Chapter 18 - Achievements and Setbacks Part 2

For a more than a few moments Max allowed herself to let loose all of her frustration from the last few months, sobbing as Chloe continued to hold her whispering reassurances and comfortingly rubbing her back. Eventually, the sobs slowed in frequency and the tears began to dry up as Max wiped away the last few that escaped as she pulled herself out from where she had burrowed into her partner's embrace.

"You need a minute?" Chloe asked fishing out the pack of tissues from pocket and holding them out.

Max looked up, seeing the question in Chloe's eyes as to what had caused all of this. Accepting the offered tissues, she dabbed away to residual tears and blew her nose, crinkling it up in disgust at the results. Opening her mouth to speak she felt her throat catch, causing her to splutter slightly.

"I can get you water or something?" Chloe offered; her voice softer than most would believe she was capable of. "Whatever you need, ok?"

Max felt a small smile tug at her lips hearing her using that same light tone she always used when Max had been a little shaky after a bad nightmare when they were kids. It reminded her of just how much Chloe had always cared about her, knowing exactly how to calm her down.

"Just need a moment to process." She explained, sounding more herself even as her vocal cords felt a little scratchy still.

"Take as much time as you need. You know I'm here for you whenever you're ready." Chloe reassured, gently squeezing Max's arm before giving her some more space and sitting down on the small sofa as Max eased herself back down on her chair, hearing the now familiar creaking from it.

As the pair sat in comfortable silence for a moment Max saw Chloe looking questioningly at the piles of clothes, she'd all but forgotten about in her rush to answer the earlier call and the ensuing fallout. Blushing as she remembered what she had been thinking about before everything had going down as it had.

"I, um, I was clearing out my old clothes, stuff I don't wear anymore" Max stumbled at first but regaining her confidence she continued, "and I was trying them on to see how they fit me… or, you know, don't fit me anymore."

Max could see the twitch of a grin that Chloe barely managed to supress, her girlfriend realising now wasn't the best time for full on teasing, but it was clear where her mind went upon hearing that.

A flash of pride went through her at seeing Chloe's initial reaction but there was so much to unpack mentally still that she couldn't fully enjoy it in the moment, but she wasn't going to allow it to spoil it completely.

"I was going to keep a couple of them though," Max explained further, her blush deepening as she admitted what she had been thinking about, "So I could wear them for you when we were alone… Show you how tight they've gotten."

"You know I love you without you needing to do that," Chloe's own cheeks reddened at the thought since Max had grown quite a lot since she remembered seeing her wearing some of them regularly, "but if you feel comfortable, then I'd love to see you in them."

Allowing the comfortable quiet to settle Max felt some of her tension easing, Chloe making her feel more confident and comfortable, her words being an extra boost that she sorely needed to hear to push back the small voice in the back of her mind that still made her doubt herself.

"My parents video called, and I was, uh," Max began to explain, gesturing toward the laptop on the desk as Chloe hummed empathetically, "I was in the middle of trying things on and thinking about us and what we were going to do this weekend. I had to rush to change into this again before I answered and then I kinda freaked out at them."

"I take it they still won't drop the whole dieting thing?" Chloe probed knowing it was the most likely cause of conflict between Max and her parents.

"Yeah, they just keep bringing it up," Max agreed, a sigh escaping as thought back over the call, "I mean that wasn't the only reason, but it just feels like I keep having the same conversation with them and they won't listen."

"Look, why don't I help you tidy up and we'll get out of here, go for a ride and stop somewhere you can take some photos or something?" Chloe offered knowing what would get Max's mind off things for a while.

Max nodded and felt the tightness in her ease even more, taking photos was always a good way for her to take some mental space and get some perspective, plus some fresh air away from the main town would do her good.

"Alright, just tell me where you want stuff to go," Chloe immediately began to gather up the pile of clothes on the couch, folding them as she went at a speed Max would never manage herself.

It didn't take long for them to bag up everything that was to be donated, and soon enough even the clothes that were being kept were neatly re-hung. It was a simple thing, seeing the room tidy again, but Max knew that it wouldn't have been good her mentally to leave the room as it was despite her wanting to leave as soon as possible, and she was grateful that Chloe had picked up on that without her even needing to ask.

"Ready to go?" Chloe asked as Max packed up her satchel, her laptop and camera carefully placed alongside her journal and multiple polaroids of the couple enjoying themselves on recent dates.

Max looked around the room one last time, running through her mental checklist so she didn't forget anything. However, her attention was tugged once more to the dresser. 'Maybe I should still take that Jane Doe shirt with me?'

"Just one more thing," Max replied smiling shyly as she made her way over to the dresser. A look of understanding dawning on Chloe's face as she pulled out the article of clothing and rolled it up small enough to fit into her bag.

The chirping of the birds outside slowly filtered into her awareness; the soft morning light diffused through the torn American flag that hung in place of a curtain on the side window followed. Allowing the memories of the night before return she felt lighter in spirit, even if her puffy eyes and dehydrated state after crying once again made her not feel exactly 100%.

It had been after a day of riding about town, not caring for how long they were out or for anything other than each other, countless photographs taken, and feeling more carefree than she had for some time. It wasn't until the late hours once they had gone to bed that the earlier events had come back up, however, instead of simply replaying the same emotions, they had talked them through, and a moment of catharsis seemed to hit. She didn't quite remember when she had fallen asleep, but she knew that Chloe had held onto her tightly making her feel safe and loved.

Speaking of Chloe, while she had clearly shifted during the night she was still cuddled in closely as she continued to snooze away the early morning. It was in these quiet moments that Max could reflect on their bond, a bond that had survived many years and a great distance apart, finding it had grown stronger than she had ever dared to hope for.

Feeling her girlfriend stir from her slumber, Max remained quiet, enjoying the way Chloe began to grumble before she had even fully re-gained consciousness.

"Hhhrgm, hey…" Chloe mumbled as she finally re-entered reality, taking a moment to re-orient herself to the world before she fully came to. "What time is it?"

Max wasn't sure, she knew it was early from the light, but she hadn't through to check her phone yet. Grabbing it off the night stand she tapped the screen bringing up the clock which told her it was only 8:37am, but also several notifications with her mother's name attached. She didn't have to open them to know it would just be a re-hashing of the conversation they had just had.

"Just ignore her," Chloe injected, while she couldn't see the screen, she knew Max's expressions well enough to know what she was thinking, "I know, easier said than done, but she has to at least get it that you're an adult and not that shy little kid she got used to telling what to do eventually."

Max sighed, Chloe was right, she knew that, but knowing her mother it would possibly be the heat death of the universe before then. The ignoring part, though, that she could handle, placing her phone back on the nightstand and rolling as much as she could back into her girlfriend.

"I love you," That simple statement Max hoped conveyed as much as she meant with it.

"Good thing I love you too, isn't it?" Chloe teased with a soft smile, but Max could hear just how much she meant to too as the taller woman kissed her sweetly, rubbing her sides and letting her fingers sink into the wide expanse of her middle. "How you feeling this morning?"

"Better than I was" Max started slowly, "I mean I think it was going to happen eventually, you know. I just wish it hadn't been yesterday."

Chloe hummed in agreement, she'd tried her best to be there to steady Max in those moments but this one had caught them off guard and Max's frustration had come spilling out.

"I know they'll probably never understand it, not fully, but there is no way I'm leaving now," Max continued, sounding much more confident than she had for a while, "I'm staying here with you no matter what they say."

"That… uh, I know its dumb, but…" Chloe swallowed, she had tried to hide how much it had still hurt when Max told her that her parents were suggesting that she move back to Seattle without her. "I sometimes need to hear that said out loud."

"I promise you I'm not going anywhere, Chloe," Max reassured immediately, "I will spend the rest of my life reminding you if yo-."

"Is that your way of proposing to me Caulfield?" Chloe teased evidently trying to redirect the conversation away from her own insecurities as she often would. "Gotta say, I didn't expect you to be the one to pop the question."

"Chloe, I'm being serious," Max groaned but felt herself smile against her best efforts when she realised the implication of what Chloe had said. While they were a long way off the topic of proposing being a genuine conversation, knowing they had both considered that level of commitment made the butterflies in her stomach flutter and her heart skip a beat.

For a while longer they lay there, enjoying the intimacy of a lazy morning in each other's arms, their conversation flowing from possible visions of their future together to the more mundane and immediate ideas for how to spend the weekend. Eventually the early morning turning into just morning and the conversation had come back around to their original plans for the weekend.

As they talked, Max found that despite the events of yesterday she was still just as excited about finding out how much she now weighed. The bubbling anticipation building once more when Chloe offered to get the scale set up for her while she takes care of her morning routine.

With as much of a skip in her step as she could muster at her size, Max crossed the hall to the bathroom, quickly brushing her teeth and freshening up as her mind whirling just like a tornado, but she knew it would settle soon. As she looked over her reflection, the evidence of her tears was still there in the red and slightly puffy looking skin, a quite splash of water on her face helped and she knew Chloe wouldn't mind her forgoing her makeup today as to not irritate her eyes further.

Although she had been trying to keep calm, her heart rate picked up as she returned to the bedroom to find the scale waiting for her. As she walked over to it, a part of her was anxious that she had reached her goal, while the more rational part of her knew it was pretty much impossible that she hadn't with how she had been eating these last couple of weeks.

"You ready, Maximus?" Chloe asked drawing Max's attention away from the scale as she rose from the bed to join her.

While Max was still in her pyjamas, Chloe on the other hand had gotten partially dressed. Her jeans unbuttoned, slung low on her toned waist, and only a bra made it difficult for Max to focus but she shook herself out of her fantasy of dragging to punk back to bed and back to the present.

"Yeah, I am, just a bit nervous," She explained reaching out to hold her girlfriend's hand feeling a reassuring squeeze in return.

Taking a deep breath and focussing on Chloe's hand in hers she stepped up onto the scale, her thicker thighs rubbing together and making it harder to stand with her feet close together on the slightly narrower platform of Chloe's scale. Peering over her belly she could just about see the whole screen as it flickered into life. She only barely recognised how hard her heart was thumping as she held her breath wating for it to display a number.

Eventually though, the bright green numbers settled on the final result….

402lbs

"Holy shit, babe," Chloe exclaimed. Max could practically hear the grin through her excited tone. Dropping their clasped hands, instead opting to wrap her longer limbs around from behind as she placed a kiss on the side of Max's cheek. "You did it!"

"Wowser…" she let out breathily, it barely felt real as she stared at the number for the fleeting moments before it disappeared from the screen, the scale entering standby mode once again.

Looking up at their reflections in the mirror in front of them she took in the scene, allowing the reality to settle in. Her enormous frame was a sight to behold, Chloe pressing herself into her softer body with her arms squeezing her blubbery middle as best they could, especially considering that she couldn't wrap them all the way around.

Catching Chloe's eyes in her reflection she couldn't help but match the grin as her enthusiasm was infectious. Their current position brought to mind some of those photographs she had stumbled on many months ago, especially the one in particular that had inspired her initial exploration of the idea of intentionally gaining for real.

"How do you feel?" The punk asked wanting to know what was going through her partners mind.

Max considered the question for a moment, her head a mix of emotions. Her giddiness and excitement were somewhat overwhelming the rest of her feelings right now but even then, she noticed how small the voice of self-doubt that usually accompanied seeing her weight was. She felt more settled in herself than she had ever felt before.

"Babe?" Chloe prompted after a moment had passed and Max still hadn't said anything.

Turning around in the embrace, Chloe loosening her hold a little and settling her hands on Max's hips instead, Max snaked her arms up around Chloe's neck pulling her down into a kiss. Feeling happy and in love she hummed approvingly as Chloe's hands began to wander across her soft rolls, their embrace turning into something more amorous.