Something wet was dragged across Max's cheek, bringing the girl to consciousness. She cringed at the sensation and instinctively tried to yank the covers over her head, though something prevented her from being able to. Eyes still closed, she let the rest of her face relax as one hand searched beside her, finally finding someone's abdomen. She gently patted the person's stomach twice.
"Did you lick me?" She asked, her voice creaky and weak.
"To which time are you referring?" Chloe's voice answered back, though it was muffled. Max shifted her head to the side and barely opened her eyes.
"I'm pretty sure the answer is yes for all the other times," she managed with a small snicker. She watched Chloe situate the candy cane in her mouth, the sound of it clinking against her teeth seeming very loud in the quiet of the room. "Can I have some?" She asked, snaking one hand lazily into the air. Chloe removed it from her mouth and hung the crook on Max's index finger.
"Yes, I licked you, by the way," the punk said, flopping down next to the girl. "I've been up for like an hour and a half, dude. How can you even sleep? It's..." Her eyes got wide with wonder. "It's fuckin' Christmas!" Max's eyes drooped back shut as she placed the candy cane between her teeth.
"This Christmas, I would like more sleep, Santa," she mumbled quietly.
"Well, that's kind of a fuckin' tragedy because no dice, sista," Chloe laughed, bracing the cold bottoms of her feet against the brunette's bare thigh. She shrieked and sat up, almost losing the candy cane in the process.
"You're so evil," she complained, pulling the blanket up over her like a robe. "Like the Grinch but blue instead of green."
"Uh huh," Chloe chuckled, rolling onto her back. "That's why all I got you for Christmas was like five oceans worth of caviar." Her face immediately shifted into something more contemplative, then sad as Max simply wrinkled her brow in confusion.
"Why caviar?" She asked with the small hint of a laugh. Chloe puckered her lips in thought, then sat up.
"You never, like..." She blew air through her lips. "You never told me you went to San Francisco. You won that competition... You made it." She took a frustrated breath, her hand tensing like a claw. "Why didn't you tell me that? Why didn't you keep that?"
Shit. I was hoping the dreams were over...I was hoping.
"Chloe," Max said, though her tone was more assertive, "you know damned well why I didn't keep it. You saw why I didn't keep it. You..." She gestured grandly as she looked around them. "You can see now why I didn't keep it!" She sighed and put her face in her hand. "Are you really mad that I didn't tell you?"
"I gave you my candy cane, I'm obviously not mad," the punk responded. "I just...fuck, man. Fuck. You had it! You had everything you wanted! You were getting recognized for your photography and it was all going so fucking well until you had to save my ass again!" Max only blinked at her slowly.
"You are everything I want, Chloe," she said. She took the girl's hand into her lap. "I know these dreams are hard for you. I know that. But we've gone over this. I wouldn't do anything differently." She traced her fingers along the back of Chloe's hand. "Why didn't you wake me up as soon as you had the dream?"
"I don't know," she offered back with a small shrug. "You look so cute when you're all bundled up and asleep. And I guess I went back and forth between trying to completely ignore it or trying to really think about it. I just can't believe it, you gave that all up for me." Her voice was quiet, filtered through awe.
Damn these dreams. They take her on such a guilt trip. Why does she get them!? Okay, Max. Time to make your girl smile.
"Well," Max said, holding her hands in the air, "I don't know what to tell you, man. You're hella tripping if you're still amazed by all that. It's old news." She balanced the candy cane on a small box next to the bed and brought a fist to her mouth to pantomime a microphone. "This just in...girl still surprised her girlfriend would do anything and everything for her." Chloe shot her a sarcastic look and slapped her hand, as if stealing the microphone.
"Update on our last story," she said, getting to her knees. "Girl has had to work out a lot of abandonment issues, so give her a fuckin' break. Also girlfriend deserves to be in every gallery in San Francisco." Max rolled her eyes, but Chloe waved her hand, then pressed two fingers to her ear. "Correction, I'm now being told that not only should all of her photos be in every gallery in San Francisco, but that they should be in every gallery in the universe!"
Chloe, you are such a dork.
"Give that back," Max snipped, hitting Chloe's fist before bringing hers to her mouth. "Breaking news, our previous anchor is flattering piece of trash. It doesn't – hey!" Max squealed as Chloe pulled her down on top of her, attacking her neck with her teeth. "Oooh, this isn't good for live television," she murmured happily. Grinning, she tried to continue. "It doesn't matter where her photographs are being held, the girlfriend in this story only wants to be where the girl is. She would choose her..." she snickered, breaking character, "baby over the San Francisco Bay any day! In fact, go fuck yourself, San Francisco!" She began to laugh, causing Chloe to do the same.
"Thanks, Ron," the blue haired girl muttered into her neck. After the laughter had slowed and Max had gotten more comfortable on top of Chloe, the punk exhaled playfully. "Baby over the San Francisco Bay. How disgustingly cute." She let out a proud 'ha!' "Or like how Courtney says it, all hip you know? Bae over bay. I'd wear that on a fuckin' shirt."
"I dunno," Max chuckled, "I don't think it'd catch on."
"We have arisen," Chloe declared as she skipped the last few steps, instead electing to jump and send a loud rumble through the house. Max wasn't as daring.
"Merry Christmas, girls!" Joyce greeted from the kitchen, masterfully working a small breakfast into existence while also prepping dinner for later. David stood with her, leaning against the counter. The smile on his face was finally becoming a more common sight, though the amount of sincerity it held still managed to make Max thank her lucky stars for the way everything played out. Joyce dropped what she was doing and opened her arms, with Chloe throwing herself into them with enthusiasm. David popped straight onto his feet and held his arms out for Max.
Oooh, David hugs! Rare but comfy.
"Merry Christmas, you two," he said as he embraced Max. Both girls responded with their own holiday greeting before switching hug recipients. "Did you sleep well?" He asked, now crushing Chloe in a loving death grip.
"Like a bulldog on Xannies," she replied, smiling with a scrunched nose in regret when David rolled his eyes. "Okay, or a log. Whichever one works better for you."
"The second one," he nodded.
"I was just about to pour the batter," Joyce said, her arm still around Max. "Should we eat or do gifts first?"
"Mom," Chloe turned to her, "I eat food every day. But presents are rare!"
"And what about Max?" Her mother asked, though she couldn't help but snicker. "Maybe she's hungry."
Heh. Joyce is such a badass.
"I can wait a little," Max said, leaning into the woman. Chloe nodded at her, mouthing 'yeah!' excitedly. David snorted and picked his coffee up off the counter, turning to exit the kitchen.
"To the living room, then," he chuckled, followed by the three women.
"You guys first," Chloe insisted, scrambling over to the tree. She dropped to her knees and began to remove some presents from beneath it, sliding them along the floor for Max to collect in a closer pile to Joyce and David, who had each sat at the dining room table.
"Um, here," Max said, holding two sealed envelopes in her hands. "I'm sorry it's not much..." She handed one to both Joyce and David. It still bothered her a little that with her limited funds she was unable to get everyone the sort of gift she thought they deserved. For Joyce and David, she wrote them each a handwritten note expressing how much she was thankful to be welcomed into their life and home so enthusiastically.
Count my blessings that I've sorta pole-vaulted over the awkward 'earn my girlfriend's parents admiration' thing.
Though she was actually quite confident in her message, she still wanted to add something else and so she got Joyce a gift card for the local grocery store and David one for the convenience store. She even made sure to include that he should use it for gas since the prices were so bad nowadays, and he did seem rather proud of his car (which had only recently been fixed up in this timeline.)
Practical gifts for practical folks...right?
"Oh, hon," Joyce said after reading the letter. "This is so sweet. You know you didn't have to get us anything." She held her arms out again when Max stood up and brought her into a tight hug. "Love you, kiddo," she whispered into her ear, creating a great desire in Max to not let go. David seemed to be having a harder time keeping a straight face, presumably from Max's mentioning of the bathroom incident. She swooped in quickly to give him another hug, getting a quiet 'thank you' from the man.
I like how we all just cry all the time now like it's part of our daily routine. We're such sentimental weirdos.
"You are ridiculous," Chloe laughed, setting some gifts on the table in front of David. When he managed to conjure the closest thing that would suffice as a pout, she laughed even more. "It's not a bad thing, dude. I like it." She tapped one of the presents. "Open 'em up." She turned away and handed another envelope and a small box to her mother. David pulled one of the gifts near him and immediately narrowed his eyes. His suspicions were confirmed when a soft jingle could be heard.
"I'm not even going to ask how," he said, shaking his head as he plunged a finger through the top of the wrapping paper. He dragged it along, undressing the six pack of beer, keeping his eyes on Joyce the entire time as if prepared for a lecture. For her part, Joyce simply closed her eyes and sighed. He plucked one bottle out and examined it, puffing out his bottom lip as a show of being impressed. Setting it down, he moved on to the next gift, unwrapping a plain white mug. He exhaled through his nose and looked at Chloe with confusion.
"It's a two part-er," she said, pointing at a small, thin present. Without a word, he went to that one and found a black sharpie. With a grin, the punk snagged it from his hands and picked up the mug. "You know those like," she bit the cap off the marker, "super cheesy mugs?" She spat out the lid and began writing on it, her tongue lazily drooping through her lips as she focused. After a moment, she faced it toward David triumphantly, showing the words 'World's Best Dadvid.' "Ta da!" She burst into laughter. "It's like a dry erase board? I'll just...write on it again when it washes off? Okay, it kind of sucks." He took it from her and nodded.
"I love it," he said.
"You're pretty hard to buy for," she said, plopping a hand on her waist. "So, I figured I'd also take you out to lunch someday when you're not busy. So we can..." She stuck her tongue out and pointed her index finger at the back of her throat, "bond or whatever." She turned to her mother when she heard a quiet but excited 'oooh' as Joyce looked over the certificate for a massage parlor. "Oh yeah, I know you need that," the girl snickered. "I'm always sore now from the diner and you work like way more than me. And you wear heels! Which, by the way, you're a crazy person!" As she said this, she backed up into Max, wrapping her arms around the girl. The exchange for her parents ended with a nice pair of earrings that Chloe insisted weren't that great, in spite of Joyce being unable to contain her excitement.
After that, it was time for the girls. Max wasn't really expecting much of anything, but Joyce pulled a 'mom move' as she said and bought plenty of clothes for the girl due to a sale at the nearest store. The brunette would have been thankful regardless, but she was actually a bit impressed with how much the style appealed to her, completely fitting in with her usual attire.
"I pay attention," Joyce said with a smirk when Max had voiced this to her. To her surprise, she also received another gift from Joyce – a framed picture of her and Chloe as kids, maybe six or seven years old, covered in finger paint and smiling fiercely at the camera while the table was buried beneath endless pieces of paper. She adored it, seeing herself and Chloe so young and innocent, but had to tear her eyes away when she started to hear the memory.
Have to be careful. I wonder if she would have given me the pancake photo instead if I hadn't burnt it?
Among the smattering of other gifts, the biggest surprise came when David cleared his throat, seizing Chloe's attention in a vice.
"So, your mother and I know your truck is pretty banged up," he said. "I don't know the extent of it, but I'm assuming it's outside of my expertise and you have me worried constantly that you are still driving it around. In a few days, I want to take it to the mechanic and get an estimate. If it's under a thousand, we'll cover it. If it's more, we'll meet you halfway." He picked up the mug, the black marker on it already slightly smudged, and took a sip out of it.
Oh, this is awkward...
"Uhhh," Chloe stammered out, "that's really sweet of you guys. Like, holy shit, that's amazeballs. But I kinda already got it fixed." Max could see the girl get uncomfortable, anticipating the questioning on just how she managed to do it. But instead, David just breathed a sigh of relief and clutched his chest.
"Oh thank god," he said, exhaling forcefully. "I was so scared it would crap out on you. You saved some money from the Two Whales and took care of it? I'm proud of you, Chloe." The punk's eyes grew wide as she was handed the perfect cover. She briefly glanced at Max, then back at David and nodded.
"That's wonderful but that kind of puts a damper on our big gift," Joyce said, adding a fake pout. She shrugged. "How much was it, sweetie?"
"Um, around three thousand," Chloe said, still tense.
"So, that would be fifteen hundred on us," David replied, looking at Joyce. She nodded at him. "Then...I guess you'll have to figure out what else you want to put the money toward." Chloe tilted her head up at him from her seat on the floor and narrowed her eyes.
Holy shit.
"Wait, what?" She asked, working her brow. "Are you telling me that I just have fifteen hundred dollars floating in the ether for whatever? That's a lot of scratch, guys. Too much. I can't...take that much." She pointed at the kitchen. "I'll have pancakes instead. Christmas pancakes." Joyce chuckled and leaned forward, extending her hand for Chloe to take.
"We already have most of it set aside, Chloe. It's yours. You don't have to decide now and you can use it in small increments if you'd prefer." The punk nibbled on her lip, giving the tiniest hint of a shake of her head. The room fell quiet for only a moment before Max's stomach gave a wild growl. Joyce tightened her grip on Chloe's hand. "Think about it, okay? It sounds like I need to get those pancakes ready."
"Okay..." Chloe said back quietly, her eyes ignited with thought.
"And that's the last one," Max said with a sigh as she set her phone on the desk. "I've never had to send so many holiday texts in my life. Why did I decide to get so many friends?" She snickered as she sat down on the bed.
"It's kind of adorable that you think you had a say in the matter," Chloe replied, playfully swinging her leg. "You're a people magnet." She sat up and rapidly smacked her hands on her knees. "Okay, okay, you ready for presents!?"
Errrrrr no, but okay.
"Sure, babe," Max said. Chloe threw her hands in the air excitedly, then bounced up from the bed. She skated over to the closet and opened it, wildly flinging clothes out of the way. Max took the opportunity to climb across the bed to remove Chloe's presents from her overnight bag. She had a flicker of a frown as she examined the jovial wrapping paper.
Get over yourself, Max. She'll like them.
"I'm so dumb," she giggled. "All nervous that you're going to hate the stuff I got you." She turned back to Chloe, who was adding several more presents to what Max considered a rather extravagant pile. Her eyes bulged. "Dude, what the fuck?" The punk looked up at her with a grin.
"I made you a Christmas!" She said, holding her arms out.
"That is way too much stuff!" Max whined, hugging the presents in her arms to her chest. "What the hell, man?"
"Oh, come on," the blue haired girl rolled her eyes as she placed her hands on her hips. "It's our first Christmas back together, I have an entirely disposable income and you deserve all the presents ever." She stuck her tongue out cockily, though her eyes quickly darted to the presents in Max's hands. "Hey, wait..." She furrowed her brow. "That looks a lot like more than photos." Her lips puckered as she looked back down at the pile she had created, then back at the girl. "I will kick your ass with my hand if you spent a lot of money on me."
That's just spanking, you doof.
"Don't threaten me with a good time," Max chuckled, opening her arms and letting the presents spill into her lap. "Well, as I feared but ultimately expected, you got me way more stuff than I got you." She straightened her legs, spreading her toes a little as she nodded to herself. "Who goes first?" Chloe sat on the bed, thinking for only a moment before she handed a very bottle-shaped present to Max.
"You'll never guess what it is," the blue haired girl laughed. "Also don't...drop it." Max held it in her hands, smiling.
I am become wino, destroyer of grapes.
"Did you..." She began as she plucked the paper off, "get this the same time you picked up David's present?"
"Courtesy of my delivery boy, Mr. Bowers," Chloe nodded with teeth showing. "You have to share this one, by the way."
"If I feel like it," Max shot back, finally revealing the expected bottle of wine. She held it up victoriously and wiggled her hips. "This is for tonight." Chloe shifted herself so she was lying on her side, watching Max with a smile.
"Sounds like a deal to me. Since Blackwell's a total ghost town, you can get all white girl wasted without disturbing anyone." She cackled when Max twitched her foot at the girl in defiance. The brunette nibbled her lip, then sighed as she handed a rectangular gift to her girlfriend.
Welp.
"Here, smartass," she said. Chloe blew a kiss, then turned her attention to the gift. She slid one finger into the fold and pried it open, then chuckled.
"You're so much better at wrapping than me!" Her eyes narrowed. "Eh, presents, anyway..." With a surprising carefulness, she removed the paper without a single tear. She seemed confused as she read the box, then her eyes went wide. "Holy shit, what?" She sat up and examined it more closely. "This is the fucking magic Gameboy that Warren has!"
"They're not called Gameboys anymore," Max said snidely, laughing when Chloe shot her a look. "Is that like...cool or is it stupid?" She drummed her fingers on her thigh. "I have to admit it is used. Like refurbished." Her voice got quieter. "I got the blue one..."
"Of course this is cool!" Chloe shouted, staring at Max with a look of bewilderment. "It's fucking hella cool! I can't believe you bought this!" Almost absentmindedly, her fingers began sneaking along the edges of the box. "How much did this cost?"
Nice try, but nope.
"Like I'd tell you," Max said, rolling her eyes. "But you like it?" She giggled at the punk's nonverbal answer, having it out of the box and plastic, already turning it over in her hands.
"I love it," she said. As if it were a struggle, she pulled her attention away just enough to grab a smaller present and toss it to Max. "I mean, that sucks in comparison to this." Snorting, Max unwrapped it to find a small bag of guitar picks.
"Oh! I needed more!" Max said happily. "This is such a good practical gift." Chloe got up from the bed.
"Yeah, some of them are glow in the dark. I thought that was really cool, even though like...who plays guitar in the dark?" She moved toward the desk, carrying the 3DS and charger with her. "Plus, I was like..." She plugged the device in and set it on the desk. "If I buy her something for her guitar, she'll feel guilty and have to play for me." She turned back around and raised her eyebrows. "Smart plan, right?"
I'm working on it, dude!
"I promise I'll play for you someday," she said, admiring the gift once more before setting it aside. Chloe seemed to be staying near the desk. "So, I mean..." Max held up the other two wrapped presents. "Did you want your games too or just wanted to play on the settings menu?" Chloe gasped and flailed her hands as she hurried back to the bed. It was such an innocent excitement, evaporating any further feelings of doubt Max had in her gift giving skills.
"I am legit giddy," Chloe admitted, chuckling with a tint of embarrassment. "Here, open that one." She pointed at a flat present, which bent as Max picked it up. With the same carefulness as before, Chloe removed the paper and grew a big smile. "Oh my god, fuckin' Zelda! Hells to the yeah!" She showed the case to Max as if it might also illicit the same amount of excitement.
"Also used," Max said, fiddling with the present in her lap. "The other one is new, though! I wasn't a total cheapskate." She recoiled, smiling when Chloe struck a threatening pose. "Sorry! I just thought you might wonder why there's no plastic on it." Unable to take her eyes off of Chloe, she pulled the paper apart in her lap. She finally looked down to find a flannel, similar to the one she had worn of Rachel's, though this one was a light shade of violet. "Oh, Chloe..." Her voice was breathy as she held it up.
It's so soft... I'll look so cool in this!
"Oh, yeah," Chloe said, redirecting her attention to the brunette. "So, I kind of went back and forth on getting that for you." She shrugged when Max offered a confused look. "I'm kind of self-conscious that you might think I'm trying to change your style." She ran her fingers through Max's hair, drawing attention to the pink color. "But they're really warm and it's been hella cold lately. And I kind of like, associate you in a flannel with our first kiss. Oh man, that kiss." She was grinning like an idiot. "I know I played it cool, but I was freaking out inside."
Except for...
"Except for the fifth time," Max chuckled, slipping her arm through one of the sleeves. "That time you tried to slip me some tongue and then got really embarrassed. You tripped trying to hide in the covers of your bed and hurt your knee." Chloe stared at her with her jaw slacked open. Max pulled the flannel on and beamed at the punk. "And I don't think you're trying to change me. You just are naturally. But it's good. You're changing too. I love it, Chlo." She wrapped her arms around herself and squirmed in delight.
"Okay cool, because another reason I got it is because you do look sexy as fuck." She held up an index finger. "Wait, sorry, I tried to slip you tongue?" Max burst into laughter.
"Yeah! You turned so red and then fell. So that one had to be rewound." She analyzed the sleeve of the flannel. "But then I just kept doing it because I was really into the whole kissing you thing." She pointed at the girl's hand. "Open your other game, dude."
"Okay..." Chloe started unwrapping it. "I hope to fuck I don't see that in a dream. I'll wake up and throw myself directly out the window." She squealed when the game was visible. "Oh, this is the cute one, right!?"
"Yeah, Warren was adamant that you get that one. He said he wants to catch bugs with you and take you on a tour of his little village." Chloe chuckled, nodding her head. Max's eyes trailed back over to the pile of gifts meant for her. There were still five left – a large rectangle and four flat squares, which gave her that conflicted feeling of excitement and undeserved guilt.
All I have left for her are the photos... What a bitch, I can't believe she got me so much stuff. And those flat ones are...oh my god.
"Chloe..." She said quietly, though loud enough to draw the girl out of her absorption in the game's back cover. "You did not do what I think you did." She pointed at the larger box and turned toward the punk with wide eyes. Chloe's shoulders bunched toward her neck as she smiled guiltily.
"I had to," she said. "Open it." She finally sat back down on the bed, shuffling so she was snug against Max. The brunette breathed out slowly and pulled the box toward her. She clawed through the paper, revealing the same digital vinyl record player she was fawning over at the record store. It made sense as a present and perhaps Max should have even expected it, but still, seeing it in front of her made her mind spin. Not because of what it was but because Chloe had gotten it for her.
"Wowser," she whispered. "This is so sweet." She ran her hand over the box gently.
"I got it literally the day after you saw it. Remember when me and Kate hung out without you?" The punk brought her knees to her chest and rested her cheek on them, watching Max. The brunette squinted at her.
I can't believe Kate played along with that. Someone's getting a talking to!
"That's so sneaky!" She shook her head. "Thank you so, so much."
"Fair warning, though. I went as stereotypical as possible for records. You know, to like..." She smiled teasingly, "make sure the indie rock kids don't shun you."
Max worked her way through opening the vinyl records. She took her time after each one to stop, examine it and then talk about what each one meant to her and why they were regarded so highly. Chloe listened dreamily, her eyes broadcasting her continued descent into love for the small girl. Max even worked out which one they would listen to first to christen the player. She collected them in her arms.
"Lifted...Suburbs..." She trailed off, reading the other two in silence. "This really is like the perfect starter kit. You did your research!" Chloe opened her mouth to accept the compliment, but Max cut her off. "Or you're just getting worse at faking your disinterest in pussy banjo strumming."
"How dare you," Chloe asked, acting wounded. She giggled and nodded. "I love Lifted like, a lot." She took a deep breath. "Okay, so! How did I do? On a scale of one to ten." Max grinned at her and set the records to the side.
"Perfect ten out of ten," she said, sliding her arms over Chloe's shoulders as she kissed her. Once it was broken, Max rested their foreheads together. "Thank you so much, baby. You're the best." She added one more quick kiss to the punk's nose, then picked up a small, leather photo album. It was a simplistic black and thin from only having a few photos in it. She sighed. "You asked for five photos..."
Here we go...
"I did," Chloe replied quietly, her voice sweet.
"I put them in here and I figured I could sort of...explain them as you look at them?" She shrugged, then handed it to Chloe.
"Sounds good to me, cutie." Chloe gave her a peck on the cheek, bringing a warmth forth in Max's chest. She loved how she could tell Chloe was purposely being sweet and attentive, given that she probably knew Max had put a lot of her heart into the project. She opened to the first page and grew a big smile when she saw the photo of Kate and Warren. "Aw, my babies."
"I figured I'd start with the obvious," Max said. "They were really kind of my only two friends before everything went down. And it's so hard to explain, but you have no idea just how...nice it felt that you became so close with them so quickly. It was kind of the first big thing that made me believe everything was okay, you know? That everything ended up how it was supposed to be." She touched her finger to the photo, protected beneath a plastic sheet in the book. "Even if neither of them remember it, they both helped bring us together so much. We wouldn't be here without them. Literally." The sound of Chloe clearing her throat made Max look up. She was smiling, but her eyes were glistening.
"You know, I thought it was a possibility that this might make me cry, but I didn't expect the first fucking one to do it." She shook her head. "You have turned me into just the mushiest pile of gunk."
"You're my mushy pile of gunk, though," Max replied. Chloe nodded like 'true' and stared at the photo for a moment longer before turning the page. Her head tilted in an automatic sign of confusion as the photo was just a top down shot of the stain on her living room carpet. It was admittedly not a particularly visually appealing photograph. Max chuckled. "I really like this one," she said. "I don't know about you, but I remember when we spilled that wine like it was yesterday. I was so scared."
Soooo fucking scared.
"I do remember it," Chloe said with a small laugh. "And of course, my mom was mad and my dad talked her out of her anger in no time flat. We were such little brats. And clumsy."
"Which kind of brings me to my next point," Max said with a sly smile. "Someone I know has a pretty bad habit of spilling wine and other alcohol even to this very day." Chloe's eyes drifted from the photo up to meet Max's. "Sometimes I really can't tell how much you plan things out," she admitted. "You spill on yourself...the clothes have to come off, of course." Chloe smiled bashfully. "This probably sounds silly, but you were so patient with me... I know it took a long time before we could...yanno, but you never pressured me. Like duh, getting a lapdance or watching you..." she flailed her hands, "yanno, was really sexy and all that, but it also made me feel closer to you. Even when I hated myself for not being able to make love, your horny ass came up with ways around it. No pressure, no judgment. Just...you." Chloe's eyes were enormous, gazing back into hers. There was an audible swallowing sound. Max giggled and took the punk's hand. "You going to make it?"
Two for two, alright.
"It's up in the air," Chloe answered, her voice constricted. "I would have waited a million years if you needed me to." Her grip on Max's hand tightened, then she turned the page. "Snow angels?" She asked.
"Mmn..." Max tapped her index finger against her lips. "I don't know, I think that one has a prehensile tail and horns." She laughed, kissing Chloe's hand. "That's from when you tackled me when we were tree hunting!" Chloe made a noise of realization.
"It's so cool looking, the snow looks so bright," she said.
"Uh huh!" Max blew her through her lips. "Okay, this one is pretty cheesy, to be honest. It's just kind of the image of our shapes or us fitting so nicely together." She cringed and shrugged. "It just makes sense. Everything about you and us makes sense. I love the idea of us doing things like going Christmas tree shopping or deciding what color to paint the kitchen or even just going to get groceries together. Seriously, just imagining our future – that I even can imagine our future after everything that happened – is like fucking crack to me." She laughed. "I crave those moments, the little things that people take for granted. And, um, like you probably don't remember, obviously, but you mentioned that Robert Frost poem." Her eyes angled upward as she ran through it in her mind. "But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep..."
"I like that line a lot," Chloe said.
"Me too. And like I said this morning and probably a bajillion times in the past few months, there's nothing I would change about what happened that week if it meant we'd be here right now." Chloe's lip quivered, and Max could tell by the flicker in her eyes she was thinking of the Dark Room. Max issued a gentle squeeze to her hand, calming the girl. Max let go of an embarrassed chuckle. "Can you tell I practiced this in my head over and over?"
"A little," Chloe admitted. "I love it." She flipped the page and voiced a tiny 'ooooh' at the photo of the sunset, shimmering off the waves of the bay. The sky was drenched in a lavish golden color. "This is an amazing shot, so pretty... This is that thing, right? What do photographers call it?" Max felt a spear of sadness in her stomach.
Chloe...god, I hope you never see that one. You can't see that one...
"The golden hour..." She banished the image of a helpless and small Chloe tethered to a wheelchair from her mind. "Okay," she sighed. "So, give or take a few feet...this is where we were when I woke up from warning you about the party. It's so calm here but that's where the storm was..." She slouched a little and gave Chloe an irritated look. "You actually said you wouldn't blame if I wanted you out of my life, do you remember that?" The punk rocked her head side to side to insinuate a 'sorta.' "So ridiculous. I just remember thinking, what would be the point? I spent five years without you and I never realized just how much that hurt until I saw you again. I remember thinking you were totally out of your fucking mind for even saying such a thing."
"Well," Chloe chuckled, "I've been known to be a little cra-"
"And then..." Max's voice got quiet as it cut her off. "And then that's what I chose. I had my nightmare and then, you just asked me...begged me to go back and I wasn't strong enough to say no."
"Hey," Chloe said, tugging Max's hand so the girl would look at her. "You just told me that you didn't regret a single thing about that week. For all we know, that's what was supposed to happen. I mean, what if you had said no? Where would we be right now?"
I...didn't even notice the hypocrisy there.
"Together," Max said. She waved her other hand. "I got sidetracked, this wasn't even supposed to be sad. More like...that's what it looks like now. After we fixed everything. When I look at that photo, I can almost see the storm overlayed on top of it perfectly. Like seeing into two different worlds." She growled a little in playful frustration. "You ruined my joke, by the way. This was all supposed to culminate in a cheesy 'every hour with you is golden' zinger." Chloe let out a loud 'ha!'
"Cheesy, but very true," she said with a nod. "Okay, let's see the last one..." She gave Max a warm smile as she turned the page, but it dropped right off of her face when she saw the photo. The one of David at William's grave. Several half choked sounds escaped from Chloe's throat as she futilely attempted to speak. She let go of Max's hand and picked the book up, holding it closer to her face.
"That's the one I took when we were at the cemetery," Max said, though she knew it was obvious. "I don't really..." She shook her head, "have anything clever to say about it. I just knew it would mean something to you." Chloe's body subtly writhed back and forth a few times before she finally let out a sob, crushing the photo album against her chest in a hug.
"Oh my god," she cried, heaving with tears. Max only watched her, knowing they were ones of happiness rather than sadness. "This is perfect," she barely managed to say as she looked down at the photo again. She stared at it in silence for two or three minutes, the quietness in the air feeling fresh and healing. "It's like a perfect circle," she finally said. "I don't know how to explain it." She looked up at Max, then threw her arms around her. "Thank you. Thank you."
"Um, there's actually one more..." Max said quietly, careful not to break the mood Chloe was in. "A super secret sixth photo." The punk pulled away and looked at her, then back down to flip to the next photo. The way her fingers twitched as they dipped beneath the page to turn it, showing that hint of hesitation to do so, made Max feel quite accomplished. When the page was finally turned, the was a small sigh of admiration, and possibly relief, as Chloe smiled.
"Aw, it's you..." She said. The photo was of Max, holding the camera about chest level as she looked in the mirror. She had a tiny smile that seemed to say a million things. The brunette watched the girl with loving eyes, noticing how even after the emotional slog of the previous five photographs, she still seemed so enraptured in what was essentially just a selfie. "You're so cute."
Sorry babe, but I have an explanation for this one too...
"So..." Max began, her voice lilting suspiciously. "You wanted me to take five photographs that were about how I saw things, right? Finding the special, magical meaning in things that might seem normal or..." She briefly flipped back to the photo of the stain, "even boring." The blue haired girl gave a small nod. "Well, I'm not the only one with that skill, you know..." She got onto her knees. "So, I wanted to include something that I didn't think much of until you explained the beauty you saw." Chloe exhaled a quick breath as she closed her eyes, her brows crinkling as a warning for tears.
"Stop being so perfect," she whispered in a sincere and desperate whine.
"Yeah, stuff like that," Max replied with a low, playful giggle. She shuffled around the book and sat beside Chloe, snaking one arm around her waist. "I..." She shrugged, her eyes faraway but aimed at the photo. "I've never felt special. I don't even know that I felt special when I could reverse time." The vague plan of words in her head became foggier as she watched Chloe tenderly touch her fingers to the photo and stroke downward. Her heart began to beat faster. "But the way you look at me..."
"Like a fucking crazy person," the punk said as she nodded in admittance, her voice high pitched and fluctuating. She shifted her legs, sucking her knees to her chest. She extended her index finger and tapped the photo. "You're so pretty." Max snorted quietly and laid her head on Chloe's shoulder.
"That night you had the bad dream and you came over, you made me look into the mirror." Without realizing it, Max's hand slipped beneath Chloe's shirt, her fingers spreading across the girl's flesh until they found the scar tissue. The difference in skin texture shot bolts of electricity through Max. "And, uh..." The words were fading away from her, the closeness of Chloe's body forcing them out of her mind. "And you could just see in your eyes that..." She tilted her head to see Chloe was looking down at her, no longer actively crying but her gaze intense. The look gave her butterflies, a feeling she thought she had outgrown by now. She gulped, aware that her fingers were now creeping further up Chloe's ribs, the girl's shirt rising as it snagged on her wrist. Her breathing hitched as Chloe's hand found the soft part beneath her jaw. The punk began to turn toward her slowly, as if afraid to break the charm, their eyes never leaving each others'.
"Dude," Chloe said in a voice so quiet Max almost didn't hear her. "Fuck San Franciso." And Chloe pounced on top of her, melting into a kiss as the wrapping paper fluffed up around them.
Max couldn't keep her eyes off of Chloe's, who couldn't keep hers from the mug sitting next to David's plate. The writing was even more smudged than earlier, but he still insisted on using it while everyone else had nice wine glasses. Joyce was busy transferring food from the kitchen to the table, but David leaned back in his chair and looked at Max.
"I like your flannel," he said.
"I look cool, right?" She asked, flashing him a smile.
"Very," he nodded. He placed his palms on the table and gave a big, exaggerated sniff. "Joyce, it smells amazing."
"It better," she said with her dry, Southern sarcasm. "I just about had to take a lady out at the supermarket for this ham." Chloe finally turned away to beam at her mother.
"Badass! I bet you could kick the shit out of all the other moms in Arcadia Bay." She wriggled her fingers, then reached out to spoon some food onto her plate.
"Mom Fight Club," Max suggested, pointing her fork at the punk. Chloe clapped and nodded excitedly.
"Yeah, exactly!" She balled her hand into a fist. "Do you want to destroy something beautiful, Mom?" Joyce rolled her eyes as she finally sat down, unfolding the napkin and placing it in her lap.
"No, but I'd like if you 'destroyed' this meal I worked so hard on," she shot back. The blue haired girl put her hands up in defense and began to eat. They exchanged comfortable small talk throughout the meal, laughing and relishing each others company. When it came time for dessert, Max dramatically thrust her head into her hands.
"Oh my gosh, Joyce, do you want me to explode?" She reached a hand out toward the pie she could see on the counter in the kitchen. "Why don't I have more stomach?" Joyce giggled, smitten that she had done her job.
Cows have like four stomachs. I want to be a cow.
"I'll pack some up for you to take back to Blackwell," she said. She thought for a moment. "I do wish you would have said something sooner, Max. You could have stayed here for the break instead of being cooped up at school."
"I don't mind, really. Plus it works out so I can look after Kate's bunny. We should probably leave soon, actually, I already feel kind of bad for leaving her alone so long," Max said.
"Plus, I'll be keeping her company!" Chloe added, giving her mom two thumbs up. Joyce narrowed her eyes and pointed at her.
"You better behave yourself while you're there, daughter of mine." The corner of Joyce's mouth angled up in a smirk since statements like this were no longer gravely serious. But still, she did have to be a mother. "Clear?" Max gulped as Chloe's foot, which had been rubbing against her leg for several minutes, slowly crept higher toward her inner thigh. Chloe made eye contact with her, then offered a wicked smile to her mother.
"Crystal."
"Here you go, baby," Max cooed as she gave Alice some food. She watched as the rabbit's nose twitched and found herself smiling as she tried to replicate the motion. Behind her, she could hear Chloe talking on the phone.
"Yeah, I have it hooked up to the Blackhell wi-fi," she said. "Oh, I don't know what my code is yet. What's yours?" During a gap of silence, Max turned around to look at Chloe who was only staring back at her with a confused and disgruntled expression, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What the fuck, why is it so long?" Her eyes darted to the side as she reclined back against the pillows, the hand holding the 3DS limply resting over her knee. She nodded slowly. "Okay, well that's stupid and I didn't retain any of that. Just text it to me." She nodded faster. "Uh huh... no, my little character is fucking cute, she kinda looks like Max." As if saying her name issued a Pavlovian response, she looked back toward Max and blew a kiss to her. "Yeah, okay dude. Text me. Merry Christmas again to you too. Later."
"Rocket science?" Max asked with a chuckle, sitting down on the bed. Chloe made a 'pfft' noise and extended her leg against the brunette's shoulder, giving it a push.
"He sorta makes it seem like it..." She looked at her phone after it buzzed and rolled her eyes before showing it to Max. "Look at that big ass number, I think he's giving me his social." She closed the 3DS and set it beside her, sliding her foot off of Max's shoulder and angling it toward the cage in the corner. "Was she hungry?"
"Didn't really ask," Max replied with more laughter. She flopped onto her back, with Chloe immediately taking advantage and resting her legs across the girl's stomach. In response, Max wrapped her arms over them as if they were the bars on a roller coaster. "I didn't see anyone else on campus. It really might just be you, me and Alice."
Down went Max and Chloe after it...
"For a month," Chloe added with big eyes. "This is so cool! It's like we just have a really big estate but can only really stay in one room." She scooted her butt down a little. "It's like practice for February when we basically have a house for like a week! How fucking cool is that!?" She was referring of course to David's gift to Joyce – a ten day cruise through Alaska. Later on in the day Chloe would postulate that David may have paid for a fair amount of it with Prescott money from his brief dealings with them. Max thought this might make her angry, but instead the girl thought it was a perfect 'fuck you' to the family.
We can pretend to be adults with our lives together!
"I do wish my bed was as big as yours though," Max grumbled. "I like having more real estate for cuddling."
"You're just being greedy," Chloe responded. "You know they could pack us in can like sardines and you'd complain about not being able to get closer."
"Who are 'they' in this scenario?" Max asked, arching an eyebrow.
"It's a hypothetical 'they,' dude," the punk said back.
"Uh huh..." Max wriggled from beneath Chloe's legs and scooped up some of her new clothes from Joyce and David. "Well, I'm going to go take a hypothetical shower before we start winding down."
"That doesn't make sense," Chloe huffed. "Unless you mean you want me to come with...?" Max tilted her head in thought, prompting a gigantic smile from the blue haired girl.
"Maybe not on the very first night," she said, swapping the girl's smile with a pout. "That sounds more like a night three or four kind of endeavor."
"Harshin' my mellow," Chloe complained. She pointed at Max. "Okay, fine, but what night can we sneak back into the pool? Sounds like a 'ten' kind of situation, right?"
Sneak BACK into the pool!? Are you out of your...well, hmmm...that would be fun and we ARE cool with David now...
"Put a pin in it, we'll get into the nitty gritty later," she said, prompting a sleazy nod from the punk. She rested her hand on the doorknob. "While I'm in there, can you set up my player?" Chloe lifted her feet in the air and brought them down hard in a mock tantrum.
"Fiiiine," she groaned. "But only because you're my favorite."
The hallway was eerily silent as Max made her way back to her room. She found herself actually feeling a bit uneasy, so with a bit of embarrassment, she picked up her pace. She opened the door to find Chloe pouring some of her wine into a cup, though she seemed to be struggling as she was cradling Lisa in one arm.
What in the world...?
"Um?" Max said as she gently closed the door behind her. Chloe looked up and grinned at her.
"You said we could drink some tonight!" She shook the bottle by the neck.
"You might be amazed to hear this, but that's not why I'm confused." Max discarded her dirty clothes into her hamper and approached her girlfriend. "What are you doing with my plant?"
"Oh, duh, yeah," Chloe said. She set the bottle down and hoisted Lisa over her head. "It's like a mistletoe!" Max looked up at the bottom of the pot and giggled.
"It is not like a mistletoe but okay, I see your game." Slowly and with a bit of swagger, she closed in on Chloe, letting her hands find the girl's waist. The punk grunted.
"Please just kiss me, this thing is surprisingly heavy. The fuck do you water it with? Cement?" Her arms began to tremble slightly, forcing Max to swoop in and press their lips together. With a sigh of relief, she set Lisa back down.
"Have I ever told you that you're a goober?" Max asked, picking up one of the cups of wine.
"I think it's come up in conversation," Chloe replied casually, taking her own cup. She held it out to Max, who cheerily bopped hers against it. As she was drinking, her eyes went wide and she began to flail her hand. "What?"
"We need to play music!" She said after an audible swallow, shuffling over to the record player. With chaotic excitement, she slipped the record from its sleeve and placed it on the player. After a moment of fussing with it, the music came to life. She spun back around to Chloe, grinning in amazement. "Transatlanticism is the perfect first album to play!"
"I think I agree," Chloe said, starting to slowly move her hips, holding the cup up higher.
Note to self: find the secret to being able to dance to literally any kind of music. How does she do that?
"Thank you again," Max said, stepping closer to the blue haired girl. "You went so above and beyond. I can't wait to start a real record collection! This is the merriest Christmas!"
"You made me cry, so I mean, hey," Chloe replied, the snarky look on her face clashing with the seductive sway of her hips. In response, Max moved forward and stole a kiss.
"I'm just happy you liked your photos," she said. "I was totally stressing about them." Chloe gave a look of empathy.
"I told you there was no reason for you to stress, you know I would love anything you gave me. Though, holy shit, you sure did swing for the fences." She stopped dancing and looked at the girl, hosting a devious look that sloughed off into sincere adoration. "I love you, Max."
"I love you too," she said back. Then, without really thinking about what she was doing, she pulled the bottom of Chloe's shirt toward her, stretching it out between them. She looked into her burning blue eyes as she poured just a small amount of wine onto the shirt. "Oops?" She offered with obvious insincerity. The punk gasped.
"I cannot believe you just did that!" She started to laugh, pressing a hand against the wet spot. "Oh man, why was that so hot? That was so hot..." She furrowed her brow like she was confused at her own feelings.
"Well," Max held her hands out in a cartoonish shrug, "where the night goes from here, nobody knows!"
"You say that, but..." Chloe slid away and plucked a shirt from Max's wardrobe, then came back and draped it over Alice's cage so that rabbit could not be seen. "I think I actually do know."
A/N: Sup?
Well, I should probably address the starving, near death elephant in the room - I apologize for the huge wait for this chapter. The truth is, I've just been having a lot of trouble writing lately. I just hope that's not TOO evident in this chapter.
Speaking of this chapter - hey! We're finally pretty much done the Christmas arc. That was a long one, eh? This chapter itself is pretty long, but I actually cut it down quite a lot (originally had both of Max's letters to Joyce and David, etc.) I hope you guys enjoyed it and that it was worth the totally unnecessary wait. PROMISE the next chapter will out much faster!
In other news, I started a goofy little side project a while ago - there are Twitter accounts for Ouroboros! You can find them at MaxOuroboros, ChloeOuroboros, KateOuroboros, WarrenOuroboros and...VictoriaOuro! That last one's different! I tricked ya. Basically, it's just meant to be a fun little side thing somewhat akin to the text chapters. Make sure if you're on desktop to click 'Tweets & Replies' so you can see their full conversations with each other. If you don't have a Twitter or just don't like it, no worries! There's never going to be anything "important" to the story mentioned there, so you will only be missing out on silly shenanigans. When I update them is pretty much completely random at this point, but the idea is 'every so often.' Basically whenever I think of stuff for them.
Okay, I think that covers about everything? Hoooope the chapter wasn't too bad! I'll see you guys again soon with Ch. 40! It'll be an interesting one, for sure. Thanks for reading and I love you~