For xenoglossy on AO3 for the Press Start 2017 Exchange
The last leaves of autumn fell from bare trees and danced through the wind. An array of red, orange, and yellow highlighted the streets and the skies reflected that fiery hue as the sun dipped closer to the horizon. Even the air possessed a fresh, crisp quality that was only present late autumn before winter. People walked the streets bundled in scarves and gloves while clutching hot drinks to fight off the chill.
Nothing out of the ordinary for Arcadia Bay. Even now, the sight of it shook Max's bones.
All was well, thanks to her. A mere choice and then it was like none of the horrors of the storm happened. All in exchange for a dear friend. Plenty attended the funeral and wept alongside Max, but she alone walked away with the burden of the truth.
Not exactly the most ideal dread to have come finals week.
One down, four more to go, she thought while wrapping her arms around herself for warmth. Kate promised to meet up with her once she was done with her final for the day. Something about wanting to take Max out for a proper date. Blush colored Max's cheeks at the reminder.
Kate was there for her. She always had been. She brought tea and snacks to Max's room when she had forgotten to eat along with the homework Max missed when she opted to skip class over actually being a decent student. Kate sat beside Max on her bed and allowed her to cry and scream and laugh. Whatever was needed in order to move on. Kate never judged; she simply held Max tight and promised she'd always be there for her.
Max lost track of the times she fell asleep in Kate's bed when they tried staying up late studying. Or Kate's lap out in the commons when their previous class bored Max to tears and then to slumber. Or those moments when they borrowed each other's clothing in hopes to stay warm, though Max caught Kate burying her face in Max's hoodie to catch her scent. Max smiled; she did the same thing with Kate's fancy sweaters.
Those passing glances, fleeting touches, and lingering conversations... it meant more than Max could explain. So she ignored it all, initially. They had studies to attend to and Max didn't wish to further complicate Kate's life.
Except... that was a different time, one that didn't exist anymore.
Kate smiled now. The memories of her being bullied to the point of suicide were more akin to a nightmare than anything else. And Max told herself that every day when she saw Kate.
"Do you want to go out?" Kate had asked the other day.
Max pried her eyes away from her textbook to settle upon that warm, smiling face. "What, like... now?"
Kate laughed. Oh, she could fall asleep to that lovely sound. "No, silly! I mean, after finals. Well, our first one."
"Sure, what did you have in mind?"
Was Kate... blushing? "Do you... like tea?"
Max shrugged. "As long as it's not five bucks a cup, I'm game for anything."
"I..." Kate's soft eyes fell to her lap. "I want to treat you... if that's okay."
"Um... uh, sure? I can pay if it's—"
"I want it to be a date."
Oh. Ohhh. Max feared if she looked in a mirror, her face would have been no different from a tomato. "Like a... date-date?"
Sadness tugged at Kate's features. "I-is that okay?"
"Is it? O-of course!" She latched onto Kate's hands and locked onto her eyes. "Kate, I'd love that."
Max had never seen Kate brimming with joy before. She wished in hindsight that she had her camera handy to capture it for eternity. "Oh! That's perfect! I mean, that's great." She giggled and averted her shy eyes. "I... so yeah, it's a date-date then." Kate squeezed Max's hands.
And Max squeezed back. "A date-date."
She should have been happier. Truth be told, Max genuinely was, though the horrific thoughts of what could have been their life spiraled out of control in her head. What if it somehow became reality again? Could she save Kate this time? Would she let her?
Would Kate ever believe her if she uttered a fraction of the truth?
Yeah, let 's not fuck up the date with your long-time crush like that. 'Hey Kate, there was this time when I had weird superpowers and could manipulate time, but a lot of bad shit happened, like your suicide, so I just decided to rewind it all to save Arcadia Bay in exchange for my best friend's life.' Not exactly Casanova material...
She didn't notice the footsteps running towards her, but she recognized the voice calling out to her.
"Hey, Max!"
And there she was, the girl she had been waiting for. The sight of Kate left Max breathless. She looked different. In a good way, though. Kate's hair was held back in a low ponytail, adorned with a gold hair clip as several wavy strands poked free to frame her face. She bundled up in a white peacoat with a matching knit scarf. Peeking out beneath it, Max noticed the patterned tights and black, knee-high boots. And... was Kate wearing make-up? Surely she didn't go to finals with lip gloss and shimmery eyeshadow on.
"Thanks for waiting for me," Kate said, out of breath, yet smiling. "Hopefully you didn't have to wait too long."
Even if she had, Max lost track of the time. "Not at all. Did finals keep you back?"
A pink hue splashed across Kate's face. "Um... not really. Kind of took longer to get ready than I thought."
As it all clicked in Max's head, she swallowed hard and glanced at her own attire. Worn jeans, t-shirt, hoodie, scarf, and beanie were hardly date material, but at least Kate looked upon her with wonder.
"You ready to go?" Kate asked.
Max nodded, holding back the urge to stare. "Yeah."
They walked side-by-side to the tea shop Kate always raved about. Talk of their finals filled the air as they huddled close to share heat. Max basked in Kate's voice, savoring the happy tone in her words while her eyes gazed upon the intermittent traffic and sunset.
She had never been to a tea shop before, let alone the specific one Kate wished to bring her to. Max imagined it was similar to a cafe—which it was—though there was something homier about it. Stepping inside, she inhaled the aromatic notes, unsure of the specific scents, but eager to taste them nonetheless. Pastries leftover from the morning intermixed, as well, from the partially full display case. It was quiet and quaint in comparison to the cafes she frequented—a place better served to sit down and relax than wake up with caffeine and sugar before cramming in last night's homework.
Kate placed an order for them. Max trusted her judgment. So long as Max didn't spit it back out, she was eager to try anything. The two girls sat in the corner by the window with plates of cream puffs and almond biscotti and awaited their tea. Max froze as Kate shrugged off her peacoat, revealing a grey sweater and black pencil skirt underneath. Her golden crucifix charm glistened in the soft, interior lighting. Was this a new outfit? Max couldn't recall Kate ever wearing it before.
And she looked divine.
"You okay, Max?"
Snapping out of her trance, Max fluttered her eyes. "Um, yeah. I'm fine."
Kate tucked some stubborn hair behind her ears while she sat down. "Then relax, silly."
She tried to, anyways. They devoured the cream puffs before their pots of tea arrived: gunpowder tea with honey for Kate and earl grey with milk and sugar for Max. Kate helped Max with preparing her tea properly, giggling when Max claimed hers smelled like fruit loops.
Then Kate raised her custom ceramic mug. "To finals week."
So did Max. "To winter break not coming soon enough."
That giggle of Kate's was borderline intoxicating. "And to us."
Together they clinked mugs and sipped their hot beverages. Max licked her lips and smiled.
"Definitely doesn't taste like fruit loops," she admitted.
"You like it?"
"Mmhmm!" Max managed to gulp another mouthful. Totally worth burning her mouth over. "Might have to swing back here next semester."
"You can always get some earl grey tea bags for your room. They sell them here, I think. Make it whenever you want."
"Yeah, but..." She locked eyes with Kate and swore her heart skipped a beat. "It wouldn't be the same, you know?" You wouldn't be there every time.
Kate nodded. "Was just a thought. I'm glad you like it, though."
Over delicious tea and scrumptious biscotti—Kate was right; dunking them in tea before eating was a whole new experience—they shared each other's company, both in laughter and in silence. With the topic of finals tired out, they switched to the holiday season coming up. Kate expressed her excitement, though Max sensed hints of anxiety with how vast and traditional her family was. It made Max's plans meager in comparison. And they traded memories of past winters and hopes for the ones to come. Even as their tea depleted and the sun vanished beneath the ocean, Max and Kate lost themselves in each other.
To see Kate brimming with happiness and eagerness... it almost brought Max to tears. What would she be doing if she opted not to save Arcadia Bay? The little tea shop wouldn't exist. No one would. Maybe she'd go to San Francisco with Chloe, start a new life together, and forget the ruin left in their wake.
Kate wouldn't be laughing and smiling, she wouldn't be dressed in her finest for a date she proposed to Max. She'd be dead, deprived of all the hopes and dreams she spoke of in between sips of tea. Tears and screams would replace her warmth. And there would have been nothing in Max's power to save her, no matter what she said, no matter what she did.
I wanted to save you, Kate. The thought of you gone crushed me. I... don 't want to ever lose you again.
"Max?"
She didn't respond, eyes to the empty tea mugs while her hands trembled along the tabletop.
Soft, warm hands enveloped hers. It was that compassionate squeeze which brought Max's poignant eyes up to Kate's.
It pained her to see that smile gone from Kate's face. "Hey, is everything okay?"
Max nodded, perhaps too eagerly. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just... a lot on my mind."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Would she believe her even if she did? Would the truth scare Kate away? Or was it better to swallow it down for the sake of maintaining Kate's happiness?
"I... don't know."
Kate slumped back in her seat. "Oh. Well... I'm here if you ever do. You know that, right?"
Max's eyes wandered away. "Yeah."
Not long after, Kate ordered two drinks for them to take out: chamomile for herself and chai for Max. She insisted on paying as a treat for Max. That's what dates were about, right? Doing nice things for someone you liked and having fun. In some made-up textbook on dates, this was the part where they held hands and slowly walked home in anticipation to share a kiss before departing. Maybe Kate wanted that, or maybe not. Max wouldn't blame her if she thought otherwise after that last, awkward conversation.
But Max did want that. It pained her so much knowing how badly she wanted to hold Kate's face in her hands and kiss those glossy lips. Kate had been going through far too much before; the timing wasn't right. But that was another timeline. This one? None of that happened. Even knowing that, Max feared she'd wake up and discover it was all a dream and Kate was gone.
"Max?"
They stood on the sidewalk a block away from the tea shop. Max had yet to sip her chai. Her attention settled on Kate. She had seen those sad eyes before. Oh, what she would do to make those lips smile again.
Kate clutched her to-go cup through her mittens and struggled to maintain eye contact. "We... didn't need to do this... if you didn't want to."
Max swore her heart died and plummeted to her stomach. "W-what—"
"I just thought..." Kate sighed. "I don't know what I thought. That maybe there was something more? I love spending time with you and you didn't seem to mind and... you just seemed really distant. We don't have to do this again." She fidgeted with her cup. "We don't have to walk back together if you don't want—"
"No!"
Max's cry caught Kate off guard, visibly staggering as her eyes widened and lips parted. As for Max, she gazed upon Kate past the tears she could no longer hide.
"Don't say that," Max gushed out. "Please never say that. Or think that. I've wanted this for so long, Kate. It's just..."
She looked past Kate and recalled their last moments together on the rooftop. Her throat rubbed raw from the countless pleas while the rain masked the tears they both shed. But she remembered the tremble in Kate's voice along with the hopelessness; she resigned herself to death far before Max tried to save her.
Tears cascaded down her face and she ignored autumn's last chill biting her cheeks. "I had a nightmare, Kate," Max struggled to get out, yet she persisted. "You... had gone through some terrible stuff. People did horrible things to you and then let the whole world know. Like it was some sort of joke. But it wasn't a joke; it was your fucking life. And no one stopped to listen or help or give a shit." Max coughed out a gross sob. "And I tried. I wanted nothing but to help you, to let you know people were horrible and disgusting. But you slipped further away until..." The visions blurred, though she swore she stood back in the rain on that rooftop. "Until..." Max trembled and dropped her gaze. Was she still holding her chai? It didn't matter. "You jumped off of the dormitory building to stop all the pain. I tried to save you. I... had these superpowers, too. I could stop and reverse time, to make things better. But it didn't work for you. No matter what I did I couldn't save you. And you died because people were stupid and shitty. And I wanted you back. I wanted to do anything to take that pain away."
The tears slipped down her chin and crashed to the asphalt. Were there people walking by and gawking? Was Kate even still there listening? She had to think Max was crazy. Who the hell got so worked up about a dream anyways? I wish it was just that...
All of it faded away as Kate shuffled closer and drew Max deep into her arms.
Max froze, hitching her breath. The beat of Kate's heart against hers was all that reminded her this was real. Balancing her cup of chai, Max managed to reciprocate the sentiment and hugged Kate with all her might. The two nuzzled into each other's necks and Max inhaled the sweet, floral scent wafting about Kate.
"Max," she whispered, though her angelic voice quivered, "I'm right here. Nothing bad is going to happen." Kate squeezed for good measure. "I promise."
Clenching her eyes shut, Max released a shaky sigh. "I was so scared."
"I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your dream."
"No, but I hate to see you cry or be like this. I wish I could help."
Max smooth a hand over Kate's hair. "You're here. And you haven't disappeared. That's good enough." As she clung onto Kate and basked in her warmth and scent and memorized the patterns of her heartbeats and breaths, Max licked her lips and murmured into her, "I love you, Kate."
Breaking the embrace, Kate locked stares with Max. Tears also swelled up in her eyes while sheer shock tugged at her features. Max fumbled with an apology on the tip of her tongue. Not a word slipped out, for Kate claimed her lips far before that.
Max gasped softly into her mouth. Every fear vanished from her body as she melted into Kate. They nibbled at each other, purring at the softness in every motion. Max's heart thrummed in her head and then Kate smiled into her.
"I love you, too, Max," she said as she rested her forehead upon Max's. "So much."
That smile radiated through Max and left her grinning through the last tears trickling out. "I never want to lose you."
Kate kissed her lips again and whispered upon them, "You won't. I promise." After a pause, Kate tilted her head. "So... did you actually enjoy the date?"
"Of course I did. I got to drink tea and eat yummy pastries with you."
Before Kate could respond, she tilted her head back. She gasped and grinned. "Look!"
Max followed suit and marveled at the fluffy snowflakes floating down. They giggled and stuck out their tongues to catch the elusive flakes. But what warmed Max's heart the most was seeing Kate happy, alive, and right beside her.
"Come on," Max said, "let's head back."
Kate hummed and bumped shoulders with Max before linking her mitten hand over Max's bare one. With a squeeze and matching gazes, they headed down the sidewalk for Blackwell.
Through the silence, the snow coated bare trees and their sparse leaves. Max glowed beside Kate, and so did she. She finally enjoyed her chai, albeit no longer piping hot, and praised Kate's recommendations for tea. But most of all, Max cherished existing with Kate, even in the comfortable silence. No need to discuss that reality she now deemed a nightmare or nitpick over the details of their now budding relationship. They cared for one another and were happy. Max's only regret was not approaching Kate about it sooner; she didn't wish to misread Kate's acts of kindness as something more.
But it was more. And Kate was a brave soul. She always had been. And she took the first step forward in more ways than one. The least Max could do was open up in return.
Instead of running away, Kate led Max back to her room. There, they stripped from their outerwear and scarves, finished up their tea, and cuddled close in Kate's bed. They should have been studying for the next morning's midterms, but Kate was too busy holding Max and watching indie films and Max was too busy drawing idle patterns on Kate's legs and wishing tomorrow would never come.
Max never meant to fall asleep there, but Kate didn't argue. And the only thing better than having a dreamless slumber was waking up and finding Kate still there beside her.