It's been a hot minute since I published anything, so whoops. I've accumulated thousands of words worth of Pricefield content on my PC and maybe one day it'll see the light but for now, here's a sequel to my first Life is Strange fic, 'Happy Birthday, Max', in celebration of everyone's favourite gunslinger, Chloe Elizabeth Price.
Hope you enjoy and if you have any requests, feel free to send them my way :)
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11:59.
Max watched the second hand on her watch tick into the final minute before midnight, her heartbeat matching the movement of the watch hand. She padded silently across the floor of Chloe's room, using the glow from the ambient string lights to pick her way through piles of clothing and pairs of boots that Chloe had strewn about until she reached the side of the bed.
She looked down at Chloe Price, sleeping soundly, with a fond smile, laughing quietly at the soft snores that came from her as she slept, the noises muffled where she slept with her face half smushed in the pillow. Max moved her eyes lazily over Chloe's naked back, noting every dip and curve of muscle and the smooth curves of her shoulder blades. She would never quite get used to the fact that she could look at her like this, naked and vulnerable. Even more than that, she would never get used to the fact that she could be the same around her. Chloe had always been her best friend and now that she was her girlfriend too, Max couldn't be happier.
As she stood by the edge of the bed, she fought off the urge to run her hand along the smooth skin, knowing that it was only a matter of seconds before she had to wake her up anyway and she didn't want to ruin the surprise she had been planning all day. She glanced down at her watch. 30 seconds to go.
Chloe sighed heavily in her sleep and Max almost let her be; she was so peaceful when she slept, unlike when she was awake and chaos personified. But then she remembered being jolted awake at midnight on the 21st September and knew that revenge had to be taken. She tightened her grip on the party popper in her hand and stared at her watch, counting down the last ten seconds.
10…
Chloe stretched in her sleep.
9…
Max grinned in anticipation.
8…
Max wondered what she should say at midnight.
7…
Happy birthday? Too easy.
6…
Surprise? Nope, too lame.
5…
Chloe snored extra loud.
4…
Max held in a laugh.
3…
Max began to pull on the string.
2…
She took a breath in preparation.
1…
Aaaaaand…
BANG.
Chloe woke with an almighty start, her head snapping up from the pillow.
"Fuck, what the fuck?!" She yelped, slurring her words to an almost incomprehensible level as she blearily peered up at Max, who was wearing nothing less than a shit-eating grin as rainbow confetti rained down on her girlfriend. "Max? What the actual fuck?" Chloe grunted as she wiped the line of drool from her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Happy 21st birthday, otter!" Max cheered, grabbing the confetti that had landed on the bedspread and sprinkling it on Chloe's head, prompting a grimace. Chloe looked her up and down for a long second before she groaned and flopped back down onto the mattress, burying her face back in the pillow. Max tossed the empty party popper in the already overflowing trash before she hopped onto the bed, a knee either side of Chloe's body so she could sit on her lower back.
"C'mon, it's my best girl's birthday, be excited with me!" Max laughed, running her hands along Chloe's bare sides, knowing which parts were ticklish like the back of her hand. Sure enough, Chloe jolted at the sensation, pairing it with an annoyed whine, making Max smile; she was so pissed off when she was just woken up.
"Hard to be excited when I'm trying not to attack you for interrupting sleep," Chloe grumbled but Max could hear the smile in her voice and sure enough when she leant down to kiss her cheek, she saw the sleepy smile on her face. She kissed her twice on her warm cheek, bringing her arms up to squeeze the older girl in a hug as she rested her cheek on Chloe's hair.
"Not so fun when the shoe's on the other foot, hey?" Max teased, kissing her temple, feeling satisfied that she had got her revenge on Chloe for her stunt on her birthday. Chloe chuckled beneath her, the low sound vibrating against Max's ear. Chloe lifted her hand up from the pillow, her middle finger outstretched in a non-verbal response that Max was more than used to. Max laughed in response, reaching out to tangle her fingers in Chloe's before their joined hands settled back onto the sheet.
"Happy birthday though, Chlo," Max said quietly, running her thumb over Chloe's knuckles gently. "I love you." She squeezed Chloe's hand with finality before sitting up. Chloe clumsily turned over onto her back underneath her as she did so, almost knocking her off her completely and it was only the instinctive grip that Chloe had on Max's hand that kept her upright.
"Thanks, ot. I love you, too." Chloe smiled up at her, a little more awake than she had been a few minutes ago. "And just so you know, this war isn't over. I have six months to plan my revenge." She grinned, her eyes alight in the darkness of the room. Max rolled her eyes with a laugh, her right hand dropping into soft blue hair and smoothing it off Chloe's forehead before said hand trailed down to cup her cheek. Max leant down and kissed Chloe softly, lingering for just a moment before pulling back. Or at least trying to pull back, as a hand tugged at the shoulder of her pyjama shirt to pull her back down into another kiss. And another. And several more after that.
"Hey," Chloe murmured against Max's lips as she looped her arms around her neck. She pecked her on the lips and leant back to look her in the eye, Max noting the mischievous glint in them even this close up. "How about you give me my first birthday present early?" She smirked, Max noting how hands smoothed their way slowly along her back until they reached the bottom of her shirt. She furrowed her brow and glanced in confusion at the pile of presents on Chloe's desk that she had wrapped whilst Chloe was asleep. She was about to ask what she meant when suddenly the same hands innocently toying with the hem of her shirt slipped underneath it and retraced their previous path against bare skin. Chloe gave her a pointed look and when Max saw her bite at her lip, it clicked.
"Ohhhh…" She breathed, the sound of realisation trailing off into a breathy sigh when Chloe scratched her nails lightly along her spine. Chloe pulled her down with strong but gentle hands into a kiss that stole Max's breath and lit sparks in her stomach that chased away any tiredness that she had felt.
"Oh right, early present," Max muttered breathlessly as Chloe's lips trailed along her neck and her fingernails nipped at the skin of her back where she gripped onto her. "Now that I can do." Max nodded, pulling back to kiss Chloe soundly.
"Oh yes, you can…" Chloe hummed contentedly into Max's ear as she kissed along her jaw. Max briefly thought about how far they'd come in just six months, remembering their awkward first kiss at midnight on her birthday. And now they were here, hands wandering and teeth nipping at skin, with kisses that were anything but awkward.
Max thought about Chloe's promises of revenge on her next birthday but decided, as Chloe threw the duvet off herself and pulled Max down onto her naked form, that she'd happily endure a midnight wake up call every birthday if it meant starting celebrations like this.
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If you catch the reference to my favourite Youtuber, then 10 bonus points to you.
You know I love a secret reference.