.

“I’m sorry about the awful people in the internet,” David tells him and cups his face gently. “But I see you. I see how hard you work and how much you care. And I too think you’re very cool.”

“Yeah?” Max whispers and leans into the touch. “I love you.”

“I love-Arthur! Why are you carrying three cups of ice cream?” David yells.

“One for me. One for Lelyaas. One for my grasshopper,” Arthur replies as he carefully balances three cups of ice cream.

Max laughs at that.

David glares at him. “Elyaas doesn’t eat ice cream. Put it back.”

“Really?” Max chuckles. “You’re okay with the grasshopper?”

“I don’t know if grasshoppers actually eat ice cream,” David whispers to him.

“Fair point,” Max nods. “Also Arthur is already gone.”

David groans tries to run after the child. But Max pulls him back by his arm. “You’re sure you’re not mad about the photo, right?”

“No,” David shakes his head.

“Didn’t even suspect me for a second?” Max grins.

“I know how you kiss,” David whispers against his lips. “What I saw in the paper was nowhere close to that.”