Author’s Note: This is a long overdue fic request for the talented @klaudianna-beaumontkkreal! She had requested a slightly naughty fic for Maxwell x MC where they bicker over a game and then Maxwell picks up MC and she screams “Put me down!” Somehow I also added a surprising extra diploma in here for Maxwell … I dunno, it just seemed right. 😂
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Rosie sat at her large mahogany desk, pouring over the Duchy financial statements from last quarter. While math was definitely not her forte, she was determined as Duchess of Valtoria to at least be able to speak intelligently about her territory’s financial health during the upcoming counsel meeting next week. Unfortunately, she was still getting lost in the assets and liabilities and many numbers throughout the document.
Turning to the next page, she did not hear the door to her office click as it opened. She did not notice the soft pat of footsteps across the carpet, either. So when she felt a pair of hands gripping her shoulders from behind, she jumped with a startle and gasped loudly. She turned in her chair to find her husband standing there, his hands up in the air in surrender and a sly smirk on his lips.
“Somebody has been busy, I see.” Maxwell leaned in again to place his palms gently on her arms and press a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, Little Blossom.” He murmured into her wavy blonde locks.
Rosie let out a sigh of relief, melting into Maxwell’s touch as her heartbeat gradually slowed down. “I was just so enthralled by these financial documents … Yet still completely lost in all of this.” She slumped her shoulders in defeat, surveying to stack of papers on her desk while Maxwell started massaging up her arms to her shoulders. “Mmmm, that feels nice.”
“You’re so tense, Rose … you need to loosen up.” He continued massaging her shoulders as she closed her eyes, enjoying the firm pressure of his hands as she slowly relaxed. “I think right now is the perfect time for a break. I just got something that I’ve been dying to try since I read about it in the 90’s.”
Rosie raised her eyebrows and glanced back at her husband over her shoulder curiously. “I don’t know if I’m ready to hear this …” her lip tugged up at the corner.
“It involves you, me, the couch and some rudimentary hand-eye coordination!” Maxwell waggled his eyebrows humorously as he studied Rosie’s wide-eyed shock.
“Maxwell … “
“It’s a blast from your American past … the original Nintendo gaming system! Complete with Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt!” He lifted his arms over his head and shook his fists triumphantly, eliciting a giggle from his wife.
“That is soooo not where I thought you were going with that, Max …” she rubbed a hand across her forehead, grinning softly before peering back up to meet his gaze. “I did love to play Nintendo growing up though … my brothers and I would play for hours.” She glanced back to the pile of papers on her desk, her smile falling. “But I’m worried I’ll never understand these financial statements. I’ve been studying them for days and-“
“I can help you with those.” Maxwell jumped in nonchalantly.
Rosie did a double-take towards Maxwell, who was casually flipping through the jumble of numbers and words spread across her desk. “I’m sorry, what? You want to help me look through these financial statements?” Her brow furrowed in confusion.
“Yeah, sure … I mean, I did minor in Accounting back at University, so I-“
“You minored in Accounting?!?!?” Rosie stood abruptly, her hands perched on her hips. “I thought you studied Art History in college?”
“I majored in Art History, minored in Accounting …. Bertrand thought it would teach me some valuable skills or something.” He shrugged carelessly, unaware that his wife’s jaw might have just hit the floor until he glanced up to find her staring at him, a look of astonishment on her face. “So, can I interest you in a round of Super Mario, Little Blossom?”
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“Alright, so explain to me again why I want to hit my head on the question marks?” Maxwell questioned, each of his thumbs gliding across the controller buttons as Mario jumped across the television screen.
Rosie pointed to the screen just as Mario bonked one of the question mark boxes, causing a large mushroom to appear from the top. “Get that, get that!!!” She motioned excitedly. “The mushroom will make you stronger!” Maxwell maneuvered Mario into the mushroom, transforming the pixelated character into double his original size. “Yes!” Rosie pumped her arm victoriously. “So the mushroom makes you bigger and stronger, the star makes you invincible to all predators, and then the flower will help you shoot fireballs.” She spoke matter-of-factly, reciting the regulations of the games as if quoting a gaming textbook.
Maxwell gave her a sideways glance, amused by his wife’s level of excitement in their new toy. But as he looked towards her, Mario bombarded into a small mushroom predator and flashed across the screen as he died. Round over. “Aw, crap!”
“Is it my turn now?” Rosie gave him her best puppy dog eyes and held out her hand, a bit of a pout on her lips. She knew he could never say no to the puppy dog face.
“Okay … “ Maxwell whined, but proceeded to hand over the controller anyway.
Rosie played the same obstacle course again, completing the level with surprising efficiency. “Wow,” she mumbled. “I guess muscle memory really is a thing, even after all these years!” Maxwell chuckled and shook his head, but his eyes never left the screen. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was mesmerized by Rosie’s mad Nintendo skills. It was almost sexy to watch her play like this, her thumbs stroking quickly back and forth between the buttons and her focus never leaving her little protege Mario. Almost sexy … if he hadn’t been just a little jealous that she was already an expert at his new acquisition.
“So, when can I play again?” He chimed in after Rosie completed her third level in a row.
Rosie’s eyes never left the screen. “Oh, um … can I have a few more minutes, Babe? This next level is my favorite. You gotta see this, check out this trick!” Maxwell grumbled, fiddling with a loose thread on the sofa with his idle hand, but forced himself to be a good sport and support his wife’s renewed video game addiction.
Rosie guided Mario through a labyrinth of tunnels and mountains, collecting first a new mushroom then a star along the way. As the invincible cartoon figure catapulted himself through his opponents, Rosie swiftly pressed a combination of keystrokes that resulted in Mario ascending into an underground tunnel and pop out in a secret lair … full of coins.
“Hey, that’s no fair!” Maxwell blurted, observing the little Mario gobbling up all of the free coins available on the screen. “You cheated!”
Rosie shook her head, eyes still straight ahead on the screen. “Unh uh, Max … this isn’t cheating. It’s just hidden dimension in the game. All of us knew about it.”
“Well I didn’t know about it!” Maxwell grunted, his fists balling at his sides. “And how am I supposed to learn this if you keep hogging the game?!?”
Rosie halted her rapid fingers at Maxwell’s outburst, dropping the controller to the floor as she turned to him in awe. “Max, I’m … I’m sorry, Babe, I just got caught up and excited and-“ She looked back to the screen, noticing that the abandoned Mario had been overtaken by a Venus fly trap. “Oops. Well, um, I guess it’s your turn now …” She motioned towards him with the controller that she retrieved from the floor, but he didn’t acknowledge her. “Babe?”
“Hmmph.” Maxwell crossed his arms and looked straight ahead, unwilling to make eye contact.
“Baaaaaabbbbeeee????” Rosie shifted her weight and rose to her knees on the couch, curling her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me. Do you want to play?” She cocked her head in his line of sight, determined to earn his forgiveness.
“No, no I do not want to play. I think we’ve already established you’re the Nintendo champ of the manor.” His voice was gruff and bitter, but his body flinched instinctively as Rosie ran one palm across his chest.
“I’m sorry, Maxxie.” She murmured against his ear, soliciting small wet kisses down his jaw and neck. “Will you let me make it up to you?” Maxwell squirmed with arousal as Rosie took his earlobe in her mouth, flicking her tongue around the flesh. Damn this woman and her sexy ways!
“Mmmmph, Blossom …” Maxwell was losing the battle with his raging hormones, eyes jammed shut in concentration while Rosie’s hand slipped down his abdomen, tickling the skin along his waistband. “Aw, to hell with it!” He gave in, wrapping both of his arms around her slim waist and pulling her to his lap.
The amorous couple proceeded to make out like horny teenagers, grinding against each other on the couch until Maxwell had a mischevious idea. “Hey, how about we go back to our room and I teach you a lesson?” He spanked her behind playfully, causing Rosie to writhe and giggle against him. She stepped back from his lap, holding a hand to him as invitation … but instead of grasping it Maxwell scooped her up on his shoulder with a breathy “Oof!” as he stood up.
“Maxwell, put me down!” Rosie wriggled on his shoulder, batting at her husband spiritedly.
“Oh no, my Little Blossom! I’m about to start your lesson and show you something I’m good at… or maybe two somethings.” He chuckled under his breath as he traipsed down the hall towards their chambers. “So first we’ll start with the Accounting basics of debits and credits. Let me tell you about the fascinating concept of T charts, Blossom …”
END