I do not own Life Is Strange.

The Talk

Max took a deep breath in because if she didn't she would have died about three seconds ago. Chloe was going to meet Kate, officially, for the first time. It wasn't the whole meeting thing that had Max on edge, it was the way Chloe had reacted to her suggestion. Max's usual sarcastic, cracking jokes, best friend had been serious. A little too serious. The reaction alone rang about fifty different alarms in Max's head. She also knew she could do nothing about it because the meeting was inevitable.

Kate and Max had "The Talk."

The photographer pursed her lips at that, saying that way made her think of the highly embarrassing talk she had with her mother. It was the time when Mother Nature had graced her for the first time at the age of thirteen. The brunette shuddered at the mere thought of it, though she appreciated and knew most kids went through the same thing it didn't help. The talk….the very important conversation she had with Kate was in an entirely different subject matter. One that mattered to the both of them and was the biggest worry for them both.

They had both started with a bit of an awkward opener. Both not wanting to overstep any boundaries or push too much, too soon. There had been an awkward stare, deep blushes followed by loud laughter. After that it had been a breeze and they had both wondered why there were so nervous to begin with. They both had been falling for each other long before either had noticed and everything was falling into place so well.

So a few days back after spending the entire day together, Kate had talked to Max about it. How her girlfriend wanted to meet Chloe before anything got more serious. Max had given her a look at that and Kate had given her one right back. The photographer smiled at that, Kate had shown her side that was only meant for her eyes to see. Kate Beverly Marsh was feisty and a bit of a tease. Max absolutely adored every single second of it. She was sure no one would quite see Kate the way she did and she was okay with that.

Max had tried telling Kate that there was no need for such a formal meeting. That Chloe was the last person who would do formal. That Chloe would probably laugh, throw a crude joke and wave it off. Kate had told her "If we're going to do this, Max, were going to do it the right way." Max had just snapped her jaw shot after that and agreed. Kate had this way of just saying "Max" and really meaning "Maxine Caulfield."

The brunette fiddled with the cuffs of her shirt, biting her lip in the process. She knew Kate liked this shirt and wore it for her. Max also knew that Kate had a thing for bow-ties and she made sure to wear that too. She ignored Chloe's comments of looking like a "Prep hipster." Her best friend had also she had Kate Marsh written all over her but Max didn't mind. She had gotten Kate to use "Wowsers" and "Dog." She laughed a bit at that, it seemed it was an even trade off. But her carefree thoughts were cut short when they reached the front of Kate's apartment, this was the big moment. Everything would either sink or swim.

Max took one last breath in turning the ignition to her jeep off. "Chloe."

"Oh, don't use the mom tone on me, Maxaroni."

"I'm not."

Chloe snorted "You so are, dude. Chill."

"Promise me, Che. Please. You're going to like her."

"That's for me to decide Max. Sure girls are great but you're my fucking best friend and I think you're amazing." Chloe replied shuffling out the car, door shutting as emphasis to her statement. "So let me do my shit, okay?"

"I-Alright, Che." Max said getting down from the door Chloe had opened for her. "So gentle-womanly of you."

Chloe laughed "That even a word?"

"Probably not. Who cares?" Max chuckled, shrugging her shoulders.

Max hauled Chloe along leading the way to Kate's apartment, the evening chill getting to their bones. As always Chloe was scoping the area around of her, out of instinct or paranoia, Max had no idea, maybe both. Just as Max was reaching Kate's hallway the door opened and she couldn't help the bright smile that happened. She grinned impossibly more when Kate had a matching one on her face.

"Hey, I thought I might have heard you two." Kate softly said, eying both girls. "Get here okay?"

Max walked up to her girlfriend placing a tender kiss to the side of her cheek "A little traffic where there doing that construction but the rest of the ride was smooth."

Kate hummed shaking her head "Always forgetting to take the route I told you about."

Max blushed and then jumped a bit when Chloe cleared her throat roughly. Getting her mind together Max pulled Chloe close. "Chloe this is Kate, Kate this is my pain in the ass."

Chloe nudged Max her hand reaching out "So, apparently I'm pain in the ass. Chloe is my middle name." The punk mused.

Kate snickered "It's great to finally see the first person Max has ever loved so much." The blonde softly replied while shaking Chloe's hand.

Max felt her jaw drop open and Chloe for just a few seconds, froze. Though Kate was on top of her game as she ushered both girls in. The brunette felt giddy because her girlfriend was literally the bomb right now. When she glanced over to Chloe she could see that her best friend was inspecting the entire apartment. Even going to the lengths of running her fingers over the shelves to see if there was dust. At that, Max nudged Chloe again but the punk slapped her hand away.

"Did you guys bang already?" Chloe whispered turning to face Max.

Max turned bright red "Chloe!"

"No way." Chloe mumbled searching Max's eyes. "I-Is she?"

"No, this is not what you are here for!" Max hissed literally lunging her best friend towards the kitchen. "Stop going to the gutter, Price."

"Hey, ow, that's a tight grip." The punk grumbled rubbing her shoulder. "I'm stopping, I'm stopping, okay?"

Max let go of Chloe sighing as she did so. She pointed to the chair that was meant for Chloe and eyed her best friend for good measure. Rubbing out invisible wrinkles on her shirt, Max made her way to the kitchen to see if Kate needed help. She paused for a few moments watching as Kate made her way around the kitchen. Walking slowly Max wrapped her hands around Kate's waist, placing her chin on the blondes shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Kate smiled but Max couldn't see it "I am. Just getting the last dish out."

"You are the best, you know that right?" Max mumbled nuzzling into Kate's chin.

Kate turned her head so she could kiss Max fully. Just as she was pulling away she licked Max's nose. "That's for not kissing me at the door."

Max scrunched her nose up pulling away from Kate to wipe away the trail of saliva "S-sorry. I was nervous."

"You shouldn't be." Kate whispered

"The two m-most important girls in my life are meeting each other." Max mumbled munching on her bottom lip. "I so want this to go right, Kate."

The blonde smiled her hand reaching out to pull Max's lip from her teeth "You forgot something."

"What?"

"We both we something in common." Kate replied

Max furrowed her brows "Really?"

"Yes. We both love you." The blonde said placing a dish in Max's hand. "Ready to go have dinner?"

Max wasn't able to leave the kitchen without Kate nudging her to do so.

Dinner had been a mix of things, ranging from awkward to funny. Max had been quietly hyperventilating the entire time. Every time Kate spoke, her eyes would dart Chloe to see what her best friend was thinking. Then when Chloe spoke, Max would look to Kate to see how her girlfriend took to the very first girl she had ever cared for.

The movies don't ever explain this. Every time she had seen this scene play it out, it was usually the girlfriend who was freaking out. Or it was the best friend that already didn't like the girlfriend. The worst case scenarios were that the best friend and girlfriend were enemies. Max breathed in as they settled into the living room, knowing that none of those things happened with them. It actually seemed that the only one who was freaking out was, Max.

Because when it came to Chloe and Kate, they seemed perfectly fine.

Max jumped when her phone stated buzz she pulled it out answering the call. Her eyes widened when she heard the voice over the phone and looked helplessly at the two girls in front of her.

"Could you please hold on for a moment?" Max said into the phone. "I have to take this, it's important. You two w-will be okay?"

Chloe gave Max the biggest Cheshire smile. "Totally, go do your shit, Max."

Max felt like she had just had a mini-stroke.

Chloe watched as her best friend walked away and she knew she had made Max a little scared. Good, she should be. I'm not going to play it easy on this one. The punk made herself comfortable as she placed her arms across the length of the couch. She couldn't help but a feel a little threatened by the girl in front of her. It had always been Max and Chloe, there was never a third. Every fear, every secret, every tear and every laugh, Chloe was there for. It was them until the end but now there was Kate Marsh. Who would take up a lot of the things Chloe did for Max.

Things were changing and Chloe hated change.

She was happy for Max, she really fucking was because if anyone deserved it, it was Max. She was afraid too, afraid that maybe Max wouldn't need her anymore. Afraid that she would fall into the background like so many times before. So she wanted to be sure that if she got replaced then the person who took her place, should be pretty damn amazing. Chloe was about to speak but Kate had reached over her tea, placing a beer for the punk to drink.

"So, this is where it happens isn't it?"

Chloe blinked a few times "What?"

"The beat-down?" Kate replied looking Chloe straight in the eye. "Go, ahead Chloe."

Holy shit, she knew?! How! The bluenette made sure not show her face of shock as she leaned forward on the couch. She took a sip of her beer making sure to hold the silence for a few more seconds. She wasn't going to go easy, she wasn't, she needed to be Max's eyes and ears on this. She needed to know that her best friend in the whole damn world would not get her heart broken.

"What's Max's favorite color?"

Kate looked confused for a moment before replying "Trick question, she doesn't have one. Though she tends to go for grey quite often."

Chloe hummed "Her favorite camera?"

"The one she had in high school but she treasures the one you gave her."

Chloe clenched her jaw tight making sure that the stung she felt behind her eyes would go away. "I thought she switched to digital?"

Kate sighed "She didn't want to but to get into photography she needed to make the change. In her time off she still take those out and takes the shots she wants to."

"She's my best friend you know this right?" Chloe stated eying Kate for any signs of doubt in those brown eyes. "All these years I've been there. Every shitty thing that's happened to her, every great thing. I was there, I am here. She's the greatest fucking person I know."

Kate nodded "I know."

"She's forgetful, she stumbles over her words. She gets lost in her head and sometimes she won't say what she feels. So you're wondering if she even cares sometimes." Chloe said voice even as took another sip from her beer. "She's stubborn, really fucking stubborn. She worries a lot and is nosy when she wants to be. She's not perfect."

Kate cleared her throat narrowing her eyes at Chloe "If you're trying to scare me away from her, it won't work."

"Why not?"

Kate shook her head "When I first met Max, I thought you were her girlfriend. She would go on and on about you. How well your drawing was, how strong you were, her world was you." Kate admitted looking the punk as she placed her tea down. "Actually, I'm sure her world is still you but she made room for me. Did…Did Max ever tell you how we met?"

"No." Chloe whispered wondering where this girl in front of her came from. She seemed too good, too honest in a world that could be so dark. "She uh, she says it was at a building? I don't get it."

Kate laughed but it was thick "Always trying to be my hero, I swear." The blonde licked her lips nervously, fingers messing with her rings. "Max, didn't lie…it was at building but I was on the roof, dangerously so."

Chloe widely looked at Kate the insulation there "You? You were going to?"

"I was…but Max came out of nowhere. We had always crossed paths at that building and she had always managed to talk to me. Always said hi, always said bye." Kate had to clear her throat in order to keep her emotions in check. "A few conversations but nothing more but that day…that day she sat on the roof with me for hours. We talked about everything, we talked about you." Kate laughed at that. "A lot of the stories that made me laugh, had you in them so-so I should probably say thank you to you too. She saved my life."

Chloe bit the inside of her cheek so hard she drew blood. "But Max…you guys just started dating months ago."

"She wanted me to be sure that this is what I wanted. Not some hero complex or out of guilt." Kate wiped a lone tear that fell. "I told her that I liked her long before she had ever come up to that roof with me. So I understand Chloe, Max is the most wonderful person I have ever met. I would never want to hurt her. I just hope I can make her feel how she makes me feel."

Chloe cleared her throat "A-And what's that?"

"Alive, happy…loved." Kate admitted.

Chloe couldn't could hold back the tears that fell because she had no idea. She had no idea that Max had kept this from her and part of her was mad. She could understand too because it wasn't Max's story tell and here, Kate had just told her. Trusted her. They both jumped when Max came bursting in face in complete shock and utter joy.

"I got the magazine cover! I made it you guys! I fucking made it! Max yelled fisting pumping the air, cheeks red from her yelling. Her face fell when she noticed the state of her best friend and girlfriend "Hey, are you two okay?" Max whispered rushing to the both of them and pulling them in.

Chloe could feel how hard Max was holding her and the punk had a free arm in the air. Her eyes peered over to Kate who had her eyes closed but the smile she was wearing said it all. She was crying just seconds ago…and Max…Max you make her entire world don't you dork? Softly Chloe placed her free arm around Kate and smiled when Kate did the same. They held the hug for a few more seconds and Chloe pulled away.

"Congratulations, my love. I knew you could do it." Kate said placing a kiss on Max's lips. "Don't look at me that way, I'm okay."

Chloe watched as Max bit her lip "Sorry, I worry."

"Don't." Kate said rubbing away the creases on Max's forehead. "I'm happy."

And Chloe had never seen a tenderer showing of love than she did right now. "Hey, Kate? Could I borrow Max for a second?"

"Of course."

Chloe didn't wait another second as she hauled Max out of the apartment and into the open hallway. She placed both her hands on Max's shoulders and looked at her best friend. Of course the first thing she saw was worry, then surprise and the biggest one was confusion. Chloe shook her head, she should have seen it before.

"You in love with her, aren't you?"

Max looked down at her feet "Are you mad?"

"What? Max? Look at me, please." Chloe said feeling relief when her best friend stared at her. "I'm not mad, okay?"

"You guys were crying." Max said eyes narrowing.

"That's our secret, dude. Just leave it alone." Chloe said as she flicked Max's forehead "Don't hurt her, don't you ever hurt her, okay?"

Max lurched back staring at Chloe "What the hell, Che?"

Chloe just pulled Max in to a tight hug confusing her best friend all the more "Congratulations, dude. You made it."

But Max would never truly know what those words meant for Chloe.

Max would never know what really went down in the time that she was gone.

But years down the road, when Kate and she got married, Chloe would let the sentence "Aren't you glad that building was there" slip in a drunken stupor and Max would know.

That, yes, she had made it in every way possible.

A/N:

Because in the end Chloe cant help but like Kate and feel for her.

She also cant help but be protective of them both.

Kate has her slice of happiness.

Max is oblivious.

Hope you enjoyed!