Victoria Chase sat on her bed, face cradled in her hands, as Max sat by her side with an arm wrapped around her, trying her best to be supportive, but it wasn't easy. It seemed things were never easy around Arcadia Bay. But in true Victoria fashion, this seemed a bit blown out of proportion. "Come on, it's not that bad. It's just a few of your best shots, and it's only for a week."

The situation truly wasn't all that awful. Following Mr. Jefferson's departure, a new teacher had been brought in to nurture the photography students - a sweet, matronly woman with a wealth of experience and, yes the two artists had to admit, talent to boot. It was no surprise that Jefferson took an unhealthy interest in a select few of his students, much to the detriment of everyone else. And so Ms. Halloway decided that for the rest of the year, each of the students would craft their own gallery show. They were allowed to present it however they wished, and at the end of the week, they would receive both praise and criticism from their fellow classmates.

Daniel got the first week, followed by Kate, and now Victoria was up to bat. And, as expected, she was losing her shit. Max gently traced her hand up and down her girlfriend's back, silently appreciating the amazing feeling of her blouse's fabric. Silk, if she had to wager a guess, but frankly fashion continued to elude her, try as Tori might to put her in anything but a hoodie and jeans.

"You're sweet, Maxine, but I'm going to be freaking out about this until the zero hour, turn it in, and everyone will tell me how amazing and perfect I am. That's how it works."

In time, Victoria had learned with some amusement that she was actually allowed to get away with calling her 'Maxine'. Only when they were alone, and only very rarely. It was one of life's small pleasures. "But you're very sweet for trying..." She leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek. That was the other thing that she only allowed in private. It was no secret that the quartet of mismatched companions were all seeing one another. But appearances had to be maintained, so Victoria made it clear early-on that PDA was a huge problem for her. Chloe was, predictably, the only one to push her luck on this.

This answer did not satisfy Max, however. She didn't like conflict, and she didn't like to see anyone she loved in distress. Her initial response had been as expected. Hugs, kisses, general affection. But it didn't seem to be working out so well. She doubled her efforts and settled herself in cross-legged behind Victoria and started massaging her shoulders. This seemed marginally more helpful, and she even felt a moment of pride as the blonde beauty gave a satisfied sigh of delight.

But alas! No matter how much she tried, no matter how deep into the tissue her fingers dug, she couldn't wipe the stress from her beloved. "You know I'm here for you, right dumb-butt? Like, the project is yours, but beyond that, your wish is my command. Just tell me what you need!" Okay, that was getting a little overly desperate. But seriously, it was difficult to articulate how much Max hated drama.

Victoria initially felt the old desire in her to get stand-off-ish. I wish you would leave me the hell alone so I could sulk in peace! Sometimes old habits were hard to break. Sometimes her fingers itched to tug Max's pigtails, metaphorically speaking. But one glance at that doofy, adorable, stupid, beautiful face was all the reminder she needed. Victoria flicked through a stack of pictures she'd pulled out and sighed wistfully. "I could point to each one of these pictures and tell you exactly which photographer or artist I'm aping. I could write a ten page paper on each one about composition, color, framing, all of it! But..."

Here Victoria paused, and without warning she began to rearrange their bodies with masterful grace. Before Max knew what was what, Tori was laid out on her bed, propped up against her pillows, with Max resting on her side, snuggled up to her, head on her shoulder. "But this stupid requirement, about showing 'who we are'. It's stupid! What does that even mean! It's so... stupid." Victoria just used stupid three times in a row. This was bad.

Still, it was impossible for Max not to be a little amused by her pouty princess. To her, it was so obvious, Victoria was trying too hard. It wasn't a problem that plagued her often, but when it did, it was pretty adorable. Max gave Tori a little nuzzle in the shoulder, not unlike a kitten headbutting affectionately. "Give 'em..."

Confused, Victoria passed the stack of images to Max and watched her with a raised eyebrow. There was a moment of silence, punctuated only by the occasional "mmm..." from Max. What the hell was she doing? What was her process? Was she identifying the composition? Had she found some flaw in her work? God, her heart was pounding like crazy! She was already pre-emptively imagining every negative comment Max could possibly make.

"These pictures..."

"Yes?"

"...they're perfect..."

Okay, now Victoria was truly confused. If her work was impeccable, if her pictures were so good, why didn't she feel she could turn them in? "I don't follow, Shutterbug."

"I know you don't." Anyone else saying that would have earned a smack across the face. But not only was Max allowed to get away with her snide comment, but she even took the opportunity to kiss Victoria on the lips with an appreciative smile. She held the pictures aloft so they could both see them and flicked through each one. Like Tori, she could immediately give an artistic label to each, point out some beautiful shadow placement, comment on her pallet, or pick a famous name from a line-up that applied to the image. Finally she passed the stack back to her and sat up, quietly messing with her hair in thoughtful contemplation. "You think too much, Chase. I want you to put those pictures away. You're not allowed to pull them out until you have your first official gallery. Where you will make hella bank for those works of art."

Victoria was speechless. "So..."

Max pointed a finger at her with a serious look. "And then, you're going to pull together all your photos, and we're going to go through them. And every time one of them makes you smile or want to tell me a story, we'll set it aside. And then we'll choose your pieces for the classroom exhibit." Max watched as Victoria's eyes began to water and she immediately felt guilty for her choice of demeanor. Oh, shit, she'd overdone it! "Um! But... that's just... I mean, there are other ways... I-I just hated seeing you be so not-Victoria... and I thought..."

Max's manic pixie dream girl act was cut short by a solid kiss from Victoria, eliciting a squeak from the tiny doe. "Shut up, selfie-girl You're a genius and now you're ruining it." Before Max could babble herself into a deeper grave, Victoria hopped up and, with surprising excitement, fished out her portfolio and flopped onto the bed next to Max.

They were barely three photos in when Victoria gave an excited cooing noise and pointed eagerly at one photo in particular. Like all the others, it was perfectly, artistically composed. But it was the subject that actually drew the eye – an adorable cocker spaniel. "Belinda... We got her as a puppy when I was just a baby. This year was our first Christmas without her." Victoria began to trail off, and with a very gentle touch, saying nothing, Max removed the photo and held it on her lap like it was a treasure more precious than jewels.

And that was how the next few hours went. Victoria would survey her portfolio until a picture caught her eye. Sometimes she would grace it with a single fingertip and tell some tear-stained story, at which point Max would add it to the growing pile. Other times the photo would get a more eager introduction, accompanied by a story full of laughter. And into the pile it would go.

It was late at night by the time they'd finished. With very little pomp and circumstance, the stack of photographs was set on Victoria's desk, the two girls undressed and climbed into her bed for more snuggles until exhaustion claimed them both. "I'm not sure if I should be thanking you or cursing you, Maxine."

Max looked up at Victoria from where she had burrowed her way under the comfy-cozy covers. "Murr?"

"I have a better idea of how to do my presentation. But I've got about fifty photos to sort through now. It's like I have more work to deal with than when we started."

Despite Victoria's chiding tone, Max just grinned from ear to ear, eyes closing again as she resumed her cocooned comfort. "I'm pretty sure it's the unwritten rule that I make everyone's lives more complicated. You love it. Besides, this was fun. I got to combine nerding out over photography with learning more about you. I got to know Victoria Chase better in the last few hours than I have this entire year."

"Just you wait until it's your turn, Maxine Caulfield. I will annoyingly pester you about every adorable picture you've ever taken. Prepare yourself for The Inquisition in a few weeks." The way Max was behaving, it was pretty much impossible to resist. She shut off her bedside lamp and joined her in burrowing under the warm blankets. "God, do they have to crank the AC so high? It's mid-spring!"

Tiny waif arms wrapped around Victoria, providing far more heat than one would imagine them capable of. Or perhaps she was imagining it. "Never fear, Mad Max will solve all your problems."

"I love you, you fucking hipster nerd..."