AN: I've been sitting on this oneshot for a while now. I had it written about a month ago and wasn't really sure about posting it. Finally decided to post it just for the hell of it, because I feel like there aren't enough Maxton fics to begin with. Enjoy.

Max Hardy was a woman who was mostly certain of things in her life. She was certain that she was a strong woman, a well-trained NYPD detective, albeit one who had gotten into trouble lately for helping her uncle, but one with a good head on her shoulders nonetheless. She was certain that she was exhausted beyond belief after the events of the day played out. And she was also certain that her life would probably never be the same again.

Just hours ago she had thought that that sick bastard had killed Mike when he'd hit him with a wood board. It had been such a relief when Mike had woken up, though his head had gotten sliced open. She hadn't been certain that Mike would wake up. She still wasn't sure that he actually was okay, but he'd promised he'd see her later that day after he'd….

Max's cheeks burned at the memory from that afternoon after Ryan had handed Joe over to the FBI.

"I'm not as good as you think I am," Mike had told her, his pain evident in his crystal blue eyes. He'd been to hell and back over the course of the day, and yet he was somehow standing right in front of her to have this conversation with her.

"I never thought you were perfect," Max had countered. Neither one of them was perfect, but in their own ways, they had learned to balance each other out. They worked well as a team. Mike seemed to be considering her words for a moment before he finally, finally leaned in to her and kissed her.

With that kiss, Max had felt her heart soar. The last few weeks had been hell on all of them, especially Mike with the loss of his father. She hadn't been certain about him either. The murder of his father that he had watched had changed something inside of him. He kept so much of his pain inside, but after he kissed her, she saw the first true smile on his face that she'd ever seen.

That had been nearly five hours ago, though. It was getting late and Mike hadn't texted her or called her. Ryan had called not long ago to make sure that she was okay and to tell her that she should just give Mike some time and not be worried, but that was easier said than done. Max was hardly the type of woman to sit around staring at her phone, but she was going out of her mind.

"Come on, Mike," Max growled, getting up from her spot on the couch and starting to pace her apartment. "Where are you?"

She froze as there was a knock on her door. Max blinked. She wasn't expecting anyone. Part of her hoped that Ryan hadn't actually come all the way over to her apartment to make sure that she hadn't lost her mind. She could finally actually understand how Ryan's first battle with Joe had almost torn her uncle apart. With a low sigh, and her hand on her gun holster behind her back, she peered through the peephole.

"Asshole!" She snarled at Mike as she opened the door. Mike stood there, his confusion apparent on his face as he blinked, not missing the hand that was on her holster. He raised an eyebrow questioningly and she sighed, stepping back and allowing Mike into her apartment.

"You couldn't call me?" Max asked as she closed and locked the door behind her. She finally took her holster off, placing her gun on the counter. "All afternoon I've been going out of my mind, Mike, and you couldn't call me?"

Mike took off his jacket and sat down. It was then that Max realized just how exhausted Mike looked. She knew he been taken to the hospital to get looked over and then interrogated about the day's events just like she and Ryan had been. At that moment, she realized that the events of the day had hit him a lot harder than they hit her, and she was standing there chastising him for not calling her. She mentally kicked herself, walked by him, her hand brushing his shoulders, and retrieved two glasses and a bottle of whiskey from the kitchen. Without another word, she poured them both a generous amount of the amber liquid and pushed a glass towards Mike as she sat on the floor opposite him. A hint of a smile appeared on Mike's face as he reached for the glass and downed it. He finally gave Max an expectant look.

"What?" Max asked after knocking back her own drink.

"Aren't you going to ask me?" Mike asked, speaking for the first time since he'd walked through the door.

"Ask you what?"

"The first thing you always ask me when you see me," Mike said, sitting back on the couch, allowing himself to finally relax.

Max smiled at Mike. He was so much like Ryan at times it was strangely amusing to her. She would humor him, just for the hell of it, "Okay, then. How are you?"

"I suck, how you doing?"

Max rolled her eyes, "You used that one already. Try again."

"So not only do you ask me how I am each time you see me, but you actually remember my responses," Mike mused, his smile reappearing on his face. Max smiled back at him and shrugged. "I…." Mike thought for a moment. For once, he didn't seem to have a witty response to Max's favorite question. "I'm okay," He said at last. "I'm still alive after the hell that transpired today, so how bad could I really be?"

Max's eyes went to the bandage right at the edge of Mike's left eye, "Just a few stitches," He said, not needing to be asked. "I'm bruised beyond belief, but very thankful to have walked away from this round with Joe's followers with only a few stitches next to my eye."

Max nodded, "I was thinking of some ordering some food," She said, getting to her feet. "You interested?"

Mike considered Max for a moment. This woman was truly incredible. She'd had one hell of a day, and apparently had spent a good amount of time that afternoon and evening worrying about him it seemed, and suddenly her main concern was food. He could tell that she was just trying to keep busy, and he couldn't blame her. He had been the same way that first night after the first round with Joe; anything to keep himself from facing reality.

"Sure," He said at last with a nod. Together they ordered Chinese and had another drink, Max finally settling on the opposite end of the couch from Mike. A sense of awkwardness hung in the air. It was the first time that they had been truly alone without the case staring them in the face, though it seemed to still be hanging around in both their minds.

"Okay, we've got to do something about this," Mike said at last, the sense of awkwardness finally getting to him. Max had jumped slightly when Mike spoke suddenly, and Mike laughed softly. "We went through hell today, and kissed, and now we're sitting here like two awkward teenagers."

"I'm sorry," Max sighed, moving her fingers through her hair. She licked her lips, "I know you and Ryan have gone through this all before, but this is new to me. I've handled my own load of cases while working for the NYPD, but this blows all of that out of the water. It's like, how do you think about anything else?"

"You force yourself to," Mike responded. He shook his head, "There's truly no other way, Max. You've just got to force yourself to think of every other thing possible, no matter how stupid it may seem, because it will literally drive you crazy otherwise."

"You and Ryan are the only two who understand, though," Max said with a soft sigh. She looked at Mike, shifting on the couch so that she could reach out and take his hand. "We lived through this day together. It was only the three of us with our backs up against the wall, and I thought…." She blinked back tears that she hadn't realized had been waiting to fall when she thought back to the fight with Luke and Max, "I thought you had…."

Her throat and chest tightened and suddenly she was sobbing and punching Mike, and Mike sat there and took each hit, "You were unconscious, you son of a bitch. He nearly killed you and…."

Mike grabbed her wrist as she lashed out again, "I'm sorry, Max," He said, taking hold of her other wrist and pulling her towards him, allowing her to cry on him. "Max, I am so sorry…." He rubbed her back. "It's okay. It's over, and I'm right here."

Max glared up at him through bloodshot eyes, "And you couldn't fucking call me?!"

Mike couldn't help but laugh at her, which just caused her to strike him once again before she pushed herself off of him, taking a sip from her glass to try and calm herself down, "I'm sorry, Max," He said once again. "Next time, I swear, I'll keep in better contact with you throughout the day. I just needed to clear my mind after everything. I haven't even been back to Ryan's place to get the stuff I left there. I came right here after they got done interrogating me."

Max stiffened as she remembered something, "You're leaving."

Mike's face paled a bit as he wished Max wouldn't have suddenly had that thought, "You were staying with Ryan after your father passed away, but you're going to leave sometime soon, aren't you?"

"Not for a few days, at least," Mike said with a low sigh. This was the last conversation that he wanted to be having with Max at that moment in time. "I don't have a set date yet, but I don't live in New York, Max."

Max's head was nearly throbbing. It had been one hell of a long day, and it was finally taking its toll on her, "I'm sorry, Mike," She said at last. She groaned softly and massaged her temples, "It has been such a long day. Nothing I faced in the NYPD could have ever prepared me for today. I'm all over the place and I'm taking that out on you, it seems."

"Trust me, I understand," Mike said with a nod. He reached out and took Max's hand. "If there is anything I can understand, it's how you're probably feeling after today, and I don't blame you for anything, even for punching the shit out of me."

"Sorry," Max repeated with a wince, remembering that Mike was the one who had needed a trip to the hospital that afternoon. She could tell that Mike was avoiding saying anything, but it was likely that she'd just added bruises to the bruises he already had.

"Okay, enough apologies," Mike said suddenly as gave Max's hand a squeeze. "All the two of us seem to be doing tonight is apologizing. We should be celebrating, if anything. We helped Ryan put Joe Carroll away for the second time, and neither of us was seriously hurt while doing so. That seems like a good enough reason to celebrate to me."

"So we'll celebrate with whiskey and Chinese food?" Max suggested, her fingers linking with Mike's as she finally allowed herself to calm down.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Mike nodded. A comfortable silence settled between the two of them for the next few minutes, their hands playing together idly. With a soft sigh, Max slid closer to Mike, and he welcomed the closeness, releasing her hand to take her other so he could wrap his arm around her shoulders. Max relaxed against him as their fingers linked once again. Sometimes all the two of them needed was to sit in silence together.

Max took Mike by surprise though, when she suddenly slid onto his lap and kissed him. Mike kissed her back, his hands sliding to her waist to hold her close, "About time," Mike commented with a smirk as he looked up at her. Max leaned her forehead to his, her hair falling in a dark curtain around them. She pulled back a bit to look at him. Her fingers gently trailed his face, tracing an old scar above his right eye. He seemed to have a habit of getting hit by his eyes. She kissed the scar before looking into his eyes. They were so fucking blue, she felt herself get lost in them for a few moments as she stared into them.

"Mike," Max sighed at last before she kissed him again. She was so thankful that he was around. He had survived the first battle with Joe's followers and the one with Luke and Mark. He was a fighter, and she was suddenly thankful that he had come to talk to her that day before she'd gotten in trouble for helping Ryan.

Mike kissed her back, a low moan rumbling in his throat as she demanded access, nipping on his lower lip. Their tongues met, and Mike's hands clawed her back as she pressed against him, their kiss quickly growing more heated. With a low growl, Mike shifted so Max was beneath him, her back against the couch. Their eyes met for a moment before Mike lowered his lips to hers again, and her hands started working on the buttons of his shirt. His tongue battled Max's for control for a few moments before he moved to her neck.

Max tilted her head to the side as she finally, fucking finally got Mike's shirt undone. Maybe now that they weren't working he'd actually stick to wearing t-shirts. She moaned softly as Mike bit down on her neck, her hands trailing his sides to pull him closer as the doorbell rang.

"Fuck," Mike growled, resting his head on Max's shoulder.

"We forgot about the food," Max groaned, rubbing her forehead in frustration. "God, could we be more of a fucking bad b-movie cliché right now?"

Mike couldn't help but laugh at Max's comment. The woman had a way with words. He pulled himself off of Max and composed himself in three seconds flat, pulling out his wallet as he headed for the door, Max still catching her breath as he paid for the food and returned to the living room with a low sigh. She sat up, straightening her shirt as Mike put the food on the coffee table, "We really should eat," Mike said, feeling more than a little certain that Max, like himself, hadn't eaten a thing all day.

Max nodded wordlessly as Mike sorted through the food, this time he was the one sitting cross-legged on the floor. She watched him, a bemused expression on her face all the while. She internally cursed the delivery guy for interrupting them. For the first time in weeks, her mind had been blissfully blank of everything except for Mike and the feel of him against her.

"Max?"

Max blinked and looked up at Mike. She was pretty sure that he had just asked her a question, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember what he had just said, "Sorry, what?"

Mike smirked, "I asked if you had anything to drink besides Jack Daniels."

"Oh, just go look in the fridge," Max said vaguely, waving a hand towards the kitchen. She rubbed at her temples again, suddenly feeling rather frustrated. She wanted that blissful feeling back. As Mike got to his feet, he stopped by her side to kiss her forehead.

"There's always after dinner," He said with a wink as he headed into the kitchen to find something to drink. Max felt her cheeks burn slightly as she watched Mike go. He was really something else. When he came back with a pitcher of iced tea and some cups, they finally both dug into their own food, eating in silence for a few minutes.

"Ryan's going to kill me, you know that right?"

Max shrugged as she ate some of her wonton soup, "My uncle is just a puppy dog at his core. He'll get over it."

"Before or after he chews me out for kissing his niece?" Mike smirked. Max smirked right back at him, twirling her plastic spoon between her fingers.

"If you're lucky, he'll be chewing you out for doing more than kissing his niece," She winked, watching Mike's cheeks go as red as the sweet and sour chicken he was eating. She took a sip of some of the iced tea that Mike had poured for her and sighed contently. She could get used to having Mike around, if not for the fact that he was actually leaving in a few days' time. "Do you think you're going to stay in Virginia?" She asked at last as she finished her soup and moved on to the beef dish she had gotten herself.

"Probably not," Mike said after a few moments of thinking. Max's eyes instantly lit up a bit and Mike smiled at the reaction. "I mean, I'm technically not with the FBI at the moment, and personally I could use some time off and a change of scenery."

"Change of scenery as in New York?"

Mike looked up at Max and tilted his head. He was slowly realizing that Max wasn't saying something, and he was determined to get it out of her, "You really don't want me to leave, do you?"

"And if I say that I don't?"

Mike put down his chopsticks and looked expectantly at Max, "Well, if you don't want me to go, then I'll just have to figure something out, won't I?"

Max gave Mike a small smile, "Well, I don't want you to leave." She cleared her throat and sighed softly, "I don't want you to leave, Mike. I know we've been through a lot the last few weeks, and I know that I have Ryan, but you've managed to slide your way into my life and I don't want you to slide your way right out of it so quickly. Not when you finally decided to kiss me and actually acknowledge that there was something more between us."

"There's the answer I was looking for," Mike said with a nod. He got to his feet and walked over to Max, pulling her to her feet. Almost instantly he was kissing her again. Max kissed him back, her hands once again getting busy pulling Mike's shirt open. She needed to get him to stop wearing those damn button down shirts, as good as he looked in them. Once his shirt was on the floor, Max smirked at him and took his hand, leading him through her apartment to the bedroom.

She saw Mike give the room a look when they entered it. Of course, she'd had Mike to her apartment before, but never in her bedroom. Things were different between them now, and the thought of that sent a little thrill through Max's body. Without giving Mike a chance to talk, she closed the door behind them and had Mike up against it in the next instant. She coaxed a low growl from his throat as her tongue teased his, his hands busying themselves with removing her own top. It was soon on the floor, her bra following it almost instantly. Mike smirked into the kiss and pushed Max back until her knees hit the edge of the bed and she fell back over it.

"Damn, Max," Mike said, his voice low as he looked her over. Max was hardly a shy woman, her chest rising and falling with each ragged breath as Mike took in the sight of her topless. She smirked at him from her spot on the bed.

"We're not even, you know," She said, reminding him with a wink of the morning that she had walked in on him in Ryan's apartment.

"We will be," Mike promised, his eyes gleaming even in the dimly lit room. He lowered himself onto Max, their lips meeting in another battle for control, as Mike's hands explored Max's torso, mapping it with his hands, committing each curve of her lean muscles to his memory. She was beautiful, Mike had known that since the moment he'd walked into her NYPD office, but now he was seeing a completely new side to her beauty.

"You are amazing," Mike breathed in Max's ear as he started to kiss down her neck, not missing the soft moans that seemed to vibrate through her entire body. He smirked against her skin as his hands busied themselves with removing her pants. There was nothing that Mike wanted more at that moment than to relieve the tension that both he and Max felt. He kissed down her collarbone, biting down on a particularly sensitive spot that had her arching against him. "Easy," He said with a soft laugh as he kissed down the valley between her breasts, his hands leaving her waistband for a moment to grope at her breasts, eliciting another moan from her throat.

"Mike, please," Max moaned, her fingers lacing through his hair. Her voice was pure desire and need, her eyes glazed over with lust. Mike continued to kiss down her abdomen, his mind memorizing every curve of her muscles. Mike suddenly heard a new sound, a low, rumbling growl, and suddenly he was on his back on the bed, Max smirking down at him.

"Too slow, Agent Weston," Max said with a tilt of her head, her deep blue eyes seeming to glow in the dim light. Mike couldn't help but feel his adoration, and his need, for Max grow with her words. He could deal with the woman giving him a fight for dominance, at least for the moment. Lord, she was something else, and now he was aching for her worse than ever. She began an assault of her own, kissing and nipping her way down his neck, being careful of the bruises that she came across.

Mike had to admit, he'd never had a woman tend to him the way that Max did. She may be assertive, but she was tender in the way that she kissed down his body, "Fuck, Max," He hissed as she rubbed her hand over the bulge in his jeans before her hands slid his belt off with ease.

"In a minute," Max breathed in his ear, sending a chill straight down his spine. She removed his jeans with ease and at long last, she freed him from the confines of his boxers, her small hand closing around his shaft and starting to stroke him, a moan escaping his lips as his eyes all but rolled back in his head.

"Max," Her name was all but a prayer on his lips as she continued to stroke him, his fingers clawing at the sheets as he struggled to keep coherent.

"Shhh," Max said, sliding up and kissing him deeply, her tongue teasing his once more. She slid out of her own pants and panties, revealing herself fully to Mike for the first time as she lay back down on the bed. "No more talking, Mike. I need you."

Mike didn't need to be told twice. In the next moment, the two separate beings became one, Mike kissing her all the while as they moved together on the bed, her hands on his shoulders, keeping him close as their soft noises of pure ecstasy mixed. It was as though all the physical and mental pain of the few weeks melted again as they met each other thrust for thrust, Max arching up against him once again, and him pushing her back down. Max pulled her lips away from his to kiss on his neck once again, breathing a single word in his ear.

"Harder."

With a low moan, Mike let himself get lost in the pleasure, obeying Max's request, his fingers linking with hers as they slid from her neck. Together they worked each other to the edge, and with a final, hard thrust, he watched as Max's eyes went wide with the climax that had her body trembling, her fingers clenching his and helping push him to his own end with a cry of her name.

As they both came down from their highs, nothing else mattered but keeping the other close. Mike wrapped an arm around Max as she settled on his chest, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat as a lullaby that sang her to sleep with a final word.

"Finally."