Max awoke from a restless night's sleep that did nothing to relieve the knots in his stomach.

The previous day's events were replaying in his mind, and his father's odd decision to sell his life's work to the mob was so perplexing that he suspected his father had lost his mind.

He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, hoping for a normal day for a change. In the last two months, so much had happened and changed that he felt as if the ground beneath his feet was slowly tilting, and he desperately tried to hold on. Hold everything in its place.

While sorting his thoughts, he closed his eyes and inhaled and exhaled three times. Focusing on things over which he has no control will only make him feel irritated and anxious, so he concentrates on the little things he can actively do.

He made a mental list in his head of everything he could and needed to do today.

Call Connor,

Buy some breakfast on the way to the gym cause Connor probably didn't eat.

Talk to dad.

Apologise.

Get some answers.

Find some work for Connor so he won't get lost in his thoughts.

Be as shitty as you can to Ryan.

He got up, got ready, and walked out the door after thinking he had everything in order for the day. Running to the gym seemed like a good way to relieve some of the tension in his body, so he donned his running shoes and headed to the door.

As soon as Max stepped out of the building, the cold air stung his face, jerking the last remnants of sleep from his body. He stretched, took a deep breath that energised his body, and then ran towards the gym.

He’s not thinking as he runs. It's the only time his mind is blank. He thinks about the pavement, the concrete, the rough beat in his chest, and how out of breath he is at times. How his shirt is already sticking to the sweat that's seeping through his body.

He slows down when he sees the Cafe near the gym. Connor. Breakfast.

He goes in and orders almost everything on the breakfast menu, so Connor won't have any excuses not to eat. He takes the bags, crosses the street, and jogs up the steps to the gym.

Max bursts into the gym like a tornado, his body already buzzing with energy, ready to start the day. Ready to fight. Looking around the room, he noticed the lights in his father's office, indicating that his dad and Connor had arrived and were making their way through the cluttered office.

Ryan sat next to the table, his head buried in his phone. He was completely absorbed in his phone and curled up so tightly around it that he looked like a black spot against the gym's white walls and fluorescent lighting. Like he sucked all the light around him.

"Dad, I'm here!" he uttered before wiping the sweat from his face with the hems of his shirt.

Connor and Aaron emerged from the Office as expected, while Ryan appeared unfazed by Max's presence, his face still glued to his phone.

“I’ve got breakfast,” Max smiled at them, raising his hand that held the bags.

The promise of food seemed to pique Ryan's interest because he slipped his phone into his pocket, eyeing the food-filled bags. And Max.

“Great!” Aaron said. “Let's eat together then.” He guided Connor to the table by patting him on the shoulder.

Max approached the table, his gaze narrowed at Ryan. He dropped the bags on the table in front of him with a loud 'thud' and bent over, looking him in the eyes.

"I- don't- like- you," he said, pointing his finger at Ryan's face, then he stood up and began unpacking the food containers from the bags without looking away. Ryan only scuffed and placed his hand on his chest, exclaiming, "My heart!"

Aaron and Connor joined Ryan around the table while Max opened all the different food boxes with such force that for a moment all it seemed he would spill all the food on the table. He kept examining Ryan, who, for his part, sat comfortably and did not notice Max's piercing look. He then began pouring food into Connor's plate from each box that was on the table, giving him ten times more food than any average person can eat. 

Connor’s hand startled Max, jolting him out of his stare-down with Ryan. "That's enough," he said, looking at Max. Max suddenly realised that he'd been so preoccupied with his thoughts that he hadn't noticed how much food he'd poured onto Connor's plate.

Ryan, on the other hand, appears to be at ease while investigating the various types of food on the table. When he saw a box full of candied pancakes, he picked it up and placed some on his plate. He rummaged through the boxes, unearthed a maple syrup bottle, and drowned his food in it. Max wrinkled his nose in disgust at the sight, while Ryan just smirked at him as he shoved a greasy piece of pancake into his mouth.

Max sat and eyed Connor’s plate and then his gaze travelled to his face, their eyes locked. “Eat,” he said under his nose. Connor Nodded but kept playing with his food.

“So,” Aaron said consciously, “Max, Ryan is in your hands today. Start with-”

“What?!” Max snapped his head toward Aaron

“- with the basics.”

“No. I'm not doing that”

Aaron sighed heavily. “Max, we talked about this.”

“Did we?!” he snapped, turning to face his father. “Because I don't remember agreeing to any of this”

“Max-”

“Okay, Fine!” Max cut him off by raising his palms in a surrender gesture.

"You," he pointed at Ryan, "change clothes when you finish this sickening mountain of sweets," he said as he pushed his plate away and stood up. “You can’t practice with a fucking suit.”

Ryan grumbled as he pushed another bite of syruped pancake into his mouth, smiling at Max as he licked the sweet syrup from his fork and lips. Max gave him a sidelong glance before turning to put on his boxing gear. He will definitely regret not eating his breakfast later.

They ate in silence, and all that silence occupied Ryan's mind. It taunted him how silence can be so stifling. Suffocating. He felt his blood rushing to his head, his ears buzzing. He tried to eat faster, so he could stand. So he could move. So he could escape it. 

"Don’t take Max too seriously," Connor murmured abruptly without meeting Ryan's eyes; he was still playing with his food.

“Can you ever take him seriously?” 

Ryan's gaze followed Connor's shy smile as he turned his head to look at Max.

“He’s a great guy, but a really emotional one,” he chuckled. “He can't really hide how he feels and sometimes it makes him seem rude, but he really isn't. He just needs some time to get to know you.” 

They watched Max warm up for a few moments, throwing punches in the air, and when he reached for the boxing bag, Connor jumped to his feet, startling Ryan, and walked to Aaron's office, leaving Ryan and Aaron to clear the empty food boxes into the trash can.

After they were finished, Aaron patted Ryan on the shoulder and winked at him, saying, "Show him what you've got."

In the showers, Ryan quickly changed from his suit to his boxing gear. Aaron met him at the gym in the morning and handed him a duffle bag containing some training clothes and boxing gloves he had prepared for him.

Before leaving, he took a quick look in the mirror; his face was still covered in a rainbow of colours, but the swelling had subsided and the pain had faded, thanks to the two painkillers he had taken the minute he woke up.

As he entered the main room, Max was waiting for him in the boxing ring, casually leaning against the outer wall. Ryan couldn't take his eyes off Max, who was already shirtless, a thin layer of sweat covering his chest and abdomen, making his tanned skin almost glimmer in the gym's fluorescent light.

"So," he pushed himself against the wall, "do you know anything about boxing?"

"Obviously,” Ryan replied, pointing to his own face.

“I specialise in getting beaten up," he continued, smiling at Max, who just rolled his eyes.

"Boxing is a serious martial art that must be respected. If you know how to throw a good punch in the right place, you can seriously injure someone."

"Understood, Mr. Miyagi," Ryan giggled

"What the fuck?! It's not karate- Ughh, never mind,” he ran a hand over his face, 

"You're a lost cause anyway. You won't last an hour."

Ryan bowed his head. "I will, Sensei.”

Max cursed under his breath, “this is going to be a long day.”