«Wowser…», she said under her breath.
Max looked in awe at the beautiful park. The flowers were in bloom, albeit they'd probably start to die off in a few months. The trees would also most likely start to change colors, perhaps in just a few weeks. Max tried to remember why the trees spent the extra energy to change the color of the leaves just before they died, but being the non-sciency-Max she was, she could not remember it. "Oh well".
*Click*. A quick flash and a whirr later, and out came the Polaroid. Max took a hold of one of the edges, and flapped it back and forth in the air a few times, to let the picture develop properly. Fortunately, the camera had not been broken in the storm that faithful day, and everything still apparently worked. It was great to be able to take some normal pictures again, max thought to herself. Pictures that hopefully didn't mean life or death at some later point.
"So, how do I look?" Chloe walked over from the statue she'd just posed at.
"Beautiful", Max replied, looking directly at Chloe.
"You've not even looked at the picture yet, Max", Chloe said, not realizing the trap she was walking right into. Or perhaps she knew, and wanted to hear Max say it.
"I don't need to look at a photo to see that you're beautiful, Chlo", Max said with a smile on her face. Chloe walked over, and planted a kiss on Max' chin. "You're adorable", she said.
Max was a slight bit embarrassed about the little kiss. She'd never had a boyfriend before, kinda naturally, considering she never really showed any interest. But she'd never had a girlfriend either. Were they girlfriends? Would they stay together? How long? Forever? These thoughts had bothered Max a little, and because she was about as inexperienced with relationships as you could get, she wanted to figure out the answers to those questions. Sooner rather than later.
Chloe took the photo from Max' hands. "Wow. I actually don't look like shit in this picture. That's a new", Chloe said. She sounded a bit bitter, but who wouldn't be after growing up the way she did?
"You have never, and will never, look like anything to my eyes, except from beautiful, lovable, pretty…" Max said with a low and soft voice.
"And hella sexy?" Chloe added.
"Definitely hella sexy", Max replied with a huge grin. "Now come on, let's check out more of this park".
"Sure thing, Maximus" Chloe said, following Max.
They continued to take a few pictures, and walk down the path between the trees and the flowers. After a few minutes, they found a nice bench to sit at, and were they could talk a bit. Max turned towards Chloe, who tried to make a good appearance in public and not sink too far down into the bench, which Max found to be irresistibly cute.
"Chloe, I… I need to know. If we, you know… How long will we stay together?" Max asked, looking into Chloe's deep, blue eyes. Chloe stiffened up a bit, but after thinking about the question for a second or two she loosened up again.
"Well, you know… I… I love you, Maxaroni. I think I always have. How… How long do you plan on sticking around a boring thing like me?" Chloe asked.
"For as long as you love me. Because know that I will always love you. No matter what happens!" Chloe said, looking back into Max' beautiful eyes. "Then forever it is" Max replied, not even needing to think her answer over. She gently caressed the bluenette's cheek and nose. "Besides, you're totally not boring, Chlo". Chloe chuckled a bit. "Well, that remains to be seen, then!" Chloe said with a wide grin on her face. "Come on!" She stood up, took Max' hands, and dragged her along. Max was a bit perplexed, but was definitely going to enjoy whatever shenanigans Chloe was up to. Chloe almost ran, with Max on tow. She could barely keep up with the older girl.
The sun had started to set, and the sky had a burning orange color to it. It was a clear sky, with only a few tiny clouds scattered about. The temperature was very nice, and they'd both needed to seek refuge in the shade several times throughout the day. But here they were. Sitting on a little hilltop, just a few hundred meters about sea level. Chloe had dragged Max into her truck, not revealing where they were going. The grass patch was situated perfectly, and both girls just sat and watched as the sun slowly went down.
"What's this moment called again?" Chloe asked. Max couldn't help but think back to that alternative timeline where Chloe was in a wheelchair. Sad as she was remembering this, she also took comfort in knowing that they were together now, out of harm's way.
"The Golden Hour", Max replied, sitting on the grass patch, holding one arm around Chloe and holding her hand in the other. There was a little pause.
"Wow", Chloe said, sounding impressed. Max couldn't tell weither it was the view or what Max had said, but Max really didn't care. She was just so damn pleased to sit there and to enjoy the view with Chloe. An unharmed, loving Chloe who Max could have all to herself. Max could feel something warm on her lips. She just dried it off, and didn't care. She wanted this moment to last for as long as possible.
However, they could not stay forever. Eventually Max had to concede to her physical limits. Plus, she was getting a major headache. When they got up, Chloe immediately saw what Max had done. But instead of telling Max what she should and shouldn't do, she took Max on her arm, allowing the brunette to lean on her, whilst they walked back towards the car.