Time Exposure
A/N: This story is set in 2023, the day after Max's actual birthday. I was late finishing this. Oops.
"Max, babe, you need to get up."
"Nnh, fuck off," Max said, frowning as she pulled a pillow out from under her head and covered her face with it, "Chloe, five more minutes."
"You have to be at the gallery to help Victoria and Kate with prepping the exhibit, dude. Get your pale ass the fuck up," Chloe replied, Max looking out from under the pillow with narrowed eyes to see the sly grin on her wife's face.
"Ugh, you suck," Max said, pinning the pillow to her head even more tightly, "…One minute?"
"Ten seconds, then I use the secret weapon," Chloe Price went to the door and Max smiled as she heard the sound of small footfalls on the carpet of her and Chloe's bedroom. "Make that time meow. Ellie, attack!"
"Rarghh!" a little girl's voice cried out in a roar that Max could only describe as adorable and Max broke into a fit of laughter at the sensation of a small person jumping on top of her and the blankets she'd cocooned herself in. "Mommy, geddup!"
"Eloise Price-Caulfield, how dare you!" Max took the pillow off her face to see a grinning mess of green hair, freckles, and two shining blue eyes, "You little lime! You pick momma over mommy? How dare?"
Grabbing the sides of her daughter with slender hands, Max began to tickle the giggling little girl as Chloe watched on with an amused grin. Max looked up at her wife and mouthed You ass before winking as she pulled Eloise under the blankets with her. Nuh-uh, Maxaroni. Not gonna happen. Not today, Chloe thought as she grabbed the blankets from the foot of the bed and pulled as hard as she could.
"Abracadabra!" Chloe cried out, laughing at the shriek she got from her wife and remembered that Max was only wearing one of her old band t-shirts. "Shit, Max! I'm sorry! Lemme get your shorts!"
"Momma said a bad thing!" Eloise shouted, her head peeking out from the blankets along with Max's. Max snickered before nuzzling her face into her daughter's neck as she pretended to gobble Eloise up. "Mommy, nooooo!"
"But I'm hungry!" Max pulled back to flash her daughter a toothy grin before leaning back into Eloise's neck, "Om nom nom, Ellie tasty!"
"Mommy, nooooooo!" Eloise cried out, squirming out from under the blankets only to get caught in a hug from behind. "Momma, halp!"
"Awww," Max said in feigned disappointment as she kissed her daughter on the cheek and let her go, Eloise squealing in delight at their little game, "Get going, punkin'. Momma and I need to have some alone time. You gonna help momma make me birthday waffles?"
"Ye!" Eloise replied, arms raised over her head as though she'd won something, Max putting a palm to her face as she looked at Chloe from between her fingers. When Eloise ran down the hall, Max looked up sleepily at Chloe and smiled.
"'Ye'? You're teaching our daughter how to talk like you way too much, Chloe Price-Caulfield. Come and snuggle the birthday girl?" Max asked, arms outstretched to hug her wife only to snort when a pair of sleep shorts hit her in the face, "Worst birthday ever-"
Chloe nearly tackled Max as she dove into their bed, both women laughing before Max arched her back up and gave Chloe an open-mouthed kiss, moaning a little when the bluenette's tongue piercing rubbed against her own tongue the way Max liked it. Opening an eye, Max looked past Chloe to the partially opened door and tossed a pillow at it to the relief of the door clicking shut. Sliding her hands down from Chloe's shoulders, Max gripped Chloe's ass and squeezed to get a moan from her wife.
"Max, you fucking hornball," Chloe teased, sitting up to straddle Max, "At least wait till Joyce and David come to pick Ellie up tomorrow. I know we've had amazeballs celebratory birthday nookie every year since we got together, but Ellie's not a toddler anymore. She remembers shit, Maxaroni."
"Like your swearing?" Max asked, flashing Chloe a smirk that got a thin-lipped smile as a reply, "I hate it when you're being responsible. Am I back in the bizarro world again? Is up down? Is 'wowser' the new 'hella'?"
"How does it feel to be 28?" Chloe asked, running a hand through her shoulder-length azure hair as Max joined her at the foot of the bed. Toking on her cannabis vape pen, Chloe passed it off to Max who smiled and kissed her wife on the cheek before taking a hit of her own. "Wow, we're getting close to 10 years together, Max. Shame it all started on such a miserable fucking week. Oh… Sorry. I know you don't like talking about it."
"Yeah…," Max's expression cooled as her eyes seemed to look far away. Flashes of images from that fateful week in October of 2013 passed her vision before fading away, "Sorry if I'm a little grumpy. Didn't sleep well, but I'm guessing you knew that."
"Yeah, Ellie was pouting in her bed because 'Mommy went to bed early'," Chloe said, taking the vape pen back to puff away, "You okay, Maximillian?"
"Just stressed," Max slid an arm around Chloe's waist and pulled her wife into a hug before leaning in to kiss the crook of Chloe's neck, "Mmm, you better deliver on that nookie tomorrow."
"Hella yes, I will," Chloe looked at Max with a feigned shock, "As if I would leave you thirsty. How dare, wife o' mine? How fucking dare?"
"You gotta stop teaching our daughter Tumblr language, Chloe," Max shook her head and sighed before getting to her feet. Stretching, Max looked to see Chloe smirking from the foot of the bed. Brows furrowing, Max looked down at herself to see she was still only attired in one of Chloe's old band shirts. "As if there are any fucks to be given. Go. Help our little nerd-to-be with breakfast and I'll shower, Mrs. Price-Caulfield?"
"Caulfield-Price."
"Not what it says on the marriage certificate."
"Because you switched it up on the license and certificate both when I wasn't looking."
"Pay better attention, dork. Also, we've been married for seven years. Give up."
Catching a huff from Chloe before the sensation of her ass getting smacked, Max looked over her shoulder and pulled Chloe into one more kiss before pushing her wife out the door. My blue punk. My best friend. My wife. Also, a complete fucking dork. Stretching, Max stood on her tip-toes and shook her chestnut mane of hair before landing on the balls of her feet. Heading out the bedroom door, Max walked into the adjacent bathroom and locked the door. A shower and some private time were needed at the moment; every time someone brought up either the storm or October 2013 Max felt her anxiety begin to rise. I still get nightmares of that damn storm, like I'm going to wake up one morning and be sitting in that fucking creep's class to do it all over again. Reaching up, Max pulled a small pencil case sitting on top of the medicine cabinet and fished out a joint. Chloe didn't touch Max's stash, as Max only used it for emergencies. Max was grateful for her wife's restraint as she lit up and sat on the bathroom sink, the porcelain cold against her bare skin. Hearing a soft knock on the door, Max waved at the smoke and switched the fan on.
"Yeah?" Max cracked the door open and peeked out to see Chloe giving her a worried look. "Aww, babe. Che, your Maxaroni is just getting a little baked in here. I just… I just need some solitary chill. Opening the door a little further, Max brought a hand up and rubbed at her wife's cheek with a thumb in small circles. "I'm still here."
"I get hella worried about you, nerd," Chloe's voice was soft and a little alarming at how weak it was. I forget that she has to deal with her own shit and mine sometimes, just like I do with hers, Max thought. Quite the pair, me and you. "Max, are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be better once I get a shower and some food in me," Max stood on her tip-toes and kissed Chloe before offering her wife a toke. Taking the pot back, Max snuffed it in an ashtray she kept next to the pencil case and wrapped her arms around Chloe's shoulders before leaning her head against the bluenette's chest. "I just get so tired sometimes, Chloe. Tired of all of it."
"I know," Chloe ran her fingers through Max's hair as she held onto her wife. "You're hella tough, Max. You got me through my shit and yours. Enough with all this fucking gloomy shit, though. It's your birthday and you got your first solo gallery thing! Get that sweet booty in the shower while Ellie and I whip you up a feast!"
"…Ellie isn't playing around the stove-top while it's on, is she?" Max asked, looking with wide eyes.
"Dude, I've been a mom as long as you. I totally haven't even started mixing the batter!"
"Mommies!" Eloise came running down the hall, smiling with her face covered in flour. "Imma scary punk ghost!"
"Boo-yah!" Max said before taking Eloise by the hand, "You're on your own now, Price-Caulfield. Casualty of the Waffle War."
Max left a smirking Chloe in the hallway as she walked back into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Pulling her sleep shirt off, Max helped Eloise undress and ruffled her daughter's green hair. Dusty little lime, Max thought as she leaned down to give Eloise a kiss on the forehead.
"Guess who is showering with Mommy today?"
"Yay! Splish splash!"
Max sat in the little dining area of her family's two-bedroom apartment in Seattle, Chloe and Eloise sitting at the table as well while all three ate their Belgian waffles. Eloise was humming to herself as she chewed a piece of waffle that Chloe had cut up for her while Max alternated between sips of coffee and bites of waffle while browsing through her digital portfolio on an iPad. Hearing Eloise cough, Max sat up and noticed that Chloe had left the table.
"You okay, Ellie?" Max asked, leaning over to rub a dribble of syrup off her daughter's cheek.
"Uh-huh. Mommy, why do you get sad sometimes?" Eloise asked, Max's brow crinkling in surprise at the question. Why do kids have to be so damn blunt sometimes? A tight-lipped smile on her face, Max looked down at her waffle to avoid looking into the blue eyes that always seemed to draw everything out of her.
"Well…," Max said cautiously before letting out a sigh, "Your mommies had a very very bad week once and Mommy still gets upset from it."
"But why?"
"Someone did a lot of bad things…and Mommy had to take care of it." Jefferson tried to shoot your momma so I shot and killed him. He tried to hurt your Aunt Vicky. He violated Auntie Kate. "Mommy and Momma didn't feel good for a while."
"…But then you did…?" Eloise waited patiently for Max to answer, a piece of waffle dripping syrup onto her little hand as it was still pierced onto her fork.
"Yeah, then we did. And them Mommy kissed Momma and-"
"Someone say something about hella kisses?"
Max turned in her seat and grinned at the sight of her wife. Out of her own sleep clothes, Chloe had opted for a more classical look. Her old leather jacket, a white t-shirt, jeans, and a black beanie adorned her head as she walked over to slide her boots on. Leaning down, Chloe kissed Max on the forehead and rubbed her wife's shoulders. God, Chloe thought as she kneaded Max's alarmingly knotted muscles, She's so hella stressed. Not just about this gallery exhibit, either. Only a few more weeks. Ten fucking years, man. Holy shit.
"You okay?" Chloe asked, taking Max's fork to steal a piece of her wife's waffle. "Man, I am totally a chef."
"Totally!" Eloise said, a cheery smile on her face. The missing front tooth got a snort out of Max and a chuckle out of Chloe as she slid on her boots.
"I wish people would stop asking me if I'm okay," Max said with a weary smile, shoulders slumped as she got out of her chair. "Going retro, Chloe? And you used to call me a hipster? 'I was hella before it was mainstream', pfft."
"You are a hipster, Max. This is just me," Chloe interjected, jutting her chin out with a smile on her face, "Can't help it if I am timeless."
"Ugh," Max said, wiping her hands on the jean shorts she was wearing. Pulling on an old Army field jacket and her own beanie, Max walked over to where her camera bag rested and slung it over her shoulder, "I'll take a bus to the gallery. You have a plan for today, I'm assuming?"
"Take Ellie to preschool-"
"Booooooo!"
"-and get her at lunch. How's pizza sound, pipsqueak?"
"Yaaaaaaay!"
"I thought maybe I'd take her to the park, seeing as I have today and tomorrow off. Joyce and David are coming to get her this afternoon but she'll still be here in time for you to see our little nerd off."
"Okay," Max said, absently checking the jacket's pockets for her set of keys, "Okay, well, Mommy's gotta go so can I get a hug from my little girl?"
"Mommy!" Eloise ran at Max and nearly knocked the brunette over as she had squatted down to hold her daughter in earnest. "Mommy, Imma miss you."
"Awww, I'll be back this afternoon," Max said as she kissed Eloise on the cheek, "Grandma and Grandpa are coming to pick you up! You can get fries and chicken strips from Two Whales!"
"Can I really?" Eloise asked, her eyes lit up with a delighted grin on her face.
"Sure you can. Who knows?" Chloe added, coming from behind to lift Eloise up in the air, "Maybe she'll give you extra fries! That way, you'll get big and your mommies can have a real punkin'!"
"Noooooo! Imma girl, not a punkin punkin!" Eloise said between giggles as Chloe blew raspberries onto her daughter's belly.
Max, smiling with her disposition seeming brighter than earlier, stood on her tip-toes to give Chloe a kiss before heading out the door. Blowing another raspberry onto Eloise's belly, Chloe let her daughter down and ruffled her hair. Time to get you to school, Mini Max.
"Someone's gotta get dressed now," Chloe said in a sing-song voice, eyeing her daughter as Eloise pouted and let out a small huff, "Oh no, you know that don't work on me. I'm not Mommy, so I don't fall for lil miss poutyface. Go, pipsqueak. Get dressed."
"A'ight," Eloise replied, Chloe snickering over how much Eloise looked like Max but sounded like her. "Momma, can I have peanut butter and jelly for lunch?"
"Momma's taking her little nerd out for lunch, Ellie," Chloe said, peering down the hallway to see Eloise turning the knob of her bedroom door, "How's pizza sound?"
When Eloise replied with wide eyes and a sharp intake of breath before giving Chloe a toothy smile. Watching her daughter close the door, Chloe collected the remnants of her birthday breakfast for Max and sat at the counter with a mug of coffee and cigarette. Know I shouldn't smoke here. Max uses the bathroom, but I just like the feel of sitting on a stool and chillin' with a smoke. Part-time bartender and part-time tattoo artist, Chloe had finagled her way into having two days off in a row at both her jobs. With Max doing her photography work from home mostly, save for the actual shoots themselves, Chloe hadn't needed to worry about Eloise becoming a latchkey kid. I want her to have both parents as much as fucking possible, Chloe thought as she took a sip of her black coffee, Want her to know how much we hella love her every hour, every day. Chloe wanted to do her and Max's daughter right, memories of her teenage years without William leaving a sour taste and nagging worry in her mind.
Chloe had run off with Max after she'd graduated from Blackwell, both girls making a beeline for California. Getting an art scholarship into CalArts, Max had snuck Chloe into her apartment and refused to let the bluenette go when David had come knocking. Chloe remembered Max nearly shoving David over the railing and down two stories into the swimming pool below. My girl got hella tough, Chloe said with a wry grin on her face as she continued sipping at her coffee, the cigarette snuffed out, She hardened up after that week. No more getting shoved around for Max Caulfield. She wouldn't even put up with my shit for the first couple months after the storm. Max nearly dropped me all over again. Chloe pulled out her phone and went to a folder that was labeled "Max Attack!" and clicked on an old text conversation she'd kept. Our first real conversation after two months of mutual radio silence.
Chloe: Max? Dude, can we talk?
Chloe: Max, stop fucking ignoring me!
Max: Eat shit, Chloe. Guilt-tripping isn't going to work on me anymore.
Chloe: Goddamnit, dude. I'm NOT guilting you into anything! I miss your nerdy ass :(
Max: YOU are using emojis?
Max: Shit just got real.
Chloe: …Bad Boys quote?
Max: Hot Fuzz. I just watched it with Victoria and Kate.
Chloe: So you'll hang with them but not me? Not your best friend?
Max: Oh, you mean the best friend who literally SHOVED ME AWAY only a few days after I nearly destroyed the world? That friend? Or do you mean my super-fun best friend from RIGHT BEFORE THAT?
Max: You have to be specific, because I don't know which one I'm talking to right now.
Chloe: …I didn't know what to say, Max, or even how to fucking express myself. You're… You're so much more different, Maxaroni. I needed time too, time to clear my goddamn head.
Max: …I'm listening
Chloe: Can I meet you, like face-to-face?
Max: How about you quit stalling and just spill?
Chloe: ouch
Max: woman up, Price
Chloe: …I miss you
Max: I miss you, too. I'm not going to be a doormat to anybody anymore, however, so your bullshit attitude isn't going to fly as much as it used to.
Chloe: …Max, would you like to meet me at Two Whales for breakfast tomorrow? My treat.
Max: You mean your mom's?
Chloe: No. Mine. I want to take you out.
Max: …Chloe? Chloe, are you asking me out?
Chloe: I think about that kiss, the one I dared you into, and if I don't fucking ask now I'm not sure I ever will and all I want is to just see your face no matter if you're angry or sad or happy because I JUST MISS YOU SO FUCKING MUCH AND IT IS EATING ME UP THAT I COULD LOSE YOU AGAIN
Max: Chloe...
Max: I miss you so bad, you don't even know. I miss my Chlobear, the girl I could just cuddle up to. I want hugs from you, and I want you to ask me for an actual kiss AND KISS ME BACK. For cereal.
Max: Two Whales. 8am tomorrow. Do. Not. Be. Late.
Chloe: I won't! I promise, I fucking will NOT be late!
I was still late, Chloe thought to herself, But only like five minutes. She was nearly on the bus, though. Max don't fool around when she says no more bullshit. Hearing a door slam, Chloe's head jerked up to see something that nearly made her cry from how sweet it was.
Eloise Price-Caulfield was dressed in blue jeans with her little gray hoodie zipped up and a bag that Max had purchased from a second-hand store that looked like a miniature of her own. Holy fuck, all she needs is to lose the green hair and some of those lame-ass bracelets Max used to wear.
"You dressed up like Mommy on purpose, didn't you?" Chloe asked, quirking an eyebrow at Eloise. When Eloise averted her eyes and stuffed her little hands into the hoodie's pockets, Chloe got down onto her knees and hugged her daughter tightly. "You are such a gift, pipsqueak. Do you know how much I love you?"
"Hewwa!" Eloise replied, her little arms trying to reach around to give her momma as tight a hug as she was receiving, "Pirate swear?"
"Pirate swear," Chloe replied, giving her daughter a little fist bump and pinkie promise. "Let's get you to school and get your nerd on."
Chloe sat outside the classroom and waited for her daughter to come running out into the hallway. Eloise's green hair had gotten both her and Max into a parent-teacher conference the very next day. Max was usually the one to pick up their daughter from school; for Chloe, being here without Max was a first. Tapping a foot from impatience, Chloe leaned back against the wall and absently scratched at the nape of her neck when the door to Eloise's classroom opened. A smile nearly splitting her face, Chloe watched in amusement as Eloise nearly ran over a couple students as she ran out the open door and stood in the hallway to look for her mom.
"Yo, tiny!" Chloe called out, Eloise turning to look at her with a pout. Uh-oh.
"I'm not tiny! I'm a pipsqueak hewwa!" Eloise replied when she reached Chloe, Chloe biting her lip at how adorable her daughter was. "Hewwa". I'd try to correct her, but she's so hewwa cute. She uses hella more incorrectly than I do. Thank God Max finds it so fucking cute. "Pizza!"
"What, no 'Hi, Momma! I love you, Momma!'" Chloe asked, a smirk on her face as she teasingly wagged a finger at her daughter, "No pizza for you now, hurting Momma's feelings."
"What? Nooooo!" Eloise replied, hugging Chloe as tightly as she could, 'I wuv my momma, I wuv both my mommies! No, you said pizza with Momma! You said!"
"Chillax, pipsqueak," Chloe said with a laugh, "Momma's taking you to pizza. How about Gameworks? Play some games with Momma?"
Eloise's excitable grin as she jumped in place was all the answer Chloe needed. Taking Eloise's hand, Chloe led them out towards the car when she heard a coughing sound from the classroom. Looking over her shoulder, Chloe sighed when she saw Kate Marsh look at her with a small grin.
"Yo, teach!" Chloe said, flashing Eloise's teacher a smile as she turned around to head toward the classroom, "C'mon, Ellie. Momma's gonna say hi to Auntie Kate."
"Okay!" Eloise said with a shrug as her mother led them down the hall and into the classroom. "Hi, Auntie Kate!"
"Hello again, little Eloise," Kate said, a beaming smile on her face as she sat on the edge of her desk, "Chloe, the green hair? Still?"
"Uh, well Max and I know that Ellie likes it so…," Chloe scratched at her beanie, an old nervous habit, as she looked at Kate with an apologetic smile, "Come on, Kate. Don't make us get rid of it. Ellie really likes the dye job, don't you?"
"Y-Yeah…," Eloise said shyly, looking down at her feet as she held her arm.
"You act just like your mommy used to," Kate said, sighing as she gave Eloise a defeated look, "Fine. I won't ask again."
"Thank yew!" Eloise said, instantly cheering up.
"Did… Did she pull a Max on purpose?" Kate asked, looking at Chloe with and incredulous smile.
"Dude, you have no idea how often she pulls that. I think Max taught Ellie her shy girl ways," Chloe patted her daughter on the head as she stood next to her. "I'm assuming you'll be at the thing tonight?"
"The gallery exhibit for Max? Of course!" Kate said, genuinely surprised at the question as she tilted her head. "Do you honestly think I'd risk making my best friend and my wife mad?"
"Well, I was joking…," Chloe said before pondering the horror of Max and Victoria teaming up in mutual angst, "Okay, that would be terrifying."
"Yeah," Kate said as she looked down at her phone, "Hey, I'm sorry for keeping you. I just wanted to speak with you about the hair one last time. If Eloise likes it, then I give up. I need to get going too, unfortunately. Have to edit some illustrations for my next children's book before the exhibit. Who knows? Maybe I'll have a little green-haired girl in it…"
Chloe smiled as Eloise's eyes widened at the mention of green hair and she slowly put a hand onto the top of her head as though guarding the dyed locks. Still holding onto her daughter's hand, Chloe walked along with Eloise out to her old jeep and buckled her daughter in.
"Food?"
"Food!"
"Mom?" Chloe asked as she stood next to Eloise, watching as her daughter played Skee-Ball. "Mom, I can barely hear you over all this noise. Can you speak up?"
"Chloe," Joyce replied, her voice increasing in volume to counter the noisy arcade she heard from Chloe's end, "David and I can't make it tonight. We'll be up around noon tomorrow."
"What? What happened?"
"Some kids broke into the school and filled the swimming pool with pudding mix," Joyce said, rolling her eyes as the sound of Chloe breaking into hysterical laughter came across the line, "David's in a bad mood right now, but-"
"How 'bad' is this mood of his?" Chloe asked, eyes narrowing from bitter memories getting dragged up.
"…Not like that, Chloe. He's just tired and Blackwell is still up in the air about his raise. I promise, however, that we'll be there to pick up Eloise tomorrow. I would like to see my granddaughter. How about you? How you doin-?"
"Gramma!" a high-pitched voice yelled into the phone, Joyce wincing before a smile came across her face.
Chloe sat Eloise on her lap as she played a racing game. Feeling the chair buck under her as it shifted to accommodate the sharp turns and braking, Chloe vaguely listened in on her daughter's conversation with Joyce. Little chatterbox. Didn't get that from me or Max. At least, not as much. Race completed, Chloe slipped in some more change before Eloise gave her back the phone. Chloe saw her alert light pop up and she quirked an eyebrow at her daughter.
"Mommy's texting!" Eloise said, her voice and face entirely serious as she poked at Chloe's chest with the phone. "Momma, Mommy's texting!"
"Mom? Mom, I'll call you back. No, it's just Max trying to get ahold of me. Yes, I'll tell her you're looking forward to seeing her. Mom, I gotta bail. Mom… Mom, bye. Bye."
Max: Chloe?
Max: …Uh, Chlo?
Chloe: Yo yo, wife o' mine! What up?
Max: lol, I'm heading home early. Victoria made some calls and we got a little extra help so the gallery is all ready. Also got my dress for tonight. Please PLEASE tell me you have your outfit for tonight ready. You promised me you'd look nice… :(
Chloe: No emoji!
Max: get over it ;P
Chloe: Argh! Defy me, will you? YES, Max, I have something in mind to wear but it's a secret because I want to surprise you. But… Eloise will be accompanying me.
Chloe: Joyce and David can't get here until tomorrow around lunch. Pudding in the Blackhell pool, lmao
Max: oh. Uh, wow. Our senior prank wasn't that…messy…
Chloe: No, you guys just somehow decapitated the statue in the main courtyard. No big, pfft
Chloe: You on your way home now? I'm at Gameworks with the pipsqueak. I got leftover pizza
Max: Chloe Price didn't eat an entire pizza by herself? Holy fucking shit, alert the National Guard.
Chloe: Eat me
Max: I'll settle for pizza right now. Just wait till tomorrow ;)
Chloe: Emojis… Also, ooh-la-la
Chloe: On our way home. See you soon.
Max: Love you!
Chloe: ily2
Max: chickenshit
Chloe: …I love you too, jerk. Bye for now.
"Maxie, we're home!" Chloe said, opening the door with Eloise in front of her as the little girl carried the pizza box. "Wanna set that on the kitchen table for me, Ellie?"
"'Kay, Momma!" Eloise walked over and stood on her tip-toes to inch the pizza box onto the tabletop. Turning around after accomplishing her taste, Eloise squealed in surprise when Max scooped her up from behind. "Mommy, I'm not pizza!"
"You sure?" Max teased, pretending to nibble at her daughter's neck while Chloe smiled as she watched. "You smell like pizza…"
"Do not, do not!" Eloise wiggled in Max's arms but to no avail. Taking kickboxing with me paid off, Maxaroni. Them arms might not be hella jacked, but they're lean and tone as fuck. "Momma halp!"
"Oh no, not picking sides in this battle," Chloe raised her arms and took a step back, biting her lip to keep herself from laughing, "You two nerds go at it like Kirk and the Gorn for all I care. I'll just have this here pizza all to myself…"
"Don't you dare!" Max set Eloise down and made a run for the pizza box, swiping it just as Chloe's fingertips brushed against the cardboard, "This is super light, Chlo. What'd you do, leave me a slice?"
"…Two slices…"
"And they say chivalry is dead. This is just double confirmation," Max teased, her face blushing a little from the enamoring look Chloe gave her. "I'm going to eat this, thank you very much. Ellie, time for a nap. Mommies need alone time."
"'Kay." Eloise smiled when Max bent down to kiss her on the forehead and a squatting Chloe before heading to her room. "I love you, Mommies!"
"Love you too, punkin'!" Max replied, waiting until Eloise closed the door before setting the pizza box down to run straight into Chloe's arms. "O-Oh fuck, Chloe. Fucking g-goddamn."
"Whoa," Chloe's eyes narrowed, suspicious over Max's stuttering. Max, you haven't stuttered in years. Pulling her wife away a bit, Chloe looked down to see Max's eyes watering up, "Max, babe, what's wrong?"
"…Victoria's parents invited some business associates without letting either of us know," Max said, face creased in a dejected frown.
"Uh, what's so bad about that?"
"Just more uppity bullshit," Max uttered in a low voice, not wanting Eloise to overhear, "That, and now your mom isn't coming until tomorrow. I just want to go back to bed and cocoon myself away for a day or so. Can I do that?"
"You want to hide in your cocoon on my days off, huh?" Chloe hoisted Max and carried her wife over a shoulder as she walked down the hallway. Pausing at Eloise's door, Chloe listened in to hear the little girl moving around in bed. "You tryin' to sleep, pipsqueak?"
"Ye," Max and Chloe heard from the other side of the door, "I'm tryin', Momma. Whatcha doin'?"
"Gonna take care of Mommy, Ellie. Go to sleep, darlin'," Chloe said, swatting Max on the ass when she snickered at Chloe's southern drawl. "Shut it, woman."
Chloe carried Max into the bedroom before setting her down on the bed. Closing the door behind her, Chloe slipped off her boots and jacket before changing out of her jeans and into a pair of shorts. Cracking open the sliding glass doors leading out to the small balcony, Chloe watched Max unzip her hoodie to find that Max had only been wearing a sports bra underneath.
"Damn, Max. Still hardcore," Chloe mumbled, tracing a finger down Max's spine as she sat on top of the brunette. With Max lying on her stomach and Chloe on Max's lower back, the bluenette began to massage Max; Max reached into her hoodie and pulled out two joints. "That kinda day, huh?"
"Yeah, that kind of day," Max said, Chloe noting how fatigued her wife sounded, "Mmm, right there."
"Here?" Chloe asked, her hands kneading the space between Max's shoulder blades. "Dude, you are so fucking tense."
"Hazards of living with a punk-ass and miniature punk," Max added, lighting both joints as she passed behind her to Chloe, "Ashtrays?"
Chloe tossed an old ashtray onto the bed next to where Max's right hand was, her left hand holding a joint. Snagging an old coffee cup that she used herself, Chloe set it on the bed next to her knee and toked. Letting the smoke fill her lungs, Chloe held it for a bit before letting it all out. Smirking at Max, her wife blowing smoke rings toward the dresser opposite the bed, Chloe blazed with one hand and massaged Max's back with the other.
"You want me to do you next?" Max asked, looking over her shoulder at Chloe. Fuck no, Max! You know I'm hella ticklish, brat.
"Nah, I'm good. Besides, it is your birthday," Chloe said, leaning down to give Max a peck on the lips.
"Technically, my birthday was yesterday. Seriously, I can give you a-"
"Max, shut the fuck up and let me treat you. Okay?" Chloe watched Max's eyes narrow for a moment, her words coming out harsher than she had intended. Thankfully, Chloe saw Max come to the same conclusion as her expression softened and she stuck her tongue out.
"…We need to take a real vacation," Max stated, lying her head down and letting out the occasional moan of relief as Chloe worked away between toking, "A real vacation, the three of us. Get away from the Northwest. Go somewhere else."
"Where?"
"Dunno," Max said, stifling a yawn before continuing, "Paris. We've only been the one time, and I'm sure Ellie would love to fly on a plane."
"What could a four year old do in Paris? Why don't we just go to Cali and chill? Big Sur?"
"Ooh! Colorado Springs!" Max said, slapping the bed with a flattened palm, "We could go for Christmas and we could play together in the snow. Go hiking, explore the city together. Kate told me Colorado is hella pretty."
"…It's still funny to me, hearing you say 'hella'," Chloe said, her smile fading as another word popped into her head, "I miss you saying 'Wowser' all the time."
"I didn't say it all the time, dork," Max teased before joining Chloe in her brief melancholy, "God, I don't even remember the last time I said it."
"I think it tapered off until you stopped saying it entirely before we even left Arcadia Bay. You were still in school."
"Hmm," was Max's only response, getting quiet as Chloe continued to work on her back. Damn, it's like you're just shutting that entire year out of your life, Max. What, you don't even want to remember the good times? You and me getting together? Winter break here in Seattle? You actually managed to get me into a dress for prom, but not even that is good enough to not block out?
"Max…," Chloe started to say, her tone getting a raised eyebrow and thin-lipped look from Max, "Never mind. Fuck, I just miss you. You're right here but there are times where I miss the girl who'd smile up at me with her nose all crinkled and make me feel amazeballs."
"…I don't make you feel 'amazeballs' anymore?" Max asked, brushing Chloe's hands away to flip onto her back. Lying next to Max, Chloe propped herself up on an elbow and just looked at Max with a pained expression.
"That's not what I meant. You know I'm not always the best with conveying my feels and shit," Chloe sighed, running a hand through Max's hair, "I guess I just wish that week had gone hella different. It's nearly ten years and Blackhell is still fucking with both of us…"
"I know," Max replied as she reached over to take Chloe's hand in her own, kissing the blue-nailed fingers one at a time, "You don't just walk away from shit like that as you were before, though. I don't think I could have if I tried, Che. I miss the same stuff you do, but I also know that we're both stronger for it and our relationship grew as a result of that strength. Chloe, we have a little girl and a great apartment. Even if I could go back and change something, would you want to risk it?"
"…No, I guess I wouldn't," Chloe smiled shyly, tapping her lips with a single finger.
"A kiss, huh? You know I love it when you get all shy," Max gave Chloe a crooked grin, her nose doing the rare crinkling that Chloe loved so much when she tapped her lips again.
Max scooted over to where she was lying right next to Chloe and gently caressed one of Chloe's cheeks with her knuckles. Chloe's eyes fluttered shut from the tenderness in Max's eyes and touch. How the fuck did I get so damn lucky? Chloe asked herself. She takes such good care of me, of Ellie, and I feel like I'm falling behind in all of that. Opening her eyes at the feeling of lips on the crook of her neck, Chloe looked down to see Max making her way up to the waiting lips. When their lips did meet, Chloe slid a leg back over so that she was straddling Max once more. Lying on top of her wife, Chloe pressed her chest against Max's and felt the woman under her whimper a little as their tongues slid along one another's. Can't say we don't have a sex life, that's for damn sure. Max tilted her head down and began to suck and nibble on Chloe's collarbone before abruptly stopping.
"Uh, Max?"
"…Fuck," Max said with a pout before pulling Chloe into a tight embrace, "Chloe, why the hell isn't it tomorrow already? Can it be tomorrow, with the apartment all to ourselves? I love our daughter, and I am totally looking forward to tonight at the gallery, but a woman has needs only her woman can provide. Plus, I kinda have this idea with you on the kitchen counter…"
"Shit. Now I wish it was tomorrow, too," Chloe said, moving to lie on her side without letting go of Max. Hearing Max chuckle with her face pressed into Chloe's tank-top, Chloe kissed the top of Max's head and they both drifted off to sleep.
Chloe walked into The Chase Space with Eloise and tried to keep her sarcasm down. It was like choking on the air she was breathing, Chloe wanted to crack jokes the instant she saw all the people standing around in what she had told Max was "bougie bullshittery". It's like Night of the Living Dead Hipsters. No wonder Max loves this shit so much, Chloe thought with a smirk. Dressed in a nice pair of black jeans with a button down plaid shirt and jacket, Chloe smiled down at her daughter. Dressed in a red and black checkered dress and leggings, Eloise was biting on the tip of her thumb as she hugged one of Chloe's legs. D'aww, you're so hella shy, pipsqueak. Definitely get that from your mommy.
"See Mommy anywhere, kiddo?" Chloe asked Eloise, Eloise turning her head from side to side as she tried to find her other mother.
"Dere!" Eloise pointed with her free hand, tip of her thumb still getting nibbled. Looking in the direction her daughter was pointing, Chloe's face lit up at the sight of her wife.
Wearing a little black dress with heeled Converse sneakers, Max had dyed her hair pink and was talking to Victoria Chase. Chloe hadn't really spent time with Victoria despite knowing that she and Max had become close friends over the years; the sight of a mildly swollen belly on the pixie-haired blonde nearly had Chloe's jaw locked in an open position as she absently headed in Max's direction with Eloise in tow. Holy… Victoria is pregnant? Victoria Chase, of all people, is having a baby? I figured Kate would be the one if they ever… Holy fucking shitballs! Letting go of Eloise's hand, the little girl now pulling at Chloe as her footsteps became smaller and smaller, Chloe watched their daughter run at Max and saw her wife. Their eyes met and the light in Max's eyes created a lump in Chloe's throat as she awkwardly crossed the remaining distance as quickly as her unresponsive feet would allow.
"Hey, you," Chloe said, kissing Max, "You look… Max, you look beautiful. Like, hella beautiful."
"Looking sharp, Price-Caulfield," Victoria said, a wry smirk on her face, "Didn't think you'd show up so early. Max and I were just discussing our wives, weren't we?"
"Basically, I just won $50 because I bet Tori you would show up within the first hour of the gallery opening," Max said, smiling at her wife, "We were also discussing the first months of pregnancy."
"I can see that," Chloe said, wrapping an around Max's waist as she gestured with her chin at Victoria's belly, "I cannot believe, between you and Kate, that you are the one carrying a baby."
"Hey, I'll be a fantastic mom," Victoria narrowed her eyes before shaking her head with a grin, "Yeah, I can't really believe it myself. Kate wanted to be the one, but I talked myself into being the mother of our child instead. I'm… I'm just looking forward to less morning sickness and more baby kicks. Enough about that, though. What do you think of Max's solo debut, Chloe? Your wife living up to your lofty image?"
"Max doesn't need to be amazeballs to anyone but me for her to be hella special," Chloe replied, looking down from the corner of her eye to see Max blushing and Eloise giggling.
"Mommy's face is all red!" Eloise blurted out, her hands covering her mouth as she giggled. Victoria looked down and ruffled Eloise's hair, the little girl hugging her. "Aunt Vicky! Aunt Vicky, I'm in a dress!"
"I can see that, Eloise," Victoria said, her face brightening at the freckled, toothy grin she got before laughing a bit as Eloise stuck her tongue out in the space where one of her front baby teeth had been. "Clearly, she is the child of you two. Freckles and attitude all the way."
"Hewwa!" Eloise cried out, raising her hands in triumph as all three women smiled at the little girl's elation.
Leaving Max and Victoria, Chloe and Eloise headed over to where the refreshments were being served and nearly bumped into a random guest. Eyeing the older gentleman, Chloe noticed his gaze alternate between her and Max's photos. A series of Polaroids, old and new, were set on a wall under the title card "Azure Mornings". I knew she was going to use shots of me in her work but… Max, this is so fucking amazing. The first picture, the entire display set in a linear pattern, was of the photo Max had taken in Chloe's old bedroom the morning after they'd broken into the Blackwell swimming pool.
Photobomb!
Photohog!
Chloe bit her lip as she looked at the others. Her and Max at the lighthouse, their faces showing the exhaustion they felt with baggy eyes and weary grins. Their clothes all muddy after Max had just saved the town, Chloe followed along to the next shot; a Polaroid a couple months later of Chloe sitting at Two Whales during their first date. Chloe lying in her old bed, shirt and shorts with a tired smile on her face and closed eyes rounded out the 2013 portion. Wow, Max. You… You're really putting us out there. Putting me out there.
"I take it you didn't know," the older gentleman said, smiling knowingly at Chloe while Eloise looked at the photos with a wide-eyed stare and a grin on her face when she'd look up at her mother.
"Uh, no," Chloe said, her voice soft with a wondrous look on her face, "I've done actual modeling for her before, but these are… Fuck, what's the word…?"
"Momma, you said a bad thing!" Eloise said, tugging on the sleeve of Chloe's jacket with a stern look on her face.
"Candid?"
"Yeah!" Chloe snapped her fingers and shot the older guy a grin, "Private, candid, whatever. I mean, I don't mind. It's just that the first bunch of these shots are from a time we don't really talk about…"
"She is talking about them, though," the older gentleman said, motioning with a hand toward the Polaroids, "Look at all these. She's expressing herself with her work. You say that you two don't talk much about this first period here, but she is showing everyone what she takes away from that time in your lives. This, you, is what she considers the most important thing in the beginning of this display."
"Dude, you are like a hella art genius or something," Chloe smirked, clapping the older guy on the back before laughing when Eloise yelled "Hewwa". Watching his champagne spill a little onto the floor, Chloe bit her lip and issued a hasty apology before moving onto another display.
Chloe wandered the entire gallery, taking in not just Max's showing but also the other work displayed for exhibition. The meaning behind some of the work was lost to her, but the enjoyment was still there. Of course, there was also some awkwardness as Chloe made a point to avoid the more affluent-looking guests. Unable to avoid them all, Chloe's sarcasm would get the better of her and she ended up impersonating the very people she was talking to while Eloise giggled or pointed out when Chloe said "a bad thing". You all sound like generic rich snobs to me, Chloe thought to herself as she rounded a corner and stopped. Something had happened; Kate had arrived and was looking more anxious than Chloe had seen her be in years and Max was downright hostile as Victoria looked at her parents with eyes narrowed into slits. What the fuck? Chloe thought, approaching the women as Max picked up Eloise and held onto her like the little girl was all she had.
"Max? Max, what's wrong?" Chloe asked once she and Eloise made her way to the trio of women.
"…Victoria's parents-"
"Max, I didn't know they'd invite-"
"-Tori's mother invited people from The Prescott Foundation," Kate cut off Max and Victoria, the faces of all three women paling as Chloe visibly stiffened.
"Are you shitting me?" Chloe asked in an angry whisper, Eloise gasping at the use of bad language, "Sorry, pipsqueak. Bad people make your mommies and aunties upset."
"Bad people? Are they… Are they gonna hurt my mommies?" Eloise asked, her lip starting to tremble as she pouted and sniffled. No, no waterworks, Ellie. Please don't cry.
"Mommy won't let them," Max said in a steely voice, hugging Eloise even tighter as Kate held onto Victoria's hand with a vice-like grip.
"Dude, this is fucked up," Chloe said, not caring what her daughter heard at this point, "Why would your parents invite them, of all people?"
"It's Nathan's sister, the one who their dad basically scared away," Victoria explained, "She's really sweet, though, and with Sean in prison and Nathan in a hospital she's the head of the family. What's left of it. The Prescotts still have some influence, mostly in areas they still have money invested in. Evidently, my parents took some of their money which is incredibly awkward in hindsight."
"…They're still assholes, even if one of them is nice or whatever," Chloe said, feeling defensive as she saw the paleness of her wife's face, "Max, we could just bail? It's been like two hours, babe. You can leave with me and the pipsqueak and we'll just do Netflix and chill."
"I-I can't. I want to, but I can't," Max stuttered through clenched teeth before slumping her shoulders, Eloise lying her head on Max's shoulder as she patted her mommy's back, "I… Kate, can you watch Ellie? I n-need a smoke."
"Sure," Kate said, opening her arms wide to scoop up her goddaughter, "We'll go play in the backroom. I have some of my books and I think there's some art supplies. Ellie, let's go paint your mommies something, okay?"
"M'kay," Eloise said, sniffling a little as Kate set her down before walking Eloise into the back, "I wuv my mommies, you know."
Max choked up and put a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob, Chloe and Victoria both leaning in to give her a hug. She's been through so goddamn much. This isn't fair to Max! It's supposed to be her night! Chloe felt Max shift in her arms and saw her wife's eyes turn icy. Oh shit…
"Max…," Chloe said in a cautioning tone, holding onto her wife by the shoulders and Victoria took a couple steps back, "Maxaroni, come back to me. Come back, Max."
Max made Chloe nervous whenever the icy look would appear, usually a precursor to Max losing her temper. The darker side of her wife was what led Chloe to invite Max along for kickboxing lessons and conditioning, a means to vent her anger and frustration in a healthy way. The pot helps for sure, but both of our therapists said that exercise would be good for us, Chloe thought as she watched Max grimace and shake off whatever thoughts had been brewing in her head. Leaning her head into Chloe's chest, Max clutched onto the jacket her wife was wearing.
"The funny thing is you were kinda behaving tonight and I'm the one who wants to knock someone upside the head," Max said in a shaky voice before snickering, "How messed up is that?"
"I'm just glad I yanked you out of 'Aggro Max' mode, babe," Chloe replied, pulling Max's chin up to kiss her, "We'll go outside, bake a little, and come back in to deal with all this together. How's that sound?"
"…Think we can get Ellie away from the paints or whatever she and Kate find?" Max asked, smirking as she took Chloe's offered hand.
"Hella yes," Chloe said, giving Max an incredulous look, "Max, we three are making the world bow in our own way. Don't let this instance of bullshit darken your amazeballs night. We're a family. We take care of each other."
"Together forever, huh?"
"Always. Who else would put up with your moody ass?"
"You like my ass."
"You are an ass. Sometimes."
"Jerk."
"Asswipe."
"Dork."
"Nerd."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
Author's Note –
Hope you liked it, Summer!
I've been interested in what Max and Chloe might be into years down the road if the game has a Pricefield-y ending. Also, it is 10 years after that week in October so I'm taking into consideration a degree of maturity in both Max and Chloe as well as familial bonds between themselves and their green-haired pipsqueak. This is basically just my own "what if" and I hope you enjoyed it.
Read, review, and I'll see you all later!
Stay Hella, Cinnamon Rolls!
PS - No, it's not a typo. Ellie says "Ye" instead of "Yes" and any other variation of. Because both her mothers are on Tumblr too damn much, lol.